morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-21
From: Brown Gap

To: Stealth Campsite near Deer Park Mountain
Miles today: 18.9

I know I've said some shameful things about the tent. It knows what it did and it should be sorry. However, last night the tent and I had a reunion. It had been a long, painful week apart. Last night was probably the best sleep I've gotten on the trail.I left a little late today (around 8:30) because it was cold outside and my sleeping bag was warm. Thinking of putting on those crusty socks and wet shoes for the 7th consecutive day didn't help either. The one thing that did get me up was heading to Max Patch.I hustled the 3.5 miles and summited alone. This was easily my favorite place so far. You know that Windows XP desktop with the green, rolling hill? Picture that, but instead of a hill it's a mountain.Rest of the walk was pretty uneventful but fun hiking. I did get a call out to the Wife and I will be zeroing on Thursday. Tomorrow, at this point, is almost a nero. I definitely didn't plan on coming this far.I picked a campsite late in the day and thought I'd be alone. It didn't happen. With all of the Smokies nights and how crowded it was last night I was looking for a little solitude. Maybe next time.Tomorrow is about a 4.5 mile day into Hot Springs. All of my dreams of burgers and salads and fruit and beer and showers and laundry will come true. I'll be honest, it's been a week and a bar of soap would do me some good.That's it, no good miles until Friday when I hit the trail and head to Erwin. The link to the Fiddler video is here if anyone wants to see it. I'm still trying to figure out why the video part of Trail Journals is being cranky.
Date: 2015-04-22
From: Stealth Campsite near Deer Park Mountain

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: clear sky

It was incredibly easy to get up this morning. I poked through my foodbag, said nope to everything in it, packed up and left. I threw my headphones on and flew down the trail. Nothing is going to slow me down on town day.I got into Hot Springs a little after 9:00 and the first person I saw was Cambo. The trail itself actually goes right down the main street of town. They were heading out today but were grabbing breakfast before that. I had a huge breakfast at the diner with them and caught up with the last week or so. It was good to see those guys.After that I went to find a room and kill time until it was ready. Around 1:00 PM I got the key and took about a 30 minute shower. 28 of those minutes were spent scrubbing my feet. Laundry was next then a visit for lunch and some delicious chicken wings. I spent the afternoon at the library and catching up on some various phone calls. Not a bad time.Around 6:45 Mrs. Rock Boat showed up with new shoes and some non-synthetic clothes to wear. (Read: cotton). I've never had my belt on this loop before and wearing normal clothes feels pretty awesome.We grabbed dinner and tooled around town before coming back and uploading some photos. So, if you check out the old entries I've attached pictures to them. Except for the 20 miles to Davenport. It rained so hard that day that my camera was deep in my pack.Not sure what were up to tomorrow but we may drive out to Max Patch and walk around. Even on my zero day I can't stay off the trail.I saw a couple entries in the guest book about the cramps and actually got a pack of mustard from the guy making us sandwiches at Newfound Gap. I haven't had any trouble since though. I think the problems originated from shoe inserts I bought to protect my feet. I feel like they changed the way I typically walk and did more harm than good. I had the original inserts in my pack since the beginning and changed back to them at the NOC. No problems since. Hopefully it was just that simple.Oh, and Sam's Gap on the 26th. Chuck, you're awesome for doing that and asking by the way. I'll start hiking on the 24th from here and it's 44 miles to that gap. Very doable by Sunday although it may be afternoon by the time I get there. Hikers always love sodas/juice/fruit and things like cookies. Stuff we generally can't get day to day. Were not a picky bunch though and we'll think you're awesome no matter what. Hopefully I get to meet you at the very least.
Date: 2015-04-23
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0

First off today, I wanted to say thank you for my handmade cards from my favorite Brightleaf kids. Talon, Kavi, Max, Blake, and Brooke: you're all awesome. I can't wait to hang out with you guys when I get back.Today's been a relatively lazy day. We woke up and made our way to the Smokey Mountain Diner for breakfast and went a ways out of town to Ingles for a resupply. We took Diehard with us and I made sure the Wife knew that qualified as trail magic. The resupply in town isn't that great so we were excited to hit up the huge grocery store. Patti and Whitney, your gift cards are responsible for the food to get me to Erwin. Thanks guys!We dropped off Diehard, he hit the trail and the Wife and I drove up to Max Patch. She said something about how epic this AT thing was and I let her know she's only seen the highlight reel. The 3 mile trip straight up from I-40 to the ridge line wasn't nearly as beautiful.We went south on the AT back down the mountain to where a guy was doing trail magic and as soon as we got to the road I heard someone yell my name. The trash guys, Star Crunch and Double Back were all down there. I hadn't seen them since Franklin and it was great to catch up.When we got back in town we had dinner and have generally been lazy. We made a quick run to Dollar General then came back to the restaurant in our hotel and talked with Two Bad Dogs for a while. It's 10:00 PM and hiker midnight has come and gone. I'm beat. Freeze warning tonight for the mountains so I'm happy to be inside. I'll hit the trail in the morning and I'm looking at 15-20 miles. I haven't picked a spot yet though.   I'm ready to head North but not ready to split from the Wife again. Guess I better hurry to Maine so I can get back to her. I'm glad she came though and got to meet a lot of people I'm with and see what it's like out here.On to Erwin. Should be around 5 days to make the 70 miles.
Date: 2015-04-26
From: Cascade at mile 311.1

To: Whistling Gap
Miles today: 18.5

I woke up at 1:00 AM to a thunderstorm, checked the tent for leaks, and rolled back over. Apparently Big Agnes here just needed some duct tape and a good, stern talking-to.I woke up with a little headache but forced myself to pack up since it had stopped raining and looked like it may start any minute. I left around 8:00 and it started to sprinkle about 8:30. I'll take it.I stopped at Hogback Ridge Shelter for a quick break and finished the 7.3 miles to Sams Gap (I-26) around 11:30. Once there I was greeted by Chuck and Rick and quickly handed a delicious balogna sandwich, a coke, and a brownie. Chuck had mentioned a few days ago that he'd be there and it was really good to put a name with a face.We chatted for a while, took a couple pictures and I stuffed my face. Four weeks in and I'm still amazed by the people I meet out here. Chuck, thanks again. It was like meeting an old friend. When you and Rick hike the trail I want to know about it. I'll be sitting in the exact spot when you pass through to return the favor.Speaking of four weeks, can you believe it? Today marks the end of the fourth week and it seems like forever since Mrs. Rock Boat dropped the chubby Rock Boat off at Amicalola Falls.   I can't believe I'm almost to Erwin, TN. Alright, back to topic. I left the gap and spent the next 6.5 miles climbing up to Big Bald. By the time I neared the top it was raining and the trail was complete mud. Seriously, if you had blindfolded me, put me on that trail and told me I was in the Smokies I would have believed you. Then I would have thrown my pack down, set it on fire, and run screaming through the woods a la Evil Dead 2. A horror movie so bad it's awesome.I got to the top and I'm sure on a nice day it would have been amazing. Grass as far as 15 feet of visibility would let me see. As usual it was fogged in, raining, windy, and couldn't have been more than 40 degrees up there. I basically ran across it and back into the woods.I came down to Bald Mountain Shelter right off of the summit of Big Bald around 4:30 and weighed my options. Quahog, Ghost, Green Man and a few others were there and it just seemed far too cold. The campsite I'd been looking at was 1200 feet lower. It sounded warmer.I grabbed my bag and trudged back into the rain at 4:50 and finished the 3.5 miles by 6:30. I had hoped the rain might stop but no such luck. But, once I got my tent up a couple of familiar faces popped their heads out of theirs. It's good to see Moosehead and Cambo. But, for now I'm holed up in my tent. It's freezing and still raining. The good news is that I only have 13.3 miles left to Erwin. These have been the 3 biggest mile days I've done in a row. Not sure I want to keep this pace up, especially since I want to spend a little more time in Roan which is coming up. But, I feel good and it's really helped my confidence since the leg fiasco.Alright, tomorrow is Erwin and I haven't planned beyond that. Virginia is only 135 miles away.
Date: 2015-04-27
From: Whistling Gap

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 13.3

I woke up this morning to the sound of Moosehead talking across the campsite. Once again it was cold and my sleeping bag was so warm. Then sticks began pelting my tent. I poked my head out of the rainfly, told the youngsters to get off my lawn and ate my granola bar with an old man smirk on my face. That'll teach 'em.They left about 20 minutes before me and I caught them on a break a couple miles later. They've since started hiking with another guy named Hobble and we all spent a good part of the morning playing 20 questions.By about 1:00 we were at the overlook to Erwin and just over a mile out. We got to the Nolichucky River down below around 1:30. Hobble is from the area and said his Dad, Bucky, was coming to pick them up for lunch and a trip to Wal-Mart. I'd been a little worried about how I was going to get around Erwin since it's so spread out. The trail has a way of providing when you need it.Our first stop was Pal's, a local burger chain where Bucky graciously picked up the tab of four starving thru-hikers in exchange for a photo. Amazing. The food was also delicious and consumed in no time. Wal-Mart is about 8 miles from the trail and generally not an option for resupply. With the Wife taking me to Ingle's in Hot Springs and Hobble's Dad taking us to Wal-Mart in Erwin I've been spoiled rotten lately. I've also continued my tradition of chocolate milk when I get to town. So many delicious calories. Thanks again, Bucky. I had been stressing over my Erwin stop and you made it a breeze.The rest of the guys had gone to Asheville and zeroed a couple days ago so they were looking to get back to the trail this afternoon. I, on the other hand, wanted a shower and clean clothes. They dropped me off at the Best Southern Motel and headed back. According to my guide there was a laundromat next door. It has apparently closed. I talked to a guy cutting the grass and he said the owner got arrested for 67 counts of tax evasion. Oh well. After the rain and mud yesterday I didn't want to wait 50 more miles for clean socks so I put my clothes in a bag and walked a couple miles to town to wash them. It sounds like a ways to go but without a pack and on flat ground the miles came easy.So, I'm currently washing clothes and planning the next week out. I had a good conversation with Sheila, who works there, about the history of Erwin and some interesting tidbits about her Dad's time working the railroad.Next planned resupply is in Hampton, TN which is 78.3 miles away. There are a few places I can duck out to if needbe but hopefully it won't be an issue. Roan Highlands lies in between. I love it there and am excited about the next few days.
Date: 2015-04-28
From: Erwin, TN

To: Unaka Mountain
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

The Best Southern Motel should change its name to the Best Jackson Love Highway, Erwin, TN Motel. It was an overpriced bed and shower for the night however. I usually fill up my water bladder and bottles wherever I stay. Today I opted to take the first water source on the trail. That's probably all I need to say.I slept terribly last night though. I think my body has acclimated to falling asleep and rising with the sun. The light shining through the curtain kept waking me up at all hours thinking it was time to hike. I wondered why I didn't notice it in Hot Springs but remembered we had a skylight there instead of a window. It's strange though. I don't really have to be anywhere and my mind subconsciously freaks out if I'm not up and hiking with the sun.Anyway, I got out of bed a little after 7:00, took a shower to clean the mess my tent made drying over the tub, packed up and left. It was 2.2 miles back to the trail and I didn't want to waste time with a shuttle. It took about 40 minutes and I was back on the AT.It was a typical post town day of hiking, start off low and end up on the ridge. I'm currently 3460 feet higher than when I started.I've been cranky all day because I'm just sleepy. Most days I want to walk, today I was just making miles because I needed to. The trail did hit two spots late in the day that I've been excited about. The first one was Beauty Spot Gap with 360 degree views and a really nice grassy top. There were a lot of folks there and my crankiness didn't let me stay long. The second was Unaka Mountain. Unaka has the coolest spruce forest on top and ever since I've been planning to hike the AT I wanted to camp there. It looks like a Canadian fairy tale up here. Amazing.So, that being said, it's been a relatively short day but I'm here at 5180 feet with a magical forest outside my tent door. Tomorrow is the beginning of the Roan Highlands. The weather is supposed to be rainy again but hopefully it will cooperate. I've been waiting to get here since I started the trail.34.1 more miles until the trail leaves North Carolina for good.
Date: 2015-04-29
From: Unaka Mountain

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: light rain

Remember what I said about being tired and crabby? I crawled in my sleeping bag at 5:30 last night and crawled back out of it at 6:30 this morning. Marathon sleep is best sleep.I didn't get in much of a hurry to leave and even spent a while on the phone with Mrs. Rock Boat. I've learned that if I say anything remotely negative about the trail she thinks I'm ready to come home. Need to work on that. There have been a lot of people who've quit so far, especially in the Smokies. The thought hasn't even creeped into my mind.I eventually left a little before 8:00 this morning and enjoyed the rare downhill to start the day. Usually I camp in gaps between mountains and have to climb first thing. Last night I was on the summit and had to descend 1200 feet to the next gap.I made it to the first shelter pretty quick but have been making it a point to bypass shelters close to Erwin. This area is traditionally a hot spot for noro virus and I'm not interested. Uncle Johnny's in Erwin is usually considered ground zero every year. That's why I didn't stay there. You know who did stay there? Remember my old hiking buddy, Burnsides? He's a much faster hiker than me yet he's behind now. Why, you ask? Because he got noro at Uncle Johnny's and has had a lousy few days.Later in the day I ran into Moosehead and got that information. Burnsides left this morning for Greasy Creek Hostel to get better. Cambo went too but mainly because he needed to charge his phone.Moosehead and I hiked for a while until I stopped to fill up on water before the climb up Roan. It's always some good stories and laughs around that guy.So, to end the day I made the 2200 foot ascent to Roan High Knob shelter. I had been catching a glimpse of this huge mountain most of the afternoon and sure enough, that was the one I had to head up. The climb wasn't bad, just long. I finished the day over the highest spot in the Roan Highlands and I'm almost giddy about walking this ridge tomorrow.The rain held off all day and I'm not sure what the day tomorrow looks like. It's about 11 miles before the descent out of Roan starts so a sunny morning would be amazing.That's about it. Camped out at Roan High Knob Shelter. At 6194 feet it's the highest shelter on the AT. It's also freezing up here and this is officially my longest day so far. With all of the climbing I'm exhausted.Tomorrow I leave North Carolina for good on this trip. Oh, and today marks the end of the first month.   I want to do a "what I've learned" thing to celebrate but I'm far too cold. Maybe on my next zero.
Date: 2015-05-01
From: Mountain Harbor B&B

To: Campsite at 410.5
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

The reputed best breakfast on the trail lived up to its billing. It even sleeted overnight and the wind chill was in the low 20s. I regretted nothing about my last minute decision to go to Mountain Harbor.The one thing I did wrong was leaving immediately after such a huge meal. The climb out was less than a thousand feet and the biscuits and gravy sat extremely heavy. I bet it took two hours of hiking just to feel normal again. Seriously though, no regrets.In general the hiking today was extremely easy compared to what we've been doing. Steady ups and downs with a bit of mud thrown in. Being around 3000 feet all day meant there were a lot of creeks, a couple waterfalls, and a long walk next to the Elk River. Around 3:00 I got to a random bench on the trail and was lucky enough to have cell service. The Wife and I chatted for a while until I heard Moosehead and Cambo coming. I knew they were a few miles behind me last night and thought they'd be pretty close behind by then.We all sat on the bench for another 30 minutes before deciding to book it the last 4.6 miles to the campsite. During dinner the long, lost Tick Tock even showed up. Currently Moosehead, Cambo, and I are in our tents discussing how much McDonald's were going to eat tommorow in Hampton. At home I never go there. On the trail it sounds like calorie heaven.So that's the plan. We're a little over 10 miles from the side trail into town. I need to resupply then begin my last 45 miles into Virginia. I think we're all a little happy to get a breather from the terrain. Now if we can just get some warmer days.400 miles today! 500 is in Grayson Highlands.
Date: 2015-05-02
From: Campsite at 410.5

To: Campsite at 421.2
Miles today: 10.7

Cold night again last night but I slept so well. At 7:15 I still wasn't ready to get out of the sleeping bag due to the warmth. Cambo quickly reminded me of the Hampton McDonald's and that was enough motivation to put my big boy pants on and head up the trail.The hike out of camp was a little more uphill then we expected from the elevation profile and I'm always grumpy when there's a lot of climbing on town day. Usually the guide shows a big downhill stretch and my brain is so starved for town food that I'm not really up for climbing across the ridges. We passed the time discussing old TV shows and picking apart the errors in different movies about outer space. It sounds way cooler than it probably was.It didn't take long to make it down to Dennis Cove Road to meet back up with Moosehead. We all got fussy with each other because we were hungry and after about 20 minutes we were headed down to Laurel Falls.Laurel Falls was awesome. Tons of day hikers were headed down and back up for good reason. Easily the best waterfall we've seen. We sat at the bottom admiring everything until our stomachs were audibly growling again.The trail followed the river for the rest of the hike until we hit the intersection with the trail to town. It was only a mile from there to town and probably close to two miles to McDonald's. It seemed like it took forever but it wasn't more than 45 minutes.Once there we ate like kings. I had two double cheeseburgers, two regular cheeseburgers, large fries and about six large sweet teas. Moosehead started off with four Big Macs and finished with some kind of sandwich combo. I'm not sure what Cambo had but it was a large smorgasbord of various sandwiches and about every drop of Coke they had. We were there for three hours. I know each of us crested the 4000 calorie mark. This hiker hunger is a crazy thing.From there we went to Dollar General for a resupply to Damascus and walked back to the trail. I feel like I should have gotten something from Subway as I'm now hungry again.So, I had initially expected to be in Damascus Tuesday but my plans have changed. Hobble has some friends with a lakehouse on Watauga Lake and they've invited us to stay a couple nights. We'll meet back up with Hobble in the morning, hike about seven miles and they'll come get us in the boat. We're zeroing there Monday and will head North on Tuesday.As much as I'm ready to get to Virginia I can't pass up the opportunity. Should be a fun couple of days with what sounds like, you guessed it, a lot of good food.That's it, easy couple days then back at it. Still having a blast out here and I think we've all really settled in to this thru-hiking thing. Can't believe I sit less than 50 miles from the VA line.
Date: 2015-05-03
From: Campsite at 421.2

To: Watauga Lake House
Miles today: 5.9

Camping by rivers is always a great thing. It's like being at home with a box fan. I slept so good and since we were waiting on Hobble and Burnsides to catch up there was no rush to get up and out.They showed up around 9:00 and we headed straight up out of camp to Pond Flats. Not a tough climb but it was long. It's really the last big up and down we have before Damascus.We got to Shook Branch Recreation Area around 11:30, shed our packs next to the beach and pulled out snacks. As we started to eat a group of people pulled up and showed us their trail magic sign. I'm not sure who in their family came up with that grilled chicken recipe but it's some of the best I ever had. I did find out it was a family secret. Oh well.Around 1:00 a boat showed up to get us. We put our packs in, climbed aboard the boat and headed across the lake. It's a strange feeling to go from hiking to a relaxing boat ride but I made do.When we got to the house we all had amazing showers, washed our clothes, charged our gadgets, and had a huge lunch filled with cheeseburgers. We don't have many needs as hikers but they met them all as soon as we got here. The hospitality has been ridiculously great.After lunch we all piled back on the boat and tooled around the lake for the rest of the afternoon, finally watching the sun go down over the ridge (where the AT runs) and heading in for dinner. Oh, and dinner, filled with chicken wings, cole slaw, baked beans, corn on the cob, pork tenderloin, and some delicious blue cheese dressing they got from a BBQ joint. We were all in food comas for the rest of the night.So, plan for tomorrow is, well, the same thing. Not sure how I'll get through it but I'll find a way. Tuesday resumes normal trail life and the hustle into Damascus. Once we get on the ridge it should be pretty smooth sailing.Nick, I'll start looking through my guide to figure out a good way to meet up. The timing of town stops is tough and hasn't really hit on weekends. I'll be looking at Damascus, Marion, Pearisburg and Daleville though in the near future. I think there are one or two other towns in there too. I cross roads most every day. Some are good asphalt roads and others are tough to get to forest roads. I'll get the guide out this week and see what looks good.