morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-09
From: Dennis Cove Road

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Amazing day back on the trail. We stuck around Kinkora in the morning to eat a delicious breakfast purchased and cooked by former thru hiker Gypsy Lulu. The generosity of the people on the trail continues to amaze me and reinforce my faith in human kindness. Breakfast consisted of sweet potato hash and a savoury bread pudding. The breakfast was enjoyed by all the hikers staying at the bunkhouse. I headed out onto the trail with One Life and Turtle Dove, it's great to be hiking with Turtle Dove again. The trail around Kinkora is beautiful and before long we came to Laurel Falls which a the nicest waterfall so far on the trail. The falls would have been a great place to take a swim but since it was only 9am I declined as it was to cold. At the falls I discovered I had left my crocs back at Kinkora so I debated hiking back for them. It takes a lot for a northbound thru hiker to hike south and I decided to not bother hiking back. I will get another pair in Damascus. In the early afternoon we arrived at Watuga Lake and beach area so we decided to hang out on the beach for a bit. There were several thru hikers at the beach all taking a break from the trail. While we were at the beach we got a chance to chat with the Maniacs who are attempting to hike 50 miles into Damascus in one day, crazy. I wish them luck and hope they don't get hurt. We also had fun at the beach watching the local kids swim in the lake in 60 degree weather as all the thru hikers stood around in our down jackets and winter hats.Finally we decided to keep hiking and came to the Watuga Lake shelter about 11 miles into our hike. We briefly stopped at the shelter and then decided to push on to the next shelter. It turned out to be a long afternoon especially for Turtle Dove who is back on the trail for the first day. We finally made it to the shelter around 7:30p and enjoyed dinner and chatting with some section hikers on their way to Damascus for trail days.As a side note it's going to be bloody cold for the next few days.
Date: 2010-05-10
From: Vandewenter Shelter

To: Double Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

 I was up early this morning but decided to start the day lazy by making coffee while I was still in my sleeping bag. We didn't start hiking until 9ish which is pretty late for our crew due to the fact it was so cold. The terrain was great today but I was still feeling tired and sore from yesterday's hike. We hiked part of the day with Sugar Ray and Skywalker but they had decided to hike more miles than us today so we didn't see them after lunch. No worries we will catch back up with them in Damascus in a few days. We found trail magic at TN91 where there is an orange metal box with cold soda's inside. Thanks for the sodas. We decided to cut the miles short today and save the 18 mile hike into Damascus for tomorrow. At the shelter tonight is Dustin who I haven't seen since the Smokies and a new thru hiker Animal who I haven't met yet. I am really looking forward to hiking into Damascus tomorrow as it's one of those trail towns everyone talks about and it's a milestone to reach on the AT. When I get into Damascus I am hoping to hook up with Trashman and Laid Back and go out to dinner with them. Trashman's wife is also in town so it will be nice to finally meet her.I haven't decided if I am going to hike out of Damacus after a zero day or stick around for trail days.
Date: 2010-05-12
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Awake at 4:30 am arrg... and then I couldn't fall back asleep. I decided to journal and stay up and then went for an early breakfast at Cowboy's with Laid Back and One Life. Lazy day in town hanging out and chatting with all the other hikers in town. I decided today that I'm not going to hang out in Damascus for trail days and I am not sure if it's a good decision or not as I am sure it's going to be a blast. Well at least I will save some cash by hiking out of town. I decided to buy new trail shoes in town because the soles of my boots are coming off. I am pretty stressed out about using shoes instead of boots but I am going to give it a try. I spent at least an hour with Jeff at Mt. Rogers trying on different shoes until I found a pair that felt good. Jeff convinced me that I needed superfeet if I was going to hike in shoes. So $180 later I had new shoes, superfeet and two pairs of socks. The coolest thing happened today, I ran into an old friend from Winnipeg, what are the chances, it's a small world sometimes. The old friend was "Waterfall" a women I met when I first moved to Manitoba and wanted to go on a hiking trip. Waterfall took me out on my first Manitoba hiking trip and we ended up hiking together a few times that summer. I hadn't seen her since 2007 when she was attempting her thru hike and Paul and I were doing a section hike from Springer to Hot Springs. It was very cool to see her and catch up.
Date: 2010-05-13
From: Damascus

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Another early breakfast then back to the hostel to pack up. Went to the post office to mail home all of the gear I no longer needed and found out it would cost me $35 to mail home all of the gear plus my boots. I decided it wasn't worth it so I tossed my boots instead of mailing them home. I finally got out of town around noon after I walked an entire circuit of town looking for a new hiking skirt. On my first circuit of town "Father" walked me out which was very cool of him. It was a nice walk out of town until I hit the 3 mile mark and then my right foot started to hurt quite a bit. Over the next few miles I thought about what I should do about the pain in my right foot and the new shoes I had just purchased. I decided to just suck it up and walk. I was hopeful the new shoes would become more comfortable over the next few days. I arrived at the shelter fairly early and probably could have pushed on a few more miles but I decided to be lazy and stay for the night. Five thru hikers from last year arrived at the shelter on a short south bound thru hike to Damascus for Trail Days. I had fun hanging out around the fire listening to them talk about their thru hikes.
Date: 2010-05-14
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I was the last one out of camp this morning, which is not my usual routine but I enjoyed the lazy morning drinking coffee. Not too much exciting happened today as most of the other hikers are still in Damascus for Trail Days. I hiked alone all day today and only passed hikers going southbound. I finally met up with two hikers going north late in the day, Bluebird and Dayglow. On the way to the shelter I came to a blue blaze trail that said Pony Trail. I looked over in the distance and saw a herd of ponies standing in the middle of a field. I decided to drop my pack and walk over to the ponies about a 1/2 mile away. All of the ponies pretty much ignored me and it was obvious they were used to humans being around them. I hung out with them for a bit and took a couple of photos and then decided to leave them alone and hike on. A few miles later I arrived at the shelter and was surprised to see Pilgrim and Shagman there. I finally decided to sleep in the shelter as there were no tent spots.
Date: 2010-05-15
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

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

I was glad I slept in the shelter last night as a storm passed and it rained fairly hard for an hour or so. I love not having to pack a wet tent. The highlight of the day was hiking through the Grason Highlands and seeing a new born foal and it's mother. The terrain was fairly easy today but my feet are killing me due to the new shoes. Ah well, I sucked it up and kept walking. I hiked today with Pilgrim and Shagman and we all received some trail magic at the scales. A nice family was camping there and they came over to talk to us and then gave us peanut crackers and gatorade packages.
Date: 2010-05-16
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Patnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

I left the shelter prior to Shagman and Pilgrim today and decided to hike alone for a bit. After a few miles of hiking I spotted a bear along a power line cut. The bear was at least a few hundred yards away so I stopped to observe the bear for a few minutes before I decided it was probably best to move along before the bear spotted me. I stopped for a break and Shagman and Pilgrim caught up with me so the three of us hiked together for the rest of the day. It was a long day of hiking to the Paterneship shelter and by the time we reached the shelter my feet were really pissed off at me. If they really get bad I can have some different shoes from home sent to me in Pearisburg. At Paternership shelter you can order pizza so Shagman, Pilgrim and I all ordered a large pizza and it was delicious. Nothing like pizza after a long hike. I met some new thru hikers today who came into the shelter later in the evening. I am off to Aitkens tomorrow to resupply.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Patnership Shelter

To: Crawfish Valley Campsite
Miles today: 17.9

I hiked today with Tour Guide. We hiked the 11 miles into Aitkens by noon and decided to hang out at the gas station for a bit before going to lunch at the Barn restaurant. I had a great lunch with Tour Guide then we went back to the gas station to resupply. Tour Guide and I hiked out of town around 2:00 and only got a few minutes up the trail when I started to think why are we leaving town so early since we were only planning to hike a few more miles before camping. I mentioned this to Tour Guide and he thought it was a good point so we turned around and hiked back to the gas station. We both agreed it was a pretty good decision since it started to rain shortly after we arrived back at the gas station. We wasted a few hours hanging out at the gas station with Coon Cat, Bobalu and Red Stick. We finally decided to leave town and hiked 6 more miles to a campsite by a creek. There are lots of folks camped here tonight.
Date: 2010-05-18
From: Crawfish Valley Campsite

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

I slept in my tent last night and it rained all night. The is the first time I have slept in my tent on this trip when it has rained all night. I was a little concerned on how my tent was going to perform and I was pleasantly surprised that I stayed completed dry. Thanks Henry Shires the contrail rocks. I had a tough day today and I think the last 6 days of hiking more miles has wore me down. We found some great trail magic at VA 742 and enjoyed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cold sodas. I finally met Cerveza, Opus, Gonzo and Bear Blaze today. It's neat meeting hikers who have been in front of your entire hike. I also met HD Mama today and Ice. I decided to sleep in the shelter tonight since it's a cinder block shelter that is fully enclosed. At the shelter tonight is Easy, Coon Cat, Tour Guide and Red Stick and I am sure a few more will show up before the night is over. We are thinking about doing a 22 mile day tomorrow into Bland so we can get a hotel room. I am considering it as I have not had a shower or done laundry in 7 days. Yuck.
Date: 2010-05-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: clear sky

I started out early today and hiked the 4 miles to a road crossing pretty quickly as I was anxious to get breakfast. Krispy Kritter wasn't far behind me on the trail so I decided to wait for him at the road crossing so we could walk down to the store together. It was a quick walk to the store and we both enjoyed several cups of coffee while we waited for our breakfast to be made. It was fun hanging out at Trent's and getting to know Krispy Kritter. We finally continued hiking and before long we arrived at a blue blaze trail to Dismal Falls. I had heard the falls were worth checking out so we walked down the blue blaze trail. The falls did not disappoint and were extremely picturesque. If it had been a nice sunny hot day I would have called it a day and camped at the falls they were that nice. Reluctantly I left the falls and hiked on. The trail followed a creek for several miles and then turned into the forest. The forest that the trail went through was a cedar forest which was magical. It's hard to describe in words how amazing the landscape was. I hope the pictures I took do it justice. If anyone gets a chance to hike the miles near Dismal Falls and into the cedar forest I would highly recommend it. Krispy Kritter and I finished the hike today at Woods Hole Hostel and we decided to spend the night. Woods Hole is an AT tradition and is a must stop on the trail. The hostel used to be run by Tillie Woods and is now run by her granddaughter Neville and her husband Michael. The hostel is an open concept bunk house with a kitchen area on the bottom floor and a floor to sleep on above. The main house is a beautiful log cabin where they host hikers for dinner and the food was outstanding. All of the food was organic and we enjoyed a salad made from vegetables out of their garden and chicken fajitas. A very nice hostel stay.
Date: 2010-05-22
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearsiburg
Miles today: 10.0

I needed to get to the post office in Pearisburg before it closed at noon today so both Krispy Kritter and I agreed to get up early and hit the trail. We were on the trail by 6:30 and managed to hike the 10 miles into town by 10:30. The 10 miles into Pearisburg were uneventful but we did get rained on most of the way. We arrived at the road to find Cerveza and Opus so we all walked into town together. Krispy and I decided to split a room at the Plaza so we spent the afternoon relaxing on the patio in front of the hotel socializing with all of the other hikers in town. Three section hikers who were ending their section hike in Pearisburg were at the Mexican restaurant across the street and one of them came over and invited all of us over for a few drinks. A bunch of us went over and hung out and I really enjoyed meeting some new hikers.
Date: 2010-05-24
From: Pearisburg

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: light rain

Krispy and I left Perisburg early in the morning after a quick stop for breakfast at the Dairy Queen. A greasy breakfast was perhaps a bad idea due to the fact I thought I was going to vomit the entire climb out of Pearisburg. Krispy and I hiked together today and we spent most of the day hiking in the rain and the fog. We stopped at the first shelter out of town for a break and met up with Ice, Olive Oil and Tarzan who had stayed at the shelter the night prior. By the end of the day the rain had stopped and I was pretty excited to arrive at the shelter as my feet were killing me from the 20 mile day. I have also developed a few blisters from the hike today as my socks were wet the entire day. I met Avatar today who was already at the shelter when Krispy and I arrived. Avatar had been hiking with One Life for the past week so we exchanged some One Life stories.
Date: 2010-05-27
From: Trout Creek 

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: scattered clouds

I started this epic hiking day with the climb up to Dragon's Tooth which is a huge stone cliff that overlooks the Virgina countryside. Dragon's Tooth did not disappoint and we (Krispy Kritter, Dragon Tail, Serpa and Avatar) enjoyed climbing on the Dragon and the views. On Dragon's Tooth I met Red Lobster who has been a few days of ahead of me. After Dragon's Tooth we hiked the 9 miles to VA 311 where a friend of Krispy's picked us up and drove us into Catawaba home of the homeplace restaurant. A bunch of hikers were already at the general store hanging out so we joined the crowd and consumed lots of junk food while we waited on the store porch for the homeplace restaurant to open. My friend and former hiking buddy Turtle Dove lives close to Catawba so she drove up to hang out with us. Dinner was amazing, AYCE home cooked food, fried chicken, bbq pork, baked beans, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, biscuits, green beans and cobbler and ice cream for dessert. I do love home style southern cooking.After dinner we considered our options. One go home with Turtle Dove and slack pack the next day, or two hike up to McAfee's Knob to watch the sunset. We decided to hike on. The food from dinner powered me up the climb to the knob and the view from the knob is outstanding. McAfee's Knob is probably one the most picturesque spots on the AT and also the place everyone gets the famous photo of them sitting on the very edge. It was my turn to have my picture taken out on the knob and I realized that the photos are really more dangerous than the act of sitting out there although for someone who is a little afraid of heights it did get my adrenaline pumping. Everyone enjoyed watching the sunset then we decided to night hike another 5 miles to a shelter so we would only have to hike 10 miles tomorrow morning into Daleville.The first few miles of the hike was fun as Avatar and Dragon Tail sang some songs as we hiked along. During the hike we are pretty sure we startled two bears and when we shone our headlamps towards the direction of the noise we could see the green glow of the bears eyes watching us. Around midnight we finally arrived at the shelter and to our good luck the shelter was completely empty, a first for me on this trip. I was pretty happy that the shelter was empty as I was extremely tired and the thought of hiking another .3 miles to the tent sites was not a good thought. I quickly got into my sleeping bag but had trouble falling asleep even thought I was exhausted. A long but great day on the AT.
Date: 2010-05-28
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Although we didn't arrive at the shelter until midnight last night we were still awake by 6 and on the trail by 7. I was pretty stiff in the morning even thought I had taken some vitamins I before I went to sleep last night. The miles came slowly as it took me a little while to get the body warmed up as I hobbled along. The hike into Daleville was a nice ridge walk with a long decent into town. On the hike into town I spotted a large bear on the trail a few hundred yards ahead. I startled the bear when I said in a loud voice to Krisy, Dragon Tail and Sherpa bear, bear, bear, Dragon Tail and Sherpa got a quick look at the bear before he/she wandered up the trail. We slowly and carefully hiked up the trail to where the bear had been standing but couldn't find the bear. I began to wonder if the bear sighting had been a figment of my imagination but since Dragon Tail and Sherpa also said they saw the bear I knew it wasn't.We arrived in Daleville just behind Avatar. After a quick stop at a mini mart all of us decided to check into the Howard Johnson which is close to the trail. After showers and laundry we went to the Mexican restaurant across the street for lunch which was fun and delicious. During our afternoon of relaxing I called Turtle Dove to see if she wanted to hang out with us tonight. She did and came into Daleville to pick us up and take us into Roanoke for dinner. Avatar, Sherpa, Turtle Dove and I all went out to dinner at the Village Grill and then Turtle Dove drove us back to Daleville for the night. Thanks for driving us around Turtle Dove and showing us Roanoke.
Date: 2010-05-29
From: Daleville

To: Black Horse Gap
Miles today: 13.6

Last night Turtle Dove said she could slackpack us today southbound so we could go back to her house after the hike and have a bbq with One Life who is also in Roanoke. TD agreed to hike with us with her dog Fubs. All four of us headed out on the trail for the hike into Daleville southbound. This is really the first time (minus the 1 mile slack in Fontana Dam) that I have done any slackpacking so I was pretty excited to try something new. Within the first 1/4 mile I had already decided that I love slackpacking as it feels so freeing to be able to walk effortlessly down the trail. We had lots of fun walking and talking during the slack and passing all of the NOBO's as they hiked out of Daleville. After the slack Turtle Dove went with her father to pick up her car while Avatar and I waited for her to return. Since we were waiting we decided to go to the Wendy's for something to eat. Yum burger, fries and a frosty. I think my thru hiker appetite is finally kicking in. After Wendy's we headed over to the outfitter to wait for Turtle Dove to return and One Life to show up. Soon everyone arrived and we all headed off with Turtle Dove to her house for a bbq. We all had a great time relaxing, eating and hanging out. Luckily we were able to catch the last game between the Lakers and the Suns. It turned into a bit of a late night but it was by far the most relaxing night I have had off the trail to date. Thanks Turtle Dove for hosting a bunch of hikers and letting us crash. I will miss you as I hike further north.
Date: 2010-05-30
From: Black Horse Gao

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: scattered clouds

After a great night at Turtle Dove's it was back to hiking north again. Turtle Dove drove us back to the trail head after a quick stop at McDonald's for some breakfast. The first few miles of the trail followed the Blue Ridge Parkway and came out to scenic views at Taylor's Mountain Overlook, Montvale Overlook and Harvey's Knob Overlook. At Harvey's Mountain Overlook we caught up to Red Stick who was talking to a tourist. The miles flew by in the morning as the terrain was fairly easy and Avatar and I chatted as we hiked. As we approached Bearwallow Gap we passed Two Rings on the trail and then descended to the road where there was trail magic. Sweet, cold sodas, apples, bananas and even some extra ramen. Everyone enjoyed a cold soda by the stream and I especially appreciated the soda since there wasn't much water on this section of the trail. After the gap we continued on to Cove Mountain shelter for lunch where we met up with Dragon Tail and Sherpa. After lunch we hiked on to Jennings Creek where we heard there is a nice swimming hole. After a quick 3 miles we arrived at the creek and found Crispy Critter relaxing with a 12 pack of coke. The stream was beautiful and before long I was soaking my feet in the creek and then swimming. We enjoyed a nice long break at the stream and then decided to press on a few more miles to the next shelter before calling it a night. At the creek we said goodbye to Crispy, Sherpa, Dragon Tail, Eastwind, Loon and Two Rings. After a 1000 foot climb, ridge walk and a small descent we arrived at Bryant Ridge Shelter which is the nicest shelter I have seen to date on the trail. The shelter is huge and sleeps 20. It has a covered porch on two sides and three levels of sleeping platforms. The only drawback to the shelter is the bugs which are incredibly annoying. I met a new hiker named Cody who came into the shelter near dusk.