morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-05-16
From: Rockfish Gap/Waynesboro

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.6

I woke up at 5:30 and started to finish up my packing. I also met Shower, who talked with me about his PCT and CT thru hikes, among other things. I think I leapfrogged with him a couple days ago, when descending the Priest and ascending Three Ridges Mountain.Frogger made everyone pancakes, some with Reese's peanut butter chips! They were delicious, and were a great addition to the yogurt and fruit I planned to eat for breakfast.Charlie, a 2019 AT thru hiker and veteran from Maine, showed up to offer people shuttle rides. He generously offered to take me back to Rockfish Gap as the only passenger around 7. There was an inch of evening rain in the forecast, and I think a number of people opted for a zero day.I started hiking around 7:30. I filled out my Shenandoah National Park permit. It required specific zones where I would be camping each night. I couldn't decide on where I might end on certain days, so I guessed.It was overcast and there was scattered drizzle. I still saw some views., and the sun came out around 10. I took an extended break at a marked spring a mile or two past the first shelter around 11. Compared with the rugged section between Jennings Creek and Reid's Gap, this stretched seemed pretty tame. There were some steep descents and limited, moderate climbs. I had a late lunch around 2:40 near a RipRap trail marker, and arrived to Blackrock Hut to set up my tent around 4:30.It felt weird to get to camp so early. I wanted to try to get some good sunrise shots on Blackrock tomorrow morning. I was also concerned about the camping between here and the next shelter 12 miles away, given the past bear activity.I joined a group and, along with other things, we discussed logistics on hitting the Loft Mountain Wayside tomorrow. The AT guide and Farout app were both unclear about its operating hours. They said it should be open by 9. I figure I'll get there tomorrow at 10.
Date: 2023-05-17
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4

My alarm went off at 4. Eager to make it in time for sunrise and also not bother others nearby too much, I made sure not to snooze. I headed out around 5:30 and had climbed up to the top of Blackrock at 6. Finally, I had a satisfying pink orb to enjoy that was not obscured by clouds, as it was at McAfee Knob, or hidden too much by trees at the Priest Mountain overlook.I was firmly in familiar territory. I had been on various points in Shenandoah along the AT at least 20 times. Today, as well as the next couple days, would be walks along a memory lane. The last time I was at Blackrock was less than two years ago, also for sunrise.I made my way down, then on rolling terrain until I got to the Ivy Creek Spring path to the Loft Mountain Wayside around 9:45. I had taken the shorter path to the wayside via the Frazier Discovery Trail on that same trip less than two years ago, and remember it being a steep descent there. Supposedly this path was flatter, according to the guide. And indeed, it was: easy downhill and a gentle climb when I returned to the AT from the wayside, and a spring just a couple hundred yards before reconnecting to the AT.I got to the wayside at 10. The grill didn't open until 11. No matter, I'd just hang out for an hour. In the meantime, I recharged my phone. I chatted with a few hikers and ate some snacks at the store, which opened at 9. Once the grill opened, I had a BBQ pulled pork sandwich with chips, and a scoop of blackberry ice cream. Delicious! I ended up staying there until about noon.I headed back and continued through memory lane past Pinefield Hut, where I stayed overnight during a winter backpacking trip in December 2020. That was around 1. Then more rolling terrain down to gaps and up small mountains. I took a break at an overlook of Powell Gap Hollow around 3. I saw Bear and Rocket there, who I saw at the Blackrock Hut during dinner and at the wayside today.I had some issues with my left ankle yesterday, so I didn't want to hike too far today. I slept with both of my legs slightly elevated last night, and haven't had any issues yet. Still, I decided to just go for 21ish miles today, to Hightop Hit.So, another couple descents to gaps, then just under 600 feet of climbing to Hightop Hut, where I arrived a little before 5. Dex and Fan Fave were there, who were also at the Blackrock Hut yesterday, as well as Bear and Rocket. Later, Flowers, Steve, and Yogi arrived. There were various discussions of getting to the Big Meadows Wayside tomorrow, plus ideas on new kinds of food to try on trail for dinner, other than freeze dried dinner, Ramen, and other pasta packs. I liked Flowers' El Paso rice dish and might try carrying some avocado, too.I went to sleep much earlier, both because I could, and because of my early wake-up this morning.
Date: 2023-05-21
From: Front Royal

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 23.6

I checked out of the motel at 8, and decided to press on. I took my giardia test kit with me in case I started getting symptoms again, as there was a related urgent care center Charles Town, a bus ride from Harpers Ferry.I had a delicious, somewhat healthy breakfast at the Daily Grind of a burrito with egg, bacon, avocado, salsa, and spinach; along with a banana and chai latte. I was hoping to find someone to give me a lift. I also stopped by the Down Home Comfort Bakery, which I think helps to sponsor the hiker space, to I inquire. No luck, sadly, so, not wanting to wait about 5 hours for the trolley, it looked like Uber would be the way to go here. I ended up having a much less healthy second breakfast of a warmed up, homemade cinnamon roll with a few assorted small chocolate candies while I was there.I ended up getting back to the trailhead via Uber around 10:30. After just 15 minutes or so of hiking, I saw a cooler of trail magic! It had a bunch of cans of soda and bags of chips inside. I grabbed some Doritos for a break later.The terrain had a few climbs but was pretty easy and moderate mostly. Before an opening in the ridge near VA 638 beyond the shelter, there was yet another cooler full of trail magic! More soda/soda water, candy, granola bars, fruit cups, and other treats. I took a little more and drank some soda water.After passing under John Marshall Highway, at a footbridge, I saw a familiar face. It was Plunger, who I last saw near the Sarver Hollow Shelter a few weeks ago. He was with a new companion, Skippy. She said skippy is slang for kangaroo in Australia, I think. She wanted to see if someone would think she was Australian, though she is actually a New Zealander, the first I've met on trail. Thry passed through Shenandoah in four days and hiked 30 miles yesterday, spending the night at the lovely Mountain Home Hostel! I took an extended lunch break ther 1:30-2. After running into them once more, I had some ground to cover - I wanted to get the roller coaster segment of the trail out of the way tomorrow. I cruised past the next couple shelters, and just took water breaks, with one snack, until I passed Ashby Gap around 6:40, for a half hour. I got to Rod Hollow Shelter around 8, found a surprisingly reasonable tent spot amidst the eight talen others there, and retired for the night. So far, no symptoms.
Date: 2023-05-25
From: Campsite near Footbridge beyond Pen Mar

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 27.3

It was a little chilly in the morning. I liked that, and it turned out to be a very pleasant, sunny day that never got too hot. It also helped that there weren't many climbs.After getting water from the stream nearby, I headed out around 8:30. I passed a couple trail maintainers. I actually pass them about once a week, but often forget to mention it. They make this hike possible!I had a breakfast break at Deer Lick Shelter around 10. An hour later, I passed by the very nice Tumbling Run Shelter, where I had stayed twice on a few weekend backpacking trips covering Pen Mar up through Caledonia State Park. There was a 900 foot climb up to the Chimney Rocks view, where I took a lunch break noon to 12:30.I ran into few thru hikers who were slackpacking, as well as a section hiker. I took a long break after I had a mostly rocky descent to Caledonia State Park and got water from the fountains, emptied trash, and ran into them all again. The rocks weren't nearly as bad as the rock course near the end of the MD AT.Around 4:20, I started climbing up to Quarry Gap Shelter, enjoying the green tunnel without rocks, but not as enthusiastic about the 50 day hikers descending from what I assume was a hike to the nearby reservoir.I took pictures at the award-winning Quarry Gap Shelter just before 5:30. It has flower pots, a swinging bench, and It would have been pleasant to stay there, but I already knew another five people, plus maybe others would be there. I didn't notice much space, and wasn't enthusiastic about doing a hair under 20 miles on such easy terrain.I pressed on, and got to Birch Run Shelter a little after 8. It may not be award-winning, but it's still a nice shelter area. Plenty of tent camping and shelter room, a picnic table under the shelter, and the largest privy I've ever seen. It has a cedar chest in there, which I think is full of wood chips for moldering.
Date: 2023-05-26
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: Campsite near Little Dogwood Run 
Miles today: 25.1

It was another chilly but sunny morning, making me optimistic for another pleasant day of hiking. As I started out at 8:30, I saw a couple approach me, and they asked me if I wanted a banana! I took it. They said there was more at a trail magic stand in about a mile and a half. I made my way down there and saw a couple with an assortment of cookies, chips, bananas, apples, and cans of sodas. A great start to my day! I saw Plunger and Skippy there, as well as two new hikers I met, Eric and Skipper. The couple lives nearby. The man is a Vietnam veteran, and shared some jokes with us. Skippy shared one of hers too.I hiked with Eric and Skipper mist of the way to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. We took photos at the halfway point marker. I learned that Eric is rushing to try to complete the AT from Virginia through Katahdin in three months before starting a PhD program. Skipper spent 8 years in the Marine Corps. He started in mid February, and said he needs to complete the trail by mid August before he starts law school in Wisconsin.We arrived to the general store at Pine Furnace Grove just past noon. Plunger and Skippy arrived shortly thereafter. There were snacks, ice cream, a short order grill. You can even recharge your phone and use free Wi-Fi. I got a big hiker burger, fries - a lot of them, and a pint of ice cream, along with a little food I might need to get to Duncannon. Plunger also gave me a pint of ice cream he bought, because there was chocolate in it that he overlooked - he doesn't eat chocolate. I shared it with Skippy.Of all the hikers there, I think Plunger was the only one who did the half gallon challenge: eating a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting. He got a commemorative spoon for eating a half gallon of strawberry cheesecake ice cream.There was another person doing resupply trail magic there as well. He had crackers, mini candy packages, bottles of Gatorade, and Ziploc freezer bags - something I really needed to replace for my ripped up toiletry bag.There was also an AT museum there. I checked it out, going through the planning and funding for it, construction of it, landmark thru hikers, and culture of long distance trails. They had the gear of some of the constructors and early thru hikers.I finally left around 2:30. I passed Plunger and Skippy a couple hours later, who left earlier.  The trail was pretty easy getting to camp for the most part. A couple climbs, and it did get rocky. There was a brief rock scramble, but I thought that was fun and helped break the monotony of the trail and tripping over rocks.I got to camp around 7:30. The campsite is about a tenth of a mile before the Alec Kennedy Shelter, which has no tenting sites. I was near some noisy campers who I think were car camping. They were noisy until about midnight.
Date: 2023-05-29
From: Campsite at Kinter View

To: William Penn Shelter
Miles today: 28.7

The sunrise time at Kinter View was 5:42. The view is to the right of the AT, going north, so I was hoping it would be a good spot for sunrise. The sky was colorful, but there was no pink ball.I started hiking at 7:30. It would be a warm day. I took a breakfast and water break at Clark Creek, about four miles in, around 9-9:30. The first climb wasn't bad, and I had a lunch break once I reached the Yellow Spring historical site for a village, where I arrived a little before noon.I was grateful for the lack of rocks so far. After a descent, I got water just before Rausch Gap Shelter around 2. I went through a bit of a road walk and crossed a beaver dam. I began a second climb, up the appropriately named Second Mountain, and took another break a little before 3. It was pretty warm, but at least there was a light breeze.I arrived to Swatara Gap around 4:50 after descending and a few highway crossings, then began my final, and most difficult climb for the day, up to the ridge. After 21-22 miles, I had a tough time with it. The heat of the day also didn't help. About 35 minutes past the Swatara Gap bridge, I took a break at a campsite. It cooled down over my half hour break, and shortly beyond the campsite, the climb became a lot less steep. As I walked along the ridge, the wind picked up, and which made me feel a lot better. There were a few annoying stretches with rocks, but they weren't around for long.I took another break at an overlook past a few campsites around 7:15. I was pretty tired. If only I had enough water, I would have camped at one of them. Still, just under 3 miles to go.An hour later, I got to William Penn Shelter. I shared a large tent campsite with Seeker, who started in early March. We chatted for a bit. He said there was a point in North Carolina where the temperature got down to single digits overnight, after a big rain, and much of his gear froze. He had to walk in shorts and sandals to start a day when it was 20F, but he said it warmed up quickly.I got much needed water, set up camp, had dinner, organized food, and looked at potential places to eat in the towns ahead. I retired pretty late, around 11.
Date: 2023-05-30
From: William Penn Shelter

To: Campsite beyond Phillips Canyon Spring 
Miles today: 24.2

A nearby weather forecasted the high temperature to be 9F cooler than yesterday, so I was happy to feel cool enough to keep my jacket on while breaking camp. I left at 8:15.The day had virtually no climbs -- basically flat, on the elevation profile -- but there were many rocky stretches. It wasn't rocky all day, but some of them went on long enough for me to suspect it.I took my first break around 9:50 near a memorial for Pilger Ruh, or Pilgrim's Rest, since it was at a spring. I took a lunch break after taking a side trail down to a swimming hole at Hertline Campsite around 12:20. The water was frigid, but still refreshing and revitalizing. Having it nearby during the weather yesterday would have been such a relief.At this point, I had hiked just under 10 miles. I didn't see the point in hammerring out 28 miles to get to Port Clinton around 9, when it would be dark and everything would be closed. So, I just decided to take it easier today and dry camp in a spot to have breakfast there, and pick up a few snacks.I saw Seeker again today, as we leapfrogged in between breaks. He also planned a dry camp for a handy morning arrival there.I grumbled through some of the rocky stretches at times. But there was still plenty of simple dirt terrain on my path today. It was so easy to walk through that I was daydreaming. Then I got back to reality with a sudden, mild trip.I took another break about a mile past the Black Swatara Spring around 3:45-4:15, then did a pit and water gathering stop at Eagle's Nest Shelter, 5:10-5:40. I hiked for another hour and a half.I passed four dry campsites, with only one of them occupied. Rocksylvania could also go by the moniker Campsitesylvania, but I guess that isn't as catchy.After a very steep, rocky, but short climb, I passed by a sign for a spring, which I think refers to the unreliable Phillips Canyon Spring. About 0.4 miles later, I found a fifth campsite around 7:20, and decided to camp there. Looks like 4 miles to town. I could hear faint traffic from the highway.
Date: 2023-06-02
From: Campsite beyond Little Gap

To: Campsite with View beyond Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 24.5

Today was forecasted to have a high of 90F. I woke up around 5:30. My bladder urged me to go more promptly than usual. I quickly stepped out of my tent. At my makeshift campsite, I had to quickly pass by a large but flimsy tree branch. As I did, I tripped and fell, hitting my forehead on a rock. There was a bit of bleeding, so I put Neosporin on a large bandage, taped it on the bleeding area, then put Leukotape around the bandage. I felt better and the bandage appeared to control the bleeding. I was glad I had the apple juice this morning. I drank that with a pack of nuts and dried fruit for 440 calories, and headed out around 7:15.There were unpleasant rocks rooted out of the ground at many spots today, but -- not feeling rushed -- I managed to abate my rock rage most of the day. I hiked about 15 miles to Wind Gap without issue, with breaks at 9:30 and 12:30. I frequently checked my bandage to see if there was any blood oozing there.I reached Wind Gap around 1:15. There was a hotel where hikers are allowed to use a water spigot. It is 0.2 miles from the trailhead off of PA 33, a busy highway. The guide I have said it was eastward, so I headed to the right, as I was heading northbound. But then I checked again after not finding a anything other than residences. The map showed it was actually to the left of where I got off. Once I got there, and figured out where the spigot was, I took a longer water and electrolytes break there in a chair under the shade. I drank a liter of water and had another snack.Then, I followed the trail a couple minutes across the highway, beginning a 600 foot climb back onto the plateau around 2:45. The rocks weren't too bad on top of it, but I think I wanted my day to be over. On the other hand, with what I believed to be limited water sources, I wanted a relatively short hike into Delaware Water Gap the next day for food and services. I pressed on. To my relief, the wind picked up, and I heard distant thunder, then sporadic showers. But then the rocks returned. I very carefully made my way through Wolf Rocks around 4:30. After the rock formation, the terrain became easier and less rocky.I got to Fox Gap around 7:10 then to a campsite past the shelter with a great view around 7:30. There were a few LASHers -- Two Hitch, Navigator, and Bear Repellent -- there with whom I shared the large site. They made a campfire while I enjoyed dinner and the sunset. There was also a nearly full moon to enjoy, too.
Date: 2023-06-04
From: Backpacker's Campsite off Douglas Trail

To: Glen Anderson Shelter
Miles today: 26.3

I started hiking around 8. It was cool - a great start. But I'd heard about the wildfire smoke coming from western Canada by now, and knew this nice hiking weather would not last.I hiked around part of the lovely Sunfish Pond to start. It was rocky and a little slow going, but scenic and enjoyable. Shortly thereafter, I got to the summit of Kittatinny Mountain around 9:15. There were great views of the Delaware River as well as other bodies of water below, which continued as I descended down the ridge.I got to Camp Rd around 10:30. I saw a cooler of trail magic there, and enjoyed a cup of fruit along a couple of my other snacks. I ran into a section hiker there from NJ who had section hiked in VT as well. He recommended a hostel where they pick up, drop off, with shower and laundry included for $45. I will have to check it out.In an hour, I got to Catfish Tower. I saw the LASHers I shared a camp with a couple days ago. I would have kept going, but a guy up in the tower above welcomed us, and invited us to come up. So we did. We met Bob, who was on fire lookout duty. He gave us a Catfish Tower card, and a spiel about NJ fire towers here and in neighboring states, his navigation system for reporting smoke, and showed us points from afar to where we were headed -- interesting field of work. One guy asked what his longest time on duty was. I think it was something like 60ish hours over a weekend, all spent in the tower! As we left, he said to help ourselves to the spring water he left in canteens on the back of his truck, and we did so!I left around 12:20. The next 11 miles to Brink Shelter were pretty uneventful. The previous states were better about including signs at junctions to other trails. I'm not just talking about short trails to a spring. I'm talking about no sign to a lake or a village, etc. NJ typically just puts a blaze at a junction. And sometimes, these footpaths can be part of multiple trails, which can make it a little confusing.I took a break near a gravel road crossing with an anonymous red blazed trail around 2:45, and another at the Brink Shelter junction around 6 for a half hour. In a little under 4 miles, I would reach Culvers Gap in Branchville, where there are a couple taverns a short walk along the road. Although I was 20 miles in, I thought it would be nice to dine at one.I got to Culvers Gap around 7:30, and decided to have dinner at the Mountain House Tavern and Grill They would close at 8 that day, but still seated me - right by Culver Lake! I enjoyed a tossed salad and a tzatziki bowl along with the beginnings of a sunset on the lake. Excellent service, though kind of pricey for a thru hiker.I had a little under 3 miles to hike to the shelter. I got some water from their spigot, and at 8:20, began the long, moderate climb to Culver Fire Tower, where I arrived around 9. I descended to the Glen Anderson Shelter, arriving around 9:30. All filled up with food, I made camp and fell asleep.