morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-25
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast
Miles today: 8.7

There were points last night when I felt like the whole barn was swaying. Others confirmed that is was when I asked them. Some jerk was up at the crack of dawn talking really loud and non-stop. The downfall of the shelter¢¦I kept smelling patchouli all night in the barn. I tracked it down and found it coming from a guy named Toze. I let him know he smells good. This is probably the only time I will ever say those words to a thru-hiker!The day started with a bang; a big climb up Little Hump Mountain that gave a great view of the big red barn sitting proud at the forest edge. Then we had an even bigger climb to the real Hump Mountain. It was really cool because you could see the Trail¢s path in its entirety snaking up the open bald to the summit. You could look up and see tiny hikers far, far ahead of you. I like when the Trail is like that. Thankfully, the sun was behind clouds the whole time we were out in the open. Must be because I put on sun-block; that seems to be how it goes. The usual gang hung out on the summit relaxing and eating lunch. There were great panoramic views. We could even see Roan, the beast we conquered yesterday. The down hill was pretty rugged with lots of rocks and roots. Brad took a good header which didn¢t make his already hurt ankle feel much better. We stopped at a viewpoint and the town below us looked like a painting it was so bright and perfect. (A painting like those sold at Little Anthony¢s) There were a bunch of Christmas tree farms and they looked like little green mosaics. We stop at Apple House Shelter. Rumor has it locals harass hikers staying here and that they¢ve even burned it down a couple times. It¢s only 12 mile from the road. I¢m not sure if this is fact or fiction, though.We head to Mountain Harbour Bed and Breakfast to pick up our mail drop. It is only a short walk off the Trail. We have the best intentions of grabbing it and going. But, we open it and realize we have way too much food and that we need to mail some ahead. The post office is closed. Looks like we have to stay in a warm bed, take a hot shower, and do laundry. Darn!The hostel part is over the barn. There are horses and goats below us. It¢s really clean though. It has a private bedroom, kitchen, living, bath and a loft with four beds. The beds are really comfortable and they are made really tight and snug like my Mom makes them. I just thought, too bad the Trail doesn¢t go by my folks¢ house because my Mom would be the perfect hostel Mom.   She would always have people to feed, clothe, clean up after and nurse back to health!   The lady that runs the hostel actually washes and folds your clothes for you. We take advantage! We take hot showers and order pizza. Brad runs to the store for some other needed supplies. We are joined by Toze, Bravefoot and Steadfast stays outside in a tent. Sleepy hikers so early to bed.
Date: 2008-04-26
From: Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: light rain

Happy Birthday Dad!!!We didn't sleep at all last night as there was a sick hiker in the house who was up all night coughing. It was quite miserable.We have leftover pizza and soda for breakfast. Not a very healthy choice I know, but a very likely choice for a hiker in town. Hi-Lo and Itrod are arriving at the Hostel as we are heading out so we get to touch base with them. We finally get on the Trail at about 11am. We start the day off with an almost 1,000 foot climb. It is sunny and hot and almost instantly my clean, fresh clothes are wet with sweat and stink. Brad's ankle is in rough shape today. We take lunch at Jone's Falls which is a waterfall coming down over this massive rock. It's not quite a waterfall, well it is, but it doesn't so much splash out as it hugs the rocks all the way down. It's nice. We take off our boots and relax and Brad soaks his ankle in the ice cold water. We eat lunch, too. We hike on to Mountaineer Shelter which is quite new and nice. Rumor has it that no mice live here yet! We are also at Mountaineer Waterfall which is a pretty sight. We opt to stay in the shelter as it's supposed to rain tonight. We have lost Sunbeam and Busdriver do to our detour to the hostel last night. We are here with Sunkist and Kyanite. We are also joined by Bearpaw and Windjammer, Re-tread, Brown Bag (whose from Barrington, NH), Mr. Bones, and Stubbs. We have a fire and make milk dud hot chocolate (milkduds, powdered milk & water all boiled over the fire). It is soo good and I'm sure we'll be experimenting with every kind of candy now!
Date: 2008-04-27
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Laurel Fork Gorge
Miles today: 16.8

We thought it was going to rain. It didn't. Oh well. Granola and powdered milk for breakfast is the way to go! There was a spider in the shelter this morning that was identified as a brown recluse. You can tell because it has a fiddle design on it's back. It is very, very poisonous and probably the most dangerous "thing" we will have to contend with out here. Well, after everyone got a good look at it I stomped on it with my boot (and had the heebie-jeebies for the rest of the day). I know that you're not supposed to kill things out here and the whole leave no trace thing...but c'mon...I had to make and exception!The profile map for the day looked really mellow, with just minor ups and downs. We thought we'd be able to really move, but in reality, it was still a lot of work and we maintained our 2mph average speed. We stopped along a stream for a snack. The book says the water is contaminated, not sure with what. There are a number of streams lately that have that warning.We go by Hardcore Cascade which was really lame. I was expecting something so much more hardcore!It starts to sprinkle and we make it to Moreland Gap Shelter where we eat lunch. We leave the shelter and about a 1/2 mile down the Trail it starts to rain harder, no longer a welcomed drizzle cooling things off. We scramble to put on our rain gear and continue on our way. Rain makes the Trail very dangerous. Leaves, rocks and roots triple in hazard potential!Along the way I count 33 black and orange centipedes and 3 off white ones. Hey, I needed something to do to keep my mind of the rain and how much my feet hurt from going downhill. My feet are still screaming by the time we hit the bottom, though.The rain is not miserable. It's not a down pour, it's light and steady. The rainjackets are MINT! We make it to Dennis Cove and it stops raining. W head for Laurel Fork Shelter, 2 miles away. We walk down Laurel Fork Gorge which is wild with it's enormous rock cliffs. The stairway leading down must have been a seriously labor intensive job. We see Laurel Falls which is beautiful! I nearly break my neck trying to take our picture in front of it. You know, setting the timer on the camera, then running across dangerously slick rocks to get there in time. Only took me two tries! The Trail actually snakes around the edge of the river, getting pretty hairy in spots: cliff/rock walls on one side of you and raging water on the other side of you as you walk a narrow path over rocks. Very cool!We decide to set our tents up at a camping area in the Gorge, right along the river. We are joined by Brown Bag. We decide not to have a fire. It's been a long, wet day. We eat dinner and head right to bed. It's nice falling asleep to the sound of rushing water.Oh yeah! We saw the first mountain laurel in bloom today! It smelled so sweet and looked so pretty!
Date: 2008-04-28
From: Laurel Fork Gorge

To: Braemar Castle Hostel
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: light rain

It poured all night and all morning. We decided to hang tight and wait it out. It was a long, long wait. We slept on and off, ate snickers and twix, looked through the thru-hikers handbook, and chatted. Brad has come down with a cold overnight. Probably caught from the sick hiker in the hostel the other night. He coughed all night, his throat hurts, and his head is full of pressure. Not good.We yelled back and forth with Sunkist and Kyanite who were in their tent just a couple feet away. Finally, at 2pm, the rain had been stopped for a bit, the sky seemed a bit brighter and we thought it time to make our move. Finally! I have never held my pee for so long in my life. My god, it was 2pm and I was peeing for the first time that day!We packed up all our gear. The tent is drenched and muddy and makes a heck of a mess. I hate putting away a wet tent, but there was no chance of it drying out here. I wrapped it in a trash bag so that it didn't get any of my other gear wet. We head out of the gorge following the river along this really mellow path. We have an 1,800 foot climb. Let's just say I am grateful for switchbacks! They sure beat going straight up! The sky looks threatening throughout the day but it doesn't rain while we are hiking. The sun is trying it's hardest to shine, but it doesn't ever really penetrate the thick cloud layer. Pond Flats, the name of the highest point today, has several "false summits". It would level off for a bit and you'd think "yeah!" Then it would suddenly shoot upwards again. That sucks. We met Sherlock along the way down. It was a gradual, not too painful downhill. On the very last step (a log step actually) of the descent Brad slips, wacks his elbow, and snaps his hiking pole in half. This guy is in rough shape...We cross the road to Shook Branch Picnic Area and we quickly decide to head to a hostel. Brad makes the call and we are picked up by Sutton Brown and brought to his hostel, Braemer Castle. It is this enormous stone building that used to be owned by his grandparents. Half of the building is his home, the other half is the hostel. On the bottom half of the hostel is a bunk-room, kitchen and bath. The top floor has private rooms with private baths. It also has a shared kitchen and living room. We drop all our gear in a room and head out in search of grub.We borrow bicycles. Ones that are far safer than the ones used at the previous hostel! We peddle to McDonalds AND Subway for dinner. We also stop by the Dollar General and pick Brad up some medication for his cough and cold. Back to the room to shower and sleep.
Date: 2008-04-29
From: Braemar Castle Hostel

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Brad was burning up all night but I think at some point his fever finally broke and we were both able to get some sleep.   We had laid the tent and all our other gear out all over the floor and thankfully everything had dried out. It was nice to be able to pack up dry gear. Sutton gave us a ride back to the spot he had picked us up. We walked only a short distance and found Sunkist, Kyanite, Barley and Rain packing up camp. We waited, and hit the Trail with them. The Trail followed around Watauga Lake and we stopped for lunch at the Dam. Sutton had told us that the water at the Dam was 300 feet deep. We had a big climb out of Iron Mountain Gap but the views of the lake the whole way were amazing. The lake is enormous! The farms around it have the greenest fields and coupled with the large farmhouses it looks picture perfect. The wind was blowing all day and the sun would come and go. It was very cold--hat and glove weather. Glad we still have our warm gear. I don¢t think I¢ll be sending it home for a couple more weeks. We hike on to Iron Mountain Shelter and set up our tent. We have kraft macaroni and cheese for dinner, which is a very yummy first for us. It is way too cold to hang out tonight, so early to bed for us. Plus, trying to prevent Brad from getting any sicker.Brad had a really good ankle day. Yippee!
Date: 2008-04-30
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9

It was freezing last night! It must have frosted over night because once the sun came out and melted it, we had some dripping water in the tent. Hard to get out of the sleeping bag on days like this. I thought the cold weather was behind us. I was quite wrong! This would be why ¢they¢ tell you to NOT send your gear home until after Pearisburg¢¦We pull ourselves out of the tent, hung up a line to dry the rain fly, ate hot oatmeal and packed up our gear. It¢s funny that every morning we are passed by people who have gotten up at the crack of dawn and already hiked between 2 to 6 miles before we are even done packing up camp. Well, it¢s not really funny, kind of sad actually, but hey, we move to the beat of a different drummer! We hike a couple miles and go through this huge, green, grassy field, probably one mile long. We stop here to eat lunch. It¢s nice and relaxing. Sunny, but a bit chilly which is good because we don¢t get sucked in to a two hour lunch. The terrain is really, really mellow. Nothing too high. Nothing too low. We cruise right along as Brad is having another good ankle day!We get to Abingdon Gap Shelter and are met by Sunbeam who has the fixings for s¢mores. We had intended to push on, but that stopped us in our tracks! We set up our tent, eat dinner, then eat enough s¢mores that I nearly get sick. They were soooo good that I just couldn¢t stop at 2 or 3 or 4 or¢¦We are joined by Sunkist and Kyanite; Briar and Bad Idea who are two incredibly funny guys; MacGyver and Lemur who are a delightful couple; Snackies; Steadfast and a couple others whose names I missed. We have a fire and hang out laughing. We attempt to come up with a trail name for me, but have no luck. I had said about a week ago that if I didn¢t have a name by Damascus that I was going to go home. Well, tomorrow will be Damascus¢¦
Date: 2008-05-01
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 10.0

We woke up early this morning and were on the Trail by 8:15am. I think that may be record time for us. The weather was sunny and warm; shorts and t-shirt weather. The terrain was like a walk in the park. We had exactly 10 miles to do and we did it in about 3 12 hours. We were cruising¢!!! We definitely made our best time ever--way better than our average 2mph. I am in awe of how quickly we moved.We crossed the Tennessee/Virginia border and took photographs and celebrated with candy bars provided by Sunbeam (she¢s like the Snack-Packers gang leader). We then made our way into Damascus, Virginia. There is an actually archway welcoming hikers. Of course we took more pictures and videotaped. It is so exciting to be in Virginia. It feels like such a big milestone for us. We search for a place to stay. The town is full of hikers. We avoid the hostels, as so many people are sick and we don¢t want to catch the funk. There are lots of little bed and breakfasts. Some are pretty over the top, well one that I looked at was. It was this older woman living alone in this big old house and it was as though she just filled the rooms with dried flowers, porcelain dolls, potpourri, and knick-knacks. Oh yeah, she squeezed a bed in there too. It was just creepy. We kept looking. One woman I spoke to on the telephone told me where the spare key to her house was hidden and told me to just let myself in! I did, but then let myself right out. We kept looking. We ended up at Damascus Cabins. It is a private cabin on the river. A bit pricey, but so wasn¢t everything else that was available. It has a private bedroom, bath, full kitchen and living/dining area and a large porch. Sunbeam stays on the pull out couch. It is owned by this woman named Linda, who is so, so sweet! We air out all our gear on the porch and do our camp dishes with real soap, which is a luxury we don¢t usually have. We eat lunch at Dot¢s then shower and do laundry. We go out to dinner at the Mill with Sunbeam and Busdriver. Then we rush home to watch Grey¢s Anatomy So, I decide I am having way too much fun to go home just because I don¢t have a name. No way. I¢m staying on this path as long as I can. Name or not. I¢ll figure it out sometime¢¦
Date: 2008-05-02
From: Damascus, Virginia

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Birthday, Hannah!!!Brad made bagel egg sandwiches for Sunbeam and I this morning. Real eggs are so much better than powdered ones! I had dish duty.I head to the library to start updating our trail journal. I get only part way through before I use up my two hour limit. I¢m thinking I need to figure out a different way to do this because it is so time consuming when we get into town. We are going to look into some other options. Brad went to the local hairstylist, Eula, and had his head shaved. Not bic¢d but pretty close. He looks really good. He did have to come back and put on sunblock so it wouldn¢t burn!We then walked to Sun Dog Outfitters where I got a new pair of shorts. I went down 2 sizes from what I was wearing when we started this trip! Woo-hoo!!!We then went back to the cabin and figured out our food for the next couple days in the woods. Man, we have a lot of food; so much that we are bouncing some ahead to our next stop. We walked to the grocery store and picked up some cheese, the only thing we didn¢t have. We cooked a frozen pizza for dinner then just lounged around watching the television. It was a nice, lazy day. Oh! The best part of the day was that I called Sadie and Lucy answered!!! That little girl just made my day
Date: 2008-05-03
From: Damascus, Virginia

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Brad made yummy egg sandwiches again for breakfast today. We packed up all our gear which barely fits into our bags. Every re-supply day our bags are obscenely big and heavy, mostly packed with snacks.We head to Mount Rogers Outfitters and Brad got a new pair of shoes. The outfitter was really great and spent a lot of time helping him to decide and pick the right pair They are a low cut trail shoe by Lowa. I just hope his ankle is okay. I got a new t-shirt that says ¢Virginia is for hikers¢. I sure do hope we survive Virginia¢¦We hit the post office and mailed our package ahead to Atkins, and Brad also mailed home some winter gear. He is usually way warmer than I am, so this shouldn¢t be a problem for him. We went to ¢The Place¢, a local hostel and chatted with Rain for a bit. We are trying to decide whether or not to hike today. The sky is dark and the forecast is calling for torrential downpours. I don¢t mind when it rains after we are already in the woods, but I find it really hard to start out in the rain. Why get wet if we don¢t have to? I¢m not sure if that is being a really wimpy hiker, or a smart one. Rain votes for smart, so I¢m siding with her. I head to Eula¢s to get my hair trimmed. It is a beauty shop just like out of a movie. There are about five older ladies all sitting around chatting about their husbands, how love and marriage is hard, and of course, a little town gossip. They are all so sweet, especially Eula. It is probably my favorite town experience so far. We went to the Dollar General to get cards for an upcoming holiday. We asked the cashier if she sold stamps. She did not, but she took out her purse and gave us some of her own! She let us know that Damascus prides itself in taking care of thru-hikers.We call Linda, the woman we are renting from and let her know we are going to stay again. We ask if she knows anywhere we can use the internet, as the library is closed. She, without hesitating, offers to bring over her personal laptop for us to use! She stops by, visits for a bit then leaves the computer for us to use all night. We are finally able to upload photographs for our fans!We have been absolutely amazed by the kindness and generosity expressed by everyone we have encountered in this little town in Virginia. We look forward to coming back for Trail Days.
Date: 2008-05-04
From: Damascus, Virginia

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

First off, sorry for the LONG delay in our journal entries. We sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting and worrying. We hit some towns with limited internet access, some without, and to be honest we were sometimes too lazy to do much of anything. We are getting a pocket-mail device and are hoping that this will help to keep us more updated. Keep your fingers crossed! Anyways...here's what's been going on...Our packs were all ready packed to go from yesterday, so all we had to do was shower and tidy the cabin a bit. On our way out of town we stopped at Mojoe's for breakfast. I had the best hot chocolate in the entire world! It was amazing, so good that I suggest you take a trip to Damascus for that reason alone. We hit the Trail on this lovely hot and sunny day. We started with quite an incline, but it didn't really feel that way. It was real gradual and mellow. I actually got back into the routine of hiking a lot faster than I normally do after being in town. I felt really good, and Brad hasn't taken any Advil for his ankle in three days and is also feeling pretty good.We stop along the way at Feathercamp Branch and chat with Barley and Rain. We stop again at Bear Tree Gap and have a snack, chewy fruit snacks to be exact. I love those things. They make the packages so small though. I think they should make an adult sized pack. We truck along and eventually follow the Virginia Creeper Trail for a spell. And that Trail follows the river. It is almost like a gravel road, just flat and nearly smooth. Along the Trail they have platforms over the water that is handicap accessible for fishing. That just makes me happy to see! The terrain today has been really enjoyable. The uphills didn't feel so bad. It was a great hiking day. We get to Lost Mountain Shelter and set up our tent. We join Walrus, Hi-Lo, Blues Traveler, Pop Top, and Hammer. Hammer is actually from Nashua, NH! We make dinner and hang out visiting for a bit. Early to bed as we're going to try getting up and on the Trail earlier. Wish me luck cause I'm gonna need it
Date: 2008-05-06
From: Little Wilson Creek

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: scattered clouds

It was freezing last night. I kept waking up cold and I¢d have to wrap myself into a ball in order to fall back asleep. It was sunny and warm when it was time to get up, thankfully. We hiked out of camp and headed up Stone Mountain where we could look back and see Grayson Highlands and where we had hiked yesterday. It was a pretty great view. We hiked to Old Orchard Shelter and ate lunch while we relaxed with our boots and socks off. We hit the 500 mile mark!!! I can¢t believe we¢ve hiked this far! The 100¢s are definitely coming a lot faster than they were in the beginning. We have a heck of a climb up Iron Mountain. It¢s not bad, really, it¢s just really long. But my heart no longer feels like it¢s going to explode when I hike uphill, which is great! I am grateful for the changes in my health.We take a break at the top and look at the map. The profile shows that we should have a flat (literally flat) spell for about five miles. In reality we have more climbing than level walking. It wasn¢t awful, but when you get jazzed up for a walk in the park and you get a Monadnock, well, you¢re a little miffed. We were a bit frustrated, but we are learning to not invest a whole lot in the profile maps. Just hike north and see what the Trail brings us. It¢s better to not have expectations.We sit at Dickey Gap and without much enthusiasm talk about moving on. Eventually we do and come to Raccoon Branch Campsite. We decide to push on and complete our first 20 mile day. The last 2.6 miles are torture. Well, not really because everything feels great except my feet. They throb and burn and pulse and ache and just plain freakin¢ HURT! It feels as though the pads are bruised and each step is more painful than the last. Brad takes a good (and by good I mean really, really bad) header and twists his ankle. He lays in the Trail for a bit and after a rest he is up and walking with a stylish limp. We eventually hobble into camp. Brad gets water and I set up the tent. Then we eat a quick dinner. We are not in the mood for hanging out. We just want to be in bed off our feet. And that's what we do.By the way, our first 20 miles day is really only 19.9