morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-10-24
To: Day 98 Southbound
Miles today: 24.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Pen Mar County Park to Dahlgren backpackers campground. Distance hiked today 24.5 miles, 1148.9 miles from Mt katadin. We had really severe weather last night, high winds, heavy rains that lasted for hours. I was dry and comfy in my illegal campsite under the pavilion at Pen Mar county park ;)I have hiked in every state that the Appalachian trail goes through, none have as restrictive of rules as this state! It has become my least favorite place to hike. Not only is it illegal to stealth camp, you can't camp in county or state parks! Oh, and they declared the entire length of the AT in Maryland a state park! Therefore the state dictates where thru and section hikers can camp along the AT.The state of Maryland is also dictating how far I can hike each day. Today I hiked nearly 25 miles, not because I wanted to, but I had to to get to a legal campground in hiking range of Harper's ferry. There were 4 campsites available, the first 2 would have left me more than 30 miles from Harper's. This one sorta was in range, but was still an unnecessarily long hike on rough ground. The 4th was an even longer hike. I passed at least a dozen places I'd have camped at in any other state that were the proper distance I was looking for. I'm sorry to go off like this, but this restrictive crap chaps my ass! One place I hiked by today that was way cool is the original Washington monument. It was built in 1825 I believe by local citizens.
Date: 2017-10-25
To: Day 99 Southbound
Miles today: 17.5

Dahlgren campground to Harper's ferry about 17.5 miles. Distance from Mt Katadin 1166.1 miles. Distance to Daleville is 295 miles.Well I'm finally here, Harper's ferry has been a milestone for me since I began my AT thru hike. The hike today went through part of the Antietam battlefield close to Gathland State Park. The trail most of the way to town was Rocky and a little slow going. However the last 3 or 4 miles was extremely smooth as we followed the old C&O canal towpath. Just before we got on the bridge to cross over the Potomac River I meet a couple riding a tandem bicycle. They're riding across the country from west to east. We watched a guy climbing high up on the cliff opposite the bridge. I got pictures of the climber plus views from the Potomac River bridge.Picture notes:The original property owner of what is now Gathland State Park was George A. Townsend. He was a well known reporter in Washington. He wrote many stories about Lincoln's assassination and it's effect on everyday people in the capital. Lee's lost orders figured prominently in the battle of Antietam.I'm staying an extra day in Harper's ferry so I'll cover the town in tomorrow's post. Also the party for Grey Beard will be tomorrow.
Date: 2017-10-26
To: Day 100 Southbound
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day in Harper's ferry. So far today I've gone to grey beards celebration for completing his AT thru hike. At 82 he is the oldest to complete it. I caught up with magic legs Jeff again. He's in town to help celebrate grey beards accomplishment. I also met his family, they've come to town to pick Jeff up so he can finish healing up at home. I've looked at as much of this very historic City as I can in one day. I've taken dozens of pictures, I'll attach some of them to this post. Tomorrow I'll be back to hiking, next stop will be Front Royale, gateway to the Shenandoah valley. Front Royale is about 50 miles away, I should be there in less than 3 days. There will be some really rough terrain to get over and some rain to deal with, ah just another week on the AT.
Date: 2017-10-27
To: Day 101 Southbound
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: few clouds

Harper's ferry to Bear den hostel 20.5 miles hiked. 1186.6 miles from Mt katadin, 1914.6 miles total hiked, 274.4 miles from Daleville.I hiked out of Harper's ferry this morning and crossed the Shenandoah River. The trail was pretty good today. The rocks were bigger and flatter easier to walk on. The hills are getting noticeably larger. I hiked into an area referred to as the roller coaster this afternoon. The first 3 miles didn't seem too difficult, we'll see how the other 10 goes tomorrow.I saw some deer about noon today, I suspect they were moving because of the cold weather.The bear den hostel is ran by the ATC, anyone can stay here. The cost is 30 dollars, that gets you a bunk, linens on the bed, shower, laundry and food. Pretty good deal, I think. I've been talking with an Air Force officer who's section hiking. David wants to thru hike when he gets out of the service on 3 years. Nice guy good you talk with. I spent a very pleasant evening.
Date: 2017-10-28
To: Day 102 Southbound
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

Bears den hostel to Dick's dome shelter hiked about 18.5 miles. Distance from Mt katadin 1204.9 miles. Distance from Daleville 256.8 miles.I hiked over the rest of the 13 mile long area called roller coaster. It took a while to get thru it. My average pace was below 2mph for the first time since New Hampshire, I think. Pretty tough day overall, I had planned to go further but I ran out of daylight. I did see my first bear on the AT today. Looked like a young one walking in the trail this afternoon. I came around a curve and there he was in front of me going the same direction maybe 50 feet away. I stopped and pulled out my cell phone to get a picture. The bear stopped then saw me and ran into the brush.  No bear picture this time. Picture is of the deer that I saw yesterday.
Date: 2017-10-29
To: Day 103 Southbound
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Dicks dome shelter to Front Royal mountain cabin hostel. Hiked about 16.5 miles, 1220 miles from Mt katadin. 241.6 miles from Daleville, VG. Hiked all day in the rain today, started off pretty warm and humid, but by the time I got to the hostel it was down in the 30s and still raining. There was a huge amount of wildlife ruining today. I saw lots of deer but no bears today.The Mountain Cabin is a really great place to stay. The owners are really nice, they do laundry and shuttle to town. They charge 25 dollars per night for a bed, 3 dollars for laundry and no charge for one shuttle to town. They also fix breakfast no additional charge. I highly recommend them.I also ate at a really good restaurant in Front Royal. It's called the blue wing frog, if you're in town check it out, I highly recommend it.
Date: 2017-10-30
To: Day 104 Southbound
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: clear sky

Mountain cabbin hostel to elk's wallow Gap, hiking distance today 20.7 miles. Distance from Mt katadin 1239.7 miles, distance to Daleville 222 miles.I left the hostel about 730 this morning, it was 35 deg and the wind was howling, gusting above 50 mph in the baskets much higher on the ridges. I spent some extra time today clearing a path thru a lot of downed trees, limbs and etc. Most of the fall foliage is gone, blown off. Up high on the ridge lines, there was snow and ice. It actually reminded me of last March in the Smokies. Not nearly as cold or icy though. All the ice and snow should be gone tomorrow, temps should be back in the 40s.I have been hiking in the Shenandoah national Park most of the day. Man I like this place, no fee to thru hike, I can stealth camp and the trails are in awesome shape. It's not easy hiking though, lots of long hard climbs and steep descents. I also stopped at a wayside store this evening and had a great burger and fries. They really hit the spot!On a negative side, yesterday my feet were soaked because my worn out boots are leaking and it rained all day. Today I got melting snow on my boots, wet Cold feet all day, I hope it's dry tomorrow. I'm going to try to restore the waterproofing temporarily when I get to Waynesboro in a week. I've heard a couple of things to try.
Date: 2017-10-31
To: Day 105 Southbound
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Elk wallow Gap to Skyland resort, hiked about 18 miles. 1257.5 miles from Mt katadin, 204 miles from Daleville. I started hiking about 740 shortly after it was light enough to see clearly. Most of this morning's hike was an uphill climb to the top of Mary's Rock. From there, the trail is a long ridge run with some ups and downs. Great trail and I was able to make good time all day. Also great views all day.I'm staying at the Skyland resort tonight to hopefully see the Astros win the world series. It's also pretty cold at this altitude, at or below freezing right now.
Date: 2017-11-01
To: Day 106 Southbound
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Skyland resort to baldface mountain stealth camp. Hiked about 20 miles, 1277 miles from Mt katadin, 184.4 miles from Daleville. Total distance hiked is 2005 miles.Wow great day hiking, good terrain and nice weather. I stopped at the Big Meadows Wayside and had a cheese burger and chili cheese fries. That's what I call a good late breakfast. I was also able to pick up a few food items I needed. I got a lot of attention at the wayside when people learned I was a thru hiker with 2000 miles completed. I stayed longer than I'd intended answering folks questions about my hike. I also got interviewed by a Brazilian news crew doing a special on national parks in the US. They had heard of the Appalachian trail but didn't know how long it is or that people thru hike it. They invited me to come hiking in Brazil. I'm going to wait a bit on that one.I saw 4 huge bucks and 4 or 5 does this morning. Also a bunch of large wild turkeys and a snowy owl. No bears today, not a bad thing.
Date: 2017-11-02
To: Day 107 Southbound
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Bald face mountain to ivy Creek stealth camp about 20 miles of hiking today. I am 1297 miles from Mt katadin. Today was a tough day of hiking. I'm really beat tonight. Climbed over several rather formidable peaks, saddle back, high top, along with several unnamed peaks. Didn't feel like I was fridge running today. It was more climb one peak, descend into a valley and climb the next one. I'm camping tonight in between two small brooks that feed into Ivy Creek which is quite a large creek. Very pleasant here I can hear the water gurgling as it runs over the rocks. This morning I had trouble finding my food bag in the dark. I eventually found it but it took about 20 min, so much for an early start. I had to go some distance from my campsite to find a tree with a suitable limb for hanging the bag. Tonight, I found A great limb about 80 feet away right next to the AT. It'll be very easy to find. Two more days of hiking before Waynesboro, it's about 30 miles away. I'll do another 20 miles tomorrow and finish up early on Saturday.
Date: 2017-11-03
To: Day 108 Southbound
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: few clouds

Ivy Creek stealth camp to Turk mountain trail stealth camp about 20 miles hiked. 1316 miles from Mount katadin, 145 miles from Daleville, 2044 total miles hiked.This was a much longer day mileage wise than what shows up here. I needed to resupply at a wayside store this morning. Turned out that I should have taken an earlier trail, I ended up booking an extra 2.5 miles so I really did 22.5 today. I had to hike some extra this afternoon to get out of an area where bears were very active, camping was not allowed in this 5 mile section. I did see a huge bear in this area. He crossed the trail in front of me. BIG BEAR!I'm glad the bears know not to cross the road at Turk's Gap.   I guess they can read the sign like I did.I spoke with two park rangers about noon, really glad I had my back country permit on my pack. They checked it out and were pleased I'd filled it out properly. They warned me about the active bear zone. Nice folks.I took a few pictures today, lots of pretty scenery.
Date: 2017-11-04
To: Day 109 Southbound
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Turk Gap stealth camp to Rockfish Gap hiked about 12 miles today, I'm now out of the Shenandoah national Park. I am 1327 miles from Mt katadin, I've now hiked a total of 2056 miles. I'm now have about 135 miles left to home to finish my thru hike. Today's hike was a little vexing for several reasons. I'd hiked 9 straight days without a break, that pace was starting to wear me out. I'm going to take 2 days off partially to rest and also the weather is going to be really bad for hiking the next few days. The trail was also really rocky and it got slick from light rain. I was really glad to get to rockfish Gap.  ran out of water today also, there just weren't many streams for about the last 20 miles of the AT in the park.The was a lot of deer moving today I got some good pictures of several does and fawns.
Date: 2017-11-06
To: Day 110 and 111 Southbound
Miles today: 21.0

Nov 5 th and 6th Nov 5 the was a zero day spend in Waynesboro. Nov 6th was spent hiking from rockfish go to maupin field shelter, a distance of about 21 miles. I am currently 1348 miles from Mt katadin, 114 miles from Dalesville. The mountains have gotten bigger fast, I climbed over humpback mountain earlier today, it topped out at above 3600 feet. It was extremely rocky both climbing and descending. I'm tired of rocks! I met a local trail runner that enjoys the challenge of running on the rocks. Me, I just want to get past them. Tomorrow looks very challenging, I have a 1500 ft climb, followed by a steep, long descent. After that, I have a 3000 ft climb over the Priest. Also it may rain all day tomorrow with temps in the 30s. It's going to be a tough day!I did take a couple of nice pictures today, views from up here of the mountain sides with fall folliage is beautiful.
Date: 2017-11-07
To: Day 112 Southbound
Miles today: 6.0

Maupin field shelter to Harper's Creek shelter, distance hiked about 6 miles. It's raining and getting colder all day. I've stopped at the first shelter I came to. Sharing it with 2 section hikers that stopped early also. They're talking about temps in the 10 deg range but this weekend. It's supposed to stop raining by 4, I hope to get back to making miles tomorrow.
Date: 2017-11-08
To: Day 113 Southbound
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Harpers Creek shelter to Seeley -Woodworth shelter. Distance hiked about 14.5 miles. Distance from Mt Katadin 1369.1 miles. Distance hiked in total 2097.1 miles, distance from Dalesville 92 miles.Wow really bad day hiking made harder by terrible hiking weather. First, I had a 3000 foot climb over the Priest mountain. Second, it rained most of the night, air temp about 35 deg. When I started climbing, the trees were dropping rain from their leaves. Once I'd climbed 1500 feet, I was getting pelted with ice. The last 500 feet there was so much ice on the ground that I was losing half of each step to slippage. I eventually made it over the top. Very cold and windy up there! I've been walking in drippy fog since then, and is still in the 30s. I'm wet thru my rain gear and my feet are soaked. Needless to say I'm not enjoying the last of my thru hike at all! I've said some very bad things about Virginia today especially their weather!Here a few pictures of the wonderland!
Date: 2017-11-09
To: Day 114 Southbound
Miles today: 14.0

Seeley-woodworth shelter to US 60 Buena Vista. I hiked about 14 miles, 1383.5 miles from Mt katadin, total distance hiked 2111 miles, distance from Daleville 78 miles.Last night it rained all night, which was ok, I thought because I was in a shelter. About 11 PM I woke up and realized that my feet were cold and damp in my sleeping bag. I turned on my head lamp and found that the wind had changed directions and the rain was coming into the shelter. I covered my sleeping bag with my tent and found that most of the bag would keep me warm just the feet end was sopping wet. I sorta slept the rest of the night. The rain continued all day until I climbed down to Buena Vista. I did cross over 3 more 4 thousand foot peaks. Probably had some great views, I could see about 50 feet due to the fog or rain clouds.Tonight I'm in a hostel in Glasgow. I'm going to slack pack the next 2 days and stay at the hostel. Good news is I've had a shower and my clothes are all washed and dried. My boots are drying out and I borrowed a day pack for tomorrow so maybe my back pack will dry too. Stanimals hostel in Glasgow is awesome. Donna find a great place, spotlessly clean, well organized and a great breakfast.I can't wait for this hike to be over with!
Date: 2017-11-10
To: Day 115 Southbound
Miles today: 21.8

56.8 miles to DalevilleSlack packed 21.8 miles today1404.9 miles from Mt katadin2133 miles hikedI hiked today between US hwy 60 and US 501 at the James River. The weather was ideal for hiking today, temps in the 40s all day and not a cloud in the sky. What a difference a day makes!I hiked over Rice mountain, Punchbowl mountain, Big Rocky Row and Little Rocky Row. Several were pretty steep climbs, however most of the afternoon was spent on a most excellent ridge walk. Very nice fast trail, the kind you live for, but seldom find on the AT.
Date: 2017-11-11
To: Day 116 Southbound
Miles today: 21.0

James River to Cornelius Creek shelter 21 miles hiked, 36.9 miles from Daleville.Wow really tough slack packing day. Went over the last 4k high peak today (Apple orchard mountain). At 4220 feet, it is one of the highest peaks on the AT in VA. We also climbed over thunder Hill today it's also close to 4000 feet high. Considering I started at the James River this morning at about 800 feet, a lot of climbingVery cold today, I had ice in my beard most of the day. Two more days to finish the hike!
Date: 2017-11-12
To: Day 117 Southbound
Miles today: 19.0

Cornelius Creek shelter to bobbetts Gap shelter, hiking distance of about 19 miles. Distance from Mt katadin 1443.2 miles, distance from Dalev­lle 18.2 miles. 2nd to the last day on the trail. My first thought as I hiked today, I'm not enjoying this, I'm tired of hiking, I want this to be done. Well it will be over tomorrow. I don't know how I'll feel, relief, yes, will I miss the trail, I doubt it. I'm camping for the last time also. I hope I don't get cold tonight. I've got my tent unrolled to cover my bag in case rain drifts in. It is supposed to rain tonight later. Some of the terrain was very pretty today. I'm not sure I noticed much. I took a fall yesterday and my left big toe had hurt all day. I hope it gets better tomorrow.I did snap a few pics today...
Date: 2017-11-13
To: Day 118 Southbound
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

Final update! 1461.8 miles from Mt Katadin, 0.0 miles from Daleville. I FINISHED MY THRU HIKE TODAY!I hiked about 19 miles to complete the hike. There aren't any easy days on the AT, this one was no exception. Several really steep, hard climbs and descents and lots of rocky leaf covered trail. One thing I've learned on the AT is that you can't complete a thru hike by yourself. Literally, a thousand people helped me do this. The many trail angels that gave me food and drinks at road crossings. There were others that drove me to towns or to the trail head from towns many times. There's Adam Dawson drove me over half of Pennsylvania when I was slack packing. He wouldn't take any money for all this, I did buy him dinner once or twice and maybe gas once. Just a super guy. Way back when I'd just began my hike I left my wallet in a shelter, the two guys who found it and safe guarded it and got it back to me.I can't thank all of you enough for all you did for me.In short, the biggest thing that hiking the Appalachian trail had done is it's restored my faith in humanity. There's a world of wonderful people out there!
Date: 2017-02-18
To: Temporary Leave of My Wits
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

¢Did they wait until it was too late to make from their lives one iota of what they were capable? Because, you see, gentlemen, these boys are now fertilizing daffodils. ¢¦ Carpe, carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.¢ -- John Keating (aka Robin Williams) in Dead Poets SocietyMy life has been extraordinary. It's been graced 35 years by the love and support of my wife Diane. It's been blessed by three children, Lauren, Matt, and Dan, now adults and fellow travelers wending their own ways in the world. And my early retirement seemed to be the capstone. Every day is Saturday, who can complain about that? Apparently, I could. While it may seem idyllic, leisurely sipping a morning cup of coffee with no need to rush off to work, it wants for adventure. I¢m not ready to run out the clock; I¢ve a bucket list to work on. At 58, I still yearn to make my life extraordinary.   For as long as I can remember ¢ and that¢s not long these days ¢ I have wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail. This ambition has held a prominent place on the bucket list, next to taking a road trip across the U.S. Last summer, after Diane warmed to the thought of my going on a five to six month jaunt along the Eastern Seaboard, knowing she would have to run the household, care for the dog, and send me vittles along the way, I started preparations. I read several books about the trail, watched countless You Tube videos, and accumulated gear. The Appalachian Trail, or AT, winds its way across fourteen states with terminuses at Springer Mt. GA and Mt. Katahdin, ME. The mileage currently approaches 2,190 miles. The total distance changes from time to time. In 2010, it was only 2,179.1 miles from end to end. Oh, for the good old days. Someone estimated that it¢s 5 million steps, the equivalent of 83 marathons. Fortunately, I don¢t have to walk them all at once, just one step at a time.
Date: 2017-02-22
To: Call me Ishmael
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

¢What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet¢ -- Billy S.Though sweet will not aptly describe how I will smell on the trail, I will be called by a name other than my given one. Trail names are part of the AT experience. Hikers generally do not refer to each other by their given names.   Rather, for the short(?) while they are on the trail, and even afterwards, they answer to an alias. It reminds of the CB radio days, when truckers had their own handles.   Either you give yourself a trail name or your fellow hikers will give you one, sometimes based on how you look or on some stupid act on your part. I prefer to give myself my own trail name and beat my trail companions to the punch.After wrestling with various names the likes of Don Quixote (the absent-minded wanderer), and Scarecrow (if I only had a brain), I decided to go with El Vago. It¢s pronounced ¢el bah-go¢, the ¢v¢ sounding like a ¢b¢. I took the name from the Spanish idiom ¢el vago siempre trabaja doble,¢ which translates loosely to ¢the lazy man always works twice as hard.¢ As an illustrative example of the El Vago principle, consider returning from the grocers with one bag too many to carry from the garage to the kitchen in a single trip. A wise man takes two trips. But not El Vago! Determined to avoid that second visit to the car, El Vago awkwardly scoops up all bags in his arms, establishing a firm grip on none of them. Invariably, one or more bags slip his grasp and fall. If he¢s lucky, the damage is minimal. Typically, though, the contents spill, eggs break, apples roll under the car, or the cap pops open on the milk jug. El Vago has managed to create more work for himself. It¢s a phrase our family uses frequently whenever we catch someone doing a bonehead move. ¢You¢re doing an El Vago¢ is a common refrain in our household, usually directed at me. I fully expect the trail will give me ample opportunity to live up to it.