morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-10-08
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Atkins, Va hostel
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

Yeah that is a big 4!! 4 months on trail today!! ended up raining a little bit today and so we changed our plans a little bit, we were just going to try to do a few things and get back on trail later today so we can keep up our mileage, but we aren't too keen on hiking in the rain anymore and decided to stay at this new hostel in Atkins, they serve you dinner and breakfast, shower, laundry, internet. So we might have to rearrange a few things in our schedule but we were both greatful that they had room for us to stay tonight! So we are trying to keep up a certain average of miles per day as Shawna has a deadline in november but it makes things a little bit more complicated with staying in towns and getting resupplied as it means that we still have to do decent miles into town that day and get a lot done or make up for less mileage one day by doing more miles the next day or so. The lady who is running this hostel has thru hiked the AT 3 times setting the record for women. It was great to talk with her about hiking and how everyone has a different way of hiking the trail, gearwise, schedule wise of early morning late evening, fast pace slow pace, lots of miles not many miles per day...the freedom to hike it as you please. It has also been a good experience to talk with shawna and work out together how we want to hike this as we dont always have the same desire to get up so early or hike so late, but to work together to do somthing that we both are okay with. The goal being to enjoy ourselves, time with each other, and the trail being outside, not to keep up with others or try to do what everyone else is doing. we are getting close to finishing VA!! We will be in damascus, VA sometime this next week which will pretty much mark us leaving VA which alone is just over 500 miles of trail! oh and creekdiver, i dont have a working email address for you, tried to leave you a voicemail but dont know if you can check it from london...so let me know how to contact you.
Date: 2008-10-09
From: Atkins hostel

To: partnership shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow I'm getting spoiled! night outta rain in the hostel with good dinner, a great bfast then short day to shelter where you can order pizza to be delivered to you!! happy heart and full stomach as we had good trail convo and good eats. stopped to play around in the fall leaves and admire the great view of the valley below and all its color! I also won a game of spades, ive conquered! they wanna rematch but im thinkin no, gotta go out on top!
Date: 2008-10-10
From: partnership shelter

To: troutdale, dickey gap
Miles today: 14.5

Rolling down green grassy hills... and on to another town as we have food package to pick up at the PO this booming metropolis is a restaurant, PO, bank and church with hostel and that really is it...but we made ourselves at home as we played horseshoes, competed to climb up the knotted rope, and I spotting a huge green grassy hill did what any sane person would do and rolled down it several times!! Another hiker, something else, joined as he also had a package to pick up at the PO. Great company as we watched him eat 3 full meals at once funny guy, and had a really great convo about art as he is an art student at the art school in chicago!! I had forgotten how exciting it can be to talk about art and how inspiring it is to talk with other artists!!
Date: 2008-10-11
From: Dickey Gap

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Zee trees R ablaze, I find myself being quite fond of the red leaves. I have about 958,275,176 in my pocket right now! Fall is so HERE! It has been in the last week that the trees have really changed, the ground is covered with the array of colors and crunch of leaves. Just wanna pile up the leaves and jump in them. So looking at the leaves you think oh yeah red, orange, yellow but when you really look at them they are so varied and unique. different color designs and shades transitioning into different shades. like anything in life if you look at something really look you notice the beautiful intricatcies and see things arent so mundane or ordinary seems that mundane is what we make for ourselves, things that we see everyday mundane is our choice to not look into them to see intracies, like a box we make ourselves that we get in and seal shut. Nice gentle climbs today gett'n up to over 5000ft getting some views again up on the balds we havent had a ton of vies latley but man we are used to seeing a sea of green when we look out but now it is like splashes of color almost from a distance like gum drops on the mountains. so many times today I just had to stop and look at the beauty at the shelter we met an old couple from knoxville, tn so cute, they have been in the smokies a ton I guess so they were telln us all about them while sharing their cheese and sausage Later, The old man had a little too much TN whiskey and forgot where the spring was, i have been hearing about these ponies man, so im on the look out ive been told I will see them tommorow on wilbur ridge. there is so much to see here in the grayson highlands!
Date: 2008-10-12
From: wise shelter

To: lost mt shelter
Miles today: 17.3

Grayson Highlands!! Ive been hearn bout these ponies and I saw 3 today!! all close together. they came up let us pet them I was SO excited! so these ponies are ferral ponies that just roam around this area i guess they can be sorta agressive at times and try to get food from you but we didnt have any trouble, they were really tame. before one of them came up to me he threw himself down on the ground and rolled around in the dirt, he's so wild!!   felt like I was havin flashbacks to whties with so many people rocks on trail and open views TONS of people passed today around mt rodgers passing tons of beautiful green grassy flat spots for camping, woulda been a great spot! really windy up here on top of mt rodgers buzzard rock was such a stunning view one huge looking mt with tons of smaller rolling hills in front of it, i wasnt expecting such a view. sometimes views start to all look the same but this view was so great I would walk a few ft and have to stop again to admire it, at one point you have 2 great views one on your left side and one on your right side hills alive with patches of flat bright green areas mixed with the fall colors on the trees. So i met even more people from IN, this time they were students from purdue on fall break (university in my home town) we met them at the shelter we stopped to have lunch. a section hiker here tonight is also from indiana! this is about the 6 or 7 group of people since maine that i have met from indiana, so random...coming into damascus tommorow wow just a few short miles before we leave VA we have been hearing so much about damascus im excited to experience it, and i was so glad i heard so many great things about the grayson highlands because it made me look forward to something which i havent in a while and it DID live up to my expectations and even greater!
Date: 2008-10-13
From: lone mt shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

WE MADE IT TO DAMASCUS!! a place we have been hearing about for so long! this is where trail days festival is held each year around the end of may, just a celebration and get together for the AT community. so we have about 460 miles left to springer in GA where the trail ends! We will leave virginia tommorow and be in TN this last section of trail has been so beautiful and scenic with fall foliage ans rolling hills, we took the creeper trail today which is used also by bicyclists following a creek and going over several small wooden bridges, seemed liek walking in a fal calander picture coming into damascus i was so hungry we ate at the firest place we saw, had a gurger and fries and made our game plan for gettin all our town chores done we both agreed that we have really been enjoying being out here the last few days, thoug we still run into time were the snoring man in the shelter keeps you awake all night. Weather has been pretty warm, warmer than I had expected for this time in october, but hey im not complaining!! found 2 good books to read, one in the shelter, slaughter house 5 and one at the outfitters, mere christianity, so have some good reads as i finished my book awhile ago. the church hostel seems big, cold and lonely as just the two of us were there with 2 other hikers. looking forward to staying at the kincora hostel in a few days!
Date: 2008-10-14
From: Damascus

To: 91 road
Miles today: 21.0

passing through VA and entering TN. Gotta say VA so far is hard for TN to beat, we lost our VA switchbacks for some short steep 2 second climbs, colors dont seem as vibrant. other than that some areas of climbing that we didnt expect pretty pleasant walk, but not many views...so we have TN and north carolina before the final state of GA. I think from this point on it is going to more challenging with more elevation changes, less switchbacks, and steeper areas. THis moring we were out on trail little before 7am so before sun rise, it is a full moon so had one ig yellow full moon on the left stars still out shining above you and the sun starting to rise to you right over the ridge line with an orange yellow glow. we were in a field so our view was unhindered and quite dramatic as we witnessed the day break we crossed back into the woods where the trees blocked the sun and we once again witnessed teh sun begiing to break through, I love getting up early out here but at times it is hard with the chill to crawl outta the warm sleeping bag in the am, but seems as one can see more interesting things early in the day and late in the day...
Date: 2008-10-15
From: 91 road

To: watauga lake shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: clear sky

okay lets just say TN has not been to impressive, in fact im really hoping TN redeems itself in the next day or so...I know Ive been through harder terrain on the trail but there are these super short parts that seem super steep then you go right back down to do the same in 2 seconds. water is in shortage around here, lots of springs are dried up. so there was a strech of 20 or more miles with out water, thankfully we had plenty of water till we arrived at the shelter for the night but we were passing people who had 8oz of water for the next 15 or so miles when we left town we had no idea of the problem with water though as we said we had enough anyway because we slack packed out that day. nice to have some hikers that were coming from the opposite direction warn us of the problem with water. It just happened that the way we planned our hike to slack a certain area put us back in town at night so we could fill up on water there, but had we just hiked the whole way through with a full pack we woulda been in the same predicament the others were, so blessed that we planned out the hike well even though we had no idea what problem we were avoiding. they have been having a drought here i guess for about a year someone told us...we take water for granted but when you dont have it around suddenly you become very thankful for even a puddle as we got to the shelter tonight i literally thanked God for the puddle of water we found, it was cold and clear water!!! what a provider we have. other great news! shawna has known for awhile that she has to leave the trail on 11/4 wether we finish the trail or not so I have been trying to figure out what I want to do after the fourth seeing as I am still wanting to finish the trail but wont be done by the fourth. Not wanting to hike on my own I was unsure as to what would evolve but creekdiver is coming back from london to finish hiking the trail with me!!!! I am so excited! I am also making plans to hopefully meet up with my bro and one other friend while in TN!! so TN i guess things are looking up for ya!
Date: 2008-10-16
From: watauga lake shelter

To: kincora hostel
Miles today: 10.0

this is for 10.16 and 10.17 as we took an unexpected zero(cause of rain)! So we have been hearing a ton about kincora hostel and bob peoples who owns this hostel and we are looking forward to staying there, today is the day! I am so pumped about a short day of hiking and rest, especially since there is a chance of rain today and tonight, i am afraid of melting in the rain so gotta make sure I stay dry!! TN is redeeming itself! great short hike in around a waterfall, wooded area with trees lining the trail making a sort of corridor! Can feel the humidity in the air but the rain held off for us! We walked up a leaf covered drive up to the kincora hostel. It is a cabin attached to another cabin which is wear bob lives. the wood cabin is rustic and cozy, a living area with old couch, chairs, and wood stove, small kitchen area and bunks upstairs. there are tons of pictures all over the walls and ceilings of hikers from past years with the katadin sign marking the exciting accomplishment and end of their hike. We found the 2008 hikers and recognized some of our friends! there are also poems, art from past hikers so interesting to look around you can get lost in all that is around you! we showered up, did laundry and ordered a pizza soaking in the rest! Rained over night and the temp. started to drop, so waking up the next morning i did not feel like hiking today, something about the cold and being wet doesnt seem appealing to me...where the trail was to take us was also up in elevation which means even colder. The night before we had worked out our schedule all the way up until shawna leaves on the fourth and this included hiking today so we reworkde a few things and settled in to relax and hang out. Last night we were the only 2 but tonight there were about 10 more people who showed up, mostly people doing a small section for the next two days or so, but great to have all the company. It was also great to talk with bob as he maintains about 134 miles of AT trail around this area. I enjoyed learning about the hard work it takes to maintain the trail and how they build trail/reroute it at times, now i better understand why the trail does what it does (small short ups, sometimes switchbacks and sometims not) i find more and more in life when you think that something doesnt make since to you or someone is doing somthing that seems pretty crazy...you need to talk with them and ask they why or try to understand what they are thinking or what is going on b/c with explaination things make more since and if they dont you at least understand better where someone is coming from and have more understanding. so as i hike i cant seem to complain much anymore seeing things from the maintainers perspective...great zero as i stood on the porch and watched it rain, i was nice and warm drinking a hot drink, thinking man im so glad im dry and warm enjoying the beauty of the rain from here!
Date: 2008-10-18
From: kincora hostel

To: walnut mt road(mt harbor hostel)
Miles today: 14.0

Great stay with bob peoples at kincora but we gotta move on still misty rain a little this mornign quite a chill in the air! As we hiked on it got colder and colder first day I was in pants and long sleeve whole day even with down jacke on crazy how fast weather changes it was probably in the 40s today. leaves and ground still wet from rain so pretty slippery eith the wet roors and leaves on top. short lunch as i started to shiver and needed to get moving again, beautifully mainteaind trail welcome back switchbacks!!! I love areas of the trail with tons of rodedentron makes it look like this secret passage way your walking through the rodadentrin bloom in the sprin or early june i love to come back when they are blooming would be awesome with the huge areas cosumed by the;m but while trail was great today glad to get out of cold to harbor hostel such a cute place with a hostel over a barn that houses goats and a horse. they also have a b and b in main house, so we slept over farm animals nice to be warm when we know it was 30 degrees outside but we will soon be back out in the cold...
Date: 2008-10-19
From: walnut mt road(mt harbor hostel)

To: roan high knob shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

a wopping 30 degrees out this morning at 7:30 am. hostel bed last night was so warm and cozy and I slept so well I know e have heard so many great things about the breakfast served here so we were excited to get up and enjoy the bfast and company. made sure to have my hat and down jacket on as we left the barn and headed for the main house frost on the ground and still a little dark outside. cozy warm and amazing gormet bfast!! as we were finishing bfast around 9 or so the temp was still hanging on at 32 degress i was hoping it would have climbed a little higher by then!! we were giong to be climbing up to 6000ft or so making it colder still up there so the temp tonight up there will probably be around the 20s! but we knew we must hike on and endure the cold i hiked out with my down jacket on i never thought i would hike with my down jacket on...about 30 min later i took it off as we were climbing today for most of our 15 miles up and down but ending at just over 6000ft on roan mt. i wasnt expecting such beauty as the cool mornign frost faded into warm sunny day on the bald mts we clibed. Hump mt was about 2700ft climb first thing in morning. it is a bald mt with a 360 degree view at the top so interesting to sit and look at all the mts and see such difference in the shapes they create on the horizon and the different shapes they create on the peaks of each mt. since we were on balds you can see wher the trail goes for awhile overrolling hills so you can watch hikers from far away come closer to you I also watched birds soar across the sky above aroudn mts and down into valley such a magnificent bearuty and gracefulness aas they soar i wanna fly like they do got some carrots from some day hikers, yumm! last 2 miles were our final ascent up to roan mt high knob shelter (highest shelter on AT) at 6275 ft as we crossed carvers gap and started up it was a drastic change of scenery and temps temp dropped probably 10 degrees instatly as the sun was going down and we were on the shaded side of the mt. layer back up again as my hadns started to chill and we had bgalsama firs trees pines again moss remined me of up norht as we got to the shelter we quickly fixed dinner and set up camp as it was quicly getting cooler crawled into our down bags and expectantly waited for body heat to make our down bags warm. so i have to pee every night, well tonight was no exception...the shelter had a ladder leading up to the upstairs where we were sleeping, so i made it down okay but going back up was quite the challenge as i guess i took too big a step and instead of pushing myself up to the top i pushed myself out and seriously almost died as i started to fall backwards down to the ground well below me, but thankfully the space at the top of the stiars was so small that i hit my back and it caught my fall, geez!! i could blame it on the midde of the night, but really i do this sorta stupid stuff all the time!! but i lived on for one more day! we are the tallest on the AT right now!
Date: 2008-10-20
From: roan high knob shelter

To: greasy creek gap
Miles today: 8.0

This morning was pretty chilly when we walked out of the shelter, the wind blowing brings the chill and gets you moving to stay warm. After much climbing yesturday it was nice to have some downhill. We tend to resupply on food about every 3 or 4 days, which requires us to go into town. We had a package being sent to us in erwin, tn that we needed to get to but didnt think that we would be able to get to the post office in time so we walked to the greasy creek friendly to get a ride into erwin so we could get our box. The lady that owns greasy creek friendly was really friendly and funny. She told us that she doesnt run a hostel b/c there are too many hostel people in the world and she wants to own a friendly...that her neighbor is hostel enough for everyone (her neighbor puts up signs saying that her place is closed due to health reasons b/c he doesnt like her having hikers stay at her place, so she has to go out and take the signs down). She told us many funny stories and how she is writing a book about her experiences complete with stories about when she had a work for stay person steal her car and money. It is never a dull day at greasy creek friendly. She writes songs for her cat to dance to, some of which she sang for us on the ride to erwin. She is a chearful soul and good company on the ride and dinner at sonic that she took us to. She took us to uncle johnnys hostel in erwin, and sped home to catch oprah. So we stayed in erwin and will go back out tommorow to really hike into erwin. I recieved a box from my parents with my favorite candy, really sweet card, and to top it off some wax fangs for halloween that shawna and I modeled for a few crazy pixs and surprised other hikers with...always nice to get mail!!
Date: 2008-10-21
From: iron mt gap

To: erwin, tn
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: scattered clouds

U-nak-a U-nak-a Unaka Mt! Unakie Unakie Unakie on Unakie Mt! Just a little song our dear friend Connie taught us from Greasy Creek friendly! So really this Unaka Mt was a flashback to Maine, with tall hansome Pine trees and yes MOSS! awe the soft cushionly ground from the pine needles and the beauty of the pine forest!! as we climbed up it the scenery changed immediatly! from trees losing their leaves and changing color to pine trees crazy how drastic and fast a change it was. Just wanted to stay up there forever, and wierd to think that we were still in TN North carolina. when coming down it changed again drasitcally back to the previous scenery. So all day long we were hiking with one foot in TN and the other in N carolina, and so it will be for a few more days, cant make up our mind! and it is definlty hunting season as we heard hound dogs running close by and then a hunter with gun in hand coming up on trail to ask if we had seen the dogs run by. I also later heard a few gun shots and then a deer run by, literally running for its life, so we now dawn the beautiful blaze orange so as to not be confused with the wildlife and be shot and taken home for dinner! We are hykers, i hope you can say this with a southern accent cause im starting to pick up one, its the cool thing to do! also replacing you guys with youins or y'all. well we are staying in town tonight before we head out again and i'm hoping to get some southern pye! yall take care now ya hear...(ps it is still cold here and i dont see an end to the cold soon at least until next june)