morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-04-13
From: Erwin, TN

To: Apple Orchard (Camping)
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: light rain

We did it! Several accomplishments today: 19+, 20+, and 21+ miler club all in one day! It was a pretty long day of hiking out of Erwin to our camping area, but we rocked it out!It was a great sunny day for hiking! We woke up and cleared out of the cabin room by 8 and as we were finishing up some last minute items Mio and RP rolled into Johnny's. It was great seeing those guys again and catching up with them, but we left them in town with Sparky, Josh, and Montreal. We left Johnny's after Gray Ghost stopped by to finalize our plans to stop by his house Monday night. We had some nice hiking out of Erwin - it took us past a lot of flowing streams and some nice camping sites. The climbing was not too strenuous and later on we saw Gray Ghost, Frank, and Christian on the switchbacks below us. The hiking difficulty increased as we went up, so we let them pass us since they were hiking without packs. We took a packs off break at the first shelter after two hours of hiking - the fifteen minute break felt great and helped with our hiking later on, so we will probably continue to breaks like that in the future!On the way up, we also had some great views of Erwin and the valley. We passed a section of the trail that suffered a forest fire and scorched the land - major energy was required to do that! Later on we passed Mission and Youngster on the trail. We heard word on the trail that there be trail magic ahead at the next gap, so we all continued to hike with renewed energy.We found some great trail magic by Frost (NOBO '12) and his wife Sunshine! They had eggs, hash browns, tortilla shells, soda, and Gatorade - only the good stuff! We stayed there a little bit enjoying the sunshine and the lunch and then continued hiking on.As we hiked on past Indian Grave Gap, we went from forest land to scrub land to a meadow back to the forest again - an interesting mix of scenery! We reached Beauty Spot Gap and rested with two girls who were section hiking from Erwin to Roan Mountain. The gap was very pretty in the sunshine and as we left we saw three beauties of our own in the form of lovely young ladies coming down the hill. The meeting was brief but improved group morale.We made the tough climb up Unaka Mountain into the beautiful dense spruce forest at the top of the hill. It was unlike anything we had seen on the trail and it was a nice change of scenery. We finally reached the shelter and rested while we decided on our next steps. To shorten the next day to Gray Ghost's house, we decided to hike on to a camping area 4.4 miles past the shelter. This would bump the day up to 21.9, but the legs felt great so we moved on. After some strong winds and warm weather, we reached the campsite at 7:15. Since it was getting late, we set up camp in record time and ate a late dinner. We started a little fire and rested from the long day. Ready to climb Roan Mountain tomorrow! Kudos to Big Dawg on the long day.
Date: 2014-04-14
From: Apple Orchard

To: Gray Ghost's House via Carvers Gap
Miles today: 14.1

After an extremely windy night - which the hammock set-up survived - we broke camp to reach Carvers Gap by 4:30 pm to hook up with Gray Ghost and his wife.It was a slow start to the morning - Big Dawg was pretty whupped from the long day yesterday! But after some rests and energy breaks, he bounced back for the rest of the hiking.As we were walking, we saw a sign promoting $2 "Bers" - whatever those are. We continued hiking in so-so weather past Clyde Smith Shelter and reached a water spot after Hughes Gap for a lunch break. The piped spring was not flowing well but Big Dawg fixed it to get it moving better! We enjoyed our lunch briefly with two fellows from Colorado and their dog. After lunch, the hiking speed picked up because of the extra energy. The initial climb from Hughes Gap to Ash Gap was not too rough of a climb, but the climb after Ash Gap was 1000 vertical feet in one mile! It was fairly steep and rocky, and the cloudy drizzly weather made the climbing less enjoyable. Once we got to the top we had no views from Roan Mountain because of the weather, so we pushed on and rested at the Roan High Knob Shelter. This is the highest shelter on the AT, and although we did not stay there we left our signature at the shelter! We passed Youngster and Mission on the way to Carvers Gap. They had passed us when we rested at the shelter. We reached the gap and were delighted to see Gray Ghost and his wife waiting for us with a nice warm car, Moon Pies, and Cheerwine! It also got us out of the drizzly weather.We rode down to their house in the mountains - what a beautiful place! They are off the beaten path but the house is beautifully crafted and set up extremely well. We settled into the basement and after cleaning up we had a very relaxing evening. Gray Ghost and his wife were great hosts, made some great food, and provided some great conversation throughout the evening.We are very thankful for the invite to stay at your house Gray Ghost - and if you come to Indiana, you can stay with us!
Date: 2014-04-15
From: Carvers Gap

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel via Hwy 19E
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

Through rain and sleet and wind and snow - we will follow the AT wherever it goes! This became our new toughest day on the AT. It was only 14.3 miles, but we hiked in the worst weather and trail conditions to date.We had a great night's sleep and breakfast of sausage, eggs, and biscuits at Ghost's house. We rode down with Ghost and his wife to Iron Mountain Gap, where he was slackpacking from there to Carvers Gap. Saw some great scenery of the area and some that we missed yesterday in the fog! Also passed through a couple of quaint little towns in the mountains.After dropping Ghost off, we rode up to Carvers Gap and headed out. The weather looked like it was going to blow through the area so we hiked on.Unfortunately, the weather did not miss us. It started to lightly rain all the way to the first shelter and the temperature started dropping. We had to stop at the first shelter to change into our rain gear before hiking to the converted barn shelter for lunch. The Overmountain Shelter is a very unique shelter that holds a lot of people - stay here if you can!We did not enjoy the barn as much because of the cold rainy weather draining our energy and chilling our hands. We ate lunch and dried our gloves to combat both of those, and as we were getting ready to leave it started sleeting on us! We were at a critical point on the hike: continue on to the original destination with no out if necessary, or hike back to Carvers Gap. Being brave (or foolish) men we pushed on into the sleet and wind - my hands were the coldest they have been on the AT!As we went over the balds, the conditions got worse. The sleet became snow and the winds picked up, with winds gusting around 40 knots. We had no protection on the balds so we were getting blown off the trail by gusts and accumulating ice on our left side. We had to keep moving to keep warm and get out of the wind!After hours of battling the elements, we finally climbed over the last bald (Hump Mountain) and started the downhill to Roan Mtn, TN - a great relief after the tough hiking!The trail tried to kill us today! Four total falls (I had three - my first time fully falling while backpacking), snow and wind, open exposed balds - but we made it out with no injuries, one bruise, and one broken pole.We reached Hwy 19E and walked to the Mountain Harbour Hostel and checked in and warmed up.This is a great place to stay on the trail! The hostel and private rooms are located above their barn and they have a separate house with three bed and breakfast rooms. They shuttle you into town at five pm and they are well-priced and have great staff!We dropped our stuff and picked up the shuttle to Smoky Mountain Bakers - they had great wood-fired pizza and it was packed with happy customers! We rode back and finally warmed up from the cold long day - a much needed respite from the trail.We have now truly become manly men of the AT after the hiking today - onwards to Damascus!
Date: 2014-04-18
From: US 321

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: overcast clouds

What a great sleep at the hostel! Slept in a little bit in the morning then ate breakfast at the little grill in town called Teresa's Grill - a great breakfast for small town prices! Biscuits and Gravy, Eggs and Home Fries and drink for $6! Cannot beat that!After the great meal, Alex took us to the trail and dropped us off - we should see him in Damascus since he is picking up Blue Deer on Sunday. It was cloudy/overcast all day and we started the hike over Watagua Dam. Looks like it required a lot of dam work to build! It is made of natural materials and not used as much for electricity production.We continued climbing up at a steady clip for several hours - the path had many switchbacks and views of the lake! Finally we reached Vandeventer Shelter for lunch and had an excellent view of the lake and the valley below. The shelter was covered with Bob Peoples jokes - he is the owner of the Kincora Hostel and maintains the trail in the Hampton region!Favorite jokes (similar to Chuck Norris jokes):Jesus asks Bob Peoples for forgivenessBob Peoples does not flush the toilet - he scares the crap out of it!Passed the German couple (Robert and Svenja - pronounced "swenya") and they said that they were staying at the same shelter - they no longer have the beers, but we can share the fire with them!We arrived at the shelter and met Trip (PCT '05) from Seattle. He was hiking the trail on a slightly twisted ankle so he was doing short day hikes. Big Dawg set up the hammocks while I filtered water. Robert, Svenja, and Sole Power showed up at the camp later that evening. Sole Power stayed two days with a friend at Appalachian State!We caught up with everyone over dinner and around the fire and met Gaucho from Florida. Had some great conversations by the fire and then settled in for the evening!
Date: 2014-04-19
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Almost made it to Virginia today - but such a short time in Tennessee!Woke up to no rain, so we packed quickly and rolled out. The plan is to leave 10 miles to Damascus - an easy hike to town for Easter Sunday! There was not a lot of climbing today. We bounced around elevation of about 3000 to 4000 feet all day. We hiked pretty quickly this morning - ready to get to the shelter early and have some time to relax! Before TN 91, we had some trail magic in the form of Little Debbie snacks and sodas in a very bear-proof container! We each took a couple of snacks each and ate down by the road. Around this time Sole Power passed us by the road. He can move!We hiked across a handicapped-accessible part of the AT that went through an open field. From the field we went quickly back into the woods and climbed up to the next shelter. As we arrived Sole Power was just leaving from his break. We rested quickly and read the shelter log.We rolled out from the shelter and aimed for US 421 for lunch. During that time we passed Trip along the trail and were passed by Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote who are both from New York and started a week and a half after us. We ate lunch by the road and they headed off for a bed and breakfast in Damascus that evening. As we left the road, the sun came out and warmed up the day nicely! We hiked up to McQueen's Knob and saw remnants of a fire tower near the top. As we went down to the knob and saw an old AT shelter that was built in 1934! It is only to be used for emergencies - it was a little beat up but it was still standing. It would have been real tight in the shelter though...kind of a small shelter!After a little more hiking, we reached the shelter and set up the hammocks. Gaucho and Trip arrived at the shelter - Trip stayed, Gaucho moved on. Later on Robert and Svenja arrived at camp for the evening, while Finn rolled through camp on his way to Damascus. We had a nice meal and fire ans enjoyed the rest of the day!At about 9:30 at night, Honeybear rolled into camp looking for Finn - hiking at night without a headlamp! He moved on to try and catch up with Finn - going to be a late evening for him!
Date: 2014-04-20
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Woodchuck Hostel - Damascus, VA
Miles today: 9.9

After a very brief time in Tennessee, we reached our 4th state of the trail - Virginia! We will be hiking in the state for over a month - a long time!We woke up at 6 AM to Mio, Sparky, and Fritz Lang walking through camp on a 50 mile non-stop ultra hike from Kincora to Damascus - they are crazy kids!We got up shortly after they left and left camp before 8 AM and prepared to go the short distance to Damascus. It was an easy hike into town with a few ups and few reference points marking the miles. After the TN-VA border, it was mostly down to town!We finally made it to Virginia! We stopped at the border sign and rested to savor the moment - only 11 more states! With some music playing from my iPod, we marched into town to some 80's jams.Damascus was quite a quiet little town - one main street, with not many places open on this Easter Sunday. The trail goes straight through town and we followed it towards the Woodchuck Hostel. We left the trail to get to the hostel and settled into the place briefly - the room was not quite ready yet. While they prepped the room, we walked through town aiming for lunch at Subway (one of three places open). In town we saw Blue Deer after his two and a half day hiking trip and chatted with him while he waited for Alex to pick him up. Alex (from Braemer Castle Hostel) arrived and they moved on - Blue Deer is going to be in Daleville in two weeks - perhaps we will see him again!We arrived at the Subway to see Mio, Fritz, and Sparky going to get plenty of nutrition after their long hike. They looked pretty tired after the hike and will be resting a day or two in town. RP and Pyro should be in Damascus on Monday or Tuesday - they opted out of the crazy hike.Gandalf, Sole Power, and Peppa were also near the Subway when we showed up. Peppa commandeered Blue Deer's dog for two weeks - a nice new hiking partner! We re-met Ghengis at the table outside the cafe - he is leaving the trail since his grandma passed away (in our prayers).The G.O.A.T and Finn arrived a little bit later while we ate outside enjoying the food and sun and company!We picked up some gear from the outfitters and then returned to Woodchuck Hostel. Chilled around the hostel for a bit and then I Skyped my mom and sister. The connection kept fluctuating in and out so I could not do video-video. Walking towards the little demo shelter in town I was able to get a consistent signal for an video-audio call.After the call, we went to Food City and Pizza Plus and then came back to the hostel. Then we went over to Dave's Place to pick up Svenja, Robert, and one of their friends to share drinks in the park. Had to be careful in town - no open containers, so bottles hidden in a brown bag and poured into an unmarked cup.Saw Mission and Youngster earlier as well...Youngster is doing better, and they are getting back at it tomorrow!Went back to the hostel and chilled with hikers on the porch - great fun!
Date: 2014-04-21
From: Damascus, VA

To: Zero Day 03: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We had easy living today! A relaxing day in Damascus with little excitement and little to do.It was a much needed rest day though! We both slept in some and then went for pancakes at the Blue Blaze Cafe - the pancakes were a little thin, but they tasted good and you can do all you can eat pancakes for $10!After breakfast, we stopped by the post office to ship some cold weather gear home (not all of it though - it can still get a little chilly!) and then went to the new library to use the computers - the new library is very nice and hiker friendly!Went to Cowboy's for lunch - a little grill attached to a gas station in town. They had some good food, not super spectacular though. Good for hungry hikers though!From lunch, we went to the Dollar General to resupply to Atkins, VA. In the store we saw Josh who arrived in town today with RP and Pyro. Familiar faces are good to see again! We also saw Mission and Youngster in the store - they were heading out tomorrow to hike since Youngster's feet are feeling better.On the way around town, we passed Chocolate and Cheese - they had hitched to Damascus to get new shoes for Silvia because of blister problems! Luckily the new shoes seemed to be working out for her.We returned to Woodchuck Hostel where I sent some postcards out and laid out in the sun reading a book describing some history around the AT - a great read for a lazy day in town in the sunshine!Ate dinner at Blue Blaze again - delicious Philly cheesesteak sandwiches and fries! Finally returned to the hostel for the evening and settled in - time to get back at it!
Date: 2014-04-22
From: Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

We woke up to a lot of movement in the hostel, so we got up, packed up, ate breakfast, and rolled out. We thanked Chuck for the hospitality and went through town.Along the way we saw RP, Mio, Pyro, Fritz, Fargo, and Mambo enjoying breakfast in the Blue Blaze Cafe. Fargo and Fritz were heading out later while the rest were staying in Damascus. I chatted with them briefly before moving on. As we went further in town, we saw Chocolate and Cheese getting ready to leave - they were heading out today as well! After a quick stop at the outfitters, we hopped on the AT/Creeper Trail out of town and then went full AT on the first of our three climbs. Luckily the climbs were gentler today with more switchbacks involved.We hiked on until the first parking area and rested with Chocolate and Cheese before moving on. They decided to follow the Creeper Trail to help break in the new shoes - let's say the Creeper Trail is not as rugged as the AT.We stopped for lunch at the first shelter of the day - it is a little farther back than the listed 0.25 miles on the sign! At the shelter we met Cupcake (hiker from NC) and three high schoolers preparing for the Colorado Trail this summer! Had a nice lunch chatting with everyone.It rained briefly as we left the shelter but did not last too long or rain too hard. We reconnected with the Creeper Trail and followed it to the next AT split. The Creeper Trail is a nice trail with some great bridges and views, a must visit later on!We followed the AT to our destination for the evening - Lost Mountain Shelter. I do not know how people lost a mountain, but we found it! Should be named Found Mountain Shelter...At the shelter, we met Mary Poppins and Oops. Mary Poppins got her name from having all sorts of extraneous stuff in her bag. Oops...her name is self-explanatory. We also met Inflamable from Canada talking about foreign things with Fritz. We set up camp and Fargo (formerly Sparky) rolled into camp with the three high school guys.After dinner, we had a great roaring fire that prompted great conversations until hiker midnight - 8 pm. Everyone started getting ready for bed but we stayed up till 9:30 with Cupcake.
Date: 2014-04-23
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Big Wilson Creek (Camping)
Miles today: 17.7

We made it to both milestones today - 500 miles and wild ponies! The Proclaimers and The Rolling Stones rejoiced in my head.We woke up early and had a great start to the day - campfire, breakfast, everyone up and chatting! We left camp and prepared ourselves for the long continuous uphill to the Grayson Highlands - last time the AT crosses 5000 feet until New Hampshire!And boy did we climb a lot! Almost 1500 feet up to the first flat before finally climbing to the highest point on the AT in Virginia (near Mt. Rogers - highest point in VA). We walked with Fargo on and off through the climb and rested with him behind some rocks on the exposed knob - a windy day! The sun made it better as the day progressed and warmed our souls.We hiked down to VA 600 for lunch - no trail magic at the road, but the weather was nice for eating in the sun. Fargo also joined us near the end of lunch and then we all rolled out.We hiked through open fields and wooded area to Deep Gap for H2O - Big Dawg went and fetched (pun!) the water while I talked with Cupcake who had stopped for lunch at the gap. The water was a bit of a walk so it took him a little bit to get it. We hiked up the hill and ran into the Virginia trail club that maintains the trail for this section . They had just cleaned out the privy at Thomas Knob Shelter - a dirty job but we appreciate all the work they do for the trail!We stopped at the shelter for a little break before moving on. After the trail club we ran into our first wild pony! He was hidden in the weeds but walked directly past us on the trail - he was not going to move for anyone! Throughout the highlands we saw about 30 ponies overall - awesome to see in the wild!The Highlands themselves were very pretty and scenic, but they routed the AT through some of the rockiest parts of the area - hard on the feet! Great views of the highs and lows of Virginia.We arrived at Wise Shelter and saw Fritz and Inflamable. Since we could not hammock around the shelter, we pushed on to a camping area outside of the Highlands Park. Fritz flipped a coin and decided to push on further as well. We found our campsite after a little confusion on mileage and set up. Fritz and Fargo moved on to a campsite further down the trail. We gathered firewood and had us a nice fire by the creek. A quiet clear night on the trail...just Big Dawg and I around the fire with the stars.Wild Ponies...I will ride them someday!
Date: 2014-04-24
From: Big Wilson Creek

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

We had the funk grooving today! The hiking today set us up for a short day to pizza at the Partnership Shelter!We woke up to very cold weather this morning! Frost on the inside of the hammock tarp and frozen water bottles. Packed up quickly in the morning and rolled out to get warm. The weather warmed up quickly and it turned out to be a great day! We saw two wild ponies (bye!) as we hiked to the Old Orchard Shelter. Upon arriving we saw Fritz, Fargo, Cupcake, and the three high schoolers resting and chilling at the shelter. We also learned that you cannot hang glide in the national forest...see attached picture.We also found out there is another Indiana out on the trail! We just missed him at the shelter and apparently hikes fast...we may never see him on the trail!We stopped at the first road crossing for lunch - Cupcake yogied a summer sausage and tortillas from the high school guys (it was their last day and they were getting a real lunch). Had a great lunch with Cupcake and Fargo at the gap and said goodbye to our new friends.We formed a train going up the hill after lunch and moved pretty quickly because of the summer sausage and the funk! Great hiking with a group of people and it makes the hiking easier.Kept rolling on to Hurricane Mountain Shelter for a water break. Fritz arrived and after getting water we all staggered out at different times and the train was broken.Continued on towards to Dickey Gap to get phone service, but we had no bars. So we rested at the gap while I gave some guy directions to Grayson Highlands via road - luckily I pointed him in the right direction!Made the last climb and did not like the camping there so we moved on to Trimpi Shelter. When we got there it was packed inside and out! Fargo, Fritz, Cupcake, Finn, Trip, Mary Poppins, Inflammable, and Oops were at camp while met Eastwood and Heartwood from the West Coast. We also met some section hikers from Fort Wayne, IN! Ended the day with a good fire and friends.