morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-04-17
From: Little Brushy Mtn.

To: Va. 622
Miles today: 13.6

A very dewy morning ¢ I¢ll be carrying a wet tent for a while. Going downhill much of the morning, I met Seeker, Sparks & Stealth, Church-mouse, Math. I figured when I got to I-81, I could dry off some stuff while I met Susan & got breakfast. The restaurant was closed, so we went down to Adkins with not much better result. We got some gas, gave a NOBO hiker a ride back to the Trail, & started South across the railroad track [just missed a long train]. Susan walked I with me thru some scrubby woods ¢ not very pretty ¢ what you get when you let a pasture grow trees. After Susan turned back, I crossed a couple of creeks & ended up at the Settlers Museum. I was able to spread stuff out on the schoolhouse porch to dry & meanwhile cook a meal. Several section hikers [1 SOBO] passed while I was there. I tried to check to the rest of the museum, but it was closed on Mondays. As I walked the 2 miles to Chatfield Shelter, I met McDuck, JFK, Elf, Caboose [We'd met last year], Sasquatch, Papa Smurf. There were 3 guys at shelter, but they didn¢t include me in their conversation. The Trail had been following a creek for a while before & after the shelter, then reached the top of Glade Mtn & on over Brushy Mtn thru open woods. I met Prophet, Blaze, a woman & a man, Oz-Man, & then no-one for several miles. I decide to stop at Va 622, less than a mile before Partnership Shelter but had trouble finding a place to camp so close to the road. A lot of sinister-looking traffic on a gravel road at dusk! After a bit of confusion, Susan came & picked me up.
Date: 2023-04-18
From: Va. 622

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 10.7

Starting off where I left off, I met a NOBO, Irish, then just over a small hill to the visitors center where 3 hikers were in the parking lot. Susan had spent a little while inside & was ready to hike with me for awhile. I showed her the big shelter, which seems to have deteriorated since last time I came thru, & walked together for about a mile. This next section of Trail was very fast & easy the first time I came thru, in 2002 ¢ harder & slower ever since! Not much change in elevation all day. I stopped at one of the higher places, where there are some rocks to shield my burner from the wind & had a leisurely lunch, finishing more of my meal than usual, & talking with a couple of hikers who passed [tho most seemed in a big hurry]. In the course of the day, I met several with no name, KT & Flowers, 2-Shoes, Solo, K-2, Jinx, Jack O.A.T. [of all trades], Cornelius [Seattle], 3 in tents already, Burnt [NZ].Altho in general I feel I¢m building up my strength, I was ready to stop at Trimpi shelter. It¢s pretty small, with a nice fireplace, only 6 bunks, but I had it to myself, with several tenters in the vicinity. That was surprising after seeing so many people on the trail.
Date: 2023-04-19
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Va Rt 603
Miles today: 12.4

The tenters turned out to be Batter, Blue, 4-Lo, & 7-11. I tried to get going fairly early, but I¢m seldom the first out. 1000 feet up to High Point [not the same one as in Shenandoah N. P. ], then down to Dickey Gap, where I tried to invite Susan to meet me & walk in to Comers Creek Falls, which I consider one of the scenic spots on this part of the Trail. She wasn¢t interested this time. It¢s a sunny day, with very little shade at either Dickey Gap or Comers Creek. The falls is still pretty, but I left after a brief snack in the only shade I could find.    During the day, I met Girl-Scout, Spartacus, Shoelace [Peshtigo], Lookout, 2 day hikers, Tom, Ranch [NZ],   Basil. When I stopped for water at a creek with some shade, I got to talk with Destiny & Limited. Then it was up & over Hurricane Mtn, meeting Lexicon, Gripper, Overcharged, Bougedie, & ¢Good¢. I didn¢t visit Hurricane Mtn shelter [about half-way up] because it¢s a bit off the Trail. Several other people thought so too; they were already camped along the Trail near the blue-blaze turn-off. Going down the Mtn was pretty fast, but another hiker was much faster [keep me humble]. Fox Creek is another pretty place, just before Va 603. Susan went back & forth a few times but then picked me up. I got to see the new place we¢re staying in Damascus. Right on the main drag, across from a hostel, but it was quiet enough if we stayed in the back of the house.
Date: 2023-04-20
From: Va Rt 603

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 7.7

Got a good breakfast but not an early start. Susan walked with me up to Old Orchard shelter. Along the way, we met Hoot, Perfect-Timing, Melodious, Queue [London], Young Swede, ¢K¢, Groceries, & Lil Buddha [He¢s doing the Eastern Continental Divide Trail, so he¢s already gone a long ways]. After a brief rest, snack & conversation at Old Orchard shelter, I moved on up the Mtn. It¢s not very steep ¢ just a long ways. I got to the top where I had seen long-horn cattle last time [none today], but then the Trail goes down & around to get to the Scales & beyond. There were hikers along the way, including Copperhead, Aileron, 2 Bros.[Jap.], Spice-Cake [Dayton-Cin], Street-Sweeper, Lady & dad, & Roo [Aus]. And ponies! ¢¦ from the balds by the Scales & on. I found Salt Dealer & J.J. at the Wise shelter. It was still fairly early, but I didn¢t feel like pushing it to Thomas Knob [another 5 miles]. So I had a leisurely supper. My plan for tomorrow is to try to meet Susan near Massie Gap, if she can get into the park early enough.
Date: 2023-04-21
From: Wise Shelter

To: Va 600	Elk Garden	
Miles today: 9.3

The plan didn¢t work. Knowing Susan wouldn¢t be able to enter the park till 8:00 am, I tried to arrive at Massie Gap shortly after that, which I did. I had envisioned a parking lot close to the trail-head, but that turned out not to be true. Apparently, Susan could have entered the park sooner ¢ the gate wasn¢t closed ¢ but then it was very confusing where to go next, followed by a bit of a walk in. Without any cell service, we couldn¢t communicate. After waiting more than a half hour, I included she might be ahead of me; so I got back on the trail, looking back every chance I could.  This is very open country, few sizable trees, little shade, but lots of grass for the many ponies to eat. Along with the ponies, I met Old Goat, Granny-Gear, D.J., Frostie, Drive-Thru, Bluegrass, Little-Bear, as the Trail got rockier & higher. When I got to the last point at which I could look back long ways, I thought I saw Susan back 1/4 mile on a rock. I stopped, & after waiting a few minutes, I started back to see if I could meet her. Soon I met some hikers who told me that it was a man on that rock back there, but that they had met Susan near the last gate, where she had waited a while & was now heading back to Massie Gap. When she in determined, she can move pretty fast, so I probably wouldn¢t catch her, at least without using up a good bit of the day & a lot of energy.So, onward & upward, thru ¢Fatman Squeeze¢, & then some nice woods, where camping is apparently allowed [Some of this land is State Park, some is National Forest], finally to Thomas Knob Shelter, where I stopped to eat.This is a large, 2-story shelter with lots of big rocks in front of it, which is also very exposed to bad weather, at the highest elevation in the area. Hot & sunny today! It appeared that some people had abandoned various items of equipment in the shelter ¢ not so pleasant.As I prepared to leave, I spoke with Hope & Holler & later met Couch-to-Trail, Bart, Chatahoochee, Wrong-Way, Turtle & Pup, Jukebox & Wildflower, Indie, Stick-Shift, Mac-Check, Rod, Max.  It was pretty much downhill the rest of the afternoon.  I fell once & had to hunt for a suitable bandage.  Susan picked me up at Va 100, & we went back to Damascus.
Date: 2023-04-22
From: Va 600	Elk Garden	

To: Laurel Creek Bridge
Miles today: 10.1

This was a rather odd day, if only because there were so many people on the Trail ¢ on a rainy day, besides!We stopped on the way back last night, to see where I might end up that would be accessible by car.  We settled on the Laurel Creek bridge because I didn't think I could go another 10 miles, even slack-packing.  TThere were lots of people at the trailhead, apparently to support trail-runners or bikers or something. I hadn't gone very far before I met a trail-runner heading up the Mtn.  He explained that there were a bunch of people behind him, all running/walking in support of a charity.  And they were going uphill much more than I was!  Men & women, young & old, fit & seemingly not so fit ¢ they were all putting in a really good effort to provide some help.  It was hard to tell how many of the dozens of hikers met were thru-hikers, other than 2 NOBOs I met at Lost Mtn shelter [I still don't know how anyone can lose a Mtn].  By mid-afternoon the sun was shining, on a pleasant downhill along a creek, & I met very few people.The Trail crosses the gravel road [called Va 728] & the creek & then continues almost a half mile before it gets down to road level.  After trying to signal Susan from the bridge, I skidded down the slope under the trestle ... then found out she wasn't in the car waiting. Concluding that she must have walked down the road to meet the Trail; so I did the same, keeping watch up above on the rail-trail in case she was already returning up there. I spoke with a hru-hiker u there, who said he'd met her shortly before.  Sure enough, I found her just before I reached the Trail intersection, & we walked back on the road. That leaves 13.5 miles to go to Damascus.  I wish I could have gotten closer, but the next road crossing seemed to be another 8 miles! I'll catch up on that in the Fall.
Date: 2023-04-23
From: VA. 613 ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Mtn Lake Road

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 7.5

We left the AirBnB early to head back to finish the Trail section North of Pearisburg, stopping to go to church in Wytheville. Then we headed for Pearisburg to meet Don, to take me up Mtn Lake Road again. I'm finally catching on to the fact that there can be a different Va 613 in each county, usually a paved, minor county road, & that they can have other names too. The next road, Va 635, is a much better road, but it wasn't as close as I had thought:  5 miles!Anyway, it took much of the warm afternoon, over the fairly rocky Trail, with a few minor blow-downs to work on, meeting Gonzo, Smile, D.B., & Geo along the way.  There was a group of 5 from S.C. staying at Bailey Gap shelter, where I stopped to eat.  A NOBO thru-hiker ["the Chief"?] came thru, talking about the water source down the hill. I continued on, a warm, sunny afternoon, to cross the next road & then parallel it across the creek. This was where the controlled burn had been.  It went about 50 feet up the hill to the right, but didn't cross the Trail, apparently burning out some of the brush & leaf-litter. After 2 miles, the Trail connected with the road again.  Shortly after the end of the burn, the Trail went up briefly along a creek to the Pine Swamp Branch shelter.  Along the way, I met Shaggy & Ghost, then later, Mad Max, & there was one other occupant of the shelter tonight, a long-bearded man in his 70s named Prophet.
Date: 2023-04-24
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 12.5

The first order of business today was a pleasant walk along a creek & up to the ridge which the trail would follow the rest of the day.  Beginning early on, I met Hirish, Sasquatch, Sparks & Stealth, Boxer-Mom, Churchmouse, Dave-squared, Superior, Corrections-Bob, Math, Sunkist, Irish, Rosebottom.  Lots of people on the Trail today, including some I had met farther South.  Some of them told me about some goats on the Trail ahead.  They still caught me by surprise.  I saw 4-5 goats about 50 feet ahead, coming toward me. As I struggled to get my camera working, they walked right past me, leaving me feeling very incompetent, without any photo.This is a section of Trail where I enjoy the rock formations, especially lots of flat-top rocks, about 6-10 feet high.  On a previous trip, I had tried to figure out how to set up my tent on top of one, but I didn't have a really free-standing tent.  There are nice views all along, including many down into West Virginia.  The Trail follows the state line pretty closely along here.  A very nice day to hike.I wasn't going to make it to Pearisburg tonight ¢ I knew I'd need to stop at Rice Field shelter. The Trail got more open toward evening as I approached the shelter. Lots to hikers there, many already out on a point of land where thy could stay to watch the sunset.  Shelter was full, so I pitched my tent out behind it.  It had a nice log I could use for unpacking, cooking, & to sit on while attending a ZOOM City Council meeting. Good phone reception here.It was a nice sunset, along with a good view of the valley to the West.
Date: 2023-04-25
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Cross Avenue, Pearisburg
Miles today: 8.1

Up early, but as usual, not the first one out.  But it's almost all downhill [till the very end!]. Not such good views as last night, because of mist in the valleys, but that can be interesting too.At the first road crossing I met a couple of women hikers, also enjoying a nice trail thru the woods.  I soon found the first of several blow-downs that I could at least improve with my little saw.  Another was near the dump, just before Clendennin Road, & one more on the last hill down to the chemical plant.  A lot of this trail is on old roads; all of it is pretty easy.  The dump & the chemical plant aren't so great, but the rest is a lot nicer than the road-walk 15-20 years ago. The bridge over the New River also crosses the very busy railroads that run along it.  Then another little re-route avoids going thru some neighborhood streets to the Va.100 trailhead.  Since I started at Cross Avenue last year, I now had one more mile to go.  This last part of the Trail was uphill a bit on a rockier path along the edge of the cliff, with some nice views & a waterfall.  Susan met me after I'd gone halfway, & we walked back to the car together.Well, it was good to finally be done with this section [& nearly done with Virginia].  It's hard to believe it took me 7 days to do a piece that I thought I could do in 3-4.  I guess it just shows how weak I've gotten.  At least it feels good to now have all but the last dozen miles of Virginia done!We drove to a motel near Blacksburg, had a good meal at an Italian restaurant, then next day returned to Washington, D.C., to complete more of the touring we'd missed before.Maybe I can get back out here in September.  Meanwhile, I'll be doing some of Vermont with grandson Amanuel.
Date: 2023-05-09
From: U.S. 4 [Rutland - Killington]

To: Churchill Scott Shelter
Miles today: 1.9

Last May, I ended up in the hospital in Reading, Pennsylvania, & had to cancel on hiking with grandson Amanuel [beginning the next day!]. So I wanted to make that up by trying again this Spring. I decided on a week in Vermont, thinking it¢s more interesting & also easier logistically than PA & NJ. Instead of the complication & expense of having to work things out with shuttle operators, we can take a bus directly from the Albany airport to several cities along the AT.We arrived from Wisconsin & Ohio at almost the same time, got on the bus, stopped at the Albany bus terminal & then at the railroad station across the river, & continued on thru Bennington, Manchester, & finally to Rutland. It¢s an interesting place, with a downtown Walmart next to the railroad station, only a few blocks from the bus station. I left Amanuel with our stuff & hurried over to Walmart to buy fuel. When I got back, it was time to get the local bus toward Killington. We were dropped off at the trail-head at 4:45. Amanuel helped me figure out which direction to start out, & we headed up the hill.My legs felt good, but my pack felt heavy. I¢ve over-packed again. I had hoped to get to the second shelter tonight, but decided to stop at the first. Cooper Lodge is not a very nice place to arrive at in the dark ¢ even if you¢ve done it before. Churchill Scott shelter turned out to be not very hospitable either, when we found that two women had their tents set up in the shelter [cold night ahead]. Even Amanuel thought that was rude, but we just went ahead & set up our tent on the tent pad nearby. When I was fixing supper on the picnic table, I learned that the women, Sid & ¢Simon Trekker¢, were having trouble with their stove; so I helped fix that. Simon Trekker is a long-distance hiker, & Sid is accompanying her, but not sure how much longer. When we learned that they were from near Dayton, Ohio, we had even more to talk about: Amanuel just finished 2 years at the University of Dayton, & I lived in that area for 27 years.It was dark pretty soon, & we got right to bed.
Date: 2023-05-10
From: Churchill Scott Shelter

To: Governor Clement Shelter
Miles today: 8.8

Amanuel ended up having a pretty cold night. I had counted on his bringing a proper sleeping bag, but he was trying to get by with a fleece bag & a ¢space blanket¢. All I could do is suggest a few ways to make that work better ¢¦ & hope for warmer nights.After some oatmeal, we got started pretty quickly. The first part was pretty steep [1000 feet in 1.5 miles], then less so, thru a variety of surroundings: dry hardwoods gradually giving way to mostly evergreens. Otherwise, there wouldn¢t be any shade because the trees in the valleys have leafed out, while the ones up by us are still bare. I stopped to cut some branches across the Trail. I think that annoyed Amanuel bit. We met a hiker who told us [as had the women] that we would be walking thru snow on the Trail on the other side of the Mt. Killington.  But first we stopped for lunch at Cooper Lodge. I¢m still experimenting with my powdered food supplements ¢ it¢s been hard to figure out what kind of container to use for mixing & drinking. Shaking seems less effective that stirring with a spoon. We continued on [a nice sunny day] for an hour or so before we found the snow. It was up to 2 feet deep, in patches, not difficult, but slow to slog thru. Deep footprints from previous hikers were sometimes helpful, sometimes not. On a warm afternoon, it was mostly pretty soft, tho unpredictable. This continued off & on for a couple of miles [or so it seemed]. Hikers we met today included Raptor, Buck, & Space Cowboy.We reached Governor Clement shelter near the bottom of the Mtn. No one else there, while we had supper & got set up. This will be a warmer night. It¢s one of the oldest shelters on the Trail, made of stone, with a built-in fireplace [We didn¢t make a fire because I don¢t like breathing smoke while I sleep].
Date: 2023-05-11
From: Governor Clement Shelter

To: Minerva Hinchey Shelter
Miles today: 9.8

The posters around the shelter announced that there are 2 detours in the Trail ahead, because of difficult stream crossings. One is right away, down an old road. We went over to the river first, to see if the water was down a bit, so we could avoid detouring.It was moving pretty fast, & there seemed to be no suitable series of rocks to walk on. Amanuel wanted to explore upstream a bit, while I followed along. After we gave up, I slipped while climbing back up the bank. Only a few scratches, but somehow I dislocated a finger in the process. When we got back to the shelter, I had to have Amanuel pull on the end while I squeezed the joint back together. I was afraid that would gross him out, but he said they have to do that all the time in the soccer games he plays in. I wondered if it should be splinted. I felt comfortable enough with it wrapped around a hiking pole most of the day; so I left it that way.So we took the first detour, down an old road, to the next paved road. The second detour involved a less rapid stream, so we forded it. I changed to sandals & waded; Amanuel found rocks to jump across. Then he figured out that he had lost his hat some distance back. While I dried off my feet, he went back & found it. So he had 3 crossings of the stream, each time on a different set of rocks! A couple of NOBO hikers stopped to talk [Grasshopper & Mtn Man].  After few miles over the next hill, we stopped for lunch at Clarendon shelter. Soon after, we crossed Rt. 103 & scenic Clarendon Gorge & went up the next hill [where we could look down on the Rutland airport] to Minerva Hinchey shelter. There used to be 3 shelters in a row along here that were named after women [Lulu Tye is now gone], which points out how many women years ago were very active in building & growing the AT, lest we think women on the Trail is a recent phenomenon. There was one other occupant, a Long-Trail hiker studying engineering at the University of Vermont. Since Amanuel is studying engineering at Univ. of Dayton, they had lots to talk about [my experience in engineering was so long ago I didn¢t have whole lot to say].This was a warmer night, with a little rain that stopped before morning.
Date: 2023-05-12
From: Minerva Hinchey Shelter

To: Little Rock Pond Shelter
Miles today: 9.9

A beautiful day with lots of interesting sights. Up Bear Mtn, down to a highway, then up another Mtn. Pleasant woods & streams, then the place where people have spent years piling up towers of rocks. That¢s one of the features I had wanted to show Amanuel, but it turned out he wasn¢t much interested.  After getting to see a little bit of the pond, we stopped at Little Rock Pond shelter. It¢s one of the big newer shelters, with one occupant besides us ¢ a NOBO apparently going pretty fast. She was fun to talk to. A few other hikers camped near the shelter. No one there to collect the fee that Green Mtn Club charges for shelters like this. It took me a long time to eat my supper, but I finally got to bed.
Date: 2023-05-13
From: Little Rock Pond Shelter

To: Peru Peak Shelter
Miles today: 9.7

The first few miles along the lake were pretty level but a little rough in places because it¢s relatively new trail, re-located after beavers repeatedly flooded the old trail about 15 years ago. Nice views of a couple of rocky streams, then up Baker Peak. It¢s one of the best view-points on this part of the Trail, an extensive area of open ledges, a great place to sit awhile if it¢s not too windy.  Back into the woods, this was a premier day for seeing wild flowers. Painted Trillium seems to be the signature flower along here, but there are loads of red trillium & spring beauties, plus now all the trees are leafing out.We spent an hour or 2 walking on boardwalks along Griffith Lake, quite a large lake at relatively high altitude, then thru the woods a little to Peru Peak shelter, an unusually wide shelter with a very low roof. Two other hikers were in the shelter [leaving plenty of room], & one camped outside. He seemed to be a fast-moving Thur-hiker; the others were doing the Trail by sections, parking a car at each end. All were voluble talkers, & Amanuel engaged quite well with them. I couldn¢t get many words in ¢ I really had to concentrate on eating. Amanuel continued to volunteer to go fetch water for us to filter for tomorrow.