morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-10-16
From: The Ranger Station

To: Mt. Katahdin
Miles today: 10.4

I had stayed with my brother while doing some work to make the money for my bus ticket back to Las Cruces, NM. It was a fun time spent with my brother and his family and also seeing my mother, sister and nieces, some of which I hadn't met as they hadn't been born yet. The first weekend after I got back from the Iron Works my niece and I planned to hike Katahdin together but the weather didn't permit so we were going to do it the next Saturday. But the weather threatened to turn bad so I asked my brother if I could borrow his car on Friday, with just Felicity and myself and he was ok with that. We got up early in the Morning and started out. We took the wrong way and my GPS at one point wanted me to drive into a lake on a non-existing road! We, after some directions arrived at the ranger station at around 10:00 and began our ascent in a drizzling on and off rain. We didn't see anyone else until we got to Chimney Pond where we asked a gentleman (the only person we saw on the mountain that day) to take a picture of us. He then told us the easiest way to the top and off we went. It had been in the 30s and with the wind and now snow and sleet the temps felt much colder. It was getting very slippery and so I left Felicity in a sheltered location from the wind and went on the 1.5 miles to the summit. Soon after I left her I actually had to put on my crampons as it was so Icy that I couldn't stay upright without them. I'm so glad that I had them sent with my cold weather gear as I couldn't have gone on without them as I was falling too much. I made a video at the Summit marker and took pictures in the gale force wind before beating a hasty retreat to where I had left my niece. Going down was so much slower due to the slippery conditions and when we reached the Chimney Pond Ranger Station it was 6:48 and the thermometer read 28o inside the enclosed porch out of the wind! We had to hike down in the dark with only one working headlamp which was quite a challenge until we came up with a system. We were cold, wet and exhausted by the time we made it back to the Ranger Station and the car. We drove back, stopping in at Milinocket, ME at a pizza place and ordered a pizza. While I was waiting for the pizza to finish and as Felicity was sleeping in the car I called Clay and Mandy and told them why we were running late as it was about 9:00, and that we were ok. when the pizza was done I grabbed 2 drinks to go and we ate and drank on the road back. We got back much quicker as the GPS took us in a much quicker and (thankfully) paved road and we arrived not long after 10:30. I was so exhausted that I just hopped a quick shower to warm up and then went to bed.
Date: 2015-10-19
From: Guilford Maine

To: Las Cruces, NM
Miles today: 0.0

I stayed in Maine until after Halloween where I got to go trick or treating with my niece, the last time for her and we had a wonderful time. I got a scary devil mask that glowed red and carried a real axe while she made herself up as a zombie! I had earned enough money for a bus ticket and some money for traveling and was soon on my way back home to my wife who I had missed terribly. I went to the doctor before Thanksgiving and got an MRI and found that I had not just torm my rotator cuff worse, I had torn it completely off of the bone and it had been atrophying almost to the point of no return. My surgery was scheduled for December 10th and it was successful, although the pain post surgery was 7 hells to go through even though I was having to pop opiate pain pills every 4 hours and Goody's at the 2 hour mark in between. I have recently begun physical therapy and while there is still a lot of pain, I am regaining strength and range of motion daily. I'm still waiting to see the back doctor to see how things have changed and if I need to have anything done. Thank you all for reading my blog and coming along for this incredible journey. I've been doing day hikes as time permits and am looking forward to another thru-hike when I recover, sometime in the future. I will be going back and editing as I was about 6 days off date wise at the end and am trying to download my photo album from Facebook so I can put pictures for each entry and match things up as I prepare to put together a book called - Trail Magic, Trail Angels and the Kindness of Strangers: How I found my way on the A.T." as well as a book of poetry and prose from my journal entries, that I am working on a title for. It has been quite an adventure! See y'all down the trail!
Date: 2015-05-10
To: Marilla Springs and return
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: few clouds

Great hike today with my friend Harold Reynolds, who is planning a thru hike in 2016. We ended up doing around 26 miles in about 26 hours 11:30 pm Saturday to 1:00 pm Sunday. The climbs repeated and ranged from about 1500 to 2300 feet. We saw several old growth trees including white pines. We also saw a small black snake, deer, a large red headed pileated wood pecker, osprey and a beaver. Great practice for upcoming AT hike next week near Damascus.
Date: 2015-05-11
From: Marilla Springs and return

To: damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

On a very slow ride to damascus. Have not been blinded yet. Lots of gear shopping...field and stream gander mountain dicks sporting....just made it to REI in Pittsburgh before closing and chickened out on new leki poles...sleeping on the road... hopefully make it to beckley wv..free camping at New river...
Date: 2015-05-17
From: crazy larry's hostel

To: Abingdon shelter
Miles today: 11.1

Nice hike today. Climbed from 1950 feet to 3,540 feet. Saw lots of NOBO's. A few day hikers.Met one hiker named double check, he is going all the way to Springer, but will take the Benton McCabe trail thru the smokies. He is from his gainesville, Florida, where I was born. He thruhiked in 2011.Everyone seems to be tenting tonight.
Date: 2015-05-18
From: Abingdon shelter

To: campgrounds after iron mountain shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Nice long hike. Elevations ranged from 3384 low to 4225 high. Great views from cow pasture at shady valley with first trail magic at Orange locker across 91. Camped with pope and two others. Spent time with Wilmington 3. No sign of Boone 2.Happy trails.Ps missing Lori and the kids.
Date: 2015-05-20
From: Braemar Castle Hostel - Recreation Area

To: Black Bear Hostel- Laurel Falls
Miles today: 8.4

First slackpack day. Great hike to beautiful falls. Lodging with Fidel at Black Bear tonight. He is a gator fan and lives in Jupiter Florida. Also met up with the Boone Father and Son and Doublecheck. Trying to line up another slackpack tomorrow. Blisters feel better except for left pinky toe...
Date: 2015-05-21
From: Black Bear Hostel- Laurel Falls

To: Mountain Harbour B&B and Hostel
Miles today: 24.7
Weather: light rain

Two-day summary. 24.7 in about 23 hours. Stayed at the three story shelter Mountaineer in between. Caught up with pope. Third day of slackpacking. Elevations 2550 to 4012. Got my new fire phone today as my old one stopped booting up. Amazingly, Amazon shipped next day even in the mountains. Great views both day. Very cold last night somewhere near 40 or below.Here is a pic of pope and icarus at tonight's hostel. Supposed to be best breakfast on the AT.
Date: 2015-05-22
From: Carvers gap

To: Mountain Harbour B&B and Hostel
Miles today: 14.8

Another great day on the AT. Started out with the best breakfast at Mountain Harbour and ended with great views of grandfather mountain. First day heading NOBO. First big climb - Hump Mountain. Ran into SOBO's Pope, Double check, kite runner and Pressley. Elevations 5875-2895.
Date: 2015-05-27
From: uncle johnny's hostel

To: laughing heart hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Another zero. Waiting for pope's back to feel better. Drove to Hot Springs. Tenting for now May hammock later tonight. Got permit for Smokies on WiFi at library. Weather very nice. Had a great Mexican meal for lunch, but overdid it on the chips and salsa. Wings tonight.
Date: 2015-05-28
From: laughing heart hostel

To: Lemon gap
Miles today: 14.8

Tough SOBO hike today from hot springs. Tried some boots because of the potential rain. Back heel rub badly on my left foot. Slackpacked today as Pope drove the car and parked at Lemon gap. He passed the keys to me as he headed NOBO about half-way. Bluff mountain was quite a steep 2000 foot incline from SOBO. Saw a pheasant that cried when I got close. Also saw some trail maintenance from about ten college age kids. I will post some pics in the photo section. Rough and long drive back to Hot springs. Elevation ranged from 1326 - 4686.
Date: 2015-05-29
From: davenport gap

To: Cosby knob shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: light rain

Entered the smokies from davenport gap. Stayed at davenport shelter Sat night with pope, captain and 3 others All but the captain headed south th Cosby knob shelter with a side trail to Mr. Cammerer lookout tower. Shelter filled with lots of soaked hikers after large rain storm. Elevation.s 1975-5000.
Date: 2015-06-03
From: Elk Garden VA 600

To: Crazy Larry's hostel in Damascus.
Miles today: 23.1

Did 23 miles in under 24 hours. Got dropped off a little north of White top Mountain. Hiked SOBO towards Damascus. Missed a large storm for the third time in a row by getting to the first shelter Lost Mountain. Hiked south after about two hours of waiting for storm to clear. Ran into turtle and hobbit hikers I had previously met. Slept in a hammock for the first time before the second shelter. Got up early and hiked another 10 miles back to Damascus. Elevations 1962-5235.
Date: 2015-06-04
From: Elk Garden VA 600

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Great hike. Saw close to 50 wild ponies. Parked at Massie Gap and hiked to Elk Garden (SOBO). Amazing trail magic of finding a ride back to Massie Gap. Then hiked north to Wise shelter for the night. Ran into a lot of hikers I have met over the last couple of weeks including turtle, MacGyver, and This Guy. Saw a deer and turkeys this morning.
Date: 2015-06-05
From: Pearisburg, Va

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: light rain

Another great hike yesterday. Late start around 2pm. Finished just in time for a shower and amazing dinner. Saw Cold Blooded again. Met a hiker from Lafayette, Louisiana, named home Frey. He also lived in Slidell when he was young. Headed home to Clymer, NY, today for some R&R.
Date: 2015-07-08
From: Coopers gap

To: Woody gap
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: light rain

We (Me and St.Pete 3) made it to wolfpen gap country store. Had pizza and ice cream. Staying above store in bunkhouse - no mattresses. Finally made 200 miles on AT. Nice views on top of Ramrock. Shuttle to wolf pen was super fast. Had lunch at gooch shelter. Met Tracy and Jonathan in the morning at Wolfpen. They got a shuttle right after us.
Date: 2015-07-09
From: Woody gap

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Nice 2-day hike. Stayed at woods hole Thursday with st.pete 3 Traci and Jonathon. Met a man with a prosthetic leg on top of blood mountain. Found a deal on a shuttle back to Amicalola today. Treating myself to a Moe's burrito. I also took a dip in the Dahlonega town pool.
Date: 2015-07-10
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: broken clouds

I hiked to low gap shelter from Unicoi gap on Saturday and then returned today. Total of 19.4 for both days, but only count trail miles once. Met a great group hiking from traillife.com. I hiked most of it with John from southern georgia. Also stayed with traci, jonathan, rich from texas, and Harold from kentucky.
Date: 2015-07-11
From: Deep Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 0.9
Weather: overcast clouds

After a couple of similar recommendations I drove north to Standing Indian Campgrounds and hiked the Kimsey Creek Trail. Once I got to Deep Gap I hiked up the AT to Standing Indian Shelter at 4,757 elevation and returned the same way netting only .9 new AT miles on this 9.2 mile hike. I drove to Franklin and browsed the two great outfitters there. Next stop Fontana Hilton hopefully.
Date: 2015-08-03
From: PA 16

To: Gapland road
Miles today: 31.9

Nice 3 day hike in southern PA and Maryland. Many great shelters and views. Water was fairly plentiful. Weather was amazing. Way too many rocks. Mileage breakdown was 12.4, 5, and 14.5. Highest elevation was 1822. Lowest was 911.
Date: 2015-03-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm restarting my hike about 16 miles north of Hot Springs,NC. at Log Cabin Road, mile 290.2. I will be going north. I had done a trial run here before I started a southbound thru hike in 2009. On my trial run I started at Newfound Gap road in the Smoky Mountains going north. My wife hiked with me from Newfound Gap road to the northeast border of the Smokies. She went home and I continued north. After 85 miles I got off earlier than planned at Log Cabin road. There's a hostel 0.7 miles from the trail and I stayed there while Tish came to get me. It was going to rain for the remaining week of my original plan and my trial run had already given me what I needed. I figured a week of rain would only discourage me so I ended early. I'm going to hike 340 miles to Pearisburg, VA which is where I got off in 2009 when my Dad had a stroke. I did 656 miles the first year, 335 miles in 2010, 140 miles in 2011 and then took two years off to be 'grandpa on call'. I did 450 miles in 2014. I may do another section later this year. We shall see.
Date: 2015-03-21
From: Log Cabin Road

To: Jones Meadow Campsite
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: broken clouds

Start 9:38End 3:30Best Part - Finding trailBiggest Complaint - Uphill is hard again   My wife took me to Log Cabin Road to restart my hiking. The further we drove down the road the less like a real road it became. We reached a spot where we couldn't tell which fork was the road and which fork was someone's driveway. I got out of the car and walked up one fork to read the sign there. It said "No Trespassing. Violators will be shot." The road was the other fork but Tish decided she didn't want to drive any further because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to turn around. I got my pack on and continued down the road and Tish headed back to Ohio. In just a couple hundred yards I found the familiar white blazes and I was back on the Appalachian Trail. Of course it was uphill. I soon remembered I don't like the uphill part. Being a section hiker now I have the regrettable problem of having to get in shape every time I start again. I got part way up the hill and figured I was high enough I might get phone reception. I called Tish to let her know I found the trail but she was in a location without service so I left her a voicemail. Actually this was probably the same spot I called her from back in 2009 when I prematurely ended my trial run. I stopped at a shelter for lunch. There we're several other hikers there. Some were still there from the night before. Also there was a guy whose trail name was Einstein because he looked a lot like Einstein. He was spending another night. Actually he was spending several nights. I'd say he was probably homeless. I hiked to the campsite I'd planned on staying at and two of the guys I'd seen at the previous shelter were staying there. Their trail names were Red and Smokes-a-lot. He smokes Marlboros in the hard pack which is what I use to smoke. When those ran out he switched to roll your own Bugler tobacco which is a favorite of hikers that smoke. There are a surprising number of hikers that smoke.
Date: 2015-03-22
From: Jones Meadow Campsite

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Start - 9:45End - 4:38Best Part - Rake the turd cones overBiggest Complaint - Everybody doing twenty mile days On today's hike I ran into some Carolina Mountain Club volunteers. They maintain 90 miles of the A.T. and also part of the Mountain to Sea trail. They all mentioned that for several days now there have been 50 hikers a day starting northbound thru hikes from Springer Mt. "The trail isn't designed for that many hikers" they would complain. I guess a movie came out last year about thru hiking that has peaked interest. One volunteer said his trail name is 'The Cleaner' because he cleans the shelters. Today he was repainting and adding white blazes. He mentioned that two of his fellow volunteers were talking about raking the turd cone over. Some privies are built high up and you can open one side of the bottom section and rake the turd cone over. If you've ever looked down in an outhouse you'll understand what a turd cone is. Today at the shelter I met Ridge Rambler, Scout and Slim. They were all doing twenty mile days. Since I'm older and just starting again there's no way I'm doing 20 miles a day. Today when I was taking a break for lunch at a shelter an older guy with a Scottish terrier on a leash hiked by and went somewhere downhill from the shelter like he knew where he was going. A little while later two dogs on their own came by and went the same way. Then the guy with the Scottish terrier came by again and I asked if the other dogs were his and he said yes. I said "Then you have three dogs." He said "No. I have twenty dogs." As he was leaving and his other dogs weren't with him I asked him if I should let his other dogs know which way he went he said, "No, they're hunting dogs. They'll be OK."
Date: 2015-03-23
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: few clouds

Start 10:15End   4:15Best Part - Dog attackBiggest Complaint - Same old, same old, everybody doing twenties   Today as I crossed the road at Devil Fork Gap, NC 221, I was attacked by three dogs. They came from a house nearby. I actually was not attacked. They came running at me barking up a storm. All they did was run around and bark but it was disconcerting at first. I gave them trail names in an effort to be friendly. One was Barks-a-lot, one was Blondie and one was Tag Along. They didn't seem impressed. Blondie looked somewhat like one of the dogs I'd seen yesterday. One night later at a shelter I met a hiker who said he got attacked at the same place by five dogs. Maybe that was the house of the guy who said he owned twenty dogs.   At one point I came upon a site with two graves. There was a fence around the graves and some daffodils in bloom. One grave was for Dorthy Hemsley, born May 2, 1865, died April 30, 1965. She was two days short of 100. Personally I feel 100 it just a number. The other grave was for Joe Riddel. He was born July 1871 and died 1967.   As I was eating lunch at Sugar Loaf Gap an older hiker came by. His trail name was Silverback. He was 54 but also doing 20 mile days. He was retired military. A lot of A.T. hikers are retired military. A guy he was hiking with was a ways back because he had twisted his ankle. They ended up staying at the same shelter I did along with Spooner, Paburt, Newfound and Bruin. Too many people with too many opinions as far as I was concerned.
Date: 2015-03-24
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Start 9:25End 3.36Best Part - Maintained slow steady pace uphill/views from the top of Mount BaldBiggest Complaint - No trash barrels   I saw 172,000 leaves today. Almost all of them were on the ground. They were various shades of brown. Hiking at this time of year has the advantage that there's no leaves on the trees so you get a lot of views you that you wouldn't normally get. There are rhododendron plants that have green leaves that sometimes form a tunnel. On top of Mount Bald there were no trees and the views were tremendous.   This is my fourth day and I finally got to the point where I don't have to take breaks when I go uphill. I just shorten my step and slow my pace and keep trucking until I get to the top of the hill.   According to my AT guide on today's hike there were supposed to be trash cans at Sams gap. When I got there I found the cement pad where the trash can used to be. I guess they got tired of emptying it so often.   Wildlife alert. I saw a green caterpillar today
Date: 2015-03-25
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: No Business Shelter
Miles today: 10.6

Start 9:50End 4:12Best Part - Nice easy hikeBiggest Complaint - Did not plan mail drop early enough.   Today's hike was 10.6 miles but it was a nice easy hike. Also when I got to the shelter I only shared the shelter with one other hiker. When you get lots of people you get lots of opinions and it just seems to work out better with fewer people.   When I talked to Tish I realized I hadn't left enough days for my mail drop to get there on time. This became the deciding factor so I decided to spend a zero day at Uncle Johnny's hostel. It should also make my plan line up with weather better. It's going to get into the twenties for two nights. Delaying a day means the first cold night will be at lower altitude and not be quite so cold. Also it's supposed to rain on Monday and that's the day I will be hiking to the next hostel. If your getting soaked it doesn't seem quite so bad when you know you're going to be where there's no problem drying out. A day of rest early in your hike is also good for your body.   Wildlife report - When I was refilling my water bottle I saw a fish in the stream I was getting my water from. It was small but very colorful. It may have been a rainbow trout.
Date: 2015-03-26
From: No Business Shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's Shelter
Miles today: 6.2

Start 8:27End 11:00Best Part - Nice hostelBiggest Complaint - Lots of people   I got up fairly early and it was a short hike to the hostel. There were several nice views of the Nolichucky River and of the town of Erwin Tennessee. The hostel is 50 yards from where the trail leaves the woods. Uncle Johnny's hostel has been in existence for 18 years. I'd heard from several people that it's a nice place. They have a bunk room (actually two rooms) that holds nine and also have about nine separate rooms /cabins with two or more bunks. It's $20 for the bunk room and $30 and up for the separate rooms/cabins. The showers were nice and their outfitter store has lots of gear. They do a shuttle at 9:00 AM for breakfast and another shuttle at 5:00 PM for supper that includes a stop at Walmart for resupply. I went on the supper run. The following evening I realized I should have bought an extra shirt since the weather is colder than I had expected. The bunk house has a wood burning stove that we were able to use.
Date: 2015-03-27
From: Uncle Johnny's Shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Best Part - CoffeeBiggest Complaint - Drinkers made supper last too long   Zero miles today. Tonight it's supposed to be in the twenties and it will be colder at higher elevations. A good day to zero.   I've been drinking a lot of coffee hear at Uncle Johnny's. Yesterday I also had coffee at the Mexican restaurant we went to. That was a mistake because then I had a hard time getting to sleep. Tonight I'll skip coffee at the Mexican restaurant.   At dinner a couple people ordered 24 ounce margaritas. It was taking them forever to drink them so the beer drinkers ended up ordering another round. Since they ordered really big beers they weren't done when the margarita drinkers were done. Eventually the girl driving the van got up to pay her check. I got up also and everyone got up then. The supper run including Walmart took over 2 1/2 hours.