morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Mt. Collins Shelter

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 71.0
Weather: moderate rain

After a constant downpour and highly irregular communications, I can summarize the past three days of my trek (the virtual communications blackout was it seems due to a lack of networks in the area and 900(!) emails friends and relatives back in Israel). After reaching the Mt. Collins Shelter on Friday at 23:00, I stopped for a night of rest. The next morning, Saturday, I set out, again in poor weather, climbing along the way Mount Guyot and its 6,360-foot peak. That night round 21:45 I stopped camped out on the trail, this time near the Davenport Gap Shelter, completing approximately a 28-mile day. Yesterday, Sunday morning I departed from Davenport and said a final farewell to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park on my way to Hot Springs, a good night¢s rest, a decent breakfast, recharge my battery and most importantly pick up my first care package waiting for me at the post office. Along the way I ran into another black bear, this time I had the ¢smarts¢ to film the amazing animal and sent it back to Israel, where I am sure my friends put it up on Facebook. Last night I reached Hot Springs, NC after a 37-mile day! Hot Springs, like all the other towns in the area is the kind of town where the sidewalks roll up early, so first things first, I was off looking for a place to put my head down and get a shower. The picture is proof that I¢m clean. I managed though to have a wonderful dinner and even reach the post office before closing so that I could collect my packages. One contained all kinds of foods and other nutritional additives, the other contained a new pair of sorely needed shoes! Bye for now I'm off again.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Jerry Cabin
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: moderate rain

I was able to get out of Hot Springs early, around 7:00 actually. It has been pouring for the past four days, but today was the worst. My goal was to reach Jerry Cabin Shelter.My packages arrived at the Hot Springs Post Office, and it was great to have a new pair of shoes, better suited for the topography and athletes¢ nutritional additives. Because of the rain I run most of the day without a shirt, it is warm enough, and save the dry clothes for sleeping during the night. This current route is less rocky. I will be happy to move into Tennessee and Virginia finally.
Date: 2010-05-18
From: Jerry Cabin

To: Near Spivey Gap
Miles today: 29.0
Weather: light rain

Since now I have a mobile connection, I stopped along the trail to give everyone a long awaited update. This afternoon a bashful sun finally broke through the clouds after five very wet and slippery days highlighted by pea soup fog, strong winds, cold temperatures and a running surface sometimes as slippery as margarine. I am trying to make up for the lost distances by getting less sleep, so this morning I was already out the ¢door¢ at 05:00. If it is not raining, I do not mind continuing past a shelter even when it is clear I will not reach the next one along the trail. I just make up a small corner in some fold along the side of the trail, but during these past few days of rain, I was dependent upon the shelters. I am currently facing a number of lengthy up hill stretches. I think I am moving at a rate of no more than 0.62 miles an hour. This certainly screws up my schedule. Anyways I have enough supplies until Damascus. I eat about 1,500 calories a day, no more. I only eat dinner. Of course, I exert much more during 14-15 hours of movement, so the ¢love handles¢ are all gone. The area here is much better and less rocky than the Smokies. My blisters are closing slowly although it is still painful to step, but like they say, ¢no rain, no pain, no Maine¢! Overall, aside from smelling, hungry and very tired, I am healthy. Make no mistake though¢¦ this is a war against nature¢¦and I love it! I hope you all had the chance to see the clip with the black bear. Regards to everyone, miss you all.
Date: 2010-05-20
From: Near Spivey Gap

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 30.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I reached Cherry Gap Shelter (between Tennessee and North Carolina) by 21:00. It was a big effort. Ate, slept and I was out again by 06:00. Clear Skies! Today I will climb altitudes over 6,000 feet, but they are the last serious mountains until Mt. Washington. My battery is low again. I suggest putting the videos in FB and forget Channel 10. What is most important is that my friends and family see and learn of this amazing journey.
Date: 2010-05-23
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 55.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The lack of battery power has prevented me from putting out an earlier report but after reaching Damascus, I was able to power up and let you all know what is happening and where I¢ve been and where I am more or less. Early Friday morning I completed my run around Roan Mountain and left the Apple House Shelter to a point 3 miles north of Laurel Fork Shelter where I bedded down for the night. It was a difficult night as I was left without water and that meant nothing for dinner. I am constantly hungry. I am at present living on running additives. Saturday I was up at dawn, wet, no drenched and ran until 20:00 when I reached the Double Spring shelter where I spent the night. Sunday I left there at 06:00 and reached Damascus at noon. I went straight to the post office, collected my package; my backpack is heavy once again. Damascus after Trail Days has once again become a quiet, small town and I still have a long way to run, so after about two hours, I headed north/north east once again, this time in the fine Commonwealth of Virginia.In spite of the constant rain, I have had some wonderful moments along the trail. I was able to photograph a beautiful deer, so now I have film and photos of a snake, two bears and a deer! I also took a great photo of the entrance to Damascus with other hikers and like them; I am so very pleased to be entering the ¢gentler¢ conditions of Virginia. I made the acquaintance of JJ Jessee who identified me as galilee man from the article he read and we walked together for half a day.It is rainy, wet¢¦ and I continue onward.
Date: 2010-05-24
From: Damascus

To: 474.8-mile point
Miles today: 19.0

I know that most folks find it hard to believe but I was in Damascus for no more than 212 hours. I ate (finally!) some pizza, picked up my pre-shipped packages and I was off. In spite of the lost time, I managed actually to do the 18.6 miles from the Double Springs Shelter to the camping grounds at the 474.8-mile point. For about ten miles, JJ Jessee,a hiker from the Damascus area who has been following my journal reports accompanied me and it was a pleasure. Other folks along the way also knew about my attempt and came to say hello. The other day, on the climb up Iron Mountain I ran into winds and rain like I had never seen before, except in the movies. It was very cold and everything was soaked. I also had my second serious fall when I slipped on a rock and fell hard on my tailbone. Fortunately, the damage was not too serious but it hurts when I climb, it is hard to sit and best that I sleep on my stomach, at least until the injury heals. That was all I needed! My food is organized to the minimum. Once again, I forgot to buy stuff for breakfast or just a quick snack. I am surviving from dinner to dinner and throughout the day gels and protein bars, very little real food. On the brighter side, my feet are in a healing trend. The large sores are closing slowly and more importantly without infection. At the end of every day, I devote nearly an hour to caring for my feet. Starting tomorrow, I will attempt to extend my daily mileage to nothing less than 30 miles per day. I saw myself in the mirror in Damascus and I look old, and that is in addition to being tired, dirty and smelly! Nevertheless, we are moving northward!
Date: 2010-05-24
From: 474.8-mile point

To: Old Orchard
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: light rain

Today nothing went well,I woke up tired and the route up Mt. Rogers was a nightmare. The rocks cut into my feed, everything is soaking wet and the trail is flooded. Add to this that I for some reason forgot to stop in the grocery store in Damascus so I have no snacks and nothing for breakfast. I have only food for dinner. Again, I have trouble with my feet and again today, I fell after slipping on the same tailbone. I hurt from head to toe. It was depressing. It was with great effort that at 21:00 I reached Old Orchard Shelter and completed almost 30 miles. The first day of crisis, tomorrow let¢s hope I have forgotten what happened. I will get up early tomorrow and head north as far as possible.
Date: 2010-05-26
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 37.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I left Chatfield at 05:00. I stopped at the gas station at Atkins with their nice grocery, bought a little bit of everything, snacks, peanuts, rolls, salami and a real luxury, coffee! I also ate a couple of hot dogs at 7 AM!! From now on, I will start earlier. In spite of the cramps in my hands, I was able to continue straight through until the Jenkins Shelter, stopping at 22:00. The route now is much more ¢hiker friendly¢ than what I¢ve already completed. Tomorrow I will head out early again and go for a long day; I must improve my mileage.
Date: 2010-05-27
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter + 2
Miles today: 40.0
Weather: light rain

The last time I was able to complete a 40 mile run was the first night of my thru-hike from Springer Mountain to Low Gap Shelter. Well, thanks to a more ¢hiker-friendly¢ terrain, renewed energy and determination, I was able to get back on the 40-mile path when I left Jenkins Shelter at 05:00 and as I was hoping moved northward until stopping 2 miles past Wapiti Shelter, again at around 22:00. Although I don¢t know if I will be able to fully close the gap, I certainly won¢t go down without a fight.
Date: 2010-05-31
From: Daleville

To: Past Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 32.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Both my pack and I are heavy and full of food since leaving Daleville. I also have the athlete food additives that were in my package. They are the heaviest item in the pack, overall weighing more than 40 lbs. My GPS is now updated. I passed Cornelius Creek Shelter, some 32 miles after Daleville.
Date: 2010-06-01
From: Past Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: VA 607-Robinson
Miles today: 32.0

Made the climb from a point the trail between Cornelius Creek to Thunderhill to near Punchbowl Shelter. At 23:00 I stopped at the junction of VA 607 at Robinson Gap. The days are very hot, requiring that I drink gallons of water and also make all this climbing difficult, but we are movin' on.
Date: 2010-06-03
From: Rt. 56 Crabtree Falls

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 30.0
Weather: clear sky

Wow how time flies! It¢s been four weeks since I first entered the Appalachian Trail, my feet are now better and I¢ve dropped tons of weight. At the same time, my TJ is growing daily, Facebook is exploding and I¢ve received numerous words of encouragement that have brought me all the way to Rockfish Gap and an accumulated 853 miles! I celebrated the event with a big dinner and then prepared myself for the next three days climbing through the Shenandoah National Park. Only the day before yesterday though, things looked somewhat different. About 5 miles before the Priest Shelter and Rt. 56 it seems that I somehow got off trail, in the area of Spy Rock. I was literally lost for about 90 minutes, climbing the rocks, yelling, blowing a whistle, when finally a hiker along the trail heard me and directed me back, not before I threw my backpack and myself down a 32-foot drop. Well the backpack and I are both all right, we¢re tough and thanks to the guy who helped me back to the trail.
Date: 2010-06-04
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Just short of the Hightop Hut shelter
Miles today: 32.0
Weather: broken clouds

It was at best a mediocre day. I finished 32 miles from Rockfish Gap northward, just short of the Hightop Hut shelter. A lot of rain fell during the previous night and by early morning; the trail was slippery like soap. As usual after about 30 minutes I landed once again on my right knee that for some reason has received repeated injuries and is somewhat bruised (it¢s either the knee or the tailbone). After that, I had shoe problems and three of my toes on my right foot that I decided to ¢pop¢ (the blisters) and therefore it was a day of excruciating pain. Today I did not succeed in enjoying the scenery of the Shenandoah¢s. It is somewhat disappointing. We will see what tomorrow brings.
Date: 2010-06-07
From: Jenkins Gap

To: Morgans Mill Road (VA 605) 
Miles today: 30.5

First, fulfilling an obligation to my dedicated readers ¢lilgray¢ and ¢melody¢, I thank you for reading my TJ and you can find my film clips and more photos on my FB page under my name ¢Carlos Goldberg¢. Most of the material is in Hebrew for my ever-growing list of friends back home in Israel, but every once in while, a link to my TJ (in English of course) comes up or new pictures that I have managed to upload.This morning I left Jenkins Gap at the relatively ¢late¢ hour of 05:30 and moved some 30 miles northward on a roller coaster trail to Morgans Mill Road (VA 605) stopping at the relatively ¢early¢ hour of 21:20. Since I am trying to reach Harpers Ferry tomorrow at a decent hour (before the ATC closes at 17:00), I have decided that I will get a few hours of shut-eye and head north during the wee-hours of the morning, with my headlamp lighting and leading the way. The route north is not too mountainous, the highest point I believe is ¢only¢ around 1,650 ft so it should not be a problem. Over the past couple of days, I have suffered terrible pains in my right ankle. Whenever my ankle came in contact with the new pair of shoes (heavier and more rugged) that I had just begun wearing, the pain shot up my leg. I had even considered staying overnight in Harpers Ferry to consult with a foot and ankle specialist that I read works in the town. However, in what you Americans would call ¢a MacGyver moment¢ I took a knife and cut a hole in the right shoe so that the anklebone would be exposed, and that so it seems has solved the problem, the pain and the need to wait a whole day in Harpers Ferry to meet with the doctor. Today I got rid of a pair of shoes that lasted no more than two weeks. It is the second pair that I have thrown away. This two-week framework seem to be the maximum ¢Montrails¢ can survive in these conditions. Now we will have to see how the ¢Salomon¢s¢ hold out.I guess my ¢harping¢ about not meeting as many people as I would like on the trail, jolted the following email free from Mike Freed¢s (Loon) computer (see below)! I am sure that the folks back home who received this enjoyed reading it and I hope to meet many others like Loon on my way to Maine. But tomorrow, it is W.Va and Maryland!¢Hi Friends of G.man,This is LOON. He asked me to tell you he was doing well. I met him near Pearisburg Virginia. That is the fourth state he has walked through. He will walk 500 miles in Virginia and soon be in Maryland near Washington DC.Happy Trails to CarlosMike Freed aka LOON¢
Date: 2010-06-09
From: Morgans Mill Road (VA 605) 

To: Devil's Racecourse +1
Miles today: 64.0

Since I had a reasonable distance (¢only¢ some 26 miles) to reach Harpers Ferry and of course get to the offices of the ATC before their 17:00 closing time, I moved my departure time up by an hour and left the junction of Morgans Mill Rd. on Tuesday morning at 04:30 during what turned out to be a lovely day. As my journey has gone, this section of the trail was relatively uneventful, especially after ¢solving¢ my ankle problems (see my previous post). It was predicted that I would reach Harpers Ferry by 14:00 and by golly, I did it! The ATC staff welcomed me warmly, everyone was very nice, and they took my picture and filed it away in the big thru-hiker album. While I was at the ATC offices I had the opportunity to weigh myself (now only 156.53 lbs or 24.25 lbs less than when I started out), overall a great weight reduction plan, but not one recommended for everyone. I also received my pre-shipped packages, re-arranged my backpack shipped two new packages forward and chatted with folks about what I have experienced during the thirty odd days. After 90 minutes of small talk and ceremony, I loaded my backpack and once again headed NOBO. By 21:00, I stopped for the night at the Ed Garvey Shelter. The next day, I was up and out at 05:30, I was sure that I was going for another heroic day! However, as luck would have it, a cold thunderstorm entered the region and poured down on me for nine straight hours! Within 10 minutes, I was drenched in my shorts, and my shoes filled with freezing cold water. A lot of cold water flowed in the stream¢¦er¢¦ trail and the wind-chill factor drove the temperature even lower. Everyone on the trail, except for 2-3 nuts like me, remained in the shelters (I guess there are people around me after all). The temptation to join them was great. Nevertheless, I continued, even when the rain penetrated my backpack as well. Actually, it was better for me to walk at a faster pace; this way I avoided freezing. I was making every effort to reach the area around Raven Rock, so that I might find shelter from the rain that even at this hour (21:00) continues to fall. However, once again, as luck would have it I missed the entrance to the Devil¢s Racecourse Shelter and continued for another mile into the middle of nowhere and darkness. Well to make a long story ¢¦. I organized my makeshift tent, by the trail in the rain and writing when I am cold and wet. Tomorrow I expect it will be difficult to get moving, we will see how I get through the night. It has happened more than once that I missed the entrances into the shelters because I am so tired, but that is life on the AT. I have only one battery left until I reach Port Clinton, therefore I turn on my phone only at night to read mails and send this update, good night.
Date: 2010-06-10
From: Devil's Racecourse +1

To: Birch Run Shelters. 
Miles today: 31.0
Weather: scattered clouds

If the photo attached is as they say ¢worth 1,000 words¢ then I do not have to write anything. Nevertheless and in spite of it all, this morning (Thursday) I left my campsite just north of Raven Rock only at 08:00 because the night before had been so terrible with the storm raging on long into the early morning hours Everything was wet and I mean everything! It was hard and depressing for me to get organized, but after some motivation talks, my mood slowly improved and I moved out passing the Mason ¢ Dixon Line, and moving into Pennsylvania! At 21:30, I settled into a spot at one of the Birch Run Shelters. Tomorrow, God willing I will get up early to make up the time I lost today. Hey¢¦ I¢m in Pennsylvania!
Date: 2010-06-17
From: Catfish Fire Tower 

To: Pochuck Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 44.0
Weather: clear sky

Well like I said yesterday, New Jersey is a different story altogether. I awoke at Catfish Fire Tower and ¢burned¢ the trail until I reached Pochuck Mountain Shelter. That is pretty much most of New Jersey! Tomorrow, though is supposed to be a different story. Everyone says that the trail through Wawayanda and the Pinnacles is hard work. Not like today¢s ¢easy pickins¢¢. The missing package from Port Clinton seems to have affected me more than I thought it would, I am constantly thinking about food. I surely would have enjoyed having the carb gels, protein bars and coffee that were in that package. Going to get some rest; tomorrow is another day.
Date: 2010-06-19
From: Pochuck Mountain Shelter

To: Dennytown Rd. in Putnam Valley
Miles today: 67.0

On Friday (June 18) I was struck with a stomach virus, the intensity of which I would wish only on my worst enemies. Once again the lost packages (which by the way as it turns out were sitting waiting comfortably at the Port Clinton Post Office with all the other packages waiting to be claimed) left their mark on my digestive system as the dried fruits and pretzels that I was able to scrounge along the way instead of the specialized quality trail foods did not do me well, not at all. That same day, I nevertheless managed to reach the West Mountain Shelter, only to find it without water nearby and spent the entire night vomiting and what not. I was severely dehydrated and by 11:00 the next morning (Saturday June 19) barely able to head out to the next point along my trek. I must have been quite a frightening sight for the hikers who passed me and responded to my requests for water, I was a wreck. In the midst of this current crisis, my personal savior (yes I understand the ironic humor of ¢Galilee man¢ needing a ¢personal savior¢) came in the form of Dave Martin, one of my regular TJ readers who made the +3hr journey from his home in Lancaster PA to literally hunt me down along the AT (see David's description of the events below). Considering the state of crisis I was in, he showed up exactly at the right moment with some sorely needed trail magic and encouragement, hiking with me across the Bear Mountain Bridge! There we parted as lifelong trail buddies and I continued northward where I reached a clearing along Dennytown Rd. in Putnam Valley. We will see how I fair the night, I sincerely hope that tomorrow I will be able to eat again and pick up my next package at Pawling as I pass into New England heading we need to remember towards Maine! ¢From: David Martin Date: 2010/6/20Subject: Carlos at Bear Mountain? Hello, After reading his last post on trail journals about being short on gels and protein bars I left Lancaster, PA this morning Sat. the 19th with a bag of goodies and drove up to New York in hopes of finding Carlos. With God¢s help I was able to meet Carlos on the AT at the top of Bear Mountain. That is like finding a needle in a haystack. He had a rough night and had gotten a late start and was moving at a slower than normal pace. That was good for me because I was able to keep up with him as we hiked down the mountain and through the park, which had a zoo. Then he crossed the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain bridge as seen in these pictures and continued on his way North through New York. As you can see in the pictures he has lost a few pounds but he is still in good spirits and wanted me to tell you he is doing fine. It was a pleasure meeting him. Dave Martin¢