morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Crazy BritNo miles a Zero Day Whoop ,Whoop!!!Ok day started out great a lie in till 7:00am what a luxury, we are staying at the Stanimal¢s Hostel. A great place to stay, clean, well run, really cool people and a great owner, just ask and he will take you anywhere.So today is a lazy day, go down stairs to the kitchen make coffee, take my cup upstairs and check my phone for messages, pack my bag ready to roll.We are fed up with fast food so we ask Adam the owner where there is a local breakfast place, he said are you ready now and we are whisked of to this great family Diner, REAL FOOD!!! Awesome.We walk back to the Hostel and every one is chilling out. I Hate staying in on Sundays so I go off for a walk downtown, Waynesboro must have been hot hard in the Recession as there are lots of empty closed up stores and houses, even has a church for sale make a cool craft Brewery.I find a really nice coffee bar and have the best Latte. On the trip thus far, I send a photo to Dave and he is so jealous.We are staying at the Quality Inn tonight as David¢s wife Barbara is coming up to Slackpack us thru the Shenandoahs.She has driven up from North Carolina. No time for rest we need to go to the Outdoor Store, then a coffee, then we can chill out, check our gear, make repairs, and rest a little.It¢s started raining hard glad we are here in the Motel.Tomorrow we enter the Shenandoah Valley, a great step as I am told lots of Bears but thankfully not aggressive, lots of Deer and fantastic views. So looking forward to this part of the Trail and once on the other side we will be half way on this Great Adventure.Time to close as I am going to have a beer and go to dinner proper food maybe even "Meat".Anyone can walk on the Flat land ,it is so much more fun to Walk on the Edge. Only got 1327.9 miles to go before we climb Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-05-28
From: Wildcat Trail

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 14.4

Crazy BritWOW !!!! What a start to the Shenandoah National Park, we only went in to the forest 200 yds and saw a Mama Bear and her Cub. Poor Dave missed it he was taking a leak and when he caught up to us the bears were gone.We are starting our Transit of the Shenandoah National Park Slackpacking with David¢s Wife Barbara shuttling is from point to point, this way we still cover the miles but with lighter oaks so we can look around more and enjoy this park.Today is a really misty day no chance of seeing anything from the view points along the trail, plus the trail is wet and this makes the rocks very slippery.Dan had a very restless night and has decided to fly down to Bradenton tomorrow to get his Mother Motivated and get mobile after having her Hip Surgery. She has never really been in a hospital or had anything wrong with her in her 84 year life, makes for a Bad Patient!!!!! Ask the doctors at Lakewood Ranch Hospital.In the beginning of our hike today we are just a little under 3 miles an hour a great pace, but the AT is a great leveler. It throws in some steep climbs, muddy and steep, then to top it off it throws in really slippery flat rocks, placed so you cannot avoid standing on them .When you are confident about climbing over these they then stack them on top of one another so it¢s even harder to traverse.We pass a lot of Hikers we have met before as today we are going South on the Trail instead of North. Great news we meet Spirit Man, haven¢t seen him for at least a Month, he said that he is going to leave the trail at Harpers Ferry the halfway point as his wife¢s Cancer is gradually getting worse and spreading, we will miss him on the Trail.We stop for lunch at a Meadow view site but it was fogged in bad, still sat on some rocks and enjoyed our Subway Sandwiches these are great and we get them whenever we have a chance.No more Bear sightings, so it¢s just Hike, Hike through these Beautiful Forests. I tried to listen to my Music selection, it lasted about 30 mins, I found it hard to walk and not be able to listen to the forest sounds.We come to the place where you have to sign into to be able to hike and camp in the Shenandoah National Park, we don¢t need one as we will not be camping.Barbara is waiting for us at the Rock fish Gap Concession stand, get a coke back to the hotel. Check on the Volvo around the World Race have a shower and beer, time for Dinner.Now back typing in bed, time for bed have to be up early tomorrow it¢s a 18.5 Hike over rough terrain, hope to see some more Bears and Deer.Time to sleep14.4 miles35,348 Steps170 FloorsAnyone can walk on the Flat lands , but it is so much more fun to walk on the EdgeOnly got 1327.9 miles to go before we climb Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-05-29
From: Wildcat ridge

To: ivy creek overlook
Miles today: 17.9

Crazy BritGreat day Hiking we were up at 5:30 am, ready to roll at 6:00 am. Dan is riding with us as you know he has to go back to Florida to stimulate his Mum, with her new replacement Hip, he will be sorely missed. See you in 7 days Danny.We have a great trail it¢s soft under foot but not to bad, we are making good time, the branches over the trail are all wet and dripping, it is really cooling, nice to hike in.Poor Dave ¢D2" hasn¢t seen a Bear yet not even in his Hike in 2016, Both Dan and I saw two yesterday, so we are looking real hard.We are hiking at a good pace, great trail condition, as we round a corner there is Mama Bear standing in the trail, OH MY! We stop and look then a Cub Casually walks across the trail, we are ecstatic, David has his Camera out shooting a video. I am taking photos, the Bears just keep an eye on us but just walk away, Awesome!!!!!!!!!!As we hike on we come across a couple checking out a trail map, we ask them where they are from they tell us Brisbane in Australia. Oh Dave says I know a guy from there, he tells them his name, turns out they know his daughters, Small World.We hike on and find a nice rocky place for lunch. Meet a couple of Hikers then it¢s on got to get these miles down. We meet a hiker going South and he tells us about Trail Magic just up ahead.When we get to the sign it says it¢s 150 yards up a side trail, then a debate starts is it worth the extra walk? Yes it is, we get to the camper and get a great welcome, there are several hikers that we know sat around we are offered hot dogs chips and a coke, they even have Rum, I am in Heaven.The two parents have a daughter and boyfriend hiking the trail and they are the support group, they are from Quebec, really nice people.We leave and soon we have only 4.2 miles to go. As we round a corner there is a deer walking down the trail, it just looks at us and nonchalantly walks into the forest.We arrive at the Ivy Creek Overlook and there is Barbara to meet us, we load our gear and head to the cafe for a milkshake, nice!!!!!Back to Motel have a shower go to dinner, going to be another early start tomorrow 5:30 am alarm call.Great hike today, will pay for it tomorrow.Anyone can walk on the flat ,but you know what it¢s so much more fun to live on the EdgeOnly got 1295.6 miles before we summit Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-05-30
From: Ivy Creek Overlook

To: South River Picnic Area
Miles today: 16.3

Crazy BritToday was a bad Weather day, thick hill fog all day no visibility at all from the view points. Plus it was raining on and off all day, lots of mud on the trail and very slippery.On the way to the Trail we saw 3 yearling Black Bears and a deer. On the trail we saw Squirrels, Chipmunks and a nice sized Black Snake. So far I have seen 7 black bears,I  never thought I would see so many.The trail is at the moment very muddy, and after tonight¢s big rain storm is going to be flooded tomorrow. This is a problem, for as you start to hike you try to walk on the sides of the trail, this soon ends up being a real pain. So you end up just walking right up thru the flooded trail.Your shoes are soon soaked thru up to your ankles, the biggest problem is you cannot see the roots and stones under the mud, causing you to trip and stumble, it¢s a real pain.I did a live FaceTime from one of the views, all you could see was white mountain fog a great pity as the views over the Shenandoah valley are spectacular.Another big deal today was that we went thru the 900 mile mark a really big deal, by the end of next week we will be over half way to Mt Katahdin.Our day was made up of climbing and descending the Shenandoah mountain range. We were heading to the South River Picnic Area, we were going to do 16.3 Miles.Today we are making a good pace allowing for the trail conditions, we are getting stronger every day, and can get 10 miles in by lunch time with no sweat. No bears on the trail today I expect they are curled up in their dens.We came out at the picnic area, and waited for Barbara to come pick us up. We knew she would be late as the roads are really foggy, we walked to the road and immediately got attacked by waves of knats, driving us crazy.Wasn¢t long and our ride was here. Bonus a cold beer, this was much appreciated. Back to Motel shower and go to dinner. This was when the big rain came, going to be rough tomorrow.Time to close now another bad wet day tomorrow, I am off too bed.16.3. Miles42.208. Steps229 FloorsAnyone can walk on the flat trail, but it¢s so much more fun to walk on the edge.Only got 1279.3 miles to go before we climb Mt. Katahdin.
Date: 2018-05-31
From: South River Picnic Area

To: Big Meadows Lodge
Miles today: 13.9

Crazy BritNot a Hiking day more a Wading day!!!I was awakened by an Alarm going of, damn it¢s already time to get up. I grab my phone to clear the alarm when I notice that it¢s not the clock but a flood warning for our area.We go to breakfast and the local river has overflowed the river banks. It had rained all night really hard, if it¢s flooded here in the valley, what will it be like up in the mountains.We are headed up into the mountains and the mist is already worse than it was yesterday, the water is running out of the ground all over the Skyline drive roadway, this looks bad.We eventually get to our point at South River picnic area, it was of course is raining there. There were some hikers there and one of them said he had slept in the toilet, to keep dry.I got on my rain jacket, no trousers as I am trying to hike in shorts no matter the weather, the trail is a river, water is everywhere, we started walking on the edge of the trail, trying to keep our feet dry, what a waste of time.It is safer to walk up the trail, just watch out for roots and stones. I am lucky that my shoes are good for walking in the water as they have vents on the sides to let the water out, works great for me.We are making great time even with the trail in this bad condition, as we are walking we come across some Deer. These are really tame up here as there is no hunting of any living creature, it makes a difference to the animals.Lunch was in a parking area on the Skyline road, only dry place around. We are making great time, more Deer are on the trail, we can get really close, both deer are heavily Pregnant and I should think are due at any day.We arrive at the Big Meadows Lodge and meet Barbara, I check out the Lodge really cool place. We are heading for Luray, nice little town, it¢s raining again, going to be bad out there tomorrow, we have also had an Extream weather report.Oh well time for Bed GoodnightAnyone can walk on the flat it is so much more fun walking on the EdgeOnly got 1265.4 miles left before we summit Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-06-01
From: Big Meadows Lodge

To: US211 Thornton Gap
Miles today: 17.6

Crazy BritGreat day of Hiking it started off good with Coffee and Dunkin Doughnuts. Drove up to Big Meadows Lodge and saw Deer and 2 bears on the way ,it¢s going to be a good day.We started off heading to our take out point at US 211 Thorntons Gap a distance of 17.6 miles good miles if the trail is good.We are very surprised even after the rain last night the trail is wet in places but as yet not enough to get your feet wet. We can walk on the trail sides to avoid the Mud and water, not like yesterday.We were told by the Rangers today that over 12 inches of rain fell in 2 1/2 Days, when a normal average would be 4 inches in 2 months, over 12 inches of rain is a hell of a lot of rain.This weather system has caused a lot of problems for the AT hikers. People that would have made it to Katahdin have had their hopes smashed by a freak year, Snow, Hail, Extreme cold and rain.We are lucky in that we can slack-pack, with Barbara, David¢s wife. The whole way thru the Shenandoah¢s some friends we have met are just tired of wet clothing, sleeping bags and tents, one girl said she was on flat ground, and had to sit and watch the water ride around her tent and others, then it just came over her Bathtub floor. ¢A Bathtub is a waterproof floor normally about 9 inches from the floor¢.???The weather is every thing and we will find out after Harpers Ferry when our easy life ends. Tomorrow we will be hiking in rain all day, so the weather men say, it should stop by Monday Evening, so for us it¢s not all sugar. Just I am lucky to have 2 people who have done it before and know most of the good things to do.The views today are awesome. We are hiking down a narrow ridge so we have sometimes views on either side. Lunch was spent in the company of Spirit Man a really nice guy, he has told us he will finish in Harpers Ferry and go home to look after his Wife who has Cancer. He has had some tough times on the trail, but he is always there plodding along one step in front of the other, we will miss him.Hiking was good and we are soon in that time when you check your Guthook App and find you are only 6 tenths away from your take out point. This distance feels like damn miles and miles, it¢s a long way down from the ridge seems to take ages.In an instant we are out from the Forest and onto a paved car park. Always seems a bit strange to me still we are done for the day, Barbara will soon be here, our work for the day is done.Time for a shower, beer, and dinner now home relaxing and resting got a 15 mile day tomorrow.Anyone can walk on the flat , but it¢s so much Cooler to live on the edgeOnly got 1247.8 before we climb Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-06-02
From: US 211 ThorntonÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: Skyline 15.09 parking lot
Miles today: 16.1

Crazy Brit Another great day on the trail, started again with Dunkin Doughnuts and a large latte, seeing a yearling dear and a couple of rabbits, nature is so good.We got on the trail about 7:00am, we had some rain overnight but surprisingly the trail was in good condition not to muddy at all.We have now seen 10 Bears which is awesome, none have been a problem, we are lucky. I have heard of horror stories, but if you do not provoke the Bear you are ok.The visibility is again zero with no views at the overlooks, so disappointing as the Shenandoah Valley is such a cool place to see. Tomorrow is going to be just like today except we will have rain. We are only doing 11.5 miles so should be done by lunchtime.Today is not a good day to see the wildlife of Shenandoah National Park. They must all be curled up in their homes out of this sucky weather. The undergrowth is all soaking wet with no chance of drying out for the next week. David has been telling me how great their milk Shakes are in the Wayside cafes, so today we are timing it so we can go in at lunchtime and get shake and eat our lunch.We arrive at the Elkwallow Wayside, and are ready for our shakes. Barbara is here waiting for us so we can have lunch together. David is first in line orders an Egg Sandwich and a Strawberry shake for himself. You should have seen his face when the lady said Ed cannot make Shakes today, we had walked extra miles just for the Milk shake and are crushed.The rest of our hike was pretty normal up ,down, up down With Zero Visibility, no views to marvel at, plus no thru hikers to talk to. We are soon out of the forest and on the road looking for the car parking area, a cop pulls up to give us directions.We have better mapping than he has and it¢s only a hundred yards up the road. Barbara is asleep in the truck just waiting for us. It¢s great to take off your Hiking shoes and socks put on dry socks together with your town shoes, have a beer and off we go to Port Royal our stop for the night.We have dinner at a BBQ Taproom.Good beer and great food, it¢s now raining real hard, it¢s going to be a bad day on the trail tomorrow, Oh Well that¢s hiking.Time for a beer and bed, see you all tomorrow.Anyone can walk on the flat ,but¢s it¢s so much more fun to walk on the Edge Only got 1231.7 miles before we climb Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-06-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.6

Crazy BritDay started out great Dunkin Doughnuts, a large latte coffee, saw 2 deer, of course it¢s raining up on the Mountain, visibility is less than 50 ft, the day just may be going down hill.We get all our waterproofs on and start down the trail, it¢s flooded, we try to walk on the side of the trail but that is where all the mud is, so have to walk down the center of the trail and try to avoid the rocks and slippery tree roots under the waterThe Day has gone downhill!!!As we approach one of the many Skyline parking areas there is a search and rescue guy getting ready to walk up the trail, he asks if he can walk along with us for a while, sure no problem. He is just out walking for fun????? but he did say he was getting paid for it, Cool.After about 30 mins he left us heading up another connecting trail, plenty of viewing points but visibility down to about 50 ft no point stopping. Plus it¢s raining like hell, we want to get this short section over with get back to a hot shower and dry clothes.We continue wading up the trail, we do stop for snacks and water breaks, we see another hiker coming our way this time he is a ridge runner, he also gets paid, what a day to check out camping permits.We soon come to a sign telling us that we are at the Northern end of the Shenandoah National Park, we have only had 1 1/2 days of clear Visibility so we could see the valley floor.One more climb then downhill to our take out point US 522 Front Royal. As we come down from the ridge there is a real nasty rocky section I was going to video it but I needed both hands to get down. Plus the rocks were all wet and slippery, Oh I forgot there is water rushing down over the rocky, slippery Trail.Now as we hit the valley floor the normal tranquil streams have become Raging torrents of brown muddy water. We have to wade across these as the normal stepping stones are under the water somewhere. One crossing is to dangerous and we have to detour, mud, sticky mud every where. Soon we are out to the car park and there is Barbara all ready for us. Back to the hotel, strip off wet clothes, grab a beer, and drink it in the bath, feels really good.Have a nap, go into town have a Thai Dinner, home for a beer, then into bed. Early start tomorrow as we have a 20 mile day.Anyone can walk on the flat, but you know what, it¢s more fun in the rain on the Edge.Only got 1220.1 miles before we climb to the top of Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-06-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.2

Crazy BritToday the trail was worse than yesterday, still lots of water running down the trail but worse was all the Mud. The hikers had been thru and obviously the mud had gotten all churned up real bad.After about 10 mins of trying to keep your feet dry, it¢s time just walk down the center of the trail, thru all the mud and water. It¢s kind of strange when you get to a stream crossing it¢s good to wade across then you wash the mud off your boots.Today we are hiking South as it¢s easy for Barbara to pick us up and drop us off. North is South bound today is a wet muddy day, hiking the opposite way from all the North bound hikes is kind of cool because you meet a lot more people.Most of the people we are meeting today are old friends by now and it¢s good just to see and hear how they are all getting on. We are putting little toys out on the trail to see where they will end up. We have green frogs, yellow ducks, and an assortment of different colored fish. We get them in the Dollar General store in the baby section.We write our trail names on them with a message, hopefully a hiker will find them and keep them going up to Maine and Mt Katahdin, we now have people looking out for them, it fun and passes the time.Talking about time today was a real early start 5:50 am. Got to get going as it¢s a 20 mile day, all is going good maintaining a steady hiking speed, even in the gooey mud.We are told that there is trail magic up ahead this always puts a spring in your step. We arrive at the trail magic spot to find a lot of hikers there with all their belongings out in the parking are drying.The Trail Angel is called Jukebox she lives in Washington DC and has hiked the trail. So she knows what hikers want, I had a beer, banana, chips, and a pile of grapes. Thank you Jukebox ¢great job"!We have our lunch sat on a seat in a beautiful Meadow, couldn¢t be any better. We are wading thru the mud and running water, still making good time. We eventually come out at the parking area where Barbara is waiting, our boots are so muddy we have to go down to the stream and wash off the mud.Dan is coming into town, so tomorrow we will all be hiking together again, awesome!Dan arrives we all go out to dinner together. Then it¢s back home to have a beer and bedtime no rain in the forecast for tomorrow. It's NO RAIN so hopefully that will give the trail time to dry up a bit. Ok time for bed see you all tomorrow.anyone can walk on the flat, but¢s it¢s more fun ,with mud up past your ankles , live on the edge20.2. Miles48.010 StepsFloor. Only got 1199.9 before we summit Mt Katahdin
Date: 2018-06-05
From: Blue ridge mountain road

To: Snickers Gap
Miles today: 13.9

Crazy BritWhat a day went thru 1000 miles, Dan is back on the trail, beat the roller coaster.Started the day with an early call then Dunkin Doughnuts and a Latte Coffee. We were on the trail at 6:30 with Dan eager to get going. The trail had dried out a little bit but still plenty of water and mud around.Dan got right into it sloshing thru the mud, he is very happy to be back with us. This section includes the dreaded Roller Coaster, big ups and downs for about 10 miles. Some are really steep with big rocks all over the trail, I suppose it¢s getting us ready for the trail in Pennsylvania.Well we come to a sign welcoming us to the Roller Coaster, but first we have to cross a stream then up we go. D 2 in front then Uncle D then myself, who ever designed this part of the Trail was a Sadist.The miles were coming down, this is a big section as we will go thru the 1000 mile Barrier!!!!!We have set our phone App Guthook so we know the exact point on the trail, we are getting excited as we approach the mark. No need to worry there on the trail marked out in stones is the 1000 mile mark we stop for lunch as it¢s a convenient place to sit. I was really excited at the first 100 mile mark, but this is Monument-us hard to think we have come all this way and are still just under halfway.We still have a fair bit of the roller coaster to do and we come out onto a great viewing point at Bears Den Rocks, time for a photo shoot. Once done it¢s all down hill to Snickers Gap and Barbara will be there to take us to their daughters house.But first what¢s this Trail Magic, we have cup cakes with 1000 written on them, a cold beer, fruit, snacks a hikers dream come true. The people putting on this feast has a daughter and she is just a few miles behind us, she is in for a great surprise when she gets here.Barbara takes us to their daughters house, time to shower, go out to dinner, then food shop.Tomorrow is another big day we are hiking 19.3 miles into Harpers Ferry the home of the Appalachian Trail Conservatory and this is where we will have our photo taken, this will then go on the year book.With so much excitement I am going to Bed Goodnight.Anyone can walk on the flat, but no Flat places around here, but it¢s more exciting to live on the edge anyway.13.9. Miles38.352. Steps Floors. Only got 1186.0 miles to go before we summit Mt Katahdin.