morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-03-29
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: VA 311, Catawba
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Beautiful hike today along a Virginia ridgeline, nice/easy trail. I made short work of today¢s miles, as I was at the VA 311 parking lot by noon. Lots of cars there, I suspect many belong to dayhikers headed up the 4 miles to McAfee Knob. I went over the 700 mile mark today, which means I only have about 1,500 miles to go of enjoying the trail. Yikes, it¢s going by fast. I hiked alone again today which I actually enjoy, very peaceful. The only people I saw on the trail were 3 or 4 dayhikers going south. I got to see a great sunrise today from the ridge, beautiful. Today¢s hike also took me past Dragons Tooth, a huge stone monolith. I took lots of pictures but they don¢t do it justice.My brother John picked me up at the parking lot at the designated time of 2:15 (I was early when I arrived at noon), having driven from his home in Winston-Salem, NC. He then drove Capt. Blackbeard, T5000, Ghost and Mainer to the famous Homeplace Restaurant (great AYCE country cooking), where they hung out till they opened at 4. In the meantime John and I drove back to the MainStay Suites, where John had reserved a very nice suite for the next 3 nites. I took a quick shower and got into some clean clothes that John brought along for me, then back to the Homeplace for dinner with the guys. Our meal was excellent, all we wanted, and we ate to our hearts content. I felt a little sorry for the guys, as they still had some hiking to do tonite to get to a shelter. I noticed they struggled a bit to get their pack hipbelts around their waists, HaHa. They will be rendezvousing with Mainer¢s uncle tomorrow at 3 in Daleville, where they will be spending the weekend. John and I returned to our suite, where I opened several care packages and Easter cards that were sent me care of John. Thank you family and friends!  John also brought a ton of food with him, so needless to say our suite is very well stocked. I am just relaxing tonite and am safe, warm and dry in our suite. Life is good, thank you Lord for the blessing of this trip! I am having the time of my life on my hike so far, and am glad to be able to spend some time with my brother this weekend. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-03-30
From: Roanoke

To: Roanoke
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a Zero for me in Roanoke, hanging out with my brother John. We ran a few errands in the morning, first stop being at a local shoe repair shop (The Shoe Doctor) to see if he could do something with the frayed hipbelt on my pack. Rather than stitch it, he cauterized the frayed edge with a Bic lighter. Not only didn¢t he charge me a dime, but when he heard that I was an AT thru hiker he handed me a couple bottles of water and wished me well!  Folks sure are friendly here in the south. Next stop was Walmart for some resupply items (I didn¢t need much, what with all the food/snacks that John brought and that was sent me....thank you to all) then we headed to the historic downtown area of Roanoke. We walked around for awhile and stopped in a few shops. I stopped in Walkabout Outfitter to pick up some liner socks and a bottle of waterproofing spray for my boots in an effort to restore the waterproofing of the GTX. Next up was a stop in an ice cream shop, I had a large milkshake and John had a large cone. Next we had a lunch of fish and chips. Then back to the hotel for a snack, then a nap. Tonite for dinner John served me his homemade goulash with noodles, a tossed salad, and sourdough bread and butter. My family knows what a great cook John is, and true to form his goulash was most excellent. He dished me out a bowl that would¢ve fed a family of four, but I did it justice. Sweets followed dinner (donuts and chocolates). At this rate I will be the only AT thru hiker to actually GAIN weight on the trail, HaHa.  Tomorrow I¢m going to take John up on his very kind offer to drive me back to the Catawba trailhead, from where I will hike approx. 20 miles to the trailhead in Daleville where John will pick me up and bring me back to the hotel. It is supposed to be a nice day, I hope to get a nice view shortly after sunrise from McAfee Knob, which I understand to be the most photographed spot on the entire AT. John in the meantime will do a little sightseeing here in Roanoke. This evening I was able to connect via phone with Kayanne and other family members, love you guys!  A nice way to end the day. It has been a great day today. I am safe, warm and dry (and very full) in the hotel tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-03-31
From: VA 311, Catawba

To: US 220, Daleville
Miles today: 19.8

I couldn¢t have asked for better weather if I¢d written the forecast myself. Comfortable temps, little/no wind up top, and clear blue skies all day. Perfect!  I did hear on the Roanoke newscast yesterday that for only the third time in recorded history March was colder that February. I certainly hope that the unseasonably cold temps and significant snowfall are behind us. Mother Nature, a stretch of weather like we had today would be much appreciated. John dropped me off at the trailhead at 6 this AM, and I was on my way up to McAfee Knob. As I got closer to the summit there were many folks, many of whom were  young adults, that were on their way down. I am certain they had been on the summit early to catch the sunrise. When I reached the summit there were still several folks up there enjoying the fantastic view. Me and another thru hiker, whose name escapes me, were actually ¢interviewed¢ by one individual as she shot video. I stayed for several minutes, and of course had my picture taken while sitting with my legs dangling over the edge. It is my understanding that McAfee Knob is the most photographed spot on the entire AT. My next hiking view spot was Tinker Cliffs, a 0.5 mile cliff walk that afforded views back towards McAfee Knob.  Overall it was a beautiful trail today, lots of views and gentle grades. There was one spot were I heard what sounded like it could be a rattlesnake rattle, but then I looked up and saw it was coming from a high voltage electric line. As I got closer the rattle became louder, to the point that I was half expecting my hair to get curly - of course my hair is so short right now, there¢s not enough there to get curly, HaHa. Two other thru hikers that I also encountered today were Tuna and Blue Haze. Tuna was at Angel¢s Rest while I was there and had taken some time off the trail to spend with his sister. Blue Haze is a flip flopper. When I asked him about his trail name, one of the reasons is that he¢s a LSU fan. He told me he¢s been following my journal since day one, and said I should be called freight train the way I pound out the miles. Ha, he should have seen me struggling along through the snow drifts several days ago - my name then would more appropriately have been ¢broken down lumber wagon¢.I arrived at the Daleville trailhead at 3:30, and there was John waiting to greet me about a half mile into the trail. Back to the hotel we went, where I was treated to a delicious German meal of John¢s homemade bratwurst, sauerkraut, potatoe salad, tossed salad, bread/butter. Delicious!  Thanks again John, you really are spoiling me this weekend.I did get to facetime with Amy/family, they are in Cleveland visiting with Danny¢s family. They have also been following along on my posts and wished me well. Thanks Segelin family! Thanks also to those of you that have posted in my guest book, your ongoing support really means a lot. I am safe, warm and dry in the hotel tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-01
From: US 230 Daleville

To: Stealth Campsite at Mile 749.7
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: few clouds

John and I went to 7 AM Easter Sunday Mass at St. Andrew¢s church, a very nice historic church in Roanoke. From the outside it looks a little like Cinderella¢s castle at Disney (which incidentally was modeled after Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria, Germany). John then drove me to the trailhead in Daleville, and he drove back home to Winston-Salem, NC. What a great weekend I had spending time with my brother, he treated me royally and did his best to fatten me back up. He succeeded in having me gain a few pounds, of that I¢m certain. We had a great time together. I do miss the family on a holiday like today. Kayanne and I normally have Easter dinner at her brothers where I enjoy visiting with her family. We did facetime, but it¢s not the same. I started hiking today at 8:30 AM, and did not encounter any other thru hikers. However I did cross paths with a couple of section hikers and several weekend backpackers. For a couple miles I hiked with John, a section hiker from Kentucky. He is a teacher and is currently on a week break, and plans to hike the section from Catawba to the start of Shenandoah National Park. Today¢s weather was pretty good:  comfortable temps, little wind and no rain. However it was cloudy. Nevertheless I will gladly take today¢s weather, after enduring some of the other¢junk¢ that we¢ve had of late. The last 7 miles or so of today¢s hike followed along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which the AT will closely follow for the next 100 miles. At one of the parking areas that the AT crosses thru I was the subject of interest for a family that had stopped to enjoy an overlook. The husband/father immigrated to the US  from China 20 years ago, is now a US citizen, and lives on Long Island. He shot video footage of me as I answered some of his basic questions about the AT and thru hiking. It was fun, I think I did OK, HaHa. Today¢s hike also took me thru a cow pasture, and along the Blue Ridge Parkway I saw 6 white tailed deer. My initial goal for today was Bobletts Gap Shelter at mile 747.7. When I reached the side trail for the shelter it was only 5:30 with a couple hours of daylight left, so I decided to keep going and pound out a couple more miles. Tomorrow will be a long hard day with lots of climbing elevation, so going a couple extra miles today will help. I am trying to leave myself with only a 15 mile day on Tuesday into Glasgow, where I have my next maildrop coming from Kayanne. I had no trouble finding a good stealth campsite to setup my tent tonite. However I wanted to be conservative with my water as the next water source northbound is about 8 miles away, so I didn¢t cook tonite and instead just ate a protein bar. I am safe, warm and dry in my tent tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-02
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Rain overnite and into the early morning, but other than that the day was dry, overcast and comfortably cool. I¢m good with it Mother Nature, thank you. I broke camp and was hiking by 5:45 AM. With the longer days I was able to turn my headlamp off at 6:45. I met a couple of section hikers on the trail today. Gentleman, a 63 year old retiree who is section hiking from Damascas to Katahdin (wow, talk about a long section). He is from the Toledo, OH area and is in great shape. Like me he is trying to average about 15 miles per day. I also met Alex, 30, who is a flip-flopper. He has been on the trail a total of 4 days, starting in Troutsville and heading north. Both Gentleman and Alex are in the shelter with me tonite. Today¢s hike was rather uneventful, except for the Guillotine, an interesting rock formation that I passed through towards the end of the day. 6,500¢ in climbing elevation today, which means I burned off a lot of calories. Since it was raining when I broke camp this AM I didn¢t really eat much of anything, but at the first shelter that I came to (Cove Mountain Shelter) I fixed myself a hot meal of Ramen with tuna mixed in. It doesn¢t sound that great, but trust me, on the trail even warmed up shoe leather would hit the spot. Well, maybe not shoe leather. I crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway once today, and I thought of my mother. She annually drove from Rochester down to Florida and back every year, snd she often went by way of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I think that route added a few miles to her drive, but she loved the scenery and would occasionally stop and go for a short hike.  It is quite possible that Mom walked a section(s) of the same AT that I am now hiking. Mom passed away in 2010, and I know she is looking down on me from above and helping to keep me safe!Tomorrow will be a relatively short day into Glasgow where I will take a Nero, pickup my maildrop and spend the nite. I am safe, warm and dry in the shelter tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-03
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: US 501 Glasgow, StanimalÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs 328 Hostel
Miles today: 14.6

A little rain overnite and brisk. When I hit the trail at 4:45 (trying very hard to be quiet and not wake Gentleman and Alex) the rain had stopped. The fog however was thick as soup. The trail is pretty easy to follow with the headlamp, even with the fog, but it sure is reassuring whenever I see a white blaze. Lots of flatlander turkey trail hiking today, which makes up for all the uphill of yesterday. I was in Glasgow at 11:30, and got my shuttle ride to Stanimal¢s 328 Hostel. This is a very nice hostel, neat, clean and all the amenities. The caretaker Donna showed me around and made me feel very welcome. I like getting into a hostel by early afternoon at the latest when taking a Nero, this leaves plenty of time for the associated tasks (shower, laundry, sort thru my maildrop, resupply shopping and of course eating).  As far as my pace/schedule are concerned, I¢m doing fine. My first leg goal was to be at Mt. Moosilauke by mid-June. To reach that goal I basically need to average 14.5 miles per day. I am currently 53 days into my hike and am at AT mile 786. This averages out to 14.8 mpd, and takes into account lower mileage in the beginning, Neros and Zeros. I guess I¢m doing ok from a mileage standpoint.Here at the hostel tonite are section hikers John and Gentleman, and a vacationing family of four. We¢ve got plenty of room, we¢re all very comfortable.Once again I¢d like to thank all of you that are following me on trailjournals.com, and for your continued interest and words of encouragement. Special thanks also to my wife and best friend Kayanne (I miss you dearly), and the rest of my family for your ongoing support. I miss you all. A special shout out to my good friend Bill Schweinfurth, who daily texts me ¢Go Opa¢ and ¢Good Luck Reinhard¢ pictures;  thanks Bill. The support and encouragement from all of you mean a lot. I am safe, warm and dry in the hostel tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-04
From: US 501 Glasgow

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Breakfast at 6 at Stanimal¢s (thank you Donna for accomodating my request for an early breakfast), then Donna shuttled Gentleman  and I to the US 501 trailhead.  Lo and behold but Capt. Blackbeard and Mainer were just coming across the James River Bridge to greet us. Later that day we saw the rest of the Young Guns (T5000, Sour Patch and Ghost). It was good to see them all again, they are hanging together and doing well. The day started out with an intermittent light rain;  I must have put on and taken off my raingear maybe 5 or 6 times by 10.  It eventually cleared up but it was quite windy. The weather service had issued a wind advisory, predicting sustained winds of 25 to 45 mph with gusts over 50. Depending on which side of a mountain/ridge you were on, you either had a lot/little wind. I actually got hit in the leg with a dead branch that came flying down off a tree as I was hiking.  Really nice trail today, with some good views from on high of the James River Valley. There are 7 of us tonite in our 6-person shelter:  section hikers Rangeley and Gentleman, and thru hikers Wildfire, T5000, Capt. Blackbeard, Mainer and Opa. For safety reasons it is preferred not to setup a tent with this wind, don¢t need to run the risk of a ¢widow maker¢ tree coming down on somebody¢s tent. I arrived at the shelter at 3:30 with plenty of daylight left and ordinarily I would have pounded out a few more miles and stealth camped, but not under these windy conditions - better to stay put in the hard walled shelter. Speaking of wind, a couple of weeks back I met SOBO Juice Box at Woods Hole Shelter. She was in the Shenandoahs when a freak storm came thru with 70 mph winds.  She ran for her life two miles to a hard walled restroom with trees crashing down all around her. Two people were killed by this storm, one from a tree falling down on them and the other from hypothermia (combination of cold temps and windchill). A windstorm is not something to be taken lightly. A big Happy Birthday wish to Jacob, who is the son of our nephew Matthew and his wife Missy of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Jacob turns three today, Happy Birthday big guy!Hoping to do a big day tomorrow, as I¢d like to be in good position to roll into Waynesboro on Saturday by mid-day. I am safe, warm and dry in the shelter tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-05
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: The Priest Sheltet
Miles today: 22.4

Left the shelter and was hiking at 5:40 AM. I knew this would be a long day, so I wanted to get an early start. I was awake anyway, no big deal. Again I tried to be very quiet when packing up in the AM so as not to disturb the 6 other hikers staying in the shelter, but it is hard not to make a little noise when packing up. It was a cold morning. My water bottles were not frozen when I got up, but after a couple hours they turned into slushies - so I knew it had to be below freezing. Lots if hoar frost on the trail as well. However it was a beautiful clear and sunny day, so I am happy with that. In the afternoon it even warmed up enough where I could peel a layer and hike in my shorts. 6,700 ft. of climbing elevation today according to Guthook, I believe this is the most yet for me. Much of the climbing was in the AM, which is good for me. My legs are fresh then, and I can usually give it a pretty good go then. In the afternoon my legs are a bit tired, so the uphills become more of a challenge.I did not meet any other thru hikers on the trail today. However there were several dayhikers out enjoying the sunshine while getting a few miles in. I also met Burger Feet, a LASHer (Long Ass Section Hiker). He started 2 days ago in Glasgow, and is headed to Port Clinton, PA. Here is here in the shelter tonite as well. He got his name because a year ago he was section hiking, but had the wring hiking shoes. He says his feet were a bloody mess, and he had to get off the trail. One if his sons is a Navy Seal, actually the youngest ever on the east coast. His son must be one tough dude to be able to survive the training that the Seals dish out!Another relatively long day for me tomorrow, as I want to position myself for a lower mileage Nero into Waynesboro on Sat. where I have a maildrop waiting for me and will be spending the nite. I am safe, warm and dry in the shelter tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-06
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Campsite on Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 22.3

The day started well enough. I got an early start, knowing I had a long day ahead of me if I wanted to get to Waynesboro by mid-day on Saturday. Then for some reason I apparently decided today would be my day for taking falls. I fell four times today, one of them hard. Nothing broken, but I have several aches and pains:  my forehead, right hand, left elbow and left knee all ache pretty good as I lay in my tent tonite. My left knee in particular is pretty sore, cut up and a bit swollen. I must have fallen on a rock pretty hard with the knee, as it put a tear in my rainpants - which have a pretty durable fabric. Tenacious tape to the rescue on my pants - but I don¢t think the tape will do much for my knee. The funny thing is, I didn¢t fall in any of the steeper sections of trail - it was always on a gradual slope. Go figure!I also pulled a real bonehead move today by hiking the same section of trail 3 times. Nothing like making a long day needlessly longer. One of the peaks I summited today was 3,937 ft Three Ridges Mountain. On the way down I passed a Boy Scout troop out for an overnite backpack (some schools are on break right now). 0.8 miles down from the summit there is an overlook (Hanging Rock Overlook) that offers a spectacular view of the valley below. I stopped, had my picture taken by a dayhiker, and proceed on my way. About 20 minutes later after an uphill climb I came across what I thought was another Boy Scout troop. The conversation with one of the scout leaders went something like this (OPA¢S LINES ARE IN CAPS):¢....HI, ARE YOU PART OF THAT SAME SCOUT TROOP I PASSED EARLIER....sir, were you intending to come up to the summit twice today....WHADDYA MEAN COME UP TWICE....sir, which direction are you intending to thru hike the AT, northbound or southbound...I¢M A NORTHBOUNDER, THAT¢S WHY I¢M HEADING NORTH...sir, you are headed south right now, you must have gotten turned around at the overlook...¢.Nothing like setting a good example for the scouts, they must have all had a good laugh after I turned around and went back down (again). I tell ya, you can¢t make this stuff up. Well, tomorrow is another day - I will try not to fall and will do my best to stay headed NORTHBOUND!!!I am safe, warm and dry in my tent tonite. Goodnite.
Date: 2018-04-07
From: Campsite on Humpback Mt. 

To: US 250 and Blue Ridge Parkway, Rockfish Gap, Mile 863.0
Miles today: 12.3

I slept like a dead rock last nite. I was pretty sore when I crawled into my sleeping bag from all my falls yesterday so I decided to take a couple Tylenol PMs when going to bed. They worked!  In addition I didn¢t have to get up once during the nite to go to the bathroom. Maybe the Tylenol PMs had something to do with it, I don¢t know. But boy, when I did wake up I had to pee like a race horse. I woke up at 4:15, and was glad not to hear any rain. Great, I packed up my tent while it was dry (thank you Mother Nature) and had no sooner done so than it started to rain. It did not rain long, but later that morning we had sleet and then snow - but not enough to stick. Overhearing the local folks here in town they are all in a panic because of the snow. I just chuckle to myself, this little piddly snow is really nothing. The hike today down to town was pretty easy. Not much climbing and the trails were nicely graded (not a lot of rocks/roots to contend with). My left knee is still sore, but it¢ll be fine. I made good time and was at Rockfish Gap by 10:30 where I called Adam, the owner of Stanimal¢s 328 Hostel in Waynesboro. He was there within 10 minutes to pick me up. Of course while I was waiting I had to buy a bag of caramel corn from the roadside stand that was there, I couldn¢t resist. Waynesboro itself, population I¢m told of about 30,000, claims to be the largest town along the AT. I¢m not sure about that, since Waynesboro is not actually ON the AT (it¢s about 5 miles away)  At the hostel there are about 10 of us here, including all of the Young Guns and several flip floppers and section hikers  I did not catch everyone¢s name, but they included Clank, ROAM (stands for Retired and On A Mission), Fairy Floss and Dave. The hostel is great, has lots of space, is clean and has all the amenities. The owner Adam is a great guy, he even drove me to a Walmart so that I could get my glasses fixed! I was also able to walk to a nearby Catholic Church (St. John¢s the Evangelist) for their Saturday 5 PM mass. For dinner tonite Sour Patch and Ghost fixed a big pot of pasta with meat sauce, bread and green beans. About 8 of us sat around the dining room table and broke bread together, which was nice. I was in charge of cleanup, I recruited a few of the guys and we got it done quickly. I got to facetime tonite with Eric and Evelyn, plus Kayanne and our good friends Rita and Beth. Ladies nite out!  I am safe, warm and dry in the hostel tonite - looking forward to getting back on the trail tomorrow. Goodnite.