morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-22
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 26.2
Weather: clear sky

Today was a pretty long and rough day of hiking. It lasted much longer than I wanted but the ending was sweet..Flo and I had planned to set out at 6am but the cold air which had arrived during the night convinced us to remain in our bags for another hour. We ate then headed out onto the trail, which started off with a small downhill followed by some gradual uphill terrain. The trail followed skyline drive for most of the day, and was flat to moderate for the most part. Fortunately there were not too many rocks on the trail either which really helped make the difference for my feet. We stopped at the Blackrock Hut for some lunch and slingshot practice, where we spotted a dear grazing nearby. After the shelter the trail remained mostly flat and soft, but eventually the mileage took its toll. By the time we had reached the loft mountain campground I was beginning to get pretty tired and after stopping to throw away my trash we pushed forward to the shelter. Shortly before crossing Ivy Creek I spotted a bear cub in the brush above me on the slopes. I shouted and it took off, and thankfully we never spotted the mother. After a few more small climbs and rocky descents we reached the turnoff for the shelter. My feet couldn't have been happier, and as I stumbled into the shelter I was surprised to find Skeetbutter and Aloha. The brothers were there along with Coon, who had hitched there with a case of beer. When Aloha and Skeetbutter rolled in during the afternoon they couldn't resist and so they remained.. I cooked up my dinner then headed straight to bed..
Date: 2013-04-23
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a solid hiking day with many long and steep climbs and was quite exhausting..We set out around 8am and made our way up a small peak before descending to skyline drive where I filled up with some water near the rangers station. Once again I decided to keep pace with skeetbutter and we trucked up and over a peak to the hightop hut for lunch. We continued the rocky climb after the shelter, then descended to swift run gap before climbing uphill again. It was a long climb up to baldface mountain, and as the trail became steeper skeetbutter increased his pace. This made it quite hard to keep up but I continued to push myself and soon I reached the top. He kept on moving with no break so I followed in suit, taking many sips along the way from my platypus. I soon found the platypus empty and I had to stop and switch bottles, after which I gave up on trying to catch skeetbutter. I soon reached the pocosin cabin and found skeetbutter, who had stopped to chat with the caretakers. From here it was a pleasant 3 miles or so the the shelter, and when I reached the lewis mountain campground I decided to pull out my harmonica and enjoy the final mile. Before long I reached the shelter, where I set up my tent nearby and cooked up my dinner. Soon Flo arrived, followed by Aloha then later the brothers. I was glad to have my tent and I enjoyed a quiet evening with my kindle..
Date: 2013-04-24
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Byrds Nest #3 Hut
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a very rocky day and quite tiresome. They day began quite well, and the trail was fairly smooth going for the first 5 miles or so. Soon I reached the turnoff to the wayside, where I stopped with skeetbutter for some lunch and snacks. We ate our snacks outside, among many French-Canadian cyclists who were gathering there. We headed back onto the trail, stuffed and sluggish from the food. I kept up with skeetbutter for several miles, but by the time I reached the rock spring hut turnoff I became too tired and decided to take it slow. My feet were also throbbing some from all the rocks so I went into slow-going zombie mode and kept pushing on.Eventually I found myself at the pinnacle, which offered some good views. For most of the day the trail faced the same valley and the views were mostly the same. I reached I breaking point at the summit, and I knew the Shenandoahs were almost over..The shelter was excellent and expansive and had a fireplace inside. There was a section hiker there as well as skeetbutter and we soon had a fire going as we watched a storm roll in from across the valley. The wind picked up and blew in the rain, which started coming into the shelter. Luckily the rain stopped soon after, but the wind continued and it built up the fire to an impressive level. I ate then relaxed and read some kindle..Flo and Aloha never arrived, as they had gotten lost on the way to the wayside earlier in the day.
Date: 2013-04-25
From: Byrds Nest #3 Hut

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Today was a good hiking day, and despite the late start I hiked pretty fast for most of the day and reached the shelter in decent time... The day began with a downhill from the shelter followed by some climbs over a few ridges with a few overlooks from skyline drive. I hiked along the shallow folds before eventually reaching a small spring. There was no pipe and the flow was pretty poor, but I was still able to get some water from it. I planned to enjoy some lunch at the Byrds Nest #4 picnic area, but when I reached the sign and discovered it was well off the trail I continued a short way past it and stopped on a log for lunch. Skeetbutter soon caught up and we hiked together from there to the Elkwallow Wayside, where we stopped for some snacks. We eventually headed back out onto the trail and pushed up over the mountain to the gravel springs hut. Aloha later arrived, and Flo even later around 945pm..
Date: 2013-04-26
From: Gravel Springs Hut

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 24.1
Weather: broken clouds

Today was a long hiking day but was quite pleasant. We left out in the morning from the shelter and crossed several small uphills before leaving the SNP. We descended down and quickly reached the tom floyd shelter, where we met some section hikers that gave us some food. From here the trail continued downhill and I jogged when possible, excited to go into Front Royal. Shortly before the road the trail traveled along a field with a metal fence, and there was a bench halfway down with a water cooler on it. I enjoyed a glass of water then reached the road, skeetbutter right behind. We started walking along the road towards front royal, and after a mile or so we stopped at a pulloff and soon after a lady gave us a ride. Turns out she was the owner of the house with the water cooler...pretty awesome!She took us to martins where we resupplied and then went to mcdonalds. We hiked along back towards the trail, and an old man picked us up and took us the rest of the way. We hit the trail and took off at a crazy fast speed, climbing up and over a mountain and reaching the shelter in no time. We arrived just as Aloha was leaving, as he wanted to be closer to the bears den hostel for the following day. There was a group of elderly hikers at the shelter that were a little tipsy, and they started getting on my nerves a little so I continued to the next shelter with the others soon behind. I pushed my speed as much as I could and peppered the 5.5 miles in only an hour and a half. When I arrived I found thru-hiker Papi and sectioner Casper, who treated me to some hotdogs they had brought in from front royal. Skeetbutter arrived soon after me, with Flo not too far behind. We enjoyed our dinners then retired for the night.
Date: 2013-04-27
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 22.8

Today was nice and pleasant hiking day, and I enjoyed looking at the many wildflowers and mayapples which have sprung up. I headed out fairly early in the morning, up over a moderate climb on pleasant soft trail and past the dicks dome shelter turnoff. I kept up a good pace on the soft and flowing terrain and got in some good thinking time. I continued over the next small gradual uphill, across a powerline opening and several fields pastures before skeetbutter snuck up on me. I called my dad to figure out arrangements for meeting him in harpers ferry, then fast-hiked / jogged the rest of the way to the rod hollow shelter as I was quite hungry. After grabbing some water from the spring and fixing up the usual tortilla skeetbutter and I were soon greeted by a family of trail runners. I headed out towards the 'rollercoaster' section with many ups and downs, just as Flo was arriving at the shelter. The roller coaster was quite pleasant and much easier than I had expected. It was pretty rocky in spots but for the most part it was well graded and the climbs were fairly short. I almost stepped on a gardener snake basking in the sun right in the middle of the trail. I continued along the many ups and downs before eventually reaching the sam moore shelter. I stopped only for a quick snack and to refill some water before setting out for the final 3 miles to the hostel.Soon I found myself at the top of bears den rocks and at the hostel, an old converted stone castle mansion. I settled in quickly and skeetbutter soon arrived. I showered and ate pizza (I got the hiker special which included bunk, laundry, pizza, soda, and a pint of B&J's ice cream) did laundry then went to bed.
Date: 2013-04-28
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 26.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was an awesome day filled with reunions...and 1000 mile milestone!!I awoke at 5am, showered and ate, then forced myself to leave the comfort of the hostel at 6am. I hiked the remainder of the rollercoaster section in no time, and soon found myself at the 1000 mile marker of the Virginia/West Virginia border. It felt awesome to have finally finished VA, and I was excited to be heading into harpers ferry to meet my dad for lunch. I crushed the 11 miles to the david lesser shelter where I stopped for a ridiculously small snack break before jogging back out onto the trail. I ran into a man heading south who had stayed at the shelter the night before and said the monystanas stayed there. I assumed arrowhead either went with them or had cut short at the blackburn AT center hostel, and when the man said he saw a lone hiker heading north I knew it must be arrowhead. So I cranked up the gears another notch and went as fast as I could over the flat but rocky terrain.I stopped at keys gap to grab some bars to stuff into my pockets and eat some snacks, when suddenly Arrowhead jumped out of nowhere to surprise me. We enjoyed a great reunion of stories and he showed me his new finds, then we headed towards harpers ferry just as a light rain was beginning to roll in. We arrived at the river around 1pm, and we stopped by the ATC headquarters to get our pictures taken. They had a great hiker box and I grabbed a dinner meal and some m&ms, as well as I new hat that says "Katahdin."We hopped back on the trail and right as we reached the center of harpers ferry my Dad pulled up. Arrowhead and I headed to the outfitters while my dad parked, but the visit there was short as they did not have the backpack I wanted in size small. When we got back outside my Dad was just walking up the street, along with a surprise visitor, my aunt Gerri. We headed up the street to a tavern restaurant where we enjoyed a nice meal and a beer. In due time I had to head back towards the trail, my dad back to town, and Arrowhead back to the ATC. My dad joined me as I crossed over the Potomac river into Maryland and he hiked with me for a short while along the tow path before turning back. I continued along the tow path for several miles before the trail eventually parted ways, crossed the RR tracks and headed up weaverton cliffs. The climb was steep but short and soon I found myself on the top of the ridge, heading along the slow uphill to the shelter.When I arrived I was greeted by section hiker Stewart, and I cooked up my dinner then took the long .8 mile round trip down the side of the mountain to the water source. When I returned I was greeted by skeetbutter cooking his dinner up. I relaxed to my kindle, then Flo showed up shortly before sunset..
Date: 2013-04-29
From: Ed Garvey Shelter

To: Pine Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We awoke to a heavy coating of fog in the morning along with some on and off rain. The rain made motivation tough, so we didn't manage to leave the shelter until late morning. The rain came down in spurts as we headed along the relatively flat trail towards gapland state park. I stopped there for a small snack and water before heading back out into the fog and rain.We passed by the crampton gap shelter turnoff and continued along the rolling trail to the rocky run shelter for lunch. The shelter was very nice and had stained floors and a loft as well, and the rain made motivation for leaving that much more difficult. But I didn't want to hike only a 9 mile day so I strapped on my pack and headed back out. The trail was fairly smooth and easy, but the rain dragged me down quite a bit and slowed down my speed. We passed over the washington monument, as well as several gaps where battles had taken place during the civil war. I also noticed many stone walls along the trail, which I assume were used for battle.Shortly before reaching the shelter we crossed over I-70 on the footbridge. During my many trips back and forth between Maryland and Pennsylvania while care-taking for my grandmother I would pass under the trail. It is here where I first conceived the idea of hiking the trail, and it felt pretty awesome to have hiked all the way to the bridge from Georgia. The shelter was only a mile after the interstate crossing, and we soon found ourselves cooking dinner and relaxing as usual.
Date: 2013-04-30
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today seemed like longer than it should have, but the promise of reaching my home in a few days kept me motivated...We awoke in the morning and after cooking our breakfast we were greeted by arrowhead, who had camped up near the washington monument the night before after leaving harpers ferry when his package failed to arrive. We packed up our stuff then headed out into the partially gloomy morning. We hiked along the easy terrain, enjoying the foilage as we went. Soon skeetbutter and I reached the turnoff to smithsburg MD but opted intead for the nearby shelter as we had enough supplies and didn't want to bother with the extra walking. We cooked up a hot lunch and gorged on snacks then stumbled back onto the trail, our stomachs full of mush and junk food.The trail continued rolling up and down before descending to little antietam creek, then climbing a short and steep uphill to the raven rock shelter. I skipped past the shelter and continued along the flat mountain top for quite a ways before stopping to check my bearings. Skeetbutter came up from behind and we hiked together down the mountain to the pen par county park where we stopped for a snack and water before heading across the mason-dixon line into Pennsylvania. We trucked up a small rocky uphill then descended to mostly flat terrain for the last two miles before the shelter.
Date: 2013-05-01
From: Deer Lick Shelters

To: route 30 - shippensburg
Miles today: 13.2

Today ended up being a little longer hiking than I had originally anticipated, but the early start to the day worked to our benefit..We left the shelter at 6am for what we thought was only a 9 mile hike to big flat. We headed down the trail and up snowy mountain before heading downhill to PA 233 for south mountain. Here is where I thought we were stopping, and when I looked at the map I soon realized that we had another 16 miles to big flat. Then I remembered my uncle henry lived nearby, so I gave him a call and he came and picked us up at route 30 and took us to my car at big flat. We headed back to my house to relax, stopping at mcdonalds along the way..We relaxed with some beverages, then later headed to the store and got some meat for BBQ. It felt great to be at my house, relax in the pool, and see my family.
Date: 2013-05-02
From: route 30 - shippensburg

To: pine grove furnace - shippensburg
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a fun day of slack packing in the pleasant sun, and we were joined by Buddy the dog too! After enjoying some breakfast we headed back to the trail where we had left off, this time without the weight of a heavy pack and with some fresh sandwiches and fruit for lunch. It felt very different to be hiking on the trail without everything on your back. We made our way up the hill casually at first, stopping by the quarry gap shelters for a snack. Afterwords the trail headed uphill again before becoming mostly flat as it traversed the top of the ridge. We started to jog for most of this section, as the trail traveled through some spruce forests. The smell of the pine was refreshing as I jogged along to my music, and before long I had traveled the 7.5 miles to the next shelter where we enjoyed our lunch.I left the shelter then continued my jogging, enjoying the smells and sights of spring. I passed by the familiar Big Flat parking area I hiked from many times as a kid, then continued gradually downhill past where I thought the AT midpoint was, to the toms run shelter. We all met up at the shelters for a snack before continuing the final 3 miles to pine grove furnace.Along the way we came across the official sign for the AT midpoint, and we stopped for some pictures and celebrations. Soon we reached the car and we headed back to my house for some pizza and movies..
Date: 2013-05-03
From: pine grove furnace - shippensburg

To: PA 641 - shippensburg
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was another pleasant day of slack packing, this time no Buddy. We headed out from Pine Grove Furnace past the former quarry (now fuller lake) then up the hill. We reached the top flat section in no time, and soon descended to a stream at the turnoff for the shelter, where we enjoyed a lunch of leftover pizza. From here we continued downhill to a road where we hiked a few tenths to a store and got some snacks and ice cream. After making our way back to the trail, our stomachs stuffed to the brim, we climbed back uphill over several small peaks. we traveled through two "rock mazes" with many large boulders and narrow passages, before making one final climb to center point knob. We descended into the cumberland valley and crossed several farm fields before reaching boiling springs. We stopped to look at some of the trout in the stocked stream, then continued another 4 miles before my dad picked us up. Once home we enjoyed a delicious meal of ribs prepared by my mom and brother, then watched a movie..
Date: 2013-05-04
From: PA 641 - Shippensburg

To: Shippensburg
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a nice zero day in the sunshine. We went to boiling springs in the morning to get arrowhead's package, then headed to pine grove furnace to visit the AT museum. We saw the 4 montanas outside the general store enjoying a snack. The museum had an old katahdin sign among other artifacts, and was overall decent. We headed back home to my house, where I worked on my journal then stopped by the local dollar general for some resupply.
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Shippensburg

To: darlington shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today didn't feature too many trail miles, but the sun filled the sky all day and we relaxed several times and had a great day..We spent the morning relaxing at my house and preparing sandwiches for the trail, then left and hit the trail around 10. We made our way across the Cumberland valley, meandering over corn fields and grass pastures. Eventually we reached a picnic table near a pond on a field where we stopped for lunch. We spotted a small black bird flying overhead with bright red spots on its wings. After snacking we continued along the trail and soon arrived at the conodoguinet creek. Arrowhead spotted a water snake and he walked right into the stream and took a picture of it. We then decided to relax for a while and try to catch some trout. After our futile attempts we realized there was a plentiful supply of crayfish in the creek so we switched our efforts to catching them. We managed to gather up around a dozen crayfish, then along the way to the shelter we harvested some wild onions and stalks of stinging needles..We cooked up the crayfish, and I put the tail meat into my dinner and flavored it with the stinging needles and wild onions...
Date: 2013-05-06
From: darlington shelter

To: clarks ferry shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was another pleasant hiking day in the sun. We took our time getting up in the morning and made our way down the mountain to the rocky section. In this section there were rocks littered all over the trail, especially the fist sized ankle twisters. We reconvened near the cove mountain shelter turnoff for lunch then headed down the mountain to Duncannon. Along the way we met a nice local at an outcroppng picking up trash..when we reached town we stopped by a gas station to charge my kindle and stock up on 59 cent energy drinks! Then we stopped at the gas station for subway and some hot dogs before crossing the Susquehanna and heading back up the mountain to the shelter..
Date: 2013-05-07
From: clarks ferry shelter

To: rausch gap shelter
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a long day filled with lots of varying weather and hiking. We each headed out early in the morning separately in prep for rain and a long hiking day. I traveled along the ridge for several miles, over some rocky areas and along a few road beds before reaching the Peters mountain shelter for a snack. I continued down the trail in hopes of catching skeetbutter and Flo, but when I reached the valley floor I stopped at the creek for lunch and to soak my feet. Before long arrowhead showed up and we found some fishing line, hook, and corn so we tried fishing for trout. After much patience we came up short handed, and as we noticed some clouds rolling in we decided to call it quits and hike..As we climbed the mountain along an old coal mining road the rain started moving in and made the hiking less fun. We kept on trucking and stopped once for a small snack before arriving at the shelter around 7. The shelter had a cool design and covered area in front and featured a piped spring built into a rock wall next to the shelter..