morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-24
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Stealth campsite just after Dundo Campground
Miles today: 16.6

Woke up to clear skies again today and the sun came up before I started hiking. You know, a person could really get used to this sort of thing. What a change from the nearly non-stop rain we've had for the past 2 months.Of course, with the sunshine comes the heat and we got a taste of what summer will be like out here. I'm gonna have to start drinking a lot more water.One thing I notice about the Shenandoahs already is that the grading of the trail, in general, is better. Better, meaning that the ups and downs (while still mostly pointless) are less steep -- and better maintained. That translates to more hiking miles/day. As an example, when I stopped for lunch today I had already covered 13 miles. Another thing you learn quickly is that getting an early start in the morning is of major importance in getting to the desired end point. Reason being . . . once the sky gets high in the sky, the trail becomes an oven.Tomorrow morning I hike into Loft Mountain Campground where you can get a shower and buy some trail foods. I'm thinking "Ice Cream"!! All for today -- 16+ miles and I'm ready for some sleep.
Date: 2003-06-25
From: Stealth campsite just after Dundo Campground

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: clear sky

Woke up early and made a bee-line to Loft Mountain Campground. Got there before the campstore opened so I decided to take a shower and do a load of laundry. By then the store was open, I got the few items I needed and then treated myself to an ice cream bar -- man, that was good.Now, on to the hiking. Plain and simple, today was rough. It wasn't the miles -- it was the terrain. Unlike the first 2 days in the "Shennies." Today we had some pretty serious uphills. Maybe the worst part about it was that the day ended with a huge climb. The last 1.6 miles just about did me in. Funny though, once I got to the shelter and made dinner, the day's hike didn't seem so bad.No telling where I'm headed tomorrow -- I'll make that decision after a good night's sleep.
Date: 2003-06-26
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: broken clouds

This was going to be a long day so I hit the trail bright and early -- around 6:50 AM. The day was loaded with ups/downs and Skyline Drive crossings. Yes, the AT pretty much parallels and often crosses the Skyline Drive. Depending on the time of day, those crossings can get a bit hairy. The cars and motorcycles really fly up and down that road.Anyway, I made it to the Lewis Campground by lunchtime. Had a great lunch at the campsite and hiked on. Passed by the Bearfence Hut without even stopping because I knew the afternoon's hike was going to be challenging. The plan was to reach the Big Meadows Campground for dinner. There were a few times when I thought I'd never make it but little by little the miles ticked away. I waslked into Big Meadows soaking wet with perspiration and totally exhausted. I ran into a couple of hikers (Beaudacious and Grover) who had already been there and had gotten a campsite. They invited me to chip in and share the site. Sounded like a good plan so I followed them back to the site. I really wanted to get a shower right there and then but the restaurant was going to close soon so I just set up my tent, got into some dry clothes and hiked back up to the lodge. It was worth it!! Had a huge prime rib complete with baked potato -- yum.After dinner I hurried up and got a shower and then hiked back to the tent site, where I crawled in my tent and drifted off to sleep in minutes. Today was a full day -- Life is Good!!
Date: 2003-06-27
From: Big Meadows Campground

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: broken clouds

Amazingly enough after yesterday's pounding, I woke up bright and early and ready to go. that prime rib dinner last night must have recharged my batteries. I talked over the day's hike and learned that there is a tradition called "The Triple Crown." It consists of a grueling day of hiking that allows you to hit 3 major Wayside Restaurants along the trail during the day and avoid eating any hiker food. My food bag was getting pretty empty and the thought of eating 3 meals of "real food" was very tempting so I accepted the challenge.Started off with a big breakfast at Big Meadows and then hit the ground running (well, almost). I hiked like a demon and reached Skyland (about 8 miles) by 11:30 AM. Sat down there and inhaled 2 cheeseburgers and a quart of Gatorade. Two down -- one to go!!I let my meal settle a bit and then pushed on. The third stop was called the Panorama Wayside and it was another 9 miles or so up the trail. And those would prove to be the real backbreakers for the day. I hiked and I hiked and then I hiked some more. At around 6:15 PM I reached the side trail to Panorama. Only problem was that when I got to the wayside I found it was closed -- BUMMER.Another hiker and I decided to just cook a dinner (hiker food) there before continuing on to the next shelter. So, the Triple Crown attempt was a bust, but we had covered some awesome mileage.With dinner over and our cookpots washed, we pushed on to Pass Mountain Shelter. That last couple miles were pretty much all uphill and we didn't get to the shelter until around 8:30, just enough time to set up our tents, hang up our food bags, and hit the sack.Too tired to think about tomorrow at the moment. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.Lights out!!
Date: 2003-06-28
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: Stealth campsite after Jenkins Gap
Miles today: 19.0

After 2 really rough days back-to-back, I allowed myself to sleep in a bit -- until 6:30 AM.the good news today was that we had another Wayside opportunity -- even better, it was ONLY 7 miles up the trail. That meant if I really got a move on I could get there in time for a late breakfast. And that's exactly what I did. In fact, I hiked those 7 miles in a little over 2 hours and by 9:15 AM I was shoving ham, egg, and cheese in my face. After breakfast, I sat and "savored the flavor." I sat so long thought that it was almost lunch time. I think the last 2 days of hiking were catching up with me.Thought it over for a moment and decided to order a couple cheeseburgers -- guess i was trying to make up for missing that restaurant dinner last night. I hiked on a bit and found a beautiful rock outcropping on the top of the next mountain and ate my trail cheeseburger. The goal today was to get as close as possible to Front Royal, the town where I would be staying the next day. Turned out that campsites were few and far between and so was the water available.I finally located an underground spring and filled up my water bag. I tanked up and hiked on. It was getting pretty late, and I was pooped. Just then I spotted a small clearing to the left of the trail. I pitched my tent, made dinner and called it a night. Drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a night in town, hot shower, and laundry.
Date: 2003-06-29
From: Stealth campsite after Jenkins Gap

To: US 522 (Front Royal)
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: light rain

Today would end up being one of my most memorable days in the Shenandoahs, not to mention my last day in the park.I woke up and looked out the front of my tent -- I was surrounded by at least a dozen deer. It was like a dream. They were just going about their business and pretty much ignoring the fact that I was there. As I crawled out and started to pack up my gear, the deer wandered off.I hit the trail and within 20 minutes I hiked up directly behind a large black bear. It ws just lumbering along and didn't even notice me behind him. My heart rate was getting pretty high but I wanted to try and get a picture. I stopped and pulled out the camera. The bear had wandered up the trail a bit. So, I tip-toed forward until I could see the bear clearly again. Just as I was trying to zoom in and get the shot, the bear looked back over its shoulder and spotted me -- woops, busted!! This was the moment of truth, for the bear AND me.I must have looked pretty scary to that bear because without much hesitation, it shot off the trail and into the woods like a bullet. The excitement was over but for the next several minutes I definitely had my "bear radar" going.Shortly after that I reached the Floyd shelter -- the last shelter in the Shenandoahs. I took the side trail and made an entry in the shelter register. I bid farewell to the "Shennies" and thanked them for the memories. An hour later I walked out onto US 522 and stuck out my thumb -- hoping to get a ride into Front Royal. The first car that came along pulled over.It turned out to be the president of the Patomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) -- what a coincidence! He drove me and another hiker directly to the hotel. Spent the rest of the day doing laundry, shopping for groceries, and visiting the library for a look at my email. Heading back out on the trail in the morning. For now, it's time to hit the sack.
Date: 2003-06-30
From: US 522 (Front Royal)

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Packed up and was ready to go by 6:30. Only problem was that the Post Office doesn't open until 8:30 -- and I had a mail drop sitting there waiting for me. so what's a guy to do . . . Waffle House! Just so happened there was a little pancake house near the post office and off I went.After breakfast I made a bee-line for the post office. Picked up my mail drop and headed back to the hotel. I had to unpack and repack my backpack to allow for the items in my mail drop. Got that all taken care of and headed out to the trail head. For the past several days I've been hiking with a guy named Vic. Vic and I had hitched into town together. We were both ready about the same time and we decided to go back out to the trail in the same car.It was already getting hot so both of us downed a quart of gatorade to get a little ahead of the dehydration we would soon be experiencing. Try as we did, though, the heat overtook us. I've never sweat so much in my life. This was also a learning experience for me. As I sweat, I was losing body salts. So, by mid-afternoon I was very "salt depleted." The more water I drank, the more diluted my body salts became and I found myself with a significant electrolyte imbalance. This is why Gatorade and Powerade are so important as a supplement to water on hot and humid days. I learned that as soon as I start to feel abdominal cramps it's time to pour on the gatorade.A good lesson learned! I reached the shelter and ate dinner and set up camp for the night. All in all it was a very good day.
Date: 2003-07-01
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Got an early start and glad I did. Miles came tough and slowly today. Covered the first 10 miles by 11:30 and walked out onto US 50 at Ashby Gap. There was a small paper sign on a tree as I exited the woods that mentioned a Bar-B-Q restaurant that was .8 miles down the road. That was just too good to pass up. Vic and I hitched down to the restaurant for a super pork Bar-B-Q sandwich and iced tea. Oh yeah . . . and they had a fresh chocolate cake with almond icing. Only problem was that after lunch I had to walk the .8 miles back to the trail crossing --uphill -- on the road. Having said that, I want to say that the lunch was well worth the walk.Shortly after lunch I hit the section of the trail known as the "roller coaster," and for a good reason. It is a series of sharp ups and downs and the trail is loaded with rocks -- not the nice, large rocks you can hop to and from . . . but the medium sized ones that throw your feet all over the place as you attempt to step on them. Anyway, it made for a tough afternoon. The original plan was to hike 23 miles and hit the Bear's Den Hostel. But by the time I hit the Sam Moore Shelter at the 20 mile point my knees were aching and my ankles were like rubber. It was time to quit for the day. I pulled into the shelter at around 7:30 PM and was exhausted and hungry. got some water, made dinner, and hit the sack. This was one humdinger of a day. Tomorrow I get within striking range of Harper's Ferry, West Virginia -- the psychological halfway point of the AT.
Date: 2003-07-02
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: Blackburn Trail Center
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: light rain

Up early and hiking by 6:30 AM. The plan going into today was to hike to Lesser Shelter and then drop down into Harper's Ferry in the morning. I'm hiking again today in the area known as the "roller coaster." That meant more of those extreme ups and downs. The day started off overcast and very humid. Within 20 minutes I was soaked in sweat from head to toe. I was dumping far more water via perspiration than I could ever replace by mouth. So, I fell behind and got a bit dehydrated, which really slowed me down. By around 9 I arrived at Bear's Den Hostel. I got a nice shower and did a load of laundry. I had already eaten a "trail" breakfast, but they had microwaveable egg and cheese and sausage biscuits so I went ahead and had a second breakfast -- YUM.Then it was time to resume hiking and just as I got back on the trail the rain started to fall. It was a gentle rain but very steady. I was already soaked with perspiration so it didn't make sense to put on a rain coast, so I just kept on hiking. The uphills were killers and before long I was sucking air big time. I even started to get some "heat cramps" from all the exertion and dehydration. That only made climbing the hills tougher.Around 3:30 I reached the Blackburn Trail Center, a hostel owned and operated by the Patomac ATC. I hiked in and met Bill, the caretaker. He offered me a soda and then said that he was making a spaghetti dinner for hikers. That was all I needed to hear. Scratch the plans to hike any further today. I can still hit Harper's Ferry in the morning. Life is good.
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Blackburn Trail Center

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: broken clouds

After a meal like I had last night, sleep wasn't an issue. I was out like a light and slept like a rock until 6 AM. I had sacked out on the porch of the hostel so getting up and organized was pretty easy.Knowing that today wouldn't be a tough hiking day I kicked back a bit and didn't start hiking until 7:30.The trail grade was relatively gentle but there were plenty of rocks to slow me down. Even so, I broke out of the woods at around noon and crossed the bridge leading to Harpers Ferry. Getting to the bridge though was still a ways short of town. I still had a pretty steep hill to climb before reaching the trail sign that pointed toward the ATC Headquarters.Those last miles into town were very special to me. I was really excited to have crossed the 1000 mile point on the trail today. Visiting the headquarters of the Appalachian Trail Conference -- as a THRU-HIKER -- was a pretty emotional moment for me.After meeting the staff and touring the facility I went to the post office and picked up my mail drop.[NOTE FROM BA TURTLE: Footslogger told me that he had his picture taken at the ATC Headquarters, as is traditional. He also took a look at the picture albums from previous years, and found that both of us arrived in Harpers Ferry on the same day: July 3, 2003 for him; July 3, 2001 for me!]Then it was off to the Harpers Ferry Hostel for the night. The hostel was great. Got a hot shower and did laundry. I helped the hostel caretaker install a wireless network for his computers and then hit the sack.The hostel is planning a huge cook out tomorrow, so I will probably stay here for the 4th and then hike out on the 5th.Enough for one day . . . time to get some shut-eye.
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Harpers Ferry Hostel
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: clear sky

First off -- Happy Birthday, America!I had gotten off the trail yesterday at the ATC sign and walked into town. then later, the hostel manager had driven me out to his facility. That meant in order to hike out from the hostel I would have to pick up the miles between those 2 points -- no sweat.They made blueberry pancakes at the hostel for breakfast -- delicious! Then it was off to Harpers Ferry in Ray's (the hostel manager's) car. My business was pretty much all taken care of in town so I spent a few hours just walking around the historical areas of town. I grabbed a sandwich and made one more visit to the ATC Headquarters before starting my hike back out to the hostel. I covered the 3.5 miles in under an hour. That sounds pretty fast but a large section of that trail segment is on the C&O Canal Towpath, which is as flat as a pancake.Back at the hostel there was a huge cook out in progress. I cooled off a bit from the hike and then got in line for a couple hamburgers and hotdogs. Lots of thru-hikers came in for the cook out and it was fun to just kick back and exchange trail talk.Later on in the afternoon I went into the hostel and started to get my pack ready for the next day. I knew I'd be hiking out early in the morning so I decided to turn in early and get a good night's sleep. It'll feel good to be back on the trail again tomorrow!
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Harpers Ferry Hostel

To: Dahlgren Campground
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up bright and early. Ray (hostel manager) was already up and making breakfast. I downed a half dozen or so pancakes and then headed for the trail. I had set a fairly aggressive goal for the day (17 miles) and I wanted to get as early a start as possible.the miles ticked off pretty quickly. I stopped for lunch and ran into another hiker named JJ. Found out that he was also a paratrooper in the infantry so we had a lot in common. I took off hiking again and figured we would most likely meet again at the evening campsite.The last couple miles of trail followed an old forest service road and were pretty easy hiking. As I approached the campsite I saw a beverage cooler on the ground. I got closer and realized that it was trail magic, and was full of cold sodas. Nice way to finish off the day's hike. There was still plenty of daylight so I set up my tent and then made dinner. It started to get dark by then so I found a good tree branch and hung my food bag to keep it away from the animals.The nice thing about this campsite was that there was a shower house with hot/cold running water. Needless to say, I took a nice and long hot shower to wash off the day's perspiration and relax some tired and aching muscles.Enough for the day -- it was around 8:30 AM (hiker midnight) and time to hit the sack.
Date: 2003-07-06
From: Dahlgren Campground

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

Started the day's hike thinking about PIZZA. We were headed for a shelter that was close to the road. It was stated in the hiker handbook that a pizza restaurant in the area would deliver food to the road at the trail crossing. On and on I hiked, almost tasting that pizza.The terrain was fairly rugged and the rain from last evening had turned the trail into mud in many areas.Finally we came to the road and made our way uphill to the shelter. Thumb tacked to the shelter wall was a phone number for the pizza joint. Vic had a cell phone and made the call. Thirty minutes later there were several happy hikers sitting around the picnic table shoving pizza in their mouths. This was a pretty cool way to wrap up a hard day of hiking.A few people decided to hike on after dinner. I was so full of pizza that I didn't think I could hike another step. This would be home for the night. I let out a monstrous burp and crawled into my sleeping bag.this would go down as one of the good days on the trail. Oh, yeah, and about a half hour after getting comforable in my sleeping bag it started to rain cats and dogs. Did I mention how happy I was to have a place in the shelter?As we all started to drift off to sleep, one hiker glanced up and noticed a huge, and I mean HUGE spider on a beam in the shelter. That sucker was probably 5" wide and had some vicious looking pincers. I got out my camera and took a picture of that mega-arachnid just for the record. Check out my pictures for a glimpse of it!
Date: 2003-07-07
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a good hiking day. It was a bit cooler and the sun was hidden behind a cloud. That made for more comfortable conditions. The terrain was a bit less extreme and the miles clicked by at a pretty good rate. I noticed though that my feet started to ache towards the middle of the afternoon. It seems like 15 miles is about the point where my dogs really start barking. I can generally push on a bit farther at that point by taking a little break and popping some vitamin I (Ibuprofen) as hikers sometimes call it. But to be totally honest, when I got much more than 15-17 miles a day I seem to end up regretting it. So (and there will always be exceptions) my latest hiking strategy, for lack of a better word, is to maintain a 15 mile per day average.That should put me on Katahdin somewhere around the first or second week in October and still go a bit easier on my body. Into the shelter today around 5 PM. Dinner, a little journaling, and off to sleep.
Date: 2003-07-08
From: Tumbling Run Shelter

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

This turned out to be a "magic" day on the trail. For starters, I only had to hike 10 miles to get to the road for re-supply. I covered that mileage by lunch time and when I got to the road I discovered that there was an Italian restaurant within walking distance of the trail crossing. Timing was perfect so I stopped in for a meatball sandwich. While I was eating, a group of 4 people walked in. They asked if I was a hiker and then told me that they had a site at Caledonia State Park and were feeding hikers as they passed through. I told them that I was interested but I needed to do laundry. The oldest in the group, Scott, offered to drive me to the laundromat. That saved me a lot of walking. So, I did a quick load of wash and then hitched a ride back out to the park. It was a bit hard finding their campsite at first but I came stumbling in just about dinner time. Scott and the others remembered me and invited me to join them. It was a fabulous dinner and afterward I even got a hot shower.Turns out that Scott and the others drove out from Indiana and are feeding hikers for a week. This is a "mission" for them as part of their church activities. Nice part was that they didn't push their religion on us -- their only ambition was to feed us. Pretty cool . . . eh? Anyway, I got their names and addresses so that I could send them a thank you card after my hike. I was going to hike on out but they offered me a free tent site AND breakfast in the morning. They didn't have to twist my wrist. Another great day on the trail!!
Date: 2003-07-09
From: Caledonia State Park

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 2.4
Weather: light rain

This will probably go down in the record books as my "shortest" hiking day. For starters, it had rained overnight and was still drizzling when I got up. As the sun rose, though, the rain disappeared and Scott (and his gang) started breakfast. Oh baby -- blueberry pancakes. I ate until I was about to burst, which isn't too good for hiking -- but they were SO good!!It took me until 10:30 to digest the meal and get my pack ready to hike. I said my thank yous and good-byes and headed up the trail -- which just so happened to start off with a 2.5 mile steep uphill. Really not so easy hiking on a full stomach and by the time I reached the first shelter I was bushed.Just then, one of my old hiking buddies named "Jersey" walked up. We shot the shit and caught up a bit and then both decided that this shelter was a perfect place to spend the night. So, not a very productive hiking day but all in all, a good experience. One thing you have to learn out here is to take things as they come -- this was DEFINITELY one of those days.