morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: US 60, Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 20.1

Day 55Today¢s hike was much better, the wind died down today and it was warmer. Also, the idea of sleeping in a hotel after a hot shower was a very appealing idea as well. The hike started off with a 2000 foot climb out of the shelter, nice way to warm up first thing in the morning. After the initial climb the trail followed the ridge line so just small ups and downs for most of the day. I also had some nice views of the Shenandoah Valley through the trees most of the day, no clear views for pictures though. The day ended with a nice walk through the Brown Mountain Creek area which used to be an old freed slave settlement. It was a beautiful area, but the information said that they were farmers. I don¢t think that I would want to try to farm that land though. Turns out that they sold the land to the US Forest Service back in the 1920¢s it didn¢t say where they resettled. I got into Buena Vista around 3:45 and had time to get all my stuff done; resupply, laundry, and food. Had a great milk shake at the Ice Cream & More trailer that was beside the hotel. Coolest thing was that the guy who gave me a ride into town offered to give me a ride back to the trail in the morning at 6:15.
Date: 2012-04-13
From: US 60, Buena Vista, VA

To: VA 56 Tye River, Dutch Haus
Miles today: 25.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 56Beautiful hike today, and the weather was back to being perfect. I started off with a climb this morning, starting to be a regular thing. Then it was a nice ridge walk for most of the rest of the day. I had lots of nice views and the foliage was all blooming and coming to life. Toward the end of the day I had a couple of nice climbs one up Spy Rock, which was a look out used during both the revolutionary and civil wars I believe, then the climb up the south side of The Priest. While between Spy Rock and The Priest I ran into a couple of guys that told me the folks at the Dutch Haus had given them a ride from VA 56. So, I thought, wouldn¢t it be cool to have a shower two nights in a row? Why yes I thought it would be very cool, so when I got to the top of The Priest I called them for a pick up and then started down the north side of The Priest. I had heard that it would be a long tough decent (almost 5 miles steep downhill) and it was a challenging decent. However, after the first 1/3 at the top it was fairly easy, almost pleasant. The top 1/3 was tough though, very steep and very rocky, tough on the feet. In the end though it wasn¢t too bad and I have a 2nd night with a shower and a warm bed. The Dutch Haus it nice, I got a nice dinner (for an extra fee) and it was worth it. I was really energized today, more so that I have been before after a 25 mile day. Not sure what it was though; lots of Gatorade, jolly ranchers, music, a bonk on the head, I just don't know.
Date: 2012-04-14
From: VA 56 Tye River, Dutch Haus

To: US 250 Rockfish Gap, Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 30.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 57Wow! What an amazing day. I found out what gets me energized, at the end of my hike today I started playing music from my iPhone and that is what did it, glad to know it wasn¢t the bonk on the head. I started the day with a big climb up Three Ridges Mountain, which was 2900 feet of climbing over 7 miles, very steep and very rocky. It was at the beginning of the day though so I was fresh, especially since I had a good b¢fast after another night in an actual bed. The climb rewarded me with some great views of The Priest and the walk today was magnificent. The views and the scenery while walking through the woods was very nice, I even enjoyed the rocky sections today. There were a lot of people on the trail today, it made it nice to take the occasional break from walking to stop and talk a while with a passing hiker or group of hikers. They were all out of a day or short section over the weekend and wanted to know all about my thru hike. About the time I got to a place called Dripping Rock I started thinking that I would go into Waynesboro tonight rather than stopping at the Paul Wolf shelter that is only 5 miles from town. After all it is only 5 miles. I debated about it for another 5 or 6 miles where I stopped at a spring for a break. While taking my break, I dosed on Advil, changed my socks, and had a good snack and decided that I felt good enough to head into town rather than stopping. If I was thinking of changing my mind, that option went away once I got to the shelter. There were people everywhere, there was a large group of trail maintainers at the shelter and I think there were a couple of boy scout troupes camped around the shelter taking all the tent spots. So, I stopped into the shelter to take a break and talk with the trail maintainers for a while then I was off down the trail. Just as I was leaving the shelter Moses and Zoso showed up and said that they were going into town also and had already arranged for a ride into town from the trail. So, it was off down the trail I went, in the dark, and with not much time to get to the road where we would get a ride. Moses had arranged a ride at 9:30 and I had planned to take until 10 to get to the road, so I had to step it up and walk faster¢¦ it worked out and nothing is broken or damaged. So, once again, wow, I walked 30 miles today.
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 59So, a double 0. Not the best for progress, but I think that I really needed the days off. I laid around and watched TV yesterday and pretty much just vegged out, and didn't get anything constructive done other than a quick trip to the outfitter and eat. Today I did my normal town chores, laundry, resupply, gear clean up, etc. It is amazing how fast my body adjust though. After not hiking yesterday and not hiking today my body has shut down my appitite. I had an apple and bannana for breakfast this morning and that was all I could eat. Normally that would have just been the warm up before breakfast. I did get in a short nap this afternoon then Daddy-O and I went to see a movie, mostly just to sit in a theater and eat popcorn. Good thing that we didn't want to see a really good movie because we saw Lockup and it was terrible, dialog made no since, the story jumped around, and it mostly seemed that they came in everyday and filmed a different movie then pasted it together. Anyway, I rounded out the day with a good steak sandwich from Ciro's and I am ready to get back on the trail tomorrow.
Date: 2012-04-17
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 60The day started out great. Ron and Cynthia a couple of trail Angles took Daddy-O and I out for breakfast before taking us up to the trail head. They contacted Daddy-O through his journal and they let me tag along, way cool. Then it was up and into the Shenandoah (took forever to learn to spell that by the way) National Park. From there the trail was fairly good, not the wonderful flat smooth trail that I had heard about from others but not too bad either. We didn't have a lot of views of anything other than the trail today. There was the view from the bald when I went up the "wrong way" trail and that was just about it other than the occasional glemps of the valley through the trees. It is supposed to rain tonight so I am staying in a Hut (that is what they call shelters in the Shenandoah National Park) rather than tenting as I had planned. I am hoping that I can make up the miles tomorrow but.... We will see what the trail gives me tomorrow I guess.
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

Day 61Ok, so today was bone head #1 move on my part. To start with it rained all day and was raining from when I woke up this morning. Since it was raining I thought that I would try hiking in my Chocos to save my boots from getting wet. Fortunately hiking in Chacos isn't for me, especially in the rain. My feet were cold and wet and there is no cushion like what I get in my boots. So, when I was about 6.5 or 7 miles out from the shelter this morning I stopped to put my boots on. I had planned to try and hike 33 miles today and there was no way I was doing it in Chocos. When I was digging in my pack to get socks, boots, and such to change into, I noticed that my lunch sack wasn't in my pack. Oops, not lunch, this is a big deal. I've got my boots on and they are warm and dry for now, but with the rain they will be wet and cold with in a few miles, I am missing food for my lunches along with the dry sack that I keep my lunches in, and I am 6.5 or 7 miles from the shelter were I left it. I do know that the three guys that I shared the shelter with last night will be coming up behind me and if they noticed it they will be bringing it to me. So, what to do, do I hike back or keep going and wait at the next shelter for them to catch me hoping that one of them have my lunch sack. The one most likely to have it would be Daddy-O and there was a chance that he was going to stay in that last shelter today and not hike. So, I decided to hike back and get it, I couldn't make it out of the Shenandoah's with out that food and didn't want to try and replace the dry sack. Long story (already) short, Daddy-O did hike and had my lunch sack so I didn't have to go all the way back to the shelter, but I had to hike back 3 miles before I meet him on the trail. I had meet the other two guys that we shared the shelter with 1 and 2 miles behind me as I back tracked and they both told me that Daddy-O was going to bring it along. Needless to say, I didn't get my 33 mile day in because it had turned into a 39 mile day with the 6 extra miles that I had to hike, so when I got to the Pinefield Hut with the other guys I opted to just stay there. I only got 13 miles of trail covered but hiked 19 miles and I considered that a full day especially in the rain with wet feet and the next Hut was 8 miles away. Turns out the trail didn't give too much today. Still I made progress today, the trail was easier and there would have been many more views and overlooks had it not been raining and cloudy all day. Tomorrow should be a much better day, and tough days are to be expected occasionally.
Date: 2012-04-19
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Hazeltop
Miles today: 24.1

Day 62Much better day today, I didn't leave anything behind at the shelter this morning. It was cloudy and cold for most of the day but the trail was much better and I did get in some good views. I caught up with Daddy-O just before lunch and we ended up hiking together the rest of the day. It is good to have some company on the trail every once in a while. There were a suprizing number of day hikers and vacationers on the trail today. I had thought that spring break was over and that we would get the trail mostly to ourselves but I guess not. We stopped in at the Lewis Mtn Campground and went to the camp store for dinner. We had heard that they had a grill there but I guess we were mis-informed or mis-understood maybe. Anyway they did have the regular variety of convenience store sandwiches and microwave stuff. I had two microwave cheese burgers (yuk), gatorade, a beer (yum), and an ice cream (yum, yum). I bought a few extra snacks and supplies with the intention of maybe skipping the resupply in Front Royal, VA. From there we hiked a few more miles to Hazeltop to camp for the night. It was great, I had a perfect view of the sun set from my tent. I have decided that I will try to tent without the rain fly on my tent tonight and see how it goes, it is supposed to be a clear cool night.
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Hazeltop

To: Skyland Resort
Miles today: 12.4

Day 63Nice short hike today. I had planned to stay at the resort in the middle of the park all along but I am getting here a day late due to the issues I had the other day in the rain. The biggest treat of the day was that I had every meal in a restaurant. This morning we were only 3.4 miles or so from the Big Meadows Wayside, which is a store/restaurant/gas station on Skyline Drive. One downer though was that in the middle of the night on one of my nightly trips to the local tree watering spot, I noticed that my tent was gathering dew already and had to put on my rain fly in the dark. This morning when I woke up the tent and rain fly were soaked. It was nice tenting with out the fly though the moon wasn't up last night so I had great views of both the sun set and the stars once the sun was gone. After Big Meadows it was an easy hike to the Sklyland Resort for lunch. Daddy-O decided to keep hiking, and I opted to stay at the resort. I was glad I stayed because I got a chance to lay everything out in the sun that had gotten wet the last couple of days so that it could dry out. I have decided that I will definately skip Front Royal and go directly to Harpers Ferry, the weather is supposed to get bad, rain and cold, but I will be in Harpers Ferry on Tuesday or Wednesday I think. I am feeling good but there is a temptation to go home from Harpers Ferry, I won't do it, but there is a temptation there. Maybe just a little mentle fatigue setting in from being on the trail for so long. I'll get over it though I am sure.
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Skyland Resort

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 64So, not as much sleep as I would have liked last night. The moto for Virginia is 'Virginia is for Lovers'. I don't know if this is just a promotion or something that is all the time. The resort is old and the walls are thin. The couples around me were very active and a couple of them were also very ... vocal. Enough said but I didn't get a lot of sleep. So, I still had a good day today even though I didn't sleep very well. Today's hike was nice, I got to have a nice omelette for breakfast. The weather was actually nice, warm, and sunny for the majority of the day. There were a lot of people on the trail today though. I meet several groups of forigners out on tours hiking in the park. There were also lots of others out just for day hikes, it was nice and I got to meet a wide veriety of people today. There were also lots of views. For dinner today I stopped in at the Elkwallow Wayside. I got a decent burger and fies for dinner and a very good blackberry milk shake. After dinner I headed out for the shelter, the sky had turned very dark and it looked like the promised rain was finally going to arive. About a mile out of the wayside it did start to rain and I stopped and put on all my rain gear. Once I got to the shelter I thought that I would have a bad night but it turned out good. The shelter appeared to be full but really wasn't. I just had to ask a couple of guys to rearainge their stuff. It was really cool though because three of the guys were Frenchmen, and just as you would expect it was comical for me to watch them. They were carrying probably the heaviest food they could, cans of French food, bottles of liquor, smoking cigaretts, and other things that are typical. They were entertaining though and they were willing to share a little of their Pastis with me (very much yum), and they didn't make much noise after 8:30 (which is very late for hikers to be up). All in all it was a good end to a good day. It is raining tonight and it is supposed to get cold and continue to rain all day tomorrow and for the next couple of days.
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: US 522, Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: moderate rain

Day 65I love being in the forest when everything is green, it is foggy, cold, damp, and raining. I don't like sleeping in the forest when it is like that though. So, I wimped out, I am in Front Royal and will also stay here tomorrow, it is just too wet and cold and there is a chance it will snow tonight. I don't want to get caught in that. The hike today was nice though, the last 2 miles of the trail in the Shenandoah Park was the nicest section of trail that I have been on so far. Once, I left the park though the trail became very rocky and slippery. It was actually kind of funny, I didn't get more than 50 feet from the park boundry and the nicest section of trail became one of the toughest sections of trail that I have done. Then it was down into Front Royal were I ran into Daddy-O again. I'll stay in town and get laundry and stuff done tomorrow and wait out the weather, and get some supplies.
Date: 2012-04-23
From: US 522, Front Royal, VA

To: Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 66So, today is a 0 day. I didn't intend to take another 0 day for a while but with the weather the way it is, it is the best choice. Today it is raining and cold here in Front Royal, and there are reports of snow up on the ridges, where the trail is. So, staying in town is the best choice for me. I got to take time to do laundry and catch up on my journal entries. I washed my sleeping bag (it REALY needed it), and the liner along with the normal stuff. I had a good lunch and did some light resupply then took a nap. This evening I went to dinner with Daddy-O, Nathan (Daddy-O's nephew), and Snag. Then it was time to make the phone calls pack up and get some sleep. All in all not a day off that I intended to take but I took full advantage of it.
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Day 67Very tired today. I got in to the hostle around 2am this morning and then was up at 6:30 this morning. The sun was up, I had a damp sleeping bag, and it was chilly and all those things together drove me out of my bag. So, I was up had breakfast, and off down the trail by 7:30. The trail was very rocky going into HF and there was a view or two but not many. Most of the time I was looking down at my feet trying not to trip over a rock or twist my ankle. I got into town around noon and had lunch, then went to the AT Center and had my picture taken. I found a B&B, the Camp Hill B&B to stay in. I got my chores, as I am coming to think of them, done; laundry, resupply, cleaning, etc. and had a good dinner. So, I am ready to go.
Date: 2012-04-26
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 69Today was pleasant though I am still feeling the effects of the 41.4 mile day a couple of days ago. The breakfast at the B&B was great. In fact it was the first time in a while that I was unable to finish a meal that was given to me. I was out of the B&B at 9:30 and went to the ATC to use the PC to update my journal. While there I got to see Daddy-O one more time before I hit the trail. From Harpers Ferry the hike started on the C&O Canal tow path and followed that for a few miles. After that there was a small climb up to the ridge line then followed that for the rest of the day. The trail passed through the Gathland state park. The park was kind of an all in one; family museum, civil war memorial, and civil war correspondent memorial. There was also fresh water and a restroom (always a bonus). The shelter tonight is very nice. Stained floors, nice privy, lots of room. Hopefully I get a good nights sleep tonight.
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Pen Mar Road, Waynesboro, PA
Miles today: 25.6

Day 70Long Day today, in fact I am writing this on the next day. I am still suffering from the 41 mile day I put in a couple of days ago. That day followed by two days of short rest, 4 hours one night in a wet sleeping bag and the following night in a too soft bed. The days hike was great though, it seemed that I was walking through history for most of the day, and I was. The majority of the day I was walking through the "South Mountain Battlefield" a Civil War battle field. So, there were monuments and placards with information in a lot of places. I also walked through the Washington Monument State Park, I was actually unaware that there was a Washington Monument outside of DC, so that was a really cool treat. The afternoon though was more just filled with making miles. The trail was nice and smooth for most of the day but did get very rocky in the last 4 miles or so. I had planned to stop at the Raven Rock Shelter for the night but when I got there it was only 4pm and with only 5 miles to go to Waynesboro I decided to push on, my body is begging for a 0 day. That last 5 miles proved to be the toughest. As I said it was rocky it was literally the rockiest stretch of trail yet though. In some places there was no trail just a bunch of boulders with a tree sticking up every once in a while that had a white blaze on it to guide you in the rite direction. I am really hoping that I don't get that again for a long while. I also hope that that wasn't an indication of what I can expect in PA, I've heard that PA is very rocky. I ended the day by crossing the Mason Dixon line and the MD/PA border. I made it into Waynesboro and got a hot shower, hot meal, and comfortable bed for the night.
Date: 2012-04-28
From: Pen Mar Road, Waynesboro, PA

To: Waynesboro, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 710 Day, today I woke up and ate, then slept, then ate, then slept, then read, then ate, then slept. It was just what I needed, I didn't have any resupply to do and didn't bother with laundry, just spent the day resting and recovering. It was just what I needed.
Date: 2012-04-29
From: Pen Mar Road, Waynesboro, PA

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 27.8
Weather: clear sky

Day 72So, last night and yesterday were much needed, I felt great today. This morning my ride picked me up at 7:30 and got me to the trail head and I was off down the trail. The trail was nice and the weather was perfect all day. There weren't really any views of the surrounding country today just a long walk in the woods but spring has definitely sprung and everything in the woods is growing now so it was nice just walking in the woods all day. There were also a lot of other hikers out on the trail today and a lot of cross trails out there as well. I made the side trip to Chimney Rocks which did have some nice views (the only one of the day). I also walked through Caledonia State Park which was a fantastic local park. There were lots of families out for picnics, or just walking in the park. Then it was back into the woods. Here I came across the first shelter of a string of shelters that are in immaculate condition. The Quarry Gap Shelters are amazing. The shelters are joined by a covered walkway/porch with bench seating. The shelters are either painted or the wood work is stained and varnished. There was a basket of flowers (not plastic but actual flowers) hanging. The tent pads were all wooden framed gravel platforms. It was a magnificent shelter. I stopped there for a while and talked with a family that was out for the day and spending some time at the shelter. It sounded like the shelter was a frequent destination for them. Then I met Mike and his dog Sadie who were out for a section hike and they ended up hiking with me to the Birch Run shelter where I was staying for the night. When I got there Asian Medical Student Mike was there and later on Turtle and Mule showed up so we had a full house at yet another very nice shelter site. This one the wood was all stained and varnished and there was a big covered porch out front with a nice picnic table. There were also bunks built into the shelter for sleeping so you didn't have to sleep on the floor, which is typical of shelters. I am liking these PA shelters.