morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-03-25
From: Seeley-Woodworth 

To: The Priest
Miles today: 6.9

Sat, 3/25Woke up to rain. Decided to take an easy AT trail day, less than 7 miles to the next shelter. We did add an additional 4 miles, however, by going to restock a few items at a small general store. We ditched our packs for the side trip so our backs got a nice midday break. The rain didn¢t last all day but it didn¢t really clear up till almost sunset. The shelter we stayed at is just below he summit of Priest mountain. It¢s a tradition to write down one (or more) of yr ¢trail sins¢ in the shelter journal. I can¢t repeat some of the entries. Hikers are an odd bunch. Mighty Mouse killer joined us again. I was able to coax a fire out of the damp wood. So dinner was rice, eggs and hotdogs. I¢d also bought a jiffy pop campfire popcorn pan with the handle and the he foil that expands. It was fun to pop that over the coals.Abe-Saturday March 25th Had a fun day today. Did about two miles at 8am, cold and humid morning. Had a few blow downs on the trail but wasn¢t too bad. A few ups and downs but pretty relaxed. I¢m starting to feel somewhat in stride, legs feels stronger, I¢m getting into a decent breathing pattern. I can do about 10 (as long as they aren¢t horrendous) miles and feel alright. Those 15¢s are still kinda rough. We decided to resupply at a local little mart in the small town of Montabello, VA. I picked up some ramen and assortment of other things. I had a splendid hot pocket and a vitamin water. 2 miles back uphill with our overpriced groceries, quick repack and we¢re back off. A few hills here and there, then we head up to the priest. Found a gal who went by ¢tuff¢ 20 years ago when she went northbound. It was a nice chat, and her family seemed to enjoy the trails almost as much as she did. Once we get to the priest shelter, I don¢t write a confession, I haven¢t been on the trail long enough to garner one. We decide to call a short day today. We meet a few other guys on a weekend trip out here, one did the AT back in 2016. ¢Gold rush.¢ Mouse killer ends up back out here with us and it¢s nice to have the company. He¢s got a good gabble of stories. Ending the night writing a few letters and enjoying the sunset. Hoping for a good day tomorrow, weather looks nice
Date: 2023-03-26
From: The Priest

To: Maupin Field 
Miles today: 13.8

Sun 3/26Woke up around 7 but we weren¢t in a rush to leave the shelter. A couple of day hikers popped in and we chatted with them while we were packing up. Hit the trail about 8:30 and the day just kept getting nicer. Passed a steady stream of day hikers and a few longer section hikers as we did the long descent down Priest Mountain to the Ty river. Continued passing hikers into the afternoon while making our way up toward 3 ridge¢s mountain. Stopped for lunch at a sweet little stream. Pushing on to Maupin shelter so it¢ll be an almost 14 mile day today but a lot of up/downs. I slipped on a mossy rock while filling up water bottles and my right knee is a bit banged up. Nothing bad but I¢m going to baby it for the rest of the day. On the initial push up from the valley, Abe, Snoopy and I kept leap frogging this older couple. Talked with them a number of times. They are regular hikers in this area. Never mind what I said about taking it easy on my knee. No possible way to baby my knee on the ascent up three ridges mountain¢¦ it just kept climbing and fairly steep and rocky. The climb finally ended and more spectacular views from the summit and as we were descending. Snoopy and I pushed ahead of Abe to get to the shelter first and started a fire, got dinner going , etc. It was a nice way to wind down after a challenging day. It¢s about 9pm now and we¢ve been in bed for about 1/2 an hour. Snoopy is snoring. And I soon will be too. Good night.Abe-Woke up with a sore back. Some early morning yoga knocked that out of me. Dad made some half burnt oatmeal for breakfast. Yum. Wrapped my toes in tape, chugged some water, Threw on the pack and got to going. Easy ascent, no blow overs for priest. Lots of day hikers out today as we trudged down the 4 miles of down hill. No SOBOS (south bound hikers on the AT) though. A little disappointed. My toes hurt on the downhill so I¢m glad when we get down to the suspension bridge. It bounced a lot when I was on it, whee! Followed an old couple for a few miles then passed them near the stream crossing, stopped for a lunch of spam and pickles. Wasn¢t a bad lunch. I decided to catch a quick Z at the creek for a few minutes so dad pushed ahead. This was one tough mountain, from rock slides to pick through, to vertical rock scrambles, this loop had it all. Dad went ahead and started the fire at camp before I rolled up, tired, around 6:30. We had a poor mans fried rice for dinner and decided to hit the hay early. Stayed at MAUPIN field shelter tonight, there¢s enough camping areas around this shelter to sleep over 50 people. It¢s a wonderful camping area. Tomorrow is another big day, and sleep is crucial. Feet hurt but loving the time with my pops.
Date: 2023-03-27
From: Maupin Field 

To: Paul Wolfe shelter 
Miles today: 16.0

Mon, 3/27We have the longest mileage day on the trail, since Abe joined us, planned for today. So my alarm went off at 6:30. It¢s just starting to get light out at that time. Made a big breakfast of dehydrated eggs and oatmeal. Hit the trail around 8. The day starts out with a decent ascent and then a descent. Then is mostly flat for about 5 miles before another push up to Humpback Mountain. Then a relatively long drop to the shelter. The trail is a lot less busy than yesterday. In the afternoon though, we did met Ricky, a flip flopper who started in HF on 3/15. He¢s Going strong, fixing blisters on trail. Got to the shelter about 6pm. There was enough light left for us the explore the creek and soak our weary feet before we made dinner (Mac and cheese for Abe, mashed potatoes and beef jerky for me, Snoopy always helps us out with finishing it all!) . Then we did some planning for our in town resupply day tomorrow. Just 5 miles to where the car is parked at Rockfish Gap.Abe- Got some decent rest last night. I have been fortunate enough to rig up my hammock in the shelters because we have been the only sleepers in there. I like the hammock because it de-compresses my spine I¢m the middle of the night, which is HUGE when I¢m wearing the pack all day. Been having these bizarre dreams recently, I¢ll wake up and tell dad about them. Last night was about this previous college fling who ended up being a zombie, she was dead to me anyhow. We started pummeling along today and saw some interesting scenery; A ski resort shut down for the year that was operating a golf course instead, some ¢cuts¢ in the mountains which ended up being glacial rock spilloff, and the ¢humpback rocks.¢ These were massive rocks that stuck out the side of the mountain making you feel on top of the world once you were on them, and had an over 270 degree view of the beautiful Virginia valleys below. By the end of the day I was a little grumpy and foot sore but we happened into a really nice shelter, the ¢Paul Wolfe ¢ Caught a crawfish, soaked my feet, ate some dinner, and HIT the sack. Goodnight VA.
Date: 2023-03-28
From: Paul Wolfe shelter 

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 4.9

Tues, 3/28Wolfe Shelter to Waynesboro (Rockfish Gap) is only4.9 miles so an easy day today. But we accomplished quite a bit. The hiking was enjoyable and flat with a couple of neat things to look at over those miles; an old cemetery, some cabin ruins, a couple of pretty stream crossings.  Then a relief to find the car was safe and sound, parked just where we left it last week with Cay. We got to the car and drove about 20 minutes to a Costco in West Charlottesville. We ended up buying a bunch of big bags of dried fruits, nuts, chocolate chips, granola, etc. along with some other essentials like peanut butter, crackers, chips , jerky & cheese.  We also got a rotisserie chicken and some salad and put those together for a great quick lunch in the parking lot. We then drove back to Waynesboro and checked in at the Hostel. Showers and laundry were followed by more snacking while we combined all of the dried ingredients to make a bunch (probably 50!) of baggies of homemade trail mixes. We then drove over to the local visitor center and got our questions about entering ShenandoahNP answered, followed by a trip to the local outfitters for some more shopping. We also hit the local brewery. Back to the Hostel where I threw some gf Costco pizzas in the oven while Abe caught up on phone calls and other chores and Snoopy enjoyed playing with the two other dogs that are currently here. We had been informed of a local history talk being offered at a theatre nearby so we walked over and enjoyed listening to that. On the way we stopped by a local ice cream bar. Then back to the hostel for clean up and organize everything for tomorrow¢s adventures. We are all clean, smell way better than we have in the last week and happy to be in soft beds while a light rain started falling as night approaches.Abe- Easy day, we marched our little booties 5 miles out of the wonderful shelter we stayed at until we got to the car. It was such a blessing getting to DRIVE around. The woods make you more appreciative, I believe. We took a Costco run, I got a hotdog and a coke. Dad bought some ingredients for homemade trail mix. Costco sized trail mix. We ended up making about 50-60 baggies of trail mix in total. Whew. We stayed at a hostel for the night, $22 a person. I think dad spent more on one bag of granola today at Costco. After plugging things in, showering, hitting the outfitters, grabbing a beer and reconnecting with loved ones we had some extra time. We walked downtown, got some ice cream, and watched a historical telling of the life Caleb Brighton. Interesting stuff. I think we were the only people under the age of 60 in the whole theatre haha. The hostel guys were a little bored and wanted some company by the campfire but we were too preoccupied with little town chores. I get to sleep in a bed tonight!
Date: 2023-03-30
From: Blackrock

To: DoyleÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs river 
Miles today: 15.8

Abe-Woke up, had some oatmeal, got rolling. Good weather today, 60-70s. I sweat up a storm regardless of the weather so I don¢t pay too much attention unless it¢s stormy or raining. The initial hike up the hill from our campsite sucked, steep and uneventful with my pink crocs on. The grip isn¢t great on those water shoes. Hike the rest of the AT way up blackrock, then backtrack to the car, unload and start flip flopping again today. Passed a young pair named ¢Valdez and Corncob¢, they were pretty cool, they had already met my dad previously. We did three sections today, one five, one 6, and one two. We had a Pretty long and earned day overall. Camped under the Stars at Doyle¢s river, right underneath a cool cabin. Wilson slept in the hammock and went CRAZY at one point when we pulled a treat out. What a HOOT. We were lazy about our bear bags tonight, this may be my last entry. Good day, I¢m feeling more confident at this stuff. I miss hiking with Dad but that¢s alright, We will stop flip flopping eventually.
Date: 2023-03-31
From: DoyleÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs river 

To: Lewis Campground 
Miles today: 15.0

Woke up with the sun this morning and continued our conversations with Moxie and wild boar while packing up. As they went South, we hiked North towards the Black Rock overlook and down to the North parking area in order to complete that section. We then did hiked together back to the car, where Abe unloaded his sleeping gear from his pack and continued South while Snoopy and I drove South to where we left off the previous day and began hiking north. We surprised Wild Boar and Moxie when we crossed paths with them again! It does take a bit more planning to hike this way but we¢ll make sure that we hit all sections of the trail as we make our way north through the SNP. The weather these last two days has been cool and clear, perfect for hiking and the trail has been in relatively good shape. Our travels took us past two closed campgrounds today and our first Wayside, a small souvenir/gift shop/convenience store, also closed:( Not too much traffic or hikers on the trail today. Snoops and I only stopped to yak with one other person all day! This evening, after leap frogging each other a couple of times and completing over 15 miles of AT, we decided to just walk down trail a bit and set up the hammocks. Supposed to be another cool, but clear night.
Date: 2023-04-01
From: Lewis Campground 

To: Big Meadows CG
Miles today: 4.4

The above is a pic from a shelter journal, just as an example of what kind of things hikers may write. it was raining and blowing and just not very pleasant this morning so Abe and I decided to do a short day and then look for the hiker feed we¢d been told was going to happen today. Being that it¢s April 1st, there was also a lingering thought that the advertised hiker feed was just someone¢s idea of a sick April Fool¢s joke. But we did our short section in the rain, dried off in the car as best we could and set out to look for the green Suburban with a roof rack at the campground. We found the host, a pleasant and generous fellow, named Truck stop. Another thru hiker, Inferno, was helping him set up. We offered to lend a hand too but Truck stop just started cooking for us. The first plates were chicken fajitas. More hikers showed up. More food came off the grill. Soon the blustery fire was surrounded by Corncob, Juan Valdez, Magilla gorilla & Broomhilda, inferno, Whooby and us all swapping stories while Truck stop kept putting food in our laps¢¦ bratwurst, deer steak, chicken, I think even some bear meat was consumed along with a variety of beverages, chips, fruit and many other snacks. Snoopy made lots of new friends while begging for scraps. It was a lovely day and our first true full blown trail magic. A big thanks to Truck stop for the ongoing feast.
Date: 2023-04-02
From: Big Meadows CG

To: Rockspring hut
Miles today: 17.4

So, I slacked on these journal¢s entries for a while and am trying to catch up. These next few entries will be short and the miles we hiked may not add up to the book mileage but that¢s because Abe and I were still swapping as we leapfrogged the car north ¢¦ my sincere apologies for people and events that I have skipped over. After a short day yesterday due to the hiker feed, we made good miles today. We met up and hiked into Rock Spring Hut where we had a lovely evening talking with a Dad (Grant)and his adult 2 kids (Nicole and I can¢t remember the sons name¢¦ sorry!) that are hiking a section of the park SB. It was a beautiful day.
Date: 2023-04-03
From: Rockspring hut

To: Gravel Springs
Miles today: 13.9

Another great day of flip flopping with Abe as we continue to make our way North thru the park. At one point I finished a section and had time to drive down to a nearby town of Luray, VA where I picked up some hot lunch for us all to share. We ended the day by popping forward to the last hut in the Shenandoah NP where we camped with a bunch of other hikers including Juan Valdez and Corncob again. This hut has a large rat named Isabelle that kept a couple of us, including Snoopy, awake part of the night.
Date: 2023-04-04
From: Gravel Springs

To: Compton Peak
Miles today: 20.2

We had some good conversations while packing up with the other hikers. Abe , Snoopy and I made our way back to the car to start todays flip flopping hiking. At some point I met Potter Dave aka 2 Jacks- great storytelling. We talked about Bigfoot, boat races ¢¦ all kinds of stuff and is just a cool guy!  it was another day full of great views.
Date: 2023-04-05
From: Compton Peak

To: Denton Shelter
Miles today: 12.9

It¢s sad to say goodbye to Shenandoah NP. It has been amazing to have the opportunity to both hike and drive the entire 100 mile + length of it. At the end, Abe drove out of the park and met Wilson and I at Denton shelter, which we shared with a few section hikers . It was another great day.
Date: 2023-04-17
From: Va 605

To: Stealth at streambed middle of roller coaster
Miles today: 5.9

After 9 full days of NOT hiking , it¢s great to be back on trail! We picked up right where we left off, at the 1000 mile marker sign. Notice the change to the trees from last week! Crazy how green the forest was become. Lots of little up/downs but a great lite mileage day to get us back in the swing of things!
Date: 2023-04-18
From: Stealth at streambed middle of roller coaster

To: Loudoun heights
Miles today: 14.7

In todays travels we met: Garbage collector, Chris and Amy & Alisha at the Blackburn AT center. I also met : Bureaucrat; a section hiker for 20+ yrs. 9/10 of the trail completed but doesn¢t want to finish! Cool folks,all. Tomorrow we will drop into Harpers Ferry, WV!
Date: 2023-04-19
From: Loudoun heights

To: Rocky Run
Miles today: 18.1

Arrived HF, bfast & coffee, lots of marines in town. Kicked around a bit waiting for shops to open. The walk across the Potomac River is beautiful. Then 4 miles of flat old canal roadbed. Finally a good sized hump up to the top of Maryland Heights and Weaverton Cliffs. We kept hiking on to Rocky Rin shelter, which is actually 2 shelters. The new (nicer) one was full but we had the old smaller one all to ourselves. We also met up with the nice older couple that we met way back at the hiker feed on April 1st ( we actually met them the night before when we stumbled into the shelter they were sleeping in after dark!) Gorilla and Broom hilda. It was really cool catching up with them!
Date: 2023-04-20
From: Rocky Run

To: Ensign Cowell
Miles today: 16.5

Thurs, 4/20Todays traveling took us past the Maryland memorial to George Washington. A cool view and history of the monument explained how it has changed over the last 100 years.Another beautiful hiking day. Everyone is feeling good and the weather is fine. Ran into a family just finishing up their thru hike : Road runner and Whiley Coyote, morning glory, diamond and monarch They recommended that we take the cathedral trail out of Katatadin, if we can when we get up there. Great to see a big family hiking together. We played Yahtzee before going to bed and Abe beat soundly. Good night
Date: 2023-04-22
From: Camp just past Deer Lick Shelter

To: Through it all
Miles today: 12.9

Sat, 4/22. Woke up after camping at mile 1072ish  just past deer lick,  just past Deer Lick Shelter. A quick 13 mile hike brought us to US 30. We thought we could outrun the rain that was forecast to start about 3pm but the rain. But it started at 1pm, while we were chugging down South Mountain. It didn¢t take long till we were soaked thru. Lucky for us , we had called ahead and had space reserved for us at a hotel where we were able to clean up , dry out and get some filling food in us. Later Coach and Mario joined us as well. It was a great stop!
Date: 2023-04-23
From: Through it all

To: TomÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Run
Miles today: 15.2

Sun 4/23I woke up early at the Church . I took Snoopy for a walk then made us a plate of eggs. Abe got up a bit later. All of our gear that we¢d laid out to dry the night before was ready to be repacked. Coach and Mario left about the same time we did, around 8:30 or 9. The sun was shining on our short road walk back to the trail crossing on hwy 30. Made good time and pushed to Tom¢s Run Shelter.
Date: 2023-04-24
From: TomÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Run

To: Deer Run
Miles today: 14.4

Monday 4/24Started at Tom¢s Run shelter, stopped at Deer Run CG , mile 1115.8 so 14.4 Woke up after a cold night. Abe and I had swapped sleeping bags, with the hope that he¢d be warmer in my quilt that is rated for 0degees but he said he was cold b/c he couldn¢t get the cinch string closed up tight around him since he¢s so big and tall. It should be warmer at nights soon so hopefully this issue will be resolved. We said goodbye to the friends that we¢d made last night (Tom, the tattoo artist from Philly, Husky, the quick thru hiker and Allen, the  veterinarian who¢s just out for the night . Soon after leaving camp we came across another 1/2 way marker. This one was cool so we took a few pics. We made great time on a relatively flat trail. We passed thru Pine Grove Furnace SP , where the AT museum is located but it was closed, as w is the general store where most folks do the 1/2 gallon challenge. We pushed on because about 8 trail miles further was another general store where the same challenge came be attempted year round. As we arrived we saw three other thru hikers just sitting down to start their challenge, too. We found out later that just 2 of them attempted it, the third got a sandwich instead. The little store was neat with some local goods in addition to the normal camping gear and junk food . In order to do a true 1/2 gallon challenge, you must buy a tub of ice cream and then an additional 1 quart to make up for ice cream portions getting smaller over the years. Hersheys is the brand in stock (duh?) , so Abe got a tub of banana pudding and a quart of Blueberry cheesecake while I got a tub of butter pecan and a quart of good old vanilla. I also got Snoopy a small tub of cool whip so he could join us. Ready , set go! Clicks ticking as we dig in ¢¦ it was sunny but only about 45-50 degrees out so not ideal ice cream eating weather. But Abe finished his with about 7 mins to spare and I was licking the tubs clean with about 2 mins till the 1/2 hr timer was gonna sound. Snoopy was the quickest tho, we had his bowl licked clean in about 15 minutes! After that gut ache we just walked a couple more miles to a campground (partially so we could have access to a real restroom, if needed!) A great day!
Date: 2023-04-25
From: Deer Run

To: Trindle Rd crossing 
Miles today: 12.6

Tues 4/25Stopped at 1128.4 , just 12.6 miles todayWe both slept well at the campground, but it was another freezing night. Ice on the bottom of my ground cloth. Luckily the morning sun has some good warmth to it and everything thawed out quickly before we packed up. We had a little ascent to the top of a mountain where the guide book said we¢d see a rock maze. It was pretty cool , these big rock formations that the trail kinda wound thru and over. One of the areas had about a 4 ft ledge you had to pull yourself up onto and Snoopy took a standing leap and cleared that obstacle with ease. When we got some cell service I looked up rental cars so that we can go get the Prius from where we had parked it back in VA. Found a Hertz about 2 miles from the trail at an upcoming road crossing so I made a reservation and we hustled the last few miles to that road. After leaving Abe and dog at the trail I walked to the address but was surprised to find that Google maps sometimes lies! The rental agency had moved from that location a few years ago and was actually located about 8 miles away. An Uber got me to the right place on time and I picked up my trail companions and we drove off to find dinner! Stopped at a nice little brewery restaurant for some good grub before driving thru 3 states all the way back to trail mile 999.5 where we parked the Prius last week. It was untouched and we had a kinda late night (for us) driving both cars back to park the Prius about another week further along on the trail.