morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-09
From: pearisburg holy family catholic church

To: Near the Allegany trail 
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: haze

Blue skies!!!! I had a decent night of sleep last night. The people at the hostel were pretty loud and didn't go to sleep until midnight. I was in my sleeping bag at 8:30. This morning I packed up everything and headed to run a few errands and resupply. I sent home my winter gear today and i have so much room in my pack now. So to celebrate I filled that extra room with some extra snacks for the next few days. I got a box of famous Amos cookies, powdered donuts, and beef jerky. Everything kind of took a while and I didn't head to the trail until 12:30. Once to the trail I began the climb back to the top of the ridge. It was the steepest climb that I have had in a while but it wasn't to bad since the trail was fairly dry. The top of the ridge had several really cool views. My favorite part of the trail today was the open grass fields on top of the ridge and there weren't any trees to block my view. The rest of the hike was pretty easy and I had one other short climb. Oh and I also saw a huge snake sunning today, I don't blame him after all the rain. I realized something for the first time today.....I haven't washed my spork since before I started. I also realized something else whenever I pack out extra snacks from town for the next few days, I eat them all the first night. I justify it by knowing my pack will be lighter if they are eaten. So yes the entire box of famous Amos is gone, along with most of the beef jerky and I am staring at the powdered donuts right now...they may not last much longer. Don't judge me!I am camped in a cool place by a stream and my tent is under a canopy of rhododendron. Looking forward to a great night of sleep!
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Near the Allegany trail 

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I realized that I have made my first big mistake of my trip.....I left pearisburg without resupplying on toilet paper. Ah well 3 days to Daleville, I am now thankful that the trees have leaves!I had another slow morning and took my time packing up. I was camped in cool place hidden from the trail. I messed around all morning and relaxed, just soaking in and thinking about what I am doing. It can be easy to forget what I am doing out here...mainly forgetting the little things but always focused on my overall goal. So this morning I enjoyed the fact that I was camping is a really cool place surrounded by rhododendron and I had a stream running right by my campsite. It was really cool, so I sat there and enjoyed it. I had breakfast, read, and laid around. It was super relaxing. Any way I packed up and headed out a bit before 10. The trail has gotten a but tougher and the warm weather today made it tough. I enjoy walking on ridges but I also enjoy climbing and getting to the top of a mountain. So I am happy to have a bit more climbing (I will always hate descending though). The miles went by fairly quick and I had a couple of good views. I saw four snakes today 3 of them were guarder snakes and 1 was a king snake, I almost stepped on him. Around 3 it began to thunder but the rain held off for a while. I got to a shelter around 4 or so and took a break. I was talking to the 3 people that were there it was a younger couple and a man in his 40's or so. While we were talking the older guy mentioned that he wasn't feeling well. A few minutes passed and he fell back in the shelter and started moaning. We asked him if he was ok and he couldn't respond, I kept asking him questions because I thought he was having a heart attack but he finally managed to say cramp. He was having a full body cramp and he was locked up for a while. We made him some drinks with tons of electrolytes, it was pretty tough to get him to drink since he couldn't move but he finally loosened up enough to be able to drink a bit. After about 15 minutes the worst of it had passed. I hung around for a bit longer and made sure he had plenty to drink. I left a while later figuring he would be alright now that he has plenty of fluids. After that I wanted to press on to the next shelter which was 5 miles away and it was up a pretty steep climb. About halfway up I came across much needed trail magic, I had a coke and a oatmeal cream pie (which I hate in real life but out here they are delicious). The caffeine powered me up the climb and to the shelter. Oh also I hiked through my first thunder storm today. When I was 2.5 miles from the shelter it began to thunder and rain pretty hard. While the thunder was going on the trail was pretty rocky so I was looking down for most of the time. I scared a deer and the deer scared me, we were about 15 yards away before we noticed each other. Keeping my fingers crossed but I think I'm going to have good weather for dragons tooth and the mcafees knob.
Date: 2013-05-11
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I didn't sleep through the night but I woke up feeling refreshed. I woke up around 4am and stared out of the shelter for awhile and then fell back to sleep around 5. I left camp around 8 and began my day with the intention of going for 26 miles but the weather changed that. This morning the trail went through 2 miles of pastures and it was really cool. One of the farm houses was a log cabin with a porch that went all the way around it and it had a really cool log barn. After that I began the climb up to a ridge and it was pretty slippery and steep. Once I got to the top I met fig and we hiked together and talked for the next six miles. It was the first time since the decent into the NOC that I have talked to someone for that long while hiking. I enjoyed the conversation and the change of pace. We both stopped at the same overlook for lunch and we sat there for a while enjoying the view of the ridge to the east. I packed up and decided to pick up the pace to try to cover some miles. I enjoy hiking by myself and in the quiet...it's a lot less distracting and I see a lot more animals. I descended into the valley and up the next ridge which had some great views. The section of Virginia that I am in does not have mountain peaks or at least it doesn't appear to. It has ridges that are fairly flat with valleys in between them, the ridges stretch as far as you can see. I also hiked by the Audi Murphy monument today and read a bit about his story. It was really interesting and hard to comprehend how he achieved so much in WWII. Around 5 a thunderstorm began to move in and I decided to cut the day short at the next shelter. When I was 3 miles from the shelter I crossed a small river where fatty was hanging out and she said that I needed to go for a swim. So I decided it didn't sound like a bad idea since I was pretty dirty. I slowly moved IMO the freezing cold water and mustered up the courage to just jump in....it was extremely refreshing and great to wash off a bit. I soaked my body for about a minute, it was all I could handle. I am now sleeping in the pickle branch shelter and gator and I have the place to ourselves, really nice to have a quiet night and no snoring. I have been sleeping in shelters the last few nights because I am trying to dry my tent out completely so I can do some maintenance to it in daleville. When I seam sealed it at neels gap there was moisture in the air that might and it didn't dry well and is now flaking off. So I have been peeling it all off so I can redo it when I get a good stretch of sunny weather.....if that will ever happen ha. Dragons tooth and mcafees knob tomorrow!
Date: 2013-05-12
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: daleville
Miles today: 32.4

Three posted today go back, i haven been able to get cell service. It was kinda cold last night but it was great sleeping weather. I woke up around 7 and left the shelter by 8. I was really excited and ready to go this morning when I woke up to blue skies. The highlights of the day would include Dragons Tooth, Mcafees Knob, the 700 mile mark, and Tinker Cliffs, a full day of great things! Today would prove to be one of the prettiest days of hiking that I have had so far it was absolutely incredible. I love Virginia and all that it has to offer, such a cool state. On the way up to mcafees knob I saw a lot of day hikers which was kinda weird to me. I knew they would be there but it was really weird for some reason to see them there. I am used to having the trail to myself for the most part and when it is crowded it is kinda weird. I saw a diverse group of people on the way to the knob and a lot of them asked if I was thru hiking. So it was fun to talk to them and share a few things about my journey so far. Once I was to the knob I took advantage of the view and got a group of day hikers to take a few pictures of me. It was incredible. The two things I have looked forward to the most 1) Katahdin 2) mcafee knob. I was so excited to be there and I had a huge smile on my face. A local day hiker told me that the view from the knob is a lot more special when you hike 700 miles to it as opposed to the day hikers that only went 3.5 miles. She was right, I really felt like I earned that picture and the great view. After the knob I decided to push all the way to daleville making it a big day. I cruised to tinker cliffs which provided one of the best views I have had on the entire trip. It was in incredible. From the cliffs I had 10 miles to town. I planned on staying at the fire station in daleville but I didn't realize until 3 miles from town that it was another 5 miles into town. It was getting dark and it would've been sketchy to get a hitch at night. So I thought about a hotel but I didn't want to spend the money so I decided to find a spot to camp a bit short of town. When I finally found a spot flat enough I realized I didn't have enough water to cook for dinner so I had to go to town. I ended up staying at the Howard Johnson and luckily they have a discount for hikers. Hopefully I will plan better next time but I have enjoyed getting a shower and a warm bed on a cold night...supposed to be in the low 30s tonight. Oh I forgot to mention the hikers that I met on the knob that I talked to for a while. They were super nice and gave me some snacks. I was happy to get them but it made me feel even more homeless ha.I haven't done laundry since Johnson City, Tn....close to 300 miles ago....yea it's gross I know. On the bright side I'm doing laundry tomorrow!
Date: 2013-05-13
From: daleville

To: fullhardt knob shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I enjoyed my night in the hotel! I stayed up way to late and caught up on the world of sports. It was a great night and super relaxing. This morning I woke up a bit before 7 and tried to sleep more but I couldn't so I headed to the continental breakfast. From my table I noticed the sign by the road for the hotel, it advertised a pool (which was empty), a hot tub (which was full of leaves and dirt), wifi (didn't work), and a hot continental breakfast (all the had was a waffle maker ha. Anyway I was grateful for my stay and to be able to take a shower and do laundry. Checkout was at 11...so I left my room at 11:15, I had to milk it for all it was worth. Then I walked into town and saw a Verizon store so I went in to talk to them about some phone issues I have been having. Long story short I sat in the store with them for a few hours just talking about my trip and I have a new phone heading my way for free!!! Can't beat that. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them. I then went down to the local outdoor store and bought a few supplies. While I was there I talked with a lot of there employees for a while and some random guy who asked about my hike. He asked me what is one thing I carry that I have been grateful to have. I told him body glide (for chafing) anyway he tried to have an hour conversation about body glide...not that much to say about it but he was wanting to analyze it. I cut him kinda short and headed to resupply on food. I finally got out of town a bit before 4 and headed up to the next shelter 5 miles away. It was an easy hike and really pretty. I am camped with my new friend fatty, a really cool Canadian that lives close to banff....one of my favorite places on the world! Goodnight world! Basking in Gods creation!
Date: 2013-05-14
From: fullhardt knob shelter

To: Jennings Creek
Miles today: 23.2

I woke up around 7:30 but didn't leave until 9....kinda translated into the rest of my day, everything was kinda slow. I packed up and left camp and kind of just cruised all day. I didn't sweat or anything just relaxed and didn't care how long it took me to get to the campsite I picked out for the night. The trail was great today, it was well graded and really smooth. A lot of the trail lately has had a lot of rocks so my ankles have been getting a workout. For most of the day the trail followed the blue ridge parkway and crossed it several times. The trail and the woods were really quiet today I didn't see many hikers. I got to camp around 6:30 and found fatty and gumby here. It was fun to get to hang out with them. We have ended up at the same campsite the last few days. Ill be saying bye to them soon though as they go back to Damascus for trail days. We are camped by a really cool river probably my second favorite campsite that I have had since I started. Tomorrow is going to be a tough day we are camped at 951 feet and the trail will go over 4200 feet tomorrow. I can't remember the last time the trail had a 3000 foot climb. Depending on how I feel I plan to do two 25 mile days to my resupply.Goodnight! I think I'm going to get out of camp early in the morning.
Date: 2013-05-15
From: Jennings Creek

To: marble spring
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: light rain

Great day on the trail. I woke up around 6:45 and left camp around 7:45. It was going to be a hot day with a lot of elevation change so I wanted to get a bit of an early start. The first 3 miles of the day went up and over fork mountain and down to Bryant ridge shelter. The shelter was my favorite one on the AT so far, it was really cool! After the shelter is where my day got interesting. About 100 yards north of the shelter I met John who was out doing some trail maintenance. He was taking a break on the side of the trail and he told me he was heading near the top of Floyd mountain. He had an ax, chainsaw, and a backpack and he looked pretty tired. I figured id help him out and put my legs to use. So I offered to help him carry something up to the fallen tree, he was grateful and quickly offered up the chainsaw. We put the bar of the chainsaw between my back and my backpack with the engine on top. I don't know how much it weighed but it was freaking heavy. The farther I climbed up the mountain the bigger the chainsaw got in my mind. Is bet that with my pack and the saw I was carrying 50 lbs. So I began the climb right around 1400 feet and I carried it to the tree that was a few feet below 3000, around 2 miles in distance. When we finally got to the tree I took the saw and my backpack off of my back and rested for a while. I met a few other trail maintainers that were heading south and they gave me an apple. Once I decided I was rested enough I put my pack on and couldn't even feel it on my back because it was so much lighter without the saw. After a few climbs I knew it would be tough to reach 25 miles so I picked a new spot around the 21.5 mark. The rest of the day was just slow and relaxing. I had a few more tough climbs but nothing to serious. I am camped at marble spring gap. It is just a flat spot between two mountains that had water. I am the also the only one here so it has been a quiet and relaxing evening. Oh I did get to seam seal my tent this afternoon when I got to camp. So hopefully it will dry up tonight and be ready to go for the rest of the trip. Two posted today go back
Date: 2013-05-16
From: marble spring

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 27.7
Weather: broken clouds

It was really windy last night and I drank 2 liters of water before I went to bed so I didn't get much rest. I took my time leaving camp this morning so that my tent could finish drying. I ended up leaving camp around 9 and headed north. The first 5 miles descended to the James river and to the longest footbridge on the AT. It was around 680 feet in elevation so that meant I was about to climb. The next five hours were spent climbing up from the river to 3300 feet. It was a really tough climb and the warm temperatures didn't help. I thought about ice cream all day today and it was almost haunting....I tried to stop thinking about it but I couldn't. After the climb to the top it was back down to 1300 and fairly flat the rest of the way to the shelter. The woods are really starting to bloom. The flowers on the forest floor bloomed a few days ago and the rhododendron is now starting to turn. It is a relief that the rhododendron is blooming because I was beginning to hate that plant. I have been surrounded by it since starting the hike. I got to the shelter around 7 and setup my tent soon after. The original plan was to soak in the stream for a bit before cooking dinner but a thunder storm moved in pretty quick. I ended up splashing some water on me to rinse off a bit but that was the extent of it. Before I go into towns I like to clean off a bit especially when I'm trying to hitch into town. US 60 is two miles north of where I am camped so I will get there pretty early in the morning and try to get a hitch into Buena Vista to resupply. Oh and I will be having ice cream in town even if it is for breakfast. Hopefully it is a quick stop and I will still have some time to hike in the afternoon. I tend to move slow when I get to town. Oh I don't know if I said this or not but trail days in Damascus is this weekend and tons of hikers get off the trail and hitch down to it. I am not attending the festivities this year but I will someday. Anyway the trail is really quiet and I didn't see any other thru hikers today until I got to the shelter. I feel like it would be hard for me to get off the trail for four or five days go south and then come back to the same spot you left several days before....I enjoy making progress everyday. One more story.... Last night I had a dream that I was back in shreveport having dinner with friends and they asked me about my hike and about katahdin. In my dream I realized that I somehow forgot to summit mt katahdin and I forgot to finish the trail...it was a nightmare ha. I'm goings to make sure that doesn't happen, ill be sure to climb katahdin when I get there.Goodnight world
Date: 2013-05-17
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: North Fork of Piney River
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I took my time getting ready this morning since I only had 2 miles to US 60. I ended up leaving camp by 9:30 and I was at the highway a bit after 10. Two other hikers were there waiting for a shuttle that would be there at 11. My plan was to hitch and I hate paying for shuttles so I walked to the road and stuck my thumb out. I got a ride within five minutes. I was picked up by Cord, a younger guy around my age, who was on his way to Boston for field hockey practice. He plays in a pro league where the US national team is selected from and he hopes to be on the Olympic team for 2016 or 2020, I thought that was really cool. Anyway more importantly he is a Christian and during this trip talking with other believers has been incredibly encouraging to me. The Lord has blessed me so richly the last few weeks by people being extremely generous. It was about a 15 minute ride into town and when we got to the parking lot he asked if I was carrying a bible because he had a extra that he could give me. He also gave me some money.....I didn't want to accept it but he insisted. It was incredibly encouraging to meet him. Anyway all that to say it is incredible how many people have been so generous to me on this trip and they are making it so much more than just a hike. A lot of lessons are being learned. I went to Todd's BBQ for lunch and really enjoyed it, plus I got ice cream! After that I resupplied and headed to the road to get a hitch back out. I got a hitch fairly fast and it was back to the trail. The first part was a 2000 foot climb and I was thankful to have energy for town and a Gatorade. I made it to the top and enjoyed a short ridge walk. Then I went a few hundred feet higher to cold mountain which was so pretty. I wasn't expecting it but the peak and the ridge to the north were bald. It was really cool and I got some great pictures. I pressed on to the campsite at the north fork of the piney river....which is basically a stream I was expecting something bigger. Now that the weather is warmer my favorite thing to do is to soak in the streams, great recovery. All of the streams are really cold but I can usually manage to stay in for 3 or 4 minutes but not at this one the water was so cold it hurt. I only lasted 45 seconds or so, I guess it is colder from the rains we have had the last two evenings. That's all for now and it is 10:08 way to late for me to be up. I should've been asleep an hour and a half ago.
Date: 2013-05-18
From: North Fork of Piney River

To: Maupin Shelter
Miles today: 22.1

It rained a lot last night and into the morning. I woke up around 7:30 and just hung out in my tent until the rain stopped around 9:00. So it was a bit of a late start, I didn't leave until 9:45. I don't mind rain but I am not a fan of packing up in the rain it is just hard to keep everything dry. Once hiking the trail was fairly flat for the first 7 miles but the rest of the day was 3000 down and 3000 back up. The climb was not to bad until it started raining and everything got slippery so I had to slow down a bit. I met two groups of day hikers today one group gave me an orange and the others were at the shelter and they shared some s'mores with me. It was a good day and I am looking forward to being in waynesboro tomorrow afternoon and starting SNP the next day. Tonight I am in the shelter and hoping for a good night of sleep. It is has been raining for the past several hours.Goodnight