morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-01
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Skyland
Miles today: 17.0

Today, I just had to stop. We got up and hiked for 4 hours and had breakfast at the Big Meadows Wayside. The rain and wind started and we booked a small cabin at Skyland, where we had dinner and tried to decide what to do next.My daily exhaustion and general malaise has taken all the pleasure from being in the woods. I decided to get off here and meet GM in Front Royal in 2 days. That will give me time to think about continuing and for him to see if he wants to hike alone. He at least wants to get to Harpers Ferry, about 60 miles past Front Royal and in West Virginia.So, GM repacked his pack with the essentials from my pack, trading up for good gear when available and culling from the food bag. I arranged a shuttle ride to the FR Hostel to wait for him and to see about some remedies.I'll be updating GM's exploits in a few days and share our decisions. This is difficult for us both since we wanted to hike the AT together. If GM doesn't want to hike alone, assuming I don't get back on, we might do the northern half at a later date. I'll keep you posted.
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Skyland

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: overcast clouds

GM met several day hikers and a group from Japan and an AT ridgerunner. It drizzled on him all morning morphing into just overcast.The Ridgerunner, Augie, explained the "almost zone" - almost out of the Park, almost out of Virginia, almost over 1000 and almost half-way. It beats the twilight zone.When GM decided to stop, he was only 2 miles from a shelter so he just went on to it. He saw a little black bear on the short trail down to the hut. Whitepaws was there and 2 more came later, one making the unfortunate choice of tenting. He displayed his drenched bag in the morning.I stayed at the Front Royal Terrapin Station Hostel, sleeping, reading, thinking. Thanks for all the supportive emails.
Date: 2009-05-03
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Front Royal Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: moderate rain

It was raining hard all morning on the walk out of the Park to the Hostel which is 0.4 miles downhill on the Compton Gap Trail. Mike has a comfy hostel and the hot shower and laundry facilities were welcome. Our food resupply box as here, but we're going to town to eat out and buy fruit and OJ. I've decided not to continue hiking now. GarageMan and Whitepaws are leaving without me tomorrow.   The idea of walking in the cold rain for the next 4 days is more than I am willing to face so soon again. I'm planning to go on to Harpers Ferry to meet up with everyone. Then, I'll decide if I'll get back on with GarageMan or not. They say that this hike is 90% mental and I know that's true. I already know I can do it physically, but the rest was needed. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted.I remember a (heated) discussion that GM and I had about whether hiking the AT is fun, as he contends. I say, for the most part, no, fun is not the correct descriptor. It is the most difficult thing I've ever done. It gives a sense of accomplishment. It has natural rewards and is a fulfilling substitute for working. It keeps you fit and allows time for reflection and simplifying life. But fun only surfaces occasionally.
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Front Royal Terrapin Station Hostel

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: light rain

GarageMan is hiking so I won't have an update on him until Thursday,I got a shuttle here and have been impersonating a hiker on a zero day. I ran into thru- hikers Blue and Evergreen who left with Blue's Mom to proceed slowly North. The weather still stinks vacillating between raining and pouring.From GarageMan: The shelter is a geodesic dome that sleeps 4. Whitepaws and Bob and Footnote (a hiking author) were all there. It rained all day. Good hiking in spite of it.
Date: 2009-05-05
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Still here, bored to tears, checking out resupplies and the National Park. I bought some food for GarageMan and Whitepaws upon their Thursday arrivals. I also ran into Dubs and Myco Polo. I'll probably see Myco on the am train to DC. I'm going in to the city to alleviate this painful inactivity. It didn't rain until about 4 today, a big improvement. There is a flood watch here- a town that has been historically flooded. Along the Shenandoah, trees are under water. Sound fun? GarageMan: It was a beautiful hiking day with no rain until I was about 1/4 mile from the shelter. Many streams were overflowing due to the constant rain from the day before. The trail was a stream from the overflows. I hiked with Whitepaws all day.
Date: 2009-05-06
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: David Lesser Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

GarageMan hiked a short day. It was overcast all day and we stopped at the shelter at 3 pm. We hiked the last half of the Roller Coaster which overrated for difficulty. It was rocky and lots of ups and down (remember Georgia), but it didn't come close to the most difficult section. This shelter has a deck in front with seating and a separate covered picnic area with a porch swing. It started to rain at 5 pm and rained all night. We put up tent (and hammock) tarps to keep out the blowing mist and it worked fairly well. Another section hiker joined us that night.Pound Hound went into DC with thru-hiker Myco Polo and visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Natural History Museum and the American Indian Smithsonian. It was dry until Myco had to get off the train and walk to the hostel just over the bridge in Maryland. A day without rain is a day, well, without sunshine.
Date: 2009-05-07
From: David Lesser Shelter

To: Harper's Ferry- Town's Inn
Miles today: 8.0

It was a short day, mostly downhill. Some showers, but we were in town by 11. We had our pictures taken at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Office, numbers 26 and 27 for thru-hikers. GarageMan decided to wait with me until next year to finish the hike. It was a difficult decision for both of us, but after meeting the many varieties of hikers, we learned that "hike your own hike" was the most important factor. We want to complete the hike together so we will be back in the Shenandoah's next April (most likely). We're smarter now so we'll pack more efficiently, take more days off, laugh more, soak our feet more and be very relaxed. Part of the difficulty in the decision is the support that we've had from friends, family, other hikers, people we've met and people who have been following us in this journal. To all of you I can only say that your comments and support have been positive and fantastic. I hope you'll join us next year for the exciting conclusion. I hope we haven't disappointed you by stopping our hike before completion this year. We hiked for all the right reasons and we're stopping also for the right reasons.   I posted some new pictures as of 5-11-09 so be sure to check the photos on this site. Check out GarageMan's videos on my blog and hear about our life in Alaska including our hikes: http://alaskamentorpat.blogspot.com.Lessons from the trail:You can see a mountain from a distance, but once you are climbing it, you can know longer see it.Less is more- in the pack, in terms of speed of hike, prioritizing, material goods.The AT is not wilderness, but it is wild and wonderful.It is impossible to separate the hikers from the hike in terms of value and adventure.
Date: 2009-05-30
To: still in Fairbanks
Miles today: 0.0

We'll be getting back on the trail as soon as all my medical labwork gets done and the doctor gives his 2 cents (hah!, I wish!) worth, maybe as early as next week (June 8). We're sorting out our gear and finding out about travel, including the 10 hour plane ride. We will go to DC, train to Culpepper, VA and shuttle to Big Meadows Campground where I stopped hiking. GarageMan is repeating that section with me.We'll be glad to be back thru-hiking. To our loyal readers, thanks for your encouragement....there is nothing more difficult than hiking when you feel rotten, and nothing more enjoyable than finishing a hike.
Date: 2009-06-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The doctor gave me a clean bill of health although I still have residual muscle aches as the Lipitor is working its way out of my system.We made our plane reservations leaving on Wednesday, June 10 arriving the next day. Instead of training to Culpepper (Amtrak was sold out that day!), we'll be taking the train to Harper's Ferry and Mike from Terrapin Station will shuttle us that night to Big Meadow Campground. Trail prep right now: buying new shoes and insoles to save these broken in ones for the last 400 miles, spraying our rainfly and raincoats with waterproofing, spraying our clothes with permethrin tick-proofing, mailing food drops to Terrapin Station and the AT office in Harper's Ferry so we can breeze on through, trying out variations on dinners as we were starting to get sick of pasta and tuna, testing and/or replacing batteries, trying not to over-eat.Hurray! Back in the saddle, oops, I mean gap.
Date: 2009-06-11
From: Big Meadow Campground

To: Stream just past the campground
Miles today: 0.0

Mike from the Terrapin Station dropped us off in the campground at the spot where I got off in tears and pain on May 1. It was 8:00 pm and just starting to become dusk. We saw a rabbit, deer and skunk on the way to our stealth camp location near a stream just past the paying area. We hung our hammocks in the woods and ate our pastrami sandwiches from Union Station standing by the stream and just as it became dark. Because of the high number of bears in the Shenandoah, we put the stinky trash in a plastic bag and hung it in the tree with the food bags for the night.During the night, there was rain and wind which made the woods sound full of life. We weren't in Fairbanks anymore and the woods looked a lot different than it did in May.
Date: 2009-06-13
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Actual hiked miles: 13.1I can't put in actual miles because we are redoing the section that Paul did without me and this journal automatically adds on hiked miles.There are some real differences in our early hike and now: Now there are more daylight hours, heavy groundcover so less view, many more hikers, full shelters, hot and sultry weather including evening thunderstorms.We had lunch at the Elkwallow Grill paying 35 cents for a banana and more for the sandwiches we enjoyed. We met and had great conversations with Bumblebeet, Shark, Birch, Sallimander, Hard Core, Ninja, and Penny Mouse. Bumblebee & Sallimander picked and ate wild garlic mustard and dock in their soup!The shelter had mice giving a party in the rafters and ring necked snakes coming out from under the sleeping platform and entwined in the firepit. This brings our types of snakes sightings to 3- garter, black rat and now ring necked.....no rattlers yet.Here's a quiz for you:If you hear a deep thrumming, pulsing noise, speeding up as time increases and you are in the Shenandoah's, it could be:A) a grouse taking off in flightB) jets leaving National Airport near DCC) a motorcycle starting up on Skyline Dr.D) a fellow hiker sleeping next to you passing gasE) distant thunderAnswer: all of the aboveWe were hot and sweaty in our 30 degree bags so got up early to walk in the cooler temps.
Date: 2009-06-14
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Actual miles: 18.7We walked too far today. It was hot but pretty. GarageMan's knees are really bothering him on downhills so we'll need to be more circumspect.We left the Shenandoah National Park today, one of our "almost" items. We hiked down to Front Royal Hostel and picked up the food box we'd mailed to ourselves. We sat on Mike's lawn to enjoy our backpacker lunch after showers. We dried our gear in the hot sun and then packed up and moved on.Some of the highlights of the day include meeting Charles from Fredericksburg, eating Spam and cheese rollups for dinner,
Date: 2009-06-15
From: Jim & Molly Denton Shelter

To: near Ashby Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Actual miles: 14.8We are taking more videos now- someday I'll figure out how to post them to this journal.Last night I didn't sleep very soundly. There was a large animal (i.e. bear) circling around our hammock. I kept shining my light out and coughing and it would move away. I thought it was odd since there was a shelter nearby and the bears around here are not people predators- they only want our food (or so they say) and we hung our food. Much to my surprise (and disgust), GarageMan forgot he had the peanut butter in his pack which was hanging from the hammock. He slept soundly all night while I fended off the predators.Ww soaked our feet off and on all day in streams. We stopped in at Manassas Gap Shelter where we read about the Black Rat snakes that live in the rafters- no mice, just lots of snakes. We didn't meet any dayhikers, but lots of NOBOs passed us.We're definitely out of the Park- there are no signs and the trails are more rugged. We had planned to camp near Sky Meadows Campground (but not in-they charge!) but there was no camping allowed nearby. Too bad- it was grassy meadow and clear groundcover. By the time we stopped, exhausted, all we could do was hang our hammocks in the woods near the highway. Ironically, we had to listen to jets, trucks and vehicles from our slings. Night hikers passed by without even seeing us. In the middle of the night, GM hopped out to pee and an animal up in the woods shrieked an ungodly sound. He guessed bobcat, I guessed fox. We'll never know but it sounded like a banshee.
Date: 2009-06-16
From: near Ashby Gap

To: Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Actual miles: 10.6We started hiking the infamous "roller coaster"- 13.5 miles of rocky ups and downs. Again, many stops, foot soaks, interesting thru-hikers, excessive heat, lots of water, stream crossings.The animals of the day are caterpillars and centipedes- by the hundreds across the trail. They are very colorful and squishy (accidentally!).We passed up Rod Hollow Shelter where a weird incident happened last week. I'm sure this will become a trail legend, but I heard it from someone who heard it from someone who was there. The shelter was full and there were about 15 tents out. In the middle of the night a skunk came into the camping area and started spraying tents. Two hikers came running out of their tents naked. The crazy skunk bit another guy. Finally, someone sprayed it with bear spray and bludgeoned it to death. The bit guy went to the hospital for rabies treatment. Oh, yeah- never a dull moment.All was quiet at our shelter- we hammocked and slept well.
Date: 2009-06-17
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: David Lesser Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Actual miles: 10We hiked all day in the pouring rain and arrived wet and tired into the shelter, completing the 11 ups and downs of the roller coaster. No, the waterproofing on my raincoat didn't work.We hung our hammock tarps over the opening of the shelter and had a pleasant evening with Bob, BushMan, Birch and Birdsong. The water was way down in a gully, but we were glad to get it before we got out of our wet clothes.
Date: 2009-06-18
From: David Lesser Shelter

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Actual miles: 9We hiked into town in the heat- deja vue for GM. We spent the day on errands- including a new pack for me (Osprey Exos), a book for GM, laundry and groceries and a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we'll be moving on and our added mileage will show up next time I journal since it will be new territory for both of us. Watch for us in Pennsylvania on Sunday, June 21, our 27th anniversary, Solstice, Pam Pilon's birthday, my sister Susan's birthday, the Pilon's anniversary and Father's Day. Hurray!
Date: 2009-06-19
From: Harper's Ferry

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a beautiful day in spite of a prediction of rain. We crossed over the bridge into Maryland walking the first 3 miles on a canal tow bridge then up into Maryland Heights. There were lots of Civil War sites and we had lunch at Gaither State Park. The vending machine called to me, but alas it wasn't plugged in so I lost a quarter. I would have lost 2 except GM used his tweezers to pluck put the outermost one.The 4 foot long Black Rat snake on the trail woke us both up. Later, I took off a deer tick (before it dug in). No Lyme disease for me!All in all, a wonderful day and we were glad to be moving North again.
Date: 2009-06-20
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Ensign Cowell Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: haze

It rained until about noon today. It was a cooler day for sightseeing though. We went to the original Washington Monument where there were some Confederate soldiers doing a re-enactment. The good people of Boonesboro, MD built the truncated monolith in 1827. The trail was full of dayhikers to Annapolis Rocks once the rain stopped. It is not anywhere near Annapolis though, so I don't know why it's named that. One couple from DC said that this part of the trail is DC's playground.We walked through several small parks with historical markers and interpretative signs. The trail definitely feels like a narrow park strip within a larger metropolis. We were never far from a road and/or urban area.
Date: 2009-06-21
To: Antietam Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Again it rained in the morning, but it was clear by 10. At Pen-Mar Park we waited around for hotdogs. Out of the woods came lots of other thru-hikers, some we'd never met yet- Wizard, Scooner, Ferdie, and Sunny Side, the trail runner.We are now north of the Mason-Dixon line and into Pennsylvania, our 7th state and the 3rd longest after Virginia and Maine.We went through the Devil's Racecourse, a steep rocky downhill, but it wasn't long and we took our time.Looking for change for the vending machine at Pen-Mar was challenging. Desert Fox approached some people and asked for change. They gave him a guarded look and he hastened to explain that he needed change for a $20. They even found some, probably relieved that he wasn't a mugger. Hikers are the voluntary homeless and are shameless about dropping hints for shared food, but not pan-handlers to my knowledge.
Date: 2009-06-22
From: Antietam Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We went only 13+ miles today, but in this heat, that was enough. I was really looking forward to a short off-trail hike to the Italian place on VA-30 for lunch, weighing the merits of lasagna over stromboli. Definitely lasagna. The heat was rising from the highway and trucks went roaring by, but we walked the 4/10ths of a mile getting faster as we approached. Darn, it was closed. Paul called the number on the sign and the apologetic owner explained that the stove almost exploded with a gas leak that morning.We agreed that I would stay with the packs while GarageMan walked on a little further to the grocery/deli. People pulled in and left disappointed. One guy was waiting for a friend and we talked for a little while. Then he volunteered to go to the store and bring GM back. He returned shortly with the biggest deli sandwiches I'd ever seen- at least 4 pounds for under $5. We sat on the shady porch and ate them to avoid any carrying. The owner came out and apologized again for not cooking for us. All in all, a salvaged day due to the kindness of Pennsylvanians.The trail was rocky with lots of hot uphills before we arrived at the plushest shelter on the trail. Jim Staubin, the innkeeper, puts out potted plants, lots of hooks, rubber ducky decorations, lantern holders, a bear-proof food box and a gravel pad. Also, there was a clear spring and another stream for foot soaking. It was immaculately clean. Pennsylvania just keeps getting better and better.Usually at a shelter people are respectful of privacy and choices. Sometimes though, due mainly to thoughtlessness, people are really annoying. Some irritants we've experienced are blaring radios, not hanging food and thus attracting mice or exposing everyone to bear curiosity, putting hands or otherwise dirty objects into a clean spring/stream. I'd like to think that these goobers will learn eventually. It makes me reminisce about the early days of the hike with almost no other hikers.
Date: 2009-06-23
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Pine Grove State Park
Miles today: 19.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a long hike into Pine Grove State Park, home of the half gallon challenge. The grocery store was disappointing as a resupply, but we bought enough to go a few more days into Boiling Springs.Since we went half way, the idea is to consume a half gallon of ice cream to celebrate. GM and I managed to eat 1.5 quarts (almost a half gallon) of Vanilla Bean. We ate out a crater and poured in some rootbeer to make a float. The logbook recorded a kid named Fat Boy who ate his half gallon in 10 minutes. Way to go, Fat Boy!We were looking forward to staying at the IronMaster's Mansion hostel, so we sat on the porch of the General Store waiting until it opened at 5. At about 4:30, the manager came over and told us that the work on the sewer line shut off their water and they wouldn't be opening. Let's see- walk on or stay in the campground. Five of us agreed to share a $21 campground and began the long trudge down- Desert Fox, Firebug, Sundance and us. After an elaborate selection ritual, we settled on a site near the bathhouse. Sundance and I walked up to the inadequate grocery store to provision for dinner. We found Ace up there looking unhappy. The store couldn't take his VISA card because their phone was down and he had no cash. Come with us, Ace. We ended up with hotdogs, soda, chips and marshmallows. The guys had a fire going when we got back and we had fun cooking over it and consuming "all you can eat". We turned the campground hosts into Trail Angels by taking them the leftover ketchup and mustard and marshmallows and they came over later with buttery rice krispy treats for dessert. We all had showers so only mourned the lack of laundry facilities. Since the hostel would have cost $27/each, we really saved money, made friends and had fun.The trail was easy today- level with dirt/soft walking. GarageMan walked within 6 inches of the first of two rattlesnakes crossing the trail in the heat. We got a great videotape of it. Later we saw 2 beautiful Scarlet Tanangers. We passed Birch Run and Tom's Run Shelters, runs being streams, enjoying the cool streams and good water sources. We passed by a stone wall, all that remains of a Civil War POW camp. Good day, happy ending.
Date: 2009-06-24
From: Pine Grove State Park

To: Rusty's house in Mt. Holly, PA
Miles today: 19.4

We were up and out early trying to beat the heat. Birch and Birdsong passed us telling us that we could stay with them at the home of Rusty and HiJacked in Boiling Springs if we could go 19 miles. Yep, we could.Firebug delivered 2 hard boiled eggs that he'd carried for us from the Pine Grove campground. The hosts made eggs and coffee for everyone. Thanks!There were lots of rocks on the top one of the hills and my ankle was starting to hurt and swell but we were able to enjoy several foot soaks and the beauty of the woods. The trail ended by skirting the poison ivy edged corn fields and lake near Boiling Springs. I hobbled in, leaning heavily on my poles and iced my ankle by the regional AT office. We went to the Italian place for dinner and had showers and did laundry at Rusty's before an early to bed.