morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-17
From: Campsite 2 miles South of Rice Field Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter 
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

All 3 of us, Sparky, Passionflower, and myself slept real well. I heard Hips, Roboticus, and Chameleon get up and leave at about 5:30 am as they were planning a marathon hike, which is the distance of a marathon for Hips last day on the trail. She was accepted at a college and needs to leave to prepare herself for it. She is still coming to Trail Days with us though. I know we all will miss her very much. We moved at a pretty good pace today. Sparky was planning a 19 mile day so we probably wouldn't see him for a while but when we got to this shelter there was Sparky's name in the dirt with an arrow pointing up the hill behind the shelter and there he was. He decided to spend one more night with us. Passionflower and I got to see a fighter jet earlier today as it banked around the mountain we were on. At that angle we could see the top of it. It was really cool. Got here early at about 3:45 pm and had dinner at 5:00 pm. I am now in my tent waiting for it to get dark so that I can go to sleep. Won't be long now.
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter 

To: VA635
Miles today: 0.3

What a long day. Got up and took our time getting ready as we only had a 20 minute hike to do. Had breakfast with Sparky and said goodbye to him as he was going on and we are heading back to Damascus for Trail Days. Passionflower and I got to the trail head at 9:00 am and had to wait for Chameleon to pick us up. She arrived at 11:20 and we headed back to Damascus. It is about a 2 hour drive. When we got there I went to the outfitter to pick up my new backpack and sleeping bag and then to the P.O. for my new shoes and socks and mail drops. We then headed to the house we rented to get showers and meet up with Hips, Roboticus, J Dub and Ranger Bill. We then loaded up in the 2 rental cars and headed back to Damascus. There is a lot going on with free food and vendors and live music. It is getting pretty wild with all the dirty, stinking, nasty hiker trash all over the town. I ran into my Naples friend Warren and a few others I haven't seen in a while. The whole town is abuzz with all the festivities. Got back to the house at 9:30 and I am beat. It's about midnight now so I am off to bed.
Date: 2012-05-19
From: VA635

To: Damascus Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up early as it is habit now. Got to town by 9 am and tried to get my new rainfly fixed for my tent but they couldn't do it without a $50,000 machine so I just bought some seam sealer and hope it works. Ran into people I hadn't seen since the first couple of weeks like Shrink and Cackles. Also seen the Twisted Sisters. The Twisted Sisters made up a trail song and with Cackles, recruited a few other women including Passionflower for the talent show. I got it recorded. Met Skywalker who has written many books on his hiking adventures. Man is he tall, like about 7 + feet. I also met Awol who wrote the AT Guide and several books on his adventures also. At the end of the day Passionflower, Chameleon, and I had dinner at the Old Mill. The food there was great once again. Crap, I almost forgot about the parade this afternoon. Great small town parade with the fire and police departments, and of course the Trail Days Queen and her court and the town dignitaries. They were followed by about 200 of us hikers. It is one large water balloon fight. As we walked down the street the spectators toss water balloon and use garden hoses and water guns. Quite a few of the hikers were prepared too. It was tons of fun. Getting late so I need some sleep.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Damascus Trail Days

To: Baily Creek Shelter
Miles today: 3.6

Had a great breakfast for a going home meal for Hips who has been accepted to the University of Vermont. It was an emotional meal as we had to say goodbye to a great person. We will see her when we get somewhere near where she is living. Sometimes life throws you an opportunity and you have to grab it. All this driving in a car has given me car sickness so we just hiked to here. Had a small dinner and am off to bed as it is getting dark.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Baily Creek Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

Started early for a 21 mile hike but after arriving here there was a little rain and a bunch of thunder so we decided to wait and see. Of course as soon as we decided to stay and set up it got nice again. Go figure. The Mountain Laurel are starting to bloom like crazy. We had a couple of steep climbs and a couple of steep descents. We will try for 22 miles tomorrow seeing we came up short today. We ran into the Wolf Pack who are all slack packing 100 miles in 5 days which will put them a couple of days ahead of us when we get to Daleville. We also found out that Longstride and Silver Girl and Turtle and Snail are right behind us so we will hopefully see them come Wednesday at McAfee Knob. We are camped out with Slims so it is just the three of us right now. Maybe someone else will show up. You never know. Missing everyone back home but that is expected. Have a good night.
Date: 2012-05-22
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Trout Creek
Miles today: 21.2

Actually left camp at 6:57 am. A new record for Passionflower. We actually finally got to see a bear for about 1 second as it ran away from us. Shortly after that we ran into the Wolf Pack who are being slack packed by Walk and Eats parents who rented an RV. They are also doing trail magic. They offered to let us slackpack which Passionflower did but I turned down to see how my new backpack would do as I had packed it different to see if it would be more comfortable. We walked 1/2 a mile to the Keiffer Oak which is the largest oak tree on the AT in the south. It is over 18 feet around. A few of us guys climbed it. Got some real good pics of it. We then started our first climb of the day of 1300 ft. Man was it steep. Once we got to the top of Sinking Creek Mountain we hiked the ridge line for quite a while. About 2/3 into it, it started to pour and just after we started our descent it started to thunder. It rained for 2 hours. It stopped as we started our second climb of 1500 ft. Not quite as steep but just as tiring. At the top of Brush Mountain there is a monument to Audie Murphy who was the most decorated American Soldier of World War II. He died in a plane crash near here. We then headed down to here and decided to tent with the Wolf Pack instead of going another 1.3 miles. I could have made it but Passionflower was done, which is fine with me as my feet were hurting anyhow. After eating about 20 meatballs I am off to bed.
Date: 2012-05-23
From: Trout Creek

To: John's Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: moderate rain

Had breakfast with the Wolf Pack of pancakes and bacon then took off. Looked like a real easy day. Had a lot of ups and downs but by the book it looked fairly easy. We got up to the Dragon's Tooth and took a break. We also ran into Snotrocket who we hadn't seen in a while. Then we started our descent. It was challenging to say the least. It made the descent from Firescald seem like child's play. It took quite a while to get down. There were even metal rungs in a couple of places, not enough places in my opinion, to help get down or up if going the other way. Places like this are easier to ascend than descend. I had a lot of fun doing it though. We then hiked to VA311 where we knew that Walk and Eat's parents were doing trail magic. They had hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, chili, cookies, and corn on the cob. They also had veggie dogs for the vegetarians. I had 4 hot dogs and a burger along with chili, chips and some cookies. I got lucky and got the last soda. We thanked them for their generosity and hiked the 1 mile to here. There are six of us here now. It is getting dark so you know what that means. Goddnight.
Date: 2012-05-24
From: John's Spring Shelter

To: Lamberts Meadow Campsite
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Took our time this morning as we have a short day. We headed up to McAfee Knob which is the most photographed place on the AT. I am actually writing this part from here as it is foggy and we hope it will lift in a couple of hours so we can get some good pics. Just seems to be getting foggier though. We will see. Well, it didn't clear. As a matter of fact after 3 hours of waiting it started to rain so we left and headed for Tinker Cliffs. There were some more steep climbs here and we decided to take a break just before we got to the top. All of a sudden Longstride and Silver Girl came along. We haven't seen them since Erwin. We all finished the climb up to the cliffs and I lagged behind to take a few photos. When I got to the shelter there wasn't much room to tent so I came here. I am with Turtle(a different one, not German Turtle) and Four Trees. We saw a deer and it saw us but just went about it's business. Then three others were chasing each other all around us. As I was talking to my cousin Sheila in Massachusetts they all started walking up to the stream for a drink and to graze just outside of our camp. What a great day. Staying at a hotel in Daleville tomorrow. Yeah, a shower, clean clothes and town food. Yum Yum!!!
Date: 2012-05-25
From: Lamberts Meadow Campsite

To: US 220 (Daleville (VA)
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: few clouds

Short easy day. After watching the deer last night I couldn't imagine it getting even better today. We were hiking along and seen Turtle motioning to us to be quiet and pointing down the mountain. He said he had seen a small bear. Then Passionflower said she had seen it pass down there. So much for seeing another bear but then I looked and it reappeared and started to head up the mountain straight at us. Passionflower and I moved a little to the right to give him some room. When he was about 10 feet away he looked up, saw the three of us standing there and hauled ass away from us. That was really cool to see that. For the past two days we have been hearing a strange sound throughout the forest. It sounds like a flying saucer like in old movies. They are an insect called a cicada. There are several species but the one we are hearing the most is the 13 year species. It lives underground for 13 years then emerges to mate in the trees before falling to the ground to die. The noise may last from 1 week to 1 month. Pretty neat to hear it. They do seem to stop at night though. Had dinner at a Mexican restaurant here in Daleville and am getting ready for bed here at Ho-Jo's. Short day in store for tomorrow also.
Date: 2012-05-26
From: US 220 (Daleville (VA)

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: few clouds

Man is it hot. Had breakfast at the hotel which was free then headed out. Our packs are full of food which makes them heavy. We decided to do short days coming out of our resupply towns. The cicadas are everywhere. It's to the point that I don't even pay attention to their noise anymore. We have been leapfrogging with Hopalong and Four Trees all day. We stopped at Wilson Creek .7 miles before the shelter and soaked our feet. It sure feels good. Got here at 3:45, set up camp, ate dinner then called my brother Donald and my new sister-in-law Bernie to congratulate them. They eloped a couple of weeks ago but are having their party today. Sounded like everyone was having fun. We did hit a milestone today. We have completed 1/3 of the trail. That leaves us only 1450 miles to go. Where has the time gone. I have seen so many things, met many people and have eaten a lot of food. I still miss everyone at home. As of right now there is a completion date of Sept 9th but will be later than that if we hit some really bad weather. We will probably catch up to Chameleon, Roboticus, and Ranger Bill in a couple of days. Sure do miss them. That's all for now. Goodnight.
Date: 2012-05-27
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Jennings Creek
Miles today: 17.0

Broke camp and left at 7:20. Fairly easy terrain today so 17 miles wasn't bad. Hooked up with Four Trees today and all three of us moved pretty well. We started to hit the Blue Risge Parkway today. It was on this scenic highway that I got this insane idea of hiking the entire A.T. Water was scarce and the temps were in the high 80's so we filled up whenever possible and carried more than we usually do. When we got to the Peaks of Otter overlook a woman by the name Miss Focus and her dog Katie were there to greet us with some excellent beef stew and a lettuce wedge for Passionflower. We sat and chatted for a while but we still had a ways to go so we bid them farewell and moved on. The cicadas are starting to quiet down a little. When we got to Bearwallow Gap (VA43) we sat on the footbridge to take a break. We saw a truck stop then back up the road. A couple of minutes later we saw a woman walking on the road and it was Snail. She and Turtle jumped ahead a little. It was great seeing them again. When we got to Jennings Creek Subway was there with a couple of his friends passing out trail magic. Passionflower and 4Trees were picked up by 4 Trees friends and I am camped here with Hopalong (UK) and Snail and Turtle (Germany). Fire is going and it is getting dark. Goodnight.
Date: 2012-05-28
From: Jennings Creek

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Took off at about 7:20 again this morning by myself. Thought Passionflower and 4 Trees would catch up fairly quick as I took many breaks and a couple of long ones. It was hot again today and I had ascents of 1,000 ft, 2200 ft and 900 ft. In this heat I was drenched with sweat. I drank 6 or 7 liter bottles of water so I made many water stops. The trail was littered with rhododendron flowers. They are still blooming like crazy. Stopped at Black Rock to take a couple of pics and still no sign of Passionflower and 4 Trees. I went by another FAA tower which was much larger than the one in Tennesee. I then stopped at what is called the Guillotine (see pic). A huge boulder wedged bewteen 2 rock walls that we walk under. With no one with me I had to learn how to set the timer on my camera to take my own pictures. Took a couple of times but I got it. Got here and they still hadn't caught up to me but showed up 30 minutes later. They were moving as I left more than an hour before them. That's all for today. Happy Memorial Day.
Date: 2012-05-29
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: John's Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was the opposite of yesterday terrain wise. Yesterday was 90% up hill today was 90% down hill. We hit the trail at 7:20 again. Something about 7:20 the last few days. It was hot again so during each climb I would get drenched with sweat but thank God there weren't many of them. Not much exciting happened today until the end. We started to see the James River and when we got to it Zorra and Cornelius who we met early in our hike were there doing trail maintenance while waiting for us to arrive. We then crossed the longest foot traffic only bridge on the A.T. We watched a couple of teenagers jumping off of it. When we got to the parking lot they opnened up the back of their car and served us bar-b-que chix, watermelon, rice with peas, corn muffins, lemonade and chocolate chip cookies. That was just what the doctor ordered. We said goodbye to them and headed here which was only 1.7 miles away. Incline, Wise Guy, and Socks bought sausage and salad and passed out their leftovers. I didn't have to cook tonight. I also got to wash up in the stream so I don't smell too bad tonight. It is raining now and we are expecting heavy thunderstorms tonight but they should clear out by morning. Hope my seam seal works. We did get some bad news last night though. Turtle and Snail are heading back to Germany. It was just too much. I commend them for sticking it out this long. I hope you are proud of yourselves becasue you should be. You made it further than a lot of others. I will miss you dearly. Glad I got to spend one more night with you. God Bless.
Date: 2012-05-30
From: John's Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to cloudy skies but the rain has stopped. My tent was wet as expected. Still have a small drip at the foot of my tent but will try to repair that in Waynesboro. Had another big climb this morning of 950 ft then plenty of other ups and down all day. By the time we got to the top of the big climb the sun came out. We decided to have our first lunch on the top of Bluff Mountain. There is a memorial to Ottie Cline Powell on the exact spot where her body was found 5 months after wandering away from the school house 7 miles away. This child was just under 5 years old. So sad. The sun was out and we all threw our tents out to dry. We crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway one more time then had our second lunch on an old dirt road before crossing the Pedlar Rivers suspension bridge. We finally arrived here hot, sweaty, sore, and hungry. I am tented right next to Brown Mountain Creek so I will have the running water put me to sleep. Have a good night.
Date: 2012-05-31
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: Seely Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Can not believe it is the last day of May already. We hit 800 miles about 20 minutes into our hike. Another long climb of 2,900 ft this morning. We had Y's Guy join us with Turtle a little behind us. The weather was absolutely fabulous. The sun was out, there was a nice breeze and the temps weren't too hot. The shelter we stayed in last night was once a settlement of freed slaves after the Civil War. It had many families which grew their own crops and also had a grist mill operating there. We could still see the stone wall along the creek and an encaseed spring that they used for drinking water along with piles of stones which used to be their homes. It's really neat to imagine what it was like back then. We didn't get any views at the top of our big climb but we did get some later on Cold Mountain and Tar Jacket Ridge. Water was scarce and far off of the trail but we managed. We got here at 4:45 and I am in the shelter expecting rain tonight and more tomorrow. Will be a short day tomorrow becasue I need to resupply to get me to Waynesboro on Tuesday. Will probably only do about 6.6 miles. Hope I stay dry.
Date: 2012-06-01
From: Seely Woodworth Shelter

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: moderate rain

Rained a little last night but not a lot. There were 6 of us at the shelter. 2 went to the Dutch Haus Hostel, 2 of us went to the store for resupply and 2 more just kept going. Passionflower and Solo went to the hostel to get out of the weather while Turtle and I resupplied. It was a 1.1 mile walk to the parking lot to get picked up then 1.1 miles back to the trail. Y's Guy and Socks (Germany) decided to push on to the shelter. At the store I downed a chocolate milk while checking out and had a pint of strawberry ice cream for the ride back to the parking lot. As soon as we put on our packs it started to rain. It rained off and on for the 2 hours it took to get here. It's about 2 pm now as I sit in my tent and write this. We are expecting heavy thunderstorms and possibly hail this afternoon with more rain tonight but starting to clear after midnight. Should have a great week of weather. It's starting to rain again so I think I will take a nap. Slept for 2 hours and started a fire to cook hot dogs. As soon as we got it where we wanted it here come the rain. I went back to my tent for an hour and we tried again and got done cooking just as it started again. It's very windy and we are under a tornado watch. I will have more tomorrow.
Date: 2012-06-02
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: broken clouds

Woke to temps in the high 40's but clear skies. Don't let the day miles fool you, I did hike 8.2 miles off trail today to see Crabtree Falls. I left my tent set up with most of my gear in it and slackpacked it. They were beautiful. The pictures can't do it justice though. I ran into Passionflower and 4 Trees as I was leaving the falls and they caught up to me at the shelter. They had a college student with them that works at the hostel and they were calling her Sherpa but I couldn't get her to carry my pack. Ha Ha. They had to be at the Tyo River by 3:30 for their pickup so we headed down the descent at a fairly good pace. Was able to see a couple of good views though. I left them at the river and continued the 2.8 miles to here where I met up with Solo. We will be hiking into Waynesville together and will split a motel room on Tuesday. I cooked mac and cheese for dinner tonight. I can't believe that this was the first time I had it on this trip. Also had some fancy licorice for dessert. Off to bed.
Date: 2012-06-03
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Side Trail Humpback Mt. 
Miles today: 13.9

Another fantastic day. I was able to take my time and enjoy the views once again. Had a great view 1.5 miles into my trip. I sat there all by myself and soaked in the valley below. I am so blessed to be on this adventure. I stopped for another snack break at another view spot then went to the Maupin Field Shelter where I saw my first rattlesnake. There was a sign telling us about it. It was just coiled up digesting it's dinner. With the temps low it probably made him a little more sluggish also. Got a good pic of it. From there Solo and I started to hike on to a campsite a few miles away. We stopped at Rock Point Overlook for about 20 minutes then we moved on and got our water for the night. As we headed to the campsite we came across this one. The fire pit already was set up and there was plenty of firewood stacked up so I decided to stay here and Solo went another .8 mile to the other site. Passionflower and 4 Trees finally caught up and are here also. There is a huge rock wall that we climbed to the top and saw a great sunset. Another short day tomorrow so I can take it slow and easy again. Goodnight.
Date: 2012-06-04
From: Side Trail Humpback Mt. 

To: Rockfish Gap (Waynesboro, VA)
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Slept well last night and had an easy paced day. Not a whole lot to see as we were in the trees all day. Wasn't planning on being in town today but couldn't find a place to put my tent near town so I am here at the Quality Inn. Ate at a Chinese buffet and had 5 heaping plates of food and am now just laying back. Will stay tomorrow night also and split a room with Solo.
Date: 2012-06-05
From: Rockfish Gap (Waynesboro, VA)

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I woke up and went to Weasie's for breakfast. Great home cooking. When I was about done a hiker from 2009, Star Trek, came over and said that he paid for my meal. What great trail magic. I went back to the motel for a while and got my laundry ready then went to the laundry mat. As I was putting my stuff in the dryer Passionflower and 4 Trees were going into Weasie's across the street for lunch so Solo and I joined them along with Hopalong. Lunch was great also. I almost forgot about dinner last night I think. We went to an all you can eat Chinese buffet called Mings. I had 5 plates. Man was I full. It was difficult to walk back to the motel. I actually went back there tonight also but I only had 3 plates so that I could have room for my Cherry Garcia ice cream back here at the motel. I just lost all of my contact numbers in my phone. Man this sucks. Good thing there is an AA meeting in a few minutes. Had a great meeting. It really helped me calm down after losing my phone contacts. Got a few but will take a while to get the rest. I will survive.