morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-08
From: Sam Moore Shelter, near Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Tent site near Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 19.4

These little bright green bugs have been jumping out of my way on the trail for weeks. This amorous couple (one on top of the other) allowed me to take their picture while they were deeply involved in making new green little bugs. I got this one picture, but as I got my camera too close to them they separated and made a break for it. I could've sworn that the one that had been on top turned around and shook his little fist at me.I hiked through a section today called "The Rollercoaster." It consisted of 13 miles of tightly packed ascents and descents of about 500 feet each and was quite rocky. Classic PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs).I'm often plaugued by gnats in my face. These gnats are kind of insane as they hover and spin in little circles for quite a while and then take a kamikaze dive into my eyes or nostrils, which results in their demise. Quite unpleasant little fellows. When it threatened to rain today, I looked down at my shirt that was soaked with sweat and thought there was no need for me to even put on my rain jacket. It turned out that during the mid to late afternoon there was only a light drizzle that had the effect of cooling me off and knocking out the gnats. (Yay!) But in the early evening when I was still hiking, a real booming thunder shower rolled in. This time I put on my rain jacket, not to stay dry but to stay warm. The trail turned into a streaming run off 2 or 3 inches deep that I was slopping through. As I trudged forward, dozens of frogs jumped out of the newly formed mini creek to avoid me all along the trail. A few of them couldn't make up their minds which way to jump, and would jump back and forth in front of me. (It's like what squirrels sometimes do in the road with an approaching car.) As I was bringing each foot down, I found myself trying not to step on a frog that was jumping around unpredictably. It was a watery and froggy chaos but I'm pretty sure I successfully avoided all frogs. I set up my tent in the rain and climbed into its dry chamber. I really like this tent. It has now stopped raining and it's pretty cool out so it should be a good night for sleeping. Nowhere I'd rather be.
Date: 2015-06-09
From: Tent site near Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: broken clouds

This is my "3D" photo taken when I registered as a thru-hiker at the AT Conservancy in Harper's Ferry. This traditional stop is known as the psychological halfway point of the AT, though the mathematical halfway point is still 70 miles up trail. I quite enjoyed going through all the photos and seeing so many other thru-hikers I know who have arrived here in the last couple of weeks.I tented off trail last night, and before dawn I heard a large creaking sound. It grew louder and then there was crunching and crashing ending with a ground shaking - whomp! A tree fell not far from my tent. Whoa! Since sleep was no longer an option, I decided to go ahead and get up and start my hike into Harper's Ferry. My brother, who lives just over an hour away, picked me up from the AT Conservancy and I'm staying with him and my sister in law today and tomorrow. Nice. I called around to try to get new straps for my trekking pole (mine are frayed) with not much luck. But the REI store here said they would cannibalize their store model for me and order new straps to arrive next week that they can then put on their for-sale trekking poles. I've spent a lot of time, and frankly money, at the REI where I live. Their customer service is pretty spectacular. This is just another example here in another state.I'm sitting here at a baseball game this evening watching my two 8-year-old twin great nephews play. Stark contrast from the trail. Good times.
Date: 2015-06-10
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

You see that white blaze on that tree? That marks where the trail goes. Sometimes I just can't even tell where the trail is (like in this photo) except for the white blazes. Thank goodness for the white blazes.Tonight is the last of my 2-night stay with my brother and sister in law in Maryland near Harper's Ferry. It's been a great break.I suppose that being at a thousand miles and basically at the halfway point is a good time for me to reflect on this hike so far. When I began this hike I knew I had planned and prepared about as well as I could. I had done a good deal of reading of other people's accounts.I had read so many accounts of how brutally hard different parts of the trail were. For instance, "This section of the trail will kill you." So naturally I was worried about my ability to deal with those challenges. I also had concerns about whether my 60-year-old body and joints would agree to carry me through this thing. But a funny thing happened as I encountered each one of these notorious challenges (like the "Jump Up" ascent out of Nantahala Outdoor Center, Jacob's Ladder, the Great Smokies, and some others). I just took each one, one step at a time. And sure, some of those steps were really hard, but it was still just one step. And each time I conquered one of those challenges, my confidence grew. Now, when I hear about the foot bruising, sharp rocks of Pennsylvania and the bouldering and tortuous cliff climbing in the White Mountains, I figure it will be plenty hard, but I still will just take it one step at a time. I probably have less fear now and just a healthy respect for the upcoming rigor. Staying positive. I had read many journals and blogs from other thru-hikers in the past few years. One common thread of the successful thru-hikers I noticed was a positive attitude. Now I think I'm a pretty positive and cheerful guy to begin with, but I have purposefully tried to look on the bright side of all of the challenges I've faced. I do physically hurt and I've uttered some colorful language a few times. But the more I purposefully stay happy, the easier it seems to be, and it has resulted in my being truly happy out here.In a nutshell? I've still got some trepidation about the more difficult second half of this trek, but I'll break it into smaller chunks, even down to a step at a time. And I'm determined to keep the positive energy flowing. So I'm betting I'll keep on enjoying the heck out of this hike.
Date: 2015-06-11
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Turner's Gap, MD
Miles today: 18.1

I made it to Maryland, where I was born and raised, and I came across this sign with a bear character from my childhood, Smokey the Bear.This morning I met an old friend, Mike K., and we hiked together most of the day. Good hiking, and fun to be with Mike. The ups and downs have been gentle in Maryland's somewhat rocky paths. There seems to be a good deal of poison ivy and poison sumac along the trail's edges so I have to be careful where I sit or set my backpack. A highlight of the day was at Weverton Cliff where we had a really impressive view looking way down at the Potomac RiverMy friend has a friend who met us for dinner at the end of our hike, and now we're staying the night in his house. We're near the site of the Civil War Battle of Antietam and his old historic house was used as a field hospital back then. There's some real history here, and it's so nice to be invited to stay.My friend will drop me off early tomorrow and then back onto the trail for me.
Date: 2015-06-12
From: Turner's Gap, MD

To: Near Raven's Rock Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: broken clouds

Believe it or not this was the first Washington Monument. It's near Boonsboro, MD, and it preceded the more famous one in DC by about 50 years. Kinda ugly, if you ask me. The hike through Maryland will be relatively short and I'll be done tomorrow. There have been quite a few miles of rocks to step on, over, and around. The rocks and a few steep ascents slowed me down today. When climbing steep hills, I almost always go into a meditative mode, usually with some little fragment of a song playing in my head. Then my breathing falls into cadence with that partial song that seems to be more in the background, and my mind either goes blank or my thoughts move from one thing to another. On these steep ascents, I keep my pace just under the effort that would cause me to breathe hard. For me, panting is not sustainable, so I go just a bit slower to keep from reaching that stage. And I always use both trekking polls when climbing, so no eating while hiking up ascents. I had a nice hot sunny day today, except for a while in the afternoon I knew I was in for some rain -- maybe just a bit and then blow over. I passed by a small grove of trees with a thick canopy that I knew could hold out the rain for 10 minutes or so. I considered ducking in there and waiting it out but I also remembered David Miller's guidance (the guy that produces the AWOL trail guide). His guidance is whenever you can't decide what to do, just keep hiking. Pretty simple, eh? So that's what I did - kept hiking. And I'm glad I did because it rained for almost an hour and I would have just wasted that time in that grove and still gotten wet. I think about that quote and apply it often and pretty much always just keep hiking -- all day every day. Tonight I've found a nice little out of the way place off the trail, which is my favorite kind of tenting. It's called "stealth camping," but it's perfectly legit, at least around here. There's a shelter about half a mile ahead but I prefer being out here alone. It's now dark, I'm recording this voice to text, and there are quite a few bugs trying to get to the light on the cell phone screen and bouncing into the netting of my tent. It's a little breezy and I'm looking forward to shutting my eyes, listening to the wind and drifting off to sleep.Nowhere I'd rather be.
Date: 2015-06-13
From: Near Raven's Rock Shelter

To: Pen Mar County Park
Miles today: 3.9

I've learned that two little steps are better than one big step AND little steps are more available than I imagined. For instance, in this picture is a small rock wall/step built to protect the trail from erosion and make it easier for hikers. The step is about 12 inches, which makes it tempting to take the full step. But that can really wear on the ol' leg muscles after what seems like a billion steps up a day. So I've found that there is usually a rock or something else to step on to shorten the step. In this picture I have found a small rock to step on to boost me up to that next level.So, UH OH. I discovered last night that one of the tips of one of my trekking poles had broken off and the other tip didn't look too good either. I tried to come up with ways to resolve it or to just let it go (bad idea). I decided that I just didn't need that hanging over me and I was going to take care of it immediately. Since I was still in the vicinity of my brother, I called to see if I could impose on him and my sister in law again to come get me to take me back to REI. Again, I had a great customer service experience at REI. A young woman there took on the challenge to change out the tip using the tools in the bike department, and danged if she didn't do it, too. Whew. If it had to break off I was really fortunate that it happened so close to my brother's house. Lucky timing.Now here's another bit of lucky timing. My wife happened to be taking a road trip to this area of Maryland this weekend. We had thought we would miss seeing each other by a day or two but, due to this mishap, I was able to see her and our friends she was visiting. It was a great surprise visit. I think I may be getting spoiled with all this civvy life and large eating. But back to the trail tomorrow where I left off, and now with the peace of mind of trekking poles that are like new. Sweet.
Date: 2015-06-14
From: Pen Mar County Park

To: Rocky Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.2

This little hefty guy was my first rattlesnake I've come upon. He was about two feet long and maybe 3 inches wide. You can see his rattle on the right but it's hard to see his head facing towards me over on the left. He was on the trail and alerted me to his presence when I unknowingly got about two feet away. Then it was paparazzi time, and I got a video of him shaking his maraca tail. He slithered off the trail, but when I passed by he gave me one more little noisy shake goodbye.I'm in Pennsylvania now, my seventh state out of 14. It was a nice, sunny, warm day and in the late afternoon the standard thunder storms blew through. I guess it will do that every afternoon now just like it does in the tropics. This time, though, it only sprinkled on me a little and I suppose some other ridge got drenched. Say, 3D, what did you do to prepare for the hike that you wish you had done differently? Ok, here's one: I had read numerous times to get my trail runners one full size larger then my regular shoes. Glad I did. But when I went out and got my crocs to be my campsite shoes, I just got my regular size. Doh! Now my feet are definitely swollen and have expanded one full size so my crocs are pretty tight even with no socks. So don't forget to also get your crocs or other campsite shoes a size larger than your normal shoe size.I didn't see any flat non-rocky areas along the ridge, so I'm staying in a shelter tonight that I have all to myself. Since the bugs were getting kinda bad, I just set my tent up inside the shelter using rocks instead of tent pegs. (Voice to text just interpreted "tent pegs" as "10 pigs.") Yeah, so I secured my tent with 10 pigs. None of them seem very happy about that.Seriously, it's a nice night. Nowhere I'd rather be.
Date: 2015-06-15
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 22.8

This is me holding up my coveted trophy spoon after completing the traditional thru-hikers' ice cream challenge. Having crossed the mathematical halfway point, most thru-hikers stop here to attempt to eat half a gallon of ice cream in order to win that beautiful flat dixie cup spoon emblazoned with the immortal words "Member of half gal club." Incidentally, that was right after I had finished a huge hamburger and an especially large order of fries. Now, whenever I am asked small, medium, or large (anything), I am conditioned to automatically say "large."The beard: Another thru-hiker tradition is to grow the big thru-hikers' beard, at least for the men. Not everyone does this but I thought - what the hey, what better time to grow one once in my life? It's really interesting having this on my face. It's kinda like having a Halloween mask where people can't see my expression. Normally, when I pass strangers I give a little friendly tight-lipped smile and chin wave. Now I have found that they can't really see my expression, and normal looking people avoid eye contact with the weirdo beardo guy. At a nice restaurant in one of the towns, I noticed the hostess looked me up and down and immediately said, "Would you like to sit at the bar?" And for the first time, rough looking bearded motorcycle guys and I are acknowledging each other with a little wave. I kinda like NOT looking like Mr. Corporate America. On the other hand, I don't like whiskers in my mouth or eating and drinking with this hamster attached to my face. So I plan to lop it off and feel clean faced again once I finish this hike. Today I experienced relatively easy flat terrain and so put in some long miles, for me. I'm now lying here in a room full of bunk beds in the men's dorm of a hostel. It's an interesting old house with a hidden door where they used to hide slaves as part of the underground railroad. I really didn't anticipate getting so much history on this trip, but I'm totally loving it. I have planned another long hiking day tomorrow ending at another hostel. I'm really having a lot of fun out here.
Date: 2015-06-16
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Boiling Springs
Miles today: 19.3

The last couple miles today took me out of the woods and across some beautiful farmland. This is a picture of one of the wheat fields. This was a good day of hiking with the overcast conditions giving way to spectacular cloud formations at the end of the day with pink undersides at dusk. Just mesmerizing to me. Something I do see every day are quite a few chipmunks, and are they ever quick! When there is a downed tree they run the length of it to get away from mean ol' me. But I just have to chuckle each time I see them run because they stick their tails straight up in the air. Very cute. I had said a few weeks ago that I had learned from an REI guy that the weight distribution in a backpack should start with the heaviest items on the bottom. After talking to another hiker and then looking it up, it appears that the heaviest items should go in the middle and against the spine. I may experiment with this new info, although I may not change at this point in my hike. But I did want to pass that correction along.I'm in the Allenberry Inn and Playhouse tonight. It's a campus and I'm in the hostel part sharing a room with "All The Way," the catch phrase from his 82nd airborne unit and now his trail name. He's also the same guy I met a few weeks ago who had a dog following him for about four days. It's interesting how friendly and familiar faces turn up now and again.
Date: 2015-06-17
From: Boiling Springs

To: Near Darlington Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

This scene was near a stream and those flowers were everywhere. There are moments on the trail that just take me by surprise by the sheer beauty.I stayed in a nice hostel (Allenberry) in Boiling Springs last night and got up early to walk to and from the grocery store (about a 4 mile round trip) to resupply for the next 4 or 5 days. Once I was back on the trail, it was mostly flat going through farms and cow pastures. Very tranquil scenes.When I arrived at my destination to set up my tent near a shelter, a guy there had a big heavy knife and was cutting kindling to start a fire. Instead, he cut his finger fairly badly. I did wonder why he would carry such an unnecessarily heavy object. Maybe not a thru-hiker. It has occurred to me before how easy we have it in this day and age to hike this trail. I never have to look over my shoulder to avoid some predator creeping up on me. Nor do I have to carry a heavy weapon of any kind. The only thing along that line that I'm carrying is a pair of tweezers in case I become a tasty meal for a tick. Incidentally, I haven't found any ticks on me yet. I'm in my tent and the air is a comfortable temperature after a fairly hot day. Nowhere I'd rather be.
Date: 2015-06-18
From: Near Darlington Shelter

To: Near Clark's Ferry Shelter
Miles today: 15.6

Just a while ago, I was sitting alone in this remote campsite at dusk reading an email when a mother porcupine and her baby ambled by not 30 feet from where I was sitting. By the time I got my camera on them all I got was a picture of their hind ends walking away from me. Not a great picture, but seriously, how cool is that on a Thursday evening?I had a good bit of news this afternoon. A couple of weeks ago I had a pretty hard fall stepping out onto a slippery ramp at a privy. My shoulder has been bothering me ever since, and I had some concerns about having the strength on that side to deal with all of the rock scrambling/climbing I had ahead of me. The trail took me through the town of Duncannon today where I noticed a medical clinic. So I stopped in. The doctor concluded that I smashed the muscle over one of my shoulder blades but did not damage any underlying structure. That means that it will just take time to heal. I'm delighted it's nothing that will stop me. I have now entered the infamous rocky part of Pennsylvania, sometimes called Rocksylvania. My understanding is that in the last ice age the glaciers came this far, shearing off rock along the way. When the glaciers eventually melted, they left 200 miles of a jumble of rocks and boulders. That's the zone I entered today and will scramble through for the rest of Pennsylvania and part of New Jersey. I like the attitude of one of my fellow hikers, Miss America. She said when she encounters these rocks, the trail will merely teach her a new dance - jumping from rock to rock.It's started to gently rain and I like the sound on my tent - my dry-on-the-inside tent. Nowhere I'd rather be.
Date: 2015-06-19
From: Near Clark's Ferry Shelter

To: Tent site near trail
Miles today: 16.7

Check out this sweet camping spot I found. Someone had built throne-like rock chairs around a fire pit. And my tent itself is on a soft bed of pine needles...no rocks or roots. There are rocks and boulders everywhere in this section of Pennsylvania and yet this oasis appeared. Well, actually it was identified on my AT app, but that doesn't take away from what a great spot this is tonight. And not only that, but I'm getting phone and data reception up here, too. I'll never take phone and data reception for granted again. Have you ever have one of those days when you just can't seem to get it going and you walk around kind of sluggish all day? Well I had one of those days today and although I was able to push through, I was just plain tired the whole day. If I had been back at work feeling this way, I probably would have had keyboard indentations on my forehead. I see what they mean by there being lots of rocks in this part of the state. There was still a good deal of opportunity to step on dirt but the rocks were numerous. It does make my feet feel fatigued. I've had days like this before, so I don't think I've gotten to the really tough rocky part of this state yet.I had a question in my guest book about my lack of ticks so far. I may just be lucky. But here's what I have going. My socks and pants that I bought online from ExOfficio are treated with permethrin. Also, I wear long pants that are light colored khaki and I understand that ticks don't like light colored clothing. Go figure. I haven't done this yet, but if I were to sit or lie down in grass, I would spread out my ground cloth because ticks don't like to walk on such an artificial surface. Before I get in the tent I look over my pants and shirt and arms really well to see if I have any ticks on me. Then in the tent I change into my dry sleeping clothes and do what I will call a privacy check for ticks. None so far. The weather is cool and dry rounding out this great campsite. Nowhere I'd rather be.