morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-22
From: Bland, VA

To: Campsite
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

There wasn¢t a shuttle available before 10:30a.m. to take us back to the trailhead, so we had a really late start. The trail picked up near a small highway with an inexplicable lack of white blazes. We and a group of hikers we had shuttled with were continually looking for the trail for the first 30 minutes. At one point, all of us stood dumbly in the middle of a gravel road looking at our guide book and debating whether we should go up or down the road. At last we reached the forest again and the trail became more obvious. When we got to the campsite we wanted to stay at that night, we discovered that it had been washed out by the last flood, so we decided to keep hiking until we either found a better place to stay or hike all the way to Trent¢s Grocery Campground. Luckily though, there was a really nice spot not far from where we than set up our tents and even, for the first time on the trail, made a fire. It was so nice, especially as it cooled down and we didn¢t have to crawl into our sleeping bags just to stay warm.
Date: 2015-05-23
From: Campsite

To: Trent's Grocery
Miles today: 5.5
Weather: clear sky

Piper is getting a shuttle to the airport from Jimmy, the owner of Trent¢s tomorrow so today we are doing a low mileage day to get there. This morning it was a bit chilly so we started up last nights fire again. We took our time with breakfast and packing up. A few minutes into our hike we came upon No Pants (a previous thru hiker) doing some trail magic. When we got to Trent¢s, Wistful and I ordered delicious pizza and Piper had a hamburger before we unpacked our maildrops and sorted out all the food. We had a conversation with some people at the grocery grill.Tim and his son Chase had been at there cabin close by, fishing, successfully. They offered to give us 3 trouts that we could grill over the fire for dinner. We were thrilled about the possibility to have such a treat.So we went to the campground, set up our tents and started doing laundry when Tim showed up again with the fresh fish. He also brought plates, oil, seasoning, a cookie sheet and aluminum foil. All we had to do make a fire and cook the trout. And they were delicious! Thank you Tim!! A few more hikers joined us on the campground and were so envious. Anyway, we had a lovely evening.
Date: 2015-05-24
From: Trent's Grocery

To: Nameless Campsite
Miles today: 5.5

Piper is getting a shuttle to the airport from Jimmy, the owner of Trent¢s tomorrow so today we are doing a low mileage day to get there. This morning it was a bit chilly so we started up last nights fire again. We took our time with breakfast and packing up. A few minutes into our hike we came upon No Pants (a previous thru hiker) doing some trail magic. When we got to Trent¢s, Wistful and I ordered delicious pizza and Piper had a hamburger before we unpacked our maildrops and sorted out all the food. We had a conversation with some people at the grocery grill,Tim and his son Chase had been at there cabin close by, fishing, successfully. They offered to give us 3 trouts that we could grill over the fire for dinner. We were thrilled about the possibility to have such a treat.So we went to the campground, set up our tents and started doing laundry lwhen Tim showed up again with the fresh fish. He also brought plates, oil, seasoning, a cookie sheet and aluminum foil. All we had to do make a fire and cook the trout. And they were delicious! Thank you Tim!! A few more hikers joined us on the campground and were so envious. Anyway, we had a lovely evening.
Date: 2015-05-28
From: The Captains

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: broken clouds

Without breakfast we left the Captain¢s. I was first on the zip line again and Relentless pulled the rope to get me across the creek. As I was about to reach the other side the swing stopped. Relentless thought that the swing had reached the opposite shore side completely. I reached out with my foot to get firm ground under me and at that moment the swing spilled me out. The next thing I knew was, I was dangling upside down from the swing with my right foot caught in the rope. My legs and feet were on the swing while my head was on the ground only inches from the water. I lay there for a minute, stunned by the sudden change of circumstances. After some effort I scrambled down onto the ground and righted myself. Relentless was laughing hysterically after realizing I was okay; me too. It was quite an experience. I sent the swing back over the creek and pulled Relentless safely to the other side. What a way to start the day! But it didn¢t stop there for me. Some time into our hike, we had to go down a steep trail.Relentless, in front of me , had just negotiated a slippery switchback when it was my turn.Unfortunately I lost my footing and started tumbling down the hill. For a moment I thought I wouldn¢t stop rolling down the hill. Then I lay there unable to get up with my pack attached to me. But I was fine and after extracting myself from out of the leaves, brambles and my pack we continued down the trail. On the last stretch of Today¢s hike Relentless spied a bear cup in a tree on the side of the trail. We retreated to be sure we didn¢t get caught between the mother bear and the cup. Another couple of hikers came up behind us and together we started making noise and hiked on through that section without ever seeing the mother.At Laurel Shelter we got a surprise, Overdue, an older lady we hiked with when Piper was with us, was also at this shelter. It was nice to see her again and to catch up with each other¢ s adventures. We hadn¢t seen her since Damascus.
Date: 2015-05-29
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: broken clouds

With that many miles planned we left early. There were also stretches without water, so we had to carry more than usual. We had to cross a muddy swamp before we got to see the 300 years old Keefer oak. We had lunch at Niday Shelter with a group of young people we had been running into a lot.Later we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide.
Date: 2015-05-30
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we got to climb the Dragons Tooth. A rock formation that gives amazing views and is fun to climb up if you are brave enough. We weren¢t. About a mile before our final destination we got treated to another popular place, McAfee Knob, 3197feet high it also gives excellent views. As we reached it, though , there were dark clouds forming and we heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance. We didn¢t stay very long and headed to the campsite. Which was nice, under trees and the ground covered with pine needles. Against our expectations after a guy at the parking lot earlier today claimed there was no water at this site, there was actually water. Annoying that we carried all this extra water up the mountain for no reason at all.We had very nice company tonight, a young man from Indianapolis was hiking this section, just for the weekend and he had the best dark organic chocolate to share!
Date: 2015-05-31
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

We got up at 6a.m. to be in Daleville in early afternoon. So good to know we are walking towards a shower and a bed. The trail was interesting and diverse. Tinker Cliffs was the first stop. Great views into the valley and the mountains in the distance. We had a snack up on the cliffs and met some of the people we hiked with the day before again.There were a lot of rocks and boulders to climb over today, not an easy hike, but interesting change in pace. Later we hiked through some meadows and shortly before Daleville found wild strawberries and mulberries. Finally at the motel ,time to rest and eat pizza.
Date: 2015-06-01
From: Daleville, VA

To: Dalville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We are taking a zero in Daleville today. After all these long mileage days, we need it. Plus we really need to do laundry after 5days in the woods! The motel serves a hot breakfast, which is really nice.Stores and coffee shop are near by, only nobody sells postcards¢¦
Date: 2015-06-02
From: Dalville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

Yesterday, when came back to the motel after going to the outfitter, we realized we bought the wrong thing. So this morning, after breakfast, we had to go back to the outfitter before hitting the trail again. We dragged our feet when packing our stuff and were not at all thrilled about leaving Daleville. The humidity was stifling and made the heat even more unbearable. It was also supposed to rain today which sounded completely uninviting especially after a day in town. We did end up leaving town¢¦ at 10:45. We were sweating with in minutes. The first mile was in a meadow in direct sun making, things even worse. When we came to the 5 mile shelter we stopped for lunch. The sky began to darken and we decided to stay and wait for the rain to pass. Two hours later we continued six miles further to the next shelter. Thunder kept booming around us just when we finished eating, the rain started. We quickly packed our stuff and quickly settled into our tent. It is still raining now and a huge puddle has formed in front of our tent. But we are completely dry and warm in here.
Date: 2015-06-03
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: overcast clouds

The rain had ended and we were able to pack up and get out of camp early. Even though the forecast promised more rain for today. The A.T. at this stretch crosses several times the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 100 miles. I actually like that, there are lots of overlooks along the parkway and interesting information signs to read. It was a strange day today, I couldn¢t really get into the hike until after lunch, and felt most of the day like I would rather be anywhere but here. Later as we stopped for lunch we met Wheaties again and his forecast said it would rain at 6p.m. So we decided to hurry and get to the Bryant Shelter before that. The shelter we had our lunch break at had a very nice brand new privy,unfortunately no water at this shelter.We maid it there at 5:30p.m. and the rain starter promptly at 6p.m. Lucky again, we are sleeping in the shelter tonight. This is a nice two story shelter, we are upstairs.
Date: 2015-06-04
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: light rain

I love this shelter! We didn¢t see or hear any mice and there was only one snorer. I woke up several times in the night to the steady patter of rain of the roof. Wistful had to blow up her mattress 3times that night, it keeps deflating. When we woke up at 6, the rain was still going strong and we and decided to forget about the 25 mile day we had planned and wait for the rain to stop. Apparently, everyone else in the loft sleeping area (I think there were 9 of us) had the same idea. While everyone downstairs moved around and got ready for hiking in the rain, all of us just lay there reading, sleeping, eating, or listening to music until 9 o¢clock. We had a leisurely breakfast hanging out with the Choir Boys and waiting for it to get a little warmer and less rainy. We decided to hike 10 miles today instead and finally left the shelter at 11. It was a good call starting later in the morning. Only one more stray shower hit us and it wasn¢t too bad since we were walking under leafy trees at the time. The entire day was extremely foggy and never got too warm. Wistful was even able to hike with her rain jacket on without getting too hot.The mountain before the shelter was a long winding switchbacked trail that took us across a beautiful meadow. There would have been amazing views I¢m sure, if it hadn¢t been for the fog. When we started our decent we were surprised to find an abrupt end to the switchbacks and instead unevenly spaced and slippery stone steps for about 100 feet. Today, we also came across the Guillotine. A large boulder suspended between two rock outcroppings between which we have to walk. That night in the shelter we discussed the probability of the boulder falling down on someone. We got to the 10 mile shelter at 4pm and sat there until 5 debating whether we should walk another 7 miles to a campground or stay here. Wistful felt very strongly about staying so we will be hiking the 15 miles into town tomorrow. The shelter was roomy for 6 people and had a new privy with a Plexiglas ceiling. Usually if the privies are entirely closed off like this one, they are way too dark to check for the creepy crawlies that will inevitably make their way up your leg while you are doing your business. Not this privy though, and I only saw one other living creature in there with me. So far, the shelter is pretty quiet (though only 2 people are asleep). There are some odder smells than usual. I think there is someone farting every few minutes which smells rather atrocious. I asked Wistful if it was her but she was about to ask me the same thing so it must be one of the other four. Maybe it will stop soon. There really isn¢t any point in confronting the person¢¦
Date: 2015-06-05
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Us 501 ,VA
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Thunderhill Shelter to Glasgow James River Footbridge 14.6 miles Last night was inarguably the worst night we spent in a shelter. The rain pounded on the metal roof all night. When the wind blew, the trees above also deposited their fair share of water making it even more impossible to sleep. We would have been okay if that had been all but the moment we turned off our headlamps the mice began scurrying passed our heads and into our backpacks (which were hanging above our heads on the wall). All night we heard the rustling sound of the mice presumably chewing the plastic bags and eating our food. Every few minutes I would violently punch my pack in the hopes of scaring the mouse away, but to no avail. Wistful also somehow punctured her air mattress so that every few hours she would have to reinflate it. At 4:30am, after we both had finally fallen asleep, I woke again to the sound of crumpling plastic in my pack. When I went to slap it as usual, the dumb mouse bit me! Obviously, there was no way we could sleep after that. We emptied my pack completely and desperately waited for it to become late enough to get up. That time ended up being 5am. I don¢t think we have ever slept so little and gotten up so early. But other people had apparently had as rough a night as we. Logman was packed and ready to go shortly after 6, and Tribute did not leave much later either. There were many downhill stretches today in the fifteen miles to town and the weather was as rainy and humid as ever. We couldn¢t wait to get to Glasgow, a little town five miles off trail with a free pavilion, hot showers and flushing toilets (there are no hotels in Glasgow). This may be the fastest we have ever walked, not including slackpacking. Fifteen miles in under 6 hours. The last mile the trail paralelled the James River. Later we would cross this river , walking over the longest footbridge on the A.T. When we reached the parking where Gary, the shuttle guy, and some other hikers were waiting for us, we had decided that we didn¢t want to go to Glasgow but instead Buena Vista, a town which actually has a motel and that we would slack pack the 21 trail miles between the two towns tomorrow. Funnily enough, the other two hikers, Uncle D and Tribute had decided to do the exact same thing. So tonight we have a dry and comfortable motel room. I can¢t tell you how happy we are to finally be dry again, I¢d nearly forgotten the feeling!!
Date: 2015-06-06
From: Us 501 ,VA

To: US60
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: scattered clouds

The rain had finally stopped, we got subway sandwiches for lunch and soon were on our way to slackpack the 21miles to the pick up point. It was a steep long climb today, and I was glad I didn¢t have to carry a pack. We had lunch at the Punchbowl Shelter which got it¢s name from the location where it is sitting sort of in a bowl with a pond next to it. Some guy we met later told us it was supposed to be haunted and he believes it a.He said he stayed there overnight and strange lights and noises kept him awake. The story is that it is Ottie Cline Powell¢s ghost, whose monument is just a few miles up the mountain.She died about 100 years ago on Bluff Mtn. Where her body was found 7 miles from her school We were going 3 miles an hour most of the day and then realized that we would be late for the shuttle to take us back to the motel at 4p.m. if we didn¢t pick up speed. So for the last hour we had to do 4 miles, and we did, which was crazy and totally wore me out. But we could look forward to a hot shower and food. Unfortunately it was either subway sandwiches or burgers. I am getting a real meal in the next town.
Date: 2015-06-07
From: US60

To: The Priest
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: scattered clouds

US 60 to To the Priest 21.6 milesThis morning was hard to get up for me but we had another 20plus miler planned. This was going to be slow hike but it didn¢t matter, we left early and we could hike until dark, if we had to. So slow and steady we made it in reasonable time. There were a few good climbs and nice views into the valley.
Date: 2015-06-09
From: Maupin Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 21.6

Another long day in front of us. We did get an early start, 6.45am. It wasn¢t easy , the path was rocks and rock scrambles and more rocks. Really hard on ones feet. We still made it in reasonable tome, by 4:30pm we reached Rockfish Gap where a trailangel, John , was waiting to pick up hikers and take them into town. He even made a stop at Starbucks, I had been thinking about an iced coffee for the last 5miles and it was solo good once I tasted it. The last stop was the hostel, where dinner was ready as we arrived.
Date: 2015-06-10
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Stanimal¢s Hostel Taking a zero today and hanging out in Waynesboro. Relentless tried every shoe at the outfitter but none of them were right. After that we ate at Panera where we met up with Towanda, then get coffee and went back to the hostel.It is really nice to stay at the hostel with all the other hikers, only I have a hard time sleeping in the bunkroom. Even though, nobody was snoring.
Date: 2015-06-11
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Blackrock Gap
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Slackpacking today!! Uncle D and Tribute are slackpacking with us again. We got up at 6 a,m. to be ready to go at 7.15a.m. The trail was so much easier than anything we had experienced yet. Especially without a heavy pack. We made really good time and were back for pick up at 3:30pm. It was an unusually social hike, we met so many people we knew, even Sputnik and Fair enough. High of the day: coming to the hostel after 20 miles, eating take out from Panera and taking a hot shower.
Date: 2015-06-12
From: Blackrock Gap

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 22.1
Weather: broken clouds

Time to go back into the woods. One more morning with coffee. We left the hostel today. Adam drove us to Blackrock Gap from where we slack¢acked the day before. The first half of the day we made some good fast miles. Since we are now in Shenandoah National Park there is lots of opportunity to stop at the wayside and get real food to eat. So we did that for lunch and had burger, hot dog, sweet potato fries and a blackberry milkshake.So good!!! After lunch our progress was slower, the terrain was steep and we had to go 22 miles today after a late start.We got to the hut at 8pm. There weren¢t many good campsites and most of them already taken. So we set up as good as we could between rocks, went to the spring to grab some water and then into our tent. We were to tiered to cook and just had some trail mix for dinner.
Date: 2015-06-13
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 20.8

June 12High Top Hut to Big Meadows Campground 20.8 miles Broke camp and were ready to leave at 8am. Uncle D was already gone and Tribute left with us.First we had to summit High Top Mtn. And there was a beautiful view over the mountains and into the valley. Relentless and I had a nice long lunch at one of the picnic areas, there was a restroom with water and soap and it was really clean, not a bit smelly. The privy at the hut had been terrible with flies and wasps buzzing around you in the small enclosed space. The smell was so horrendous that we held toilet paper against our noses to try and filter the air a bit. We made good progress and were hoping to be at the wayside by 5pm. When we were about 3.5 miles from the wayside, it started pouring rain! Within minutes, we were soaked and the trail was a stream. After about 20 minutes it was over. So we reached the wayside and changed into dry clothes. Uncle D and Tribute as well as several other hikers were at the wayside too, most of them just as wet and cold as we were. Relentless and I ordered burgers with fries and they had really good coffee. For dessert we had blackberry ice cream pie. The pie was huge and Tribute commented that it was definitely more than a pint of ice cream; but we ate all of it whipped cream and blackberry garnish included. After that, we made our way to the campground, where the coin shower ate two of our quarters without giving a drop of water. And we washed and dried our clothes. It was strange to set up our tent at a proper campground between all the car campers. It was very nice to have a metal bear proof box, where we could stash our whole backpacks instead of hanging bags.
Date: 2015-06-14
From: Big Meadows Campground

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: broken clouds

We had a huge breakfast at the wayside and they have very good coffee. But that meant a late start,10.45am we were on the trail. It was a very rocky hike today, by the afternoon our feet hurt so bad. We had coffee and sent some postcards at the Skyline resort, which is a little more upscale then the wayside. Lucky today the rain hit when we were inside.. We stopped at a picnic area and hot invited by another through hiker ¢Foodtruck¢ is her trail name, who¢s family had come to the park with lots of food.There are these small flies, they keep flying right in front of your face and then they aim exactly for your eyeball. I had so many of these stupid things in my eyes today, my eyes hurt from trying to get them out. Then there are these big black snakes. They like to lay across the path and are not very inclined to move out of your way. They are not poisonous but they aren¢t friendly either. To make them move off the trail you have to poke them and then they get mad and act like they want to bite you until finally they realize you are not going away and they give way and slither into the grass. They really start to annoy me, because I usually see them right before I am about to step on them, and I have to stop midstep to avoid them, and then go through the ritual of making them move. We see sometimes 3or 4in one day. A mile from the shelter we encountered a bear and her cub. It was scary because she kept walking towards the winding trail and we were worried she might think we were trying to follow her. Eventually they disappeared in another direction and we reached the shelter, which was really crowded. Uncle D made it there too, pretty late but we are glad he got this far. He had a late start too. Tribute was hiking with his Uncle and Aunt today, with whom he is staying for a few days.