morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-20
To: Planning kicks in
Miles today: 0.0

I now have the first 11 days mapped out fairly well as to what shelters and hostels we'll be staying in. Fat Grandma and I went over many of the details by phone tonight.There is a beautiful hostel .3 of a mile from where we will re-enter the AT on Roan Mountain, TN. We'll be able to spend the first night there and securely store our vehicle. Fat Grandma's parents won't be joining us right away, but when they arrive they'll retrieve our vehicle. We'll hike 6 days into Damascus and spend two nights there before hiking the four days into Troutdale, VA. Troutdale to Pearisburg, VA will take us the final 8 days of our hike to complete for a total of 238 miles and 19 days of hiking. This year's biggest challenge will be Mt. Rogers at 5500 feet. Feels really good to finally start getting a handle on the itinerary. We are getting better at planning and it doesn't take us weeks to figure out a game plan anymore.We are estimating 3 mail drops. A mail drop is when you mail yourself a package to a post office or hostel in the town where you'll be staying. In the the mail drop you put all the supplies you'll be needing for the next leg of your adventure.Now to get busy on contacting that Hostel in Damascus for reservations.....
Date: 2012-05-21
To: Practice Hiking Continues
Miles today: 0.0

After three days of resting my right foot, we were off for a 5 mile hike with my pack weighing in at 28 lbs. The rest had done me good and it was a strong hike resulting in only tired feet and no tired muscles. Yes! We hiked all on horse paths in the Kettle Moraine State Forest Southern Unit. Lots of sand, rocks, ups, downs, and cooler temps.I had contacted the Hikers Inn in Damascus last night to see if they'd have room for us for those two days. Sadly, they are totally booked during our stay but they referred us to a dog friendly cottage and hooked us up with some transport for a possible slackpack hike for our second day in Damascus. I've sent an e-mail this morning to the cottage owner but haven't heard back yet.
Date: 2012-05-22
To: Tent preparations
Miles today: 0.0

So tonight I setup both my 3 lb. 2-man tent and my 8 lb. 3-man tent. For two reasons, one to make sure I remember how and two to make sure the tents were in good shape. All is good in this department! Wow that 3-man tent is HEAVY! When I hike with Fat Grandma we use the 3-man tent. We've never had Fat Grandma, myself, AND Mouse Hunter in that tent before so this year it will be a new configuration. We also bring both our packs and boots into the tent at night to make sure they don't get wet. You never want anything that a bear, mouse or raccoon might like in your pack though before you bring it in the tent. So all your food, toothpaste, toothbrush, lip balm, dog food, etc has to be hung high from a tree (called a bear swing) and far away from your tent.When it is just Mouse Hunter and I hiking, we use the shown 2-man tent. It works great and there is plenty of room. The Silicone-treated, lightweight ripstop nylon is extremely delicate though so Bandit is NOT allowed to walk around on the unexposed floor. He can only come in on his matt or on my sleeping pad or sleeping bag. His nails would easily tear a whole in the flooring. Matter of fact the nylon is so delicate, that they recommend that a person not kneel on it as that puts too much weight in a given spot causing future leakage there.So tents ready to go. Better get on organizing all that other gear.
Date: 2012-06-01
To: The Last Preparations
Miles today: 0.0

So preparations for our trip have become critical. Time is running short. Our very last practice hike for this year was last Tuesday. I put ALL my gear in my backpack including full water and weighed it. It was a beautiful 35 lbs. excellent weight. I then went for a good hour hike up and down some tough hills. It was well balanced and the hike felt good, but there will be NO more time for practicing. Personnal taxes have to be wrapped up with the accountant, company paperwork has to be finished, the household has to be put in order, personal bills paid, and the spring yard work wrapped up. Oh help!Tonight I pulled all my stuff out of my pack and Bandit's pack and put it in a big pile. I tossed in all the supplies I'd bought at Walmart yesterday and spread out all my backup gear next to it a second pile. Then I stared the laborious process of assembling all the right gear and food into the right piles. All backup gear went into one box and all food into another. There, at least I now had a handle on a very critical piece of this puzzle.
Date: 2012-06-03
To: Itinerary Complete!
Miles today: 0.0

Today I was able to finalize many of the fine details to our itinerary. Calls to make final transport arrangements and hotel inquires. The rest of the details will now just have to be made on the fly as we go. That is the beauty of this trip. You just have to be flexible and roll with things as they happen. All paperwork complete, all laundry done, all yard work done, everyone at home lined up with duties, did I forget anything? Fat Grandma was due to arrive soon. My kids are here to say goodbye. Why do they keep telling me that I need to make sure to come back alive?!?!When Fat Grandma arrived, we made one more trip through gear. Then we assembled the two dropped boxes. Theses are boxes of supplies that you mail to yourself. And plans were made for my hubby to mail the boxes. We then finalized the meal schedule and assembled the food bag. Fat Grandma agreed to carry that and I'll carry that nasty 8 lb tent. All electronic devices were properly tweaked and we called it a night. Oh, BTW, Bandit, when he saw all that gear getting loaded into the truck refused to leave the truck and come in the house to sleep. He might be just a LITTLE excited.
Date: 2012-06-04
To: Living the dream
Miles today: 0.0

Up at 3:30 am and on our way by 4:45, we cleared Chicago traffic with breeze. Finally! We are off to continue on with our dream of reaching Mt. Khatadin! We managed to get turned around twice but still managed to make it to the famous Mountain Harbour B&B and Hostel by 8:30 pm. The hostel was full so Mary set us up in the B&B. Beautiful, beautiful place only steps from the AT Trailhead on Hwy  19E in Roan Mountain, TN. Breakfast was at 7:30 am and was fabulous!
Date: 2012-06-05
From: Hwy 19E - Mountain Harbor

To: Hardcore Cascades
Miles today: 15.3

Let The Adventure Begin!We were up for that beautiful breakfast and out the front gate by 8:15. It was a short walk up the Hwy to the trailhead and then we were finally back in the glorious woods. The day was sunny and cool and we made great progress up to the first shelter, Mountaineer Shelter, 8.7 miles in, by 1:00 pm. We had made a quick stop at Jones Falls, our first falls on the trail. They were gorgeous. Plan A had been to stay at this shelter, Plan B was to make it to Upper Laurel Falls campground 13.3 miles in. So after a quick lunch of taco sandwiches and some good conversation with a young couple from Indiana and their dog Brutus, we headed toward the campground. Unfortunately, this many miles on our first day was beginning to get painful. But the day was perfect and we were making great time. We arrived at the Upper Laurel Falls campground around 5 p.m. Still seemed way to earlyl in the day to quit. We finally quit at Hardcore Cascades, 15.3 mile day plus an extra .5 between getting to the trailhead and our side trip to the falls! Wow! No wonder I hurt. The place we stopped at was just a wide spot along the trail. 5 young men were eating their dinner here and once they moved one we set up camp. Little did I know that I was later to spend three lonely nights depending on three of these young men for company at camp. There was a beautiful cascade of falls on the small river that ran past. We put up our tent without the rain fly because the night was so beautiful, did evening chores including making dinner, and were off to bed early and exhausted.  Ha! A rainstorm complete with thunder and lightening sent us outside in the dark around 1 a.m. to put the fly on to keep everything dry, a maneuver that had Bandit completely baffled!
Date: 2012-06-06
From: Hardcore Cascades

To: Waycaster Spring
Miles today: 11.3

Did I say No Rock Scramble?We rose and got a late start pulling out of camp by 10:00 am. Everything from my hips down hurt. We needed to take it a bit slower today. Plan A was the Laurel Fork Shelter a mere 10.9 miles away. Plan B was Pond Flats but that required a 3 mile hike up 2000' right after the shelter. Plan A sounded best. The day started out soggy as the sky opened up before we even got to the first shelter, our place for breakfast. Moreland Gap Shelter was just 3 miles from our camp. When we arrived there was a young man sleeping in the shelter which was strange for this late in the morning. We were later to learn that he most likely had the Norovirus Infection (Hiker's Flu) that was plaguing the AT Hikers in TN/NC area this year. It was taking hiker's down hard for 24-48 hours with everything coming out both ends. Shawn voluntered to make the long downhill trek for water and I started breakfast as it continued to drizzle. After breakfast the trail seemed harder taking what seemed like a long time to get to Dennis Cove Road. This was an AT / road intersection we had visited by car last year and it was very difficult to reach by road. It was exciting to finally arrive here by foot. There is also a famous hostel here called Kincora but it was too early in our day to stop now. Fat Grandma thought it would be fun to go to town but I quickly corralled him down the trail which quickly became soggy as the sky once again opened up. Laurel Falls was before us and required a very, very hard rock scramble to its base. The falls were spectacular so we stopped to watch for a while.While admiring the falls, a young man had approached the falls from the north. He looked like a hiker but walked with an odd pace. It is instict to do a quick assessment of everyone you meet on the trail always on the lookout for potential trouble. When we left the falls to head to Laurel Fork Shelter, this young man started following us. I encouraged Fat Grandma to hold up and let him pass. He eventually disappeared into the Laurel Fork Shelter and we continued on down the trail to the north. Neither of us were comfortable spending the night at a shelter with him. We never did see him again.We instead headed to the foot bridge and Waycaster Spring where we setup camp for the night. This put us a bit ahead of Plan A. Tomorrow we had that terrible 2000' climb . Rumor had it that many hiker's walk into Hampton, TN and then hitch-hike back out to the Watauga Lake bypassing this painful climb. Though tempting, that wasn't in tomorrow's plan.... Dinner and sleep were good!
Date: 2012-06-07
From: Waycaster Spring

To: Spring just before Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Energy Draining DayWe rose to a dry day and were on the trail by 8:41 am. It was a long hard 3 mile, 2000' climb up to Ponds Flats which turned out to be very much of a let down. No view and not so spectacular of a camp. We were immediately rewarded with an opposite 3 mile, 2000'  hike down where the trailed popped out at Watauga's Lake Shook Branch Recreation Area. We sat for a luscious hour at the lake having lunch, watching the ducks, and drying out our wet gear in the sun. The 3 mile hike around the lake to the dam should have been easy but it had numerous and unnecessary ups and downs. The dam is a HUGE earth dam and very impressive, but also intimidating. It was very warm out as we crossed it and climbed the 0.4 miles of steep road walking. It sapped the energy out of us and we sat for a while in the shade as the trail entered the woods. It was getting late and we tired as we hiked the painful up and down stretches between the dam and Wilbur Dam Road. We had a long 5.1 mile, 1000' climb to the next shelter and there was now not enough daylight or water supply to do that. So we aimed for the next water source, ate dinner at one of the lower site campsites, and painfully climbed to that spring arriving at 8:41 pm, an exhausting 13.5 mile day.
Date: 2012-06-08
From: Spring just before Vandeventer Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

New Game PlanWe rose and pulled up camp, back on the trail by 9:00 am. We were off to Vandeventer Shelter for breakfast. It was a good 1.7 mile climb that still followed the ridge along Watauga's Lake. Intermittently you could still see the lake through the trees but it was a gorgeous view from the shelter. Talk was that since we were now a 1/2 day ahead of schedule that we should pick up the pace and get into Damascus early for a zero day (a day with NO miles). It was an enticing option with painful overused muscle repercussions.  No decision was made as the trail ALWAYS dictates the plans.It was an uneventful hike on a pleasant and dry day to the next shelter, Iron Mountain Shelter where we had lunch. As the morning grew warmer I laughed at myself realizing I was beginning to huluscinate. I would come around a bend and totally believe I was seeing Fat Grandma off in the distant woods at a shelter, get there and there was nothing but trees! Wow!Looking at the map at lunch, it was clear if we could pull off getting to Double Springs Shelter for the night that getting to Damascus a day early was actually doable. Earlier, we'd discussed the option of splitting up with Fat Grandma going to town while I stayed out on the trail a day longer. That would require splitting up gear. But I was beginning to believe that I had it in me to make it all the way into town early myself!!! So lunch was hustled up and we high-tailed it for Hwy TN 91. Fat Grandma typically travels much faster than I so he was out in font leading the charge. We arrived there later than hoped. There was a Trail Angle Box from a local church adding hope to our quest but unfortunately "The God Box" was empty.  When I arrived, Fat Grandma was talking in the parking lot to a young man who had been walking the AT with his 3 year old son and dog. The man  was giving another hiker a lift to Hampton, TN. He was a trail maintainer who had gotten hurt while working on the trail.  Due to the lateness of the day, we kept it moving. We now traveled through a hay field and then a cow field on a route back into the woods. It was then a simple three mile gentle uphill climb to the Double Springs Shelter. There was supposed to be 20 boy scouts when we arrived but we had the shelter to ourselves. Darkness arrived moments after we did so we used our headlamps to set up camp up on the hill above the shelter where it was level. Four young SOBOs arrived later and used the shelter. Lights out after we did our bear hang.
Date: 2012-06-10
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Relaxing and SicknessAh, a zero day.... no miles today. We got blueberry pancakes at Cowboy's, packed up all our gear and moved everything over to Ruby's Nest, a very cute little cottage on the Northeast side of town. Then we went back to the Dollar Store to buy supplies and a good share of junk food for our day off. We stopped in at Mt. Rogers Outfitters to make sure our transport up to Luther Hassinger Memorial Bridge was secure. We planned to 'Slack Pack' 14 miles tomorrow. Slack packing is when you take a really light back pack and only do a section of the trail for a day and then typically sleep in a hostel or hotel again for the night. You can make miles this way but still get some down time. We also tried to get the poles to my tent repaired at the outfitters but it wasn't possible. I think it is just time for a new, light weight 3-man tent, right?After returning to Ruby's Rest, Fat Grandma got sick. This wasn't good!!! So we hung out most of the rest of the day at Ruby's Rest watching TV, catching up on phone calls, journaling, and napping. As the day got late, we tried to go to dinner but Fat Grandma wasn't even able to walk all the way to Quincy's, so he headed back to the cottage and Bandit and I grabbed dinner at Subway (the only place still open until 9 p.m. on a Sunday night). Fat Grandma and I agreed that Bandit and I should still slack pack the next day but he doubted he was going to be able to hike. It was starting to look like Fat Grandma had the Hiker Flu!!!! Rats!
Date: 2012-06-11
From: Damascus

To: Creek Junction
Miles today: 13.8

Slack Packing AloneBandit and I packed our packs light and headed down to Mt. Roger's Outfitters w/o Fat Grandma. Everyone was really sad. We rode in a van with three other hiker's who were off to hike around the Mt. Roger's area. We got dropped off about 14 miles north of Damascus at Creek Junction and hopped onto the AT at Luther Hassinger Memorial Bridge. The AT and the Creeper Trail (an old railroad bed made into a nice bike path) share the path together for a bit here. The trail was uneventful all day w/o rock scrambles or hard climbs or descents or views. We stopped briefly at Saunders Shelter since it had a privy. We came across a couple that we had stayed at the Hikers Inn with. They were northbound for a day or two and then getting off the trial. There was a group of kids from a church group at the US 58 crossing. But other than that, this was truly a "Hike by yourself" kind of day. I got a text from Fat Grandma around 5 p.m. noting that his parents had arrived and wondering where I was. I noted we'd be back around 6 p.m. His parents had gone to Roan Mtn and picked up my truck and were deliverying it here. Pulling back into Damascus, once again the AT and the Creeper Trail share the same path. It sure is funny to be in the middle of no where on the AT and then pop out onto HWY 58 where the traffic is all going 55 mph. Wow, they go fast.After a nice shower, we all went to dinner at the Damascus Old Mill Inn, a beautiful restaurant/hotel located on the banks of Laurel Creek. Bandit feasted on leftover burgers - again NO complaints!
Date: 2012-06-13
From: Whitetop Mountain Road Campsite

To: Wise Shelter Camping Area
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Mt. Rogers ConcurredRose early, packed up camp after a good breakfast, all while trying really hard not to wake Etch-A-Sketch. But a Boy Scout troop came SOBO on the AT causing Bandit to bark and woke Etch-A-Sketch. We headed out of camp before him but he caught us 2.5 miles later at Hwy 600. Hwy 600 had a nice parking lot and bathroom faucility so a brief rest stop was in order. Then it was off to Lewis Fork Wilderness and the long, very long climb up to Mt. Rogers Summit Trail. We popped out from under the canopy at Brier Ridge and unexpectedly saw some of the wild ponies. We admired them but didn't stay to visit, a decision I was later to regret when we weren't able to get very close to any of the ponies at Grayson Highland Park. We briefly paused for pictures at the Mt. Roger's side trail used to go to the Summit but rather than summiting, we instead headed on down the AT to Thomas Knob Shelter. We'd heard there really weren't any views at the Summit.At the shelter, we had good conversation with Provisions and Maria. Provisions appeared to be a squatter at the shelter from all other hiker reports I'd gotten and from my own personal observations as he interacted with various hikers who came and went. Nice, nice guy who kept asking everyone for some chew, but it was obvious he wasn't moving on. He had some really weird philosophies on life that he enjoyed sharing with all who'd listen. Maria was originally from the Phillapines and had done quite a bit of AT maintenance over the years. But she'd never 'hiked' any part of the AT, ever. This was her first trip out and she had a ton of questions for everyone from water to food to hiking advice.While eating lunch a Military jet flew directly over the shelter rotating 90 degrees as he peeked Mt. Rogers. It was extremely loud and very exciting. It was a very long rock scramble to the Wise Shelter campsite through Grayson Highlands  State Park. That is where the wild ponies are supposed to be. We saw many off in the distance but were never fortunate enough to see them up close. The entire hike from Thomas Knob to Wise Shelter was out in the hot sun making for a very warm hike. Ran into a lovely local family who was hiking in the Highlands for the day and they and their kids had a million questions for me about hiking the AT.When I arrived at the Wise Shelter, there was no camping allowed directly at the shelter, you had to go another .2 miles down the AT to a separate campsite. The shelter was full so we headed off to the campsite. There I setup my tent alone and started feeling very much alone. What the hell am I doing. I'd hiked all day alone (after doing the same the day before) and hadn't been able to get a call out to home in two days. I wasn't sure I really liked being 'this' much alone. Then three other hikers I recognized arrived and started a fire after setting up their tents and cheered me up. After that I felt silly for having felt sorry for myself about being alone. Damn this trail can play mind games with your head!
Date: 2012-06-16
From: VA 670 Campsite

To: Mt. Rogers Visitor Center
Miles today: 6.9

Wrapping Up 2012Rose very early for us, 6:45 am. Hit the trail by 8:30 without waking the boys. Sadly, I now finally have my trail legs and was able to pretty much walk the 6.9 miles without taking a single break. Bandit wouldn't eat his breakfast and we never did stop for Second breakfast. We arrived at Partnership Shelter before 12:30 and located Dave's truck. Houdini, Jay Bird, and Ewok arrived an hour later and caught a shower at the shelter before Houdini, Ewok, and I headed to town. Jay Bird stayed at the Shelter to watch the backpacks. The guys bought so many provisions I wasn't exactly sure how they planned to carry it all. It included fresh fruit and spirits along with an entire disposable cooler of ICE!!!! LOL Now THAT'S thinking like a thru-hiker!!! I checked into a hotel while they shopped and had one long hot shower! Awesome! I got the boys back to the shelter before 6 p.m. and passed out early. It was going to be a long drive home tomorrow. Home! We are going home!All in all it was a good 2012 hike. I already can't wait to get back on the trail in 2013. I will spend the next year now mentally preparing myself to hike better while spending much more time alone. I also think we will switch back to hiking in May instead of June. It is cooler temperature wise making for more comfortable hiking. There also stands a much better chance of making new hiking friends earlier in the season. Thankfullly, next year holds more opportunities to make it into town as well. I will also have to wrestle with the internal conflict about how long to hike, two weeks is good for the home team, while three weeks will get me to Katahdin while I'm still young enough to climb it.New gear for next year will include a new much lighter 3-man tent.Now, how am I going to get Fat Grandma to hike that extra 63 miles to catch up to me?
Date: 2012-03-11
From: home

To: none
Miles today: 0.0

not much going on. A few last minute purchases and of course continued training.   We finished last year at Delaware Water Gap. Plano and I have around 900 miles to go and 75 days or so to finish. It is tight but possible. Starting date will be May 1st.   More on training later perhaps in some detail. Thanks for following this journal. Questions will be answered as soon as possible. Colonel Mustard