morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-18
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Only about 8 miles today to Roan Shelter, the highest on the trail. 8 Hikers in all at the shelter, we had an awesome camp fire and a lot of laughs.I met 3 trail maintenance workers this morning and we talked about what they do for the hikers. It¢s amazing how hard they work to make trails usable, improving drainage, using rocks to make steps where they can, making switchbacks, and so much more¢¦ we wouldn¢t have the AT without them!!!I met a section Hiker who only had about 30 miles left to finish the entire AT¢¦ She will do that in August. She was out today posting signs for trail magic for Easter, which I thought was tomorrow and is only 1.5 miles ahead of us. I was pretty excited until I was informed Easter is 2 days away and we will be long gone¢¦ Easter trail magic I¢m sure is awesome!!!Listener is back with us as is his sister Caroline and longtime friend Ben, terrific folks J-Rex and I were very fortunate to meet.Can you find the white blaze?
Date: 2014-04-19
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Over Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Easy day today. We took 2 short days so we could enjoy these two shelters¢¦ Best on the trail. I¢m happy to be at Over Mountain Shelter tonight. Expecting a beautiful sunrise tomorrow for Easter morning!!!Had incredible trail magic from Caroline and Ben today in the form of a ride into town for breakfast, resupply, then lunch. Thank you so much.A fiddle and a violin tonight for entertainment¢¦ Happy Easter everyone!!!
Date: 2014-04-20
From: Over Mountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, we decided to make our 17 mile day a 9 mile day after a couple old injuries resurfaced (not mine). As it turns out it was a good stop. We actually had Easter dinner prepared for us at the Mountain Harbour Hostel since everything in town was closed... AWESOME... and we get breakfast included. We can make up a few miles right??? When we head out of here in the morning, we will be carrying another 4 lbs of eaten food...Yum. It's worth it even if we will burn it all off tomorrow on the climb out of here.Easter Sunrise was pretty sweet to see... even though we thought our dismal breakfast was as good as we would see today... I was never so glad to be wrong (see Easter breakfast pic in my photo journal). The sad part today was saying goodbye to Caroline and Ben... Amazing how after just 2 days it seemed like they had been with us for the entire hike... It actually choked me up to see them go!The views were nothing less than spectacular today... Best of the hike!The pic of me leaving NC for the last time during this hike. VA is very close and is our 4th state... Only 10 left!!!Amazing!
Date: 2014-04-21
From: Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Laurel Fork
Miles today: 13.2

13.2 today and everyone is feeling pretty good. We passed or 400 mi mark today. . Yahoo!!! The hike was pretty nice with lots of nice scenery like the geese in the pic. I like the fact that the terrain is becoming kinder. I need to get started on stretching the mileage out a bit more. I¢m on track to finish around Aug 20 right now but I have to get my avg. up to actually make that happen¢¦ Can¢t believe I¢m taking about that but I have to look at it.We are camped in a beautiful area with 2 creeks joining together¢¦ Best campsite we have had so far, my favorite.We have word that we might enjoy some trail magic tomorrow afternoon around 5pm if all the planets align¢¦ John had been following our progress from Greensboro I believe and may make his way in to meet us¢¦ A 4 hr. drive, incredible effort on his part for 3 grateful / hungry hikers.Enjoy the pictures¢¦
Date: 2014-04-22
From: Laurel Fork

To: On to Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: light rain

Well¢¦ The planets didn¢t align today as we had hoped¢¦ John I hope you are feeling better and we appreciate the thought very much.Our creek side camping last night was way cool and we all slept very well¢¦ Nice change. We did get a big break in the weather. We hiked in rain for 4 to 5 hours, but no thunderstorms and that was the good part! We are staying at Bob people¢s hostel tonight¢¦ Very well known AT trail Wizard¢¦3 days to Damascus and new shoes. Hard to believe I could wear out a pair of Keens¢¦ in 400 miles. Not to mention the smell. It¢s like nothing that belongs to anything living!!!The pic is just of one of the many bridges.
Date: 2014-04-23
From: On to Kincora Hostel

To: Vanderventer Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

About 17 miles today... we would like to beat the rain into Damascus but it looks like we will hike in the rain on Friday. That's OK since food will be there and a dry bed. Today was an incredible hiking day, perfect weather and nice trail. Lake Watauga is beautiful and runs on like Lake Fontana.... Awesome.We stayed at Kincora Hostel last night... owner Bob Peoples has an extensive history with the AT and was very interesting to speak with. The hostel itself has had over 20,000 Hikers since he opened and needs some attention... On the other hand it was a $5 donation.The pic to the left is of Watauga Lake. A couple more photos in my gallery are of Kincora Hostel and some funny looking guy!!!
Date: 2014-04-24
From: Vanderventer Shelter

To: Abington Gap
Miles today: 22.7

That¢s right 22.7 miles!!! We pushed hard to make our hike into Damascus as short as we could in the thunderstorms. It¢ll be about 5 to 6 hrs to a dry hotel and food. I need a big cheeseburger and a big ice cream shake!!!You may have guessed that my feet are am issue tonight¢¦ OUCH!!!A local church left some trail magic in a cooler in the woods¢¦ When we got the word we shifted gears and powered thru 3 miles passing 2 other Hikers and a dog¢¦ When we arrived we got the last 2 Pepsis. No we didn¢t feel guilty!I¢m beat so this is short¢¦ good night!
Date: 2014-04-25
From: Abington Gap

To: Hello Virginia
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: light rain

Well we beat mother nature into Damascus... almost. As we were walking out of the woods into town it started to dump. We were close enough to avoid a good dowsing but still got pretty wet. I bought new trail shoes and a 35 degree bag for summer, saved some space and dropped a few lbs in the process. We ate at the blue blaze Cafe and ate too much as expected. I really think I'll be sick of eating like this by the time we see big K.The pic tonight is of Listener and myself crossing into VA. Our 4th state, only 10 to go ! Funny thing about Va is that it is further to get thru than all the miles we have done so far yet we will get thru it quicker.
Date: 2014-04-26
From: Hello Virginia

To: Damacus Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I don't normally post on zero days. I thought I would today since learning of a fellow hiker that fell off a mountain just north of the Smokies, crushed his c7 and compound fraction of his leg. He was airlifted to University of Tennessee Medical Center. These things happen more often than you would think. 65 years old and his dream is over. So many times I've thought about how dangerous it is to hike some of these areas, and it is... you can't have enough prayers. He was lucky in the sense that some rafters saw him fall and called for rescue.On a lighter note we leave tomorrow a.m. For the trail again and plan to have 2 breakfasts on the way out of town... Because we can! And we are always hungry now!The pic today is of Listener and Movies and myself (not pictured... lol) at the local coffee shop.
Date: 2014-04-27
From: Damacus Zero Day

To: Stream Campsite
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Left Damascus this morning, I enjoyed the stay. Listener and I ate at every place you could buy food in town, lol¢¦ small town. Also did my winter/summer gear swap.We hiked approx. 16.5 today and are camping in a small gap just short of our big climb tomorrow. By the way, anyone who says VA is easy to hike isn¢t being completely honest. VA is easier but it¢s still work to hike. Today seemed like it was mostly uphill, tomorrow is uphill again. 4 miles constant up. Woo Hoo!It looks like thunderstorms tomorrow. We are hopeful to get out of camp dry but it¢s unlikely. The rain adds 5 lbs of water to the pack weight¢¦ maybe not 5 but it seems like it, and you stay soaked all day!Well, it¢s 8pm and I¢m exhausted once again. Checked my stakes again¢¦ Good luck.The pic is of myself and ¢Right Here¢¢¦ I thought it was Bob Brodin when I first saw him. Lol¢¦Note: Due to spotty cell service, Chris¢s blog posts are not getting thru. Updates will be posted as soon as they are received. You can still follow him on the map as his GPS is still working fine. http://thruhikeat.com/follow-me-2/
Date: 2014-04-28
From: Stream Campsite

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: broken clouds

Approximately 11 miles today. Tough day in spite of the short miles¢¦ Lots of rocks and roots to navigate. It¢s raining pretty hard as I write this blog, glad I¢m in my bag instead of the rain still. Today as we crossed White Top Mountain the winds picked up to about 50 kts and the temp dropped about 30 degrees¢¦ With the rain and fog blowing past it was all I could do to stand up, with the pack weight I was being pushed all over the bald. Another scary moment, one of the guys had his pack cover torn off his pack and he actually chased it into the fog. I could see him running right off the mountain¢¦ He was lucky. One place you don¢t want to be is on a Ridge or a Bald with thunder and lightning, you¢re a lightning rod!Today was Listeners Birthday so I had packed in a small cake and a candle to surprise him. I can¢t believe it wasn¢t crushed from all the stuff in my pack but it made the journey. He was pretty surprised!!! Happy Birthday Beau.The pics today are of me getting ready to start my day hiking in the rain. The other is rain and hail at the shelter tonight. Supposed to continue till noon tomorrow and the next 3 days¢¦Ugh!!!
Date: 2014-04-29
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Thunder and lightning started the day and our hike. Fortunately the weather eased off about an hr into the hike so it was ok after that. I was still soaked ,but that¢s the way it is. We saw the wild ponies briefly as the fog or clouds that rolled over us all day gave way now and then. We didn¢t see any of the beautiful views advertised¢¦ We did walk up on a herd of cows in the fog that didn¢t seem to care in the least that they were blocking the trail¢¦We passed another milestone today¢¦ 500 miles!!! Wahoo!!!We hiked with ¢Time to Eat¢ as we came to the Fat Man Squeeze, a cave with a tunnel that gets pretty tight¢¦The pics are of the Fat Man Squeeze, the trail that we have to walk in when it rains (you just give up trying not to walk in the river that flows down the trail), and the cows.Tomorrow we have big news¢¦ we hike 20 miles to a phone booth that we can order pizza from¢¦ 2 large please with everything!!!
Date: 2014-04-30
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

20 miles today. We beat the weather again¢¦. Living right?? This place is packed tonight¢¦ sleeps 15 and there must be 20 here. Pizza is a big draw and its only 0.1 miles from a visitor center which has a soda machine !!!! Short message today cuz I¢m tired. The pic is of an iron mountain waterfall.
Date: 2014-05-01
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: mist

Rain overnight and an overcrowded shelter¢¦ I¢m glad that is behind us.Approx. 12 mi today. We needed to resupply and dry out, so we overnight in town then back on the trail tomorrow morning.I¢m walking along this morning after 2 big climbs and I¢m all alone with my thoughts, all of a sudden all the hair on my neck arms and legs stands up and I hear¢¦ ¢Hey Man!!!!¢ I step off the trail to let someone pass, and when I look back nobody is there¢¦ It scared the you know what out of me!!! I thought I was being pranked but no one ever showed. Weird! The rest of the days hike was uneventful but that moment stuck with me.I caught up with ¢Whisperer¢ and ¢Time to Eat¢ showed up about 30 min later. Good day all and all!The pics today are of a boardwalk over a marshy area and a school house that closed is doors in 1937. Its open now as a museum and has a ready supply of trail magic for hikers. I took a soda and left a donation. Pretty cool to see it set up like back in the day¢¦ I wondered how many are still with us¢¦ Amazing!
Date: 2014-05-02
From: Atkins, VA

To: Lynn Camp Creek
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: mist

Pretty quiet day today after my mini resupply. Lots of uphills which always slows done the avg, but slow and steady got it done.The rocks are always hard on my feet but not much I can do about that. Trail magic was in order again today¢¦ Wahoo! Two coolers that were zip tied to a fence with orange and root beer sodas and pb&js in the next cooler¢¦ Only issue was that both were on a hill with at least a 45 degree angle¢¦ no kidding, your feet were screaming as you tried to enjoy the food then move on. Maybe they didn¢t want me to get too comfy there¢¦ lol.Only 3 tents here tonight. Hikers are starting to really spread out as we move North. The main bubble of Hikers that left GA. on April 1st are still behind us¢¦That¢s about it for today, Good miles, Good weather, Sore feet!!!There was a couple at a road crossing that were waiting for me to cross, but I was already 2 miles past them when they showed up¢¦ I was told by a hiker behind me that they were following my trail journal and wanted to meet¢¦ Wonder who it was.The pic today is of a stile which allows us to cross a fenced in area without leaving any Cattle gates open.
Date: 2014-05-03
From: Lynn Camp Creek

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: clear sky

I hiked solo all day. Rough terrain again with the rocks and lots of up hill.My hiking buddy Listener is leaving the trail in a couple weeks to attend to some family matters. Tomorrow he is pushing ahead to gain the miles he would lose being off the trail for 5 or 6 days¢¦. I hope to see him again in a month or so. Everyone in our original group is now in different places for different reasons but all are still planning to finish their thru hikes!!Since I hiked alone today I didn¢t take any pics but this previous one is of a water crossing bridge¢¦ others only have 1 log. Good luck!
Date: 2014-05-04
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA.
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Only 12 miles today since I was out of food and had to resupply. Stayed at a local motel where we had a small get together with several other hikers, Time to Eat, Finn, Chin Music, Razor, Wife and Cambodia, and myself Tank. Free wine¢¦ First alcohol of the hike. Now I¢m all supplied and ready to go.I met two trail maintenance folks today and a ridge runner both full of Good information for the trail as I move forward.Pic today Is crossing a river on our way to Bland.
Date: 2014-05-05
From: Bland, VA.

To: Kimberling Creek Campsite
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: moderate rain

Awesome day to be outside, trail was good and the hiking miles just flew by. Camping next to a large Creek which is nice to hear at night. Still sore feet but that's everyday.Cambodia hiked an extra mile to get hot dogs and all the fixings for dinner. I had a nice fire going. Cambodia, Time to Eat, and myself enjoyed the evening and of course at Hiker midnight we were all in our sleeping bags... Lights out.We passed 600 miles today! Another milestone.
Date: 2014-05-06
From: Kimberling Creek Campsite

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

15.0 miles today. Summer is coming. It was 85 degrees today and man that made the uphills long and sweaty¢¦ pouring sweaty. But the smoothie I got at Woods Hole made up for it ten fold¢¦ wow that was good!Tomorrow I¢m doing my first slack pack¢¦ Woods Hole will truck our packs forward 12 miles and we will hike to them. We¢ll do a small resupply and then hike with pack another 3 or 4 miles.There is a huge hiker feed on 5/11 and we are timing our hike not to miss it. It¢s free. As hikers we hike, eat, and sleep. When we are not eating we talk a lot about eating. YUM!The pics today are of me on the end of the longest suspension pedestrian bridge and one of lunch on the trail next to a beautiful stream. Where did you have lunch today?Amazing!!
Date: 2014-05-07
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Spring Campsite
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Another 15.0 miles today with a quick resupply in Pearisburg, VA and a meal before leaving town.I loved the slack pack morning. We moved along very quickly and had time to take several nice long brakes and take in the views... Beautiful! Usually I'm sweating bullets and just want to crest the top of a hill and keep moving to get to the next planned stop.Frankie the sleeper was at Woods Hole last night also back from his reserve duty. It was really nice to see him... even without the beard. He is making tracks again for his next few months reserve days. I'll see you again.Tomorrow we are making tracks for a place called The Captains. A home owner that puts out tall magic. The fun part is having to pull yourself across a river on a cable cart hand over hand above the water to get there. Also Chinn Music who hiked to Maine last year will be there making what all hikers love... cheeseburgers of course!!! A little over 15 mile, I can taste it now!!!The pics are of me and Time to Eat with Cambodia. He is keeping her from ending her hike... Foot pain like all of us. The view from the cliff was unbelievable.....Amazing!!!!!
Date: 2014-05-08
From: Spring Campsite

To: At the Captians
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Approx 17 miles today. Today was pretty hot to give in the sun¢¦ 90 degrees. Is it time to complain about the heat now?We rolled into the Captains trail magic at about 4:30 and Chinn Music was there cooking hot dogs hamburgers and pork chops¢¦ and whatever goes with it¢¦ Awesome! How can you ever beat a free meal?I¢m in my tent now and there is a good 15 tents around here. All satisfied Hikers and in the morning we will get our 2nd chance at the cable cart zip line¢¦no one ended up in the water¢¦ It wasn¢t for lack of trying tho. It was a good day!
Date: 2014-05-09
From: At the Captians

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: clear sky

The Captain was doing his hiker feed again today so it was tough to go, but we rolled out about 8:30 knowing we planned for a short day to beat the weather and stay dry for another night.It¢s raining now as I lay here typing my journal that will go nowhere since I have AT&T which has really been awful !I finally sent home the rest of my winter gear which lightened my pack 3lbs. In my haste at the post office, I also included my spork. It¢s tough to eat anything with hiker fingers being filthy animals¢¦ lol. Anyway, Mission¢s wife went home with a bad Achilles issue and he had an extra spork¢¦ The trail gives you what you need !If the person who wrote me about Shakespeare is still reading my journal, I have not seem him yet to pass on your message, I¢ll keep looking¢¦..The pics today are of me sitting a little to close to the edge, Me pulling Time to Eat across the river from the Captains, and one of Wet Dog on the left who I met the day I started the hike 3/12¢¦Amazing !!!
Date: 2014-05-10
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

About 18 miles today. Hiked in the rain all day today. It kept the bugs down but I¢m not sure that is better than being wet all day. We hiked a rock cropping fit about 3 miles and in the rain it was crazy slippery. Time to Eat almost Timed Out twice. Hoping for better weather tomorrow but forecast isn¢t good. We are skipping past the Hiker feed since we didn¢t want to wait all day and lose the hiking time. Plenty of food in Daleville and I need a day off to rest.We passed the Kiefer Oak Tree which is over 300 years old and over 18 ft around¢¦see pics.
Date: 2014-05-11
From: Niday Shelter

To: Audie Murphy Memorial
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

We stopped at the memorial for a couple pics¢¦ a must stop for any veteran. He was the most decorated vet in World War II.Pretty easy day overall. Tomorrow we try to get Time to Eat to a doc for a really hideous toe issue, If it was my toe I¢d be crying. I think it should come off, but what do I know?!New Hiker in the mix¢¦ Dallas. She fell twice today¢¦ hard. One tough lady.
Date: 2014-05-12
From: Audie Murphy Memorial

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: mist

No way I can describe climbing over the dragons tooth¢¦ See the video on Youtube. It¢s tough tough!! I still can¢t believe they let people do this!!Water was tough today so before we climbed up to Mcafee Knob we left our own trail magic of 8 gals of water for Hikers behind us.OK MCAFEE KNOB¢¦..AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME¢¦..WOW !! See pics¢¦
Date: 2014-05-13
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Daleville, Va.
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

15.4 miles today. Tough day on the feet with all the rocks and it was 96 degrees, we really struggled through it¢¦ But we are here. Taking our day off tomorrow for a little healing and some new underwear.Saw my first bear this morning not 50 yards away¢¦ scarey and cool at the same time.I¢m beginning to deal with Christmas Toe¢¦ If you don¢t know what this is I¢ll tell ya¢¦ Have your spouse take a ball peen hammer and hit the end of your toe 5-10 times a day when you don¢t expect it. Continue this for say 2-3 months. You¢ll notice your toes begin to swell at different rates and they become sore beyond anything you know. No worries tho, by Christmas time if you make it thru the hike, they will start to get better¢¦ Christmas Toe !!!!Here is a sample of trail magic¢¦
Date: 2014-05-15
From: Zero Day

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, in anticipation of bad weather that the metro guys almost always get wrong !!!! and with our feet hurting so much we decided to zero 1 more day and try to heal.I forgot to mention in my last update that you get Christmas Toe from kicking roots. .rocks. .. and stumps that you can¢t see under the leaves our if you just don¢t lift your trailing foot high enough to clear what you are walking over. I like the ball peen example¢¦ you should try it !Time to Eat went to the doctors today and was allowed to keep his toe¢¦ I don¢t know why !!!
Date: 2014-05-16
From: Zero Day

To: Bobletts Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

18.5 miles today. Beautiful day to hike behind the bad weather that moved thru the last two days. We didn¢t like waiting an extra day but it was a good call. Pretty easy hike but it still took all day and as usual the dogs hurt, always!!! I don¢t know what to do about that¢¦ I wish I did!!!!The pic today is the only pic I took. The rhododendrons are in full bloom and the green tunnel is beginning to close in!
Date: 2014-05-17
From: Bobletts Gap Shelter

To: Campsite
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: broken clouds

Approx 17.0 today. Sad news today¢¦ Cambodia thru in the towel today. She is working her way home to PA. After a week or two to nurse an injury or two she may go to Maine and hike South¢¦ First time I actually saw someone say they were leaving! All off us older hikers are nursing some kind of ache or injury¢¦ Good weather again today but the last 2 miles had a 3,000 ft elevation gain that stopped us at about 2,000 ft¢¦ we will do the rest in the morning.The pic today if of Bryant Ridge Shelter, best one I have seen on the trail so far, it even had a loft! The other is of Dallas spilling her fancy coffee all over herself. We don¢t discriminate, we will laugh at anyone¢s screw-up!!!