morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

Today was a long hiking day but the terrain was the easiest it's been since we started and I went flying through the afternoon. The sun was intense and my face and hands and arms got super burnt. My hands are so Ihoping the rest in Damascus will help them out. Looking forward to town tomorrow and some food beer and relaxation.
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We got up at our usual time and flew through the 10 miles to Damascus. We stopped for a quick snack around 10:30 and then again at the state line. Woohoo! We made it to Virginia. I really can't believe I've walked this far.We got into Damascus and immediately got a soda from the soda machine. Then down main street where we ran into Cajun who told us he was staying at the Place and there should be plenty of room for us. We headed over there , got our own room and then Grommet and I went to the laundromat. We made a plant list of everything we've seen blooming while we waiting for our clothes. It was great. It's quite a list too! Then Grommet's roommate and her family came to meet us again and brought us incredible feast that we ate in the gazebo in town. The Tag Team, Ms. Muster and Ketcup, and Cajun joined us. It was delicous. We hung out in the Tag Team's sweet room for awhile and then headed over to Dot's for some beer. But it was closed! No worries, there are plenty of hikers and things to entertan us Igoing to bed!
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a jam packed zero day. We started things off with a delicious breakfast at the Dairy King. I love that place. There were signs everywhere that reminded us to laugh often and love our friends. And as I sat with the Divas, the Tag team and Ketchup and Ms. Muster I felt very thankful to have such a great group of people to be hiking with. Cajun came in and we said goodbye to him after breakfast. Then it was off to the outfitters, the coffee shop, the other outfitters, the library, the dollar store, and back to the Place. Storm picked up a sweet new Granite Gear pack and Egg is considering doing the same. I got new long underwear (all they had was ridiculous pink!) to sleep in and tomorrow I plan on mailing home my fleece stuff and my neck warmer. The busy day ended beautifully with pizza, friends, laighs and plenty of beer. I miss Damascus already...
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Things to do on your 2nd zero day in Damascus:1. Go to every outfitter in town even though you don't need to buy anything.2. Go to the coffee shop and drink caffeinated beverages and eat scones while catching up on email.3. Eat lunch at Fatty's. Split the portobella burger and the black bean burger with your friend next to you. Amazing.4. Read your book.5. Take a nap.6. Go to the library.7. Go to Dot's. Drink too much beer. Get really loud and get asked to leave. Whoops!I love this town!
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Damascus

To: Pond campsite
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We finally had to leave Damascus today. We had a quick breakfast at Cowboy's of blueberry pancakes and eggs. The pancakes were fried and it actually made me ill on the climb out of town. But, otherwise, the climb out of town was very pleasant. We made it to the shelter in good time so we went another 2.3 miles to a campsite by a pond. It's very peaceful and it's just us 4 so it's a nice place to relax. Hanging our bear bags was a fiasco as usual and took about 45 minutes. It was actually pretty entertaining. Tomorrow is a big day so we're off to bed!Reality changing moment: finally getting our food hung in the tree. Ridic.
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today seemed epically long even though we only hiked 11 miles! We woke up around 7:30 to an absolutely beautiful morning. I could tell it was going to be a warm day, though. Our campsite last night as so sweet and the view was incredible. We started hiking and immediately the sun felt so harsh. There was no shade all day and we all definitely have some funny tan-burn lines! The hiking in the morning was incredible, complete with wild ponies and open grasslands. We took a lot of pictures and breaks and sang a lot of songs today. We were all in high spirits.We entered Grayson Highlands State park and spent some quality time with the ponies. There was an especially adorable baby one. After we left the park we were about to stop for lunch at Wise shelter when Egg spotted a 4 foot long rat snake. It was awesome! Right after lunch was a pretty creek and the Colorado girls were dipping their feet in so we couldn't resist. The water was so cold but really refreshing.The rest of the afternoon was so warm but with a nice breeze. We walked along another bald area and made it to a parking area where we saw dome people riding horses. Then on to Pine mountain and our 500 mile mark. What an incredible feeling! And my shoes are still holding up pretty well.We were really tired from the heat by the time we made it to the shelter, but thankfully Ms. Muster and Ketchup and the Colorado girls were already here. We're tented in a sweet spot where we made a fire and sang songs to Nutmeg's guitar playing. I'm sleeping with my vestbule open tonight because I can see every star. Ah, life is good!Reality changing moment of the day: meeting wild ponies!
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Troutdale
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: clear sky

Today was so hot. We started walking around 8:30 and made it 10 miles to Dickey Gap around 2:30. We desperately need leaves on the trees so we can get some relief from the sun. It's pretty much constant, all day blazing sun. It was 85 degrees today while we were in the woods. Crazy! We leap frogged with Ketchup and Ms. Muster in the morning and then Captain Macs and Kotter in the afternoon.We got to the road and no cell service! No worries, a woman pulled over and said she would call Jerry from town to come pick us up. Within 5 minutes Jerry picked us up and took us into Troutdale. We got some snacks and lunch at Jerry's and after discussing plans for the next few days we headed up to the hostel which is right behind a Baptist church down the road from Jerry's. They have a cozy bunkhouse but we set up shop under an awning and Storm and Grommet are sleeping under there while Egg and I are tenting. The shower here was incredibly nice and much needed after a few really sweaty, hot days. We met the pastor who actually was in the seminary that is like a block away from my home in PA. Small world! We went back to Jerry's in the evening for hot fudge sundaes and fries. Mmmmmm.The sky is incredible tonight. So many stars are out. Last night I didn't sleep all that well because there was some kind of meteor shower that lit up the sky in flashes for hours. It was breathtaking and humbling, as almost everyday out here has been. Reality changing moment: sleeping under such a clear sky.
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Troutdale

To: Campsite
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: clear sky

Today continued with the heat. Of course it didn't help any that we started hiking at the hottest part of the day. We hung around Jerry's in Troutdale and had some breakfast and just putzed around until a nice man offered us a ride to the trail. He said he recognized us from trail journals. Funny. We started hiking at 11:30 at I was so hot immediately. Egg went ahead and Storm and Grommet and I took a break in the shade. We met up again at Trimpi Shelter were we had a bite to eat, got more water and tried to cool off. Ugh, the heat. We stopped later in the afternoon by a stream where I realized my snickers bar had totally liquified and I put my buff in the stream to cool my head off. Early Bear stopped with us to chat for a bit. We got the forecast from a guy at the road crossing and then headed up to find our campsite for the night. We found one but a couple of nice people coming from the other direction told us to go up further and there we would find a better spot. So we did and we've got a cozy spot just for us. So nice. The heat should be with us for the next couple of days so we're getting up early tomorrow to beat the crazy midday sun.
Date: 2009-04-28
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Reed Creek Campsite
Miles today: 10.7

We woke up nice and early to head into Atkins and were pleasantly surprised to find much of the walk to be among farm lands. We also made a stop at an old schoolhouse that sits right on the trail. We meandered down to Atkins and saw lots of things blooming and for the first time really noticed lots of leaves on the trees. As soon as we got into town we were reunited with Ketchup and Ms. Muster (The Condiments) and were very happy to see them. We went to the barn and got some food and then over to the Relax Inn to pick up my maildrop. I was so excited to get one from my friends Erin and Tom and another from my friend Michelle! Thanks you guys!! It made me miss home. Egg and I hitched a ride to the PO where I forwarded some of my maps ahead. We were there for a long time because we got there right when the PO closed for an hour and half in the middle of the day. Annoying! We had another meal at The Barn and then headed back out. We made it to a campsite where the Colorado girls were with Early Bear. We had our own area with the Condiments. A fun, cozy night.Reality changing moment: our evening of laughs!
Date: 2009-04-29
From: Reed Creek Campsite

To: Campsite Pond
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

The woods are alive! Finally! The leaves are really coming out now and everyday I see new things blooming. Redbud and columbine today. Gorgeous! So the morning hike was lovely. The trail meandered through farms, cow pastures and some wooded areas. Lots of wildfowers were out and we also had to climb over a lot of stiles. We stopped for lunch at Knot Maul shelter and thunder started rolling. So we waited for awhile and finally stared to hike again after a nice siesta. Around mile 12 I felt like I was done for the day. Unfortunately we had 3 more miles to do and they were all up hill. It was grueling for me. It was definitely the hardest hiking I've done out here. And I'm pretty sure a lot of it was mental. I just didn't feel like hiking anymore today. But, we made it to a lovely pond and campsite where it is raining and I am cozy in my tent. The Condiments and Colorado girls are here with us. My shoes have started falling apart and the fabric on the inside of the heel started rubbing my skin and now it's like red and rubbed raw. Ugh. I guess I'll have to get new shoes soon. I was hoping to make these last to Harpers Ferry but I don't think that's going to work.Reality changing moment: hiking with cows
Date: 2009-04-30
From: Campsite Pond

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

When I woke up this morning I was so exhausted that I think I could have stayed in my tent for another 3 hours. But I got up and was just happy to be packing my stuff up while it wasn't raining. We got a later start this morning though and were moving out around 9:15. It was a pretty quick and painless walk to the shelter and then the rest of the day was supposed to be pretty flat walking. I was hoping it was anyway. Turns out the elevation profile doesnt't show all the rocks, humidity, sweat, pain, and the back of my heel rubbing against my shoe. Wow, today was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. Such is life. You just never know!We made it to the shelter and there's a big group here tonight. I soaked my feet in the stream and hung out with everyone and the pain of the day drifted away. Here with us tonight are Early Bear, Maggie, Red Bear, Aesop, the Colorado girls, the Condiments.Reality changing moment: soaking my feet in the stream at the end of the day
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up many times last night and was pretty tired in the morning. But I didn't even care about a sort of bad night's sleep because I got to sleep on the couch on the cozy porch of the hostel where I listened to the rain come down on the tin roof. Early Bear took the hammock next to me but otherwise I had the porch to myself. It was pretty sweet. After breakfast we took a group photo, patted the kitty and were on our way to Pearisburg. We got to town, found out the Rendezvous Motel was full so we walked the mile to the Plaza Motel where Linda did our laundry and drove us to the Mexican restaurant! Margaritas for everyone! One Pint, Saint, and Wind Up joined us for the tasty feast. I was really tired so I hit the sack as early as I could after feverishly packing my pack. We got the hiker room so there are 3 big beds here. Amazing!Reality changing moment: margaritas
Date: 2009-05-05
From: Pearisburg

To: Rice field shelter 
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: moderate rain

Today was a short day. The walk out of Pearisburg was kind of weird because the trail felt like it was going around in circles around this realy ugly factory. I think today I wanted to rename the AT the PI because poison ivy was completely covering both sides of the trail. Ahh! I feel like I'm covered in poison ivy right now. We'll see.We walked for 3 or 4 miles and stopped for lunch because we started walking pretty late today. Doc caught up to us and chatted for awhile and almost as soon as he left the skies opened and it pretty much poured all the way to the shelter. When we arrived we decided to squeeze in instead of hike a little further to the campsite we were planning on going. Here tonight with us are Doc, Red Bear, Mudflap, One Stick, Rusticus, Laura, Aesop and Lonewolf. I hope the rain goes away. And my knee pain!Reality changing moment: Mudflap gave us his entire bag of Starburst jelly beans!
Date: 2009-05-06
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

I woke up nice and early this morning because I got such a terrible night's sleep. Snorers, smokers, a dude who came to the shelter after 9 and had no tent! Ridiculous. I was pretty enraged and just wanted to start moving towards a shelter where I might actually get some sleep. We hiked about 9 easy, flat miles before there as a bit of a climb. Egg caught up to us then and we high-tailed it the 3.5 to the shelter because it looked like the skies were going to open up any second. Luckily we made it to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter just before it started pouring to have lunch. Aesop, Doc, Lulu and Rusticus were already there and there was a little fire going in the fireplace. Cozy! We all watched as the rain came pounding down. It as pretty intense. I was in no rush to leave until I noticed that the snorer from last night had come and gone and was surely heading to the next shelter to grab a spot before us. NO! I told the Divas to get their stuff together pronto and the next hour or so became a race to beat the dude to the shelter. At one point I was practically running and I had to stop myself because I was acting ridiculous. I mean, totally ridiculous. Ironically, we did end up passing him, but when we got to the shelter the weather was ok so Grommet and I decided to tent anyway! Ah, well, the race kept me occupied for awhile this afternoon and it all worked out in the end anyway.It was a lot of miles today, but they were pretty flat. My knee felt actually fine for a first. But my right foot felt awful, so that made up for it. My shoes have reached an all new low and I have likened them to slippers with paper towels wrapped around them. We're all getting excited for Trail Days to rest our bodies, get new shoes and have a good time.Reality changing moment of the day: making it to the shelter before the crazy rain this afternoon.
Date: 2009-05-07
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: light rain

I slept for 11 hours straight last night. It was great. I woke up at 6 to rain falling on my tent and as soon as it stopped I heard Grommet start to pack up her stuff and I soon followed. It was a race to get our stuff into our packs before it started raining again. Afterwards we had breakfast in the shelter where everyone was already awake. Right before we headed out the skies cleared and it looked like it might be a nice day! Right after the shelter was a mile or two of some slightly annoying rocks that kind of hurt my feet, but after that the trail was nice and flat. After crossing VA613 we headed over to Wind Rock for a viewpoint. We could literally see the storm clouds with rain pouring down heading our way. We started walking faster but inevitably got rained on. And then the skies cleared again just in time for us to have some lunch. We walked another mile and a half to War Spur Shelter. We got water from the lovely creek, walked over a precarious bridge and then were confronted with a beautiful campsite. The sun was shining and it looked so inviting. I turned around to the others and could see that they were thinking the same thing. Storm asked what mileage we'd have to do tomorrow if we stopped then and after a quick review of the map, we called it a day! What a good decision that was. I spent the afternoon soaking my feet in the cold stream and doing some puzzles my Mom had mailed to me. The rest was much needed and I'm hoping to get another good night's sleep tonight. Before we got in our tents we went back to the shelter to see who was there for the night. Wind Up and Saint and another dude. Just us four tenting in this sweet spot tonight, though.Reality changing moment: knowing we all needed a break and taking one!
Date: 2009-05-08
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was such a long day. It seemed epic. We got up nice and early and were hiking a little after 7. My foot immediately started to hurt so I pulled up the rear and began to wonder how I would make it the whole day. The morning was kind of cloudy and really humid and after a mile or so of flat terrain we hit a hill that made me literally soaked in sweat. On a little further and we made it to Laurel Creek Shelter for a morning break. We ran into a bunch of people there, including Saint and Wind Up. Not too much past the shelter was a stream that we had to cross that was basically uncrossable! The guy in front of me did it with only a small problem, but his legs were probably a foot longer than mine. When I tried to do what he did, Grommet had to come and save me. I finally decided to just take my sneakers off, put my crocs on, and walk across. Great plan. Except when I tossed my shoe over to the other side it fell in and started floating away! Thankfully it got caught on a stick so I could rescue it. One wet shoe- not too bad I guess. We all got a good laugh out of it.We then walked through pastures and farm lands and I even petted a donkey. And then we made it to the Keffer Oak, a 300 year old white oak that is 18 feet in circumference. It was so bad ass that we took a 2 hour lunch break underneath it and laughed hysterically as Grommet tried to climb it. What a tree, though. Wow.The rest of the afternoon is like a blur in my mind. We climbed kind of a nasty hill and I was sweating buckets. Then we ridge walked for awhile until hitting the sign for Sarver Shelter. We decided to push on to a campsite a little before the next shelter. But then the trail became a rocky, treacherous ridge walk that was pretty time consuming. And then we never found the campsite. We eventually just got to the shelter and set up our tents and ate just in time for a thunderstorm to hit. Today was like 3 days in one. I'm looking forward to a shorter day tomorrow and then all you can eat in Catawba on Sunday. I'm starving!!!Reality changing moment of the day: the Keffer Oak. Amazing!
Date: 2009-05-09
From: Niday Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 10.01
Weather: broken clouds

Last night we had some incredible weather. Pretty much all night there were thunderstorms with lightning. At one point the sky lit up and the thunder was so loud that the ground shook. It was hard to sleep, but it sounded so cool and I was happy to be dry in my tent. When I woke up it was still thundering but eventually the rain stopped and we all packed up. We started later than usual because of the rain and also because we were doing a shorter day. The first hour or so was very flat but I was drenched with sweat anyway because it was so unbelieveably humid. And then came the climb. The 2 miles up took about an hour. We went from 1500' to 3000'. The good part was there was a breeze on the way up. And the best part was that there was a bench at the summit! A perfect spot to relax and have lunch. Grommet and I hiked together in the afternoon and having someone to chat with made the time fly by. I had no water left by the time we made it to the road and we soaked our feet in the creek which was lovely. Except for the snake that swam up to our feet. Ahhh!One more mile up and we were at the blue blaze to the shelter. We're staying at a campsite a little bit away from the shelter but here tonight are Dutch and One Pint, Ninja, G, Wags, Hermes, and someone else I forget.Tomorrow is AYCE in Catawba. I'm starving!!!Reality changing moment: not having knee pain!
Date: 2009-05-10
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Catawba
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: few clouds

We started hiking pretty early so we could make it to the AYCE place ASAP! I was also anxious to call my Mom for mother's day. The weather was beautiful with blue skies and low humidity. The morning hike went a little slower than expected because Dragon's Tooth was pretty steep and hard to navigate. But it was such a neat hike and Grommet and I started freaking out when we spotted the Pink Lady Slippers blooming. Wow. This was definitely the plant highlight of the hike for me. After we made it down from there the rest of the day was walking through a beautiful pasture, up a kind of steep hill, ridge walking along there for awhile and then down to Catawba. I saw the first Rhododendrons blooming today also.Grommet and I hiked together for the afternoon and we ran into a bunch of day hikers out enjoying the beautiful weather. We made it to the road right after Early Bear and Storm, Egg and Little Dipper weren't far behind. Little Dipper and Early Bear decided to walk the mile to the restaurant but Storm stuck out her thumb and a charming woman named Annette shoved all four of us plus gear into her red convertible. We rolled into the Homeplace in style and the dozens of people out front were pretty amused. We waited about an hour and a half and then shoved our faces full of food. It was a lovely evening on the porch where Storm, Early Bear and I had seconds of ice cream. We all decided to tent there and went to sleep after another nice evening of guitar playing and singing songs. It's great being around people who love music so much. The wind is picking up a little and I hope the nice weather holds out for our hike to McAfee Knob tomorrow.We all talked to our Moms in the afternoon and Egg hiked out to get a head start on her long hike the next day. She's getting some more miles in over the next 2 days so she won't be too far behind us when she gets back from her sister's graduation and we get back from Trail Days.Reality changing moment of the day: seeing the Pink Lady Slipper blooming!