morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-08
From: Black Rock Hut

To: High top hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: broken clouds

Oh my gosh. Worst night on the trail yet. We had an older gentleman section hiking the trail that had massive bowel movements all night. Not the type of thing I would normally talk about but it was insane. Not only that, he needed to pee every half hour all night. Every time, he seemed to wake up the whole shelter. Added to this was someone snoring so loud all night then a whippoorwill bird as an alarm clock this morning. This bird is literally an alarm clock and decided to call early in the morning. Man it was miserable. As soon as the sun came up, roughly 5:50, I woke up and got out of there. I was happy to be gone.The hike was amazingly beautiful this morning. I listened to the birds, saw some bunnies and ran into a deer walking south down the trail. It revitalized me after my sleepless night. 8 miles in, I stopped at a campground store right off the trail. They sold typical camping gear along with food for hikers! I got a coffee and breakfast sandwich while charging my phone, enjoying the morning and talking with Two Clicks about the night. Eventually, we pushed on another 2 miles and went off trail again to a wayside diner off skyline drive. I got a full breakfast and coffee there along with the infamous blackberry milkshake everyone says you need to get in the Shenandoahs. Two clicks, trademark and I spent 45 minutes here before moving forward again!4 miles from the wayside, we reached Pinefield Gap where I was to meet Ann. Two Clicks, Speedy, Remy, Trademark, Legs and I all waited here off the side of the road for my sister to arrive. She pulled in around 1:10 and I greeted her then we were treated to fruit, candy and most importantly pumpkin bread and cookies made by my mom. It was amazing! Most of the food was eaten but the remainder we walked south to the shelter 0.5 miles back to treat anyone staying there to trail magic. Ann then drove 4 of us to the wayside and I had another meal there while some of them got their first. We ate a lot and were thankful for the amazing food. Thanks Ann and mom!Around 3, Ann departed as the rest of us headed up the trail to hike 8 more miles to the shelter for the night. It was a tough 8 miles with the food but we made it by 530. I vowed to tent tonight to finally sleep well and avoid the misery of last night in case it happened again.
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Rock Springs Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 28.4
Weather: clear sky

In the morning I woke up at 6 with Two Clicks and we both got ready. Today was the last day we were going to be together and we ended up hiking the morning together. At a spring only a mile or two in, I bent down to grab water. As I did, Two Clicks turned around and spotted a black bear cub. I turned around in haste and watched this cub walk away about 150 yards away from us. There was one more cub and a momma bear with him and they were just minding their own business roaming the hillside. We did our best to take videos but they were terrible and we didn't want to be like the classic tourist that chases the bear so we moved on.Eventually we hiked on our own for the day meeting back up for lunch 15 miles in. It was warm and humid today and a flash storm had rolled in around 10, enough for a shower! At lunch, I had left a sign of sticks saying "HB" with an arrow pointing to the shelter off trail. Luckily, Two Clicks saw it and we had our final coffee "date" at the picnic table over lunch. The rest of the day we pushed 13 miles to a wayside. On the way, I spotted another cub and was pumped but worried because I never did see the mom. Again, I got terrible videos of the bear.At the wayside I rolled in around 2:45. I grabbed some chicken fingers and fries, a tall boy of yeungling and I resupplied for a few days of food. While charging my phone and hanging out, Two Clicks rolled in and hung around with me. He was waiting for his mom to pick him up. It's funny, in the time she took to fly from Boston and drive from Washington to the Shenandoahs we had hiked 22 miles... Society is crazy!We chatted and had our beers around a table outside and when his Mom arrived, we snapped a picture together. Two Clicks and I had met around mile 450 and we had just hit 950. For 500 miles and most of Virginia we had hiked together. What a guy. Cheers Two Clicks and Happy Hiking! I'll be looking for you in the shelter logs after I get back from graduation.As Two Clicks took off with his mom, I hiked another 5.7 or so to a shelter. Up and over a mountain I narrowly avoided another passing storm as I rolled in with seconds to spare before the skies opened up and lightning struck. I chatted with the two others here and they warned of a big bear in the area. Once the storm had ended and I finished dinner, I walked to fill my water and saw the bear. It was massive! Probably 300 pounds or more and just waddling around. I'm with a whole new group of hikers tonight except Speedy and Trademark who both pushed the miles today too! What a day over some of the "harder" terrain of the Shenandoahs. Time for bed and a short day tomorrow.
Date: 2018-05-13
From: Campsite mile 1007.8

To: Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Last night was cool! It began raining around 10pm but stopped shortly after. Around 4am it began again and this time the heavens opened up and it dumped water on us! I laid there listening to the rain and was so thankful all my gear stayed dry. I watched the woods light up each time lightning struck and it was really peaceful. I only had some wet gear early in the morning once the mist settled and dampened everything around me.At a break in the rain around 6 I began packing up my gear along with the wet tent. By 7 I hit the trail and began singing to myself as the sun began to shine through the clouds. Country roads played and felt so right as I hiked through WV closing in on the Shenandoah river. Eventually though, it began raining again for at least an hour and I got drenched in the thunderstorm.As I neared Harper's ferry I got really excited. I took a picture at Jefferson rocks then took in as much of the history as I could as the trail entered town. At High Street, I walked 0.6 off trail right to the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters) to take my picture and officially register. I wanted to look as dirty and gross as I felt and I think I accomplished that! Number 181 to cross this point! I milled about and bought a few postcards and a buff before speaking with a few interested tourists about the AT. One family had a little boy who was so excited to hear I had seen bears and wanted to do the AT himself someday. Go for it man! They even bought me two snicker bars as they left! Thanks! I finished those right away! Another couple named Reuben and April asked me a bunch about the hike and the culture of the trail. They were awesome folks and gave me some money for my trip even after I refused. Thanks Reuben and April. Hope you found my journal!Afterwards I began the search for a home for the night. As I walked towards a hostel, Speedy drove up in a van with a hostel worker. He was headed to Walmart for a resupply so I jumped in. Perfect timing! Afterwards, we got back and I finally showered-- sorry to the town of Harper's Ferry for having to smell me, then started laundry.Around 4 I went to a bar as Speedy ate at the hostel. I got some chicken ziti and a salad and some congratulatory Bud Light. I grabbed some ice cream on the way back then hung out at the hostel eating my footlong steak and cheese sub from Subway I had gotten while at Walmart. Moving on into Maryland tomorrow and so excited for the next few days. Happy Mother's day to all the mothers reading this and especially to my mom who has done so much to help me get to where I am. I'm pumped I'll be seeing them this week! Love you Mom!P.S: Hi Mrs. Young's! Don't feel bad about Two Clicks and I getting split up! It was going to happen eventually especially when I get off for 4 days or so! I hope we get the chance to meet up again! I texted him today, so pumped for him to hit the 1000 mark and get into Harper's Ferry! Hope you guys had a good visit!
Date: 2018-05-14
To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: fog

Speedy and I were the only ones in the hostel last night. Although it wasn't my favorite place, we both reported sleeping really well. It was a nice cool basement, the kind of temperature I think we're more used to sleeping in.At 6 I started the coffee as Speedy jumped in the shower. I had paid a few extra bucks for breakfast and the woman who runs the Town's Inn cooked me eggs, bacon and toast to wolf down. Eventually I made it out around 7:30. The day started out with 4 miles of walking along a bike path. Completely flat! After that, there was a 1000' climb. I was pretty ready to hike so the climb felt good and I was back at it! The miles passed and eventually I started feeling pains on my toes. What's happened is my feet have swollen up including my toes. They keep rubbing together and causing hot spots and blisters are beginning to form. I imagine it also has something to do with my shoes being worn almost 600 miles so I'll be happy to switch shoes on Thursday. As for the toes, I'm making do with tape and trying to R.I.C.E them again. Hopefully 5 days of non-hiking will help too but I'm considering buying sock liners too.I passed a good amount of section hikers today but only one other thru hiker. The trail through Maryland runs through Civil War historical lands and through the day I learned some interesting things and passed the Washington monument too! My original plan was to either stay in the shelter at Pine Knob or push on and tent on top of the Annapolis Rocks at a campsite. With the sky darkening and the sound of thunder in the distance, I cut the day short and ended at the shelter 23 miles in. I really wanted to push further but boy am I glad I stayed. The storm was rough with rain and lightning and warnings of hail from the National Weather Service. I had a spot under the roof with a few others but no sign of Speedy. According to other hikers it seems as though he may have pushed on to tent. Regardless, I'm dry and warm in the shelter and still on track to meet my parents on Thursday at Pine Grove Furnace State Park where I plan on trying my luck at the half gallon challenge! Wooo!
Date: 2018-05-15
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelter
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Early this morning the rain came again. Lightning and buckets of rain came down as I lay comfortable in the shelter. Until, I realized there was a leak in the roof and I was underneath it. I moved over a few feet and was fine! No big issues, just pretty funny.I got out early and beat some of the heat. I had great views at Annapolis rocks of the post and pre storm that was forecasted to start again around 2. The miles passed and I saw a few bunnies, deer and squirrel. The squirrels and Chipmunks always freak out as I hiked by and wait until the last second to run off freaked out. I saw a deer jump probably 10 feet across the trail without making a sound. It was super cool!I eventually caught up to Speedy who had camped at Annapolis rocks last night. He had gotten some cool photos after the storm last night and said it was intense. We hiked together for a bit before leaf frogging each other. Rocks are getting more prevalent as we near rocksylvania!I passed beautiful streams and some cliffs making me think of the Lord of the Rings that I've been listening to before bed most nights. The weather was around 80 degrees and apparently 75% humidity. I was sweating so much but I carry more water than most and seem to guzzle through that too. Between the sweat and water weight I think I have a chance at gaining weight haha!At 1230 I took a lunch break at Penmar State Park right on the PA/MD border. I was surrounded by two groups of Buddhist groups of some sort. Each group had two monks with robes and the rest of the group consisted of average people who I believe were on some sort of retreat. It was definitely interesting crossing the Mason/Dixon line from Baptist Churches to Buddhist monks walking barefoot down the trail but they were very kind!Crossing into PA felt really good! I hiked another 9 miles or so across really easy terrain to the shelter. As I rolled in, a man sitting there commented on my weight, yes I know. Then he asked, "beer or soda?" I said beer and he kindly grabbed a cold beer from his cooler. He was a local who had hiked a mile from the road and was camping out. Lucky for me, he had packed out beer and that was amazing after a 25 mile day in the heat! I met a few northbound flipfloppers who had started in Harper's Ferry and other section hikers. They were all wicked nice. The shelter was amazing complete with a picnic table pavilion, privy with air fresheners and TP provided and tons of space! The maintainer even stopped by and gave me a soda! What a great night!I soaked my feet and took a hobo bath in the creek then ate a ton. Cheese it's, two brownies, Hershey bar, peanut butter crackers, a mountain house and finished off some of my lunch foods. I chatted with the flip floppers all asking about my experience trying to learn from my mistakes. It was an amazing night!P.S: Hi April! Yeah, I don't believe trail journals allows comments on individual entries but I saw yours! Thanks for following and thanks again for helping me out! Hope you enjoyed Harper's Ferry, it was really nice meeting you and your husband!
Date: 2018-05-22
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Backpacker Campsite near Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Leaving trail for 5 days to attend graduation had been something I tossed around in my head until April. I came to the decision that I would surely regret not going even though I had already graduated. It also allowed me to see my parents and girlfriend for the first time in two months and that was huge. I was lucky enough to get picked up by my parents. We made it to Westfield on Friday where I got to see Abby after a five minute long hug in the parking lot. Then Saturday I walked across the stage with all the friends I had from college. It was a great weekend and to top it off, Abby and I roadtripped back to PA Sunday and had that night and Monday to be together for a little bit. I use the quote similar to that of Piglet from Whinnie The Pooh "lucky I am to have something so hard to say goodbye to" or something like that. Anyway, even though I'm further north, saying goodbye to Abby and my family wasn't easy. Especially when you walk down a path away from the comfort of the car and the sad look on your girlfriend's face as it begins to pour and you are about to hike another month without seeing her. I'm going to push though and finish this up. Big shout-out to my parents, Abby and my sister for helping me get to and from graduation and watching me walk. Love you guys!Like I said, it rained all morning. Pretty much rained until the middle of the afternoon and I started around 10:30. It was a tough departure and start up but eventually I got closer to getting back in the swing of things and began getting used to my new shoes. The trails were rivers and as much as I tried to keep my feet dry, it was impossible. I trudged along.I started seeing deer and bunnies as the rain simmered down. Around 15 miles in, I stopped at a shelter I had originally planned on staying at. It was full of section hikers and flip floppers so I altered course and figured I'd push a bit further with the sun poking out and it being only 3:30. Plus, I wasn't really in a social mood although they were all really nice. I grabbed water at the spring as there was no water at the campsite I planned to stay at then hopped back on trail for another 3.5 miles. No more rain was around so I got the mileage in quick and got to camp by 5. The trail cut through some cornfields so it was a cool change of pace.At camp, I set up and dried out the best I could. Nobody else was here until a couple rolled in around 6:45. They set up camp further away and didn't seem social as they never came over to the picnic table I was at. I ate some Mt House meals my mom had given me and even tried the freeze dried ice cream sandwich! Space food! It was pretty good but not something I'd get often. Then, I hung around at camp taking my mind off things by listening to Lord of the Rings. Weather looks good tomorrow and terrain looks relatively flat. Hopefully I run into some familiar thru hikers and can hike around people I know. Until then, solitude! Except for the trains that keep passing loudly 20 feet from my tent.
Date: 2018-05-23
From: Backpacker Campsite near Boiling Springs, PA

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

Noted: Don't camp near an operating railroadI was up at 6 ready to get back in routine. By 645 I was headed out into the Cumberland Valley. I had roughly 12 miles of flat hiking ahead through farm fields and passing over Interstate 81. The rain yesterday and the crazy rain last week managed to make this "flat" hike nothing easy. Pretty much the whole way there was a consistent coating of mud up to a few inches in spots. It made for an interesting morning. I "played the game," as some hikers put it, for an hour. Rock hopping and dodging the mud gets old, tiring and it's slow so eventually I sucked it up and just walked right through most of it. I found myself singing that song I heard as a kid that goes "mud, mud, I love mud. Im absolutely positively wild about mud..." It makes it really difficult when every time you step off on your foot, it slides backwards making it exhausting. And with that, flat trails seem to hurt my feet more. My new shoes got broken in quickly with the mud but I'm still working on adjusting my feet to them.The farm fields and meadows were a cool change of pace to the mountains but I could just tell they were tick central. I did my best to check every time I could and it worried me more not finding any.Finally after 12 miles or so I climbed up the first "mountain" at the shelter near the top I stopped for a long lunch around 12. I had seen only three other hikers today. All section hikers going south. It's been very desolate. After lunch I checked out the privy named the "Taj Mahal." I'll be honest, I've seen better but it was still pretty nice, and big!The last 7.3 miles were small ups and downs then a ridge walk of small rocks paralleling an oil pipeline before I reached the shelter. Here I saw a thru hiker named Ryan (he doesn't want a trail name) and then another named Swish that rolled in behind me. I hadn't met Swish before but Ryan I knew from the Shenandoahs. We chatted and I caught up on what had been going on recently then I iced my feet, did daily chores and hung out! Headed into Duncannon tomorrow morning for a tiny bit of resupply, to retrieve a pant leg that speedy and I had accidentally swapped and for some breakfast before pushing on past town. Speedy called me last week when I was off trail to let me know that he had my left and I had his left pant leg. We both have pants that zip off to shorts and they are the same color. When we had done laundry in Harper's Ferry, they must have been switched. I ended up mailing his correct one to Jersey where he lives and he will be in a week or so and he left mine at the front desk of the hotel in town for me to pick up so fingers crossed it's there!
Date: 2018-05-25
From: Stealth Campsite mile 1167.7

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 27.1
Weather: broken clouds

Last night a woman named Stonehenge from North Conway, NH rolled in around 8. She asked if she could stealth near my tent and of course I said yes, I have no control over stealth spots. We talked about up north for a bit before we both went to bed.I woke up and got out of camp and it was a nice cool morning that would shape up to be a beautiful day. I finished the climb up to the ridge then hiked 10 miles to the other end. At the bottom of the other side I walked through an old mining settlement called Raush Gap. It was cool to hear the history and think of the 1000+ people that lived along the river at one time. From there I did a small up and down over a hill that had been prescribed to burn recently it seemed. Through some fields, another state park and under I-81 again- this time we crossed to the east side of it. I climbed to another ridge and there I hiked for the remainder of the day with the rocks picking up slightly. I only ran into a few people all day and otherwise it was quiet.I pushed hard all day and got to the 501 shelter at 4:30. Word had been spread on trail that you could order pizza from there so I arrived and met up with two other thru hikers and two flip floppers and we all did one big order. I had a cheese pizza, a Gatorade and a root beer (no caffeine). I finished it all but one slice which I planned to eat for breakfast then hung around this awesome shelter. The caretaker, borderline, lives right next door. It's located right off RT 501 and he has a makeshift shower there and allows us to charge phones on his porch. I took a freezing cold shower that felt amazing. It was a nice end to a long push for today and tomorrow I hope to push 23 miles to Port Clinton, PA where I may tent in the town pavilion where they allow us to stay or may get a room depending on the weather.P.S: I am officially 996 miles from Katahdin! Now I can start counting down from 1000. So pumped!
Date: 2018-05-27
From: Hamburg, PA

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Two clicks and I woke up in the hotel room this morning and hiker hobbled our way to the breakfast they had. After wolfing down our food we packed up and hung around until 8:30 when his Instagram follower, Mr. Regular, picked us up. When he got there, we jumped in the car for the short ride to the trail then started up.Of course the elevation we descended into town had to be made up on our way out so we had a big climb in the morning. Once on the ridge, the rocks kicked in again but we were both happy the rain held off all day.We hiked together for a while until I hiked ahead while he sat down for some food. The rest of the day, we hiked the ridge, saw a few views and passed day hikers on the long weekend. We also had to be weary of rattle snakes as multiple people warned us of them. I didn't see any today but Two Clicks spotted one. At 2pm I hit a road near the Eckville Shelter where Fresh Ground and his Leap Frog Cafe were stationed. He cooked me a bunch of hot dogs and grilled cheese while I snacked and drank Gatorade and soda. I left his setup waddling. He is an awesome guy with an amazing story of overcoming drug addiction and does this for free based on donations he receives. Look him up on Facebook if you're interested!The last 7 miles were tough rocks. I ended up taking a good spill after having focused on my footing for so long. I hit my hip, knee and smacked my head on a rock enough to wake me up for sure. Nothing serious and I'll push on but a wake up call. If I don't leave PA with any injuries at all it would be a miracle.That night I decided to tent at the shelter while Two Clicks joined a few flip floppers and former thru hikers out for a section hike. They were all really nice but I only chatted while eating before jumping in my tent and hanging out for the rest of the night as fog rolled in.