morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-11
From: Iron Mtn Gap

To: Roan High Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Another fantastic night at Miss Janet's and of course a great breakfast too. The bad part was it took forever to get out of town and back to the road crossing. I didn't get started hiking until just before noon.I had hopes of making it to Overmountain Shelter today, but with the last start and a huge climb (2500') up Roan Mtn it just wasn't meant to be.Anyway, the hike started out fairly easy. Just before the first shelter (Clyde something) the trail started to climb and the afternoon rain rolled in. That's when things got tough. Since I had raingear on, it was pretty hot.The climb up Roan Mtn was brutal. I thought I'd never get to the top. Roan High Knob shelter was only a short .7 mile hike from the summit. Given the time,there's no way I'd make it to the next shelter. If I had an earlier start Overmountain or Stan Murray would have been no problem.So here I am at the highest shelter on the AT (6285'). I've had dinner and ready for bed.The plan for tomorow is to get to route 19E and get a ride to the Kincora Hostel. From there I'll try get some more slack packing in to catch up with Ladybug and Bear.
Date: 2004-05-12
From: Roan High Knob Shelter 

To: US19E / Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 15.2

Since the shelter last was so high, the night was a bit cool. Nothing like those few really cold nights when I first started.The hike today led down off Roan to Carver Gap. From there it went over Round Bald then Jane Bald. There was a pretty rough dpwn into Stan Murray shelter followed by a small up and down to Overmountain Shelter. I really wish I could have stayed at Overmountain. It's a barn with an incredible view. But it wasn't meant to be.The next couple climbs were over Little Hump mtn then Hump mtn. Hump mtn normally has long horn steers on it but following with my normal animal viewing, I saw no longhorns. What's up with my luck and the wildlife?I sat on top of Hump Mtn for about an hour waiting for Goosebump. The later part of the day finished her thru-hike. She did a southbound last year, and finished it up going north this spring. So she's now finished as she reached Doll Flat on the noerth side of Hump Mtn.The hike today concluded at route 19E, where Goosebump and I waited for Pat Peoples from the Kincora Hostel to come get us. Soon we were whisked back to the hostel, then off to dinner in Hampton, TN.I got an email from Ladybug today saying she and Bear are at the Laurel Creek Hostel (just down the road from Kincora. They are planning to slack into Damascus by Saturday. I also heard from Puck Finn that he passed Ladybug and Bear heading south on the AT from Dennis Cove to 19E. So they are 1 day ahead.The plan for me is to slack the 23 or so miles back here. There might be an issue with me getting a ride with the shuttles to Damascus.Time will tell...
Date: 2004-05-13
From: US19E / Kincora Hostel

To: Dennis Cove Rd / Kincora Hostel 
Miles today: 23.6

OUCH, my body hurts! Not just my feet today, but my knees and back too. I just keep doing these 20+ mile days. I haven't gone back and looked, but I think today is my longest day yet. The map didn't show things being too bad but it sure took it's toll on me.I think there are two reasons for me being beat. The first being I really cruised the hike today. I pushed out the 23+ in about 9 hours. The second reason is that it rained on and off all day. Not enough to worry about putting on raingear, but enough to make it extremely humid! It was close to being able to cut it with a knife.On a more pleasant side, the hike rolled through the TN country side. I also crossed the 400 mile mark today. That's a lot of miles to walk!! Any how, the scenery seemed to be the same from the time I started until the time I got back. The guidebook just listed stream crossing and stream crossing for about 15 miles. There weren't many other landmarks to gauge from.I did pass, Coming & Going who are dragging their feet getting to Damascus to avoid the crowd. Also passed today, were Pokey and Gabby. That crowd is staying at the shelter about six miles south of here.It's a completely different world here at the hostel tonight. I guess everybody is up at Damascus. A welcomed change actually. Last night was a bit hectic.Bob Peoples took several of us to town for groceries and/or dinner. I should be all ready to head back onto the trail (pack and all) tomorrow morning.Oh, I got a call from Bear last night. He and Ladybug were leaving this morning and heading north. They plan to pull into Damascus on Saturday, during Trail Days. They also plan take two zero days in Damascus. So I should have no problem catchig them soon.The downside to all this is that I wanted to attend Trail Days. However, that would require me to take a couple days off and get a shuttle up there. I should get there sometime Sunday but that's the tail end and many people will have already left. As long as there are some food vendors left, I'll be happy.
Date: 2004-05-14
From: Dennis Cove Rd / Kincora Hostel 

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

The miles for the day are more normal. It feels really strange to be sitting still at this hour. In fact it's only 6:45, I've gotten water, had dinner, clean that mess up, unpacked all my stuff and there is still plenty of time left before dark.I came really close to moving on to the next shelter and probably should have, but decided to stay here. The water is about .5 miles down the side of the mountain. So that was the deciding factor. I was dead tired after getting H2O. My feet were hurting pretty bad upon arrival too.I really wish I was at Trail Days right now with my fellow hikers. I have a feeling I'll be the only person in the shelter tonight, since most people are at Trail Days.Even if I had pushed on to the next shelter, I wouldn't make it to Damascus and Trail Days until Sunday. I guess there is that slight chance I could out right kill myself and get there by tomorrow night. Damascus is 33 miles from here, so you do the math.With all the people there I probably wouldn't be able to find a good place to tent anyway, so I'll just settle with getting in on Sunday morning.The hike today started out little later than I had hoped. Perhaps with that additional time I could have made the next shelter before dark. Anyway, first on the agenda today was a trip down through the Laurel Fork Gorge and Laurel Falls. Boy, was that nice!!Next was a hike over Pond Flats. Flats? No way! It wasn't as bad as most people made it out to be, but was still pretty rough. That climb of course was followed by a decent of equal height.The hike are Watauga lake was easy and somewhat pretty. I say somewhat, because there was a fair amount of garbage. What a shame! The hike across the dam was hot since it was exposed and in the sun. There was also a short road walk which was hot and rough on the knees.From there the trail climbed up on a ridge. The same ridge that I'll follow into Damascus over the next day and a half.I noticed there are a lot more leaves on the trees now. I guess that is in part to it being a bit later in the season, but also that I'm a bit lower in elevation now.As I mentioned before the water source for this shelter is a long way away, but the view down into the valley and over the lake is really nice. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention the other day (5/12 I believe) is that I'm officially out of North Carolina. So that's two states done. I'm also closing in on VA, which should be Sunday morning on my way into Damascus. So that will make three states completed.I hope the hike tomorrow is fair level and I can make some miles, and leave a short amount for Sunday morning.
Date: 2004-05-15
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: TN 91 / Damascus / Trail Days 
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

BEAR, BEAR, I saw a bear!!It only took 430 miles, but I finally saw a bear in the woods. Sorry, no lions or tigers.Well, Carrying10 showed up late last night at the shelter so I wasn't all alone. He wanted to get as close to Damascus as he could so he got up at 4AM to start hiking. Geez, that's early.That is the time the mice started the olympics. They raced around the shelter for what seemed hours.I did get up at 6AM and was walking by 6:30. My hope was to make it to Abingdon Shelter which is 10 miles from town. I would then arrive first thing in the morning.Just before the first shelter I heard a thump, a branch crack then a large black object running away through the woods. A bear, alright...The morning and trail seemed to fly by quickly. Before I knew it, I was at route TN91, with just 12ish miles to go.When I arrived there I met Little Timmy Tucked. He was waiting on Gabby, who was two days behind me. I informed him as such and that I thought his wife was picking him up and taking him to Trail Days.So Little Timmy Tucked said there was no reason for him wait any longer. So h offered me an orange and a coke. Ah, Trail Magic. Much needed too!! Then he offered me a ride to town. I explained I was trying to catch some friends and going into town would put me a bit behind. So then I got the offer for a ride back in the morning so slack into town. Now, how am I to resist that.So off to Trail Days I was whisked. I got myself all kinds of food and looked at the vendor stuff. I was also looking for Ladybug and Bear, but never did find them. I did see a bunch of other hikers that I know, which was cool.Arriving back at tent city, soon the rains came. Boy did they come!! Now I sit under my tarp with water flowing under. I have no idea what I'm going to do tonight. I'm sure that I'm going to get wet. :-(Just as I think things are getting better I end up miserable.
Date: 2004-05-16
From: TN 91 / Damascus / Trail Days 

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: broken clouds

Caught them!It took some serious hiking today, but I have finally caught Ladybug and Bear! It helped that they took a zero day today as well.Somehow I managed to stay dry last night despite the huge amount of rain and the swamp the rain caused. I was quite pleased. The noise level at tent city, aka Trail Days campground was intense. The drum circle went on until sometime after midnight. Then the group of campers next to me were up until sometime around 4AM. Nevertheless, it was a fairly wet free, but restless night.Little Timmy Tuckered gave me a ride back to TN91, where he picked me up yesterday. The day started out cool and sunny. The trail started off heading across a field, which soaked my feet immediately. I made it to the first shelter in about an hour. That was great cause it was suppose to be 3.4 from the road. That meant I was hiking fast.I hurried off to the rt 421 crossing. There I found some trail magic. A Coke can with my name on it. Later I asked Bear about and he said they didn't leave it. Since Trail Days is going on, the trail has been really vacant. So I have absolutely no idea who left it, but it was certainly appreciated. Thank You to who ever left it.Soon I was off again flying down the trail toward the next shelter, Abingdon Gap shelter. I was on a mission, to reunite with my friends and also to get som town food. The trail al morning was really easy an mostly flat, so the miles just chipped off easily.I was at that last shelter just before noon, which meant I'd be in town by early afternoon. I had to get water, since I was completely out. Unfortunately the water source is way down a hillside. But nothing I could do but deal with it.The hike into town was all downhill, which also helped for an early arrival. I pulled off the 21.8 miles in just under 6 hours. The last of my speed-packing days!!Aftr getting into town I had some guy take my picture under the archway at the end oof town. Then it was off to get food. Oh, I was going to eat something at that last shelter out of town, but the bugs were really bad. Who did I find milling around the people at Trail Days??? Ladybug and Bear!! Woohoo, I'm reunited with my friends! I'm much happier now.We caught up on different things. I also found out they were tented across from tent city last night. Bummer!! Oh, well...tonight we are staying at Chestnut Lodge in Damascus. Really it's just just an apartment over a garage.Tonight's dinner was consumed at Sicily's. I put some serious damage on a large pizza, yummy!Time for bed in a dry, warm location.
Date: 2004-05-17
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

A well earned zero day today. I think I pulled off something like 190 trail miles in just 10 days. My feet still hurt, but everything else is fine.The chores for the day included a Post Office run for mail drops and bounce boxes, laundry and the library to pay some bills (online).The town is so much different today, as there are very few hikers in town. Hopefully that is good news for us trying to head out in the morning.Not much else to report on today, just normal zero day things...Chores, eat, chores, eat, etc...Now we are back at the room watching TV. What better than a special on the Travel Channel covering Bigfoot? Will I find Bigfoot on the trail? who knows... LOL
Date: 2004-05-18
From: Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

I'm finally back to doing some normal miles for a change. And it's a good thing because we got a super late start leaving town.Ladybug, Bear and I had grand ideas of getting to the PO at 8:30, hitting Cowboy's for breakfast and on the trail by 9:30. I believe it was close to 11 by the time we were hiking.It took us a bit longer to get packed up and on the way to the Post Office. After shipping stuff out from the PO, we stopped by the outfitter quickly. I needed fuel, Ladybug needed to get her new pack fitting double checked and weighed, Bear needed nothing but ended up with a new headlamp. I also weighed my pack, which came in at 31 pounds. Too much!! I guess I have more food now, because I've made no gear changes.After breakfast and some last minutes phone calls we were on the way northbound on he AT again. For some strange reason, I got a bit light headed on the first up. I'm not sure what the problem was, but I quickly got over that and into the hiking groove.The trail follows the VA Creeper bike trail for a while and parallels it even longer. For the most part the map is pretty accurate on the profile, if not quite as steep as the other set of maps (I gues that is good)We stopped for lunch and an hour long break at Saunders Shelter. It was a beautiful log structure, but 10 miles just was not far enough for the day. So down the trail was the on the agenda. The last time we crossed the Creeper Trail, there was a nice bench. I sat and waited for my friends to arrive. Hell, I hiked my as off to catch them, so the least I could do was wait a bit for them. The rain started to fall as we sat and talked. So out came the raingear and off I headed.The climb up to the shelter was fairly easy. Ufortunately, the shelter area is super crowded tonight. I'm guessing there is about 8 or so in the shelter, then another 15-20 tents setup. So Ladybug, Bear and I setup our tents just up the trail from the shelter.It was fantastic to spend time with my trail buddies today! The temps today and light rain were the only negatives. The humidity is really killing me. I don't remember it being this bad during my VA section hike.Tomorrow should take us up around Mt Rogers and close to the Grayson Highlands. I've heard so many great things about this section, I'm looking forward to some nice sights.
Date: 2004-05-19
From: Lost Mtn Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Fortunately the rain held off for the night. It was overcast when I crawled out of the tent/tarp.The hike started out fairly easy and flat. It wasn't until we started to climb to Buzzard Rock that it got steep and also the clouds/fog got thick. I waited near the top for Bear and Ladybug in some pretty thick stuff. It was cold and windy and reminded me of some White Mtn weather I've been in previously.The plan was for our lunch break to be taken at the VA600, Elk Garden road crossing. Just before getting there I heard some thunder and the skies got really dark! At the road crossing I could see what appeared to be rain coming up the valley. There were some people doing trail maintanence at the parking lot. Just then Ladybug popped out of the woods and announced she wanted to go into town.I was a little concerned with that, given the amount of time consumed on those trips. However, the thought of avoiding the rain was also weighing in. So the idea of staying dry and inside, along with town food was too much. So we got a ride into some town and had a great lunch.Amazingly just after we finished eating, the rain stopped, the clouds cleared and the sun came out. It was like a whole new day. So then came the issue of getting a ride back to the trail.We stood on the side of the road for maybe 10 minutes trying to hitch. Then a guy came by who wasn't going our direction, but backed up and drove over to us. Turns out our ride was a section hiker and was heading to Damascus. Soon we were back at the trail head and on our way north again.Just as we got to Thomas Knob Shelter the clouds rolled in and it started raining. So we decided to stay here for the night. It would seem there were a bunch of people who passed by this shelter today, making the next one likely to be packed. I guess we'll need to make up some miles on another day.For now we are dry and in the shelter. I hope the weather is nice for the climb through and over the Grayson Highlands!!
Date: 2004-05-20
From: Thomas Knob Shelter 

To: Trail to Hurricane Campground 
Miles today: 19.1

Today was a really good hiking day.The morning started a little ugly, with fog and wind. Shortly after leaving the shelter the fog turned to patchy fog and would come and go. Bear and I got to see the wild ponies fairly close to the shelter as well. Since we were so high the fog/clouds had us keeping our pack covers on. It even started to spit rain a little bit too.About an hour after leaving and dropping some elevation the sun poked out and the day turned out to be really nice. All of the morning was spent in the Grayson Highlands area. Oh, man what a great place to hike!! I certainly have to return to that area.Since we ended up short yesterday, we had to pull the map and guide out at lunch to figure out were to lay our heads for the evening. After speaking with Publix, we found out that the shelter (Raccoon Branch) we were planning (prior to our short day yesterday) was torn down last weekend.So we decided to do the .5 miles off the trail to a pay campground.At the last road crossing (VA603) we got some Trail Magic, Pepsi and bannanas. Yummy!! The hike from the road up over Iron Mtn was pretty easy, as was the hike down off.The campground is really nice, despite being a pay cmpground. We just didn't have it in us for a few more miles, and we were able to get showers here.Tomorrow should be a pretty easy day of just about 16 miles to Partnership Shelter. For those who don't know, that shelter is next to the Mt. Rogers HQ building with a phone. It is possible to order pizza and have it delivered. So I'm really looking forward to that! Actually, I've been looking forward to staying at that shelter for a long time.Oh, I crossed over 500 miles today for this hike. Man, that's a long way to walk by means of one's own feet.Hopefully tomorrow will be just as rewarding as today was for us hikers.
Date: 2004-05-21
From: Trail to Hurricane Campground 

To: Partnership Shelter 
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: scattered clouds

The skies were overcast when I first got up and the humidity was extremely high. However, the sun came out quickly and warmed things up.I had some major condensation on the inside of the tarp. Not so much that it was a problem me getting wet, but the tarp was really wet. So I tried to dry it a bit before leaving the campground. Unfortunately that wasn't too successful, so I had to pack it up wet.The hike was pretty easy this morning and before I knew it I was at Trimpi Shelter. I had an early lunch there and grabbed some water.The afternoon warmed up pretty hot and I didn't think to get a second quart at the last water source before climbing up on the ridge. So I got a bit dehydrated this afternoon. Fortunately the hike was easy once getting up on the ridge. The draw of pizza was great and I hiked the last four miles in one hour and fifteen minutes without water. The shelter has running water so I got myself a quart immediately and drank that down.The shelter is really nice and even has a shower attached to it. Shower, water, pizza delivery, phone...gee, what more could a hikr want? The bad thing is there's a huge crowd of people here. I guess it's still part of the crowd leaving Damacus after Trail Days. This shelter is a must for hikers, so I'm sure that is part of the draw too. I'll be glad when the crowd thins out a bit.Dinner was a bunch of wings (split between Bear and I) and an extra large pizza. I chowed down all but one slice of the pizza. Not bad, eh? Actually I surprised myself too. The wings did a good job of filling me up prior to even touching the pizza.Now it's time to let dinner digest.
Date: 2004-05-22
From: Partnership Shelter 

To: US11 / Atkins
Miles today: 11.6

I think last night ranks up there at the number three worst night of sleep since I've been on the trail. The really cold night when we got the snow was the worst. Then the night I spent at Tent City in Damascus as second.There were lots of factors involved with the rough night. The two liters of Pepsi wasn't smart to begin with! Then there was the snoring, which you'd think I'd be used to by now. Then a bunch of people got a ride into town to hit a bar. That in itself wasn't bad, but when they returned at 11:30 and continued to party (loudly) in the parking lot until sometime around 4AM that made it pretty difficult to sleep.Ok, enough whinning.The hike today was actually pretty easy. A simple ridge walk for the first 6 miles or so, then a mile descent to the shelter. Lastly another 4 miles to the motel. The last 3 miles or so was in open field. While easy walking, it was realy hot and humid. Good thing it was still morning. I wouldn't want to be out there in the hottest part of the day.After getting cleaned up and doing laundry, Ladybug, Bear and I strolled up to the DQ for lunch. Oh, Yummy! I spent the afternoon consuming a six pack of less filling Miller Lite (or is it better tasting?), cleaning up some gear and being lazy.We had dinner at The Barn restaurant. It was very tasty, but wasn't hiker portions. So we had some ice cream at the DQ after dinner.Sine I had very little sleep last night, I'm pretty tired now. So off to bed I go in preparation for another hiking day.
Date: 2004-05-23
From: US11 / Atkins

To: Lynn Camp Creek
Miles today: 14.3

Yesterday I had high hopes to be hiking by 7:30 or 8AM. The trail crosses a bunch of open fields and get really hot during the day. So I wanted to get through them, prior to things heating up. Well, I didn't get out of bed until after 9. So much for that early start.After getting packed up, Ladybug, Bear and I went back to The Barn restaurant for breakfast. It was really tasty, but the service was still the same, poor.We finaly got on the trail about 11:30. Man, those fields were hot!