morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-07
From: Damascus VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

My day off in Damascus yesterday was good. My feet appreciated not hiking, however I did seem to walk around town quite a bit. I made the final decision to go with tent camping for a while and see how I like it. I bought a tent and pad at Adventure Damascus. The guy who helped me was great. His name was Brant. He did a pack shakedown of my pack and I ended up sending 7 pounds of stuff out of my bag home. I hope it all works out. I just can not keep hiking with a 39 pound pack. My feet can not handle it. The bed and breakfast I stayed at was overpriced and the breakfast was not very good. The room was nice and quite though. They also had a hot tub. The best part of that was letting the jets massage my feet. It was almost as good as Anne from back home but not quite. Anne is the best masseuse ever and I miss her massages. I ended up mailing several packages back home and reorganizing my whole pack. It is like I am starting out new. My pack felt so good leaving town this morning. I hit the trail at 10:00am. The trail overlaps with the Virginia Creeper Trail several times, which is a popular biking and multi use trail. It follows a river which was very swollen and running violently down stream. It was pretty cool and nice to hike next too. Eventually I hiked back up into the mountains passing many streams. Todays weather was really nice for a change. The rhododendrons are finally starting to bloom. Ever since Georgia I have been constantly hiking through rhododendron tunnels. I am glad they are finally coming out. I met two new people today. Boston, from Boston, and Not Chris. Both very nice. I hiked at a mellow pace today and reached the Lost Mountain Shelter around 5:30pm. I got water, then made my dinner. After dinner I was going to hike for a few more hours, but Hot Shot, Slow Poke, and Nature were all set up camping here so I decided to just stay with them. We had a fire and I met another really nice hiker named Golden. We chatted by the fire for a while before I eventually set up my new tent, which was easy and quick, unlike setting up my hammock and tarp. I got into my tent and blew up my new sleeping pad and worked on my new candle system. I have a small aluminum can which I cut the letter "I" in and then I folded it back so the front was open. I hooked up the can to the loop in the center of my tent and put the small candle in the can and lite it. I made a few adjustment and had it working great. It really warmed the can up and did put out some heat. It will also help keep condensation out of my tent. So now I am in my new tent. I feel pretty comfortable. Let's hope I get some decent sleep.
Date: 2016-05-09
From: mile 503.9 side of trail

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

This makes three nights in a row with no cell phone service. It is definitely an addiction. Maybe I can get over that addition by the time I am done with my hike. Last night I slept pretty good. I only woke up once. I was happy with that. I like having my own little space in my tent. I woke up around 6:30am and as I packed up and ate I chatted with Gary and then I was back on the trail around 8:00am. It was a little warmer today and it felt good after all the cool weather we have been having. The morning hike was nice as I again went through some large open fields. I saw my first large game also as a deer spotted me and bolted out of the bushes near me and down the hill. I soon entered the woods again and would stay in them much of the rest of the day. I caught up to Doug who I have been seeing a lot on the trail lately. His hiking companion had to drop off the trail this week with chronic knee issues. I have heard of several people dropping out lately. I hiked with Doug for a short time and we stopped and had lunch at one of the shelters with Yellow Jacket. After lunch I pushed on. It was a good day for hiking and the terrain was a bit rough. Lots of uneven large rocks and roots. It reminded me of back home hiking Mount Monadnock. There were Three or four good ups and downs. I hiked at a normal pace. I am trying to just hike a consistent pace and not overdue it. I stopped for my dinner on top of the last pretty good climb of the day around 5:00pm. After I ate I hiked the last two miles too Trimpi Shelter which is where I am camping tonight. It was good to stop a little earlier as I could take my time setting up. I just heard a very load crack of a branch breaking outside my tent. I went out and yelled and started a little leave fire in the fire pit next to me. I hope whatever it was it goes away. Now the Owls are howling. I think I will just put my earplugs in and think happy thoughts.
Date: 2016-05-10
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Lindamood School
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: light rain

Today was the hardest most difficult day on the trail for me so far. I found out around 2:00pm that a great childhood friend of mine passed away. His name is Peter Johnson. I went to school with him from kindergarten through our high school graduation. We were really good friends all those years. We played sports together and together we were captains of our varsity baseball team our senior year. We hung out all the time. Our lives took different paths as we entered adulthood, but all those years and good times together were real and I will always remember Pete. So smart, so quick witted. He had the best sense of humor of anyone I have ever met and he was just a really nice guy. So today as I found out this news I was stopped dead in my tracks and basically collapsed to the ground. I was on top of a mountain and it took me over an hour to even move. I spoke to my good friend Brett by phone who also knew Pete. I eventually got up and slowly started walking. I could not focus. I questioned what I was doing. I cried and I just thought about Pete all afternoon. Today was also a day where I ran into so many nice people on the trail. Little Santa, Wook, Cheeks from England, Cheesy, Strider, Wild Flower and Diligent who I am camping with tonight. I love how all the hikers have a certain unity and I needed that today. I do not have much else to say tonight. RIP Pete. Love you man.I walk for Pete
Date: 2016-05-12
From: Atkins

To: Lynne Camp Creek
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

This morning started by catching a fifty cent shuttle from Marion back to Atkins where I left off on the trail. I ate at The Barn again. It is right on the trail. I had left a few pages of my maps there the morning before and had to pick those up anyways. I saw Doug as I was leaving. He is headed back to Damascus for Trail Days this weekend. I am staying on the trail. Trail Days sounds like one big drunk fest party. That is not why I am here. There are a lot of venders there from all the different outfitters. I would like that part. I may come back for it in a future year when I am not thru hiking. I have seen a lot of southbound sections hikers this past week all headed to Trail Days. They will spend a week on the trail and then the weekend in Damascus celebrating Trail Days. I could see me doing something like that in the future. Back to my hike today. I was on the trail around 8:30am. It was a nice sunny morning and the trail went through a lot of fields. The grass is waist high now. If you ask me it is time to hey it. I saw a lot of wild flowers. The flocks are all out as well and the Rhodo's are in full bloom. It was a nice morning hike. As the morning went on it got noticeable hotter and very humid. Once we left the fields I was glad for the tree cover above. All the trees have there foliage now so it provided much needed shade. I hiked at a pretty slow pace. My pack had five days of food in it and it was just so sticky out. There was several good climbs where the sweat was just pouring off me. I hiked much of the day with a new person I met on the trail today. Her name is Scorpion. She is from Indiana and we spent a few breaks together talking. We also hit the one quarter mark together(546 miles) and took pics for each other. I eventually got out in front of her and made my way to the shelter around 5:30pm. I waited there for about ten minutes and then decided to move on to a camp area a few miles ahead. I got there around 6:30pn and set up my tent and made my dinner. At about 7:00pm Scorpion showed up. The clouds were thickening and you could hear the thunder rumbling in the back ground. I was eating and talking to her as she was setting up her hammock. She had a brand new tarp and after another boom in the background she insistently told me to help her get all the ropes untied so she could get it up. I helped and just as it started to pour down rain we finished getting it up. I ran to my tent an threw all my stuff in my tent, including my bear bag full of food. So here I am in my tent an hour later and it is still pouring out. All my food is in my tent. I will get drenched if I go hang it. What should I do. I wish it would let up a bit.I walk for Pete
Date: 2016-05-13
From: Lynne Camp Creek

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning was a soggy one as it rained all night. It did let up just enough last night for me to hang mine and Scorpions bear bags which I was happy about because I don't want to sleep with my food in my tent. There are people out here who do, but I am just not comfortable doing that. The rain stopped around 7:00am and I got up and packed my stuff up. My tent fly was obviously soaked so I put that in an outside pocket. I stayed nice and dry in the tent overnight and have been sleeping a lot better in it then I though I would so that is a good thing. I left camp around 8:30am. It was a sloppy muddy morning hike. Lots of slipping and sliding. The sun came out around 11:00am and it turned out to be a great day. Much dryer with cooler temps in the Seventies. I stopped in a big clearing just after noon and had lunch. I also took my tent fly and tent out and let them dry out. It worked good with the sun and wind and only took fifteen minutes to dry. Scorpion passed me, but after I packed up I ran into her a little later as she was taking a break I would hike much of the afternoon with her. She is very nice and great company. I ran into Uncle Spider and Raptor again today, which was good. I received a message from my cousin and good friend Jimbo Pierce. I called him back and we talked for a little bit. Pete was friends to both of us in high school, so we talked about Pete a bit. We were all really close back in those days. It was a good talk and I am glad we had it. After we talked I was off hiking again and I ended up at the Jenkins Shelter where there were a lot of hikers staying, including Scorpion. Everyone was really nice. I wish I could remember everyone's name. We all ate together and chatted. It was a nice evening. No rain in the forecast for tonight. It has been raining a lot so it will be nice in the morning for a change.I walk for Pete
Date: 2016-05-15
From: Campsite mile 602.8

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

Last night was another cold night. I was able to stay somewhat warm with my down quilt cinched at both ends and it pulled up over my head. It ended up being a good decision to camp down at the creek rather then up higher at the shelter. I passed by Golden who stayed at the shelter and he said the wind blew hard all night up there. He had wished he would have come down lower. I could hear the wind blowing well above us but we were protected from it. I managed to stay warm but I was not too comfortable and when I got up around 7:00am it was freezing packing up. I was glad to get hiking. I hiked the morning with my smart wool liners under my pants and all my shirts and jackets on. It was relatively easy terrain. It was great hiking weather as the sun mixed in with the clouds and the temps never made it out of the fifties. If you stopped very long you would start to get cold rather quickly. I had to make a half mile detour to pick up a mail drop at Trent Grocery. It was a mile round trip and then I was back on the trail. I hiked alone all day today. As 2:00pm approached I reached the first shelter. I stopped and had lunch with four or five other nice hikers. Everyone was freezing after a few minutes of not moving. I managed to rest for about a half hour before I was back on the trail. I had a little over seven miles to get to the Woods Hole Hostel. I originally was not planning on stopping there but there is a frost warning tonight and I do not feel like being uncomfortable for the third night in a row. I ended up with a pretty big climb after lunch. It was about 1300 feet up onto a ridge line. I got up it without issue. There was one spot that had a great wide expansive view. I took a break there and soaked it all in, at least until I started getting cold. Then I was off again. I pushed the next four in a half miles and made it to the Hostel around 6:30pm. There was only a few other hikers there. They said all the others had gone into town to eat. There was a note telling me to go up to my room so that is what I did. I took a nice hot shower. It felt awesome. I then got my stove and was about to make a camping dinner when all the other hikers and hostel owner drove in. They brought back a ton of food. They did charge $20.00 but it was all you can eat and the food was amazing so to me it was worth it. I ate a lot and it felt good to be full on real food. This is a pretty nice Hostel. Diligent is here. I am not sure how I caught up to him. I am in a room with two other hikers. Kenosha and Papa. Both really nice. In the morning we are having French Toast and I love French Toast. Tomorrow I will have a shorter day into Pearisburg. I may take a zero day on Tuesday. I will see how I feel.I walk for Pete
Date: 2016-05-17
From: Pearisburg

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I decided to take a zero day today. For all that do not know what that means it is just a hiker way to say I am not hiking at all today. I did do a little running around town to the post office and stores but mostly I am trying to stay off my feet and give them a good rest. I bought a few movies at the Goodwill Store and am watching those. It is a wet dreary day out so it is a good day to take off. I really like the lady who runs this motel even though I am not crazy about the motel itself, but because of her I am enjoying my time here. I am switching hiking shoes again so we will see how that goes. There is a lot of rain in the forecast for the next four days and I have some famous spots coming up like McAfee Knob. Hopefully the weather will break when I get there in a few days. I want to say hi to everyone back home. My whole family and all my co workers at the hospital. Thanks for all the continued support. I can not believe I have had 10,000 views of this journal. That is crazy! Please keep signing it when you check it out. It is uplifting to hear all the positive responses and they really help when I am having a hard difficult day. So now I am just going to enjoy the rest of the day and I will be back on the trail first thing in the morning.
Date: 2016-05-18
From: Pearisburg VA

To: The Captains Place
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

After a full day off the trail it was time to get back at it. Hopefully the rest will have done my feet some good. I packed up and left the motel at 7:45am. I walked a mile to the trail head where I had left off. I was back on the trail at 8:05am. It was cloudy but not raining to start the day. It was not a bad first few miles out of town. It was relatively flat and I walked on the road a bit to cross a big river. I could not help but also notice parking lots full of cars as I walked by. Everyone is at work and I am not. I am hiking through America. How lucky am I. Soon after crossing the river I was back in the woods and soon after that I was headed uphill as is always the case when you leave town. After a few hours of going up I finally entered the fog. At first it was ok. It was beautiful in its own way. I did not mind it for a few hours, but then it got windy and then it started raining on and off and then I stopped seeing the beauty in it. It was a pretty miserable afternoon. It was muddy and wet. I was told the views were great in spots as I hiked along a ridge line, but all I would see today was fog. I stopped and had a quick lunch with a guy named Sasquatch. He is hiking southbound. After lunch I did not stop again because I just was getting too cold when I stopped. I made it to a place called "The Captains Place" around 6:30pm. This guy lets you camp on his lawn and he gives out free soft drinks and he lets you use the wifi. The only way to get to his place is to zip line across a river, which was kind of fun. I made my way over and there were about seven or eight other hikers here already. I took my pack off and made my dinner. I was not sure if I was just going to eat and then hike on, or just call it a day and camp here. In the end I decided to stay. It was still raining a bit and the fog was still an issue. I set up my tent and enjoyed an orange soda pop and I have a candle going inside my tent and I am nice and warm. I hope I stay that way all night. I have a plan to get out early tomorrow and do a big day. Hopefully close to thirty miles. Rain is forecasted for Fri and Sat so I want to get some big miles in while the conditions are favorable. I hope it warms up soon and stops raining all the time.
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Cambell Shelter

To: Dalesville Ho Jo's
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: few clouds

I woke this morning at 5:00am and was excited about hiking back up to McAffee Knob to see the sunrise. I packed up most of my camp and headed back up before 5:30am. It was still dark so I had to use my headlamp. The moon was out and was bright and beautiful. The lights of Roanoke were also bright and looked awesome down in the valley. I made it up to the Knob before 6:00am. The clouds had moved in but there were still slivers of sky to the east. I had my breakfast up there which was nice. Doobs and his girlfriend showed up while I was eating. Even though it was cloudy the formation of the clouds were very unique. We waited around for a bit and then the clouds moved away and the sun broke through. It was really nice. I spent about an hour in a half up three before saying goodbye to Doobs. I headed back to camp and finished packing my stuff and was on the trail around 8:00am. It was a very good day for hiking. Temps made it into the sixties and it was breezy all day. The trail followed a ridge line and then rose to the Tinker Cliffs, which offered amazing views looking back at McAffee Knob. I had about fifteen miles of hiking today so I took it easy. The terrain was much better then previous days and I hiked on packed pine needles a lot of the time. My feet were loving that and from getting a break from all the rocks. It was a tough ninety two miles. I crossed paths with Tick Talk, Lou, and Julie during the day and ended up hiking with Tick Talk into town. We checked into the Howard Johnson Lodge around 3:30pm. I picked up my resupply that Greg sent me and then headed to my room. I rounded up all my laundry and also took Tick Talks and got that done. I had dinner at the Pizza Hut across the street with Tick Talk, Lou, Julie and one other hiker whose name I can not remember, but she is a super nice lady. I am just relaxing in my room now and plan to head back out on the trail tomorrow. These last two days have been two of the best days I have had out here. I am so glad I did not slack pack. It was good to do these 25 miles over two days and really take my time and enjoy all that was around me. Oh! One other thing happened today. I saw my first Bear. He was up on a bank next to the trail around a hundred feet away so that was pretty cool. We also had a full rainbow in the sky on the way to dinner. I am now one third done the trail at 727 miles. I am tired. Very tired! and am looking forward to some good sleep tonight.
Date: 2016-05-23
From: Dalesville Ho Jo's

To: stealth spot mile 746.3
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: few clouds

I slept good last night at the Howard Johnson's. I was up around 7:00am. There was a free Buffett breakfast so I went and had that. I saw Odisious who I met at the Captains Place a few days earlier. After I ate I headed back to my room and loaded up my pack. It is always its heaviest when I head out of town with five days of food in it. Before I got back on the trail I went to an outfitter store to pick up a few things. I also busted the tip of one of my trekking poles off so I was hoping to get that fixed. When I got there the place was busy and there was only one guy working. He said they had the tips and he gave me an adjustable wrench and a hammer. It took me a while but eventually I got the broken tip off. The whole pole had come apart during the process though and it took some more time to get the whole thing back together. Once I was finished at the outfitter I headed to Wendy's for an early lunch before getting back on the trail at 11:30am. It was a long but gradual uphill out of town. I saw my first snake which scared the heck out me. I am not sure what kind it was but I do not like any kind of snake. I did get a picture of it before moving on. Pretty early on my lower leg started hurting. I stopped and taped it but it bothered me all day. I did not hike too fast so it was a bit confusing. It is hurting right now as I write this too. I guess it will be slow going for a few days. I ran into Tick Talk a few times today but other then that I was by myself. The weather was nice and sunny until later in the afternoon when I seemed to be surrounded by rain and storms but none of them hit where I was so that was very good. I made my way to the Bobblets Gap Shelter just before 7:30pm. It was a quarter mile down the hill off the trail. I was out of water so I had to go down. I would have camped there but it was not a good for tents at all. I said hi to everyone then got my water and headed back up the quarter of a mile to the trail. I only had to hike another three tenths of a mile to find a great stealth spot just off the trail. I set up my tent then ate and cleaned up and now I am in my tent and it is late as usual. The forecast is calling for mostly sunny weather for he next two days in a row. That is much needed and should be really good.