morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-27
From: Saunders shelter

To: Near Whitetop Mountain
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

From Fatboy:We both slept well and I never got up all night.  That's a rarity for me as it is for most male hikers of a certain age.  Standing up to get out of the tent is always a challenge but even more so in the middle of the night with a sense of urgency.  I woke spontaneously at 0555 to a clear sunrise and a loud chorus of birds.  I did recall hearing a pack of coyotes barking and howling during the night but they were quite distant.  We were on our way a little after 0800 and both were enjoying the weather.  I felt pretty confident it would rain some time during the day because there was absolutely no dew on anything.  Time would tell.  The AT ran near and crossed the Virginia Creeper Trail multiple times during the morning and we even walked part of that trail on the AT.  We saw lots of families and groups out on bicycles who appeared to be having a lot of fun.  Maybe we'll come back to this area and ride the Creeper Trail some time on another vacation?  We stopped for lunch at the next shelter and I made coffee.  I rarely get out the stove for lunch but it seemed like a good day for a special treat for both of us.  I'd been struggling a little with adjusting to my new shoes and I wanted to have time to take my shoes off too.  We decided we were going to ascend Buzzard Rock before we stopped for the day.  It was quite a big climb at the end of our miles but it was worth it.  The view from the top is spectacular and we tried to capture some of the beauty in photos.  We both know pictures can never do this justice but at least we'll have a visual reminder of our day.  We walked down of Buzzard Rock and entered a wooded area where the trail became very rocky.  We agreed on a stealth camp site about a mile further and completed our day. We were both very tired but happy we had made camp and retired to our tent before the rain started at 2000.From Ginger:Our stop for lunch at Lost Moutain shelter included good conversation, too, not just mileage boasts from folks. That seems to be waning as numbers on the trail wane. Or we're in a mature mini-bubble right now.We expected rain all day and could see the heavy clouds looming much of the day. As we climbed to Buzzard Rock, I kept hoping it would hold off, and it did. I think we both felt like the ascent was rewarding. The boulder formation itself and the view were breath-taking. These are some of my favorite photos thus far.
Date: 2017-05-28
From: Near Whitetop Mountain

To: Thomas Knob shelter
Miles today: 6.6
Weather: overcast clouds

From Fatboy:We had a front row seat for the storm with some very impressive lightning and thunder.  It rained very hard most of the night but the only water incursion was where my feet touched the tent side and contacted the rain fly.  I discovered a small wet area on the end of my side of our sleeping bag and we were able to adjust enough that we stopped any more water coming in.  Our REI Half Dome 2+ has been one of our best gear purchases to date.  I never feel reluctant to recommend this tent and I've heard many people complain about tents costing way more.  We started hiking around 1000 and continued with a muddy, rocky trail.  I hyperextended my left knee early in the hike today and it just was never right after that.  I felt heavy and struggled to want to hike.  The terrain was filled with rocks and lots of ups and downs as well as large roots interspersed with shoe sucking muck pits.  I just never engaged psychologically.  We did stop at Elk Grove Route 600 road crossing and spread all of our wet gear on the grass and we're able to get everything except our clothing dried out.  A benefit at this road crossing was also a real privy and a trash can.  It doesn't really lighten my load much to dump our trash but it is a psychological lift.  We crossed the highway and began our hike toward Mount Rogers through a large pasture that did have cattle present.  After the pasture we re-entered the forest for more rocks, roots, and mud.  After climbing for miles we entered another pasture that had ponies on the trail.  This was the beginning of the Grayson Highlands and the famous ponies.  Ginger was in her glory watching the ponies alongside trail and we even saw two young foals. We stopped at Thomas Knob Shelter at the edge of this pasture and I was done.  The area near the shelter is littered with big rocks and it was a constant struggle for me to keep from falling down as I tried to just walk around the shelter.  Ginger was very understanding and I was very grateful for her kindness.  We found a space inside the upper level of the shelter, had dinner, and retired to read and write by 1900.  Tomorrow we may have a short day and go to a town for a real meal, shower, laundry, and a real bed.
Date: 2017-05-29
From: Thomas Knob shelter

To: Grayson Highlands Inn + General Store
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: overcast clouds

From Fatboy:Our bunk was tight up against a metal roof.  It was an experience to be over a mile high and have a thunderstorm with lots of rain pounding the roof inches from our heads.  I slept amazingly well for a change!  I admit there is a guilty pleasure in knowing I was warm and dry when I could have easily been tenting again.  That's the thing about this journey.  You're IN the weather and your comfort relies on your ability to adapt and respond to the conditions.  No excuses or exceptions.We had our usual amazing breakfast and Ginger made coffee for us.  I'm spoiled by her attentiveness but I love it anyway.  We started hiking around 0800 and had some amazing trail sights to pass through.  We continued to see evidence of ponies and eventually cattle too.  The weather cleared and we were gifted with beautiful sunshine as the mist and clouds below our elevation blew away.  The rocky mountain tops and greenery made for a constantly changing view so the miles passed quickly.  We did go through Fatman Squeeze, a famous rock tunnel that the AT goes through.  It's not really a squeeze or maybe I'm not as fat as I was 500 miles ago!  Our planned destination was Massie Gap and a shuttle to the Grayson Store and Inn.  We reached the gap and Dennis, the owner of the inn, picked us up quickly and brought us back to his inn.  We were in for a treat. The general store was filled with eclectic food and hiker resupply staples as well as general everyday stuff the local residents might need.  The restaurant was a treat too.  Our barbecue shredded chicken sandwiches were delicious and we ate other foods until we were fueled enough to climb the stairs to our room.  This place is a gem.  The rooms are very clean and well-decorated and Dennis provides all the services you could want.  We'll be back. After showers and a nap we had dinner from their short-order menu and sampled Dennis' homemade zucchini bread. Dennis even shared some of his Indian mango pickle and chutney he makes because he loves to cook Indian food.  I bought some more food for our room, and we were set to relax for the night.  Ginger did our laundry and I relaxed in our room.  Life is good and we feel justified in a celebration after hiking 500 miles into Virginia.From Ginger:Hikers call this a near-o: hiking a few miles into a town or resupply spot, then spending the night there and getting back on trail the next day.Our walk before arriving at Dennis' gem in the Grayson Highlands was jam-packed with beauty. We've yet to see "flat Virginia," but I'll take this! Lush green paths around monstrous boulders (it looks like Ireland or Scotland), a bit of rock-climbing before and after Fatman Squeeze, cool breezes without whipping winds ...We walked a bit with Kiote Jayne and shared a shuttle down the mountain. Dennis mentioned visiting Ravi Shankar's house once upon a time, which led me down the rabbit hole of Woodstock set lists and Youtube videos. What a fun soundtrack to our evening.
Date: 2017-05-31
From: Old Orchard shelter

To: Trimpi shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: clear sky

From Fatboy:Our tent was dry when the sun came up and the skies were clear.  We started hiking at our usual 0915.  It still amazes me how predictable that is.  This section of trail has a few rocky places and some mud from all the rain we've had but there really aren't a lot of big climbs.  It was nice to have some comfortable walking.  We leapfrogged with some hikers several times and shared some fun experiences and trail wisdom.  We sighted our first bear!  Ginger was leading and I noticed an unusual huffing noise up the hill from us.  There it was, just like the pictures, a black bear watching us watch it.  I'd told many people that the way I wanted to see a bear was from a distance during the daytime; not up close at night when we'd both be scared.  I did get several photos to prove our sighting just in case I wasn't trusted to be truthful.  It was a bear and we only had to walk a little more than 500 miles to see it!  The high point of the day was some trail magic at Dickey Gap.  We were sitting on a split rail fence in a clearing by the highway when a gentleman pulled up and announced he had trail magic.  He offered us coke on ice, chips and Oreos.  The funniest part was: he admitted the only reason he stopped was because he spotted Ginger's red hair.  It was all in good spirits but I understand his attraction.  My wife is gorgeous and humble and I know I won the lottery every day when she smiles at me.  I did tease her a little after we started hiking again about changing her trail name to Bait.  We finished our day at Trimpi Shelter after 13.4 miles and set up on a flat site near some friends.  Our plan for tomorrow includes a trip to town from a road crossing about 10 miles away.  We plan to stay for a full zero so we'll be in a hotel with a real bath and a real toilet and a real bed with sheets and pillows AND we'll eat real civilized food including salads and vegetables and bread!  We set our alarm for 0600 so we can get on the trail by 0800.  It was a beautiful day.From Ginger:Whew! It was big day with great, long climbs that felt exhilarating to push through. Nathan has been HUUUUNGRY lately. He's dropped a considerable amount of weight. We supplemented his serving of a Mountain House Thai dinner with other fuel, which I hope helps. He and I don't eat the same way off-trail, and we can't eat the same way on-trail. We are just wired very differently, and that is OK! Our bodies need different things. I'm glad he has the strength to continue. This is our big adventure TOGETHER.We enjoyed circling up around our dinner stations this evening with Kiote and Runaway, who we reunited with over Low Gear's trail magic, and met Tunnel Rat. Great conversation before we retreated to our respective tents. This was a later night for us, I think. Admittedly, it's hard to tell with such a dense tree canopy, but it was dark enough to need headlamps, either way.
Date: 2017-06-01
From: Trimpi shelter

To: Mount Rogers Visitor Center (+ Partnership shelter)
Miles today: 10.0

From Fatboy:The alarm didn't wake me at 0600 because I forgot to turn it ON.  We did get up at 0612 and started our usual morning stuff.  The rain stopped some time during the night so our tent was only a little wet and we had breakfast and packed up with only the water dropping from the canopy in the breeze.  We left camp at 0843.  Early for us!  Our plan for the day was to hike to the Mt. Rogers visitor center to get a shuttle at 1430.  We needed to hike 10 miles in a little more than 5 1/2 hours.  That's pushing the pace a little for me and I knew I'd need to be careful to not hyperextend my knees.  The most common way that happens is when I'm hurrying on a descent trail that has loose rocks or mud.  When I do it, I pay the price of really painful and swollen knees.  My patella tendon compression straps help hold things together but it still makes me cuss.  The trail was really nice and we made excellent progress.  We even were met on the AT by some horseback riders who couldn't find their road crossing.  I was able to help because I have the Guthook App on my phone.  The horses were beautiful and the riders thanked us for the assistance.  We saw very few other hikers today but we did see the man who'd given us some trail magic yesterday because he liked Ginger's hair.  He was hiking southbound and we paused briefly to chat.  Ginger was a little uncomfortable with the type of attention she was getting from him and I thought it was a little strange too.  She kept turning around and checking behind us to see if he was following.  Our six stayed clear and we made it to Partnership Shelter and the Mt. Rogers visitor center before 1400.  We made it on time but we were both tired and had sore feet.  The reward was: There are real bathrooms with sinks and soap and vending machines at the visitors center.  It was a joy to wash my face and hands and feel almost human again.  We waited a short while for our shuttle and had fun talking with other hikers who were going to town too.  We made it to the Econolodge in Marion, Va. and settled in to a room with a king bed and all the luxuries I'd been hoping for.  After showers we went to Pizza Hut for salad and pasta (it was delicious) and then walked to Wal-Mart for some necessities like instant coffee packs and sugary snacks for our room tonight.  We plan on a complete zero tomorrow and my feet need the rest.From Ginger:What a change in 24 hours: Yesterday had long, slow inclines for miles; today had short steep ascents and descents! Hard to believe we cranked out 10 miles by 1:45 p.m.The Mount Rogers Visitors Center offers lots of Smoky the Bear paraphernalia. I'd been waiting for this! Totally reminded me of the public service announcements of the late '70s and early '80s. I couldn't resist a patch and postcards.We're excited to head into Marion. They have what looks like a thorough and inexpensive shuttle service.
Date: 2017-06-02
From: Econolodge, Marion, VA

To: Marion
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

From Fatboy:Zero Saturday!  Marion, Virginia is a very hiker-friendly town.  There's a shuttle that runs all day for 50 cents a ride and there are taxis easily available.  Due to a reservation conflict we had to move from our king bed room to a queen but that's really our preference anyway and the management of the Econolodge was very easy to work with.  We did laundry and finished our resupply and relaxed most of the afternoon.  Dinner was at Yummy Yummy Japanese Restaurant and the chicken curry was delicious.  We ended up walking almost 2 miles from the restaurant back to our room but it was a beautiful evening and there were sidewalks the entire route so it was a pleasure instead of a chore.  We retired to our clean room and slept very well.
Date: 2017-06-03
From: Marion, VA (back to Partnership shelter)

To: Chatfield shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

From Fatboy:We enjoyed our stay in Marion but it was time to move on.  We discovered the building near downtown with a plaque identifying the site where Mountain Dew was developed.  That's really a claim to fame because that soft drink has become a staple in my diet whenever I'm in a town.  Lots of sugar and caffeine!  We visited the post office and had a terrific lunch at a little restaurant called the Wooden Pickle and then caught a shuttle to Wal-Mart to await the 1400 ride to Mt. Rogers visitor center to get back on the trail. There's a shelter within sight of the visitor center and we were greeted by trail friends as we neared the shelter.  We also were told that Ginger's admirer from the other day was hiking sections today and had been at the shelter earlier.  That was a little creepy so we decided to get out of the area quickly.  By this time it was about 1500 and we knew the next shelter was about 8 miles away but that was our goal.  This section of trail was quite hilly with several steep climbs and lots of rocky areas.  Lots of rocks.  Lots.  Painful to walk on rocks that we kept recrossing on switchback.  We eventually reached our destination and shared the shelter with some really interesting hikers.  Powder, Snacks, and Greg all had interesting stories and sore feet from the rocks.  I did have the opportunity to soak my feet in a very cold creek while I gathered our water.  That felt wonderful.  We had a small dinner because neither of us was very hungry and we retired when it became dark enough to need headlamps.From Ginger:Rocks, rocks, rocks and 7 miles after 3 p.m. We're beat!
Date: 2017-06-05
From: Quarter Way Inn

To: Quarter Way Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

From Fatboy:Breakfast was a treat.  Chunky delivered on her promise of cheese grits and they were delicious.  Everything was!  The day started overcast and the forecast was 90% chance of rain.  It rained intermittently all day.  It was a perfect day for a zero and, I think, our best zero yet.  Ginger napped twice and I stayed off my feet.  This hostel is located in the middle of nowhere so there's nothing to walk to.  I doubt I walked 100 yards all day.  It was glorious.  I read and watched movies with the other hikers all afternoon.  Perfect rest and recovery.From Ginger:Truly enjoying the setup Tina (Chunky, SOBO 2009) has here. Signage throughout the house, select-your-own meals with high-protein frozen options (hooray for Birds Eye!), fresh fruit with breakfast, cushy bed, uniquely repurposed items (doorknobs as hangers, bottle caps as nail covers, the biggest tree I've seen outside Yosemite (a sycamore), loads of books. ... This is our kind of place. I wrote in the log as we left that I wished she were hiking with us. Tina has lived in fascinating places all over the country and world. From her literature collection, I read a Shirley Jackson short story and William Faulkner's Nobel Prize acceptance speech/transcription. Enjoyed our conversations here, too, with Ray Bird (another Texan!), Cash Back and Tunnel Rat. Cuties Hazelnut, the dog, and Herman, the cat, were bonuses. Tina has created a beautiful space inside, set in what looks like heaven to me outside. Brilliant find on Nathan's part. That was truly inspired!
Date: 2017-06-06
From: Old Rich Valley Road (Quarter Way Inn)

To: Chestnut Knob shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: mist

From Fatboy:We had another great breakfast after a peaceful night in our private room and Chunky shuttled us to our trailhead at 0900.  We hiked up a hill first thing.  Surprise!  Our destination was the next shelter with a privy which was about 15 miles away.  We saw some interesting things today.  Ginger surprised a good sized copperhead snake beside the trail in a marshy section.  It was her first time seeing a poisonous snake and she just calmly watched it crawl away.  She was able to identify that it was a copperhead from the markings so it was nice for me to see her getting comfortable with snakes being on the trail.  There were also some pretty creeks and bridges and this was generally a pretty woods to walk.  Somehow we had the impression that the trail in Virginia was flat.  It's definitely not.  There were quite a few climbs to make my heart pound and soak my clothes with sweat.  The final section of our day included a long walk across clear meadows.  The scenery was gorgeous and I hope to get some good pictures in the morning.  The shelter we stayed in was probably the most unique one we've stayed in.  It was all stone and had four complete walls and a door.  Definitely the most secure shelter yet.  The other hikers included some interesting characters.  Cash Back greeted us after completing his day and went to sleep early.  Our other companions included a young man who constantly talked about the mileage he was hiking.  Claims of 20's, 30's, or whatever number of miles people hike a day bore the crap out of me but he persisted.  I can't hike more than I can hike.  My legs and feet are doing the best they can and I've made it over 500 miles doing it my way.  I don't care what other hikers do.  Eventually he went outside to partake of his preferred medical therapy from a small pipe and that line of conversation stopped.  Ginger and I planned a little for how we're going to meet her parents in about a week and where we think we might be at the end of each day.  I'm so grateful that we are on the same page with our expectations for this adventure.  It was a good, but tiring, day.From Ginger:Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be with a husband who takes the time to teach me things, like identifying trees and wildlife?! I love the field craft aspect of being out here, but I also love sharing it with Nathan.
Date: 2017-06-07
From: Chestnut Knob shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 6.2

From Fatboy:We were packed and hiking by 0815.  I hadn't slept much but GInger slept peacefully all night.  She has the most amazing ability to fall asleep almost anywhere.  I'm envious but also grateful.  I mean, what would be the point in both of us being exhausted from lack of sleep.  The view looking north from the meadow beside Chestnut Knob Shelter was stunning.  The valley below us was covered with low clouds or mist and the sun was shining with clear rays of beauty on all we could see.  I captured a few photos to help me remember and to share with friends but I know the pictures will never come close to what we really saw.  I guess that's why we're here hiking this trail instead of sitting at home looking at pictures.Our hearts weren't really in hiking this morning and it was obvious we both wanted to be off the trail again.  I searched on Guthook and found a hostel that offered shuttle service from a near road crossing.  We agreed on this change of plans and our pace increased with the thoughts of showers, food, clean clothes, food, a real bed, and food.  After a brief wait at the road a truck appeared.  More like it splattered into the zone.  This truck had floorboards hanging off it on one side and no tailgate.  The noises coming from the undercarriage made me skeptical it would successfully complete a descent of the mountain but beggars can't be choosers and we hopped aboard.  I was beginning to get an uncomfortable vibe about our lodging plan but decided to attempt positive thoughts.  We rode down the mountain on a gravel road and were delivered to the doorstep of a large old fashioned farm house.  There really wasn't a lot of organization evident anywhere but I continued hoping good things would appear.  We quickly discovered that this was a cash only business and we were short of funds.  We did some quick calculations and decided this hostel just wasn't for us.  There were indications that this was a party place and we didn't come to the trail to party. We don't judge those who do but it just isn't our choice.  We called for a shuttle, made our apologies to the management of the hostel and we're shuttled to Bland, Va., for a stay in an old fashioned motel.  It was clean and the room had a mix of vintage and yard sale furnishings.  I was happy to be in close proximity to several food establishments and have the option of delivery pizza and salad.  This was everything I needed and we were happy to settle for a quiet restful night.