morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-06
From: Damascus, VA MP 459

To: Damascus, words from Scarecrow
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Remember how I was talking trash on those other hikers for being so fast and not stopping to see views? Well, i had a guy yell at ME with the same criticism! This northbounder's name is Coredump; a harsh 'Nam vet with a fortress of a pack that towers over his grey head. His foodbag alone is 40 pounds; the size of a pillowcase filled to the brim. He walks 14 miles a day at the most, but never goes into towns! His pack weighs at least 85 pounds. At the outfitter in Damascus, he says "Man, i can't believe i caught up with you!"   "Yah, i guess you're doing pretty well, Coredump." "I don't know why you younger people run down the trail, practically starving yourselves, and then every four days have to recharge and relax in town!!! Me? I just carry lots and lots of produce and meats and whatever i want! I don't go into towns at all!" I turned and muttered "Yah, you also carrying a torque wrench to tighten the lag bolts on that pack?" He laughed. Anyway, it's all love. Hikers are an odd bunch.
Date: 2005-04-10
From: Partnership Shelter, MP 523

To: Words from Scarecrow
Miles today: 0.0

When I left the trail this afternoon, it was dry, sunny, and 75 degrees. Many people told me that a northbound is totally different than a southbound hike; You'll have more fun and it's a little easier. They weren't kidding! I've been home for 10 hours now and can't WAIT to get back in the woods. The forest is changing from brown to green, and even some flowers are popping up. I'm in great (and ever-increasing) shape and the days are getting longer and the trail smoother. In recollection of my southbound hike, I've realized that when I reached my hiking peak the days were getting shorter, and I was assured of ever-worsening weather. You've gotta be a tough soldier to complete a southbound hike. Mentally, it's very difficult. I'm surprised I made it as far as I did. Pretty soon you'll see me pulling regular 25 mile days. I don't carry a watch, so when it gets light I pack up camp, and when it's dark I stop walking for the day. With the attachment of a hammock comes mobile sleeping arrangments and fewer shelter stays. Here's where the full-throttle fun begins!
Date: 2005-04-25
From: Pearisburg, VA MP 623

To: Glasgow, VA MP 770
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hey everyone. Not much to say, other than I've gone 770 miles so far. I managed to catch SHorts, and we had a grand reunion. Since my last update, I've hiked past Dragon's Tooth, McAfee Knob, and many other peaks. Friday and Saturday were very cold and rainy after a week of hot, humid sunshine. Daleville, VA is a popular place for hikers to take a day off, but I didn't even stay the night. I came out of the woods and immediately went to the grocery store and resupplied, then to the Pizza Hut for a refill. Staying in town would result in excessive money spending, so I hiked out. There was a big group of northbounders gathering into a bunch at that time, so I've managed to stay ahead of them. A little tidbit of info for the novice hikers out there... I meet many day/weekend hikers out here, and they always want to know every single piece of gear I'm carrying, and what the "best" gear is. While walking along, I was considering the limits of my own gear. As clumsy as I am, and with as many blue-blazed trails that I take to alternate places, I wonder if my gear will save me in a pinch? What if I fall and break my hip on some godforesaken side trail where no man treads? Will my bag keep me warm? Is my pack REALLY water resistant? The other day I had hiked 21 miles and it was mid afternoon, with thunder approaching in the distance. Instead of hoofing it 8 miles to town, I took the opportunity to test my hammock in a blowing thunderstorm. I intentionally set it up where the wind was fierce and the rain sideways. The hammock won. Hikers will do this kind of stuff when near town, because if the "worst" happens, we can deal with it the next morning with relative ease. I'm hoping to make it to Waynesboro, VA milepost 847 on saturday morning (4/30).   You'll hear from me then, and I'll probably have new pics. Bye.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Glasgow, VA MP 770

To: Rusty's place, MP 840, Thoughts from Scarecrow
Miles today: 0.0

Ahhhh yes. I've reached Rusty's Hard Time Hollow. Rusty is an old Amish guy who lives in the woods near Lyndhurst, VA and has the only driveway in the country that dumps out on a Nat'l Park road. (I'm on a computer somewhere else). Anyway, in 2003 I spent five days here... it has a way of sucking you in.I spent all of Wednesday (4/27) tooling around with him. After we collected the chicken eggs and milked the goats that morning, he moved some trees around the property with his anchient Ford Series 800 tractor while I ran a load of scrap steel to the county recycling place in Rusty's 1966 Chevy Stepside pickup. He and I spent the evening cracking jokes on park rangers and hiker habits while sippin moonshine around a fire. Despite the dozens of hikers I told about Rusty's and all the "GO TO RUSTY'S" jabber I wrote in shelter registers, I was heartbroken to see that I was only the THIRD person of this year to stop by! Indeed, If I stopped at every hostel and town along the trail, the trip would cost me $20K... but the Hard Time Hollow is a sacred place on the AT! Some of you hikers are REALLY missing out! Rusty has property listed for sale because it's dangerous for a man his age to spend the winter alone there, and because hiker attendance has dropped off! The trail experience has become very different from what it was 20 years ago. The carefree and "whatever" attitude of the trail has faded, and has become very commercialized. With the abundance of hiker alumni comes more hostels, "trail angels" and hiker friendly arrangements. Instead of hitching to town with a stranger, there's a variety of phone numbers to call to arrange transportation for a fee (if you want). Many hikers I talk to have their next two weeks planned out to extreme detail... who they're going to call, where they're going to stay, etc. I carved a wooden spoon out of pine. I gather firewood immediately when I stroll in to a campsite. Nobody does those things anymore! With all the "arrangements" comes a businesslike attitude to the hike, eliminating the need for spontenaeity and exploration. I didn't hike 20 years ago, so most of this rant comes from Rusty and not me.   I think Bill Bryson's book had an unfortunate impact on the trail, and the guidebooks could afford to be a little more vague about what services await you in town. That way, you don't have high expectations and are pleasantly surprised (rather than expectant) of great service by kind people. Ok, I'm done. I plan to make some sort of musical instrument while out here. We'll see.On sunday morning I begin my trek of the Shenandoah Nat'l Park (about 110 miles) and all its tourist-packed glory. It's still very un-springy and cold in the higher elevations so it should lead to some nice daytime hiking. My next check-in might be in Front Royal, VA or Harper's Ferry WV. PS-- two weeks of hiking will bring me to Pennsylvania... A lot of you are wanting to come visit me. That time is approaching- just thought I'd give you the heads up
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Rusty's place, MP 840, Thoughts from Scarecrow

To: VA Rt.7, MP 983
Miles today: 0.0

Hello all. After a great birthday party at Grandpa's in Richmond, I was excited to be in the woods again...well, except for the rain. Mom dropped me off near Waynesboro, VA where I began the 110 mile hike of the Shenandoah Nat'l Park. We had two weeks of unusual cold weather, being only 50 degrees during the day and dropping to freezing at night! It's frustrating to be hiking ontop of the wintery, cold peaks of the park while looking down to the valley to see the woods all springy and warm and inviting. Oh well. I spent way too much money in the Shenandoahs. Every so often, there's a restaraunt or a lodge where you can grab a meal.... and of course, you can't pass that up. Big Meadows Lodge (on skyline drive) had live bluegrass music and an open taproom on May 3. Snowdog, KB and SB, and I were there till 11pm and hiked out into the darkness and camped after an evening of eating and lounging. Nice, eh? The park is crawling with deer and bears that have never been hunted, so they stand in the trail and don't move till you're 10 feet away. Besides the cold and the lack of spring foliage, the SNP was a great hike. Currently, I am at Bear's Den Hostel but I don't think i'll stay the night. Another six miles will put an easy day into Harper's Ferry WV tomorrow (Tuesday, May 10). SHORTS' parents live about 45 minutes from there, and they demanded I call when I arrive in WV. Trail Days is a big party in Damascus, VA where hikers come to hang out for a few days. The event is coming up this weekend, but I don't think I'll go. Springtime is in full blast and I don't want to miss a second of it... AND zero days (many in a row, especially) cause me to lose hiking momentum. In about a week I'll be in Duncannon, PA and past the halfway point. Harper's Ferry is MP 1004. I'm excited! The lower elevations are yeilding spring in its full glory. Between rt. 66 (Linden, VA) and Manassas Gap Shelter is a 5 mile section of wild pink Trillium flowers, the largest wild patch of these east of the Mississippi. The flowers are only in bloom for a week or so, and there I was! I'll soon have pics, I promise! I think the cold weather and freezing nights are finally over. I'm really having fun out here! In all honesty, I'm not in a hurry whatsoever. If I make it to Maine by the end of July, great. If by the end of September, that's fine too. I'm not going to rush it. Bye for now.
Date: 2005-05-10
From: VA Rt.7, MP 983

To: Harper's Ferry MP 1009
Miles today: 0.0

I'm gonna regret saying this, but it actually feels GOOD to be drenched in sweat under the blistering sun! How long we (the trail people) have waited for hot weather! As I said before, this is immensely fun. It's light out at roughly 630, and light enough to hike until 830pm. The bugs are getting bad (gnats and skeeters) but it's a small price to pay. I can stop for a rest and NOT have to put my fleece on.I'm at SHORTS' house right now near Frederick, MD. I did a massive day yesterday (about 30miles) and hiked 13 today into Harper's Ferry, WV. It's quite an abrupt change: leaving the pristine woods full of birds and God's quiet creation to crossing the Shenandoah River along the Rt 340 bridge with truckers roaring past my elbow. Anyway, my old hiking pal from the deep south RAN down the trail to Harper's Ferry, WV so he could spend some time at home. I arrived 5 days behind, called, and he's stil at home eating and lounging. HAH! So he came by and picked me up. We'll go out to an all-you-can-eat place (and get our money's worth, rest assured) this evening and maybe take a day off tomorrow....? Harper's Ferry is a really cool town. If you want a place to walk around and spend some money on a nice afternoon with your sweetheart, this is the place. The AT south of town (for me, on the way in this morning) passes several trenches dug by civil war soldiers during thier siege upon the town. Neat! Harper's Ferry is also home to the ATC headquaters, where they have a massive register book for all thru-hikers and take your picture and have all sorts of stuff for sale. Chatting with the lady behind the desk revealed some neat stats... As of today: 1014 ambitious thru-hikers have passed Neel's Gap (milepost 37, and the first easy place to get OFF the trail) so far for 2005. I think I was hiker #79 at Neel's Gap back in February, and am currently northbounder #34 to sign the book at the ATC office in Harper's Ferry. SHORTS was #17 to sign the Harper's Ferry book just 5 days ago. She looked at me and said "....uh.... just don't slow down. There's quite a herd behind you." Farewell for now. Later tonight, I'll try to give a concise prediction of my locations and times in case you want to visit me in Pennsylvania soon.
Date: 2005-05-11
From: Harper's Ferry MP 1009

To: Zero day, Pennsylvania Plans
Miles today: 0.0

Ahh, a nice day off. Shorts's parents are excited to have me here. His dad and I had a "Scarecrow-sized fire" out back of the house, burning old lumber and branches and stuff (they have some acreage). Anyway, We're going to slack pack the state of MD in two days. Tomorrow we'll do a 21 mile day (Get dropped off at I-70 bridge where the trail crosses, and hike back to Harper's Ferry with day packs) and come home for dinner. Friday morning, we'll go from the PA border back to I-70 and come home yet again, then saturday morning be on our way into PA. Sorry Doug, I won't be stopping by Skycroft. On Saturday evening, I'll be staying near the Quarry gap shelter (Passing Fayetteville and South Mountain PA). Sunday (May 15) will bring me to Pine Grove Furnace state park and the halfway point, spending sunday night at the Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel in the middle of the park. If you want to come visit me, this is ideal. Look on the web for directions to this place. The park is popular and has good roads. (and plus, it's a sunday night). I'll probably be there at like 3 in the afternoon. Wanna hike with Scarecrow? I'll be doing a 19 mile day from the Ironmaster's Mansion in Pine Grove Furnace State Park to Boiling Springs, PA (a 5 minute drive from Carlisle, PA, which is an hour and change from Delaware) on Monday, May 16. If you can skip work on monday, it'd be a fun hike! There's no place to stay in Boiling Springs for a thru-hiker, so i'll be stopping half a mile shy of town at a campsite on the site of a rickety old farmhouse. If you have arranged transportation for monday night from Boiling Springs (The trail crosses the road at the ATC regional office, sorry, i don't have an adress, but it's RIGHT on the lake in this little town) we can walk in to town and find your ride home... we just can't stay there. Tuesday, I'll be sitting around Boiling Springs from roughly 9am till 2 or 3pm. That's a good day to come in and have lunch or say hi. HERE's A COOL THING TO DO! Wednesday afternoon I'll arrive in Duncannon, PA, a cute little town on the Sesquehana River. There's an oldschool hotel i'll be staying at on Wednesday evening (May 18th). The Doyle Hotel offers cheap rooms to hikers and has a cozy taproom where we'll be lazying around. I'll be there all wednesday evening, possibly with some more hikers. That's it. You've got your options. 1. Sunday Night (May 15) at the Ironmaster's Mansion in Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA.   2. A 19 mile hike into Boiling Springs, PA, all day monday. 3. Lunchtime at the ATC office at Boiling Springs on Tuesday May 17. I'll leave a post-it note on the ATC office board telling you where i'll be having lunch if not there. 4. Wednesday night taproom at the Doyle Hotel at Duncannon, PA.I'll be checking my email tonight, tomorrow, and the next evening. Feel free to email me abanyai at gmail dot com and let me know if you got plans. my IM is shiftgearbox. Adios!
Date: 2005-05-13
From: Zero day, Pennsylvania Plans

To: MD/PA line, MP 1042
Miles today: 0.0

Shorts and I had an outstanding 2 days of slackpacking MD. Hot yesterday and cloudy and cool today. Yesterday, about 13 miles into our hike, we passed near a road crossing and parking lot... a white car rolled up with KB's ugly head sticking out the window, yelling profanities! They arrived right around 130pm to do a short slack pack as well, brought by SB's parents who drove down from Maine to visit. What a treat! The five of us (snowdog was there too) got to do a slackpack together. SB's parents also had sodas and brownies which I inhaled. Today I encountered a drunken chipmonk on the trail. Usually they scurry around all energetic-like, but not his one. It must have eaten a bad shroom or been sick. It ran about 5 feet and was exhausted, breathing hard and looking confused. I played with it for about ten minutes, herding it back and forth easily with my feet and poking it with a stick (I'm easily amused) until SHORTS rolled up. We stood there discussing the plight of the creature when I decided to maneuver my toe under it and take a picture with it sitting on my shoe... while I dug my camera out, he hobbled away and disappeared between two rocks! DANG IT! Shorts found it hilarious that I failed to subdue a tiny, crippled rodent for a picture. Anyway, I'm about to start the 260 mile rock scramble of Pennsylvania. I'm right on schedule to be in all the places I said I would be (see my previous entry) if anyone wants to visit.
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Zero day, Pennsylvania Plans

To: Duncannon, PA MP 1132
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

The past few weeks have been absolutely beautiful. I left the PA/MD line on saturday....Shorts elected to take another zero at home. He, Snowdog, and the B's are gonna be here tonight, so I'll take a zero here in Duncannon (Thursday, May 19) and stay here another night in the Doyle. Last night, Paladin and JR rolled in! It was great to see them again. We'll have live music tonight at the hotel and a lot of stories to tell. Therefore, Jim, I'll probably not be in Delaware Water Gap, PA until May 26th or so. Even if you don't see me, that doesn't mean you can't go hiking! Sunday night was fun at Pine Grove Furnace state park. I elected NOT to eat the half gallon of icecream (a halfway-point tradition for a thru hiker) because I'm not a fan of icecream, despite protest from other hikers and passersby at the little camp store there. I spent the evening on the front porch of the hostel listening to old guys yarn about people and places long since forgotten. I found a TV and managed to watch the new Simpsons and Family Guy episodes. Outstanding. I had completely forgotten another issue about southbound hiking... Because I was heading south and west the whole time, the sun was always in my eyes late in the season! As a northbounder, the sun is at my back except first thing in the morning (when I'm asleep anyway) and seems to illuminate the woods ahead of me... Just one of those things you never really think about until you're there, I guess. Many hikers whine and cry about Pennsylvania, but I love it! There are several cool towns, beautiful woods, and a lot of history in the hills. I'm excited to go over the Blue Mountain range, which was heavily logged several times and is nearly barren of trees for several miles. I'm really having a blast out here. I had a thunderstorm a few nights back... I tell ya, there's nothing more relaxing than laying DRY in the hammock, listening to the crickets and the rain patter against the fabric. ahhhhhhh.... OH! I DID, in fact, visit Doug at Skycroft Retreat Center (where we took many trips with the church youth group). Shorts and I were slack-packing that day. It was getting late and we weren't gonna make it home for dinner. When we crossed Monument Road in northern MD I knew it looked familiar. I hailed a passing motorist who said Skycroft was just a mile up the road! NEAT!! Shorts was anxious to finish our remaining 3 miles to the truck and go home for dinner, so I had to drag him, kicking and screaming, down the road to visit my distant friend. Doug was thrilled to see me, and we chatted for an hour. How fun! I'll be in the little town of Port Clinton, PA on May 22. There's a pavillion where the hikers sleep over. Back to my wonderful zero day!
Date: 2005-05-20
From: Duncannon, PA MP 1132

To: second Zero , duncannon
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

The local trail angels "PeaceFrog and Mary" have been very accomodating here in Duncannon. Yesterday I helped Mary lug a cooler of snacks out of the car and onto the trail about ten miles back... Last night saw live music at the Doyle Hotel accompanied by Paladin, Shorts, the B's, Snowdog, Helmet and Catapult (a young couple who I was following the whole time, but somehow I passed and now finally met) and a slew of section hikers. What fun! I wanted to leave this morning (Friday, the 20th) but the killer storm of the Midwest has moved in, and it's pouring today. Tomorrow will be fair skies and 70 degrees. It's been a dry year so far; I've only done rain hiking a handful of days so far, and would like to keep it that way. Sorry Jim, I won't be accessable on May 25,26 like I thought.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Tamaqua, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Scarecrow and Paladin arrived in DWG about 4 PM today, after doing 30 miles both yesterday and today. They will be staying in the church hostel tonight, hanging around town a bit tomorrow.Weather has been cold all week - most pleasant surprise was this past Monday, May 23 when they had quite a busy day. Diceman met them and another group of NB hikers and took them all to Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville PA for a quick tour. They also "wasted" a few hours in Cabella's Outfitters store - where the suburban hikers shop, he said, the real AT hikers stinking up the place. Still covered another 6 miles that day as well. Back on the trail, coming down a steep hill into Port Clinton, they saw a "Maddox Concrete" shirt and some trail magic on the side of the trail. Thanks, Jim!!Been sleeping outside of shelters for the week, finding water becoming a bit of the problem on the PA ridge walks. Some of the PA AT marked springs are now dry due to lack of recent heavy rains in the mountains. Still finding water in the shelters. Picking up a new pair of shoes in DWG, as the PA rocky ridge walks have cut up his old shoes.
Date: 2005-06-01
From: Delaware Water Gap, PA

To: Vernon, NJ MP 1328
Miles today: 0.0

Scarecrow here. THe past few days (the end of May) has seen some cool evenings and warm days. Pennsylvania DID tear up my shoes and I was NOT able to get another pair in Delaware Water Gap, PA. I finally got them today near Vernon, NJ (A local gave me a ride, thanks SAL!) and my feet are smiling again. I'm not a geologist, but apparently some huge glacier moved down the east coast a long time ago and churned up limestone all along, which is why the trail was so rocky. The AT follows ONE ridgeline pretty much the whole way. You've seen them while driving on the interstate... essentially one massive mountain that continues from one horizon to the other and is flat on top. Have you ever driven Interstate 76 across Pennsylvania and passed through those two massive tunnels (callled Allegheny and Blue, i think) under Blue Mountain? Yah, the AT goes over those tunnels. I could see I76 as a small line with noisy dark ants speeding into one side of the mountain, and appearing again when I strolled to the other side. Pretty neat! About twenty miles into New Jersey the Trail jumps off that messy ridge and goes across the valley to a new ridge (the next one over, towards the east) and continues north, leaving the rocks behind. There were several miles where I never touched the dirt... just hopped rocks! ouch! Even though the coast got hit with a "big noreaster" a week ago, we got some clouds and a few sprinkles in central Pennsylvania. This didn't remedy the dry spring we've had so far. Many of the water holes were dry and there were some 20 mile sections with no water (which is a problem because I drink about 8 liters a day). Anyway, I'm not a big fan of New Jersey as a state, but the trail is quite pretty here. It follows the NY border for a while and then veers directly north paralleling the Hudson, then crosses the river and into Connecticut. I've only got about 840 miles to go!! (You're thinking: "ONLY!?") It's actually quite exciting. I've got a great "hiker tan" and have lost 46 pounds at my last weigh-in. Thanks to all the kind souls who helped me out and gave me a ride recently, and continue to enjoy the adventure with me! Adios for now...