morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-07
From: kincora Hiker Hostel

To: Wilbur Road Stealth campsite
Miles today: 13.3

Morning started early at Kincora, there were 5 of us in the upstairs bunkroom - Tucson, Coed, Shimmy, Freebyrd, and myself. Downstairs somewhere were T-storm, Prefontaine, Tumbles, and Putt Putt; plus a few others I hadn't met. It was going to be a long day because the Watauga Lake Shelter was closed due to bears in the area, so we had to get past the bear closure area.The trail started easily, mostly downhill to Laurel Falls. Along the way the trail and hillsides were lined with blooming Azalea bushes, many growing out of the rocky hillsides. Laurel Falls was beautiful, and the azaleas on the rocky cliffs surrounding the falls made the scene all the more spectacular. The trail then followed the river for quite a way until it branched off with a side trail to the town of Hampton and the AT going up and over Pond Mountain. I met Prime Time, Night Hawk, and their dog Houdini Dog while getting water for the climb up up Pond Mountain.After a long 1800 foot climb I was finally over Pond Mountain, and then it was 1800 feet back down to Watauga Lake. Along the way I walked with Prime Time and Night Hawk and we got acquainted. At Watauga Lake we rested by the beach and watched the locals picnic and swim. I finally noticed a cooler on picnic table and saw a sign that it was Trail Magic! There wasn't much left but I got a Gatorade and some donuts and it was most appreciated!! Thanks Trail Angel!We then started around the lake and through the bear closure area. Having Houdini dog with us was a comfort, at least psychologically, if there were bears in the area. The trail followed the lake shore most of the way until we came to the dam. We never did see any signs of bears.Crossing the dam the skies started growing darker and more threatening. Thunder could be heard in the distance, and I could see several hikers across the dam putting on their rain gear. I continued up the dam road when the skies opened up, and I dashed under some trees and put on my rain jacket and pack cover. I stayed dry for a few minutes and then started getting soaked. I stayed in the trees while it was still thundering and lightning. Electric Bulb came trudging up the road and was soaked to the skin, "Well this sucks", he declared.We continued up and the trail left the road and into the forest. Prime Time and Night Hawk had pitched their tent at the first clear spot to escape the rain, and as I passed them I did my best bear growl imitation. I continued on and the rain started to let up, but there weren't many camping spots. I finally crossed Wilbur Rd, and there were a few tents set up in a clear spot, so I found a spot and pitched mine. Electric Bulb and I cooked our dinners under dripping trees and then headed in for the night.
Date: 2015-05-10
From: Stealth campsite Low Gap

To: Woodchuck Hostel Damascus, VA
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

The day started beautifully after a restless night. I decided that a good breakfast would be a good start to the day and it was only 2.7 miles into Shady Valley, so I headed down the road. I didn't get passed by any cars for a long time and had walked 1.5 miles before a mini van pulled over to give me a ride. The driver introduced himself as Woodchuck, a 2012 thru hiker, and owner of a hostel in Damascus. We got down into Shady Valley only to find out the restaurant was closed for Mother's Day, so Woodchuck kindly gave me a ride back up to the trail. I told him when I got to Damascus I would look him up for a place to stay.I started hiking back up to the ridge line and the profile seemed to be much worse than depicted in the trail guide. The entire day was a roller coaster with continuous ups and downs. I finally made Abingdon shelter for lunch and still had 10 miles to go. There was no water on this stretch of the trail so I tanked up as much as I could at the shelter and headed off. It was very hot and no breeze and the afternoon just dragged on. I finally reached the Virginia state line and was elated!! Goodbye Tennessee!!!With 4 miles left to go there were long and slow switchbacks that took us into Damascus. I arrived at Woodchuck and it was a nice looking two story house with tents and some out buildings in the back. He had a bed available for me so I grabbed it. I was exhausted and hungry so I took a wonderful shower and then walked into town for dinner. I bump Into Prefontaine and Jokes as they are going into the only restaurant in town that is open on Sunday evening, Bobo McFarlands. It's an Irish pub, without the pub- yet. They expect their beer license in 2 days. Dinner was excellent and it was good to catch up with a couple of other hikers. I explored town a little after dinner and then headed back to the hostel. Hikers were everywhere and I was glad I was able to secure a bed. I got an ice cream and a Gatorade and poured myself into bed. Happy Mother's Day.
Date: 2015-05-11
From: Woodchuck Hostel Damascus, VA

To: Woodchuck Hostel Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

I slept well in a real bed at Woodchuck, but still woke up early. Breakfast started around 6 am so I was the first one down there for fresh, hot waffles and orange juice; just heavenly! After I filled up on waffles I crawled back in bed and laid around, because I could.I did my laundry and sorted through my gear that morning, got myself organized with what I needed for the next leg and then walked north of town to the Pizza Plus for lunch. I met Hands and Mouth and Dingo there and we chowed down on the AYCE salad and pizza buffet. I did my grocery shopping after lunch and returned to the hostel. My feet were still suffering from blisters from the day before so I went over to the river and soaked them for a while. While I was walking along the river bank I came upon Queen Bee and BB sitting in the park charging their phones. They had just gotten into town and were planning to move on north shortly. We talked for a while and then I talked them into having people food before they returned to the trail so we went and had dinner at Bobo's, since it was the only thing in downtown that was open on Mondays.While we were eating dinner the thunderstorms rolled in and the skies let loose. They ended up deciding to wait out the rain in town and tented at Woodchuck for the night so they could get showers and waffles in the morning. An unintended Nearo for the girls, but maybe better than getting soaked on the trail in a thunderstorm.I went through my food and gear that evening and managed to pull 5 pounds out that I didn't think I would need and got my pack down to 37 pounds with a week's worth of food and a liter of water.   I was still a lot heavier than other thru hikers, but better than I was coming into town. I would mail a package of excess gear back home in the morning when I left town. The rest of the evening was spent enjoying wifi (although the free town wide Damascus Wifi was spotty at best, and once again there was no AT&T service) and reconnecting with family and the world. I only had one more week left on the trail and then it was back to real life, and it was time to start thinking about my post AT life once again. It was sad to think about leaving the trail so soon, but I was encouraged that when circumstances allow me to thru hike, I'll be able to keep up and still thoroughly enjoy trail life.
Date: 2015-05-12
From: Woodchuck Hostel Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

I sleep late this morning and eventually decide to make my way down for breakfast around 7am. There are a lot of hikers already eating and I squeeze into the table to enjoy a waffle breakfast. The talk around the table is of Trail Days coming up this weekend in Damascus. Trail Days is the big AT celebration that brings in thousands of hikers, past hikers, and spectators. The town of Damascus is the focus of the AT for the weekend of May 16th. Hikers already in Damascus are making plans to hike ahead and arrange rides back, or to slack pack ( day hike) the AT so they don't lose time while waiting for Trail Days. And there are some that are just planning on taking a week of zeroes to enjoy a week of partying, and others still that are looking to escape the craziness and move through quickly.I do a final repack and bundle my stuff that I am mailing home, say a few goodbyes and leave Woodchuck. This is one of the finer hostels in the AT and I will highly recommend it to other hikers. Walking through town I check the log at Mt. Rogers Outfitters and see that Queen Bee and BB moved through earlier as well as Iron Jen and Muskrat were in town. I grab a roast beef sandwich at Subway for my trail lunch and head up the trail. The trail climbs 1000 feet up Iron Mountain and passes Saunders Shelter after about 4 miles. One of the nice surprises on this section of trail is that the Rhododendrums are starting to bloom along the trail. They are beautiful and are in various stages of flowering. After a series of ups and downs it descends to the Virginia Creeper Trail and follows a river for a bit. My blisters were pounding so I take advantage of the river to soak my feet and eat the rest of my sandwich for dinner. The trail leaves the river and winds through a series of streams and bottomlands before a final 500 foot climb up to Lost Mountain Shelter. Queen Bee and BB are there as are Dingo and other hikers. I set up my tent, crawl in and immediately fall asleep.
Date: 2015-01-18
To: Sunday morning
Miles today: 0.0

Here I open this journal for the first time. It's pages are electronic but I pretend I am opening a leather bound book. Like the grand adventure before me I do not know what will fill the pages. But I do know that I have a goal - to walk form Georgia to Maine in 6 months. I love to set goals, but it was not until I was nearly 30 that I came to understand and develop a goal setting skill. It is this skill that has allowed me to find my measure of success in life. (Well, that and the fact that I married the most wonderful person in the world.) Now setting and working on goals guides my life personally and professionally. I am not always successful. No, but I am successful enough to give myself a sense of pride and self worth and the courage to continue to set goals. At 60 years of age I am fortunate to have found and developed a career I love, raised 2 wonderful daughters, purchased a great home in a nice town by the ocean and watched my wife develop and advance on her own path. Life has gone well. Right now everything is ripe for a new adventure to begin.
Date: 2015-02-03
To: Blizzard 2015
Miles today: 0.0

We may all know this day as the blizzard of 2015. I don't know. Right now morning brakes and it is not even snowing. I have been organizing and reviewing my gear. Especially the small items like lighters, comb, eye drops. cord, sewing kit, etc. It's amazing what occurs. I lay it all out. Maybe pick something up, testing its weight and thinking how valuable it will be. I ruled out soap. Soap. Not because of weight, because I don't think I could achieve clean hands even with soap. I have been grocery shopping. Something I like to do anyway. I plan to get 1/4 - 1/3 of my food sent from home. The rest I'll buy on the way. Food from home will be of better quality. I'll get foods I want most before I go, put them in boxes and have them ready for Dianne to ship. I plan on starting out carrying about 6 days worth of food.This adventure really thrills me to the core. You see, at my core I am both a romantic and a realist. Walking the trail through a spring forest looking up at white clouds in the blue sky thrills my soft core. Meticulously selecting the right equipment and food and maintaining the constant physical and mental effort to complete the journey thrills my hard core.
Date: 2015-02-15
To: Four weeks
Miles today: 0.0

The latest shipment of supplies arrived this week. These dehydrated meals may be the last of the supplies of food I will need to be sent to me. I am now starting to pack shipping boxes. I expect to receive 6-8 meals and other supplies every 3-4 weeks depending on how the need developes once on the trail. This week I signed up for the new voluntary AT Conservancy registration. This is a pilot program to gauge the success of a system to measure the number of thru-hikers on the trail. As the numbers grow so does overuse of resources along the trail, some fragile and sensitive. It's a simple fact and hard to avoid. I am pledged to keep my impact to a minimum, but I know that even using trekking poles increases the impact by poking holes everywhere and making small chips in the stone along the way. Where man goeth he seldom goeth light.I want to have one more 2 night trip before I leave to once again test the equipment and sample the weight of the full pack. I though it might be the weekend of February 21, but today the temperature forecast for that date is in the single digits. I don't want to go out in that. I would tolerate it on the trail but I'll avoid it if I can.Four weeks from today I will be on the trail. After that anything goes. Your guess is as good as mine. It can all change in the blink of an eye. You know - life, unscripted. Good grief.
Date: 2015-02-22
To: Trail name
Miles today: 0.0

I think I found a trail name.I've been of two minds about this. At first I wanted to receive my trail name from the trail. I wanted someone on the trail or something about the trail to tell me what my trail name should be. Then I heard that if you go on to the trail without a trail name, you may receive a trail name that you're not really going to like. It could be the less flattering kind or kind of a hazing trail name. I don't want to have a trail name like that. So I've been thinking about my trail name. There's a couple of names that have been suggested: Shamrock. I think that's a fine name but it reflects a heritage that, while I am closely associated with it, doesn't truly describe who I am. Then I thought of the name Sunfish. It's kind of a good name. I'm from the shore so Sun and fish are two things that might describe what goes on in my life and Sunfish pond is the first pond to be found on the Appalachian Trail when traveling from south to north and it's in New Jersey and I'm from New Jersey so I thought that Sunfish might be good name. And then yesterday I was headed out to Wharton State Forest where I've gone many times before to walk in the woods. My wife commented that she should start calling me Wharton I've gone there so much. And so the named was born. sticker off the back of one of my shirts and put it on my pack. Wharton State Forest is the largest forest in New Jersey, local, and part of the Pine Barrens. It's a great place to go if you want to get that real piney experience. Then suddenly it struck me that a good trail name could be Wharton. Wharton. I could be named after the forest. A place to hike and camp. WhARTon! It could be a good trail name for me and I also have a sticker on my backpack!Of course, there is also the famous and well respected Wharton school of business at UPenn - and you know how I mean business on this trip? ** Hiking 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'. Hiking 9 to 5, walking all day is a givin'. **
Date: 2015-03-07
To: What I'll miss
Miles today: 0.0

This is my last week before I start on the 6 month journey that will be my Appalachian Trail thru-hike. I am very excited and a little nervous. I have never been away form my wife for any extended period before. I love her and will miss her and though I know she is a smart capable woman I worry about her. I have never been away form my home for so long, I will miss it and summer at the shore. I have always kept my own lawn and garden, and done what chores I was capable of myself. This summer I will have to turn this over to contractors. I will miss caring for my home. I have worked for 30 plus years. Most of them as a physical therapist. I love my work, I will miss my friends and colleagues, and my patients who have trusted me with so much. I will miss seeing my children (something I already do as an empty nester), my relatives and friends. I will be gone for so long --- but I'm coming back. Back to my wife and home, back to my work and friends, back to my life. That's right. And this challenge that I am putting before me now will help make me a better husband, caregiver and friend - a better person. So wish me luck.
Date: 2015-03-15
To: The Last Day
Miles today: 0.0

I spent all day today at my brother Mark and his wife Carols house. There was a sudden change of seasons in South Carolina. All in one day bird pairs came out, ladybugs showed themselves, small sand lizards appeared and tree buds expanded. We all dressed in shirt sleeves and shorts. Standing in the sun you could feel the change of seasons on your skin. We shopped for my final necessities, walked, ate home made food and drank beer till after dark. I packed and repacked, trying to get the ideal arrangement for my final provisions. Alas, this required I send home a few belongings. Ready to go the final full pack weight is 35 lbs. We will get an early start in the morning. By noon I should be on the 8.5 mile accent to the trail head. Tonight is my last night before this adventure really begins
Date: 2015-03-19
To: Tenderfoot
Miles today: 0.0

The ascent from Amacolola Falls takes a toll on most. Eight point eight miles carrying more food, water and clothes than you really need. By the time I reached Springer Mt I wanted a nap. Day two was not much better. My appetite was poor and I napped at mid day for 2 hours. Day 3 was better. My body adapted to the demands of the hike. I ate better and felt better. The trail is pretty much as expected. Up and down 12 miles each day the past 2 days. I'm holding my own and have seen others do better - and worse. I've received trail magic 3 times already. More on that later. I am on a mid day break at Nells Gap outfitters where there is a hostel. At 1 pm is already filled for the night. Like many others I'll be moving on.
Date: 2015-03-22
To: Top of Georgia hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This is my first planned day off. I've covered about 75 miles the past week. A little under the 84 miles I've set as my pace. I have done 14 miles per day 2 of the 3 past days and 13 the other which I'm told is good for the first week. It is amazing to see how my body is changing. I feel stronger now. My aerobic capacity has improved. Where I needed to rest to catch my breath on long ascents, I can now maintain a slow but steady pace. My competitive nature is pleased that while I have been passed twice over the past 2 days going up hill I've passed ten or more myself.The hostel is a nice place with bunk beds for about 25 - 30. They do the laundry, cook breakfast, sell supplies and provide assistance including shuttles to town. I am sitting in an all you can eat buffet - stuffed. I'll do shopping then get the shuttle back.Thank you all so much for following along. Your support and encouragement means a lot.
Date: 2015-03-28
From: Top of Georgia hostel

To: Franklin and beyond
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Three days past TOG hostal I stopped in Franklin NC to have urgent dental work. I chipped my front tooth gripping my shirt zipper with my teeth. After,I took a near-o. A near-o is a near zero day on the tail. I stayed in another hostal over night and explored the town with other hikers. From there it was back to the AT. I have been making my daily mileage and meeting and remeeting other thru hikers. Last night it snowed. Luckily I was in a shelter for the first time. Myself and 5 young people survived the night like kids sleeping in the same bed. Right now I am in a restaurant at a gap that crosses the trail. I'm full and warm. That's a good thing. In 10 minutes I'll be back on my way.
Date: 2015-03-29
To: Beauty and Strength
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The other day I headed for my first shelter due to the low temperatures in the teens. I shared a platform with 6 others. In the morning there was snow on the ground. I packed up and headed the one mile to Nantahala Outdoor Center a large complex set in the mountains. The AT passed right through their property so many stop for food. After a big breakfast. I started a 6.5 mile ascent through the most beautiful snow covered trails. I have developed a good aerobic hiking pace and feel strong of limb and spirit. The cold morning air, constant movement and mental focus made this portion of the trail my favorite to date.
Date: 2015-04-01
To: Fontana Dam and the end of the AT
Miles today: 0.0

APRIL FOOLS ! I have spent the last two days in this recreational area in the southern Smoky Mountains visiting with my brother Mark and Carol who live in state. The area is known for its curvy twisting roads up and down the mountains. Called the Tail of the Dragon one road has more than 300 turns in 11 miles. The road is used by sports car drivers motorcyclist and bicyclist. They ride up and down these torturous roads at speeds that would scare the pants off most people.Now fully resupplyed I will be heading back onto the trail to complete the 7 day trek across the Smoky Mountains. I'm ready to continue my journey.
Date: 2015-04-05
To: Enter the Smokies
Miles today: 0.0

The Smoky Mountains represents an important milestone for hikers. Here the rules change. Unless a shelter is full all hikers must sleep inside. Ten, twelve or more people bunk down on two levels of platforms. Young and old, boy and girl, nosy sleepers and those with ear plugs. A fire place provides some warmth. Bed time is any time after 8 pm. Hiker midnight is 9 o'clock. Before falling asleep jokes, riddles and stories are passed around. Plans for tomorrow are reviewed. Sleeping temps are in the teens to mid 30's. Tossing and turning all night is common, but dreams come often. When the bathroom calls late at night you have the brisk air and the sky to explore.
Date: 2015-04-10
To: Zero
Miles today: 0.0

Today is a zero day. I am in Hot Springs, NC. The flowering trees are in full bloom and new leaves are on the trees. I am staying at the Laughing Heart hostel. A collection of hikers and hiker fans who come and go all day and party all night. I am nursing an Achilles tendon irritation. For more than 24 hours I have been taking ibuprofen and icing, stretching and massage. I had been keeping up with a peer who was just a bit to fast for me for about 5 days. Now I am hoping I will recover by tomorrow because I will be going up and trying for 14 miles. Just a little hiker drama.
Date: 2015-04-11
To: Slackpacking
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Some people never leave Hot Springs. Worried about my ankle I thought might stay another night myself. Another option was slackpacking. Slackpacking is waking the trail without your full pack. This is possible when someone drives your pack some distance away and you pick it up along the trail, usually at a hostel or other location. To me this seemed like a good idea to ease into hiking again. So Preacher and Rain Man, two section hikers, took Ukalady, Chameleon, Leapfrog and my pack 17 miles north and we all walked with only day packs. What a pleasure to speed up hills, maneuver around tree falls and move without the 30 pounds on my back. It helped my ankle too. Now I'm back to full pack and heading to the Greasy Creek hostel Thursday.