morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-26
From: Firescald bypass

To: Lick Rock
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was another great night of sleep. I can not get believe how good I sleep outside. It is actually becoming harder to sleep indoors. I am too hot inside. I am still loving the mountain air. I am having no problems with my sinuses and I feel great. I took my time at camp this morning and was the last one out at 9:15am. Burrito and Cup Cake got out around 8:45am and Older Dog left right after them. Burrito and Cup Cake came up with a trail name for me. "Footlocker" due the fact that I have two pair of hiking shoes strapped to my pack, I have several extra insoles and arch supports and I also have a pair of Crocks. So it is done. I am Foot Locker. So I left camp late and had a good slow morning hike. I stopped at the first shelter and got water. Burrito, Cup Cake and Older Dog were there too. I hiked on and off with them through the morning I had lunch at the second shelter with Older Dog, Bull Horn, Michelangelo, and a few others. The afternoon hike started easy with three gental downhill miles. The afternoon featured a 1600 foot accent over three miles. Before I started my accent I crossed a brook that was flowing good and I was excited because I could take my shoes off and soak them in the cold water stream. I took my Crocks and socks off and found a spot where the water was a foot deep or so. It felt so good. As they were soaking I looked in the water and I could see a fish swimming in this small pool. I then walked in the water to try and catch it. I tried with my bare hands for five minute and I did manage to get a hand on it, but I couldn't catch it. I then went downstream a little where the water was shallow and I built a trap. I just had to corral the fish into this area and the. I had a big rock that would close the entry once I got the fish into the trap area. It took another ten minutes but I finally forced the fish into my trap and blocked the only way out with the big rock. I then easily scoped up the fish and was pumped up that I just caught a fish without using fishing line and bait. The only bummer was it was not a trout. It looked like it may have been from the Bass family. Anyways the fun was catching it and now knowing I can do it. I could have cleaned it and ate it but decided to put it back in the water and let it go. Michelangelo was there and witnessed me catching it, so that was cool too. After my little fish adventure and feet soaking I made my way up the three mile climb. It was a hot afternoon with no breeze so I worked up a good sweat as I had good energy going up. I made it up to the top around 6:30pm and found a place to camp for the night. Shortly after Michelangelo and Hopper showed up and we are all camping in this spot. It is a nice spot up over 4000 feet with good views. I am hoping to due at least fifteen miles tomorrow and around the same on Thursday. That would get me into Erwin on Thursday afternoon. I am hoping my heel is better so I can stop hiking in crocks by Friday.
Date: 2016-04-27
From: Lick Rock

To: Devils Creek Gap
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: broken clouds

Last night was not a very good night and it was the start of my worst day out here. Last night at about 1:00am thick smoke from the recent wild fires blew into our area. It made it difficult to sleep and it was very windy. It is the worst I have slept out here since early on when it was so cold. I got up around 6:00am and decided to modify one of the pairs of hiking shoes I am carrying. I have a bad bone bruise on the back side of my heel. I have been wearing crocks the last two days and I do not want to keep doing that so I thought I would cut out the heel piece of the shoe where my bruise is rubbing. I have a very small but sharp knife. The heel part of the shoe is very strong and has hard plastic in it. When I pushed the knife down to go through the heel it folded back onto my thumb slicing it pretty deep. It bled like crazy. Luckily I have a hearty first aid kit with me. I put gauze on it and held pressure but it did not want to stop bleeding. Finally I put a band aid on it so I could finish packing up. Right before I was headed out the band aid was soaked in blood so I undressed it cleaned it good with alcohol and applied some Neosporin. I then put a band aid on it and then tegaderm over that. I was not feeling that inspired on todays hike. I did go up and over big bald which had awesome views, but overall I was alone and did a lot of thinking about all kinds of things. I did manage my 3rd twenty mile day. However at about 6:00pm my not so great day got a whole lot worse. Half way up a mountain the skies opened up and a nasty thunderstorm hit. I was stuck. I stood under some rhododendrons, which really did not block that much rain. I put my back pack rain cover over my pack and then draped my raincoat over my head and pack and just stood there for about 40 minutes. It stunk, but I actually managed to keep my head, back, and feet dry by doing this and I was not getting cold. As soon as it started letting up I took off up the rest of the mountain and found a great spot where three other really nice guys were camping. I rolled in and set up my tarp. Once that was up I was relieved. I could now keep myself and my stuff dry. The rain stopped and the other guys came out of there tents. One guy had a guitar and was playing. I liked it and it picked my spirits back up. We all chatted and I made dinner and did the usual evening camp stuff and now I am all nice and warm and comfortable in my hammock. There is thunder in the area and I love listening too it. Tomorrow I will be in Erwin. I think I may spend the night in town and get caught up on some stuff.
Date: 2016-04-28
From: Devils Creek Gap

To: Erwin. Uncle Johnnys Hostel
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was a really soothing night. It rained most of the night, which was really awesome. Around 1:00am we all were awoken by the huge sound of crashing thunder. It was like we were right in the middle of the storm. It was the loudest booms I have ever heard. I got out of camp just before 9:00am. There is something about morning hiking in the sun when it rains the night before. There are a lot of people out here listening to music while they are hiking. I know I may get to that point later in the trail but for now I really love the sounds of the forest. The wind, the birds, the water running, and even the planes flying well above. There are so many sounds from different things. I just find it very peaceful and feel like I am in tune with nature and the mountains. So I hiked about ten miles into Erwin today. I am staying at the hostel. I am in a cabin with three others. Wolf Strength, Shark Nato, and Amy. We have a good group. We are all heading into town in a bit. Mexican food and a stop at Walmart. Hopefully it will not be too rowdy tonight. I hope to be out on and on the trail early tomorrow. On a real good note. No new injuries today.
Date: 2016-04-29
From: Erwin. Uncle Johnnys Hostel

To: Just bellow Little Bald Knob
Miles today: 18.9

So last night I stayed at Uncle Johnny's Hostel. There must have been over forty hikers there. I stayed in a four bunk cabin with three other hiker. Amy, WolfStrength, and Shark Nato. The hostel provided everyone a ride into town so we could get dinner and then go to Walmart. I went in a converted yellow bus. We packed 20 people in it. It was kind of crazy. I had dinner with Amy, Quebin, and Red Wing. When we got back I got my pack all ready to go so I could get an early start. I talked with Amy as she stayed in the cabin when we got back also. She does not have a trail name yet, so I was not the last one to get one. I was up and on the trail at 7:45am. It was a nice morning. I weighed my pack before I left and was discouraged to see that it weighed in at 39 lbs and 1 ounce. That is way too heavy. I am switching some gear in about a week when I get the Damascus. I am also going to have to get rid of some more stuff. I really need to get it to around 30 lbs fully loaded up. The hike today was mostly uphill. It seemed to never end. It got hot around mid day. I also must have been the first one on the trail because I cleared out a million cob webs with my face for about two hours. That was no fun. As I got higher I got some nice views and around 11:00am I ran right into some trail magic. Banana Bread, Brownies, and an Orange. I hiked until 1:00pm and ran into more trail magic at Beauty Spot Gap. There was also fantastic views from up on the hill there. I continued on and up Unaka Mountain. What was cool about this mountain was at the top all the trees were hemlocks. They were all covered in moss and it was quite the contrast to what I had been walking in all day. It was beautiful. I hiked for over ten hours today and am camping alone pretty high up a small mountain. I hiked alone all day. I did not run into very many people. I just want to say I re read some of these entries and found a bunch of typos. Ten years ago they would not have bothered me like they do now. I am doing all this on my phone while laying in my hammock and it is usually right before I go to bed and I am very tired. So I am sorry for that. I may go back and edit this whole thing once I am finished the trail.
Date: 2016-04-30
From: Just bellow Little Bald Knob

To: Over the Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today started with perfect hiking weather. It has been so hot the last few days and today was cooler and their was a nice breeze. The first ten miles of todays terrain was relatively easy and very enjoyable. I made great time. The second half of the day it became more overcast and they were predicting rain and storms. I made it to Roan Mountain and had a big afternoon uphill hike of about five miles. I reached the Roan Mountain Shelter around 3:00pm and decided to try and make the next shelter before the rain came. The hiking and trails were really nice. It was a beautiful area. I went through some more hemlock forest which I love. As I reached a large parking area the clouds were thickening. I could not get cell phone coverage so I could not check the weather which was frustrating. I had 3.7 miles to the shelter and my shin was starting to hurt. I adjusted how I was walking and still maintained a fast pace up two sets of balds. The views would have been great, but it was now very overcast with fog rolling in. I made my way to the shelter but nobody was there and it was very run down looking. It was only a little after 5:00pm so I decided to go 1.8 miles to the next shelter which was a converted barn and could hold twenty people. I made quick work of those last few miles and sure enough there were a lot of people here and I beat the rain. A fello thru hiker was here with some awesome trail magic. Hot dogs!!! They were so good. I also had a Sprite and two Brownies also. Another nice surprise was that when approaching the shelter I heard my name being called. It was Rock City. It was really good to see her. I like her and we literally started together the same day at the same place. We even got picked up at the train station together. We talked for a while and got caught up. I liked it. It made me feel good. I also met Nature, and Cup of Tea. Both very nice. There were also two fellas here, Hot Rod and Slow Poke who I met on the trail during my first week. They tried to trail name me "Nascar" back then, because I was talking about racing with them. I declined that name. The other thing I am doing tonight is staying in a shelter on a hard wood floor. It is raining out and it is suppose to storm all night. This place is huge and we are all upstairs. You can really here the wind howling outside. I met a couple of other nice people who are sleeping right next to me. Christine and Taylor from Greenville SC. They are doing some section hiking and I have been taking to them quite a bit as we got in our sleeping bags. Super nice people. So now I am going to try and sleep in barn and a hard floor. Hope I get some sleep. Oh, and by the way I hiked 23 miles today. Most I have done in one day so far, so I should sleep good
Date: 2016-05-01
From: Over the mountain shelter

To: Mountian Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: haze

Last night was pretty much a sleepless night. I stayed at shelter to avoid a rainy night. It was a cool shelter but I could not get comfortable at all. When laying on my back my lower back hurt and when I laid on my side my hips and shoulder hurt. My body was not happy at all. I am old. On a positive note I was in terrific company and all my stuff stayed dry, and so did I, and it was just one night. I am not sure how I will handle heavy rains and storms going forward. I was up and on the trail around 8:30am. It was raining when I left and I had all my rain gear on. It did not rain very long, but the forecast was for rain on and off for the whole day so I just left my rain gear on. It was only nine miles to the hostel where I was staying. I hiked alone the first four miles or so then I hiked the rest of the way with Rock City. It ended up being a pretty cool hike highlighted by several big balds with crazy views. To the east it was clear and the sun was shining illuminating all the mountains as far as you could see. Then to the west it was dark and overcast with patches of low fog and clouds. It was really beautiful. We then scrambled through a rocky rooty section before the terrain eased up for the last few miles. Rock City and I stopped as we exited NC for the last time. Ever since we entered the Smokies we have been going back and forth between NC and TN. We took some pictures and headed off down the trail. I really enjoyed her company today. I am sure soon enough we will both hike our own separate ways and hopefully will continue to run into each other as we head north. We checked into the Mountain Harbor Hostel around noon. Hot Shot, Slow Poke, Poppie, Little Jane, Nature, Cup of Tea, and Echo were all staying here tonight too. I did not do much in the afternoon. Got some laundry done. Stuck my lower legs in the brook, and talked to my brother on the phone for a while. I bought dinner here as this place in also a B&B. It was the best meal I have had in quite a while. It was awesome. I will have their breakfast in the morning before heading out. Rain is in the forecast all week. I guess it is time for another Appalachian Trail test.
Date: 2016-05-03
From: Big Bear Resort and Hostel

To: Spring at mile 434 side of trail
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was pretty cool. I had the whole bunk room to myself which included a big dining room type table, a couch, and a TV. It rained pretty much all night so I am glad I did a big push to get to the Black Bear Resort And Hostel. The people were awesome there. I lingered a bit in the morning because it was so murky looking outside. I finally left at 9:30am. I walked the half mile back to the trail, which I thought would stink, but I rather enjoyed it. It was a back road with a good small swollen river raging. There were fields with all kinds of birds out singing. It was just really relaxing. At 9:45am I was back on the trail. The morning hike featured another river which was swollen due to the recent rain. Within the first few miles I came upon a raging waterfall that was pretty high and the water was thundering over. I really liked the smell of the water in the air. The trail followed the river for quite a while before an almost 2000 foot accent over the next two in a half miles. I reached the top around 12:30pm. It was a very overcast day with not the greatest visibility, but it did not rain with the exception of a ten minute shower. I got down to the bottom of the mountain by 2:00pm and went into town to get my mail. I did not have much of a problem hitch hiking. I got my package and thought about staying at the hostel there in town, but the weather was suppose to be better tonight with only a fifteen percent chance of rain, plus I miss sleeping in my hammock. Three night in a row without it. The hammock is so much more comfortable to sleep in then anything else. So I was back on the trail a little after 3:00pm. I was hiking in an area where all the campsites and shelters are closed due to heavy bear activity. The other thing I have run across yesterday and today is the aftermath of wild fires along the trail. Yesterday I walked for miles through the destruction and today there was another smaller area. It smelled and looked awful. I hiked until about 6:30pm when I found a nice spot to camp off to the side of the trail. I am on top of a knoll with a big lake below. I hiked over fifteen miles of the trail today and probably another two sideways miles. I'm hoping to be in Damascus by Thursday. I guess it might snow with the cold front coming in. Weather has been a really big motivating factor to move my butt, so I am thinking I will make it. Virginia here I come.
Date: 2016-05-04
From: Spring at mile 434 side of trail

To: 2 miles past Abingdon shelter mile 460.7
Miles today: 26.7

Today was a different kind of day. It was much cooler then it has been and I hiked in a long sleeve shirt for the first time in a long time. I got up and out on the trail at 7:40am. That is good for me. It was a cloudy morning and I was already up on the ridge from my hike yesterday. Todays terrain was pretty forgiving. Mostly smaller more gradual ups and downs. The sun started to peak in and out around noon and I hiked through some long farming areas with big wide fields with open views. I even had to hike through a heard of Cows and Bulls, big ones at that. I finally broke down today and put my earphones in and listened to some podcast during the afternoon. It became cloudy again towards late afternoon. I hiked alone today and ran into a whole new group of people. All of whom seemed nice enough. I walked at consistent pace today and because it was cooler and the terrain was moderate I did not need as much water. I reached the Abingdon Shelter around 6:00pm after hiking 24.6 miles. I went down a steep long hill to get water and then decided to keep hiking so I could do my first hikers marathon. I reached a nice camp area about a mile in a half down the trail, but I was still two tenths of a mile short of the marathon. I kept going another half mile or so until I found I place to set up camp. 26.7 miles today. I really do not feel that bad either. I guess 30 miles will be my next goal. When I finally stopped and began to set up camp I discovered I had really messed up. I some how forgot the cord that attaches my tarp to the trees. I am so bad at camping and I really do not even like it. My favorite part of camping is when I can finally just get in my hammock nest so I can be nice and comfortable. All the rest of it is just work. So I had to improvise for my tarp cord. I cut a piece of my bear bag cord and took another piece of cord off the actual tarp. I will replace it tomorrow when I am in Damascus. I have about eight miles to Damascus in the morning. I am taking a zero day on Friday so I will be there two nights. I have not taken a day off since Fontana, which was just before the Smokies. My body, mostly my feet, need a day off and the weather is suppose to be cold and rainy. It is pretty cool tonight, but I still have my cold weather gear. Most people have switched over the lighter warm weather gear. I am making the switch in Damascus. It is suppose to warm back up in a few day so I should be ok. I really need to do it because my pack is too heavy and my feet need the lighter weight. I am really comfortable now. It is raining lightly on my tarp and it is kind of soothing. I am glad I am warm and dry and the rain started after I got in my hammock for the night. All the glory to God. He is so good.
Date: 2016-05-05
From: 2 miles past Abingdon shelter mile 460.7

To: Damascus VA
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: light rain

When I signed off on this journal last night it was lightly raining and all was calm. A few hours later things changed quite a bit. First, it got pretty cold, second the wind really picked up, and third the light rain turned to a hard driving rain. My tarp was blowing violently and I was feeling very vulnerable and uneasy. I was afraid the wind would uproot my stakes therefore exposing me and all my down quilts to the pouring rain, which would have been a really bad situation. I only slept a few hours and fortunately my stakes held up and I stayed dry. It was cold and wet when I got up around 7:00am. I struggled to pack up my camp as my fingers were froze. Having to untie a bunch of knots in that weather was frustrating. It took a lot more time then normal but I finally got everything packed up and had a little breakfast. I was cold and happy to finally be walking. I had an easy eight or so miles to Damascus and five to the Virginia state line. I hiked a moderate to slow pace all the way to town. I stopped at the state line for a picture. I am in Virginia now. Virginia takes up about a quarter of the whole trail and has the more miles in it then any other state, so I will be here for a while. I got into town at noon. The trail runs right through the town. I decided it was time for me to have a break and I checked into a bed and breakfast in town. I will be here tonight and tomorrow night. After I checked in I took a shower and then went and got some lunch at Mojo's Coffeehouse. I ordered a chicken chipotle wrap and it was awesome! After lunch I got my mail package that Greg sent me and then checked out some of the outfitters in town. I think I am going to switch to a tent and sleeping pad and send my hammock home. I willl not sleep as good, but I will feel safer and I will have my own shelter when it rains. I should be able to keep my stuff dryer too. I can always go back to the hammock if it does not work out. I will also be able to set up and break down my camp much more efficiently, which will make me happy. It rained most of the afternoon here and it is still raining. It is suppose to get near freezing in the mountains tonight and tomorrow night so I am really glad I am in town for these two nights. It worked out perfect. I did some prep work and packed up some stuff I am sending home during the afternoon before heading back out into the rain to get some dinner at Bo Bo's. I got Chicken Parm and it was really good. Now I am getting ready for bed. I should sleep good. I can not wait for breakfast here in the morning.