morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-08
From: Erwin

To: Curley Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I felt better when I woke up this morning but my head still hurt pretty bad. Brickyard and Pogo said I snored last night. We didn't wake up until 11 and then we packed up our stuff. We took the lunch shuttle but I walked down to JDs Market instead of the Pizza place because I knew my stomach could not take pizza. Instead I had 2 hot dogs. I talked to the guy next to me he's from like Hampton or somewhere near there. He was pretty cool to talk to. After I finished eating I bought 2 packs of crackers in case I started feeling sick again. Pogo and I started hiking at 3:30 and finally got out of Erwin. We saw a snake on the way to the shelter! It was only like a garden snake or something though. I think it was brown and maybe a foot and a half long. There were little patches of snow all up along the mountain. I started feeling dizzy again and started hiking really slowly. I felt like my legs were going to give out. Pogo kept waiting for me though. He's really sweet! Finally he found the shelter and we met Critter, Railroad and Mudflap. They had brought hot dogs from town and cooked them for us! I started feeling better again after I sat down and ate some more. Brikyard, Radio Freq and Grayson were also there. They squeezed us into the shelter though. Pogo made a fire and around 9 cooked some Ramen and fresh veggies on the fire. He added cheese and summer sausage and it was absolutely amazing! After we ate I went to bed. Radio Freq let me use his ear plugs because Mudflap was already snoring. I could still hear the snoring even with the ear plugs. Mudflap and Brickyard were having a snoring competition. It was awful!
Date: 2009-04-09
From: Curley Maple Gap Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: few clouds

It was cold this morning but the sun was shining! Pogo and I were the last two to leave the shelter. It started warming up pretty fast and we had to strip off our jackets. We hit several inches of snow though and it slowed us down a bit. Luckily other hikers had gone through and left us a path. We went across Beauty Spot but it was kinda windy so we didn't stop up there. It was a really nice view though. We stopped for lunch on the side of the trail and Pogo and I kinda got in a fight except it wasn't really a fight. I guess more of just a misunderstanding. Anyways I left before him and climbed Unaka Mountain by myself. Climbing a mountain is already hard enough but imagine climbing a mountain with several inches of snow on the ground and tears in your eyes. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. If there was no snow on the ground it was only because it had melted and in it's place was a huge puddle of mud. I made it to the top finally and saw some little pine trees and it looked like christmas! On the way down it was twice as slippery and I soon caught up to Critter and Railroad. Only because J Bird had fallen and busted his knee. They were trying to figure out how to help him down the mountain. We all took some weight out of his pack and started moving slowly. Pogo caught up and gave J Bird a shoulder to lean on. It was so sweet and really reminded me of how hikers really have each others back. Me and Critter stayed behind them as they hobbled down the side of the mountain. We didn't move very fast and Railroad came back to help. We finally made it to the shelter after 3 miles of going about a mile an hour but nobody minded going slow. A day hiker was there and said he was going on to the road and would call the EMT to come help. All we could do was sit and wait. We looked at J Bird's knee and it was 5 times the size of the other one. We propped it up and put a bag of snow on it. I went down to get more water and Pogo came to clean his pant legs off because they were so muddy. We talked and are alright again. When we went back up Pogo made a fire and cooked some more ramen with veggies, cheese and summer sausage again! It was so good. After several hours of waiting we heard a car of some sort trying to come up the side of the mountain. Soon after 3 four-wheelers pulled up with about 12 volunteers and 2 EMT's. They put J Bird in a leg brace thing and got him onto the back of a four-wheeler. We said our goodbyes and he was off. After that we mainly just sat around the fire and finally went to bed.
Date: 2009-04-10
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: moderate rain

I was next to the wall last night and I don't know why but it freaked me out. I discovered static electricity with my jacket since it was dark out I got to see all the little sparks it creates! I was exhausted but could not sleep. Pogo switched with me around midnight or something and I did get to sleep eventually. Brickyard got up at 5 am since the moon was full and began hiking. The rest of us waited for the sun to come up like normal people. Ha ha jk Brickyard! Anyways the sky was clear when we headed out even though they were calling for rain. Sure enough though less than an hour later we heard thunder and started feeling drops. By the time we got to the road which was like 3 miles in, it was raining pretty hard. Out of nowhere though someone yelled "Trail Magic!" We walked over to the car and there were sodas and chocolate and a bunch of really good stuff! The guy was Mango and I'm pretty sure he said he had thru-hiked a couple years ago. He was really nice and took all of our trash. Pogo and I didn't stay long though because the rain was getting harder and we were headed for a shelter 6 miles away. We practically ran it was so miserable. The rain only got harder and I was exhausted from not having much sleep the night before. We stopped once under some rocks to take a quick breather but sitting still was so cold that didn't last long. I fell once mainly just because I was so tired I didn't feel like catching myself and just went down. Pogo helped me up and we were off again. Finally we saw a sign that said Greasy Creek Gap and we checked the book because someone mentioned a hostel there. We did 4 miles in less than an hour. We were soaked and decided a shower and laundry sounded awesome so down the side of the mountain we went. CC was running the hostel with some help from Shepard who was doing work for stay. Critter, Railroad, Mudflap, and Radio Freq all got a ride from Mango and avoided hiking in the rain! I was so jealous but CC was so sweet and even did our laundry for us. We cooked a pizza and watched Wedding Crashers. 4 more hikers came in and that evening CC drove us all down to a Chinese Buffet. There were 9 of us crammed in her Bronco. The food was so amazing but I found out I really do not like seafood. Pogo was eating it and when he snapped a crab leg I had to run to the bathroom and almost threw up. I couldn't eat anymore after that but it's alright because I was already full. We climbed back into CC's Bronco and she brought us to Walmart then the long ride over the mountain back to her house. We watched Failure To Launch then went to the bunk house and went to sleep.
Date: 2009-04-11
From: Greasy Creek Friendly

To: Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

At 5 am CC's neighbor started yelling. I couldn't understand what he said but someone else said they heard "This is the devils wake up call" and someone else heard "this is the wake up call from hell" then he turned his lawn mower on and left it running. It was about 20 feet from the bunkhouse and so loud there was no way I could have fallen back asleep. So Pogo and I grabbed our pillows and sleeping bags and went inside and slept on the floor. It drowned the loud roar down to a soft hum. Everyone was a little upset when they came in around 8. Critter's parents came that afternoon and picked her and Railroad up so they could get ready to go out and start hiking the PCT! They took like a month and a half to warm up on the AT and are now going out west! I thought that was so cool! Anyways everyone else left and only Cajun came to the hostel for the night. Pogo and I took a zero day. CC made an awesome salad for me and Pogo and we watched The Passion and The Secret. CC french braided my hair and then took Pogo, Cajun and I down to town for Mexican! When we got back Shepard was watching Kill Bill so we started watching with him. Around midnight we started getting ready for bed. Pogo and I slept on the pull out couch and Cajun and Shepard slept in a back room so no one was in the bunkhouse for another rude awakening.
Date: 2009-04-12
From: Greasy Creek Friendly

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Cajun left early and Pogo and I took showers. CC rebraided my hair then made Pogo some cheese grits. I stole a couple bites and they were really good. We didn't leave until noon but we had a goal on our mind. Climbing Roan Mountain was extremely hard, I was going slow so Pogo went ahead. It was 3 miles of climbing pretty much straight up the mountain. I got to this spot that leveled off and I thought I was at the top when out of nowhere an even bigger mountain appeared. My calf started hurting, kinda felt like shin splints but in the calf. In the mud Pogo drew 4 hearts and it made me smile and keep pushing. Sure enough like 15 minutes later I was at the top and there he was waiting. We hiked/skied to Roan Mountain Shelter. There was still a lot of snow up there. The shelter was completely enclosed with 2 levels. The upper level was really warm. We cooked some dinner and 2 of the 3 Amigos walked up to the shelter. Teclo also came up and around 6 we left for another shelter. My calf was killing me but I kept hiking slowly. Pogo stayed with me and we almost decided to stay at Stan Murray Shelter but when we saw it had a picnic table inside it we decided to push 2 more miles to the next. It was 9 and dark by the time we got there. There were so many hikers there, at least 20 but it was a barn so there was plenty of room. Duckie was there and she was really sick. I think she had what everyone at Uncle Johnnys had. I ate some trail mix and a mouse crawled right up next to my foot! I almost screamed but it ran off pretty fast.
Date: 2009-04-13
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 9.7

This morning the wind was blowing so hard the barn was shaking. Pogo and I were close to the last people to leave and we started climbing over the Hump Mountains. Duckie and 2 of the Diva girls were headed back to the shelter to wait for an EMT because Duckie was so sick there was no way she could go on. Climbing Little Hump was awful because of the wind. Pogo stayed with me as we got blown all over the place. When we got back to tree line the wind wasn't bad at all but I knew there was another hump I just couldn't remember if it was the bigger one or not. Sure enough it was the bigger one. Pogo went ahead as I pushed with all my might. I got knocked over once and blown several feet off the trail a couple times. I finally made it to the top but still had all of the other side. Going down I ran when I could. My straps kept hitting me in the face and once the wind pushed me into a rock. I couldn't get back off of it I had to slide my way to the edge it was miserable. The wind took the oxygen right out of your lungs and it was so hard to breathe. When I got to tree line Pogo wasn't there. I was confused because he always waits where he says he will. I hiked on very confused. If he was ahead of me then waiting would make no sense but if he was behind going on would make no sense. So I went fairly slowly. I crossed another field and heard someone call my name. I turned around and Pogo and Cajun were coming up behind me. They had taken a wrong turn and then searched the whole hump for me. We had 3 more miles to the road to meet my dad and brother and we did it in less than an hour. We were exhausted from being wind blown all morning and decided to stay at the shelter before the road. Pogo, Lone Wolf and I left our packs and then dad took us to an ATM and grocery store. We came back and had a huge bonfire.
Date: 2009-04-14
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Dennis Cove
Miles today: 24.9

Pogo said to go on without him this morning and I got upset and left without saying goodbye. It didn't take long for me to get unmad at him though. And it started to rain. I cried with the rain because I knew he wouldn't catch up. My calf was still hurting and then the back of my knee started hurting too. Bennett hiked with me most of the day and it started pouring. We were miserable and running. When it stopped I was hurting so bad and Bennett went ahead. He came back though and carried my pack half a mile to the shelter. We were both out of water and he was so cold and I was so sore that I sat my pot out to let the rain water drip into it off the side of the shelter. I got half way before I asked Ironwood if I could use a little bit of his water. I couldn't get Bennett's stove to work because the flame went out every time I put the pot on it. So I tried to use my stove. I got it working after setting half the shelter on fire and then turned my head for like a minute when the pot tipped over and all the water poured out into Bennett's shoes. At this point I decided we were going to Kincora even if we weren't getting there till dark. Bennett and I ate as much food as we could and he took some of the weight out of my pack. I put on all 3 jackets I own and then I saw a deer before I left. It started to mist and it was extremely foggy. Then it started getting dark. We were literally running on downhills and flats, until it got too dark to see. The headlamp wasn't very useful because the fog deflected the light back in our faces. We both fell once and slid so many times. We almost lost the trail a couple times. Finally there was the road! We went up to the hostel and there were quite a few hikers there but no Pogo and Bob Peoples had already gone to bed. I took a shower but it was cold so I washed my hair in the sink. Apparently I didn't wait long enough for the water to heat up. They had left over spaghetti so we heated some of that up then I made Ramens in the microwave at midnight. I got a whole bed and room to myself!
Date: 2009-04-15
From: Dennis Cove

To: U.S. 321
Miles today: 8.9

Everyone was so loud this morning they woke me up at 8:30! I could have laid there all day. Bob gave me and another hiker a ride into town so I could get some bread at the grocery store. I also got some apples and G2! The back of my knee was killing me and my mom said Bob would do a 9 mile slackpack over Pond Flats southbound. When we got back to the hostel Pogo was there! Southside, Ironwood, Bennett and I did the slackpack and Pogo said he would make us an awesome dinner for when we got back. I wore my brothers knee brace which didn't help on the uphills but it helped a little on the downhills. The southside was so steep and like 3 miles of downhill if we hadn't gone southbound I think I would have died. We ran into a lot of people climbing up and I didn't have the heart to tell them they had a lot of climbing left. My shin started hurting so now both legs hurt and I hobbled along. Luckily the last 3 miles were really easy and next to a gorgeous stream and then a spectacular waterfall! We made it back before 5 so we still were going 2 miles an hour and sure enough Pogo had some amazing spaghetti! The hostel was completely full and I took another shower while most everyone else went to the store. This time I waited and it was hot! I tried to organize all my stuff but it was extremely frustrating. I had 12 dinners. WAY TOO MANY! So I left a lot of food in the hiker box.
Date: 2009-04-16
From: U.S. 321

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 8.6
Weather: clear sky

I felt lazy again this morning and my legs were in a lot of pain. I was supposed to wake up for a shuttle at 8:30 but didn't. All the other hikers left and Pogo, Bennett and I had to decide what we wanted to do. My shin hurt so bad I should have taken a day off and Bob Peoples told me to. But my brother is going home tommorow and I don't want to ruin his spring break. So at noon Bob Peoples took us back to the trailhead. He said it was not a good idea but let us do it anyways. As soon as I started my shin was killing me. Bennett and Pogo hiked ahead and I went really slow. I started crying. A lot. I was miserable and I called my mom at the top of the mountain and told her I was ready to come home. So she said I could come with them when they were coming to pick up Bennett. The rest of the way was hot and sweaty and then to make everything even better a bug flew in my eye. I finally made it to the shelter and was really upset. The first thing I said was "I'm going home." Pogo tried to talk me out of it and it worked. I didn't really want to quit I just needed a break. I called a friend from home, Dawn, and talked to her for quite a while. Then I had to convince my parents to let Pogo come back with us. It took a little but they gave in. Pogo and Bennett brought several dead trees for a huge fire and Captain Max and a section hiker stayed with us at the shelter.
Date: 2009-04-17
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Tenn. 91
Miles today: 11.4

Bennett and I started the day together. My shin was wrapped and feeling a little better but not really. We hiked pretty slowly and ran into a couple section hikers going southbound. Then right before the shelter a familiar face appeared. My dad came and took my pack! It was easier without a pack on my back but it still hurt. At the shelter Pogo was waiting and we decided to eat some lunch. He wanted to cook but after he started we realized that none of us had a spoon. So he cut his empty soda can into a ladel with his pocket knife. It actually turned out pretty cool but he cut his tongue on it a lot. Finally we left and made it to the road at like 2. We stopped at Wendy's and ate some burgers and fries then drove 2 hours home. Mom made spaghetti for dinner! One thing I've really missed was the spaghetti nights. Pogo and I drove to Bojangles to see all my old co-workers but I hardly knew anyone there! They were like all new except Luis, Ramone and William. Then we went to Blockbuster to rent some movies. We came back to the house and watched The Longest Yard. Then we put in Bedtime Stories but I fell asleep.
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Tenn. 91

To: Tenn. 91
Miles today: 0.0

I didn't wake up until noon. No one was home so we decided to go for a ride. We drove around Roanoke and ate at the mall. We came back and I started watching Bedtime Stories. Pogo helped my dad mow the lawn. Then I went out and talked to my neighbors for a little while. I came back in and watched some more of the movie before mom said it was dinner time. We had pot roast! Then I went back and had almost finished the movie when Jenny came over. We decided to go back to Blockbuster and get Hustle and Flow. So we started watching that. Jenny was going to spend the night but started feeling really sick and went home.
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Tenn. 91

To: Tenn. 91
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up for church and didn't even make it through the parking lot before the questions started coming about the hike. I suprised Taylen by being there. Actually I suprised a lot of people I think but it was really good to get to see everyone. Including Katie and Dave my pastor and youth pastor! I went home and found Pogo on the computer and we decided to go out for lunch again. We went to Red Robin. It was really expensive but soo good. We went home and watched 8 Mile. Taylen came over around 4 or 5 and we talked for a while. We ordered pizza for mom, dad, Bennett, Adam, Morgan, Taylen, Pogo and I. We ate all but like a slice. Mallory and Mary Rose came over around 7 and we went out to Walmart. When we got back everyone had to leave and then Dawn came over around 9:30. It was late so we didn't have much time to hang out but I got to drive her home and we talked for quite a while.
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Tenn. 91

To: Damascus
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up before 8 so my dad could get us back to the trail. We stopped at Bojangles for some breakfast and picked up two section hikers. I kept falling asleep the whole ride down there. Finally we got to Atkins and I dropped off a package for myself to pick up in a couple days. Then we stopped in Damascus and I dropped off another package. We also stopped for some lunch at a diner. We made it to the trail at about noon and decided to slack all the way into Damascus, which was over 20 miles. We got a late start but since we had nothing on our backs but some food and water for the day we moved really fast. It rained off and on and my shin didn't hurt too bad at first. After 10 miles my shin was really killing me and I started slowing down. But we made it to the TN/VA border before it was too late and that made it a little easier. There was only 3 miles left and we made it to town before it was dark. We had a little trouble finding where dad had left our packs but when we found them he had already paid for our room for the night! We got to shower and then walk around town for a little while before we went to bed.
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We didn't wake up until 11. I went to go start our laundry which was halfway across town. When I got back Pogo had taken a walk with Lone Wolf so I waited for a little while then told someone to tell Pogo where I was going and I took my stuff up to the laundromat because it was up the direction we were going to be going. I was limping really bad though and when Pogo came to the laundromat so we could go eat we decided I couldn't hike out with my shin that sore. So we took another day off and stayed at The Place which is run by the church on donations. Pogo carried my stuff back to the hostel for me and then we took a nap. We woke up around dark and went down to the Dollar General. We got chips, ice cream and soda and pigged out on the floor of our room for a couple hours then we went back to bed.
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Damascus

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

We woke up close to 10 and Pogo mailed some stuff home before we started hiking out. We ran into Lone Wolf also leaving town and hiked with him for a little while. My shin was still killing me so I didn't move very fast. We got to the shelter at about 3 and decided to stay. I iced my shin with my platypus and stretched it as best I could. Several other hikers showed up and I decided, since it was still early and a beautiful day and the trees behind the shelter were perfect, that I wanted to attempt to set up my hammock. Pogo helped me and we got it up pretty easily. Then we reorganized my pack because I was carrying a lot of food so Pogo split the food up and made my pack a lot lighter. Then we ate. A whole lot of food. Everyone else had gone to bed and we were still eating. Pogo wanted another meal but I told him I was going to bed. So I went to my hammock and had a time trying to get situated. Every movement I felt like I was going to fall. I guess next time I'll get into my sleeping bag before I get into the hammock.