morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-07-14
From: Fayetteville PA

To: Falls Creek Campsite 
Miles today: 17.3

2017 - Day 9Trail miles: 17.3Total miles: 20.1Total time: 10h 0minCalories: 1753Elevation gain: 4055Elevation loss: 3887Weather: Mostly cloudy becoming partly sunny; hot; humid; brief but intense rain showers at 6:30 am and 4:30 pmStart: Fayetteville PAEnd: Falls Creek Campsite After completing yesterday's entry two hikers came in. One was Carol. She is older and is on her third try at a thru hike. On one prior try she made it to Bemis Shelter in Maine where she slipped and broke her wrist. On another try she made it as far as Flagstaff Lake near Rangely ME. The other was NOBO thru hiker Tex. I slept well in the air conditioned comfort of my bunk room at the hostel. I was up at about 5:15 and out the door about an hour later. The first rain shower hit while I was doing the 0.9 mile roadwalk back to the trail. I was hiking on the trail at 6:45. Uneventful easy hiking today. There was one view to the east from Chimney Rock. From this purch I could see solid PA woods.  This was the first mountain view since before crossing the Cumberland Valley.  I made it to Old Forge Picnic Area by 12:10. I ate lunch and took a short nap. I was on the trail at 1 pm.I reached Falls Creek Campsite at 4:15 pm. Every once in a while I could hear a rumble of thunder in the distance but the sun was out and I was not concerned.  I no sooner got my tent unrolled when a heavy shower came through. On this trip I've now both taken down and put up my tent in a downpour. Given a choice I'd much prefer the latter. Also here are NOBO thrus Auntie and Raggety as well as SOBO section hiker Ground Hog. He is about my age. I'm just 0.6 miles from the PA-MD border. Counting last year and this it has taken me 13 days to cover the 229 miles of PA. I averaged 18 miles per day.
Date: 2017-07-15
From: Falls Creek Campsite 

To: Annapolis Rock Campsite 
Miles today: 17.0

2017 - Day 10Trail miles: 17.0Total miles: 20.5Total time: 10h 55minCalories: 1755Elevation gain: 3389Elevation loss: 2716Weather: Mostly sunny; comfortable temperatures; light breeze for most of the dayStart: Falls Creek Campsite End: Annapolis RockI slept reasonably well. There was another downpour at 3 am. I was up at 5:20 and on the trail at 7:05. The tent and some of my other gear were quite wet. Nothing could be done about that. In a flash I was at the Mason Dixon Line. I'm now completely done with PA. In some ways this was a hard state: lots of miles, lots of rocks, many miles through the green tunnel, and not that many views. Maryland has already had some great views. The first was High Rock. There were expansive views of Maryland farmland. The middle of the day was lots of woods with a few rocky sections. There was one view to the east. When I was refilling water late in the afternoon I spoke with Donkey. He recently retired from the army and is hiking the AT with his wife, Qtips. After that they will figure out where to live. I sat out on Annapolis Rock watching the sun set. The view was great. It has been a few years on the AT since I've been at the right place to watch a sunset. There is no threat of rain tonight so I'm sleeping with the tent flies open to take advantage of the light breeze.
Date: 2017-07-16
From: Annapolis Rock Campsite 

To: Ed Garvey Shelter 
Miles today: 18.2

2017 - Day 11Trail miles: 18.2Total miles: 21.5Total time: 10h 35minCalories: 1531Elevation gain: 2916Elevation loss: 3438Weather: Sunny; comfortable temperatures in the morning with a breeze ecoming hot with no breeze in the afternoon Start: Annapolis RocksEnd: Ed Garvey Shelter I slept OK last night except for having to reinflate my air mattress several times. I got up at 5:20 and had my pack on at 7 am. First I went back down to the overlook to see the Maryland countryside in the morning sun. I made good time on a relatively easy trail. I crossed over the I-70 bridge. Another big interstate is behind me. At 10:30 I arrived at the Dahlgren Backpack Campground and took advantage of the free hot shower. I was back on the trail at 11 am. The longest climb of the day was to the overlook at White Rock Cliff. I arrived at 1:10 and had a late lunch. There were great views of farmland to the east and mountains to the south. It was more easy trail to the War Correspondents Monument.  I picked up 3.5 l of water since it is a long way down to the official water source at the Ed Garvey Shelter, my intended stopping point for the night.  I did not stay long because the nats were very thick. Less than 2 hours later I was at the Ed Garvey Shelter. I arrived at 5:35. Two recent college grads (Big Bad Wolf and Salty) who are hiking Maryland in three days and NOBO Barefoot are here. Also a couple out for an overnight with their dog arrived. Tomorrow I'll complete Maryland. I have enjoyed this state. Several great views and easier trails than PA. This is my last night out for this year. It is just 7 miles to the ATC Headquarters. I'll stop there to sign in and get my picture taken.
Date: 2017-07-17
From: Ed Garvey Shelter 

To: North end Shenandoah River Bridge
Miles today: 7.2

2017 - Day 12Trail miles: 7.2Total miles: 10.3Total time: 4h 40minCalories: 689Elevation gain: 964Elevation loss: 1578Weather: Sunny; comfortable temperatures Start: Ed Garvey Shelter End: North end of Shenandoah River BridgeI slept reasonably well although there was a lot of background noise from trucks and trains in the transportation corridors in the adjoining valleys. I got up at 5 am and was on the trail at 6:30.I walked down hill to the C&O Cannal Towpath. It was a pleasant walk. There were no views on the way down but I did check out the Patomac River via a few side trails from the towpath. The river had some moderate rapids. I passed an old lock on the cannal.   I was in Harpers Ferry a little after 9. I went to the ATC Headquarters and got my picture taken and signed the logbook.   I rejoined the AT and hiked to the north end of the Shenandoah River Bridge. This ended my hike for this year but I still needed to walk another 1.1 miles to my car in the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park parking lot. I arrived a little after 11. My car was just as I'd left it two weeks before. I pushed the remote and the doors unlocked and the hatch went up. Now I was truly done. I cleaned up a little and then went to a Subway for lunch. I was craving fresh vegetables. At about 1 pm I hit the road back to Maine, arriving at 1 a.m. Tuesday moring. In total I hiked 195.0 miles on the trail. It was a very relaxing hike. I felt great the whole time. I had no knee trouble. More importantly, I had no blisters except for one small one on the bottom of the middle toe of my right foot. This was a vast improvement over the prior three years. This year, every morning I pre-taped the bottom of both feet just behind my toes, both heals, and the outside of my big toe on my left foot. I used KT Tape Pro kinesiology tape. A 16 ft roll would last one week.  If conditions were relatively dry it stuck very well.  The one small blister was caused by the edge of the tape being too far toward the front of my foot and being stuck to the underside of the middle toe.  In some cases I could leave the tape on for a couple of days.  However, when wet it sometimes came loose during the day. Next year I'm going to try Tincture of Benzoin as an adhering agent. A great book on foot care is "Fixing Your Feet", by John Vanhof.  This is where I learned of the kinesiology tape and benzoin .  Other things that made for a great trip this year: the town stops were perfetly spaced and I was never carrying more than 3 days of food; temperatures were cooler than the prior two years on the AT; and the terrain was a little easier.  I can't wait for next year's hike. Thentatively I'll do 161 miles to Waynesboro VA or 191 miles to VA 56, Tye River Suspension Bridge.
Date: 2018-07-02
From: Home

To: Wallingford, CT
Miles today: 0.0

2018 - Day -2Trail miles: 0Total miles: 0Total time: N/ACalories: N/AElevation gain: N/AElevation loss: N/AWeather: Partly cloudy, hot, humidStart: HomeEnd: Wallingford, CTFor the past several weekends I was part of a Maine Appalacian Trail Club crew at Horns Pond campsite/shelter in the Bigelow Range in Maine. This is the most visited campsite in Maine. Yesterday, we wrapped up building two 8'x8' mouldering privies. This was day seven of this build. It was a 5 mile hike in with 2000 ft of elevation gain, so this was part of training for this year's section hike. On the first weekend we dug 8x8 flat spots into the hillside. Lots of work with picks, shovels, rock bars, and come-a-long.  Then, we had Maine Helicopter Service fly in 10,000 lb of materials and tools.  After that it was the actual build. In total, 31 volunteers put 840 hours into this project. This is a truly amazing crew. It is a privilege to work with them. Only two more privies to build this year!Now that the Horns Pond Privies are built, I can continue my southbound section hike.  This year I plan on hiking from Harpers Ferry WV 191 miles south to the Tye River Suspention Bridge near Waynesboro VA. Today I drove part way to Harpers Ferry and will complete the drive tomorrow
Date: 2018-07-03
From: Wallingford, CT

To: North end Shenandoah River Bridge
Miles today: 0.0

2018 - Day -1Trail miles: 0Total miles: 0Total time: N/ACalories: N/AElevation gain: N/AElevation loss: N/AWeather: Mostly sunny, hot, humidStart: Wallingford, CTEnd: North end of Shenandoah River BridgeToday was driving the rest of the way to Harpers Ferry, WV. The drive was uneventful. The highest outside temperature that I saw was 99 degree F - yikes! I arrived a little before 2 pm. Then, I had lunch at Panera Bread.  I'm staying at the Quality Inn at the North end of the Shenandoah River Bridge. From my motel room window I can see the point in the AT where I ended my hike last year. Things can't any more convenient than that. In late afternoon I explored the historic sites in downtown Harpers Ferry. The major events in the town's history were arms manufacturing, civil war battleground, and floods which ultimately destroyed the town's industrial base. I saw several long distance hikers in town.  I did work up quite a sweat in the 90+ degree temperatures walking around town. I had dinner at Mena's Italian Restaurant. I had a good feed.  Now I'm in the air conditioned comfort of the motel. I plan on getting a very early start tomorrow so I can get in as many miles as possible before it really gets hot.
Date: 2018-07-04
From: North end Shenandoah River Bridge

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 19.6

2018 - Day 1Trail miles: 19.6Total miles: 22.2Total time: 12:10Calories: Not recorded Elevation gain: Not recordedElevation loss: Not recorded Weather: Partly cloudy becoming cloudy by late afternoon, very hot, low 90's humidStart: North end of Shenandoah River BridgeEnd: Bears Den HostelI was up just after 4 a.m. I had cold breakfast in hotel room, packed everything up, and I was out the door at 5:10 a.m.  There was just a little light in the sky as I crossed the Shenandoahn River Bridge. As I was hiking up the ridge on the other side I saw a doe with her fawn. The fawn was very cute, hiding behind her mom, with just her head poking around. In addition to the doe and her fawn, I saw lots of other wildlife: two more does, a possum, an Eastern Box Turtle, a large frog right in the trail, a couple of chipmunks, and more gray squirrels than I could count.The morning's hiking was easy and since it was before the heat of the day, the temperatures were manigible. I was hiking through hardwood forests. On a few ridges the trees were all dying, thus I was hiking in the sun. I stopped at Buzzard Rock, but it was so hazy that the view was unimpressive. I was at the Blackburn AT Center at 11:30 so stopped for lunch. It was a steep climb down but worth it. As soon as I arrived they offered me a cold soda. I chatted with the PATC volunteers including Trail Boss who is in charge of maintaining the Rollercoaster. I showed them pictures of our two most recent MATC privies.This afternoon was hot hiking. Drank lots of water. Once in a while there was a little breeze. Without it, the heat was just barely bearable.  I started the Rollercoaster.  As advertised it had plenty of steep ups and downs.  I could hear thunder in the distance but it passed me by. I arrived at the Bears Den Hostel at 5:20 p.m., so this was a long day. This is a stone "castle". I took the hikers special: a bunk, pizza, soda, and pint of ice cream. About a dozen other hikers here.
Date: 2018-07-05
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Whiskey Hollow Shelter 
Miles today: 18.3

2018 - Day 2Trail miles: 18.3Total miles: 19.3Total time: 11:45Calories: 1650Elevation gain: 4797Elevation loss: 4685Weather: Cloudy becoming mostly sunny, very hot, high in low 90"s, humidStart: Bears Den HostelEnd: Whiskey Hollow ShelterI was up at 5 am. I cooked pancakes and was on the trail at 6:15. The roller coaster continued. I just chewed away on all the ups. In most bottoms there was a stream. The bottoms are rock filled and the stream expands over a wide tortuous path. No views. I reached the end of the roller coaster just before Rod Hollow Shelter.I had lunch at Rod Hollow Shelter, arriving at 12:30. I stayed until about 1:30. The afternoon hiking was much easier but the temperatures were wicked hot. There were two highlights this afternoon.  The first were the forests of mature hardwoods. Many were giants. The other were the "sky meadows". These were open areas filled with brambles at the high elevations. I'm not sure if these are man-made or naturally occurring. There were no long distance views but there was a breeze!I saw another doe, turtle, and rabbit, also many gray squirrels. I was surprised by the number of NOBO thru hikers who passed me.  There must have been 16. I thought they were all north of here.The are three others at shelter with me. They are brother, sister, and daughter from Illinois and Alaska.
Date: 2018-07-06
From: Whiskey Hollow Shelter 

To: Mountain Home Cabbin 
Miles today: 14.9

2018 - Day 3Trail miles: 14.9Total miles: 15.7Total time: 9:30Calories: 1379Elevation gain: 2926Elevation loss: 3185Weather: Cloudy for most of day, becoming partly sunny by late afternoon , comfortably hot, a breeze for most of day, a few light scattered showersStart: Whiskey Hollow ShelterEnd: Mountain Home Cabbin I slept fitfully last night. I was up at 5 am and on the trail at 6:20 am. The miles just flew by today. I was at Manassas Gap Shelter at 8:30 for my morning break. I was at the Denton Shelter for lunch at 11:30. I reached the Mountain Home Cabbin at 3 pm. The hiking was uneventful. I was in the green tunnel except for the edge of a few old fields. I saw two more deer and lots of squirrels. A dozen NOBO thrus past me. I was worried it was going to rain but just a few sprinkles. Mountain Home Cabbin is great.  Scott and Lisa are great hosts. Went to dinner with three other hikers at the Blue Winged Frog. Great time.
Date: 2018-07-07
From: Mountain Home Cabbin 

To: Campsite at mile 1238.5
Miles today: 18.7

2018 - Day 4Trail miles: 18.7Total miles: 21.5Total time: 11:50Calories: 1818Elevation gain: 5078Elevation loss: 3152Weather: Spectacular, sunny, comfortable temperatures, low humidity, light breeze Start: Mountain Home Cabbin End: Campsite at mile 1238.5I got up at 5:30. I was packed and ready for breakfast at 6:30. Scott cooked scrambled eggs with toast. He also served a variety of fruit. I had my pack up at 7:05.The first part of the day was a long climb up to the border of Shenandoah National Park.  This included skirting the edge of a Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute which is used to breed exotic animals for their zoo. I reached the border of the Shenandoah National Park at about 9:30 and filled out my back country permit.  Walking in the park was mostly easy on well maintained trails. The were many viewpoints looking east and west.  Finally some views!  One area of the forest had mature hardwoods with an undercover of ferns - beautiful.I saw a doe with her two fawns.  I also saw two bears. By their size I judge they were juveniles.  One stood up from the bushes on the side of the trail and all of a sudden it dawned on me that I was looking directly at a bear and he was looking at me. I made a few loud noises and the bear ran off.  The other was grubbing for something off in the woods. In the morning I encountered a family with two small children. The youngest was 18 months old and he was already tottering up the trail. In mid-afternoon I saw the same family at Gravel Springs Hut where I'd stopped to refill water. At first I thought they'd made amazing time down the trail but they admitted that they'd driven with an ice cream stop inbetween. Their young daughter (maybe 3 yrs old) peppered me with 100 questions about what I was doing. I happily answered all. At the same shelter I met a 65 year old gentleman who was section hiking north. Between the two of us we have completed the AT.I met a local section hiker, "Skyline". He recommended a campsite near the turnoff for the PATC Range View Cabin. There really weren't any level spots but I did the best I could.  I saw well over a dozen thru hikers.  The weather was spectacular. I hardly broke a sweat.
Date: 2018-07-08
From: Campsite at mile 1238.5

To: Skyland Resort
Miles today: 18.9

2018 - Day 5Trail miles: 18.9Total miles: 21.2Total time: 12:00Calories: 1854Elevation gain: 4849Elevation loss: 4110Weather: Great! Sunny, comfortable temperatures, breeze for much of dayStart: Campsite at mile 1238.5End: Skyland Resort I was up at 5:20 and on the trail at 6:45 am. I had the trail to myself for the first couple of hours. The trail climbed to a ridge and then followed the ridge for at least a mile. There was evidence that a bear had followed the trail as it had turned over many rotted logs in search of ants. How many ants does it take to make a meal for a bear? No real views. Also no views from Pass Mountain but at least the trail was easy.I had lunch at the picnic area in Thornton Gap.  A NOBO section hiker reported that a juvenile bear had chased her off from the same picnic table I was sitting at just 30 min before. The table was right at the edge of the very crowded parking lot.  Needless to say I ate a quick lunch. The NOBO section hiker was a school teacher out for the summer and doing a short stretch on the AT. I gave her advice on upcoming campsites.After lunch was the big climb of the day. It was 1200 ft up to Mary's Rock. The trail was very crowded with day hikers. The view from the top was outstanding.  Expansive views to the west and some to the north including much of the terrain I'd covered in the last 24 hrs. A helpful day hiker used my camera to take several pictures of me. He was very particular taking them from several angles. More great views from The Pinnacle also to the west and north. I could see back to Mary's Rock. Another helpful day hiker insisted on taking my picture.   There were other views along the ridge, all good. On my way over to Stony Man Mountain I helped a family with two small children plot a course back to their car. I put on the afterburners for the climb up the mountain and did better than 2 mph up hill.At the turnoff for side trail for Stony Man Mountain I reached the high point for my hike within the park, Elev 3837. You have to go all the way north on the AT to Stratton Mt in Vermont to get a peak higher than this. I think the elevation was giving me altitude sickness (just joking). I did not take the side trail to the summit as it was getting late. The trail down to Skyland Resort was marked with both white and blue blazes.  This was disconcerting since blue is the universal AT blaze for side trails. I arrived at the check-in desk for Skyland at 6:30. I upgraded my room from a cabin way down the hill to a room 100 steps from the check-in desk. I'd done enough walking for today!I watched sunset from the deck. Then I had a great dinner: bison meatloaf. Now it is time for sleep. I saw at least another dozen thru hikers today. I'll bet several will need to flip flop up to Katahdin and then hike south. Otherwise they will miss the Oct 15 closing date for Baxter State Park.
Date: 2018-07-09
From: Skyland Resort

To: Bearfence Mt Hut
Miles today: 15.9

2018 - Day 6Trail miles: 15.9Total miles: 16.6Total time: 9:00Calories: 1451Elevation gain: 2798Elevation loss: 3267Weather: Sunny, comfortable temperatures, a breeze at timesStart: Skyland ResortEnd: Bearfence Mt HutI've done 106.4 miles so far this year. Not bad for day 6. This is an average of 17.7 trail miles per day. This leaves 84.4 miles left for this year and 5 hiking days. This is 16.9 miles per day.I slept great in my room last night. The laundry I'd done in the sink the evening before was dry except for the socks. However, I slipped these over the end of the hair dryer that came with the room and pesto the socks were dry. I had the AYCE buffet breakfast including a great omelet.  I talked with Sanimals Hostel in Waynesboro to make arrangements to stay there on Thursday and for shuttle back to Harpers Ferry on Sunday.I was finally able to get on the trail at 8:45. It was easy hiking all morning. The trail builders did some impressive masonry work on dry laid stone walls to create a ledge for the trail. I saw a bear cub not far from the resort. It scampered down a tree and was gone in a flash into the bushes.I had lunch at a picnic table in a vacant campsite in Big Meadows Campground. I heard a gunshot. Not long after I saw an armed ranger. I assume the shot was the ranger trying to scare off a bear or they had come to investigate a report of a gunshot.The afternoon hiking was also easy. I came across a gushing spring. It was a 10 inch pipe flowing half full. I tanked up on water since the water source at my intended camping spot for the night was uncertain. The high point of the day was Hazeltop Mountain (elve. 3812). There was a great vista just north of the summit. It offered the first views to the SW. I think I could Waynesboro in the distance. The local trail crew has been out doing maintenance.  They'd done extensive of trimming on sides of the trail.  I wondered how they'd been doing it. Then I found a piece of broken off plastic string from a weedwacker.  Mystery solved! They had also made many new water bars and cleaned out the existing bars. I'm at the Bearfence Mt Shelter in my tent. There are four thru hikers and one section hiker here. I gave them advice on what to expect up north. It was great to have people to talk to. I saw another dozen thru hikers. Two said they were going to flip flop at Harpers Ferry. One was Woody who I may see while out working on the trail in Maine.