morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-06-13
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: North
Miles today: 18.4

Woke up at 6:00, it was windy and foggy so I got my food bag and hung out in tent. Finally got packed up by 7:45 and headed north. The first part of the trail was an open grassy area but it was so foggy you were lucky to follow the trail. I had to stop in about 1 1/2 miles to get water, there wouldn't be another opportunity for 10 miles. The fog was pretty thick until after 10:00 so there wasn't much to see. I saw one orange salamander, one turtle, and one deer all day. About 2:00 I got to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, a 12.5 mile hike. My body felt tired today and my socks and feet stayed wet all day. Tried drying them out at the shelter while I took a break but finally just put them back on and started walking. I passed a place on the trail called the Captain's Place. It is across the stream and there is a seat and cables that you use to get to the other side. I found out later that he has drinks for hikers so I should have went there.I had to get water just before Bailey Gap Shelter and decided to fix dinner there.It seemed early so I hiked on about 5:45 hoping to get to Wind Rock to camp for the night. I had been hiking for about an hour on the rocks and a storm was moving in fast. There were some wind gust about 50 miles an hour and it ws thundering pretty hard. I gave up on my goal of getting to Wind Rock and started looking for anyplace to pitch a tent and get in out of the rain. I could see an open area up on the ridge above me and started climbing up the big rocks to the top. About 7:00 I had pitched my tent and hung my food bag and then the rain stopped. I didn't want to take down my tent this late so I stayed put. There were no views today and I met nobody hiking so I might as well camp in the middle of nowhere. It was a boring day with some steep climbs and I also found out at the last shelter that I was still 10 days behind Lumberjack.
Date: 2014-06-14
From: 656.5 Mile Marker

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

I woke up before 6:00. Since I am probably camping somewhere that I shouldn't be I wanted to get moving. About midnight last night some kids in SUV's came by making lots of noise on a road about 25 yards from my tent. They stopped just down the road and were talking loudly and I was afraid that they may come back and cause me some grief. Finally they moved on down the road and I was able to go back to sleep. It only rained a little last night so I packed up and climb back down the rocks to the trail. The Mountain Lake Wilderness Area was a few miles north on the trail and looks like a nice public camping area. I had a nice view of the trees and mountains below from Wind Rock about 4100 feet. It was a nice sunny day with less humidity but still no hikers to be found. I saw a squirrel and I got to thinking about our vacation in Pennsylvania a couple of years ago. We were staying at a cabin in the miiddle of several thousand acres of state forest and all we were seeing were squirrels and chipmunks. I saw a sign for the next shelter and I looked at my watch to see what time I would be getting there and if I wanted to take a lunch break then. It was 9:15, when I looked up a bear came up the hill and stopped on the trail about 20 yards from me. He stopped for a second while I was trying to get my camera out of my pocket then took off up the hill. About 100 yards later I looked up the hill and he was following the ridge above me. Once again he took off before I could get a picture. I stopped at War Spur Shelter for an early lunch about 10:00. I wanted to eat something before I came to a tough climb just ahead. I met a couple that was from Scottland at the top on Kelly's Knob. They live in New Jersey now and liked to hike sections of the trail every year. On one long downhill I almost tripped and my momentum from my backpack carried me several feet down the trail. At one time I was actually picking up speed before I was able to get things under control. I met Old Sherpa just before you take the side trail to Sarver Hollow Shelter. It was .4 miles from the trail but there was no water until you get to the next shelter and that was six miles away. John Doe and Jane Doe from Florida were already at the shelter. The shelter was really nice, it had a porch with a roof over it and a picnic table on it. There were skylights in the roof and the full moon that night was shining through like a night lite. There were a few mosquitoes though, the first ones that bothered me while I was trying to sleep.
Date: 2014-06-15
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 5:45, everyone is packing up to head out for the trail. I will be hiking with Old Sherpa today he is from San Diego now but used to live in New Jersey. He has been section hiking since 1992 and onl has a few sections in Virginia to finish the whole trail. This mornings hike to the first shelter looked like it would be easy when you look at the guidebook. I geuss just because the elavation doesn't change much doesn't mean that you won't be climbing on rocks. Luckily it was dry or it would have been much more challenging. But usually tough climbs mean nice views and there were some of those for us to enjoy.Old Sherpa fell twice this morning one was a really hard face plant. Luckily he didn't hit any rocks or limbs and he wasn't seriously hurt. His years of section hiking have toughened him up and all that was hurt was his pride. Met Res( Virginia) at the Niday Shelter, he was still packing up at 10:00. We took a long break and then moved on we are looking at a tough climb later. The climb took forever but at least we had cell phone service at the top. We are standing at the Audie Murphy Monument calling our families back home and wishing everybody back home Happy Fathers Day. Audie Murphy was the most decorated soldier of World War II and later became a Hollywood star. I left Old Sherpa at the monument to get a start down the hill. The scent of pine trees followed me down the hill some have been burnt from a past fire but the large trees luckily survived. When I came out at the road a lady was putting sodas into the stream to keep them cold. Her name was Donna and she was leaving Trail Magic and asked me if I wanted one. I never turn down Trail Magic and sat in the chair by the stream and thoroughly enjoyed it. Donna had hiked up to the shelter to clean it and leaves Trail Magic in different places on the road. She has to move it around to keep the local kids from pilfering it. She has down sectionhikes and goes by Downhill Donna. I was sitting in my chair drinking a cold soda and working on Trail Journals waiting on Old Sherpa to show up. When he showed up I hiked the 1.3 up to the shelter and let him take a breakin the chair and enjoy some Trail Magic. Honest Abe(Nashville) his dad Midlife Crisis(Nashville), Mayday(Louisville) and her dad Davill(Louisville) were there, only the fathers were sleeping in the shelter. They were doing some section hiking. I think there is a bigger group behind me so the shelters have not been too crowded lately. It was going to be a warm night in the shelter tonight and the bugs are starting to be an issue out on the trail.
Date: 2014-06-16
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 6.7

I woke up at 5:30, it was a rough night and I hardly slept. It was stuffy in the shelter and when I tried to sleep without my bag the bugs zeroed in on me.I even tried just covering myself with my rain fly but that just made me sweat even more. I left about 7:00 after talking to everyone and saying good-bye. It was uphill .3 miles to the trail and as soon as I headed nortrh there was a sign on the trail alerting hikers to a rattlesnake. I took out my camera and tried to locate it but it was gone, I later learned that the sign had been there for a couple of days. A lady hiker named T-Bird(New York) caught up with me and we hiked together all morning. Her hiking partner had to go home for awhile and she didn't mind a little company. We had about 4 miles uphill to get to Dragons Tooth and there were some nice views on the way up. I had been feeling sickly this morning anyway and the uphills were sapping my strength. Coming down from Dragons Tooth I hurt my leg and that just compounded the problems for today. I didn't use my hiking poles when I stepped down from a rock and it felt like some one whacked my left leg with a stick. There were bars on the rocks to help you climb down and in other places you were going down a cliff face with just a narrow ledge to walk on. When I reached the road I decided to call it a day and hike to the Four Pines Hostel. We set up in the garage and the owner Joe Mitchell lets you use the Dragon Wagon to run to the store. I had a couple of popsickles at the hostel and I finally felt like eating something today so I rode to the store for lunch. I made a lot of phone calls and worked on journals to get myself caught up again. I took a shower and washed my clothes since I am staying here tonight. I will probably just resupply in Daleville now instead of taking a zero there. I took some pictures of the baby alpacas and sent them home to my grand daughters to enjoy. I met some old hikers here, Three Piece, Buckaroo(Iowa),Chewie, PeaPa(Wisconsin),Rote Man and many others. I finaly fixed something to eat about 8:45 even though I wasn't that hungry. There were plenty of people trying to hustle each other playing corn hole outside but I was tired so I went inside to try and sleep about 10:00. It was a little warm inside but at least there were no bugs.
Date: 2014-06-17
From: Four Pines Hostel

To: Day Off
Miles today: 0.0

Up about 6:30 this morning, most people are packing up to hike today. About 11-12 people slept in the garage last night and some others set up tents. I slept real good on my super comfy bed in spite of it being a little warm. I ate a granola bar for breakfast but my stomach is really rumbling and I am afraid to eat anything else. Norovirus is a problem on the trail but not everyone who is sick has norovirus. I haven't been throwing up or have diarhea maybe I have just been pushing too hard. I now weigh 178 pounds, I started out at 195. Meghan is talking about coming down on June 29th and help me slack pack through Shenandoah National Park. She will be bringing her two daughters plus one other grand daughter so that will be fun in the evening sitting around the campfire with them. I should be there without pushing too hard. It will be about 160 miles in 12-13 days. I have hiked 408 miles since coming back on the trail May 19th so I can handle 15 mile days . I said good-bye to some of the hikers as they left and became the welcome wagon for hikers coming in. I gave Rote Man a fresh bottle of Mio before he left, he was tickled to get it. We met him north of Erwin at a shelter and my son Carson gave him a bottle to take with him. There is nothing wrong with a hiker giving another hiker Trail Magic! I took the dragon wagon into the store for lunch. I had a great bbq sandwich,chips, and a Gatorade. I packed up my clothes and aired out my sleeping bag and backpack, everything is ready to go tomorrow except my body. A lot of hikers coming in tonight some are familiar faces. The owner Joe said that one year in 2003 it was real wet and he had over 1800 hikers come through the hostel. He doesn't turn anyone away and keeps a cooler full of pop and a freezer full of popsickles for hikers. Phoenix,Thespian,Pocket,Johny Appleseed, Fox 40,Squirrel, Rambler, Superman,Moxie,Chef,and many more. One of the hikers got stung several times at the hostel wich pretty much was the top story of the day. A bunch of people are slackpacking to Daleville tomorrow, 24 miles. If I was healthy and needing to cover some miles I would be up for it. I will slackpack later this month. I am turning in early tonight, hopefully I will be ready to hike tomorrow.
Date: 2014-06-18
From: Day Off

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up before daylight, wasn't feeling very well so went back to bed. Woke up again around 6:00, nobody moving in here. A lot of people were going to slack pack into Daleville today, about 24 miles. The owner was going to drop off their backpacks at Howard Johnson's and they could pick them up there. I would have done it but I wasn't sure if I could hike at all let alone 24 miles. I finally rode to the store with a couple of other hikers and bought some coffee, ham and egg biscuit, and a cinnamon roll. I wasn't sure if I would be able to eat it but since I skipped supper last night I needed to eat something. Some days I know that my body could do this hike but I am not sure if I really want to hike the whole thing. Today I wanted to hike but I wasn't sure if I my body could do it. Finally about 10:00 I decided that I at least needed to try. I left close to 11:00, the first six miles had short ups and downs with lots of fence stiles crossing over cow pastures. I passed the 700 mile mark before noon in about 30 more miles I will be a third of the way done. The parking lot at Va 311 had lots of cars for people hiking up to McAfee Knob. I have been looking forward to this since I started hiking. The climb up wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but was still wearing me out. The view from the top was awesome. Thespian and I had been leap-frogging all day and we took pictures of each other on top. I started feeling a little better as I hiked off to Tinker Cliffs. It was a place where Civil War deserters hid out and settled there. The were tinsmiths and that is how it got its name. I finally decided to eat something, it had been several hours. I sat on a rock and fixed dinner so I wouldn't have to fool with it when I got to camp. I also found some fresh blueberries up there for desert. Coming off the cliffs about 7:30 I started seeing all sorts of animals out for the evening. I saw one bear cub, 3 deer, 2 squirrels, and a bobcat. The cub must of gotten seperated from his mom cause I could hear him calling for her down the hill. Set up my tent by a stream with Thespian nearby. and another tent a short ways off. I had a frog hopping around my tent, I think he was catching bugs attracted by the light in my tent.A little after 9:00I was ready to call it a day the heat and humidity is a pretty bad combination. I sent off a few texts before lights out.
Date: 2014-06-19
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: Troutville
Miles today: 10.9

This morning just about 6:30 I heard a commotion down at the tent site about 100 yards from ours. They were hollering and smacking hands and I knew immediately that someone had a bear in camp. I grabbed my camera and headed down to where Phoenix and Johnny Appleseed were camped. I saw the bear a few times as he went up the hill, he was a nice sized bear. I tried to take a picture but I don't think I captured the moment. I went back to camp and sat in my tent for a while taking an inventory of food and making a shopping list for town. I talked with Thespian for a while and told him about the bear, he had slept through it. We left about 8:30 for our 9 mile hike to Daleville. It took way longer than I expected and had lots of uphills to climb in the heat and humidity. I did see some nice views of Daleville, the valley below, and a nice mountain lake. It took me 4 hours to get to Shoney's but it was worth it. Then I went across the street to a Dollar General grocery store, there are only about 40 of them in the country. I then walked back the other way to the Outfitters for camp fuel and to Krogers for a few more items. I walked past a haircut place and poked my head in and asked if they did walk-ins. I told them that I had literally walked 724 miles to get here and they just laughed and said come on in. They asked me all about my hike and were amused by some of my hiker stories. I was amazed that only 1 out of the three had been to McAfee Knob and I showed them one of my pictures from there. I ate a fresh peach as I walked back to the trail and could have eaten more. There was a Pizza Hut right by the trail so I decided to eat dinner in town also. I made several calls home all day and then made the short hike to Troutville. Even though I only hiked 10.9 trail miles today I walked at least 4 more between the two towns. I set up my tent in the town park where there is water, shelters, and bathrooms. I started to go across the street to the fire sation where they will let you take showers and do laundry but they all left on a fire call just before I goy there. I came back to the park to work on journals and will try later. People are still walking around the track in the park about 10:00 but I think it is time to call it a day. I sorted through all of my gear and will probably send some stuff home in the morning, I can save a few pounds that way. My pack will be heavy again tomorrow with all of this food I bought in town.
Date: 2014-06-21
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up before daylight, it was raining so I laid there watching the rain until 7:00. I left about 8:30 but not before giving No Pants a hard time. I said that anyone with a trail name like that has to participate in Naked Hiker Day. He said that wasn't likely to happen. At one of the overlooks I saw the Peaks of Otter, a nice view. I picked several blueberries to eat and take a break. I took lots of pictures this morning and stopped for lunch about 11:30. I would need the energy to hike up Fork Mountain. I stopped at Jennings creek, the old swimming hole to soak my feet and legs. I later met another mailman hiking for the weekend from Raleigh. The next shelter on the trail was the Bryant Ridge Shelter. I wished it was later in the day I would have liked to spend the night there. It had a lower level with a picnic table and room to hang out, the second and third levels were for sleeping. My grand kids would treat this shelter like one big play area. I left the shelter about 4:00 and quickly realized that the next three big climbs were probably going to be finished in the rain. I wanted to get them out of the way this evening and not have to worry about them in the morning. It started pouring and I tried to cover myself with my rainfly from my tent. It came down for quite a while and I just started walking again. I hiked in to Cornelius Creek Shelter one wet hiker! Bryan and Brian from Danville, Virginia were there with there dog Fawni. Chef and No Pants checked in also. No one had any naked hiker sightings to report. I did participate briefly when I changed out of my wet clothes in the privy. We had been hiking away from the Blue Ridge Parkway this afternoon.but I found out that the parkway was only about 1/4 mile behind the shelter. Brian had stashed a cooler there earlier in the day and had a cooler full of Dr. Peppers to share with us tonight. We were in the right shelter on the right evening and it made the storm an afterthought.
Date: 2014-06-22
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

Raining again this morning, I don't like the way this week is going. Woke up before 6:00 with no place to go. I had a Dr. Pepper for breakfast for my caffeine addiction. I also ate some granola and a Cliff Bar. Leaving a little after 8:30, putting my wet clothes back on was very uncomfortable. Even worse yet was putting the wet socks and boots back on. They are going to be wet all morning, the sun is nowhere to be found. The rocks are wet and slippery, I almost fell but my hiker poles saved me. I passed up the waterfall 1.1 mile off of the trail and Black Rock Overlook, the weather was gloomy. The foggy mist in the woods was pretty cool though. After going up Apple Orchard Mountain (4225 feet) I remembered what I hiker told me the day before. You won't hike this high again until you get to New England, a pleasant thought. One cool sight was the Guillotine, a rock tunnel with a big round rock wedged into the top. At Thunder Ridge Overlook I took a break in the parking lot and tried to dry out my boots and socks. My feet were red and even bleeding between my toes from the irritation of chafing. Before I realized it 2:00 had rolled around and I had to take off if I wanted to get to the next shelter this evening. It took me almost 4 hours to cover the 11.0 miles. I was racing the incoming rain for the last hour and it was killing my feet. I saw the James River from the top of the mountain while hiking down. It is the longest river in Virginia over 400 miles long and runs out to the coast. I passed Ishmael hiking down and said I would meet him at the shelter. A mother and daughter from Virginia, a husband and wife from Pennsylvania, and a young man from Indiana were at the shelter, but some of them were tenting for the night. It would be a nice area to camp if it wasn't raining.
Date: 2014-06-23
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Glascow Virginia
Miles today: 2.2

Woke up around 6:00, it's not raining! I slept with my sleeping pad and bag inside the shell of my tent. The mesh kept the bugs off of me all night and I slept really well. Took my leftover granola cereal and put it in my peanut butter jar and mixed them together. It might make my breakfast menu again. Left about 7:30 for my long grind of 2.2 miles this morning. Said good-byes to fellow campers,Ishmael is planning on hitching into Glascow this morning so I will probably run into him again at the road. It was an easy walk along Matt's Creek and eventually ran into the James River. The James River footbridge is the longest foot use only bridge on the AT. It's pretty incredible the work and expense put into building it just so hikers can use it. My feet still hurt from the last few days so I plan on enjoying my day in town. I got I ride into town pretty quickly. A young man named Brandon goes to Glascow twice a week and tries to give hikers a lift whenever possible. We had a nice short talk about the area and I thanked him for the ride. I quickly went to the Dollar Store across the street for a Pepsi and a chocolate fix. I walked over to the hiker shelter and met Mountain Man Mike, Happy Feet, and No Toes. Ishmael came in later but hiked out later that day. Three Piece, Dexter, Sage, Sunflower, Hero, PeaPa,and Hova are all here for the evening. I took a nice hot shower, and washed my laundry with a real washing machine. I checked out the grocery store and Dollar General and replenished my food bag for the hike to Waynesboro. I took care of neglected chores like drying out my boots and sleeping bag and back flushing my water filter. I checked in with Paige and Meghan to coordinate Meghan's trip down on the 29th. She will be camping in the Sheandoah's with 3 of my grand daughters for 4 days and will be bringing me some needed items. We will be having fun in the evenings with the girls. Paige ordered me some new shoes that will be mailed ahead in Maryland. I guess now I'm commited to 500 more miles. Thanks for all of the support back home guys,I couldn't pull this off without you. We have a nice campfire thanks to the local Boy Scouts who have piles of wood here and it is dry,not like the stuff on the mountain. The shelter was also built as an eagle scout project. I have enjoyed my day in Glascow.