morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-17
From: Mile 437

To: 452
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

It has occurred to me that since the day I started, I have NOT seen the stars at night. I am in bed before the sun is down and I get up after the sun is up. I have seen some pretty interesting shadows from the branches and trees overhead around midnight from the moon shining down, but no stars. When it warms up more, I have to get outside in the dark of the moon and look. Out of bed by 0720. Good sleep. No wind changes - huzzah! got chilly around 0600 for some reason, but the sun was up at 0645 and warming the interior of the tent. At Mt. Harbor, I saw the weather channel stating that high pressure was built up over the Appalachian Mts, so good weather for several days. There are still NO leaves on the trees, other than the rhododendron and mt. laurel which are green year 'round and the conifers. I am getting tanned and sunburned on my arms to just above my elbows, neck and face. The days are getting warmer and with no leaves, the sun just beats down. Good Trail today - leapfrogged TJ/Pierre, Cold Snap/Diesel, superhiker white dread girl and her guy and a new girl with a Mohawk. New hiker bubble must be catching up. Stopped at 15 miles or so, pretty sure about mile 452. Locust Knob or so. Planning 12-14 tomorrow, Damascus on Tuesday for mail deliveries and resupply. Let the young pups get there Monday and move on so I can get a private room. Filter system was sent to wrong address - home. Did not realize I had ORDERED a total filter system. Had wife return for a refund. There was a box of Trail magic from a Baptist youth group around mile 447. the box is bright orange and has crosses torched out of the top. Inside were drinks, snacks and supplies. In 2012, the box was empty, but I sent a small donation and a letter of thanks. THIS time, I got an ice-cold Mountain Dew orange (my first ever), a bottle of water and a pastry. The cover letter stated that they have enough volunteers now to stock the box every day. I wonder how many non-Christians, who put us down, took advantage of this wonderful piece of magic.
Date: 2016-04-18
From: 452

To: Damascus
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

Good night - no wind, fairly warm. Took thermals off - will probably send home in Damascus. Made Low Gap in about an hour. Very poor water, but many miles to the next place. Planning on TN/VA border or just past for the night. Will wait for young pups to move on. Another hot, dry day. Hard to keep hydrated. Still no leaves or even many buds on the taller trees. Passed by 5 other hikers by 1130 - Fisherman and Maggie, another couple with a small dachshund (???) and an older slack packer. Called Crazy Larry from the border - he stated he had a room for tonight, but couldn't reserve it for me. When he found out I was "Old Hiker" from WhiteBlaze, he changed his mind and said he would hold it. I told him NOT to, as I would tent in the back yard and take the room (if available) the next day. He stated the back yard is flat (lie) and would be no prob. Decided to push on into Damascus - 1815 arrival. Got emotional when I went under the arch - I'm back almot to where I had to stop in 2012. I'm making MUCH better time. I feel better. I'm getting to where I'm cautiously optimistic about reaching Maine. Glad I pushed on - at the $ store, I got 2 OJ bottles and a Gatorade. Went across the street and had a burger, fries and large salad. Got to Larry's - room was taken by TJ and Pierre who were VERY apologetic about taking it. I told them it's what I asked Larry to do - if someone showed up before me, give them the room. By the way, the back yard was NOT flat, but doable. No prob. New sleeping bag was waiting, as well as water treatment tablets. I'm going to need the tabs, as the days are still hot and dry. Sleeping bad seems fine, but MUCH bulkier than quilt. Need to rearrange pack to make sure everything will fit. Bed by 2200 in the new bag. Seems very nice. Had to go back in to shower, as it just seemed wrong to get into a brand new sleeping bad all sweaty and nasty. That's for further up the Trail.
Date: 2016-04-19
From: Damascus

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

New sleeping bag is very nice. Warm, comfortable and does not let cold air in as I toss and turn during the night. I believe I will like it. Had to buy a waterproof bag for it ($$), but no prob. Pack can be rearranged, as bag is much larger than the quilt, even after compressing down into the sack. Moved into the room today. 2 packages STILL not here. Were supposed to be delivered 16 APR. Now 19 APR and NOTHING !! Not happy with Amazon right now. Checked resupply situation - not happy, not good. Tensing up incredibly. Bought 20 days of food, made two boxes and mailed them to myself further up the Trail. Just hope it's enough. No one seems to have a really good idea of what resupply is further up. The next 250+ miles are sparse, then it gets better. In library with A KEYBOARD !!!!! to update the journal. Waiting on mail, chilling, eating. Have lost 35 pounds, actual, to date. Pack hip belt can't be pulled in much further. Have to rig some sort of padding so the weight will be on my hips and not my shoulders.
Date: 2016-04-20
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mt Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Up at 0700 (!) Breakfast at MoJo's restaurant and on the Trail by 0850.Met Mountain Man - SOBO - going up towards the first shelter. This is #4 SOBO for me. Also met some maintainers checking on "their" shelter. Hot - dry - needed H2O, so went to shelter and .3 miles down to water source. 8 miles up - 4.5 hours to get there. Not too shabby. Pushed to Lost Mt - last hour seemed slow and hard, but shouldn't have been in my opinion. Young pups cheated - took Creeper Trail and cut several uphills off the AT. Bragging about it at the shelter - kept my tongue. Fox did not - proud of him. Saw great black rat snake on the Memorial Bridge - 1/2 way across. Fox didn't see it at first - at least 1 meter long. When we got closer and after the requisite photos and video, slithered under the bridge. Shelter by 1815 - bed by 2000.
Date: 2016-04-21
From: Lost Mt Shelter

To: Mile 498
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

Great night last night. New bag is wonderful. No cold spots - no cold winds as I thrash around at night. Even when I slipped off the pad, the insulation underneath kept me warm and padded. Slept well except for my nose clogging shut around midnight. I have to breath through my mouth, which gets very dry and I have to find my water bottle for sips. Miscalled when I went past 500 miles - could NOT camp past a certain spot - had to backtrack to mile 498. Could not get past no camping zone before dark. Tried cold coffee instead of cooking this AM - not too bad. Might save hot coffee for lunbch if cold. Made it past 2012 - no flat places any more - all has eroded into huge rock chunks instead of flat, easy Trail. Cool - cloudy. Seemed as if the temp was dropping most of the day. Finally saw the Greyson Highlands ponies - video and pix. Bed by 2000.
Date: 2016-04-22
From: Mile 498

To: 516
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

Rain and wind started last night. Still going at 0800. Joy.Minor drips in tent - outer walls touched the netting and allowed water to drip into the tent. Will try to keep from happening in the future. Rain quit about 0830 - just in time to finish packing and start hiking. Fog - fog - fog and wind. HARD rain at 1100 - nasty. Got to the Scales where someone (thank You, Lord) had built a LARGE set of bathrooms. Hunkered down in one to eat lunch - don't wince - very clean inside and I ALWAYS wash with soap and wtaer before eating. Decided to be hard core - Hurrican Mt shelter today - rain quit at or about 1430. Lots of rocks - lots of eroded Trail. Saw Jetta (dog), Sarah (owner) and dad (parent). Shelter by 1815 - not much camping - made mistake and went on. 516 by 1930 or so. Campsite flattish - will work. Bed by 2000 by headlamp.
Date: 2016-04-23
From: 516

To: 530+
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Fair night - rained hard for a while. No leaks. Tylenol PM helped, I'm sure. Pretty good sleep - also tired from yesterday's and today's mileage. Up at 0730 - journaled, ate and started. Rain and fog until 1300, then cleared. Good day - lots of people today - Sparky - mohawk girl and dad, Sarah/Jetta/dad, young pups all going to Partnership shelter where you can order pizza from town. Heh. Can't camp around shelter and only 10(?) or 12(?) people allowed. Found short uphill and a flat plateau that HAS to be man made. Great spot. No wind, cool temps already. Camp at 1830 - pootled around looking for the (non-existent) camp site. Found a good, flat one finally. Funny how a good spot helps a night's sleep. Planning 10-12 in morning - Atkins the next day. Bed 2000 - still light out - need to get up earlier and hike longer.
Date: 2016-04-24
From: 530+

To: 543.5
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Very nice night - cold and clear. No condensation. Actually slept continuously until 0500. This was a GREAT first for me. No tossing and turning - no waking up every 2-3 hours. Temp dropped pretty far last night - condensation frozen to outside of tent and heavy frost. New bag was awesome. Never even noticed the temp falling below 32* or so until 0500. Threw poncho liner over me and back to sleep. Slept in - At 0800 started moving - getting close to Atkins, but can't get too close. Seemed slow today. Rocks slowed me down, but seemed to be in slo mo. Washed up a bit at Partnership - cleaned up trash from previous night - idiots and their pizza boxes. Visitor center closed.Tanked up on water - getting dehydrated, possibly sun-sick a bit. Still NO leaves. Clear skies, hot sun and I sweat. A lot !Trail Magic at Lindamood School - soda, snacks and nice talk with the church group who was putting the Magic out. Neat school from 1800's.Camp at 1730 - 1/.5 miles to town. Nice spot - view of sunset, but in sun. Walked through wonderful perfume from shrubs. Finally was told several days later, the Virginians call it honeysuckle, which is different from the honeysuckle vines I am familiar with. Like walking through a great smelling cloud.
Date: 2016-04-25
From: 543.5

To: 543.8
Miles today: 1.3
Weather: clear sky

Great night - cool, dry, light wind. Relax Inn - $40 for a dump of a room and a stand up shower. Yeesh. Still, inside, comfortable bed, hot shower and laundry make it seem worthwhile. Trying for Woods Hole in the next few days - need some hard core hiking. Small resupply at gas station, got no-doz for afternoons, just in case. Candy bars for mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, etc. Calorie needs seem to be increasing a touch. Several hikers here - paid more for tub. No thanks.Good meals at the Barn - plain fare, but great. HUGE salads - getting ideas for when I get home.
Date: 2016-04-26
From: 543

To: 560
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Fair night's sleep - VERY rehydrated, enough said about getting up several times last night. Up at 0745 - breakfast at the Barn - helped the lone server with coffee for the 10+ hikers. She lost at least 4 customers who walked out as she was trying to serve the hikers. Pushed the hikers to be sure to take care of her. Flak from German about how they were there first and it wasn't their fault the other customers walked out. Kept quiet and just served coffee. Server very appreciative as I checked out. Under the overpass at 0930. Saw first ever goldfinch and Baltimore oriole this morning. Very nice, but uncooperative towards photo taking. More honeysuckle perfume to walk through. Saw 2 SOBOs with a VERY emaciated walker hound that had come up out of the woods to them. I put my hand out, he put his head in my hand and as I scratched his chin, heaved a huge sigh and closed his eyes. Didn't think until later that I could have gotten a Spam out of my food bag for him. Hikers taking him to Atkins to a vet and try to find out the owner if possible. Partly cloudy - cool air - sweating on the ups. Getting water with my pump filter, had a salamander slither past the inlet. I KNOW they are in the water, but I really don't need to see it go past as I try to get clean water. Had Trail Magic from Lumbermack - thru hiker setting hostel just up the VA 742 road that should be open in a few weeks. Soda and Little Debbie was great. Met Rosy Eagle - SOBO male. Hiked past Goldberry, Bombadill, others at the shelter. Too many people (young pups) at next campsite - tried old roadbed, but too rocky. Had to back track 100 meters or so to find a flat place. Good place, but I hate to backtrack. Camp set up by headlamp - bed by 2100.
Date: 2016-04-27
From: 560

To: 574
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Good night - rain from 0200-0300 or so. Slept pretty good. Had poncho liner over me at first, then as the night progressed, pulled the bag up and over me. Up at 0720 - out at 0850. Getting better. Looooooong uphill - felt like first week of GA. Only 8 miles by 1430 - Chestnut Knob shelter. Yeesh.Not happy withg progress. Very low. Rain while in shelter - quit in 30 minutes or so. moved on. H2O at 1600 - Garden Mt by 1645. Slow, slow, slow. Damp clothing - sweat and humidity - nothing is drying much. Stopped at 14 or so, 1730 +/-. Bed at 1930 with Tylenol PM.
Date: 2016-04-28
From: 574

To: 590
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

up at 0730 - out at 0850. Getting better.Good day pretty much - H2O scant through this area and worried about it. Need to upgrade 20 oz bottle to 30 oz bottle next town. Met crisscross and Sunbeam - Swiss hikers. Trail pretty much up and down - did one stretch of 2 miles in 45 minutes - Florida flat and nice. Flew down this part. Found tagging from hikers Monster, JDI, Oriole, Sweet Potatoe and Jenkins. Put up sparkly letters of their names on shelter. Scraped off - called them out in the shelter journal and now here. A-holes. Monster is the German back at the Barn who was unconcerned the waitress lost customers. No camping until mile 590 or so. Eyebrow trail over cliffs and steep slopes for miles. Did NOT want to do 198. Finally found one next to dirt road, but whatever. Old party place - but very old trash. Saw my first rabbit today - very cool - froze in place and allowed me to take pix. Rain started and my awning zipper came apart. Fortunately, I was able to fix and get the zipper back together. Finished camp by headlamp again - not happy doing that. I feel as if I am losing something or leaving something out. 2045 bed. Very close to I77 - lots of traffic noise, but had no problem falling asleep.
Date: 2016-04-29
From: 590

To: 605
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: mist

Decent night's sleep even with interstate noise and worries about being by road. Woke up and thought my phone was on - turns out it was the moon barely shining through the clouds on the bottom 4 inches of my tent. Bright enough to wake me up. Out at 0800 !!!Made shelter by 0930 - water for the next 10 miles. No sources, so is worrisome in the hot day. Hour + to get out of shelter - drank 20 oz, then filled up, waited 30 minutes for the iodine to take effect after filtering and then chugged 20 oz more. Lunch from 1230-1315 - aired out liner and sleeping bag. Met Sparky, Hong Kong Steve and Freight Train again - still slackpacking. Made the 10 - tanked up with H2O again and pushed on. maybe 1/2 mile past power lines to made 15 or so. Woods Hole Hostel doable by Sunday - 15 or so left. Camp by 1900 - bed by 2030 - no pills tonight for a test.
Date: 2016-04-30
From: 605

To: 618
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 0720 - stiff and slow - no pill test a failure, evidently. Somehow, I always feel and walk better with my boots on. Pretty easy Trail - just seemed slow again. Took 1.5 hours to go down to Trent's Grocery for lunch and snacks - nice place. Good food. Past Wapiti Shelter about 1500. Clouds - rain from 1300 on. Fog - 25-30 feet max visibility at 1800 on long, STEEP upslope. Saw what seemed to be a flat, took a chance and it was. Couldn't see much of anything for fog. Rained all night. Easy in to Wood's Hole tomorrow.
Date: 2016-05-01
From: 618

To: 624
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: light rain

Wood's Hole Hostel - was going to camp up the hill, as I don't do bunk houses very well, but after going to the 2nd floor and sitting on a REAL mattress, changed my mind. Had a reservation for an inside room for the next night, as I'm taking a zero here. Up at 1030 - not many miles and it rained all night long. Bad condensation - learned another lesson - everything inside pack in bags to keep anything from absorbing the water dripping down. Very foggy until 1200 or so - not as bad as yesterday, but still dense. My place I chose in the fog last night was actually pretty large with several flattish and flat spots. I lucked into one of the good ones. No view - cloudy, but not too bad to the hostel. Seemed worse - no calories until lunch but b'fast bars. Lunch helped. Hostel is a nice place - no party people, quiet, free yoga before supper, massages for a price. Diesel and Cold Snap, Bombadill and Goldberry, Black Bear (young pup - very fast, very helpful), several others here. Bunk house not filled, so maybe it will be OK. Amazon package not here - supposed to have been delivered last Thursday, but owners said 3 other hiker packages not there. HOWEVER: they leave their mail box down the road unlocked..............hmmmmmm. They don't want to believe someone could steal from their unlocked mail box. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.............Still, nice place. Male owner made "mountain gumbo", which was meat with maybe a vegetable somewhere inside. Very, very good. Homemade bread, incredibly fresh salad - female owner picked greens 30 minutes prior to supper, homemade dressings, very, very nice supper. More ideas for salads for when I get back home. Bed by 2100.
Date: 2016-05-02
From: 624

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Wally run for resupply - I popped into a podiatrist to inquire about insoles for my plantar fascitis in my left foot. Picked up another set - now have 2, just in case. Boots and resupply from home were here - thanks, Trish. Created 2 boxes to mail: one with my winter stuff and one with excess food to Daleville. Hostel will mail. No bars for phone for some reason - everyone turns their phone one, gets 4-5 bars for a bit and then it drops to 0. Weird. VERY nasty t-storm last night. Bunk house has a tin roof that sort of expands the rain noise, but I could have sworn there was hail up there. Very loud and NOT like water drops at all. No damage this morning that I could see, so maybe not. VERY glad I didn't tent last night. Enjoyed the bunk house so much, told the owners if they could fill my inside room I had reserved, please do so and I would bunk again. They were able to do so, so I saved a few bucks. Spent a lot of the day doing minor jobs for the hostel - cleaning out the fire pit, trash, sweeping, stuff like that. Wanted to keep busy, but still had a good relaxing day. Supper was male owner making chili and jalapeno bread - very, very nice. Everything else as well, salad, homemade bread, ice cream afterwards. Enjoyed the meal very much, but another t-storm blew up and we had to eat inside. The fire pit turned into a swimming pool. Had a GREAT fire going as well. Bunk house full - even the downstairs was full. Hope no snoring and I get another good night's sleep. Packed and bed by 2100.
Date: 2016-05-03
From: 624

To: 639
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: moderate rain

Latish start - hostel day off, so no breakfast. Had homemade breads, jams and coffee with b'fast bars. Still was good. Actual Trail - 0930. .5 mile up the road from hostel. Had a very weird encounter with a grouse - actually came within 3 feet of me, very aggressive, very mad. Guess it had chicks or a nest nearby. Got some pix and video. Rained again last night - overcast this morning - light fog and cool so far. Decent hiking weather. Pace seemed slow - out of gas by 1830. Found a good place off the Trail, though. I need to up the calories during the day to keep the pace up. T-storm from 1330-1400 or so, but cleared up. Good views of Pearisburg afterward. MASSIVE amount of hail damage from storms 2 nights ago - Trail and mountain sides COVERED with broken branches, leaves and pine needles, all fresh and green. Very, very thick for miles. Very glad I was not in this storm - would have been very bad. Bed 2000.
Date: 2016-05-04
From: 639

To: 654.5
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: light rain

Good night - cool - no rain. Up at 0745. No H2O for a while after the shelter coming up - 12+ miles. Tanked up, filled up, off we go. Hope sources shown are actually there. So far, the book has been very accurate. Almost out this AM - didn't think or watch water use. Decent Trail - trying to go too fast - getting out of breath and getting dizzy when I have to stop for a breather. Have to watch pace going uphills. Met Flatwoods - (Tampa), Sweeper and Caboose (Maine father and daughter). Brief rain at 1500 - rain suit on - quit. Rainsuit off. Over cast - some sun, but cooler. Plenty of H2O at streams about 1800 - shelter by 1845, but no room. Camp at 1930 - 100 meters north - not happy. Dense, moist, cool, tilted. Put pack against back so I wouldn't slide too far to the side. Only 3 miles from Rice Field shelter - not too bad a day.
Date: 2016-05-05
From: Pine Swamp branch Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: broken clouds

Up at 0730 - out by 0900. Last night, had weird dreams - slid against pack and thought it was my 65 pound dog. Reached over, patted my pack and told it to move over. Listened about as well as the dog does. Crappy start - awning zipper has now completely separated and can't be reconnected. I'm going to have to sew it shut and use the other side of the tent for entry and exit. Not happy at all. Shoe (hiker) gave me a piece of Tyvek to put against the inside netting to keep any leaks from coming through. Raining pretty much until the shelter. Shirt and pants soaked from sweat from uphills. Rain suit keeps me warmer than no rain suit, but I have nothing dry to put on that won't stay dry right now. Only moving keeps me warm. Made Bailey Gap by 1100 - started sewing and lunch. Looked up about 30 minutes later and IT WAS SNOWING. Temps are dropping - oh, my. Winter gear sent home 2 days ago. 3 other hikers here in same boat. 2 thrus and one sectioner - Painter. After sewing the tent, snow is much heavier, mixed with rain. Not sticking, but very cold. I'm shivering pretty good. About 1600, two young pups moved on - one shivering pretty badly. Hope he does OK. Put tent up in the rain with the Tyvek on the outside of the tent - no wind, just steady rain, so hopefully the water will keep it stuck to the awning. Testing it out overnight. Stayed in shelter - about 1900, changed into dry shirt and sox and got into sleeping bag with poncho liner over it. Damp pants under sleeping bag to get warmer for the morning and possibly dry a bit. Did very well. Stopped shivering after a bit. Hiking shirt is dripping wet and with the fog and rain, NO chance of drying overnight. Stayed warm and dry, but very depressed. 4 miles - now have 4 days of food and 5 days of hiking. Not sure what I'll do, but somehow it'll work out.