morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-06-14
From: Docs Knob Shelter

To: Holiday Motor Lodge
Miles today: 8.0

Day 31, June 14th. Docs knob shelter to holiday motor lodge.Slow getting up and out of the shelter, but after that was a pretty easy 8 miles downhill into parisburg. At only 8 trail today was officially my shortest day yet! As we met up with crank and headed over to the Chinese buffet we were surprised to see chop shop! She had hiked some trail before so she shuttled past it and the timing was perfect. Off we all went to the buffet where we ate way too much. Crank picked up the tab, depriving me of my usual town habit of covering the check. after that we said our goodbyes, and crank hit the trail. The way our schedules work out I probably won't see him again, though there's a chance we'll run into eachother as I come through sobo.after that town chores were in order, as hog and I picked up duct tape and super glue from the hardware store, did laundry, resupplied at dollar general, and got a hotel to watch some sportscenter, catch up on computer things, and take hot showers. I did some math and found I hadn't showered in like 10 days. Yuck.my plan now is to hike to Harpers ferry by the 29th, so my fam can pick me up as they drive from Pittsburgh down to NC to spend the 4th of July with fam. This means I'll need to average about 26 miles a day for the next few weeks. the sprint to Harpers ferry is on! Bring it Virginia! Tomorrow looks like 23 uphill out of town with a full pack, and after that it will be 25 to 30 every day.I'm looking forward to picking up my hammock in Daleville and giving that a go. I did some research while in town and I'm confident the hammock was the right choice.
Date: 2013-06-15
From: Holiday Motor Lodge

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 32, June 15th. Holiday motor lodge to Bailey gap shelter.And the sprint is on! A pretty easy 23 mile day after a late 9am start and a goodbye to hog. Big climbs at the beginning and end of the day but the middle was nice and well graded. Weather was great, sunny with a nice breeze. Somehow managed to make 2 liters of water last 19 miles. I'm pretty sure I have a great great great grandfather who was a camel or something.Ran into another Pittsburgh privy today. Normally the privys (toilet in the woods) have three sides and a door or even that plus a little roof. In Virginia we've run into a few that just have one wall to block the view from the shelter/trail, but other than that it's wide open. I started calling them Pittsburgh privys (and hog and crank joined me in using that term) because there's lots of houses in Pittsburgh that just have toilets sitting smack dab in the middle of the basement. reason being is when the steel workers would come home dirty from work the Pittsburgh toilet in the middle of the basement (as well as a similarly placed shower) would let them take care of business and tidy up without spreading too much dirt. So Pittsburgh privys, a little slice of home.Another highlight of the day were the strawberry fields, where the berries have just started blooming and the trail smells like legit fresh strawberries. Awesome.At Baileys knob shelter I got to spend the night with teddly, a nice older thru hiker who used to run and coordinate combat cameras for the air force. He was a real nice guy and it was very pleasant chatting with him.Tomorrow has some ups and downs as I look to do 27 miles to niday shelter, but hopefully they'll be gradual.
Date: 2013-06-16
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day 33, June 16th. Bailey gap shelter to niday shelter.Got off to a slow start and hit the trail at 7 30. The trail wasn't too bad all day, though there were two brutal ups from the Valleys up to the ridgelines. The weather stayed nice and sunny all day until the rain started as I was moving along the last ridgeline, making the rocks quite slick.Ran into some minor blister problems today on the back of left heel but addressed them quickly and they didn't do too much damage though we won't know for sure till tomorrow.Lots of fun things to see on todays hike, starting with the huge swaths of mountain laurel in bloom. The pretty white flower clusters were everywhere. Next was a bear (my second one!) That was chilling in some bushes just off the trail. I saw him before he saw me and we had a little stare down before he figured out what I was. At that point I made a crazy roaring noise and took a step towards him and he sprinted off into the woods. I wished I had a way to record it before remembering 5 minutes later my phone had a camcorder and could take video! I was kicking myself the rest of the afternoon.I also ran into a black snake that was definitely not a rattlesnake but shook it's trail like it was a rattler. Confused I guess. Also ran across a trail magic cooler full of sodas and peaches and oatmeal cream pies. Delicious! In the afternoon I got to see the 2ND biggest oak on the AT. It was massive. I took a picture but really couldn't capture the scale of how big it was.Ended the day at niday shelter where it's raining pretty well out and apparently all the biting bugs have decided to join us in the shelter. tonight might suck. There's 2 other thru hikers and one long section hiker here as well, including rabbit who I've heard is a bit of an asshat. He asked all sorts of brag-questions about how fast I've been going, how much my pack weighs, etc, then gets a bit miffed when I've been doing "better" than him. HYOH dude. he also hung his hammock up in the shelter which is usually a big faux pax, but he tries to justify it by saying people can sleep under him. I vow that when I have my hammock I'll never do that.Tomorrow is another 27 mile day so it's time for bed. goodnight!
Date: 2013-06-17
From: Niday Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: light rain

Day 34, June 27th. Niday shelter to Campbell shelter.Whew long day. After it rained most of the night I set off on a surprisingly dry and beautiful 27 mile day.Three high points for the day. First was the audie Murphy monument honoring Americas most decorated ww2 soldier. pretty cool to see the various things people left there. Second was dragons tooth, a huge chunk of rock jutting out of the mountain into the sky. The section right after that was probably the most technical hiking I've done so far, where the trail seriously looked like it just ran along the cliff face. It didn't even look like a trail but sure enough the blazes were there egging us onward.After the 5th and easiest big climb of the day I topped out at mcafees knob right before sunset. Clear skies and amazing views. Rivaling max patch and rocky top as the best view so far. I wish I had a real camera with me to better capture the moment, but even that probably wouldn't do it justice.Met an older guy today during my dinner break whose name I can't remember. He was writing a book as he was hiking and taking his time doing both. He was really passionate about his writing as well as the other art (mostly painting) he had done in the past. It was neat to hear him talk about how important it was to him and how it made him feel.Feet got sore today and the blisters doing worse. Tomorrow is 15 miles into Daleville to pick up my hammock and resupply, and then I'll have to squeeze some miles in on the back end as well. Another long day.
Date: 2013-06-18
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Curry Creek
Miles today: 24.0

Day 35, June 18th. Campbell shelter to curry creek.Another mediocre night of sleep. Curse you biting bugs! 15 minutes after starting my 15 mile hike into Daleville it started raining. It rained for the next 6 hours until I got to Daleville. Poo.in Daleville I destroyed the wendys value menu followed by a trip to outdoor trails, the gear outfitters. there I traded my worn through darn tough socks for a new pair (thank you 100 percent anything warranty!), bought another pair of darn tough socks, picked up my hammock and some caribiners, left my tent so hog could pick it up, and swapped out my falling apart 600 mile trail runners for a pair of Merrell moab hiking shoes.after that I somehow managed to spend 60 bucks at kroegers on groceries then it was off into the mountains with my much heavier pack. I hiked 9 miles out of town to curry creek where a half dozen other hikers were posted up. My hammock set up pretty quickly and is definitely comfortable, but I think my foot end is too high and I'm feeling too lazy to fix it. I'll just set it up better next time.
Date: 2013-06-19
From: Curry Creek

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 36, June 19th. Curry creek to Bryant ridge shelter.The hammock was a success! Even with my poor hanging angle I slept quite well. No bugs, no fuss. Looking forward to using it again with an even better pitch.The mornings hike was thoroughly uneventful. The miles moseyed by as the trail followed the blue ridge parkway. definitely somewhere I would want to drive along in the future.It wasn't until thunderstorm rolled through in the afternoon that things got exiting. I was just cresting a mountain when it hit so setting up and waiting it out didn't really feel like an option. Instead I hiked for another hour in the rain until I ran into the next shelter where I called it quits for the day after 23 miles.This shelter is a massive one compared to the normal 6 person shacks we've been seeing. Tons of covered "porch" space and a double Decker sleeping capacity of 20. With only 9 of us here there's plenty of sleep space for everyone, but hanging space to dry stuff is at a premium.with today getting cut down to 23 miles I think I'll be calling off the sprint to Harpers ferry and instead get picked up 50 to 80 miles south, probably somewhere in the Shenandoahs. That drops my pace from 26 mpd to 18 to 20 which is far more manageable and hopefully doesn't inconvenience my family too much.I bought the ticket to Maine while I was in town yesterday so on July 6th I'll by flying to bangor from Charlotte then shuttling over to Katahdin to start hiking sobo. Right now I'm not really sure how I feel about it, a part of me thinks it's impure or improper. My hopes are any traces of those feelings will go away once I get to Maine.In other news I've decided the official state reptile of Virginia is the skitter lizard, narrowly beating out the yellow spotted Fred turtle. I'm not sure what species of lizard skitter lizards are, infact they might be multiple species, but they like the sun and dash off the trail as soon as they see you. The yellow spotted Fred turtles, named after the first one I ever saw on the trail which had been named Fred by the thru hiker that found him, simply hide their heads when you see them. Boring.Tomorrow is feeling like a 27 mile day followed by a 20 mile day into a hostel in buena vista for the night. The body is feeling pretty good although that pack is dammed heavy. I can't tell if I just bought way too much food or if I actually need it cause my diet has exploded. I did have a small blister show up on the side of my right heel from tying my shoes tighter, but some duct tape on it should help it do just fine. it's still damp out but I'm hoping everything will be dry in the morning!
Date: 2013-06-20
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

Day 37, June 20th. Bryant ridge shelter to Matts creek shelter.Pretty uneventful day of hiking. The trail could decide if it was going to be nice dirt switchbacks or brutal rocky ridge climbing, so it did both over the course of the day. The morning was foggy and damp with a bit of drizzle but it cleared up into a hot sunny Virginia afternoon.The only real feature of note along the trail today was the guillotine, where the trail runs through a rock fissure and balancing over the trail is a big boulder that you hike right under. Pretty neat. Other than that it was an uneventful 22 mile day, which sets me up for another 22 tomorrow followed by an easy 3 on Saturday to get to the shuttle pickup point by 10 30 and then a, nice long easy day in buena vista.I did see what I'm pretty sure was another bear butt today as it sprinted off into the woods. If I had to guess maybe 200 pounds, smaller than the one in the smokies but bigger than the one from earlier in Virginia. Myself and the other two thrus who are spending the night by the shelter have our food nicely bear bagged up.I got to fiddle around with the hammock today as I finally got it set up. Lots of little adjustments, but I think tonight will be a good night of sleep as long as it cools down some. Right now I'm sweating just laying here with nothing on but some undies. Too hot!On thing about hiking solo is you spend alot of time in your own head, lost in your own thoughts. it's been interesting talking to other hikers and finding out how they pass the time. Some sing to themselves, others like to plan for the future while others like to dwell on the past. Some simply think about food or clean clothes and a shower. I think at different points I've found myself doing all of these, but usually I find myself getting lost in the past thinking about both good and bad times, situations where I wish I would have acted differently or said something else. That's one thing I like about shelters and hanging out with other hikers, less time to get lost in your own mind because after a certain point it just gets to you. You can only repeat the same conversation so many times.Or I just need to listen to my iPod more..
Date: 2013-06-21
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Buena Vista Budget Inn
Miles today: 24.0

Day 38, June 21stToday turned out to be longer than expected as when I got to the shelter there were a bunch of hikers planning on doing the last 2 miles to the road then hitching into Buena Vista for the night. Rather than wait til the morning I decided to jump in with them and four of us managed to catch a hitch into town in less than 5 minutes for the exciting ride in the bed of a pickup. One of the guys at the shelter was a thru named Amazon and we quickly decided to split the cost of the room. Being on the trail makes you friends very quickly. After knowing eachother for less than an hour we agreed to grab dinner at the Hardees and share a hotel room. Total strangers to roomies! He ended up being a great guy and we got to do laundry and clean up and watch Zombieland before hitting the lights.The hiking for the day was mostly uneventful. Lots of flats the the climbs werent too bad, but my feet were still hurting at the end of the day. The side of the heel blisters havent gotten better or worse, which I think means they're getting better? I still cant figure out these blisters.Plenty of bugs out on the trail. During my lunch break on Bluff Mountain I must have killed over 100, but that barely put a dent in the massive cloud that decided I was lunch. Reminded me of the wildly insensitive thing Bud said as he took a sit break by Sassafrass Shelter, "I feel like an African child right now surrounded by this cloud of flies." The gnats also cause problems while hiking, to the point where I make sure to breathe through my mouth rather than my nose because its easier to spit them out after swallowing them than pick them out after snorting them. Ick.Since nothing in this entry is in order I'll go back to the beginning of the day with Dragonfly and Ground Hog, the two women who tented by the shelter with me at Matts Creek. They were super nice and Dragonfly was really chatty, and she hooked me up with a spare Pro Bar which is a natural 390 calories crammed into 3 ounces, and it tasted pretty good too. Pity they're so expensive.For second dinner I order Dominos and ate half a pizza and cinnastick box for second dinner and I figure I'll polish the rest off tomorrow before resupplying, doing computer things at the library, and catching a shuttle back to the trail and squeezing in 10-15 miles. Its 55 miles between here and Waynesboro, my next resupply at 5 miles off the trail. That puts me at about 10-15, 20-25, and 20-25 followed by a night in Waynesboro. Last thing to note, today was hike naked day. While I didnt see anyone hiking naked I did honor the cause by cutting three inches off the leg of my shorts, making them definite short shorts. Fabulous!
Date: 2013-06-22
From: Buena Vista Budget Inn

To: Piney River North Fork Campsire
Miles today: 12.0

Day 39, June 22nd. Budget Inn Motel to Piney River North Fork campsite.Fairly easy day. Slept in till 7 30 then didn't get out of bed till 10. Nice. Polished off the 2nd half of the pizza and remaining cinnamon sticks as breakfast in bed. Eventually it came time to get moving so I packed up, said goodbye to Amazon (though I'm sure I'll catch him again on the trail) and went to do town chores.First was a resupply at family dollar for the 2.5 day hike to Waynesboro. Think I got the prefect quantity and quality of food, including banana chips which it turns out are super calorie dense (over 140 cal per oz), even approaching the holy calorie dense duo of peanut butter and chocolate. I'm not sure if it's harder to go into a resupply with next to nothing in your food bag or with still having a decent amount of stuff.After food was a stop at the blue dog art cafe which runs the hostel and shuttle for town. The morning shuttle had left already so I had a few hours to kill before the afternoon one at 3 pm. Went to the library to do some journal updating and various online stuff. Wandered around downtown buena vista which took all of 10 minutes (nice small town), and sat around doing nothing. did get to chat with the flying Scotsman (he's Scottish) and Sarah (she's his English girlfriend who's hiking with him for a few weeks) for a bit as they were waiting for the same shuttle back to the trail.Eventually shuttle time came and after chatting with some future section hikers who were extremely excited to meet actual thru hikers we took off up the mountain. It was a really crappy mountain. I believe we gained 2k feet in 2 miles. After that it wasn't too bad, just the standard dry mostly rolling Virginia trail.at 7 15 there was some hard rain so I tried to quickly throw up my tarp and hammock and failed pretty miserably. Lessons: leave caribiners attached to the hammock lines not the tree straps, don't try pitching over any foliage over 6 inches high, and stake the tarp very wide rather than close and narrow.At about 8 25 I pulled into my campsite and was able to eat dinner, pitch the hammock, and hang my bearbag by 9. self pat on the pack is in order. I tried pitching the foot end higher than before and it feels good so far. We'll see in the morning how good it actually is. My hammock is also kinda damp from the earlier rain fiasco but I don't think it will cause to much of a problem. My body heat will counter act it so my quilt stays dry and retains it's insulation value.last note: I really like this camp site. I'm the only one here tonight. It's between two creeks with tons of awesome boulders and trees and moss all living together in this perfectly woven lush green tapestry. time for a nerd moment, it reminds me of the art they use for forest magic cards. I have to remember to take a picture in the morning.Time for bed because tomorrows a big day. If I can knock off 25 that leaves an easy 18 on Monday to get into town which leaves time for town chores Monday night which will let me get an early start Tuesday. Planning!
Date: 2013-06-24
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 9.0

June 24th, Day 41. Harpers Creek Shelter to Waynesboro. The wheels come off the train.I woke up in the morning and the achillies was feeling no better. Some more poking around has me thinking it might not be an achillies strain but rather a high ankle sprain. Either way it wasnt a single impact that did it, it was a stress buildup. I'm not really a doctor, but a play one while I'm on the trail!The decision was made to continue north rather than backtrack the 3.5 miles south. The usual soreness bounced between that and outright shocks of pain that had me cursing the mountain and trail in language that would make a sailor blush. While taking a nice long sit break (that ended up being two hours as I sat out a little rain storm) two nice hikers out for a few days on the trail stopped by and we chatted and they hooked me up with an ace wrap to add some compression to the achillies region. Very grateful, and it made the last 1.5 mile hike to the gap a bit easier.At the gap I didnt have to wait too long to catch a ride with a couple headed towards Waynesboro. They said their son had hiked a bit on the trail and they had both dealt with achillies injuries at one point or another. They dropped me off in town (skipping about 20 miles of trail in the process) and I set about getting my bearings.First stop was the Krogers to pick up a spare ace bandage, some ibuprofein, a book as I'll have lots of time to kill these next few days, and some deoderant to start smelling like a real person. After that was the YMCA who lets hikers shower for free (hot shower too!) as well as use a campsite they have designated for thru hikers. I figured I would shower tomorrow morning and trundled over to the campsite where there were about a dozen tents set up as lots of hikers chose Waynesboro as a stopping point.There I set up my tent extra tight as there was thunder and a storm brewing. I got to chat with another nobo thru named traillite for a bit, his tent is setup right by the trees I'll be hanging from. He filled me in that apparently theres always a few hikers staying during the day to keep a watch on everyones stuff while others run off and do chores. I figure I'll get my town stuff done tomorrow morning and spend the afternoon hanging around the campsite.I'm bummed to have to take my first zero day tomorrow but its finally time to rest the body up. 800+ miles in 40 days has finally taken its toll. I'm willing to push my body for this trail but I'm not willing to break it, and thats sort of the line we're at now. I could throw down some ibuprofeins and keep going but its not worth the damage. Better to take advantage a few days off here in town then a few days off down in NC with fam to rest up. I just need to make sure I dont lose my trail legs during the 12 day break. That would be a major loss.As I kill time the next few days I'll probably be online a bit more as I'll look to update the about and gear sections on here. I also need to head over to REI and review a few items. I saw my pack was rated poorly by some fairly ignorant reviews, so that will need some correcting.