morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-24
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter 

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light snow

Miles hiked today : 9.0Wake-up time this morning is a little hazy, as it was so cold that I stayed in bed for awhile before finally working up the nerve to crawl out of my sleeping bag and pack up. I was on the trail at 9:45 a.m., amidst light snow blowing in all directions. Cold, cold, cold. That's about the best way to describe today's hike. The snow on the ground was very light, though it was absent from the trail itself. Despite the absence of snow, the trail was somewhat slick in places and at 10:50 a.m., I slipped on a rock and ended up on my back. Cha-ching, fall #12.I reached the 4.4 mile mark at 11:55 a.m. and stopped for a 10 minute snack break before starting the 2,110 foot climb over 4.6 miles to Chestnut Knob shelter. Around 1:00 p.m., I hit a clearing that enabled the fierce wind to last me with snow. Some of the snowdrifts were close to 1 foot deep and there were often no tracks visible for me to follow. Combined with a lack of white blazes or posts to follow, the latter part of today's hike might have been more difficult if it hadn't been fairly obvious that the snow covered trail was headed further up the hill. During the remainder of the climb, I bore witness to snow tornadoes about 10 feet tall, though they dissipated within seconds of forming.I arrived at Chestnut Knob Shelter at 2:30 p.m. and let out an audible "Yes!" as soon as I saw it. This shelter is made of stone and is completely enclosed, which will provide decent protection tonight. Nobody was here upon my arrival, though I saw in the register that Red Rover and others had arrived and gone onto the next shelter, 10 miles up the trail.Upon arriving, I had a snack and as I finished, Frenchie (formerly Geri) arrived, followed shortly after by Gravity and Danger. Steady Step and Sponie Luv showed up later on and so it's the 6 of us in this ice box tonight.I had carried water from the previous shelter because this shelter has no immediate water source, though I still had to filter. Once that chore was complete, I cooked dinner and hopped into my sleeping bag to journal and read the first 6 chapters of "Into Thin Air," which was passed onto me by another hiker who'd finished it.It's another 21.5 miles to Bland, VA, which is a possiblity for tomorrow, though it depends on the weather. The snow and high winds definitely slow me down.Bedtime at 9:15 p.m.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Holy Family Hostel
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Miles hiked today : 9.07.8 AT miles + 1.2 roadwalk milesI woke up this morning at 6:15 a.m., packed up quickly and was on the trail at 6:55 a.m.I was motivated to get to town and was trying to hike fast, though my left shoulder was annoying me. I suppose that my pack wasn't balanced correctly, though I didn't stop to adjust it. I covered 3.0 miles to reach the summit of Pearis Mountain at 8:25 a.m., only after a very steep 200 foot upward climb over a very short distance. This was the first calf burner in quite some time.From there, I reached a dizzying viewpoint of the valley below and completely missed the sidetrail for Angels Rest before dropping 1,500 feet over 2.5 miles to reach VA634 at 10:15 a.m.Having covered 7.3 miles in 3 hours, 20 minutes, I stopped for 5 minutes to rest and then pushed on for another mile to the South border of the New River in order to hitch into town.Thankfully the sky was clear, though the air was a bit chilly. It took about 45 minutes to get a hitch and I rode in the back of a pick-up amongst a lawn mower, a pitch fork, and other landscaping equipment. The driver dropped me off near city hall, which left me with a 1.2 mile roadwalk, mostly uphill, to the hostel. That's better than the 3+ miles I would have otherwise had to walk.The Holy Family hostel is two stories tall and looks to have formerly been a barn. There is a stove, refridgerator, and a shower available for use and the fee is a requested donation. Amusingly, the fire escape door upstairs opens into nothingness. I suppose that a 15 foot drop is better than being burned alive.At 12:00 p.m., I walked to the library to check e-mail, then walked to the Lucky Star Chinese restaurant for lunch, arriving at 1:30 p.m. Right on the door were the words that are dear to many hikers: "All You Can Eat," which is often abbreviated AYCE.It didn't feel very well after leaving the Chinese restaurant. I didn't eat an incredible amount, though I certainly felt like I wanted to lay down and take a nap. Before that, I had to pick up a few groceries and walk back to the hostel.I left the grocery store at 3:30 p.m. and arrived at the hostel around 4:30 p.m. I made some telephone calls and then showered. After my shower, I found Bones in the common area with Sunset Screamer, whom I hadn't seen since Damascus. I talked with them while eating a pint of ice cream, then we headed to another grocery store to buy dinner ingredients. I made spicy bean and ground turkey burritos for myself and ate 4 large burritos before cleaning up. I'll have the leftovers for breakfast in addition to yogurt that I picked up earlier.Tomorrow, I've got to do laundry before heading out of town. I'm thinking about hiking a 12 mile day tomorrow, though it depends what time I get of town.Bedtime at 11:15 p.m.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Holy Family Hostel

To: Holy Family Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 0.0I woke up this morning at 7:15 a.m. and polished off the remainder of last night's ground turkey/bean/jalapeno mixture for breakfast. Afterward, I built a fire in the woodstove, which eventually made the hostel way too warm.Red Rover and Frenchie talked about taking a zero day today. It sounded like a good idea to me, as I hadn't done laundry yesterday and the weather was rainy. I decided to see how things looked later in the afternoon, but, by 10:00 a.m., I'd pretty much decided to stay the whole day.The half jar of jalapenos I'd put in my food didn't quite sit right with me and I remained close to the restroom for a portion of the morning before leaving to do laundry at 11:45 a.m. After laundry, I returned to the library at 2:00 p.m. to update my Trailjournal.While at the library, Sunset Screamer showed up and we left together to go to the grocery store. I picked up chocolate milk and corn chips, as well as new batteries for my headlamp.I arrived back at the hostel at 4:30 p.m. and finished the book "Into The Air," which is one thing less I'll have to pack out tomorrow. Around 7:30 p.m., I made cheese and jalapeno quesadillas for dinner, then followed that up with a bowl of soup and an avocado.After dinner, I scrubbed out my cookset, showered, and made some telephone calls before settling into bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be a little rainy with a chance of thunderstorms, though I'm looking forward to getting back on the trail.Bedtime at 11:15 p.m.
Date: 2005-04-30
From: Holy Family Hostel

To: Pine Swamp Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: light rain

Miles hiked today : 20.419.6 AT miles + 0.2 miles of side trail + 0.6 roadwalk milesI woke up this morning at 7:30 a.m., ate a breakfast consisting of yogurt, a banana, and chocolate milk. I packed up, leaving the remainder of my jalapenos and chocolate milk for some lucky hiker. I left the Holy Family hostel at 8:40 a.m. and walked to the main street to hitch back to the trail.Hitching out of town was much easier than hitching in and I was picked up by the Long family within a couple minutes. I was back on the trail at 9:15 a.m. and hiked 2.3 miles to VA641 before taking a 15 minute break near a stream at 10:15 a.m. The woods were very humid today, which was part of the reason for my early break. The other part is that my pack was feeling heavy with the new food items I'd purchased in Pearisburg.Over the next 5.0 miles, I had a continual, gradual climb, eventually gaining 1,645 feet in elevation before I reached Rice Field Shelter at 1:00 p.m. During the last hour, I'd seen two small salamanders, which were bright orange in color with a few white spots outlined in black. I stopped at the shelter for an hour to eat lunch, then moved on.At 3:50 p.m., I'd covered another 5.2 miles to a campsite just beyond Symms Gap Meadow. I stopped for 30 minutes for a break with a group of other hikers and then set out to cover the remaaining 7.1 miles to the shelter. Within 10 minutes of resuming hiking, it began to lightly rain, though this soon became a steady downpour that lasted nearly two hours. I steadily hiked on with the knowledge that the weather forecast had predicted thunderstorms this afternoon. Fortunately, the thunderstorms never materialized.I reached the intersection with the Groundhog Trail, which leads to nearby West Virginia, at 4:45 p.m. and reached the intersection with the Allegheny Trail, which leads to far away Pennsylvania, at 6:25 p.m. 10 minutes later, as the rain was finally lifting, two adult deer sauntered across the trail 15 feet in front of me.From the Allegheny Trail intersection, I descended 970 feet over 2.5 miles to reach the Pine Swamp Shelter at 7:25 p.m. I didn't see a swamp in the vicinity and the Pine Swamp Branch is actually a heavily flowing stream. Upon arriving, I claimed a sleeping space, filtered water, and made split pea soup for dinner. There was a fire going, so I took advantage of it to dry my wet clothing. Hopefully the weather tomorrow is clear.Bedtime at 10:00 p.m.
Date: 2005-05-05
From: Comfort Inn - Troutville, VA

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 8.05.0 AT miles + 0.1 mile of side trail + 2.9 roadwalk milesI woke up at 7:40 a.m. this morning and wandered downstairs for a big breakfast before wandering back upstairs for a 2 hour nap. After my nap, I packed up and checked out of the hotel and headed toward the laundromat at 11:30 a.m.I arrived at the laundromat at 11:45 a.m. and split a load of laundry with Frenchie. I also took some time to write a letter and to photocopy some documents before heading back to the trail at 2:45 p.m. I had to roadwalk back along US220 to the trail, arriving at 3:00 p.m. I only hiked 1.5 miles on the AT before reaching US11 and roadwalked 1.6 miles roundtrip to the post office. I forwarded my maildrop to Waynesboro, as I still had plenty of food and didn't want an extra 8 pounds of food in my pack for the next week. I also mailed a couple letters before heading back to the trail at 4:30 p.m., having spent 45 minutes addressing letters and such.I was back on the AT at 4:45 p.m. and hiked 3.5 miles up a well-graded climb to reach Fullhardt Knob Shelter at 6:30 p.m. Nobody was at the shelter upon my arrival and I thought that maybe the other hikers had moved 6.2 miles to the next shelter, though nobody had signed the register today.After about 15 minutes, Frenchie showed up and some other hikers arrived a bit after her. Red Rover even rolled in around 8:00 p.m., which was cool, as it had been a few days since I'd seen her and things had been so quiet in her absence.This shelter is the only one on the AT with a cistern, which is a system that collects rainwater from the gutter on roof of the shelter and feeds it through a pipe system. When I tried turning the faucet on, no water came out, so the reservoir must have been empty.Tomorrow's destination is still unclear for me, as water is scarce after the first shelter and camping looks tricky after the second shelter due to the proximity of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Perhaps I'll be able to camp on Cove Mountain.Bedtime at 10:00 p.m.
Date: 2005-05-13
From: Chief Cole's Apartment - Waynesboro, VA

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 7.47.0 AT miles + 0.3 miles of side trail + 0.1 roadwalk milesI woke up this morning at 6:00 a.m. and was still very tired. I packed up and chatted with Chief Cole and Paul until around 7:30 a.m., at which time, Chief Cole gave me a ride to the grocery store. I enjoyed staying at his place and plan to keep in touch.I mostly bought snacks and food for today's breakfast, then sat outside to eat 16 ounces of cottage cheese, 12 ounces of yogurt, and a quart of chocolate milk. Before my hike, it would have been difficult to stomach that much dairy.After eating, I pulled some items out of my pack that I no longer needed and walked to the post office. Including the weight of the flat-rate box, I sent a little more than 4 pounds of miscelaneous gear home, only to replace it with 8 pounds of food from my maildrop.As I was leaving the post office, Doc was arriving. While waiting outside, a gentleman walked up and asked whether I needed a ride to the trail. I told him that I was headed to the outfitter for denatured alcohol and he said that it was on the way. He was waiting to take Doc to the laundromat, introduced himself as Len, and once Doc finished up, we were on our way.After a quick stop at the outfitter, Len dropped me off at Rockfish Gap at 10:45 a.m. I walked 0.8 mile to the Shenandoah National Park self-registration kiosk, took a 20 minute break to fill out the permit, and then continued on at 11:30 a.m.2.9 miles later, at 12:50 p.m. I reached McCormick Gap and just across the road, I spotted a deer in the middle of the trail. It was about 60 feet away and I moved slowly to get my camera and happily snapped a picture. I took no more than 2 steps up the trail when the deer bounded away. As I passed the spot where the deer had stood, I could see it in the bushes watching me. A few steps later, I spotted a second deer in the bushes, also watching me.I reached a radio station on top of Bear Den Mountain at 1:30 p.m. and was less than pleased to see that Clear Channel Communications had a prescence on the AT. I was surprised to see about 8 old tractor seats stuck in the ground in a semi-circle around a pedestal. There is speculation that this was once a meeting place for an underground society.Continuing on from the radio station, I reached Beagle Gap at 1:45 p.m. and made it to Calf Mountain Shelter at 2:30 p.m. I ate lunch while reading and continued to read until 4:45 p.m. when Maruchan and Heidi showed up. I'd briefly met them yesterday at the Waynesboro Visitor Center, though they were headed off trail for the day.I chatted with Maruchan and Heidi while journaling and then cooked dinner. Doc and Dad's Grin showed up at 6:00 p.m. and it was 7:30 p.m. before I settled into my sleeping bag in the shelter. It's somewhat chilly today and my feeling of being tired never really went away, so I'm happy to be in bed early.Bedtime at 8:30 p.m.
Date: 2005-05-16
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 14.011.5 AT miles + 2.5 miles of side trailI woke up this morning at 6:00 a.m., though it was so cold that I didn't get out of my sleeping bag until 6:45 a.m. While packing up, a deer casually walked through the area surrounding the hut. After I packed up and ate breakfast, I was on the trail at 8:00 a.m.I began my hike wearing my fleece jacket, though by 9:30 a.m., I was overheating. I stopped to take off my fleece and rested for 10 minutes before continuing on. I reached Milam Gap at 10:20 a.m. and 35 minutes later, I was at the side trail for Lewis Falls and saw 2 more deer grazing, oblivious of my presence.The 1.4 mile round trip down to Lewis Falls was steep, though the falls itself was nice. I spent 55 minutes on the side trail and then walked up to the Big Meadows Wayside for lunch, arriving at noon. I had a sandwich, fries, and a milkshake, which, along with a bottle of root beer that I packed out for dinner, cost close to $12. While eating, I finished reading "A Walk In The Woods."I didn't head out until 2 p.m. and at 2:10 p.m., I spotted another deer. This one was having a sneezing fit and I could see clouds of mist spraying from its nose. Also of interest was the fact that it was scratching its nose with one of its rear legs. Weird.I was still tired after yesterday's long hike, so I felt like I was moving slowly. I saw 3 more deer at various intervals on the way to Rock Spring Hut, arriving at 4:00 p.m. At the hut, I sat down for dinner and began reading "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy."During the course of the evening, more deer showed up at the hut, bringing the total count for the day up to 11, possibly 13, as it was difficult to discern between the deer arriving and leaving. Particularly amusing was a pair of young deer chasing each other up and down the hill for several minutes before leaving the area.At this time, I'm rather sleepy and have been journaling by a fire that I helped to build earlier. Somehow, I need to make it to my sleeping bag without losing all of my body heat in the process.Bedtime at 9:30 p.m.
Date: 2005-05-24
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: mist

Miles hiked today : 16.115.7 AT miles + 0.4 miles of side trailI woke up this morning at 6:35 a.m. and took my time getting ready. I read while eating breakfast and then headed out at 7:45 a.m.At 8:15 a.m., rain started to lightly fall and when I arrived at Dahlgren Back Pack Campground at 8:30 a.m., the intensity of the rain picked up quite a bit. I sat under the restroom overhang for 30 minutes before moving on and arrived at the Washington Monument State Park at 9:45 a.m. I sat under a covered picnic area for 15 minutes until I was too cold to sit anymore, so I walked up the hill and checked out the Washington Monument. It was built long ago by locals and has a staircase that allows visitors access to the top of the tower.Continuing on, I reached Pine Knob Shelter at 11:25 a.m., stayed for lunch, and headed out at 12:05 p.m. It was still raining and, while I would have liked to take a longer lunch, I needed to keep moving in order to stay warm.At 1:15 p.m., I passed the Pogo Memorial Campsite. Until I approached the campsite, I wasn't sure who Pogo was, though it turned out to be a Maryland resident who spent a bit of time volunteering on the trail. There had been some speculation that Pogo referred to the serial killer. An hour later, I was carefully stepping over large, slippery boulders, and after another hour, at 3:15 p.m., I arrived at Ensign Cowall Shelter.Upon arriving at the shelter, I gathered and treated water and then made dinner before climbing into my sleeping bag to journal and read. I was feeling tired for most of the day, probably because I slept too long last night. All in all, today was a rather uneventful walk through the rain. Hopefully the weather will be a bit nicer tomorrow.Bedtime at 10:15 p.m.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Miles hiked today : 14.4When I initially woke up this morning, I heard rain, so I closed my eyes and fell asleep again. I woke up again at 8:15 a.m., ate breakfast, packed, and headed out at 9:15 a.m.During the last couple days, whenever I've put pressure on my left knee during climbs, I've experienced a very sharp pain. As such, I've been trying to walk slowly during this week of slow mileage days and have been forced to step up with my right foot leading.I reached the Raven Rock Cliffs at 11:05 a.m. and took a 15 minute snack and rest break. At 1:30 p.m., I reached Pen-Mar Park, the 9.5 mile mark, and stopped for a 50 minute lunch with Dad's Grin and Wingit.At 2:30 p.m., I reached a set of railroad tracks, which marks the Maryland-Pennsylvania border. Dad's Grin and I took pictures of each other, then moved up the trail a couple hundred feet to take pictures by the Mason-Dixon line marker. By entering Penn's Woods, a.k.a. Pennsylvania, I've completed my sixth state and left the South behind!Dad's Grin, Wingit, and I walked as a group for 2.6 more miles to PA 16, arriving at 3:35 p.m. It took less than 5 minutes to hitch to the Mountain Gate restaurant near Waynesboro and for $9.49, we had an AYCE buffet, which was quite good. Amazingly, the dessert bar was larger than the hot food bar and had at least 20 different types of pies, in addition to the other available desserts. By the time we were done, I was incredibly stuffed and tired and wished that I had a bed to take a nap in.As we were leaving, I heard somebody call out, "Hey, you stinky hikers!" It was Bones, who had taken 5 days off in Maryland to visit friends and family. We chatted for a bit, then he gave us a bag of brownies for the road, after which he went back inside to eat while we went to hitch back to the trail.It took about 15 minutes to get a hitch back to the trail and I was hiking again at 6:20 p.m. I reached the Deer Lick Shelters at 7:00 p.m. and, despite the name, I was surprised to see that there were actually 2 small shelters on site, each large enough for 5 people. If the names give me anything to go by, then the next 5 shelter sites are also double shelters.At the shelter, I visited with a pair of female hikers, Hungry Hippo and Gorilla in the Mist, who just started the trail in Harpers Ferry and are headed North. After setting up my sleeping gear, I sat at the picnic table to journal and ate a couple of the brownies given to us by Bones. After journaling, I crawled into my sleeping bag to read before drifting of to la-la land.Bedtime at 10:15 p.m.
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Deer Lick Shelters

To: Quarry Gap Shelters
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Miles hiked today : 15.8I woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m., saw what time it was, and promptly went back to sleep until 7:15 a.m. At that time, I crawled out of my sleeping bag, packed up, and read while eating breakfast.I hit the trail at 8:30 a.m. and made tremendously good time, covering 3.6 miles to the Tumbling Run Shelters in 1 hour flat. I took a 15 minute break, then began an 820 foot climb over 1.2 miles up to Chimney Rocks. I set my pack by the base of the rocks, took 10 minutes to explore the rocks, and then had a fun time trying to find my pack. With all of the boulders around, my grey pack cover camouflaged my pack very well. It took me a few minutes to locate my pack and, at 10:30 a.m., I was on my way.My next stop was at Snowy Mountain Road at 11:30 a.m. for a 15 minute break with Dad's Grin. When we reached PA233 at 12:05 p.m., we saw a parking lot with the word "lodge" on the sign, so we headed over to determine whether they had a soda machine. As we got closer, I saw that the place was called "Vision Quest Royal Academy" and it turned out to be an 8 a.m. ~ 3 p.m. boot camp for incarcerated male youth. Not surprisingly, they did not have a soda machine, so I headed out while Dad's Grin stayed to try to hitch to a store.I reached the side trail for the Rocky Mountain Shelters at 12:50 p.m. and opted to keep on moving. I hiked another 3.4 miles to Caledonia State Park, arriving at 2:30 p.m. I explored the park and found a soda machine, bought a couple bottles of soda, then headed back to the picnic area by the AT and stayed for a long break.During my break, I read and ate, and eventually, Wingit, Dad's Grin, and Bones showed up and joined me. Dad's Grin gave me part of a deli sandwich he'd bought in town, which I managed to fit in in addition to my earlier lunch.We headed out as a group at 5:40 p.m., though spread out over the 2.1 miles to Quarry Gap Shelters. I arrived at 6:25 p.m., treated a couple liters of water, and made split pea soup for dinner. With my earlier lunch, I am incredibly stuffed as I write this entry. Tomorrow I'll hit the halfway point 1.0 mile before arriving at Pine Grove Furnace State Park.After composing the bulk of this entry, I set up my sleeping gear in one of the shelters, and read for a bit before falling asleep.Bedtime at 9:45 p.m.