morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-13
From: Campsite mi 517.6

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Partnership shelter is AMAZING. It's a double decker shelter with a shower that is near a road. The awesome thing about staying here is that a nearby pizza joint delivers pizza right to you! We arrived at the shelter around 4:00 to find out that the Mt. Rogers Visitor center closed at 4:30. We ran over to find Bass sitting there sipping a soda. He had already called ahead to the pizza place and found out our options. After a few quick decisions, we had hot pizza enroute to our location. I ordered a few postcards before the visitors center closed and returned to the shelter to fill them out.About 30 minutes later the delivery driver pulled up. The 3 of us ate and ate... and realized our stomachs were not as big as our eyes. Lucky for the other shelter residents, they got some free pizza. We all sat up and talked for a while, but it was getting really cold. The idea of a cold shower was ditched. I decided to pitch my tent in hopes of catching a few extra degrees and went to bed with a full belly.
Date: 2013-05-14
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 0.1
Weather: clear sky

We woke up and caught the 9 AM, $0.50 shuttle into Marion from the nearby visitors center. The idea was to do a quick resupply and get back out on the trail for a few more miles. While we were driving in, I may have mentioned a hot shower would be nice. Next thing I knew, Cocoon, Bass, Siren and I were at the Econo Lodge checking in. We all lied around for a few hours and took a really long and amazing hot shower We all did laundry and Siren and I went to a nearby Wendy's for some lunch. The only downer of the day was a phone call I made regarding gear. I have to say, I was incredibly disappointed with REI and their customer service. I was told they were amazing with their service and replacement/ repair services. That is very incorrect. The woman I spoke with accused me of causing the equipment to dysfunction and said their 100% satisfaction guarantee only applied to malfunctioning equipment. I'm not really sure, but a water bladder that popped while properly hung in my pack sounds like a malfunctioning piece of equipment. She also decided to take this time to try to sell me more unnecessary gear. After pretty much getting into an argument I just hung up. As soon as I can apply for a new credit card and use up my gift cards and dividends, I'm finished with REI forever. Backcountry.com is where it's at I finally got to the store and did some resupply, including a new phone!!! That means I won't have to worry about only having a 5% battery life anymore, which is pretty awesome. We went to dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant, where we had some amazing food and margaritas.
Date: 2013-05-15
From: Marion, VA

To: Trail Days!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The room temp was all over the place the night before and I could barely sleep. When I "got up" in the morning I ran to the lobby to grab some complementary breakfast before we were supposed to catch our ride back to Damascus for Trail Days! I returned to the room, quickly packed and we ran to Wal-Mart for resupply and Chinese food. We had some time to kill so we ran to the Dollar Tree and grabbed 2 kites, a wiffleball bat and balls, a soccer ball, and badmitton rackets. We sat in a nearby field entertaining ourselves until a huge SUV pulled in. A member of ALDHA was nice enough to pick us up and drive us to trail days... in style We returned to Damascus to find a ghost town. We went back to the Place, got the orientation... again, and set up our tents out back. We walked to the Blue Blaze to get dinner, but the music was depressing this time around and it was just empty. We went back to the tents and fell asleep hoping that the rest of trail days would be more eventful.
Date: 2013-05-16
From: Trail Days!

To: Trail Days!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

5/16-5/18Trail days rocks. I highly highly recommend it to any hiker or previous hiker. The town boomed when we got up the next morning and it was amazing. Hikers, former hikers, and hiking supporters flooded Damascus. I saw Jennifer Pharr Davis speak, had spa day (shower, haircut and foot massage) and barely paid a cent for food the entire time. I saw friends I haven't seen in months, which was just plain amazing. It was like a giant reunion. I saw Brandon and Kristen again, Bamboo, Morning Kid, DT, Lucky One, Valkerie, Paul (aka oops), Breeze, the Miss Janet crew, Beacon and many many others. It was awesome to see everyone!During the day we checked out vendors, talks, and events. At night we went to the massive bonfire hosted by Miss Janet and had drinks with friends. Our tents were set up just passed the woods line in tent city. I think next time I'll camp in the field, as the neighboring tentsites were up til 2-3 am screaming. That's a wee bit passed by 9 PM hiker bedtime I can't wait to go back next year!
Date: 2013-05-19
From: Trail Days!

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

So apparently everyone leaves trail days at 9 am on Sunday. I got up to find the field nearly empty and most people in the woods packing up. I went to get breakfast with Siren and we returned to pack our gear. We chatted with some friends for a bit and caught a ride back to Marion with a friend of Cocoon's. We only hiked a few miles and got to the first shelter to find it full. A nice gentleman decided to tent so that Siren and I could have space in the shelter. We set up our mats, cooked dinner and went to bed.
Date: 2013-05-20
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Blue Blazed Trail at Davis Hollow
Miles today: 7.2

The hike into Atkins was rainy and all downhill. You could tell if the weather had been slightly better it would have been even more gorgeous. We stopped at the Exon just off the road and grabbed some small resupply items then headed about 1/4 mile up the trail to the Barn. The Barn was awesome. They have a 16 hiker burger which Cocoon, Siren, Bass and I all ordered and finished without a problem. There was a sign to Davis Valley Winery that was posted just passed the exit of the barn. We hiked another mile and decided to go the extra 1/2 mile to the winery. We all did a sampling and then ordered a few bottles of wine and sat outside sipping on it until the owner gave us the boot. She also drove us back to the trail and made sure we were hiking before leaving the area. We hiked about 1 more mile until running into Cocoon and Burrito at a campsite. We decided to set up camp there and make some dinner.
Date: 2013-05-21
From: Blue Blazed Trail at Davis Hollow

To: Footbridge/ Stream
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Holy hot, hazy and humid. I think summer has arrived. Most of the day was uphill and most of the day made me sweat buckets. We climbed over multiple stiles today and dodged multiple cow pattys in the fields. It didn't help that a large chunk of the day was in pastures, which obviously don't have shade or any tree cover. Around lunch we came to the Holsten river, which was absolutely amazing to swim in. 6 of us took a dip to cool off, probably looking like crazy people to the locals. Oh well, it was refreshing. We arrived at the campsite just passed dinnertime. I tried an MRE I was given at trail days and was pretty disappointed with the incredibly small size but really impressed with the taste. To make up for the small size of the MRE, I decided to compensate by eating tons of candy. Not such a great idea. My stomach was turning from all of the sugar and I regretted it almost immediately. I set up my tent near the stream and fell asleep to the rush of the water just passed my head.
Date: 2013-05-22
From: Footbridge/ Stream

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to a ton of condensation in the tent. I accidentally bumped the tarp part and caused a mini rain shower to fall on top of all off my stuff. I guess that's what you get for camping next to water. As i was packing up to leave,gi and floater walked by. O hadn't seen them since the Smoky's, so we chatted for a bit. The hike was a steep up to chestnut knob, which overlooked God's thumbprint, a gorgeous valley surrounded by mountains. As we hiked up to the shelter, you could see a thunderstorm out in the distance. It thankfully missed us. The last part of the hike was along a ridgeline, which was a awesomely flat. We stopped to have dinner at a road crossing, where other car campers had set up. We hiked a few more miles and arrived at the shelter at night. I set up my tent just as it was starting to rain. Siren walked by and announced the privy had no roof or walls, and that there was an aggressive bear in the area. What awesome thoughts to fall asleep to!
Date: 2013-05-23
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: light rain

The weather is definitely starting to warm up and we keep passing perfect swimming holes. Just as i was ready to swim, a large group of school kids arrived and started eating lunch. Looks like no swimming today!We arrived at the road to Bland, VA and found that it was infrequently traveled. After 15 minutes or more, an older couple pulled over to give Siren and i a ride. They were kind enough to give us a ride to the local dairy queen, which ended up being much further out of town than expected. We got a lunch special each, complete with a delicious blizzard and then had cheese curds to split. I was in food heaven :-)We caught a ride from some nice locals back to the library where i updated my journal a bit and placed orders for new socks, skirts, and a knife. I was told new skirts would be a good idea since mine seems to be riding down pretty frequently. I have yet to lose weight but something must be changing!We decided to stay at the walker motel for the night. We took amazing hot showers and then got subway for dinner. Not a bad night!
Date: 2013-05-24
From: Bland, VA

To: Dismal Falls
Miles today: 20.5

5/24 Dismal FallsToday was a longer mileage day which was fairly flat with some rolling hills. Good thing we had more dairy queen for breakfast to get the day started right! The local shuttle gave us a ride back to the trailhead where we started hiking on a ridgeline with heavy wind gusts trying to push us off the edge. It was like heaven when we walked back in to the woods and were shielded from the wind!I think I've mentioned before that VA has given me allergies, and today was the worst by far. All day my nose ran and ran. When i got up to the powerlines and caught up with siren, i was informed that my nose was bleeding. Well that was a first...We finished hiking in to dismal falls just as it was getting dark. Bass had beaten siren and i there, so he had already reserved a campsite. I went to the falls to get some water before making dinner and going to bed. What lame falls. They really should have named it "amazing cascades" instead of dismal falls :-)
Date: 2013-05-25
From: Dismal Falls

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 12.0

The hike today was flat for the first 6 miles That fact is enough to make any hiker smile! The big let-down was the fact that AWOL's guide was incorrect, leading us to believe that there was a firetower at the top of a steep climb. Wrong. Steep climb, no firetower, no views The day ended with a dirt road hike leading to Wood's Hole hostel. The hostel is run by Nevel and her husband and is a communal living farm. Bass immediately knew "this is not my kind of place" and left to stay at a nearby shelter. When I arrived, Siren was already there partaking in the facilities free yoga. It was freezing outside and everyone was doing yoga in thermals and puffy jackets on the front lawn. Now that is a sight to see!I claimed my bunk in the barn-style hostel and signed up for dinner. They decided to feed 40 people that night, which was pretty crazy. We ended up eating outside in the cold. Dinner started with homemade (amazing!) bread and salad, which the chickens running around the farm decided to attempt to eat multiple times. The main course consisted of pasta with a meat and veggie sauce and dessert was butter pecan ice cream. After dinner I was really exhausted and decided to call it a night. I curled up in my sleeping bag hoping that tomorrow would be warmer.
Date: 2013-05-26
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Lane Street, Pearisburg
Miles today: 10.4

For the second time this trip we had a private home waiting for us at the end of the day!!! That has to be one of the most exciting things for hikers, a warm bed, hot shower, hot food, and not having to worry about the craziness (and lack of privacy) of hostels or the expense of a hotel room. Many many thanks to Cazz and Scott, two of Siren's friends that are residents of the nearby Christainsburg area. We love you!I began the hike in the morning by myself as Bass was already ahead at the shelter and Siren decided to stay at Woods Hole and get a massage. In my haze of aloneness, I missed the turnoff for the trail and kept hiking another mile or so on the dirt road. I finally realized I had hiked way to far and turned around, pretty annoyed at myself for daydreaming and missing the turn. I ate lunch with Bass at Doc's Knob shelter where I pretty much cleaned out my food bag. For whatever reason my hiker hunger has been at an all time high and I can't stop eating. While we were there I met faceplant and Wyoming who also stopped for lunch. I arrived at Lane St. where Bass was already waiting. A silver prius pulled up shortly after and a woman who introduced herself as Siren's friend Cazz walked over and began chatting with us. About 30 minutes later Siren arrived and we got in to the car and were driven to Scott and Cazz's house. We all took hot hot hot showers and had a memorial day feast of hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese, chili, dips, chips, veggies, cookies, etc. The night was amazing and it was wonderful to be in an actual home again. Thanks again to Cazz and Scott for their hospitality!
Date: 2013-05-27
From: Lane Street, Pearisburg

To: Campsite to the W
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: clear sky

We woke up in the morning to a breakfast of Krispy Kremes and Ben and Jerry's (the breakfast of champion hikers) and then decided to go see what the local theater had to offer. The 5 of us piled in to the car and watched the Hangover 3. I have to say, not my favorite movie, but I really didn't notice. The seats were super squisy and rocked. I had sour patch kids, popcorn and soda. I ate my snacks and dozed off throughout the movie. That was totally worth the money to me! Afterwards, Cazz took us on a tour of Virginia Tech, which was currently on vacation. We toured the campus and visited the memorial to pay our respects. We then were driven back to Lane Street where we resumed our hiking.The hike itself was pretty flat but the trail was horribly maintained. We battled overgrown weeds, thorns, waist-high grasses and a random deceased rabbit. As if that weren't bad enough, the poor blazing lead to us getting lost temporarily. It did, however, lead us to a cemetary which was the resident of Mr. Pearis, the person for whom Pearisburg was named. The first shelter we passed was at a gorgeous location overlooking the west. I plopped down next to Siren and Bass and exclaimed "I'm not going anywhere until I see the sun set". I had yet to watch an awesome sunset from the trail and was really looking forward to getting a great view. Just before sundown, Shaggy and some other hikers from the shelter walked to the overlook to join us. It was an amazing sunset over the appalachian mountains. Happy but pretty cold, we hiked another 1.5 miles to the campsite where we set up tents just as it was getting dark.
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Campsite to the W

To: The Captain's
Miles today: 12.8

Hot hot hot! I beleive I lost 10 lbs in sweat today. It was incredibly hot and humid. Hiking in that kind of heat and humidity is just a pain. I joked that I'm going to buy one of those paper fans and carry it with me. You would think that hiking on mountains leads to amazing breezes, but you would think wrong. One side of the mountain MIGHT have a good breeze, the other never does. We always seem to hike on the other side.I stopped at the southern terminus of the Allegheny Trail for lunch. If you decide to hike that trail be warned- you are left off in the middle of the AT and will need to hike out. After killing about 100 bugs, I decided it was time to continue the hike and meet with Siren at the Captain's, our break spot. The Captain is AMAZING. I want to have his house and his hospitality at sometime When you get nearby there are signs directing you to his home. There is a fairly deep and wide creek between his residence and the trail, therefore he constructed a zipline so that hikers can cross without getting all soggy. I sat on the zipline and got stuck about 1/2 way across (oops). Thankfully Bass was on the otherside and drug my sorry rear end to the Captain's side of the creek. We found siren lying in a hammock with a cold soda in her hand. I grabbed my gummy worms and went onto the back porch where the captain had an entire refridgerator of sodas for hikers. I chose an orange pineapple soda and I swear that it was the best tasting soda I have had in my entire life. Life is good!2 hours later the Captain arrived home from his job and stopped over to chat with the hikers scattered across the yard. He is an awesome guy, let me tell you! Siren, Bass and I looked at eachother and decided to stay. It's hard leave free camping, free sodas, and an amazing host! We set up our tents and made dinner. I tried a new combo of Taco Rice sides, foil packed hamburger, veggies and cheese all wrapped in a tortilla. AMAZING (but a ridiculous amount of food, even by hiker standards). With a full belly and a welcoming yard to tent in, I fell asleep to the sound of the nearby creek.
Date: 2013-05-29
From: The Captain's

To: 0.5 miles beyond VA 42
Miles today: 20.6

Today is sad Siren is getting off the trail for 5 days to attend some weddings in NJ. While she was awesome enough to invite me, I feel awkward attending weddings of people that I've never met, so I passed on the invitation. I started to think that was a stupid thing to do.I awoke to find Bass and Siren had already started hiking. It was originially supposed to be a mid-mileage day, but due to the shortened day yesterday (by staying at the captains) I knew we had to do at least 20 miles to get to Siren's pick-up point. The hiking was flat and then turned to 2 challenging climbs, which I wasn't really happy about. The terrain was rocky, which made things even slower and the weather was yet again hot and sticky. I took many breaks, one of which I talked to The Dude going SOBO who said his GPS was saying AWOL's guide wasn't off by a little, but was off by miles. We had guessed that it was the previous few days, but now there was proof! Some of my breaks were at Wind Rock, which had amazing views, Kelly Knob Shelter, where I did some rock scrambling and finally at the road, where Cazz and Scott were waiting with Siren, ready to drive her to the airport. I gave Siren a hug goodbye as Cazz handed me a cold coke. Bass and I continued to hike another 0.5 miles to a tentpad, set up camp just at dark, cooked dinner and went to bed. I found my first tick today- a deer tick on my leg. I guess some of the pastures we were hiking through had ticks on the high grasses. Ugh, time for DEET!
Date: 2013-05-30
From: 0.5 miles beyond VA 42

To: VA 620, Trout Creek
Miles today: 18.9

Up up and away. That was the theme of the day. It started as a sort of flat hike, passing the largest oak tree in the south, the Keifer Oak, and continuing up 2 extremely steep climbs. I have to admit, it was my first day not seeing Siren since Hiawasee and that made me cranky. Couple that with the ridiculous heat and humidity and I was officially in a bad mood. Bass and I decided to hike seperately and if we ended up in the same spot at the end of the day- great. If not- that was OK too. I started the steep climbs like a train, just plowing up the mountain. About 1.5 miles into the climb the exposed trail with sun beating down on me started to win. My pace slowed to a crawl and all I wanted to do was jump in a cold river and cool off. My shirt was soaked with sweat and it was constantly running off my forehead into my eyes, despite my buff's attempts to collect it. At the top of the mountain was the Audie Murphy Monument- a monument to a WWII soldier that wrecked his plane nearby. The other nice thing at the top of this mountain was a bench! It felt amazing to sit down on something with a back. I leaned back and drank a liter of water while trying to catch my breath. When I finally leaned forward again there was a perfect imprint of my back on the bench. Oh well, at least I'm hydrated. I decided to hike down the mountain and found Bass with a campfire just at the road. Good deal! I set up my tent and ran over to a nearby creek and jumped in. A freezing cold mountain stream is bliss when the day is that hot! I instantly froze and began to feel better. I grabbed my wet clothes, went back to the fire and started to dry out while cooking dinner. Laces and Brook Trout were camped at the next site over and came over to chat and eat around the fire. These were my 2 longest back-to-back days and I was ready for bed. My feet were killing me!
Date: 2013-05-31
From: VA 620, Trout Creek

To: VA 624/ Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 7.9

Hot... again. I guess I should stop writing that soon. Spring has definitely arrived. Things are hot and humid and will probably be that way until August, but it still stinks. I want the snow back (who would have thought that!). Bass got up and left early again while I slept in. It felt like an eternity to hike 8 miles. I'm pretty sure the heat and sweatiness factor makes every day seem long and miserable recently. The awesome part of the day was Dragon's Tooth, a large rock formation that sticks straight up into the sky. When I arrived there were only day hikers there. I asked one what route was the best to get up, and was directed to the right and then to "keep going up". I got near the summit and did some climbing to find 4 hikers already there. They asked me to take their picture, so I did, saying I would only do it if they took mine. We swapped places, took more pictures, then I descneded. That ledge was way to tiny to hang out. A small breeze felt like it could send you plummiting hundreds of feet to your death. No thanks!The climb down the AT after dragon's tooth was no better. Some serious rock scrambling was required. The scramble itself wasn't so bad, but the exposed rocks which coupled with the glaring sun kicked off some impressive heat. You know a scramble is serious when ladder rungs are bolted into the rock and there are multiple times that you need to throw hiking poles to prevent tripping and falling. I finally gave up and collapsed my poles, placing them in my pack and used my hands to scramble. I got to the road around 3:30 and walked to 4 pines hostel. I arrived just in time to take a shower and catch the shuttle to the Homeplace Restaurant, a legend in hiker fare. The Homplace is an AYCE place that serves family style, home cooked meals. My group chose 2 meats, fried chicken and beef which were accompanied by grean beans, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, mac anc cheese, biscuits and applebutter, gravy, blackberry cobbler and ice cream. I ate and ate until I thought I would burst then we called Joe for a ride back to the hostel. We stopped at Catawba Grocery to resupply on the way back. It reminded me of Fontana Village, basically a glorified gas station, and then went back to the hostel. The cool thing about four pines is that they don't just cater to hikers. I met a group of Continental Divide bikers from England and got to probe them about their trip while they asked about mine. It was great getting to hear about their travels!I grabbed an army cot, set up my stuff, lied down, and couldn't fall asleep. It was a long night of staring at the ceiling.