morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-12
From: Swift Run Gap

To: David Lesser Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 108.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Mileage is for the last eight days.Completing the trail through the Shenandoah National Park was, for me, anti-climactic.  The persistant rain each day with very wet and muddy conditions was exhausting. Don't get me wrong, I love SNP, in fact, of all the National Parks Annie and I have visited over the past two years of travelling full time in our RV, SNP is in my top three favorite places. The weather just dampened, pun intended, my spirits.  Tomorrow I hike into Harper's Ferry and meet up with Annie at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy headquarters.  I won't be hiking any further north. I still have 300 miles of trail south of SNP to fill in. I won't be able to get them all in before we head north to Bangor, Maine. I am leaving my AT completion destination, McAfee Knob, for when I hike back south. It is the most photographed spot on the AT and will be a perfect trail ending location.  GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2018-06-20
From: US Hwy 11, Troutville. Virginia 

To: US Hwy 60 AT Trailhead
Miles today: 79.5

Mileage is for past 7 days, including 9 miles from David Lesser shelter to Harper's Ferry.  Chinook, ATW and I taking advantage, these past three days, of the various slack packing shuttle options offered by Stanimals Hostel in Glasgow, Virginia.  We typically head to the trailhead by 5:30 am, then we're finishing by one pm, before the day gets too hot and humid.  But, it's back to the real world and full packs tomorrow as we continue north and hopefully be near Waynesboro by next Monday, some 55 miles.  This past Monday evening the St. John's Episcopal Church here in Glasgow, hosted all hikers to free pizza, salads and desserts. Trail magic just is amazing and much appreciated by all of us hungry hikers.  Hiking this section of Virginia mostly parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway and reminds me very much of the hike through Shenandoah National Park, minus the wayside cafes and lodges. There have been numerous spectacular overlooks of the surrounding valleys as one hikes along the upper ridgelines.  The weather for this past week has been dry resulting in water sources getting more scarce, and without water the hiker suffers potential dehydration.  I've been adamant about adding electrolyte supplements to prevent cramping. A typical day I'm consuming nearly a liter an hour and still feel thirsty by the end of the hike.Please visit my photo album for more pictures of my journey along the AT. GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2018-06-26
From: US Hwy 60 AT Trailhead

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 55.2

Mileage is for the four previous days.I've discussed long term planning for the AT, weekly and monthly goals, with numerous hikers, and typically most folks have a daily average in mind with an ultimate end date. The daily goals shift upwards as time passes such that they reach Katahdin by a certain date.  When Annie and I started to plan, months before my launch date, she wanted a hike agenda divided down by the month, so she could make campground reservations, knowing we were going to be in the height of summer vacationers. Remarkably, after our first three months, I am only 44 miles short of my predicted mileage!  I have hiked some 820 miles over 68 days, taking 17 zeroes over the past three months, 15 of those in April and May. Obviously, right now I'm not hiking, and won't be until July 6th when I climb Mt. Katahdin, turn around and start my SOBO journey.  Another hiker, Chinook, whom I had previously hiked with in Georgia, teamed up on those last four days, taking advantage of slack packing 40 of the 55 miles. Stanimals hostel shuttled us two days, then Annie met us at Reeds Gap for one night off the trail, Chinook in a motel, and me in my own bed, after nine days on the trail. She then took us back to Reeds Gap to slack it the 19 miles to Rockfish Gap, the southern entrance to Shenandoah National Park.I suffered a shoe blowout hiking into Glasgow, Virginia, fortunately, Stanimal's shuttle driver had time to drive me 20 miles to an outfitter in Lexington, Va.  Nothing worse than taking unproven shoes on the trail. This is now my fourth pair. The Hitechs' (my favorites) lasted over 500 miles, including training, the Oboes lasted only 40 miles, my feet rejected them almost immediately. The Altras' were great, but lasted less than 200 miles before the side fabric split in the middle of the day (they are shipping a new pair to Maine, free of charge, $10 shipping). The Keen's are similar to the Hitechs, and hopefully they will go some distance.Annie and I are just amazed this summer is going so fast. Her sister Norma, who flew back to Louisiana today, said the same thing, where has the time gone.  We are looking forward to seeing our Coastguardsman granddaughter in New London, Connecticut while on our way north. Also, stopping in Boothbay Harbor to visit with my brother Don and his wife Janie for a couple days. Hope they have lobster in Maine, because we both like lobster.Visit my photo album for some new pictures. Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement, I appreciate the comments.GRIFFIN...Age is only a number and not a sentence.
Date: 2018-05-24
To: Back to Cornwall Bridge CT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Myhiking plan for 2018 is to hike 710 miles from where I stopped lastyear in Cornwall Bridge CT, north to the northern terminus atKatahdin in Maine. The hike should take somewhere around two monthsto carry out.OnMay 28, Dave Buchele, Lisa Abrams and I will leave Toledo Ohio forCornwall Bridge where they will drop me off on Wednesday May 30. Myplan is to start with low mileage days and increase the miles eachday. 107 miles north of me at Mt. Greylock MA is where my friendStealth stopped last year. On June 4th,Stealth will leave from there heading north with low mileage days tostart with. I should catch-up with him a few days later.Stillbill
Date: 2018-05-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

TrainingAcouple of things about training for the hike this year. First of all thebad, my weight is about 15 pounds heavier this year than last. Nowthe good. Last year my trail pack weight was 35 pounds but I trainedwith only a 25 pound pack weight, and paid for that the first week ofthe hike. This year I have been hiking out at Pearson Park with apack weight of 38 pounds, and have been walking the stairs from myapartment on the 15thfloor down to the 1stfloor and back up with a 50 pound pack.
Date: 2018-06-04
From: Great Barrington

To: Bennington VT
Miles today: 81.6

6/04:Hiked 19.1 miles. The trail was up and down all day. I spent thenight at Upper Goose Pond Cabin. This place is free, and you shouldnot pay more than that.6/05:Hiked 20.6 miles. Went over I90 early on, and then the trail was torun flat into Dalton, MA. This was a lie. The trail seem to go up300' then down 300' over and over again. 15 miles into this day'shike, I passed my ¢total¢ trail halfway point. I could only thinkof all the work and pain I had gone through and I'm only half done.At the end of the day, Dave & Lisa picked me up at a roadcrossing for a much needed night off the trail in Dalton, MA.6/06:Zero day. I told Dave and Lisa that I was not ready to hike and thatI needed a zero day, so we hit some of the area views and had a realnice day off.
Date: 2018-06-08
To: Long Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

6/08:Hiked 13.2 miles. I crossed the Massachusetts-Vermont border today,which is also the start of the southern end of the Long Trail. One ofthe climbs was a very rocky climb up. I did a lot of hiking this daywith a man named Slow Moe. I ended up staying at a shelter.6/09:Hiked 11.5 miles. Hiking with Slow Moe, DoRight and Chief, we wereall going to spend the night in Bennington VT. Coming down a veryhard descent to State route 9, I was the first one down just in timeto see an accident. The four of us met up for dinner.Storyof the day:The accident. When I got down to State route 9, I was planning onhitchhiking the 5 miles to Bennington. I crossed the road to where aparking lot was and set about hitchhiking. A jeep with four guys intheir early twenties coming down the road on my side, put their rightturn signal on indicating that they would be turning into the parkinglot where I was standing. I stepped back a step or two to let themin, and as they were turning in, they changed their mind, and turnedleft . Two motorcycles were coming up behind them, and as the jeepstarted to turn right, they moved to pass on the left. When the jeepthen turned left, they just missed the first motorcycle, but the secondone ran into the rear of the jeep. This happened about 5 yards from me.I went into the road to assist the motorcycle diver now laying inthe road but he was not seriously hurt. We got the jeep and themotorcycle to the side of the road, but could not call 911 for therewas no cell phone service. A woman who had stopped to help, droveinto Bennington where she could call for help, and then came back tolet us know that help was coming. I think that the entire Benningtonpolice and fire departments came to the scene. I told the firstpolice officer on the scene that I was a witness and he asked just acouple of questions about how far back the motorcycle was when thejeep started turning. The motorcycle driver ended up being taken tothe hospital. Slow Moe got a ride into town with the woman who hadcalled 911, and DoRight, Chief and I got picked up from the motelowner from where we were planning on staying.
Date: 2018-06-12
From: Bennington VT

To: Green Mountain House
Miles today: 94.0
Weather: overcast clouds

6/10:Hiked 14.4 miles. I got a late start out of Bennington, and the trailwas not giving miles on this day. Spent the night at Kid Goreshelter.6/11:Hiked 15 miles. The day's hike was based on the climb up 3,936' Mt.Stratton. I was happy when this one was over.6/12:Hiked 10.7 miles. A cool day that started in the mid 40's. It was a 6hour hike that was really nice. Stayed with DoRight and Chief at theGreen Mountain house. This was easily the best place I have stayed onthe whole trail so far. The cost for hikers was $38 a night.
Date: 2018-06-13
To: Ver-Mud
Miles today: 0.0

6/13:Hiked 14.8 miles. DoRight and Chief stopped 10 miles into the hikefor the night after two hard 1,000' climbs. I had told Stealth that Iwould meet up with him on 6/15 so I had to keep going. Late in theday's hike, I went up Baker Peak which was a smooth 150 yard rock thatwas going uphill in a very steep ascent. Thank God it was not wet.6/14:Hiked 18.1 miles. It had rained hard during the night, and the trailwas a mess. At least I was not going up Baker peak that day. Goingover Bear Mountain, I passed this hike's 200 mile mark.Storyof the day.The Vermont Mud. South bound hikers were calling Vermont, ¢Ver-Mud¢.When I crossed into the state, I found out why. The southern quarterof the state has this mud that is permanent mud. I have never seenanything like it. I would expect that long term mud would only be inlow line areas. This mud was everywhere.6/15:Hiked 17.1 miles. I had spent the night in my tent, and aroundmidnight the rain started. When I got up at 5 AM, I was in a veryheavy rain storm. There was nothing I could do but take down my tentand carry all the extra water weight for the day. By mid day the rainhad moved on as I ascended 3,908' Shrewsbury Peak. Late in the day, Icome to the point where the Long Trail leaves the AT. I can now saythat I did 105.2 miles of the Long Trail. I spent the night at theInn at Long Trail, just a few miles from my friend Stealth. Where hewas staying was full.6/16:Hiked 3.9 miles. I hiked over to where Stealth was staying, which wasthe Mountain Meadows Lodge at Kent Pond, there was now room for me.It was great to see and talk to Stealth again, and the two of us wentout for a burger and a beer.
Date: 2018-06-23
From: Kent Pond

To: Welcome Hostel
Miles today: 86.4
Weather: light rain

6/17:Hiked 13.5 miles. Temperature in the 90's. Spent the night at Lookoutcabin. The only issues with this place was that there was no waterthere.6/18:Hiked 14.8 miles. Temperature in the mid 90's again, but now therewas also very high humidity, which I do not handle well. This was ahard/bad hiking day for me. Spent the night in my tent at ThistleHill Shelter.6/19:Hiked 14.7 miles. It rained for about 4 hours overnight, and that endedthe heat and humidity. It was a great day for a hike. Late in the dayI crossed into New Hampshire. Stayed the night in Hanover N.H.6/20:Hiked 10.9 miles. Got a late start after doing my laundry. Tentedwith Stealth and Treeline at Moose Mountain Shelter.6/21:Hiked 12.4 miles. It was below 32 degrees when I got up. The hike wasup and down all day. By the time I got to 3,230' Smarts Mountain, theFire Warden's Cabin (which was empty) was ours for the night. Again itwas Stealth, Treeline, and I.6/22:Hiked 17.5 miles. Big day for I passed my 300 miles marker for thishike. Mt Cube was a hard climb. Stealth and I tented a top Mt. Mist.I set my tent up about one foot off the trail. Rain is coming.Storyof the day: Egg man. On June 21st,a south bounder had told me that there was a man making free eggomelets for all hikers on a road near Lonesome lake hut. By the time Stealth and I came upon the road mid afternoon on June 22nd, we hadboth forgotten about the Egg Man. He made us both a 3 egg omelet witha lot of ham, green peppers, and cheese in them, plus give us juiceto drink. Man, did that taste good. Thanks for the meal.6/23:Hiked 2.6 miles. Hike down hill to Hikers Welcome Hostel, to wait outthe rain. We are now at the southern end of the White Mountains. Itrained hard from mid-afternoon until around midnight.
Date: 2018-06-24
To: Mt. Moosilauke
Miles today: 0.0

6/24:Hiked 9.3 miles. Hiked up a very wet 4,802' Mt. Moosilauke. The lasttwo miles coming down was the steepest yet. This descent was notwithout peril. This was the first time I think my personal safety wasreally at risk. Afterwards, Stealth told me that 20-25 times hequestioned taking the next step forward. Getting near the bottom, therewas a place where the trail was washed away for maybe 8' to 10' witha 20' to 25' fall down to the rocks and water. You could not justwalk around it, so Stealth and I slowly worked our way across. I wentfirst. After that, and with more rain due overnight, we stayed atthe Woodstock Inn, in North Woodstock, NH.
Date: 2018-06-25
From: Notch Hostel

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 32.0

6/25:Zero Day. We moved from the Inn to the Notch Hostel to save money andthey would give us a free shuttle back to the trail. The best part ofthe day was that we had lunch with Papa and his wife Mary. In 2017,Papa, Stealth and I hiked together for 10-14 days.
Date: 2018-06-27
To: Green Leaf Hut
Miles today: 0.0

6/27:Hiked 11.2 miles. Late morning stop at the Lonesome lake hut for freecold eggs and bacon that they had left over from their guess. Just asStealth and I were heading up 5,089' Mt. Lincoln, a hiker named StarkBait told us of bad weather coming in that evening and throughout thenext day. After Mt. Lincoln, we went up Mt. Lafayette at 5,263'.There was Green Leaf hut 1.1 miles down a side trail from the topwhich no thru hikers goes to due to the distance off the main trail.With the storm coming at us, we went to the hut and asked for Work tostay. The crew boss could not say yes fast enough. I told him we werealso looking for it the whole next day due to the storm, and he toldme that we would talk about that in the morning.Storyof the day. Workto stay in the Huts of the White Mountains is only for thru hikers.The hiker gets dinner and breakfast after the guest eats, and theplace is cleaned up by the crew. Then the crew and the hikers eatwhat is left. After each meal, you then have to do some work forabout an hour. At night, you sleep on the floor in the dining roomunder the tables.6/28:Zero day. Work to stay is a one night only deal, but with the stormto last all day, the crew boss came to me about 5:30 AM to talk,saying it was unsafe to head back out and that the zero day had beenapproved. I did a whole lot of nothing, but more work than the bosswas looking for me to do.
Date: 2018-06-29
To: The Whites
Miles today: 0.0

6/29:Hiked 13.5 miles, plus the 1.1 miles back up from the hut. Thishiking day was 14 hours, and that is way too much, but there was justno place to stop. Near the top of 4,902' South Twin Mountain, athunderstorm came from nowhere. Stealth and I put our rain gear onand got about 20 yards apart. Getting on the ground, lower than thevery short tree's (we were at the tree line). The best way to saywhat happened, is to say that I was ¢in¢ the thunderstorm. Itwas a very tense time for about 20 minutes.After that came 4,580' Mt. Guyot and on the way down,the AT actually goes down a rock waterfalls for about 90'. Thencame a very fast and deep ¢river¢. I had to throw my 35 poundbackpack over the river which was about 6-10 yards across, then get arunning start and jump it. If I would have missed, my backpack and orme would have gone down the river 50-100 yards with many large rockson the way down. Just past that river there was a brook also runningvery high. I forged through the woods upstream about 50 yardsto a somewhatbetter crossing and managed to get across. I spent the night atZealand Hut again on the work to stay deal.6/30:Hiked 7.8 miles. I was given more work at the hut then I should havebeen given, and got a late start. Just into the day's hike, I made awrong turn(the 1sttimeon my AT hike) and had gone about a 1/3 of a mile before I saw ayellow blaze (the AT blazesarewhite). I turned around and went back until I found a white blase,and then moved on. Stealth's daughter Jen lives in Bethlehem NH andwe stayed with her for the night. We got cleaned up, and the three ofus went out for a nice dinner.
Date: 2018-07-01
To: Lake of the Clouds
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

7/01:Hiked 11 miles. All up hill today totaling 5,000' . It was a longhard day, but Stealth and I want to go back to Jen's house for the4thof July, and this day and the next is what we have to do toget there. We came into Lake of the Clouds hut about 7:30 PM and gotwork to stay again. There was over a 100 guess there and the 9:30 PMlight out and quiet hour did not take hold until after midnight.7/2:Hiked 10.3 miles. The top of Mt. Washington was only a mile and ahalf or 1,200' of elevation away. It is a big time tourist place. Thepeak is right next to the parking lot. When I came to the top, densefog had viability down to about 5'. In the time I was there, things got better. I have been carrying my winter gear just for this day andI ended up not needing it after all. After Mt. Washington comes thePresidential. That is a number of peaks each named after a U.S.President. What I now know is that it was an eight mile hike through arock and boulder field that made Pennsylvania feel like kids play. Myankles and feet really paid the full price for these miles. I cameinto Osgood tent site late, and went right to sleep.
Date: 2018-07-04
From: Zero Day

To: Pinkham Notch Welcome Center
Miles today: 47.3
Weather: clear sky

7/03:Hiked 4.7 miles. Hiked down a nice trail to the Pinkham Notch WelcomeCenter where Jen picked us back up for one more stay at her house.7/04:Zero day. My right ankle was not doing well. Thank God for a zeroday. I had a great 4thof July at Jen's. A few of her friends came over, and we hadhot dogs, burgers and beer for dinner. All I can say is thanks Jenfor everything. Like I told you, I love your laugh.
Date: 2018-07-05
To: Carter Notch Hut
Miles today: 0.0

7/05:Hiked 5.9 miles. Had a choice of going short, or long on today'shike. Long would be way too far in the Whites, so I went short toCarter Notch Hut where I again stayed under the work to stay program.This is a great place to stay. One of the hikers staying there was aguy named Vinegar. I had met him last year coming down from thePriest summit in Virginia on April 25th.
Date: 2018-07-06
To: Carter Dome
Miles today: 0.0

7/06:Hiked 7.2 miles. My right ankle is a problem. Vinegar, Stealth and Ihiked in very hard ups and down all day. We had great views atCarter Dome and Middle Carter Mountain. The wind was really blowingthis day. When we got to the Imp campsite, I went to Vinegar andStealth about my ankle. We agreed to only go 8 miles the next day toGorham, NH where a Hostel named Rattle River Hostel is, and where Icould see a doctor.
Date: 2018-07-07
To: Rattle River Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Storyof the day: Coming into the Imp camp site, the wind was reallyblowing. There were only two tent sites left, so Vinegar and Stealthset up on one, and I had the other. Trying to set up my tent in thewind was a losing cause. Vinegar and Stealth had to come over andhelp me. This night was really crazy. Two groups of hikers had to berescued from an area near me due to hypothermia. It was below freezingand the wind was blowing between 60 to 80 mph. In my tent, I was inmy 32 degrees sleeping bag, wearing my thermal underwear and thewind was still cutting like a knife. Not until I put my raincoatover the sleeping bag to act as a windbreaker, could I get to sleep.7/07:Hiked 8 miles. The trail was gently sloping down all the way intoGorham, NH. It still was a long hike day for me, and I did not checkinto Rattle River Hostel until mid-afternoon. Vinegar, Stealth and Iwent out for dinner and to watch a World Cup soccer game on TV.
Date: 2018-07-18
From: Pinkham Notch Welcome Center

To: The end of the Hike
Miles today: 21.1

7/18:It is now clear to me that my ankle is going to take some time toheal. Normal recovery time is 6 to 8 weeks, I will not be ready tomeet back up with Stealth in Monson Maine for the hike through the100 miles of wilderness. My 2018 hike is over. This year's hike wasplanned for 710 miles, of which I hiked 412 miles, increasing mytotal Appalachian trail miles to 1,422. I will hike next spring the469 miles from Georgia to Virginia and am still working on when Iwill hike the 300 miles of the state of Maine. I can say that I havedone ¢The Whites¢, and will now end my hike at Katahdin. Myfriend Boo Boo has told me that she is planning on hiking with menext spring.
Date: 2018-03-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Sometime around fifteen years ago I read an article about the Appalachian trail.The piece mentioned that some hikers would complete the entire 2175 mile trail from Georgia to Maine over the course of a single summer. I began reading everything I could find on thru hiking. I started doing some four and five day backpacking trips on the Superior hiking trail in Minnesota with the idea of one day thru hiking the Appalachian trail. So fast forward fifteen years and the time seems right to finally attempt to get this done. I will try to update this journal daily from the trail with a photo and a paragraph or two of highlights from each day.
Date: 2018-03-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Only four days till Stacy and I leave for Atlanta. There we will rent a car and drive to Dahlonega GA to spend the night. Tuesday morning Stacy and I will drive to a parking area on Forest Service road 42. From there we will walk a mile south to the official start of the trail . After pictures we will walk the official first mile together before parting ways at the car.I am sure that goodbye will be the hardest thing I have to do on the trail. Words can¢t express how fortunate I feel to have a wife that supports me in this selfish endeavor after everything she has been through. She is truly the strongest person I know.
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Amicolla Falls State Park

To: Hawk Mountin Shelter
Miles today: 8.0

Change of plans. We decided against driving up the long dirt road to a parking area near the beginning of the trail. Opted instead to do the eight mile approach trail that takes you to the top of Springer Mountain. Tough trail. Completed that along with first eight miles of the official AT. Sixteen miles total for the day. It¢s great to finally be out here.