morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-17
From: Dutch Haus/Montabello, VA

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

Got up early and had a great breakfast at the Dutch Haus. Back on the trail around 9am. Reunited with Persistant in the morning. Today was a tough day of hiking. It started off with a nice climb to the top of The Priest. Popped into Priest Shelter for a snack and met up with Sweetwater there. Then hiked down the Priest which was about 5 miles of all downhill, some areas were pretty steep. Had lunch at the Tye River with Persistant, Eric, Melk, and Ronin.Saw some new wild flowers over the last few days but I don't know what they are. I'll snap some photos of them if I can remember. Finally the day ended with a rough climb up Three Ridges. Three Ridges is a treacherous 3000 foot climb that just sapped my strength. But, there were a few great views along the way to help out climb.Staying at Maupin Field Shelter with Ronin, Melk, Persistant, Eric, Sweetwater, Nuclear, and a few section hikers. Had Couscous, olive oil, and chicken for dinner.
Date: 2007-06-18
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: few clouds

Up at 7am. Very tired from yesterday's brutal hike over and down the Priest and up the Three Ridges. On the trail at 8:30am. I'm sick of eating pop-tarts for breakfast, fyi. I'm going to switch to bagels for Shenandoah.While today's hike wasn't too hard, the acummulation of the last 5 days and yesterday's tough hike has definitely caught up to me. Hiked over Humpback mountain and had a few nice views and a cool cliff walk. Saw another snake today AND saw my first bear! It was a mama bear protecting her cubs. I went up to the cubs and played with them for a bit...hahaha, just kidding. Melk, Ronin, and I stopped to look but she ran away as we continued down the trail. Cubs were still in the tree.Staying at the Paul C. Wolfe shelter. It's supposedly haunted or something. In the shelter is Melk, Ronin, Johnny, and Jeff (a section hiker who's a Forrestry Professor at VT, he's writing book on the 100 most remarkable Virginia Trees). Had dirty rice and tuna for dinner with a Milky Way Dark chaser. The shelter has a nice stream in front which I slipped and fell on my ass crossing earlier in the day.
Date: 2007-06-19
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up early (around 5:30am) and hiked into Waynesboro, VA. The 5 miles was mostly easy. It passed through an old settlement area that was supposedly haunted. Shockingly, I didn't see any ghosts or hear strange noises.Persistant's fiance, Eric, gave us a ride into town. Lots of chores to be done today. The top chore is to read through my severance package from IBM. Staying at the Quality Inn.
Date: 2007-06-20
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Took another day in Waynesboro, VA. Spent most of the day at the library. Had Dominoes for dinner.Around mid-day, Melk and Persistent took my Tyvek and turned it into a Twister board. Also bought a new pair of shoes: Keen Hybrids. The new pair of Salomons have gore-tex lining which seems to do little to keep the moisture out and in fact turns my shoes into miniature swamps which seem to take many days to dry out completely. Hopefully these shoes will be more comfortable and drier. I guess we'll see.
Date: 2007-06-21
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

Enter Shenandoah Nation Park stage south!On the trail at 9:30am. The start of SNP was a long green tunnel. Every now and then the trail would open up and some limited views were possible. The trail also crosses the heavily used Skyline Drive where my fellowship with the wilderness is enhanced by loud motorized traffic. The trail was well graded but still found it tiring. Might be the dry, hot weather.Day 1 of SNP also abounds with deer...and apparently ticks too. Found some of the little suckers crawling on me today. The new shoes are holding up fine, so far.Staying at Blackrock Hut with Boognish, G, Jake, Blackfoot, Tater, Rockhound, Sweetwater, Slick, and the A-Team.
Date: 2007-06-23
From: Highttop Mtn Shelter

To: Luray, VA
Miles today: 12.0

Today was a day I'll never forget. The feet are killing me and I want to toss these new shoes over the side of a very tall cliff. I'm going to attempt a rescue mission into town. I think I see one in the distance (from Skyline Drive of course).Through the self-inflicted torture, which could have beent avoided had I listend to the other members of the A-Team, I was able to hobble to the Lewis Mtn. Campground and Store. I was given some trail magic by the camp host along the way. She graciously served me two brownies and a banana. Had my feet not been killing me, I might have been more appreciative. But, unfortunately, I was not in a very thankful mood. I scrounged up a smile and a 'thank you' but I think that was it.Walked a little more to the campstore where I was greeted by many familiar faces: A-Team and many others. After I put the pack down the feet started recovering a bit but it was time for a High Profile Equipment Extraction mission into town (abbreviated to HPEE, aka a hippie). I started going through some plans to try and swap out footwear...AGAIN. I know what everyone is thinking as they read this: I should have just stuck with my Salomons. Hopefully I'll remember that next time I decide to try on shoes.Anyway, I finally got a ride into Luray, VA, by the owner of Evergreen Outfitters there, Howard. He came all the way up and picked me up along with the rest of the A-Team and Rosie. They all decided to accompany me on my little journey for new shoes.Right before we left for Luray, I had a cool time hanging out on the lawn in front of the camp store with Cobweb, Mayo, Rosie, Sweetwater, Tunabag, Ronin, Persistent, Melk, and Slick. In the end, I got my new shoes (Vasque Velocities, size 13) and had a great dinner at a place called Artisans.
Date: 2007-06-24
From: Luray, VA

To: Big Meadows
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked to Big Meadows. Saw a bear on the trail today. He was walking without a care in the world down the AT, right in front of Ronin. He casually hiked about a 1/4 of a mile before he ran into the woods.Had an interesting view at Blackrock (2nd blackrock...many more to come apparently) today. Took a nice group photo there, in it were: Rosie, Ronin, Persistent, Melk, and Moi.
Date: 2007-06-26
From: Skyland

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: light rain

Didn't leave Skyland till about 12:30pm. Took another easy day and only hiked 10.7 miles. Nice and easy terrain were the standard for the trail on this fine day. Saw another bear. At first, bear sightings were exciting but they are getting old fast as it seems the Park is full of them. Had a few nice views at some overlooks. Trail had a few rocky sections that left my feet a little sore.Staying at Pass Mountain Hut. Lot's of mouse activity early on. Also appears to be a humid, buggy night. Thank god for the ear plugs and the bug netting.
Date: 2007-06-27
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: Last Hut in SNP
Miles today: 13.1

Up at 6:45am. On the trail at 8:30am. Hiked a total of 13.1 miles.Didn't see much for views today. It seems that SNP hasn't been as plentiful with scenic views as other sections of the trail. I wonder if all the great views seen earlier are dulling the ones here? Could be the heat and humidity. We've had plenty of that.Cooked hot dogs with Persistent and Melk. Ronin hiked onto Front Royal to meet a friend. We'll finally be out of SNP tomorrow.
Date: 2007-06-28
From: Last Hut in SNP

To: Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

This morning I took on yet another alter ego/nickname: Dr. Youngle Spelunkerstein. Persistent insisted on calling me Youngle for short and I added Dr. Spelunkerstein, in honor of a burger joint in Front Royal, VA.Today was mostly easy hiking. The toughest climb was Compton Gap. Took a picture in front of Compton Gap where Ronin will be making a outdoor movie based loosely on a classic: Boyz in the Woods.The trail was well graded for the most part. Left SNP and hiked another 3 miles into Front Royal, VA. I was glad to be out of the park. While the hiking was fairly easy, I am looking forward to getting out of Virginia ASAP.After hiking down to the road leading into Front Royal, Melk, Persistent, and I got a ride into town by some friendly section hikers. Even though it seem like a small thing, offering a ride to needy thru-hikers really helps a lot. Hitchhiking is unpredictable.Ate lunch at a burger place called Spelunkers. I think they should have a special burger called The Front Royal with Cheese.Did my laundry...shirtless. That was a fun time. Especially with all the patrons looking at me weird. I also saw my first movie since coming onto the trail: Fantastic Four and the Rise of the Silver Surfer. It was a fairly horrible movie except the parts that had the Silver Surfer in it.I also enjoyed "Jersey Style" pizza for dinner. They served us thin crust pizza with basil, sliced tamatoes, and some parmesean cheese. It wasn't horrible but it wasn't anything like DeLornzo's in Trenton, NJ.
Date: 2007-06-29
From: Front Royal, VA

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up late and did a few chores and some reading. Melk, Ronin, Persistent, and myself hung out at the Outfitters in Front Royal all day using the Internet, and waiting for some relief from heavy rain. Cobweb, Mayo, and Tunabag also joined us. Had lunch at a great place called Soul Mt. Cafe. Awesome Tamato and Basil soup. After a few hours the rain finally settled and we got back on the trail around 5:30pm. We hiked 5 miles to the Jim and Molly Denton shelter. This is one of the nicer shelters on the AT. It has a nice porch out front with plenty of benches and three big chairs built into the porch. There's also a solar shower down by the water source with a spigot which we all ended up using as our water source anyway.In the shelter are the A-Team, Cobweb, Mayo, Tunabag, Google, and Sunshine.
Date: 2007-06-30
From: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: broken clouds

Hiked 18.6 miles through a Civil War historic area known as Mosby's Confederacy. Also passed through a nice state park area with well graded trail and a nice meadow. Relaxing hike for the most part. Body is tired though. Had lunch at a shelter along the way called Dick's Dome. It resembles something built by someone who came up with the plans after watching Star Wars and Jeremiah Johnson.Tunabag, Mayo, and I stopped at a road crossing because we heard there was a restaurant about a mile down the road. We didn't feel like walking it so we tried hitching it. No one stopped. After about 20 minutes of trying unsuccesfully we just moved on.Had my favorite dinner tonight: Spanish rice and sweet and spicy tuna. followed it with a snickers almond. In the trail register for the shelter we had a little hiker drama. One hiker was bashing another hiker for falling behind after they had hiked together for a long while(it was a male/female combo, with the female doing the bashing). Then she went on to bash a group of hikers for 'skipping' sections because she had not seen them for five days and then they 'magically' appeared at the shelter she was staying. All I have to say is: like sands through the hourglass, these are the trail days of our lives.Gonna stay in the tarptent tonight. Tomorrow is the infamous Roller Coaster to Snickers Gap.
Date: 2007-07-01
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Blackburn Trail Center
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well I survived the Roller Coaster. About 3 miles into it a hiker who had done a large section of the trail this year, Six2, offered to slackpack the A-Team to Blackburn Trail Center, where we were staying tonight. We obviously took him up on his offer. This made the Roller Coaster a little easier.The A-Team, along with special guests Six2, Cobweb, Mayo, and Tunabag, had lunch at a small biker bar called The Horseshoe Curve. Great lunch and they played CCR the entire time we were there.To make the day even better, the last few miles of trail was all even terrain right to Blackburn where we were treated to a pre 4th of July dinner by the hosts. Very nice! We slept out on the porch of Blackburn, a big house with a beautiful wrapping porch which extends around three sides. Cobweb, Mayo, Ronin, Persistent, Melk, Tunabag, Pinball Wizard, and I sat around to about 10pm just bullshitting. Great day.
Date: 2007-07-02
From: Blackburn Trail Center

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 12 miles to Harpers Ferry, WV, the psychological half-way point of the trail. The actual half-way point is still a few days away.Woke up around 7:30am and had coffee and tea at the Blackburn Center and then took off for Harpers Ferry around 8:30pm. Despite some easy terrain I felt absolutely horrible hiking. Not sure why. I couldn't wait to get to town and fall asleep.After the descent into Harpers Ferry I went straight to the Comfort Inn with Persistent and Melk and booked a hotel room. Once in the room I fell into bed with backpack still on.After recuperating for a few hours, I headed to a place called "The Pub" with the A-Team. We met up with Mayo and Tunabag there and played pool and drank. I think I'm starting to feel better. It was first name night so we were all calling each other by our first, real names...it was odd.
Date: 2007-07-05
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Crampton Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: moderate rain

Hiked out around 11am after two zeros in Harpers Ferry. The body feels refreshed. Crossed into Maryland, the 6th state along the trail, with Cobweb, Mayo, and the rest of the A-Team.Had dinner at Gathland State Park in MD. There is a huge memorial to all the war correspondents and journalists of the Civil War. Did a little night hiking and stayed at Crampton Gap Shelter after a long dinner break. Had to squeeze into the shelter since there were 3 other people already there and the shelter only fits six. The A-Team and myself squeezed into the remaining space waking up all the other hikers at the shelter. An ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy) Ridgerunner was there as well.
Date: 2007-07-06
From: Crampton Gap Shelter

To: Free State Hostel
Miles today: 20.5

Woke up at 7:30am and hiked to 20.5 miles to the Free State Hostel. The terrain in Maryland today was mostly flat with only a few climbs over a few hundred feet. Passed by the first Washington Monument; a short, squat, tower built by the people of Boonsboro in memory of George Washington.The Free State Hostel is run by a 2006 Thru-hiker. The hostel is awesome! It has an awesome computer for Internet access, a game room, a really nice bunk room, a clean bathroom, and laundry facilities. Played Trivial Pursuit after dinner where I wow'd the other hikers with my uncanny knowledge of trivia.
Date: 2007-07-07
From: Free State Hostel

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Woke up this morning around 7:30am. Had a great night's sleep at the Free State Hostel. Ken, the owner, drove us into Smithsburg, MD, to re-supply at the Food Lion. Got back around 9:15am and packed up and ate breakfast while listening to Pearl Jam. I really miss music.On the Trail by 11:20am. It's a beautiful day: clear skies, low humidity, and a light breeze. Took a break at Devils Racecourse Shelter. Stopped in at Del-Mar park where we got some great trail magic from a large family reunion. They gave us the rest of their fried chicken and sweet tea. It was really good. Crossed into Pennsylvania and took a group photo with Cobweb, Mayo, Persistent, Melk, and Ronin. Staying at Deer Lick Shelter with the A-Team. We tried to get Cobweb and Mayo to stay too but they want to do more miles for some reason. Hiked 14.8 miles and staying in the tarptent. Nice night.
Date: 2007-07-08
From: Deer Lick Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 6:15am, on the trail by 7:30am.Went past Old Forge Park and took a quick break there to water. It's a small park in PA with a bathroom, water spigot, and baseball field. Hiked past lots of roads today. Some parts of the trail were rocky but for the most part the terrain was flat. The highlight of the day was stopping at Caledonia State Park. The rest of the A-Team and I stopped in to use the public pool and ate dinner at the short order grill there.Hiked up to Quarry Gap Shelter afterwards for the night. The shelter was awesome. It is maintained by "Innkeeper." There's wood panels in the privy, the two 4-person shelters are very clean, potted flowers, crushed gravel surrounding the shelter, and painted wood ducks were nailed to the shelter's overhanging ceiling to remind hikers to "duck."Large group at the shelter tonight: A-Team, Edge, Tunabag, Candybar, Dirty, Tater, Tater's Parents, Keys, Veg, and others.
Date: 2007-07-09
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: clear sky

Hiked out to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. The trail was very friendly with a few climbs to keep me honest. Just before I hit the State Park, I passed the official half-way point for this year at about mile 1,087. The half-way point changes every year as parts of the trail are relocated for one reason or another.The thing that most people were looking forward to today was the Half Gallon Challenge. This daunting hiker tradition involves eating a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream in one sitting. However, due to budget furlows in PA, Pine Grove Furnace State Park was closed for the day and this included the camp store at the park where the ice cream is purchased by hikers. We were even taunted by a rumor that the guy who ran the store would stop by to open it up briefly so hikers could take part in the challenge. Unfortunately this never happened. After waiting a few hours I moved on with the A-Team to a campground in the park where we set up our tents for the night.No ice cream, just Spanish rice and sweet and spicy tuna for dinner.
Date: 2007-07-10
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: PA 34
Miles today: 8.6

Woke up and headed up to the camp store at Pine Grove Furnace State Park with the A-Team. After grabbing a few items needed for re-supply, Melk turns to me and says "lets do the 1/2 gallon challenge now." Oh boy. After about 4.3 seconds of thought I said "ok."Persistent, Melk, and I purchased a 1/2 gallon of ice-cream each. Ronin opted not to participate since he had already bought a breakfast sandwich at the store. After saluting each other with our camp spoons, we dug into the 1/2 gallon of ice cream and took part in this legendary thru-hiker tradition. I bought cookies-n-cream ice cream. Persistent had the same. Melk bought some sort of Vanilla with fudge bits concoction. I'm proud to report that I finished the 1/2 gallon challenge in 1 hour 7 minutes and like 6 seconds. Melk finished about 7 seconds after me (and then promptly ran to the bathroom with stomach pains...I won't discuss what happened but she might have thrown up). Persistent finished about half of her ice-cream before giving up. As a token of our incredible accomplishment, Melk and I received small wooden ice-cream sticks with "Member of the Half Gal. Club" stamped on both sides. I felt special.We hiked onto to PA 34 and I think the ice cream was still being processed by my stomach. We decided to head to Mt. Holly Springs and take the night off after only 8.6 miles hiked.
Date: 2007-07-12
From: Mt. Holly Springs

To: Cove Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: broken clouds

Hiked 21.5 miles from Boiling Springs, PA to Cove Mtn. Shelter. We had over 13 miles of straight, flat terrain through Cumberland County in PA. The hiking was really fast through this part. Had lunch at the ATC's mid-atlantic crew building at Scott Farm. We ended the day by doing the last three miles in the dark. Even though the night-hiking wasn't too bad at first, we ended up hitting a lot of rocks up on a ridge before the shelter. It made the last mile very painful and slow. Didn't get to the shelter till about 10:45pm.
Date: 2007-09-07
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Hey Everyone,Just to update everyone, the foot injury is still healing. For those that might not have heard, I slipped and fell in New Jersey and hurt my foot pretty bad. Afterwards I thought I might have some knee problems too because of buckling and general knee pain.I had the official mri results come in yesterday during my visit to the doctor. I don't have a dislocation of the big toe which is what the doctor was concerned about. There is also no bone chip in the foot either which was another concern. Both would require surgery. What I do have is extreme bruising in the soft tissue caused by trauma. Nothing new there. However, the mri of the knee shows a stress fracture due to bruising on the bone. Ironically, the bruising in the foot will take longer to heal because of the extreme amount of trauma that showed up in the mri even though it was done almost three weeks after the incident. So it will be about another six to eight weeks before I am walking normally. The knee should heal to full capacity by the end of the month but only if I don't walk much on it. Looks like I'll have to finish either next year or the year after depending on when I can schedule it. Right now, I have to continue to stay off of it which is a pain in my ass but oh well.
Date: 2007-03-19
From: Springer Mtn, GA

To: Sassafras Mtn. mile marker 11
Miles today: 19.8

All is going well. The plane was fine. I got to the hostel and it was great. I met a lot of people and it was fun to talk to everyone before we all leave. I know some people wanted me to only go 10 miles but that went out the window when I hiked 10 miles before lunch so I kept on going and stopped when I met up with two guys I met at the hostel, I did 19.8 today. All is well. I am staying on Sassafras Mountain. Mile marker 11. My leg feels ok right now. All is well.still walking
Date: 2007-03-20
From: Sassafras Mtn

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Hey being able to do 20 miles has its advantage. I met the guy and started talking to him. I asked him where he was headed. He said Maine I said ok. I asked him his trail name - he said patriot. He had a black hat and a hatchet on his side I did not think too much of it at the time. I then saw he had a phone in his hand and I thought that was a little strange. I asked him were you expecting a phone call. He said yes. Then he said from my doctor. I asked him was everything ok and he said no I am dying. I said what of. then he said of lupus and heart disease. About this time I thought it was best to keep on walking. See - being able to do 20 has its advantages.All is well. My feet are a little sore. I am at Slaughter Creek campsite right now staying with a local that is very friendly. I did 16.3. I hope to be in Neels by lunch. All is well and I am about to go to bed. I don't know where Evil Eye and Ed are but they are behind me. The hiking is going good. I am banging out the miles. Hope all is well. I love you. youngNdumstill walking
Date: 2007-03-21
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I made it to Neels. All is well. I took it easy in Neels and then moved on to Low Gap. It was a long day. Did 13.8 very long day had to hike in the night. Stated at Slaughter Creek campsite and made it to Low Gap Shelter.still walking
Date: 2007-03-22
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept in to 11 because of yesterday. My Achilles tendon is bothering me right now so I only did 7 miles because of my foot. I hope it gets better. All is well. Did from low to Blue Mtn Shelter 7.2 miles.still walking