morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-07
From: Amicalola Falls Parking Lot

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We finally hit the trail at 5, going southbound from the forest service road parking lot to the Springer Mountain shelter area. We're tenting tonight, and we'll head a few more steps south to hit the terminus and turn around and go back through and beyond the parking lot to get to the next shelter.
Date: 2009-03-08
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountain Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We had a long day of walking today - 7.8 miles. Lots of ridges, a few graduals and a few killer ups and downs. Tomorrow may be worse. We're staying at Hawk Mountain Shelter tonight, near Suches, GA. Lots of awesome people here -Blake, Birdman, Tuna, Kris and Madison, Hope and Michael, and Jeffrey and Wounded Knees, to name a few.
Date: 2009-03-10
From: Gooch Mountain

To: Jerrard's Mountain
Miles today: 11.0

We did major miles today, 11 miles! We certainly found our limit, as we were totally drained by the time we got to camp. Jerrard's Mountain was a toughy, but we wanted it out of the agenda for tomorrow: Blood Mountain. Blood is the Georgia's highest point and is notorius for being a tough climb. We broke our all-time mileage mark today, 25.7 miles in three days. Our trip to Hocking Hills was 18 miles in 3 days... Major improvement!
Date: 2009-03-13
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: overcast clouds

First of all, the bunkhouse at Neels Gap was tremendous fun! From there, we hiked 10.8 miles to Low Gap and stayed in the shelter. All of our friends rolled in after dark and we all enjoyed a fire built by Papa Jack. He's a great guy, carrying too much stuff! Seems like everything he carries is either LL Bean or US ARMY. You see all kinds of gear out here!
Date: 2009-03-15
From: Low Gap

To: Hiawassee Inn
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

After a long day yesterday (13.4 miles, breaking 50 and 60 mi barrier), we camped out at Addis Gap, two miles from the Deep Gap shelter. We passed by Tray mountain, it was Boy Scouts galore and a bad weather scene; high elevation, high winds, high moisture. Camping at Addis Gap was a good move, but hasty tent set-up lead to wet gear, which is hard to fix.We pushed knowing we'd be in Hiawassee tonight, so we are in the process of drying out at the Hiawasee Inn. This is a great place; great people, fair value, and great Mexican food available down the road!
Date: 2009-03-22
From: Franklin, NC

To: Wayah Bald
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

Hey everyone! Updating from our smartphone has proven to be harder than we thought, so we've got some awesome family members that are working on transferring our journals from www.mikeandrox.com onto this site for your reading pleasure! Hang tight, we'll have it updated asap.The trip has been great so far. We're at mile 107 and finishing up our first full zero day. We're at Ron Haven's Budget Inn in Franklin, NC and loving it! Franklin is a great trail town with lots of great people. Ron Haven and Miss Janet are taking great care of us and we really appreciate it. We leave tomorrow for Wayah Bald and then into the NOC and on to the Smokies - the miles are tough but the days fly by. Meeting lots of great folks on the trail too, Ziggy Stardust and Thin Mint, Cajun Dave, Wiked Wahini, Almond Joy, Pecan, the Mad Kiwis, Loki, Red Rocket, McBride and Phoenix. Can;t wait to meet more!
Date: 2009-03-23
From: Wayah Bald

To: Fontanna Dam
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's been wet and hilly around here! Like I said earlier, the rain has arrived, and in this part of NC, the fog rolls in and stays! We've had some crazy climbs, followed by an occasional downhill, just so we can go up again! There's been a lot of rocks and roots as well, which has made things tricky, especially with the wet terrain.Yesterday was only a 7 mile hike from the NOC, but it was straight up! That evening, we crammed 17 people into a 14 person shelter with gusting rain. Today, we did 10 miles, going uphill in the rain from the start! The rain finally backed off and we rode a ridgeline for a bit, then into a gap and the back up another hill that had about 6 false summits. False summits are when you are sure you're at the top of the climb, but the last step reveals that you have another climb a few yards away. It's a miserable feeling!
Date: 2009-04-01
From: Rocky Top

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We're moving right along through the Smokies. Had a hard time getting emails out for the first few days, so that Spence Field post was actually from Monday. Since then, we climbed Rocky Top, hiked a 15 mile day that took us up over (and around) Clingman's Dome, and today was a quick 8 miler that took us through Newfound Gap.Newfound was an interesting experience because three years ago, we stopped as tourists to look at hikers. Today, we were able to people watch as thru-hikers. With the Trail cutting right across the parking lot, we heard all kinds of comments about the AT. There was a sign that said Maine was 2000 miles away, to which one girl said 'who'd ever want do do that?. A couple of people approached us and asked about our experience thus far, so that was neat. Most their distance - I don't blame them, we stink!
Date: 2009-04-03
From: Newfound Gap

To: Hartford, TN (Standing Bear Farm)
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

Right now we are at Standing Bear Farm in Hartford, TN. We rolled in at 6PM and we're trying to get packed up for a 7 mile day this afternoon.Standing Bear is great - very rustic. The laundry facility is a washboard and a wringer!
Date: 2009-05-29
From: Hartford, TN (Standing Bear Farm)

To: Newport Rd, Catawba VA
Miles today: 577.9

We're going to try something new with our trailjournals.. Updating it! I'm going to try to keep a tiny journal through the week of what we've done concerning miles and terrain, and then update TrailJournals weekly, maybe with some help from family. TrailJournals stacks miles up from each post to calculate the trip miles, so this is a a placeholder for now - we're now at mile 692.9! Hang in there; we should be able to make this work!
Date: 2009-05-30
From: Newport Rd 

To: Johns Spring Shelter
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Worn out after 8 days off, no big hills today, just a lot of medium ones! We hiked past 8PM today - a first! Got into shelter area at 8:40, saw it was full and set up camp. Almond Joy is the only familiar face here. Sadly, he has to press huge days for two weeks solid to meet a friend in Washington DC. Tomorrow may be our last day with him. It's supposed to rain tonight and I hear thunder in the distance, may be an interesting night in the tent!
Date: 2009-05-31
From: Johns Spring Shelter

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was pretty wet and wild! Fortunately, we SeamSealed our Tarptent at Trail Days and had a dry morning because of it!Had a fabulous view from McAfee's knob today, even better from the other side of the valley at Tinker Cliffs. All in all, it was a beautiful day to hike.A large family hiked up to the Knob to scatter their grandfathers ashes, we thought that was a pretty cool tribute and were glad to be up to see it. Tinker Cliffs were certainly a treat but the way up was a rude awakening to the fact that we hadn't hiked in so long. I had a rib cramp just about all day, made worse by the inclines.Almond Joy is in Daleville tonight, or camped outside of it. We said goodbye this morning and plan to see him at some point after the trail. We met Crickee and Doc (not D.O.C.) this morning at the shelter, Fidget (a new one) is with us at the shelter tonight, as are Craig and Mike (Section hikers from Richmond, VA). We've counted seven deer around the shelter tonight, as well! Daleville tomorrow!
Date: 2009-06-01
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville,VA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

The bugs ate us alive last night! Got an early start, hitting the trail at 7:45. Kept a good pace through Hay Rock and Tinker Ridge, then had some difficulty with Top Shelf's feet towards the end.Had planned on walking into Daleville to resupply, then walk out and keep on to the next shelter. That was the plan until SnakeSkin, a south-bounder told us about a Mexican place with incredible mango margaritas.. Seems like the cure to foot pain, right?
Date: 2009-06-02
From: Daleville,VA

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: few clouds

To 'make up' for stopping early yesterday, we hit the trail hard today, tackling big miles and crossing the 1/3 mark. We made it to Fulhardt Knob at noon for a snack, skipped the 'last rainwater cistern on the trail' deal and caught water at Curry Creek.We made it to Wilson Creek Shelter at 4 for a hot lunch of Enertia Red Beans and Rice and picked back up at 5 to walk the Blue Ridge Parkway; watching the sun go down over the mountains as we climbed down to Bobblets Gap Shelter for the night as it got dark.
Date: 2009-06-03
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: clear sky

June 3 Bobblets Gap Shelter to Bryant Ridge Shelter 13.3 miles staying in shelterIt was hot today! And humid! We were first out of the shelter this morning and had the benefit of seeing all kinds of wildlife before the trail was disturbed by hikers. Stopped at Jennings Creek for lunch - ham and cheese with pita, and a soak in the creek. Left to the sound of thunder in the distance, but no rain until a few hours later at the shelter. Decided we had sweatted enough today, will tackle Floyd Mountain first thing in the morning.Pad Thai for dinner, the other hikers were envious!
Date: 2009-06-08
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: few clouds

Got trail magic (sodas and conversation) from Stooge who was slackpacking Nannygoat and Mofo. Also hiked with Nanique and Solar System. Climbed up Spy Rock and down The Priest (3000 feet down over 5 miles). Very hot and humid, but no rain!
Date: 2009-06-09
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Paul C Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Hot and Humid, rain in the AM, very threatening thunderstorms from noon on Humpback Mountain to falling asleep under flashes of lightning at the shelter - but no rain!Appalachian Pages were quite off about elevation coming into shelter, quite a few 'surprise' up's. Can't blame them too much, but makes for a long end of the day!
Date: 2009-06-10
From: Paul C Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up and hiked an easy 5 to Blue Ridge Pkwy Mile 0. The trail was pelted with hail the night before, thankfully it avoided us! Got a ride from a Trail Angel from the Visitor Center to Rockfish Gap Outfitters, then from Aiden (a customer) to Ming's for Chinese Buffet!Lots of friendly people in W'boro - might be friendlier than Damascus! Stayed at Grace Evangelical Methodist Hostel, had a beautiful supper prepared by their volunteers - great low-key, relaxing hostel.
Date: 2009-06-11
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Calf Mountain Hut
Miles today: 7.0

Quick and easy hike into Shenendoah Nat'l Park for first hut. Saw our first bear within 5 minutes of getting on trail in SNP! Only saw the little guy's butt as he took off through the woods. Also saw several deer; a mother with her tiny little foal (baby, correct?). Smallest deer I've ever seen!Rained as soon as we finished dinner. My watch barometer says it'll rain for a while!
Date: 2009-06-12
From: Calf Mountain Hut

To: Loft Mountain Campground
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Saw one bear in the AM, then another around noon - bear count at 3! Pushed 20 hard miles in the rain to get to the campground. Tent sites cost 14 bucks a night, but we ran into a mom and two daughters who were section hiking and offered to let us be the second tent on their site. Also ran into Kyle from the Snowden/Tye River camping episode, great night! Turtle, Jazz Man, Matt and Jaybird were also on the grounds.
Date: 2009-06-13
From: Loft Mountain Campground

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Made it to the shelter with only sprinkles all day, humidity was down a little, but still pretty bad. Lots of sectioners in the park, several tented outside of the hut. Slow miles, wanted to make it past Swift Run Gap to visit with Greg from Snowden, but the heat was brutal!
Date: 2009-06-14
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Pushed hard and fast over moderate to easy terrain - a day to be proud of, nonetheless! Ate lunch at Lewis Mountain Campground - hard to make a decent lunch with what they offer, but had a great Black Cherry Soda from IBC. Saw two cubs just before campground, bear count at 5.Ate dinner at Big Meadows Wayside, then met Matt from DC for relax time at the lodge. Stealth camped and woke up to have pancakes at the lodge in the morning!
Date: 2009-06-15
From: Big Meadows Campground

To: Byrd's Nest #3
Miles today: 14.6

Late lunch at the beautiful Skyland Restaurant with dessert! Made great miles today hiking with Matt from DC. Talked about high school reunions and family stuff, passed the time quickly and helped cheer him up/ignore his leg pain. Met Tapeworm and the two of them hiked 4 miles after we stopped. Had great views of the valley today; no rain!
Date: 2009-06-16
From: Byrd's Nest #3

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: light rain

Fast miles today! Missed a view from Mary's Rock because of clouds, then walked like mad to Elkwallow for lunch, riding the tail end of a rain storm for half of it. Had a 3.5 hour lunch, relaxing with Tapeworm and Matt from DC, who waited for us to get there. No refills allowed for health code - really?Saw a bear run across the street while we ate lunch on the patio. Shortly after leaving the wayside, we saw 3 cubs scamper down a tree, then looked back to find that mom was only 15 yds from the trail and we walked right past her. Observed for a while as the cubs climbed up and down trees, mom wasn't worried about us at all, just stayed between us and the cubs then escorted them away.Finished up the day under ominous clouds and cool breezes. Built a fire with Matt and Tapeworm; talked Peace Corps with Fishman and Elise from Alaska. Easy miles again, wish it could last forever!Bear Count: 10
Date: 2009-06-17
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 9.6

Had a great fire at the shelter last night, thanks to Matt From DC and Tapeworm. Brisk walk to hostel in the rain, but all was better when we got there and Mike, the Grateful Greenpeace Guy, showed us where the showers, laundry and coke cooler was!
Date: 2009-06-18
From: Terrapin Station Hostel

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The hostel was awesome - the airbed was sooo comfortable! Found a great pace to get us into the shelter at 3 miles per hour - very happy with that. The shelter was a really neat geodesic dome that slept 4; a bit impractical, but neat! Passed Jim and Molly Denton Shelter; that place was nice!
Date: 2009-06-19
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bear's Den Hostel
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Long, long day over the Roller Coaster, a 13 mile stretch that goes up and down steeply without any views - it was horrible, but character building. I thought we'd never get up over the last three hills, but we did and Bear's Den was amazing!
Date: 2009-06-20
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Harper's Ferry, WV
Miles today: 19.7

Walked to Harpers, then shuttled back to Blackburn. Really rough walk out of Bear's Den, maybe because I wanted to stay and eat Ben and Jerry's all day. The last bit wasn't so bad, but took forever! We stopped at the Blackburn Center to drop off our stuff so that we could walk to Harpers Ferry with just water and snacks, then catch a ride back. That worked well, as it was our third consecutive 18+ mile day. We caught the shuttle back to Blackburn from Harpers and had a a great stay there after an amazing spaghetti dinner on the front porch!
Date: 2009-06-22
From: Knight's Inn Harper's Ferry

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: few clouds

Got a late start out of town after finishing up errands and hanging out at the ATC. Something didn't agree with me and I'm having intestinal issues now; I'm a little concerned, but hiking on. Met a cool group from Camp Aetna who are out hiking for the first time - very cool.
Date: 2009-06-23
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: few clouds

The illness really got ugly today, not sure what's going on - no fun. Ed Garvey's privy was closed and the rocks in Maryland make digging a hole pretty tough - made for a pretty nasty day on the trail.Also, I found out that I had a blister under a callous that popped under my little toe on my left foot. As a result, the skin that covered the bottom of that toe completely peeled back, exposing raw skin - not pretty!! I cut the dead skin off and rubbed hand sanitizer on it (OUCH) and I'll have to figure out how to deal with it until it heals. Not looking forward to that!Once we got settled into the shelter, we were awakened by a screaming Phoenix who had been bitten by a raccoon. Top Shelf tells the story best on our blog, so you should just read it there - www.mikeandrox.com.
Date: 2009-06-24
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Days Inn Waynesboro
Miles today: 18.1

The last section of Maryland was pretty tough! I'd hate to climb rocks for the last miles of the four state challenge, but whatever floats your boat! Top Shelf started feeling ill for the last part of the day, so we decided to go into town, resupply and get medicine and showers to help get over the bug. Hard hitch, but we got one from a nice lady named Holly and then used a taxi to get from Wal-mart to the hotel and back to the trail.
Date: 2009-06-27
From: Tom's Run Shelter

To: Alec Kennedy Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Gezza took on the half-gallon challenge today and won! Cherries Jubilee gone in 58 minutes! We passed the actual 2009 half-way point, the celebretory half way point of Pine Grove Furnace State Park and the Totam Pole monument that a thru-hiker installed several years ago. It's all surreal--I can't believe we've walked so far!
Date: 2009-06-29
From: Darlington Shelter

To: Duncannon, PA (Doyle Hotel)
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Made the rocky descent into Duncannon and walked into the beloved hotel around lunch time. Shared a room with Lunchbox and Limenade, met Swifty downstairs for drinks later that night and topped the night off with a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Yum.
Date: 2009-07-01
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Another low motivation day, but the afternnon showers motivated us to pick up the pace to get to an old shelter built on what looked to be an old mining operation. Passed through the ruins of Yellow Springs, a charcoal producing village from the 1800s. There's not much there today and it's rather creepy!
Date: 2009-07-02
From: Rausch Gap Shelter

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: broken clouds

The motivation today was PIZZA! We pushed through two miles of poison ivy and several boulder fields to get into 501 to place our order for wonderful, glorious pizza! We also saw four copperheads today. We wrote more about it in our blog, so be sure to check that out at www.mikeandrox.com.
Date: 2009-07-04
From: Eagle's Nest Shelter

To: Port Clinton (Microtel Hamburg)
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Walked into town to be greeted by an incredible hiker feed! Decided to get a room in Hamburg and make the next day a zero - great decision!Matt from DC, Lunchbox and C-Bass in one room; Me, Top Shelf and Swift in another.
Date: 2009-07-05
From: Port Clinton (Microtel Hamburg)

To: Port Clinton (Microtel/Hamburg)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We somehow managed to convince everyone but Matt from DC to zero, and we all piled into one room! Checked out Cabela's across the street, then saw 'The Hangover' in an old one screen theatre in Historic Hamburg. Great Zero!
Date: 2009-07-08
From: Allentown Shelter

To: Palmerton, PA (Jailhouse Hostel)
Miles today: 17.7

The beckoning call of the Jailhouse Hostel pulled us out of the shelter and on the trail at 6:15! It took us for-freaking-ever to get in, but we did it! We were able to get a hitch extremely easy and arrived around 5. Plenty of time left to do laundry, resupply and eat Chinese!
Date: 2009-07-09
From: Palmerton, PA (Jailhouse Hostel)

To: Stempa Spring Campsite
Miles today: 11.7

Had a wonderful breakfast at the local 50's diner; then took on Lehigh Gap. The 1000-foot-high stack of boulders was pretty scary, but fun at the same time. It took us two and half hours to do our first four miles and we never really hit top speed. Water was scarce today--we had to take a .6 mi side trail 400 ft down to get water! When we got back up to the trail, C-bass and Swift were tented 4 miles from where we intended to stay, but the water was such a big ordeal that we crowded in with them on a small campsite and called it a night.
Date: 2009-07-10
From: Stempa Spring Campsite

To: Kirkridge Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

Pretty big day today, but it felt great! We hit Wind Gap as our midway point and stepped off the trail .1 mi to the motel to have sodas and lunch. They sell sodas at a buck a can, which is robbery, but worth it when you need something cold and fizzy! We had five between the two of us - and plenty of cramps going up the hill afterwards. Again - worth it!We were greeted by several locals at the shelter who were throwing a party for their friend. They were generous enough to pass us some incredible Italian sweet sausage and s'mores! Also saw hang gliders launched off the hill above us. Very cool!
Date: 2009-07-12
From: Delaware Water Gap (Church of the Mountain Hostel)

To: DWG-Church of the Mountain hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Relaxing day today - breakfast at Water Gap Diner, church upstairs with Pastor Karen and friends from Cuba, trip to outfitter to buy a new filter, trip to Stroudsville to see Bruno, laundry at the secret laundromat and dinner at the Sycamore Grill. Oh, and a hot dog and slice of pie for 1.50 at the bakery. Might be a mid-day start tomorrow--still a lot of stuff to do!
Date: 2009-07-13
From: DWG-Church of the Mountain hostel

To: Mohican Outdoor Center
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

What a hard day! We said our final goodbye to Mostly Sort-of, who is headed back to Dayton to be with his son and to get himself ready for school. Great guy--wish we had more that three days with him!The hiking was a bit rough, considering the day off and all! We started off crossing the Delaware River and then up a generous incline into bear country! Saw a bear within 15 minutes of being in NJ! Great Stuff! We saw Sunfish Lake, too, which is an amazing glacial pond. Finally, we were lured into Mohican with the mention of a deli at the camp. Well, deli, kitchen, whatever - that sandwich was great!