morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Snickers gap

To: Snickers gap
Miles today: 0.0

We woke up early to the sound of people walking by. It was the fourth of July and this was the way up to an overlook. One guy was very mad and said "what am I supposed to do walk around", well yes it wasn't very hard. We got up and packed our things anyway. We headed out to a diner where I learned about scrapple as an alternative to bacon, ham or sausage. Apparently it is the remnants of all of those that were left on the grill and formed into a square. Mmmmmmm. I refrained even though I was curious. We went up to Harpers Ferry the psychological halfway point of the trail where the ATC conference was to see who was around. Not many people. We played some frisbee and wandered around. I knew Happy Feet was at the hotel so we went over there to use his shower and hang out with him and Wolfman. We found out that Happy Feet had fought a bear in Shenandoah. He startled it with its cubs and it charged so he had no choice but to stand and fight. He crossed up his trekking poles and slammed them down on the bear's snout. It charged again and he smacked it again. It retreated as he slowly crept around. Wow!! So much for bears running every time you see them. The plan was to go into DC for the fireworks but since it was already getting fairly late and none of us had any idea how to go about getting there or get around the city once we were there then find our way out and battle the traffic late we just decided to check out the fireworks from the highway and head to a free campground right near a road in Maryland where we could pitch our tents without making anyone mad the next day.
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Snickers gap

To: Snickers gap
Miles today: 0.0

Another lazy day off with Josh and Adam. We did even less today than yesterday. We went back to Harpers Ferry again and I did see some friends of my fathers from Manchester who were knocking off the trail in sections and were at the AT conference headquarters. Small world. We went to a state park in Maryland to play some more frisbee and go swimming. Josh and Adam decided to depart tonight instead of worrying about finding a camp spot and waking up early only to leave. We went out to dinner and hung out for a bit before they dropped me back off where they picked me up again under cover of darkness. I found a slightly more out of the way spot to pitch my tent even though it was still on the trail and crashed.
Date: 2003-07-06
From: Snickers gap

To: Blackburn Trail center
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke around 10. It was already a very hot day. I wanted to go all the way to Harpers Ferry today. I set out to conquer the last few miles of the roller coaster which I had started several days earlier. I was moving very, very slow and the walking was not coming very easily. I did however hit a massive milestone after 2.5 miles. The END OF VIRGINIA. The trail did go back into VA briefly after this point but it was mostly West Virginia from here til Harpers Ferry. I had conquered the trail's longest state. It seems like I had been there for years. I took advantage of the photo op and break spot before I crawled on. I was really hurting. I got to the Blackburn Trail Center around 4 and was greeted with a soda from Bill the friendly caretaker who had thru-hiked in the 80's. He asked me if I was staying for dinner and I replied probably not. I was in denial. I sat around for a while on the huge screen porch and lost the will to move. I took a nice nap and got up in time for the awesome pasta dinner complete with salad, beans and garlic bread with a brownie for dessert. How could I have misse that. We were entertained with tales of a guy named Elwood who I met in southern VA and was telling everyone his son had died in Baghdad a couple weeks ago to try and mooch money and food off of people. He also had lots of other stories about being a hostage, a chef in Las Vegas, etc. etc. Well it turned out that he liked harassing female ridgerunners and also stealing from other hikers. He was always a sketchy guy that we talked about and didn't want around. Guys like him ruin the trail. Well he was found out here and Bill had to chase him up the hill before he gave up and was hauled away by the sheriff. The register was full of applause for ridding the trail of trash and making it a better place. Good riddance.
Date: 2003-07-07
From: Blackburn Trail center

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was a big day. I was finally getting to Harpers Ferry the psychological halfway point of the trail. The actual halfway point was still about 80 miles north. The landmark there was that that was the location of the Appalachian Trail Conference which upon arrival your picture is taken and inserted into the large book of hiker photos for the year making your hike official. It then sits there next to the books from other years for anyone to look at. I left the Blackburn center and in about six miles made it to the 1000 mile marker another huge milestone and photo op. I grew closer and closer to Harpers Ferry and realized that I was going to get hit with a thunderstorm just before I got there. It came in just as I crossed the final VA/WV line a mile or two from town. I got absolutely soaked in seconds. I didn't care, I was singing all the way down the mountain to town. I guess with the year we've had it wouldn't be right to walk into Harpers Ferry dry. I made it down into town and walked proudly into the ATC to get my photo taken. I looked up Lewis and Clark in the book from 97' and Wide Load from 2001'. I had decided to take up Auntie Carol on her offer to drive back up to H.F. to pick me up when I got there so I put in the call. 50 Trail miles = a 45 minute drive. I lounged about the headquarters which is a neat little building with all kinds of info about the whole trail until my ride came to pick me up and bring me back to a hot shower after treating me to dinner at a resaurant along the way.
Date: 2003-07-08
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Nowhere fast
Miles today: 0.0

Well I wasn't planning on taking a zero but.... When I was picked up in Harpers Ferry and brought back I was looking at the maps and realized that I wasn't going to make it to my next mail drop by Saturday so I might as well enjoy comfort while I have it, besides it was pouring rain most of the morning. I was going to go out in the canoe and fish with Uncle Dick but the rain ended that so I just slept until noon instead. The rain did however end in the afternoon allowing us to enjoy the hot tub. Mmmmmm more home cooking. Alas I must hike tomorrow.
Date: 2003-07-09
From: Nowhere fast

To: Harpers ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I got a ride back to Harpers Ferry around noonish and once again thanking Aunt Carol profusely for her hospitality and promising not to return. I was dropped off in front of the conference headquarters to see that Bucky had finally made it in. He said that Snot Rocket had blister problems back near Front Royal and was still a day or so behind. I met a whole new crew of people Blue Stool, Peach Monkey, Kung Fu, Wolverine, Sherpa among others. It was very overcast and the weather called for rain. A guy pulled up in front and told us that severe storms were moving in and that we shouldn't leave right now.   Then he invited all back to his place for a bar-b-que. Bucky, Double A and her friend went right over there. I reluctantly agreed that I would be there in a minute, but I maintained that I was hiking out. Mover who I hadn't seen since trail days and I walked all over the place before we figured out where we were going. The guys name was Blue Moon and he wasn't ever a hiker, but he was a trail angel, a term some people are given or give themselves who are always around the trail and looking to do favors for hikers. I maintained that I was leaving as rain poured down. I even maintained that I was leaving when I was offered a free place to stay at the nice hotel up on the bluff. I gave into the zero day as the pounding rain continued and I realized it was already around dinner time. This was one day off I really didn't want.
Date: 2003-07-10
From: Harpers ferry

To: Ed Garvey shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up early enough to do a big day, but as the day went on it was hard to get started. I ran into Psycho Pat and Old Bill in the lobby. Psycho Pat had just gotten a foot problem (plantar faciitis) and was trying to see if it could stand up to the trail (she dropped off and went home a few days later because of the pain). I wandered back over to the ATC and went inside for a few minutes to buy a couple postcards. I hit the trail which went along the river and the famous Jefferson rock to descend into the main part of Harpers Ferry Historical site. It was really a beautiful little area situated where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers meet to flow out to the sea. There were lots of very nice old buildings built among the rocks and hillside leading down to the rivers. The street was made of cobblestone. This was the site of John Brown's famous seizure of the arsenal in attempt to free all the slaves. This part of town was amazing and very historic. I realized that for all the time I spent in and around this area I didn't get to visit the many museums and exhibits that the site had to offer. So I spent a good couple hours wandering in and out of the old buildings and seeing the sights before Bucky, Double A and I headed out over the railroad bridge and into Maryland. We walked along the river for a couple miles and also to the left was a water filled ditch that had a green slime on it. When you threw a stick into the slime it would part the green to the water underneath only to have the green close the hole right back up like it never happened. Really an amazing phenomenon. I offered to swim in it for 50 bucks but no one offered up the cash so we walked on. Being pretty late already we only headed up to the first shelter, a two story very elaborate structure with a coated floor named for one of the most well know early trail celebrities, Ed Garvey. Unfortunately the water was a half mile downhill, a trip that was necessary but that I almost had to bring my tent for. Rained tonight for a change.
Date: 2003-07-11
From: Ed Garvey shelter

To: Annapolis rocks
Miles today: 18.2

Woke up early today and got an early start. We walked for about five miles until we got to Gathland state park. Gath was a psudonym for an early war correspondent and writer. He was fairly well known and had a large complex that he lived on that now was the state park. There was a large stone monument to war correspondendents that is the only one of those in the country. I liked Gath because of the soda machine. We moved along stopping to cook dinner at the campground I had stayed at with my friends several nights before. A couple miles from there was Washington Monument State Park which was home to the original Washington monument made by town citizens one independence day way before the more well known one in D.C. It was a large bottle shaped structure with an observation platform on top. I especially liked the Washington monument because of the soda machine. The next exciting stop in the fun filled day was to go to the Dogpatch Tavern, a short distance off the trail but well worth the trip. It was a hiker/biker bar that probably gets way more bikers but also sees its fair share of hikers during the season. It was widely known. As we walked in there were a couple old guys out on the porch who said with a chuckle in their southern drawl "they look like bikers....but they're hikers". It was another one of those funny experiences only available on the trail. We hiked out around 11 P.M. and walked a long two miles up to the campsites at Annapolis rocks.
Date: 2003-07-12
From: Annapolis rocks

To: Devils racecourse shelter
Miles today: 11.1

Woke up understandably around 11. We broke camp and went to check out the rocks themselves. There must have been 50 people around. It was a nice spot for sure but only average in my vast array of rock outcrops and not worth the crowd. We hiked a few more miles to a much less crowded, slightly smaller, but just as nice rock formation called the blackrock cliffs for lunch. The day went on very slowly. I was pretty focused on getting into Pennsylvania today but the late start, slow going and soaking thunderstorm dampened that idea. We got to the shelter pretty late and unfortunately there were no tentsites around. The idea of devils racecourse is a large boulder field. It was raining again so we had no choice but to pack in the shelter. With the three of us it was way overfull and I practically had to sleep on my side. It was a horrible nights sleep spent constantly bumping the strangers on both sides and capped off with a group of three section hikers waking up at 5 A.M. to pack up and leave. At least after they left there was a little room to spread out and sleep uncomfortably for a few more hours.
Date: 2003-07-13
From: Devils racecourse shelter

To: Tumbling run shelters
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Today was the day that we were to leave Maryland and enter the bed of rocks that is known as Pennsylvania. We slept in a little to make up for a general lack of sleep during the night then headed out. We had what seemed like a long five miles to get to the edge of the border and a concession stand at Pen-Mar Park. I love these trailside hamburger and soda stands that we seem to be walking by quite often. It was Sunday and Sunday in Pen-Mar means a seniors dance and some live music, "big band sounds" one guy told us. There must have been 300 people packing the park for the concert. We hung around to hear a little music and see the festivities. In the hour we were there we must have been asked ten questions a minute. The usuals, April 6, Georgia to Maine, six months, 2000 miles, yes bears. Bucky even told one guy that he had killed five bears with his sticks which was responded to with a startled "ohhhh". He carries massive wooden walking staffs and often hears that he could "club a bear with those things", to the point where it no longer amuses him so sometimes he beats them to the punch. When we had gotten there we heard several sirens and we heard from a local kid that sometimes people let thier pet boas go in the area and that a day hiker we had just seen was attacked by one and it had wrapped him up. A new trail danger, great!! I will have to search for that newspaper article when I got home. We made our break from Pen-Mar but not before passing by a circle of 12 lawn chairs and a fresh round of questions that came so fast we barely had time to answer them. Luckily we were able to take a break in peace a quarter mile down the road at the state line. It also was a very significant milestone since the Pennsylvania/Maryland line also was the Mason-Dixon Line. I had finally returned north. The two signs made for a significant photo op. We slowly made our way about 8 miles into the state before stopping at a pair of shelters side by side one marked snoring one non. Bucky and Double A slept in the snoring one and I tented.
Date: 2003-07-14
From: Tumbling run shelters

To: Birch run shelters
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

It had become apparent to me in the last several days that Bucky, Double A, and I were not a good hiking unit and that our combined slowness and distractions made us all extra slow. We had been struggling for our 13-14 mile days. We stopped at a nice rock overlook called chimney rocks where I informed them I would be hiking farther than they were planning on today and was going to try and break ahead and do some big days. I told them I would see them down the trail. We parted after we had done another three miles to the road where they were going into town. I wished Double A a happy thirtieth birthday and headed out alone. It was another five miles before I was able to stop at another trailside grill, this time at Caledonia State Park. I spent some time chatting with a couple locals. Some of the most priceless moments are when you hang out with some trashy yokels by the side of the trail for a little while. I loved to experience the different cultures and ways of life in the regions the trail passes through. I made my break and headed back into the woods and a couple miles up to the next shelter where I met a nice church group. They gave me a hot jello drink which was basically jello but you don't allow it to cool, then I witnessed a very interesting version of grace sung to the tune of Superman. I thanked them and headed out down to the next shelter that was my destination. There were several people there and they were all tenting out with a completely empty shelter. My kind of folk, I followed their lead.
Date: 2003-07-15
From: Tumbling run shelters

To: some flat spot on top of a mountain
Miles today: 22.1

Today was another big milestone day. It was the day that I was to cross the actual halfway point. I woke up at 8 or so which I thought was very early except that everyone else was up and gone by 7. I sat there for a few minutes and had some cereal and a cup of coffee. I was surprised to see Bucky come walking up alone. He had also made a move for independence and stopped hiking with Double A due to the lack of forward progress being made. We hiked out at the same time as two independent hikers just trying to make some miles. The halfway point was just as you enter Pine Grove Furnace State Park, named for the huge iron smelting furnaces that used to operate and whose remnants still remain. There was a small country store right there where you are challenged with I think one of the hardest things imaginable on the trail. The half gallon challenge to mark halfway. The challenge is first being dumb enough to pay over 5 bucks for a mediocre half gallon of ice cream and then eating the whole thing. It really was an incredibly stupid and pointless stunt designed to sell overpriced ice cream, but many people did it. There were several people there eating a cone or pint, but wouldn't challenge themselves so Bucky and I had to step up to the plate. I started working on a half gallon of vanilla. I fought long and hard refusing to give up despite the ill feeling in my stomach. At just over one hour I conquered all happy that I would never have to do such an idiotic thing again in my life. I had the prize of a crappy wooden spoon with a half-gallon club member stamp on it now in my possession. Now the real challenge in all of this is hiking afterward. I had to take a long digestion break. Luckily the next short stretch was flat. There was an official sign designating the halfway mark just north of the park on the trail. I hope this was the last of the many halfway marks I had to battle through since Harpers Ferry. We hiked on another ten miles until dark and found a decent camping spot on the top of some hill.
Date: 2003-07-16
From: some flat spot on top of a mountain

To: Darlington shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: broken clouds

I had planned on being in Boiling Springs this morning for breakfast. To accomplish that I had to get up at 5:30. I set my alarm and was all set to go. The problem was that this was the exact time a nasty thunderstorm hit sending me back to sleep until 9. Oh well, I could eat lunch there instead I guess. It was around seven miles until the trail made its way through the middle of town, passing by a lake and the post office itself. No hitching involved here. I picked up my maildrop and packed it all up before going to Anile's italian restaurant for lunch. Boiling Springs was a nice small town that was very clean and well kept. The trail continued on through town a bit before heading into the woods along corn fields for a 15 mile long section of perfectly flat walking in the valley. It was a nice easy change for a while before I grew bored with it after several miles, it just wasn't a very interesting stretch and offered absolutely no challenge. I was almost happy to begin climbing the hill to get to the shelter, that lasted about ten steps. The shelter wasn't full, but I set up my tent of course.
Date: 2003-07-17
From: Darlington shelter

To: The Doyle
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

The Doyle is a very well known spot. It is located in the town of Duncannon that the trail passes directly through. It is a 15$ a night (pardon the term) hotel that was over a hundred years old and was one of the original Anheuser Busch hotels. The architecture of the building was very nice. Go to Blue Stool's entry on 7/18 to get the photo. The upkeep of the building however wasn't as nice as it could be. I think just a coat of paint would do wonders for it. I had a chance to check out several of the rooms and the overall look was very run down. The walls had cracks and in some cases mildew on them, flecks of paint were peeling off everywhere. Some windows were held open with a cinderblock and others simply had a sign "open at own risk". There was one bathroom to a floor and four floors. To most this place would be an absolute hole, but to hikers it was an oasis. To top it all off there was a bar/restaurant with a jukebox and pool table on the lowest level. A doyleburger with an absolutely massive serving of fries was only five bucks and was enough to satisfy even the hungriest hiker. I only had to do eleven miles to get there and was planning on hiking out after hanging out for a while but of course the Doyle vortex got me. There was live music there that night which was surprisingly very good. There was no way I could have walked out on the Doyle.