morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-21
From: Hampton, TN

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 458.9
Weather: moderate rain

Ms. Kitty checking in from Damascus VA! This new trail name seems to have stuck, so I guess I'll start being more consistent with using it! I hiked a 26 mile day in order to get into town last night. I'm so excited to be here and although I never intended to spend any length of time here...it would seem that I might take a zero day here today! I am staying at The Place, a Methodist church that opens it's doors to hikers. It's a really nice hostel and I was so excited to see Tubbs and BubaLuga here too. I thougth that they were all days ahead of me but it turns out that Buba had the stomach virus too. Goldberry and Lemming both came in this morning. It's so nice to see Goldberry again, as it has been a few weeks since I last saw her! She was able to fill be in on many of the others that we started the trail with. I miss everyone so much and am glad to hear that everyone is doing so well!Anyway, I had dinner last night at Sicily's Italian restaurant. I met Cadence, Red, Blue and Tubbs there and enjoyed some pizza...my biggest trail craving! I also sat on the front porch of a bed and breakfast for a few hours, chatting with some older women who wanted to know all about the trail! This town is very hiker friendly and the people are genuinely helpful and interesting. I definitely want to come back here mid-May for Trail Days!I hiked for the past few days with the White Brothers (Gimme and I'm Hungry). Thanks to them for looking out for me!! It's raining pretty hard today so I'd imagine that many other hikers will be filtering into town. I definitely plan to hit the trail again tomorrow, but I'm enjoying some down time for now. Still want to catch up with my hiking buddies, Magnolia and F8. Just not the same without them!
Date: 2003-05-16
From: Damascus, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 410.0
Weather: light rain

It has been a really long time since I've updated my trail journal and I'm not sure of where to start!So, I'll start by giving a huge thank you to the kind people of Virginia who make their trails enjoyable to hike on! Hiking through Virginia is nice because: 1. The trails have a nice grade to them so going uphill does not mean that I must immediately climb up and down each side of the mountain (not the case in Tennessee) 2. The weather has been more mild (not the case in North Carolina) and 3. I have actually seen many amazing views from on top of the high mountains we climb (not the case in Georgia!) Yay for being in Virgina!!!Within the past three weeks, I have been lucky enough to have seen many family members and friends from home. Mom, Tom, and Vee came out for a few days and fully pampered me with good company, amazing food, and even a pair of cotton flannel pj's to wear to bed! Yay for family...you all are amazing and I loved my time with you! I have also seen Marcie and Rich who were kind enough to endure my hiker funk for the weekend. It is always so hard to say good-bye at the end of a great visit...! I love you guys!In addition to all of this great stuff, I have also been the recipient of some amazing trail magic! Thanks especially to Tom, Carl, and Dan for taking Orb and I to The Homeplace Restaraunt. In order to understand the impact of this gesture, I should tell you that Orb and I were hiking 25 mile days in order to get to this AYCE restaurant before it closed on Sunday night at 6. We weren't going to make it, even after our heroic hiking efforts....so these three men became our trail heros! Thanks guys! In another act of trail magic, the New Hope Church of Bland, VA cooked an awesome AYCE breakfast for 23 hungry hikers one morning! This church doesn't even have running water so you can imagine how great of an effort this was!! And...just yesterday two section hikers from Yale camped on cliff with us and hooked us up with Sweedish Fish!! You guys ROCK!Orb and I have been hiking together for a few weeks now, and have recently hooked up with Goldberry and Lucky. The four of us are having a blast and we've even managed to convert Goldberry to a new hiker---here out known as Goldberry X...the hiker who is now lazy enough to do lower miles with us!! Since this time, we've swam in snake-infested streams (one of my favorite days yet!), eaten a 6lb pineapple, camped on top of windy cliffs (and seen one of the best sunsets on the trail!), and hiked over "The Priest" (why is it called that????). So, I'm in Waynesboro, VA which means that I'll be starting the Shenandoah Mountains very soon. Before that can happen though, I'll be heading back to Damascus this weekend for Trail Days. And yes, I'll show up in style (a rented Dodge Neon--hot stuff!) with Goldberry and Orb. Can't wait to see old friends (Sarah and Andy!!!!) and meet new ones at the same time. I'm having the time of my life and could not be happier! Thanks to all of you who helped make that happen!!!
Date: 2003-05-28
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 150.0

Made it to one of our biggest markers yet on the trail---Harper's Ferry, WV!! This is best known as the "psychological half-walf point" on the trail. All of us were immensly excited to arrive in Harper's Ferry. Just as the rest of you on the East Coast, we've been nailed with crazy rain storms and down pours for almost 3 weeks now. This has been somewhat hard on the morale... We've been hiking for days with no good views and the trail has been completely flooded and muddy. But, being dirty is fun and we've had some adventures dispite this discouraging weater.The Shenandoahs:I was very excited to be enterring this park because it was talked up as being "easy" and "gorgeous." I've hiked in this park before and was really excited to see the views, this time as a thru-hiker. Our first day in the park was awesome. We had great weather and I was happy to be back on the trail after 3 full zero-days for Trail Days. Orb, Goldberry, Stringbean and myself hiked 20 miles in to the park and enjoyed 3 hours off at an overlook and soaked in the sun. Tang and her Dad surprised us with Trail Magic of soda and killer brownies...yummm! This was to be our best day yet because after this day, we had only rain and NO VIEWS. We began to see the Shenandoahs as a dark hole that we might never hike out of!!The four of us did attempt a night hike; on of our better trail stories. We got up at 2 am and hit the trail by 2:45. No rain and it was even a warm night! We were hoping for a great sunrise, but the clouds moved in and it started to rain just as the sun rose. We thought we might find a pavillion to sleep under, but all we found was a nice, warm women's rest room. Needless to say, it was a great 5 hours of sleep! (again...my standards are pretty low these days)So, we did finally get out of the Shenandoahs, before the Memorial Day crowds came. All of us enjoyed a famous blackberry milkshake and a nights' stay in Skyland Cabins (begging does get you a good deal...). I was even treated with a much-needed visit from my Mom and Tom who pampered us all in Front Royal. Always so great to have support and love from the family!Harper's Ferry:How do I feel now that I've hit the "mid-way" point?? I had thought that I might feel sad at hitting 1000 miles in my journey. On the other hand, I had thought I might possibly feel slightly relieved. But surprisingly, neither. It's a wonderful mile-marker but at this point in my journey, the miles are less and less important. I have found what I came out to find. I love my hiking buddies and am very content with the pace of the journey. Loving life...!
Date: 2003-06-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.0

Updating my trail journal from my mom's house (Hagerstown, MD). Orb, Goldberry, Lucky and myself arrived here a few days ago and were treated to the luxeries of a real house again! Nice to get out of the rain for a while and clean up our equipment and ourselves! I took the next two days off to return to the University of Delaware to see my friends on their graduation weekend. It was wonderful to see so many friends and share in their exciting occassion. Congrats to those of you who have graduated...glad I could be there with you!I slack-packed today but am still at home for the night. I'm looking forward to returning to the trail after a draining couple of zero-days. Unfortunately, I'm at a low point right now but I'm hoping that catching my wonderful friends on the trail will help me rebound. I've decided that it will be necessary for me to detach from the drama that exists in the "real world" in order to fully appreciate the second half of my journey. It's really become mentally draining for me to stay involved with much of what is happening off of the trail. I would rather learn my life lessons on the trail than in the harsh "real world."So, tomorrow I will return to the trail to once again immerse myself in the trail and all that is right with the world. Can't wait to find Orb, Goldberry, Lucky, Stringbean, Tang, Wicked, LadyWalksAlot, and Magnolia! The second half of my journey begins again for me tomorrow!
Date: 2003-06-02
From: Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Blue Ridge Summit
Miles today: 0.0

Amazing how quickly things can turn around when you're on the trail. Mom and Tom dropped me back on the trail around 9 a.m. and after only 5 miles, I was able to find Stringbean, Goldberry, Orb, and Tang at Pen-Mar Park. I cannot tell you how happy I was to see their wonderful faces! As quickly as some people can bring me down, others bring you right back up just as fast. I am so thankful for their friendship. We managed to spend 6 hours at the park enjoying our first full day of sun after a counted 29 days of rain. We passed the time drinking soda, eating free ice- cream, and working on our tans.Goldberry and I headed out around 5 and only made it 1-2 miles into PA before deciding to hitch into Blue Ridge Summit for dinner. It was a hard hitch but eventually Kip stopped for us and brought us to a diner. He even picked us back up an hour later to bring us back to the trail. Random acts of kindness are so appreciated...!So Goldberry and I once again pushed on, this time in the dark with headlamps. We gossiped, giggled, and even managed to accidently share personal stories with an entire shelter full of hikers! We ended the day 6 miles later at 10:15 and stealth camped on a baseball diamond. Great night... I got to first base with both Goldberry and Stringbean! Ha!
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Blue Ridge Summit

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Yup... back to rain again today! Sometimes I feel as though I never left Georgia (cold, rainy, no views). It has poured all day and we are completely drenched to the bone. Even my sleeping bag got wet.Not much else to say about today. I have a persistent and painful shin splint that is slowing me down somewhat. The deep mud in the trail also causes the pace to be a bit slower.I hiked alone for a bit this morning but was happy to find Goldberry and Orb in the afternoon. Always better to have hiking buddies when the weather is like this. We passed the time making up stories... we're not still in the AAT, toilet bowl of Shennandoah are we?Got to the shelters at 4:30. There are 2 shelters here, both built by the CCC in the 1930's. We're all crammed in trying to stay warm, wishing that the brand new, third shelter that sits between these two was finished. Glad to be out of the rain but still very cold!
Date: 2003-06-03
To: Pine Grove Furnace
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It poured ALL night! There is very little worse than having to get out of a warm, dry sleeping bag only to put on clothes that are still soaking wet from the day before! The rain stopped long enough for us to clean up our shelter and hike in to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. A pleasant hike and Goldberry and I made great time!So, this destination marks the "official half-way point". It is also the location where thru-hikers attempt the 1/2 gallon ice-cream challenge. Orb, Lucky, Stringbean, Cosmo, and Lady Walks Alot all finished theirs. Goldberry and I didn't even try... in fact, we couldn't even finish a 1/2 gallon between the two of us. Needless to say, we were all very chilled as we were cold and wet from the rain and ice-cream. So Goldberry, Orb, and I hung out at the store for a few hours and then pushed on a few mies more to a shelter. The 3 of us had an enormous shelter all to ourselves. Goldberry started reading The Hobbit to us. We fell asleep to the sounds of a thunderstorm and a huge downpour of rain. Glad to be in a shelter. Another great day on the trail!
Date: 2003-06-05
From: Pine Grove Furnace

To: Carlisle, PA
Miles today: 0.0

The immense amount of rain has been tough on the morale, but mornings such as these are great reminders of how wonderful the outdoors can be! The 3 of us cruised into Boiling Springs, PA before noon. Thus far, PA terrain has been flat. In fact, we've hiked through a few miles of farm fields and crossed way too many roads. Not my favorite part of the trail, but it's all part of the AT experience.A large group of us hung out in Boiling Springs for several hours and enjoyed the sun until clouds moved in once again. Goldberry, Orb, and I finished out our 20- mile day by going into Carlisle, PA to sleep, shower, and do laundry. Unfortunately, the shelters in this stretch of trail are very far apart and there is a no-camping rule between them. So this town visit broke up a big stretch of mileage and gave us a much- needed night to recover from the rain.
Date: 2003-06-11
From: Carlisle, PA

To: Port Clinton PA
Miles today: 134.0
Weather: moderate rain

"Busted a 24" mile day yesterday in order to make it into to Port Clinton. We've had two great days of weather and we've fully enjoyed them by lounging as much as possible between miles. Finally, we've dried out a bit!We got into town around 8 and trail angel Fred took us into Hamburg for ice cream. Goldberry, Orb, Magnolia, Trail Name Pending, I spent the night at the town pavillion. Great place for a free nights' stay, but it is right next to the road and made for a long night of noisy sleep. So, here we are at the outfitters...wasting time and procrastinating. It's raining again and although our original plan was to head out again, we are having trouble finding the incentive as more and more of our fellow hikers are pouring into town. A zero day here wouldn't be so bad...!Hoping to make some more big miles this next few days because the terrain has been pretty flat. The ridges are nice to hike on, though the rocks have gotten pretty bad. I'm really looking forward to finding a new pair of shoes as my feet would be much happier.Having lots of fun and enjoying the time spent on the trail. We've been tenting as much as possible to avoid the crowded and noisy shelters. Hope to be at the Delaware Water Gap by Sunday where I will be looking forward to seeing my Grandmother, Mom and Tom. One more week in PA...!Shout out to Earl's nephew Keith and Better Day for reading my journal. I'll try and keep it interesting for you both!
Date: 2003-06-12
From: Port Clinton PA

To: Blue Mountain Summit
Miles today: 0.0

Today started off normal enough...drizzly rain but actually hot too! I hit the trail early and hiked alone for several hours until finally meeting Leapfrog (I've been reading register entries from him for many many days). We hiked for awhile and I found his past adventures of hiking on Rainier, etc. to be most interesting. Nice to have some hiking company!I stopped for lunch at a lookout (I actually even saw a view today!) and there I met up with Earl. He and I hiked 5 miles to the shelter and along the way, Earl pointed out various plants, trees, and flowers for me to learn to identify. I had hoped to gain some of this knowledge along the way...too bad my memory isn't so hot because I'll never remember everything that Earl taught me!Eventually, Goldberry, Orb, and I pushed on from the shelter and decided to camp behind the Blue Mountain Summitt B&B. Here, we set up our tents, cooked dinner, and started some more of The Hobbit as thunder clouds once again rolled in. As we scrambled to clean up our campsite and stash stuff in our tents, our trail angel emerged. I had met Danielle while getting water from the restaurant and she came over to our campsite to graciously offer to take us to her home where she gave us a hot shower, warm bed, and ice cream too. What an amazing person...truly an angel!Another great day on the trail. Goldberry's new saying and our words to live by on the trail: "Gotta be fun to have fun....YAY" After all, what else matters!!????
Date: 2003-06-16
From: Blue Mountain Summit

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This is my last entry from PA! I have to admit, I'm pretty excited to be getting out of this state. It's treated us well in many respects (thanks to trail angels!) but the rocks leave little to be desired. I've fallen more times than can be counted and have found myself crawling over these boulder fields at an amazingly slow and agonizing pace. So, farewell to PA and to the sharp, pointy, slimy rocks!I'm taking two full zero days with my Grandmother, mom, and Tom here at the Delaware Water Gap. I'm being pampered and well-fed. Funny how wonderful the little things are and how much more I appreciate them once I don't have them regularly. Who would've thought that a hot shower could be sooo wonderful?? I don't think I've ever smelled quite so bad before in my life. In a small way, it's kinda gratifying!!Summer seems to have finally hit the area. We've actually even had a couple of nice, warm days for hiking. I'm absolutely loving it! The days are much more enjoyable as I am able to take big breaks between miles, listen to Goldberry read The Hobbit to me, and see the many views that the lookouts offer. We've been putting in some big mile days, but really only because it feels good to do so. Orb, Goldberry, and I have spent most of our nights in our tents, enjoying the occassional thunderstorms, but also the full moon (and even stars have been visible!! Yay for no clouds!!).My hike is going great. I'm now on my fourth pair of shoes and I'm praying that this pair will make my feet feel better than they have for the past week. I've seen a copperhead, deer, chipmunks, owls...but still no rattlesnake (I look really hard to find one). I've been bitten my 100,000+ mosquitoes, an equal number of no-see-ums, 4 deer ticks, and 3 black flies. Hopefully, I won't have to add too much more to this list before I'm done! Getting ready to hit NJ and NY. Excited to me moving into New England!
Date: 2003-06-21
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Not sure where to start because so much has happened, both good and bad. I had a great time visiting family, including an amazing dinner and visit with Craig, Andy, and Vee. I met up Wednesday morning with Goldberry and Orb at the hostel in Delaware Water Gap and despite the impending rain storm...we pushed out a few miles and set up our tents that night. It never did rain on us, just stayed cloudy all day. Pretty much the same story for the following day...nothing too special to report.Unfortunately, we woke up yesterday morning to downpouring rain. Starting to get redundant and depressing. We trudged all day thru mud, rain, cow manure. Not the best day, in fact, one of my worst. I wouldn't even mind the rain if it would be warm. We're missing all the views and are spirits are somewhat low. "Junuary" needs to go away so that summer can roll in!Ok, so that was the bad part of yesterday. The good part was the ending. We hiked to a "secret shelter" that was constructed by Tom Murray for thru-hikers only. This four-sided shelter even had a dryer and a door! This was amazing trail magic and truly made our day better. We were so miserable and cold earlier but the shelter made for a great ending to the day.Today, was a repeat of yesterday. We hiked thru torrential downpours and thunderstorms all morning. We did stop for a few hours in Unionville where I picked up my drop box and mail (thanx Jen and Kyle!! You guys rock---you're thoughtfulness means soooo much!). We pushed on once again, this time with a very heavy pack. In fact, I'm not sure that my pack has been this heavy since I first started. I make for a poor hiker, I guess, because I'm actually picking up more gear instead of ditching it. I'm hiking once again with my baking set...which I think I might get rid of again. My pack is so heavy...so heavy in fact, that I had what felt like an asthma attack when I walked up a fairly short hill. This really scared me and I had to stop hiking for a bit in order to regain my breath. We also hit our first batch of mosquitoes today. Maybe the silver lining behind all of this rain is that we've avoided these little monsters for so long. I think that the bugs may even rivel the bugs that I once faced in the Everglades...they are that bad!But once again, the day has ended well. We decided to hitch into Vernon, NJ and stay tonight at the church hiker hostel. This place rocks! We got to have hot showers (with soap too!), do laundry, and dry out! I feel so lucky and happy to be here. I think that I really needed to get off the trail after all of this continous rain. It's taking a toll on my spirits. I'm so thrilled to have hiking buddies because they keep me going on these low days. Oh, and more good news...the forecast predicts sun next week! I may attend church tomorrow and pray for better weather!p.s. Today is National Hike Naked Day---no, I did not participate, because of fear of hypothermia (yes, its June)p.p.s. Today is my 100th day on the trail...according to Skeemer
Date: 2003-06-22
From: Vernon, NJ

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

If I had a million dollars....I'd build an ark (like Noah's) and I'd pick up all the soggy, wet thru-hikers that I could find, and then I'd sail my ark up to Mt. Katadin where the sun will be shining!And my ark will have a giant roof over it so that no rain will hit my fellow hikers. There will be really strong mosquito netting around the ark as well so that the little monsters can't eat us for dinner. Everyone on board would be issued his/her own pair of flannel pajamas (and a pair of cotton socks too!) and I'll only serve Ben and Jerry's ice cream at every meal. I'll make sure that there are no crazy animals (like Goldberry and Broberry's animals from the Giant Cat Project) so that no other hiker will have experience the pleasures of animal droppings on his/her gear first thing in the morning. Ahhh, trail life!....If only I had a million dollars.Taking an unexpected zero-day today. As you might guess, it's raining once again. We had lots of fun here at the hostel last night. Goldberry, Orb, Snail, Sally, Hmmm, and Skeemer all stayed here too. Great company! We went to breakfast this morning and although we had hoped that the weather might clear up, it would appear that we'll have to wait at least one more day. But we're holding out hope for that sun and heat that June usually brings. After all, there is still 9 days of June left...still time for good weather right?? Fingers are crossed!