morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-26
From: Campsite @ Mile 454.0

To: Woodchuck's Hostel
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today we crossed into Virginia!! It's our 4th state and we will be here for 500 miles.  We got into Damascus, probably the most famous "trail town" for the AT since they host an event called Trail Days later in May. Very odd little town.  It used to be a mining/logging area, but now is completely dependent on tourism revenue from the AT and the Virginia Creeper Trail (an old railroad line that they tore out to make a bike trail.... pretty clever way to recover).  Lots of hostels, but 0 hotels/motels which is odd. Stayed at Woodchuck's hostel, which was fine and had a good breakfast, but the bunks were full (...rain...) when we got there, so we ended up paying to tent in the pavilion.  Given that, we decided to move out of town for our 0's as I'll describe in the next entries.  We went to Pizza Plus for an awesome buffet - even the meat-eaters were gorging on the fresh salad bar in bulk :)  Especially after they had just gone days on a McDonald's re-supply. Damascus is pretty famous on the trail, and for that reason it was honestly a bit underwhelming to see with not even a hotel in town. The other perspective is that towns like this wouldn't exist at all without the trail, so it's good to see our hiker community supporting other communities.
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Woodchuck's Hostel

To: Tentsite @ Mile 471.7
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: overcast clouds

We slowly got going, made some stops in town (post office, outfitter, Subway), and hiked less than a mile out of town to a campsite.  The idea being that between 3 of us, it was costing $42 per night to pitch tents outside a hostel and get breakfast and a shower, so we could save a lot on our 0 by tenting outside town.  This worked out great.  We had a short hike, took a nap, made a fire, and then we had 2 other tents join us eventually. Low-key day, and it was really nice to get out of town for our 0.This was also the day my friend Becca got her trail name - Flip Flop! We were hanging out at their tent, she was inside icing her shin splints, when she shouted "Flip Flop!" and pointed outside her tent to her flip flops for someone to hand her one. I slowly moved in that direction, but I was distracted by opening a beer or something else equally as important, so she proceeded to shout "Flip Flop...... FLIP FLOP!!!!" to the point where the 3rd time was an outright scream.  I threw her a flip flop, she swatted at something, and then explained "yeah... there was a tiny spider in here".  My response was something like "really? Because the way you were shouting I had thought a baby bear had made it in there..." Hence.... Flip Flop was born :)
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Tentsite @ Mile 471.7

To: Iron Mountain Trail
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: clear sky

Waking up, Flip Flop was still recovering from her shin splints, so we decided to take another easy day.  Caveman and I headed back to town since we were only 1/2 mile from Subway and a gas station.  We came back in with sandwiches and beer, and only hiked ~2 miles (but quite a lot of elevation) to get a bit further in and find a more private campsite to spend our day. We split off to the Iron Mountain Trail, a biking trail right next to the AT, and found a perfect campsite.  We were right on a ridge, so we got to see the whole beautiful sunset (with so many colors) on one side of us, and then the full moon rose brightly on the other side of us. We had a raging fire and PLENTY of wood for the first time - since we weren't directly on the AT, it hadn't been picked over. We had a raging fire all night and had a blast at our little private site.  Perfect way to spend another 0.
Date: 2018-04-29
From: Iron Mountain Trail

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Got moving forward again today after some very relaxing 0s.  We aimed for the first shelter, which was very low mileage, but this was good since it put us back in pace with some of our group, a lot of whom had taken a few days off to go hang at a friend's house in Boone, NC. Pretty uneventful day overall, just getting moving forward again, which feels good but is hard after 0s.
Date: 2018-04-30
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Tentsite @ Mile 499.2
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

The ponies!!!!!! The wild ponies of Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia are famous on the trail. For perspective, when registering in GA for my thru-hiker number, the advice they gave on winter gear was "once you've seen the ponies, you can send your thermals home" in response to me asking if I should send home gear after the Smokies.  Quick aside - probably great advice on a normal year.... but we're still having sub-32 nights in May in Virginia - now that I expected.  I'm sure every hiker year feels like this, but from what we've heard from locals at every town, this is a particularly cold and wet year compared to the last decade, and even the locals are ready for it to stop.So, back to the ponies.  What do I mean by ponies you may ask? Really - wild ponies!! See the picture here of the 5 ponies all hanging out and begging at the shelter when I arrived there.  My friends were also woken up one morning by a pony at the zipper of their tent. There are fences to make sure they don't get out to other sections, but there is a solid 10-mile section of the trail where you could have a pony next to you at any moment. Pretty hard to be stressed about hiking when there's a pretty pony there :)Solid hiking day, and I was very happy when my friends caught up. We camped a mile past the shelter and had a nice campfire in pony country.
Date: 2018-05-01
From: Tentsite @ Mile 499.2

To: Campsite @ Mile 511.9
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: clear sky

We crossed mile 500 today!! Really exciting milestone, and we're getting close to 25% (~Mile 540). Day was a bit distracting to be honest as plans changed.  We stopped a couple miles in to go down to a gap for a pit toilet, and ended up deciding to take a free shuttle to a general store/inn for lunch.  I put my bag up in a tree planning on it being there for 30 minutes, and then the 4 other people I was with decided to stay at the inn. I had to go back for my bag anyway, so I decided to keep hiking, but it took literally more than an hour to wrangle the shuttle back, which stressed me out since I had planned on leaving my bag for 30 minutes, which ended up being 4 hours. Everything was fine when I got back, and I started cranking miles to try and get close enough to extract to Marion tomorrow.  Ended up on my first totally alone night in the woods on the AT (obviously I've done this in CA....), which was a good experience to get through.  No bears that night, only a mouse :)
Date: 2018-05-02
From: Campsite @ Mile 511.9

To: Econolodge Marion
Miles today: 21.8

Made it out of the woods to get into Marion for a desperately needed hotel night - shower and bathtub laundry!  Really good to be in a hotel for the first time in weeks.  Had some really great Mexican food and then crashed early.  Looking forward to 0 tomorrow!
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Econolodge Marion

To: Econolodge Marion
Miles today: 0.0

Yay 0!! I'm at the library now. It's actually already been an interesting day to take the local bus to the library - yes both of these things do still exist.  The bus wound through the community, which was interesting because it did not go on the route Google Maps had for it, but instead went where the bus driver knew he needed to pick people up.... I was definitely the only non-local on the bus :) Good to be at a keyboard and catch up on all the trail journaling!!! Ping me if you have any questions about my journal or the trail - I'd love to hear from you out here!!
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Econolodge Marion

To: Econolodge Marion
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Did a second 0 in Marion to catch up on everything.  Also a nice coincidence that it was May 4th, Star Wars Day, so we had Star Wars to watch on TV all day.  We went to see Avengers Infinity Wars at the drive-in that night and it was a blast.
Date: 2018-05-05
From: Econolodge Marion

To: Campsite @ 546.8
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Got a hitch out of Marion from a nice woman who ended up being a hostel owner on the trail.  Long day.  Hiked through the most drenching downpour we¢ve had - nothing else to do but move forward and stay warm.  Passed an old schoolhouse where a local church constantly stocks trail magic and got a bunch of snacks, and even other things like q-tips and hand sanitizer.  Hiked past the highway and actually ended up getting some amazing Mexican food from a gas station restaurant.  Hiked back into the rain and got to set up in a brief rain break.
Date: 2018-05-06
From: Campsite @ 546.8

To: Possum Creek
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: light rain

The rains continued and are really kept our mileage down.  Stopped at a pavilion around 3 to get out of the rain, and ended up just camping alive to that.  Had a nice, small group of friends at the camp and got to have a fire all night long since the rains stopped once we stopped hiking.
Date: 2018-05-08
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter 

To: Laurel Creek
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: few clouds

Rain finally let up a bit, but still a chance.  There was a mile+ re-route to old AT where they were clearing major trees from the trail and a bridge.  At the bottom of the confusing route was amazing trail magic from the family of the volunteer workers.  We ended up deciding to stay at the campsite at the river given water, wood they provided us, and their generous trail magic.  I hit it 3 different times since they kept insisting I take food when I went back for more wood.  Good fire and camp group.
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Laurel Creek

To: Campsite @604.2
Miles today: 19.8

Finally got some real mileage in after the rain stopped.  Stopped at Brushy Mountain Outpost for a veggie burger and a milkshake, which was great.  Pushed hard after that and had a rough 10-mile section I chose to do on 1/2 a liter of water, which worked fine but took conservation.  Water is getting much sparser than the beginning of the trail.  Found a great campsite next to a little waterfall - camping next to running water is really nice for the noise.  Just the three of us, so a quiet night.
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Campsite @604.2

To: Wapiti Shelter 
Miles today: 13.4

Stopped at another gas station today for a pizza and got a bonus dose of racist slurs from the gentleman out front.  Short day carrying out some beer to the trail, ended up at a shelter.  Stayed up till 11 (2 hours later Han normal) listening to a bear wander around our food bags, but luckily he decided not to take any.  It¢s pretty scary hearing an animal that is hundreds of pounds wander around ~20 feet from your tent.
Date: 2018-05-11
From: Wapiti Shelter 

To: Motor Lodge Pearisburg
Miles today: 19.8

Got out super early after the bear kept me awake.  Did 20 miles to town and was in my motel by 3.  Easy day, last town before a long stretch and then my dad and wife both visit, so I¢ve been planning that.  Had some Mexican for lunch, then hung at the hotel doing laundry.  Had a blizzard from Dairy Queen, which I haven¢t had in a while.  Good day.
Date: 2018-06-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I wanted to put an entry in here letting everyone know that I will be on a hiatus from posting regular updates. I just haven¢t found time on the trail for these updates, and I wanted to let everyone know.  I¢ll try to put updates in here every few weeks, but it may just be after the trail before I really get this filled out. A few high-level updates since I last updated in Pearisburg:-I was at mile 640, now at 1,065.  I¢m in Maryland about to cross into Pennsylvania.-I had not actually seen a bear at my last entry, I¢ve literally now seen 11 bears, including a mama bear who roared at me defending her babies. Quite terrifying.-I survived the monotony of Shenandoah National Park. It was by far the most boring part of he whole trail - very poorly built and maintained trails, easy hills, constant road noise and tourist presence, and as best I can tell the only reason it is a national park instead of a county picnic area is its proximity to Washington, D.C. A lot of this has to do with a level of commercialization that makes Yosemite look like complete wilderness.-Rain.... so much rain.... we got the tail end of a tropical storm.  Another hiker counted 13 days in a row with rain, and I would believe it.-I¢ve had 3 key visitors - my wife, my dad, and my friend Mike. It has been good to see people and give them exposure to the trail, but it has also slowed down my mileage significantly. Great visits, but really looking forward to moving forward now with open-ended plans so I can make my own pace and planning going forward.If you are still reading this and have any interest in my journey, please do reach out in the mean time on email and check in as it¢s always good to hear from people out here. Would be great to know if people are still following me and any questions you have. I can¢t guarantee a timely response, but I will definitely get back to you.My love to all of you and thank you for the support so far.  This has been incredibly mentally and physically challenging, and knowthing that there are people out there thinking about me has helped a lot.
Date: 2018-07-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Mile 1567, 624 to goEDIT: I¢ve finally added some photos for the first time in a while, so go check it out!I wanted to leave a brief update here for anyone still checking in.  I will start by saying I was humbled to see all the comments left after my last post that people are still checking the journal.  Thank you for all of your kind thoughts.I am currently in Massachusetts, approaching Vermont, having completed 6 other states since my last entry. 11 states in, 3 to go. A few major events since my last check-in:-I hadn¢t actually crossed the 1/2 way mark last time. Now at 70% of mileage complete, but the hardest is yet to come.-Started solo hiking again. The group was amazing, but I just wanted to fully embrace the solo hiking experience.  I have enjoyed setting my own pace thoroughly.-Lost my glasses. Spent 2 weeks in my prescription sunglasses, an experience I¢d rather not try again.-Broke my tent pole. Never seen a tent failure quite this catastrophic. Mended it the next day in town, and got replacement poles quickly, but had a really tenuous setup for a while that luckily never endured a serious rain.-Went through a brutal heat wave. It is raining right now, but for two weeks recently it was so hot that hiking was a cardio strain and (more importantly) quality sleep was hard to come by. Everyone on the trail was a bit zombie-like for that period. The mosquitos also combine with the heat for a double-whammy.-Having tension in my left calf. This has always been an issue for me, but only cropped up on the trail recently. It has caused several zero days that I hadn¢t planned.-Overall having a good hike and getting great support on the above issues from the team back home. Will be honest that these last states are the more boring ones, and I¢m looking forward to Vermont, NH, and Maine to end on some beauty.-I¢m a bit outside any bubbles now, which is great. Having days with seeing only 6 hikers, only 2-4 at camp. Most hikers around me now left much later, but I¢ve embraced my slower hike to enjoy the journey and the wilderness. I¢ve really enjoyed being around less people and stopping to enjoy parts of the trail and towns that I want to.  Lots of lakes up here recently that I¢ve been lunching at.Thank you all for your kind thoughts.  Will try to update again as I close in on Katahdin!Stretch
Date: 2018-08-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Mile 1817.9, 373.0 to goI'm in New Hampshire now, just started the White Mountains.  Staying at an excellent Hostel called The Notch to get a package in Lincoln before tackling some of the hardest parts of the trail.  So far I'm handling it fine, just slowly.Vermont and New Hampshire have been beautiful, although most of the traditional mountaintop views have been clouded in. Looking forward to hitting Maine and continuing to get more remote.  It's been nice to get deeper into New England and away from the larger cities.  This has meant more stretches of solitude, and less day hikers until recently in the Whites. It's been nice to do some good stealth camping and have my own site most nights, although I also ducked into some empty or uncrowded shelters during the rains we've been having.I will post some more pictures soon as well.  I've realized I have very few pictures of myself, so I'll be trying to get more as the trail progresses.The trail has been great!! Looking forward to the rest.
Date: 2018-08-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

1934 miles, 256.9 to go.I made it to Maine!! I¢ve done a zero in Andover at a new hostel in a geodesic dome on 50 acres.  It¢s been good over the last few towns to see more of the same people again.  It feels really satisfying to have made it to the final state.  I¢ve got my eyes on Katahdin now. I don¢t if I¢ll have enough connectivity and time before the end to update again.  Maine has been pretty remote, which is greats. I¢ll update here with thoughts at some point, but thanks to everyone for reading so far!
Date: 2018-09-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 5.5

I DID IT!!!! I summited Katahdin on 9/13/18. I started the hike before 5AM with an hour of headlamp hiking, and actually ended up being the first thru hiker on the summit that day around 9AM.  It was exhilarating and exhausting all at the same time.  I ended up spending 2 hours at the summit taking it all in and celebrating with the other ~10 hikers that summited that morning.It's been an amazing journey.  More thoughts later as I become more human, and I'm hoping to write some more concrete retrospective as I go back through all my photos and data.  In the mean time - here is Stretch at the top of Katahdin after 2,190.9 miles!!
Date: 2018-04-26
From: Hot Springs

To: Around Town
Miles today: 0.0

The last time I was on the trail was 2005. I tried, in 2016, to hike the 200 plus mile section from Hot Springs to Damascus only to have to cancel due to forest fires along the section I was going to hike. I tried again in 2017 and another cancellation. But, 2018 came and I waited until the last minute waiting for something to happen that would cause me to cancel again, but it didn't happen...YES! I found myself sitting on a bed, in room 5, of Sunnybank Inn, in Hot Springs, NC. The smells of dinner making their way up the shoe worn, dark wooden staircase to the second floor, which was dressed in old carpets and rows of bookshelves with titles of any subject you could think of. The 1875 Victorian house rooms and walls hold decades of memorabilia and memories. After 3 years I felt like I'd hiked the section of the AT from Hot Springs to Damascus mentally several times, and now I was actually about to put my hiking boots on and start.
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

It was a steep, hard climb out of Hot Springs. Trail was muddy and there were lots of roots, rocks and turns to watch for. My legs ached and I was so tired and sore when I arrived at Spring Mountain Shelter that I just sat down and drank water for awhile. Met up with Nurp, Pilot, and Organic.  I hate to think how I would have felt if I hadn't trained for 4 months with weights, pilates, yoga, and treadmill hills. I'm slow but I got here!  I pitched my tent  on a knoll above the shelter and joined other hikers around a large campfire. There was a large group of weekend hikers called  "Bounty" they were identifying and collecting edible plants and made soup from them to share with anyone who wanted a taste. I wasn't hungry but nibbled on a power bar and drank some powdered milk before going down to filter water for tomorrow.
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: clear sky

The uphills are hard for me, my gait is short. I keep telling myself to lengthen my stride but the Trail won't let me. (Is there a life lesson here?) Little Laurel Shelter is at the base of Camp Creek Bald a steep uphill I will do in the morning. Learned about Usnea from "Melt Down" today. It is a type of moss that grows on trees and has antibiotic properties. I'll have to look it up later. Also saw a red bird with black wings, very striking. I don't have cell service though others may. Verizon seems to be the carrier that has coverage. I have AT&T. Looking out from my spot in the shelter I note that no one is "connected" tonight. There is a fire crackling and being fed outside the shelter and incense slowly burning inside. Hikers seem absorbed in their personal moments or soft conversation  as the full moon rises, it's light trading places with that of the sun.
Date: 2018-04-29
From: Little Laurel

To: Flint Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

It got down into the 30's last night and I woke up feeling chilled. I told myself "Barb get up! Get hiking! before you really get cold. So I did".  Took me about 2 hours to finally warm up my feet and hands. I could see my breath when I started out.  The uphill out of Little Laurel wasn't bad but the 1.4 mile ALL ROCK section of the Ridgeline Trail was awful! Had to really watch my every step. Was taking a quick break at Jerry Cabin Shelter when 2 great Danes came lopping in followed by TRAIL MAGIC! This hiker said he regularly hikes this section and he brought little baggies with fig bars, tangerines, and candy in them. I high graded the fig bars and 2 of the 3 tangerines from one bag and gave the rest to another hiker.First day on the Trail I wondered "What did I get myself into?" Second day was short and I was able to relax a little. Today, the third day, I felt I was able to keep a more steady pace on flats and short uphills. So I was feeling pretty good, plus I was half way to my hostel stay at Uncle Johnny's. I also started to recognize and got to know a few of the hikers that I saw at the shelters and who passed me, by their trail names.
Date: 2018-04-30
From: Flint Mountain Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

There seemed to be more up hills than the map showed today. I have been hiking pretty much all alone during the day. I rise early and am usually at my destination early to mid afternoon. Thru hikers seem to be rising later and arriving later. I am using zip fizz in my water for electrolytes, others I noticed use Emergent C. Hogback Shelter was really nice, easy water source. It felt good to go down stream a bit and just soak my feet. Days are getting warmer. I know I need to drinking more water. Because my pack's water bottle sleeves can't be accessed except by taking off my pack I had a tendency to not drink as much as I should. I wasn't hungry the first 3 days of the hike but now I was starting to think about orange juice-- volumes of orange juice.