morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-08-30
From: Harpers Ferry

To: David Lesser Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I had read there were lots of rocks to hike through headed south out of Harpers Ferry. Yesterday, the volunteer at the AT Headquarters said the hike was smooth with no rock fields. My first hike back on the trail wasn¢t bad but there were quite a few rock fields on the way. The weather was nice until I hit a couple of places where you walk through power line easements. That¢s when I could really feel the heat. Then I¢d get back in to the trees and the hiking was warm but not bad. There were eight cars parked at the last road crossing leading me to believe I¢d come across lots of hikers but I only passed two day hikers all day. I would imagine I¢ll see more over the Labor Day weekend.There were three deer I saw on the hike. I only saw the white tails of the first two as they bounded off into the woods but later I came across a fawn eating on the side of the trail. We both stopped and stared at one another. Then I thought maybe I should take a picture. When I opened the pouch to pull out the camera, the rip of the Velcro scared the fawn away. I also saw squirrels, chipmunks and two turtles. I got to the shelter about 4:30, kicked off my boots and spent the next 90 minutes reading the shelter journal and recuperating.The David Lesser Memorial Shelter is the nicest shelter site I have seen. Built in ¢91 the shelter has a big front porch with a railing across the front and lots of benches. There¢s an Adirondack chair big enough for four that I¢m sitting in. About 100 feet away there¢s a picnic pavilion with a roof and a swing. Heading down to the water source are the tent sites and each one has bench. There are no journal entries mentioning mice but lots about the spiders. There are great big gigantic spiders crawling on the ceiling. I hope I can sleep.I took two Aleve before heading out in the morning and another two before dinner. When I was out this Spring I would take Aleve when I started hurting but after reading the directions, I figure I¢ll take one every 12 hours to give it time to work on my body.As I look out of the shelter I see some stars here and there and what must be heat lightning on the horizon. It¢s a little lonely which is good in some ways and bad in others.Tomorrow I plan on taking it easy and with a light three-mile hike to the Blackburn A.T. Center.
Date: 2007-08-31
From: David Lesser Memorial Shelter

To: Blackburn Trail Center
Miles today: 3.2
Weather: broken clouds

Beautiful place with a wrap around porch. Ran in to a couple of University of Illinois students, Spice the Bear and the Polish Choo Choo, out for the Labor Day weekend. There was a nice couple, Hopeful and Redwing that look after the place.
Date: 2007-09-02
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

Ate lunch at Sam Moore Shelter. Got out of the roller coaster - Up and down, up and down but really no big deal, not big mountains like down South. The ridge runner advised that I get water about a mile before the shelter the Rod Hollow Shelter since there was none available there.
Date: 2007-09-04
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: clear sky

Talked with a couple from Augusta, Ga. when I got to the shelter. Another SOBO passed me by. There were pictures of copperheads on the shelter walls. In the log a previous hiker said there were no mice. Another hiker followed saying "Of course there aren't any mice with these snakes around.I figured I'll never get to sleep. Put tent up inside for peace of mind. Went to bed at 8:30, was awake at 9:30, still awake at 10:30, at some point I dozed off but then woke back up around 12:30. I tossed and turned for a couple more hours then at some point fell back asleep.
Date: 2007-09-05
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Tom and Sharon Johnson's Hostel
Miles today: 2.5

2.5 miles and all downhill. I just can't get any speed going downhill. I ran across a group of 10 out for a day hike. The first 4-5 were chugging right along with the rest spread out a bit. All seemed to be over 50. Some of the leaves are already starting to fall. Although it's not a problem now, I can tell it's going to be a problem in the coming weeks, not being able to tell what is smooth ground and what has rocks hidden underneath.Sharon Johnson picked me up at VA 55 and we went into town for Mexican. I spent the day reading Backpacker magazine and relaxing.
Date: 2007-09-06
From: Tom and Sharon Johnson's Hostel

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I've never really cared for oatmeal but it has always seemed like something you should take when you go camping. There just something about the consistancy that I can't stand. That said, I carried some with me when I started from Georgia in the Spring and I brought some of the apple and cinnamon flavor with me when I left last week. After a week of oatmeal breakfast I'm just pitching the rest. I guess I'm just not hungry enough at this point. I think I'm going to eat Cliff Bars, Luna Bars or Snickers.I've taken a couple of real short days hoping my son and family will be able to meet me in Front Royal for a weekend of hiking.
Date: 2007-09-07
From: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

To: Quality Inn, Front Royal, Va.
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: few clouds

It turns out my son's not going to make it this weekend. Front Royal seems like a good place to stop rather than continuing on to the shelter. What the heck. At this point I'm not on any timetable. I'll take some time to resupply and relax. This last week seems more like a vacation than a long-distance hike with two nights at hostels and tonight at the hotel.
Date: 2007-09-08
From: Quality Inn, Front Royal, Va.

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

The Quality Inn offers two shuttles to the trail every morning, 8:30 and 10:30. I took the early shuttle and was back on the trail by quarter til. It took until 11:30 to make it up to the Tom Floyd Wayside (2.9 miles) where I stopped for lunch. While I was there Kenneth, a Southbounder who started at Katahdin 6/15 passed through. He said he was averaging about 25 miles/day at this point. I am doing 6-8. He said that there were 2-3 more SOBO about a day behind him and another couple of hikers a couple miles behind them. I asked if he knew "Sweet Tea", son of Marylu Odom, who signed my guest book and he said he believed he would be through in a couple of days. While I was at the shelter looking at maps, a deer came up within about 20 feet. We stared at one another for a minute and then went about grazing. During the hike my arms were all puffy from the elbows on down. So far I haven't had and swelling in my ankles, the thing that forced me off the trail in Tennessee. By 6:45 I had made it to the Gravel Springs Hut. I set up my tent inside the shelter, just to keep the bugs, mice and snakes off of me. I ended up cooking and eating dinner by headlight. I'm not crazy about cooking and eating in the dark. Thank goodness for headlights. After more than 13 miles, I was really beat. I had a great night sleep.
Date: 2007-09-09
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Near Thornton River Trail
Miles today: 8.1

I slept until 8:15 and was on the trail by 10. At 2:00 I stopped at the Elkwallow Wayside on Skyline Drive for lunch. The place has a souvenir stand, a gas pump with an attendant who pops out everytime someone pulls up, a convience store and a grill. I've heard folks rave about the blackberry milkshakes here. That really sounded good so I had two burgers and blackberry shake. I heard there was a campsite at the wayside but when I asked, I was told it was one mile north of the wayside (from where I came). I wasn't sure I wanted to go backwards just to get a campsite so I decided to head on and just pitch my tent along the trail. I figure I hiked about two miles before I found a good spot.After two burgers and a milkshake I wasn't really hungry, but I must be carrying about twelve pounds in food so I broke out a mountain house seafood chowder for a late dinner. My pack weighs about 30 lbs and with the food and water I carried from the wayside, its got to be close to 50 lbs.
Date: 2007-09-10
From: Near Thornton River Trail

To: Near Byrds Nest #3 Picnic Shelter
Miles today: 9.0

Today was a rather exciting day. Not long after getting on the trail this morning I heard a noise up ahead of me. There were a lot of shrubs and the trail bent around a corner but out of the woods came a black bear. He stood there on the trail 15-20 seconds then bounded down the hill. I waited a bit then hiked carefully through the area. Within a mile or so I ran into another hiker headed north. He had stayed overnight at the Pass Mountain Hut and said there was a bear pawing around at the spring down around the corner from the shelter part of the night. The hut was five miles into my hike and I decided it would be a good place to stop for lunch. I've talked to a lot people who pass the shelters by because they don't want to take that .2 mile jog off the trail (usually downhill) but I find them a good place to relax for lunch and there's usually a reliable source of water. I got to Pass mountain Hut kicked off my boots, pulled out some food and took the trail register over to the picnic table for some lunch. I've found it's always good to take off your boots if I'm going to be stopped for a while -- it just feels so good. So I'm sitting at the picnic table with my back to the shelter, a semi-circular fire ring about eight feet in front of me. I spent a good bit of time reading the register when not two feet past the fire circle, 10 feet away, is a bear. Oh my gosh. What do I do? I thought was where is my camera. Should I reach for it? Then I thought better, started yelling "HEY! HEY! YO! YO!". He turned around in then shot off into the woods.Wow, two bears in one day!After lunch I continued on to Thornton Gap and Panorama, an old, shut down restaurant, with a drinking fountain and restrooms. The climb out of there had to be the toughest thing I have seen since Georgia. There were rocks, not boulders, just rocks everywhere. It tooke me a long time to get through there. Around 4:30, I came around a bend to this spot with an overlook. You can see where folks have camped there before. The view was foggy and smoggy but at least there was a view. I threw up the bear bag, pitched the tent, and it immediately started raining. When I was at the ATC headquarters. I talked with a guy who said he carries a space blanket for times when it rains. He lays the blanket on top of the tent floor, puts his pad and down bag on top of that. The blanket serves as a barrier to keep the water out. I noticed water seeping into the tent and pulled my space blanket out to protect me from any further water getting in.
Date: 2007-09-11
From: Near Byrds Nest #3 Picnic Shelter

To: Skyland
Miles today: 6.7

This morning was windy as all get out. I swore that the tent was going to blow away or a tent pole was going to break out on that overlook. Of course once I got moving and was even 20 feet into the forest you couldn't feel it nearly as much. I saw yet another bear today. He was a good size too with a big snout. This one was a good 150 feet away but I could still see his size. After seeing me, he dashed down the hill, stopped, stood up and looked back at me, then continued on his way. This day was pretty much defined by one thing...water. It rained, then it poured, then it drizzled, rained some more, then poured, then drizzled. You get the picture. When I got to Skyland I thought this really sounds like a good idea. So I got a cabin for about $70 and spent most of the night in front of the heating unit that's built into the wall. I washed out my clothes in the sink (three times and there was still dirty water), then hung those in front of the heater. When those were dry, I followed with the tent, fly and ground cloth. I'm not sure when but at some point I looked out of the window and saw beams of sunlight. Dusk was beautiful with the last bits of sunlight creatng a red lining on the big clouds as they moved out of the area. Right now you can see thousand of stars.The dining room opens at 7:30. I plan to be there when it opens. Then back out for what appears to be days without rain.Today is the day Uncle Buck should be getting back on the trail heading North from Pearisburg. It won't be long before our paths will cross again. I also expect that Evil Eye and Pootz, some of those I hike with in the Smokies, will be summiting Katahdin in the coming days.
Date: 2007-09-12
From: Skyland

To: Bearfence Hut
Miles today: 16.1

Well, I didn't make it at 7:30 for breakfast, which turned out to be a good thing. There were 2 bus loads of people at the lodge for breakfast at 7:30. I got there about 8:20 just as most of the people were finishing breakfast. I had a big breakfast and got on my way. Looking at the elvation part of the map it looked like it would be a good day, not too many ups and downs. My goal was to make it to Bearfence Hut, which would be 16.1 miles. That's the most I've done. The terrain was fairly flat and I did end up hiking the 16.1 miles. I was pretty tired by the time I got to the hut. No bears today, but I saw at least 12 deer. They were in groups of 1 to 3. Most of them are pretty tame. When I got to the hut Johnathan was there. This was the first night I would be in a shelter with someone else. Johnathan was from Grand Rapids, MI, and is now a grad student at Ohio State U.
Date: 2007-09-13
From: Bearfence Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning I had hiked about 5.5 miles and I was thinking that I hadn't seen any wild life today, when I heard some noise at about 2 o'clock. I looked over there and about 100 feet away was a mother bear and 2 cubs. mother stayed on the ground and the 2 cubs climbed up a tree probably 5 or 6 feet off the ground. Then I heard more noise at about 1 o'clock, and there were 2 more cubs climbing a tree about 100 feet in front of me. they climbed up about 5 or 6 feet also. I looked the situtition over and decided I wasn't between the mother and her cubs so I took my camera out and tried to take a picture of the 2 cubs in front of me. Looking at the back of the camera I can't tell if you can see the cubs or not. The 2 cubs beside mother climber down the tree and ran off, then the 2 in front of me came down the tree, ran over to the tree beside mom climbed that tree, stayed there for about 15 or 20 seconds then climbed down and mom and the 2 cubs ran off. Five bear all at the same time. WOW. I have no idea how many cubs a bear can have, but 4 cubs sounds high to me. One of the hikers i was telling said there might have been another mother around or maybe this one was babysitting.When I got to the hut there was a couple tenting, none one else in the hut. Not sure if I oner did the milage yesterday, my right ankle started feeling a little different this afternoon. Tomorrow will be about 8 miles, and they're calling for rain in the afternoon and night.
Date: 2007-09-14
From: Hightop Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: light rain

Got out fairly early this morning. They were calling for rain in the pm and night so I was trying to get to the hut before it rained.   I accomplished getting to the shelter before it rained. Shortly after it started raining Press showed up. It looked like I'd have someone else in the hut with me for the night. Most of the afternoon l laid in the hut with my right leg elevated. I was hoping that would help my right ankle which had been hurting me for the last couple of days. The ankle hurt more on the up hills and uneven trails, other wise it wasn't too bad to walk on.It had started raining around 4:00. Press came in around 4:30, then around 7:00 Fred Davis and his friend Bob showed up. They had been hiking in the rain for about 3 hours. They got out of their wet clothes, fixed supper. It gets dark around 7:45 now so after dark there is'nt too much to do but go to bed. Now that may sound like a lot of sleep, but try hiking most of the day with a backpack and see how tired you are at the end of the day and how much you can sleep.
Date: 2007-09-15
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Today should be 13.2 miles. All four of us that spent the night at Pinefield Hut were planning on spending the night at the Blackrock Hut Saturday night. Fred and Bob took off first in the morning. I took of a little later, and Press was hanging back because it was only 13.2 miles today. Seems like I hadn't been gone too long until Press is passing me by. As I hiked my left knee started bothering me. Great, now it's my right ankle and my left knee. It feels like it is the same area that was hurting me in my right knee earlier in the spring. I ended up getting to the hut around 7:00. The other guys had gotten there 2 and 3 hours before me. When I arrived Press, Fred, and Bob were there plus a father and son and one of the sons buddies. Both the boy were Boy Scouts. The boys had started a fire so we hung around the fire and talked much later than normal.(9:30 or 10) Real wild partiers aren't we?
Date: 2007-09-16
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Wildcat Ridge Parking lot
Miles today: 6.3

This morning Fred and Bob were planning on hiking 20 miles. That would get then to Rockfish Gap, where they could hitch a ride into Waynesboro, NC. They left just after sun up. Press's wife was meeting him at Jarman's Gap. He would be hiking about 12. Press is still working so he tries to come out on the AT on 3 day week-ends. I was planning on hiking 13 miles to Calf mountain Hut. We all got a fairly early start. The more I hiked the more my left knee was hurting. Yes, the pain is in the very same place on my left leg as the pain I had in my right leg back in May. the more I hiked the more pain I had. I had hiked about 6 miles with the pain getting worse all the time. I was only about 1/4 mile from the Skyline Drive and Weldcat Ridge. I sat down and thought about this whole sitution. I thought about how much pain my right knee cause me in May, and I didn't want to go through that again. At that point I called my daughter to tell her what I was planning on doing. Tried my son also, but couldn't get him. I haden't talked to them since Monday or Tuesday. Cell phone reception is really lousy at most of the huts. The huts are uaually tucked back in a ravine and down at a lower elevation which doesn't help reception. I had a list of people that did shuttles around the Waynesboro area so I made a couple of call, and arranged for someone to pick me up at Wildcat Ridge parking area and drive me to Waynesboro. The guy came and picked me up and we headed for Waynesboro. When we got to Rockfish Gap(where you hitch a ride to waynesboro) there was Fred and Bob just getting ready to try to hitch a ride. We picked them up and we all went to the Quaility Inn. That means they had hiked 20 miles already that day.
Date: 2007-01-04
To: 1st entry
Miles today: 0.0

147 Days until my start on June 3rd. The counter on my computer screen tells me so. I cannot wait!!!!. I'm ready to go now. I have got all my gear together, I'm prep hiking, riding my mountain bike, and looking forward to quitting my job. Oh yeah, about my job. I'm 27 now and as a teenager then thru college I always wondered how one would work a job for 20 or 30 years for everyday of their life with 2 weeks of vaction a year. I always thought that there was no way that I could do that. Even though I felt animosity toward the career life, I always thought that once I got a "serious" job all of that would change. Well I got a serious job in November of 2004 and all of the stability, complacency and comfortableness that comes with it. On June 3rd, 2006 I decided to Hike the trail South To North. I'm going to break this journal entry into 3 so that i will show up on the site.DustinMy Journey is My Destination
Date: 2007-01-05
To: Brain Maze
Miles today: 0.0

So I decided to hike the trail Northbound on June 3rd 2007. My wife supported me the first time the words came from my mouth. I hem hawed around(Tennessee phrase for being hesitant) about work and the massive undertaking, knowing all along that I WAS going. Life is short, and the chance gets less the more complicated our lives become. There was also something else that I knew, but had to fight with in my head. It was that I was going to hike SOUTHBOUND. The following are reasons for me to start in ME:Hiking toward home (TN). I figured that going halfway and then hiking toward the "known" rather than hiking toward the "unknown" would be a great morale boost.Hiking in the south in the Fall.Being able to make high milage days later in the trip, because the terrain allows me to.The numbers. The numbers both hindered and helped me in my decision. I feared the low number of people starting SB, but it also attracted me because of the challenge. I was never attracted to the 30 or more people a day starting NB. I felt that I would never be alone and that it would be overcrowded for the first half. I am not using mail drops so I felt that supplies would be depleted more on a NB hike. In all it feels true to me and who I am to hike Southbound.
Date: 2007-01-06
To: My Wife
Miles today: 0.0

So about my wife: Becky, Greatest girl to me. From the first time I mentioned this trip, she knew that I was going. She never once said "What about me". She is the ultimate planner and will be prepared for me to leave. She has let me spend way too much money on gear. Becky has told me whatever I need to do or whatever she can do, it will be done. I could not ask for more than that. I will miss her more than I can imagine. I know that she will not let me get overwhelmed or ahead of myself. Becky and I live a simple life, which has helped in planning for this trip. She has taught me that everything cannot be planned, just roll with it. So here I roll. So nothing is planned past june 3rd 2007. Even though she will not be hiking with me, she will be with me every day. I love you Becky.
Date: 2007-01-21
To: Dayhiking in the Smokies
Miles today: 0.0

Just hiked yesterday in the Smokies with the Greenville, TN hiking club. We started at the Maddron Bald trail off highway 321 in the northeast side of the park. Climbed for about 7 miles to Snake Den Ridge and then came out in Cosby campground. It was around 13.2 in all. Most all of my hiking has been on the AT. I really enjoyed the park. Having no guidebook made it great. Not knowing how far the climbs were allowed me to hike only what was in front of me. Lamar was the leader on the trip, he was part of a club that I had never heard of before. "The 900 miler club". There are 900 miles of trails in the Smokies and he has hiked every one of them. It takes a few hundred more miles of backtracking to hike all of them. Another guy that hiked with us was Mike. He was a NOBO in '91 , he made it to Dalton, MA. He plans to finish the rest when he retires. My dad hiked with us. He surprised me on the climbs, led and kept a great pace. It was really good to hike with a group. I think that I am going to do a lot of my training off the AT and do trips in the Smokies, Shining Rock Wilderness, and Pisgah. Anyone up to joining me?