morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-10
From: Boiling Springs PA

To: Deer Run Campground
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

Despite falling asleep around 9ish last night, we slept until 7:45 this morning. Breakfast at Gelina's was great and the owner, Kitty, kept us entertained with stories during and after breakfast. It was after 10 when we left the B&B, and as we left, we discovered our first mishap: the bottom third of one of my hiking poles was missing. I hadn't used them yesterday because the terrain was so level, so we'd attached them to the back of my pack. Unfortunately, the clasp that holds the 3rd section in place had come loose. We went to the ATC office in Boiling Springs on the off-chance that someone might have picked it up and turned it in or that there might be a pole in the swap box that I could use. As luck would have it, they had a pole someone had left and the good people at the ATC suggested I use it and leave it in Harpers Ferry for them to pick up when they go there at the end of the month.So we didn't get under way until 10:20. The first mile or so were through corn fields (not yet plowed) and hay fields (grass about 3 inches long now). The air was fresh and cool, but the sun warm. When we made it to the woods at the south end of the fields, we were greeted with our first sustained hill, which slowed us down and drenched my shirt (with sweat). We stopped for lunch at a remote campsite, and took short naps after our tuna and cheese sandwiches. Yum.We got to Deer Run Campground about 5, had Gatorade and ice cream at the camp store and then set up camp. The campground entrance is 4 tenths of a mile off the trail, but the roads to it and in it loop back in the direction of the trail. We ended up camping a couple hundred yards from the trail as we discovered Friday morning when we took the short trail from our campsite south to the AT. Nice campground. Dinner was great - by hiker standards - beef stroganoff and bread. We both had nice showers after dinner and crawled into the tent around 9. We journaled and read for a while and drifted off to sleep.We passed only two other people on the trail today - day hikers, so we pretty much have the place to ourselves. We saw very little wild life. Laura saw a big buck, and I heard turkeys. All in all, it was a beautiful spring day and walk in the woods of PA.
Date: 2014-04-11
From: Deer Run Campground

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: broken clouds

We awoke this morning at 8:45 and didn't really get moving until after 9. So, we're not proud to say, we didn't hit the trail this morning until after 11. We took the short cut back to the AT from our campsite and retraced a few tenths of a mile of the AT that we did yesterday afternoon. Lunch was sandwiches at the Green Mountain Federal Merchandise on route 34 where we stocked up on oatmeal, eggs, bread and a few other items. We ate our sandwiches under threatening skies, so Laura was eager to get going again to try to outrun the rain. As we got underway, we came across a cooler a hundred yards up the trail. Trail Magic! But . . . we were not the first to find it and all that remained were a couple empty beer bottles. Darn. It started to sprinkle around 3, and the sprinkle turned to showers, so we got to try out our rain gear. Temperatures were in the 50s, and the rain wasn't hard enough to merit putting on the rain pants. I had to open all the vents on my rain jacket to prevent getting soaked from within. As we walked, I serenaded Laura with all the 70s songs I could think of including Jeremiah was a Bullfrog and Sweet Baby James. Helped the soggy trail miles go a little faster.We were going to tent it again, but The Ironmasters Mansion at Pine Grove Furnace State Park was turned into a Hostel a few years ago, so we decided to tough it out in the bunks of the hostel. Good choice. It really started pouring once we were safely inside. This place is really cool. Built in 1829 by the Ironmaster (the guy who ran the ironworks, mining and everything else associated with cold blast furnace iron making.) Lots of good history here. For $65 we each get a bunk, shower, little pizza, sodas, ice cream, laundry . . . And, since Laura is the only female here tonight, I get to sleep in the girl's bunk room!
Date: 2014-04-12
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Campsite near Milesburn Cabin
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

The Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel is a really cool place. Restored a few years ago, it is filled with the history of early iron making in this country. And the mattresses in the dormitories are really comfortable. I'm so glad I got to sleep in the women's dorm because one or both of the guys in the men's dorm room snored incredibly loud and long. I was not able to update the journal yesterday as we were out of cell range at our campsite near Milesburn cabin. We put in a solid 11.5 miles yesterday. We passed the halfway point (pictured) and the real halfway point for 2014 a mile or so later. Neither were the halfway point for us. We also took a really long, almost 2 hour lunch that included a cat nap.
Date: 2014-04-13
From: Campsite near Milesburn Cabin

To: Caledonia State Park / Fayetteville, PA
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

We did a pretty easy 7 miles today (mostly ridge walking at about 2000 feet) but were frustrated by the fact that we had to hike another 1.5 miles from where the AT enters Caledonia State Park to the campground. It was also really hot today, and I got sunburned. We were kinda grouchy. Once we got to the camp site, we weren't impressed and, since we needed to get to the grocery store in town anyway, we called for the shuttle that the Scottish Inn and Suites runs, hiked another 1.5 miles (down hill on roads, thankfully) to get picked up. Our $59, non-smoking room reeked of cigarette smoke. Wonder what the smoking rooms are like. But, hey, can't beat the shower - I took a cold one - and the mattress is really comfy. We took a short nap before heading 0.3 miles down US 30 to do some shopping at Dollar General and then walking 0.7 miles in the other direction down route 30 to a nice, filling Italian dinner at Giacomo's - real Italian, the owner is from Carini. Laura had chicken masala and I had lasagna. Another night of carbo loading.We had really wanted a nice cool beer, but, the township that Fayetteville is in is mostly dry and most restaurants don't have liquor licenses. Oh well, absence makes the heart grow fonder. Curious thing about our walk along route 30 today - and Dad would have been especially ticked off by this: more Harley Davidsons passed us than cars. I'm not exaggerating! And about half had modified exhausts to make them obnoxiously loud! Can someone help me out here? Why? Beautiful, bucolic setting, sun setting, full moon rising . . . and that sweet WAAAAAAA of #%$&'s Harleys. Maybe it makes them feel important. I don't know.Sorry for the rant. I had to get it out. We're enjoying a relaxing Sunday evening in our hotel room with AC on watching The Help. We hope to get up early and do 13.2 miles tomorrow. There are shelters 9.6, 10.8 and 13.2 miles from where the AT hits route 30, so we'll just see how it goes.
Date: 2014-04-14
From: Caledonia State Park / Fayetteville, PA

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

I am in a much better place emotionally today than yesterday: a) it was cooler today and the sun was obscured by clouds, b) No loud Harleys, c) Laura and I were very much in synch on the trail, d) we had a really nice view from Chimney Rocks, e) tonight is our first night in a shelter and we have it all to ourselves.   It is early evening, I am not exhausted, and I have time on my hands - what a concept! Laura and I are cozy and warm in a place called Deer Lick Shelter about 5 miles from the PA/MD border.  It's pretty windy and it has just started raining.  We hiked 13.2 miles today - the most yet, and we accomplished it easily! Laura was really strong today.We didn't get up quite as early as we had hoped, but we still got off to our earliest start yet: 9. Laura insisted that we do a shakedown - where we sort through everything in our packs and decide what we can do without. We both managed to shave a pound or so. Some permanent residents of the hotel took us first to the PO to mail what we agreed we really didn't need and then to the AT. Laura is doing great. Shortly before lunch we ran into a guy named Derek who is also southbound. As I chatted with Derek and had a quick snack, Laura decided she had had enough small talk and took off up the trail. It took me 3 miles to catch up with her. She was on a 3 mile an hour pace, and, with a 25 pound backpack on her back, that's quite a feat. Both of us feel strong and can feel our bodies getting stronger. Appalachian Trail Lesson # 1: watch where you're going. It can be difficult to watch where you're going because there are some points in the trail where there are so many rocks that you're constantly looking down to see where you're going to put your next footfall. The problem with this is twofold: 1) you miss the scenery; 2) you miss the trees that have fallen over the trail at forehead height. I learned this lesson the hard way on day two when I came to an abrupt stop and had a headache for two hours.
Date: 2014-04-15
From: Deer Lick Shelters

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: moderate rain

Today was one of those April days that starts in spring and ends in winter. It rained fairly steadily for several hours last night, but let up in the early morning around daybreak. We awoke around 7:30, but we took our time getting up and having breakfast, so we didn't get on the trail until 9:50.It was raining and about 65 degrees when we started, and it rained off and on for a couple hours. There was a cloud of annoying gnats following us, but, having looked at the weather report, I knew they wouldn't be around long. Just before noon, a strong wind kicked up, it began to pour, and the air temperature dropped 10 to 15 degrees. The front that dropped snow on Denver 2 days ago hit us.We stopped at Pen Mar, a town on the PA/MD border (never would have guessed that, right?) for lunch at about 12:30. The town and park are at about 1300 feet and have a very nice view of the valley to the northwest. Despite the storm, the view was great, but we really couldn't take it in for long because the wind was blowing very hard and the temperature continued to drop. I had to change out of my wet clothes into warmer and drier clothes. We had turkey and cheese sandwiches and hot chocolate in a pavilion with a stage that was nicely protected from the wind.Though it would have been nice to sit in the pavilion in our sleeping bags for a while, we got back on the trail as quickly as possible because we were thinking we might try to make it to the Free Hikers Hostel 9.7 miles south. However, the trail was really rough and slow going because it passed over and up several boulder fields. I would have taken a picture, but it was too cold and wet to do so. I'll get a picture of one tomorrow. We made it to Raven Rock Shelter - a spanking new one above Devil's Racecourse - by 4 as sleet began to fall, and we decided we would bed down here rather than risk another 5 miles in increasingly ugly weather. We set up our tent in the shelter for extra warmth - about 10 degrees warmer in the tent than in the shelter alone - and we are snug in our Feathered Friends down bags as I write this. It snowed as we prepared and ate our dinner, and the forecast predicts a low of 25 degrees in Pen Mar. We are sharing the shelter with three other men, and so far, nobody is snoring.   It is 8:50, and my hands are getting cold, so good night. Thanks to all who have left comments in our guest book. We really enjoy hearing from you and relish the encouragement.
Date: 2014-04-21
From: Arlington, VA

To: Hikers Hostel - Woody Gap, GA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Our travel plans today went off without a hitch - other than the 15 to 20 minute period in which we thought that AirTran had lost my backpack.  I used a canvas golf bag cover to protect my backpack while traveling.  AirTran considers golf bags over-sized and, therefore, sends them to a different conveyer belt at Atlanta airport.  Once we figured that out, we jumped on the MARTA for the 45 minute ride to the Sandy Springs station and REI which gave me a full refund for my Vasque Wasatch boots and gave me a new set of hiking poles (see day 1 issue).  I bought a pair of Vasque St. Elias boots (different sole system) and we met the Hiker Hostel shuttle outside the store.  We shared the shuttle with Steve from Boston (our age) and Johann from Denmark (age 22) - both great guys who we had happy hour with shortly after arriving at the hostel.The Hiker Hostel gets the "Best Hostel So Far" from the standpoint of cleanliness, privacy and conveniences.  Rather than one big bunk room, it has multiple rooms with four beds per room.  Each room has its own bathroom, so no wait for showers.  And the people running and working the place are great.We stopped at a Walmart to buy groceries on our way to the hostel, so we had hamburgers and a nice salad for dinner.  After dinner,  Laura went for a nice walk while I talked to a guy named Cary Leviss from ... Newbury Park, CA ... small world. There were a number of hikers who had already done a couple days on the trail and were back at the hostel. Cary was one of these. We are pretty much packed up and ready to go, excited about starting again at Springer tomorrow mourning.  With all our food, my pack is weighing in at 42 pounds and Laura's is 30.
Date: 2014-04-22
From: Hikers Hostel - Woody Gap, GA

To: Sassafras Mt.
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

I'd like to add to the list of reasons why the Hiker Hostel is such a great place to stay: breakfast.  Scrambled eggs, French toast, fruit, oatmeal, grits, orange juice, coffee, tea - all you can eat.  Ah, the simple pleasures of life.The Hikers Hostel shuttle took us up Springer mountain to a point about a mile from the beginning of the trail. We hiked to the top, getting there around 9:15. Johann and Steve, the guys that we shared the shuttle with from Atlanta, hiked with us. There wasn't much of a view from the top because it was cloudy and raining slightly, but our spirits were high. We hiked most of the day with Johann and got to the Hawk Mountain shelter (9 miles) at 3. We had thought we might stay there, but we both felt we could do a few more miles after some egg-drop Raman soup, so we pressed on. We thought we might camp in Horse Gap, but there weren't any flat places to pitch a tent and there were some wild and crazy guys already camping there, so we pressed on. We were really glad we did as we found a beautiful place to camp at the top of Sassafras mountain (3342 ft. elev.), but the 1 mile, 700 foot climb out of the gap was a tough workout at the end of our first day. There's a nice photo or two of our campsite in the photo journal.
Date: 2014-04-23
From: Sassafras Mt.

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 9.5

The wind blew all night last night, air temps were in the 40s, and we were glad we had our Feathered Friend down bags and our Big Agnes tent. Apparently, aerodynamics were considered in the design of the tent because, despite the strength of the wind last night up on top of Sassafras mountain, the tent did not flap around at all, so we slept fairly well. I did wake up several times because of the sound of the wind but the tent was silent in it. The wind continued to blow after sunrise, and we slept in until about 8:15. After a tasty Backpacker's Pantry breakfast of granola, bananas and milk, we hit the trail around 10:30.Today's hiking was moderate and it was a beautiful, sunny spring day. We leap frogged with several people we had met yesterday, including a young gal from Franklin, NC to whom we've given the trail name Robert Redford because she had no idea who Robert Redford was. The real Robert Redford and Nick Nolte are in the area with film crews doing some filming of a screen play based on Bill Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods." We got to Woody gap at 3:45 and called the Wolfpen Gap Country Store in Suches, GA - 6 miles west of the trail from Woody Gap. The place is a convenience store that sells custom made pizzas starting from frozen crusts as well as wings, beer, etc. It also has a hostel which we looked at and decided we'd try the campground 0.7 miles up the road. The woman who helps to run the store and who made us the pizzas and wings we ate nicely drove us up to the campground, but a "private party" had reserved the entire campground including cabins for several days. It was a little strange - kinda like a militia group. We rode back to the Wolfpen Gap Store and paid for 2 bunks in the hostel. We shared the hostel with one other hiker: Chris, who had some really gnarly blisters and was going to try to heal there for a couple days. Chris had developed the blisters on his first day on the trail, and he had taken Percocet to manage the pain. Appalachian Trail Lesson #3: Don't take Percocet (Acetaminophen and oxycodone) or any other really strong pain killer WHILE hiking. You won't feel any pain, but, as in Chris' case, because you feel no pain, you'll aggravate your ailment.
Date: 2014-04-24
From: Woody Gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.7

The Wolfpen Gap Store is a family run business, and after breakfast, the grown son of the woman who made our dinner last night took us back up to Woody Gap to the AT. We aren't breaking any records for early starts. Neither Laura or I slept well last night, but both of us managed to fall sound asleep shortly before sunrise, and, because the room we slept in had no windows, we slept late. I got up around 8, went downstairs to the store for milk and OJ, and then made breakfast. So, we didn't get back on the trail until around 10.When we got out of the shuttle at Woody Gap, we were greeted by our first trail angels who bestowed trail magic on us in the form of Snickers, M&Ms and Twix. Thanks angels! Today was another beautiful spring day and great for hiking. Our destination was Mountain Crossings at Neels Gap - a building built by the Civilian Conservation Core back in the 1930s that's been converted into an outfitters, interpretive center and hostel and, from 2001 until last December, was owned and run by Winton Porter. Winton wrote a memoir about his experiences running Mountain Crossings, also called Walasi-Yi interpretive center, entitled "Just Passing Through" that I read a couple years ago. One of the traditions that Winton began at Mountain Crossings is the "shakedown" in which expert backpackers employed by Mountain Crossings go through the backpacks of through-hikers item-by-item and sort everything into two piles: a pile of stuff to put back in the pack and a pile of stuff to send home. They also recommend purchases of any items that are missing - items which, conveniently, can be purchased right there at Mountain Crossings. Great business idea. Really, though, it's a neat place. There wasn't time for Laura and me to do shakedowns, unfortunately, but I'm doubtful that I would have wanted to part with much. I'm certain I could reduce my weight, but primarily at the expense of comfort, and I'd prefer to carry a bit more to be comfortable.Before getting to Neels Gap, we summitted Blood Mountain - elevation 4461 feet. The approach wasn't too bad, and the views were well worth the work. Also, we've been seeing some really neat flowers here in the forests of northern GA: several species of trillium which I've documented in our photo journal. The rhodadendron is not yet in bloom. There are sections of the trail in which we are walking through a tunnel of rhodadendron, and we hope that we'll be able to walk through a tunnel of blooming rhodadendron a few weeks from now. We are sharing the hostel tonight with 4 others, including Ilene, a 67 year old woman whom we met at the Hikers Hostel Monday night. Others here tonight are Chutki - a young woman who recently lost her mom in a tragic car accident, and Mike - a recent college grad from Minnesota.
Date: 2014-04-25
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 11.5

I keep forgetting to mention that my trail name is officially KO.  Laura made it "official" last Sunday.  It's KO because I was going to KO Studios in Westlake Village several times a week to get in shape for the trail.  KO studios is a boxing gym, but offers a number of exercise classes.  It's a great place to get in shape because the classes are small, the instructors are great, and they basically do an intense, total body work out.  Anyway, thanks to KO for getting me in shape for the trail.  I tried to get Laura to go to KO with me, but she was put off a bit by the boxing aspect of it.  I argued that you don't have to do the boxing, though punching a bag for 15 or 20 minutes is a really good work out, but Laura said, "come on Kevin, it's named KO which stands for Knock Out." I said, "No, it stands for 'Know Oneself', but I guess Laura wasn't convinced.  So anyway, KO is my trail name.(I am behind on the journal but will catch up. Because cell coverage has not been good where we've been tenting, I've been journaling in notepad on my iPhone and will copy and paste entries as cell coverage permits. Today is Thursday, May 1. I will update Monday, April 28 now as well. Battery power is low so probably won't get other updates in until later.)Today's hike from Neels gap to Low gap was a lot of ups and downs. PUDS as they call them: pointless ups and downs. We had lunch at Tesnatee Gap, joining Mike there (who we had met the evening before at Mountain Crossings). We were joined by Dennis about 15 minutes into our lunch break. Dennis approached and asked, "Did you guys see the bear?" He had turned a corner in the trail and surprised a large, male black bear which promptly ran down the mountain a hundred feet, stopped and checked him out at a distance. We have yet to see any bears or snakes other than the Blacksnake Laura saw in Pennsylvania, though we have talked to people who have seen rattlers and bears.We continue to see lots of trillium and an increasing variety of it (see photo journal): including white, yellow, scarlet, deep maroon, white with a scarlet center. We also saw some interesting trees - including the spooky tree pictured with Laura above. We are tenting tonight at Low gap - camping next to Dennis and near Mike from Minnesota and several others. Mike joined us for a cup of hot chocolate. Mike is introverted but very kind. He's trying to do the entire AT on a very low budget. Laura and I would like to find a way to help him out.