morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-08
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Dennis Cove Rd - Kencora 
Miles today: 15.6

We woke this morning and packed in sprinkles. Just as we set foot on the trail in began to downpour on us and did not relent until around noon. You guessed it, a rather difficult morning. It was a slow trudge to Moreland Gap shelter where we stopped for a lunch break. The sun came out so we laid out some of our gear to dry. George and Logan were there and we talked about how difficult the weather has been. After the rest we pushed hard to get to Kencora. Kencora is probably the most well known hostel on the trail. Owned by Bob Peoples, an Air Force vet who is legendary for his service to thru-hikers, and especially for the massive amount of trail maintenance he coordinates every year.We arrived at Kencora in the early eve. Immediately we met Baltimore Jack and he helped us get situated. We were so happy to see everyone; Gorganzola, Denali, Chatter, Houdini, Magma, Free Child, Carpenter and several others. They had all heard about our misfortune with peanut butter. We had an amazing community dinner. BBQ pork and chicken, pasta salad, coleslaw, Bob's cornbread, chocolate pie, chocolate cake and cheese cake - ALL U CAN EAT! We helped clean up and then sat with Baltimore Jack and a few others at the porch table telling stories. Berry and Denali talked for a while as we were all waiting on a load of laundry. She told us her story..as well as how her and Gorganzola met on the trail (we call this "trailmance"- trail + romance). Denali and Gorganzola are becoming good friends of ours. We were off to bed just after 11. We slept on the porch, the hostel was so full but Bob never turns people away.. we were there with 5 other hikers.
Date: 2009-05-09
From: Denis Cove Rd - Kencora 

To: Kencora 
Miles today: 10.0

This morning all the hikers walked down the road to some log cabins where the 08' thru-hikers were hosting some all day trail magic- breakfast, lunch and dinner! Breakfast was amazing- pancakes, yogurt, fruit, bread, cheese, juice, bacon, hash browns, etc. After everyone was stuffed silly a large group of us piled into Bob's truck to be shuttled north in order to do a southbound slack pack back to Kencora for the eve. Berry was lucky to be in the cab of the truck while I was with 11 other hikers crammed in the back of the bed (which was covered) with all of our packs. It was quite a site! Houdini was feeling a little sick when we started our hike so we stayed with her along with Magma. We saw the Birds as they were finishing up the northbound accent of Pond Flats - a ridiculous climb. It was fun seeing them and catching up a little... they were jealous of our slack. Toward the end of the hike we took a side trail off to a swim hole. Magma and I jumped right in..Houdini after us..Berry took pics. The water was cold but felt amazing. The other highlight of our hike was seeing Laurel Falls. The waterfall was in full force today and it was a beautiful site. Our hike took only 4 hours and we made it in for the lunch time trail magic that the 08'ers were putting on. Again, a wonderful time with all u could eat burgers and brats, fresh brownies, chips, sweet tea - the works!   After lunch Berry and I took a nap and then I went with Bob and Baltimore Jack to town to pick up some things for the other hikers. I enjoyed riding in the cab listening to Bob and Jack. They were hilarious!  When we arrived back at Kencora all of the other hikers were down the street for dinner trail magic and wouldn't return for a while. Jack cooked me, Berry, Houdini and Magma a meal while Bob joined us in the den and gave us his story. Also, he and Jack entertained us with old thru-hiking stories. We got into bed around 10, This time we were in a room.
Date: 2009-05-10
From: Hwy 321

To: Iorn Mtn Shelter 
Miles today: 15.4

Mothers Day! Love you mom's..Today happened to be a tough day. We've been used to terrain that is up-up-up, down-down-down. Now the hiking seems to be up-down-up-down all the way. We'll have to adjust to the topograghy. We met a new friend today, her name is Kismet. Kismet and Berry met as we started the trail this morning. It wasn't long before they were talking up a storm and walking fast while I was trying to keep up in the back. We stopped for a beautiful snack break at Wautaga Dam and talked with Kismet for a while longer, before breaking off and seeing her again for lunch along with Honey Do and Up N Adam, Wrath, Legs and Hot Feet. That night the same group ended up at Iorn Mtn Shelter. The conversation was WAY different tonight. Somehow we all got on the topic of politics at the campfire.... This eventually led to several lengthy conversations about religion. Berry and I were quite surprised at how open everyone was. I guess the days of talking about gear are over.  We are tucked in our sleeping bags now embracing for rain tomorrow.
Date: 2009-05-14
From: Damascus VA 

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Instead of being awakened by the sun this morning, Bark and I were startled to hear and feel a slight knock on our tent vestibule. We looked at each other and Bark soon mouthed the words, "Did somebody just knock on our tent?" When I responded with a tired and silent nod of my head he checked his watch which read 6:00am. That's right... you know you're a hiker and living outside when a knock on your tent at 6:00am is not out of the question. We thought that if we just stayed still and quiet whoever it was would just move on and come back later when we were actually awake. Well, turns out we have some pretty persistent and great friends out here. Moments later we started to hear a voice whisper "Bark...Berry." When we opened our door we saw Otter, Flatlander, Magma Orphan, Houdidni and Red Beard huddled outside of our tent. They were hungry and ready to eat breakfast. We really were glad they thought of us, so we quickly got ready and walked down to Cowboys with them for a greasy breakfast. We returned to our tent after breakfast to rest a little longer and begin to clean up a little and get our gear ready to visit the vendors down at Tent City. Around 9 o'clock we started walking to tent city and by the time we got there the vendors we needed to speak with (Leki and Granite Gear) were ready to help us out. Over the past few weeks I had noticed that my hip belt was too big and the weight from my pack was really causing my back and shoulders to hurt. Bark had a busted treking pole and as much as we use those, we knew we better have them fix it. The vendors did a great job of servicing our gear- our poles are being cleaned and fixed and they traded out my hip belt for a new one.A lot of hikers are tented down at Tent City ready for the party and celebration of Trail Days. We met Gorganzola and Denali at tent city just as we were leaving for lunch. They decided to join us and we walked to pizza plus for the lunch buffet, umm good! A few events were going on today in town, but Bark and I were excited about only one- the eating contest. The contestants (including our friend Otter) could choose either hot dogs or half of a sheet cake. It was pretty impressive to see what some hungry hikers could do to those two options. Right after the eating contest was over and winners were crowned, Bark and I took off with our gear and found our ride to Abington to check in to our hotel. We were really anticipating Craig and Suzy's arrival and we couldn't wait to get in and see them. We made it in around 3:30 and had a few hours to catch up on our journals and a little reading. We finished just in time and soon enough we were hanging out with Craig and Suzy and their daughter Tabitha. They treated us to dinner at Cracker Barrel and we had a great time catching up on times on and off the trail.
Date: 2009-05-15
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We were up and in line at the ALDHA/ATC tent this morning at 7:30am. We had breakfast with Craig and Suzy before getting in line for the sign-up to do trail maintenence on Sunday and Monday. We did get signed up along with many of our frineds and we are excited for the opportunity considering that only 50 slots were available. By 9am all the vendors were at the town park and we had a good time looking around, seeing the latest gear and sampling the latest trail foods. Everyone is here and there is a lot of excitement. It's kind of like a fair for hikers. We spent most of the morning just looking around and talking with different people that we have met since beginning the trail. We managed to find a free lunch at the Rock School..it was like a giant class reunion for past and present hikers. After lunch we walked to the tech support area and picked up our poles. Leki completely serviced our trekking poles, complete with new parts and all. The afternoon looked a lot like our morning, just walking around talking with everyone, seeing the sights and experiencing traildays. Morning Glory and Sparky drove into town later that afternoon and we helped them find a tent spot in someones front yard ,then they joined us for dinner in another town, Abingdon. We ate at a historic restaurant called "The Tavern" in celebration of Hercules' birthday. Wow!! It's been a long, full day and we are very tired. Off to bed now..
Date: 2009-05-16
From: Damascus, VA 

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well, even though the weather was predicted as stormy and wet, we enjoyed another beautiful day in Damascus at Trail Days. Bark and I headed into town today with Clay, Branch and Vapor around 8:00 and were able to get our resupply, laundry and bounce box all finished by 10am! We had been looking forward to seeing a photography exhibit by Harvest (hiker class of '08) which was being displayed across from Tent City. We all made our way down to her display and were so motivated by her photos. The display takes you on her hike from the top of Springer to the top of Katadhin and everything in between. It made me very excited for whats ahead and ready to get back on the trail. For lunch we met with Sparky, Flatlander, Morning Glory and Otter at Quincy's and enjoyed a great meal before we all went out separate ways. We will see Otter and Flatlander in the morning when we all meet up for Kencora Hardcore (Trail Maintenance Team), but we probably won't be seeing Sparky or Morning Glory for quite sometime. After lunch we headed back to Clay and Branch's van to catch a ride back to our hotel in Abingdon. Even though there were quite a few events left in the day, Bark and I knew it would be best if we headed back to the hotel and got some much needed rest before we started with the work crew tomorrow. It's easy sometimes to get wrapped up in all the business of town and resupply and visiting with every hiker you see on the streets, but sometimes the best thing we can do is be alone and get recharged for what is to come. I've enjoyed the alone time with Bark- it has been such a recharge to be with my best friend just relaxing in the room together. We will get organized later and put together our food bags and packs for the coming days of hard work with Hardcore and the hike to come over the Grayson Highlands (there's wild ponies!). Tonight its a movie on TV and an early bedtime...
Date: 2009-05-18
From: Hampton, TN 

To: Roan Highlands 
Miles today: 0.0

Berry and I headed out with everybody from Braemeer Hostel around 8:30am. We drove up to Carver's Gap. For those of you who don't remember, Carver's is where Berry and I got off the trail after we spent that crazy night on top of Roan mountain being sick. Awwhhh...it was great to be back- this time feeling good and with sunshine all around. The weather was quite chilly this morning with a good bit of wind. All the volunteers grabbed their tools and we headed out. We walked with Denali and Gorganzola for most of the trek, taking pictures along the way. It was nice to actually see what the area looked like just after Carver's becasue when we last did this section we were in cloud cover with only 30-40 ft visibility. Our section of trail was 2.7 miles from Carver's. We arrived there before 10:30 and immediately went to work. Berry moved down the mountain to help out in other areas while I teamed up with Otter and Red Beard to do some rock work and trench digging. While making the new trail we uncovered a slow spring which made everything slushy. We spent most of the morning channeling the water flow and building rock paved foot-paths so there wouldn't be any slippery spots. Berry came up and joined us for lunch and then afterward I walked down to the bottom of the mountain to join her, Gorganzola, Denali, and Joe the supervisor. They had a very difficult section of trail to build. We all pitched in to build rock steps, axe down roots and get rid of a dead tree. The rock work was the hardest- all of the men maneuvering huge boulders and getting them in perfect place. It took us all afternoon but we finally got it done! Another section of new trail complete! We picked up our tools and headed back for Carver's...taking our time and goofing off with the others. Suddenly, Berry realizes she left her jacket 2 miles back. This was a perfect time to exercise my unconditional love and "husbandly" duties to Berry. So, with much joy, I ran back to get it. The plus side was that I passed Otter going back and had a chance to catch up with him after I found the jacket and we had a good talk. I finally got back to Carver's and met Berry and the rest of the crew and we shuttled to Kincora for dinner. Baltimore Jack and a couple of late rising hikers who missed the shuttle this morning had been preparing for the 100+ hikers and cooked us a great meal. Things were a bit crazy trying to iron out the details for getting a ride back. Most people didn't leave Kincora till after dark. We finally found out our ride situation for getting back to the trail tomorrow. Now we are all set at Braemeer and ready to get some sleep. It's really neat having the opportunity to contribute our efforts on the trail, as well as learn something new.
Date: 2009-05-19
From: Elk Garden/ VA 600

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

First day back on the trail has been spectacular. We started out by waking up at Braemer Hostel in Hampton TN. Soon, thanks to Farmer, we were back in Damascus ready to run a few errands before hitting the trail at Elk Garden.While in Damascus Bark made the final decision to get rid of his current shoes and find some new ones. He was having a rough time with his ankles and thankfully found a new pair of Kaylands that added some support. And, of course, before leaving town we headed to grab a good meal in town since our shuttle wasn't leaving until 1:30. We ate and headed back to Sundawg Outfitters just in time to catch our ride up to our last spot on the trail. We got up to Elk Garden around 2:30 and were pretty anxious to start hiking- it had been a while. As soon as we started we found ourselves hiking up the beginning of the Grayson Highlands- hilly, rocky, wide open and covered with cattle. Ha Ha! !t was really fun to look out and see all these lazy cows laying around enjoying the cool sunny weather. We walked right by one and when we attempted to pet it and it started to shake its head at us, we decided to move on. Besides the incredible scenery of the Highlands, the hiking was pretty smooth and the best part was about halfway through the hike. We made it to Thomas Knob Shelter and there they were- several wild ponies hanging out around the shelter! They were all licking hiker's packs, arms, legs and hands looking for crumbs and getting the salt off our things. One pony was a little pushy and ended up getting a piece of Bark's Payday candybar and a few licks on his arm. We walked out behind the shelter and grabbed some great pics of other wild ponies just grazing in the fields. By far, this has been the most beautiful section of trail (in my opinion). Well, we made it over several rocky tops and through some huge boulder fields and on through the trees to Wise Shelter where we met back up with Chatter, Gorgonzola and Denali. I walked with Denali to grab some water from a stream that was south on the trail while Gorg and Bark set up the tents. We had a great night making dinner with our friends and just hanging out. It felt great to be back out on the trail after so long in town. (I never thought I would say that). Temps are getting cooler tonight and Bark and I are hoping we won't be too cold in our new summer sleeping bags.
Date: 2009-05-20
From: Wise Shelter

To: Dickey Gap
Miles today: 16.1

Since Bark and I decided to switch out our winter sleeping bags to summer (lighter) sleeping bags, we had been crossing our fingers for warmer temps. Well, last night we were put to the test. We set up camp with Gorgonzola and Denali and by midnight Bark was climbing out of the tent and pulling our Tyvek from underneath us so he could wrap himself inside of it like a burrito. The whole night was really pretty funny now that I think back on it all. Bark was pretty cold, but I was alright and got some good sleep. This morning since the sun had come out, Bark brought the Tyvek and his sleeping bag out into the grass and sunned himself like cold lizard. He caught a quick nap and then we got packed up to hike. We started our hike around 9:30 am and pretty soon we hit some beautiful wide open spaces. The trail overlooked so many different areas- the terrain has been very different so far in VA and we are enjoying it so much! We hiked right through a horse corral area called "The Scales" and could see forever. We hiked most of the day alone, not seeing too many other hikers until late in the afternoon. We made to the last shelter sign and met a hiker named Dream Catcher. She told us it was only another 5 miles to the road into Troutdale and she was planning to stay at the Troutdale Baptist Hostel. That morning we had planned to camp out with Gorg, Denali and Chatter at a campsite about 2 miles south of that road. The hostel sounded like such a great option, we wrote a note for our friends, stuck it under a rock and hit the trail headed for the hostel. Once we made it to the road a friendly passerby and former member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy pulled right up and asked if we needed a ride. We made it to the hostel, set down our bags and made it back to Jerry's Kitchen and supply for a dinner of burgers and ice cream. There was a small store attached and it was perfect for a quick resupply. It turns out that Denali and Gorg and Chatter found our note and made it to Troutdale as well. The hostel was great- a small bunkhouse, great showers and beautiful tent spots on the top of a grassy hill. It was a beautiful sunset over the hills. Bark and I headed to bed after planning and journaling for a little while- we were thankful for a bunk and warmer sleeping conditions.
Date: 2009-05-21
From: Dickey Gap

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night the people in our bunk house didn't get much sleep. Around midnight a local day hiker came in drunk with his dog trying to find space on the floor. It quickly became a scene as some of the other hikers didn't take to well to him being there with his dog. After all, it was clearly posted that no animals were allowed. People were getting upset and even yelling but the drunk man kept making a scene and was unwilling to leave. Long story short-he finally did leave and someone locked the door behind him. I didn't get much sleep after that either due to the heavy amount of snoring going on...but all in all I was happy to be in there because it was another unusually cold night. Berry and I got off to a late start along with many other hikers waiting on a shuttle to the trail head. I think we started off today by 10:30. We were all out of sorts this morning due to the lack of sleep and not getting out on trail as early as we planned. We started our hike with prayer because if we were to continue it would be a bad day (mentally) for both of us. We continued to walk and pray for our friends and family for the first 2-3 miles. These times are some of my favorite and cherished moments on the trail- walking with Berry and talking to the Lord. We're learning to depend on Him more for the simplest things. Our day turned out to be lovely and we had plenty of sunshine and energy to make it through the day. We made it to partnership shelter by 4pm. Partnership is a beautiful shelter right next to a park service visitor center. Even better- they have showers there and you can order pizza (one of the only shelter on the A.T. where that's possible) !!! We didn't order pizza because we didn't have to. Some thru-hiker alumni's brought pizza's and soda to the shelter- perfect! Berry and I rinsed off and spent the rest of the night talking with everybody. We are sleeping on the top floor of the shelter, next to Gorg, Denali and Chatter. The Shelter might get a little crazy tonight.... lot's of people here. Some hikers brought several cases of beer and liquor- could be a bad night. Berry and I stepped away from the crowd for about an hour tonight and enjoyed a small picnic in the front lawn of the visitor center. We've enjoyed meeting some new people at the shelter. It's nearly dark now and we're hunkered down in the shelter reading and journaling.
Date: 2009-05-22
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Campsite/ Stream
Miles today: 17.8

It was crazy last night, indeed! I won't into the details, but I will let you know that we woke up at 1 am to the police arriving at the shelter to haul away a few roudy and drunk hikers. It was a sleepless night and we were ready to move out early in the morning. Today's stretch of hiking was fairly rocky with some steep ascents. We walked 12 miles into Atkins, VA. We arrived by 1 pm with empty food sacks. We resupplied at the Atkins local gas station- not exactly the healthiest resupply, but it did the job. After our resupply we joined other hikers at the "Red Barn Restaurant" for some delicious BBQ pork sandwiches. It made our day! All in all it was about a 3 hr stop between the gas station, the restaurant and another convenience store that had internet for hikers. We pressed on another 6 miles with some big ups. We were both pretty tired when we arrived by a stream and campsite in the evening. It was nice to be in our tent again- home sweet home.Honey Do, Magic and Arriba were camping close by as well. After a previously rough night, we were ready to sleep.