morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-05-26
From: Crampton Gap

To: Pogo Memorial Campsite 
Miles today: 15.6

Day 98, Crampton Shelter to Pogo Memorial shelter 15.6 miles. I hope everyone is having a great Memorial Day weekend . As I hike through the battlefields here in Maryland I¢m reminded of the ultimate sacrifice our soldiers paid for our country. It¢s great to have a holiday for us to take time to reflect on these fallen servicemen and women. Today we were blessed with trail magic at the Washington Memorial Park. A fine couple had set up and gave us breakfast, lunch soft drinks and cookies. It was awesome thank you very much !The park hosts the original Washington monument which is currently under renovation so we were not able to go inside.We did get to enjoy views from Black Rock that were amazing. I started an Instagram page and will add additional  pictures daily. I¢m just now learning how to use it but I do have a few pics up. Tonight we were blasted by severe weather. A storm blew through and forced us to get in our tents. Lightning was striking almost instantaneously no counting seconds between thunder and the lightning strike. The wind gust blew down s few tents and created a wet mess for several of us. I literally was holding my tent poles with my hands to keep it from completely going down. But all is well , We are av little wet , but no hail damage. So all is good!
Date: 2019-05-27
From: Pogo Memorial Campsite 

To: PenMar Stealth Site
Miles today: 15.4

Day 99. 15.4 miles.Rocks and more rocks, Maryland is training us for the man eating jagged boulders of Pennsylvania.Truly if the rocks are tougher than the ones in Virginia and Maryland I¢m in big trouble. Today we achieved another milestone and crossed over the Mason Dixon Line into the great state of Pennsylvania Ooh Rah!Oh and in the mailbox ( see pic) Coach sent us a note of encouragement. He¢s out here somewhere hiking in the mountains. We celebrated our state crossing at the PenMar state park and ordered pizzas,soft drinks and cannolis. The park was busy with everyone celebrating Memorial Day. Everyone is so nice to us and genuinely are interested in our journey one gentleman gave us drinks and another lady gave us watermelon. What a beautiful Norman Rockwell day to contrast the severe weather we had last night. I have to admit the lightning, wind, hail and torrential rain had me concerned for our safety. Thank you all for your prayers! Tonight we are stealth camped just north of the Mason Dixon Line .Hopefully the weather will behave.
Date: 2019-05-28
From: PenMar Stealth Campsite 

To: Waynesboro PA
Miles today: 2.0

Day 100, PenMar Campsite to Devils Run HW 16 a whopping 2 miles!I love a plan, but what I really love is spontaneity,actually more of a willingness to adapt and kick the old plan to the curb. One of the many advantages of hiking with a trusted group is sometimes individually our plans are not in sync even though our ultimate goal is the same. My initial plan was to hike 15 miles over tough terrain today and be set up to enter Caledonia State park Wednesday morning. Stingray had a better plan and suggested going into town resupplying and getting a hotel room. The weather forecast for the day was ominous with potential thunderstorms with hail likely.  Hey I¢ve turned into a ¢safety first guy ¢for the second half of this journey, we¢ve come too far to get hurt now( more on that in a bit).So in town we are! We are in Waynesboro PA in a nice hotel right next to Walmart and Applebee¢s.I¢ve seen a lot of injuries and I myself picked up a knee brace today to help with a slight tweak of my knee from the other day at the roller coaster. This slight injury actually comes at a good time as I¢m getting off the trail for four days. My niece in Chattanooga has honored me by asking me to perform her wedding this coming weekend. I committed to this special event long before I started the trail and warned my niece I might look like a hermit, but she was not to be deterred. So I¢m super excited to head to my boyhood hometown and especially excited to see my wife who I¢ve not seen in 100 days!What about the Free Range Crew you ask? I told them I don¢t like them any more and that they smell bad and that I¢m moving on with my life without them. I used the same exact lines I¢ve heard many times before from my old ex girlfriends. Well these guys won¢t listen and they plan to slow down and believe I¢ll be able to catch up with them way before Katahdin. I really don¢t want to negatively affect their hike and between us I didn¢t really mean anything I told them other than the part that they smell bad,they really do but so do I. Well tomorrow my shuttle driver ¢Trail Boss¢ will pick me up here at the hotel and bring me back to his home in Harpers Ferry and then Thursday  will take me to D.C. to catch a plane home. Again perfect timing maybe my aches and pains will heal over the next four days and hopefully the Free Range fellas will shower by the time I get back.
Date: 2019-05-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Day 101Zero Day Trail Boss picked me up in Waynesboro PA this morning and brought me to his B&B in Harpers Ferry WV ¢The Marbrun House built in 1853¢.He will take me to D.C. tomorrow and I¢ll fly home for the weekend. So today I explored the historic town of Harpers Ferry . I was able to tour the museums and static shops and homes. These buildings are set up inside to the period and can be viewed thru protective glass.  I also explored the Harper Cemetery, Storer College https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn...The Riverfront and Jefferson Rock. https://www.nps.gov/hafe/learn...I probably should have taken this time to rest and recover but the history here is amazing. Most importantly,I was able to reunite with Sunshine and Bluegrass today , my original Tramily!! It was awesome to see them as I¢ve not seen them since Hot Springs. I also got to see my good friend Rhythm who I¢ve been hiking around since Georgia.I¢ll be off the trail returning Monday until then....
Date: 2019-06-03
From: Highway 16 trail Head

To: Quarry Gap
Miles today: 17.9

Day 106 Highway 16 to Quarry Gap shelter Pennsylvania. 17.9 miles.I flew in to The DC Dulles airport yesterday evening and Trail Boss was there waiting to shuttle me to Harper¢s Ferry. He had guests at his B&B so he took me to the TeaHorse Hostel which was nice and only five of us had the whole place to ourselves. This morning Trail Boss drove me to the trail head I had gotten off at last week and I proceeded to make some miles.But let me back up and say that Trail Boss is awesome and is a wealth of knowledge about the AT and other historical facts about the area. It should be a requirement to spend some time with him on your thru hike truly a must do.  I felt pretty strong after five days off the trail however my body felt shocked we were back at it . I have some serious miles to make up and so I plan to pick up my pace.I was so fortunate to run into Denali an outstanding hiker I had met way back at Devils Backbone. He is raising money for fighting cancer and has done a phenomenal job. I hiked with him most of the day . However I lost him at Caledonia state-park when a nice family fed me hamburgers and hotdogs. I still can¢t believe how nice people are to total strangers. I mean would you invite a ZZTop looking stranger to join your family picnic? I hope I¢m learning some lessons here!Well I finally made it to the next shelter which is quite picturesque. Denali had travelled another 3 miles so I hope I¢ll see him again soon. I believe he did well over 20 miles today. Tonight at the Shelter area we have Fumbles, Toad, Robot, eagle eye and my mind just went blank on the others...
Date: 2019-06-04
From: Quarry Gap

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 18.4

Day 107, 18.4 miles Quarry Gap to stealth site beyond Pine Grove Furnace State Park.Last night was surprisingly cold it dipped down in the low 40s. I zipped up my summer bag and put on my puffy and slept fairly well. I forgot to mention that I had to set up my tent on a wooden platform last night. Apparently platforms are a thing here in the parks. My tent is not freestanding and requires my trekking poles well you can imagine it was a tricky situation but I managed to get it up and happy to report no incidents. So I had a pretty eventful day today, I hit the official halfway mile marker today, and 1100 miles OohRah! I¢ve always considered myself to be an optimist and truly I believe I am. BUT... now the glass seems half empty, Don¢t get me wrong I know these northern states are going to be awesome and no way would I want to start over (too hard and too long) but man what a grand adventure thus far. I guess I miss my southern states...So I¢m hiking along by myself in a very bushy area of the AT and seemingly out of nowhere maybe everywhere a rattle snake(s)starts rattling. Since no one was there to witness this ambush, I¢ll tell you I bravely kept on walking. I did not jump 4 feet into the air and scream like a scairdy cat. Nope no one saw or heard anything at all . The good thing is it was a friendly warning and no bites. Later on I ran into a section hiker and I told him I was heading to Pine Grove Furnace General Store and was going to grab one of their famous burgers. He told me he thought they closed the store at 4 or 5 and it was 2 pm with 6 miles left to go so I hightailed it up and down to the store. As I was approaching the store I was surprised to see Sunshine there waiting for me with a special sign made out of pebbles, I was blown away not really expecting to see anyone I know this late in the evening, especially Sunshine my original tramily member! Well what a great reunion and on top of that Memorial Day started later hours for the General store and they now are open til 7pm . Traditionally hikers eat a half gallon of ice cream to commemorate/celebrate the halfway point. I ate my pint and I trust the rest of the Free Rangers ate their pints as well.Teamwork! I enjoyed eating and talking with several other hikers and campers on the front porch of the store and finally headed out around 7pm with 3 miles left to hike. I made it out of the park and found a semi flat spot to pitch my tent and a limb to hang my bear bag.Tonight I¢m all alone in the woods full of fine food and ice cream .Happiness!!!
Date: 2019-06-05
From: Stealth Site

To: Boiling Springs 
Miles today: 18.1

Day 108, 18.1 miles Stealth camp site to Boiling Springs PA. ¢One is the loneliest number that you will ever do¢...I hiked alone today again , but it¢s truly not that bad,  I find that I¢m hiking faster than I normally do and I¢m meeting new people along the way. Last night I was so tired after eating the burger and ice cream it was great finding a stealth site that wasn¢t in my guide book as I was running out of daylight and steam.  Camping out in the woods by yourself can be a little strange the first time or two , but you get used to the night/animal noises eventually .My first goal today was approximately 7 miles down the trail  to Greenbriers General Store and Deli . I love it when I can take a side trail to a remote store in the middle of nowhere . I ate a fabulous steak sandwich,chips ,two cokes and a gatorade. For some reason I couldn¢t do an ice cream for dessert. I guess all this town food is throwing off my hiker hunger. I ran into two hikers from Sebring Fl, Eagle Eye and Milky Way ,they are hiking with their dog Baxter. We all enjoyed the break at the General Store. When I finally left the store I was welcomed by a huge climb up to the Rock Mazes. I actually enjoyed all the scrambling over the big rocks a natural obstacle course built by God, amazing!After the maze I descended into a beautiful cornfield that went on for miles and miles. I was a hot sweaty mess from the climb and the descent of the mountain,the cool breeze coming across the fields was exhilarating. Every now and then I would go by a farmhouse and I wondered what they were cooking for dinner, maybe they would glance out their window and take pity on me and invite me in? Unfortunately not today. The AT continued to cross the farmland eventually ending in the town of Boiling Springs PA.  I found the AT center but it was closed. There was a number on the door for a nearby hostel so I decided to call , a shower would be awesome. Lisa the hostel owner came and picked me up and I met up with Fumbles, Robbie, and Poncho who were already chilling out enjoying their freshly bathed state and clean clothes .... luxury on the trail. Tomorrow I may do over twenty miles as the terrain looks relatively flat for the first section,we will see. But tonight I¢m refreshed and sleeping in a soft bunk life is good!
Date: 2019-06-06
From: Boiling Springs 

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 18.0

Day 109, 18 miles Stealth Camp.This morning I had a bit of a late start, Lisa brought us into town and Fumbles, Cecil and I had a fantastic breakfast at Cafe 101. Eagle Eye , Milky Way and their dog Baxter also had an outdoor table as well. At the restaurant I met a nice couple from England that are thru hiking, Morph and his wife  I believe her name is Wobble .After breakfast we all separated to resupply and decided we would see each other this evening at the Cove Mountain Shelter approximately 21 miles away.I fooled around town way too long , I checked out the Boiling Springs and spent too much time in the Fly shop. They rent canoes and kayaks and I almost went for a little fishing trip. I finally got going on the trail close to 11 am. This was going to be a very long day if I was going to hit my goal. I crossed several pastures and a railroad track, I¢ve lost count but I¢ve traversed at least a half dozen RR tracks on this entire journey just a fun fact. As I was trekking along I saw a hand written note to me on a tree saying that Fumbles, Robbie, Eagle Eye and the rest decided to stop short at the next shelter. I stopped in ate dinner with the gang and moved on as I had miles to go before I sleep. Well at 8 pm the vampire mosquitos started attacking . I came across a stealth site and decided to set up camp. 18 miles was short of my goal but it would have to do.Shortly after I started to set up I was joined by the couple from England Morph and Wobble. We all sat around as they ate discussing the highlights of the day.Tonight we are all camped out by a creek in the middle of the forest, very cool!
Date: 2019-06-07
From: Stealth Camp

To: Peters Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 110, Pennsylvania,20.6 miles stealth camp before cove mountain to Peters Mountain Shelter.There¢s this scene in the Tom Hanks Castaway movie where he¢s fumbling trying to catch a fish for dinner and then the scene fast forwards three or four years later to a much leaner and now highly skilled at spearing fish Tom Hanks.I had a Castaway moment last night when I skillfully threw my bear bag line 20 feet into the air and was able to catch the limb on the very first try. I know it doesn¢t sound as impressive as spearing a fish from 20 feet, but you should have seen my attempts when I first got out here back in February. As matter of fact what used to take me a while to do such as setting up and striking my tent , cooking etc is now second nature. I¢m not sure what I¢ll do with my new skill set when I get back to civilization, maybe I¢ll make another movie. This morning I left camp shortly after the English couple. I caught them later on top of cove mountain. From that vantage point we could see the town of Duncannon, my next destination.The climb down was a little rocky and steep but not terribly technical.My first stop in town was a gas station where I bought two bottles of Body Armor drink and some chips. Rhonda recently introduced me to this power drink and it does seem to have better ingredients. The next stop was the famous Historical Doyle Hotel originally built in the 1700s , the cheese burger was phenomenal and Vicky was super friendly and helpful.A couple of my friends stayed there the night before and they said the rooms were rustic but great.https://theburgnews.com/busine...The AT winds around the town of Duncannon and Vicky told me the side streets to take to get to the post office and the ice cream shop.The post office is a must stop for hikers as they have a tremendous hiker box full of great food items and new socks. The ice cream shop is definitely a requirement!I hiked out of town and decided I would hike 13 miles to the second shelter. I finally got there around 8 pm a little tired but proud of my day.Tonight I¢m safe and sound in the loft of the Peters Mountain shelter.
Date: 2019-06-08
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Raush Shelter area
Miles today: 18.0

Day 111,  18 miles to Rauch shelter area.Last night was the first night I had slept in a shelter since the winter. Shelters are great specifically in cold wet weather. This shelter was a great one with two stories and I had the whole upstairs loft to myself.  When I woke up I was surprised to see Rhythm and Ironman at the shelter, if you recall I¢ve been hiking around these guys since Georgia and I had last seen Rhythm recently at Harpers Ferry right before the Wedding.I was the first one to hit the trail at around 6:30 am , I hadn¢t walked very far when I saw a porcupine walking along the trail. I tried not to startle him but he did finally raise his quills at me and slowly moved away. Then shortly afterwards I saw a rabbit sitting on the trail and he would hop away a few feet but stayed on the trail for a good long way always looking back thinking he had given me the slip. Pretty funny ,this early rise thing was quite entertaining. Later that morning I ran into Dan a section hiker from the area and we hiked together till lunchtime as he was doing an out and back hike.Dan had great info on the State and I enjoyed his company a lot. After lunch he hooked me up with Snickers,Spam and Peanut-butter and he took my trash , amazing trail magic on the trail!!!The day got warmer and I started to get a little tired after a three mile climb up a ridge. As I was walking I came up on three deer hanging out on the trail. What¢s going on today? These animal sitings are fantastic but rare. As I was filming the deer Nibbles and Radar showed up ,I recently met this couple in Duncannon.We hiked the rest of the way into camp. They actually camped by the creek and I went up towards the shelter area looking for Rhythm and Ironman. I checked out the shelter but there was no one around, so I camped on top of a hill with Bucket List , Black Forest, Rosy and Chipper and a trail runner named Grandpa. Bucket list built a fire as he did the night before and we all sat around it eating our dinners and telling trail stories.Life is good!
Date: 2019-06-09
From: Raush Shelter area

To: 501 Shelter 
Miles today: 16.5

Day 112, 17.5 miles to the 501 shelter .In any workout program I¢ve been involved with you normally alternate muscle groups or in running at least vary the intensity and mileage and always you incorporate rest for the muscles to recover.....it¢s a tough grind out here day in and day out , the recovery/rest is sporadic and good nutrition is hard to come by. I¢m not complaining just being Captain Obvious. This morning I woke up and just stared at my backpack and my backpack stared back.Neither one of us wanted to get moving. The morning air was nice and cool and I wanted to just lay there in my bag.However I needed to make miles and the very first section of trail was a flooded beaver swamp and I knew the going would be extremely slow, cold and wet. Chipper and Rosy left about the same time I did and we got to the swamp edge together. I decided to switch out of my hiking socks and shoes and wear my crocks. Chipper did the same but Rosy chose to wear her hiking shoes. The crossing was as expected cold and wet and the mud kept wanting to pull off my crocks but other than that I quite enjoyed the traverse, hey no gators to worry about up here in these parts. Today the trail varied from swampland to very steep climbing and treacherous rock fields crossings. My understanding is the really aggressive rock fields in PA are yet to come, swell....I finally made it to a road crossing , soaking in sweat and beat up,I was just wishing someone would be offering trail magic and I looked up and saw Sunshine waiting for me with apples, soft drinks and honeybuns . It was so cool to catch up with her while we had our own private trail magic picnic it was fantastic!!! My spirits were lifted and as I was leaving and saying my farewells, a lady from across the parking lot offered me more chips and soft drinks and I politely said yes please! Now I had three or four soft drinks and plenty of snacks in me,fueled up ready to make a very steep climb. I felt great and made it to the 501 shelter approximately five hours later.A few of the hikers had already arrived and I was again surprised to see Sunshine and now with Bluegrass there to surprise me again. I failed to mention that unfortunately Sunshines planter fasciitis has kicked back up and she can¢t hike right now but is supporting Blue and other hikers with slack packing opportunities,trail magic etc!!This shelter is more like a hostel and is fully enclosed and near a road so we were able to order pizzas for everyone. What a fantastic ending to a challenging day . Tomorrow will be another tough miles day and the weather is forecasted to be rainy but It¢s going to be a wonderful day because my wife, Jimmy and his wife ¢I Believe¢ are coming to see me and eventually slack pack me to help me catch up with the Free Range Crew. Actually if I can hike 23 miles tomorrow ( doubtful) I might be able to catch those boys tomorrow on my own as I think they will be heading into town for a resupply. We shall see!
Date: 2019-06-10
From: 501 Shelter 

To: PA 183
Miles today: 9.3

Day 113, 9.3 miles to PA 183I woke up to the most relaxing sound of rain hitting the roof of our shelter. In the center of the shelter there is a plexiglass skylight and I could see the intensity of the rain from the dry safety inside. It didn¢t matter that it was raining because I was going to see my lovely wife and my dear friends today it could be hailing rocks for that matter. I was the first person to get up and get my gear together. Rosy and Chipper were slowly getting up and we all planned to hike a really big day 24.1 miles into town. We planned to meet Rhonda, Jimmy and I Believe at PA 183 for a quick reunion and some trail magic and then move on.We hit 1200 miles today Ooh Rah!The rain was steady but not too hard, however parts of the trail were extremely muddy and of course the rocks were very slick. I so enjoyed hiking with Chipper and Rosy they are such a sweet interesting couple we were deep in conversation when we heard what we thought was a bear jump out of the bushes right towards us, the bear was actually my lovely wife Rhonda who had hiked in a couple of hundred yards and hidden waiting to ambush me.Of course I was startled than elated to see her. We all laughed so hard and hiked towards the parking lot in the rain, ¢I Believe ¢ was down the trail a bit videoing us as we approached. It was great to see her and Jimmy who was waiting in the parking lot. I was overcome with happiness enjoying this  reunion! Also waiting for us I met a local trail angel ¢Quiet John ¢ who had shuttled the Free Range Crew into town earlier this morning. He was so kind helping us all! As you might guess our goal of hiking another 15 miles was out the window. It was cold , rainy and with my wife and friends there my priorities quickly changed. Rosy and Chipper jumped in with Quiet John and went into town. I of course joined Rhonda ,Jimmy and I Believe and headed to a different town but we would all reunite later.That evening we all got together for dinner,The Free Range Crew was back together once again!! I¢m still 15 miles behind but I will catch up tomorrow .Can someone please identify this really cool flower in the picture? Thanks