morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-05-05
From: Atkins, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 87.6
Weather: few clouds

Rural Retreat was a great stop, we didn't plan to stop there but it was nice to relax and do laundry as well as resupply for a few more days. The food was really good as well, across the hostel there was a small dinner called the Country Kitchen, and they had really good home made type food. We stuffed ourself that evening before going to sleep. The next morning we got packed up ready to head back out, but before we got on the trail we stopped for breakfast where we ate so much again. Happy and full we got going to our next destination. The next few days were not all that eventfull, we were making about 15 miles a day keeping with our schedule. Some times the shelters are not always spread out the way we want to, it makes more sense to make a few miles more from time to time and stop somewhere of the trail instead of in the shelters. The only hard part is finding a site with a water source, and thats not always possible. One of the days we had to get of the trail to make it to the shelter and then go a long ways down a hill to the stream and get a few liters of water, make it up the hill and carry all the water with us a few miles down the trail. If we can help it we try not to do that too often as it wastes time and carrying heavy water is not too fun either. Before getting in to Pearisburg we decided to make a few more miles the last two days and make it a day earlier. We did a 21 mile day two days before and 16.5 the day getting into town. But at least we had better terrain, so the longer miles were not that bad. Our feet still hurt a lot, but there is nothing we can do about that. We also found out that on the day we get to towns we can walk a lot faster since we are motivated to get there and relax. Our main motivation this time was Chineese food, the first time we could get it since we started. It was a buffet and we got our fill of all the food we wanted, I could barely walk when we left the place. We sat down with about 4 other hikers, and am sure the owners were not too happy to watch us destroy the buffet, we just saw them coming out every few minutes adding more food. And this morning we got packed up and went to get some breakfast, and got lucky as they have computers here as well and we didn't have to walk to the library. Once we are done its the post office to get our summer clothing and to send most of our warm clothing back and then something to eat on the way out of town. Today is going to be an easy 7-9 miles depending what time we finally get going and how hard the uphill from town will end up being.
Date: 2008-05-13
From: Daleville VA

To: Glasgow, VA
Miles today: 56.7
Weather: clear sky

We actually got to stop in a town a bit sooner than we thought we would. Got to Glasgow VA today just before it started to rain. The reason we stopped in here is to talk to a doctor to see what could be the reason Karen¢s toe hurts. She has been walking with pain in her toe for about three weeks now hoping it would go away but it has not. It looks very small and insignificant but it¢s causing her a lot of pain and discomfort. Hopefully it won¢t be anything serious and we can continue, if not this might be one of the last journal entries this year. Since leaving Daleville the terrain has been a bit more challenging again, a lot of hills all day long. But it has also been very beautiful once you get up to the ridge, some of the views are breath-taking. The first few hours out of town have been extremely windy and with so many tornadoes in the region I was thinking we just might see one, especially when I heard the warning sirens in the distance. But I think it was only a test. The second night out we camped by a river and all the people we have been walking with are at the same spot. It was a great night, with a fire and cooking the kielbasa we bought in town. Everyone was drooling over it when I was cooking it over the fire. Let me tell you it tasted great. First thing the next morning we had a great 3000 foot climb to deal with, and actually with all the up and down it was more like 4500 feet I would say. But the day ended in a way we would have never thought. One of the guys had a friend of his come out to meet him, he had lots of beer and three slabs of ribs for everyone. It was a wonderful end to a hard days of walking. Now we are in town, using the library¢s internet. Earlier we had some of the best burgers I have ever tasted along with a bucket of cheese bacon fries, with the largest amount of cheese on fries ever. The time is running out, the library is closing, so I will finish here. I have updated a few pictures so take a look, and we will write more from Waynesboro if everything goes well at the doctors. Take care.
Date: 2008-05-22
From: Glasgow, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 77.1
Weather: broken clouds

Karen gets to keep her toe and we don't have to stop hiking yet, she might have been hoping to have it amputated but no luck. The doctor was really nice, she took her time to look at the toe and fix the problem and give us advice on how to treat it, they didn't even charge us for the visit. The short stay in Glasgow was good, it wasn't the best of places to stay but we had everything we needed. We resupplied and headed out towards the trail in the early afternoon, we got a ride since its a long way away from town.Our first night we spent next to a frog filled pond, they were making a lot of noise for most of the night. But not as much noise as the group that came in after dark. It was a bunch of younger kids and their guardians, and being quiet was not something they did. They did go to sleep at a resonable time at least, in time to wake up at 6 in the morning and start making more noise. Lets just say we were not too pleased about it. Our next day was really great as we ended up receiving trail majic three times, and meeting some very nice people as well. A couple who completed the AT in 87' gave us some carrot cake and talked to us about the trail for about an hour, providing us with some advice and telling us about their hike. As we got closer to town we decided to walk a few more miles the last two days and get to town in the evening. When we decided to go a few more miles before finding a tent site the plan was to walk for about an hour or so, we ended up walking for two and a half instead as the trail was on a very steep hill side and there was no place to tent anywhere. As the sun was going down we found a side trail to a view point where there was just enough flat ground to set up the tent. The last morning before getting into town started with lots of rain and very foggy conditions, as we got closer the weather improved and it got warmer. It was good enough to take the picture attached to this entry. We got to the road about 1615 that day and didnt even have to try to get a ride, a nice gentelman stopped for us and gave us a ride, his son finished the AT a few years back and he was more than willing to help out. The town of Waynesboro has been really great, we had our fill of really good food, stopped at the outfitter where I picked up a summer sleeping bag and got our grocery shopping all done. We are also staying at a wonderful church hostel that has everything a tired hiker may need. The volunteers go out of their way to make our stay here a great experiance. We are almost out of here, last few things to due before we head out of town and head toward our next stop, Front Royal VA. Take care everyone.
Date: 2008-06-01
From: Front Royal, VA

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 53.9
Weather: scattered clouds

So we've made it here - the unofficial AT mid-point... 1,011 miles covered! another 77 miles or so to the actual mid-point in Pennsylvania..Stopping here at the AT HQ for a quick break, pic taken to record in their files, stormed the hiker-box, and just wasted some time.. time to move on very soon as we're not stopping in this town - just a quick light re-supply and check the outfitters out, and off we go back to the trail.Nothing much to report really since we left Front Royal.. Went through the so-dubbed "Roller Coaster" which is a 13.5-mile of constant ascents and descents.. split it in half between Friday and yesterday.. Not so sure what the fuss was all about to be honest - the AT has pretty much been a whole roller-coaster to me (of course it's Melon writing here.. for a change). What made yesterday interesting was the thunderstorm we got caught in.. got us totally soaked to the bone; bad enough to be walking in streams uphill, which left us with no one piece of dry clothing on us (luckily it wasn't cold); and which eventually also made us decide to stop at the Blackburn's AT Center, which was so so worth it! free dinner there was amazing, as well as the caretakers (Tina you're a sweetheart, it was so nice talking to you!).One thing I'm not very happy about is the abundance of black snakes in the area - and by abundance I mean 4, which is more than enough really, especially when I notice them right next to my foot when I'm walking by lost in thought. And they're no small snakes.OK, breaking news is that we were very close to actually quitting here in Harpers Ferry.. might have the time to write more another time with some more explanation; let's say that Lukasz is enjoying this trip much more than me.. And I on the other hand, think I should move on some more, keep on going for another while (again); we'll take it one week at a time and see how far we'll get to!Take care everyone, and thanks to you all for the messages, we miss you all xxx
Date: 2008-06-02
From: Harpers Ferry Hostel, MD

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA
Miles today: 77.4
Weather: clear sky

The last few days since we have left the Harpers Ferry Hostel have been extremely humid, except for one day when it downed poured for a few hours while we were walking. The result of all the moisture is us smelling really, really bad. We could not wait to get to the Ironmasters Mansion Hostel (it is a historic building that was used as part of the underground railroad back in slavery days, we took a tour of hidden rooms under the house) at the state park and clean up and due laundry as well. We have also walked over the actual half-way point, 1088 miles done. In the last week we have finished Virginia (finally), West Virginia (a few short miles of it), and Maryland. Now we are in Pennsylvania and should take us about two weeks to get it done. The state park being just after the official half-way point has a famous half-gallon ice cream challenge. If you want to you can try to eat a half-gallon of ice cream at one sitting. I tried, got some peanut butter swirl ice cream and proceeded to eat it, got through about 3/4 of it and I called it quits. Its a lot of ice cream and I started to get a nauseating feeling from all the sugar. Karen finished the rest of it for me. There is a picture of one guy that finished one gallon of ice cream in 48 minutes, I have no idea how that is possible but he did it. We were also looking forward to getting here since we killed my digital camera in the last thunderstorm. We haven't been able to take any pictures for about a week now, and there have been some really nice views, historical sites and really impressive shelters to take pictures of. The other reason was to get new shoes, mine started to fall apart, and I had to call the company and have them replaced under the warranty. Hopefully they will last a bit longer than three weeks this time. Besides the humidity, the mosquitoes and flies are out looking for blood, mostly Karen's as they don't seem to bite me too much. Karen got about 70 bites in the last week or so, we are dousing her with deet to keep at least some of them off.We are going to be leaving in a few minutes, its already very hot and humid outside and the next few days are looking just as bad. Take care everyone.
Date: 2008-06-10
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park, PA

To: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA.
Miles today: 45.1
Weather: few clouds

The last three days have been absolutely scorching hot, and the humidity has been very high as well, making our walk a sweaty mess. We left Ironmaster's Mansion a bit late and made 15 miles to the shelter late in the evening. It was going smooth for a while but the last few miles we were scrambling over boulders and huge rock, it only slowed us down and made the day a lot longer. The nights have been hot as well and we don't even use the sleeping bags, just lay on top of our mattresses and wait for the night to cool off. Our second day was hot as well but the good part was walking on very flat ground through the valley, mostly through farming fields. we did have shade for most of the day as the path follows the edge of the fields where there were lots of trees providing us the needed shade. Otherwise we would not make the long 18 miles we did that day and most likely end up with heat stroke. Yesterday we had a shorter day and only had 11 miles to walk into Dunncannon, where we stayed over night at the Doyle Hotel. Not much of a hotel but the food at the bar downstairs was great and the few beers we had were cheap and cold. We are ready to move on today, a shorter day since we are leaving so late and the weather is still very hot. The good news is that its going to rain hard tonight and we are looking forward to that as long as we are in the shelter before it all starts. the heat wave we have been experiencing should be over today, at least we hope it will be. Our next stop is Port Clinton and we should be there by Friday as long as the trail does not get too rocky.
Date: 2008-06-23
From: Doyle Hotel, Duncannon, PA.

To: Port Clinton, PA
Miles today: 69.9
Weather: scattered clouds

It has been a while since we have been able to get to a computer, I'll split up the last two weeks into the stops we took along the trail. After leaving Duncannon we still had one more day left in the heat wave that was making the entire east coast miserable and humid. But the stay was nice and the Doyle Hotel had really good food and cheap beer, but the cheap rooms did not have air conditioning which we really needed that night. We left hoping that it would rain that night to cool things off but the rain never came and the night stayed humid and warm. We finally received some trail magic, it has been a very long time, but as we crossed a bridge there was cold drinks and snacks waiting for us. We continued down the trail and as we got to the next shelter they were the same guys with more trail magic waiting for us. It was great, twice in a row. We stayed at the 501 shelter that night, and were able to order some food as well since its so close the the road. Hot subs never tasted so good. At the next shelter we met up with a lot thru hikers, I think it was about 8 of us. It has been a really long time since we have seen so many people at one spot. Our next day brought us into Port Clinton, where some prior hikers had a feast for us. We were all treated to slow cooked ribs, burgers, all kinds of drinks and home made pastries. It was absolutely amazing, they even shuttled us to the next town so we could resupply at the grocery store. We also got to walk to the river running through town and went for a quick swim to cool off. And at the end of the evening we got some live music from a couple guys working around the area. It was one of the nicest evening we had on the trail so far.
Date: 2008-06-23
From: Port Clinton, PA

To: Palmerton, PA
Miles today: 40.3

It was hard leaving after such a great day in Port Clinton, but we have no choice and pushed on. Pennsylvania is also becoming very, very rocky, just like every one says it would. It is slowing us down considerably, especially when we have to go over huge boulders, jumping from one to the other, sometimes continuing for hundreds of yards. And in between there are smaller rock not making it any easier for us either. We didn't go very far this time, we only had 40 miles to go before we headed into town, we needed a shower and a few food items before we got back on the trail again. In Palmerton, the local police runs a jail house hostel, it would have been fun to stay in the jail but it was only a municipal building with a few bunks in the basement. But it was still nice and hot showers were available for us to use. And a few good meals helped us as well, we have plenty of rock to go over before we get out of Pennsylvania.
Date: 2008-06-24
From: Palmerton, PA

To: Delaware Water Gap, Pa
Miles today: 36.0
Weather: few clouds

Another short section, the climb out of Palmerton was very interesting, it was a huge pile of rocks all the way up to the top, and no vegetation as it was an old site for zinc smelting that killed all the trees on the hill side. It looked like a wasteland, even when we got to the top of the mountain. We will post some pictures when am not using a computer with dial-up connection. A few days later and were finally done with Pennsylvania. The last few days have been miserable with the rock, but we were determined to get over them and be done with this state. We got to Delaware Water Gap well into the evening as we did a 20 mile day to get here. But once again it was well worth the effort to get to the church hostel. We dropped our stuff at the hostel and walked down the street to get something to eat. A nice large stromboli and a beer was just what we needed, even with our hiker appetite we could not finish it and had it the next day. We rapped up the night at a hotel where in the bar room they had trivia night. The hikers grouped together but at the end of it we did not win, actually we came in last. We also decide to take a complete zero day at the hostel to recover from the PA rock and get some energy back before continuing on. We did nothing but relax and eat on our day off. Started with a huge breakfast at the local dinner, had lunch at the bakery, hot-dogs and cheese cake. And the best meal was the dinner as the town community makes a dinner for hikers on Thursdays. We were treated to about 15 different dishes and about 8 different deserts. It was absolutely amazing, and when I was done I could barely walk.
Date: 2008-06-27
From: Delaware Water Gap, Pa

To: Vernon, NJ
Miles today: 63.3

It was hard leaving Delaware Water Gap, after a zero day and some amazing food walking was the last thing on our mind. But we pushed on, at least we were done with Pennsylvania now, our 8th state. We crossed the bridge into New Jersey, also know as the most bear populated state on the AT. From what I heard there is something like one bear per square mile of forest, which makes it a lot of bears. And imagine that we saw two of them our first day in NJ. Actually I saw both of them and Karen did not. The first one was on the trail we were walking. Karen was in front of me and as I looked up ahead I saw a huge bear head looking at me down the trail. I told Karen to stop, I think I scared her more then the bear would. I wanted to give the bear some time to run away before we moved on. If I didn't look up at the time we would have came up on it quite close. It was getting late in the evening and we started to look for a place to camp, the weather was brewing a thunderstorm anyways. We did find a nice place overlooking the valley and lake bellow and set up camp in time for the rain to start. As we settled in for the night we heard twigs braking and some grunting noises outside the tent. After trying to figure out what it was I ventured outside the protection of our tent just in time to see a bear butt walking away from the tent. It walked within about 20 feet of us, I guess we did not smell appetizing enough for a closer look. The terrain in NJ is not the easiest and the rocks have not let up completely either. Over all I enjoyed NJ, its a lot better looking then what I drove through on I-95. I also saw the third bear in NJ, and this time took a picture of it to prove am not making it all up. Once it saw me I made some noise and it took off running like I was the plague. Its kind of funny that big bears are so afraid of people, but I think thats better for us anyways. Our last day before getting into Vernon was about 13 miles long. We got to the road and within a few minutes got picked up. We noticed that the people who pick up hikers are usually hikers them self or know someone who has hiked on the AT. We stopped at a church hostel, it was a really nice place with all the things we need at one place. Food as always was on our mind, we got lunch at Burger King, and after all this time it tasted amazing. Then the local supermarket for food resupply and back to the hostel. For dinner we decide to just buy some food from the market deli. A little variety is a lot better than restaurants and fast food places. Plus some fresh pasta and vegetables never hurt either.
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Vernon, NJ

To: Southfields, NY
Miles today: 32.5

So off we go again, facing our 100th day on the trail.. which doesn't feel like it in a way - time surely has been flying here. Catching a ride back to the trail head was not the easiest this morning, but did have a nice lady pulling over with a nice smile, on her way to work.Coming out of another town we couldn't expect anything else but another big hill to climb, which wasn't bad enough, because this time we had to face yet another thunder-storm, right (of course) when we were exactly on top of the mountain. And let me say that this one was the worst one we've watched going right over us, to the point we actually had to stop hiking and give it time to go by as we were in such a vulnerable situation right there and it would have been too dangerous to ignore. Luckily though it didn't last for longer than 15 minutes so then we could resume our walk. We surely have had our share of thunder storms on the trail, and it doesn't look like it's gonna change soon.Right before we got to the shelter we hit this Bellvale Farms Creamery where we could indulge ourselves into a nice ice cream each. Not too bad of an ending to New Jersey afterall.The next day New York welcomed us with some of the rockiest climbs ever, so the terrain here is very similar to New Jersey except for the top of the mountains need more effort to climb. As we continued Karen's feet kept getting worse and worse (which has been coming for days or weeks now), thus decided to lay off the rocky trail and instead walk on the road for a while, which took us to Tiorati Circle. This is where we had been looking forward to a refreshing swim in the lake, but just as we got there it was only 20 minutes before they closed the beach, which just about gave us time to buy an ice cream and eat it there.As we sat there we had to decide upon what our next step should be.. what was sure is that by then we had just decided to leave the trail, whether it's here or the next town coming up. Tried to make phonecalls but payphones were down, there was no cellphone service, and the end of the day was coming up fast. An opportunity just presented itself to us - two hikers were being picked up right from there, and the driver offered us a ride to the nearby town's motel, which is when our decision was made - This was our last day on the trail, and tomorrow morning we'll set off for our way back home. Our intentions are to maybe get back on the trail for a few weeks this year and finish the rest by section hiking.
Date: 2007-10-08
To: Why Hike
Miles today: 0.0

Every one asks and every journal contains an entry explaining why people want to hike the trail. Everyone says things about personal discovery and taking some time out of their lives to do some thinking and needing a change. I agree completely. You might as well do it while you have the chance and I currently have the chance. I need the time to make some decisions and seems like an appropriate place and activity to do some reflecting on the past and look into the future. Plus I just love backpacking and it beats the hell out of a job