morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-22
From: Rockfish Gap - Waynesboro, VA

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

I went through the same routine at the hostel this morning. Up early, pack up, and out by 9am. By the way, the dinner served by the group here last night was excellent. About 7 thru hikers attended, and we ate with about 8 volunteers from the church, who prepared the dinner. The conversation was great, with lots of talk about the trail.Bill Gallagher picked me up at 9am and drove me back to the AT at Rockfish Gap. The day was sunny with tmperatures in the mid 70's. A perfect day for hiking, but more importantly for starting my 5 day hike through the Shenandoah National Park. The park runs about 100 miles, and the trail runs the length of the park. Just as the trail paralleled the Blue Ridge Highway in the section I most recently hiked, the AT also parallels another highway called Skyland Drive, which runs through the park, and the AT crosses back and forth over this highway numerous times.After Bill dropped me off. I hiked a short distance up the trail and self-registered for a permit required to hike and camp in the backcountry of the park. Most of the park is a patchwork of immature and mature forested area, each having the type of trees, shrubs, and plants that grow best in these types of forest. The morning hike went well and took me mostly through early growth forest areas, open and sunny and populated mostly with pitch pine, scrub oak, and mountain laurel. At one point I hiked up Bear Den Mtn. where there was a complex of communication towers and buildings. It was not the most stimulating scenery, but I thought it was probably a good place to place a cell call home. As expected, I got cell service and sat down for a break and called Kathy. We had a great conversation, and I then hiked on.I knew that hiking through the park would probably provide me with my best opportunity to see my first bear on this trip so I tried to stay attentive as I hiked. That wasn't to hard, since the trail through the park all day was a joy to hike, being straight, level, and free of rocks. I did see a lot of deer, but no bears today.My first day in the Shennies, went very well and I finished the day at Blackrock Hut (the shelters are called huts, in the park). When I arrived, there was one other thru hiker and a father and daughter who are hiking for a few days. We had all finished dinner and were talking when another hiker came in, in the dark, with his head lamp on. I was surprised to see that it was Snake, who I knew was now behind me since he had gotten off the trail for a few days to visit a friend. It looks like Snake and I will be on the same schedule now, as we move through the Shennies.
Date: 2007-06-23
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I started hiking this morning before Snake. We had agreed to end the day at Hightop Hut. The weather today seemed even better than yesterday and the trail was straight, level, and free of rocks once again. Hiking through the Shennies has added a new level of excitement and motivation to my thru hike that was recently lacking. I am now approaching the half way point of this hike and soon will be leaving Virginia. I know that the hike will soon take on a new character as I move into PA and start to get closer to New England.The views today were getting better as the weather has cleared and I made a few climbs to the 3000+ ft. elevations. At about the 7 mile point the trail intersected with a side trail to the Loft Mountain Campground, a public campground in the park. I decided to hike up this trail .4 of mile to the camp store, where I bought a large coffee and a honey bun. I took an hour break here reading my guide and journaling. As I left and started back down the side trail, I sighted my first bear of the trip! He was actually on the trail very close to the store. It was a big bear and before I was able to get my camera out, he was running down the trail and out of sight. I was quite excited at this encounter, and it set the stage for a great day.I hiked on for another few miles and came to another side trail that led to the Loft Mountain Wayside, a sort of snack bar and picnic area on Skyland Drive. I had heard that they served a blackberry milkshake which was supposedly very good. So up this trail I went. When I got there I saw Snake and 2 other hikers that looked familiar. When I came closer, I realized they were P-Squared and Chicken Soup, who I haven't seen since the Smokies. We had a great reunion, multiple milkshakes, and after about 3 hours, Snake and I did not get back on the trail until about 4:30pm and still needed to hike about 12 miles. We hiked quickly and decided to stop at the next shelter for dinner. By the time I finished dinner it was 7pm and I ended up hiking in the dark with my headlamp to finally reach the shelter at about 9:30pm. On the way, I was entertained by hundreds of fireflies as they lit up the dark forest with their tiny points of light.I don't normally like hiking at night, but tonight it was a small price to pay for a wonderful day.
Date: 2007-06-24
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadows Campsite
Miles today: 20.4

I was out a little bit later than Snake today. When I arrived at the shelter last night everyone was asleep, so I made sure I was quiet when I set up and went to sleep. Early into today's hike the trail went up Saddleback Mtn. (3285 ft.) and then later Baldface Mtn. (3600 ft.), which have been some of the highest elevations in the park. There were some great views of the surrounding mountains and populated valleys.After about 12 miles, the trail came within 300 ft. of Lewis Mtn. Campground, and I met Snake there. We supplemented our lunch with some cold drinks and snacks from the store. It was also convenient to be able to use the rest rooms there and refill our water bladders. I started out ahead of Snake, as we continued our afternoon hiking. We had agreed to finish up he day at the Big Meadows Campground in the park. A group of about 5 other thru hikers had started out ahead of us as I left the store. I started passing them one by one, and eventually reached the last one. As I glanced ahead, something seemed unusual. This hiker would hike along slowly and then stop, repeating this pattern over and over. It wasn't until I got a little closer thatI realized what was happening. About 30 feet ahead of him was a large black bear ambling slowly down the trail. He would ocassionally stop and look around, and then start walking again. He repeated this behaviour for about 10 minutes before he finally ran off into the woods. Kind of strange behaviour for a bear, as they usually run off immediately.Not too long after this, I came to the side trail leading to Big Meadows Campground and hiked up the short distance. The plan was to meet up with Snake here and we would either share the 15.00 cost of a tent site or share it with some other thru hikers.I walked around for a while and Snake found me. We were discussing what to do when we spotted a couple of adjacent sites that appeared to be occupied by a Boy Scout troop. I approached the adult leaders of this group and asked them if they wouldn't mind us sharing their site with them and contributing to the cost. They willingly agreed to this and said not to worry about sharing the cost of the site.As we set up our tents, the leaders and boy scouts, asked us many questions about our thru hike and our gear. We also learned that they were there to fullfill their 50 mile hike requirement. After we were set up, they offered us some of the left overs from their dinner and something to drink. As we gratefully ate this meal at the picnic table, we were surrounded by the scouts who continued to ask us some very well thought out questions.I was really impressed with this group of mature and well behaved young men from Troop 41 in the state of Kentucky. Snake and I both enjoyed our encounter with Troop 41, and were grateful that our stay here tonight worked out this way. I was hoping that maybe we planted the seed for a future thru hike, in the mind of at least one of these scouts.Another great day in the Shennies.
Date: 2007-06-25
From: Big Meadows Campsite

To: Pass Mtn. Hut
Miles today: 18.8

I could hear the members of troop 41 packing up their camp as I woke up this morning. They had mentioned the previous night that they would be getting an early start to head home today. As Snake and I started to break camp, the scouts and adults thanked us for sharing our thru hike with them and we thanked them for all the generous trail magic. They gave us quarters and soap and shampoo this morning so we could take a shower. We also received a little bit more food. We all posed together for some photos and bid them farewell.Our first event of the day was to take a shower at the campground facility and then have breakfast at the Big Meadows Lodge. The shower and breakfast were both welcome luxuries we enjoyed after three days on the trail. We knew as soon as we started hiking it would not be long before we'd be sweating and grimy, but it was worth it to be clean while we ate breakfast.Snake left first, but I decided to journal for a while and did not get going until 12pm. This was probably not the best idea since the weather had now changed to dry and pleasant yesterday to hot and very humid today. I made sure I started out with plenty of water. As expected, I really worked up quite a sweat and made sure to sip water on a regular basis. The trail today, passed a number of vistas and open rocky cliffs, but because of the humidity the views were hazy. By the afternoon, the heat had worn me down and I stopped for lunch at a picnic area with a covered pavilion. This proved to be good timing as it started to rain lightly. There happened to be another group of scouts eating at this site, and I was quickly asked all of the typical thru hiking questions which I really welcome and willingly answered.The rest of the day's hike was tough with the continued humidity. The dreaded rocks also appeared on the trail again, which I guess is signaling our departure from the park. I finally dragged myself to the shelter by the end of the day and tried to wash off as much of the days grime and sweat, as possble. I wasn't that hungry and settled for just a bagel and peanut butter.A tough hot and humid day in the Shennies.
Date: 2007-06-26
From: Pass Mtn. Hut

To: Tom Floyd Wayside
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: light rain

Today would be our last day in the Shennies. By the end of today's hike, we would be just outside the Shenandoah National Park. I tried to get up and going early today, because the heat and humidity was suppose to be just as bad today as it was yesterday.The first goal for us was to hike about 7 miles to the Elkwallow Gap Wayside, for a late breakfast and possibly early lunch (yes, I know, here I go talking about food again). The 7 miles went by fast and the "oasis in the park" was in sight. I arrived before Snake, and ordered an egg and cheese sandwich, with a large coffee. As I went outside to eat Snake showed up. I sat down at the picnic table and was about to enjoy this meal, when a horde of flies decended upon me. I spent more time swatting flies then eating. I managed to finish but what a frustrating experience. I wandered back inside to see what else I could devour and walked out with a package of cookies and a YooHoo drink. This time I picked a spot away from the picnic tables by a nice shady tree. Unfortunately these darn flies found me and we played the swatting game all over. I had a "kill count" of about 12 before I stopped, since I was slapping myself silly in the process. Snake was experiencing the same problem. I was slightly short on supplies, so went into the wayside store one more time to purchase a few things so I could make it to Harpers Ferry.Once we got back into the woods it was a relief to be away from those flies. The afternoon hike was basically a hot and humid affair, and I was careful to make sure I had plenty of water. There were a few climbs that had me sweating and shirt and shorts were soaked most of the afternoon.At one point I caught up to Snake and we hiked together for a while. I was in the lead with my head down watching the trail, which was becoming increasingly rocky. I turned left at a bend in the trail and was startled to see two deer standing on the trail. I literally almost ran into them and they barely moved. I thought that was so odd that I would be startled by a deer in the woods, instead of the deer being startled by me.As we came closer to our destination the rocks became downright hazardous. The end of the day is always the toughest time to negotiate a rocky trail because your tired, and tired legs just don't have much dexterity and balance. Somehow, after much frustration, we made it to the shelter. This is a small shelter with a nice deck out front. We made dinner as we limped about with sore knees and feet, thankful to have our day's hike come to an end.Getting ready for the push to Harpers Ferry.
Date: 2007-06-27
From: Tom Floyd Wayside

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I had just enough water at the shelter last night and could not get any to start the day today, since the spring at the shelter was dry. So after the first mile on the AT I went down a blue trail which took me to a 4-H Camp. I was able to fill my water bladder from a spigot there and as an added bonus, I was able to purchase a soda from a vending machine.The weather was still hot and humid. I passed an area of the trail this morning that was near a power line and had many black raspberry bushes growing nearby. I slowed down and picked and ate my fill af these delicious berries. I have really had a craving for fresh fruit lately and this was a real treat. After eight miles I reached the Jim and Molly Denton Shelter, which I heard was a very nice shelter. Just before I got there however I was turning a bend in the trail and came across Slick (who had been a day ahead of Snake and I) hiking soutbound! We both were surprised at this, but I knew I was definitely hiking north. Slick realized he had made the wrong turn as he left the shelter after a break. Luckily I was there to alert him that he was on his way back to Georgia! The Jim and Molly Denton Shelter is a real palace. It must sleep about 15. It has a nice deck out front with built in benches and Adirondack chairs. There is even a spring fed shower in the back of the shelter. I wish I had spent the night there.Not too far from the shelter about a a mile down VA638, was a small grocery store we just had to check out. It was a good walk down the road in the hot sun, but when we got there it was worth it. Snake, Slick and I took about a two hour break there, drinking chocolate milk and gatorade, and eating pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I have to say I have absolutely no guilt at all out here, about downing a pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in one sittng.We finally got ourselves walking back to the trail, which again was tough in the heat of the sun and now with full stomachs. Once I got going on the trail however, I was able to power through the last 9 miles of the day. I guess the gatorade, chocolate milk and ice cream did the trick. I am staying at a shelter tonight called Dick's Dome. It is in the shape of a hexagonal dome, and is somebody's experiment gone wrong. Unlike a rectangular shelter, this one makes it much harder to fit more than 5 hikers efficiently and comfortably. It's an ugly looking thing too. I am sleeping on top of my sleeping bag tonight and trying to avoid the bugs, due to the hot and humid night.
Date: 2007-07-03
From: Pine Knot Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: few clouds

Sleep last night was spotty. I woke up in the middle of the night with some stomach cramps. I wasn't sure if it was the burger I ate at the tavern yesterday, some bad water, the litre of Gatorade I mixed and drank before I went to sleep, or something else. Anyway I got up in the pitch dark, walked around a bit, and eventually got back to sleep.As soon as I started hiking today, the trail climbed up to a place called Annapolis Rocks. This area provided a nice view (made better by the clear and dry weather) of the Maryland landscape looking west. There were about 15 - 20 kids there with adult instuctors, teaching them how to use ropes to lower themselves from these rocks. These kids were young, so I was quite impressed.The hiking today, in combination with the great weather and nice trail conditions, was quite enjoyable. I kept hiking long and hard and just stopped briefly for some snacks, rather than stop for a longer lunch break. The big event of the day would be crossing the Mason-Dixon line, the north-south demarcation, and pass from Maryland to Pennsylvania. Just before that happened the trail would go through Pen-Mar Park, a Maryland state park. I planned to eat dinner there and hike into PA.Right before Pen-Mar, the trail turned into a steep and rocky stretch. The rocks at least were not the loose "ankle turning" type rocks, but large bolders which were easier to step across, as long as I went slowly and maintained my balance. Eventually I got pass this section and hiked into Pen-Mar Park. This park was very clean and well maintained, with some covered pavilions a snack bar and plenty of picnic tables. I noticed there was a soda vending machine by the snack bar, so I walked in that direction. The snack bar was closed, but that was OK since I was planning on making dinner anyway. I then ran into the park ranger and struck up a conversation with him. As we talked, I mentioned something about how thru hikers crave ice cream, and he then unlocked the snack bar, and let me purchase some ice cream bars, which amazingly enough, were only a quarter each! I took four, as did another thru hiker (Rebel) who just arrived, and we handed him a dollar each.Rebel and I both thanked him, and walked back to the picnic table near our packs, to first eat our desert, before it melted, and then cook dinner. Fuzzy Monkey and Big Shanty, two other thru hikers I know, arrived later, and they were lucky enough to purchase some ice cream too.After a long dinner break, I packed up and started to hike out the remaining 5 miles to tonight's destination Deer Lick Shelters, which are smaller twin shelters, which sleep 4 each. About a mile out of the park I crossed some railroad tracks which I think marked the Mason-Dixon line, and entered Pennsylvania. I believe there was a sign there somewhere announcing this transition, but I did not see it.I eventually arrived at the shelter just before dark. I was the only one there, but Big Shanty and Rebel eventually showed up later, after hiking in the dark, using their headlamps to guide the way.Six states down, seven to go!
Date: 2007-07-04
From: Deer Lick Shelters

To: Quarry Gap Shelters
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Most of the thru hikers I had talked to prior to today, had discussed the idea of hiking to a PA state park called Celedonia today, to try and celebrate the 4th of July. Caledonia State Park was about 12 miles away, so Big Shanty, Rebel, and I would probably arrive there around 2pm today, and hopefully be offered some trail magic of maybe a hamburger or hot dog by the locals enjoying the holiday. That was the plan anyway.I believe Snake Charmer is somewhere behind me at this point and Slick is ahead.The temperature was rising and the humidity was creeping back again, so the hiking today was sweaty and hot. As we got wihin 5 miles of Caledonia, we spotted a sign on a tree, announcing a thru hiker picnic in the park from 11am to 5pm. Well, that really fired us up and we hiked a very fast 5 miles into the park. When we arrived, we walked all over looking for this picnic, but could find no trace of it. Meanwhile we passed dozens of picnics in progress, with the smell of grilling burgers and hot dogs thick in the air. People looked at us in curiousity, but no one made us an offer for some food. It was reaching an unbearable level, as our stomachs growled for food, so we eventually gravitated toward the concession stand. We purchased hot dogs and hamburgers (at a stiff price) to satisfy our aching hunger. Fuzzy Monkey and Tumbleweed (a thru hiker I just met) later showed up and we all sat around the picnic table at the concession stand, eating and talking. I made a call home and left a message then called my son Dave who answered. He was at my brother's house at his annual family 4th of July party. My wife, Kathy and daughter Kerrie, were there also, which surprised me since I did not think they were going this year. This was great since they were able to pass the phone around and I was able to talk to everyone. As I heard all the happy voices in the background, and the kids screaming and yelling it brought me a little closer to them in spirit, and I felt good. I was happy to have a great family at home. As I talked to them I could not help but notice the laughter and conversation of the thru hikers around me and that also made me feel good, knowing that I was also a part of this thru hiker family that shares a deep bond and burning desire to reach Mount Katahdin in Maine. At that point, the impending rain, came pouring down, but we all managed to stay dry by huddling under the picnic table umbrellas. I later hiked out of the park to the next shelter, another double shelter. This one was quite a beauty. It was joined by a common roof with a breezeway in between. It had a nice covered deck and a picnic table. The maintainer of this shelter you could see, really had fun building this one and took pride in keeping it attractive. So far I have been impressed with the PA shelters.Happy Independance Day everyone.P.S. We later found out the thru hiker picnic was actually July 3, not the fourth.