morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-16
From: Hot Springs

To: Ash Gap 
Miles today: 8.3

Sorry this is so late all. No cell service for this stretch of Roan. Woke up at Otter's house about 8am. Showered dressed and we headed to the diner. I wanted to load up on lots of food before I got back on trail. We sat with a bunch of thru hikers and exchanged stories. After we finished breakfast we headed back to Otter's house. I packed up my bag and packed up the box that I was sending home. We ran to the post office so I could mail the box home. Otter texted a bunch of people to see if we could get a ride to Greasy Creek Gap. I went inside and mailed my box. Before I left I asked the post office lady if I had a card here that Jeff's mom had mailed me. She went and looked and came back with not only the letter but the package that Jeff mailed me to Hot Springs that was missing. Yay yay. Looking at both the wrong zip code for hot springs was written. Well now we know why the package didn't arrive on time. After I finished up with that we ran to Asheville so Otter could buy new shorts that weren't so long and a head band. We stopped at Zaxby's for lunch as I had never been. It was good for a fast food place. We then headed back to his house. It was 3pm and no one was able to give us a ride back to Greasy Creek. Besides a shuttle which would be 100 bucks. No thanks. Otter said he would drive me back and should be able to get a ride from Will either on Tuesday or Wednesday. He's done most of this section except for Roan mountain and said he can either get slack packed to catch up with me. So hopefully he catches back up with me because I've enjoyed his company over the last 2 weeks. We headed north stoping at DQ because the urge to resist is nill. We arrived at greasy creek gap hostel at about 5:30. I threw my pack back on and headed the .50 miles back to the AT. Thank god my pack feels lighter and more comfortable. The new boots are still slowly being broken in so I wore double socks. I stopped at the first shelter because I got a message from Ompi saying he was at the first shelter. When I arrived no Ompi so I signed the log and saw that he was heading on. I pushed on and made it over Little Rock Knob and headed down to Hughes Gap where route TN 1330 crosses. At this point it got dark and the head lamp went on. First time night hiking. Well apparently at the road crossing Ompi was camping and I passed him. So he's behind me but will catch up. I walked 8.3 miles and arrived at Ash Gap at 10:30. I climbed 1200 feet which is 1/2 way up Roan Mt. Set up my tent and hung my bear bag. The wind started howling and it was nice to fall asleep to.
Date: 2016-05-17
From: Ash Gap 

To: Over mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up to pitter pater of rain on my tent. I was like ick and rolled over and went back to bed. I woke back up and quickly jumped up and tried to pack up before anymore rain came down. Well the rain started up again before three minutes went by. I quickly stuffed everything into my pack and got on trail by 9:00. I realized while climbing Roan Mt I had packed all my food into my pack and didn't have any snacks out. I hiked into the clouds and it was wet and windy. I summited Roan to no views and started down the other side. There was a fireplace remanant right on the trail which was from a ranger station post possibly. The trail this morning was nicely laid and went through a beautiful spruce forest. Once over the summit the trail had a gradual grade down and looked like an old road. I arrived at Carvers Gap where the auto road up Roam Mt begins. There was a privy at the gap. Yay!! Pooping in the woods in the rain is by no means an easy feet. My next to climbs where both balds. Jane's Bald being the first which was docked in pea soup fog. No views. ??. But I've been lucky on this trip so I can't complain. I started down the other sides of the balds and arrived at Stan Murray shelter. I ate lunch and dried out and tried to warm up a bit. I pushed on after calling Jeff and calling Trooper. The next few miles were easy grades and I arrived at the blue blaze that took me to the red barn. I arrived at mountaineer shelter at about 3 pm and decided it's early but I am so exhausted I'm falling asleep. I decided I'm staying the night as this is too cool to pass up. Hey why rush and push for miles when you will miss out on an awesome experience. The shelter is an old red barn which has been converted into a shelter. It sleeps 20. There is a picnic table under a covering in the front with 2 platforms on either side which sleeps 4 per platform. The upstairs sleeps about 20. I set up my stuff in one corner and went down to filter water. I got back to the loft and took a nap or two hours. I woke to the sound of people walking. A group of 5 high school kids arrived who were doing this as a school project. I got up and started making dinner. When I came down little Jon was there. We chatted while we cooked dinner and ate. A group of three guys showed up, then Ompi showed and I was psyched. We all sat around talking while others made dinner. I met Special K who is a 14 year old girl who is thru hiking and her mom is following in an RV. If she finishes she will be the youngest person to Thru hike in the same 6 months. Wow how inspiring. We made a fire and sat around and chatted. The high school kids were asking us lots of questions about our hike. Crashing now and hopefully up early.
Date: 2016-05-18
From: Over mountain Shelter

To: Mountaineer Shelter 
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up at 6:30 to voices downstairs in the barn. It was foggy out but warm. This building is so neat to sleep in. I got up and ate a cold breakfast. Wanted to get a move on and not spend a lot of time cooking. I got on trail at 8 after packing up. There weren't too many of us last night. There were the 5 high school kids so were doing a section hike as part of a school project. Ompi was there. Then mayfly, simple and Jake the fake. He has a blog on Trail Journals. Pete look him up he recognized me from my journal and he started a few days before me so I finally caught him. Special K the 14 year old. Then Jackrabbit and Jefe came about 11 pm as they were night hiking. Said goodbye to everyone. Ompi was the only one who neat me out. I pushed off and about 2 miles in came across the first bald. The fog had lifted and what a WOW MOMENT!! After the first bald you could see the next bald behind. It was an epic 6 miles. Great scenery and great pictures were taken. The climb down was an easy grade and I got caught by three section hikers singing my heart out with my head phones on. They were laughing and said you sound like a dying angel. I guess that's a compliment. Ha ha. I came to the official sign that said leaving North Carolina. Every time I think I'm out of North Carolina she comes back. Now officially done. Wohooo. I got to US 19 in Tennessee and sat on the side of the road and ate my lunch. Several people driving by honked and waved. It's so nice to be respected and treated so nice. After lunch I ran across the street as the people coming up the hill seem to hit the gas when a hiker is in the road. Maybe it's like a video game for them. The climb outta the gap wasn't too bad. I came across I nice field and the trail followed and ok keep road. It winded through fields and next to a cemetery. I crisscrossed a road 3 times that the cemetery was on and finally came back into a white pine forest. The trail winded back and forth up and down. It started to rain about 4:30 and the last mile to the shelter seemed to take forever. It wasn't too bad but I was wet. Finally arrived at the shelter and I was the only one here. Very weird. The herd is really thinning out. I gathered wood for my stove and filtered water. I cooked and now am running the stove charging my phone. It's been boosted 30% in two hours. Not to bad. While writing this Jefe just showed and jack rabbit should be somewhere behind. I wonder if Ompi will make it. Tomorrow I'm gonna try and push the 20 miles to Hampton. There is a hostel a little bit before so I might crash there too. Let's see what tomorrow brings.
Date: 2016-05-19
From: Mountaineer Shelter 

To: Laurel Falls Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: light rain

Woke up around 6:30 to rain so I decided to go back to sleep. After I posted the blog last night two more late arrivals came which were breakneck and a girl who I don't think I heard her trail name or real name. They arrived at 9:45 as Jefe, Jack rabbit and myself were about to head to bed. They were so thankful that there was room in the 3 tierd shelter. It was really nice and rather new and an enjoyable place to spend the night. I pushed off at about 9 and it looked like a rather easy day as the topo map in the book was relatively a straight line. After about 1/2 a mile I was covered in mud. With the rain from overnight the trail was the consistency of molasses. Think enough to hold its shape but once you stepped you sunk in. It made for tough walking as it took twice the effort. My prior hiking buddy Otter texted me that he had a ride back to the trail. He had already walked this section so wasn't too worried where to get dropped off. He said he might go to the hostel near lower Laurel forks but I told him I already passed it. I suggested go to Dennis Cove road as I should get there around 3:30. It gave me a goal so I set out to boogie. The terrain today was pretty lackluster. Winding through a dense Forrest of oak and mountain laurel there wasn't too much scenery. Like the last two days again today a lot of plants had been hit by a frost that we had on Saturday night. I forgot to mention it before but above 3000 feet in North Carolina and in Tennesee was hit by a frost. Many ferns, mayapple and some of the new trees leaves got hit. It was a patchy frost but still enough to do some damage. So between the mud, fog, clouds and not much to look at the day was kind of boring. I did pass a cascade which was listed in the book. Well after Jones Falls this cascade wasn't too impressive. I was surprised they named it. I forget the name and already burned that page of the log book. I arrived pretty much on time and Otter was waiting for me and he brought his dog ghost. Sandy would love ghost. I think they need a play date. Otter brought me 3 cheeseburgers from Burger King. I was in heaven and they tasted like heaven in a bun. I repacked my bag and organized and we pushed on. This section of the trail follows the Laurel river and the trail goes up and over some really interesting rock formations. The trail then descends steeply to Laurel Falls which has a large pool in front of. I stripped down and was gonna jump in and then stepped in the water... I went numb. So instead I bathed, soaked my head and washed up. I threw the stick just like I would with Sandy in the pond and Ghost went nuts. We stayed at the falls for an hour and pushed on for another mile or so. We found a great spot aling the river to set up camp. We made a fire and had dinner snd crashed about 9. Tomorrow I gotta go into Hampton to get a package from Chris Lovell. Not staying in town just a quick in and out. We have one climb tomorrow which is Pond Flats mountain. Then it's a straight shot into Damascus which is only 45 miles away.
Date: 2016-05-20
From: Laurel Falls Stealth Campsite

To: Stealth campsite 
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to the sound of the river and the cascades. Such a soothing sound. I got out of the tent to Otter making coffee. Wohoo. We drank coffee and I made some oatmeal. We packed up and pushed off about 9am. The plan was to walk the mile to the side trail which takes you into Hampton. I had a package from Chris Lovell to pick up. We got to the side trail and it runs along the river which was so pretty. The side trail was 1 mile to the road and 1.5 miles to the end of town with subway and Dunkin Donuts. We headed to the post office first and I picked up my package. Then we headed down to Subway and had some lunch. Then I ran across the street to get an iced coffee. Yum yum yum. On the way we saw a copperhead snake. Eeeeeek. After Dunkin Donuts we stopped at Dollar General to charge our phones and to buy what resupply we needed. We then headed back to the AT. At this point we had walked 5.5 miles and it didn't count for anything. At this point it was 1pm and we had only walked a mile on the AT. The only climb we had for the day was up and over Pond Flats. We started up and this climb was over 2000 feet in elevation gain in less than 2 miles. We pushed and stopped frequently. It was steep.. Ugh. Ghost kept turning to us and looked like "come on let's move" Ottter and I were like we are old and slow pup. We made it to the view less summit and started our way back down. I looked at radar and said we need to boogie as rain was coming. There was a campsite .3 miles from the road so that was the goal. We arrived snd decided to set up Otters 3 person tent first as if it did rain we all could be in one tent, eat dinner and play cards. We got it set up just in time and the rain poured down. We ate dinner and hunkered down. With three of us the condensation in the tent was bad and we think water from the rain came in. But we were relatively dry.
Date: 2016-05-21
From: Stealth campsite 

To: Boots Off Hostel and Campground 
Miles today: 0.3
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to rain in Otters tent but it was slowing down. The issue we were having is two people and one dog there was so much condensation on the inside of the tent it dropped down on us and got everything soaked. I wasn't sure if it was a combination of that and the rain leaking in but I was in a puddle. We were wet, the dog was wet our gear was wet. Pretty much it was sucky. We brainstormed for a bit to figure out our options. I remembered in the book it said there was a campground .8 off the trail and the book said they did coffee in the morning. Otter and I decided to walk and check out the situation. We grabbed our poles and left everything in the tent. We walked the .30 miles down to the road and were trying to figure out which way was east with the cloudy and foggy day. Otter noticed a sign that said Boots Off Hostel and Campground. I was like that's not in the book. Otter said should I call, I was like sure it's 7:30 but why not, maybe we can dry our gear out. He called and talked to Jim who said they are not officially open yet but come on down. We walked back up the hill and grabbed all of our stuff except for the tent. We walked back down and arrived at the property. Let me just say Jim and Jordan are the nicest people I've met on the trail. They are in the process of building a bunkhouse and other hostel amenities. They are getting close to ready but were so accommodating. They made us breakfast, we were able to take a shower, do laundry. Jim set up a mega tent with cots in the yard in case we decided to stay. With the weather of more rain for the day, all of our gear soaked and me feeling nausea and blisters on my feet we decided to call it a Nero. Jim picked our brains about the hostels we have stayed at and the positives and negatives. We chatted for a couple of hours. Otter and I went out to the mega tent and napped for a few hours. We got up and Jim showed us around the property. We helped them with the bunkhouse layout and gave them a bunch of ideas for placement of things. Around 7 we went into town and had dinner at O'Charleys and went to a bar after. It was a great day off and after my 4 hour nap I felt fantastic. Tomorrow the weather looks good and hopefully it warms up. Anyone hiking north or south and are near Pond Flats call these guys. They will do whatever they can to help you out. Simply Amazing
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Boots Off Hostel and Campground 

To: Campsite at mile 439
Miles today: 13.0

Woke up around 8:30 in the mega tent      in the yard of Boots Off Hostel and Campground. Otter and I packed up our gear and organized and cleaned out the tent for their next guests. We headed up to the house to find Neil making another fantastic breakfast. Otter had bad news texted to him. Either a family member or family friend passed away. It wasn't anyone immediate or anyone he was super close to but it was one of those moments where he said you don't get a do over on this so I gotta go to the services. So Otters other 1/2 was on their way to pick him up. The poor guy has now been pulled off the trail 3 times for things that keep arising. Luckily he has done the section from near Roan mountain to mid Virginia so it's not a biggie if he misses it. But he really was trying to walk all sections this year but it doesn't seem to be in the cards. He says he will get on either at the hostel and be behind me or find where I am at and get dropped off nearby to me. We shall see but I'm gonna be solo again for a bit. We ate a fantastic breakfast AGAIN and took showers. After showers and breakfast we headed back down to the tent and swept it out. We then brought all of our gear up to the front porch. Around noon Otters ride showed up and he was on his way back to Aiken South Carolina. I stayed for another hour to fully charge my phone. I pushed off about 1pm and just like Otter, Jim wouldn't accept anything from us for our stay. He said all of our Facebook feeds and word of mouth means more to him. He said also that he's been able to pick our brains and get to know the good and the bad about Hostels. He really wants to make his personal and have people have a memorable experience. I thanked them all profusely and shoved off. I found out during the morning that Ompi made it into Damascus so he's about 36 miles ahead. Luigi I believe is near Laurel Falls and the royal couple supposedly are back together and are a day or two north of Damascus. Sarah flew back and I think that might have been where they met. I think Simon (slosh) skipped trail days and passed my location on the trail while I was a trail days. I walked down the road the Hostel was on and arrived at US 321 in TN. I crossed snd you immediately come to Watauga Lake. The trail runs all the way around lake and starts climbing the ridge. This area is closed except for hiking. No camping, the Watauga Shelter is closed. You are not supposed to picnic, stop for any reason and be idle. I guess they are having issues with the Bears. I made it through the 4 mile closed section and arrived at Watauga Dam. The AT follows a dam road for a few miles and then climbs steeply up the ridge. I stopped at Vandeventer Shelter and had lunch which was actually dinner at this point. I ate than pushed on after we had 15 minutes of sleet falling from the sky from a very dark cloud. I arrived at a campsite at around 8pm. Set up and did chores and was about to start a fire when rain started to fall. I jumped into the tent and called it a night. Tomorrow I hope to get into Damascus.
Date: 2016-05-29
From: Mariott Hotel

To: Mariott Hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A day off today. Yay!! Of coarse I woke up at 6:30 am. I got up quietly and headed down to the pool and hot tub. I so was looking forward to soaking the sore body. I relaxed there for about an hour letting Jeff sleep. I got back to the room and we both showered got ready and went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel. After breakfast we headed over to Target so I could resupply on the items I needed. We headed back to the hotel and I organized all my supplies and repacked my food bag. We then headed back out and went to Walmart to buy Permetherin and to Cabella's so I could buy a new therma rest mattress. My REI blow up mattress had a slow leak and by the time I woke up each morning I was basically on the ground. After running to both stores it was time to eat again. Yay!!! I like food and we went to Golden Corral. After lunch we went back to the hotel and I took all my gear to the courtyard by the pool and sprayed it all with Permetherin. While it was drying we went into the pool and hot tub. We lounged outside on the chaise lounges afterward waiting for my gear to dry. At this point it was about 8pm and it was now time for dinner. We headed over to Chile's as I was graving guacamole. We crashed for the night at around 10 pm and it was really nice to basically do nothing.
Date: 2016-05-30
From: Mariott Hotel

To: Stealth Campsite by VA 617
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Jeff and I woke up around 8am and showered, packed and checked out of the hotel. We drove and had breakfast at Perkins. We then got on 81 and headed north back towards Marion. We arrived back at Mt Rogers visitor center around 11:30. After tearful hugs and goodbyes I walked back into the woods. Ugh that was so hard to do. I think harder then saying goodbye the first time on April 6th. I'm not sure if that was due to having trooper with me or not. Jeff is amazing as he drove 10 hours down from New York to I essence spend 24 hours with me to turn around and drive the 10 hours back to New York. I love him so much. Heading back into the woods the trail didn't waste time.. Up up up up. Within the first hour I crossed VA 622 and forest road 86. The big climb of the day was Glade Mt at 4113 ft. After the summit it was all downhill to Atkins. I stopped at Chatfield Shelter and at my turkey sandwich that Jeff and I bought at food city the night before. I met Google and treadless at the shelter. After my late lunch I continued on my way and crossed forest road 644. At this point it started to cloud over and I felt a drop. I took my pack off to put on my pack cover and gaitors and the heavens opened up. I just had enough time to get my pack cover on. It poured for a good 30 minutes and all there was to do was walki in the rain. I crossed VA 615 which was by an old one room school house called the Lindamood School. Right after the school I crossed VA 729 and went through a field. After the field there was a small wooden bridge where I sat to pour out about a cup of water from each boot. The rain let up and I continued on. The sun started to come out which helped to try and dry my soaked everything. The trail went up a ridge and you could see and hear I-81. I descended down the ridge slipping and falling on a wooden bridge. That's twice in a week I've wiped out. There was a set of railroad tracks to cross that the trail came to US 11 where I crossed and went to the Sunoco station across the street. I took my boots and socks or poured another cup of water out of my boots and sat in the sun to dry off. Luckily it hadn't rained at this location so everything was still hot and dry. I put my sandels on and went inside to buy a drink and a bag of chips. I finally got on my way walking another 2 miles. After leaving the Sumoco station I crossed underneath I-81 finally. I decided to make camp in a field near VA 617. Two other campers set up shop near me and I crawled into my tent to crash.