morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-10
From: manassus gap shelter

To: ashby gap parking lot
Miles today: 9.3

...hikers saw the SUN today for the first time in a week!......rejoice!......and it's a good thing!...because for us it meant drier conditions for spending the afternoon at ashby gap waiting for a shuttle to D.C.......yes....unfortunately....we must head back to chattanooga for a few days....my mom has been hospitalized in order to receive a stint for one of her arteries which was blocked...(thank the Lord it wasn't worse!)....but naturally i (maw) want to be there with her and my dad......perhaps....somehow...(depending on her progress)....we can head back to the trail in about a week....her health comes first, however, so we shall see.......IF we can get back, it will probably be via "trail days"....anyone headed there thursday or friday who might want to share a ride?....
Date: 2012-05-11
From: ashby gap parking lot

To: chattanooga
Miles today: 0.0

...interstate hwy 81 is so difficult to traverse in a car!...especially for hikers, because the mountains, the trail, is just right there, "calling" to you all the time!....(it's especially difficult heading south when your head and heart are heading NORTH!).........i can't conceive that our hike is finished......thinking of "stuff" as we "rocket" down this interstate...stuff like : paw really needs a new backpack for a more comfortable hike....(maybe he can try on a few at traildays?)....workin' on that "plan"........and praying for my mom and dad....they really are so strong at their age....but i have to say i'm glad the AT is a trail that puts me within a day of traveling home if the need arises.......and wondering how to limit "snacking"......oh forget it!....ALMOND snickers are the BEST!....(along with everything else in our food bags which seem to be quickly "diminishing"!)....we BETTER keep hiking...or else we'll be "macro maw" and "pudgy paw"! (heh heh)...."breathe your 'native' air" ---- j. oswald sanders......."suffering and affliction are our best teachers" ---- malcolm muggeridge......."the Vinedresser is never nearer the vine than when he's 'pruning' it"......."ilikegiving.com".....(trail magic!)
Date: 2012-05-12
From: chattanooga

To: my mom and dad's house
Miles today: 0.0

....a quick trip to lookout mountain to pick up our subaru, and then back down to chattanooga to tend to my mom.......she is, thankfully, doing very well!...(but we may have to tie her down to keep her still and recuperating!).....i'm not kidding....do you know what the first item on her agenda was after they released her from parkridge hospital yesterday????....proceed to the "beauty shop" for her hair appointment!.....she's a trooper! :-)
Date: 2012-05-13
From: my mom and dad's house

To: still at horse creek
Miles today: 0.0

....amid the asphalt....the chem-lawn.....the "boxes"....(maw doesn't do well with windows that don't open....or locked doors that need a code to go outside to the fresh air)....oh dear!....i'm complaining, aren't i!....(sorry)....but paw seems content to do a little morning "shuffle" up and down the concrete........it's mothers' day!....thankful my mom is still "whinnying" with us (as dylan thomas would say)!.....and that i can spend time with her now....also really thankful to have had a visit from my daughter and her fam!....(dontcha just love it when grandkids stretch out their arms to run and jump into yours?!?!)....(and they brought me macaroons and shop-crafted marshmallows!).......soooo many desserts on the counter (brought by friends and family)....whooooo boy!....hiker appetites have not abated in the least!.......our good friend, richard bradbury, has been "brought home to die"....hospice and family are at his bedside.....
Date: 2012-05-15
From: at the computer

To: in the kitchen
Miles today: 0.0

....(will paw and i hold the record for number of "zero days" on the trail this year????).......thank you to so many friends and your offers to help us get back to our hike!........we are grocery shopping and cooking meals for my parents today (and for friends in cleveland)....mom says she likes cooking in the kitchen with me! :-)   mutual, mom!....they tell us this rain is much needed ..(we must have "brought it with us from virginia!)........well......we were 5 minutes too late today to say "goodbye" to our friend, richard.....he had just "crossed over" as we carried our pie and casserole through their front door......but we got the good news that our prayers for an "easy" homegoing were answered in that he had not suffered......many "bittersweet" tears (of both sadness and joy) were being shed in "losing richard to ourselves" and "giving him over to his Savior".....my my!....SUCH a well-lived life!....full and rich with the Life and Love of Jesus!.....they just don't make 'em like richard bradbury anymore!....he "hiked" the BEST Path....he knew the "True Way"!.....what an inspiration to all of us who were blessed to have known him!.......i'm glad we were here and able to be present with our friends during these few difficult, but somehow very precious moments.........we will celebrate richard's life thursday evening at their church in cleveland....
Date: 2012-05-19
From: still at mom and dad's

To: cloudland canyon state park
Miles today: 0.0

....mom's doing so much better, for which i am thankful! :-)....a short hike at the canyon to "shake out the cobwebs"........and then....a little visit with my family made everything perfect!........God has so blessed our hike so far!...i am thankful!....(not without obstacles, but so, so very blessed!)....
Date: 2012-05-20
From: cloudland canyon state park

To: damascus, va (again!)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

....."HARDCORE" ROCKS!.........well....we got in the soo-bee and headed for damascus to catch the last evening of trail days (and lion king's movie on the ADT)........richard smith was kind enough to let us "car camp" in his yard!...(thanks richard!.....we came back sunday mornin' after breakfast to thank you and say goodbye, but it looked a little "sleepy" around there!...heh heh....keep up the good work with your "israel promotions"!).........and now we're at the "castle" in hampton with other hikers who helped us build trail today over pond mtn....(and eat BBQ at wautaiga lake!)...thanks to all the folks who prepared that meal!.......and thank you, bob peoples, for a "patch" for paw and a "rocker" for me!...(we cherish them!)....we're in awe of all you accomplish for the trail community!....thank you thank you thank you!.......and thanks to ALDHA who provided all the goodies to go in our work packs!........roane mtn re-routes tomorrow.....and THENNNNNNN!....GUESS WHAT?!?!?!!!!!.....BACK TO THE TRAIL ON TUESDAY!!!!!....HALLELUJAH!
Date: 2012-05-21
From: damascus, va (again!)

To: HARDCORE, roan mtn
Miles today: 0.0

...(a.m.).....enjoying our room at the "castle" and reading a book by (favorite author) ravi zacharias that i've been wanting to read for a long time! : "the lotus and the cross"..........creative!....thought provoking!.......a quote from the beginning pages caught my eye : "one day we will all find out that being respectful and sincere does not give us license to be wrong...truth demands investigation and commitment....our conclusion must be in keeping with truth that can be tested...to be handcuffed by a lie is the worst imprisonment of all".........i find hiking a long trail to be an excellent place to examine and test Truth!........to have the time...the solitude....the opportunity to ask the "hard questions".....how cool!....(and we "dare not shrink from asking the hard questions just to avoid discomfort").........the "truth" this morning?....my old body is SORE from swingin' that pulaski yesterday!....(*ouch*)
Date: 2012-05-22
From: HARDCORE, roan mtn

To: bear's den hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

....if you've never had the pleasure of meeting "mr. and mrs. pipesmoke", definitely put it on your "bucket list"!.....what great folks!....(thanks guys for getting us to bear's den via a fabulous picnic with mary and jack!),,,...we will officially be back on the trail tomorrow!.........AND..... we are doing our first ever "slack pack" (or "freedom hike" as miss janet calls it).....on the "roller coaster"...(a famous up-and-down section in virginia).........LUUUUUUV "bear's den"!........hate stink bugs!....(thanks to justin and his wife, intern from chattanooga, amy and all the others (charlie and janine...hikers...and yes,paw, too) who made this such a memorable and comfortable stay!....(maybe paw and i can come back some day to help out here!).......thinking back on "hardcore"....totally freaked out by the beautiful work that was accomplished for 2 new reroutes!.....(miracles really do happen!).....check it out!.....especially roan mtn!.......and thanks to baltimore jack and his crew for yet another fantastic spaghetti dinner!........bill....diana.....words can't even begin to express our gratitude for all your help, encouragement, prayers and good company!....thank you sooooo much for drivin' our soo-bee back home for us!....we owe you big time!...
Date: 2012-05-24
From: slack on the roller coaster

To: stealth near harpers ferry
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

....5 a.m......pancakes!...thanks bears den!........first full day back on the trail with FULL packs!....yeah!.........lookin' forward to harper's ferry!....(say "cheeeeez"!...on every level!....for the ATC camera...for pizza.....mmm!)........we passed 1000 today!....(lookin' good, paw!)....we're both feelin' pretty good!...woo hoo!........under the tarp....a storm is blowin' in.....tried to make sure we pitched AWAY from a nasty "widow maker"!....
Date: 2012-05-25
From: stealth near harpers ferry

To: stealth near crampton shelter
Miles today: 14.7

....word for the day?....FREEDOM!.....(and a discussion about what that really means!)........several years ago we were blessed to be able to hike a tiny portion of the tatra mtn range (near zakopane) in poland....and we learned that it hasn't been that long ago since overnight camping was actually illegal in the tatras (because, i assume, the communist government wished to prohibit defectors from crossing over to freedom there)......here in the US we like to think that kind of thing would never happen....yet....it's right here in harper's ferry that we are reminded of the plight of african american slaves, who also (only in relatively recent history), gained the freedom to come and go as desired.....native americans, as well....(we recall a "forced walk" that was theirs on the "trail of tears" where so many either died or were removed to unfamiliar lands).....so....the freedom to put one foot in front of the other and hike the appalachian trail seems to us to be a particularly amazing blessing on this memorial day weekend!....to go wherever we please....in body....in soul....in spirit!.........BUT.... is this merely what freedom is all about?....to just be "moving"?.....(physically.....politically....intellectually.....spiritually?).....or is there a "goal" in freedom?....what is that goal?.....what is true freedom?...........("he whom the Son sets free is free indeed").........2nd word for the day? : "confluence"!.........3rd word? : HOT!.......4th?....THIRSTY!....(could NOT get enough gatorade!.....thank you "sunshine and balls" for the "G2" donation at the ATC office!....awesome!...it really hit the spot!).........AND.... thanks to gathland state park for providing cold drink machines!........we were numbers 220 and 221 when we signed our photos at the ATC....(that means that approximately 200 other hikers have passed us SOMEWHERE along the way!).....
Date: 2012-05-26
From: stealth near crampton shelter

To: just past pogo campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

....a hoppy toad at your "cathole" in the morning can be quite startling!.........listening to the indigo bunting high in the trees!.....so happy, i say.....desperately happy, says paw!.....(chew chew sweet sweet chew chew sweet sweet chew chew sweet sweet!)........define the goal...(then keep it in sight!).....next state?....next town?.....next campsite?....next step?.....next "view"?.........(bigger picture....smaller picture.....sometimes the views are simply to the "inside"!........."green tunnel"?.....alright by us!....(SHADE!)..........meals from home a little TOO "healthy" for our systems!......(ugh)....passed up showers at dahlgren campground.....(i think they were perhaps dirtier than WE were!)....we are working on a formulaic method to help us consume whatever is offered at the "half gallon challenge".........i hear thunder!....
Date: 2012-05-27
From: just past pogo campsite

To: deer lick shelters
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: light rain

....OMG!.....word for the day?....BLESSED!....( i wanted to say "TRAIL MAGIC", but #1) it's TWO words, and #2) it's way over-used and thus kinda loses it's true impact).....however, it really has been a magical day!....right off the bat this a.m., we were BLESSED (i.e., "made happy" in the "beatitudes" sense of the word), by katy and jesse (aka "party girl") and their friends, mary and lou (?), who cooked breakfast for us at the ensign shelter....yum!....thanks, y'all!........then we met a fellow (david) who asked us to feel free to have a soda out of the back of his truck at the trail head!....thank you, sir!....how good that icy coke tasted!.......and to top it all, we met "balls" and "sunshine", a father hiking with his ADORABLE 12 yr old daughter....(okay, balls....you're adorable, too!)....and hey.... i'll tell ya.....it's one thing to be hiking....but to do "trail magic" along the way AS you hike?....that's just way beyond the call of duty!....yep!.....balls and sunshine have been having the "blessings" shipped to them and then they share those blessings with other hikers along the way!.....(e.g. the G2's at harpers ferry!)...wow!....what a great duo!....hope we get to spend some more time with them!....(uh....no....not just for the G2's!...heh heh!).........ss and b also gave us billy goat's PHONE number!....(yes....his phone number!...heh heh!).....what's the world coming to!?!?!?!....whew!...long day!....started at 5 a.m....and finished at 7 p.m......but we had lots of time beside the trail today sharing meals and great conversation with each other and with friends!........pen mar park was soooo different this time through!.....memorial day!....people everywhere!...big band!....dancing!....icecream!....lemonade!....ribeye sandwiches!....a true celebration!..........we have barely gotten our tarp up tonight before a big, black thunderstorm descended upon us!...(grief!....we coulda stayed in the shelter!.....oh well....)
Date: 2012-05-28
From: deer lick shelters

To: stealth past sandy sod junction
Miles today: 18.3

...okay....let's talk gear.......tarp = 1 lb. "mansion".......golite umbrellas = dry head, face, spine and tail bone...dry potty breaks....dry lunch breaks....and privacy when a girl may need it.......bamboo hiking poles = extra leverage/length for posture-perfect descents and river fords...also a darn good clothes dryer........walmart cheapo teflon pot....wide enough to saute veggies...."bake" pizza slices....flip pancakes ...(who needs pancakes...just give me some high calorie little debbies i can eat on the run!).......my "biffer"...(BFR)...and oh!....my "ghost"...(getting to be pretty ghostly)....but i hear mntsmith has got a new one coming out, sooooo.......enough of that for now........FROM A NEEDLEPOINT SOMEWHERE: "the kiss of the sun for pardon....the song of the birds for mirth...one is nearer God's heart in a garden...than anywhere else on earth!".....THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL!.....ONE CONTINUOUS 2100 MILE GARDEN!........do you know what "torture" is?...it is walking through a park on memorial day with the smell of burgers and fried chicken wafting up into your hungry little hiker nostrils, and not getting invited to a single picnic!...TORTURE!....sheer torture, boo boo!........sign today : "timber rattlesnake population is in decline...it is prohibited to kill, catch, disturb or TAKE (take?) timber rattlers".......(uh...thanks...i might otherwise have picked one up and put it in my pack!)....i <3 PA!
Date: 2012-05-29
From: stealth past sandy sod junction

To: james fry shelter
Miles today: 22.2

....HALFWAY TODAY!....woohoo!....and a half gallon of icecream to celebrate!....(well....actually...a half gallon isn't a true half gallon anymore.... and paw and i cheated...we shared one! heh heh).........balls and sunshine and aunt karen and uncle bob actually witnessed the whole event!...sweet!....(on every level!).....AT museum....really cool!....will revisit!....for all our hiker peeps coming behind, "ironmasters hostel" is closed on tuesdays! (bah!) ...so be aware and plan accordingly.........7 mile "race" to beat the storm....(good grief!.... give paw some icecream and watch him "fly"!(left ironmasters at 2...got to the shelter BEFORE the rain at 4:30!).........but guess who's snoring NOW! :-)....shelter is FULL (9?).........privy is like a bomb shelter!.....(certainly no mice up THERE!....nope....they're probably all down HERE!.......hey!...we heard from billy goat!........galinas b and b tomorrow....rain coming down....thankful to be "in"....
Date: 2012-05-30
From: james fry shelter

To: backpackers campsite at boiling springs
Miles today: 11.5

....the first human voice of the morning is almost a sacrilege.........and speaking of sacrileges, a few of us have been induced (by the forces of nature) to commit the "unpardonable" : "trace leaving"!....rain and storms mildewed trail guide pages and ripped them from packs....dampness loosened adhesives to unstick items that might otherwise REALLY have needed to remain stuck, and gale force winds unhitched trash and carried it away to never-to-be- retrieved places (under shelter floors)....not to mention tearing down limbs and strewing other "natural debris"...........hikers are doing penance by continuing our trek along the rocky PA terrain!.........uh.....the sound of "blowgun practice" first thing in the morning is also a sacrilege........*help*........but the sound of paw's snoring (at 7:30) is sweet!....almost heavenly....as he catches a few extra zzzzzz"s (much neede after his marathon marching yesterday!)....now....about that privy at james fry : remember the ols "mousetrap" board game?....or the movie "home alone"?......uh....yeah...
Date: 2012-05-31
From: backpackers campsite at boiling springs

To: galinas manor nero day
Miles today: 0.5

....."caffe 101".....eggs, pancakes, french toast, sausage, canadian bacon, home fries, rye toast, strawberries, OJ, and a nice big hot cup of black breakfast tea!....en plein aire!....ahhhhhh!........disappointed that we couldn't work out spending more time with sunshine and balls...perhaps later on....(although, how are us geezers EVER gonna catch those two!!!).....fast, those kids!....and delightful to be around!.....(hey, b and ss!...thanks for the "boloney", too!...yum!)..........is it possible to beat the rain again tomorrow?...."no rain...no maine"!........thanks to our hosts kitty and michael, we're enjoying our stay at galinas....(although for those of you not yet in the vicinity of boiling springs, you might want to consider the allenberry playhouse!...we keep hearing great things about that place!)....however (even though we can't bring our packs in to the b and b), the fancy instant beverage maker makes up for it!....(and kitty got our clothes cleaner than anyone to date, with her special "recipe" for laundry!)........we're both exhausted from a difficult night by the train tracks last night.....hmmmmm....maw and paw....HOBOES!........but tonight, this real bed is feelin' pretty fine!....
Date: 2012-06-01
From: boiling springs

To: darlington shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

....ps 46:10 ---"be still and know that I am God....i will be exalted in the earth".........a thru hike is a sort of "stillness"...a "sabbatical" from "civilian" life, if you will.....a place of "quiet", often... or of "long wandering prayer" (as david hanson describes in a favorite book of mine by the same title).....there are times, on those treeless summits, when all you can hear is the wind in your ears, or the occasional call of the towhee in the dawn, that God is "exalted"....He "rises" in your heart somehow, and makes himself known in the sureness and beauty of creation......and even though as hikers we are "moving", working hard daily to accomplish the miles that will take us just a little closer to our ultimate goal of katahdin, yet we are given the unique opportunity out here along the trail to "wait" before the God who is with us (vv. 7 and 11)...to "be still" in his knowing....to be at rest in his time.....on his earth!...wow!....once again today, though, we are "bookin' bookin' bookin' "....and once again, blessed to arrive at the shelter before the storms!....hallelujah!.........full house....bootstraps....manbearpig....critter....instigator....expeditor.....blue....maine-iac.....beacon....waker dude.....several others!....we've all managed to fit!.....all havin' fun!.....instigator and i are having a few laughs over our "geezer hiker flab"! (ha ha!...jiggle jiggle!).......tornadoes in maryland tonight....hope they stay there!....did i mention we got our new "brollies"?.....
Date: 2012-06-02
From: darlington shelter

To: the famous doyle in duncannon
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

....paw says it's ALL rocks underneath!....just a matter of how it's built and maintained!....(indeed!)......forgot to mention some "shrooms we saw yesterday....looked "crackled" on top...like creme brulee.....(ooooh!....don't say creme brulee!)......we've also been seeing some neat "lilies" : fly poison and devil's bit!......horrible names....beautiful blossoms!......indian pipe is making its appearance as well....a little early, i think........overgrown trail through this section....sometimes i wish i had a pair of loppers or garden shears.....(do you think fingernail clippers would work?).......saw an old friend from the PCT this mornin'...."coach", the ridgerunner here (takin' care of the stray cats in the shelters, heh heh!)....an alabama boy relocated to boiling springs....imagine that!........what a great burger we had when we got into the doyle today!...and what great folks who served it up amid the hubbub of duncannon's becoming an "official" trail town!.......AND....we've decided to STAYYYYY!....(EVERYBODY OUGHT TO EXPERIENCE THE DOYLE AT LEAST ONCE IN THEIR LIVES!).....