morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-07-11
From: ME 27

To: Historic AT route ... 100 M.W. A&O
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

JOURNAL ADJUSTED, SEPTEMBER:77.7 miles for the week brings me to 2071.4 total; following is the breakdown:7.3 on Sun 07/05: Hwy 27, Stratton Motel; nice walk with Yes Ma'am on the way up and Hobbit on the way down ... via cell. the Wolf Burger and Double Bag, by Long Trail Ale, hit the perverbial spot.0.00 on M 07/06: Stratton, ME; r & r. 15.3 on T 07/07: Little Bigelow Lean-to/tented; these mt. tops were BIG.18.1 on W 07/08: Trail 0 1E to Harrison's/room; among the "Carry" ponds & mud.9.3 on R 07/09: Pleasant Pond Lean-to/tented; Great breakfast at Tim's; canoe ride to across the Kennebec; dipped the pond.13.1on F 07/10: Moxie Bald Mt. Lean-to/tented; Pleasant Pond Mt. went on forever; Bald was a hot, short, steep up.14.6 on Sat 07/11: Historic AT route, 100 M.W. A & O; saw the back end of a moose crossing the trail bout 40 yards in front of me early. 2 water fords, 1 mud bath & 0 packages 4 pick up when there was 2 b 3!will c what i can come up with 2maro, then that might really be the last up-date for a bit as i'm soon to enter the 'wilderness' thing. i hear it's ...
Date: 2015-07-12
From: Historic A.T. route/100 M.W. A&O

To: take a day
Miles today: 0.0

ADDED TO JOURNAL IN SEPTEMBER:0.00 on Sun 07/12: Historic AT route, 100 M.W. A & O/cabin; r & r, resupply, loadin up on 'calories' and waiting 4 Monday's mail.
Date: 2015-07-14
From: Wilson Valley Lean-to

To: East Chairback Pond
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

ADDED TO JOURNAL IN SEPTEMBER:18.2 on T 07/14: East Chairback Pond/tented; things are a lot further away than they seem as hiking this is slow and difficult. put in good and hilly miles ... WHAT HILL? picked poor place to camp!
Date: 2015-07-18
From: Historic A.T. route

To: Rainbow Lake Campsite
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

JOURNAL ADJUSTED, SEPTEMBER:91.5 miles for the week brings me to 2162.9 total (just 26.3 miles short of the finish line); following is the breakdown:0.00 on Sun 07/12: Historic AT route, 100 M.W. A & O/cabin; r & r, resupply, loadin up on 'calories' and waiting 4 Monday's mail.13.7 on M 07/13: Wilson Valley Lean-to/tented; another big breakfast, a late start and the 100 Mile Wilderness slapped me.18.2 on T 07/14: East Chairback Pond/tented; things are a lot further away than they seem as hiking this is slow and difficult. put in good and hilly miles ... WHAT HILL? picked poor place to camp!14.5 on W 07/15: Logan Brook Lean-to/tented; rained early and the temp dropped; did four sizable hills before 'the view'.11.7 on R 07/16: Cooper Brook Falls Lean-to/tented; very nice trail in spots, but i just didn't have it today. slept for 13 hours.15.7 on F 07/17: Nahmakanta Stream Campsite/tented; dry & flat with a great view of the big K. 17.7 on Sat 07/18: Rainbow Lake Campsite/tented; more climbing and popped the left ankle again. large moose in Murphy Pond. rained hard after 1 p.m.the plan is to have a couple of slow and easy days as Hobbit & Yes Ma'am travel to join me for the summit. the biggest hurdle is, of course, the weather.
Date: 2015-07-19
From: Rainbow Lake Campsite 

To: Abol Bridge/Millinocket
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

ADDED TO JOURNAL IN SEPTEMBER:11.2 on Sun 07/19: Abol Bridge/Baxter Inn in Millinocket; not much left in the tank as i exit the 100 mile wilderness. nice family gave me a ride into town from the Northern Restaurant to avoid more rain.
Date: 2015-07-21
From: the Baxter Inn, Millinocket

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

ADDED TO JOURNAL IN SEPTEMBER:9.9 on T 07/21: Katahdin Stream Campground/hotel; 7 a.m. ride to Abol Bridge and a fast/short hike, yet a long day, as i await my Wisconsin limo.
Date: 2015-07-22
From: Rainbow Lake Campsite 

To: KATAHDIN
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: broken clouds

JOURNAL ADJUSTED, SEPTEMBER:11.2 on Sun 07/19: Abol Bridge/Baxter Inn in Millinocket; not much left in the tank as i exit the 100 mile wilderness. nice family gave me a ride into town from the Northern Restaurant to avoid more rain.0.00 on M 07/20: r x 3; rest, relax & reflect.9.9 on T 07/21: Katahdin Stream Campground/hotel; 7 a.m. ride to Abol Bridge and a fast/short hike, yet a long day, as i await my Wisconsin limo.5.2 on W 07/22: SUMMIT MT. KATAHDIN; a glorious day with my good friends.
Date: 2015-02-24
To: Mt. Airy, MD
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Wonderful. I'm stoked. Twisted replied to me via e-mail. He is moving along very fast, so we hope to get to Pennsylvania (Rocksylvania) before he does.Oops, long range forecast shows lows in the 20s March 18-21. Maybe we will practice somewhere warmer for a few days.In Montgomery, Texas counting down days until departure March 1 towards Harpers Ferry and the AT. We will ride the motorcycle (yup), stop at Mountain Crossing [skipped this stop because we shipped our gear to Mt. Airy, MD], photo James Lea documents in Raleigh (yup), and be ready to hike by March 17th when warmer overnight lows average above freezing [nope, temperatures were low for another week]. Jim has graciously agreed to let us park our motorcycle in his garage for the duration (yup), and Smooch Smooch, the veteran on-line shopper, is accumulating gear even as we speak (for sure).-Shakedown Cruise - we will continue to add to this solitary entry until we begin hiking and most of our postings will be a detailed Gear list.Smooch Smooch has tried on numerous hiking boots and shoes settling on Vasque Vista mid ankle boots to begin the hike during cold weather (nope) and switching to Salomons X Ultra 2 GTX for warmer weather (the Salomons were MOST comfortable, so she used them from the git-go). So many decisions!Decisions and More Decisions: Are we buying a Big Agnes ultralight tent that weighs 1.6 pounds or another brand that weighs 2.2 pounds? (Big Agnes) Shakedown is making wise and careful decisions. For me (SmoochSmooch), using the 1 Click Buy on Amazon works well with all of my gear gathered and ready to go except for socks. So many opinions about which brand, the length, and the cushioning. Darn Tough Merino Wool Medium and light weight crew socks are on order. Coolmax micro mini socks will go into the bounce box for warmer temperatures. We've ordered a Big Agnes Fly Creek Platinum UL2 from Rockfish Gap Outfitters in Waynesboro, VA, a wonderfully competent store. (Mountain Crossings is not carrying that ultralight model this year - too expensive.)Also ordered Gossamer Gear groundcloth and Tenacious Tape, pack liner, phone pouch for backpack strap, etc.Following example of last year's GearHead, Ron ordered an umbrella hat.We decided to visit various outfitters for more commonplace items.
Date: 2015-03-17
To: Mt. Airy, MD
Miles today: 0.0

The bike ride from Texas to Mt. Airy, Maryland took two weeks with a stop at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, AL and another at the North Carolina Archives in Raleigh, NC to do research for Cynthia's book. We are staying with friends Jim and Joni, who will take us to Harper's Ferry on Saturday morning.   Today (3/17) we packed and re-packed out backpacks to discover to our dismay that they weighed 27 and 24 pounds respectively.  We are re-packing; we can eliminate food and water but NOT the new Apple Air 2 iPad that weighs less that a pound.   Oh, I need Little Mak to help me pack! My Deuter pack is quite nice and really light.  I (Cynthia) need to reduce the contents more to try to elminate the weight on my hip bones. We practice by walking with our packs up Jim's long driveway to the road!
Date: 2015-03-18
To: Mt. Airy, MD
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Ron and I have been packing and re-packing our backpacks; his weight is now 25 lbs. and mine is 16. Despite the weight reduction my pack feels heavy and causes me to waddle while walking. The temperatures in Mt. Airy are very cold; forecast for tomorrow calls for rain and snow. We depart Mt. Airy Saturday morning at 8 AM for Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. We will be lodged at the Jackson Rose B and B doing five mile practice hikes Sat through Monday; Tuesday morning we begin our AT hike for real. The excitement is building.
Date: 2015-03-21
From: Mt. Airy, MD

To: Harpers Ferry, Jackson Rose B&B
Miles today: 1.5
Weather: broken clouds

21 Mar: Many, many Thank Yous' to Jim and Joni for their marvelous hospitality, companionship, cooking, and for taking us to Harper's Ferry this morning. The snow-covered Maryland landscape was wonderfully, beautifully surreal (even though ALL of the locals are really, really tired of it). Jim spotted some ice sculptures on the shaded bluffs beside the river as we neared West Virginia. We are ensconced at the very lovely Jackson Rose B&B, staying in Stonewall Jackson's bedroom. After a light salad lunch, we started hiking about noon in 44 degree temperature wearing several light layers, but within thirty minutes one of us did a lot of stripping.(Yay! More, more) We had our pictures taken at the ATC for their scrapbook; we are "flip-floppers" numbers 4 and 5 hiking Northbound (NOBO) from Harper's Ferry. We hiked a little over five miles along the C&O Canal wearing our packs (including the first 1.5 of the AT in Maryland). The last mile uphill from downtown to the B&B must have been a fifty thousand foot elevation gain (Haha!!). The bounce box will carry a whole lot more of our stuff; SmoochSmooch now begins to fully understand the disadvantage of carrying a few extra ounces here and another few there. Dinner (salmon) this evening was at the nearby Anvil Restaurant (highly recommended). Five miles today with packs, 1.5 on AT
Date: 2015-03-22
To: Jackson Rose B&B
Miles today: 5.0

22 Mar, Sunday: In Harper's Ferry, West (byGod) Virginia, thank God our feet and backs and knees seem to have tolerated yesterday's hike with fully loaded packs. We realized that fully three miles of that was on concrete sidewalks through town - NOT smart. Today we will pick up the trail behind the Conservancy to limit concrete trauma. Breakfast was wonderfully tasty; Phil and Deb do marvelous work. They provided home-made fat-free brown bread to accompany the veggie omelets, fruit, and that essential fluid, coffee. Today's five mile hike gave us great optimism; no pain, no difficulties. The hike across the bridge and onto the bluffs afforded us lovely views of the rapids in the river. On the return, as the sun was dropping, the ivy climbing one tree was glistening marvelously in the sunlight. Also encouraging was the fact that we started hiking late, 3 PAM, and still finished five miles, including decent climbs up the bluffs, well before dark. This time we enjoyed trout at the Anvil; since they are closed tomorrow, we departed with dinner to go (chicken & salads for tomorrow).
Date: 2015-03-23
To: Harpers Ferry Outfitters
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

Today provided our first encounter with the magic and mystery of the trail. RevC insisted that we visit the Harpers Ferry Outfitters to find new hiking footwear for Shakedown Cruise. Imagine his surprise when the Cootie Queen (yup the owner has a trailname; real names Laura & Ron) produced a pair of GoLite Mountain sneakers that fit perfectly. As we lingered purchasing a few more items, a scruffy looking hiker came in wearing a large pack which he never took off; he was wearing only long shorts and a fleece despite the chilly, windy day. His mission was to find a compression bandage for his knee and then Advil. Ron asked where he was going and received a monosylabic reply, "Maine." Since Smooch and SmoochSmooch enjoy distributing trail magic, Ron told the owner to put those purchases on our bill. In the ensuing exchanges of "You don't need to" and "It is no problem; it is trail magic," the hiker suddenly asked "Are you Ron Beatty?" Reply "yes" and an immediate "Shakedown Cruise, so good to see you." This was Bevis, who had to exit the trail in 2008 with mersa. We offered him dinner at the Anvil (which unfortunately is closed on Mondays). He accepted, but by the time we left the outfitter (and realized that the restaurant was closed), Bevis had changed his mind - 6 miles to the shelter for the night. We hiked our mandatory five miles; little SmoochSmooch carried a lightened pack, but we've now done three of our 7 consecutive days limited to five miles. We hustled back to the Jackson Rose after a salad & chicken at one of the few eateries open on Monday, just in time for Ron to catch the shuttle to Wally World where he was able to purchase a digital voice recorder, MSM (MethylSulfonylMethane), Glucerna bars, some cord, and other final purchases prewpatory to hiking tomorrow.
Date: 2015-03-24
To: Jackson Rose B&B
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We hiked without packs today, south across the bridge and up the hill to the road. Returned to town for lunch at the Town Inn, then up that long hill to the Jackson Rose. We are well satisfied with our prepatory hikes. Ron is now a day late finishing Volume 6. Cynthia dictates that Vol. 6 MUST be "complete" before we can commence hiking. Our preparatory hikes have gone well, no sign of excessive foot pain, back pain, knee pain, etc.
Date: 2015-03-25
From: Harper's Ferry, WV

To: Ed Garvey Shelter 
Miles today: 4.8

The bounce boxes are packed to go to the post office now, we have been well fed, a shuttle has been graciously offered by Susan and Alex, other guests at the Jackson Rose B and B in Harper's Ferry. After four days of five mile hikes with packs we are ready to leave despite the rain and chill. RevC: The day went by wonderfully well, and we slept deeply and refreshingly all night, although the nighttime unheated toilet facilities were a challenge, as was exiting and re-entering the tiny little tent. Shakedown Cruise: It is quite a relief to have a full day hike with full packs and a good night for our initial backpacking day. We met one interesting and amusing hiker with LONG dreadlocks who is preparing for the Pacific Crest Trail; he hiked the AT in 2009. There was a long uphill (for us) for the second mile that tired us both. RevC reports that the Weis jelly beans are superior to all others. The Edward Garvey Shelter is on the ridge and is a lovely AT shelter. It is sad to think that a camper was squashed by a widow maker after taking two steps outside the shelter. We set up camp 100 yards away where the rocky ridge sheltered us from the wind. Sunset was lovely. A peanut butter dinner never tasted so good. As expected, Beavis left a brief note in the shelter log. The night was very cold, colder than anticipated; RevC slept in her clothing & MontBell down undies. Tomorrow night we will stay in a Tree house cabin.
Date: 2015-03-26
From: Ed Garvey Shelter 

To: Maple Tree Campground
Miles today: 3.7
Weather: light rain

Wow, did we ever sleep well !! And we were warm enough all night. That is wonderfully encouraging. We were fed, packed, and hiking by 11:30 (no lie). We did relocate inside the shelter for final tent packing due to a light shower, distressing since rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast. Our legs were quite fatigued, all four of them, from the hike yesterday (that was one long uphill for our unpracticed legs), and Ron went for a quart of water to the spring 0.5 mile steeply DOWNhill this morning. Catastrophe hit midday when a large stick in the trail grabbed Cynthia's shoe lace and tripped her; the resulting fall scared the beJesus out of her (and me) and bruised her kneecap severely. Fortunately she was able to continue hiking, and we arrived at the Maple Tree Campground by 3 pm. After registering and asking about a ride to town for re-supply, a young couple of angels, Sarah and George, offered us a ride to town !! We both showered (quite a treat after two days hiking) and then George and Sarah drove us to town and then to the Old South Mountain Inn, where we all enjoyed a fabulous dinner.RevC: The first day and a half went great. At noon, Cynthia's shoe lace caught a tree branch capaulting her into a fall onto a rock. Her knee is badly swollen but it seems to be working. We arrived at the Maple Tree Campground with accommodations in the Bonsai treehouse. JoAnn and Rachel, staff persons are superb. Lovely place. JoAnn communicated our need to resupply to Sarah and George, a marvelous young couple who had plans to go into town. They took us to Weis Markets, and in return, we treated them to a very fine dinner at the Old South Mountain Inn, a restaurant with outstanding cuisine. Cynthia enjoyed the opportunity to eat a filet. The rain was heavy at times throughout the night; we were indeed happy to be enclosed. Pictures another day!3.7 miles trail, 0.4 miles on road to Maple Tree Campground
Date: 2015-03-27
From: Maple Tree Campground

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: broken clouds

We awoke surprisingly late, 9:30 AM, to a very chilly morning, and we took our time packing and enjoying coffee and diet coke at the office. Cynthia's knee was not an issue today. We enjoyed a much more level hike today, and our tired legs were indeed grateful. Imagine our surprise to see the hiker with dreadlocks again. His trail name is OneStep. I can hardly wait to see if he journaled his hike. He is also good friends with JoAnn and Rachel, the lovely and considerate staff at the campground. The two young hikers we saw at mid-day already had a campfire going, and another group of four cheerful guys arrived just as we did; one of the guys was also named Ron. It was nice to have pleasant weather (although chilly & windy - forecast high 49 degrees) and plenty of time to set up camp. Bummer #1, in the drizzle two days ago, in the transfer of gear from the tent site into the shelter, Ron left the bear bag rope hanging in the tree. Lesson learned: always keep the rope with the bear bag. Unfortunately all tent sites were a bit unlevel, so all night we fought against a steady slide towards the door of the tent. Lesson learned: next time feet are downhill. It was bitterly cold in the night and morning. Today we hiked 5.4 miles. This was our seventh consecutive five mile day, so according to plan, we are now allowed to hike six miles every other day.
Date: 2015-03-28
From: Rocky Run shelter

To: any hotel
Miles today: 2.0

Good grief, did it ever seem cold last night. We were barely warm enough in our tent & down blanket, and poor little SmoochSmooch suffered through the night with cold legs (all the while telling Smooch that she was OK). Our water bottles froze although the layer of ice wasn't too thick to break. The young couple was already hiking out by the time we decided to brave the elements at 8 AM. It was frigid, so Shakedown first asked the other campers for the hot coffee water that they had offered last night. Many THANKS guys. Shakedown Cruise is realizing the need to keep a pen and paper handy to record names; the only one he remembers is Ron (imagine that). Cynthia "enjoyed" sitting bundled in the sleeping bag with warm protein/coffee drink and mittened hands. Shakedown Cruise made multiple trips to the tent, getting first food, the Body Glide for the feet, then the tent to pack. The night was so miserable that we were committed to finding a hotel by the time Boy Scout Troop 532 arrived and decided to stay. Their multiple scoutmasters were interesting and interested; they listened to our tales of trauma from the cold and volunteered that, "Jeff likes to hike; he'd probably hike back to his van and give you a ride to a hotel." And he did !! Not only that, but he also volunteered to come back in the morning and get us back to the trail where we exited. We are ever so very GRATEFUL; thank God for trail Angels !! Jeff is a premium example of the kindness of everyday people. So here we are at a Hampton Inn in Hagerstown, and Smooch has already made a trip across the road to the neighboring Martin's grocery store to replace bear bag rope & buy pretzels. We called Jim & Joni first thing, and they picked us up at 6:30 to dine again at the Old South Mountain Inn. We all enjoyed another lovely evening. Life is Good.
Date: 2015-03-29
From: Hampton Inn in Hagerstown, MD

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

Ron aka Smooch aka Shakedown Cruise is up early (3:30 AM) to update this TrailJournal. The peanut butter jar is emptied & cleaned, preparatory to transferring the messy strawberry jam (Ron likes clean fingers; clean fingers leave less food on everything, thereby attracting fewer varments to gnaw on everything). Cynthia is supposed to be sleeping warm & toasty in our room. Computer projects are now finished, time to resume mending. Jeff did indeed pick us up around 10 AM and return us to the trail. Many thanks Jeff. Washington Monument was the next high point of the day. It was the first monument erected to honor George Washington, and the views from the top of the tower are wonderfully panoramic now. After the trees leaf out the view will be restricted north and south. The hike became a bit surreal crossing Interstate 70 inside the wire cage enclosing the footpath. The words of the ATC volunteer keep echoing, "the trail is supposed to be a wilderness experience." HA !! We arrived at Pine Knob Shelter to discover our new acquaintance, Lone Bull, there with a couple of lovely college girls, Iris and Sarafina, and a campfire already heating up. We set up camp and were abed shortly before dark after another satisfying meal of open-face peanut butter bread w/ trail mix add-ons.
Date: 2015-03-30
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: 2 miles short of Wolfsville Road
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: light rain

We arose early for us and enjoyed the company of Iris and Sarah until they left and Lone Bull until he left. Shakedown Cruise discovered heat in the fire pit, added dry twigs from underfoot, and soon had a fire blazing. Lone Bull taught Cynthia how to light the JetBoil, and we enjoyed coffee & protein cocoa for the first time. We again were last to leave after Ron's compulsively orderly packing; perhaps one day soon he will start merely cramming everything into the bag instead of straightening and folding. This was a tiring day up from an elevation of 1360 to 1820 and then along a very rocky ridge forever. We did walk the extra few feet to the Black Rock Cliffs and enjoyed the view although the chilly wind prevented us from lingering. We never did see the Pogo Memorial Campsite (Cynthia said that it looked like a millyard with tree trunks everywhere) and continued hiking in the chill and wind longer than was prudent on such extreme (for us) rocks. Finally Shakedown Cruise espied a seemingly level, seemingly clear tent-sized patch of ground beside the trail and declared us "home." After a bit of site preparation (let's hope those vines were not poison ivy - they weren't), the tent went up, food went up, gear went in, and we were soon settled for the night. A group of four young men (the Order of the Capricorn) hiked past soon after we set up the tent; we were quite surprised, and they informed us that the Ensign Cowell shelter was only a couple of miles further. Surprisingly the wind died down and the night was the warmest and most pleasant so far.