morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-06-20
From: Gravel Springs Shelter 

To: Tom Floyd Shelter 
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we finally exit Shenandoah. It seems I've been in this park most of the time this year.Shortly after starting and almost out of the park, I finally see a bear. It seems everyone but me has seen one or more. This one was just walking about 50 feet off the trail coming in my direction. It was rather small so I had to quickly determine if it was a cub. I immediately looked for the mother while deciding it was probably older. This one did not run away but hurried too fast for a photo.Rain was expected today....and not just the afternoon thunderstorms...but severe with high winds. As a result we ained to reach the shelter and get space inside. On the way I met one of the many Germans hiking this year. U-haul, had lived in Blacksburg VA for a few years and knows this area well. His story is that his workplace a auto parts factory, in which he is a manager, gave him a one year sabbatical, to hike the AT. Interesting is that after hearing this from U-haul another German hiker got the same benefit from his employer. Come on US employers get in the game!!U-haul had worked almost 1700 hours overtime so got his to help reward him for the effort. The other guy had just passed his 17th year and got his for that.U-haul was hauling this day to make about twice the miles I was. As he was pulling ahead I slipped and fell for the first time this hike. Hit pretty hard too. U-haul literally ran back to assist me up and then insisted on staying with me to the Shelter. A very nice gesture. Once there he asked Bad Hat to make sure I was alright in the morning. No lingering pain you know in the old guy after the night. I was just fine but really appreciated U-haul. Later everyone talking of U-haul only,said good things too. A real fine guy.This shelter had one drawback...water was way down the mountain. With this and rain coming our first chore was getting water. We were soon joined by other hikers and thus the Shelter was full. Anyone else arriving would be setting up tents in the rain. Well once the rain came...I had found a caulk gun in the Shelter. Guess where it had been used...above my sleeping spot. And it was still leaking. Once discovered my bag was already damp. Thankfully I arranged to fit between the two drips thus minimizing getting wet. Drying out my bag tomorrow before sleep will be job one.Tomorrow is national hike naked day. Think I should?Blessings,
Date: 2015-06-21
From: Tom Floyd Shelter 

To: Manassas Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 13.6

No I did not hike naked today. It was a hot one but no naked hiking. I did hear some stories. Just plain dumb thing to do, especially on a weekend when in this area we see a lot of weekend and day hikers.Today at the heat of the day I came upon the best thing. ..a freshly put out cooler stuffed full of sodas and snacks. From the looks of the trash bag only one or two had passed by before me. Bad Hat was ahead and the first thing I thought of was if he had gotten some. At the Shelter later I learned he had not. And too boot it was at a trailhead with a picnic table. A great place for a long "Pack off" break. And I did...two off brand mountain dew type drinks called mountain lion...both super ice cold, and two Little Debbie oatmeal cookies. Yum, yum, yum. Coming right when I needed a,boost to finish the day and climb the last hill. Praise the Lord for whoever Corky and Greg are...the angels who left the cooler.A couple of hours later upon arriving at the Shelter, the first thing I asked Bad Hat was if he had gotten the trail magic. And just as I thought he had not. Bad luck for him. And not the first time ehither. A penalty for hiking fast perhaps. This shelter had great water and unlike the last one very close. In early I could dry my sleeping bag and put upa clothes line to dry socks, bandanas, and other items before dark.Tonight the Shelter and campsites were full. It seems a lot who got off the trail in either Luray or Front Royal have collected here for the push into Harper's Ferry the psychological half way point. It is actually about 60 miles shy. We are also nearing two other notable points...the 1000 mile and the infamous "roller coaster".Tomorrow is supposed to be a hot one. I have loaded to maximum capacity all my water containers so I can leave early in hopes of beating most of the heat. Blessings,
Date: 2015-06-22
From: Manassas Gap Shelter 

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: scattered clouds

As planned I was packed and out of the Shelter fast. Last night was an awful one for me. It was hot, muggy and buggy. Unless it looks like rain I will tent tonight.Even with early morning heat I made good time today. The AT today takes us through a large mountaintop Virginia state park. Right as we entered someone had left some water jugs as trail magic. Looked like they had been there a while but several still had water...good for a quick fill up.Again a lot of us were at the shelter. I was the first there who was tenting and thus got first choice of tent pads. This time the water source was very close. My tent was even closer to it...good for refills early tomorrow morning if necessary. An early start tomorrow will be a must. It's supposed to be hot and we begin the "roller coaster", a thirteen mile section of constant up and down hills. Most everyone will go the 9.9 miles to a popular ATC owned hostel.Here tonight Bad Hat, Mr Magoo and me met up again with two interesting ladies, Ma'am and Sunshine. To me they are dead ringers for sisters but are not. Ma'am is from Cleveland, Sunshine from Minnesota. Ma'am got on my friend list several days ago when she handed out oreo cookies to everyone.I really felt good in my tent. No bugs and some privacy. Sure looking forward to a sleep before the work tomorrow. Blessings,
Date: 2015-06-23
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel 
Miles today: 9.9

Ten minutes from camp it started...the roller coaster. Unknown at the time but for telling the rest of today, two things started happening. First, I heated up fast. A full sweat before 6:30 am is not a good sign. And that is especially true on a day expected to be hot. Second, the belt on my new pack, only a few days in use, started slipped. A feature is called on the fly adjustable. It works using velcro and that was not holding. As a result my pack was not staying on my hips where it best hlps me carry the load. Now more was on my shoulders. That would make for an even tougher day.Eventually, after several stops to work on it, I got the pack to stay on my hips pretty well. As for the heat that continued to rise as did the mountains we were climbing. About mid-point today we crossed the 1000 miles mark on the AT. The general location was marked with the stone sign shown here.One thing about this roller-coaster stretch is that the downhills are also tough...very rocky and slow going. It would be a long day even if on the short side in terms of time. Given the difficulty and how I felt, I seemed to be making ok time. But let me tell you I sure was wanting to get to the Bears Den Hostel and a shower, the first after 5 days, and the famous hiker special...a frozen pizza, pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a soda....not to mention laundry too. By the time I crossed the foot bridge 1/2 mile from the hostel I think I was seeing mirages of ice cream. The last half mile about did me in....others too. I ran out of water too. Later we learned the heat index was 105 degrees! No wonder I was feeling bad.On that last hill about halfway up, I was passed by a hiker I had met way back in Catawba on May 26. It was Corky, who is from Front Royal,VA a city we had recently passed. She had stopped home for a few days and that how she came to be here. And,she and her husband were the givers of the awesome trail magic I described on June 21. She is an awesome hiker. Known this year for hiking in crocs. Yes those plastic shoes most everyone else is using for camp/town shoes. In my suffering I asked Corky to holler when she got to the side trail leading to Bears Den. From there it was only .2 of a mile from the AT. Praise the Lord she yelled about 2 minutes later. Renergized, I sped up to get there. Bears Den is a first come first serve hostel. But it is large. The hostel had been a summer retreat house/mansion donated to the ATC. Made of stone it's impressive. Costs of staying is reasonable and it hold about 20 inside plus a lot of space for tenting. The cost includes the hiker special plus free laundry and shower. A really nice respite for me just two days from getting off the AT for 2015 in Harper's Ferry.One more shelter before Harper's.Blessings,
Date: 2015-06-24
From: Bears Den Hostel 

To: David Lessor Shelter 
Miles today: 11.2

The first order of business today was a pancake breakfast. It was the final part of the hiker special at Bears Den Hostel. Next was finishing off the remaining few ups and downs of the roller coaster. Rain and wind last night brought in cooler weather and that coupled with less steep and high hills will help. Because Bears Den is on the top of a mountain the first half mile was down.One of the best things happening today is that we leave the state of Virginia behind. Upon crossing the line which was marked with a sign, I arrived at a nice view. With good cell reception I sent my friend Dan Allen a picture and told him I was finally on his home turf.Even with the final part of the roller coaster today's trail was nice and relatively fast hiking. Our destination the David Lessor Shelter was very nice except for the fact water was .25 of a mile downhill from it. Most others that had been at Bears Den chose to press on further toward Harper's Ferry to a campsite. Bad Hat, Mr Magoo and me stayed here because regardless we would be in Harper's before noon tomorrow. Besides the three of us, four others stayed here. Two brothers our age hiking this section, a German and a guy named 4B. The two brothers were enjoyable. Very talkative and interesting in that they seemed to know way more about the AT than they really did....in my opinion. Near dark, Dirty Face, a young lady joined us old guys. She must have felt a bit odd not being the only woman, but being so much younger than her camp mates this night.I have a lot to do tomorrow in Harper's Ferry so that I can get out early Friday morning to Washington DC and then home. Anxious to get to bed, wake up early and get going. Early starts as you may recall is an advantage of using the shelters. Enjoyed my last trail meal tonight...Taco Mac. And tomorrow my food bag will be almost empty and light for the hike in to Harper's Ferry.Blessings,
Date: 2015-06-26
From: Harper's Ferry, WVA

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

I awoke at 4:30 am to catch the first commuter train into Washington, DC at 5:25. To meet the train required about a mile walk across town to the station. The ride in was fine except the seat I had to use because of my pack, gave me minimal view of passing towns, farms, etc. Once there I tried to store baggage with Amtrak but that office was closed for some reason. What to do?Previously, long before actually starting my hike last year, I had checked out the potential to rent a bike at Union Station. Now I headed to find that location. I was hoping I could maybe store my pack there while touring the Mall and monuments for a couple of hours. At that point I had almost 4 hours until my train left for Cincinnati. At the bike rental, I found a mechanic, Matt, there early getting bikes ready for the day. He was interested in my journey, but the bike rentals did not begin until 11am. And my that time I needed to be on the train! Upon hearing that Matt took it upon himself to go ahead and rent to me. What a nice gesture that I shall never forget.The Mall is a big place. It's probably 2 miles or more in length. DC is very bike and pedestrian friendly even with massive traffic too. In most places I could ride on sidewalks like most other cyclists were also doing. The two hours went by quick and only allowed time for quick pictures. My only stopping places were at the WWII and Korean War Memorials and at a farmers market in front of the US Dept of Agriculture building for a snack/late breakfast. This is most definitely a place to come back to with Cathy and more time to sight see.Back at Union Station it was a short wait before our train started loading. Thankfully I got a window seat for the 14 hour ride home. On the train I spent time updating this journal, reading, napping, seeing what I could of the countryside as we passed through. Delays on the way meant that I would arrive at least 2 hours late. And that was problematic in that our arrival time was very early in the morning. Originally, scheduled for 1:30 am this meant Cathy was staying up even longer in order to come get me.Well as this day ends, I'm at least on the way home.Blessings,
Date: 2015-06-30
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

I've been home now for two full days. The picture here is one taken by my friend, Lost and Found, as we approached McAfee Knob back in May. Since coming home life has slowly headed toward normal. Normal that is from spending almost 60 days hiking, eating and sleeping. Amazing how long it is taking me to recover. Just this morning have I begun to feel rested. Hopefully, most of the tired is from the long train ride home and almost 17 hours of sitting. I have been slowly cleaning gear and storing it away until my next adventure. And anxiously awaiting that to come along. Perhaps it will be a weekend hike on the Sheltowee with the Challenge Class of 2015.Blessings,
Date: 2016-04-30
From: Home

To: US 60/Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 0.0

On Sunday, May 8 I will catch the Amtrak Train and go to Staunton, VA. From there I will shuttle to Three Springs Hostel near Buena Vista to meet Ed "Lost and Found". For the next week I will hike north to Waynesboro, VA to make up this section I by-passed in 2015. Actually, I will be re-hiking the first 17 miles as I hiked that section, southbound last year as a slack pack.
Date: 2016-05-08
From: US 60/Buena Vista, VA

To: Staunton, VA/Three Springs Hostel 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well this morning my 2016 AT hiking journey began. First step was to get up and leave home for the train station at 2am. Goodbye this year with Cathy was much easier since I'll only be gone a week. Thanks to my friend Dave for taking me there at such an early hour. Amtrak is a nice way to go. It's cost effective, comfortable enough, and in this case I can make an easy connection with a shuttle in Staunton, VA for the ride to Three Springs Hostel where my hike will start tomorrow. Actually hiking will not start until Tuesday. Ed "Lost and Found" will not arrive here until tomorrow. He will resupply and we will get back to hiking on Tuesday morning.The Train arrived in Staunton almost one hour late. Cell service was non-existent on the in and I could not notify the good folks at Three Springs Hostel. No matter Marcia was there patiently waiting with her little Smart car to swoop me up and go the 50 miles to the hostel. What a nice old historic city I arrived in. I hope to have some time upon my return next Sunday to explore. Like all cities the Staunton train station is in the old part of town. It seems very compact and snuggled into this corner of the Shenandoah Valley.Upon arrival at Three Springs I met two other hikers I would be sharing the bunkroom with. Will from Alabama and Scout from Florida. Scout was very quiet and kept to himself, Will and I hit it off, started immediately. Will, who like Scout, is a thru hiker started his hike in early March, which he had to have to be at this point on the trail. Recently out of the service he embarked on this journey. Will is experiencing some foot issues and decided to join Ed and me in Buena Vista tomorrow. Three Springs is closed on Monday and Tuesday but still provides shuttle servce. So we pick Ed up and head down into town where we will camp at the Glenn Maury Park. At five bucks a night and free showers that sounds like a good deal.Blessings,
Date: 2016-05-09
From: Staunton, VA/Three Springs Hostel 

To: Buena Vista and Glenn Maury Park 
Miles today: 0.0

This morning we were blessed with another fine breakfast by Oma. Oma, I think, has this hostel business at a special level. Clean, very friendly and she is such a great person. Hugs upon arrival and exit too.Breakfast was: toasted bagel with choice of butter, cream cheese and jelly; homemade yogurt parfait with blueberries and cherries; scrambled eggs and cheese, and bacon. Plenty of portion to fill up any hungry hiker. My problem was that I'm not yet a hungry hiker. I did manage however to finish it.After breakfast Will and I packed up and relaxed while waiting for Ed's call. Around 10:30 he made contact and estimated he would make the trailhead about 12:30. Oma's plan was to leave at 12:15 to meet him there. Did that work out perfect? As son as we arrived, got the van turned back around in the right direction, there he was popping out of the forest. After the twelve mile drive to town, Oma showed us all the important locations on the way to Glenn Maury Park...restaurants, grocery and for Ed, the laundry mat. At the Park we discovered the office closed until 2, so Oma took back into town, about a half mile, to a barbecue restaurant that also just so happened to be very near the laundry mat. Covered outdoor picnic tables served as both our lunch spot and hangout where Will and I waited for Ed to do hid laundry.After getting back to the Park and checking in we had a huge choice of a red from which to choose a campsite. Glenn Maury is one fine park for such a small city. They even have RV spaces and there were even,a few there for the night. We chose a spot in the RV section away from the vehicles and with electric hookup for our spot. After moving a picnic table to it we were set. While pitching tents, two other hikers joined us, two brothers from New Brunswick, Canada. They were on a brutal schedule to complete their thru hike in the time they had available. The estimate was about 23 to 25 miles per day. Both were experiencing foot pain and taking in large portions of Vitamin I. They took off very early the next morning in pouring rain. They had to I guess to make the required miles.Once our tents were up it was back to town for dinner. Italian this time at a pretty good little place. The special included lasagna, a salad, bread sticks and a drink. Along with a glass of red wine an alright meal before hitting the AT tomorrow.Blessings,
Date: 2016-05-10
From: Buena Vista and Glenn Maury Park 

To: Unnamed Campsite 
Miles today: 10.2

This should not be news to folks following my journal. From town it's always a gap...a gap in the mountains. On the AT gaps mean you enter them going down and leave them by going up. And Up we did this day from the very start to the tune of 2000 feet. The rub is that last year I slack packed this piece and came down this heading south. The first 17 miles of this year's hike will be a repeat for me. Joining my friend Ed "Lost and Found" this year requires this do over. It will be worth it.It rained last night. It is never fun to awake after a rain to a wet tent and significantly more weight to carry. Now add that to the fact that today we start with a 2000 foot climb and you get..ugh! Fortunately, the Glenn Maury Park has large shelters near our campsite. We carry gear there first and then take down tent and hustle them there too. I spread my fly out on a picnic table and wipe off as much water as possible. Sometime today we will stop to hang these out to dry....if it stops raining.We hustle to get packed as we wait for our shuttle. Once at the trailhead the rain has stopped. Will hikes past us almost immediately as we say goodbye, Ed and I know it's unlikely we will see him again. Fine young man he is.The climb up was not all that bad just slow. At the summit we found a great place to dry tents, rest and enjoy the fact that the sun was making an appearance. A good breeze helped tremendously too. For the remainder of this day we continued on trail that I had covered last year going south. Our plan was to DIY camp near a spring some 10 plus miles into the day. Now finding that stream as dusk rapidly gained on us and also what appeared to be more rain was an issue. When finally found campsite options were not great but doable. Water supply was quite nice as the spring where we met it was flowing like a small stream and was sweet tasting and cold. One problem we had to overcome was the rain that began sputtering down and darkness as we pitched tents and cooked dinner. I slept great after my first night out. We did have some rain and would need to dry tents again tomorrow.Blessings,
Date: 2016-05-12
From: The Priest

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: moderate rain

We awoke and got going a bit later today as we would be hiking short and after finishing the climb up The Priest we would have a long downhill of about 3 miles. While downhills of such length are not easy, good time will be made.The morning arose looking great weather wise. Forecasts indicated late afternoon and evening rain. A short day would mean we might very well be in camp before it rained again. White, the odd hiker from the shelter passed our campsite heading south as hoped. His pack was enormous. And as anticipated he was hiking to the nearest road only. This was confirmed by young hikers who passed us later in the day and had not seen him. While a clear day, it was chilly. Starting with the remaining climb up The Priest was actually very nice as we warmed up and it was nice and easy. The downhill was a real pain. Keeping the ¢brakes¢ on for 3 miles really was hard on leg muscles. So much so that I welcomed the end and the start of the short first leg of the climb up Three Ridges to the shelter. As planned we arrived at the shelter early, before rain, and with plenty of time to recover from the first two days of hiking. At the shelter we met ¢Moose¢ stopping for a rest before heading on. Moose is the youngest hiker we¢ve ever met on the AT. At 16 years old he was very mature and trail wise. Obviously he had support of good parents. Moose had a goal of finishing the AT before he turns 16 on August 31. He had worked ahead in school to leave early enough to begin his hike and be here at this time. And if he did not finish before school starts he would be making up missed work. Ed and I guessed that he must be, would have to be, a very determined young man and probably one of the top students in his class. He actually told us of some trial and tribulations he had overcome on the trail and we both were super impressed with his maturity and even that he would share those with us. Of course, I¢m guessing we look more like grandfathers to him anyway and that probably made him even more comfortable with us. Both me and Ed will be watching his progress and looking for him on the list of AT finishers.Next to arrive was a rather remarkable young lady ¢Push¢. Push is an Argentine-Canadian currently living in Atlanta but who left a job to hike and decide on what her future might be. She seems very independent and resourceful. I mentioned that my cousin lives in Yellowknife, NWT and she has visited there and strongly encouraged me to make the trip. Hal I may need to do that. We and 4 other used the shelter that night as it rained, rained and rained some more. Thankfully, the shelter held the six of us quite nicely and we were not cramped for space. I slept good and was glad to not have to dry a tent on the long climb up Three Ridges tomorrow. Blessings,