morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-11-14
From: Tanyard Gap

To: Garenflo Gap
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Baxter stayed at the hostel this morning while I dropped the trail crew off at Tanyard Gap. They hiked south back to the hostel (which is practically on the trail). After lunch, I drove them to Garenflo Gap, south of Hot Springs, and they hiked north back to the hostel again. We ate dinner at Smoky Mountain Diner. Baxter and I spent some time at the library today. He fiddled around with Scratch, a programming website, while I printed out Smoky Mountain permits and caught up on the journal.
Date: 2022-11-15
From: Garenflo Gap

To: Brown Gap
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: few clouds

I had to sneak into the bunkroom at Laughing Heart this morning to retrieve our tents. I had hung them on bunks and chairs last night so they could dry out overnight. After we had gone to bed, several more hikers arrived. One had taken a bunk in the bunkroom along with my tents. In retrospect, I shouldn't have assumed we would be the only hikers at the hostel. Bad form.The crew started the day in the rain and cold at Garenflo Gap. We met them along the way at Lemon Gap, 8.8 miles in. Just before the crew arrived, I pitched a tarp across the back of the van and made a pot of instant soup. The rain set in as they arrived for an early lunch. They lingered at the van for awhile, hoping the rain would abate but, in the end, set out again in a moderate drizzle. Baxter and I waited a little longer before breaking down "camp" hoping the rain would let up but it didn't. I shook off the wet tarp, wrapped it up, and put it in the back of the van before heading to Max Patch.Baxter and I started our study of Morse Code.I hiked up to the summit of socked-in Max Patch - another great view and epic trail location that the trail crew would miss due to soupy weather.When the trail crew arrived at Max Patch around 2:30 they were done. They stopped about 3 miles early today, wet, cold, and tired. We headed to the Best Western in Newport TN.Everyone ordered their dinner of choice and I went to fetch them: Ninja Squirrel and Fish ordered Chinese, Texas Pete ordered Papa John's pizza, and North Star ordered salad and sandwich from WalMart. I settled for leftovers (of which there were plenty). We did laundry and settled into warm beds.
Date: 2022-11-16
From: Brown Gap

To: I-40 overpass
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We met Grandpa at Standing Bear Farm Hostel at 3:00 after a short hike from Brown Gap. He came to help us crack into the Smoky Mountain National Park. We left the van at the hostel and headed to Pigeon Forge Hampton Inn for the night. In the morning, he and Baxter will drop the four of us off at Newfound Gap and we'll hike NORTH towards the van. The two of them will go home to Gainesville. We won't see Baxter again until Thanksgiving Day (seven days from now).
Date: 2023-06-08
From: VA 42

To: Settlers Museum 
Miles today: 15.4

Few days will measure up to a hiking day like this one! Cool, breezy, beautiful with easy miles, late spring wildlife, and good company. North Star and Fish took up the job of of van crew and rivaled any job that Texas Pete and I did. After a questionable nights sleep in the company of a loud and persistent whipporwill, we hit the trail, packless, at 8:00. We made 2.5 miles in short order before getting our pack pack from the van on VA 610. We said our goodbyes and headed out into the fields of southwest Virginia. The trail is still busy with NOBOs - we passed about a dozen today. We made easy miles despite our heavier-than-normal packs (we are loaded with 5 days of food). We followed a doe and her fawn down the trail for about 300 yards trying hard not to spook them. We were not the first hikers they had seen. We arrived at our planned campsite - Davis Springs - after 10.5 miles. It was 3:15. The boys were ready for more. Interstate 81 was 2.1 miles further. Camping wasn¢t really an option until another 2.8 after that. Leaving Davis Springs would add another 4.9 to our day. The boys were in. We rattled off the 2.1 with no problem and had dinner outside the Exxon gas station resisting the urge to splurge on El Burrito Loco. The last 2.8 we¢re slow but pleasant. We have swept off the floor of the schoolhouse here and are waiting on the light to fail before turning in. It¢s good to be on the trail again. So much of what we do requires our attention - a resource often divided between many different projects, crises, and activities. Walking though the woods doesn¢t require any attention in the conventional sense of the word. Walking isn¢t something that needs concentration or practice, we¢re not out here to get ¢better¢ at it. The headspace that a long distance hike affords is the real allure of the trail for me. I¢m looking forward to the coming weeks. Texas Pete and Waffle Stomper are killing it.
Date: 2023-06-09
From: Settlers Museum 

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 8.8

The schoolhouse we woke up in counts as an experience on the hike. Unfortunately it did not afford the greatest nights sleep. I don¢t sleep well near the road nor in places other hikers are likely to walk up to after hiking thru the early night hours. We all woke with the sun and dallied around the schoolhouse grounds using the restrooms, charging devices, and eating breakfast. We started hiking about 8:30 with a short day in mind. Partnership Shelter was 8.8 miles over unremarkable terrain. Waffle Stomper and I both were feeling yesterdays 15+ miles. We had another great day of weather, passing NOBOs and enjoying the forest. The wildlife wasn¢t as evident today as yesterday but the woods still feel fresh. Glade Mountain, with its fern-covered summit under tall oaks was a highlight. We ate lunch at Glade Mountain Road - bagels, jerky, and sharp cheddar. A brave field mouse shared the break with us, hopeful for some morsels. We followed lunch with a half-hour nap. Waffle Stomper passed his 100-mile marker today! We have been 100 miles together since Pearisburg. Yesterday was his longest day - a respectable 15.4 miles (with a full 5 days of food in the pack!). He¢s not a newbie out here anymore. Texas Pete and I crossed the 3/4 way mark yesterday. I remember being dismayed at the halfway mark and I wondered how I would feel about 3/4. Turns out that 550 more miles doesn¢t seem that long. It helps to have North Star & NinjaSquirrel at home ready and willing to support us. Our friend, Kit, hiked home from Roanoke two summers ago - a longer trek than we¢re doing now. It feels like we¢re close to home. There¢s good trail ahead of us for the next week or three. The weather has been fantastic. We¢re in high spirits. We arrived at partnership shelter about 3:30. We were able to get drinks from the vending machine and use the restrooms before they closed at 4:00. We were first to the shelter and were soon joined by a pair of NOBOs (who didn¢t stay) and a mother-son duo, Michelle and Atticus. These two are from Monterrey California and started here tonight headed 3 weeks south to 19E. Atticus is the same age as Texas Pete. They¢ve got some good stories from the California outdoors and we were able to share some trail wisdom. They¢re sound about 8 miles a day to our 11 so we¢ll probably outpace them to Damascus.We¢re laid out in the loft next to Michelle and Atticus listening to Lord Of The Rings, journaling, and waiting for sleep.
Date: 2022-04-05
From: Tye River 

To: View Entry
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: clear sky

After only two miles I came to a junction where I could choose to stay on the AT on take a different trail that would reconnect. It shaved off two miles at the expense of making those lesser miles harder. Steep grade was common with some areas of rock scrambling. Got to see some waterfalls though, and I think was the meaningful part. I could have done The Correct trail to please strangers or I could take the Other Trail that was beautiful. I think I am starting this out on the right way. This is my hike, no one cares what I am doing anyway, so I¢ll walk whichever way calls me  Even though MAYBE starting things of with the ¢difficult¢ trail was freaking choice of a choice.
Date: 2022-04-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

Lunch break. Ain¢t gonna lie. These miles are killing me. It¢s ups and downs and slick rocks. Ha ha ha. I mean. Of course but still. I checked the map and it looked like the next 17 miles were gonna be okay, but no. Even people commenting on the map app were like, ¢not a section to make good time on. Rocks, rocks, rocks!!¢ Well, if you don¢t love rocks, whatcha doing out here, right? I mean¢¦love might be a strong word. Begrudgingly accept?I¢m dirty and everything below my chin is like, ¢wtf is going on.¢ The next couple of days and weeks will be hard as I go from out of shape to less out of shape. Six miles in with six to go. Ahhhhh.
Date: 2022-04-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

$42 B&B room/$12 lunch/$55 resupply Storms continued all night and I slept fairly okay. Thunder and lightning for hours woke me up a lot. The rain loosened the ground stakes and the wind, I guess, was no help ¢cause I woke this morning at the rather late hour of 6:30 to see my tent was half the size it was yesterday (the stakes were obviously out) and a little damp. I am dry. My sleep clothes are dry. But the tent being so small left most of my stuff touching the sides and condensation is a jerk. Today was probably the best of the three. There were a couple of things to look at, the ground was chill enough at times I was ABLE to look around. And even though it was raining, it wasn¢t bitterly cold.Made it to Rockfish Gap just after 2. Hitched a ride into Waynesboro after about 90seconds of trying and felt pretty pleased with myself about that. From there it was pizza, check in (and spreading my tent out to ¢dry¢ under the house), went to Walmart for a resupply, got a shower, and am doing laundry. Feet are pretty sore so I picked up some shoe inserts, too, to try. We shall see¢¦
Date: 2022-04-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

$6 breakfast (Burger King. It was gross)/$20 shuttle tips/$35 hostel Slackpacked for the first time. Wasn¢t planned but as I was getting ready to head back to trail, another hiker, Prince Squirrel, mentioned he was slackpacking today and I was like, oh yeah. That¢s an option, sometimes. Rather than taking a zero, I asked my body if this would be a fair compromise. The only thing hurting today are my calves, okay, fair. And the arches of my feet. They are red and feel like they are sunburnt. I¢m wondering if I am sliding too much in my shoes? Bought some shoe inserts which helped with the heel pain greatly. Today was the first day I needed ibuprofen. Also. During my hitch into town yesterday, it looks like my Kula Cloth came unclipped. Oops. Sorry, Jeff. I was so worried about being late to my pick up point, I busted ass to get here. Unnecessary! Shuttle driver is running late. Lol. Ahhhhhhh. My feet. I was literally jogging.
Date: 2022-04-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light snow

$80 freaking dollars for shuttles!!! That¢s insane. If I knew Stanimals was gonna charge $40 EACH WAY to pick me up and then drop me off 9 miles into Shenandoah, I wouldn¢t have done it! I thought $40 was for drop off and pick up and I thought that was high. Wow. Okay then.anyway.Cold. So fucking cold. (32) Hail/snow off an on all afternoon, ¢grapple,¢ with a steady breeze. Double socks helping with red arches. I think they are just giant blisters/hot spots. That is all.
Date: 2022-04-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light snow

Holy balls cold this morning with wind where I wondered if I was gonna be able to do this. Wore rain gear over hiking clothes just to get to miserable. Saved puffy so it wouldn¢t get damp with sweat. ¢Warmed up¢ by afternoon so I only needed my mid layer. First deer of trip. Kinda beautiful day with two hours to kill at camp. Took a moment to rinse my damned feet and pits. Lume sucks for stink and chaffing. Hopefully tomorrow is warmer. First real wondering if I can do this or not. Might be last cold night this week.
Date: 2022-04-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

Easy miles and an easy day. Decided to go into town early so I could bathe and do laundry before my dad arrives for lunch tomorrow. Hitched a ride into Elkton and hung out at the outfitter for a few hours. Super cool dude and just a great space. No other hikers showed up until a few hours after I arrived but when they did, woot! It was the couple I would be sharing the barn with and I was able to score a ride! Kelly, the wife and cook at SAF, is a fantastic cook! Got here a little late to explore and see the animals but tomorrow is another day.
Date: 2022-04-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

$60 two nights with two mealsBefore I got started on the trail I mailed two boxes. One to Small Axe Hostel and one to my friend, Dina, in Harper¢s Ferry. Well. Something went wrong cause they both went here. Welllllp. Cool. Got my box sent to Dina, got my phone fixed, and had lunch with Dad. Productive zero day! Also got to explore the farm a little with a dog who adopted me for the day and made sure I didn¢t get lost.
Date: 2022-04-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

$10 shuttle/$2 ice creamMiles today were easy so instead of stopping at Bearfence as planned, I saw it was only noon pressed on to Big Meadows. Had probably my smoothest camp set up with chores completed and me in bed by 7:44. Takes about 90 minutes to go from ¢that¢ll do¢ to ¢done.¢ Tent, set up sleeping pad, boil water for dinner, prep breakfast and lunch for the following day, eat, brush teeth, wipe down body as best ya can, pack up and hang bear bag¢¦ Everything just takes so much time and there is little room for error. Spill your water? You gonna be thirsty. Knock over your food? How dirty is it REALLY? Snag a hole in your tent or sleeping pad? That¢s gonna be a pain to repair. Time consuming and stressful. And that¢s after ya hiked your miles.
Date: 2022-04-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

$25 for beer and pie 100 miles! For a normal person, that¢s a lot. For the AT, folks are like, ¢oh, just got on trial?¢ My 100 miles happened to be almost EXACTLY at Skyland in Shenandoah so I treated myself to the blackberry pie and a beer. Horrible chaffing and injii socks gave blisters between toes. No real segway  between pie and pain. My thighs look a bit like Swedish fish and I¢ve never had this much blister juice soak my socks from my toe webbing. Gotta find a solution here cause Body Glide and tying my shoes tighter ain¢t it.Also, Me? Real quick aside here. Hey. Stop comparing yourself to literally the most physically fit people in the country. like. You¢re doing fine.
Date: 2022-04-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Stealth site on something of an unfortunate slope¢¦wheeeeeeeeSunrise from my tent and pretty good sleep. Tent was about level with a wind break dip in the ground so even though wind was NUTS last night, it went just over my tent and didn¢t even rattle anything. Mostly sounded like the ocean. Low energy day. Didn¢t get going until near 8 and then kinda puttered my way down Mary¢s Rock. Saw where I sprained my ankle. At Thornton Gap spent some time washing my thighs where the chaffing is bad. Ended up wasting an hour there, too. Puttered on and met a PCT thru hiker, Kay, who flew past me and then we met half a mile later where she was sitting on the trail just having a midlife crisis. Got water from a spring and took a solid hour for lunch, even sitting there and called Mom. These were probably the easiest miles of the trail so even with my starts and stops, got 12 miles. Plan was to camp tonight at Pass Mt, about 8 miles back. Got enough food for two days so it¢s good I¢m ahead of schedule. Somehow didn¢t bring enough for the days I was supposed to be out here. Also, think calories are too low. Oatmealx2 (200 calories), breakfast essential (200cal), tortillas (220), cheese spread (130), jerky (100) protein bar, when I eat it (220), dinner (~800.) I think I¢m coming in under 2000 cal but burning 4000+. Oops. Need to up my intake. Thank goodness I had pie yesterday. Anyway, that might be why I felt sluggish today.
Date: 2022-04-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

Legs are fine. Legs are willing. It¢s the SKIN. Chaffing worse today. Groin, thighs, butt¢¦ it¢s fine until a couple hours in and the sweat happens. Then the skin just melts like cotton candy. Blisters on feet bad again, too. Took off injii socks toward the end of the day. Maybe some combination of days with and days without?Downloaded new music only to find my headphone were dead. ¢Isn¢t it ironic¢¦¢Torn about the situation with my mom. On the one hand, I can¢t DO anything for her, but on the other. She¢d be there for me. If I was going through what she was going through, she wouldn¢t be calling every couple of days to check in.I don¢t know. It¢s beautiful out here but I¢m having some struggles.
Date: 2022-04-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

Day13 7 miles, officially. 11.5 with all the dang town walking. $40 for lunch/dinner (fried pickles, a beer, and a burger)Bed in a shared cabin hostel ($35)So. It¢s a cabin. It¢s small. And it hosts eight people¢¦ sure. Let¢s get cozy!Last night was nuts. In bed, dozing off. Maybe upper 50s/lower 60s. Nice. Didn¢t need my leggings and opened the foot box of my quilt. Comfortable. Just me alone on my mountain top. Had taken a nice little Don¢t See Me backcountry bath using almost a full liter of water. Good times. Then it got windy. Then it rained. Then it was windy and rainy. And then the temperature sunk like the cruise industry in 2020. Just a bitter cold pack up this morning, but lucky I had my gloves from Appalachian Outfitters, were I got my shower last week, so I didn¢t feel the need to launch myself off the mountain. Couldn¢t check in to the hostel until ¢at least 3,¢ and with only seven miles to get there, had time to kill. Met a cool hiker named Jamie and their friend¢¦whose name I¢ve already forgot ¢cause goldfish brain  Obstacle today (Jamie pointed out a cheat option that just required a little bushwhacking and trespassing¢¦). They had seen me on the Appalachian Trail Women¢s group and was like, ¢hey! You¢re the lady with the chaffed crouch and blisters between her toes!¢ ¢¦yes. Yes, I am. Hitched a ride into town with a dude who had painted ¢Let¢s Go Brandon¢ across all four sides of his Honda which was full of trash. He had just left his family dinner cause his ex sister in law was there and he, ¢can¢t stand that hussy.¢ I read the situation and told him Happy Easter (somehow guessed he was Christian) and we started talking about gun rights (how¢d THAT come up so quickly) but I was all, ¢yeah, but you cross into NY with a gun and it¢s just not worth it.¢ A really nice guy who actually popped a U to pick me up but ideologically we disagree on everything. Or we would if I wasn¢t just playing the Republican Passing card I was born with. Cute town but yeah. Easter. Outfitter was closed (tent pole cracked last night). Cell screen protector has a crack and T-Mobile was closed. The GROCERY store was closed. Most food was closed aside from a barbecue place. Delicious but more than I wanted to spend on a single meal. Kismet. At the hostel now, a brick cabin converter to host five beds. I¢ll be sharing the downstairs space with a guy and his dog tomorrow. At least it¢s a private space for now. Underwear time!!!
Date: 2022-04-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 14$60 resupply$30 meals$180 new shoes, socks, underwear Felt like an idiot at 8 am as rain fell softly, but around 10 is switched to snow (5¢!!!). Shenandoah closed the roads and folks were scuttling to get off trail. I took the day to get new shoes, new socks, a pair of boxer-briefs (we shall see), my resupply done, managed two good meals in there, played Pok©mon in the snow; and rode the free trolley around town. An excellent day. I love my little nook in the hostel. A guy with a dog and I are sharing a space behind the kitchen with curtains blocking us away and I divider between us. It ain¢t much, but the bed is soft and I can retreat away from the bravado and boasting. Trail tomorrow might well be icy so we shall see how many miles we can do. Not gonna kill myself out there and try to make up one lost day by breaking my ankle and needing to get off for a few weeks.
Date: 2022-04-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Day 15Tent IN shelter. Beautiful day. Snow everywhere. Hit snow covered trees and they¢d lift up and off the trail. Was gonna stop at Manassas but pushed on and did the full 15 today. Very cold. Saw a red fox. So cold. Lol.No one in the shelter but me. Hope no o e shows up so I can leave tent up. I¢m cold.
Date: 2022-04-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

Day 16Stealth camp So cold this morning I had a hard time getting going. Even though I was up at 5:30, then 6:20, I didn¢t leave the shelter until 8 something. I just couldn¢t get out of my blanket. Needed to clear 15 miles today but just didn¢t have it. Feet hurt and I just ran out of fuel. Came close though. Disappointed I couldn¢t push through. Also disappointed my legs don¢t feel stronger. The past four miles of The Roller Coaster dang near killed me. I was hoping the 166 miles we¢ve done would have noticeably strengthened my legs for this part. Guess it is too soon. I remember it being steep and just 14 miles of PUDs, but I didn¢t remember it being this rocky. At least there is a lot of water. Saw TWO snakes, though, so it ended up being a good day. Weird pain in heel. Like I pulled a muscle. But in my heel. Odd. 166 miles in 16 days with two days being zeros is more than double the recommended 8 miles a day. After Harper¢s Ferry, I need to really watch my miles for another two weeks.Stealth site has really good signal. Had an episode of ER playing while doing camp chores. Lots of helicopters here, too. Noisy
Date: 2022-04-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: broken clouds

Day 17Tent in a patch of moss in a clearing. I don¢t know why it is a law that one must have rain of some sort when doing The Roller Coaster section of the AT but we had just enough rain to make things slick, muddy, and cool. I couldn¢t figure out how I did this last time with less difficulty but then remembered I gave myself 5 nights instead of 4 last time. Fair enough. I have about 14 to Harper¢s Ferry. The time crunch of getting into HF at a convenient time for Dina was probably the only really stress. I did it. I¢ll be at HF tomorrow no problem, but not at the noon with time to explore I wanted. This will be dragging my muddy, chaffed, bloody carcass out of the woods in time for dinner. I can¢t believe it has only been 17 days. It was kinda pleasing to see a couple of people called it early during the day. I saw tents already up at 3. The rain and rocks were pissing a few folks off. A thru hiker from Springer said, ¢this isn¢t fucking hiking. I don¢t know what this is, but it¢s not fucking hiking.¢ Agreed. Mantra today was, however, coming up or going down, ¢this is the shit that makes you stronger. This suck is the kinda suck that will get you over the Whites.¢ Did the last hill of the Roller Coast with no pauses chanting, ¢fuck this coaster. Fuck this coaster.¢ It was really important for me to not wake up in that section tomorrow. Seeing that, ¢hikers beware,¢ sign made the mile after a little lighter. Not enough to get me to commit to night hiking though. My goal was to try to get 2.5 miles further down, but the trail is still slick and I don¢t know how difficult it is to spot a site in the dark. Also, I was a little shivery from the damp clothes and just wanted to get warm and dry. Maybe we can get out of bed early and make up the miles. Saw two young deer that didn¢t seem like they had seen a human before. They didn¢t run away as I walked in the trail but kinda watched going, ¢huh. Kinda slow and noisy, ain¢t it?¢Low tonight of 49. Niiiiice.