morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-10-09
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Iron Masters Hostel

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: light rain

Well, Yogi and I made it through the night at Iron Masters Mansion with no visits from ghosts! Breakfast was scheduled for 7:00-9:00 AM and rumored to consist of frozen waffles, OJ and coffee. She asked me to wake her up at 8:00 AM if she didn¢t get up. She came down to breakfast at 7:30,while I was enjoying my third cup of coffee. We were pleased to find that, in addition to the frozen pop-up toaster waffles, we could have raisin bread toast and bagels with cream cheese and all of the orange juice we wanted.After breakfast we packed up and were ready to go by 10:00 AM. Today¢s highlight was passing the official mid-point of the Appalachian Trail! This is a big event for any thru-hiker. Of course, we stopped for pictures.We had lunch at the Toms Run Shelter and hurried on, hoping to beat the rain which was forecast for late afternoon. A brief thunderstorm with hail hit us at about 3:00 PM. It was pretty much over by the time that we reached the Birch Run Shelter at 4:00 PM.Birch Run is a very nice shelter. It has bunks for eight, with a front porch with picnic tables. Tents were set up all around the shelter. Lots of weekenders and section hikers¢three couples from Toronto, Canada.Yogi answered lots of questions about SOBO thru-hiking, while I collected firewood. Of course, the campers informed me that we couldn¢t build a fire after the afternoon¢s thunderstorm. But Yogi and I went ahead and built one anyway. Then they all enjoyed it! You just gotta have faith! Now they have all been converted and are true believers in my ministry. I told them that is what Wildcats/trail chaplains do!
Date: 2015-10-10
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Shippensburg, ALDHA Gathering
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a fairly easy day today. Cool and clear. Mostly downhill. We reached Caledonia State Park and Highway US 30 sooner than expected. I tried to call the Trail of Hope Hostel, but got no answer and left a message. Yogi said, ¢Do you want me to call Miss Janet? She could pick us up and take us to the ALDHA Gathering.¢ I said, ¢Sure.¢ An hour later, we were headed to the Gathering in Shippensburg in Miss Janet¢s van!When we arrived, we registered. The Gathering is free for current thru-hikers. Bob Peoples gave us meal tickets. We set up our tents while it was still daylight. Then we went to the cafeteria and ate, and ate, and ate!Once our hiker appetites were satisfied, we went back to the Gathering and checked out the various displays and met other people¢long distance backpackers past and present.At 7:00 PM we went to ear Cam ¢Swami¢ Honan from Australia talk about 12 Long Walks¢Exploring North America¢s Natural Wonders on Foot. He walked 15,000 miles in 29 states and 4 provinces and wore out 30 pairs of shoes. I have done about 11,000 miles of what he did in two years, but it took me eleven years. I wore out ten pairs of shoes. His gear weight is about 10 pounds; mine is 18 pounds. He averages 30 miles/day; I average about 15. Very interesting presentation.Then there was a dance and a campfire. I went to bed about 10:00 PM. The younger SOBOs stayed up until 1:00 AM.
Date: 2015-10-11
From: Shippensburg, ALDHA Gathering

To: Rocky Mountain Shelters
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

When I got up this morning, condensation was raining down on me from the underside of my tarp. Whenever I talk to backpackers about shelters (tents, tarps, etc.), I tell them to never, never, never select a campsite on green grass! If they do, they are pretty much guaranteed to have problems with condensation. So where does ALDHA have us camping? On lush green grass! So I pretty much knew it was coming.But I was ready for my morning coffee, so I walked over to the cafeteria and waited for them to open at 7:30 AM. AYCE cafeteria breakfast is pretty much a backpacker¢s dream. They didn¢t have biscuits and gravy, but it was good!After breakfast I went back and dried out my tarp and other gear in the sunshine on the basketball court and visited with Bag of Tricks, who was doing the same. He is a trail angel that I met in Port Clinton in 2004 on my first thru-hike.After drying my gear, I packed up and went back up to the main building. ALDHA had some good sessions, but mostly I spent my day visiting with other backpackers who I knew were at the Gathering¢Cooker Hiker/Bill Cooke, Yogi/Jackie McDonald, Mamaw B/Barbara Allen, Billy Goat, Radar and others.At 6:00 PM Radar drove Yogi, Goose and Maverick, and me back to the trailhead on US 30. We hiked the three miles to Rocky Mountain Shelters, arriving there after dark. The spring was 0.5 miles from the shelter and was barely flowing. That was fun in the dark!Goose built a fire while I was getting water. We fixed our dinners over the fire and had a good night!
Date: 2015-10-12
From: Rocky Mountain Shelters

To: Old PA 16, Waynesboro, PA, Days Inn Hotel
Miles today: 12.0

We hiked twelve miles to Highway 16.All of the NOBOs that we had met told us how great the Nostalgic Dreams B&B was, so that was our primary goal for the day. But when I called them at lunch to make reservations and arrange a shuttle from the trail, I got a message saying that they were closed for the season. Oh, well!Plan B: Days Inn Motel-the least expensive option in our guidebook that would take a dog (Maverick). Then I called a shuttle that they recommended.+$25.00! We got to the road at 5:00 PM, shuttle driver arrived at 6:15 PM¢some confusion about PA 16 and Old PA 16. Finally got to the motel. The closest pub that we went to didn¢t have food¢finally got food from a convenience store called Turkey Hill¢ate the food in our room¢took showers¢went to bed.While the others were taking showers, I walked one mile to the grocery store for food for our resupply. When I got back to the motel, we discovered that I had left the bag with our bread in it at the grocery store!
Date: 2015-10-13
From: Old PA 16, Waynesboro, PA, Days Inn Hotel

To: Falls Creek Campsite
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: clear sky

I got up and went down to the breakfast area of the motel for coffee. I carried coffee back up to the room for Goose and Yogi. Then I went back down and had a real breakfast: three Belgian waffles, two cheese omelets, OJ and coffee.Then I had to walk two miles to the store and back to get the bread and bagels that I forgot last night¢bonus miles.Yogi and I had to go to the post office. When we came out, I didn¢t see Goose. Then I saw him at the corner of the post office and back from the street¢with a police officer. Oh, shit! We¢re in trouble now!Turns out that the officer wanted to buy us lunch and drive us back to the trail. He took us to a great little Mexican restaurant and then drove us to the trailhead. Thank you, Mike!Yogi and Goose want to do the Quad-State Challenge. It¢s a little late to start now. So we only hiked two miles to a campsite a half mile from the PA/MD border. They plan to start the 46-mile hike at 11:45 Am tomorrow.So we had a good fire and sat around and talked until hiker midnight.
Date: 2015-10-14
From: Falls Creek Campsite

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I left Yogi and Goose at the campsite just after 9:00 AM. They plan to start their Quad-State Challenge at 11:45 AM. I hiked alone for most of the day and caught up with Burn in the late afternoon.We stopped for the day at Ensign Cowall. The next shelter is eight miles south, so I would have arrived there well after sunset.We started a fire and were joined by Rambler and Willow and his dog Baby.
Date: 2015-10-15
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.7

Burn and I hiked together today. We crossed over I-10 on a footbridge. We stopped at Annapolis Rocks for an early lunch. It was breezy and partly cloudy. The temperature was perfect when the sun was shining. The view from the rocks was great.We went to the original Washington monument. Then we charged our cell phones at a picnic shelter while we sat out in the sun. Then we walked on to the rocky Run Shelter. Actually, there are two shelters here¢the original (old) one and the new one. It has lots of room¢an upper sleeping platform¢a front porch with a picnic table¢varnished hardwood floor. Very nice! The water source is a piped spring by the old shelter.We camped with Jones and Rambler. Dreamer got to the shelter much later. Jones is a section hiker from Ohio. He¢s finishing a long section hike at Harpers Ferry. He¢s giving Burn his army-issue sleeping bag when he leaves in the morning.My wife sent me a text saying that I need to get to Harpers Ferry on Friday¢fifteen miles. We had been planning on Saturday morning to keep motel expenses down.
Date: 2015-10-16
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up early so that we could make it to Harpers Ferry. I turned on my phone just before we left the shelter to make certain that the Spot locator device was working properly. My wife had sent me another text message saying that we don¢t need to get to Harpers Ferry today¢that plans had changed.[Wildcat¢s wife here: I was just trying to coordinate a meeting, which got complicated! Originally, WILDCAT wanted me to visit him in Harpers Ferry. But, before I could firm up my plans, I received an email from Jeff Wadley, a member of the Appalachian Trail Chaplain committee; he wanted to come and see WILDCAT. However, he wanted it to be a surprise; he wanted to just show up on the trail! Therefore...I had to ensure that WILDCAT was on the way to Harpers Ferry Friday, Oct. 16th, so Jeff could appear on the trail¢but I couldn¢t tell WILDCAT why! Since WILDCAT was adamant about NOT getting to Harpers Ferry today, Jeff decided the surprise was not going to work.]So, with an early start and a short day, we arrived at the Ed Garvey Shelter early in the afternoon. Rambler already had the fire going when Burn and I got to the shelter. The water source is a good spring, but it¢s 0.4 miles down a steep mill from the shelter.I stayed at this shelter on my ¢04 hike. It¢s very nice and has an upstairs sleeping loft. There are three nice new benches (with backs) around the fire pit. We plan to have a good fire tonight!
Date: 2015-10-17
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

Up at 5:00 AM. Fixed coffee and oatmeal. On the trail at 7:00 AM. Got to Harpers Ferry post office at 9:30 AM. Switched to winter sleeping bag and clothes. Had my picture taken at ATC office. I was SOBO number 158. I think that I was SOBO number 256 at Katahdin when I started, so a lot of people have gotten off the trail.I gave my GoLite Fuzz quilt to Rambler. He may need a little extra warmth for the next few days. The temperature is supposed to get down to 28 degrees tonight. Rambler, Burn and I are at Blackburn AT Center tonight. Cro/Kevin and Yoga Pants/Mike, two section hikers, were here when we arrived. The center has four walls, door, windows, and a wood burning stove. I think that we may be able to survive the cold tonight!We saw Little Spoon at the post office this morning. Yogi and Goose were at the ATC office; they had completed the Quad State Challenge.We get to do the Roller Coaster tomorrow. It consists of 13.5 miles of pointless ups and downs (PUDs).
Date: 2015-10-18
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Burn and I had to let the fire in the stove almost go out last night. We both got too hot in our winter sleeping bags!When we got up this morning, Trail Boss, who runs the Blackburn Center, announced that he had a fresh pot of coffee ready for us.We got on the trail about 9:00 AM. Got on the ¢roller coaster ¢ at about 11:00 AM. Hit Raven Rocks about thirty minutes later¢good views. We had lunch at the Bears Den Hostel and charged up our phones while we ate.Burn and I arrived at the Sam Moore Shelter later in the afternoon, and Rambler already had the fire going. He had talked this morning about going seven miles farther to the Rod Hollow Shelter, but I think that he enjoys being with us.We collected more wood, built the fire up, and cooked dinner over the fire. It¢s cooler tonight, but I think that we¢ll be warm and comfy here tonight.At 7:00 PM Blackbeard/Chris Hicks walked into camp. He¢d come all the way from Harpers Ferry today! Turns out he knows my sister-in-law Cindy in North Carolina. He¢s done some pressure washing work for her.
Date: 2015-10-19
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: Dicks Dome Shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: clear sky

Yesterday I had been on the trail for four months. Last night was much warmer than the previous night. I think that Blackbeard was impressed by our fire last night, and by how quickly we were able to start a morning fire from the hot coals. Burn and I have been cooking dinner and breakfast over the wood fire. It tastes better and seems more ¢real¢¢helps keep us more closely connected to our environment.We finished the roller coaster and hiked fifteen miles today. We hiked over some grassy balds today in Sky Meadows State Park.We lost Rambler at Ashby Gap, US 50, today. Apparently the call of the yellow blazes was just too much for the boy.Burn and I are sharing the shelter tonight with a section hiker who claims to be ¢the original¢ Flash. He¢s from Annapolis, Maryland.
Date: 2015-10-20
From: Dicks Dome Shelter

To: Front Royal, Rusty Rawson
Miles today: 15.2

The temperature is much warmer today. Fifteen miles today¢Burn and I left the Dicks Dome Shelter at about 7:00 AM.We reached Manassas Gap late morning. We crossed VA 55 and went under I-66. We stopped for lunch at the Jim & Molly Denton Shelter. This is one of the nicest shelters on the trail¢nice deck in front of the shelter, good spring. Then on to US 522 to meet Rusty Rawson. When Burn and I arrived at the parking area, Rusty was already there!Busty and his wife Beth are friends of my college friend Paul Clark. They met on a mission trip to Biloxi, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina. Rusty graduated from USNA in 1966 and served on submarines. He was commanding officer of the Dallas, which was the US sub in "Hunt for Red October."Rusty drove us to his home in the country outside a small town near Front Royal. He and Beth offered us beer and freshly made guacamole dip and chips. Then we did laundry and showers. Then it was time for dinner: fresh green salad, homemade lasagna, and wine. A hot freshly-baked pecan pie with ice cream for dessert! It was all awesome!All of this was especially interesting for Burn, because his father served in the Navy on submarines. He was in the Navy for six years and served on the Parchee.
Date: 2015-10-21
From: Front Royal, Rusty Rawson

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: few clouds

Burn and I got up about 6:00 AM. Rusty fixed us breakfast with coffee and orange juice. Burn felt honored to have the commanding officer of a submarine fixing us breakfast.Rusty had wanted to join us for a few days of backpacking in the Shenandoah National Park, but had gotten a bad case of shingles and was unable to do so.Beth drove us to the store to re-supply, then back to the trail. Great trail magic experience¢thank you, Rusty and Beth!Now that we had five days of food in our packs, we had to climb almost 2,000 feet over the next seven miles to enter the Shenandoahs. We registered at the entrance and hiked ten more miles to the Gravel Springs Hut. We arrived at the hut after dark. We saw four deer and three bears today.
Date: 2015-10-22
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Byrds Nest Hut #3
Miles today: 17.5

It was a beautiful day today. The trail was pretty easy until we got to US 211, which goes down to Luray, VA. Then we climbed about 1,100 feet to get to the Byrds Nest #3 Hut.We saw seven bears today.This is a really nice stone shelter with a fireplace built into one side wall. Unfortunately, there are no fires permitted in the Shenandoah National Park! Also the spring is 0.4 miles down a steep hill from the shelter.There are more mice in this shelter than I would have expected. I trapped so many mice that I actually lost count!
Date: 2015-10-23
From: Byrds Nest Hut #3

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: clear sky

We have a short day today. We¢re going to Rock Spring Hut so that we can go to the Big Meadows Lodge for their AYCE breakfast buffet. So many northbound hikers have told us about the awesome buffet that we don¢t want to miss it!We stopped at the Skyland restaurant for lunch and to recharge our cell phones today. We arrived there at about 11:00 AM. The restaurant opens for lunch at noon, so we each got a small cup of coffee¢which seemed sort of expensive. But refills were free; so, after four or five refills, the price wasn¢t so bad after all.Burn and I both ordered pulled pork sandwich. It didn¢t have much of a hickory smoke flavor, but I guess that it wasn¢t too bad for a national park restaurant. We¢ll continue our search for really good barbecue as we walk south to Georgia.No bears sighted today. It was foggy this morning when we woke up, but the skies cleared as we ate lunch. The afternoon was bright and sunny.We have Colin and Josh with us here tonight. Both are from the Baltimore, MD area, but not backpacking together. Four of us in a eight-person shelter¢good population density¢good group!Three and one half miles to Big Meadows for breakfast in the morning!
Date: 2015-10-24
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

Burn and I got up at 6:00 AM. We were on the trail by 7:00 AM. We would have been to the Big Meadows buffet by 8:30 AM, but we had to stop when a generous camper offered us coffee. That¢s what AT ¢trail ambassadors¢ are supposed to do! And we were counting deer; but, somewhere after fifteen, we lost count.We got to the lodge about 9:00 AM and began working on the buffet. $14.00 per person, AYCE, and we wanted to get our money¢s worth. We hadn¢t had any biscuits with sausage gravy since we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line ten days ago. Eggs, grits, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit, pancakes, pastries, etc., orange juice and coffee. After about four heaping plates, we ran out of room and had to quit. But we agreed that we got our money¢s worth.Then we hiked the remaining eight miles to the Bearfence Mountain Hut. Lots of day hikers out today¢it¢s Saturday, and the leaves are changing.At the hut we met Ryan and Shannon, a young couple from the Richmond area. They are tenting out tonight. Shannon wanted to cook over a campfire, so we built one. She rewarded us with burritos that she cooked up.Josh is with us again tonight, as well as Greg and Yvonne. Several other older couples are tenting out around the shelter.
Date: 2015-10-25
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

At 2:30 AM last night it started raining¢not hard, but enough to wake me up. I trapped six mice last night.The rain had pretty much stopped by the time we got up this morning. There was just a light mist and fog as we were preparing breakfast.Burn and I stopped at the Lewis Mountain campstore for hot coffee and to recharge our phones.It was a fairly uneventful afternoon¢no bear or deer sightings. We reached Hightop Hut at about 3:30 PM. This shelter has a good spring. Naturally, with a name like Hightop, this hut is located at 3,200 feet, just 325 feet lower than the top of Hightop Mountain. It¢s windy up here tonight.We¢re with Josh, and Greg and Yvonne again tonight.
Date: 2015-10-26
From: Hightop Hut

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: few clouds

Big day planned for today! We got up at 5:00 AM and were hiking with headlamps before daylight. It was cool and cloudy today. We didn¢t see any bear or deer.The Loft Mountain store and campground were closed yesterday. We haven¢t had cell phone service for two days. Burn and I recharged our electrical devices outside of the store and made a couple of calls.We hiked 21.4 miles today and got to the Blackrock Hut at about 4:45 PM. Having good trail really makes a big difference.EZ Rock, whom Burn met earlier this year, had a good fire going when we arrived at the shelter.
Date: 2015-10-27
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We slept in until 6:30 AM. Actually, we didn¢t sleep. Burn and I laid in our sleeping bags¢both awake¢waiting to see who would get up first. I won! He couldn¢t resist the temptation to throw more wood on the coals.It was supposed to start raining at 10:00 AM, but it started at 8:00 AM¢and so did we! Fairly easy trail, but the rain slowed us down. We reached our destination, Calf Mountain Shelter, at about 1:30 PM¢thirteen miles in the rain in 5-1/2 hours. We met one other backpacker who was going north; he said that he was going to town ASAP!We had lunch with hot drinks. Then Burn rested in his sleeping bag to warm up while I gathered wood and started the fire. Who says that you can¢t have a fire in the rain?Communications have been very poor in the Shenandoahs! There have been many (most?) times where, even with three bars of 3G, I could not place a phone call, send an email, or even send or receive a text message.I had the perfect opportunity to test Gore-Tex today. The shoes that I am wearing now are the first pair of shoes with Gore-Tex that I have ever worn. I can tell no difference between them and comparable shoes without Gore-Tex. My socks and feet got wet today! And yes¢I was wearing my gaiters.After we had a good bed of coals and the fire was blazing, we heated water for hot drinks and dinner on the fire. Mountain House freeze-dried seafood chowder tonight!7.6 miles downhill to Rockfish Gap and Waynesboro tomorrow! Even if it¢s still raining, we¢re staying in a hostel with hot showers and laundry tomorrow night.
Date: 2015-10-28
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA StanimalÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs 328 Hostel
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: moderate rain

When Burn and I got up at 6:00 AM, it was still raining. The coals in the fire pit were still glowing red, in spite of it raining all night. It was a good fire last night¢even by our standards. The mousetraps were full, so I got six last night.7.6 miles in the rain to Rockfish Gap. We started as soon as we could see the trail. It¢s always strange how much uphill climbing that you have to do to go down to a road crossing.We arrived at Rockfish Gap by 10:30 AM and called Adam Stanley at the hostel for a ride into town. Adam took us to the post office to pick up Burns¢ boots and check. No boots! Then to Wal-Mart to cash the check. They wouldn¢t cash it! Then to the hostel.Burn walked to a nearby check-cashing place to cash his check while I took a shower. Then he called Merrell for a tracking number and found out that they hadn¢t been shipped. They¢re supposed to ship today to be in Waynesboro by Saturday.After laundry was finished, we went out to eat. Logan¢s¢we¢d been having food fantasies about steaks and salads and red wine and lots of fresh, hot dinner rolls.We walked back to the hostel and found that our young section hiker friend Josh had just checked in. So everything finally worked out today, except for Burn¢s boots.
Date: 2015-10-29
From: Waynesboro, VA StanimalÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs 328 Hostel

To: Waynesboro, VA, Tree Streets Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We got up and had coffee and blackberry pie for breakfast.My wife is driving to Waynesboro to join me today. We haven¢t seen each other since I left home to start the trail in the middle of June! I loaded up my pack and walked across town to the Tree Streets Inn where we are staying. I arrived at the B&B about fifteen minutes before Becky did.We had lunch at Green Leaf Grill¢excellent salad and French onion soup.For dinner we went to Ming¢s Asian Buffet with Burn. It¢s an AYCE place that is famous with the thru hiker crowd. And we ate all that we could!