morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-07
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbor, B&B
Miles today: 9.2

Had a relatively short but challenging hike today from Overmountain Shelter to Mountain Harbor B&B. The wind coming over Hump Mountan was pushing hikers off the trail. My eyes were watering and my nose, running...profusely! Then coming down the mountain, several trees on the trail had been pushed over by the wind and cold the previous evening making what should have been smooth sailing, a bit more challenging. But like most other days with some creature discomforts, something uplifting follows. I am now in a beautiful B&B sharing a room with "Dusty"', a recently retired, Delta Airlines pilot from Salt Lake City. There's plenty of hot chocolate, home made chocolate chip cookies, and a legendary breakfast awaiting some 15 of us in the morning. Tomorrow will be another short day due to snow and rain in the forecast, but it too will end with a roof over my head as I'll be staying at a hostel about 12 miles from here. Am currently writing this in the B&B living room, sitting next to a retired, electrical engineer from PA who worked a number of year's for Bell Laboratories in the town next to where I grew up. His trail name is Tinker because, well, he loves to tinker. He is funny, smart, and has a beard that would put ZZ TOP to shame. He is 68 years old and in great shape. I hope to see more of him along the trail...
Date: 2016-04-09
From: Mountain Harbor, B&B

To: Braemer Castle Hostel
Miles today: 33.3
Weather: light rain

This is a two day entry as there was no cell coverage last night at Moreland Gap Shelter.   Left the Mountain Harbor B&B on Thursday 4/7. While some snow and rain was in forecast, the day was cold and blustery but dry. The trail crossed many streams and footbridges and the sight and sound of the rushing water made the hike all the more enjoyable. I had planned on staying in a hostel due to the forecast, but reached it at 2 pm with no snow in sight so decided to press on. By 5 pm a few flakes were falling as I reached the shelter. The temperature had dipped into the 30's and the wind was blowing stronger - all of a sudden, the hostel seemed like a better choice. Two younger women and two men soon arrived and by 6:30 we had all eaten and were in our sleeping bags. I had virtually every article of clothing in my back back on me by then...undies, long undies, hiking shorts, rain pants, two hiking shirts, a long undershirt,, rain jacket, down jacket, gloves, hat, and wool socks!My bag is rated for 20 degrees but with the wind chill factor, I wasn't what you would call warm.At 10:30 pm it started to hale and we all woke up covered in snow and ice. When the hiker form North Dakota said we'd better rig our tent fly's up over the shelter's one opened side or we'd die of hypothermia, everyone listened! Today, I quickly threw everything in my back and started to hike as quick as I could t get warm. Hiked about 15 miles to US 321 where the trail crosses and hitched a ride to a hostel Kim reserved for me 2.5 miles west. One of the highlights of the day was Laurel Falls which I will post in Facebook. Another was being offered some cheese and crackers by some Boy Scouts, and a third was finding out that my extra pair of wool socks, when placed over my hiking gloves, make excellent mittens. The hostel I am in was built more than a hundred years ago to serve as a post office and general store for the Babcock Lumber Company employees which had a big operation here.
Date: 2016-04-10
From: Braemer Castle Hostel

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 23.5 miles today,over what was the easiest terrain to date. The weather was beautiful and the trail magic, from a Baptist Church group of 4th - 6th grade girls, priceless.Am staying at the Double Springs shelter in what should be my last night in Tennessee. Damascus VA is some 18 miles away where a hostel, hot shower, and laundry await! At the shelter tonight are two brothers in their 60's and their niece who recently graduated from Georgetown ( in Kentucky). They are all hiking together and intend on doing the whole trail. Their names are Greyhound, Chopper, and Mountain Goat. I'll let you guess which trail name belongs to the 23 year old!
Date: 2016-04-11
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: crazy larrys hostel
Miles today: 19.6

Hit a major milestone today by crossing the TN - VA border in the early afternoon.,,The weather was wonderful and the trail in great condition. Am currently in Damascus Virginia,which is the start over over 500 miles of trail in this great Commonwealth.. Am staying at Crazy Larry's hostel which for a mere $20 includes both heat and air conditioning...tonight we will need the heat. , Larry is a loquacious gentleman from an army family who says he was kicked out of his family at an early age and that he deserved it.   He is struggling a bit to maintain his hostel in this very competitive hiking town but I am enjoying my bunk in the entry way to his house and am enjoying Larry's hospitality and conversation..Larry had a maildrop waiting for me me both from Kim and Lynn & Beth (sisters number 3 and 1, chronologically of course). Also a nice homemade card from my nephew Nate who is quite the artist. Tomorrow's forecast is for rain...which is better than snow!
Date: 2016-04-12
From: crazy larrys hostel

To: Whitetop Mntn
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked from Crazy Larry's to a camping area just after the summit of Whitetop Mntn. The morning saw a good amount of rain, which wasn't snow, so that was nice! Hiked a touch under 22 miles,with the last 4 or so going up 2000 feet in elevation. Beautiful views. A piece of the AT today followed the Virginia Creeper Trail. Here's the Wikipedia on it:   It is is a 35-mile multi-purpose rail trail in southwestern Virginia. The trail runs from Abingdon to Whitetop, Virginia, near the North Carolina state line ¢ through National Forest and crossing numerous restored trestles and crossing the Appalachian Trail. No more trains of course, but some nice trestles and walkways.
Date: 2016-04-13
From: Whitetop Mntn

To: Hurricane Mntn Shelter
Miles today: 22.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was my favorite day on the trail since I started. It included an ascent up to Mt Rogers, the highest peak in VA at 5729 feet, a beautiful stroll through the Jefferson National Forest, walking alongside wild ponies in Grayson Highlands State Park, and shimmying through "Fatman Squeeze" which is a rock tunnel just before Grayson Highlands. I will post more pictures on Facebook as this application only allows one picture. By the way, I took a very sharp knife out of my pack before going into the "Squeeze" as it looked strangely similar to the scene from 127'hours! Here is some Wikipedia info o the Jefferson National Forest and the ponies. Washington and Jefferson National Forests are U.S. National Forests that combine to form one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. They cover 1.8 million acres (7,300 km2) of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Approximately 1 million acres (4,000 km2) of the forest are remote and undeveloped and 139,461 acres (564 km2)[3] have been designated as wilderness areas, which eliminates future development.The balds (by Mt Rogers)' are inhabited by a herd of introduced ponies allowed to run wild within the confines of the park. The ponies are very accustomed to humans and rarely halt their grazing as hikers pass close by. Many locals touch and feed the ponies, though this practice is frowned upon and against park policy. Each year, park officials round up the herd and check for health problems in addition to reducing the herd size if necessary; the excess colts are sold at auction.
Date: 2016-04-19
From: Big Walker Motel

To: Holiday Motor Lodge, Pearisburg
Miles today: 44.8
Weather: broken clouds

This entry covers two days as I had no cell coverage last nite. On Monday, I hiked 26.5 miles from the trailhead near Big Walker motel to the Wapiti Shelter. Today, I hiked from the shelter to,Pearisburg, Va where I am spending the night in a bunkhouse attached to the Holiday Motor Lodge - for $20 you get a bed, a shower, Wi-fi, a microwave, and community TV. You also get access to the nearby Lucky Star Chinese buffet restaurant (where I am writing this from) for $6.95 you can eat until your heart's content - I'll need one more plate to get to that point! Just when I thought the magic was dwindling, I ran into 2012 thru-hiker "Video" and his two brothers at 2:30 pm yesterday just after crossing over the Kimberlimg Creek suspension bridge (pictures of that on Facebook). They are pictured above along with another hiker. Video had hot dogs, hamburgers, soda and beer, cookies, and those crackers with the cheese or peanut butter in them. My energy was dwindling by then but after one of each of the above, I hiked another 8 miles and made it to Wapiti Shelter by 6:00 pm.What was strange about the shelter is that there were about 8 other hikers there but they all chose to stay in their tents that night. It was nearly a full moon and the temperature was quite comfortable, so I thought nothing of it. I had the entire shelter to myself and got the best night's sleep I've had since being on the trail.   Then, I had lunch today at another shelter who shared with me some news about the shelter that I was not aware of. Since I know some of you are sharing this journal with your kids, if you are interested later, Google Wapiti Shelter...it may explain another reason I slept by myself last night.,
Date: 2016-04-21
From: Holiday Motor Lodge, Pearisburg

To: Sinking Creek Mntn (682.6)
Miles today: 47.7
Weather: broken clouds

This entry,and I mileage represents two days as there was no cell coverage where I stayed last nite - Bailey Gap Shelter, Tonight is my first nite of "primitive camping" meaning I'm not at a designated shelter or campsite...I am at the North end of a beautiful ridge crest on Sinking Creek Mountain. By my guide, it is on the Eastern Continental Divide. Because I couldn't remember what that really meant, I looked it up:: The Eastern Continental Divide, in conjunction with other continental divides of North America, demarcates two watersheds of the Atlantic Ocean: the Gulf of Mexico watershed and the Atlantic Seaboard watershed. Prior to 1760, the divide represented the boundary between British and French colonial possessions in North America. The weather has turned pretty quickly from unseasonably cold, to warm and humid., A thunderstorm is predicted for tonight. Several of the streams where hikers typically can get water are dry as there has not been much rain to date.   That said, the warmer weather and perhaps lower elevations have seemingly brought more wildlife out. Have seen several deer each day for the past several days, the skies are full of Hawks, and I darn near stepped on a 4+ foot black snake yesterday. Coyotes can be heard howling at night and grouse rumble out of rhododendrons periodically spooking me out. No bear yet but plenty of posted warning signs.Met a hiker last night whose trail name was Big O. I was thrilled because I thought he might have been named after the legendary Oscar Robertson whose nickname was the Big O. The hiker was about the same size as Oscar, but Korean.   When asked he said he had never heard of Oscar Robertson. Turns out he was shopping for supplies early in the trip and an older man came up to him and said something like, "You are about the biggest Oriental I have ever seen!" Not PC but moments later the man came back and asked Big O,if he needed a ride back to,the trail...which he did. Alls well that ends well.
Date: 2016-04-22
From: Sinking Creek Mntn (682.6)

To: Four Pines Hostel (702.1)
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: light rain

I hiked today from my the campsite near the Eastern Continental Divide 19.5 miles to a hostel which is a 3 bay garage and all the owner asks is that you leave a donation, It is pet friendly, in fact one of the owner's cats is sleeping on the couch I claimed as my own for the night.   Cats!!! Got two great maildrops today from my sister Beth and my friends at Kaiser Permanente. Due to the volume of hikers booty, I shared freely with the other hikers captured above in the hostel. It rained much of today which was greatly needed in the forest. It made for some slippery footing, but such is hiking. There was one section of trial around Cove Mountain that was the most dangerous of the trip so far. I would have taken pictures but it was raining pretty steadily at the time and my I-pad prefers being dry. There were sections where I just sat down and slid down a rock-face. There were other sections where I had no idea where to step next. There were some steel steps inserted into the rock face in several sections, but even they didn't always seem lime the safest path down. Funny enough, for the Southbound hikers there were several signs further up the trail notifying how steep,and challenging this section was...not for the Northbounders...either the sign people ran out of funds, or we are just a heartier breed. Tomorrow I am slack packing about 25 miles to Daleville. One variation of this (which I am using is where someone drops your pack at your destination and you use a daypack to get there. Saves on where and tear of the body. Looking forward to it..It is now well past hiker's midnight - 8 pm, and the hostel dwellers are bunking down for the night, Time to post a Facebook update which will be different from this and say goodnight.
Date: 2016-04-23
From: Four Pines Hostel (702.1)

To: Daleville, Va
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: light rain

"Slack-packed" today from the Four Pines Hostel to Daleville, Va where Eddie left my pack at a HoJo's.   The total distance was 25.7 miles which was quite manageable without 40+ pounds weighing me down. The day started with a long stare-down with a big bovine (picture above). I blinked first and so made a big loop around he and his friends. After that, it was clear sailing! The weather was partly cloudy with a soft breeze, little humidity, and I'm guessing low 70's - great for hiking. Because of the proximity to VA Tech, there were numerous college students on the trail today. There were also at least three different Boy Scout contingents and lots of small groups of friends as well as solo hikers. When they recognize you are a thru-hiker (maybe by the smell?) they gladly step aside and wish you well.Posted a number of pictures on Facebook showing the diversity of the day. One that I did not get because I wasn't quick enough was two cardinals which are my favorite birds...mostly because they were my father's favorite. I don't know if my dad liked cardinals because he loved the St Louis Cardinals baseball team, or he loved the baseball team because he liked cardinals - my guess is the former, but regardless, it was nice to think about him on the trail today.
Date: 2016-04-24
From: Daleville, Va

To: Cove,Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiked today from Daleville where I stayed last night in a HoJo's to Cove Mountain where I am sharing the shelter pictured above with just one other hiker.A good portion of the afternoon's hike ran back and forth over The Blue Ridge Parkway. Having nothing but time at night, I googled the following - The Blue Ridge Mountains are noted for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere thereby contributing to the characteristic haze on the mountains and their distinctive color. Now you know!!!Compared to yesterday, the trail was a ghost-town. I only saw one northbound thru-hiker ("Trouble") and two Southbound. The southbounders had started in Harper's Ferry and we're both going to Springer Mntn in Ga where the trail terminates. From there, one was going to Katahdin and then hiking back to Harper's Ferry, and the other going to Harper's Ferry and ending at Katahdin. Had a beer with "Goose and Klink" from Chicago today at about 2:00 pm. They were doing some section hiking and just relaxing outside their truck. Goose use to deliver beer and he had a nice supply of Old Milwaukee on ice in the cab of his truck. Very nice people. Will post some other pictures on Facebook
Date: 2016-04-25
From: Cove,Mountain Shelter

To: Petites Gap, mile 774.7
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked 21.9 miles today from Cove Mountain Shelter where just 3 other hikers were spending the night to Petites Gap, just off the BlueRidge Parkway. The weather remained great today but the hike was challenging with climbs of approximately 1100 feet and 3000 feet. Early in the morning I met a couple in a sharp looking camper who offered me a cup,of coffee. I believe the man's trail name was Slug and his wife was Natalie. Natalie was just visiting Slug for a few days and then on her way to see her sister in Nashville. Slug is through hiking to Maine. The trail,was very empty the rest of the day, with one Southbound hiker and several retired couples just enjoying a short walk from a variety of access points. Every so often, okay - most of the time, I,have to remind myself to look up. I posted one "look up" picture above which greeted me at the top of Apple Orchard Mountain (apparently an FAA tower) and there are several more on Facebook. I have another reasonably long day tomorrow then a half day into the Three Springs Hostel which I am really looking forward to.
Date: 2016-04-26
From: Petites Gap, mile 774.7

To: Punchbowl,Shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 20.4 miles to Punchbowl Shelter with a climb of about 2700 feet up Bluff Mountain. Part of the hike was along the James River and included the longest foot-use-only bridge on the AT, interstingly dedicated to William T Foot, a hiking enthusiast and tireless trail worker. On the other side of the river I met two section hikers from New Hampshire who have done all of the trail over the last 7 years or so except the last 150 in Maine and the reminding trail south of here.   Their trail names were huff and puff. Huffs (or was it Puffs) wife (Leah)'and son had driven down from NH to take them back. Leah quickly gave me a Gatorade, a banana, and three Snickers Bars...all the fuel I need to make the Bluff Mountain Climb!Am currently in Punchbowl Shelter where we are getting some much needed rain, a cool breeze, and thunder and lightening. Happy to be "inside". Sharing the shelter with 4 other people including "Greenie and Pilot" from Mass. They two are friends and ongoing section hikers.Looks mg forward to a shorter day and hostel stay tomorrow.
Date: 2016-04-28
To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 31.9
Weather: overcast clouds

This is for two days as no cell coverage yesterday. Hiked from Punchbowl Shelter on Wednesday to the Three Springs Hostel. And today, from Three Springs to The Priest Shelter, This morning started with a 2000 foot climb that was made almost joyful (!)'with the help of Oma from Three Springs. She cooked us a breakfast that couldn't be beat and then slack packed me to Hog Camp Gap. Oma apparently is German or Scandanavian for grandmother and Oma is a grand person, The picture above is she and two new friends from MA., Pilot and Greenie. They section hike together and were ending this year's trip at the hostel. It was nice spending time with them yesterday.Today was rainy on and off with a little thunder and lightening. Not sure if it was the weather or just the trail continuing to thin out, but I did not see a single northbound hiker in my 20 mile trek today. I have one major equipment problem right now which is a trail-running shoe with a big rip along the left inside of foot. Duct tape and moleskin holding things somewhat together until I pick up a maildrop on Saturday.. Tomorrow's hike includes a 3000 foot descent followed by a 3000 foot ascent...so we'll see whether duct tape is everything it's cracked up to be. There was a forest fire in the Shenandoah's which has resulted in AT hiker's getting re-routed around the ruins. Will post more on that soon. Got some nice pictures of critters today which I will post on Facebook as well.
Date: 2016-04-29
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Hiked today from Priest Shelter 21.8 miles to a primitive campsite, supposedly with a view, near Humpback Mountain at mile 849.3. It was a delightful day for hiking, but not sightseeing as visibility was very limited by low rain clouds and fog. It drizzled off and on all day today, as it is now as I write this from my tent. The forest greatly needs the rain as do,the hikers who rely on the springs and steams for their water.mFor the second day in a row, I saw no Northbound hikers on the trail. I managed to slip several times on the slick rocks and leaves breaking nothing but one of my REI hiking poles going into a 3000 foot climb. Not to get too philosophical, but my reaction quickly went from mourning, to acceptance, to resolve. I thought it would give me a good chance to see why some hikers like to use one pole - the trail has a way of helping you turn every lemon into lemonade...or you get all sour and that's not good for anything. Shortly later, after not really enjoying the one pole climb, I came across a hiking stick someone had left behind...then it hit me, I'm in a freekin' forest, there's an abundance of solutions to my broken "stick"! I used the hiking stick I found as my other pole and the uphill climb went very well. As an aside on the "slip" I described above - I have probably fallen about 10 times on this trip and each time I have the same reaction; 1) Is anything badly hurt? 2) Did anyone else see me? 3) Can I get up? So far it's been; no; no; and yes, eventually, but I periodically feel like a turtle whose been flipped on its back, with arms and legs moving, but little resolution to the problem at hand!