morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-19
From: crocker cirque campsite

To: Caribou valley rd
Miles today: 1.0

Maine has not been good to Flash! 1/10 of a mile into the hike today Flash's ankle became unbearable to walk on...Thanks Crocker Mountain! The injury from the day before was worse than it seemed. Every step over every rock and root was painful. We had passed to gentlemen on the way down, that were on their way to study the organism in the stream. They had parked at the road that was 1 mile away. Right after the ankle pooped out, one of them came back down the trail to get something they had forgotten in the car. We asked how far we were form a town or a main road. He offered to take us to the end of the gravel road to the main road where we were able to call for a shuttle. Just a side note here...Shuttle drivers for hikers is a very good occupation to have here in ME. You are paid well and no taxes because its all cash...If you are considering a career change. We knew we had to be in Rangely by Friday so we just had them bring us all the way to Rangely. Flash was able to get in to see the orthopedic dr. that only comes one day a month to this tiny town, lucky day, and found out that it is probably not broken, only sprained. Rest until Saturday were the orders. So we consulted the guide book and found that there is a couple that will allow you to camp in their backyard for $10 a night. The have an outside shower and access through the basement to a bathroom. What more could we ask for.We are very frustrated with Maine trails and have friends that have skipped down to Massachusetts and say the trails are very nice down there. Can't wait.Just an update on New World's state of mind. He has decided to fly home when we get to Gorham. He is just not into this whole adventure and misses home. So....after Gorham, it will be just Noodle and Flash. Sad...but we know New world and Dad will have an awesome summer together. We are looking forward to getting back on the trail...putting this very rough start behind us, and hiking for the next few days together. Then we will tackle the Whites, just the two of us.
Date: 2013-06-20
From: Caribou valley rd

To: the backyard
Miles today: 0.0

Gingerly walked around town today to get some chores done...flat walking. We miss our friend Chipmunk. Hope he is ok and gets the word about where we are. Walked to the IGA to get something other than hiker food. On the way a car pulled over and the guy in it got out and asked me if we were 3 of 4...my thoughts were, what did we do, are we in trouble. I reluctantly told him yes...why. He said he had heard about this family hiking with teenagers and wanted to meet us. It turned out he was the owner of the Hiker Hut that was right outside of town, on the trail. I had read everyone's trail journal about this place last year and was planning to stay there. We talked for a while and made plans to stay there on Saturday night before we get back on the trail. I'm so excited to meet him, but even more excited that I am not going to miss out on this planned stay on our adventure.
Date: 2013-06-21
From: the backyard

To: the backyard
Miles today: 0.0

I'm calling us the Backyardagins now...like the cartoon. The excitement for the day was laundry. Ye, I said that was exciting. What is this life in the wilderness coming to? Got town chores done and sat by the lake and watched seaplanes.   We heard from Chipmunk...he said he would be in town later this afternoon. We were excited that our friend we had been hiking with since Caratunk, was going to be reunited with us again. He got in town and we all went for dinner together.
Date: 2013-06-22
From: the backyard

To: The Hiker Hut
Miles today: 23.9

first I wanted to adresss the miles hiked today. No we did not hike 23.9 miles, however, if I don't reflect that in mileage it will not keep it all straight. Today started early. Choices had to be ready for his shuttle to the airport by 8, and in true Maine style, it started raining. I guess we will be packing up wet tents. Our new friend Lori picked him up and we said our goodbyes. He was looking forward to all the pleasures of home. Reality set in for us that we were still on the trail, and we kicked into high gear to get packed up, finish up town chores, go to the post office, do one more load of laundry, and go to IGA to purchase food for more food to add to our already heavy food bag, to last us the next 9 days until we vet to Gorham. Steve from the Hiker Hut was picking us up at 12. We all, including Chipmunk, went to the Hiker Hut and settled in. What a wonderful place. How relaxing. We felt very pampered. Wonderful food, wonderful people, and wonderful atmosphere. Steve made us popcorn in a dutch oven on an open fire....I will comment more on this tomorrow, but right now I just want to relax and enjoy...something I haven't done since we have been on the trail.
Date: 2013-06-23
From: The Hiker Hut

To: Sabbath day pond lean-to
Miles today: 9.4

What a wonderful night of sleep...best one on the trail. Slept like a BABY. Woke up one time to the sound of the pounding rain on the metal roof of the hut. Had no trouble falling back to sleep, knowing I was safe and dry and was not going to be packing up a wet tent. The morning just kept getting better. Steve and Catherine starting cooking our breakfast...eggs made to order, sausage, home fries and the best breads. It was a positive way to start this day. I knew today was going to be hard...just getting back on the trail after 4 days off. In yesterdays post I stopped short of telling you all about this place because I just wanted to savor the moment, so now I will. The last month has been the most stressful month of my life...getting ready for the trail and manauvering ourselves down it. The stress of having a teenagers, mine and one more, was like a huge ball and chain that I was dragging down the trail. Yesterday we sent the hardest one to deal with home. Now we are a family again, and I know it will get better. Steve and Catherine sensed this and were very positive, reassuring, supportive, and nurturing while we were here. I so needed this time and this place. Thanks Steve and Catherine for your kindness. This was a spiritual experience for me and I know we will keep in touch.. As for the hike today, of course it was muddy. What do you expect, its MAINE! It was an easy hike to Little Swift River pond where we were planing to stop for lunch. The kids were so excited to find a canoe and paddles at this pond, so they paddled out and had their lunch on the lake. This perfect day just kept getting better...life on the AT. We were refreshed and ready to hike the remaining miles to our shelter for the night. When we got there, the black flies and mosquitos were ready for us in mass quantities. We quickly donned the head nets and bug spray. We were the only ones there so far so we decided to set up our tents in the shelter knowing we could take them down if others came. 4 northbounders, two female twins and two guys, came up shortly, but decided to put up their tents since the bugs were so bad. A downpour started right as we were trying to make a fire to smoke the bugs out. Once again, it's MAINE. (are you seeing a pattern?) Around dark, Noodle looks up and saw a drowned rat hiker coming up the trail...no way it's Shirtless. I'll save that story for tomorrow.
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Sabbath day pond lean-to

To: Bemis mtn lean to
Miles today: 8.3

Today was the worst day on the trail. Not only was the trail hard, but psychologically hard. I wrote in the shelter log today that it was a death march. The day started with rain and fog, of course. This meant hot rain gear was the fashion of the day. All three of us started out walking and talking. New world was dreaming out loud about all the things he was going to do when he got home, and was getting excited about making it to Gorham to catch his flight out to normal like again. I noticed Noodle had pulled ahead of us and had gotten out of range of our conversation. I finally caught up to her and it was not good...tears were flowing. All the talk of home had got the best of her. We both hiked and cried for a while. She was missing Choices and the things he did for her. With New World going home too, we were both feeling lost out here. I knew we would be just fine, but today doubt was creeping in. I was mentally exhausted from the last month and had no reserve strength left. So what do you do when that happens...YOU FAKE IT. We made it to ME 17 (a major road) and turned on our phones. We had service! We called Dad. Wait, let me describe how. We sat on the trail huddled with our phone under the hood of our rain jacket so the phone wouldn't get drenched in the rain...but we were able to call home. There was supposed to be a beautiful overlook at this road crossing but it was fogged in. I made the kids go read the plaque anyway. While we were reading it the skies opened up and we got our view. Maybe things were going to get better. We had trouble finding the trail on the other side of the road because it went straight down a refine...I just couldn't believe it would go straight down like that. It did, but remember this is Maine. We went down and down slipping and sliding after all the rain. At one point Noodle fell and then the tears of frustration started. We came to the river we had to ford and we excited to see it was a little more than a rock hop. I was so hot and smelly so I stuck my head in the water and washed out what grime I could. The day was half over and we still had a five mile climb straight up Bemis Mtn to go so we started climbing, and climbing. Some of the rocks we came to, we would just stop and say how are we going to get up this. It was mile after mile of sheer rock climbing. We were almost out of water and still had 2.5 miles to go. It was hot steamy and humid. All of us were feeling the effects of dehydration. We went into death march mode. We finally made it to the shelter and went to find water. I wouldn't call it water. Even after filtering it was brown...YUCK. The shelter soon filled up with south and north bouncers. The nobo hikers started describing the White Moutians and how hard it was and the climbing involved. That was it...I LOST IT. I just started laughing uncontrollably. Then...what do you know...shirtless arrived!. I just went to bed.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Bemis mtn lean to

To: Andover Pine Ellis Lodge
Miles today: 8.7

Ok let me start by telling you about Shirtless. He is 61 year old Canadian hiker that has been at the same shelters with us since Pierce Pond lean to. His pack weighs 45 lbs and carries a 35 pound duffle bag with his food for 30 days in his arms. He hikes shirtless no matter how cold it is. He has mastered the art of yogiing (acting pitiful until someone feels sorry for you and gives you food or water). He has no guide book, only 40 year state maps. He has no idea where shelters or water sources, so he is always asking everybody. Just when you we think there is no way he can make it to the shelter, he shows up. It has become a game of will Shirtless make it.I had a sleepless night after listening to the NOBO hiker snore all night. To top it off another SOBO hiker was smoking, and the stintch coming from Shirtless combined was making me very nauseated. I was a grumpy hiker this morning. Not a good start. We had to finish up the many peaks of Bemis Mountain and tackle Old Blue Mountian. We passed several nobos and one I later realized was Blues Man. I had been following his journey until I got on the trail. We walked on bog board for about a mile and then started climbing Old Blue...but stop...what did we hear in the distance? You guessed it...Thunder! We hurried up to the top of the mountain got cell service long enough to call a couple of options for lodging in Andover. We just wanted to get the 2.5 mile hike, straight down, over with before the storm happened. No luck. We did make it down the part that we had to use rebar hand and foot holds on before the storm came. When the storm hit the kids were in front of me. I was hiking slow with Chipmunk. I started speeding up to catch them. The lightning was horrible and the rain was so heavy I could only see about 5 feet in front of me. Forget trying to baby the ankle...I had to get to the kids. That was the longest last .5 mile. We finally got to the road. The rain stopped and on the side of the trail was the most wonderful thing. CAPRISUN...trail magic!. We tried to hitchhike 3.5 miles to a campground but after 3 people tried to run us over, we gave up and called the hostel. They charged us $24 for a ride to their hostel, 9miles away! We got there, took showers, and walked to the store/grill for dinner. Chipmunk and I talked about all of our options and what we had ahead of us for the next 7 days. (Chipmunk has become like family). Then we looked at the weather forecast...
Date: 2013-08-14
From: home

To: Harper Ferry
Miles today: 0.0

We couldn't stand it any longer. The trail called us back. We flew in today and are at the Harpers Ferry Hostel. Tomorrow we will be shuttled to the Mason Dixon line and continue our south of the Mason Dixon line SOBO. When we got to the Hostel this afternoon we walked in and who did we see...this 18 year old kid we first saw in Caratunk...Sole. He was flying down the trail and is pretty much the leader of the SOBO pack as far as we can tell. We are back around our hiking people again and it feels good. Excited about tomorrow!
Date: 2013-08-15
From: Harper Ferry

To: Raven Rock Shelter
Miles today: 884.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow big miles today...not! Only 4.9 today but i added the milage that we skipped to keep the mileage correct so Dad and New World can keep up easily following the Awol Guide. I cn't say enough about how awesome it is to be back on the trail. Getting used to our pack weight again was tough but we expected it. We were shuttled up to Pen-Mar park by the Mark (Strings 09)and we backtracked to the Mason Dixon line...but wait...the sign was gone. We were bummed. We hiked on to high top cliffs where the hang gliders launch and there is an awesome view. We got to the shelter after a leisurely 3 hour hike. I have to admit, I wouldn't call it a shelter. More like a luxury cabin without a door. I'm talking hardwood floors that glistened. we were soon joined by a brother team of section hikers, a couple section hikers, and one other guy. we had a campfire and enjoyed visiting. What a great first night on the trail.THIS IS NOT MAINE...IT'S A TRAIL!
Date: 2013-08-16
From: Raven Rock Shelter

To: Annapolis Rock campsite
Miles today: 12.4

Water is our friend...only when we can find it. We planned to only go 5 miles to the next shelter but we got there early and, after a long trek down to the water source that was dry, decided to hike 5 more miles to the next campsite. But wait, we still needed water. Consult the guide book... 3 streams ahead...DRY. What now? Road crossing ahead with a hostel .3 west. We got to the road and started walking down hill to the Free State Hiker hostel. We walked down and down, and are you getting the picture, after getting our water, we still had to walk back up that hill...on the road. We hate road walking, and we had a steep climp up a very rocky mountian that wore us out. We got to the top, sat down and ate a Justin's maple almond butter packet, and we have found a new love. Oh my! While we sitting there, a SOBO hiker named Rooster came up. We talked for a while and he caught us up on all the trail news. We all hiked together until we got to our intended campsite. Rooster only stopped for water and I sent Noodle up to investigate the campsite. Not the best, was the report so we decided to go on another 1.6 mile to another campsite with a good view and water source. What a long day but the reward was an awesome sunset from Annapolis Rocks. I'm tired and going to bed now. Today was the longest day we have ever hiked on the AT.
Date: 2013-08-17
From: Annapolis Rock campsite

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 9.5

We woke up and got going early today because we knew it was going to be a short milage day, but had lots of stops. First stop the I-70 footbridge for pictures. It is a cool bridge that when you cross it the cars and truck honk and wave like you are a celebrity...after all we are hikers you know! HA! Then you go staight thru someones back yard and a residental area. Next stop the Washington Monument State Park. We climbed to the top and the view was incredible. We called home to check in with the home camp. we walked down the hill to the park area in hopes of a vending machine. NO LUCK! We ate lunch and found a plug in to charge our phones. The little things that excite us, right. It was a hot day and we knew we had to move on, and besides we had showers to get to at the Dahlgren Backpackers campground before moving on to our shelter for the night. We noticed on our map that there was a restaurant at the road crossing. For the next 1.8 miles we dreamed of FOOD! Welllllll....they were taking a vacation and were closed until Monday...BUMMER. The shower felt great and we tried not to work up to much of a sweat before we got to our shelter, but that didn't work. Oh well, we got three days of sweat off anyway. Tonight we are in another very nice shelter with several weekend hikers. One group is a Dad that has brought his three young children on an overnight. The youngest is 3, but almost 4, as he informed us. the others are 5 and 10. They are a very pleasant family and very well behaved kids. Dad is so patient with them. The 10 year old and Noodle made bracelets from a kit the girl had packed in...you never know what you might do in the woods. Kudos to you dad for bringing your kids on an adventure. There is also a gentleman who was doing sections of the AT whenever he could get time off, a father son team hiking before his son leaves to go to school in Bejing, and two brothers hiking to Harpers Ferry. Busy Day! Almost forgot the most important thing we learned today from a day hiker hiking with her friend and talking about her Jewish mother-in-law. ( you know who you are) We were talking about like and people and her comment was one I have said in many different ways all my life , but she hit the nail on the head with wording. "People are driven by their insecurities" Well said lady day hiker! So now, Noodle and I have applied that to many people we have met. (Trail Magic in the form of words)
Date: 2013-08-18
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: light rain

Rain! Are we in Maine again? Just kidding, it really wasn't that bad. We were excited today because we were going to stay in one of the highlight shelters on the AT. We are still digging the trails in Maryland. Sometimes you feel like you are on a country road, just strolling along. We stopped at the Gathland State park and ate lunch, got water and charged our phone in the bathroom. Yes, we feel like homeless people when people come in and give you funny looks for washing dishes and charging your phone in a bathroom. We are honey badgers, we don't care. While we were sitting there, we looked on our GPS to see how long it would be to road walk to Harpers Ferry. 7.1 miles on the road or 8 in the wilderness, in the rain. We opted for the woods and off we went. We arrived at the shelter to find a group of teenagers who had hiked the short hike in from Harpers Ferry and thought they would have the shelter to themselves. They were not happy that we were crashing their party. They were up to no good, I'll leave it at that. They put up a slack line and attempted to walk it. Noodle asked if she could try and showed them all up. They took it down and decided to pack it up and move on. Once agian we applied the "People are driven by their inscurities" philosophy. Another Dad and his kids came in shortly after that. Another Great Dad and kids on a adventure. Sure does restore your faith in Humanity when you see families like this. We slept in the upstairs accomidations with our own entrance...yes these are shelters...in the woods with running water, electricity, and hot showers...ok so I went a little overboard, no running water, electricity, or hot showers, but nice. Harpers Ferry tomorrow.
Date: 2013-08-19
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Harpers Ferry hostel
Miles today: 4.9

Short hike in today to town. Met Jersey Girl on the trail. She started a Thru hike in 2009 and is finishing up in sections. She gave us all the news down the trail. (She was headed north). Very nice person...you keep on hiking Jersey Girl! A section hiker we met, named Dan, was finishing his hike in Harpers Ferry and offered to take us to Walmart and to the ATC HDQ to pick up our mail drop. Thanks trail angel Dan. Good luck on your Thru hike one day. We know it will happen because you want it so bad. When we got to the Hostel we found out that Sole, who we had seen there a few days earlier, had gone home and gotten off the trail. That is so sad because he had just finished the hard part and the best part was in front of him. GREAT kid. Come back Sole, the trail needs Sole. We met Righteous and Squints at the ATC. Noodle made cupcakes and decorated them at the hostel for a meeting they were having the next day. Town days are always busy and exhausting. Tomorrow we hike all the way in to Harpers Ferry and get our picture made at the Appalachain Trail Conservancy (ATC). This is the psychological Mid point.
Date: 2013-08-31
From: Harpers Ferry hostel

To: Big Meadow campground 
Miles today: 101.7

Just wanted to do a quick update on where we are. We entered the Shenandoah National park and are about halfway through the park. Service is limited in the park and computer service is non existent. We are enjoying the waysides. To a hiker that means FOOD. We have reunited with old trail friends along the way but they pass us by quickly. We are taking a a zero day here because we need a day of rest and catch up on calories. We will post all the other days when we get to Waynesboro. Hope everyone is having a nice holiday weekend.
Date: 2013-09-15
From: Big Meadow campground 

To: Campbell shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I know i havent been good about keeping everyday journals but....well there is no excuse...we have been having too much fun. Met back up with some of our friends from earlier on in Maine and have been enjoying the trail. Tomorrow we are rising before dawn to hike .7 miles up to McAfee Knob for the sunrise and take picks. Cant wait. We are halfway thru Virginia. We should be at woods hole hostel by the end of the week. I will tell this next thing...now that it is over...so nobody will freak out. Last week while hiking in the 90+ degree heat i got over heated and dehydrated...it snuck up on me. The next morning we got up early to hike before it got too hot, and .8 miles into the hike an old feeling i havent had in a long time came over me...alot of pain. Just a side note for those who dont know...i have a bad pancreas and dehydration is the worst thing for it. I feel out right in the middle of the trail and laid there for an hour before i could get pain medicine down. Noodle was great. She took over re pack our packs...making mine lighter and keeping up with how long it had been since i had taken pain meds. She had a plan and was determined...she announced to me that if it didnt get better in 15 mins she was dialing 911 and getting the rangers to rescue me. I did not want to be a resce...the drugs kicked in in the nick of time. I peeled myself off the ground and began the slow 3mile hike up the mountian to the road crossing where we called a shuttle to take up into Dalesville. I spent the rest of the day laying in a very cold hotel room and drinking lots of fluids and eating lots of fruit.   I survived but am taking measures to not get in that situation again. Today was the first day back on the trail since getting off on Wednesday to recoop and i did fine. So onward we go. I promise to catch up and be better with journals from now on.