morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-25
From: Byrds Nest #3 Shelter

To: Gravel Spring Hut
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

The wildlife was out in full force last night which made for a very uneasy night of sleep. There was an animal so close to my tent that it actually brushed up against it and I could hear it breathing and chewing. I'm pretty sure it was just a deer, but I'm not 100% sure since I couldn't actually see it. I tried shining my light outside my tent but the animal in question was just out of range from my view. If only it had moved a couple feet to the left I would have been able to see it. Hot Sauce had some animals outside her tent and actually heard one digging around in the dirt. Again, she was pretty sure it was just a deer but couldn't confirm it. If it was a bear, I knew I didn't have anything in my tent it could possibly want, so I wasn't TOO worried but nonetheless I didn't get much sleep.Just as we had planned, Hot Sauce and I woke up at 4:30am and were packed up and ready to go by 5:20. We made it to Marys Rock just as the sun started to rise and it was spectacular! Marys Rock offers a 180 degree panorama of the mountains and valleys below and the clouds and mountains actually looked like waves in the ocean, I had never seen anything like that before. We took some photos and ate breakfast, then moved along up the trail.We hiked 11 miles to Elkwallow Wayside by 11:30 and beelined it to the grill where I ordered some fries and purchased a $0.89 Yuengling. Plunger, Mr. Right, Yetta, and Yoni Bear were already at the wayside eating at a picnic table outside and we joined them. Hot Sauce was meeting her parents here at 1 so we all just hung out for a while enjoying the hot, greasy food and beers.Hot Sauce's parents showed up with a cooler of fresh fruit and snacks, it was such a treat! Hot Sauce is going with them into town for the night and taking the day off tomorrow and tried to convince me to do the same. As tempting as it was, I decided to head back to the trail since I had just taken a zero day in Charlottesville. We have tentative plans to meet in Harpers Ferry in 5 days, so hopefully I'll see her then.I walked the 6 miles to the shelter and hightailed it after 3 miles when I heard the first rumble of thunder. Luckily it didn't start raining until after I got to the shelter but it was close! Yetta, Plunger, Mr. Right, two other thru-hikers whose names I can't remember, and a few section hikers are here tonigt. I grabbed the last tent site and got my tent set up before it really started raining. It is raining buckets right now but I really can't complain since the weather has been perfect for the past week or more. My tent is doing a little better in the rain after Certain made an alteration to it but it's still not perfect. Maybe I will call MSR tomorrow to se if they can figure it out.I'm looking forward to hiking to the Front Royal Hostel tomorrow and having my first shower in 7 days    Sunrise at Marys RockBeers @ Elkwallow Wayside (Hot Sauce, Mr. Right, Plunger)
Date: 2009-05-26
From: Gravel Spring Hut

To: Compton Gap Trail - Front Royal Hostel
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: moderate rain

I really was optimistic that by the time I awoke in the morning the sun would be out and my tent would be dry. Wrong! It poured all night long and didn't let up when I woke up at 7:30. I fell back asleep until 8 and it was still pouring. I was in no rush but I was really looking forward to the shower I was going to take once I got to the hostel, so I didn't want to lounge around for too long.I went to the shelter to make breakfast and everyone but Yetta and Pole Cat were still there waiting for the rain to let up before heading out. It actually started raining HARDER! I was totally dreading it, but I eventually packed up my wet, muddy heap of a tent. Everyone left before me and I finally got going around 10:15. The day was a total wash out. I'm glad the weather held out until my last day in the Shennies. There weren't really any lookouts or points of interest on the trail today so I was glad not to have missed anything. I hightailed it to the Compton Gap Trail which leads 0.5-mile to the Front Royal Hostel where I'm staying the night. I immediately took a shower and did laundry. I had to take a photo of the open washing machine because the water was BLACK! I guess my clothes were a little dirty Pole Cat is also staying here tonight and treated Mike (the hostel owner) and me to a Mexican dinner. Thanks again Pole Cat! I had some fajitas and had lots of leftovers for tomorrow.Speaking of tomorrow, the weather looks awful so I decided to slackpack 12 miles southbound from Linden, VA (Manassas Gap) back to the hostel where I'll spend another night. Tonight begins the 60 mile stretch of hostel hopping that I'll be doing, spending 5 of the next 6 nights at a hostel. I'm psyched!   Front Royal HostelLaundry Time!
Date: 2009-05-27
From: Compton Gap Trail - Front Royal Hostel

To: Manassas Gap - VA55
Miles today: 12.0

Today was a great day. Mike from the hostel drove me to the grocery store in the morning so I could buy food for the next 3 days and then dropped me off at Manassas Gap where I would start slackpacking the 12 miles back (south) to the Front Royal Hostel. I was only carrying a tiny day pack with just snacks, water, and my rain coat. The trail was wet and muddy but it didn't actually rain today, it was just misty and foggy.Going southbound was great because I ran into folks I hadn't seen in ages! I saw Maggie who I hadn't seen since exiting the Smokies (we started our thru-hikes on the same day), Red Bear who I hadn't seen since Erwin TN, Laura from Maine who I hadn't seen since Gatlinburg, and Bow Willow who I last saw a couple weeks ago. I had no idea Maggie, Red Bear, and Laura were all just one day behind me for so long! It was great to catch up with them and it made for a very social 12 miles! I also saw a lot of new faces (including a couple from Maine) but I only stopped to talk with some of them since most of them looked like they were on a mission and didn't have time for a stop and chat. I have a feeling I'll see most of the folks I saw today at Rod Hollow Shelter tomorrow night since I'll be starting 12 miles north tomorrow.I got back to the hostel around 4:30 and decided to hose down my muddy tent since I was already wet and dirty from hiking. Now that it's clean and dry, I really hope it doesn't rain again tomorrow night!I made a quick dinner, got my pack ready for tomorrow, watched an episode of So You Think You Can Dance, and called it an early night.Slackpacking to Front Royal Hostel
Date: 2009-05-28
From: Manassas Gap - VA55

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up around 7, watched a couple episodes of Saved By The Bell while I ate breakfast, and was all packed up and ready to go by 9am. Mike drove me to Manassas Gap (after a quick detour to McDonalds for some hash browns) where I started hiking north.The trail was super muddy and wet because of all the rain over the past few days. My shoes managed to stay dry throughout the day but were coated in a nice layer of mud early on. And it was HUMID! There was an 80% chance of thunderstorms today and it started thundering around noon with still 9 miles left for the day. Was I going to make it to the shelter before the sky opened up? I didn't know! I sped up my pace and made it in around 4pm. It never did rain but the sky was ominous all day. Since my tent is now all clean and dry, I actually decided to stay in the (gasp!) shelter tonight. I think this is my first time in a shelter since Sarver Hollow Shelter, which was about 300 miles south of here. It is a full house tonight and it STINKS! I find myself holding my breath every now again as I get whiffs of everyone's (including mine) shoes leaning against the edge of the shelter. I am missing my tent right about now! In there I only have to deal with my own stench, not the stench of 11 other people! Also, there is a section hiker who keeps smoking cigarettes near the shelter. ALSO, there is a resident spider in here (and apparently a resident black snake!). The only good thing about having a snake around is that there hopefully won't be any mice in here. Hikers here tonight include Plunger, Mr. Right, Stuff Sack, Com, Racheopod, Triple-C, Red Bear, Bow Willow, Yetta, and two section hikers.            I'm looking forward to hiking the infamous "Roller Coaster" tomorrow into Bears Den Hostel. The Roller Coaster consists of 10 descents and ascents (some consisting of up to 1,000 ft climbs) with viewless, rocky summits. Bring it on! Some sobos today said that it's actually not that bad, and ice cream and pizza will be waiting for us at the end.Bow Willow just pointed out that as of today, we have completed 45% of the trail!Yetta, Red Bear, and Loon @ Rod Hollow Shelter
Date: 2009-05-29
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Most people in the shelter started packing up and making breakfast at a god-awful hour...6am?! That is way too early to wake up when I had less than 10 miles to hike for the day but it is hard to sleep longer when everyone is moving about. It's also hard for me to have any sort of morning routine when sleeping in a shelter so I waited for a bunch of people to hike out before getting ready.I left the shelter just before 9am (finally I wasn't the last to leave!) and immediately entered the "Roller Coaster". There is a sign denoting the start of the ups and downs that reads: "HIKER NOTICE. WARNING!! You are about to enter the ROLLER COASTER!! Built and Maintained by the "Trailboss" and his merry crew of volunteers. Have a great ride and we will see you at the Blackburn Trail Center (if you survive)". I tried counting the ascents and descents but lost count after the first one because it was hard to tell what was an official summit. I actually loved the roller coaster! It wasn't as hard as people had made it out to be...just another day on the AT! I thought the hardest part of the day was dealing with the humidity, which was probably at 100%. I got to Sam Moore Shelter around noon (where I was stopping for lunch) to find Bow Willow, Yetta, Plunger, and Mr. Right already there. They had been there for a while so they all left shortly after I arrived. I made a huge lunch and listened to the thunder overhead, wondering if it was going to start raining.   I heard a big noise in the woods as I was sitting there but didn't see anything, but I decided to head out anyways. Maybe it would just thunder and not rain, and I only had 3 miles (less than 1.5 hours) before I got to Bears Den. About 10 minutes after I left the shelter it began to POUR! It rained so hard and I figured it was probably the hardest rain I had ever hiked in. I loved it! I was drenched in sweat so the rain felt great...I was only worried about my camera getting wet because I noticed a couple small holes in my pack cover the other day. The trail had instantly turned into a muddy river, but the rain had let up after only about 15 minutes of downpouring. I got to Bears Den around 2:30. This place is amazing!! It is owned by the PATC and looks just like a castle. The hiker room is open all day so a bunch of us just hung around inside and dried things out. The hostel upstairs opens at 5pm, so Plunger, Mr. Right, Yetta, and I checked in. For just $25, one can get a bunk, shower, laundry, a tombstone pizza, and a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Done and done! We all enjoyed our dinner up in the dining room with the hostel maintainers (Hopeful and Redwing and their amazingly cute daughter Hikelet). We watched some AT videos (one was from 1987 and was hilariously outdated) and called it a night. Tomorrow is another low mileage day but a huge milestone day. We finally leave Virginia after 530 miles AND cross the 1,000 mile mark. Woot!The ROLLER COASTER!!!!
Date: 2009-05-30
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: AT Blackburn Center
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: few clouds

Today was amazing, one of my favorite days on the trail.I woke up around 7am and whipped up some pancakes for Plunger, Mr. Right, and myself. The Bears Den kitchen has some community food, including pancake mix and syrup. I had some freeze dried fruit from my maildrop that I added to the pancakes which was a nice addition.Since it was only 7.9 miles to the AT Blackburn Center, I ended up just hanging around Bears Den with Plunger and Mr. Right until 12:30!! I finally hit the trail but hung out on Bears Den Rocks for a while soaking in the sun and making some phone calls. Suddenly Hot Sauce emerged from the bushes to surprise me! I knew she was pretty close behind me but I hadn't seen her since Elkwallow Wayside in the Shennies. Of course we had to catch up for a while and I finally started hiking around 1pm.The hike today was awesome! I still had 3 more peaks of the Roller Coaster to climb but they were enjoyable and not TOO rocky. It was a Saturday so there were lots of day hikers out, including a family that I kept leap frogging with. They asked me tons of questions about the trail and eventually asked for my name so they would knew who to pray for every night. I wanted to tell them that there was no need to pray for me, that I was fine, but I didn't want to be rude!I met up with Hot Sauce and Pole Cat at the West Virginia border (woohoo!) and saw a copperhead not too far off the trail. We stopped again at some rocky cliffs (it was a frequent stop day!) to take in the views and perfect weather. Later on I stopped at what I thought was the 1,000 mark, made a 1,000 out of sticks, and had some snacks. Pole Cat and Hot Sauce showed up and we all hung out for a good 30 minutes before walking the remaining 2 miles to Blackburn.The 3 of us walked into the AT Blackburn Center at the same moment dinner was being served. PERFECT TIMING!! We weren't even expecting dinner but had heard rumors that the caretaker whipped up dinners for hikers on certain nights. We grabbed seats at the table and ate spaghetti (6 pounds of pasta for 15 people!) with homemade bread and lots of brownies and lemonade. It was perfect! Others around the tables included Yetta, Doc and his parents, 5 weekend hikers, Mr. Right, Plunger, Hot Sauce, and Pole Cat. Mr. Right, Plunger, Hot Sauce, and I played Yuker (sp?) for a couple hours- Mr. Right and I won!! - and then spread out our sleeping bags on the screened-in porch. From the porch you can actually see downtown D.C.! It's amazing that we are so close to the city but are so much removed from it at the same time. Sleeping on the porch was so cozy being in my sleeping bag and falling asleep to the steady rain and cool breeze outside.Yay to crossing into West Virginia, walking 1,000 miles, and amazing ATC centers
Date: 2009-05-31
From: AT Blackburn Center

To: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: few clouds

We all woke up feeling a bit antsy to get to Harpers Ferry. While not the official half-way point, Harpers Ferry marks the "psychological half-way point" of the trail. I couldn't wait to get there!I left around 8am, not too long after Doc and Hot Sauce. There was an identifiable animal carcass ON the trail no more than a mile past the Blackburn center. Luckily the animal had been there for a while so there was no blood, but you could see all the bones and inner organs. I took a photo and was going to try and identify it later, but I looked a bit closer and saw the teeth and nose and some fur and realized it was a dog! Poor thing! I deleted the photo I took because I was so sad for the dog and booked it up the trail. I wonder if a bear got to it??I stopped at David Lesser Memorial Shelter for a snack where I met up with Plunger, Mr. Right, Hot Sauce, and Doc. When I left I hiked with Plunger and Mr. Right for a while which made time go by really fast and before we knew it we were only 1.9 miles to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) in Harpers Ferry!I ate a snack at the sign pointing towards the ATC and Hot Sauce caught up and the two of us hiked together across the Potomac River and into Harpers Ferry. After crossing the river, we emerged from the woods and were immediately walking through a college campus and towards the ATC. Harpers Ferry is a cute, quaint town with cobblestone roads and historical buildings. I loved it!I had my official ATC photo taken for their archives and am the 162nd thru-hiker to come through Harpers Ferry this year. Hot Sauce and I walked to the Towns Inn where I had reserved a bunk for the night. Luckily there was an extra bed for Hot Sauce - other than the Towns Inn and the Comfort Inn, there aren't really any other places to stay except for the hostel which is located 4 miles from town.Plunger, Mr. Right, Hot Sauce, Red Bear, Maggie, and I had lunch and celebratory beers at the Secret Six Tavern located across the street from the Towns Inn. I didn't even care that my legs were all muddy (I was too hungry to clean up before heading to the tavern) and that I probably didn't smell too great. Luckily there was plenty of outdoor seating for us The food was great and there were good beers on tap. Doc and Pole Cat eventually showed up and we had another round before getting ice cream down the street.I bought new insoles (which actually don't feel any different from my old ones) and a few other things from the outfitter, showered (finally), did laundry, and hung out with all the hikers staying at the Towns Inn. All in all a great day!Happy Birthday Lily! Boone (a section hiker), Plunger, Mr. Right, and DocWe made it!
Date: 2009-06-01
From: Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

To: Washington, DC
Miles today: 0.0

I took the day off and went into DC to visit my friends Cait and Ryan who live 12 blocks from the capitol building. I got a ride to the Metro from Bow Willow and his wife and arrived in DC around noon.I felt a little out of place wearing my hiking clothes and carrying a plastic bag as my "purse" (luckily I could keep my backpack in Harpers Ferry). I actually tripped and almost fell twice on the Metro escalators! I stopped at Cait and Ryan's house first, dropped off my "purse", and grabbed lunch at a Vietnamese place around the corner. I had my tofu fix (an amazing eggplant/tofu/rice dish) and then walked down to the capitol building. I wanted to walk down to the Washington Monument and the White House but they were a bit too far - I didn't want to walk TOO much on my day off I was also wearing Cait's Chaco flipflops that were giving me blisters...go figure! As I was relaxing on a park bench writing postcards I saw 3 huge, low-flying helicopters fly in front of the Washington Monument and later found out that it was the President! I went back to their place and we went out for Thai food when they got home from work. It was so good! I watched tv (which is always a treat) and I eventually fell asleep around midnight. My day was very relaxing and I'm looking forward to another relaxing day tomorrow - I may even go see a movie!
Date: 2009-06-02
From: Washington, DC

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Holy cow! I can't believe that 3 months ago today I started hiking from Amicalola State Park in Georgia! The days are starting to fly by and in another 3 months I'll be close to summiting Katahdin!I had another relaxing day in DC...I woke up early and ran errands (resupply and post office) and then went to Union Station and saw a movie. I have been wanting to see a movie on the big screen since March but there haven't been any theaters! I saw Angels and Demons because it was the only movie that seemed to work with the train schedule and I had read the book a few years ago and remember it being an entertaining page-turner.Now I'm not sure if it was because I've been in the quiet woods for 3 months or if the volume was accidentally maxed out, but it was LOUD! I almost had to cover my ears in the really loud and suspenseful scenes, it was ridiculous! Although it wasn't a GREAT movie, it definitely held my interest and had some fun plot twists.I took the 5:30pm train to Harpers Ferry which I almost missed because of the confusing way the MARC trains list their times on the schedule...good thing I got to the station early!   I checked into the Towns Inn (where I saw Mudflap for the first time in a couple hundred miles), made some mac and cheese for dinner, and called it a night. Although I enjoyed my DC excursion, I'm looking forward to getting back on the trail tomorrow where I don't have to worry about moving escalators, swine flu, or public transportation!View of Harpers Ferry from Towns Inn
Date: 2009-06-03
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Dahlgren Back Pack Campground
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: few clouds

I had a quick breakfast and was out the door at 7am. Mudflap had hiked out at 6am so I as sure I'd see him later in the day. The trail basically took off from the Towns Inn which was awesome because there was no backtracking or extra walking required to get back to the trail. The trail out of Harpers Ferry immediately crosses the Potomac River which is the West Virginia/Maryland border - sweet! 5 states down, 9 to go! Maryland looks so flat compared to Virginia so I think the 40 miles should go by really quick. Wow, and then Pennsylvania!I passed 3 huge school and Boy Scout groups, luckily all heading south. There must have been 50 kids total that I saw today! I guess I made the right decision to stay in Harpers Ferry last night or I would have shared the shelter with about 30 of them.I took a bunch of breaks today because my feet were killing me...I hope they can hang in there for another 1,000 miles! The trail today passed a few historical areas and state parks and I think tomorrow will be the same. There sure is a lot of history on this part of the trail and I'm sure all the hiking history buffs out there are having a field day with it all.I have been so spoiled on the trail lately with all the campgrounds, picnic areas, and hostels. I don't think I've treated my water or used a privy in the past 8 days with all the restrooms and water spigots available on or just off the trail. And I've been showering every 1 or 2 days - I thought I was supposed to be roughing it I'm staying at a campground tonight with Mudflap, Radiofreq, and 5 section hikers. This campground is the only campground on the AT with state-provided restrooms and hot showers available 24 hours a day...AND there is an inn 0.2-mile from here that serves beer and wine. Radiofreq, Mudflap, and I went up for drinks...it felt a bit weird to be in such a fancy restaurant wearing our crocs and raingear, and luckily we were the only ones in the sectioned off bar area.It's pouring buckets right now. The big question is whether I hike 19 miles tomorrow and stay at a shelter OR continue Hostel Tour '09 and stay at the Free State Hiker Hostel tomorrow and only hike 14 miles. As you can see there are tough decisions to make out here in the woods! OH and I realized what my biggest concern is on the trail right now. The TICKS! Ever since I had 2 deer ticks crawling on my legs in the Shenandoahs and found two embedded ticks on me just a few days ago, I am finding myself checking my legs for ticks every 15 minutes! I guess finding 4 total on me is nothing compared to the crazy amounts that other people have found (Hot Sauce pulled 11 off her in 1 day) but STILL! Perhaps I'm just paranoid...There is a small frog crawling up the mesh of my tent right now...that just goes to show how wet it is out there. Goodnight!