morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-03
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Uncle Jonny's Hostel
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 33, miles 362-341. Slackin SoBo again! We got the 7am shuttle from Uncle Johnny's to Iron Mountain gap, 30 minute ride and all day to walk back. I listened to Under the Dome as I hiked up Unaka Mountain, 1200' incline. At the top was lots of snow and a dense flat spruce forest. I immediately began running in a straight line through the forest, ducking in between tight trees like when snowboarding. It was fun. Fresh Ground was setup around mile 11! He had an amazing table of good stuff as always, soup, hotdogs, all kinds of snacks, coffee and hot chocolate. It was amazing. Fire Hands and Cat were already there heading NoBo. Slapp, Lep, Fly and Moxie eventually showed. Tracker and Vangogo also showed later. I was there for almost 2 hours, enjoying everyone and the day. Fresh Ground is the man. I left first and pushed on. Approaching Erwin, I had to turn my book off. The trail became beautiful and I stopped many times for pictures. It was flat but paralleled a large stream. The trail also crossed over several seading streams, smaller but with footbridges. It was beautiful and peaceful, not a soul around. Not too long later, I finished up first with Lep right behind me. Beers, milkshakes and pizza to follow, it was a great day.
Date: 2013-04-04
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 34. Miles 362-368. Got dropped off again by the Uncle Johnny's shuttle but headed North today. Rain in the forecast but nothing yet. We started walking and the rain starts. Fuck! It was a silent miserable walk to the shelter today. No music or book, just 2.5 hours of hiking in the rain. Legs hurt, feet really hurt, and I can't stop thinking about my girlfriend Mary and my family. With Demascus so close and knowing that's my goal, I'm getting very anxious for the end and beginning to look forward to it. I'm also losing appreciation of being out here but it is a shit day, what can you say. Got to the shelter by 11, got setup and took a nap. Tracker, Yay-blaze Cricket and Roscoe showed up, finally Rocky and Slow. It rained, it was icy, it turned to snow and we slept.
Date: 2013-04-05
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 35, miles 368.2-382.9. Clyde Smith Shelter to Overmountain Shelter. Woke up cold and meh. Slept so much but still tired! Cooked breakfast at a relaxed pace with everyone and left, right away put on Under the Dome, don't want a repeat of yesterday but it's looking like it so far, miserable and rainy and foggy. I passed Slow on the first uphill and got some signal, Woot! Pushed on arc began making my way up the 2000 foot climb to Roan Mtn, 6212'. The top was foggy but I was able to drop off my trash at least. Parking lot and bathrooms too but thankfully the road to the top wasn't open yet. Pushed on and really enjoyed the next few views, hit two more balds around 5900', down and up a few hundred feet each. At Jane's Bald, you could finally see for miles and miles as the fog and clouds cleared up very fast. Sun came out and I even shut my eyes for a bit. The rest of the hike was icy and muddy, very fucking muddy. Soaked. Got to Overmountain Shelter, a barn that was converted into a shelter, it's pretty nice! lots of trash though. I got the fire ripping as folks tricked in. Dried off the boots, socks, and pants before cooking dinner. We enjoyed the beautiful view from the open field in front of us to the valley ahead, lots of mountains. Really nice place! The 1st floor doesn't have much, maybe summer platforms to sleep on but they were all wet. Upstairs is a huge 4 walled eating area. Lots of room to spread out and make camp, I took full advantage of it! It's chilly but should be a good day tomorrow and the next one the forecast said! Kiakora Hostel on Sunday night and Demascus on Thursday? We'll see!
Date: 2013-04-06
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 36, miles 382.9-400.9. Woke up this morning at Overmountain Shelter, AKA, the big ass barn. It was pretty dark with thin slits of sunlight coming in through the shoddy walls, also pretty cold. Definitely got below freezing last night but the barn may have held in a bit of heat. Regardless: COLD. I packed up quick as everyone shivered in their bags waiting for breakfast to cook. Eff that! Went downstairs and outside, Courdaroy was already there. Amazing sunrise over the mountain valley. And the sun felt so warm! Cricket came out with Roscoe and walked him, I ate my breakfast and watched the dog shit in the meadow in front of me. Glorious. Got started today with the mud frozen but not for long. Made it up to Little Hump, back down a few hundred feet, then back up to Hump Mountain. Awesome hill-topped meadow over 5500' with 360 views. I put on some Zelda music this morning, shit was epic as I climbed to the top. Not a cloud in the sky, I continued. Met an older lady, Trail Snail, who might have been homeless but was nice. Roscoe came out of nowhere but I saw Cricket and Trish about a mile away so that was alright. He took off back to them, Rocks, mud, rocks, mud, FUCK. That was how I spent the next 10 miles. I did cross Goat who gave me some chocolate, score. Then met up with Slapp who introduced me to Rock'n'Roll, who is also NoBo. Slapp and I stuck together for a bit without podcasts or audio books or anything. Gotta be a bit honest, might miss the guy in a week. We went off trail to Jones Falls and met some weekenders, including a young couple who hooked us up with some cookies and pretzels. Trail Magic or Yogiing, not sure. The waterfall was awesome, not as large as Amicalola but still worth going off trail. Got some great pictures using my sunglasses as a lens filter. We pushed on, eventually went back to headphones and Under The Dome. We passed some nice streams, a large creek, some awesome campsite for a beautiful warm day like this, but kept going. Finally passed Mountaineer Falls and at the top, Mountaineer Shelter. This place is sweet! 3 floors, built in 2006, great firepit with rocks and logs around, tons of firewood. Great night! We met The Goat, a doctor from VA who is doing the AT, one weekend and sometimes, a full week vacation, at a time. What a good way to do it for a working professional. We also met Lauren, no trail name yet, but just got started at Erwin and is heading to NY. Later, Leprechaun, Cricket, Trish, Fly, Rocky, Courdaroy and Moxie came. Good night, warm fire, mild evening, delicious dinner of half a Mountainside Beef Stew cut with a mound of rice. No complaints other than it figures the weather, and upcoming forecast, are finally great and I'm getting off the trail. Oh well. Tomorrow going to be at Kiakora and Monday, might be swimming and drinking beers at a lakeside shelter....we'll see!!
Date: 2013-04-07
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Kinkora Hostel
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 37, miles 400.9-416.5. Mountaineer Shelter to Dennis Cove Rd., Kinkora Hostel. Woke up very early, before 7am. Still dark outside but Slapp is already out of bed and sitting by the cold fire ring. Cortaroy got sick and pitched his tent, REALLY getting close to sick folks now, hope it passes me over. Hiked alone? Mostly downhill, super fast. Rocky outcropping, ran downhill. Finally got to Dennis Cove Rd. Goat and a friend of his met us there and got some trail magic, sodas, McD's, TrailMix Bars. Mmm. I followed Slapp and we got checked into Kinkora and met Bob Peoples. The Hostel has 3 parts, the main bunk house, the West Wing (shed with 4 twins in a row touching) and the treehouse, a private little room with one double bed up the hill. Very nice but not suitable for us. We took the WW, Moxie, Trixie, Cricket took the rest, Fly and Lep took the treehouse where they were probably K-I-S-S-I-N-G. We got a ride into town, hoping to find a restaurant and have a beer but the town of Hampton, TN is pretty sketchy, and there is literally nothing. We actually sat down at one place, the Ice House....turns out they don't do food! Don't think that will cut it. I ran back to the grocery store before Bob left, bought a few Djorno's and we went back. Once back at the Hostel, we cooked the pizzas, ate well, relaxed with Twix, Daddy Long Legs, Paraguay, and Flounder. Finally called it a night late, prepped coffee for the morning and hit the sack!
Date: 2013-04-08
From: Kinkora Hostel

To: Watauga Lakeside Campsite
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 38: Mon Apr 8Miles 416.5-426Woke up almost 6am. Needed the headlamp this morning leaving the West Wing! Kitchen is already buzzing, Twix, Paraguay, DLL and Flounder are having their cereal and coffee. I got started on the ham, eggs, and pancakes. Everyone else slowly woke up and joined. Hot Breakfast hit the spot! After leaving the hostel, went back to the AT, less than a half mile down the road, and began walking with Fly this morning. We followed the water and the trail for a bit. This stream or creek next to us, the rocky walls, it was pretty cool. We passed Laurel Falls, awesome sight. What I thought to be turning out to be an easy day ended up being terrible. I spent the next 4 hours climbing up and over Pond Flats. There was no vista, no point, just a giant incline. Sweat poured and I ran out of water before reaching the top. There was a beautiful small stream at the top with some of the best tasting water I've ever had, must have consumed at least 2 liters on the spot. The way down was shorter but still brutal. Finally at the bottom, crossed US321 and onto the Watauga Lake Rec Area. Met up with Slapp and also saw AJ/ICED Pee, and Saber. We finished up less than a mile later, clockwise around the lake. Found an AWESOME lake campsite complete with firering, seating and loads of pre-chopped wood.As Slapp and I set up camp, Fly and Leprechaun showed up. Water is a quarter mile away but it was an easy hike. Almost considering going back and hitching for some beer but we ignored the urge, though difficult! Moxie, Cricket, Trisha showed up later. Eventually we also were greeted by not only Cat and Firehands, but their new dog?? She's a sweetheart and her name is Lucy. They found her, or rather, she found them the story goes. Followed them for 18 miles, from the top of Hump Mtn. She's definitely not a stray with the collar but she's been lost for some time with the rubs sticking out.With plenty of firewood, we were entertained as the sun set and the stars came out. Beautiful clear night, listening to the insects and frogs next to the lake. With the cold, we never had bugs before, so it's bittersweet to have them around again. We ate well, passed around a 'sandwich' and a few bags of cookies I bought. Always night being extra supplied from town, lots of sweets and good food but you don't want to carry it for more than a day out here.
Date: 2013-04-09
From: Watauga Lakeside Campsite

To: Footbridge/Stream?
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: clear sky

Day 39: Tues Apr 9Miles 426-444.6Woke up to the sunrise over Lake Watauga. Beautiful cool morning. Cooked, cleaned and GTFO!I left close to last today, Moxie was up and out almost earlier than Slapp. Continued around the lake, across Watauga Dam (small compared to Fontana) and up the ridges. Increased over 2000 feet today but it wasn't all at once, lots of ups and downs so probably did more like 3 or 4k'. Legs were killing me for some reason, probably the junk food.Up on the ridge, there was a pretty keen view of the mountains and lake. When I reached Vandeventer Shelter, Slapp was already there and I stopped for a few. Quick lunch while enjoying the view was pretty nice, I wished I'd been there for the sunrise. It might be one of the most scenic shelters with a vista right behind it, shame the shelter faces west though. Also, covered in Bob People graffiti. -"Bob Peoples sleeps with a pillow under his gun." -"Bob Peoples gives his boots blisters." -"Jesus Christ asks Bob Peoples for forgiveness." -"Bob Peoples gives me pudding panties"-"WWBPD?"I left first this time and walked hard. Water was almost out and today is the first day that I'm pouring sweat. I knew I didn't have much water left but instead of walking off the AT for .3 or whatever it was, I figured I'd be fine. Then my water bladder dried up with at least 2 miles before the next stream, right around Turkeypen Gap. Joy. I wasn't dying of thirst but I could have used some more, definitely got dehydrated before reaching the stream. The stream where I finally met Baker ('s Dozen). He was hanging out in the shade by the steam, afraid to drink from it and without a purification method since his drops exploded in his bag. No good.I filled up my bladder, shared my MSR Sweetwater drops and we drank. Slapp showed up and got his filter out so we used that too. Hung out and drank for almost an hour...it was fucking hot. We walked a bit to the next shelter, Iron Mountain. It wasn't far and we stayed here for a bit too. Definitely not making it to the next shelter, we decided to push on a few more miles to the next stream and just make an unofficial campsite, 4 more miles.Never saw the Nick Grindstaff Monument but eventually got to "footbridge, stream". Water is good and camping spots are plenty. Not too make thorns but definitely beat. I setup camp and almost everyone from the day before and today showed up. No fire tonight, way too exauhsted. We cooked, chilled, and went to bed. No good seating either. I'm pretty jealous of Slapp's and Baker's hammocks. Very comfortable, more than me probably, but I'll sleep fine tonight. My tent, pad, and gar are warm and welcoming. It is my home, at least for two more days, and I really do love it.
Date: 2013-04-10
From: Footbridge/Stream?

To: VA Border Campsite
Miles today: 20.2

Day 40: Wed Apr 10 Miles 444.6-464.8Big day today, 20 miles, getting to Virginia!Woke up somewhat early I thought but Sweet Tea and Baker were out hiking by headlamp at 6am I think. Then Trish and Cricket. Then Slapp, then finally me. I left Leprechaun but he'd catch up...though the guy did still have his tent pitched by the time I left!I got out on the trail and I was hoping for a beautiful day. Wasn't a mile onto the trail that I came across this "Handicapped Accessible Trail". I saw it in the book but no idea what it was...IF ONLY THE REST OF THE AT WAS LIKE THIS!! Rolling hills through fields of green grass and old wood fences, a wide cleared path of packed dirt, the morning sun shining, birds chirping, 60 degrees with a slight breeze. Of course it only lasted .8 miles but it ended at a bench, I had to sit and take it in for a bit.Back in the woods, I passed Slapp at Double Springs Shelter, no logbook here. Pushing on.I had some signal so I got back on my phone for a bit, trying to arrange everything with my father and sister. Hope everything works out for them. I recommended a few B&Bs from the book, told em to take their pick.'Got to the top of McQueens knob, saw the old tower foundations and the unused shelter. I wonder if all of them were this crappy, it must be from the 40s-50s since they started making them much better in the 60's. Better to the point that they're still used today.Got to Abington Gap Shelter and caught up to Paraguay, Twix, Flouder, and DLL. Also to Slapp, Sweet Tea, Baker, Trisha and Cricket. It was about 12:30 and really starting to cook us, maybe almost 85 outside. Perfect weather for an afternoon siesta! I had a light lunch and digging out my Thermarest was a great decision, it was lights out and commence the drooling.Leprechaun and Fly got there by the time I woke up. No Moxie though I know she takes frequent brakes through the day. I slept and relaxed until 3pm and then left with Leprechaun. We hiked together until the campsite a few miles later, stopping only at the TN/VA boarder for a picture. Glad to have some company.Got to the campground and already saw a few folks setup. 2 miles from Demascus, it's tough knowing that we could be drinking beers if we wanted but it's a beautiful evening, perfect for camping and Dragon's last fire. The water source sucked but the firewood Twix and Paraguay got was good. We had it ripping and all hung out for the evening until the stars came out. Going to miss the AT!
Date: 2013-04-11
From: VA Border Campsite

To: Demascus, VA
Miles today: 3.2

Day 41: Thu Apr 11 Woke up at Tent City in VAMiles 464.8-468.0Got an early start today. The alarm clock went off at 6 but I was up a bit before. I saw Slapp, Fly, Leprechaun, Moxie were also getting up as I finished up packing my bags. No hot breakfast today, just a quick 2 mile hike into town, hopefully for some fresh drip coffee and a good breakfast!Slapp and I left with Moxie. We stuck together for a bit though there were a few short climbs that weren't apparent on the guidebook. It wasn't 45 minutes until we saw the town and started making our way downhill and inbetween two houses. Came out right out of their backyard! I guess there are worse things that could be in your backyard than thru hikers.Welcome to Demacus VA! the sign read. We walked along the river and through the park on the south-west side of town and I saw something I haven't seen yet on the trail: Blooming trees! They were flowering! The snow is gone until next Winter and Spring finally seems to have fully arrived. Of course I'm getting off the trail today but my legs and arms are already itching the hell out of me from the bugs. Frostbite to bugbites, you can only grin and bear it. Oh and bears too. Yeah.We walked through Demacus and had some breakfast, blueberry pancakes, at the Exxon. Struggled for a bit to find a place to stay, original plan of the Hike Inn was shot down, but ended up getting a few rooms at Dave's Place across from the Mt Rogers Outfitter. Not bad, I'd recommend it with the price and privacy you get. Most other people I know flowed into The Place, can't beat a $6 church donation for a bunk but you get what you pay for too there I hear.After checking in, we all spent the next 24 hours at the Blue Blaze Cafe, eating a ton of pizza (the best I've had on the trail), cheesesteaks (also great, turns out the owner uses Ameroso Roles and has ties to the NJ/Philly areas), drinking Yuengling and toasting to future happy trails and my leaving. By toasting, I mean karioke, the terrible kind, from Meat Loaf to Styx, but it was a great time.
Date: 2011-01-13
To: Getting Things Started
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, here we go with my first trail journal entry. My hike is still 2 and a half months away, but I am already getting excited. I have all of my gear ready to go. I have started preparing meals for the trail. Lot's of cooking and dehydrating. I have a long checklist of things that I need to get completed before the hike starts. Everything from finances and taxes, to preparing my drop boxes with food for the trail. I am also working out about every day. I want to try and lose another 10 pounds before I start hiking, but even if I don't, I will be in much better shape anyway. Round is a shape right?As the start of the hike gets closer, I will post about how my preperations are going.Yehaw! The adventure is going to begin soon. I can't wait!
Date: 2011-01-14
To: Gym
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

My parents have come to Virginia from Indiana to visit with my wife and I. We sure do enjoy it when they come here. They should be staying until the first week in February. My dad and I have been going to the gym each day and walking about 2 miles on the treadmills. I have also been doing some weight lifting, but not a lot.My workouts need to get harder than they are now if I am going to get in better shape for the hike, but I can tell that I am making some good progress. My weight is dropping some and my muscles are toning up too.Today I will be starting to take an inventory of all my stuff for the hike to make sure that I have everything that I need and to drop out some things that I would take on a short hike, but do not want to take for the long haul.
Date: 2011-01-17
To: Drop Boxes
Miles today: 0.0

I have finally gotten around to determining exactly what drop box locations that I want to use and how many meals that I need to prepare for each box. I will be preparing 15 drop boxes and a total of 255 meals. Some of these meals will be quite simple because they will be foods that I can just eat without doing any cooking. Others will be more complex because I need to make the food, and then dehydrate it. These will generally be my dinners, and a few of my breakfast meals.I am trying to make sure that I put some good variety in each of the drop boxes. I don't want to be eating the same foods every single day while on the trail. I will be making some hamburger helper type meals and dehydrating them. I have made some good spicy chili, spaghetti and meat sauce, and some other good dinner meals.Back to the exercising and cooking.
Date: 2011-01-21
To: Time is passing slowly
Miles today: 0.0

Time seems to have slowed down to a crawl while I am waiting for my hike to begin. I am hoping that time passes slowly out on the trail. I will not be in any hurry for it to end.Over the last couple of days, I have continued to prepare meals for the trail and work on other items on my to-do list. My parents are still visiting from Indiana and I am enjoying this time with them. I have also spoken to my brother Mike and he is planning on joining me on the trail for about a week. He is going to meet me at Hiawassee, GA. That will be awesome.I think I have about 150 meals left to prepare for my drop boxes. I am trying to come up with some good variety. I don't want to live off of Ramen noodles every day.
Date: 2011-01-23
To: Food drops cost a lot of money
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I must say that I am shocked at how much money I am spending to prepare my drop boxes. I am setting up food drops for about 80 days and I have spent about $300.00 on the food so far. This includes lots of pre-packaged foods as well as the materials for meals that I am dehydrating. Another shocking discovery is how heavy all this food is going to be. As I am packing up the food drops, I feel like I am hardly giving myself enough food to survive on, and then I pick up the box and wonder how the heck I am going to carry that much weight up and down mountains. I guess the good thing about food drops are that they get lighter as you go.To give you an idea about what kinds of foods I am packing for this trip, I will break it out into breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks.Most of my breakfasts will be either granola bars of various flavors, or pancakes. I have put together some pancake mix in my drop boxes that will work well for simple breakfasts that I feel like cooking. I am looking for some powdered eggs, but I have not had any luck yet.For lunches, I have included some tuna packs, peanut snacks, cheese and cracker packs, and snickers bars. The occasional Raman noodle or Mac and cheese will also be eaten for this meal.Dinners are the most elaborate for me. I am dehydrating meals like chili, spaghetti, hamburger helpers, goulash, and other nice goodies. I also am including packs of Raman noodles, pasta sides, and garlic mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes are one of my favorite hiking meals because of how simple they are to make and how filling they can be.Snacks will consist of Snickers, crackers (Cheese and Peanut Butter), granola bars, packs of various nuts, mini Slim Jims, and GORP. I will also have individual packs of instant coffee for in the morning and hot chocolate for in the evenings.I have prepared the first 4 of my 14 drop boxes, and it took forever. I think I am getting the hang of it though. On to more planning. This is actually getting fun as I get things ready.
Date: 2011-01-27
To: Fundraising Website Ready
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I finally have my fundraising website ready. It is for the Susan G. Komen foundation. They do a lot of work related to cancer research and awareness. Please visit the web page and make a donation if you can. My goal is to raise $10,000 for this important cause.http://centralva.info-komen.org/site/TR/Events/RIC_CentralVirginiaAffiliate?pxfid=153295&fr_id=2107&pg=fund