morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-07
From: Ensign Cowall Shelter

To: Dahlgren Campground 
Miles today: 14.2

It may have rained a little overnight, but it wasn't raining at 6:00 when I got up. Then it started shortly after. Susan's new sleeping bag just doesn't seem warm enough this week, & I haven't been able to come up with enough ideas to help, beyond using the space blanket again. So she wasn't a happy camper this morning. She's also complaining about cold during the day: "I can't even stop to rest without freezing." Only later did I find out that her feet were hurting too. She had ordered some new hiking shoes from REI but then rejected them & went back to using her old ones ¢ not a good move. The shelter is only 1/4 mile from the road, & some of the others were unhappy about the weather too & looking for ways out. Soon it seemed that all of us were struggling with the limited phone reception to reach a shuttle. I finally got ahold of Junker, who changed his plans to come & get her.So we packed up & walked down to the road, waiting 15-20 minutes for him to arrive. Tagalong decided to get a ride all the way to Harpers Ferry, where she'd have use of the car & could wait for me in a more comfortable place. The rain wasn't continuous the whole morning, but for the next 5 miles I had poor visibility along the ridge, either from rain or clouds. It's a somewhat rocky section of Trail, but fairly level & with some nice sections too. I stopped for a snack at Pogo Campground, & another hiker from the shelter caught up with me there. It was dry by then, & there was only a little more rain the rest of the day. A few more miles brought me to Pine Knob Shelter, one of the old ones (1939), where I stopped to cook a meal. As I was leaving the same hiker showed up & appeared to be stopping for the day. This had been a section of fairly level trail with few rocky parts. I had stopped for the view at Black Rock Cliffs [which looked white or light grey to me] but missed the turn-off to Annapolis Rocks. I suspect it was the same, somewhat cloudy view.After crossing I-70 on the footbridge, it was an easy 3 miles to Washington Monument State Park. The first monument to Washington (in 1827) wasn't open to the public just now, & it was raining again by then; so I rested in the picnic shelter while trying to plug in my phone.A couple of more miles in decreasing rain brought me to Dahlgren Campground. a little before dusk. I had managed to get thru to Tagalong & invited her to join me for dinner at the Old South Mtn. Inn, next door to the campground. This is the one with hot showers, so of course I had to take advantage of that before going to the restaurant. It was a good meal, & Tagalong seemed happier off the Trail.
Date: 2016-04-08
From: Dahlgren Campground 

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I left Dahlgren without seeing or talking with the guy in the other tent. Susan talked to someone later in the day who had gone by there at 9:30 and apparently he was still in his tent. I stopped at each of the shelters along the way and wrote something in the registers. The first, Rocky Run shelter, is another of the nice new shelters in Maryland. Sign said it was 0.2 mi. off the trail; actually was closer than the previous one that said 0.1. At Rocky Run, I met NOBO Misasha, young man who just left, plus an Air Force retiree at the shelter. They both started at Harpers Ferry yesterday or the day before.Then it was uphill for a while. In the first half hour this morning there were some drops of granulated snow. By the time I was going up Lambs Knoll, it was more like flaky, fluffy snow. Didn't amount to much in any case.The only old shelters in Maryland are the one I lunched at yesterday [Pine Knob] & Crampton Gap, which I visited this morning. They were built of logs 75 years ago by CCC & are partially enclosed, so I suspect they may be warmer on cold nights.Ed Garvey shelter is another newer one, a unique design with a front porch , plus a loft accessible only from a ladder in the back. From the register I saw that "Speed Stick" had been there 3/4/16, just about 50 days from Springer. I had met her down at US 60 on 24 Feb.-- that's an average of 22.5 miles per day since then. I guess she's on track to finish the AT in about 110 days, tho I don't know how people keep up that pace thru the Whites & Maine. Youth! I also stopped a bit to look at some of the things in Gathland State Park, the outdoor stuff at least [loads of historical markers]. Then it was basically downhill. Tagalong came up from Harpers Ferry on the towpath and then up the switchbacks to Weaverton Cliffs and got up there just about the same time I did; so we were able to see the sights there and then walk down together. There were lots of wildflowers out on the South-facing slopes Some National Park people there were able to help identify a couple of them for us, saxifrage for one. We also saw our first Poison Ivy starting to leaf out!The towpath is a nice, easy walk, & the crunch, crunch, crunch of the gravel didn't bother me as much as previously.Then, as we followed the trail through the town, Susan kept getting more and more frustrated because she didn't want to go up so much, especially on rock steps, because when she had come down from the Econo Lodge she was just taking the road ¢ I should have suggested that she do that this time also. I didn't; so she was not a happy camper by the time we got to the motel having gone up the hill and over and down.
Date: 2016-04-10
From: Harpers Ferry

To: Harpers Ferry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

A day of rest turned into two: 9th and 10th of AprilWe spent a lot of the day trying to figure out what we're going to do next. We tried planning some ways ahead: where food drops would go, where Tagalong might be able to slack pack. I think she over-plans these things, but in the process she just kept getting more and more frustrated because she really doesn't want to continue. So I tried proposing as many alternatives as I could that would make it easier for her; but she would just rather go home and get away from the cold nights & work in the garden [altho there's 6 inches of snow on the ground in Northern Wisconsin]. Sunday morning we went to church at the Lutheran Church in town ¢ that's the oldest Church in Harpers Ferry, from before the Civil War and has all the original furnishings. Then we went to back to Old South Mountain Inn for their Sunday buffet. A lot of it was good, but buffets are difficult [not uniform quality], and we decided to it's probably better just to go there & order a regular meal. Then we went back to Charlestown to buy some groceries, mostly for breakfast, and then ended up getting salads at Wendy's to finish off our day. We'd moved out of the EconoLodge because they had no hot water (someone had forgotten to order propane). Saturday evening, we'd gone to a nice restaurant downtown in Harpers Ferry & had time to see some of the historical sites is well.Also Saturday morning we went to the ATC headquarters where I got my picture taken and after some conferring between the volunteer and the staff, they decided I was number 2 Southbound hiker for this year. I also got to look at some of the pictures from 2013 of people that I had hiked with at various times. It was interesting to see how many of them came through Harpers Ferry within a week or so of me even though I didn't know where they were on the Trail, and most of those same people finished at Katahdin within a week of me, even tho I didn't see them in between.Some hikers we met at the motel were Good Doctor, Ox ( getting off to heal), El Pistoliero.
Date: 2016-04-12
From: Blackburn Trail Center

To: Bear's Den Hostel
Miles today: 8.0

I slept pretty well -- not too much leg pain. I wasn't much stiffer than usual when getting up twice in the night, but it did hurt some.As predicted, the rain stopped [even the dripping] before 9:00am; so I was able to get going on the long up-hill to the Trail, beginning there about 8:45. I guess that's late enough.The caretaker had arrived overnight, & I spoke with him briefly in the morning. "Bear Bag" is in the process of moving his residence from one part of the facility to another.I was the first one out of the shelter but not the last either, & not the first to get to the trail though my leg is feeling a little better.I tried to do some stretches like Bill recommended; as far as rest, I had resolved to use a second pole for a few days & to keep my speed down to about one mph, to go easy on my leg. Getting to Bear's Den at 4:15 means I only slightly exceeded that.Last night seemed fairly warm in the shelter, & so did the beginning of my walk.Then the sun came out & made it warmer yet. It wasn't long, tho, before the wind up on the ridge cooled me off, & I had to put my jacket on.I stopped at 2 places to cut branches down across the Trail, about 10 minutes each.The halfway point for the day was around the beginning of the "Roller Coaster". I got there a little ahead of schedule but took more breaks in the afternoon, so it evened out. I was regretting changing shoes almost immediately yesterday. Today, I concluded that these slip more on wet rocks and also grab more on dry ones, even when I don't want them to. I hadn't noticed these characteristics when I used them for 3 weeks in Feb. - March. However, I'm ready to blame them [as well as my inattention, of course] for my accident yesterday; so I called Susan & asked her to send my other shoes as soon as possible. Those had worked fine all last week: it really didn't make sense to change. The "Roller Coaster" [a series of a dozen ups & downs] isn't so bad so far. It does involve some rocks & some ups & downs, but none of them extreme [SOBO viewpoint?]. I met "Slipknot", a NOBO I'd been following on TrailJournals, a section-hiking couple from Baraboo, Wisconsin, & 3 more section hikers at the hostel. Most of the upstairs was taken over by a Sierra Club staff retreat. This is another of the places I've stayed at all 3 hikes.
Date: 2016-04-13
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

The Sierra Club group had let us have some of their extra food last night, & they did again this morning. Not knowing in advance meant that I had something to eat first & so overate (I guess I'll wear it off). Also, it makes for a later start. I stopped for a few pictures at Bears Den Rocks, then continued on with the ups & downs of the Roller Coaster. After doing a little bit of trail work, I met an official trail maintainer, working on some steps. I had noticed that in this area they had tried in various ways to steer hikers off of the ad hoc detours [e.g., by covering them with brush]. I commended him for that & for all his work.The young man whom I'd met at the Blackburn Center caught up with me several times between Bears Den & Sam Moore Shelter. He'd begun a SOBO hike at Harpers Ferry, but was doing some backtracking because he'd lost something. He didn't have a trail name yet. He passed me again in late afternoon & was camped at Rod Hollow Shelter this evening. I never saw him again.So few SOBOs in this area!That reminds me: I had E-mailed the maintainers for the area near Tumbling Run Shelters in Southern Pennsylvania, asking if anyone had found my glasses. After a few days, they let me know someone had. They'll mail them to me at Woodshole Hostel near Pearisburg, where I hope to be in about a week. Trail people DO look out for one another!I was still going easy on my leg, but it was definitely getting better. I wasn't finding the Roller Coaster to be very difficult. The highest climb was about 700 feet on fairly smooth trail. There were even some nice views at the tops, including one where I stopped to eat lunch.I've been recognizing that my attitude toward hills has changed. Instead of looking ahead & seeing a difficult Mtn., I now approach it with the attitude: "I know I can be up & over that hill in an hour or so!" Experience helps! At the end of the Roller Coaster, I came to Rod Hollow Shelter. A couple of thru-hikers were camped near the shelter & another one down the hill, but I had the shelter to myself. One of the hikers was named Tsvi, which he said was a Hebrew word for "Deer".
Date: 2016-04-14
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Manassas Gap -- Mtn Home Hostel
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: moderate rain

I was first out this morning -- didn't even see whoever was camped down from the shelter near the Trail. First downhill to the highway, doing some trail work along the way. Then gradually up the hill to Sky Meadows State Park, which seemed a lot shorter this time than last. When I stopped for a snack, some day-hikers stopped to talk.The park is quite diverse, having some nice woods, some open, grassy areas, & some areas of short, scrubby trees covered with vines. Soon I stopped to visit Dick's Dome, a small, 30-year-old shelter, sleeping 4 only IF you could figure out how to arrange 4 people in a 5-sided shelter. Its replacement is being built just up the hill ("Whiskey Hollow"). Sorry to see it go, but it's just not very practical.Later in the afternoon, I stopped to eat at Manassas Gap shelter, a 1940 shelter of more standard design. Some section-hikers were camped nearby, & 3 couples, day-hikers, stopped in while I was there.In a few more miles, I was ready to stop at Va 55. This was my longest day this week ¢ my leg is definitely getting better. I called Mtn Home Hostel, & both Scott & Lisa Jenkins came to pick me up. They'd got their signals crossed ¢ understandable when I found out that they have jobs, a home, & kids in Washington, D.C., operate the hostel [just a cabin on the property] up here, and are also totally remodeling the historic house on on this property. One hiker was already at the cabin, while another arrived later. We were given a tour of the big house & learned how complicated it is to work on a house on the National Historic Register. A nice place to stay.
Date: 2016-04-15
From: Manassas Gap -- Mtn Home Hostel

To: Skyline Drive, mile 10.4
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: heavy intensity rain

The weather is warmer this week ¢ I couldn't help feeling that Tagalong quit too soon on that account. On the other hand, I'm sure her foot problem would have been considerably worse by now. I didn't get a very early start because I had to wait for a ride back to the Trail, & I made it even later by stopping at a grocery store. I soon passed the marker about Mosby's raiders. During our time in Harper's Ferry, my wife had been reading about Col. Mosby & his activities in the Civil War. After a few miles, I stopped to eat at the Jim & Molly Denton Shelter. This is a newer shelter with a lot of amenities, including a shower [if you get there early enough, which I never have]. When I arrived, there was one woman hiker there, still getting going for the day. Then a crowd arrived.   The tall hiker from the hostel had about 10 of his army buddies hiking with him today from Rt, 522 to Rt. 55. After talking for a while with them, I moved on in the opposite direction. Five miles over a hill to U.S. 522, passing some of the National Zoo farm on the way. No exotic animals in sight. Gradual uphill on a warm afternoon to Tom Floyd Wayside [fancy name for a shelter]. As I crossed Va. 602, I called Sharon Johnson about picking me up at my first crossing of Skyline Drive. Then I found a couple of trees down across the Trail & did what I could to clear it. I ate at the shelter, then moved on into the National Park. After a bit of a climb thru rocks, the last couple of miles were quite easy.After a short wait, Sharon came to pick me up. Her husband is a leader in the PATC that maintains this section of the Trail [actually, all that I've been walking on this trip], & she shuttles hikers & puts them up in the room above the garage. I used her services 3 years ago too. We stopped at the grocery, & she provided supper as well. Doing it this way cost me a bit more, but it put me well into the park for tomorrow.I was hoping to receive a package [different shoes] addressed to her, but she said she hadn't seen it. Concerning.
Date: 2016-04-16
From: Skyline Drive, mile 10.4

To: Near Jeremy's Run
Miles today: 14.2

Before heading for the Post Office, we checked the bank of mailboxes down the hill & found that my packages were in one of the big ones. I quickly sorted my stuff & sent off a box to Woodshole. I now have different shoes. After a couple of other errands, Sharon dropped me off at the Trail at 10:40. Not so much nice, level Trail -- today it was alternating rocky & smooth. Shoes seemed to work well. For my warm-up, I went up Compton MountainAlong with 10 day-hikers, I soon met No-Hurry & Crow. No-Hurry is about to finish at Harpers Ferry on his flip-flop.Next I met Sprout & Lobster, two girls from Ontario who started at the south end of the Park & are hoping to do a flip-flop.Next up the long down-slope was Razzle Dazzle, about to finish a 400 mile section hike. They were all coming up from Gravel Springs Hut, the place I guess I will get to for lunch.Met a Trail crew near Hogwallow Flat road crossing. The Trail is in really good shape in SNP, but I wished I had given them more info about conditions farther North. After several section-hikers, the next thru-hikers were Will and Roadrunner from Arizona, true NOBOs. I stopped at the Gravel Springs Hut for late lunch -- didn't get out till quarter to 5. A couple from New Jersey came in there on a weekend hike, and then, up the hill, I met Tenderfoot, a NOBO from Philly. Later on, I met Dirt, another NOBO.After a hot afternoon, it started to get a little cooler. By then, it was obvious that I would not make it to the next shelter at a reasonable time; so I needed to start looking for a place to camp. First I went by Elkwallow Wayside. I wasn't planning to buy anything, but I did hope to use the rest room. Locked up tight! I wasn't the only one disappointed there; a woman came over from the picnic area with a kid who obviously need to go badly. Too bad! The rules for camping include being 1/4 mile off Skyline Drive & 20 yards off the AT. On the map, it appeared that there was a possible level spot around behind the picnic area. Some other (noisy) people were already camped at a less legal spot; so I moved on beyond them. There were lots of rocks & nothing very level, but I found a somewhat sloped site before I got too close to the road again. I have found that if I wedge my bedding up against my pack on the down-hill side, I can keep from sliding around too much.
Date: 2016-04-17
From: Near Jeremy's Run

To: Thornton Gap ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 
Miles today: 7.9

I woke up at 4:00 am & was on the Trail by 5:05, trying to get to Luray in time for church. I couldn't get service times off the internet for the Lutheran Church, but I remembered the Episcopal Church had an 11:00 service. I should have asked the last thru-hiker I met yesterday more questions about possible camp sites ahead. The place I stopped was very sloped though I made it work. In the first hour this morning, I walked (by headlamp) along a ridge with lots of flat spots; so if I had just walked another half hour last night and not cared whether it was theoretically within a quarter mile of the road, it would have worked (a couple of hundred feet above the road shouldn't have bothered anybody). It was light enough to see before 6 o'clock on a clear day like today, probably a quarter-hour more to get good trail.A lone duck flying around was calling to try to find the others. Eventually, it found ONE; maybe that was all it was looking for. Bananas was the first thru-hiker I met, followed shortly after by Christmas Tree, both coming from Pass Mountain Hut. Next I met Fence and Careful, a couple who did the bottom 800 miles last year and now they're picking it up to do the rest.My goal this morning was to get to US 211 (Thornton Gap), early enough to hitch into Luray in time for church. I called Alison at Open Arms at the edge of Town Hostel, who promised to pick me up at 8:45. I didn't stop at Pass Mountain Shelter because I thought I was running short on time. When I got to the road, I waited for some time, looking for the red car. Eventually, a woman walking a dog came up from the South to tell me she was Alison & I had been waiting at Skyline Drive ¢ Rt. 211 was 1/4 mile farther. So I didn't get into town till almost 10:00. By the time I got checked in, took a shower, & got dressed for church, I really just had time to get to the 11:00 service anyway. She nicely gave me a ride in because the hostel is definitely "on the edge of town". The people at this Episcopal church seemed much more dressed up than at most churches I'd been visiting along the trail. It was a good service ¢ each one has certain variations ¢ & I stayed for fellowship afterwards. After talking with some other people quite a while, I was about to leave. Then I met a couple who were interested in the Trail & do a lot of biking themselves. They took me to lunch downtown, then out to Wal-Mart to get a few things, then out to the hostel. This is the first year for this hostel. During a restful afternoon, Alison gave me a tour & talked about how much she had fixed up in this old house & how she planned to change it for the future. It wasn't crowded today: I had a room with 4 beds to myself, & 2 young women hikers had the other room upstairs.For supper, I went partway into town to a Mexican restaurant, then walked back & relaxed some more.
Date: 2016-04-18
From: Thornton Gap -- 

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

After breakfast, Alison gave me a ride to the Trail on her way to substitute teaching. There was a bit of an uphill climb out of the gap, up to the view at Mary's Rock.Along the way, I could admire the CCC trail-work ¢ rock walls holding up the sides of the Trail ¢ & wonder if current maintainers were doing enough to preserve the masonry. In the first few miles, I met a couple of thru-hikers & a father/son duo of section-hikers. After stopping briefly at Byrd's Nest #3 Hut, a nice old picnic shelter converted for hikers, I moved on up to "The Pinnacle". It's not as high as Stony Man Mtn [later today ¢ highest point on Trail in SNP ¢ almost 4,000 feet], but it has some fine views. And lots of people out for the day! I walked part-way up with a couple where she was carrying one child on her back, he was carrying another, plus a baby in front.My next stop was for a hamburger at the restaurant at Skyland Resort. You don't have to carry a lot of food in SNP if you factor in the restaurant stops [once they're all open in the Spring].Four miles of fairly easy ups & downs brought me to Rock Spring Hut before dark. It seemed fairly crowded ¢ I've been so used to being nearly alone on the Trail. Hikers I met there (all SOBO) included Postal Poet, Hestia, Atlas, Pak & Ibu, Cosmo, plus section-hiker Allison & her dog. Some had decided to tent; so they made room for me in the shelter.One of the principal topics of conversation was a forest fire that had started in the Southern part of the park; they had made it thru with minor shuttles. But now the word was that the rangers had shut off that whole 45-mile section to hikers. The fire seemed to be spreading, not nearly under control. This will mean a change of plans for me.