morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-05-28
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter 

To: Dickey Gap / VA 650
Miles today: 3.5

SP HATES hiking in the rain, so we decided to get out of camp early and hike to a hostel before the rains started. We hustled to the gap, and successfully hitched a ride into the Troutdale Baptist hostel which for the low low price of $10 suggested donation was about what you would expect. Extremely bare bones, like a very low budget version of camp. However they had showers with nice hair products specifically for curly hair! A first on the trail and my hair really welcomed the moisture after weeks of Suave and VO5 stripping my hair of any bounce and shine I had. Post shower we hitched a ride from a churchgoer to resupply at the competing hostel (it wasn¢t nice either but had a sauna! They charged $12 a sauna sit which sorely tempted me¢¦) and then walk back. The town had a population of 126 souls so it wasn¢t a very far walk. The rest of the day was pretty languid, or limpid would be a better word, with laying around reading, napping, eating, being bored with the other hikers (and 2 Australians bikepacking America).  Someone brought us burger fixings, which was nice and a hiker grilled them (read, cooked them into charcoal) for us while we stood around shivering in the pavilion as the rain fell. Today was pretty meh, but it¢s only a day. I¢ve never had a moment in the trail where I wanted to quit the hike, despite weather or aches and pains. It¢s a vacation and a privilege, and every day has been a blast with experiencing new things and meeting new people. We get so stuck in our routines in adulthood that it¢s nice to return to the spontaneity and magic of having unstructured time.
Date: 2023-05-29
From: Dickey Gap / VA 650

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 15.5

This morning we saw a friend (who definitely did not stay at the hostel last night) poking their head through the window looking for food that their grandparents dropped off, which wasn¢t there. If you leave an unlabeled bag of food around, hikers are going to eat it because we¢re all just feral trash raccoons.The morning was spent sitting around being lazy and waiting for the rain to stop, and eavesdropping on a big fight between hikers on the porch. They apologized for the commotion, but secretly we had been eavesdropping for entertainment since there was nothing to do °¤·¢¢  . At 10:30am the boredom was so great we decided to just go hike, and we can stop at the first shelter if needed. We walked back towards the trailhead and successfully got a hitch after a mile. I¢ve noticed that small town residents are much kinder with giving a hitch versus out of towners who just speed by. Once on trail we booked it, averaging about 3mph which is crazy for me especially with a pack on. I hadn¢t hiked this fast since the time I had to go, and sprinted to the next shelter and that was only for an hour! This was for the entire day¢s hike. We hiked to Partnership shelter, buoyed by visions of ordering pizza to the shelter. However once we got there, we were disappointed to hear that Pizza Hut no longer delivered there which was one of the shelter¢s pros besides its showers and proximity to a proper visitor center with ~bathrooms and power outlets~. However an enterprising hiker found a shuttle to town, and brought back 10 pizzas that we all promptly devoured. Post dinner some of us played BS while others hung out around the bonfire, and it felt like a perfect pizza party.
Date: 2023-05-30
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Marion VA
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day! The shuttle to Marion came at 8:45am so I got to sleep in a little bit until the breakfast chatter at the table got too animated for me to properly ignore.We all unloaded at the outfitters, which was closed for another hour so we decamped next door at the Sisters cafe where I ordered an a§a­ bowl and my iced coffee. The a§a­ bowl had so many nutrients that I could just feel my body shutting down from the healthfulness after weeks of freeze dried food and other garbage I¢ve been shoveling in to meet my calorie needs (staggering amounts). It was so nice to sit in a cafe, have my silly little iced drink, and just veg out. A group of women were next to us and one introduced herself and the table as a monthly get-together of retired local teachers and told us that they hoped we had a nice time in Marion. Truly folks are so welcoming, and go out of their way to talk to hikers even though we¢re filthy and have horrifying table manners. After leisurely dining, we rolled off next door to the outfitter where I got brand new kicks! My shoes were shockingly in great condition (everyone else¢s shoes were shredded, peeling, ripped tread while mine just looked dirty) but I wanted to size up for the sake of my toes. I got an emerald green color I didn¢t love, but it¢s growing on me. We checked into the hostel, got lunch at the Wooden Pickle (a nice youth pastor we talked to in Damascus recommended it), and did resupply. For dinner we met up with the rest of the hikers in the hostel and got Mexican and the long-desired pi±a coladas. Strangely they offered us free oysters, and as we were in a landlocked area I politely declined but everyone else who had them seemed to be okay. After dinner we saw a lovely double rainbow on our way back to the hostel, and of course had to document it extensively. I tried looking for the third rainbow below the ¢prime¢ rainbow but it was too faint to be seen.
Date: 2023-05-31
From: Marion VA

To: VA 615 / Settlers Museum
Miles today: 8.9

Today was fairly uneventful. However at the end of the day we saw the Settlers Museum, which was awesome to walk around the grounds and peek in various exhibition sheds (and operate the working water pump!), but sadly we had just missed the caretaker who could have given us a tour of the grounds. We tented at the pavilion with Hairball, and there was a bathroom nearby so I was able to put my bear can inside and Hairball did her bear hang off a stall door hook, which was hilarious. After night fell, we walked to the field behind the pavilion to watch the fireflies glow and sparkle. There were so many, so much more than I saw growing up, and it felt like we were in a sea of bioluminescence. We also gazed at the sky and tried to find constellations, but got thrown off by the Big Dipper¢s rotation compared to where we all live normally.
Date: 2023-06-01
From: VA 615 / Settlers Museum

To: Quarter Way Inn
Miles today: 12.8

The goal today was to make it to Bear Garden and then try their cakewalk challenge, which is to hike a marathon and then the hostel owners would bake you a chocolate cake as celebration. This was not to be however, as we went super slowly as SP¢s allergies threw him for a loop, which is saying it nicely because there was literally rivers of snot running down his face the entire day. We stopped at a gas station to buy allergy meds and try to rehydrate, as every time he drank water his nose would just run again making him dehydrated. So we ended up spending an hour and a half sitting in front of the gas station eating food, being limpid, and him trying to drink Body Armor and sadly blowing his nose. This is the first time I felt like this is what ¢hiker trash¢ is being like, just chilling on a gas station sidewalk.We meandered slowly onwards (I really wanted to ZOOM but didn¢t want to abandon SP to his snotty nose), and ran into our friend Colossus chilling out at a camp site when we stopped to refill water. While refilling my bottle I noticed the treads on SP¢s boots were falling off, only days after he got a new pair, so of course this necessitated some power Googling and calling REI for a new pair to be mailed further up trail. And then of course this meant adjusting the hiking schedule, which also took time. Today was not meant to be a ZOOM day for me it seemed. Post all this, we hiked further on and saw Viking for the first time since the Smokies and chatted with him while refilling water again (and at this point Colossus had caught up with us and was lazily making dinner - the theme for everyone on trail today was chilling out it seems). Instead of Bear Garden we decided to get off at the Quarter Way Inn, which was reached by walking down a quiet road winding along the tall grass fields.I am so glad we did the change of plans as this became my favorite hostel so far on the AT. The hostel has no service or wifi, with only VHS tapes, books, and hammocks to occupy your time with. It felt like being a kid in the 90s again, and the hostel owner Tina was awesome - a great hostess, no nonsense but genuinely warm. The afternoon light was this spectacular gold that bathed everything in a glow, including the cows hanging out across the road. I put on the Princess Bride after dinner in the den, and everyone gathered to watch it and it was so lovely. It felt like being home versus being at a hostel.
Date: 2023-06-03
From: Quarter Way Inn

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 8.1

Yesterday ended up being a zero as we went back to Marion so SP could get better allergy meds, and I decided to see a physical therapist to get my knee looked at to make sure it wasn¢t a serious issue (inflamed but nothing trail ending thankfully, knock on wood). I took a languid nap in a hammock chair under the massive tree outside, and then sat in a rocking chair watching the cows do whatever mysterious bovine impulses that move them. I will say the breakfast here is amazing, while smaller quantity than Mountain Harbor I would say better quality. Yesterday I had this amazing almost-caramelized twice-baked cornbread, parmesan grits, salsa, pumpkin muffins, quiche Lorraine, bacon, blueberry cobbler, and homemade apple butter and honey. Today was delicious as well and included cinnamon rolls. I was aiming to leave at 10, but got caught up talking to Colossus about his life story while we put our feet up in the living room, and you know what? The trail isn¢t about rushing to Katahdin, it¢s about finding and savoring the little moments along the way you never would have otherwise in the front country. Before I left I got one of Tina¢s bead by bead trail necklaces (each bead symbolizes like 30-50 miles of trail, and is a fun way to track progress) and gave her a hug because she and her home were so wonderful. I would love to come back in the fall, but she¢s closed for the SOBO season. Once shoved off, the day was hot with a lot of meadow walks. We stopped for an early lunch at Knot Maul shelter, did the river crossing a lot of folks were talking about earlier (the bridge had washed out)  but the water was so manageable it wasn¢t even worth meriting a mention, and then heard thunder after. SP wanted to set up camp in case of thunderstorms, so we set up camp and made dinner. Of course the skies cleared up with no rain, but I didn¢t want to break down camp again and continue so we just had a short day of it and made a fire to amuse ourselves and pass the time.
Date: 2023-06-04
From: Stealth Camp

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 16.6

This morning a lot of people were making noise at the creek before 8am and I was cranky - these youths didn¢t understand it was still quiet time! I kid. It was hot and humid again today with a viciously long climb to start with (about 6 miles up). It was a fairly straightforward day, hiking, sitting for breaks, thirsty while going through yet another dry section, and manifesting trail magic which today was soda, oatmeal cream pies, and cosmic brownies (but apparently they had made hot dogs which we missed, Womp Womp). At the same gap was a big water cache, which was nice to see in a dry section. While refilling water from the cache it thundered again, but unlike yesterday we decided we to press on. So of course it rained, forcing me to unpack my entire bag to grab my rain clothes as I foolishly didn¢t have them accessible. We plodded along in the rain to the shelter, where Hamilton had started a fire going to dry his socks (I don¢t think they got very dry).
Date: 2023-06-05
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.2

I was not feeling it in the morning and just put music on and sprinted to the Brushy Mountain Grill - I had guessed ETA at my normal hiking speed to be around 2pm but we arrived before 12 (I really wanted that burger). We saw a friend who looked very happy, as her trailmance had been doing big miles to catch up with her and he had finally caught up. I dumped my gear outside, and ordered a griddled cheeseburger (grilled cheese hamburger), onion rings, apple pie, and two scoops of coffee ice cream in a waffle cone. While waiting for food, I went to talk to a hiking pair we leapfrog and they were surprised to see us as they thought we were long ahead of them (it seems a lot of folks think we hike faster than we actually do, but we¢ve also been slowed down by medical zeros). Lunch was served, and the two scoops of ice cream ended up being more like 4 scoops, which I topped w peanut m&ms and crushed sugar cone to make a sundae. Delicious, and a great way to catch up on my calorie deficit (I think lunch was easily 2500 calories). Post meal I was in a food coma, and sat watching a bunch of hikers we knew come in and order their own massive lunches. We tried to leave around 3, but then I tragically dropped my chicken tenders so I had to re-order it. After peeing for the 639202th time we were off only to find the end of trail magic, which was apparently 3 days. What remained was this 9 year old hiker Eggs hiking with her dad Bacon, and she had set up a little table with tic tac toe for $5 and card tricks for $2 and she hustled me! Can¢t start too young I guess, and the entertainment was worth the cash float. We hiked on, breaking for dinner at the 600 mile sign. The chicken tenders did not stand up to being packed out and were super dry¢¦ I tried to foist the last one off to SP but he didn¢t bite as they were not good lol. Post desiccated chicken tenders, we hiked some more and had to put on head lamps for night hiking (my first time night hiking!), and I looked at the glittery bugs reflecting back silently in the night. We hiked some more, and stumbled into camp around 9:15pm thirsty as hell. We got water, chugged it, set up camp, and passed out by 10. Today was notable for finally crossing the 20 mile in a day mark and we could¢ve done a full marathon if not for the 3.5 hour lunch but it was a hot day and a long dry section at the end.
Date: 2023-06-08
From: Weary Feet Hostel

To: Sugar Run Mountain
Miles today: 13.1

Yesterday morning on the 7th I walked down the stairs and felt a sharp pain in my knee, which made me go ¢nope¢ and decide to zero. Goldie was taking a shuttle to Pearisburg to rest for a few days, so we crashed her ride and enjoyed the culinary creations the town had to offer (chai! bbq! mexican! pi±a coladas!). This morning my knee felt better so we shuffled back, and it was a very pleasant hiking day compared to the last few days which were plagued with allergies, grumpiness, medical zeroes, etc. We chatted the day away, saw Dismal Falls which reminded me of a video game level, and stealth camped on top of a mountain to catch the sunset. A group of other hikers had the same thought, and we chatted with them while setting up camp. We made dinner at the cliff side rocks overlooking the view, and after dinner I stood and watched the sunset over the pretty blue mist-covered hills.
Date: 2023-06-09
From: Sugar Run Mountain

To: MacArthur Inn (Narrows VA)
Miles today: 14.0

Nothing interesting happened today but we hiked to the gap where Angel¢s Rest was, but they didn¢t have room left so the alternate was a historic hotel in a nearby town (one of those hotels that used to have famous people pass through, but then fell out of popularity). Apparently the town has the second oldest river in the world? I did not verify.I was able to convince the masseuse who was at Angel¢s Rest to come out to the hotel and work on my knee, and he whipped out a literal floor buffer as a massage gun. Which you know ended up being awesome for the large muscles, if not weird.
Date: 2023-06-10
From: MacArthur Inn (Narrows VA)

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 7.2

Apparently a breakfast of Bugles and chocolate milk gives you indigestion, who knew? It was a late start as we were waiting for our shuttle driver who had left to get breakfast but didn¢t bring his phone with him (I could hear it ring in the lobby when I called him), and we even looked in the town¢s restaurants trying to find him as the town was teeny tiny and there weren¢t many places to hide. When he came back and dropped us off, we saw trail maintainers! We thanked them for their service, alas they were servicing the nearby cemetery trail and not the AT.It was a hot humid day with yet another dry stretch (noticing a theme here in VA?) and we slogged up until lunch when we were able to refill by a gushy creek and make food thus lightening our immense food load (we started out with 4.5 days¢ food). Perked up, we hiked the remaining 2-3 miles to shelter (it had a bear box, critical for my excess food which wouldn¢t fit in my bear can). The shelter was set back in a meadow of tall grass, and quite beautiful - perfectly situated for viewing the sunset. Apparently it overlooked West Virginia as we were on the border between the two states. We were the first to arrive but the hiking group from Sugar Run Mountain showed up, as well as some other hikers. We sat around watching the sunset eating Kinder Buenos that someone had packed out. The sunset itself was a really pretty cool toned pink / purple blush combo - my favorite sunset palette, and lovely with the towns below lighting up for the night, twinkling like diamonds. I went to bed lulled by the firelight dancing on the shelter ceiling.
Date: 2023-06-11
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4

We got up and going on the early side today, leaving camp at 7:15 and refilling water since there was a, yep you guessed it, another dry stretch of 10 miles. What is this nonsense? We hiked, had late lunch at 1:45ish and pushed on as I thought there would be trail magic ahead - it was Sunday, there was a trailhead with a trash can, we had seen a bunch of day hikers today, but alas I was wrong (I was also wrong about a potential shortcut around a PUD which made us have to backtrack) so we sat in the parking lot and chilled out for a bit as it rained on us. Magic hiked by and SP commented that ¢she was the real tragic magic.¢. After that we hiked up the last 1.5 miles to shelter, and made dinner. I commented that it¢s funny that we would be willing to go dry stretches and be thirsty but we wouldn¢t tolerate being hungry, to which SP sagely said that ¢one was essential for being alive and the other was essential for hiking.¢
Date: 2023-06-11
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4

We got up and going on the early side today, leaving camp at 7:15 and refilling water since there was a, yep you guessed it, another dry stretch of 10 miles. What is this nonsense? We hiked, had late lunch at 1:45ish and pushed on as I thought there would be trail magic ahead - it was Sunday, there was a trailhead with a trash can, we had seen a bunch of day hikers today, but alas I was wrong (I was also wrong about a potential shortcut around a PUD which made us have to backtrack) so we sat in the parking lot and chilled out for a bit as it rained on us. Magic hiked by and Adam commented that ¢she was the real tragic magic.¢. After that we hiked up the last 1.5 miles to shelter, and made dinner. I commented that it¢s funny that we would be willing to go dry stretches and be thirsty but we wouldn¢t tolerate being hungry, to which SP sagely said that ¢one was essential for being alive and the other was essential for hiking.¢
Date: 2023-06-12
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: VA 613 / Mountain Lake Road 
Miles today: 3.6

This morning was rainy and gross, leading to a late start as SP hates hiking in the rain. So we left around 10ish, hours later than I like to. There were of course lots of rocks at the beginning tenderizing our knees and ankles, so when SP suggested getting off to a hostel I jumped at the chance. Sadly Angel¢s Rest was full so we went to 4 Pines Hostel, which was more of a party hostel that was based out of a massive parking bay. Not the most thrilling place but it didn¢t encourage lingering for sure. I saw the masseuse again here, and went for another round with the floor buffer cough massage. I had a moment making tea in silence where a hiker I¢ve never seen before went up to me and introduce himself and say he had just done 30 miles and this was his 30th day on the trail, and pointed to someone else and said that guy had done 34 miles and was amazingly fast. I rolled my eyes internally as this is exactly the type of energy I dislike on the trail, especially unsolicited! So I replied that this was my 29th day on the trail to which his eyes grew huge and he breathed out a ¢reallllly?¢ worshipfully. I told him I was kidding but I should have kept it going a little longer, that guy was ready to be my best friend.
Date: 2023-06-13
From: VA 613 / Mountain Lake Road 

To: VA 621
Miles today: 25.1

Today was the longest day yet, and I made the mistake of letting my ego win over common sense, going with someone else¢s timeline, as well feeling anxiety of separating from my hiking buddy, leading to a day that was likely past my left knee¢s comfortable limit.We decided to slackpack the missing miles between VA 613 and 4 Pines over 2 days, as SP was anxious to meet his cousin in Roanoke as the tentative plan was for the cousin to meet us for a weekend of hiking. I personally was dubious if this was going to happen as the cousin didn¢t confirm the plans yet and it was merely days away at this point, but it wasn¢t my plan to worry over. The morning started well enough despite getting dropped off an hour later than planned due to the shuttler somehow failing to notice us waiting for him, despite him walking past me twice that morning to make coffee. We made 12 miles by 1, and I wanted to rest but SP was anxious I was going too slowly to make pickup by dark as there was a lot of rocky downhills, which are murder on my knees. He ~strongly suggested~ that I bail out at the next road as I didn¢t have my headlamp with me (he didn¢t either but he felt he would be able to make pickup by dark). The problem is the doubt just made me annoyed, and one thing that fuels me athletically is spite lol. This was a foolish mistake, and a case of letting ego win over common sense, as my knee was hurting at this point requiring me to pop Advils much more frequently than usual. Powered by Advil and chewing gum, I insisted I could make it and steamed through the miles instead of remembering my mantra from the start ¢there¢s no ego in thru hiking.¢I even passed a friend I haven¢t seen since the Smokies, and was amazed to see him still on trail. I sprinted past him, apologizing that I really wanted to catch up with him but I was behind schedule, and motored up many many rocks and climbs. By the time the haze of annoyance and ego settled, I was on the ridge portion of the day. It¢s a shame I was hiking in such a state because today was really pretty and varied - it had meadows and butterflies, ridges and exposed rock ledge walk, the Eastern Continental Divide, etc. We ended up passing (I want to say) FIVE shelters which is nuts, and made it to the pickup by 8:03pm - 3 minutes past the latest SP was comfortable arriving at. So not bad. We hugged after finishing, went back to the hostel to shower and shovel meat loaf in our gullets, sit blankly for a bit, and then pass out. Fingers crossed for my knee!