morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Big Meadows campground/Mile 925.9

To: Skyland Resort/Mile 933.4
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: broken clouds

Wally and I were up and packed by 7:30 a.m. on another beautiful day. We headed off for a relatively easy day ¢ just 8 miles to Skyland resort. The trails were somewhat more rocky but generally still excellent. The topography was modest, with an early descent followed by a moderate, two-mile climb. The forest was certainly alive with spring ¢ wildflowers, squirrels and chipmunks, lots of songbirds, but still no bears, and fortunately, no snakes. By noon we were climbing up to Skyland resort where motel rooms awaited. That climb was surprisingly long and somewhat vertical, but on an excellent trail again. After lunch at its restaurant, we were able to check in early. We enjoyed a ¢nero¢ by taking the afternoon off, which included some naps.We finished the day at the restaurant with Atlas ¢ enjoying the sunset and celebrating his 61st birthday. After dinner we were able to listen to a local singer in the lounge play old 70¢s guitar standards.BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Skyland Resort/Mile 933.4

To: Thornton Gap/Mile 943.1
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

Wally and I finished up our excursion together in the Shenandoah by hiking to U.S. 211, where our friend Rob would pick us up and take us to a dinner and overnight stay with other partners at Randolph Square, a patent analytics and litigation finance business in which each of us were involved.   While only 10 miles, the hike included two pretty good ascents and a long, difficult climb down into Thornton Gap. The day was again beautiful, but perhaps a little warm. We did enjoy a morning break at a beautiful picnic spot (Pinnacles) on the Skyline Drive, some great rock outcroppings and other formations during the hike as well as many nice views of the valley. The descent from Mary¢s Rock was steep and rocky at times ¢ so pretty slow going. Even with that we were only ten minutes late for our pickup by Rob, who returned us to Skyland to retrieve our gear and enjoy lunch.We then drove down into the Shenandoah Valley to our B&B destination and had a great time with friends and partners.As planned ¢ I would now be off the trail for a week. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-19
From: Thornton Gap/Mile 943.1

To: Pass Mountain shelter/Mile 944.3
Miles today: 1.2
Weather: light rain

I spent almost every moment home after Brooke¢s graduation dealing with or enjoying a few matters at the Firm, a few matters at Randolph Square, the VSGA Hall of Fame dinner/event, and Apple board and committee meetings. I essentially left all hike related chores for Friday, planning to return to trail on Saturday.When Saturday rolled around it was apparent I was not ready, so I spent the better part of the day organizing and packing. Eventually Cheryl and I made the 2 1/2 hour drive back to the northern Shenandoah. The top of the ridge was in clouds and rain threatened. We said goodbye and I headed off. I only had 2 miles to hike. All went fine. I tented at Pass Mountain shelter with a good group of section and thru hikers, none of whom were known to me previously.It did not feel odd to be back. It was amazing how the undergrowth in the woods and the leaves on the trees had come out so significantly in just the week I was gone. I guess that¢s what 5 days of rain (amazing I was off the trail for this horrendous weather week) and warmth will do. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-20
From: Pass Mountain shelter/Mile 944.3

To: Gravel Springs shelter/Mile 957.4
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

I was last out of camp, which is unusual. I had slept well and had a relatively easy day, so I was in no hurry ¢ and I wanted to time lunch for a stop at the wayside.The day was uneventful ¢ characterized by sunny, warm and humid and the long green tunnel. I was warm and sweaty most of the day but kept hydrated. I caught up to most of the shelter crowd at Elkwallow Wayside where I enjoyed a burger, dog, and blackberry milkshake.I had a hot but uneventful afternoon. Listened some to Great Courses. Many day hikers and short term hikers on the AT. I arrived at shelter around 4:00 and got setup and then tried to cool down. Most from prior night showed up and tented ¢ somewhat challenging sites but otherwise a very good shelter area. I cooked and ate with Easy Pete, Irish Paul, Freebird, Virgil, Badass Betty and a father/son out for the weekend. Also met Little Blue (who had listened to podcast, as had Easy Pete and Irish Paul).Very busy/crowded shelter area tonight. Late arrivals setting up tents in very challenging places.Great conversation around the picnic table ¢ mild night and no real bugs yet. Headed to bed later than usual and did some journaling. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-21
From: Gravel Springs shelter/Mile 957.4

To: Front Royal (US 522)/Mile 970.8
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

I slept well and awoke just before 6:00 am. I had a goal of catching the trolley into Front Royal, which requires reaching U.S. 522 by 2:20. I had 13.4 miles, but thought I could be timely if I left by 7:00, which I did after a quick breakfast of dried mangos and a fig bar.I was first out on a beautiful morning, although the temperature at 7 am suggested it would be a hot day. Hiking was pleasant on good trails and no particularly difficult climbs or descents. Fairly early on we had a great view west as the sun was still fairly low in the east. Overall the trail was easy with a long moderate downhill. The Skyline Drive was present throughout the day ¢ numerous crossings and parking lots as well as road noise nearby. Perhaps related to this omnipresence was numerous day hikers. I had a great conversation during my lunch break with a Buckeye who begins his SOBO hike from Katahdin in two weeks. I saw most of the group from the shelter the previous night while hiking. Geo and Summit caught the trolley with me. Badass Betty, Virgil and Freebird missed the shuttle. (I had to keep up a strong pace the last hour to be on time.) I was welcomed by trail magic at U.S. 522 ¢ where I had done trail magic when I met Rowdy at the trail. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-22
From: Front Royal (US 522)/Mile 970.8

To: Willow Hollow (Dick's Dome shelter)/Mile 986.0
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: scattered clouds

The Quality Inn shuttled Betty and me back to the U.S. 522 trailhead at 8:00 am. The weather was overcast and rain threatened. Betty and I hiked together, which included an early climb through forest with dense underbrush. (Early in the hike we passed along a fence which apparently houses a U.S. Government operation where scientists work to prevent various animal species from becoming extinct.) in the middle of the climb it began to rain fairly hard. There was nothing to do but throw on rain jackets and pack covers, put your head down and press on. Fortunately the rain stopped after an hour about which time Freebird caught up with us. (He hiked the rest of the day with us.)The middle part of the day was relatively easy and the sun tried to burn through, however, the trail often was extremely muddy from the prior week¢s excessive rain. We concluded the morning¢s hike with a modest climb up to a field with a bench where we stopped for lunch. Tallboy came by then, otherwise we only saw a couple of weekend hikers all day.The sun peaked out at lunch and a few times in the afternoon. There were few points of interest (we passed under I-66) but we had good conversation most of the day. Thunderstorms were forecast for mid to late afternoon. We targeted arrival at the shelter around 5:00 and set pace to hopefully be in camp before any thunder/lightening. We heard rumblings but rain, etc. never came although we made it to the (brand new) shelter right at 5:00.Freebird and I setup our tents and then joined Tallboy, Betty and three section hikers at the shelter for dinner. I spoke with Cheryl briefly and went to bed. Brief rain was forecasted (but never materialized). BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-23
From: Willow Hollow (Dick's Dome shelter)/Mile 986.0

To: Bears Den Hostel/Mile 1004.3
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

Freebird, Betty and I decided to hike together and try to do 18 miles and finish at Bears Den hostel. We knew it would be a long day, so we started at 7:00 am.We handled the first 8 miles fairly well. We took lunch break just before the start of the ¢Roller Coaster.¢ The discussion at the shelter the night before was ¢ ¢the Roller Coaster isn¢t as bad as its reputation.¢ That was good to hear. The Roller Coaster is a 13.5 mile long series of continuous ups and downs ¢ some will say more mental than physical because each descent rolls right into another ascent.It only took two ¢hills¢ for me to conclude that we had received bad intel. The first two PUDS (¢pointless ups and downs¢) were more akin to mountain climbs in Georgia. They were significant elevation gains and quite vertical both climbing and descending. Stated simply, they kicked my ass ¢ and we were far from finished. Next was another ascent, which looked vertical on Guthook, but proved to be reasonable and included a nice view where we took photos with a father and son who had been at shelter with us the previous night. And, on the descent we celebrated Mile 1,000. Unfortunately this more ¢pleasant¢ climb did not repeat and we continued to ¢roll¢ through the PUDS.Finally we were approaching the shelter, which is 2.5 miles before the hostel. Betty wondered if she should stop there. Before reaching it however there was a very steep climb and equally steep descent ¢ I was tired and fed up with the steepness of the hill and the incessant rocks. For what I think was the first time during the hike, I questioned whether I was having fun and wanted to go on.Freebird and Betty likewise were beat. We took a short break. Now we had under 2 miles to go, but most was a tough climb up to the hostel. We put our legs in overdrive and made our way up to the hostel. Tired and grateful to be there, even though it was 8:00 pm, we checked in, had showers, pizza and ice cream, and headed to bed. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-24
From: Bears Den Hostel/Mile 1004.3

To: Harper's Ferry/Mile 1023.9
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

I had an interview with Mighty Blue and then Betty and I started at 7:00 am. We had a long, 20-mile day planned, all the way into Harper¢s Ferry. We headed down from Bears Den. Shortly thereafter we had to dodge rush hour traffic crossing Route 7/Leesburg Turnpike (Snickers Gap).We still had about 3 miles of the Roller Coaster to complete. We took it slow and steady and fortunately the last three or four PUDS of the Roller Coaster were reasonable. The trail was then easy and pleasant down to Wilson Gap, where we had lunch, and the Blackburn Center. (I prepared a trail report for Laurie Potteiger for Wilson Creek to Loudon Heights, the portion of the trail she and her husband maintain.) Although the took graphs continued to be gentle around Buzzard Rocks we had some very challenging rock fields and rock scrambles.At the David Lesser shelter trail we got on a roadbed we followed for most of the way down to WV # 9. We crossed a fairly busy road and then had a fairly easy (interrupted by some rock fields) descent towards Harper¢s Ferry. With a couple of miles to go the descent became steep, but the trail was switch-backed reasonably.We finally got on the bridge and crossed a muddy, violent Shenandoah River. The motel was close to the trail at the end of the bridge. We finally arrived around 7:45 pm. A long, but successful day. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-25
From: Harper's Ferry/Mile 1023.9

To: Harper's Ferry/Mile 1023.9
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I took a Zero day in Harper¢s Ferry. Betty and I visited the ATC early. I had my photo taken. Betty walked back to motel. I visited outfitter in historic town. I had a beer with Easy Pete and then met ATC (Dave, Chris and Laurie) for lunch. I had a quiet afternoon, dinner with Laurie and her husband and returned to motel to call Cheryl and pack.I¢m a little anxious about heading out ¢ not looking forward to heat, bugs, or PA rocks. I need some attitude adjustment. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-26
From: Harper's Ferry/Mile 1023.9

To: Dahlgren Backpack Campground/Mile 1042.0
Miles today: 18.1

I left Harper¢s Ferry around 7:00. Betty got up to say goodbye. Easy Pete was up and we said we¢d meet up the trail.Mentally I was not in a great frame of mind - my pack was heavy with four days of food and two liters of water (because there were no sources for first ten miles) and I was dreading the heat and the PA rocks.Thankfully I had a pleasant walk back down to the historic town and then crossed the footbridge across the Potomac. Despite my fear of the heat, the 3-mile walk down the C&O Canal towpath was also pleasant. I was the lone hiker but a few runners and bicyclists came by from both directions.I climbed up to Weaverton Cliffs fairly easily and took a break to enjoy the view and to do an interview with Mighty Blue. There was some climb left and then the trail flattened out considerably. While rocks showed up from time to time generally it was good, wide, earthen foot tread.I descended some into Gathland State Park where I got water and enjoyed a deli sandwich for lunch which I had packed out. There were many weekend hikers in the park and I continued to see many (well over a hundred) weekend backpackers. In fact, only very late in the day did I see a thru-hiker (who passed me during a water break).I stopped briefly to take in the White Rock Cliff view. I spoke with a number of southbound weekend hikers, including Backpacker Dad (who immediately recognized me as RTK from the podcast), a former thru-hiker and three families with him, a W&M grad, and others. Although the Crawford family was just a mile ahead of me I never saw them ¢ again.Rain/thunder threatened and a pressed on to the planned stop for the day. I got to Dahlgren a little after 4:00, setup camp, spoke with the scoutmaster who had a group there, showered and headed to Old South Mountain (0.1 W of campground) for a 4-star dinner.It was certainly odd leaving a fine dining experience to sleep in my tent. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-27
From: Dahlgren Backpack Campground/Mile 1042.0

To: Raven Rock shelter/Mile 1060.8
Miles today: 18.8

Today might be called a day of smelling the roses. I had said that after Harper¢s Ferry I wanted to be a bit more spontaneous and less tied to a schedule. Today seemed to be that kind of day.I got going later than I wanted. It was a humid morning. (The night before was uncomfortably warm. I really only got to sleep well after midnight when the rain seemed to drop the temperature by about 10 degrees.) After a fairly easy two miles I reached a state park with the original Washington Monument. Although I was early, a very large group of young girls were up and active at their tent site. I took my time visiting the monument and watched the fog clear for the view from the top of the monument and ate some breakfast.After descending the trail was pleasant. I ran into a ridgerunner and stopped to talk. I then crossed over a loud I-70 followed by a pretty good climb up towards the Pine Knob shelter and Annapolis Rocks ¢ a very popular and therefore wide/worn trail. I ran into a PATC trail maintenance volunteer doing some work and then another ridge runner, and spent some time speaking with each of them.The trail was crowded with weekend and day hikers (Memorial Day Sunday). I ran into and spoke with a couple of Boy Scout leaders and many day hikers (including two similar aged couples who were very  interested in the hike and very encouraging as well as three ladies from Annapolis, who fed me lunch at Black Rock Cliffs).Although I didn¢t make good time in the morning because of my leisurely pace, the afternoon trail was easy and I was able to make good time. (The trail in Maryland generally is three times as wide as most trails south of Harper¢s Ferry.) In a sense, my day of smelling roses was rewarded ¢ I still stayed ¢on schedule¢ to arrive at my planned destination timely.Finally, I had a very tough climb up to shelter, but there were some familiar faces (Irish Paul, Phin, Loner Bohner) and good tenting spaces. I had copious leftovers (chicken salad, salami, Manchego, rolls) from lunch (the ladies had insisted I take) for dinner. Fortunately, it was cooler and I slept well.BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-28
From: Raven Rock shelter/Mile 1060.8

To: Trail of Hope Hostel/Mile 1083.6
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: light rain

Bear!While taking down my tent around 6:30 I looked up to see a 400 pound bear lumbering over to me. It was 20 yards away so I yelled ¢hey there!¢ The bear looked up, saw me and turned around. Since I was taking down my tent I didn¢t have my phone/camera handy.I headed out around 7:15. After an hour or so I ran into Loner and we worked through a very difficult stretch of rocks, including a steep descent through the same jumble of rocks. This is Loner¢s 4th AT thru-hike. He did tell me that nothing in PA was any harder than this section of rocks. Then we had a very smooth and level path into Pen-Mar Park, which was quiet for Memorial Day (probably due to 9:00 hour). I had an early lunch of chicken salad, cheese and salami (still enjoying leftovers) and visited with Irish, Phin, and Mojave.Like yesterday, I noted that this is certainly not a wilderness hike as we go through Maryland or now Pennsylvania. We cross many roads, often hear road noise and have already passed through four or five public parks/picnic areas. I don¢t view this omnipresence or these encounters with civilization as negative, just different.The day was cloudy and threatening, but we had little other than some mist and drizzle. The next run all the way to Trumbling Run shelter and Old Forge Picnic Ground went quickly on a very nice, easily descending trail. I took a break and had a second lunch, resupplied water, and called Cheryl from Old Forge, which was very quiet considering it was Memorial Day.The toughest climb of the day was next. Remarkably! I was ahead of schedule and now knew that my planned 20-mile day would be fine even with the fairly long ascent, which I handled without incident, but not without a lot of sweat and a water break midway ¢ where Irish and Phin caught me. They convinced me to go farther and have dinner at Timbers (also highly recommended by the ridgerunner) and stay at Trail of Hope hostel (which had great reviews on Guthook).Sadly because it was Memorial Day Monday, Timbers had closed early. Irish rode a bike in the dark to a convenience store to get some pizza and drinks. Tom (retired NYC firefighter and section hiker), Phin, Irish and I stayed up unusually late enjoying each other¢s company. BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...
Date: 2018-05-29
From: Trail of Hope Hostel/Mile 1083.6

To: Toms Run shelter/Mile 1099.8
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

Snake!We missed dinner at The Timbers because they closed early for Memorial Day, so we were looking forward to a big breakfast ¢ but it was not open, even though we were there at 7:45 minutes and the sign said:  ¢Open Everyday ¢ 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.¢So I went back to the Trail and started hiking north. Almost immediately I came to another state park with picnic areas and swimming, etc. Then a decent climb up to Quarry Gap shelter, which was among the nicest I¢ve seen, included a porch swing. I took a break and visited with Mojave, a section hiker, and a father and son as they also stopped. Then for five miles I walked generally on a ridge with no views, thick undergrowth and generally pleasant trails. I saw a very small Garter snake in the middle of the path. Then, I stopped at the PATC cabin to get water and filtered with a large high school group from Ohio.I had another snack 2.5 miles later at the Birch Run shelter and then pressed on for the last six miles. (I had originally planned to stop at Birch Run, but the terrain had been relatively easy and I would have finished for the day at 2:00 p.m.) I reached the halfway point, but no signage for 2018. I also walked through a large reforestation project that involved a controlled burn.Towards the end of the day, with the trail similar in design/quality (narrow path through young forest with thick undergrowth close to edges of the Trail), I ran into a black snake in the middle of the path. I chased it away and continued on. After a fairly steep descent, I reached the shelter area, which, like most shelters in PA was exceptional.There ended up being 4 thru-hikers (Trudge, Rockett Chip Cookie and and African-American I did not know) and three section hikers (father/pastor & son and a younger woman whose husband hiked out and left here after dinner). We visited during dinner and then hit the hay at hiker midnight.And, the Crawfords came by, but hiked on even though it was after 6:00.BHMHow to follow RTK:Blog:  http://www.rtkchallenge.com/bl...YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channe...Podcast:  http://returningtokatahdin.lib...Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/rtk_...Please consider joining the "RTK AT Challenge":  https://fundraise.appalachiant...