morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-04
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Key's Gap
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: light rain

Since Dee was in Harper's Ferry, we had a nice breakfast at our hotel and a nice lunch in town. I had a refreshing few beers to get my mind off having to return to the trail this evening. The climb out of HF was a steep 1.5 mile ascent in 90 degree weather. My clothes were soaked in sweat! That being said, I can feel my body getting stronger every day. I can go longer without taking breaks and the hills have less of an effect on me. While Yardsale was hanging our bear bag tonight in a nearby tree, I was laying down in the tent. As she walked back to me, she saw a furry tail sticking out from my side of the tent! I had no clue, but there was a skunk two feet away!!! Yardsale chased it away, while I laughed my ass off in the tent. Wish I would have got a glimpse of it though. At this point, I'm struggling to find a reason to continue on the trail. I just don't see the point of exerting myself to sickness. The heat is really getting to me. In addition, Yardsale ends up doing most of the camp setup because I'm just so exhausted. I may feel different in the morning, but at this point, I might be home earlier than I thought.
Date: 2017-07-05
From: Key's Gap

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: few clouds

This morning I was still ready to go home. It was hard to find the will to keep going because my body hasn't been cooperating. However, I'm using that as a reality check and choosing to listen to my body and know my limits. A flat, pleasant trail led us to our shelter for the night at Blackburn AT Center. On the way, we saw 4 or 5 deer very close to the trail. I even walked up on a mama turkey and her 10 babies! I almost ran into her because I wasn't paying attention. It was amazing to see them so close. The shelter here consists of a stone house for the caretaker and ridgerunner with a screened-in porch for hikers to eat, charge their phones, and relax in some adirondack chairs. It is luxurious. Then there is a hiker cabin with bunks to sleep, but many of us chose to sleep on the porch to be close to all the amenities. Falling asleep to the rain is quite nice on the porch with the breeze. Tomorrow is going to be another story. I'm not sure what we'll end up doing if it rains all day long. Pray for nice weather!
Date: 2017-07-06
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

I was too chilly sleeping on my lawn chair last night at Blackburn. And it was still pouring when I woke up. Thankfully, the caretaker left coffee and donuts for us to enjoy. Since the rain didn't look like it was going to let up, we tightened our boot straps, threw on a poncho, and continued south. I was suprisingly optimistic for such a crappy day and it stopped raining after about two hours of hiking. This was just in time for us to enter the part of the trail called the Roller Coaster, a 13.5 mile section of repetitive inclines and declines with no flat trail. We are now in the middle of the Roller Coaster at Bear's Den Hostel. It is an old, stone home with bunks on the lower level for hikers. The caretakers open the house to hikers from 5 pm to 9 am and offer a Hiker Special consisting of a bunk, shower, laundry, pizza, ice cream, and soda, as well as access to the hiker lounge with a tv, bathroom, couches, and fans. There are about 15 hikers bunking here tonight. Only 5 more days on the trail!
Date: 2017-07-07
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

With a wonderful night's sleep in a bunk at Bear's Den and pancakes and coffee for breakfast, I was ready to face the rest of the Roller Coaster. We climbed and descended 6 peaks in 10 miles today. It kicked my ass, but we did it and made it to Rod Hollow Shelter. That is one ride I never want to ride again. Not much to report today except it was the first day that I felt strong and could put in a lot of miles.
Date: 2017-07-08
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: clear sky

I did not sleep well at all at Rod Hollow. I was freezing because it rained, and I heard that there were centipede and ticks in the shelter so I was freaked out all night. Plus, my hips hurt so bad from doing the Roller Coaster that day. Reluctantly, Yardsale got me out of bed because there was a weirdo at the shelter and we didn't want to be there alone with him. I started off very clumsy, slipping off stones into the creek and peeing right down my leg. Our first climb opened up into rolling fields of grass and wildflowers on top of the mountain. It was beautiful. On our way down, a big black snake was layed across the trail sunning itself. Later in the evening, we heard a crashing in the woods and out popped a young bear 15 feet in front of us! It was so scared, it scrambled across the trail and into the woods. I felt so bad for scaring the poor thing. That was our first bear encounter on the trail. We also reached our highest point in elevation on the trail, too. It was a long day after hiking 13 miles, but I chose to set up our tent so I stay warmer and a little more cozy than in the shelter.
Date: 2017-07-09
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Tom Floyd Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

I woke up to a hiker shaking my tent to wake me up thanks to my mom. He was a funny guy, though. It was a long day out there. We are getting into bigger and bigger mountains as we reach the Shenandoahs, so every day is tougher than the last. At 10 miles, we stopped at Mountain Home Cabbin, a B&B for hikers that also provides a small food resupply. They had a little kitchen for hikers to hang out. We heated up some pizza for dinner while we recharged. It was a very cute place, and it was very tempting to stay the night there. But we trudged on another 3 miles into the mountains to stay at Tom Floyd Shelter which is at the Shenandoah Nat'l. Park's northern border. It's obvious we are near the park because hikers have been seeing bears everywhere. There are even a few roaming around the shelter tonight, though I haven't seen any yet. I'm a bit nervous to sleep here surrounded by bears, but I'll be keeping my glasses and flashlight on all night just in case. I finally feel like I have my hiker legs again, and we only have two more days out here. However, I'm looking forward to curling up on the sofa, reading a book, and doing nothing all day long.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Tom Floyd Shelter

To: Elkwallow Wayside
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: scattered clouds

As the sun was coming up, I sat up in my sleeping bag to see two bears huffing down the trail towards the stream. In this area, water is scarce so hikers have to share with the bears. We crossed into Shenandoah State Park early this morning. It felt so bad ass to get my backcountry permit to camp in the wild. Out of the 16 miles we hiked today, at least 10 of them were going up hill. My legs are mush after today. I couldn't make my legs go any further at times. But the views were amazing. We were so high, it was like we were in the clouds. At each view point, we could see all of the mountains we climbed since the morning. The reason we pushed so hard today was to reach Elkwallow Wayside Restaurant. All along Skyline Drive are waysides for tourists and campers to eat and resupply. I was looking forward to a great burger and a milkshake after having such a long, slow hike. Sadly, another hiker told us the wayside closed at 6:00 pm, not 7:00 pm. We were 45 minutes too late. I can't think of many other things that are so defeating as purposely putting in big miles only to find out you won't be getting your reward at the end. Instead, we ate couscous and a tuna packet. Luckily, there was a nice cozy spot under a pine tree for us to camp tonight. I hope I can walk tomorrow after the beating my legs took climbing those mountains!
Date: 2017-12-26
From: CulverÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap (U.S. 206)

To: Deckertown Turnpike
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Well I survived the first day of freezing, snowy hiking. I managed to stay dry and warm, despite my shoes not being meant for winter hiking. That was my only worry going into today because they¢re not waterproof. George, our shuttle driver, dropped us off at Culver¢s Gap where we left off in November. We started north from there. At the beginning, we could follow other hikers¢ footprints through the 1 1/2 inches of snow, but those eventually disappeared until we were walking on fresh snow. The most difficult part of the hike today was staying on the trail because the white blazes blended in with all of the white on the ground and trees. Eventually, the snow got deeper and deeper, to about 3 inches. With each inch, it became harder and harder to lift my feet through the snow. Yard Sale and Campbell are both tall, so I was hiking so fast with my little legs just to keep up! We climbed up to Culver¢s firetower and Sunrise Mountain, where there is a beautiful stone pavilion. At one point, a fox or coyote entered on to the path, and we were following his tracks down the trail for several miles. It was like he was leading the way for us. After 8.7 miles, George was waiting for us at the next road crossing. We arrived back at our motel for the night, only to be freezing cold after the sweat dried on our skin. It felt like forever waiting for the heat to turn on in the room. Tonight, we will be getting a warm meal and recovering in order to hit the trail again tomorrow.
Date: 2017-12-27
From: Deckertown Turnpike

To: Unionville Rd
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up this morning with my hips so sore. I took some advil and continued getting ready. Before we knew it, George was at the door to pick us up, but I rushed out the door without my hiking poles! I rely on them so much to stop me from slipping or falling, to help me up steep hills, or to rest on. I was so pissed I forgot them! I did feel more like a mountain woman with my makeshift walking stick, though. The first four miles of our day were rocky and hilly. We had to climb down two rock faces which definitely slowed us down. Much to my surprise, however, we came upon the state park headquarters for High Point along the trail. Being able to warm up and eat lunch comfortably was such a luxury. The secretary even made us coffee to warm our bellies. There are such kind people along the AT. Again, we headed out in the cold to reach High Point monument, the highest point in New Jersey. It was all down hill from there. Eventually, we came out to rolling meadows where we climbed over countless stone walls. Back in the day, these walls used to denote property lines. It¢s amazing to see such history that no one else would see unless they were walking the trail. Originally, we told George to pick us up after 10.7 miles, but feeling confident, we decided to go another two miles or so before dark. We walked through farm fields and along several private ponds, continuing our journey north. The fields turned into swamps with wooden planks to walk on in order to get through. Some of the planks were two feet above water underneath. It would have been very dangerous for me to slip and fall into the water in 18 degree weather. And with two inches of snow on the planks, they were very slippery. After a mile of plank walking, George was beeping his horn at us from the road as the sun was setting. It was a long day, but necessary in order to reach New York before the end of our trip.
Date: 2017-12-28
From: Unionville Rd

To: Route 94
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Ken, our shuttle driver today, dropped us off at Unionville, where we left the trail last night. It was six degrees. After a few rolling hills through the woods, we ended up on a road which we followed for a half mile. The road led to a wildlife refuge consisting of marshy land for bird watching. I ate some Gu and a granola bar. The AT followed the perimeter of the whole refuge. It was very pretty. At this point, I realized my water bottle spilled in Ken¢s car, so I ran out of water. From there, we climbed Potchuck Mountain, scrambling over boulders in the snow the whole way up. The Potchuck shelter was a welcome spot to rest and have some lunch. I had been carrying a water bottle full of snow inside my jacket, hoping it would melt so I could drink it. It was still frozen when we got to the shelter. Then, I tried to melt some snow in a pot on our cook stove, but the stove would not stay lit due to the cold. After five minutes, our bodies started to get cold again, so we had to keep moving. I knew we would be crossing a few streams, so I could get water there. It didn¢t register that all of those streams would be frozen solid. Then I began to worry. Towards the end of the day, the trail opened up to a long boardwalk through marshland again. It twisted and turned throughout the flatlands. The boardwalk was such a welcome sight after climbing Potchuck. We were almost at the road crossing to get picked up. I was definitely starting to wear out. However, after a short way, Yard Sale realized she lost her phone. The last thing I wanted to do was walk backwards, farther away from our shuttle drive home. Once she found it, we turned around again, crossed a railroad track and climbed a stile into a cow pasture headed towards Route 94. The trail passed through many different sceneries today, some very difficult parts and some so simple you wouldn¢t believe it was actually the Appalachian Trail. I¢ve learned to embrace every piece of this long journey north. Today was also a day of lessons learned, being that there were many factors I didn¢t consider when winter hiking that I will be sure to take into account next time. Looking forward to completing New Jersey tomorrow and stepping foot in New York!
Date: 2017-12-29
From: Route 94

To: NY-NJ border
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

As soon as we entered the trail this morning, a daunting mountain laid ahead of us. It was very intimidating. Boulders as big as cars were strewn along the path. It¢s crazy that after hiking 400 miles of the AT, these big climbs still intimidate me. Slowly, we made our way up the ¢stairway to heaven.¢ It was well worth it. We could see everything we hiked so far. The rest of the day was bunch of ups and downs, with every ascent feeling excruciating because of the huge climb we had done at the start of the day. At one point, we had to climb up a rock face one by one. By the end of the day, the scenery was green and the stones were beautiful shades of maroon, green, and white with snow on top. We had decided to take a side trail down the mountain to Greenwood Lake at the New York border so our day wasn¢t so long. Not being familiar with this blue trail, it was a gamble to, first, be able to find the trail and then, how reliable it would be on the way down. We found the trail easily but had to touch the NY state lime before we left the AT! Slightly ahead, there were three yellow blazes around a rock. In the middle was aspray painted line with NY on one side and NJ on the other. We made it! The blue trail down felt like miles because I knew our journey would be over once we got to the bottom. Ken, our shuttle driver, came walking up the trail with his dog to meet us. We came out right at Greenwood Lake Marina where his truck was warm and waiting for us. I felt a ton of emotions finishing my 4th state on the AT. I felt proud and accomplished, but also didn¢t want the trip to end! Til next time!
Date: 2018-06-29
From: US-211, Thornton Gap

To: Skyland Resort
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: clear sky

Amanda and Bob dropped us off at Thornton Gap around 1:30 after a 5 hour drive from home. We immediately climbed 1,000 feet to Mary¢s Rock which had an amazing view. By that time, my clothes and backpack were soaked with sweat. However, I was happy that I was able to climb the uphill so easily compared to last summer. It feels great to know that I am in such better health! Slowly we climbed, up and down, up and down. When I first started hiking the AT, I would always mistake dark tree trunks for bears and jump out of my skin! Ironically, as I was strolling along with my sunglasses on today, I mistook a bear for a tree trunk. The bear was 20 feet off trail, pawing at the ground, looking for food. Later on, I walked up on a bear who skirted into woods before us. It turned out there was a hiker on the other side of him, too, who was taking a video. It could have been a potentially dangerous situation if the bear hadn¢t taken a left into the woods. Nearing the end of a 10-mile day, Stony Man Cliffs felt like such an accomplishment. It¢s the highest point in Shenandoah National Park. Two friendly deer greeted us at the top, as well. Descending to Skyland Resort, we set up our hammocks just past the entrance. By that time, I was getting hangry. It felt great to indulge in a sweet potato and pulled pork melange with grilled shrimp as the sun set. Tomorrow morning, we will return to Skyland for a big breakfast before continuing south.
Date: 2018-06-30
From: Skyland Resort

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Last night, I slept perfectly content in my hammock, only waking up once or twice to readjust. Yard Sale woke me up at 6:45 this morning. We planned to break down camp and pack up in time to be at breakfast at Skyland Resort at 7:30. For once, I woke up on time. I had a delicious breakfast of eggs, potatoes, bacon, apple juice, and coffee. A good breakfast on the trail is rare, so I enjoyed every second of it. The morning¢s hike consisted of walking a ledge along the side of the mountain. Water was trickling down the rock face to our left. Having frequent water sources makes the whole day better. First of all, I didn¢t have to carry an extra 3 lbs. of water like I had to yesterday. In addition, I was able to maintain hydration throughout the day, improving my energy level and stamina. Usually, we chug water at the water source and only drink from our bottles when necessary because we have to conserve. We had to fill up at Byrd¢s Nest #3 hut, where much to our surprise, a ton of trail magic was in the bear box! Supplies for smores, candy, and even fresh cherries were left for us hikers. Yard Sale loved the cherries. A little later, the trail bordered Big Meadows campground and, we thought, brought us right to Big Meadows Wayside. However, we came upon the sign that led to the wayside which told us it was 0.4 miles away, uphill. The decision between eating a great meal or avoiding a climb was difficult, but lunch was so worth it. Hiker hunger kicked in immediately. I got a BLT, fries, and even a blackberry milkshake! The wayside was busy with flocking tourists, so it wasn¢t the relaxing siesta we had hoped for. I was happier in the woods even if I was exhausted from the miles already under my belt. From there, the trail became flat and smooth, a direct route to our intended destination for the night. Along the way, we approached a family who pointed out a buck resting in the shade under a tree. He was in full velvet with an eight-point rack, scratching at his antlers. Nature sure blessed us today. A mile later, another buck jumped off the trail. He, too, was in velvet. Feeling upbeat from all of the treats we ate today, Yard Sale and I decided we could continue a little farther than we planned. We flew past our destination without thinking twice. Three miles ahead was Bearfence Mountain Hut where we could be comfortable for the night. Shortly after passing Bootens Gap, I spied a bear on the hill, intently watching us. It felt odd. A few hundred yards later, rustling through the woods, a yearling hopped out onto the trail in front of us. The first bear must have been it¢s mother. For some crazy reason, we decided it would be fun to do Bearfence rock scramble after already hiking 14 miles. It was a lot of fun, though, and the view was 360 degrees of the Shenandoah range. Bearfence Mountain Hut is full tonight. We ran into Snow White who we met hiking through Pennsylvania last year. In addition, 3 thru-hikers, a section hiker, and 10 over-nighters are staying here, too. Til tomorrow! Hike on!
Date: 2018-07-01
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Hightop Mountain Hut
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning, I awoke to a screech owl and another owl talking back and forth at 5 a.m. It sounded like a girl screaming. Thankfully, I fell back asleep until the overnighters were frying bacon and brewing coffee which they were kind enough to share with us. I could have sleep another three hours. My body needed the rest after yesterday¢s sixteen miles. My legs were pretty tired. It felt like I was moving in slow motion along the trail. Finally, there were raspberries along the trail that were ripe enough to eat! I am obsessed with wild raspberries. Apparently, I wasn¢t the only one because a bear was eating the berries on the other side of the bush, too. Yard Sale and I were dreading the last three miles of the day because the guidebook showed a huge climb up Hightop Mountain. Our legs were already dead from the day before, and my feet felt like they were being hit with a meat tenderizer with every step. The climb was not fun. It was rocky and washed out, so I was basically hiking in a drainage ditch for 3 miles. The view was beautiful, though. Once we arrived at Hightop Mountain Hut, I soaked my feet in the spring to alleviate the swelling and tenderness I felt. It was so cold, I only lasted 4 minutes. I debated hiking on a few more miles, but I think my body needs the rest. Hopefully tomorrow, we will be back to hiking big miles. i also learned that the bug bites I have been getting are from black flies. So that¢s lovely. Too bad I sweat off any bug spray within an hour.