morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-29
From: Gravel Springs Shelter

To: Jim and Molly Denton Shelter
Miles today: 18.6

Very Blah Day with no views to speak of given the cloudy/misty conditions. The only interesting points was a deer that wandered across the trail only 10 yards away and didn't seem to be bothered by my presence in the least bit. It was also interesting to see that it had an ear tag in each ear with a number. Boy they sure want to keep track of their animals. There was also a former wild/exotic animal farm enclosure that had been run by the goverment a number of years ago. It hasn't been in use for a while as you could see where the fence had been breech by falling limbs and trees. I am glad to be out of the Shenendoah National Park as it was very boring when it came to views and sites. It seemed like the AT was a step child to the Sky Line Drive and didn't share many overlooks with it. The Wayside Restaurants were nice, but if I hadn't been trying to keep my pack weight down and eating there I probably would have only eaten at one of them which was only .1 miles of the trail. The last few days have been quite soggy and not much fun. The last few mountains have taken a toll on my wet feet causing blisters across the top of my toes. Hopefully my shoes will dry out soon so I can switch socks more often. I also think that when my shoes are as wet as they have been they are less protective against the rocks, the likes of which were terrible today. Despite the rain, wet feet and poor terrain I made real good time covering 18.6 miles in just over 8 hours or 2.25 miles per hour! I got to the shelter where a Southbound Hiker and his dog were waiting out the rain. and a northbound hiker was taking a nap before heading on. another NOBO Section hiker came in and is waiting for a friend before deciding whether or not to move on. I reviewed the log to see who had passed through and for any comments about the shelter. I see that there are a lot of people ahead that I know and a lot of names I don't. I don't know if they caught and passed me or I'm catching up with them. All I know is 16 - 18 miles a day is a good number for me and I hope to keep it around that. I talked to Leo who is joining me for a week of hiking starting 6/7. I'm looking forward to sharing some of the trail with him. Tomorrow is an 18.4 day, then its on to Harper's Ferry!
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: David Lesser Shelter
Miles today: 21.1

I want to get as close to Harper's Ferry as possible so I can make the most of my day there. Initially I was going to Blackburn AT Center mm 1007.1 but now I am going to go to shoot for the David Lesser Shelter at mm 1010.3, putting me 9.6 miles from the ATC in Harper's Ferry. If I leave at 5 am I would get into Harpers Ferry by 10 am. Today I tackle the "Roller Coaster" a series of about 12 closely placed climbs between 400 - 800 feet of straight up and downs al in about 13.5 miles. This doesn't sound like much but given how close they are and the presence of rocks, rocks and more rocks it makes for a challenging day. The up part of the day was my going over the 1000 mile mark which is a big accomplishment. It's hard to wrap around my mind the fact that it really doesn't seem like I've covered all of that. The second big thing of the day is that I wold be leaving Virginia and going into W. Virginia. That makes 4 states down and 10 to go. Virginia overall has been a real great experience too numerous to mention. However, the Shenedoah National Park was a great disappointment and overrated as far as I'm concerned. As I said before, the bears, Waysides and views we did have were nice but nothing to compare to what the rest of the state had. I did have a nice view from raven Rock mm 1002.4 where I met a nice couple from D.C. He was a Dentist and her a Nurse and their 3 boys were in scouts. They also had their dog Sandy with them. They shared their trail mix with me and insisted on me taking the rest with me when they left. I shared a couple of pieces of jerky with the dog who chased away a big 5 foot black snake that was on the rocks near where we were sitting. I also got more trail magic in the form of water and peanut butter cookies that were left on the trail. The Shelter was a really cool one with a great big deck to sit out on. Since it wasn't going to rain I put my sleeping pad and bag out there to sleep under the stars. I had dinner with Viking and Lumberjack who were from PA. We shared stories of our experiences and they were a couple of nice guys to talk with. Gray Ghost texted me today saying he had taken a bad fall (50 ft.) over an embankment requiring him to go to the clinic for medical attention and he would not be hiking today. He will do 2 short days and then meet up with his family. Like me he feels tired and I hope his time with his family, rest and good food help him. It was a really long day and my feet are still humming after 2 hours of stopping hiking. My ankle is feeling much better and I only took 600 mg of Ibuprofen today. The neoprene wrap seems to also be helping and the blisters on the toes are dry out as well as my shoes. Today was sunny in the low 70's so that helped a lot. I'm so looking forward to Harper's Ferry and moving on into Maryland.
Date: 2014-06-01
From: David Lesser Shelter

To: Harper's Ferry Hikers Hostel
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Today is the big day and I was up at 5. It was a little cool sleeping last night in my new "travel sack", but I put on my fleece jacket and that held me over ok. Lumber Jack didn't snore that loud and there was a nice breeze on the deck where I slept. I had everything pre packed so it didn't take long to get on the trail with 8.9 miles to cover and boy did I ever cover them fast! Despite rocky areas in several places, I averaged 3 mph and passed a number of people who were still in their tents sleeping as well as caught up with 2 guys who had hiked further on the night before. I also had the pleasure of seeing 2 deer on the way in and got some nice video and pics going into Harper's Ferry. It is a neat historical town involving John Brown, the second meeting place of the NAACP and a coed integrated college and much more. I got my picture taken at the ATC Headquarters and was number 338 (down from 421 when I left Amicola Falls State Park in Georgia). I ran into Cromwell and Cowboy who were planning to do the 4 state challenge where you cover 4 states, VA, W. VA, Maryland and get into PA all in 24 hours!) I also saw J. Hawk who I hadn't seen in a while. Gray Ghost texted me and said he was going to have a really slow day given the tough fall from the day before. I'm glad his family is coming to see him on Monday as he needs the time to rest and recuperate. Harper's Ferry is really crazy today given it is Sunday and a nice day weather wise. The people/tourists are everywhere clogging the narrow streets, walks and shops. Don't they know I'm hiking and they should be getting out of my way! Just kidding. I did talk to a family at Swiss Miss Ice Cream shop regarding questions about hiking the AT. They had a cute little 3 year old girl with them and it made me think of Elliott. I took a picture with a Grandmother visiting from Romania and who didn't speak any English. She probably thinks I must be a real crazy American. One of the cool places I did get to see today was the original site of St. John's Episcopal Church which had been built in 1852 and even better was my being able to go to church at St. James. I felt so good afterwards and it gave me some peace of mind on some things that I have been thinking about. I took the C&O Pathway and then scooted up a side trail to get to the road that led to the hostel. While not the "official way", it saved me about 2 to 3 miles of unecessary road walking. Now all I would have is a 1/4 to 1/2 mile walk downhill in the morning to get back on the trail. I am chilling on the back porch at the hostel right now doing my journal and then I have some postcards to do. I talked to Tetriana and her brother Will and Gargamel who is also here. He gave me some duct tape so I could cover up my blisters and protect them from getting any worse. Gargamel is going into D.C. tomorrow to do some sight seeing and is also talking about doing the 4 state challenge. More power to these kids, but I still don't feel comfortable in night hiking.
Date: 2014-06-04
From: Deer Licks Shelter

To: Quarry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.8

It was a real short day mileage wise, but a great hike because I got to stop at a restaurant for an antipasta salad, french fries and mozzerella sticks and 2 sodas. Its nice to continue to be able to put on the calories and I can tell its helping by having more energy in hiking and I was losing weight according to my belt. With this the second day of big meals and tomorrow possibly another I will be able to keep the wolves away from the door! Frangrances continue to astonish me as today there were so many, some citrus, some fruity, some musk or sweet. It was also neat to note that I must be getting closer to home as I came across the "Chickadee Snowmobile Trail". I met an Outward Bound group of boys and girls ages 10 -14 from Baltimore. They seem like they were having a great time and it was great to see the diversity in the group something the AT lacks. Haven't seen that many millepeds but I am starting to see some tent catapillars. Not much for views as the trail ran below the ridge line for most of the day. The trail location as it relates to towns and roads is changing dramatically. Where before you hardly came into contact with population areas let alone a road, we are now passing thru residential areas and frequently across both gravel and paved roads. You can also tell the weekend has passed as there are fewer day hikers and section hikers out. Today there were only a handful with only 2 thru hikers Spider Man and Flying Panther and I have the shelters to myself for now and 4 day hikers who were doing a loop. XC has shown up and is staying the night and 2 section hikers showed up after him. One of them is going to stay in one shelter with XC and the other who has informed me he snores and offerred me ear plugs is bunking with me. I tried to sleep but this guy can snore so I moved out on to the eating deck which is covered. Oh well its all a part of sharing a shelter and its pretty nice out here in the breeze anyways.
Date: 2014-06-09
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rauschs Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

Morning light brought a foggy, damp and dreary day. It had rained hard last night but had let up for now. Its the kind of dampness that seeps into even the deepest recesses of your pack, clothes and sleeping bag and there's no getting away from the soggy feeling. Today there was no views of course and we just continually pushed through. Leo is setting the pace and despite his being sore from the last 2 days we are doing at least 2 mph. There has been no one else on the trail for most of the day and it feels so empty. However, you never know who or how many are as someone who hikes about the same pace as you could just be a few hundred yards behind or ahead and you wouldn't know it. This quickly changed when we stopped at Rattling Run for water and sure enough, Tetriana and Lion showed up and they were quickly followed by two other North bound guys we didn't know who were also stopping for water. We had a big long push out of Clark's Creek and I don't know how Leo does it as he keeps moving along at a steady pace. We passed thru an old mining community with old foundations everywhere and wonder how a place like this comes together and then slowly dissolves to its current state. Then we passed the trail to the "General" which is actually an old steam shovel that was just left there after its use was no longer needed. We had walked far enough so far today and I wasn't going to ask Leo to cover even more trail today so we moved on and started to count down the miles to the shelter. Leo is really feeling it today after a very long day so we have decided to use the shelter instead of tenting as most people are doing in the area. Its late and we do a quick dinner and are in bed in no time. Around 3 we are awaken but what sounds like a fire hose dumping itself on the tin roof but the skies have actually opened up and its like a water falls everywhere and sounds like Hoover Dam. This continued for at least a half an hour and all I could think about were those people tenting. I'm glad we made the decision to go into the shelter.
Date: 2014-06-09
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rauschs Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.0

Morning light brought a foggy, damp and dreary day. It had rained hard last night but had let up for now. Its the kind of dampness that seeps into even the deepest recesses of your pack, clothes and sleeping bag and there's no getting away from the soggy feeling. Today there was no views of course and we just continually pushed through. Leo is setting the pace and despite his being sore from the last 2 days we are doing at least 2 mph. There has been no one else on the trail for most of the day and it feels so empty. However, you never know who or how many are as someone who hikes about the same pace as you could just be a few hundred yards behind or ahead and you wouldn't know it. This quickly changed when we stopped at Rattling Run for water and sure enough, Tetriana and Lion showed up and they were quickly followed by two other North bound guys we didn't know who were also stopping for water. We had a big long push out of Clark's Creek and I don't know how Leo does it as he keeps moving along at a steady pace. We passed thru an old mining community with old foundations everywhere and wonder how a place like this comes together and then slowly dissolves to its current state. Then we passed the trail to the "General" which is actually an old steam shovel that was just left there after its use was no longer needed. We had walked far enough so far today and I wasn't going to ask Leo to cover even more trail today so we moved on and started to count down the miles to the shelter. Leo is really feeling it today after a very long day so we have decided to use the shelter instead of tenting as most people are doing in the area. Its late and we do a quick dinner and are in bed in no time. Around 3 we are awaken but what sounds like a fire hose dumping itself on the tin roof but the skies have actually opened up and its like a water falls everywhere and sounds like Hoover Dam. This continued for at least a half an hour and all I could think about were those people tenting. I'm glad we made the decision to go into the shelter.
Date: 2014-06-13
From: Port Clinton

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Well despite it being Friday the 13th and there is going to be a full moon tonight I am feeling so much better after a nice night in a bed and putting on dry clothes after a nice warm shower. Sometimes while we are out on the trail we find it difficult to make the decision to interrupt our quest and take care of ourselves by taking a time out without realizing that these little breaks, because over the course of 4 to 5 months that's just what they are, little, are so important to keeping us healthy both physically and emotionally. The day was spent trying to eat and drink as much as possible despite my continued relationship with the bathroom. My appetite is ok, but dehydration is still knocking at the door. Had to do some shopping for clothes as I have lost 35 pounds since I started and weigh in at 151 as of this morning and know nothing at home is going to fit. After a quick trip into town it was back home to clean up my gear, do some laundry and catch up on my journaling. The next few entries will be brief as I will be spending the week home for Father's Day and to take care of some family matters. I often think about some key people I have walked with, Wet Dog, RW and especially Gray Ghost and hope you are all well and still moving forward. Take care and see you on the trail.
Date: 2014-06-14
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Got home late last night and up at 530 this morning. Some things never change. Really emotional day for me as I got to see my son Joel, my daughter in law Leslie and most important my two grandsons Gavin and Elliot. Even now while I type this I feel that knot in my throat knowing how much I will miss them when I head back. After a great hug from Gavin and some playing shy with Elliot all was good. Its a busy day with traveling to a birthday party for 2 nieces. Long day but feeling my battery getting recharged already. Everyone has questions and I enjoy answering as many as I can. Still having problems with my digestive system and concerned I may have to go to a clinic or doctor's to get it addressed. Right now I follow my house doctor's advice (my wife Laura) and despite the hard time I give her will follow her instructions.
Date: 2014-06-15
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Happy Father's Day to all you dads at home and on the trail. Got to see my Mother and Father for the first time in over 3 months and it was so good to visit with them. I can truly say that they have given me what it takes to do this hike and I will never be able to thank them enough. Had a great Father's Day dinner with my family and was especially happy to have my son Kris who lives out of the area with us. I am so proud of him as he has really developed into a fine young man and after some trying times has persevered and things are going his way. I want to give him a special congratulations on getting his first teaching job which he will start in September in Great Britain. Talk about being out of the area! My wife is already making plans about when we can go across the pond to visit him. Digestive issue is getting somewhat better but still thinking I may have to go to the doctor's. We'll decide in the morning as I plan on getting back on the trail on Friday.
Date: 2014-06-16
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Feeling much better this morning as I have both my old appetite and energy level back and have not had an issue with my digestive system in over 24 hours. I will hold off on going to the doctor's for now. It's a great day as my wife and I will be taking care of my 10 month old grandson Elliott today and tomorrow! I'm so glad we will have this time to renew our bond. Babies are such a great time and they rekindle the soul. While he's napping or Grammy is watching him I get a few things done around the house that Laura needs help with. She's done a great job in maintaining the house which can be overwhelming at times and I can't thank her enough for all that she has done to make this trip possible. The day is wrapped up with our traditional Monday night dinner with the kids and some organizing of gear. The days are rushing by and while a week seems like a long time I know its only a matter of time and I will be heading back.
Date: 2014-06-17
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Spent another wonderful day playing with Elliott and getting some more things done around the house. Took Elliott over for a visit with my mother and had a nice time. Was able to go watch my nephew David's ball game and visit with my brother David and Sister in law Jamie . Little David really has gotten good and had a great game in the field. Also got to play with my twin niece and nephew Reagan and William. They are both growing like a weeds. Trying to get to see as many family members as possible as I know it will be a while before I get such an opportunity again. Still feeling better and have even put a couple of pounds back on. The days continue to fly by and the pull to get back on the trail gets stronger and stronger.
Date: 2014-06-18
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

My father has been dealing with some health issues and I was fortunate to be here to bring him home from the hospital today. He's a very interesting person and the older I get the more I see of him in myself as well as my brothers and sisters which is also interesting in itself. As they say hindsight is 20/20 and as I look back on some of the things that happened while I grew up have a greater understanding and even more important an appreciation for what occurred. As our parents grow older its important for us to be there for them just as they were there for us while growing up and in some circumstances are still there for us now. So this is a special thank you my Dad who has really given his all and along with my Mom have raised a great family of sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters. Got some more gear sorted out and started to put things back and looked at what I need for resupply. Still going to try and manage 3 to 4 day resupplies to keep the load light. Looking at the guide book it looks like final decisions will have to be made on the fly like most of the time.
Date: 2014-06-19
From: Home

To: Home/Leo & Annette's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Getting gear all back together in pack. Hope I don't forget anything. Into see Mom & Dad. Never seems like there is enough time to do everything you want. Picked up strawberries to bring to Leo's. Headed to Utica to shop for clothes that will fit for weddings in august. Onto Leo's for nice visit with him and Annette and dinner. Off to bed as big day tomorrow. Anxious about getting back on trail wondering if I'm ready to tackle it or will will it be like riding a bike and just have to get back on. I'm also torn about leaving my wife and the rest of the family as I will surely miss them. I will leave it in God's hands and go where he guides me.
Date: 2014-06-20
From: Home/Leo & Annette's

To: Windsor Furnace Shelter
Miles today: 5.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 5 and even more anxious than day before. Had breakfast and saw Laura off. I didn't want to let here go when I hugged her goodbye. After taking kids to . school we made a pit stop at wally world for a few resupply items. Then it was off to Port Clinton and the trail. Had lunch at Port Clinton Hotel and saved half.of fries and sub for later. Leo helped me repack backpack and saw me off. Even now when I write this I get a lump in my throat and mist in my eyes. I'll never he able to thank him enough for all he's done and my mixed emotions about leaving my family back home has me questioning what I'm doing and even more so after my visit home. I just have to believe this is what I'm supposed to be doing. 500 foot climb out of town tough and I take it slow. I don't know if it is the pack weight of 4 days food, being out of shape after a week of being off the trail, the steepness of the climb or all 3! But after putting one foot in front of the other I got it done and boy did it feel good. A train is rolling thru the valley with its soothing whistle calling out welcoming me back and saying all will be ok. I did get to see Cabelos off in the distance and hope to come back some time and do shopping there. Springs are running pretty good with all the rain there has bee and even though the guide book says they are unreliable or frequently dry. I made good time for my first day back. Left hip is a little sore and will see how it is later and if I need any ibuprofen. Thought about going further but despite number of stealth camps I've seen I'm not sure what's up ahead. I also want to start out slowly and not cause any unnecessary injuries. The shelter is an old one and is dirty. Ripped out some burdock leaves and used them as a broom. Looked thru registration book and hardly know any names. Gray Ghost 4 to 5 days ahead and RW about 2 to 3 behind. I wonder where Wet Dog is? Could be anyone's guess. Only person here so far but it's early. Got gear laid out and reviewed guide for tomorrow. It's 630 and Late Start has shown up. He's a young guy who usually hammocks but says he will shelter tonite. We pass the time talking about the bugs, people on the trail, how things have been, getting off and back on the trail and wheres is the bubble we've been hearing about. We decide to get a fire started to keep bugs at bay. Young Gargoyle, his sister Slam and his girlfriend have shown up and will join us in the shelter. Good group of kids and we talk about a variety of things and then hit the sack.