morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-14
From: Matt Creek Shelter

To: Hwy 60
Miles today: 24.0

14 May.  To Hwy 60 into Buena Vista.  24 miles. 5/14/12  "Today we hiked 24 miles. At 12:00 am it started to rain, and it has been non-stop all day. We slept in hoping the rain would stop. But that did not happen. So we ate(in the shelter) and then left.   The day went by fast. We walked fast to get out of the rain. Soon we got to Buena Visa. We got a ride from the County Sheriff(to town not to Jail). She drove us to the Post Office. Then we walked to the Bluedogart Caffe.  It had incredible food!  And the prices were low too! They have good WI-FI and are just one block from the PO on 21st. (in case any hikers are looking for that). The owners husband even gave us a ride to the hotel. We are now drying out."                   ¢Sunshine:-)  When we woke up, it was still raining with a vengeance.  I figured there was no reason to hike in the dark and rain so we snoozed till 6:30.  Then we causally ate breakfast and packed.  We normally sneak out of camp at 6:00am, but didn't leave till 7:30 today.  We planed on starting at 5:00am so we could get to the Buena Vista Post Office 24 miles ahead before it closed.  It was kind of nice packing up in the light and eating with the others in camp.  The rain never did let up so we just bit the bullet and hiked through the torrential down pour.  It rained all day with a heavy fog obscuring any view we may have otherwise seen.  The track was mostly easy going save three 1,000 foot climbs.  They only lasted 2 miles or less a piece.  With the help of a Sheriff's deputy, we made it to the PO just 6 minutes late.  However, the post master helped us anyway.  When we were exiting the forest, I heard a car and told Sunshine, who ran ahead and stuck out her thumb.  I wasn't visible yet.  The car didn't stop and when I got to the road she told me it was a police car.  I was baffled at why an officer didn't stop to check out the story behind a 12 year old hitch hiking "alone".  It must have looked conspicuous because just as I was saying this, the patrol car pulled up after an apparent U turn.  She gladly gave us a ride to town and was very kind, going out of her way for us.  We didn't even have to wear the hand cuffs.  Thank you Officer!     It has been raining so hard that we have been pinned down in our room ever since arriving here.  It takes a lot of rain to keep hikers away from ice cream. This was great timing.  Hopefully the rain will subside after sleeping in tomorrow.  Good night.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: Hwy 60

To: The priest shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

15 May.  To The Priest Shelter.  20 miles.  5/15/12   "Today we hiked 20 miles with a late start. We slept in and then packed up. Then we went to Burger King. I had a croissant. It was incredible!! Then we got Subway Foot Longs, and bagels from Bluedogart cafe. It was all tasty. I highly recommend all of it.    Then we went to the trail. We left with a man and his dog who are also hiking. Once we were at the trail head the dog was following me. He went back and forth from me and his owner. He is a beautiful dog. Also well behaved. I loved that dog"                   ¢Sunshine:-)  We slept in!  It was still raining like a Banshee when we went to bed so we didn't even attempt to plan a wake time.  It was a beautiful morning when we finally sent the dove out the door of the ark to search for dry land.  We have learned from experience that it is just silly to eat camp food the first day out of town.  Don't be fooled by Sunshine's small stature and beauty.  That girl can eat during hiking season.  I remember at our first restaurant on the PCT, she looked up at me from behind the menu and said "Dad, I can't eat off the children's menu any more.  There's not enough food".  Today she started with 2 bacon egg croissants with hash browns from BK and washed it down with a quart of milk.  We picked up ham and cheese toasted bagels from the Bluedogart Cafe to go and she had one for first lunch.  A half of a subway footlong for second lunch and the other half for dinner with Pringles and a snickers. Of course she also had her normal 6 food bars through out the day.  Oh no, I said chocolate milk.  Now I'm getting the shakes.  No pun, well maybe a little pun.   Sue's husband from the Bluedogart Cafe offered us a ride back to the trail.  He was dropping off Waite Eurrp and Doc Holiday and said we could climb in too.  It was perfect timing because Doc wasn't quite ready, so we walked to the Family Dollar to buy my youngest daughter (9) a birthday card and gift.  Sunshine waited there while I ran to the Bluedogart, ordered the bagels, walked to the PO, sent our mail, picked up our bagels, and met everyone back at the Family Dollar as Doc was finishing up.  When we arrived back to the trail at high noon, we were greeted by 4 police cars.  They warned us that there was a man seen streaking and being lewd at the next shelter 4 miles in.  They gave us their phone # incase we saw him.  When we arrived to the shelter intersection 4 miles ahead, the police had arrived from the north asking if we saw him in-between, which we hadn't.  They concluded that he must still be by the shelter .4 miles down the spur trail to the east. I appreciated the heads up earlier so I knew to keep Sunshine particularly close to me.  She's never more than 100 yards away on the trail unless with trusted friends.   Well, we did it!  The forecast said rain in the evening and we got to camp before any precipitation began.  It is supposed to be clear tomorrow through the weekend.  Perfect timing once again!
Date: 2012-05-16
From: The priest shelter

To: Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 26.0

16 May. To Humpback Gap.  26 miles.  I gave Sunshine the night off from journaling so she could get to bed.  It has been a long day.  Today seemed to last forever.  We just couldn't make good time because of the irregular rocks all over the track.  It was good training.  A few more days of this and our feet will be conditioned for anything the trail in PA can dish out!  Plus we have a set schedule of 20 mile days planed for the state of brotherly love.  We have family support there and want to enjoy time with them as well as hike.  We had many beautiful views of farm land below our high ridge walking today.  I also believe we had the most elevation gain of the whole trip so far in one continuous climb.  We gained over 3,000 feet in about 6 miles. The weather has cleared up and is supposed to be nice for the next several days.  Hopefully it will also be nice while sight seeing in DC next week as well.  We are very grateful to have started early enough to miss the very hot weather that will be in these areas soon.
Date: 2012-05-17
From: Humpback Mountain

To: Waynsboro, VA
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

17 may. Waynesbro VA. 8 miles            5/17/12  "Today we hiked 8 miles and went to town. We hurried up/down hills to get to a Chinese Buffet. We REALY over ate, but it was REALY good food. Because we over ate we could barely walk happily. So we are spending the night. We are at a nice couple's house."                 ¢Sunshine:-)  Well, not much to say other than Ming's Garden Buffet.  It was the best Chinese food ever!  After a fabulous meal, there really was little motivation to get back on the trail.  Then we ran into our PCT 2010 friends No Trace and Unbreakable!  We've been trying to catch them for 6 weeks. They told us they met past PCT Thru's putting them up for the night and invited us along.  I wanted to spend time with everyone but didn't want loose trail time.  Then I opened my resupply box to discover the can of permethrin (tick treatment for clothes).  I didn't plan this out well.  We needed several hours of hang time for clothes treated with it.  That was that, the trail has spoken loud and clear.  I didn't need any more convincing that a short day was needed. Plus we were exhausted this morning and slept in as we were in our tents and getting the best sleep ever.    We stayed with Pat and Walt tonight.  It is like a huge PCT reunion. We even called Billygoat, currently on the PCT but his phone was in hike mode (off). Even the hikers we didn't know, seemed like family. Sorry but the best ice cream sundae ever is waiting for me- that's how I roll.
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Waynsboro, VA

To: Pinefield hut
Miles today: 33.0
Weather: overcast clouds

18 May. To Pinefield Hut.  33 miles.           5/18/12  "Today we hiked 33 miles. It was awesome. We are now in Shenandoah National Park. After 28 miles we had chili dogs and hamburgers! They were the most INCREDIBLE chili dog EVER! The day went by fast. Also  we went to a camp store. We packed out a soda and ate ice cream there."                  ¢Sunshine:-)  Don't be fooled by the clever name.  There is nether a field of pine trees or a tropical bungalow with a thatch roof here (ha,ha.  Get it? Hut? Nor pizza either).  Actually, this is a very nice shelter and we have it to ourselves since someone wrote in the register that they saw a CopperHead snake in here 2 weeks ago.  We're not worried. I'll let you know tomorrow how it all worked out.  We slept in 1.5 hours, stopped for cheese burgers (thank you!) and bought ice cream at the camp store and still put in a big mile day.  The track was quite flat with few elevation gains or losses.  Last night while eating ice cream heaped with everything wonderful, Walt pulls out a map of the park.  It is over 100 miles long, but the trail parallels the Skyline drive the entire way.  This is good because there are camp stores and snack bars every 20 -30 miles or so.  Walt said "what I'm trying to say is that you could have cheese burgers every day for the next 4 days if you plan it right".  I said: (oh you must read this aloud with your best silly English accent.  I always fall back on my Monty Python voice impressions at such a time a this) "And so it shall be sir.  I accept your challenge"!   We had a great day.  There wasn't much water along the way, but we found it just as we needed it.  The humidity was nice and low so we really didn't drink as much as we usually would on a muggy day.  It was a nice sunny day but not too hot with plenty of shade.  Perfect hiking conditions really.  Tomorrow is supposed to be the same.  We've been told that there are a lot of bears in this area, so we look forward to seeing some.  We did see a few deer today and one of those harmless but huge black snakes.     We only have 5 more hiking days before our 2 zeros.  Sunshine is very excited.  Me too!
Date: 2012-05-19
From: Pinefield hut

To: Rock Spring
Miles today: 32.0
Weather: clear sky

19 may.  To Rock Spring Gap. 32 miles.   We had a great day.  We slept in till 6:00am, walked slowly most the day, took long breaks, and even had sodas and a cheeseburger at a camp store.  With still 12 miles to go, we had only 4 hours of day light left so we turned on the afterburners.  We actually made it in 3.5 hours with time to spare.  The trail is do gentle right now that the high miles ore coming easy. While cooking breakfast in a parking lot, a jeep pulled up and the driver pulled out a weed eater.  This solved our mystery of how the grass had been getting cut beside the trail for the past several miles.  We walked up and thanked him for all his hard work to make this trail so well maintained.  He said the Park (over 100 miles long) was split up into 1.5 mile sections and a different ATC member maintained, weed wacked, and brushed each section.  Can you imagine weed eating one side of the trail 1.5 miles up a mountain and 1.5 miles back down along the other side?  Incredible!  Thank you volunteers for your hard work.  This trail wouldn't be hikeable in many places without you!  We saw one of the original tin blazes on a tree today from 1937(according to the volunteer we spoke with).  I'll try to get the picture of it on one of our entries so you can see it.   Today was an amazing wildlife day.  We saw 7 deer and 2 bears.  I heard a sound in the bushes and turned to see a bear 30 feet away.  I backed up to a more comfortable distance and to warn Sunshine who was a bit behind me.  It stared at us for a while then climbed up a tree.  We now felt safe to take some pictures. While looking higher into the tree, we saw a bear cub there as well.  Sunshine took the pic you are looking at now.  It is probably sideways because Trail Journals can't turn pics.  We have to hold the IPod a specific way for them to be right side up.  She did not do this, sorry.  If you remember, there was a pretty big scandal last year about sideways pictures on our blog(ha,ha).   We are getting into Luray on Sunday (tomorrow) so it looks like we will miss our PO resupply and have to use the store.  We can forward it to PA for free since it is in a flat rate box.  We would stay till Monday ordinarily, but we have our DC plans set already.  We are hitting resupplies in 3 days now instead of 4 due to our accelerated schedule. We've been giving away a day of food each time to the other hikers since the boxes are set up for 4 days.  We are happy we can share it instead of waste it.  We also discovered in the last rain storm that 2 of our dry bags (for sleeping bags, clothes, ect.) have begun to leak so we replaced all 4.  We bought them last year before Washington state and hoped they would last another season.  I guess not.  They are still otherwise in great shape, in fact 2 hadn't leaked yet.  Again, not wanting to be wasteful, we found hikers that needed stuff sacks that didn't need to be water proof and gave them away.  So many people have helped us along the two trails.  It feels good to also help others.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Rock Spring

To: Gravel Springs
Miles today: 28.0
Weather: clear sky

20 May. To Gravel Springs Shelter.  28 miles.  Another walk in the park.  No, really, we have been in Shenandoah National Park for 3 days now.  We saw one deer and one bear.  We were really hiking hard today so we probably missed a lot of wildlife.  The bear was just a cub.  It kept jumping into the brush then poking it's head up looking past us.  This made me concerned that the mother was behind us.  We stayed close together and kept moving to get out of the area.  This clearly wasn't a photo opp.  It was very cute though. The little camp stores and snack bars really slow us down so it is just as well that we are leaving this junk food paradise.  We resupplied at a camp store just 6 miles before camp tonight so we didn't have to carry it all day.  I'm sure Sunshine will be telling you all about the blackberry shakes.  It was quite humid today and rain is in the forecast the rest of the week.    There were dozens of park day hikers today.  Everyone was friendly and enjoying the beautiful sunny day.  We passed about 20 Korean people today in one group.  They must have chartered a bus.  I said "Good morning" to each one in Korean as we walked by.  As they returned the greeting, they were surprised and very excited that I spoke to them in their language.  This impressed Sunshine that I remembered some Korean from my Army days in Korea.  We are so ready for a break.  3 days seem like forever right now.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Gravel Springs

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 28.0
Weather: light rain

21 may. To Dick's Dome Shelter.  28 miles.              5/21/12 "Today it rained and we hiked 28 miles. We slept in and ate breakfast. Then we powered through the rain. We hiked with Maniac and Blue. Maniac has not even graduated High School yet! She is solo hiking! Also Blue is solo hiking and is not done with College! We enjoyed hiking with them!            We ate lunch at the Jim and Molly shelter. Then we powered through to the Dicks dome shelter. We met 1 section hiker and 1 thru hiker."                     ¢Sunshine:-) It was raining when we were supposed to get up, so I let Sunshine sleep till 6:45 hoping in vein that it would let up.  We ate breakfast at the shelter so we didn't have to sit in the rain eating an hour later.  We usually pack up quietly in under 30 minutes, then eat breakfast, brush our teeth, and mis. Hygiene after 1 or two hours of hiking.  There's no picture today because of the rain we packed the ipods deep inside our packs.  Sunshine loves talking to the other girls.  Two young girls were trying to make the next town early so they were moving fast and Sunshine drafted right behind them happily chatting.  We made our first half of the daily miles fast!  The second, not so much.  There were a couple big hills and the driving rain wore at her motivation.  All in all, not bad though.  28 miles in 10.5 hours.  This is the smallest shelter yet.  It only holds 4, and it's hex shaped so there's a lot of wasted space.  However, we are grateful for it's cover and that there was just enough space for us left.  My new stuff sack just purchased 4 days ago leaked today, so I'm in a damp sleeping bag.  I'm hoping for some sun tomorrow to dry it out, but the forecast isn't promising such an opportunity.  We should get to the ATC office 12 miles south of Harpers Ferry tomorrow, and I heard there is a indoor space there for hikers to sleep.  I also heard many other wonderful things about it, but they might just be trail rumors.  I'll tell you about it tomorrow if any of it is true.  We don't ever want to expect anything or get our hopes us.  The only thing we know for sure is that we will see our PCT friends Meow Meow, Funion and their new baby in two days.  We are very excited for this.  Meow Meow finished the PCT over 2 months pregnant!  We joked today that the baby could get a PCT completion metal once he picks up the part of California that he missed before conception.
Date: 2012-05-22
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Blackburn AT center
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: light rain

22 May. To Blackburn AT Center. 27 miles.             5/22/12  "Today we hiked 27 miles. It rained again. We woke up early and left at about 5:30 am.  We pushed very hard to get out of the rain and we were on the Roller Coster. It is a 13 mile stretch of trail that rolls up and down many times. The Roller Coster was not that hard. The tall ups were, but the down was lovely. Then we went to the Blackburn Hostel. They let us sleep on a bunk and they fed us. We ate pasta, and Cookies!!! We dried out our stuff and pray it does not rain tomorrow."                   ¢Sunshine:-)I'm beat.  This is going to be quick and to the point.  These are just the facts of today, not a "rant".  If you are lucky enough to be in the mountains... then you are lucky enough.  Some days are good and some aren't as much out here.  Sorry I can't always report "moon pies and slide whistles".  However the worst day on a long trail is still better than the best day in the real world. This was not the worst day either.  Not bad really.  Today was our shortest day in several at a meager 27 miles.  We are finally out of Virginia!  I rubbed the contact out of my left eye last night so I'm flying on one eye.  My pollen allergies have been rough the past 2 weeks.  This caused the rubbing. My depth perception is already bad, but it's been tricky judging how far that next rock to step on is with one contact in and one out.  It kind of spiced the day up, ha, ha.  I used my buff as a eye patch today.  It's been raining for 2 days straight, and our feet are rubbed raw from the high miles in the wet.  We only have 12 easy miles tomorrow then a well deserved break of 2 zeros in a row!  My sleeping bag went from damp yesterday to drenched today.  I'm wearing my clothing layers and wet socks and wet buff under my wet bag as a quilt hoping for some barrier between me and the wet, but hoping the clumpy down and nylon provide some warmth.  Oh, don't cry for me, we are indoors in a hostel bunk house.  I'm fine.  This would be a disaster in a tent.  Like I always tell Sunshine: there's no need for extra "just in case" in your pack on this trail.  If something goes wrong, just hike out to the next road and hitch to town.  Yogi says "you can get injured on the AT, but you can get killed on the PCT.  It's a pretty accurate statement so far.  I'm rambling, good night.
Date: 2012-05-23
From: Blackburn AT center

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Wow! Best day ever! The wonderful Caretakers at Blackburn Center, Chris and Caroline were not kidding about the last 12 miles to Harpers Ferry. It was so flat and smooth, like a state park nature trail. We knocked it out in 4 hours. And no rain!!!! We were the 190 and 191st 2012 hikers to arrive at the AT Concervency office. We are about 70 miles shy of the half way point, where we will eat a half gallon of Ice cream! We met Our friend from the PCT, Meow Meow and her new baby Brennan there. We went bact to there home where we cleaned up and prepared for our vacation! We ate dinner and watched the class of 2011 PCT viedo by Jack and Barb. They did an amazing job and we enjoyed reliving the trail and seeing vid and pics of all our friends. Thanks Jack and Barb! Thank you Meow Meow! We will see Funion tomorrow am at breakfast.   Also one of my readers sent us a huge package of goodies for our break! She even made a cool necklace for Sunshine. Which she loves! I posted a picture of Sunshine wearing it in my photo album. It's labeled "gift". I can only show one pic per day on the enteries. Oh, it didn't shop there, she gave us some generous gift cards for REI and McDonalds. Our two favorite trail places. Good timing, because we need some new stuffsacks and other misc. Gear. Thank you!!! We have the best readers in the world! You are all so kind and encouraging to us! These trips are more about mental stamina than a physical challenge, and you all keep us strong with encouragement!
Date: 2012-05-26
From: Washington DC

To: I-70 foot bridge
Miles today: 22.0

5/26/12 "Today we hiked 22 miles. It was very humid, but we slack-packed. All day, I thought of how our Vacation went. It was WOUNDERFUL! We were interviewed by the Washington Post on the way to the trail today.    We ate sandwiches for lunch and Grandmas cookies(thank you Mike, Rebecca, and Grandma!)! We saw many boy scout troops, weekenders, day hikers, and cyclists. We now are no longer pushing, for now. We are back to 20 miles a day. When we got back to Rebecca's (Zig Zag) and Mikes house, we ate dinner, worked on Landry, and took a shower!! Dinner was wonderful. We had grilled burgers and hot dogs, corn on the cob, fresh fruit, and more!                  ¢Sunshine:-) Like I said yesterday, we have the best readers in the world! We never expect or plan support like this, but always appreciate the suprise when folks do these wonderful things. As a parent, I Especialy appreciate the kindness to my children. Everyone's love and kindness shown to Sunshine always means so much to her. It really boosts her morale! She especialy responds well to women's attention since she is missing her mother. Zig Zag and her husband Mike invited us to their home last night and actualy picked us up again today after a 22 mile slack pack! They are so wonderful! Thank you Zig Zag and Mike! Kitson, a writer for the Washinton Post interviewed Sunshine this morning for a piece in the Kid's section. She actualy recorded the interview while driving us back to Harper's Ferry. Also I want to again thank our anonymous reader who sent Butterfly gifts in the mail yesterday. She realized that Butterfly sometimes feels left out when Sunshine is always in the spot light. Thank you! our hike was great! Nice and flat. It was a beautiful ridge walk with views.