morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-07-07
From: VA US 7 at Snickers Gap

To: Harper's Ferry (with one step in Maryland...)
Miles today: 20.1

Day 108 - Being well rested and with a several goals in mind for today, I was on the trail at 7:35 am. I finished up the "roller coaster" section of the trail and having fresh legs and feet it was not an issue. I hit my first goal at 9:00am when I officially left the great Commonwealth of Virginia. I have been in Virginia since May 7, albeit with a several weeks off but it has been an extremely long time. The state contains over a fourth of the trail, so it was nice to get that state off my list, only 10 more to go. I actually crossed back into Virginia from West Virginia during the day but just for a few steps. I hit my second goal at 10:15am when I reached the 1,000 mile post. I have been so richly blessed to be able to have gone this far. At 12:35pm, I reached the side trail to David Lesser shelter which was my only viable water source. As much as I hated to go 0.3 miles one way, I had to do it because the day was hot and getting hotter and I needed to kept up my hydration strategy. I got to the spring and drank nearly 2 liters of water and filled up my bottles. I crossed VA 9 at 2:25pm after hiking 13.6 miles on my way to Harper's Ferry. The trail suddenly turned very rocky at this point but I made good progress. Finally, I saw the Shenandoah River to my left as it flowed left to right, up the Shenandoah Valley, prior to joining the Potomac River at Harper's Ferry. Once I crossed the Shenandoah River along U.S. 340, I entered into Harper's Ferry and I met Megan who had back tracked from downtown. We hiked together the short distance into town and across the Potomac River along the CSXT railroad trestle where I touched the ground in Maryland, now only 8 more states. So my last goal of the day was met, having hiked in three states in one day. The more youthful hikers sometimes attempt to hike through Maryland and touch down in Pennsylvania, all in one day to have made it four states. I was satisfied with three states, since this had been a 20.1 mile day for me plus the water stop. I now have to use a comma to record my total mileage, 1,025.0 miles.
Date: 2011-07-08
From: Harper's Ferry (with one step in Maryland...)

To: Gathland State Park
Miles today: 9.8

Day 109 - Megan and I went to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters in Harper's Ferry this morning. This is the headquarters for a bunch of hardworking volunteers who basically manage and supervise the trail and make things happen. I signed the hiker register book and got my picture taken which goes into their photo album. Interestingly, there had only been 759 thru hikers that had registered this year and I was the 59th hiker who was going to flip flop. I did not see many of hikers' names that are ahead of me with whom I am familiar so not all the hikers stop at the ATC.We arranged to take my car to Gathland State Park and were shuttled back to Harper's Ferry so we could hike the 9.8 miles back to the state park. Starting from the two steps that I had taken in Maryland yesterday, we hiked along the Chesapeake and Ohio canal towpath. The C&O canal was part of the 185 miles canal from Georgetown, VA to Cumberland, MD that was built between 1828-1850 but never reached the Ohio River. The Baltimore and Ohio (now part of CSXT) railroad being built along the same time frame made the canal obsolete. Harper's Ferry is an interesting town but has a tremendous amount of American history to its credit.We started hiking at 1:48pm and it started raining at 2:40pm. It was the hardest rain that I had encountered during my journey thus far. It lightning and thundered and the wind blew for two constant hours as we climbed South Mountain. We had to continue as our options were non-existent as we had to get to the car. Finally, around 4:30pm the rain ceased and we got to the state park at 5:40pm. It was a good 9.8 mile hike bringing my total to 1,025.0 miles.
Date: 2011-07-10
From: Gathland State Park

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 111 ¢ Megan and I did not get to Gathland State Park until 6:30pm due to Sunday traffic and several wrecks. She dropped me off, with a full pack after slacking packing for the past 9 days or so. I was on the trail at 6:42pm having to cover only 5.4 miles before dark in order to get to Rocky Run shelter. The trail was not too bad with only a moderate climb back onto South Mountain. I have been walking along South Mountain for what seems like a week, it goes northeast along West Virginia and Maryland and actually continues on into Pennsylvania. I arrived at the shelter at 8:40pm and it was past dusk. It was dark enough to reinforce that I do not want to hike in the dark, it is just too difficult seeing where you want to plant your feet due to the exposed rocks. This shelter was very nice and fairly new. The flooring was actually residential wood flooring with a nice varnish coating. It had a loft and slept 16 but I was the only one occupying it. There were a couple of tent campers but I elected to stay inside. There was no ground breeze so it took a little while for the heat to dissipate from the shelter and cool off. The shelter had a tin roof and it must have been under either hickory or oak trees. The nuts of those trees were prematurely falling off during the night, hitting the roof with a bang and then trickling down the roof. So, I woke up about 25 times during the night each time that occurred. The shelter also had a nice spring about 0.1 mile away so I was able to rinse off and hydrate. I only did 5.4 miles today and my total is now up to 1,030.4 miles but I am back on the trail with all my gear.
Date: 2011-07-12
From: Free State Hostel

To: Falls Creek Campsite, PA
Miles today: 10.6

Day 113 - I slept well and was well rested when I woke. Like most days on the trail I had decisions that needed to be made. I tentatively had two shelter choices for the day. Deer Lick was 14.7 miles away and Antietam was 17.1 miles away. Given that it was supposed to be in the high 90*F today, I fairly quickly eliminated Antietam. So, I figured I could wait until noon or 1:00pm to head out, hike for 7 hours and make my destination. This would allow me to take advantage of the air conditioned house, order my turkey sub and drink plenty of water. That option received the greatest number of votes so that is what I decided to do. I could have left early in the morning and taken advantage of the 3 hours of cooler weather but that would mean I would arrive at the shelter around 3:00pm with nothing to do but sweat until it cooled off. I headed out of the hostel at 1:00pm and was on the trail at 1:10pm. I did not think the heat was overbearing, even though my watch said it was 98*F. The terrain today was a bear, it was rocky, the trail went up and down and it was just slow going. The trail went through some boulder fields and luckily it was marked well enough that I did not get off track. I did not make very good time and did not make it to Pen Mar until 6:20pm. I had hydrated fairly well during the day but I did not think I could make the additional 5 miles to Deer Lick shelter before dark. Given the terrain I had transversed during the day; I decided to change my plans again. Immediately after crossing into Pennsylvania at 6:48pm I arrived at a campsite adjacent to Falls Creek. I sat up my tent, rinsed off in the creek, ate my macaroni/cheese and tuna fish. I only covered 10.6 miles today in which I was a little disappointed but given the heat and terrain I reasoned that it was okay. It would mean, however, that I would need to make up some miles the next couple of days. My total is now 1,056.5 miles and I have six states down. I slept my first night in Pennsylvania.
Date: 2011-07-18
From: Mt. Holly Springs, PA

To: Boiling Springs, PA
Miles today: 8.2

Day 119 - I drove back to the Holly Inn in Mt Holly Springs and arrived around 2:15pm. I ordered a cordon blue sandwich to eat later on and inquired about a ride back to the trail head. It was already pretty hot, low 90's and I really did not want to walk along the highway for 2.5 miles. I was told that the guy who could take me back was not there but should return in 30 minutes. I sat there and drank water for 20 or so minutes and decided I needed to move on. I went out to the highway and got an immediate ride and was on the trail at 2:55pm. I am now hiking in my second pair of Oboz boot, identical to my first pair. The initial pair were starting to show some wear and tear and I did not want to be in New England and have them start coming apart. As I have stated previously, I have been very pleased with the performance of these boots, many hikers are on their 3rd or 4th pair. I walked 986 miles in the original pair and I could still use them if I needed to. The afternoon hike was okay, I stopped once and drank another 1.5L of water. The trail through the woods was very rocky but luckily fairly flat. There was quite a bit of the trail through soybean and corn fields too. After 8.2 miles, I arrived at Boiling Springs, PA at 6:40pm which was as far as I intended to go today. There was supposed to be a campground outside of town, I saw the sign but I was never able to locate the exact spot. I walked 400 yards up open trail next to a corn field and did not find it, so I went back to where the trail started and just sat up my tent in the grassy area. By this time, the wind was picking up and it had started to sprinkle. I moved with much haste and got everything secured in my tent, ate my sandwich and waited for the storm. It hit around 7:10pm and rained hard for 20 minutes or so and then stopped. I was able to open my rain fly and allow what warm breeze there was to circulate through my tent. Fortunately, the bugs were not bad so I was even able to open the screening and that allowed even more air to circulate. I listened to the Harrisburg radio station and it is supposed to get to 91-94*F tomorrow plus the heat index. What is disconcerting is the forecast for the latter part of the week, high in the upper 90's to 100*F with the heat index in the 100*-106*F range. The trail tomorrow goes through farm land but then I will be back along a ridge line starting Wednesday. However, the real problem is the lack of adequate drinking water on the trail starting tomorrow going through the balance of the week. With my short hike today my total now stands at 1,112.5 miles.
Date: 2011-08-04
From: Home

To: Millinocket, Maine
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 136-I spent the last 15 days off the trail visiting family and friends. The reason I got off early was due to the weather forecast which came to fruition as a high heat dome settled into much of the eastern United States bringing record breaking temperatures and humidity indexes. I feel comfortable that I made the right decision in Carlisle. Megan and I arrived in Portland this morning and drove to Millinocket, arriving late afternoon. Our first stop was Paul and Jaimie's at the Appalachian Lodge where we arranged and confirmed our hiking plans for the next two days. Just by chance, we stopped by Pelletier's Loggers restaurant to have dinner, only to learn that this is the home base for the American Loggers program on the Discovery Channel. We stayed at a lodge on Twin Lake with magnificent views of Mount Katahdin in the distance.
Date: 2011-08-06
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Abol Bridge
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 138-We had arranged with Paul from the Appalachian Trail Lodge to shuttle us from Abol Bridge back to Katahdin Stream Campground which allowed us to hike to the car. As difficult as yesterday was, today was a breeze. The terrain was relatively flat and provided numerous views of waterfalls and rapids along the Nesowadnehunk Stream. We took our time and actually got into Katahdin Stream to cool off later in the day. We ate all the wild blueberries that we could have wanted, as they are at the height of ripeness. I have learned that wild blueberries vary greatly from bush to bush and it has been reported that an acre of land could have as many as 100 genetically distinct varieties. It is further reported that in Maine alone, there are 6.5 million distinct varieties! This explains why berries from one bush will have a completely different taste in sweetness and/or tartness than an adjacent bush. The wild blueberries are small however. It takes 150 berries to equal a cup compared to 90 domesticated blueberries.Tuesday I begin what it called the 100 Mile Wilderness which has little to no opportunity to return to civilization. Hopefully, I will spend one night in a lodge along this section. I understand this section to be quite strenuous and rugged and I expect to take at least 8-10 days to transverse it. I've arranged with Paul to drop food for me so I don't have to carry 10 days worth of food. I traveled 9.9 miles today which brings my total mileage to 1,135.9 with 1,045.1 miles to go.
Date: 2011-08-09
From: Abol Bridge

To: Rainbow Stream Lean-to
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 141 -- We were up at 5:00am and said our goodbyes to Debbie and Rick, the owners of the lodge. They are very nice, even though they have a slight accent. Megan dropped me off at Abol bridge at 7:20am and I was once again headed south. I crossed into the 100 mile wilderness at 7:30am, more about the wilderness later. The day was OK, lots and lots of bogs. Some of the bogs have wooden logs to help you traverse but many of them don't, you just do the best you can. In addition to the bogs, the trail is full of roots, they call them spaghetti roots because they are all tangled going all different directions. I stopped at Rainbow Ledges and ate all the blueberries I wanted; it was a nice snack. Even though it is in the low 70's, I am still drinking lots of water trying to stay ahead of my hydration situation. I arrived at Rainbow Stream Lean-to (shelter) at 3:30pm after hiking 15 miles. My dilemma was to stay in the lean-to and take my chances with bugs and mice or to set up my tent and take a chance with rain. After 6:30pm, thinking that I was going to be there alone, I did both. I set up my tent inside the lean-to. I rinsed my clothes and myself off in the creek. I must have passed 50 hikers today going north, only 15 or so were thru hikers. The ones I talked to left Springer Mt anywhere from March 1 to April 1. I did see Gumby, which I had last seen in Franklin, NC, many, many months ago. After I crawled into my tent at 7:30pm, two hikers showed up. I offered to take my tent down but they were going to set up their tent so I stayed where I was. I listened to my radio to catch up on the world's events but I could only get the Boston Redsox game and a French Canadian radio station. I did 15 miles today, for a total of 1150.9, with 1,030.1 to go. All is well.
Date: 2011-08-11
From: White House Landing 

To: Falls Lean-to
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 143 - I slept well, with the window wide open because it was so hot in the bunk house. Breakfast is served promptly at 8:00am and you have to be out of the bunkhouse by then. I was up at 7:00am to repack my entire pack since I had laid out everything to dry. Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, English muffins, and blue berry pancakes. We had to wait on Bill to clean up the dishes before he ferried us back over to the other shore. Going back, he uses a different boat ramp which is only 0.2 miles from the trail so I considered the 1.2 miles not wasted miles, since I got to eat, shower and was dry. The terrain for the past two days has been mostly flat, a lot of bogs but not too bad. I had left some food with Paul at Appalachian Trail Lodge in Millinocket on Monday and he was going to drop it off on Jo-Mary Road. This saved me from having to carry 4 days supply through the wilderness. The food was exactly where he told me it would be and I loaded that into my pack five minutes before it started to rain. It did not rain long, just enough to get shoes/socks/pack wet. As I was going over a little foot bridge my left foot slipped into the muck between two rocks, I was extremely fortunate to be able to catch myself with my poles, because otherwise, I think I would have broken my left ankle. After a little prayer of thanks I got myself under control and continued. Prior to Maine I had really only fallen twice to speak of and have already in 4 days in Maine had 3 tumbles. I got to Falls Lean-to at 4:45pm, right before a hard thunderstorm hit the area. I was soaking wet and wanted to clean up before putting on my camp clothes. Finally, the rain subsided and I rinsed off myself in the creek, ate and set up my sleeping bag in the lean-to. Do you know how after you drive long distances at night and you close your eyes you see the white lines?? Well, when I laid down tonight all I saw was tree roots mangled over the trail. It was weird, but you have to spend the entire day looking down, carefully placing your feet in order not to slip on the roots. I did 14.1 miles today and my total stands at 1,180.5 miles, with 1,000.5 miles to go.
Date: 2011-08-12
From: Falls Lean-to

To: Sidney Tappan Campsite
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 144-I was in my sleeping bag by 7:30pm and dozing off when 2 hikers from Florida showed up. They were doing the 100 mile wilderness in 5 days. Of course, they had to eat and set up their sleeping area so there was banging of pots, etc until 10:00pm. That was manageable but then their alarm went off at 4:51am, sometimes it is just better to be in your own tent away from the crowds. I was up at 6:50am and it was 58F*, the cooler weather is nice but it is still rather humid. I was on the trail by 8:00am and stopped for lunch around noon at East Branch Pleasant Lean-to. I wanted to get up and over White Cap mountain which was supposed to be long and tedious so I set my sights on camping at Sidney Tappan campsite. This would be a total of 17 miles today but I really had no option.I got into the campsite and set up my tent next to a dad and his two children. He was an attorney and lives in NYC. They try to do a 3-5 hike during the summer. Needless to say, I was exhausted, plus I had to hike down 0.2 miles to get water. I cleaned up at the spring, filled my water bottles and went to bed without eating. I knew I would pay the price for not eating tomorrow but I was just worn out and nothing in my food sack was appealing to me at the time. With the 17.0 miles today, my total is now 1,197.5 with 983.5 left.
Date: 2011-08-13
From: Sidney Tappan Campsite

To: Chairback Lean-to
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: broken clouds

Day 145 - As exhausted as I was, I slept well and got up at 6:50am. My rain fly was soaked, it had rained during the night plus there was condensation on the inside of the fly next to the tent. I left around 8:00am and headed to Gulf Hagas, which is Maine's version of the Grand Canyon. I got there around lunch and it was quite crowded with people either picnicking or swimming. I am not sure exactly where these people reside but there was a crowd. I was moving a little slow today so I spent an hour here, eating and just resting. Moving south from here I had to wade the West Branch of the Pleasant River. I changed into my sandals and took off, it was probably 40 yards wide and 9-12 inches deep. Once I got on the other side I had to get back into my boots and move on. My goal was to get up and over Chairback Mt, which was a bear. The climb up the mountain was very similar to Katahdin, hand over hand, pulling yourself up to the next boulder. Fortunately, it was not a long climb but I also had my backpack one which changes your center of gravity. I made it up but not sure how a vision-impaired hiker would do this or hikers with dogs. As much as I have tried to keep up my water intake today it was difficult due to poor water sources. The water from the ponds or the streams leaving the ponds is fairly clear but has a musty taste. I am treating it but it is hard to drink with the after taste. I have yet to see a moose but based on the tonnage of moose dung they are everywhere in these woods. They must use the trail quite a bit to get from one pond to another. I arrived at Chairback lean-to at 6:00pm and it was full. There was no real suitable tent site but I managed to move a few rocks and set my tent up. Worst of all, there was no water source nearby so I was limited to my 2 - 750 ml bottles which I had filled earlier. This also meant I could not fix dinner since that takes 1-2 cups of water, so I ended up eating sausage and cheese. The day was slow, the terrain is getting much more demanding and more difficult. I only traveled 11.8 miles today and it was a full day too. My total is now at 1,209.3 with 971.7 to go.
Date: 2011-08-14
From: Chairback Lean-to

To: Long Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: broken clouds

Day 146-It rained a little during the night but I slept well. I was up and on the trail by 7:30am. This was a hard, hard day. My speed is down to 1.0 mph and I am having to take Alleve to help with the neck/shoulder pain. I was hurting but I had to move on. There were a lot of PUD's, hikers terminology for Pointless Ups and Downs. I call them DUD's, Dang Ups and Downs. I also had to cross over 3rd and 4th Mountains, that is their real names. I guess they ran out of people to name the mountains after so they just started numbering them. It was a beautiful day and the views from these mountains were spectacular. I was able to get water from several springs that were not on my trail guide; I guess it has rained so much these springs are flowing again. By the end of the day, I will have consumed over 7.0 liters of water. During the past several days I noticed the lack of wildlife, no birds singing or any animal activity, other than moose dung. Today, I actually saw a little baby bird perched on a stump, it was not able to fly but it was chirping for it's mom. I thought it was terribly late for birds to be hatching but things are different in Maine. There are many portions of the trail that I hiked the last couple of days that look very similar to some of the side trails in the Great Smoky Mountains. Deep, moist forest, moss covered ground and mountain streams and water falls. The difference in Maine is that it goes on and on forever and there is not Moose dung in the Great Smoky Mountains! I had hoped to have gotten to Wilson Valley lean-to, so I would have a short day tomorrow and get into Monson early. That was not going to happen due to my walking speed. I was only able to get to Long Pond lean-to at 6:15pm and called it quits for the day. I met Moosehead, who had left Springer on March 25, three days after me. Another short mileage day, only 10.9 miles, my total is 1,220.2 with 960.8 to go.
Date: 2011-08-16
From: Shaw's Hostel

To: Shaw's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 148 -Today I will be taking a zero day. It rained all night and early into the morning, made me extremely glad I was inside in a warm, dry bed. I went down for breakfast at 7:15 for AYCE. I had two pieces of french toast, three scrambled eggs, hash browns, three pieces of bacon and three sausage links. After finishing that we started on seconds, consisting of an egg on top of additional hash browns and more bacon. I did journals updates for most of the morning, trying to stay off my feet. I walked up to the convience store and bought cheese, pepperoni and bandaids and stopped by Lakefront Lodge for lunch and had a reuben sandwich and actually came back and took a nap for an hour. The barbeque place in town was closed on Tuesday so I did not get to taste Maine's pork. The slate (rock) from Monson is evidently quite famous so I did stop by and watch a guy splitting the slate, that is quarried nearby, into thinner sections. He had a stack of slate for roofs and they have a demand for their product all down the east coast. JFK's tomb marker is Monson slate. For dinner, I walked back down to Lakefront and had a salad, beef tips and a baked potato. I saw Marathon Man there, he has changed his name to Wildcat, not sure why. I had not seen him since the early miles on the trail in Virginia. Good zero day, my feet appreciated a day not wearing boots.