morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 28.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I was up and out of the shelter and surprised to see patches of blue skies intermixed with the rain clouds. As the sun rose, sun beams came thru the clouds and highlighted patches of woods. A light rain fell, nothing close to the downpours of the previous days - it looked like it was getting better.I was approaching an area known as the Pinnacle at 3730 feet when a bear stepped out onto the trail about 30 feet in front of me. He was the size of a medium dog, like a lab but without a tail and stockier - black with a brown muzzle. I said 'hey bear', you aren't supposed to surprise a bear if you can and he half turned his head toward me and scooted up the side of the mountain and out of sight around a boulder. It took over 900 miles but I had finally seen a bear, the best gift the Shenandoah could give me.By the afternoon the weather cleared enough that I had views of the Shenandoah Valley below, bread basket of the Confederacy and burned by Phil Sheridan in 1864 in a scorched earth campaign still referred to by locals as 'the burning'. Rolling hills, farms and small towns stretched as far as the eye could see.I was able to put in a 28.4 mile day, partly because the distance between shelters was long and also I wanted to put in a long day so I could reach Harpers Ferry on Sunday, 12 MAY 13. The shelter was full of section hikers and one other thru hiker that I hadn't met before, I enjoyed an evening of good conversation. I ate and settled in for the night, dry for the first time in days.
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Spent the night in Gravel Springs Hut with five section hikers and one other thru hiker. Two of the section hikers started snoring shortly after dark and kept it up until the gray light of pre-dawn. One snored in a long sonorous wheeze, while the other snored in a rapid-fire staccato of snorts - a sleep apnea symphony. The other thru hiker started moving as soon as the sky started to lighten and I was up and started to pack up.I was up early enough that I had covered the ten miles to Compton Gap before noon, coming down off the ridge and leaving Shenandoah National Park. I stopped in at Jim and Molly Denton Shelter, taking advantage of a solar shower at the shelter to cut several days of sweat. I had a nice talk with a trail maintainer at the shelter, he gave me the history of a former military post in the area that I had seen - today it is a 6000 acre endangered species breeding facility for the National Zoo/Smithsonian. Cool.I kept moving wanting to get a few miles in for the day, crossing Interstate 66 at Manassas Gap. A sign on the trail before I crossed the Interstate said I was entering John Singleton Mosby's area of operations during the Civil War. The Confederate Cavalry Officer and raider operated in an area stretching from Front Royal to Harpers Ferry, raiding wagon trains and skirmishing with Union cavalry. He was successful enough that the area became known as 'Mosby's Confederacy'.One last climb and I made it to Manassas Gap Shelter for the night. An older shelter, it was made of logs - chinked together with a rusted tin roof. It did the job though as another storm rolled in, heavy rain drumming on the tin.
Date: 2013-05-11
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 22.7

I started out before the other hikers, a quick breakfast and I headed out on a trail still soggy from thunderstorms the night before. I had to duck around the random tree down across the trail, a more common occurrence than you may think during storms on the trail - I haven't ever heard of a hiker being squashed by one though.After the ridgeline of the Shenandoah the woods at lower elevation were thick and jungle like with vines and undergrowth. It smelled like flowers and decaying leaves. I started to climb again and came to Sky Meadows State Park, the trail opened up and I walked across pastures with wildflowers.I saw a box turtle on the trail, just a regular run of the mill box turtle. Four miles later I passed another box turtle that could have been the twin of the one I saw earlier in the day - at least I think it was a different turtle. I usually move a little slower in the afternoon, don't think a box turtle could pass me on the trail but you never know. Anyway, this one held still for a photo.I made it to Bear's Den Rocks and took a right on a blue-blazed trail to Bear's Den Hostel. A rock stone lodge owned by the Appalachian Trail Center and operated by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club - they are famous for the 'Hiker Special' bunk, laundry, one soda, pizza and a pint of ice cream all for $30. I stopped and spent the night, enjoying a real shower and a pint of cherry and chocolate ice cream. A great way to end the day. Even better tomorrow I would be in Harpers Ferry; home of the Appalachian Trail Center, half-way point and where Michelle would pick me up for a week's break in Maryland.
Date: 2013-05-12
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Harpers Ferry - Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Miles today: 19.9

I had a great night at the Bear's Den Hostel but was having a hard time sleeping - I was excited to get to Harpers Ferry and to enjoy a week break from the trail in Maryland with Michelle. I got up and was out the door before 0500, hiking with my headlamp to light my way.I had three miles to go on the 'Roller Coaster' a thirteen mile stretch of the trail with steep ups and downs over rocky terrain. Even though it was dark I picked it my way up and down the hills and ravines, I was being careful - I didn't want to get hurt, I still have a long way to Maine!I had one last uphill and then was again on the ridgeline headed to Loudoun Heights, a ridge that looks down on the Potomac River and Harpers Ferry. I crossed the river and walked the last half mile to the side trail to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.I stopped in and talked with the folks at the Conservancy and a few thru hikers that were there getting back on the trail after taking a few days break. I had my photo taken and put in the book of thru hikers for the year - I was hiker number 75 for the year so far.If you ever are in the area I would recommend a visit to the Trail Conservancy, they have information on the trail, unique hikers in the past few years and a relief map that shows the terrain along the trail. They also have a small store with lots of books on the trail and cool t-shirts.That is my journey so far - I have spent the last week hanging out and enjoying some time off the trail. I got some new shoes and had a great afternoon at the National Zoo in DC - even got to hear a lion roar, very cool. I did hike 20 miles from Harpers Ferry to Washington State Park but I will include that in my next update. I will head out tomorrow and plan to hike towards Duncannon, PA and will update my journal in a week or so. The trail is calling and I must go.
Date: 2013-05-18
From: Harpers Ferry - Appalachian Trail Conservancy

To: Washington Monument State Park
Miles today: 20.0

Michelle dropped me off at Harpers Ferry for a days hike to Washington State Park, 20 miles to the North. I was going to be picked up that night and back to the farm - or the best 'hostel' I have stayed at on the trail.It was a cold and overcast morning but the trail was easy, following the old C&O Canal Path along the Potomac River. I had hiked this section of trail with Michelle and Karl late last summer, finishing for the day at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy at Harpers Ferry. That trip made me realize that a thru hike was truly in my future - hard to believe less than a year later I was actually doing it.The trail ran along the ridgeline passing thru several gaps that played a key part in the Battle of South Mountain in 1862 as a prelude to the Battle of Antietam. I stopped briefly at Fox Gap, sight of a memorial to General Reno - a Union Corps Commander killed there during the battle. Interestingly enough a Confederate General was killed during the same battle near by. I wondered if Reno was any relation to Major Marcus Reno of Battle of Little Bighorn notoriety.I also passed by South Mountain Creamery, I didn't stop for ice cream but the milk cow in the farm exhibit at the National Zoo in Washington DC I had seen earlier in the week was from there. Her name was 'Tulip' and she is the cleanest dairy cow I have ever seen - I am sure she will enjoy many great years at the zoo.I made it to Washington Monument State Park by mid-afternoon and had a little time before Michelle came to pick me up so I played tourist. The monument itself was constructed in 1827 by residents of Boonesboro, MD in honor of George Washington and was used by Union Soldiers as a signal station during the Battle of South Mountain. They had a small visitor center and I enjoyed the displays, which included a enfield musket that a local farmer had picked up after the battle.Michelle picked me up and we went home hitting a Chinese buffet on the way. Great way to end the day.
Date: 2013-05-20
From: Washington Monument State Park

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 26.2

Michelle dropped me off early, she had to get to court and I wanted to try for big miles so it worked out perfect. My goal was to go beyond Pen Mar Park and into Pennsylvania, putting my sixth state behind me.It was warm and clear as I headed out, it had rained the previous day and it got muggier as the day progressed. I headed back on the ridgeline, climbing higher and the ground got progressively rockier. I stopped by Pogo Memorial Campsite and enjoyed a snack - avocado and pita bread. Shortly after that I ran into a Black Rat Snake on the trail but I wasn't quite quick enough to get his picture.I made it to Pen Mar Park, came down the hill and crossed a set of railroad tracks. The tracks were the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania and right after them was a sign saying I had crossed the Mason Dixon line. I haven't had much of a chance to travel in the Northeast so I look forward to the sights in the months to come.That night I made it to Deer Lick shelter - 26.2 miles from where I started the day. It had been hard to leave the farm, but I was glad I still had my hikers legs after a week of laying around. I settled in for the night, enjoying the sound of the whippoorwills as I drifted off to sleep.
Date: 2013-05-21
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: few clouds

I was up and out early, the rhythms of the trail returning as I had been off for a few days. I had come up with a plan for the next section, I wanted to be in New Jersey the first week of June and having a plan always seems to get my mojo working again.I had walked for a few hours when I came across another Black Rat Snake, at 4 foot long he could have been a carbon copy of the ones I had been seeing on the trail for the past month but never got a picture of. I fired up the phone determined to get a photo. He cooperated at first watching me warily but not taking off, my phone was agonizingly slow as I waited for the SD card to boot. He decided he had enough and was leaving as the phone came to life so I tried to shoot the picture with one hand while corralling him with my hiking pole with the other. Even though I was careful not to hurt him, he came up off the ground like a cobra and vibrated his tail in the dry leaves - a startlingly realistic impression of a rattlesnake. I got my photo and he got away, neither of us worse for wear.I stopped for lunch at Caledonia State Park, enjoying a picnic table next to the creek. I watched a fly fisherman catch a small trout, reminding me that this fall I have to get the 5 weight rod out and harass the bluegills on the Bryant.I wandered into Birch Run Shelter and had the place to myself - my time off had put me in between two bubbles of hikers. An unintended benefit as I enjoyed the quiet.
Date: 2013-05-22
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 25.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I was up and out the shelter by 0530, it was already getting hot by mid-day so I wanted to get up and out early as possible. Pre-dawn gray light filtered thru the trees as I made my way out of the shelter and onto the trail.I stopped briefly at Toms Run Shelter and talked with another thru hiker I had seen the day before, a lot of section hikers on the trail that started at Harpers Ferry and are headed to Katahdin. With my haircut and new shoes I am tired of being asked if I am a section hiker, it was nice to see someone that recognized me from Virginia.I passed the shelter and a half mile later came to a marker in the woods that said I was at the half-way mark for the trail. 1090.5 miles down and 1090.5 miles to go - nice to know that I was making progress. I wish someone would have walked up so I could get my picture with it, but no luck.I came out of the woods that afternoon and was only .2 miles from the Green Mountain Store, so I decided to stop in for lunch. The trail in the North doesn't seem to be as 'wild' as in the South, where I could go for days without hearing a car or seeing a building but it is nice to be able to get something to eat when I want it. I had a sub, bag of chips and two Gatoraids - perfection.It hit over 90 degrees by the time I made it to the shelter that evening - I was glad to enjoy a little shade and drink some water. A church group was camping in the tenting area nearby, they weren't too loud so I didn't lean out the shelter and tell them to get off my lawn. I made space just in case as storm clouds rolled in as it got dark.
Date: 2013-05-23
From: Alec Kennedy Shelter

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 25.5
Weather: light rain

It rained and stormed through the night and by morning the woods smelled like damp leaves and water dripped from the trees. I threw on the pack cover and put my rain jacket where I could get to it and headed out. Flat easy walking as I spent the day crossing the Cumberland Valley, I couldn't help but think that the last time a Shoupe walked across this ground he was probably heading West to Kentucky - then the frontier. Today the valley is farms and dairies, I walked thru hay fields with grass up to my waist and along the edge of cornfields with corn that was four inches high. A change to the ridgeline but much appreciated.I saw two deer, the first ones I had seen since Virginia. They were brownish red, summer coats sleek as they stopped for a second to watch me then bounded away whitetails flashing.I stopped in Boiling Springs, PA again enjoying a sandwich, chips and a drink. If I keep up eating in town at this rate I am going to get fat! I filled my water bottle at a tap outside the Appalachian Trail Conference Mid-Atlantic Office and kept on trucking.That night I made it to Cove Mountain Shelter, I was four miles outside Duncannon PA - my next stop for resupply. I would nearo, not a zero day but darn close, in Duncannon and continue on 25 May towards New Jersey. I had traveled 99 miles since Michelle had dropped me off four days earlier and I was on track to cross into NJ the first week of June.
Date: 2013-05-24
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 4.0

I made it to Duncannon, PA. Today I will get a shower, wash clothes, resupply and try to find something good to eat. I am staying at the Doyle, an 1905 Anheuser Busch Hotel - once owned by the brewery as a vacation destination. My journal entries for this section begin with Washington Monument State Park on 18 May 2013, I didn't hike on 19 May 2013 enjoying a last day in Maryland and I was back on the trail full time on 20 May 2013. A special shout out to Michelle and everyone in Maryland, you made my R&R there fantastic and I look forward to coming back in the fall!
Date: 2013-05-25
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Yellow Springs Village Campsite
Miles today: 24.8

I was up and out early out of the Doyle Hostel in Duncannon. The Doyle was originally a hotel built in 1905, catering to mill workers and coal miners vacationing on the Susqehanna River - today it has a run down elegance. I would expect a alcoholic writer working on the next great American novel to be right at home there.I crossed the river and there were cars parked where the trail enters the woods, with people with hi-power binoculars and cameras watching the cliffs along the river. A mating pair of Peregrine Falcons were in the area, I felt lucky to catch a glimpse of them - even if all I could make out were whirling dots streaking thru the air.I walked thru the day along the ridge, dropping down to cross Clarks Creek. In the creek I spotted a trout rising to take mayflys off the surface, graceful he wasted not a movement - moving to take one with a mere brush of his tail, a slurp and the fly was gone. He might have only been eight inches long but in his world he was as efficient a predator as a Great White.I climbed out of the valley Clarks Creek was in back up onto the ridge, travelling an easy five miles to camp. I put up my tent, old rainmaker, at the sight of a 1850s coal mining village that isn't there anymore. The only sign of its' existence a few rock foundations and small chunks of anthracite. A great day on the trail.
Date: 2013-05-26
From: Yellow Springs Village Campsite

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: clear sky

It was cold and overcast when I woke up, but it didn't rain on me or my tent. Not a miracle on the trail, but darn close to it. I packed up, enjoying the camp chore of breaking camp and getting ready for another day on the trail.The day was uneventful, cool in the 40s the wildlife didn't cooperate and I seemed to be the only thing moving on the trail. I made it to the shelter that night without really anything to report.The 501 Shelter is unique though. It sits right along Route 501 and when the Forest Service acquired the land it was going to demolish the existing structure, concerned that it was too close to the road. The local hiking club intervened and today a caretaker resides in a small cabin by the shelter, taking out trash and keeping the place orderly. The Shelter is an enclosed bunkroom with a eight foot diameter octagon skylight providing light, there is also a privy and a solar shower on-site for hiker use. Since it is close to town, a local pizza place delivers to a small parking lot an easy walk from the shower.Lots of section hikers at the shelter that night, good company. I enjoyed a frigid solar shower, but it did allow me to clean up. Then along with the group I ordered a medium cheese pizza, enjoying it and way to much Coke. I had a hard time sleeping that night because of all the sugar I had ingested, I finally drifted off ready for another day on the trail.
Date: 2013-05-27
From: 501 Shelter

To: Port Clinton Pavillion
Miles today: 24.0

Cool with sporadic showers as I headed out - I think I was still somewhat amped up from all the Coke I had drank the night before. That or I am loosing my tolerance for soft drinks and corn syrup.A few hours into my hike I had crossed several boulder fields and seen so many chipmunks that I had given up counting/naming them at 6 Alvins, 6 Simons and 5 Theodores. I crossed into an area of thinned trees with thick fern understory when I spotted a Timber Rattlesnake on the trail ahead of me. I was able to identify him pretty quick as I had seen a poster from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation at the shelter with Snakes of PA. He was a medium sized one, probably four feet long or so. He had a distinct camoflage pattern on the front 2/3 of his body and was black on the back 1/3 which I only saw thru the ferns. He was on the trail, sunning himself and didn't seem inclined to move so I moved off trail around him, taking a few photos as I went. I didn't seem to alarm him, he never rattled, but his head followed me as I went around - tongue flicking the entire time. Glad I saw him and that we both walked, or slithered, away without incident.Cooler weather transitioned into more clouds and threat of rain that hadn't materialized by the time I made it to Port Clinton. Port Clinton is a small town of 350 people and the let hikers camp out at a pavillion in the town park. I laid out my bedroll on a few old benches that had been pushed into a platform and was asleep about as fast as my head hit my make-shift pillow. Don't know if I was finally crashing from Coca-Cola overload or the excitement of seeing my first Timber Rattler in the wild.
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Port Clinton Pavillion

To: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: moderate rain

A wet and cold day, rain fell all day long - and temps stayed in the mid-50s. I hadn't seen a day of walking in the rain like this since the Shenandoah Valley. I did see a decent amount of wildlife though, even if it was on the small side.I saw plenty of slugs, snails and millipeeds. From another poster from the Conservation Department I learned the small orange salamanders I had seen before weren't salamanders at all but newts. I saw 5 newts that rainy day, definitely newt weather - I might have a new system for rating a rainy day by the number of newts seen. 'Boy it looks pretty wet out there, probably a 5 newt day' I might say leaving the shelter in the future.I encountered more of Pennsylvania's famous boulder fields, crawling across miles of rocks that ranged in size up to a Greyhound Bus. I usually enjoy a boulder climb as much as the next guy, but the rocks were extremely wet and I had visions of me piled up at the bottom - millipeed food. I slowed down to about a crawl and while I walked all the way from 6 am to 4 pm, I only covered 21.9 miles before making it to the shelter.I found two very wet and dejected section hikers there, but the shelter filled up quickly and everyone shared stories of their exploits on the rocks and the mood improved. I got away easy with a few scrapes, one guy will loose a toe nail. Sometimes slow and steady wins the race.
Date: 2013-05-29
From: Allentown Hiking Club Shelter

To: Palmerton 'Jail House' Hostel
Miles today: 18.0

Up and moving quick, I wanted to make it to Palmerton, PA and enjoy a few hours in town to clean-up and resupply. I was still on a mission, I wanted to put Pennsylvania behind me and make it to New Jersey by the first of June. I don't have anything against PA, it is a lovely state, I just like to walk. Miles make me smile.It had been cold with showers for the previous few days, perfect walking weather. Today it started to warm up and was expected to be in the high-80s with high humidity by afternoon. I figured I would be up and out early and should get to Palmerton by mid-afternoon. I was headed to Palmerton because the town allows hikers to stay for free in the basement of the municiple building. During business hours you sign in at the office, after hours you have to go to the police station - so it has become the 'Jail House' Hostel. I had hoped I would stay in a cell, sort of like Otis on the old Andy Griffith Show. I made it into town by 2 pm, not bad considering I had a series of boulder scrambles along the way. Now I am furiously trying to complete all my town chores, updating journal included, before curfew for the building this evening. I will be out tomorrow morning, headed to NJ and crossing the Palmerton Superfund Site, which I will include in my next series of entries. Thanks again to everyone for following my adventures, I never really planned on having an audience other than my family and a few friends. This series starts with me leaving Duncannon, PA. Take care and I will see you down the trail.