morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Unknown Campsite- near Allens Gap
Miles today: 15.2

Just as we were about to leave Hot Springs this morning, two of our friends that were a little behind us rolled into town- Shasta and H-Bomb! They caught back up with us, so now we could continue on our journey together. Although half of our crew had planned on leaving Hot Springs yesterday, several different factors caused them to stay an extra night. So, now our entire crew was back together- Shasta, H-bomb, Mouse, River Weasel, Salt and Pepper, Baro, and myself. After spending two days drying out gear and preparing for the next week, we headed back out for the trail. Just as we were leaving, another dark cloud came over the mountains and hovered over the small town of Hot Springs. God must have a sense of humor or the Hot Springs economists are able to control the weather, as the rain shower was just enough to delay our trip for another hour. So while we waited the storm out, we proceeded to spend more money on food (just one more time) before getting out of town. Once back on trail, we headed straight up as we had some incredible views and overlooks of the French Broad River that we once walked across. What use to seem like big rapids, now appeared to be small little trickles as we increased our elevation. The sun came back out and the trail took us through switchbacks, curves, up, down, over forrestry roads, and down into green gaps and valleys. After 11 miles into the day and coming to the first shelter, we took a snack break, but then continued on to the next campsite. It was completely full. So, then on to the next campsite. At this point my legs were screaming at me, as mentally I had only prepared them for a short day of 11 miles....not 15. We soon came to Allen's Gap which crosses over a main road, but there were no true campsites around. The next closest shelter or campsite was 5 miles away, which we knew we were not going to make before dark. But, there were some open areas close to the road, and it was beginning to get darker and darker, so we set-up camp anyway. So here we are- camping out along the side of the road, just hoping that none of the "locals" would bother us. I'll have to admit, camping along the side of the road isn't exactly a good policy or hiker trend, but at this point we were going to look beyond that and make it work.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Unknown Campsite- near Allens Gap

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: moderate rain

As of today, we have hiked over 300 miles total on our journey so far! Yeah! After camping out by the side of the road and managing only a few cars that drove by just to honk at us, I managed to sleep really well. The off and on rain showers that lasted through the night served as excellent background music as each drop hit the rain fly of my tent. It was very peaceful and relaxing, but deep down I was still hoping the rain would stop by the morning. We hit the trail around 8:30 AM as we were able to get up and pack up camp in between the rain showers. The morning continued to be overcast, but more rain was on its way. It rained all morning as we hiked to the first shelter hoping to eat lunch and dry out a little. We were able to stop for a short time to eat, but soon our cold, wet feet and bodies told us it was time to keep hiking. Once again we were trying to get warm. We have expereinced a lot of rain lately and it's easy to see how anyone can get depressed out here with bad weather. Showers continued all day long and it is still raining as I am here in my tent hoping to stay dry through the night. My Sierra Designs Lightning tent has held up extremely well through the rain up to this point, but I continue to hope for the best when it storms. Our 17 mile hike today seemed to have gotten the best out of most of us. Sorry for such a short entry tonight, but I am ready to get some sleep.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Low Gap Campsite
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

Due to the rain all through the night and the drop in temperature, we got a later start hiking this morning. It was still rainy and overcast, but I just prayed the sun would come out soon. After an hour into our hike, God answered another prayer as the first signs of clearing skies and the sun appeared. We hadn't seen the sun or felt its warmth in 2 or 3 days now, so it was very welcomed. It not only warmed us physically, but it was also uplifting to our spirits. We all seemed to have been a little discouraged, frustrated, and doubtful early on, but the sun offered us some warmth and hope. I couldn't help but think of the parallels between "light" and "darkness" and how the SON offers such hope to all. Personally, I struggled this morning as well. I felt as though I had no energy. Physically, my body is getting familiar with the number of miles we hike each day and to the "typical" day in the life of a thru-hiker, but this morning I was weak and had very little energy. As the day continued, the more the sun came out. We stopped for lunch along the side of the trail and were able to lay out our tents, sleeping bags, socks, and clothes to dry. I felt better after eating a tuna tortilla- YUM!- and had more energy the rest of the day. I was able to get back to my normal hiking pace, which is between 2 and 3 mph, at this point. As were about 3 miles from our campsite, we received some more TRAIL MAGIC as some former thru-hikers were waiting at a road crossing. They took us to the closest gas station where we could grab some snacks and whatever we could find that seemed to be a novelty. It was perfect timing, as I had been running very low on snack foods, and was able to restock for the next day or so. We plan to have another 15 mile day tomorrow, then a short 6 mile day of hiking Saturday morning as we go back into Erwin, TN to resupply. I have received news that I might be getting a couple of "goodie" boxes in town, so I am excited about what I will find.
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

Thank you God for a perfect day of hiking. The sun was out without a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was a pleasant 70 degrees all day long. Thank you for the friends we have made thus far and for the times we spent today relaxing on top of Big Bald. What an incredible hike it was all morning to get there, but how rewarding was it to have a complete 360 degree view of nothing but mountains! The grassy bald reminded me of Max Patch, but still had plenty of character of it's own. How awesome are You, the Creator, that there are no two places that are completely identical to each other! I am continuously reminded of Your imagination and creativity as I hike and see all of Your creation in new ways every single day. Thank you for the streams that we passed that provided the water we needed to drink and cook with, as well as a place of relaxation and rest. Thank you for a rather slow and pleasant day of hiking and for bringing us to our campsite at such a perfect time of day. We enjoyed ourselves as we ate and sat around the campfire before heading to bed. Thank you for the thrill of walking up to camp and seeing, once again, Model T and Ranger Dawg! What a nice surprise! Your timing is perfect and I trust your ways. Forgive me when I start to doubt, and may I remember the times in my hike and in my life that you have given me such confidence.
Date: 2006-04-30
To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's exactly one month today that we have been on the trail. I can't believe it! We are about 340 miles into the trip and still have a good ways to go, but so far it has been an unbelievable journey. The trail has been pretty much what I expected, but the people we have met have helped make this experience more than I could ever imagine. God has truly blessed me with this opportunity and I am grateful for the time I have had out here. He continues to meet me everyday with new challenges and has enabled me to see many things in a different perspective. There are still times of struggle day by day, but there are so many more rewards! Thank you to everyone who has sent letters of encouragement, words of wisdom, and prayers that have been offered on our behalf as we continue on this journey. I continue to feel power and strength, daily, during my times of weakness from your thoughtfulness. Please know that I am continuously grateful for all of the support. We spent the night here in Erwin, TN and took care of our usual business- laundry, showers, emails, journals, phone calls, food resupply, etc. It's raining again this morning, but we are still planning to get back on trail in a couple of hours. Our next couple of stops will be to the Kincora Hikers Hostel for a day (probably around May 5,6) and then on to Damascus, VA (probably around May 9,10). We have been making pretty good progress up to this point, and I pray we will continue to do so. It will be a few days before I will be able to update my journals again, but just know that I will as soon as possible. I hope everyone has a good week! I'll be in touch again soon!
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Campsite after Hump Mtn.

To: Slide Hollow Campsite
Miles today: 13.4

I failed to mention in my last entry that when we camped last night, we actually caught back up with Model T, Ranger Dawg, and Misfit 1. We are constantly "yo-yo ing" back and forth with them, but it had been a few nights since we had seen them. They are the "wise-men" on the trail who we all look forward to seeing, as they constantly humor us with their stories- some from the day of hiking, and others from their old military days. We survived another night and I had a great night of rest. We woke up to overcast skies, but it would soon clear up and another beautiful day of hiking would await us.Today would be an easier day as we only planned to hike around 13 miles or so. We didn't feel any need to rush and just took our time on the trail enjoying the day. Shasta and H-Bomb somehow survived a night without us as they braved camping out on top of Hump Mountain. They have the same tent as I do (a Sierra Designs Lightning) which should be a great testimony for that product, as they camped out at 5,000 ft elevation with 70 mph winds that were howling all night long. Not only did the girls withstand the test, but the tent did too. That was good news to me as well. They caught back up with us just before 10:00am and just as we were about to head up US19E for a good breakfast at the Country House Restaurant. Shasta, H-Bomb, Mouse, Baro, Gringo, Zoomer, Postcard, MasterPlan, and myself all chowed down on some scrambled eggs, sausage, grits, hashbrowns, waffles, and saucer sized biscuits- YUM! This small town country store was mentioned in our A.T. guidebook and just as the book said, they even had the famous "Liars Table" which was for all of the local older gentlemen to sit around, drink coffee, and discuss the news of the day. After brunch, we hit the trail around 1:00- the hottest part of the day. Even though we had enjoyed our breakfast, we were paying for it now as we felt every little thing we had eaten within our first 2 miles of the hike. After the first couple of hours, the trail was pretty merciful as it became rather smooth and had rather short inclines. We would soon pass through fields of grass, by old small town cemeteries, around a small river, and across creeks and streams. It was a pretty nice day. It was a good decision to have a shorter day today, as yesterdays long day was really catching up with us. We all seemed to move a little slower today, so it was probably a good thing to have a day with no major mountains to climb.
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Slide Hollow Campsite

To: Laurel Fork Hostel
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: light rain

Today we reached the famous Kincora Hostel, a popular place to stop for a night and to go into town for resupplying on food. It was a basically a glorified shelter with several bunks, a kitchen, a place to do laundry, and for taking showers. You could also tent there on the lawn if you wanted to. It operates on donations and the owners are willing to take different shuttles into town (Hampton, TN) in order to resupply on food and even eat at Arbys or Little Ceasars. When we arrived, the place was packed, and soon another storm would be moving in. We decided to check out another hostel just .5 miles from Kincora in order to avoid the storm. It turned out that hardly anyone was staying at Laurel Fork Hostel. It was basically like a summer camp cabin with bunks and a bathhouse. There was even a small store on sight that would allow for short-term resupply if needed. Gringo, Baro, and me decided to stay there where we would later meet up with Little Spoon, Commando, and 6-pack. This hostel wasn't near as crowded as Kincora Hostel, but it was still rather nice and peaceful as the creek ran right beside the campgrounds. We still rode into town with a group from Kincora as about 18 of us piled into the backseat and bed of a truck. It was a hilarious sight as all of us were crammed in, piled on top of each other, in order to get to town to resupply. The extremes that we go through at times out here is just simply unheard of in any other setting, but it's something that has to be done while on trail. Not too much to report on today, but we head out again in the morning. Pretty soon we will be in Damascus, VA our 4th state along this journey. People say it is a pretty big milestone to make it to Damascus. I look forward to getting there so I may truly appreciate another milestone or accomplishment.
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Low Gap Campsite
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After sleeping through the rain at Vanderventor Shelter all night, we woke up to everything being completely soaked and more overcast skies. Was more rain on the way? We couldn't tell. Around 6:15 this morning, we heard Ripp, Jenn, and Holly (the Plymouth Crew), along with some others, hiking through the storm on their way to Damascus. They were trying the 40-mile challenge. It's a challenge amongst thru-hikers to hike the 40 miles to Damascus in 24 hours. We had no desire to try that, but we had wished them the best the night before. Usually we start hiking around 8 or 9 in the morning, but this morning would be different. We decided to sleep in a little longer and let the rain pass by, so we didn't get started until about 10:30. Yesterday was a tough day for me physically as I struggled with the least little hill ahead of me. I seemed to have little to no energy. I probably need to start eating a lot more and possibly even double up on the vitamins I have been taking. The terrain was rather smooth with few ups and downs today, which was good for me. The paths were very gradual and there were very few steep inclines. This seems to be the perfect time of year for hiking, as it ended up being a beautiful day, something else that helped lift all of our spirits. Our crew is split up right now. Shasta, H-bomb, and Mouse are a little behind us on trail,but we will probably see them again in Damascus. Slim, Gringo, Baro, and myself all hiked together today and we are camping out tonight. Despite Slim being a mostly shelter guy, we convinced him to hike with us a little more today and to actually camp out using his tent for possibly the second time on this trip. Tomorrow should be a pretty smooth coast into town. We are about 15 miles away, and according to the map, there shouldn't be too many major obstacles. We have a good campfire going right now, the sun is setting, and I am enjoying just sitting here on a log, writing in my journal, and relaxing just a little before bed. I think it's going to be a good night. We'll see how it goes. Thank you Lord for another beautiful day and for giving me more energy today. I asked for a special strength today and you provided. Thank you for providing a nice day with smooth trails that were physically easier on the legs and for the confidence and mental edge to get through the day. Watch over all of us tonight and all of our other friends who are on the trail.
Date: 2006-05-07
From: Low Gap Campsite

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: moderate rain

So the excitement of the day was knowing we were headed into Damascus. We woke up to more rain this morning, which was depressing, but we turned it into motivation. We made record time all day long. Normally it takes about 45 minutes to pack up our tents and gear,eat breakfast, and get water before we head out for the day. But this morning, I woke up at 7:00am and was on the trail hiking at 7:24am. Record time! During the first 10 minutes of my hike there was a break in the rain as it was just misting a little bit. But, more rain was definitely on its way. I had stuffed a pop-tart in my pants pocket and crammed it down within the first 20 minutes of the hike. After that, there was no looking back. The rain set in for the day. It wasn't storming, but a constant steady rain as we would head into Damascus. A cold front must have come through as well, as the temperature seemed to continue to drop. We were cold, wet, miserable and highly motivated to get to town ASAP. Once again we made record time. We hiked 15 miles with absolutely no stops, breaks, or looking back as it took right around 4 hours. It was insane! Once again, we had to keep moving to keep warm, and the idea of getting into town and getting a place to dry off and put warm clothes on was sounding even better and better. Thanks to Slim, we had a nice hotel-like place to go and drop our packs and to change clothes. Our next stop.....food. We spotted Sicily's, an Italian place. Gringo, Slim, Sweet Tea, Baro, and I all managed to devour our house salads and 10" pizzas we ordered. There was absolutely nothing left on the table once we were finished. It's like we become animals at the feeding trough everytime we come in to towns directly from the trail. I am still amazed at how the body acts and reacts out here to not just the physical demands of hiking, but also to the amount of food that we are able to intake. We are burning thousands of calories a day, so we must eat food that is high in calories and in fat. It's almost a reverse mind-set than back home. Instead of watching what we eat and trying to maintain our weight, we now are constantly counting calories in order to get the MOST as we possibly can. We have to load up on calories while we are in town so the body has something to burn while hiking. Otherwise, the body starts burning muscle, instead of fat, which leaves us with no energy. I guess I better enjoy eating anything and everything now, because after this journey, it will be a completely different situation.
Date: 2006-05-12
From: Wise Shelter

To: Dickey Gap
Miles today: 16.5

God is faithful in that He provided me with a good nights sleep last night. We woke up to the chill of another cool morning, but the sun was beginning to shine. I was determined to have a better attitude and outlook today and it proved to make a difference. I don't know what the weather will be like for the rest of this month, but I do know that we will continue to be hiking in Virginia for the next 4-6 weeks. So far, I have really liked the trail layouts and the sights and views that Virginia has already shown to offer. People have said that the first and last 500 miles of our journey are the toughest, with the middle sections being somewhat easier. Everyone has talked about Virginia being a "hiker's paradise" so it is with excitement that I look forward to the next few weeks. I guess we'll see if what we've been hearing is true. We past another big milestone today.....we are now over the 500 mile mark! Yeah! In the next couple of days we will be a quarter of the way through our journey. It's hard to believe that. The month of May has really flown by so far. This is our 42nd day out here on trail. I've already learned and experienced things that I will never forget, but I know there is a lot more to come. In some ways, I have a better understanding of occasions mentioned in the Bible with Jesus or others going into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. In the past, I would just read that fairly quickly, but I would never let it actually sink in as to how much time that really is. Although I do not completely understand the experiences of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness or with it raining for 40 days and 40 nights, I will at least read those same stories in the future and they will come to life a little more. We had a nice surprise from Mouse's parents today. They came up to visit for the weekend and to celebrate Mouse's birthday. They offered to take 5 of us into town and we just couldn't turn them down. They've got to be pretty special people to pick up 5 thru-hikers and to deal with all of our smells and funk. And of course, Roxie was there as well. She's been a good trail dog overall, but her journey with us will soon come to an end. Mouse made a decision, in Roxie's best interest, to take her off the trail and to send her home to Birmingham, AL. Although we hated to see her leave with Mouse's parents, we knew it was the best thing. In fact, she probably will be living in better conditions than we will over the next few months. Roxie was once lost, but then she was found. A son found her, and soon she will sleep at the father's feet. Can anyone else relate to this?
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Dickey Gap

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

It's about 10:30pm, I have a completely stuffed stomach, and I am sharing the nicest shelter we've seen yet with about 13 other hikers. This is Partnership Shelter. The place where you can order pizza, get running water, and take a hot shower on trail. We started hearing about this place a week ago, and everyone was right. It's the nicest shelter on the trail up to this point. We've been really fortunate and spoiled the past couple of days as we have had a few instances of "trail magic." Mouse's parents surprised us yesterday, we came here today, and who know's what could happen tomorrow! We have been blessed with beautiful weather, good hiking trails, awesome views, and great company. It's easy to feel good about being out here when there are all of those blessings. Tonights friends staying together: H-Bomb, Shasta, Mouse, Scarecrow, Chardoney, Cabernet, Double Zip, Home Cookin', No Falls, Ripp, Tree Hugger, Pillbox, Frisbee, and me. Thank you God for such an incredible day. Thank you for a beautiful day of hiking and for a chance to rest in the sun late this afternoon. Thank you for the time shared together with you and with the friends we are making on this journey. You continue to bring us all together for a special time and place and I am excited to see You at work in this group and in our individual lives. Thank you for always taking care of us and for the opportunities you present before us. May we never take our time, each other, or You for granted.