morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-18
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Ladybird and I slept in until 800. We had breakie in the room. I had raisin crunch cereal with sliced peaches, raspberry yogurt and an apple. Buzz, you'd be pleased! My pack felt heavy but I suppose 4 days of food does that. Here's a list of the food I brought from Hot Springs to get me to Erwin, 75 miles away. 10 tortillas, dried apple, mango and kiwi, 4 chocolate bars and 5 mini bars, 2 chocolate chip cookies, 1 cheddar cheese, 1 summer sausage, 10 mini Slim Jim's (salami sticks), 2 mashed potatoes, 1 black beans in Mexican sauce, 2 salmon packets, 2 tuna packets, 1 medium peanut butter, granola and powdered milk, small trail mix, 1 Ramen, 4 fruit leathers and tonight's dinner, a special Thai ginger rice noodle packet. It's meant to be eaten hot but I'm sure it'll be fine cold. It might sound like a lot of food but I think I will eat it all. As far as I'm concerned, that's as balanced as can be while still being reasonably light. I still have the twinge in my quad muscle so I did a little 11 mile day. Tomorrow I'll leave early to hike at a slow pace all day. The twinge will not go away with rest and it's not an acute injury so hopefully I can walk through it slowly. I forgot to mention that I tried "deep fried macaroni and cheese" at the Rock Bottom bar yesterday night. I only had 2 bite size pieces but probably ate enough calories for a day! I also tried buffalo meat which is not unlike beef. Hot Springs is a small town and the favourite hobby seems to be sitting on the porch with iced sweet tea watching people. I think I had 7 or 8 beers, Yuegling and Highlander. Maybe that is why I only did 11 miles. Hot Springs is a vortex and I think it can be hard to get out!
Date: 2010-05-19
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: light rain

The 70 year old section hikers who stayed in the shelter got up at 530am. Apparently they need to leave early as they take a long time to hike. I think I would too at 70! I was on the trail before 7 as I wanted to go slowly all day to help my injury heal. I quickly found a great way to hike. Up and down hills, I put one foot directly in front of the other. I could not take long steps. This method worked extremely well and I hardly felt the twinge in my quad. Of course if you are injured you often overcompensate on another part of your body that can lead to further injury. I made sure I hiked as evenly as possible. I had a lovely day walking through very green vegetation. I walked across a ridge from which I had amazing views of the mountains. The last part of the day was along a dirt road and I loved that! It was so easy to walk along compared to the normal rooty trail. I passed a couple of graves. One was of a person who was born in 1850 and died in 1863, which had been placed by his descendents. Not sure how a 13 year old boy has descendents but I suppose it has happened! There were also 2 graves from men in the civil war. Someone told me they fought for the North and when they came back to their family, they were killed by rebels. Not sure if it's true. I decided to stay in the shelter as I will be tenting tomorrow and I'm not so sure of the weather. When I went to the stream to get water, I saw a brown looking shrimp, maybe a yabby or something? A good day today. Tomorrow I pass Sam's Gap and it looks like the possibility of food...I think I have enough general food but an ice-cream would be mighty fine!
Date: 2010-05-20
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Whistling Gap
Miles today: 21.0

What a wonderful day! Following my slow hiking success of yesterday, I set my alarm for 600 but I woke at 555 with my internal alarm clock. I was on the trail at 630 after a quick breakie of granola and powdered milk. The trail was wonderful - many streams and waterfalls (which I love) with the early morning sun glistening through the leaves. I passed through some fields and some stys, which provided some diversion. Again I hiked slowly up and down steep parts. I met up with Brandon, no trail name but a 40-45 pound pack and Garbage Man (who eats a lot) who had camped put. I let them past however so as not to have a forced pace. As I walked towards Sam's Gap, I planned my break. I'd have a hot dog and sandwich with a coke and ice-cream. I'd call the Manager (my sister) in Paris and I'd recharge my phone. I was looking forward to this so much. As I neared Sam's Gap, I saw that it was only a road crossing with no refreshments. No!I had hyped it into a mini village! The nearest civilisation was actually 3.5 miles away. I spoke briefly to Conneticut Bob who has shin splints. Then I slowly continued on. I saw a lovely green caterpillar, many butterflies and a dead critter (a weird looking squirrel?) on the trail. Near the end of the day, I crossed two amazing balds. Had I been there earlier, I would have taken a nap up there. I felt like Julie Andrews climbing every mountain. I almost burst into song but luckily I didn't because Girl Scout and Buckeye were on the top. I caught up with some buddies at the shelter but pushed on to do a few extra miles. I could have walked further today I felt fantastic but I'm taking it easy. I am tenting by myself in a cleared area. Hopefully I won't be scared! Erwin, Tennessee tomorrow for lunch.
Date: 2010-05-21
From: Whistling Gap

To: Camping at 346.6 miles
Miles today: 21.6

Another fantastic day on the AT. I had a horrible night's sleep as was to be expected as I was tenting by myself. I am too scared to do this because I always misinterpret the noises of nature. Last night, a tree was making a creaking noise in the wind. I thought it was a wild hog preparing to charge me. There are wild hog in the Smokies but I don't know about here though. All night I lay petrified trying to make noises with my sleeping bag velcro and flashing my torch. Finally I realised it was a tree creaking, then I was afraid it might fall on me and crush me. I sweated in fear all night until I'd had enough at 530 and I got up to start hiking. I know I am pathetic but I'm trying to cure these fears through hiking the AT. I had a 15 mile hike mainly downhill to Uncle Johnny's which is the gateway to Erwin. Most people seemed to be spending the night however Ladybird and I had planned ahead in Hot Springs and sent a food drop to Uncle Johnny's. There were some scattered raindrops on the way down but nothing to dampen my mood. At Uncle Johnny's, I picked up my box, drank some fizzy drinks, had a shower and did laundry. I spoke to other hikers while doing this and they all had all you can (AYCE) pizza in town. Unfortunately Uncle Johnny didn't have ice-cream! Missed out again!Head on out of Uncle Johnny's and decided to pass the shelter to do a few extra miles as I felt good. I am tenting by myself again. Took me so long to pitch my tent and it looks pathetic, droopy and sad. I couldn't hang my food bag well either so a 6 year old could get it from the tiny tree it's on. At least it is not near me. To answer some queries from my guestbook. 1. I spend a lot of time talking to other hikers ie on breaks, at shelters, at resupply points etc so I'm never lonely. I like my own company anyway and the trail drama and gossip can be annoying. "Did you hear those hikers this morning, so inconsiderate making all that noise in the shelter...blah blah blah...she's hiking too quickly to enjoy it. She's missing out on so much..." But staying in or tenting near shelters is nice to catch up with buddies and meet new ones. 2. Ramen (or two minute noodles) are delicious raw. I've eaten them that way since I was at university. You crunch them while the packet is still shut then you eat them like chips. The beans in Mexican sauce were delicious. I'll be getting them again. I am also going to try that precooked rice. It's meant to be ok but it's a bit heavy. The Smokies had great views practically all the time (although it was slightly foggy when I passed through). In general there are not too many views though, a few per day. They don't call it the long green tunnel for nothing!
Date: 2010-05-22
From: Camping at 346.6 miles

To: Roan Knob Shelter
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: light rain

You can tell when it's a weekend on the trail as the weekend warriors (hikers) are out in force! They often have top equipment and it always looks new. My gear is now soiled and smelly! I had a big day planned, as I wanted to stay at the highest shelter on the AT. I had a great night sleep, it was windy but there were no creaking trees. My bear bag had not been touched so that was good news. I was lucky with my camping spot choice because as I walked up the trail, everywhere was covered in condensation and mist. My tent had been perfectly dry. I missed many of the possible views today because of mist and fog however the pine forests looked spooky and eerie like a horror movie so that was at least cool. Half way through the day it started raining so I was able to test my new rain system I bought in Hot Springs. I sent home my Gore-Tex rain jacket and I invested in an Equinox silnylon poncho which weighs 7 oz. It fits over my pack as well as me and in the brief showers we had, it worked fine. I have had only 4.5 hours of hiking in the rain so far so I have been lucky. I had thought about going all the way into Damascus with my food from Uncle Johnny's. However after seeing a rabbit and a big mushroom and considering making "Lapin Forrestier" (as I think it's called in France) I realised that I'd made myself feel really sad thinking about how hungry I'd be for 5 days. Immediately (it was only 8am and the plan was formulated the previous evening) I changed my mind and decided to resupply half way to Damascus. To celebrate I ate some trail mix and a chocolate bar. I ended up celebrating all day and it was good! I had a lovely day looking at the animals and the plants on the AT. I saw a lovely red newt with yellow spots, some squirrels, a fluoro blue grasshopper, a weird white mushroom, a bright yellow funghi growing out of a tree and other such wonders. I seem to have healed in general but the balls of my feet are still sore. Warren Doyle (I keep bumping into his group!) told me that some people's bone structure is a bit fragile. No one else seems to have this problem...
Date: 2010-05-23
From: Roan Knob Shelter

To: Mountaineer Falls Shelter
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I allowed myself a sleep in today as the views were meant to be amazing on the first part of the trail. I slept well in the shelter although some hikers left at 1am, which was strange. There was a guy snoring loudly so perhaps it was because of that? I ate a lot of granola since I figured I could finish it before Hampton, my next town resupply. On the way down from Roan Mountain (which looked like a fairytale castle of doom and gloom) I passed a local day hiker getting out of his car. He knew I was a thru hiker from either my smell or my look. He didn't even bother to ask! We are a breed apart. He said he was sorry he had no goodies for me! Maybe I peered into his car with hungry eyes! He told me the weather was due to clear into a nice day. This was good news because the Roan Highlands are definitely a highlight of the trail. They were magnificent! The fog cleared as I went over the first bald and the beautiful day began. I went over Hump and Little Hump (imaginative names) and had a tortilla break in the sun. The Highlands are perhaps so named because they look a little like Scotland. My dad is Scottish so it brought back places I've seen with him. It's quite wild, no trees (for once!), just grass. Beautiful walking. I had a big downhill through huge stones but took it slowly and it went well. I passed YET again Warren's group, as I have every day since the Smokies. One of the group, I don't remember her name as she doesn't have a trail name, (I describe her in my head as the young one with brown hair who's always with the one with bad knees) gave me a poem which was printed on a piece of paper. Not sure where she got it from as it's not the kind of thing you have handy in the wilderness but I was very touched. Here it is below: Alpine About mountains it is useless to argue, You have either been up or you haven't; The view from halfway is nobody's view. The best flowers are mostly at the top Under a ledge, nourished by the wind. A sense of smell is of less importance Than a sense of balance, walking on clouds Through holes in which you can see the earth Like a rich man through the eye of a needle. The mind has its own level to find. R.S.Thomas I forgot to mention that I saw a group of Amish hikers at Uncle Johnny's. I think they were anyway! They had funny looking homemade pants with lots of buttons and straw hats. Their packs were normal though and had zips. Today I crossed from North Carolina into Tennessee and am at 397.2 miles. Shelter tonight as I am too tired to set up my tent. I saw Special Needs and Jurassic today, the two Aussie party boys I've heard a lot about. They were hiking two whole chickens to cook and a whole lot of beer up a huge mountain. Respect!
Date: 2010-05-25
From: Pond Flats

To: Camping at 447.5 miles
Miles today: 29.0

Had yet another wonderful sleep. At first, as there was a lot of moonlight, the trees made creepy shadows against the wall of my tent. Instead of freaking, I just turned the other way and went to sleep. On my way down the big hill I climbed the previous day, as with every morning, I saw Warren. We chatted about summer sleeping bags, as I plan to buy one in Damascus. In relation to me finishing my thru hike by my expected date, Warren said he gave me an 80% chance (which I thought was low), then I told him about my mum coming to do a month with me and he said my chances had dropped to less than 50%. Haha! He does not know my determination nor my mum's fitness level. I still think I can make it, although it will be close! Then he said that he had two breakfast options and that I could have one. The choices were a Danish pastry or a McDonald's sausage mcmuffin. I'm not sure I've ever had a mcmuffin but the choice was so easy to make in my opinion - one option was far superior! I chose the McDonald's. I waited to be at the nearby lake to eat it by the water. Delicious! Trail magic rocks! At the lake, I met a thru hiker called Mike who said that the person who he had camped with had his food bag (although hung from a tree) completely destroyed by a bear. A dog was in the group too and didn't make a noise! The rest of the day was a long uphill and I ran out of water. It's hard hiking in the heat with no water. There was a 0.5 mile part of the trail which was for wheelchair bound people. It was flat, adequately large and made of stone. It passed through a lovely field and was beautifully maintained. It was a really great gesture but I couldn't help but feel sad because at the end of the path was a little stone seat. I sat there for a while and thought about how a wheelchair bound person could only go as far as the seat but could see the AT heading off into the forest on its path up to Maine. After this area, I saw a sign and an orange crate. I went up to investigate as you do if you see something out of place. Inside the crate was an icebox (esky for the Aussies) full of sodas (soft drinks) and sports drinks and snacks. The sign said that the trail magic had been provided by Jesus. Then there was an appropriate quote from the Bible stating that if you have thirst and you have a drink, you'll be thirsty again but that if Jesus quenches your thirst, you'll never be thirsty again (I'm paraphrasing). I'm not religious but given how thirsty I was all day it seemed appropriate. I had a coke, a Baby Ruth chocolate bar and a cookie. I camped with a section hiker called John 16 miles out of Damascus to make it a short day in.
Date: 2010-05-26
From: Camping at 447.5 miles

To: Damascus
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I walked fast into town, which I need to stop doing as I'm sure it's a way to get injured. I had important business to attend to, being that I needed to switch my winter gear for summer gear. Currently I am carrying a -10 C/20 F sleeping bag, a synthetic warm jacket and thermal long sleeve top and bottom. I needed to buy a new sleeping bag and send the winter ones to my trail angel Lee who will send it back to me up the trail. When I got to Damascus, gee it was hot, I checked into the Apple Tree B&B, which is a lovely old house with porch and rocking chairs. My room was lovely with a little sofa, bed with patchwork quilt and bathroom. I had my laundry cleaned by the host while I made a call to my grandmother in Australia. Then I attended to some Internet business. Mt Rogers Outfitter, the camping store I had planned to visit to get my new gear was superb. The best place I had seen on the trail. I had a huge selection of items and Jeff, the owner, was obviously very knowledgeable. I bought a Western Mountaineer sleeping bag, the Summerlite which is a 32F or 0C bag. I tend to get cold at night and the bag still packs down very small. I also decided to change shoes. I have had fairly bad blisters, about 7, since the start of the trail and men's Merrell's seemed to be making things worse. Jeff fully measured my feet then proposed a pair of trail runners, Montrail Masochists with green Superfeet (inner soles for hikers). They felt fantastic. I also purchased some "Darn Tough" socks which are synthetic rather than wool. It means they dry quicker. We'll see if it works. I went to Quincy's, the local restaurant with Ladybird and San Gabrielh who I had caught up with. I had bean soup, then a cheeseburger. Lovely. I noticed that Mountain Dew seems to be the most popular drink around here, I must try some.
Date: 2010-05-27
From: Damascus

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 28.0
Weather: light rain

Drama took place last night with a capital D. I went for dinner with Ladybird and San Gabriel at Quinncy's which was a couple of doors down from the B&B. Throughout the day, the front door to the B&B had been open and I had not been told to be back at a particular time. When I arrived back, at 1020pm, the front door was locked. I rang the doorbell, knocked with the knocker and with my hand and yelled the names of the owners as their window appeared open. No answer. I continued for another 20 minutes. No answer. I went to "The Place", a Methodist church bunkhouse where Ladybird and San Gabriel were staying. They said I could stay with them if I couldn't get into the B&B. I went back and tried again without avail. I could not ring the owners as I didn't have the number or my phone and no thru hiker had a phone with reception. In the end, I slept on a hard bunk bed with San Gabriel's bag (he was changing winter to summer and still had both bags) and his camping sleeping mat. I used Ladybird's tent as a pillow. I was extremely grateful to them because without their help I would have been stuck with my passport and cash and nothing else on the porch of the B&B. I was pretty angry, as I had effectively paid $95 for a shower. After a fairly sleepless 6 hours in "The Place", I woke at 630 and went to the B&B. Of course the owners were surprised to see me outside and apologetic. I went to ny room and suddenly became very upset. I saw the book and jellybeans which I had planned to read and eat after dinner. All my gear was still to be sorted and my planning guide and books were awaiting my return. I left the B&B although breakfast was being prepared for me. I was too upset to stay. To be fair, they offered me some credit but I was too upset to discuss this or stay a minute longer. I went to call the Manager and cried on the phone. Everything became too overwhelming. It was lovely to speak to her and she made me feel so much better - she's a good sister! I then went to eat blueberry pancakes, which also made me feel better. On my way out of town, a man who'd seen me crying on the phone asked me what was wrong. I explained and to make me feel better, he gave me an avocado, an orange and some pecan nuts. He also offered to hard-boil me some eggs. His trail name is Tow. What trail magic! Made me feel even better. I hiked out of town and felt like new. I don't want to sound like a Nike advert but the trail is always the same; it's up to me to hike as fast, slow or far as I want. No one can spoil my day if I'm just hiking. Later in the day, I met some fellows doing some trail maintenance and they gave me a Sprite and some cheese crackers. I ended up hiking 28 miles to let off some steam. What a day!
Date: 2010-05-28
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I tried night hiking last night as it seems to be the cool thing to do at present among thru hikers. I found that I just tripped over roots and stepped in mud all over the place. I did see a very cool red moon though and I wasn't in the slightest bit scared. So I was a bit tired when I woke up because I went to bed at about 10pm. I got on the trail at 645 and a lovely hike through the Grayson Highlands, which has wild ponies, and through beautiful Virginia landscapes. I saw a place called "The Scales" where the farmers used to sell their cattle. They noticed that the weight of the cattle dropped when they took them downhill for sale so instead they sold them up in the mountains instead. I forgot to mention I have moved from Tennessee to Virginia. I have also done over 500 miles, 800 km. I took a photo at the mark to celebrate.
Date: 2010-05-29
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Atkins
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: light rain

I didn't hear my alarm clock this morning. I had slightly disturbed sleep so I think I made up for it in the early morning hours. Still, after several bowls of Special K, I was on my way at 630. The first ten miles went by very quickly and I arrived at the Partnership Shelter in time for morning tea. This shelter is unique on the AT as you are able to order pizza directly to the shelter from a nearby town. Many hikers time their day to end up there for dinner. The shelter also has a shower, warm water and soap! I had a shower and washed my clothes. Then I went to the Visitor's Centre to find out more about the Mt Rogers National Park. After looking at the exhibits, I bought a Mountain Dew. I didn't like it too much, I prefer coke but it interesting to try. In the afternoon, I passed and visited the Settler Museum. This museum comprises of a traditional log cabin, 1800's one room schoolhouse and other parts of the original farm. The area was mainly settled by Germans and Scots-Irish in the 1750s onwards. Life looked very hard back then. Kind of like my life on the AT! Just kidding! I was supposed to go another 6 miles after resupplying in Atkins at the convenience store. Instead I got a room at the Relax Inn. I ate at the little restaurant near the motel. I had vegetable soup that was more like a canned meatball soup, salad with an orange dressing called French and a steak so hard I almost broke a tooth on it with canned green beans and corn. At least they were vegetables.