morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-15
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 68.4

4 days since last post. First, I wish a speedy recovery to my cousin Mary D after her recent surgery and letting you know that I'm thinking about you out here every day. Love you!Today I am in Pearisburg, VA. It is pronounced like the fruit. I hiked 10 miles into the town. Currently, it is raining. I had a drop box to get here with food and other supplies. Lots has happened since last update. All is well with me. I say that on a scale of one to ten, I am at a nine. Everything is healing well. The worst part of my body are my shoulders due to my pack weight. It is what it is. I'm not complaining. I kicked butt the last few days averaging about 17 miles a day. At some points finally the terrain reminded me of the Andy Griffith show closing when Andy and Opie were walking to the fishing hole. I actually whistled the theme song and feel free to whistle it with me. You know you wanna. Look at my pix. I have one that I made at the 600 mile mark. SWEET!To the students, all day every day I adjust my backpack and wish the weight was less. I am just accepting that it is what it is. But, going up hills is so very hard. I'm sure glad that I'm enjoying this. Until I can post again, this is your Captain signing off.
Date: 2015-05-19
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Four Pines Hostel Catawba, VA
Miles today: 67.4

Hey y'all. I completed 700 miles today. WOW! It came hard the last couple of days. Your normally extremely agile CaptainK ended up on the ground twice yesterday. It was downhill with a right bank towards the edge in extremely wet conditions. (Once again I'm fine). I felt like I was a downhill skier of a WII game. Shhhboink, start again and then Shhhboink. AY-YI-YI! Today I hiked the hardest 7 mile stretch of the entire trail to me. It was the up and down to and from Dragon's Tooth. Look that up for excitement. I planned three hours and it took four and a half. I didn't know how hard that was going to be. The good news is that I didn't do a Shhhboink. Look at pix to see some of the terrain. I also have one of me on top of Dragon's Tooth. I just had to climb it despite how tired I was. Another picture shows a rock wall. I've been seeing those and rock piles a lot lately. One looked like a rock Jenga game. I took the picture once I was told what they were. I thought trail clubs were cleaning and setting erosion walls. Wrongo! They really are from the Civil War. They are troop hiding places or fortresses. How cool is that?Well, on to McAfee Knob tomorrow. That is a highlight of the entire trail.
Date: 2015-05-20
From: Four Pines Hostel Catawba, VA

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 25.7

I'm gonna be short because I typed an entire update and got thrown off before it saved. Today I got to see McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. Both are must sees on the A.T. The day was sunny with a nice 10-15 mile per hour cool breeze and big white fluffy clouds. For some reason, I was in super hiker mode. Even the climbs didn't bother me despite my full food and water back pack. So I ended up going 9 miles farther than I was planning. I heard I made hiker stardom by beating the owner of Four Pines Hostel, where I stayed last night, in Cornhole. Apparently, only 1 other hiker has beaten him over the last year Guess who got free laundry? That would be me. That is what is offered if you beat him. And I saved $6.00. It got real quiet as other hikers saw that I was going to win. He turned down a rematch. He is a great person and he runs a great hostel. I most definitely recommend people to stay there if you get the chance. I don't know my plan for tomorrow yet. I'll decide after breakfast in the morning.
Date: 2015-05-21
From: Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter, VA
Miles today: 11.2

Short hiking day. I left the hotel at 11am and started around 11:30. Just went 11 miles to a shelter. It's cold right now. I'm wearing all long stuff,but my fingers are getting numb. Time to get into my sleeping bag for a while. I'm posting now since I have a signal. I passed the 1/3 total trip mileage today (729.66). I only have to do this 2 more times. Looks like more big climbs in my future. Going from 1,600 to over 4,000 at least once each of the next few days. I have been seeing deer more often. I put a pix on the site of one. I also saw the first berries today. There were only about 4 of them and they were about 1/2 inch in size, but I saw them. 3 more fellow hikers have left the trail recently that I know. No Spring Chicken, Katwalk, and yesterday DenMark. My heart is a little heavier. No Spring Chicken has donated some food and gear to me per a message from my wife. Thx so much for that. There is a saying out here that the trail provides. No Spring Chicken is showing me a little of that right now. There are a couple more sayings too. They are take offs of another one. One is No pain, no Maine. The other is No rain, no Maine. Check both of those next to my name.
Date: 2015-05-23
From: Wilson Creek Shelter, VA

To: Marble Spring Campsite, VA
Miles today: 37.9

First and most important is a huge Happy Birthday to my mom today. She has been walking right along side of me she said. I'm hoping her feet aren't in as bad as shape as mine. I love you very much Mom and hope you have many more. Now on to less exciting things. A few of you helped me to identify two pictures. I made the changes in the title. The first is the purple flower. It turns out to be a Virginia Spiderwort. The second is the ssssnake. That one is a Corn Snake I'm told. I saw another snake yesterday and local folk told me it is a Black Timber Rattlesnake so I'm going with that. As always, feel free to challenge or correct me. Either way, I'm glad that I saw both snakes before they tried to hurt me. Hopefully, I will be going to a KOA campsite tomorrow as I have a food box there that my right hand (my wife) sent. The KOA said they don't have it, but my wife said they got it 2 days ago. I'll see. The first order of business is for the shuttle driver that I called today shows up to take me to the KOA or I'll be walking an extra 5 miles. I don't want to do that. I'm done for now. I gotta fix me some vittles. I wonder how good snake tastes off the fire pit?
Date: 2015-05-24
From: Marble Spring Campsite, VA

To: KOA Campground, Lynchburg, VA
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

I'm gonna make this short. The reason is some campers just invited me over to have something to eat plus they want to know all about my hike. I only hiked 8 miles today because I had a food drop from home and I had to do laundry, etc. I'm doing well and hope to do 15 miles tomorrow. The terrain is getting higher. I am at 651 feet above sea level now and have to climb to over 4,200 tomorrow. That keeps going for about 4 days. Part of it is called the roller coaster because of the ups and downs. Those burn you out. I have another week of that and then I get to Shenendoah National Park. That is less strenuous and my wife is going to join me. I will be able to slack pack that part. SWEET! But, I gotta get there first More later as I can.
Date: 2015-05-28
From: KOA Campground, Lynchburg, VA

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter, Waynesboro,VA
Miles today: 72.0
Weather: broken clouds

First and most important is Happy Birthday to my wife. I'm sorry that I'm not there in person to share it with you. Luckily I got some help from a friend, Kathy S, who brought some candy to my wife at her work. Big thx to you Kathy S. I would not be out here, or continue to be without the help from my wife. She packs and sends me my food and gear supplies among many other things. Thx honey and I love you lots. I'll see you in a few days. Also thx goes out to my trail angels at the James River parking lot and the KOA Campground in Lynchburg, VA. Th parking lot folks gave me pop and crackers and cheese. The KOA folks, who camped near me, fed me well knowing that I was going to enjoy a nice bag of potato chips for dinner. Thank you all so much and thx for signing my guestbook. Keep following me to see how it ends. I can't wait to see for myself. While I'm in the thanking mood, thx to the Natural Bridge Trail Club of Lynchburg, VA for the well kept trails. They were out in multiple locations weed whacking and sickle cutting 3-4 foot tall grasses and other growing things that covered the trail. I was told the cool colored creepy thing is an Appalachian Mimic Millipede. Thx again my online identifier team. I will be entering Shenendoah National Park tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have a good signal to be able to post more often. Later my virtual hiking partners.
Date: 2015-05-29
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter, Waynesboro,VA

To: Blackrock Hut, Shenandoah National Park
Miles today: 25.7

Today started my third month on the trail and what a day it was. I saw my first bear today and hiked the most distance. I saw the bear in the tree about 15 minutes after I left my shelter from last night. It was concerning. It kept clamping its jaws. I think that is a sign of aggression, but am not sure. After standing there for a couple minutes, three other hikers showed up and wondered what we should do. I decided to move forward. I made tally noises and the bear watched me, but didn't come down to eat me. About 15 minutes later, I saw a bear cub. It just ran like a dog I didn't get a picture Move on to the entrance to Shenandoah. There was nothing there I hoped to get coffee and some food. Maybe ice cream and I didn't care that it was quarter to nine in the morning. So I plunged on. I thought the walk in the park was going to be pretty flat. I was wrong I really wouldn't have known that I was in a park except the types of trail signs changed. I needed to stay in a hut, which is what they call overnight buildings in the park. They were spaced out so that I either hiked 13 or 25 miles for the day. I chose the 25. So here I sit. Here is a secret. My butt is chapped. Shhh! I put some Gold Bond powder on it. I also saw another Black Timber Rattlesnake again. I will send to my wife. Friend her on Facebook if you want to see that video and one with the Bear(I didn't watch it). Tomorrow night my wife arrives for a week. So I'll be able to slack pack through the park and not have to worry about stopping at huts. Nice!
Date: 2015-06-02
From: Blackrock Hut, Shenandoah National Park

To: Elkwallow Wayside SNP,VA
Miles today: 67.7

It's all good. My wife is with me and has been for a couple of days. Everything from here on is extra. I have been knocking out miles in Shenandoah National Park. Yesterday, I came head on into a momma and cub bears. They were galloping up the trail right towards me. They turned a corner and all three of us had an oh oh moment. I beat my walking poles together and said I'm here bears. They turned right off of the trail. The momma circled back up the trail and crossed it in front of me. Then she paralleled me for a couple of minutes. The cub stayed on the opposite side of the trail. I talked to momma and made sure she knew I was still there. It ended well. Then later, my wife and I saw a bear while driving in our RV after she picked me up from my daily hike. We grilled cheeseburgers outside last night before the rains came. The cell signal is horrid in the park. I can't even send messages to my wife as to my current location so she knows when to get me. It is still very frustrating. You'd think in 2015 that a good signal would be pretty reliable. I guess not. I'll do my best to post when I can. I reached 900 miles a few days ago. I expect to get through the park tomorrow. The weather is unseasonably cool it is overcast and misty to rainy.
Date: 2015-06-03
From: Elkwallow Wayside SNP,VA

To: US 522 Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: moderate rain

Hello children. The word of the day is FOG. Actually, that is the word of the last few days. Very thick fog has taken all views away. It has made hiking hard and driving the RV sorta kinda dangerous for my wife. She has had to look and listen for oncoming traffic whenever she entered the Skyline road. I had to help a couple of times. I still managed to see some critters and growing things. A big atta boy ( and probably girl ) goes out to the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club for maintaining the trail in SNP. It was very nice. I especially want to call out the excellent job they did on Compton Mountain. It was very obvious to me that the mountain sustained major storm damage that included downed trees and washed away trail and drain areas. The PATC cut all trees and lugged tons of sand to make repairs. Nice job. My wife and I are having concerns planning where I can meet her with the RV and where we can stay for the next night. Rain is in the forecast for the next few days. And so it goes.
Date: 2015-06-05
From: US 522 Front Royal, VA

To: Snickers Gap, VA
Miles today: 34.1

Hey all. This is attempt 2 because I crashed after writing. I passed 1,000 miles today (hooray). I will get officially registered as a thru-hiker tomorrow at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters in Harpers Ferry,VA. There is some sort of festival going on there too so my wife and I will check that out too. I have bruises around both ankles. I think they are from my shoes shrinking up due to being totally soaking wet. Today it is not too rainy or foggy. That is the first time in about a week. Hopefully, my wife will get out to hike now. Keeping it short. Bye for now.
Date: 2015-06-06
From: Snickers Gap, VA

To: Harpers Ferry West Virginia
Miles today: 19.3

Well, here we are in Harpers Ferry West Virginia. This is the home of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the ceremonial halfway point. I actually have a couple of hiking days until I reach the real halfway point. This area is big on Civil War historical places. It's very humbling to know that I'm walking in areas so rich in our country's past. We are on a hill that Confederate troops took a stronghold against the Union troops. And the Confederates took the most soldiers from the Union of the entire war. I have a picture of a wall that was the Confederate western wall from 1863-1865 run by John Mosby. I saw the wall multiple times and went over it twice as part of the A.T. Again, very humbling. And now for a poem. Rocks, rocks go away,You take lots of my enjoyment away;Although I like conquering you each day, Rocks, rocks go away.Yup, I have lots of thinking time on the trail. I wedged my right foot pretty good today during one of the waaaaay too many rock scrambles. Oh well. It's not like I didn't know it going in.
Date: 2015-06-07
From: Harpers Ferry West Virginia

To: Washington Monument State Park, Maryland
Miles today: 19.5

Today I waved to toodle loo for good to Virginia and West Virginia. That puts me at 5 states completed and 9 to go. I wasn't sure if I was going to go back into Virginia or not again, but am not. My wife walked into Maryland with me from Harpers Ferry W.V. But don't you know that there wasn't a sign. That is the first time that happened. She wasn't so very happy about that. At least we walked over the border together. Maryland does not have very many A.T. miles in it. I probably will be busting outta here tomorrow or the next day for sure. Not much to see today except more Civil War locations and a picture or two of the Potomac River. Onwards to tomorrow.
Date: 2015-06-08
From: Washington Monument State Park, Maryland

To: Pen Mar Road, Pennsylvania
Miles today: 22.1
Weather: broken clouds

Seems like Maryland came and went so quickly. It kicked my butt today. I had both the hardest climb and descent in over a couple of weeks although they were on two different mountains (Raven Rock up and High Rock down in case you are keeping score - you bet that I am). I got to see the original Washington Monument this morning. Very cool! Check out pix to see as I know you always do as the good little readers that you are. The weather here right now is predicted to be nasty throughout the night. We already got a round of severe thunderstorms. They are predicting more of that with very high winds and possible tornadoes. Not to worry about us 'cause we're camping in a hotel to make sure we're good for the night. Back to RVing in state parks tomorrow.   This is your CaptainK signing off for the night. Talk atcha later.
Date: 2015-06-09
From: Pen Mar Road, Pennsylvania

To: Caledonia State Park, PA
Miles today: 18.3

Started out whistling a happy tune and had my hands tucked in my back pockets. Well, not exactly, but close. The trail was pretty tame to begin. It was wet from the rains last night, but I'm used to that. My problem was that I ended paying homage to Mother Earth once again. Another way to put it is that I fell again. For the 7th time. So if you picked 7 in the how many times will I fall in this trip (sic), you are leading the pool. And I know there is a pool so you don't have to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. And I hope you win. I mean I REALLY hope that you win.   Here is what happened this time. This fall update is brought to you by sink holes. They are conveniently located on the A.T. on all moderate to severe downhills and are opened after all rainfalls. So, there I was just having a good hiking experience when it happened. I was going downhill and placed my right trekking pole just beyond a wet rock (as we do) when the pole went about 2 feet into the ground. I started to fall and used my right hand to swim around the pole so that I wouldn't get skewered by the blunt end of the pole. I went down on my right knee and, thankfully, a rock broke my fall on my left leg. Well not really thankfully because it hit my shin (the same one that had the shin splint). It cut me and gave me a bump. I also fell on my left hand. I just cleaned under my nails last night and now I have dirt under them again. Anyway, I'm OK. My wife and I are now at Caledonia State Park where we went swimming for a little while. I gotta go now 'cause I have to start the grill for hotdogs.
Date: 2015-06-10
From: Caledonia State Park, PA

To: Mechanicsburg, PA
Miles today: 39.6

Big things have happened in the last couple of days. I passed the halfway point, I passed 1,100 miles, and I partook in the Pine Grove Furnace State Park half gallon ice cream challenge (and I did it). Today was best of all. Today we met Bill and Wendy R from Mechanicsburg, PA who invited us to stay in their driveway with our RV. And we are. They also let us do our laundry and fed us yummy brats, cole slaw, shoo-fly pie , and Margaritas. Marla beat Bill at pool, and I won playing Phase 10. It was fun. It also is my first time staying at someone's home. We really appreciate the hospitality. Check out pix for halfway signs. See you on the second half.
Date: 2015-06-12
From: Mechanicsburg, PA

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 25.2

The first half of today was Utopia for me. The terrain was very flat and easy. It alternated between trees and farm fields or grassy areas. Very nice. Part of the second half had a 6 mile stretch which was very rocky and was called out as such in my trail maps. I did it and now don't have to do it with my full back pack load starting tomorrow. My wife is leaving for home tomorrow. While she was with me, I was able to hike so many tough parts with minimum weight in my pack and got to cover more miles than I would have on my own. I'm kinda getting spoiled now. It's going to be hard readjusting to doing it all on my own again. I do have an issue with my left calf or Achilles. Not sure how that is going to turn out. Stay tuned.
Date: 2015-06-13
From: Duncannon, PA

To: PA Route 225 (and then on to a KOA)
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: scattered clouds

So there me and my wife were last night all ready to part company this morning. But then at 2:30am, our camping neighbors decided to put on some nice and relaxing wake-you-up-in-the middle-of-the-night music. And they also had some wonderful REALLY LOUD conversation, most of which was not nice words. Needless to say, my wife and I did not sleep so very well. So in the morning she didn't feel like driving home. What we did instead was that I went hiking for a while and we moved onto another camp site. She will drop me off in the morning and drive home after that. I still have a hurting lower left leg. It really hurts. And now I am traversing what I will call Rocksylvania. It is nonstop rocks or boulders, and has been, for about 3 days. Everyone warned us hikers to expect it, but expecting and experiencing are 2 totally different things. It is very hard making progress due to figuring out where to put your foot next. The other bonus in this part of the trail is the lack of water replenishing streams or springs. If you are looking to start a new business, I suggest rolling water trucks at all trail intersections. Maybe even think of delivery to hikers in need about 1,000 feet above the road. Just think about it. You could charge lots and we would pay. I am going in and out of State Gamelands and the rules are different than other places. Nothing big, but it does force me to think about where I want to stop each night. One personal note: Cassandra E from Hamburg, PA please sign my guest book now if you read this. I will be in your area within the next few days and you said you'd be interested in meeting up with me. I have sent you a few emails. ( thx everyone for indulging me on this).
Date: 2015-06-15
From: PA Route 225 (and then on to a KOA)

To: 501 Shelter, PA
Miles today: 38.4

Worst news is that my wife left me to go back home after spending days with me. I am very depressed and sad. Having a hard time enjoying the trail. I knew I'd feel bad, but not this bad. Add to that the horrid rocks and humidity and you get one unhappy hiker. I was told today that the worst rocks are yet to come. Grrrrrr! My left leg still is hurting. I'm taking my meds trying to work through it. I think tomorrow will be a shorter day because I'm hurting and I also have a food box coming to a Post Office that I may have to wait a day for. I don't care. I'll wait. Sorry to be a downer, but I always try to give you a real picture of the journey. I'm still glad I am attempting this and still hope to complete it. I passed over the 1,000 miles remaining mark today.
Date: 2015-06-17
From: 501 Shelter, PA

To: Hamburg, PA
Miles today: 24.4

I feel much better today. Sorry about my downer last time, but I was due one. My leg feels a little better and I have a few less rock miles to conquer than I had a couple of days ago. Right now I am in a Walmart waiting for a friend to get off work. I will be staying with her and her husband tonight. It's a special Trail Magic. My wife and I met them last summer at a campground in Maine where I was testing my gear and myself to see if I really could try the A.T. We also were learning our RV. We got to talking about me hiking and they told us that they live right near the trail in Hamburg, PA. Well, can you fill in the missing parts you sly readers? I'm so grateful for their hospitality. This will be the second time in a week that I will be staying at someone's house. COOLO! This trail hiking is so cruel. I probably am going to have to choose pizza or chicken for dinner. I'm going to guess that they have solid AND liquid soap in the shower (oh the decisions I need to make). I don't know how much more I can take. Stay tuned to see how I made out. Aloha for now.