morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-08-31
From: Front Royal Mountain Home Cabbin

To: Front Royal Mountain Home Cabbin
Miles today: 0.0

I spent some time researching what I wanted to do with Shenandoah National Park. I decided instead of hiking the AT, I would like a couple trails in the park. I picked Cedar Run and Whiteoak. This will allow me to hike down 1500 feet of elevation and see several waterfalls along the trail. It also has me hiking back up that 1500 feet and seeing more waterfalls.
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Pinnacle Picnic are

To: 5 or 6 miles North of Pinnacle Picnic area
Miles today: 0.0

I got driven to Pinnacle Picnic area, about 30 miles from where the North end of the park is. I will take 3 to 5 days to get back there. The weather is warm and predicted to stay that way until Saturday. I have to re-learn how to upload a picture but I do plan to add one. I started the day by leaving my hiking poles at the hostel so I won't have them for a few days.
Date: 2018-02-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My first day of ¢(f)unemployment¢ was busy with prep for the journey. It felt good to be able to focus and knock things off the list. I also had time to reflect on things thus far and the kindness of others. My team at work pooled together and gave me a lovely card and a going away gift, which quite thoughtfully included a deck of ¢don¢t die out there¢ playing cards! Awesome...and sage advice indeed! That is certainly one of my goals. The gift and sentiments expressed were so thoughtful and made me emotional, thinking of all that we had been through, the thick and the thin, as a team. They are incredible folks and I was lucky to work with them. This got me thinking about trail magic. On the trail, trail magic is the random acts of kindness that strangers do for folks on the trail. For example, my wife and I hiked a section of the AT through the Roan Highlands last year and came across some bottles of water and a sign that a Boy Scout troop had left for hikers in the trail. Sometimes trail magic is food; sometimes it is a ride somewhere. It¢s the completely selfless acts of kindness that can otherwise sometimes feel rather rare in the world today. And yet before the trek has even started, I have already begun to see and experience trail magic! The first instance was my local gym, LivFitness, here in Atlanta. When the owner, Jason, found out I was preparing for a thru hike, he did something incredibly nice for me that, quite honestly, he didn¢t have to do. I can¢t help but think that the trail brings out the best in people. It teaches us by magical example. It allows us to feel the presence of something bigger than us. I really look forward to learning what I can from the trail magic I am sure I will encounter along the way. Time to hit the hay. Tomorrow will be full of prep and hopefully pack weight check! I fear the poundage!!
Date: 2018-02-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a busy day of chores, but a beautiful and unexpectedly warm day in Atlanta. Temperatures reached the upper 70s and it truly felt like the end of spring. It was enough to push the red buds (a type of tree) on my street to coyly show signs of blooming. Lucky for me, most of my chores were prepping the yard for my absence, so I spent much of the day outside in the balmy air tending to plants, pulling weeds, and laying down a nice blanket of pine straw. I just love the way a fresh layer of pine straw looks! It reminds me of the pine forests I grew up playing in as a kid in the south.I answered some more questions about my trip today, one of which was "do you have a trail name?" For those of you who aren't familiar with this, a trail name is a hiking nickname that is traditionally chosen for you by other hikers while on the trail. Some people choose their own trail names, but the tradition is that it is bequeathed to you. I do not have a trail name yet! I intend to embrace the tradition and let other hikers bestow one upon me on the trail. I'm actually pretty excited about this, but of course i AM hoping it is not something horrible, like Sir Poops-A-Lot, or Night Drooler, or Which Way.While I don't have a trail name (yet), I do have a pretty cool hat (i think, anyway) that I am going to wear on the hike. When I was getting my gear together, I wanted a new mesh hat that would be light, well ventilated, and would help keep sun off of my face. My old mesh hat doesn't fit my head (i have a big noggin...) when I have a lot of hair, so definitely not good for the trail. This new one has plenty of room for my man skull. The real kicker for me was the space cat eating a taco and a piece of pizza. I mean, come on! I love cats, love tacos, love pizza, and if you can put all of that in outer space, well that's just something special! It may be a little non-traditional, but in a way it is not just my hiking hat; it is also my trail mascot! One way or the other, it's coming along for the ride. Wasn't there a movie called "So This is 40?" Maybe I should watch that....I also spent today finalizing my food choices and prep for my first 4-5 days. I will try and post on that tomorrow. This space cat needs to get to bed.
Date: 2018-02-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

it¢s getting closer! With two days left before I hit the trail, things are definitely getting real. The excitement is mounting, my checklist of to-do items has dwindled to just a few. Sometimes I feel like I have to pinch myself that it is really happening! Yesterday I spent time organizing food for my first 4 days. I¢m grouping everything by days in gallon ziplock bags marked by day number. It keeps things organized and I think it will help to dissuade me from eating it forward. In my head, ¢eating it forward¢ is a descriptor for when I eat too much food one day and don¢t have enough the next, so then I keep kicking the hunger can down the road in hopes of making it to resupply earlier. I guess it¢s kind of like ¢paying it forward,¢ except that¢s about spreading good karma and eating it forward is about gluttony and lack of self control. Anyway, like I said, it works in my head. So, as you can see from the photo I¢m goong to be getting up close and personal with a lot of tuna and cliff bars. Good stuff. I also had a few Mountain House ready-to-eat meals laying around (chili mac is the best!), so I¢ll be a tad on the gourmet side the first week. Yum! After that, it will be a lot more of the dollar Knorr rice sides for me. I like rice a lot and I¢m not a particularly finicky eater, so those will work well for me. My food bag feels so heavy.... I am debating whether to bring a little extra since I have it and just carry the weight, or just leave it since my first resupply at Neels Gap is not far away. I¢ll decide tomorrow....As part of my weight decisions today, I swapped out a balaclava and handkerchief for a buff. The buff is lighter and can substitute for both, so I¢m  excited about that. If you did view my gear video, I made that prior to the swap so it is not completely current.It was very warm again today. I did some more yard work and it was wonderful just listening to the birds sing. There is something so cheerful about birdsong.Everyone has been so kind about this trip. I really appreciate the comments and support in my guest log! You all are awesome! I said goodbye to some friends today, and everyone was full of encouragement and excitement for me. I¢m so lucky to have such nice people in my life!Monday will be here soon and the adventure will begin! I¢m glad I still have two days to spend with my wife, as I will miss her dearly. And Lucy the cat of course :-)
Date: 2018-02-27
From: Three Forks

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Today I woke to daylight at Three Forks. It was a brisk morning - someone said 36, but I think where I was it was probably closer to 40. I ate two packets of maple brown sugar oatmeal and a cliff bar, and had some instant coffee. It was delightful! I blundered around camp a bit, kicking stuff over and whatnot and spilling water, because that¢s what I do. Enjoying every minute of it, I headed out at about 9:45. I made it about half a mile before I ate another cliff bar :-). The morning was absolutely gorgeous! Stunning sunlight through the rhododendron made me smile and feel wonderfully small. It was a blue sky day all day. I passed a handful of hikers, including a girl named Cat who I had seen yesterday. It¢s hard for me to remember names, but hers was easy given my space cat hat. Machine gun fire littered part of the day. I passed a hiker who said it was from an M40 (Dad, maybe this means something to you, but to me it just means ¢big gun¢). There is a military training area not too far away, hence the fire. Shortly, I passed a southbound guy who was doing some sort of military training. He was carrying a rucksack and what looked like an axe in one hand. He said hello but moved quickly on. The views from the trail were amazing! Lots of clear vistas with many peaks in the distance. I made it to Gooch Mountain shelter at about 3:30. Tom, a volunteer AT ambassador, greeted me and gave me a ton of super useful information. He said that rain and thunderstorms would move in around 2am and follow us all day tomorrow. That made my choice to stay st the shelter easy. We are going to be packed in like sardines! No one wants to tent in the rain. Hopefully it isn¢t too hard to sleep.No blisters yet! Met a girl with 4 today - ouch! Tomorrow wet feet will potentially break my streak. The couple from Maine are here! They are very cool. The guy Kevin has a trail name now - Bear Meat! He gave someone some bear jerky and that was it. His wife Cassandra saw me and said she had a trail name for me - Hungry Cat, after my hat! I loved it right away and told her I would embrace it. I thought about food all day, so it is not an I¢ll-fitted name. I love the tradition of trail names. I came out here to have an experience, and maybe become a better version of me. I want to live up to the Hungry Cat name, whatever may come, whatever that means.... I ate a Knorr Mexican fiesta rice side for dinner and enjoyed chatting with other hikers. I met two guys from Mount Pleasant, SC and told them how much Gillian and I like to go there. As I type this, the sun had gone down so it is time to get organized for bed. A crowded house requires a bit of organization. No signal here so I will have to back post. I¢m so grateful for this shelter and the camaraderie here tonight. Hungry Cat, out!
Date: 2018-04-24
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

As expected, we woke up to rain. I was in no hurry, so while Wallace, Bama Dog, and Zia headed out, I hung back and made coffee and breakfast with Tennessee. When I left the shelter, Tennessee was contemplating whether he wanted to hike or just hang in the shelter and stay out of the rain. The morning was definitely off to a soggy start! I made the decision to wear as few clothes as possible under my rain gear. When it really rains, rain gear quickly gets saturated. It does not really keep me dry. It basically keeps my drier than if I didn¢t have it, but still wet. It does, however, help keep me warm. I decided to wear my t shirt but go commando under my rain pants. No sense in even getting my underwear wet really! The rain picked up and I had to move at a quick pace to stay warm. My phone was in my dry bag in my pack since it was so wet, so I didn¢t really stop to take pictures today, although honestly there wasn¢t much that I probably would have photographed as the weather limited the views. Other than a few flooded creek crossings that were tricky (I completely submerged my right foot in one), the hiking and climbs today were relatively easy. It was a nice vacation for my feet! The trail crisscrossed with the Blue Ridge Parkway at a couple of points where cars could turn off of the highway to see views. No views today but grey, although at one point the clouds and fog shifted just enough for me to get a hint of a view. The turnoffs, however, has trash cans! That was exciting and I dumped all of my trash at the first one. My day went quickly because I was quite keen to get out of the rain. I got to Bobblets Shelter and was surprised no one else was there. That meant that Zia, Bama and Wallace were pushing to the next shelter for a 19 mile day. For me, it was quittin¢ time and time to get dry! I stripped off my wet clothes and got changed, set up my pad and bag, and made a cup of tea. This shelter is really nice - good water source close by and a really big enclosed privy. After a bit, Tarzan and Happy Feet showed up and we chatted while they debated whether to stay or push on. They stayed given how wet it was and the fact that tomorrow¢s forecast is also for rain. Another guy I hadn¢t met before, Shark Bait, came and stayed as well. Then, while I was eating dinner, Nightmare, Finger Food, and Diablo rolled in! I hadn¢t seen them since the Smokies. They were like a proper tramily now! It was good to see them and we caught up before it got dark. As we were eating dinner, Happy Feet spotted a deer feeding just up the path to the shelter. We watched it eat its dinner too!I was grateful that it didn¢t completely pour buckets all day today and that the rain was more on the gentle side after the first part of the morning. Also, at least it wasn¢t snow! I was really grateful to have an earlier day and just enjoy talking with some hikers and getting to know them a bit. Tomorrow is supposed to be another wet one, and that¢s ok.
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite at Mile 892.3
Miles today: 21.6

The morning today was lovely. Sleeping without the rainfly has been nice and breezy. I sat up in my bag and saw that camp was already stirring. Wallace, Bama Dog, Peewee, Whitewater all headed out early. In the end, Tarzan and I were the last in camp, and once I finished my breakfast and coffee I hit the trail. I stopped to get fresh water from the piped spring on the trail out. It was supposed to be quite warm today, up to 87, and water would be scarce. On my hike out I saw a deer in the middle of the trail. It stared back at me curiously. I also saw a red-headed woodpecker.I spent most of the day trying to stay cool, re-applying sunscreen, and hiking on easy terrain. I had a 12 mile stretch without water and then stopped at the first hut (they call shelters ¢huts¢ in the Shenandoahs), Black Rock Hut, to get some water and cool down for a bit. Happy Feet was there and both Whitewater and Tarzan showed up. Whitewater, Tarzan and I decided we would push more miles and stop at the Loft Mountain Camp Store just off the AT. They were open until 7 and had some food and snacks. I pushed on, sweating buckets and covering my trekking pole handles with sunscreen from my hands, and at the top I scrambled to the Black Rock Mountain summit. It had some ice views and I took a picture of it to also remember the way the rock looked. Later on, Whitewater caught up to me and then we ran into Happy Feet again. We all marched on until we got to the camp store. It was like an oasis in the desert. I ate a buffalo chicken sandwich, a bag of Doritos, two orange creamsicle flavored whoopie pies, and a nestle toll house ice cream cookie sandwich. I washed all of that down with a Yoo-hoo. The camp store had coin showers and a laundromat. We opted to eat and move on. The 4 of us hiked out looking for a spot to camp, and ended up finding a spot just after seeing a lovely sunset view on the ridge. Someone came along and helped us get a group photo with the sunset.It was a great day and I was grateful for the clear weather, even though it was relentlessly hot. I was grateful for the good food at the camp store, but mostly for the good companionship of my fellow hikers. I¢m so tired!! Time for this cat to call it a night!
Date: 2018-05-24
From: Tentsite at Mile 1263.2

To: Stealth Campsite at mile 1290.4
Miles today: 27.2

Ok.... I have been hiking a lot of miles and got behind with my diary here, so I am going to do some short hand for a change for a few days of entries just to get caught up. It¢s hard to hike longer days and have the time and energy to write long form, how I¢d like. I want to, but then I fall asleep or have to think about logistics and then I¢m too tired. The hotter weather has made me more tired at night... Also, at the shelters after dark I try not to type on my phone unless I can hide in my sleeping bag and do it so that No one sees the glare, but that is hard now because I usually don¢t get inside my 20 degree toasty bag until it gets chilly in the middle of the night. Anyway, here¢s the recap for today. I got on the trail early wanting to make it to the last shelter before Delaware Water Gap. It was going to be a day with long stops between water sources. I hiked through a road gap and right behind the Appalachian Trail sign was a county sign that said ¢Carbon County.¢ Like I mentioned yesterday, it¢s clear who owns this town. I saw a nice wild turkey shortly after this.Today I met some cool hikers. First I met Rest Step and Simba and would see them a few times during the day. Simba had read my trail journal, so that was cool! We all ended up at the same shelter mid-day because it was the first water source in a while - Leroy A. Smith Shelter. There I met a NOBO named Speedy who started April 1! Later in the day as I got close to Wind Gap I met Willow, a flip flopper and she mentioned she had been hiking with Sugar Foot (I believe that is the right trail name), who is Ken who has signed my journal guest book! I was excited by this, but I did not catch up to Ken yet (and may not!). On the way into the last shelter, Kirkridge, I passed flip floppers Late Start and French Roast. I figured I would get to talk with these folks at the shelter, but when I got there the tent sites were pretty full. It was a nice night and I didn¢t want to tent all crammed together, so I got water and kept walking. I walked another two miles and started to get worried about finding a spot, and just before dark I found a clearing and sort of ghetto camped on a road bed there. I enjoyed watching the rabbits come close to me in the dark out of curiosity. I was grateful today for meeting such great people and the strength to hike a big day in hot weather!Postscripts:#1 - I did figure out what that shelter scraping noise was after all. Porcupines! They chew on the treated shelter wood for the salt content, apparently, which explains why it was at night. PA has a lot of porcupines!#2 - someone told me a funny story (I think it was Itchy and Scratchy) about a hiker who slept in his tent during the PA rains and a skunk decided to take cover and sleep under his tent rain fly in the vestibule. So, he was basically afraid to move or get out of the tent until the skunk finally left, worried of course that it would be startled and spray him. Crazy!
Date: 2018-05-25
From: Stealth Campsite at mile 1290.4

To: Campsite at mile 1303.2
Miles today: 12.8

I got up early to get into Delaware Water Gap with time to run errands, look around, and hike out. On the hike in, a porcupine sauntered right across the trail in front of me! I took a video, albeit not a great one: https://youtu.be/_LC1PxjfgHY. It was cool seeing the Delaware river for the first time from the trail. I saw three deer in the way in as well. I love getting started on the trail early!Delaware Water Gap was smaller than I expected. I had a good time there running into hikers I hadn¢t seen for a while! Traveler, Ben and Rose, Clothesline, Cheddar, and I met Honey and Moon and a guy named Moose, all NOBOs. I ate richly at the Apple Pie Cafe and resupplied poorly at a gas station there. I bought a bunch of milk chocolate candy bars that would just be melted for a few days. There is a donation-based church hostel in town that has free showers, so I took a shower before hiking out. It was great! They had a guitar there too. I hadn¢t played in a long time, so I picked the strings a bit before leaving.I crossed the Delaware in a style not like George Washington at all - I walked across the bridge as it shook and swayed from the cars traversing it. It was a hot day and I stopped at the Park station to feb a Gatorade before hiking across the road and back into the woods. Later PA!I didn¢t hike that far as I had burned through a lot of time in town. The hike out of DWG was along a beautiful trout stream at first, then climbed further up into a ridge. I found a campsite with a lovely view. Water was going to be weird - the water spots are more scarce here in terms of springs, so I had to pack out water from a really off-color brackish creek. It¢s fine to drink once filtered, but the water retains a brown tint. Not my fave, but water is water! I sat, looked at my pretty view, called my wife to chat and ate. I also found a pinhole leak in my CNOC water collection bag. I think it¢s a manufacturing defect so I emailed them about it. I was grateful to see old faces anew today, and for the good discussion and social time in DWG. I was also grateful to see a porcupine - how awesome!
Date: 2018-05-26
From: Campsite at mile 1303.2

To: Gren Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: clear sky

Today was super hot. I did a lot of hiking on ridge lines with views. There were a lot of people out for the holiday weekend. I climbed up a fire tower called Catfish Tower and from the top I looked down and Happy Feet was there! She had caught up and was, and had been, hiking with a guy named Dude. I climbed down and said hello and she gave Uncle Cat (that¢s what she calls me) two fig newtons. It was good to see a friendly face! I was struggling to make miles in the heat, and my feet had been aching since the PA rocks had their way with me.I stopped for the day at Gren Anderson Shelter. It had been a day of flies, gnats, mosquitos and heat, but also of pretty views, ponds, bullfrogs and good hiking. I almost peed on a black snake at one point, not seeing it in the grass in front of me .... It was supposed to start raining early in the morning so I slept in the shelter to try and avoid packing a wet tent in the rain in the morning. I met a NOBO named Ulysses who had started the day before me! It¢s cool to meet NOBOs now so late in the game. Dude and Happy Feet stopped here too. I was grateful to have a good day of hiking and to have some camaraderie at camp. It¢s a good morale booster! My feet were pretty achy today. Hopefully they will feel better soon.