morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-13
From: Front Royal, VA

To: stealth campsite at mile 981.9
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

I took a day off from journaling on my zero yesterday, but want to briefly recap. I hiked early on for a couple of days with Margot and Pierre, the couple from Luxembourg with the huge tent. They hiked bigger miles than I and got ahead of me, but I saw them again in Damascus when they zeroed for a number of days. Margot and I exchanged email addresses at that point and have kept in touch. I had an email from her when I got into Front Royal. She and Pierre had just gotten off the trail and are flying home Sunday. They were in Front Royal with a rental car, and we wanted to see each other one more time, so they came over to my hotel before heading out of town. It turns out they were doing the big miles because Margot missed her family and wanted to reach Katahdin sooner rather than later, but the bigger miles ultimately took a toll on her feet and shoulder. We all struggle out here with the physical challenges of pushing our bodies harder than they ought to be pushed on a given day, and the mental challenges of leaving the life we know and the people we love, to live in the woods for months. I wish you the best Margot and Pierre. I Believe and I walked to the laundromat and grocery store conveniently located in the same plaza only a few blocks from the Super 8. With clean clothes and our resupply in hand, we trudged back to the hotel and then across the street to Spelunkers for the second time. I had probably the best Philly cheese steak sandwich there I've ever had. The Super 8 served our needs, was centrally located, and worked out well for I Believe and me. Uphill and Roots stayed here last night and have their car here. I tented with them one night weeks ago. Uphill was kind enough to give us a ride back to the trail this morning. Thanks Uphill. We traded rocks for mud on the trail today. I haven't seen this much mud since Tennessee. There have been daily thunderstorms, which have saturated the trail in some places. The terrain, however, was good to us, and except for the mud, it was a pleasant day of hiking. We hiked past the shelter we had planned to stay at tonight because of all the water on the side trail in route to it. I Believe and I are stealth camping, and barely got our tents set up before tonight's thunderstorm. I am sharing the underside of my tent fly with several daddy long legs. They make me think of you, my sweet Caroline. Tomorrow we have arranged with Bear's Den Hostel to slack pack. We will be hiking a major section of what's referred to as The Roller Coaster! I like roller coaster rides, but I'm not so sure about this one.
Date: 2014-06-14
From: stealth campsite at mile 981.9

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 17.2

I Believe made arrangements with Bears Den Hostel to meet us at the Signal Knob parking area at 9:00 this morning where we were going to hand over our packs and slack pack to the hostel. We headed out in plenty of time, but missed the turn off and hiked .8 miles past the side trail we needed to take. We had to retrace our steps and made it to Signal Knob right at 9:00, but there was no one there to meet us. After 20 minutes, we figured they weren't coming so I repacked my pack and off we went, a full two hours later than we like to start hiking, and already having hiked 1.6 extra miles having missed the side trail. We knew it would be a long and difficult day of hiking with 10 of the 13.5 miles of the Roller Coaster between us and the hostel. The Roller Coaster is a series of steep ascents and descents, one right after the other. We had heard it was tough and had seen pictures of rocky terrain. We hiked with urgency all day hoping to still make it to the hostel at a reasonable hour, despite the late start. It was not as rocky as we had expected, and the steep climbs were made easier by some more gentle sections. We made it to the hostel at 7:15. It turns out that Jonathan who was supposed to pick up our packs this morning had gone to the wrong Knob parking lot! No matter though as we made it carrying full packs, because we are such beasts on the trail now. The hostel is in a castle with a very nice bunk room, community room and kitchen. I made a frozen pizza, had a pint of ice cream, am showered, and I Believe did my laundry. Thanks I Believe. I'm here with Cozy, Thor, Archer and a couple of section hikers. I want to be up and out of the hostel by 7:00 tomorrow morning, so I make it to The Blackburn Trail Center where my nephew, Rich, and his family are meeting me for a family picnic and trail magic. Can't wait to see them. For now, it's lights out at the hostel. It's past hiker's midnight.
Date: 2014-06-15
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: David Lesser Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a great day. I passed the 1,000 mile mark, crossed the VA/WV border, and spent a special afternoon with my nephew, Rich, and his family. And all this on my son Steven's birthday. I thought about how I labored 23 years when I gave birth to him, and today I labored over mountains. Happy Birthday Steven!I was out of the hostel and on the trail at 6:45. I wasn't sure how tough the last ups and downs of The Roller Coaster would be, and I wanted to get to the Blackburn Trail Center where Rich and I had planned to meet, ahead of him. It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, but it was still cool. The humidity has been down the last couple of days after several mornings last week of high humidity and air you could have cut with a knife. I had arranged with the hostel to slack pack the 8 miles to Blackburn since yesterday's slack pack attempt had been a bust, and the miles went quickly. I stopped at the 1,000 mile sign and took pictures with Kozi, and at the VA/WV state line sign with Kozi , Thor, and the Archer. I was at the Center by 11:15 and spent 2 1/2 hours just relaxing. I met Trail Boss, the manager of the Center and a trail maintainer of the Roller Coaster. He gave me a soda and we chatted as I sat on the screened in porch with my boots off. I Believe had stayed and had breakfast at the hostel and got to the Center at 12:30. Rich, Grece, Max and Elias arrived just before 2:00 with sandwich fixings, potato salad, chips, fruit, and soda. We sat outside at one of the picnic tables and feasted. Guys, it was great to see you and thank you so much for the trail magic. Love you all. After saying our goodbyes, I Believe and I headed a short 3 miles to the shelter. This is a newer shelter, with a porch and benches and we decided to stay in the shelter and forgo setting up our tents. So far the mosquitoes are not bad. Last week Morning Wood showed me a photo of the roach he had taken out of his ear after sleeping in a shelter. I'm wearing my buff over my ears tonight. Tomorrow it's on to Harpers Ferry, the unofficial 1/2 way point on the trail. On a final note, I did not find the Roller Coaster as difficult as rumors would have it. Yes, it is up and down, but the hills are hundreds of feet, not thousands of feet, and the terrain is varied. There wasn't time to get bored or for my feet or knees to hurt because the terrain kept changing. It is the sustained ups and downs and rocks that are harder for me.
Date: 2014-06-16
From: David Lesser Memorial Shelter

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Staying in the shelter last night was a nice change of pace. I saw no mice, no roaches, and only one mosquito buzzed around my head. This morning packing up was quick with no tent to take down. I Believe and I were on the trail at 7:00. We had 9 miles to hike to get to Harpers Ferry. We were slowed by some rocky sections, but got to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy at 11:15 taking the .2 mile steep blue blaze trail. It was only fitting that the side trail was steep. I had to work for my celebratory half way photo right up to the last .2 mile!Once inside the Conservancy, I bought and drank a liter of Gatorade and had my thru-hiker photo taken. I have a number now. I am the 615th thru-hiker to have passed through and had their photo taken. It was fun to look through the photo album of this year's hikers, to see who has gotten this far and when they passed through Harpers Ferry. It was like reminiscing over a high school yearbook. As is often the case, I see The Rock when I come into towns and he was the first hiker I saw at the Conservancy along with Blue and Pond, all of whom I last saw in Daleville. The shocker was when I turned around and saw Maverick. Maverick and I started at Springer Mountain on March 9th, and in fact were at the Springer Mountain terminus at the same time. He is in the background in photos taken of me that day hours before we met. We met at the first shelter and hiked together into the Smokies, then got separated and I had not seen him since. We had texted a few times and I knew he was behind me on the trail. Here we were again at the exact same place and time, at the half way point. That is how it is on the trail. I Believe and I had a bite to eat before heading back out of town. We listened to thunder the last hour of hiking and opted to stay in the shelter again tonight. Sleeping in the shelter with us is Gear Dog and Vista. Tenting are Maverick, Blue, and Pond. This is the first night Blue and I have been in the same shelter. I have known him since he was 8 years old, and it is great to now have an adult to adult friendship with him on the trail. I crossed another state line today. I am in Maryland where tomorrow Houdini and my friend Jenny will meet us at the end of our hiking day. I Believe and I will zero on Wednesday, then Jenny will join me on the trail for four days. I have come so far, yet have so far to go. Tomorrow I will get up and hike again. That is the only way I will get to Maine.
Date: 2014-06-17
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: US Route 40
Miles today: 16.0

Today was hot. It was in the low 90's and the day seemed to drag. Houdini and my friend, Jenny left from Portland, ME by car at the same time as I Believe and I left the shelter, all of us headed to the same rendezvous point. I Believe and I knew we could hike there faster than Houdini and Jenny could drive, so we took our time in the heat. We stopped for more frequent and longer breaks. Water sources were scarce, which meant carrying more water on our backs, and drinking warm water instead of cameling cold water at a stream. Fewer water sources is getting to be the norm and reportedly gets even worse in PA. We leapfrogged Maverick, Blue, Vista, and Geardog on the trail. I stopped briefly at the original Washington Monument a .1 mile off the trail. We have hiked for a couple of days through some historical sites and parks. Both Houdini and my brother are history buffs, and would enjoy leisurely walking this section and stopping to tour the landmarks. No time for that for this thru-hiker, but I do think about redoing the trail by car maybe next year, and hitting the high points with Houdini.I Believe and I beat Houdini and Jenny to the US 40 parking lot and we rested on the grass until they arrived. I couldn't wait to get to the hotel and shower. With summer upon us, going multiple days without a shower is going to be more of a challenge. Tonight the four of us had dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. Dry baby back ribs and two beers later, life is good. Tomorrow we will run around (not literally) doing town errands. Then we hike out on Thursday with Jenny for four days. She of course came with homemade cookies which she always sends with Houdini, except this time has delivered personally. As I write this a thunderstorm is passing overhead. Ah, to be in a hotel room tonight.....Houdini uploaded some recent photos for me today. I tried to pick photos that show the varied terrain and some of my hiking buddies. Check them out if you'd like.
Date: 2014-06-19
From: US Route 40

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a great day on the AT. We left the Comfort Inn in Hagerstown at 8:00 and Houdini drove I Believe, Jenny and me back to the trail. We said goodbye to him and he headed off to pick up Blue and Pond to give them a ride into DC before heading back to Maine. We had a little bit of everything today and Jenny got a taste of life on the trail. It was a day of woods and open fields, gradual and steep climbs, slipping and squishing in mud, tediously stepping on, over, and between rocks, and fording streams. We stopped at the first shelter for lunch. Just as we were putting on our packs to hike on we heard thunder and the sky was getting darker. We opted to stay put, and within 5 minutes it started to rain, then pour. We had lucked out. We could have been out in it and gotten soaked. The thunderstorm lasted a good 1/2 hour. It was 3:30 by the time the rain had stopped and we had 5 miles to go to the next shelter. For the first time I took off my shoes and put on my crocs to ford two streams that were overflowing from the heavy rain. It was good practice for all the fording ahead in Maine. We got to the shelter around 7:00. This shelter was built in 2012 and is magnificent by shelter standards, clearly the nicest on the trail. There are numerous flat tent sites as well. The only downside is the water is .3 mile down a steep trail. We stopped at an earlier stream and hiked up the last steep hill with enough water for tonight and tomorrow morning. There are more people at the shelter tonight than I have seen in a shelter in many weeks. The Muffin Man, Wing It, Bluebird, Duff, Sherpa, Styles, Clare (a ridge runner) and many others, whose names I don't know, are here tonight.Jenny you did a great job keeping up with I Believe and me today. Taking ibuprofen tonight was a good idea though!
Date: 2014-06-20
From: Raven Rock Shelter

To: Antietam Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

There must have been 25 hikers at the shelter last night, a huge number for this point on the trail. I think it was a combination of the rain (some hikers stopped early to avoid the rain, some stopped late to dry off from it) and the appeal it had being such a new and gorgeous shelter. The wood floor of the shelter was nice enough to be in someone's living room. It was cool and dry this morning when I got out of my sleeping bag, cool enough to put on my rain jacket while I was having breakfast and packing up. We weren't in a hurry, so didn't hit the trail until 8:45. The sun was shining and it was perfect hiking weather.It was another great day for giving Jenny a taste of trail life. The trail added a rock scramble and a number of road crossings to an otherwise fairly easy and gentle day. I did manage to fall for the 13th time, however, as my base of support was narrow walking between rocks, Rosie shifted on my back and down she took me. I seem to be keeping up with my average one fall a week. The trail led us right to Pen Mar County Park, a park with lots of benches, picnic tables, trash cans, a view of Maryland (or was it Pennsylvania), and trail magic. Freight Train, a former thru-hiker was there with fruit, bagels and sweets. Thanks Freight Train. We stopped and had our lunch there, filled up our water bottles at the water fountain, and dried out our wet socks from yesterday in the sun. Shortly after hiking on we came to the Mason-Dixon Line sign. We of course stopped for pictures. It was an exciting moment for me. Except for two years in VA for grad school, I have lived all my life north of the Mason-Dixon Line (in NY, MA, CT and ME). I felt such a sense of accomplishment for having walked so far, and felt as if I had come home. At the same time, I Believe who is from Louisiana and more recently Tennessee was having different feelings. There definitely is a psychological advantage to walking home. I Believe, Jenny, and I are tenting tonight at the shelter. So far, we are the only ones here. It is fascinating how you can have 25 hikers one night, and three the next. Sadly Sherpa who was at the shelter last night, was getting picked up by his wife today, because he needs to go home to put down his 14 year old dog. He told me for the first month he was out here, his wife said the dog waited for him at the door Then the dog stopped. Sherpa is grappling with the thought of his dog dying of a broken heart. Sherpa said he will be back on the trail on Sunday and the trail will be healing. I left my cat at home, and feel badly that she doesn't understand where "mommy" went. Lots of hikers struggle with leaving their pets behind. Tomorrow morning we are walking a short distance to the next road crossing where will be treated to some very special trail magic. Connie, the sister-in-law of my very good friend, Marcia, is picking us up and taking us back to her home in Waynesboro, PA for breakfast, showers, laundry, and lunch!
Date: 2014-06-21
From: Antietam Shelter

To: stealth campsite at mile 1075.4
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

It was another great day on the trail. I Believe, Jenny, and I had only .1 mile to walk to Old Forge Rd, where Connie picked us up and drove us the 10 minutes to her home. She and her husband Chris treated us royally. It started with a delicious breakfast of strata, fresh fruit with yogurt, apple turnovers, juice and coffee. We then showered and started a load of laundry. What a luxury to then sit (on upholstered furniture), chat with our trail angels, and relax. Connie offered to take us anywhere we needed to go, but after our recent resupply when Houdini was here, we were   all set. Connie and Chris next made us a lunch of chicken pot pie, salad and cookies. It was 1:30 when Connie drove us back to the trail with our food bags fuller then when we had arrived. We packed out hard boiled eggs, carrot sticks, and more cookies. This was only the second time since I started my trek that I have spent time in someone's home. Connie and Chris, thank you so much for being such gracious hosts, opening your home to three hikers, and taking such good care of us. Back on the trail, I Believe, Jenny, and I made quick work of our remaining miles with only one significant uphill, and several miles of gentle terrain. Jenny has experienced staying in a shelter and tenting at a shelter. On her last night with us, we wanted her to have a chance to stealth camp so that is what we are doing tonight. Stealthing offered us the opportunity to avoid walking the .3 mile on a blue blade trail to the shelter, another plus. Tomorrow, Jimmy, I Believe's husband, comes back for a visit and is meeting us in the morning to slack pack us. Jenny's friend, Lila, is picking Jenny up at the end of the day and will get her to the airport on Monday. By the way, the first day of summer is Naked Hiker Day on the AT. We did not see one thru-hiker on the trail, naked or otherwise this afternoon. Hiking naked carrying a backpack sounded pretty uncomfortable to us, so in our hiking clothes we stayed. Besides, we had the luxury today of hiking in clean ones!
Date: 2014-06-22
From: stealth campsite at mile 1075.4

To: stealth campsite at mile 1090.8
Miles today: 15.4

Today I Believe and I said goodbye to Jenny and hello to Jimmy. I Believe, Jenny, and I packed up and were out of camp before 8:00. We made quick work of the three miles to the road where we met Jimmy, I Believe's husband. Jimmy had hot coffee, honey buns, and three lawn chairs. Before I left camp, I had already eaten granola with freeze dried blueberries and whole powered milk to which I just add water (Longbow's recipe) and the two hard boiled eggs Connie gave me yesterday. We sat for about a 1/2 hour, then packed up our day packs, and headed back to the trail excited to be slack packing. Jenny has held her own carrying a full back, keeping up, and hiking very respectable miles with us. Today, her last day with us, she had a new appreciation for the rewards of slack packing. We had a couple of moderate uphills, and enough soft dirt and pine needles that the rocks were not even bothersome today. We stopped for a break at the Quarry Gap Shelter, a beautiful and well maintained shelter with hanging potted plants. Jim Stauch is the "Innkeeper" of the shelter and we were fortunate enough to meet him further up the trail where he was finishing up his trail maintenance for the day. He has an obvious love of the AT and takes pride in his up keep of the Quarry Shelter and his section of the trail. I have met many AT maintainers over my many weeks out here, and they are a special group of dedicated and hard working volunteers. Jimmy met up with us again early afternoon at another road crossing and we sat in his chairs and had lunch with a cold soda. It was back to the trail for a few more miles, and just after 4:00 when we met Jimmy at the parking lot where Liala, Jenny's friend, was picking her up. We had some time to kill waiting for Liala, so I Believe and I decided to knock off one more mile, and I ran it! Since Jimmy could pick us up in1.1 mile and bring us back to Jenny, we didn't need to carry ANYTHING! It was so liberating to run a mile of the trail without a burdensome backpack. Back at the parking lot, Liala arrived shortly thereafter and we said our goodbyes to Jenny. Liala, thank you for holding onto our resupply, for the gin and tonics a few days ago, and for picking up Jenny and getting her to the airport tomorrow. Hungry and tired, Jimmy drove I Believe and me into Shippensburg for pizza. I am stealth camping tonight near Jimmy's truck. Tomorrow we cross the official 1/2 way point on the trail and I will partake in the 1/2 gallon ice cream challenge.