morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-06-14
From: Hightop Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: scattered clouds

6/14The highlights for today was lunch at the Lewis Mountain Campstore and dinner at Big Meadows Lodge. Lunch was just chips and powdered donuts. Dinner was a fine dining experience. I ordered a salad which wound up being tiny. My waiter was sympathetic and made sure to keep the soda and bread and butter flowing, as well as gave me a free bowl of soup! I had my fill. Unfortunately, I had to night hike to get the 4 miles to the next shelter. I DO NOT recommend nigh hiking in an area known for the abundance of bears. I saw two skunks at dusk and heard three large animals off trail in the pitch black. I wasn't afraid except that I might be walking between momma and baby bear. At least one of those was a bear as everyone at the shelter had seen one that afternoon along that stretch.
Date: 2012-06-15
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Thorton Gap; US 211
Miles today: 14.1

6/15I was the only thru-hiker in the shelter and so I didn't even stir until 8:10am. Usually it's 6:30. As it turns out, Rhyno and his girlfriend Tammy (now Adventure Girl) were there tenting, but I didn't know until later. I booked it to the next lodge, hoping for a fancy breakfast. I missed it by ten minutes. So of course I had to sit there and wait until lunch as I wasn't going to leave there empty stomached. After lunch, I found Rhyno and AG! For lack of any friends since Pearisburg, I hiked with them for the rest of the day. They invited me off trail with them that evening! His mom gave us a ride back to Waynesboro to pick up their car, so of course we had to eat at the Chinese buffet again. Then it was off to Rhyno's house for a real bed, shower, and laundry.
Date: 2012-06-16
From: Thorton Gap; US 211

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

6/16Adventure cooked us a banging breakfast and then she dropped us back off at the trail. I hiked three miles where some old friends, Kim and Jonathan and their miniature chihuahua Lucy came up for a day hike. They brought me cold Cheerewine in a glass bottle made with cane sugar instead of HFCS. It was AMAZING! They also brought me a slice of carrot cake. Then we hiked a few miles and turned around back to the car, drive to a wayside and ate a very late lunch. They dropped me off and I was very sad to see them go. Off to the shelter, where I ran into Simco again. We started talking video games and it was glorious. We both miss technology way too much to be on this crazy adventure.
Date: 2012-06-17
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: broken clouds

6/17Simco and I left in the morning together. As soon as the trail exited the park, he split off for a hostel and I hiked down to the road to hitch in to Front Royal. I passed some fenced in areas that belong to the National Zoological Park Conservation and Research Center. The book mentioned the possibility of seeing exotic animals (lions and tigers and bears, oh my!) and so I was concerned to see the fences in such disarray were trees had fallen on them. No maulings though. I did see a groundhog which was neat.The couple that took me into town were just out to do trail magic and so they bought me lunch in exchange for tales of high adventure. After lunch, Internet, resupply, and dinner (why oh why did I pass up on the bacon sundae at Burger King?), I hitched back to the trail and hiked 5 miles to the shelter. I could hear cannon fire so apparently they were doing a civil war reenactment. There is a lot of history in the area. One of the mountains on the other side of the valley is called Signal Knob where the confederates used a giant mirror to signal union troop movements back to Richmond.
Date: 2012-06-18
From: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: moderate rain

6/18I woke up to rain but thankfully it lessened significantly by the time I got on the trail. Today was a big wildlife day: 6 deer, a turtle, and a squirrel falling 30' out of a tree. The bucks are starting to grow their antlers to boot.The shelter that evening was frighteningly busy. Thankfully it was mostly a respectful boy scout troop. All of them tented and sundown meant quiet hour. Simco rolled in late too, doing a huge day.
Date: 2012-06-19
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Berryville, VA; Snickers Gap; VA 7, 679
Miles today: 10.5

6/19I was last out, as I only had ten miles to do. The day was a scorcher and was entirely along a stretch called the roller coaster. And it sucked. At the top of the last hump before the road was Bear's Den Hostel where I bought a soda and called for my pickup. In Wisconsin I made a friend, Troy, and we stayed at his house on the way home. His parents were happy to put me up for a couple nights as I didn't have to be in Harpers Ferry until the weekend. I was very grateful to zero a day and duck out of the heat.
Date: 2012-06-20
From: Berryville, VA; Snickers Gap; VA 7, 679

To: Berryville, VA; Snickers Gap; VA 7, 679
Miles today: 0.0

6/20Zero day and I did jack squat, being too lazy to even get caught up on this journal. It was a great day. Dinner was pizzas cooked on the grill which was delicious.
Date: 2012-06-21
From: Berryville, VA; Snickers Gap; VA 7, 679

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

6/21Up at 5am to ride with Troy's dad on his way to work. While visiting back in March, Troy took us to hike the last three miles of the Roller Coaster. Troy's dad knew of a drop off point that made it an easy bike to skip those three miles I had already done. Heck yes!With the RC out of the way, it was easy to coast 17 miles into Harpers Ferry in time for lunch. I was motivated by promise of another scorcher that day. First hint was to stop at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy where they took my picture for their official records. I was the 592nd NOBO thru-hiker to hit the ATC this year. I ate lunch with Lieutenant Dan in a restaurant whose bathroom had a shower. Weird. Then my friend Gretchen picked me up and took me back to the house where she was nannying for the day. After work, we went to her friend Kane's house for a cookout. Venison burger for the win! Kane and all his friends are grape scientists for VA Tech studying how to make the best wine possible. One of those scientists is Gretchen's boyfriend Tremain. It was a fun night.
Date: 2012-06-23
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

6/23In the morning, the three of us bummed around after making breakfast. After lunch we took some inflatable tubes to float down the Opequin Creek. It took about two hours to float four miles and we had quite an enjoyable time. Alicia didn't weigh enough to float as fast as Gretchen and I, so we had to link up to have conversation. It was very relaxing but fun.Gretchen had a wedding to go to that evening so the plan was for Alicia and I to have a night out on the town. Gretchen's roommate was also going to the wedding. I was downstairs while the girls were upstairs getting ready. I had no idea that the female getting ready for a wedding conversation was so hysterical. Anyways, Alicia and I drove to Winchester, VA to shop, explore, and eat. It is on the big side of small town, but very quaint. They closed one of the streets to turn it into a walking mall filled with plenty of neat stores and restaurants with caf© seating. We ate at a delicious Thai place. We also walked throughout the town, stumbling across this HUGE park area, with big lawns, huge trees, and nicely manicured walking paths. We were confused because the sign at the road said it was a high school. We had to walk a ways before stumbling upon the football field, which was equally immaculate. As we got closer, we saw that the football stadium was right at the base of a huge stone staircase that led right up to this gorgeous building. This HS looked like it was right out of a movie featuring a private SoCal HS. Word on the street is that they made the HS so beautiful and elaborate that they charge tuition, even though it is a public school. If you're ever on I-81 driving by Winchester take 15 min to stop in town and see how crazy this school is.Also, I forgot to mention that we found a bat that couldn't fly in Winchester. As no rocks were at hand, and I didn't want rabies on the bottom of my boot, he did not get the same blessing that the baby rabbit got.
Date: 2012-06-24
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

6/24Alicia and Gretchen grew up together and went to the same Catholic school. So today started off with going to Mass, my first time. Apparently, this congregation is very contemporary for Carholics, as there were four separate occasions of applause.After lunch, we drove to Tremain's family's vineyard for a free tour and tasting. It was really good wine. The name is Zephaniah Farms and Vineyard and it is in Leesburg, VA. After that, we drove to the Northern VA Brewfest, also in Leesburg, to sample beers from about 40 different breweries. If you're into hard ciders, I highly recommend Bold Rock Brewery. That evening , we drove back to Gretchen's and the girls cooked a huge feast while all us boys napped in hammocks. They are excellent cooks to boot!
Date: 2012-06-25
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: light rain

6/25Gretchen had to wake up early to nanny all day, so I had said my goodbyes to her the night before. I slept in to rest up from all these late nights. For the day, Alicia and I explored Harpers Ferry, a beautiful, old town, loaded with history, on the cliffs overlooking the merging of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Definitely a town I want to visit again to explore more deeply. We had a lovely afternoon together and a delicious late lunch/early dinner. But alas, it was time for me to hit the trail and for her to hit the road back to PA.After crossing the Potomac (and into MD), the trail ran along an old RR bed along the river which was equally as flat and beautiful as the VA Creeper. After a few miles the trail left the bed to head straight up the mountain, offering a cool view at some cliffs of the Potomac Valley. Shortly after the cliffs was the shelter. A church group was at the shelter from Raleigh, NC, where I've spent most of my adult life. The leader's husband had put himself through school by working at UPS many many years ago, just like I did. He even knew my old boss there. It was interesting to have someone know so much about what my life has been like from just that one fact. UPS does that to you though.
Date: 2012-06-26
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: clear sky

6/26I had such a good time in WV that hiking is now really boring. I'm almost halfway and I'm ready for this trail to be over. The trail went through a lot of historical sites but I cruised on through to hurry up and finish the trail, or at least catch up to people I know. I found in a shelter log that Xango and Peter Pan are finally ahead of me. While taking a break at Gathland State Park, lo and behold Mange comes cruising by wearing a My Little Pony backpack made for a 3yo. He, Cheetah, and Honest Abe were attempting the four state challenge, hiking from the VA-WV line, through Harpers Ferry and MD to the Mason-Dixon line (44 miles) in one day. He got the pack from a hostel in order to slack pack it. I got an update on Team Chick-Fil-A from him. He and Cheetah had left the group to try and finish by early September while Guano and Blis were aiming for a late Sept summit. The rest of the group had just gotten back on trail in Waynesboro, VA after they all had spent some time at Wild Bill's house in Baltimore. Wild Bill and The Detective were thinking about speeding up to try and catch Mange and Cheetah.
Date: 2012-06-27
From: Ensign Cowall Memorial Shelter

To: Tumbling Run Shelters
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: clear sky

6/27Hiking is still really boring, and trail food is bland and gross too. Ugh. I'm going to have to find a group to hike with. The trail is stupid too. It went up the east face of a mountain, went down a rocky south face, then circled back around to the north side and climbed it a ways to the state line. Thankfully, there was a nice picnic and playground style park there with the option for delivery pizza! Apollo, Scoobie, and I went in together. I left there with a serious food coma. Thankfully, I ran into EZNomad's parents who were refilling a trail magic soda cooler; YES!The evenings selection of shelters was nice, three within 3.6 miles. Of course I chose the furthest one. And of course it was clogged with a Boy Scout troop from Michigan. The shelter had two units, one labeled as for snorers and the other for non-snorers. All the kids were at the latter so I went to the former where the adults were. I threw my stuff down in an empty spot and was informed that another guy was staying in there. I told him that there was plenty of room for another, implying to gather your stuff and not sleep diagonally. After coming back from the privy, all the adults had cleared out and set up tents. They said it was because of the bugs. While making dinner, one of the kids started to hang his whole back on the bear pole. Another thru-hiker and I talked to him explaining that packs are huge and bulky, and get in the way when others go to hang their food. Anyways, the kids stayed up way past sundown being very loud. Grrrr. The last troop was much more considerate and respectful.
Date: 2012-06-28
From: Tumbling Run Shelters

To: Birch Run Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

6/28I woke up and went to get my food for breakfast. Stupid kids had hung all of their packs on the bear pole. It was so cluttered up there that I couldn't get the pack down that was on top of my bag with the provided pole and had to jump and knock it off by hand. I was not sad to see that pack crash to the ground. Good riddance.Then the trail got even stupider. Back when I was preparing, I read people's complaints about PUDs, pointless ups and downs. I assumed that the trail didn't actually do anything pointless and that people just needed to gripe. It's a common joke on the trail about the trail gods and their means of punishment. However, the trail summits  the same mountain three times. THREE TIMES!  The ridge is big and level, but right down the middle is a 30' tall wall made of boulders. Three times I had to climb this wall, hop from boulder to boulder a ways, then climb back down. This sucks. Never mind the 100*F weather.At the bottom was a road and I decided I needed town food. I walked to an Italian place and ordered a medium stromboli. They brought out this monstrous 2' long stromboli that could feed an entire African village. That means I didn't have to eat a trail dinner that night!Shortly after setting down the trail I came to Caledonia State Park, a huge picnicking place with a beautiful creek and a public pool, and a snack bar. To beat the heat, I hung out under the trees drinking more soda with Scoobie, Apollo, Lucky Ten, and Sicilian Gypsy.I left at 4pm to tackle a big climb, passing an immaculate shelter that was accessorized to look like a house: potted flowers, picket fence, oil lanterns, etc. I stopped at the next shelter where Half Left and All Right were! I played a game of rummy with them. Everyone in there wanted to tent so I set up in the shelter alone. The bugs were so bad that I actually just set my tent up in the shelter. Good thing as a huge thunderstorm blew through that night and everyone else had to pack wet tents the next day.
Date: 2012-06-29
From: Birch Run Shelter

To: James Fry Shelter
Miles today: 17.1

6/29Woke upon the middle of the night to a huge storm with hail. Ha ha. All those suckers that wanted to tent. I felt like king of the world, bug free and dry in that shelter. Luckily the storm stopped long before sunrise so that no one had to break camp in the rain or falling tree pee.Today was HOT and brutal, but I passed the halfway point! To commemorate, the tradition is to buy a half gallon of ice cream at Pine Grove Furnace State Park and eat the whole thing in 60 minutes. There were many hikers there siestaing and it was entertaining watching them all writhe in pain from that much dairy. I skipped the challenge as it was so hot and because "Milk was a bad choice," to quote Anchorman. Now mind you, the box of ice cream we call a half gallon has actually been 3/8 of a gallon for some time and so everyone had to buy an extra pint to get the challenge. It also cost $9 at this park for the two things of ice cream. And to top off my pleasure from others' misfortune/silliness, the prize for finishing was a wooden spoon. And by spoon, I mean those cheap flat balsa wood double oval shaped ones that come in a thing of ice cream bought out of an ice cream truck. But to be fair, they did take the time to rubber stamp the "spoon" so that it read, "Half Gallon Club." What a trophy!While there, I hung out with Lucky Ten, Scoobie, Mr. Bojangles, Pippie, and a bunch of others. One guy came by and kept muttering to himself in disdain and disbelief at how we had taken over (and probably stunk up) the patio of this camp store. At 4pm, someone checked the weather and it was still 104*F! I waited until 4:30 before heading out and climbing the mountain. I was so sweaty that when I got to the shelter, I bathed in the stream to cool down. At the shelter was my first NYC bum. I had been warned that it was a phenomenon every year that the homeless of NYC decide to leave and try and make it elsewhere, and they use the AT as their mode of transportation. It was just me and him in the shelter (Lucky Ten was tenting) and I grew worried when he started talking about shoplifting for a living but he was a cool guy and didn't steal my stuff.
Date: 2012-06-30
From: James Fry Shelter

To: Carlisle, PA; US 11
Miles today: 20.0

6/30In the morning, I was feeling really good and pretty excited about getting into town. Carry on My Wayward Son got stuck in my head and so I started rocking out. And I mean really rocking out. You know the saying, "Sing like no one is listening..."? That was me. It would have been an epic air guitar session too, jumping around the stage, if I didn't have the trekking poles. Then I came around a bend and there were two young women day hikers heading south. Just a little embarrassing.I got to town by lunch. Boiling Springs had a beautiful pond and park right on the trail, filled with ducks, a swan, families out for a bike ride. It was really neat. The town lies in the middle of Cumberland Valley, which was eighteen miles of farmland (and one of town). As it was all fields of crops, there were no shelters or camp spots. Town had a campsite for hikers, right next to the train tracks that has trains roll by and blow their horns every 45 min all night long. I had a dilemma as to where to spend the night. The next shelter was much too far. The cheap B&B in town was already full. The only other places were much too expensive. In town, right on the trail there is a regional ATC office which was closed for the weekend but there was a community bulletin board. I looked there and found one couple who lived a ways out of town was offering tenting in their backyard. After eating lunch, updating the journal, calling family, and doing Facebook/email, I gave them a call. They were happy to have me but they were having a dinner party that night and time was limited. I had two hours to go eight miles which was the closest pick up for them. I packed up fast, forgetting to get water and a snack and hustled. But it is official, the landspeed velocity of a laden Talloaf (European, not African) is 4mph (in 100*F heat no less)! So as to not stink up the party I quick said my hellos to the dinner guests and took a shower. The flank steak, roasted veggies, Caesar salad, and glass of wine were all excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone as all had good stories to tell. All in all it was a pretty good day!
Date: 2012-07-01
From: Carlisle, PA; US 11

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

7/1It was a late start due to everyone having a late night. They took me back to the trail at 10:30 after they cooked me a delicious breakfast. It was a freaking hot day, super humid and I took a long break at the first shelter. There I met Dingo who was slack packing (remember this name with this date), and together we watched a five foot black rat snake climb up the stairs INTO the shelter! Good thing I wasn't sleeping in there. But I guess then I wouldn't have to worry about mouse poop in my OJ. Anyways cruised on out of there, down the mountain and up the next one.On the way up I met a ridge runner who was very helpful. We talked for awhile. As per his info, I had just barely enough time to get into Duncannon before the grill at the Doyle closed. The Doyle is an old old hotel built by Annheuser-Busch back in the 1800s. It was a really ritzy hotel at first but hasn't been properly maintained in years. Now it's a hiker hostel with a bar. It is named after Warren Doyle, who has thru-hiked the AT 17 times, but 90% slack packing according to Baltimore Jack. Everyone said the food was great but don't stay the night and they were right. I did get there in time but just barely. The rocks of PA bit me going over the last ridge. PA has lots of rocks. In the southern section, it was mostly just piles of large rocks and boulders that require careful stepping. This ridge had lots of small rocks that just twist and turn your ankles constantly. To boot, the trail gods struck again. The trail descends down the mountain steeply, but along a nice smooth consistent grade trail. BUT, when you get most of the way down the mountain, the AT veers off this path to go back up the mountain. And I mean way back up the mountain. Then when you finally get to a large swath of rock scramble, then they let you clamber back down the mountain and into town. I found out later that those who missed the turn off and stuck with the steep but smooth path, they continued down and walked right into town. The trail gods want us to walk every stupid rock possible, especially if it means a climb for no reason.The burger was supremely excellent, and then my brother picked me up to spend a few days near York, PA to see his family and my parents.
Date: 2012-07-02
From: Duncannon, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

7/2Most of my time at my brother's is a blur. It was a lot more busyness and chaos than I was used to, but I did have a lot of fun. My sister-in-law's sister was there with her daughter already and today was her birthday. The day started with waking her up in the morning, scaring her half to death with a dancing, singing birthday hamster. One of those super annoying, singing bass fish type things. We took the kids to the pool where I spent a lot of time throwing and flipping them into the water. At some point during the day, I built the kids, not a blanket fort, but a blanket town. It was pretty kick butt. Around midnight that night, my SIL's brother came in. The adults stayed up late with a couple drinks, playing a Michael Jackson dancing game on the Wii. It was epically hilarious. My brother took video too.