morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-07-15
From: Black rock Gap

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: few clouds

We said goodbye to our friends at Stanimals this morning.  Crash dropped us off at Blackrock Gap and we started walking north with our full packs on.  We passed a couple of great views early on.  One of them is today¢s photo. The terrain was decent, and very quickly we were 3 miles. There was a a picnic area! It was time for an early lunch.  The cool thing about hiking in a National Park is that it¢s set up for public use. This is a nice little treat for us hikers.  We get picnic tables, port-a-potties, and even campground facilities.  After lunch the terrain really stayed pretty nice. There were two good UPs, but few rocks and few roots.  I came upon a snake who was enjoying the sun right in the middle of the trail.  I¢ve seen some snakes like this before. He was a dark thin snake with neon yellow stripes down each side.  I waited there for Hugs to see him, but he slithered off before she got there.  I began hearing thunder in the distance. The clouds were coming in.  I always like that, because it cools things off. Before the rain hit we arrived at a campground grocery store. It had a nice covered breezeway with benches and a place to charge our phones. On one side was bathrooms and the other side was the store and laundry.  We both plugged in our phones and kicked back on a bench for about 20 minutes. My feet needed the break! The rains came but it wasn¢t much more than sprinkles.  Briefly, I want to mention Harry. He¢s the mouse I saw a few days ago.  I thought he was an unusual looking mouse. That¢s because he¢s not a mouse at all!  One of my readers informed me that Harry is a Shrew.  I don¢t know much about a Shrew, but they are venomous and they actually eat mice! After leaving the store I heard thunder and saw lightning the rest of the way to the hut.  In the park they are called Huts not Shelters... they look the same to me.  The rain remained sprinkles the whole way.  At one point we passed through a parking lot.  Some people were there taking photographs.  Suddenly a woman jumped and yelled SNAKE!  We looked, and sure enough there was a big ole rattler.  Back into the woods we went.  Our elevation must have been fairly high because it became a pine forest.  The scent was just lovely, and fallen pine needles make for a nice soft path.  When we arrived there were two people here. A guy named Dozer who is through hiking, and a lady named Forest Diva. She¢s an opera singer.  We got a sample of her vocals. wow!  Amazing!  Ramen for supper. Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-16
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Powell Gap
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a rough night of sleep.  Myself and Forest Diva were wide awake listening to mice scratch and scurry about the Hut.  We both shined our lights in hopes of making it stop. It didn¢t work. Hugs and I both found mouse poop in our packs this morning, but thankfully no mouse!  Dozer tented last night, but somehow a mouse climbed the bear pole and chewed a hole through his bear bag to dine on tortillas.  It actually made 2 holes because it chewed through where the sack was cinched.  I offered him some of my food, but he declined.  There was a Doe grazing around our Hut this morning.  I tried to feed her an apricot but she wasn¢t having that.  She trotted off briefly but returned grazing very close to us. She is today¢s photo.  I reached the 900 mile mark today!  Yay!! Hugs and I had a celebratory moment before moving on. We can¢t sit still too long.  There are little black biting flies this time of year and they make it impossible to stand still for any length of time. If you can picture the cloud of dust around Pig Pen from the Charlie Brown cartoon?  That¢s  how these flies are! A black cloud of biting flies swarming around me as I walk. About 4 miles in we decided to stop at some cliffs with a view for a snack.  Hugs pulled out her brand new IPhone 10 to take a photo.  It¢s so humid here!  Her hands were sweaty and the phone slipped right out onto a ledge.  It slid off that ledge and down again...and one more time.  We used a rope and she went down,  but no luck retrieving it. We had to hike on. Within a half mile we came out onto a road at Powell Gap. We decided to hitch a ride to the closest campground so Hugs could have cell service. Then she could use my phone to get hers replaced.  That¢s where our Trail Angel Judy Renner stepped in.  What a lovely lady!  She¢s here on vacation from Columbus Ohio, and had dropped her hubby off to play golf. Im not sure why, but she decided to help us girls out when she saw us hitchhiking. She drove us only 8 miles or so to the campground but it took a good thirty minutes.  No complaints. Then she helped us get a camp site before she left.  What a blessing she was!  Thank you Judy!  Hugs called for a replacement phone, but it doesn¢t sound promising.  She felt confident she could get it replaced because she had purchased great insurance, but now they are saying they don¢t cover lost or stolen phones. Technically hers isn¢t lost it¢s just unreachable.  We do know exactly where it¢s located.  So for tonight we¢re tenting at Lewis Mountain Campground.  In the morning we plan to hitch a ride back to Powell Gap and try one more time to reach her phone... wish us luck. Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-17
From: Lewis Mountain Campground

To: Lewis Mountain Campground
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Last night was a ¢WILD¢ night with very little sleep.  A screech owl screeched all night long.  At one point it was near Hugs tent and she had to scare it away.  Other critters were scampering around, and making noises too.  I thought I was sleeping in a jungle instead of a campground.  We decided last night that we were definitely going back for Hugs¢ cell phone today.  We hitchhiked a couple of miles before Crash the caretaker at Stanimals picked us up.  After coming back to the campground, for a guest, he drove us 8 miles to where we left off yesterday. Powell Gap.  Hugs offered him $100 to help us retrieve the phone.  He had to take his passenger to Waynesboro and drive back, but he said he would.  In the meantime Hugs and I used rope to try and go down over the cliff. That didn¢t work. Then we walked down around the mountain and began bushwhacking our way up.  We made it quite a good distance up, but couldn¢t go any farther.  We went up and down that mountain a few times.  In the end we just had to wait for Crash. About an hour later Crash arrived with gear in hand.  He also tried from the top.  Too steep!  So I took him up from the bottom as far as we had already gone, then he took off on his own. Like a pro he made his way to the bottom of the cliffs above.  My phone had service today and Hugs was able to use FIND MY IPHONE from it. Her phone started pinging and Crash saved the day! It was about 2pm by now. Even though we walked a few miles there, and went up and down that same mountain 5 times, we had zero trail miles.  It¢s 14 trail miles back to the campground, but at 2pm thunder was overhead, and raindrops were falling. Crash took us back to our tents. Another unplanned zero has taken place.  We were back only a few minutes when Forest Diva came walking across the lot to the lodge! We thought we would never see her again. She had rented a cabin. Dozer came hiking up too!  It was a reunion!  Before long Bo Diesel joined us.  We met him today. Forest Diva let those of us who wanted use the shower in her cabin. I chose to use it.  Hugs paid for her shower at the lodge.  We threw all of our laundry in together for one load, and planned our dinners. Before long we all had dehydrated meals, marshmallows and roasting sticks, and some adult beverages.  It was a party at Forest Diva¢s place!  She has a cute little pavilion with lights at her cabin.  The fire pit is right there too. What a good time!  I stayed until 8:30pm...that¢s past hikers midnight.  Wish I could have stayed longer.  Food is now in the bear boxes, and I¢m ready for bed, but these owls have other plans.  Praying for sleep tonight.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-19
From: Lewis Campground

To: Big Meadow Campground
Miles today: 8.8

I woke up and took the 1/8 mile trek to the campground facilities.  After 20 minutes or so I was dressed and ready to go.  When I put my hiker fanny pack back on, I noticed the ziploc with my cash, credit cards, and I.D. was missing.  This put me into a full on panic mode! Immediately I went to the guard shack/office and asked if anybody had turned it in.  I knew I had it at the lodge last night so I asked them to call the lodge too. No luck.  I let them know that I am a thru-hiker and a gentleman asked if I was Blue Moon? I said ¢close, I am Blue Raccoon¢. He had gotten a call from Texas about me.  Not Texas my Trail Brother, but from the state of Texas.  I had to clarify that.  It turns out he is one of the Roundabouts, and his wife Mrs Roundabout is reading my journal! She had let him know that I was coming.  I have no idea who is reading this thing, but it makes me happy to know at least some people are enjoying my journey.   Mr Roundabout assured me I would probably find my ziploc amongst my things...I did.  Hugs and I were so grateful to get a ride from Forest Diva back to Lewis Campground this morning.  We slack packed back to Big Meadows Campground.  Where our tents would already be set up. We had planned to do more miles today, but her and I both just weren¢t feeling well.  We think it was the chicken. Today¢s path was EXCELLENT!  This definitely was the easiest day ever as far as terrain goes.  The only thing missing was Big Kahuna.  I hope he gets back soon. Today was a day for sauntering. I did just that. At one point I looked up to find a bear about 100 ft to my left.  He was watching me curiously, and I looked at him the same.  When I reached for my phone he turned his back and moseyed away from me.  Another A.T. magical moment.  Hugs reappeared behind me right after the bear.  I actually thought she was in front of me. That¢s a long story.  But we stayed together the rest of the day.  The path was just amazing!  Which was much appreciated since neither of us were at our best today.  We walked up on a big brood of turkeys!  I had been seeing turkey feathers for a while, then there they were.  They went waddling off into the woods.  You never know what a turkey might do.  They can act crazy sometimes!  The last 1.5 miles was a bit Up.  We passed a cemetery and one last overlook before we found ourselves back at the campground.  It really was a great trail today.  I hate we had to cut it short. After a quick shower and load of laundry the three of us(myself,Hugs, Forest Diva) headed to the lodge for dinner.  I had Ribs with mashed potatoes and coleslaw.  Blackberry lemonade to drink. Yummy!   We all charged our phones and enjoyed some great sisterhood conversations. Before we hiked up to black rock to watch God¢s handy work.  The sunset was a true work of art tonight.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-24
From: Liberty Hill Lane

To: Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: light rain

I was up at 6:30 this morning. I laid around until 7:30 then grabbed our laundry.  The hotel laundry room is padlocked, so I had to get a key first.  One load of laundry washed and dried took almost two hours!  This allowed Hugs to sleep in a little. We had a late checkout planned because we¢re only hiking 10 miles today and we wanted the luxury of a real bed and toilet as long as possible. We both had to run to the Post Office as well.  Long story short, our shuttle driver Sherry was there at 1pm sharp but Hugs still had things to do.  Sherry is great and she accommodated us.  Just as sweet as yesterday.  Like yesterday too, just as we were getting out of the car, the rain came.  I was soaked within the first 5 minutes of my hike.  I remained soaked all day, and my hair is still soaked right now.  If the rain wasn¢t getting me, sweat was.  So yesterday we thought we did part of the roller coaster, but about a mile into our hike today there was an official sign marking the start of it.  I thought it was pretty much like yesterday until about 6 miles in. Very steep UPs and DOWNS.  It was far more difficult than yesterday!  Eventually Hugs took the lead, and I just followed her blindly.  Mind you neither of us have glasses or contacts at the moment.  I did buy a pair of cheaters from CVS.  Anyway the trail crossed an area that was like the River Jordan.  I tried staying up on rocks, but I slipped down and cool water rushed in over the top of my boots. All of this rain has the creeks swelling over.  Then I followed her down a service road.  That should have been our clue!  You guessed it..wrong way!!  We lost a good half hour there.  When we finally got back to the trail we both dropped our wet heavy packs and took a break.  My boots are heavy, my pack is heavy, and I am aching everywhere! I took the lead from there.  Somehow we ended up off trail again!  Ugh!  It¢s hard to use our Guthook¢s app in a be rain. We had not seen a soul for hours, but right then a trail volunteer with two doggies happened by. What a gift from God!  He pointed us I. The right direction.  We were less than 10 yards off trail, but couldn¢t see it. The roller coaster is hard!  So much harder in the rain!  We saw a nice tent site, but wanted to make 1000 miles today so we kept going.  Then, WE DID IT!  There are no words!  I¢ve walked 1000 miles!  The sun was fading fast. I saw a couple of deer grazing.  Otherwise no other wildlife to be seen on this dreary day.  Or maybe neither of us could see them without our glasses.  I stopped for water and my headlamp. It was clear these UPs were kicking my butt and I will be hiking into the night. Hugs headlamp wasn¢t working properly, and my battery was fading fast.  We literally picked our way through serious rocks in the dark with a cellphone light.  We arrived at the shelter about 10pm.  2220 No dinner....Until Next Time Blue Raccoon(2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-25
From: Sam Moore Shelter

To: Blackburn Trail Center
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night we woke up everybody while trying to get ourselves settled into the shelter. There was one man and one woman in there, and another woman tenting.  The man immediately said ¢well I¢m outnumbered again¢.  That was followed by ¢don¢t you girls stay home and raise babies anymore?¢, then a ¢we went wrong when we started letting you vote¢.  Wow!!!! Really?  I was too tired to argue. I went to a covered area and took off my wet clothes in the dark. I tried to wash myself up with wet wipes, and made my way back to the shelter.  Once I had my bed set up and felt organized I tried to hang my bear bag.  After several failed attempts I decided to just sleep with my food.  Mr Macho announced that he would help us ¢girls¢ out and hung both of our bags.  I¢m sure he felt great about doing that.  I choked out a genuine thank you and Hugs gave him some candy.  When I woke up this morning he was gone.  Us 4 princesses took our time. Moon Pie hit the trail about 8:30.  Sister Sticks and us left about 10:20 this morning.  I really enjoyed chatting with Sister Sticks. She¢s 33 years old and just came out of the military.  Now she¢s working towards becoming a Nun.  We talked a lot about becoming a Nun, life, and politics. She¢s a very bright young lady!  I told her about me and Hugs both losing our glasses.  She had stayed at a hostel the night before and said someone brought in glasses yesterday.  Papa Big Swig called for me, but no luck.  We¢re both still blind.  We had 7 or so miles of the roller coaster left to go today.  It is VERY rocky!  Hugs calls the rocks ¢speed bumps¢.  They really are!  That¢s what made us so late getting to the shelter last night.  It rained a little this morning.  I didn¢t care.  I had already put my feet back inside wet boots, and put back on my same dirty wet clothes.  When the rain let up briefly, I did get to enjoy some sun. Hugs and I took a little break on a log.  It felt good to feel that warmth for a few minutes.  I also got one good Mountain View in during the sunshine¢s time.  The birds started chirping.  I realized I missed hearing them during these past couple days of rain.  All too soon I was hearing thunder again.  The clouds rolled in and the rains came down.  We had 5 miles until the shelter or 3 miles to an ATC primitive bunkhouse.  We chose the bunkhouse.  There were exactly two bunks left.   I cooked myself a Mountain House Turkey Casserole dinner.  I had a freeze dried ice cream sandwich for dessert, and a Sprite!  Yes they sell pop here!  Going to bed fat and happy! Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-26
From: Blackburn Shelter

To: Shenandoah Street
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at the Blackburn Center this morning feeling well rested.  The rangers office had cold pop for sale, so an ice cold coke was my breakfast caffeine!  Mary Ann would be so proud of me! They had fresh fruit too, so I ate a banana with my tortilla and Nutella. I made my way to the privy.  Since the door opened to the woods I left it cracked.  I do that often for fresh air.  Today was special though. Right in front of me came a mama deer and her baby.  The baby was pretty big, but still at her mom¢s side. I sat there and watched mom groom her little one.  Just like a dog or cat licks their babies. What a gift it was to witness that moment.  Our hike was straight up and out this morning.  There were tons of rocks.  My feet are very angry with me again today.  Sometimes it hurts so bad when one of those pointy rocks stick my foot I actually cry out. It¢s no joke.  About 8 or 9 miles in we came to a road with a convenient store/deli on it.  We wanted real food, so we hiked the extra 0.3 miles uphill to check it out.  I had a cold diet Dr Pepper and tuna salad sandwich with dill pickle chips.  Yummy!!!! With full bellies the idea of walking back to our trailhead wasn¢t appealing at all.  I met a lovely middle aged lady and struck up conversation.  She made room for us in her van and took us back to the trailhead.  I didn¢t catch her name, but she was my Trail Angel today.  The trail from there started out nice, wide, and soft.  As I walked along I watched a squirrel perform acrobatic moves!  He jumped from one tree to another doing a half twist in the middle!  I¢ve seen lots of squirrels jump in my lifetime, but nothing like this!  I gave him a ¢10¢...he stuck the landing.  The rest of the trail was mostly rocks.  Hugs fell 2 or 3 times!  She had a rough day.   After a bit I came to the Shenandoah River.  I¢ve sang about that river for years, and here I am!  And guess what else?  I¢m in Harpers Ferry...WEST VIRGINIA!   Virginia was beautiful.  I met some folks that I will remember forever, but after more than 500 miles, I¢m thrilled to be past it!  I think I did get the Virginia Blues a little bit towards the end.  Tomorrow will be a zero day in Harpers Ferry.  There¢s so much history here I want to explore this quaint little town.  Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-27
From: Teahorse Hostel

To: Teahorse Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up to the smell of waffles and coffee at the Teahorse Hostel. We all sat around the big tables talking about the trail, movies, and technology.  Surprisingly even the young hikers were impressed that I have given up TV.  They see the good in that decision. Today is my daughter Kayla¢s birthday! She is 31 years old.  I¢m so proud of her!  She¢s a great mother, wife, and nurse. But mostly she¢s an amazing daughter!  After breakfast I FaceTimed her(at work) and the whole crew sang happy birthday to her!  After a quick trip to the Post Office Hugs and I began our exploration of Harpers Ferry.  Harpers Ferry was settled in 1773. The history of this town just seeps out between every red brick of these buildings.  In many ways the architecture reminds me of NOLA. Harpers Ferry is another city with a soul. Our first stop was the ATC headquarters.  We had our pictures and info taken. We are now officially logged in the archives as A.T. Thru-hikers 2018!  They have shelves there with binders full of pictures from years past.  It¢s super cool to me that I am amongst them now. We continued to walk through the historical section of town. These old buildings are now shops and hostels or restaurants. There are several museums. We went into a few shops and admired the homemade soaps and unique jewelry.  Until we made our way into a local Pub-n-Grill.  I had baked Brie with honey & almonds on it and a salad. Delicious!On to a few museums. Most of the history is based around slavery.  I¢m not open for discussion on this, but I¢m ashamed and appalled...my heart actually hurts.  Enough said. I grabbed a hand dipped ice cream for my after dessert dessert since I had ended up sharing a lava cake with Hugs after lunch.  This cannot continue once I¢m off trail!  We sweated our way back up the mountain streets to our hostel.  I will eat leftovers from last nights steak dinner tonight, and lay around with my feet up! Until Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018)Where¢s your faith?
Date: 2018-07-28
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Harpers Ferry 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

When we were on our way to Harpers Ferry the original plan was for a double zero. After vacillating back and forth, it is official that today will be our second zero.  My feet and knees may love me again by tomorrow.  The morning started out with waffles again. Coffee and a banana went with them marvelously! Sister Sticks and I enjoyed some conversation as we all prepared our things for bounce boxes to be picked up later down the trail. Hugs and I said goodbye to her at the Post Office. She¢s on her way toward some major flooding and will try to keep us updated on trail conditions.  Hugs and I had planned to take the city bus to Walmart this morning since we let too much time slip away yesterday. That was how we learned the bus does not run on Saturdays. 4.7 miles to Walmart...thumbs up.  We walked a couple of residential blocks when a lovely lady named Beverly gave us a holler from her front porch. She made sure we were going to Walmart, then offered up a ride. Beverly works with troubled youth. I bet she¢s perfect for that role. It¢s clear she has a heart of gold!  Our walk took us past a forgotten old stone building. I would love to breathe new life back into that thing. It¢s today¢s photo. Walmart was Walmart...blech!! Shop local folks. I really try to do that even during this hike, but sometimes out here it¢s unavoidable and I¢m forced to do differently.  Bags in hand and slack packs on our backs we hit the road. Thumbs up! A very nice man from the other side of the road shouted that he¢s running into Food Lion and will be one minute. He was true to his word. He brought us right back to the hostel because it¢s basically next door to his own home. His name is Glenn. He was born and raised right here in Harpers Ferry and he¢s an independent contractor.  We love our Trail Angels!! We had a late lunch/early supper at The Anvil. A restaurant next door. I smelled the smoker all day yesterday, so today I had a delicious pulled pork sandwich!  It had that smoked gourmet flavor!!! I would have loved just a big old bowl of meat!! Papa Big Swig FaceTimed me with a surprise appearance from Lisa, one of my besties! I love her so much that I named my daughter after her. I miss the people I love more than anything while I¢m out here hiking. Her beautiful face brought tears to my eyes.  My boots will be back on tomorrowUntil Next Time Blue Raccoon (2018) aWhere¢s your faith?