morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-09
From: VA 56

To: Dripping Rock, BRP 9.6
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

I had the privilege of hiking a section of the Appalachian trail in Virginia with Mark this weekend, known as "proud foot" on the trail. We started at cripple creek on route 56. We climbed approx 3000 ft in elevation in the first 5 trail miles which was kinda tough. But the view at the summit was definitely worth it! The next 10 miles or so were much easier and quite enjoyable. Very glad I came and actually quite happy with how I performed considering I have no hiking experience. Now I can cross that off my bucket list.. -RayI had a great time hiking with Proudfoot this weekend. This part of Virginia is very pretty. What impressed me the most about this area was how friendly and helpful the local people are. We rented a cabin at Crabtree Falls Campground on Friday night and the owners, Dave and Sue, were super nice. I drove my car about 15 trail miles north of the campground on Saturday morning and Dave gave me a ride back so I could hike with Proudfoot and Ray for the day. Otherwise Ray and I would have had to do an out and back hike which is never as much fun. Also it gave us more time to needle Proudfoot about various things such as attempting to lead us in the wrong direction a few times. How he will get to Maine without our guidance is yet to be seen. I feel privileged to guest write, as Proudfoot has quite an impressive following by now. -LeroyToday I was graced with the presence of my long time friends Ray and Leroy. Ray is my cousin and I have known him as long as I can remember. I have also known Leroy for a long time and we like to be critical of each other.Since they are joining me on the trail, I have required them to each be a guest writer for the day, and I am thankful that they have both graciously acquiesced to my demands.
Date: 2015-05-10
From: Dripping Rock, BRP 9.6

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.1
Weather: light rain

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms who read this journal. You are all awesome!After spending the night on the floor of Leroy and Ray's hotel room, I was well rested. We all had the continental breakfast at the hotel before we left. The drove me back out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and dropped me off where we finished last night. We said our goodbyes, then they headed for home.Just as I was getting ready to get going, Tortuga came up the trail and joined me. We walked together off and on all morning. He is an interesting person and enjoyable to hike with. He does have a blog if anyone is interested in reading his stories. Just google Green Tortuga to find him.I saw a new thing this morning. I came up on a group about 20 bird watchers who were all in a group and looking the other way with their binoculars. They never saw me coming as they were softly talking to each other, discussing the hooded warbler that was being observed. I waited for a little while then decided to take photos of them. When I was finally discovered, we shared a laugh. I was taking pictures of them as they were trying to spot the warbler.I got to Rockfish Gap around 2:00, then walked up to the visitor center where I got some post cards to send home. They didn't have things for sale but I was able to get the person who worked there to take my postcards home with him and put them in the mail for me. I gave him a few dollars for his troubles then started talking to a Canadian lady who was there. She was on her way home from dropping two of her sons off at Springer Mountain to start a thru hike. She wanted to know where the AT came out on the parkway. I showed her where the trail was and she gave me a beer and an apple for my troubles. Then I walked to a little stand that was selling popcorn and bought a small bag for a snack. As I was sitting at the picnic table with Tortuga, 10-Speed, Ginger-T, and Rock Ocean walked down from the trail. I didn't get to talk with them very long untl their shuttle came to take them into Waynesboro. They want to try catching up with me in the coming weeks.Another day of great weather, great trails, and great company. After three nights of sleeping inside it will be nice to be in my tent again. Not that showers every night for the past three nights wasn't nice, but the tent does have its own appeal.
Date: 2015-05-11
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Pine Field Hut
Miles today: 26.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Yesterday afternoon I entered into the Shenandoah National Park. The AT more or less follows Skyline Drive through the Shenandoahs. The cool thing about that is that we can take full advantage of the campground stores and the Wayside we come across. The waysides serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and also have a gift shop attached.So...the first thing I did this morning was to see how far it was to the first wayside. It was 20 miles away and it closed at 6:00. So I got an early start and just kept moving most of the day. I got to the Wayside around 4:00. I was surprised to see that there was a shower trailer set up in the parking lot. Free showers, how about that! I took a shower and also hand washed the clothes I was wearing, then put them back on to dry them. I can certainly get used to stopping at any future waysides.I had my brother send my pair of Asics trail runners with my buddies that came down to spend the day with me yesterday. I don't know if these trail runners are heavy enough to hold up very long on this rugged terrain, but the Keens that I was wearing for the first 800 miles were starting to wear out. I should also be back in Pennsylvania in a few weeks, so I can replace the shoes then if it doesn't work out. I also sent my down jacket, lightweight gloves, and long sleeve tech shirt along back.
Date: 2015-05-12
From: Pine Field Hut

To: Milam Gap
Miles today: 26.1
Weather: scattered clouds

It rained off and on last night, but not really heavy. I slept well and didn't find out much about it. When I got up, the tent wasn't terribly wet but the grass was wet from the rain. I packed all my gear and was on the trail before 7:00. I walked for a few hours then stopped on a rocky outcrop to have breakfast. Last week I couldn't seem to tolerate oatmeal for breakfast anymore, but the last few days oatmeal tastes good again. Slow Goin, a southbound section hiker, and Blue Toes joined me for breakfast. There was a warm, but pleasant, dry breeze coming up the mountain as we ate. After we split I went to the next shelter and filled up with water and started walking again.So far in the Shenandoah Mountains, the trail goes up and down the mountains at a gentle grade. There doesn't seem to be nearly as many of those godawful steps in the trail as in the past four weeks.I stopped to take a break on a grassy section along the skyline drive for lunch. It was shaded and grassy, after I ate lunch I even dozed for about 10 minutes. During lunch a person came over from his car and asked if I'm thru hiking, when I told him I was, he gave me a gatorade. Word on the trail has it that if you want to get free food, all you have to do is find a spot where tourists are eating from coolers and sit fairly close to them and scrape out the very last peanut butter out of an almost empty jar, that is kept for just that purpose, and spread it on some dry bread crusts. Supposedly that is a sure fire way to get hand outs. I don't intend to try it, but I can easily imagine that it might work.I got to Lewis Mountain Campgrounds in the late afternoon, so I bought some snacks and a burger that I heated up in the microwave. I also took a shower since it was right there. I just had a shower yesterday and it seemed rather pointless to shower again so soon, but it felt good.I sat outside the campground store eating with a lady that just finished her section hike and a nice british person who was in the middle of a three day hike. As we ate and talked, the chatty old man who was taking care of the store would come out and tell us stories between customers. He said that he and a few of his friends hiked the trail when he was younger. He also said they carried 70-80 pound packs and averaged 35 miles a day. When he was out of earshot, I questioned how anyone could that, the British kid looked up at me and said they probably measured miles differently back then.Another 100 miles done and another dollar lighter.
Date: 2015-05-13
From: Milam Gap

To: Byrds Nest #4
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: clear sky

I set up my tent last night as I was battling gnats, but this morning I woke up in a cold tent. I felt good in my sleeping bag, and when I finally did get up the gnats were all gone. I put the legs on my pants and put my rain jacket on to keep warm. What a difference in temperature from yesterday!I walked the few miles to Big Meadows Wayside in short order, and had to wait a few minutes till 8:00 when the restaurant opened. I sat down and ordered a huge breakfast. Just before my food came out an elderly gentleman sat down at my table and joined me. He asked if I am a thru hiker, when I acknowledged that I was, he told the waitress to put my breakfast on his tab. He is a trail maintainer for a few miles of the AT in the park, and was doing it since 1989. He was an interesting character, and knew a lot about the trail and people that walked it. He met Earl Shaffer, the first person to thru hike the AT, several times. I ended up spending well over an hour talking with him.Just as I was getting ready to leave I met Blue Toes coming in for breakfast, I told him I am going to try making Skyland restaurant for a late lunch and he said he will probably stop there as well. The trail was easy and the weather was great. It was really windy and cool, I kept my jacket on till around 11:00. When I got to Skyland, I was surprised to see a large horse barn and a pasture on top of the mountain. They had about a dozen riding horses in the barns that they let people ride on some of the trails. The restaurant was beautiful, with a dining room that had a view down into the valley. There was also a taproom and a small coffee shop type area where you could buy sandwiches, scones, drinks, etc. I bought a sandwich, a pastry, and a Coke and sat at a small table as I charged my phone. Blue Toes joined me shortly afterwards and we hung out for a while. We both ended up getting another sandwich to go.I walked till Pass Mountain Hut, where I met a fellow trail journalist, Penguin. We chatted for a while while I ate my sandwich and drank my orange soda. Blue Toes and I decided to go another few miles and stealth camp so that we can get to Elkwallow Wayside just as they open up for breakfast. I could get used to having restaurants and camp stores all along the trail!I keep thinking that the Shenandoah National Park would be a perfect place to run the AT. It runs a little longer than 100 miles and it more or less follows the Skyline Drive. The trails are runnable and the logistics would be easy for a support vehicle. Two runners and one car would work pretty; there could be 10-15 mile legs and some of the legs would have to be run in reverse, but it would work well.
Date: 2015-05-14
From: Byrds Nest #4

To: Mosby Campsite
Miles today: 26.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Lots of people have been seeing bear, so I was a bit worried about my food bag that I hung. Especially so, since I kept hearing something off and on throughout the night in the direction of my food bag. So as soon as I got out of my tent this morning I looked up through the woods to see if my food bag was still hanging there, then I glimpsed movement just 15 feet behind me. There she was, a doe just calmly eating leaves and watching me. I ducked into my tent for my phone and called to Blue Toes to check it out. After I took some photos I went to get my food bag, and she just stayed there. After a while she calmly walked away. The deer are almost like domestic animals here in the park.We got started and walked briskly to warm up and to get to the wayside. However, we were ended up being 30 minutes early because they didn't open till 9:00. The restrooms were locked, so we couldn't even wash up. We just waited at the picnic tables and studied our guides till 9:00. This wayside was smaller and more primitive than the others we had been to. But, it had some breakfast food, and that is what mattered. After a large cup of coffee and some breakfast in a Styrofoam box we went to the gift shop for tasty cakes, candy, and sodas for the day. Penguin joined us on the front steps where it was warm as she had her breakfast.The beer at all the waysides and campground stores here in Virginia are cheaper than soft drinks, but I just simply didn't want anything except sodas. As a lover of good craft beers and a person who dabbles in home brewing, I am getting rather concerned at my lack of interest in beers. I may have to go through some kind of rehab when this journey is over.I also had to think of a joke that we hear in the Amish and Mennonite area where I come from (Amish and Mennonites tend to be frugal and generally abstain from social drinking). The joke goes something like this; what is an Amish/Mennonite moral dilemma? The answer is 'free beer'. I suppose cheap beer would also qualify.I had another day of fantastic weather as I wrapped up my jaunt through Shenandoah National Park.
Date: 2015-05-15
From: Mosby Campsite

To: Snickers Gap
Miles today: 30.6
Weather: few clouds

I tented at a small campsite alone last night. At first light I got up and packed for the day. Arwen is coming down to meet me this evening at Snickers Gap, which is over 30 miles away. I needed to get an early start. It will be great to get into town and get cleaned up.The trail is becoming more and more like the green tunnel that it is described as by some people. The woods are filled with chattering birds flitting among the leafy canopy of the trees. While I didn't get to see any spectacular views for a while now, there is a different kind of beauty in the closeness of the forest now. Today will be the last significant portion of Virginia trail. Virginia is rumored to be flat, fast and long, but I don't see it quite like that. Virginia has some really difficult climbs, although it also has some nice long, flat sections as well. It does seem like I was in the state for a long time though.Late in the afternoon I got into the 13.5 mile section of the trail that is called the roller coaster. It is aptly named; there is a ridiculous amount of short, steep, and rocky up and downs. It completely trashed my feet after after the long day.I made a major milestone today. 1000 freaking miles! I am proud of myself for getting this far, but at the same time, I know there is still a ridiculous amount of trail left. I am looking forward to seeing what the next 1000 miles have in store for me.
Date: 2015-05-17
From: Wilson Gap

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

This morning I got my things packed as soon as I could see without a light, that ended up getting me on the trail soon after 6:30. I walked for 3-4 miles then Blue Toes came up behind me (we keep running into each other). We chatted for a while then he moved out ahead again.I stopped and cooked breakfast on a log bench at around 9:30. After breakfast I just kept going steadily till I walked into Harper's Ferry. Harper's Ferry was the location of a lot of battles in the Civil war, including the famous raid of the U.S. Armory by John Brown and his followers. The ATC has a center here where you get your picture taken and get it put into a yearbook. I started out number 680 something and am now in the 180s. I guess that means I either passed 500 people that are still behind me or dropped off the trail. After I spent quite a bit of time at the ATC I walked down the street and had a late lunch at a great pizza place. I then walked down along the river's edge for a little while then checked out all the little shops in historic main street. There was ice cream shops and food for sale everywhere. I took full advantage of their offerings then found a shaded spot along the river and took a late afternoon nap. At 5:00 I got back on the trail that went accross the Potomac River on the railroad bridge before it got on the C & O Canal Towpath for a few miles. The brackish water that was standing in the old canal seemed to be a haven for turtles, they kept splashig into the water from the logs or the rocks that they were on as I walked by. I went till I got to the Ed Garvey Shelter where I claimed a spot in the shelter. I am now in the state of Maryland, and a person here at the shelter said this is where a person was killed earlier this year when a tree fell on his tent.
Date: 2015-05-18
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: light rain

After an early start and a 3-4 mile walk to Gathland State Park, I stopped and cooked my breakfast outside the restrooms of the park. The restrooms had power, so I was able to charge my phone as I ate. I also stripped down and did a sponge bath since it was already warm and humid. A few more hikers joined me after breakfast, so I hung around and visited.Maryland seems to have quite a few state parks that the AT goes through in the short stretch that it is in Maryland. I got to another park with heated showers soon after lunchtime, so I decided to do one of my shower/laundry stops again. I moved down the trail a few more miles till I got to Washington Monument State Park, where I stretched out on a wooden park bench and took a 30 minute nap. I may have to do that some more during the heat of the day, because it seemed to work quite well. The Washington Monument is a big tower of stones that is approximately 30' tall with a spiral stone staircase going right up the middle of it to an observation deck. When it was first built, it took 500 men to build the bulk of it in one day. The stones were all dry laid for the original. Over the years it started to crumble and get vandalizedu, then in more recent times it was dismantled and rebuilt with mortar so that it would last. It's a really cool monument!The trails in Maryland seem to be nice and wide without huge climbs and descents, but there does seem to be a lot of rocks in the trail. Maybe this is just a preview of what's to come in Pennsylvania. People tell me that PA has the worst rocks in the entire AT. I wouldn't really know, because I didn't hike much of the AT in my home state.While at the ATC center yesterday I weighed myself on the scales they had set up there. It appears that I lost about 15 pounds since I started (which would explain why I can remove my shorts without opening the waist button). Maybe I should market the next new weight loss diet of Snickers bars, honeybuns, and ice cream.
Date: 2015-05-19
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Caledonia State Park
Miles today: 28.2
Weather: light rain

Last night it rained. Really, really rained. I got my tent set up and had dinner before it rained, but almost as soon as it was dark it started pouring. I had the fly of my tent up about and inch or so from the ground around the bottom. However, it rained so heavy that some water was splashing up underneath the bottom of the fly and in through the mesh of the tent. It felt as if a really light mist was coming down on the inside of the tent. I kept sleeping off and on, until finally I draped my rain jacket over me to keep things dry. That seemed to work quite well, so I ended up being pretty comfortable during the night.I started out early this morning, the rain had pretty well stopped, but every time there was even a slight bit of air movement, water fell from the wet leaves on the trees. It was like walking through intermittent showers for the first few hours. The big boulders I was clambering over were wet and slippery. I tried to take it slow, but I was still slipping and falling at times. Finally I got to Pen Mar Park where I ate a bit of late breakfast. I looked all over the park for an outlet that was working to charge my phone but was unsuccessful. I talked to a person who was doing work there and he said the concession stand and the visitor center won't be opening till Memorial Day. I guess they have all the electric to the park shut down till then.Chicago and Grasshopper were in the pavilion when I got there. After visiting, Chicago decided to go into town from the park and Grasshopper and I decided to walk several more miles on the trail, then do a little over a mile off trail to a pizza joint for a late lunch. I got there a little before Grasshopper, I took my trail shoes and socks off outside and put on my camp shoes, then went to the restroom where I washed my feet and legs one at a time in the washbowl and cleaned myself up pretty good. Grasshopper is a thru hiker that just got started a week or two ago and is doing a flip-flop hike. We talked about how normal it seems to wash up in bathrooms, but how weird it would have seemed before we started. The trail has a way of changing the way we see things. We both had a large lunch and got an Italian sub to go for later on the trail. I walked over to the gas station afterwards and got a Sprite for the trail and a giant mint ice cream sandwich to eat on my way back to the trail.After I got back on the trail it didn't go long till I got to Tumbling Run Shelter, which I was familiar with. It is the nicest shelter on the trail in my opinion. The entire grounds around the shelter area are extremely well maintained. I spent a little bit of time at the shelter talking to The Little Prince before I walked the 10 familiar miles to Caledonia State Park where I stealth camped along the burbling creek for the night.