morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-03
From: fontana dam

To: Double Spring Gap
Miles today: 30.8
Weather: clear sky

Fontana Dam to Double Spring gap4/3/16   When thru hikers leave Fontana Dam they have to have in their possession a permit ($20.00 per person) to enter the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and they are allowed 8 days to make the 70 mile hike through the park. So with our permits in our packs we set out this morning from the Fontana Hilton and headed toward GSMNP. From the Hilton, the first thing you have to do is walk across the top of Fontana dam which is a huge concrete thing that looks to be several hundred feet high, although I'm a poor judge of distance. Let's just say it's really big and kind of creepy, to know you're walking across something holding back that much water. A little way after crossing the dam we came to the southern boundary of GSMNP and began our trek through the park. The park has a rule that everyone must stay at the shelters or if the shelters are full you must pitch your tent near the shelters. This creates a kind of an unspoken competition among hikers to be among the first to reach the shelters each day and get a spot in the shelter because the tenting around the shelters is not always that good, plus the weather was forecast to be quite cold and with the possibility of snow nobody wanted to have to pitch a tent. So we did some fast hiking through the Smokies and got through in four nights and only had to set up our tents once. Today, Sunday the 3rd, we spent the night at Spence Field shelter which is a nice location, but it was cold and snowed a little overnight! All the shelters in the Smokies are built of stone and have a covered cooking area out front. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of one of them. 4/4/16   Today we had a 13.5 mile day with lots of ups and downs. We stayed at Double Spring Gap shelter with a spring on each side of the gap we were on. One bit of interesting trivia while we were here...a bunch of us were cooking our supper out in front of the shelter when Reading Man (from Pennsylvania ) went to light his stove, which incidentally is the same as mine. Well apparently he did it wrong because it burst into this big ball of flame and he managed to knock it on the ground and kick it out of the shelter where it sat and burned merrily as we all stood around watching it burn and waiting for it to explode. It never did explode but just burned out a full canister of gas in about two minutes. All quite entertaining. And the fun wasn't over for the day. That night while I was laying awake in the shelter ( which I do quite a lot) a mouse ran over my sleeping bag on top of my legs, so I kicked at it. A few seconds later it ran directly across my face. It left me alone after that. I guess it was mouse 1, sleeping (not) hiker, 0.
Date: 2016-04-06
From: Newfound Gap

To: Roaring Fork Shelter
Miles today: 48.6
Weather: clear sky

Newfound Gap to Roaring Fork Shelter4/6/16   The four of us got up in Gatlinburg this morning in time to catch an 0830 van ride back to Newfound Gap with the same church group that brought us down to town yesterday, only this time it was in a van with seats, thankfully! I almost didn't get on the van because there were more people than the van would hold and all the people who arrived after me crowded onto the van before me. Fortunately Kelly and Food Bag spoke up for me and guilted one person into getting off the van so I could get on. We made it to Tri Corner Knob shelter today on a cold and very windy day, to find the shelter full. So we had to set up our tents on some pretty poor, sloping sites. 4/7/16   Left Tri Corner shelter for our last day in the Smokies. Everyone is anxious to get out of GSMNP so they can tent where they want. We made it to a hostel called Standing Bear Farm in Hartford, TN. This is a rustic, friendly place with porta-potties for bathrooms and a genuine washboard and wringer for laundry facilities. We tented in the back yard and I spent some time at the campfire where Lumpy, one of the proprietors, gave me a beer and there was good conversation and it was most relaxing. 4/8/16   Went from Standing Bear Farm to Roaring Fork shelter today. Along the way we climbed a mountain called Snowbird where there was an FAA facility on top. This was very interesting to me because of my interest in aviation. Later we crossed the famous Max Patch which is a large bald with views in all directions. It was so cold and windy up there we didn't stay long.
Date: 2016-04-08
From: Erwin TN

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 26.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Erwin TN to Clyde Smith Shelter4/15/16   We arrived in Erwin late yesterday after a long day and we checked in at Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel and Outfitters. It's a very friendly and laid back place. It's located right across the road from the Nolichucky River which is a good sized river that's wide and fast running but not too deep. The old Clinchfield Railroad runs up the other side of the river which was a plus for me, even though the only trains went through in the middle of the night so I didn't get to see them. They sounded like they were going through about twenty feet from my tent though!    Anyway, we pitched our tents in the back yard at Uncle Johnny's because we didn't want to stay in the bunkrooms and we took another zero day on the 15th because we liked the place. Another big attraction at Johnny's are the $.40 cent Snickers bars...just can't get enough of them!   The hostel provides three free shuttles in to town every day at 0830, 1230 and 1730 for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We took the 1230 to town today which drops you off at Pizza Plus restaurant (all you can eat, 1100-1400) and right next to two grocery stores so you can resupply. The pizza wasn't great but there was a lot of it! Later we took the dinner shuttle to town and were dropped off, along with a bunch of other hikers, in front of a Mexican restaurant called Los Jalape±os. It was the real thing, we even had a waiter who could barely speak English but we all managed to place our orders, including some very large Margaritas (or two). After dinner, some of our group had to go resupply at the Walmart next door which was apparently an interesting experience after two giant margaritas. Then it was back to Johnny's for a few cheap Snickers bars. 4/16/16   Today we had to wait at the hostel for the mail to arrive because Kelly was waiting for a new pair of shoes being sent from home. Her originals had holes in them after only 340 miles. So because we had to wait we went to town for more all-you-can-eat pizza. As a result, we got a late start on the trail today, at 1440. We had a short hiking day of only 8.4 miles and camped at a place called Indian Grave Gap. 4/17/16   We went over a couple of very scenic balds today and over Unaka Mountain which has a long stretch of sense spruce forest over the summit, a nice break from the so-far leafless hardwood forest we've been mostly going through. Arrived at Clyde Smith Shelter today, mile 368.3.
Date: 2016-04-11
From: Damascus VA

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 50.0
Weather: broken clouds

Damascus to Old Orchard Shelter4/25/16   Departed Woodchuck hostel and Damascus mid-morning today. We hiked the AT for a ways until we came to a detour where a bridge was washed out. We were detoured on to the Virginia Creeper trail which is built on an old railroad grade and so is basically flat. The detour was actually shorter than the trail, and very scenic so it didn't bother me. Saw some nice old railroad bridges too! 4/26/16 end mileage 509.0   We left our campsite today for what looked like it would be a fairly easy day, at least as far as the difficulty of the terrain was concerned. Looks can be quite deceiving. It was very rocky for a lot of the way and very hard on the feet. We were definitely ready to be done after 22.8 miles. We reached 500 miles today.    Going over Whitetop Mountain today we met three ladies, Nancy, Jane and Curly, who wanted to know all about our hike and to take our picture. Curly is a triple crowner, which means she has hiked the AT, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide trail, starting with the AT in 1992 when she was 51 years old. Quite an accomplishment, I think! Before we parted the ladies told us they had left a cooler full of sodas and snacks down by the trailhead, for thru hikers. This caused us to quicken our steps for the next couple of miles until we got to the parking area. Thank you ladies!   On to Grayson Highlands after that, with its famous feral ponies. This is where the trail got really rocky. I had this image of Grayson Highlands as a big open grassy meadow with ponies grazing everywhere but that's not exactly how it is. Sure, it's open and grassy in some places but it's also really rocky and rough going. There are the ponies, though. Some people even saw longhorn cattle, but we didn't see any. I did get a free beer as we were leaving the highlands, from a gentleman who was camping there.    We ended the day at Old Orchard Shelter. This is an old shelter made of logs with big spaces between them. Apparently this is quite attractive to certain rodents, as we were awakened in the wee hours of the morning by a flying squirrel chewing on the inside of the shelter. Then after he was done I guess it was time for the mice to take over because I could hear the pitter-patter of little feet all around me until dawn.    Before I went to bed I laid on the picnic table and looked up at the stars appearing as the sun set. I felt an intense sense of loss as I thought about how I used to do the same thing with a friend who can no longer do this. I remember camping with him in Crawford Notch and at Baxter State Park and looking up at the stars through the opening in the trees above the campsite as we sat around the fire. Not sure if I'll ever be able to do this with him again, but I sure hope so. I sure hope so, my friend.
Date: 2016-04-27
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 83.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Old Orchard Shelter to Helvey's Mill Shelter4/27/16 end mileage 532.2   Left the Rodent Hotel this morning for a long, tough walk to Partnership Shelter, 23.2 miles away. Everyone wanted to get there though, mainly because you can order pizza with the phone at the nearby visitors center and have it delivered to the shelter. So it was a full shelter and we all had a good time eating pizza from Pizza Hut. Another attraction is that this shelter has a shower. It so happens that it only has cold water, so cold that it gives you brain freeze almost instantly. You don't stand there under the running water. You get wet, shut off the water, soap up and then rinse off...very quickly.    Slept pretty well in this shelter. No rodents, either. 4/28/16 end mileage 550.6   Today we hit trail magic at a little old one room school house turned into a museum. The building was just left open and a sign directed hikers inside for cold sodas and other high calorie stuff. This was provided by the West End United Methodist Church in Wytheville, VA.    Later we came to the town of Atkins where we did a small resupply and had lunch at a place called The Barn, with a menu item called the "hiker burger". This was listed in the trail guide so a lot of us were anxious to get there and have a hiker burger. I had one and it was really big, but I didn't have any trouble eating the whole thing and all the fries that came with it.    After Atkins we walked through some very nice, well kept farm fields. I like this kind of scenery. At the 547 mile mark today we came to a sign announcing that we were 1/4 of the way to Katahdin. Yahoo!!4/29/16 end mileage 570.3   Today we went from one unnamed campsite to another one 19.7 miles further north. I went wading at Lick Creek at lunch time. The water was really nice. 4/30/16 end mileage 592.1   Left our tent site at Garden Mountain and headed for Helvey's Mill Shelter today, a 21.8 mile day. Had rain showers for most of the day. When we reached US 52 we started seeing small signs announcing trail magic ahead, so this quickened our step quite considerably. We met John (Full Time) and Steve (Old Red) who came down from Ohio in their spare time to help out thru hikers. They had a good setup with two shelters and a grill for hot dogs and hamburgers, plus a lot of other stuff to go with it. Thanks guys, for giving up your spare time to do this.    Helvey's Mill shelter is very nice, with a new privy.
Date: 2016-05-10
From: Bobblet's Gap Shelter

To: US 501, James River crossing
Miles today: 38.3
Weather: broken clouds

Bobblet's Gap Shelter to the James River5/10/16 end mileage 764.4   Uneventful day today. Lots of ups and downs. There was a real nice looking swimming hole where we crossed Jennings Creek on a road bridge. Looked like a pretty good trout stream to me, too. We arrived at Cornelius Creek Shelter to find only two people already there, so we parked our stuff in the shelter because rain was approaching...again. We had the pleasure of meeting Bombadil and Goldberry whose shelter log entries I'd been reading for a while. I found Bombadil's banter to be quite entertaining. Shortly, Speilberg arrived and then just as the rain started, Seabiscuit showed up to make it a full shelter.    A little while later I went for a walk on a trail behind the shelter and found we were only a three minute walk from a paved road with traffic on it. No mention in the guidebook about having pizza delivered, though. 5/11/16 end mileage 784.3   This morning was a little sad because as we were preparing to leave the shelter we had to say what may be our last goodbye to Seabiscuit as he is going to be continuing on up the trail while Caboose and I take five days off. We've been hiking with him almost since day one. Seabiscuit generally hikes a little faster than we do so it won't take him long to get a good distance ahead of us and it's not likely that we'll catch up to him. Raudir, my friend, I wish you safe and happy travels.    On Apple Orchard Mountain today we passed another FAA communication facility. I don't know if other hikers find these things interesting but I do. This one looked like a giant volleyball mounted on top of a tower. After passing the FAA tower we came to a rock formation known as The Guillotine which is a narrow passage between two vertical rocks with another boulder suspended between them by almost nothing. It makes you glance up nervously to make sure nothing moves overhead as you walk underneath. Typical of the weather we've been having lately, we could hear a thunderstorm approaching as we got within a couple of miles of our destination today. By the time we reached the James River it was raining steadily but I didn't mind because I was so enthralled by the size and beauty of the river, which we had to follow downstream for a mile before we crossed it. The AT crossing of the James is on a bridge which is the longest foot-traffic-only bridge on the AT. It's a steel truss bridge built on the piers of a former railroad bridge. The railroad now crosses the river a few hundred feet downstream on a newer bridge built on a straighter alignment. I got a little bonus when a stack train with CSX power went by at speed on the other side of the river just before I crossed. Okay, sometimes it doesn't take much to amuse a rail fan. Once Caboose and I got across the river there was a shuttle driver who we hired waiting to take us to The Troutdale post office to begin the next part of our adventure.
Date: 2016-05-16
From: Off the trail for a few days

To: US 501 trail head, James River crossing
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Returning to the trail at US 501, James River crossing5/16/16   I'm waiting for Caboose's flight to arrive and have nothing really significant to write about. Resupply shopping is all done for the next section of the trail so hopefully we'll get shuttled back to the trailhead in time to make a few miles today.    The one thing of significance I do have to say is that this is the first time in many weeks, maybe ever, that I've been caught up, right to the day, with my journal. Not to worry however. I don't expect that will last more than a day or two at the most!   Now, let me get out of this boring motel and back on the trail.
Date: 2016-05-17
From: US 501 trail head, James River crossing

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 42.4
Weather: overcast clouds

James River to The Priest Shelter5/16/16 end mileage 786.0   Just to finish up today, we got back on the trail at the James River. Trek aroma was just coming across the river to head in to Glasgow as we were heading across the road to go north. We hiked 1.7 miles to Johns Hollow Shelter in the remaining sunlight of the day. It was the last sun we'd be seeing for a while. Spidey, Magellan and Strider were already there.    Thru hikers are sometimes warned not to stay at shelters that are too close to a road because sometimes the locals like to mess with the hikers. Apparently 1.7 miles is too close to the road, because a couple of locals came in to the site at around 10:30PM after we were all in bed for the night, and sat on the table right in front of the shelter. They proceeded to engage in loud conversation and disparaging comments about hikers, while shining their very bright headlamps in to the shelter and having a veritable weed smoke-a-thon. None of us said anything and fortunately they left after about 15 minutes. Live and learn.5/17/16 end mileage 804.3   Left Johns Hollow Shelter in the rain this morning. Basically a long slog in the rain to Brown Mountain Creek Shelter, which was full by the time hiker midnight came because I one wanted to set up tents in the rain. 5/18/16 end mileage 826.7   Another rainy day that started with a 2700 foot, four mile climb of Bald Knob and we were back up to the 3500 to 4000 foot elevation level again for most of the day. Ended the day at The Priest Shelter, near the summit of The Priest.
Date: 2016-05-19
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 37.6
Weather: light rain

The Priest Shelter to Waynesboro, VA5/19/16 end mileage 849.0   The hike down from The Priest today was long and steep but the climb up Three Ridges immediately following was far more difficult. It was six miles long and a 3000 foot elevation gain. Everyone I was with was glad to reach the top of that one! The rest of the day was comparatively easier and the weather got better as the day went on. Our destination was Humpback Mountain and there is a nice tent site near the top with a beautiful view from some ledges about 50 feet away. By the time we got set up it was pretty late so I took my stove out on the ledges and made my supper right there as we watched a beautiful sunset. After everyone else left to go to bed I stayed out there and watched the lights come on in the town below. Oh, and there was a full moon shining as well. 5/20/16 end mileage 861.3   Today was a short day, only 12.3 miles to Rockfish Gap, which is right at the north end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our final destination for the day was Waynesboro, VA and a hostel called Stanimals 328 Hostel. It's run by 2004 thru hiker Adam Stanley.    So anyways, we walked out of the woods onto US 250, still without a plan on how we were going to get from the trailhead into Waynesboro, a distance of about four miles. We had been standing there maybe two minutes when a car pulled over and the driver asked us if we wanted a ride to town. About then Jimmy-John comes out of the woods behind us, so the gentleman in the car gave all three of us a ride to town. More trail magic! In a little while someone from the hostel came and picked us all up and took us to the hostel. Stanimal's is in the finished basement of a nice house in a suburban subdivision. From the outside you'd never know it has a hostel in the basement. Very nice, clean placze to stay, with cheap snacks for hikers to buy, a washer and dryer, and a big screen TV in the bunkroom. After we got showered up a big group of us went to the Ming Garden all-you-can-eat Chinese restaurant for dinner. There was Seabiscuit, Food Bag, Caboose, Spiderman, Captain Ahab, Lieutenant Dan, Diesel, Cold Snap , Moondog, Nail Gun and his wife Mary, and myself. It was a great time. I think the restaurant people were probably happy to see us go, though. Thru hikers can eat a lot!5/21/16    We decided that we liked Stanimal's so much that we would take a zero day there. After sleeping in a little later than usual (about 0715) we all got up and got going. We got a ride to the local Wal-mart for a resupply. Later, after getting back to the hostel, Food Bag, Seabiscuit, Caboose, Spiderman, Diesel, Cold Snap and I decided to walk to the movie theater to see the movie Jungle Book. Since we got there pretty late, and the theater was full of little kids, we all had to sit separated from each other. The movie was good, though. After the movie we went back to Stanimal's and watched movies on the big screen TV.
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 45.3
Weather: broken clouds

Rockfish Gap to Rock Spring Hut 5/22/16 end mileage 882.0   After getting ready for our 0700 ride from the hostel back to the trail at Rockfish Gap, we had to say goodbye to Seabiscuit, who was heading home to Belgium in a few days after deciding to get off the trail because he wasn't having any fun at it anymore. It's a little sad seeing someone you've hiked with for about two months call it quits, but I understand...he's a long way from home.    We were dropped off back at Rockfish Gap and spent the day hiking in the rain. We ended up at Blackrock Hut and fortunately there was still room in the shelter so we didn't have to set up in the rain. We were lucky, because quite a few more hikers came looking for shelter space, but we got the last of it. There is a really nice spring right out in front of this shelter, too. Today we also entered Shenandoah National Park. 5/23/16 end mileage 903.4   We ended at Hightop Hut today. The rain ended partway through the day. We hit the 900 mile mark today. 5/24/16 end mileage 927.3   Hightop Hut to Rock Spring Hut. Weather finally turned sunny today. A bunch of us (Caboose, Food Bag, Spidey, Lieutenant Dan, Captain Ahab and myself) went to the Big Meadows Wayside for lunch today. If you don't know what a Wayside is, it's basically a tourist trap inside SNP, where you can get expensive souvenirs and junk food or eat at a restaurant with highly inflated prices and food that's not that great. But we had heard that the blackberry milkshakes were not to be missed so we had to try it out. Well, the hamburg and french fries were definitely second rate but the shakes were good, although overpriced. Unfortunately, the shakes didn't settle well with some of us!    I finally saw a bear today shortly before getting to the hut for the night. That was kind of exciting, although it wasn't that close, maybe 100 feet away.