morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bear's Den Hostel
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Considering I spent the night ALONE in the woods, I slept quite good. I was up and out of camp early and the walk was really nice. It was pretty flat and I was making some good time. I had only planned to do 16 miles today but since I was feeling so good I decided to try and make it to the hostel. Plus, I thought since it was the 4th they might have something special going on. Martin passed me fairly early in the day and I didn¢t see him again until I got to the hostel. I think he does more of a run than a walk. I decided to stop in at the Rod Hollow Shelter for lunch. About half way down the side trail to the shelter I thought about turning around. It was pretty muddy and quite a ways off the trail. Once I did get there I tried to eat and enjoy my little rest but the bugs were relentless. I hadn¢t been there too long when Free Radical showed up. Sat and talked with him for a little bit then I headed out. The section of trail from this shelter to the hostel was one big roller coaster; up and down, up and down. I was flying down the trail not really paying attention to the path when I almost stepped on a huge black snake. I quickly stopped and backed up several steps but the snake didn¢t bother to move. The trail was his. I stood there for what seemed like forever waiting for him to slither off but that never happened. I think I caught him after he ate something because I could see a bulge in its body. It was pretty weird, every now and then he would twitch and the bulge would slowly move down its body. I tried to go around him but every time I got close he¢d raise his head at me. The problem was that the section of trail he was laying on was right between 2 big boulders. So I ended up walking down off the trail a little to get around him. When I reached the 16-mile mark I had to decide whether that was going to be the end of my day and a shelter night or to push on 3 more miles to a hostel with beds. It was an easy decision. I still felt good so I pushed on. What a climb those last 3 miles were and they took me 2 hours. I was so happy when I finally reached the turn off that if I¢d had the energy I would have jumped for joy. This place is so cool! It was built in the 1930¢s and is a quartzite ¢castle¢. There are 4 of us staying in the bunkroom and 2 tenting. There are also some people (not hikers) staying upstairs in regular rooms. Claimed a bunk, got cleaned up and had some dinner. Free Radical had bought a frozen thing of lasagna so I split it with him and it was actually pretty good. And of course there was dessert, a pint of Ben and Jerry¢s. The belly is full and my body is beat so I must go to sleep now.
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Harper's Ferry WV
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

A bit of a late start this morning, 9:30. I slept pretty good considering the bunkroom felt like a sauna most of the night. The first part of the day was spent finishing up the roller coaster from yesterday then it leveled out some. I hiked for quite a while with Free Radical. It was nice to have someone to talk with and it helped pass the time. I stopped in at the last shelter before town (9 miles out) for lunch and to get water. I don¢t think they could have put the shelter any farther away from the water source which was a half mile round trip. I think they tried to make up for it by putting a nice porch on the shelter with a couple of nice benches and a porch swing. Once lunch was over I picked up the pace a little as town was calling me very loudly. About 3 miles outside of town I went through an area called Loudown Heights, which fascinated me quite a bit. The trail weaved in and out of old trenches that were used to protect riflemen during the Civil War. Walking through this area I was imagining the soldiers in those trenches, guns being fired, the bullets whizzing by, and the chaos that must have been going on. It amazes me that they dug those trenches right up the side of the mountain. It amazes me even more that you can still see them. It was almost 8 pm by the time I checked into the hotel. I went straight to the Comfort Inn where I got ripped off. They only had a couple rooms left and they charged me a fortune. All the other hotels were booked for the night so it was either this or walk clear across town and out the other side to a hostel. Expensive it might have been but it sure was comfortable and nice. I showered, called home, ordered pizza and laid around watching TV for a little while. This bed is really comfy so I think I¢ll turn in now.
Date: 2003-07-06
From: Harper's Ferry WV

To: Harper's Ferry WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Up around 8:00 this morning. Went downstairs for the free breakfast then back to my room to pack up. From there I walked about a mile away from town to the KOA to do laundry (it¢s the only place to do laundry here) then walked back into town to the ATC office where I signed in, #636. From there I went another couple of blocks into town to the outfitters. I did enjoy the walk from the ATC into town. It¢s the historic district and since I was walking I could read all the historical signs. When I came out of the outfitters I spotted an ice cream shop, which of course I had to stop at. Got myself an ice cream cone and headed back to the ATC to get my pack then over to the Hilltop House Hotel. This is a pretty nice place and they didn¢t rip me off. Not as nice as the Comfort Inn, though. For $40 (hiker¢s rate) I have a very small room with one bed, a writing table, a phone, and a bathroom. There is no TV (that costs extra, almost another $40) and the window unit a/c doesn¢t work all that well. But what do you want for $40? At least I was out of the storm that blew through here a little while ago. Went downstairs to the buffet for dinner. It could have been better and by waitress wasn¢t very good. I¢m sure if I would have gone down at an earlier time it wouldn¢t have been so bad. I¢m not sure which it is but I¢ve either gotten into poison ivy or I have heat rash. Across the tops of both of my feet and around my ankles I have these red bumps but they don¢t itch. The blisters on my one heel look like they¢re finally healing and it is about time. I leave Harper¢s Ferry tomorrow and am finished with the Virginia Blues. Well, it¢s late and there¢s nothing to do so I guess I¢ll hit the hay.
Date: 2003-07-07
From: Harper's Ferry WV

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

My alarm went off about 7:15 this morning and I REALLY REALLY wanted to go back to sleep. It would have been so easy, too. After I forced myself out of bed I packed up my stuff and headed down to check out then went into the restaurant for breakfast. It was much better than last night¢s experience. I had French toast with bacon, apple juice, and a large glass of milk. From there I headed down to the Post Office. I was in there forever. I was a little shocked when I opened my mail drop to find there was only 3 days of food in it because I was expecting there to be more. I got a little frustrated but it all worked out. I also got a package from Michelle. She sent me a little book of stories on courage and a couple little towel things that expand when they get wet. I loved it all. It made me get a little weepy. When I was hanging out in the PO working on my box, Pushing Up Daisies came in. It was good to see her and we chatted for a few before we went our ways. From the PO I went back up the street to the ATC where I ran into her again along with Molasses, Wendy who¢s husband runs the outfitters in Front Royal and is out for a week hiking with Daisies, Foxie, and Rumbler. I was just going to head out from there but instead went to lunch with Daisies, Molasses, Wendy and her family. After lunch we went by the outfitters and ended up waiting out a storm on their porch. From there we worked our way down to the trail, stopping to get some ice cream along the way. It was a challenge for me to eat an ice cream cone while walking with my pack and poles. It was a nice easy hike, there was one climb that lasted for about 2 miles but I hardly even noticed it because I was listening to my new head phones. If they¢d put a fourth wall on this shelter I would move in, it is awesome. The only bad thing about it is that the water source is a half mile down a very steep hill. The shelter has 2 gallon jugs for people to fill up when they go get water so not everyone has to make the trip and you only have to go once. Molasses and Daisy took the 2 jugs along with my water bag and made the trek for water. I was thankful for that and so were a few other people. I made my dinner of Ramen noodles and now I¢m off to bed. I only did 7 miles today but I¢m absolutely beat. There are 11 of us here tonight. It¢s pretty windy out so the bugs aren¢t bad at all.
Date: 2003-07-08
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept so good last night. After hearing a few people complaining about how bad they slept with all the snoring, I was glad I was so exhausted when I went to sleep. I heard nothing, not the 2 loud snorers or the dog barking or anything else. I still could have slept a while longer, though. Today was a nice relaxing day. I was out of camp at 8:30. Met up with Molasses, Daisy, and Wendy at Gathland State Park where we ended up hanging out for about 2 hours, relaxing and waiting out a quick storm. From there we went to Crampton Gap Shelter where we took another 2-hour break and made lunch. A Boy Scout troop had given Daisy a Mountain House meal with dessert that feeds 3 or 4 people so that¢s what we made. I was in charge of dessert, vanilla pudding. The whole thing was great! From there we all pushed on to the shelter. Again, I thought it was a nice easy hike. Got in here around 5:00 and set up my stuff. This shelter is really old. It was built in 1940 but next year they will no longer be using it because they are building a new one. I made some mushroom flavored rice for dinner with a Three Musketeers bar for dessert. There is a smaller group here tonight. We have Molasses and Chloe, her dog, Daisy, Wendy, Foxie, Chafe Master J, and Stones, a sectioner. The bugs are awful tonight. Oh yeah, at lunch we decided that Wendy¢s trail name should be B.I.G. (Belching Insect Goddess) but that changed when we got into camp. She is now Spoon Princess. That came about when she stuck her spoon in her hair the way you do a pencil so she wouldn¢t lose it while she set up her cooking stuff. We¢ve also become the All Girl Gang with our newest member being Foxie.
Date: 2003-07-09
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: I-70 Footbridge
Miles today: 6.9

It was pretty warm last night and I ended up sleeping on top of my bag for a majority of the night. The bugs were also out in force. It was hard to get up this morning. I just wanted to keep sleeping. I was on the trail by 9:00, a little later than I had wanted but oh well. Caught up to the girls at the Dahlgren Back Pack Campground where someone had left trail magic, sodas, candy bars, and slices of watermelon. I of course had the watermelon. This campground also has showers so while they all got clean, I sat in the shade and had a little snack. For some reason I just didn¢t feel like showering. I think part of it was that I hate putting my stinky clothes back on when I¢m freshly clean so I opted to skip the shower. Not long after we left the campground we stopped at the Washington monument for a short break then moved on. Got caught in a short rain. Had hoped the rain would cool things off a little but no luck with that. When we reached I-70 we decided to walk down the road to the Dogpatch Tavern, a local biker bar that also accepts hikers. This place was great! They had good, cheap food. We sat out on the deck and they let us bring Chloe up there as well. I had a cheeseburger, fries, onion rings and 2 cokes. While we were eating it started raining again and Molasses commented that she could call home and see if her parents were willing to slack us tomorrow. So she called them and they said they would come and get us in about an hour. Well, that was perfect so Molasses and I decided to call it Cocktail Hour and had a couple of beers while we waited. We also played this game with Daisy called blisters, a dice game. Once Molasses¢ dad arrived we loaded up the car and headed out. Her mom made us hot dogs, beans, and salad for dinner. I had 2 servings then a small bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream. We all sat around for a while and chatted with her folks (great people) while we took turns getting showers. We are split into twos; Molasses (and Chloe) and myself in one room, Daisy and Spoon Princess in the other. I hadn¢t planned on such a short day today or the last 2 days and I know I need to do more miles but I¢m having such a good time.
Date: 2003-07-10
From: I-70 Footbridge

To: Raven Rock Hollow / MD 491
Miles today: 12.3

Had planned to be on the road by 7:30 this morning but we didn¢t quite make it. It was 7 when Molasses¢ dad knocked on the door to wake us up. He made us eggs and bagels for breakfast. Not sure what time it was when we finally made it out. We dropped Molasses¢ car off at the Dogpatch Tavern them her dad took us up to Md 491. We all took a quick pee break before we started hiking and that¢s when we ran into Foxie. So of course we hung around for a few to chat with her. We had decided to hike southbound today which is always fun because you get to see everyone going the other way. Once we hit the trail we had a really good pace and made it to the shelter for lunch in no time. Molasses and I were a little ahead of Daisies and Spoons but we figured we would wait for them at the shelter. When they came in Daisies told us that Spoons couldn¢t go on, her ankle was swelling and bruised. Spoons was pretty disappointed about not being able to go on but it was what was best. We decided that Daisies and I would continue on back to the car and Molasses and Spoons would wait at the shelter then walk down to the road (which was something like .2 miles away) where we would pick them up. We figured we could hike the remaining 9 miles and then get them by 6 pm. We were a little off on that as it was just after 7 pm when we got there. The terrain was a little tougher than we had thought it would be. There were a ton of rocks, which slowed us down tremendously. We had a good time talking the whole way about this and that. Ran into quite a few people ¢ Ryan and Jessica, Emily and Slack, Free Radical, Blue Stool, Half Way, Two Speeds, Thistle, and Carnathy Bob. When we ran into Free Radical we were in a section with a lot of blueberry bushes so we picked blueberries while we chatted for a few. We ran into Two Speeds and Thistle about a half-mile from where we were getting off and they decided to walk back with us and go to the Dogpatch Tavern for some burgers. Got back to the car and picked up a few sodas for all of us then went to get Molasses and Spoons. I was the elected driver since I know how to drive a stick. I was a little worried that I may have forgotten how to drive since the last time I did drive I was at home. No worries, though, I still remembered. Picked them up then back to the house we went. Molasses¢ mom made a big dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and bread. Oh was it food! We¢ve decided to take the day tomorrow and go into Washington, DC since we are less than 30 miles from there. Since we are going to do that we spent a little bit of time working on readjusting the mileage schedule. I¢m putting myself on the 13-mile plan. This means I have to do 13 miles a day and for every mile over I do I bank it and once I have accumulated 14, I¢ve earned myself a zero day. But I plan on saving the zero days for later. This should put me at Katahdin the first week of October.
Date: 2003-07-11
From: Raven Rock Hollow / MD 491

To: Gaithersville, MD
Miles today: 0.0

Didn¢t get up until 9 am today, which sounds late but really wasn¢t considering it was 12:30 when I went to sleep. It was a slow morning. The parents made us breakfast of scrambled eggs, biscuits and bagels. Spoon Princess was being picked up by her family at 12 so we¢re jus hanging around waiting for them to get here before we head out to DC for the day. After Spoon Princess left, the three of us headed out. Our first stop was the outfitters. I bought myself a fleece sleeping bag so hopefully I¢ll sleep a little cooler now. I can¢t wait to use it! I¢ll be sending home my winter bag. From the outfitters we went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant. Oh, it was so good. The last time I had Chinese food was when I was at home. From there we went to DC. We rode the Metro, which was a little frightening because there was an outrageous amount of people and none of us are used to the crowds anymore. We got off at the Smithsonian. The first place we went was the Natural History Museum. From there we headed down towards the memorials, stopping for ice cream along the way. I think we almost killed the guy selling us the ice cream when Daisies told him that we are walking the AT and we walked there from Georgia. We did all the monuments them walked down to Friday¢s which was a good 8 blocks or so away. Stuffed ourselves completely. When we left we walked back down to the Wall to see it lit up at night. It definitely set a different mood as people were so much quieter, almost whispering. I can¢t believe how many people were still there at such a late hour, close to 10 pm. We also went by the Lincoln Monument to see it all lit up. We worked our way back to the Metro but when we got there the gates were closed so we had to backtrack a little and go to a different one. I could barely keep my eyes open on the ride back and did fall asleep once we got back to the car. It was a long day and we didn¢t get back to the house until 1:00 am.
Date: 2003-07-12
From: Gaithersville, MD

To: Pennsylvania - Maryland Line
Miles today: 5.9

Man am I tired today. Definitely didn¢t get enough sleep. Anne and Norm made banana pancakes for us, yum yum. After I stuffed myself on those we headed out to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies. Got back to the house and packed up then Norm took us back to the trail. We had a late start and didn¢t get as far as we had holed to. We were all dragging. We raced a storm to Pen Mar and ended up losing about a half mile from the park. So when we reached Pen Mar we decided we should stop there to get out of the rain and make some dinner before heading on. As we were walking up to one of the pavilions, an employee came up and told us we couldn¢t stay if we have a dog but we managed to talk him into letting us stay. We just had to stay in the back. We made another one of the Boy Scout meals that Daisies had and one of the families that was there gave us some cake and cantaloupe. J I love trail magic! Once the rain quit we headed out. The temp did drop a little after the rain. We crossed over the Mason-Dixon line then the Pennsylvania line. We found a nice camp spot back off the trail a ways where there was also a family camped. We set up our tents then played a few rounds of blisters before retiring to the tents. Wasn¢t in here very long before we heard some commotion from the family. Turns out they had gotten a call from home saying that their mother just had a heart attack so they were a little panicked. We helped them pack up and walked them to their car because they had no flashlights. Now I¢m back in my tent and ready for bed.
Date: 2003-07-13
From: Pennsylvania - Maryland Line

To: Rocky Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

I froze last night. My new fleece bag is very comfortable but not very warm. Not exactly sure what the temp was but probably somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees. I had on my long johns and a light weight fleece pullover and ended up putting my rain jacket over top of my lower body. It did help some but I was still very cold. Made it out of camp by 8:30 which was good but the three of us took many, many breaks along the way. Nothing exciting happened today other than that it was a long day. The radio I got back in Harper¢s Ferry is driving me crazy. Half the time I can get reception if my hand is touching the radio, the other half the time it bounces between stations. I¢ll get about 5 words from one song then it jumps to some other area and I¢ll get 4 or 5 words then I jumps back to the other song. It just keeps going back and forth. Very frustrating. As usual the last few miles seemed to drag on and when we finally made it to the shelter turn off it was another .3 miles down a steep hill. Then it was another .3 miles down the hill from the shelter to get water. It didn¢t look like there was any place to camp but when Molasses and I went for water I spotted a good one. So after we made dinner we came down to this spot and set up. The ground is nice and soft and covered in pine needles. Should get some good rest tonight.
Date: 2003-07-14
From: Rocky Mountain Shelter

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

Another cold night¢s sleep, the temp was 62 degrees. It was definitely warmer than the night before but I was still cold. It was a long climb out from the shelter and it was followed by a really rocky section of trail. Who ever maintains this section of trail has it easy with all the rocks. Took about a 2 hour break at Caledonia State Park and had some lunch. I bought a couple hot dogs, some fries, and a soda. It all tasted good! It was hard to get back on the trail after eating, all I wanted to do was take a nap. Took another break when we reached Quarry Gap Shelter, which was just a couple miles later. Man was that a great shelter! I would have loved to stay there for the night but it was too early to stop. The caretaker for that shelter is amazing. There are solar powered lights lighting the path to the privy as well as following the creek that runs in front of the shelter. There is a nice bench and hanging plants. A clothes line and plenty of hooks to hang your packs from. I would have paid to stay there. It was another 6.5 miles to the shelter and it was a long 6.5. Made it to the shelter and found a nice little spot for my tent. This shelter was recently rebuilt and the inside was done pretty nicely but no one stayed in it. Molasses, Daisies and I are camped with Red Dirt, Pay Phone, Becky, and Circus. I quickly made my dinner then crawled into my tent. I only did 13 miles today but I¢m beat.
Date: 2003-07-16
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 19.4

Man did it storm last night! Thunder and lightning like mad. I was scared we were going to be struck by lightning, not because it was so close but because Daisies uses her trekking poles to hold up her tent. I kept thinking about how I was laying next to a lightning rod. And the thunder you could feel through the ground. We managed to all stay dry throughout the night. Made it to the trail by 8:30 this morning. I hiked with Molasses until we got to the first shelter. She decided to only go to the next road crossing because her blisters were bothering her and try to hitch into Boiling Springs. So I continued on until I caught back up with Daisies and Double A. Then the three of us stayed together the rest of the day. The last 3 or 4 miles were pretty flat and we walked through some cornfields for a couple miles before hitting town. Once it town the trail follows a lake to the ATC office. I thought it was a really nice town. We were to meet Kathy at 7 pm at the ATC and we timed it just right by getting there at 10 to 7. Once the three of us were loaded into the car we went to get Molasses and Chloe who were not able to get a ride from anyone and had been sitting at this little store for 6 hours. From there we went to Kathy¢s in Harrisburg, PA. What a great house they have. It¢s a Victorian 3 story house. I love it! Double A and I are taking the girl¢s room on the third floor, Daisies is on the second floor and Molasses and Chloe are on the first floor. We all got our showers then combined all our stinky clothes in the wash. Ordered pizzas and stayed up way too late. It is almost 1 am.