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

To: Keys Gap
Miles today: 6.3

Of all day that I could sleep in, I am up at 6am. Sidewinder and my friend Dee who came to visit/ help us we're fast asleep. Since we were in the hotel I was able to make contact with quiet a few family/ friends and check on social media. I ran to the lounge for coffee and juice. Free breakfast and I was going to take advantage of it. Eventually we all ate. Late breakfast and layed around until check out. We then went to look for a few gifts and looked around town. The a place for lunch and had a few drinks. We said our good byes to Dee then went and relaxed by the river for a while. We knew we were only hiking 6 miles so we did t have to leave early. That should take about 3 hours plus break time. We decided to give to another restaurant to full charge our phones and hydrate. By 3:45 we hit the trial out of Harpers Ferry going south. We climbed up the steep town streets passed an pole church. Funny thing is, in towns it has is so easy to get lost. They put the he trail makers so discreet that they are hard to find. Sidewinder says it's like I Spy. Anyway we crossed the river and headed up the mountain. It was the of the worst climb so far. It was a mile and a half up. We normally do 2 miles an hour, it took us an hour and a half to the top. It was awful. Luckily for us as we walked the top of the mountain the wind picked up from a storm brewing. It did get a bit rocky but that was awesome compared to the climb. We saw 5 deer along this hike. We got to Keys Gap where there is a gas station a quarter mile down the street. This took us 3 3/4 hours. We set up our tent because of the pending rain then ran for water at the station. Thankfully we did because we no sooner got back and the rain started. We decided to use our food instead of buying at the store so we would have less weight in our pack. Sidewinder isn't feeling the best and is questions if we should keep doing this if she doesn't feel good so much. I will try to encourage her. She s me to no t do well in the heat. So I went to hang the bear bag and I am coming back to the tent and I see a shadow low to the ground 2 feet from the tent. Thankfully I had my light on me. When I turned it on it was a skunk. I just started yelling at it and thankfully it ran away.
Date: 2017-07-05
From: Keys Gap

To: Blackburn center
Miles today: 6.3

I woke up at 6 praying our bear bag was still there. There was a lot of activity in the parking lot near where we stayed. At 8am I finally shook Sidewinder and told her the rain liked clear until 1 or 2. We should get going. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to still continue the hike feeling ill so much. I ran for coffee at the gas station and decided to drink it there. Otherwise I would have to had to pack out the trash. When I came back Sidewinder decided that we should hike as far as we felt like going. Then camp. You see in Maryland you can not stealth (camp anywhere) camp. But now we are in Virginia and we can. We were hopeful to make it to the Blackburn trail center. It is a AT facility with a caretaker and the Ridgerunner also stays here. As we hike we say a few deer and a turkey with her babies. This was really cool. Today we only passed a few hikers. Most previous hikers were doing a section hike from Harpers Ferry to Pen Mar or vice versa. There is also the tail end of thru hikers still coming north. I was trying to liven things up for Sidewinder to help her over this slump so we started doing a game naming animals starting with the letter A to Z. Then other types of things etc. It made the day go faster and less boring. We finally made it to the center and even passes a set of hikers along the way. About 5 minutes after we finished it started pouring. We made it just in time. We had a few hours of just lounging around. There is a big building with a screened in porch and a cabin that sleeps 4. There are 10 of us staying the night. And one more just came in now at 9:30.It is still pouring. We are not sure what we will do tomorrow. They want 80% rain. We planned on staying put at the center but we're told one night only. I guess we will see tomorrow what happens. Hopefully the rain moved in early and we will be good to hike. The cell service is really bad here but I was able to get thru to my husband and have a good chat. I really missed as him but am also grateful to have the opportunity to do this hike with my daughter. I think of my son and Granddaughter often and wish I could talk to them more. Well tomorrow is another her day to hopefully hike.
Date: 2017-07-06
From: Blackburn Center 

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 8.0

I woke up early today. Although we were dry I still didn't sleep well. The bench I slept on was not comfortable at least Sidewinder got the reclining chair. Coffee was made at the Shelter along with some pastries. It was so nice. It poured most of the morning but reports were coming from other hikers that the rain was going to clear around 10 until 5. We talked about finding a place to go and do a Zero day( no miles) I went to the privy and when I returned Sidewinder decided we should try to get to Bears den hostel. We heard it was nice. We started packing up and waited out some of the rain. By 11 we hit the trail. It was pretty uneventful. We passed about 10 hikers surprisingly with the rain. By 2 hours into our hike our feet were soaked.Eventually the rain stopped We then started on the much talked about rollercoaster. It is 13.5 miles of ups and downs and zigzags. Lots of rocks. We did 4 miles of it before we got to the hostel. At this point I don't feel like it is that bad. Maybe it is because my home state is Pennsylvania with all the rocks. But we still have 2/3 rds of it left. The trail can change in an instant. We got to the hostel at 4:30. There is a code on the door that u have to figure out, it is the mileage from point A to Point B. Very interesting. We go in and a bunch of hikers are watching a movie with the lights off. We weren't sure what to do. We find out that at 5pm you can go up stairs and register. There is a nice hiker lounge kitchen dining area. Ther is about 10 bunks and a shower down stairs and I hear there is room for 30. Not sure where. So we got the hiker special which consists of a shower, Pizza,soda, and a pint of ice cream and our nights stay. All for $30. What a bargain. The shower was so good. Cell service sucks but I am able to text. The hiking shoes are on the shoe dryer, laundry is being done and we are chilling watching a move. But most of all we are dry.
Date: 2017-07-07
From: Bear den hostile

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

I slept so well in my bunk. I woke up at 6:50 thinking I was the first one up. I went upstairs and surprisingly there were 3 hikers up. I enjoyed my coffee and then woke up Sidewinder since we had to leave the hostel by 9am. There were 3 people who were tending to the hostel, but we were all supposed to make our own breakfast. They will do the dishes.  We said our god byes to our new friends and we're hiking by 9. Today we had the majority of the roller coaster. I was not looking forward to it. It had 5 more peaks in a 10 mile stretch. We did 3 hours of hiking then stopped for lunch at a shelter. Then carried on. We ran into the Ridge runner again. She was hiking to the same shelter we were and doing trail clean up. We sat and chatted with her and she even offered us a soda. Which we great fully accepted. Our second last hill was a doozie. Huffing and puffing but we made it. It was .4 down hill then another .2 to the shelter. It was such a relief to be there and get the pack off. Steve is 10 of us here. Some were setting there tents up to dry. When all of a sudden a storm blew in and everyone went scrambling. Thankfully Sidewinder and I had our gear and sleeping bags In the shelter. We hung out eating and talking with the other hikers. One Frenchman who doesn't speak any English.  Sidewinder and I assessed our food and we should still have enough to make it to the end of our hike. We shall see. It is now 9pm most of the tenters are in the shelter because there stuff is all wet now. All are on the bottom and I am the only one on top, which is fine for me. Well let's see what tomorrow brings. Everyone says it is easier now. Oh ya and,I no longer like rollercoasters.
Date: 2017-07-08
From: Rod Hollow Shelter 

To:  Manassas Gap
Miles today: 12.9

I didn't sleep the best again last night but at least I was dry. I got up early and the only one up was the French guy. Being I don't know French there was little interaction. I sure was wishing I had coffee. We decided to forgo coffee on our resupply and instead have a breakfast drink that consisted of a breakfast shake packet a hot chocolate packet and a coffee packet with water. These would give us all our vitamins, caffeine and sugar plus 1 liter of water. But it's not the same as a hot coffee.  We planned on doing 13 miles today because the one Shelter was about 8 and the next one 13. So since it looked like the hard hills were done we planed on 13. Of course we had 2 big mountains. By the time I got done them I was exhausted. It seems that Sidewinder is getting stronger and I am wearing down. Prolly the age difference. As we got to the top we heard there was a really nice side trail to see. We decided if it wasn't down hill it might be worth the .4 miles each way to see it. It was called the Ambassador Whitehouse trail. Well was it ever worth it. It was these beauty fields on top of the mountain. It reminded me of the movie The sound of Music. When we got to the overlook it was a field full of beautiful flowers with a picnic table under the trees. We sat there for a long time and had lunch and a propel.  I felt much better after that. As much as we don't want to waste the time sitting we needed it. We continued on our hike we still had quiet a few miles left. The rest of our hike went pretty quickly. We had crested the last mountain and heard something in the woods. Most times we hear something and never know what it is. We just like that our comes a bear about 15 feet from us. Well I think we scared the shit out of him because he ran so fast and was gone before you knew it. I never even had a chance to get my camera. This was really neat. We had about 3 more miles and made it to the shelter but chose to tent tonight. We chatted with 2 other hikers and one has his Lab with him. We all are and we're in our tent chilling and it's only 8pm. My Achilles and my calfs are sore. I think it's time for Advil.
Date: 2017-07-09
From:  Manassas Gap

To: Tom Floyd Shelter
Miles today: 13.6

We got a late start today. I had to have one of the hikers shake our tent to wake up Sidewinder. I was dreading the hike because we had 3 big hills today. But we trudged along and before we knew it we were at Mountain Home Hostel and bed and breakfast. At this point we hiked 11 miles. We heard you could stop for pizza and ice cream. It was such a nice place and Lisa the owner was such a great host. I would highly suggest going here. Wished we could have stayed but we wanted to get some more miles in. I also was rather excited to find a new razor in the hiker box and there was shaving cream in the bathroom. I also snagged a little bit of toilet paper since I was running low. We ended up doing another 3 miles halfway up a huge hill to Tom Floyd Shelter. As we were hitting the switchbacks up. 2 hikers named Stride and Two Sticks told us here was bear activity just a title bit ahead. When we got to the shelter they told us that there were just 2 near there. Then another guy rolls in and he just saw a big one in the trail we were just on. Anyway we now have the porch to the shelter barricaded incase he comes in the shelter. We Lao got about 4 feet from a doe that was just grazing near the shelter. So the last guy that rolls in told us he is homeless for a week until his house is ready. Then later proceeds to mention he has been here all summer. Great. So now I am sleeping with my money just incase.
Date: 2017-07-10
From: Tom Floyd Shelter

To: Wayside Elkwollow
Miles today: 16.2

I didn't sleep very well. I'm not sure if it was because of the bears or the weirdo in our shelter. I awoke and just after I did 2 bears came strolling thru our camp. You could hear them come crashing thru the woods and grunting or panting away. They crossed the trail and kept going down hill. The hikers said they were going to the spring at the shelter for water. It was the only water in about a 6 mile proximity. There were 2 others that came thru before I woke the other hiker told me. So before we could start hiking I had to walk to the spring that was a long way down the hill from the shelter. Just what I needed before I even hiked today. We had a long day planned. We started chatting with the female hike and she also was getting a ride from our shuttle driver tomorrow. So we both touched base with our shuttle driver Rhonda Adams. So she will pick us up tomorrow the pick her up. We will all go to Harpers Ferry where the female hiker will get dropped off. Then we will go to our car at Pen Mar. the rest of our day was soooooo loooong with huge up hills. We felt like we were climbing the whole day. The only down hill was the last mile and a half. We were hoping to get to the Wayside snack stand and mini mart. We came to find out they were closed before we could get there. Damn. We heard they had the best milkshakes. We settled for cooking our food on one of their picnic tables and a soda from the snack machine. Along with 3 other hikers. So after doing 16 miles we didn't have the energy to go any father, so we,along with the other hikers tucked in the woods right by the wayside. I think this is a no no. But we should be gone before they open. We need to hit the trail by 8 am to hike another 8.5 miles to meet our shuttle driver.
Date: 2017-07-11
From: Wayside Elkwollow

To: Thornton Gap Virginia. 
Miles today: 8.6

we had to get up early and start hiking by 8 to be able to meet our shuttle driver. We packed up and hit the trail.  It was again a tough climb right off the start we had 2 big hills.  No wait. I no longer call them hills they are mountains. When we hit an overlook and saw what we just climbed they sure were mountains. It is so hard to describe other than the climb just doesn't stop. We had to stop a half dozen times to catch our breath and regroup. After the mountains it was mostly down hill. That was about 3 miles of our 8.6 mile hike.  We came out to the road and our shuttle driver wasn't there.  As it was we had to go another 2 tenths a mile up hill. Of course to a parking lot where it was safer for her. It was so good to see Rhonda.  She took our pictures and a video and had the long ride back to Pen Mar to our car. Then our drive home which was another 3 hours.  The first stop we made was at McDonalds. I got a Big Mac.  I was so hungry for a burger.  Finally now showere and so ready to sleep in my comfortable bed
Date: 2017-12-26
From: Branchville

To: Deckertown Turnpike
Miles today: 8.7

Day 1We left our house in Pennsylvania at 7am and drive the 2 plus hours to Vernon NJ. Our Shuttle driver George who we hired ahead of time was waiting for us at our hotel. We shuttled to Branchville to start our hike. We planned on 8.7miles. There is about 2 inches of snow on the ground. Hiking went pretty well. It was slippery here and there. Especially on the rocks. We were clocking some miles quickly but also needed to be careful with the snow. Eventually we created a hill/ mountain and I was so hot. Mind you it was 19 degrees when we started. So off went the gloves and hat and I unzipped my coat. Well I thought it was just me but Sidewinder and Campbell were also doing the same. We eventually got to Sunrise Mountain. It had this beautiful stone pavilion on top of the mountain. We said they could have weddings up there. You see there is a parking it close by with easy access. We found out they have had weddings there. We hiked some more then grabbed a bite to eat. Well we didn¢t sit too long and we started getting cold. So we broke out the hand warmers. Note to all......don¢t wait until the last minute to get the hand warmers out. Your hands are too cold to function and the hand warmers don¢t warm up quick enough. But they did work finally. It went back and forth with warm and cold all day. I feel that we were well prepared and wasn¢t over dressed. Our shuttle driver told us when to call him to have him come for us. Also note to all.....cold is not good for your cell phones. It drains your battery. Keep it close to your inside body heat. Not an outside pocket. I had 1% when it was time to call George. I did have battery back up. But that wasn¢t working well either George picked us up and was amazed at how quick we hiked. We got back to hotel and the heat was not on in our room. We were now freezing. Our sweat was now drying and we were cold. As we waited for the room to warm up. We made hot chocolate with Fireball. Yummy. We pretty much showered and went to dinner and had to do a Walmart run. The end of my hiking pole fell out while we were hiking. Needed a new one since tomorrow is going to be more rough.
Date: 2017-12-27
To: Unionville Road 
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Campbell and I Woke up early to go for Dunkin Donuts. Started getting gear ready for the day. Finally woke up Sidewinder to run for breakfast before our shuttle driver came for us. Well Sidewinder decided sleep was more important. So me and Campbell went ahead. Got back in-time to get ready before shuttle. It was 11 degrees. What the hell are we thinking hiking in this. We hit the trail by 9am. It went pretty well. As you can probably figure, the first hill we were sweating like crazy. I ditched my down coat and went with my shell. We put foot warmers in our shoes and hand warmers in our mittens. We were kinda bi polar with the temperature. One minute hot and one minute cold. The first part of our hike was a little slow. We had to be careful. We had to rock scrambles to go down. Campbell lent us her extra pair yak tracks. So Sidewinder took one and I took one. That did t work too bad. As we were coming into High Point state Park we saw a few deer. We stopped in at the stTe Park office and the women was so nice to make us warm coffee. It was amazing because we were chilled. We were planning on going 2 more miles then stopping to eat at the next shelter. But since it was so warm inside we decided to eat there. Glad we did. We continued our hike and saw the monument as we were hiking. Pretty cool. As we continued the trail was pretty flat and easy so we decided to hike farther than planned. As we are following the trail there are no longer any foot prints in the snow but oddly enough. Many of the wildlife were following the trail. We had fun trying to figure out what tracks were on the trail. I was pretty sure we saw some bear tracks in the snow and further along down the trail my thoughts were confirmed with fresh bear tracks. We could see the pad prints in the snow. We also saw turkey prints deer. Pretty sure we saw fox and coyote as well. Towards the end of our hike we came to lots for raised planks to walk on. It was all fun and games until Sidewinder almost fell. We realized we should have ended our hike where we planned because the next 2 Miles were up and down up and down. Just as Sidewinder is complaining about the hill, there is Campbell on her knees from a fall. Sidewinder said she will stop complying now. It was funny at the time. As we crested the hill and came swoop. The other side there was George waiting for us. It was good to heave the toot of his horn. 13.2 miles done. We are now enjoying drinks and pizza in our room. I am sure it will be an early night tonight.
Date: 2017-12-29
From: Route 94

To: New Jersey/ New York State Line 
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started as usaual with breakfast at our usual spot.  By now the locals know us and think we are crazy for hiking in this cold weather.  I think I would have to agree.  But crazy or not we did it.  We were dropped off by the motel owner at the 94 trail head.  Just up the street.  We have been told about the stairway to heaven and it was in front of our eyes. It was quiet intimidating I must say. Luckily a lot of the trail didn¢t go straight up.  It did weave around and just when we thought we did the hard part, the stairs came along.  I will say it is exhausting but at least with the steps. It is not as hard as going straight up. But we still needed our rests because it was I really intense. Finally at the top was a carin that pointed to the View.  Thankfully we went and looked because it was beautiful.  He rest of the Day was up and down small mountains. It wasn¢t terrible but it wasn¢t easy  either.  We finally stopped at half way to eat at the Wawayanda shelter otherwise know as the Wawayanda Hilton.  Let¢s just say it was a basic 3 sided shelter with a privey.  But is was still good to sit and eat.  We only lasted about 10min before our sweat started making us cold and our fingers were so cold.  I would say it probably was only 14 degrees. I again was having phone trouble because of the cold. So don¢t just rely on Guthook because 3 times today my phone died. Eventually when it got warm it came back on. Time for a new phone I guess. Very glad Sidewinder had the AWOL guide. Also note to all if you have a shuttle lined up.  Make sure to share the number in the cold weather in case.  Anyway we continued up and down thru the mountains and finally came to the blue trail.  We decided to hike past a tenth of a mile to the stage line. We did it we completed New Jersey. We then went back to the blue trail and took that down to Greenwood lake where our shuttle driver was to meet us. It was tough going dow,  it killed my knees. At this point my phone was dead again so we couldn¢t let our shuttle driver know we were running behind.  We were almost at the bottom when Ken and his dog were walking to meet us. We had 10miles in plus a mile down the blue trai. He drove us back to the motel. We had amazing showers then went to Smokey¢s in Vernon to have a meal and drinks. We did 44 miles in 4 days  Ya to us
Date: 2018-06-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

it¢s four days until we leave. I¢m  trying to get all my gear dialed in and trying to get my weight down so that it won¢t be as hard of a hike. I did one last set up of my hammock yesterday and think I¢m ready to go.  I have all my food packed and ready to go.  My food weighs in at 10 pounds. Which feels like a lot. I guess I¢ll have to eat heavy food first.  We are still trying to fund raise while we hike. So please consider to sponsor us and Hike for Mental Health.  This is a great organization and 100% of the profits will be donated. https://secure.hikeformentalhealth.org/karaandbern