morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-06
From: Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

Enjoyable early dinner with Santa and Cocoa. Love those town burgers! Santa and I split a salad later in the evening and about a gallon of cranberry/black cherry juice.Unfortunately even though we were in town and had cable tv we did not get Fixer Upper or the women's college basketball final. But I did get a hot bath.Up at 7 this morning after a great night's sleep, packed up and went to MoJos for breakfast. We had sundried tomato bagels with scrambled egg, bacon and cheese sandwiches and then split an order of delicious blueberry pancakes. I really do love town food!The hike today was awesome. Good trails, reasonable terrain with just enough ups and downs that you knew you were hiking. We went over the Virginia Creeper Trail a few times- it's a rail trail and saw some bikers.We got into camp around 4 but stuck to our plan and didn't move on. We don't want to hike crazy miles too soon with new shoes. There are a bunch of section hikers in the shelter so all the thrus have tents set up. We were hoping to shelter tonight since it's supposed to rain, but that's how it works out sometimes. Mantis, Large, White Rabbit, Magic and North Star are here plus two people we don't know. Thor stopped by to say he met the Hiking Viking- a southbounder who started January 1. We were all disappointed to not meet him.We don't know where Cocoa is. He was gone when we got up and wasn't at the first or second shelter. His feet were really sore yesterday so he might be staying an extra day in town. We don't have any cell service to contact him, but I am sure he's fine.We are in our tent at 6:40 because it's very cold and windy. Both of us are bundled in our sleeping bags- not even playing cards. I need to get up soon to go brush my teeth but I am so toasty warm and it's so cold out there.Tomorrow we go over the Greyson Highlands and will see the feral ponies. I hope the weather is good and we can spend some time on the bald.
Date: 2016-04-07
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was too cold to even play cards in our tent so Santa had an early night and I read and listened to my iPod (thanks girls!)We both woke up at 3am to go the bathroom. The only good thing about getting up and going out into the cold is the beautiful starry sky. Last night's stars were fabulous. But at 3:15 it started down pouring. Our trusty tent kept us dry and warm.Packing up the wet tent wasn't fun but we were packed up and on our way by 7:45. We walked through hail, sleet, snow and gusty winds today. It was not a fun day-actually pretty scary in parts. And we didn't get to see any ponies because they were hiding from the storm. Hiker friends who came after us and missed the storm got to see some ponies and said they will share their pictures.Trying to stay warm tonight and thinking of two long days to get into town Saturday night. The weather is supposed to drop 10 degrees each night and hit a record low.North Star is a hiker from Vermont. We communicated some on trail journals before we started so it's nice to hike with him for awhile. He's a high school guidance counselor also taking a leave of absence. His daughter is getting married mid August so he needs to hike north quickly. Very fast and competent but takes time to stop and chat do we have been ending up at the same shelters/towns.
Date: 2016-04-08
From: Wise Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: light rain

Good chatter in the shelter last night. We were wondering why Virginia doesn't use cairns in the Highlands. Painting white blazes on rocks which then get covered by snow makes some scary hiking.Hard to get out of my warm sleeping bag this morning. The wind was blowing this morning but calmed down as the day went on. It was an easy day but everyone is talking about the storm coming in tomorrow. They are calling for 5 inches of snow and 40mph winds. We have options for tomorrow. 10 miles to a shelter if it's really ugly, three more to a first road crossing or 10 to the spot that we planned to get off.At a shelter tonight where a section hiker, Osgood, has made a fire. Life is awesome!Trail angel-JohnYesterday as we came out of the cold forest into a gap, two section hikers mentioned there was a man selling hot food. When we get to the gap, John was there with hot chocolate, coffee, candy... Life saving.Today at a gap he was there again!!! With double cheeseburgers from McDonalds and everything else from yesterday. It is amazing how people support the hikers here in the south.
Date: 2016-04-09
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: light rain

A dad and son weekend hikers showed up after we were settled in last night. The son slept in the twin bed sized loft and the dad slept on the floor. I don't know how Large slept in the other loft, I would have been afraid of falling out. Good night's sleep- ready to conquer the day!The hike this morning was cold. I had on the most clothes that I have worn hiking since we began this journey and I was still chilly. It's the wind- we all discuss the wind whenever we see another hiker. Not sure it's ever stopped blowing since Springer. The walk to the first shelter was a fast 10 miles and we saw the kids that hiked on last night. They had ordered pizza to the shelter! We talked about waiting and sharing the feast but have another 11 miles so off we go.We passed an old school house that had trail magic! A church in Atkins stocks sodas, candy, snacks and toiletries. The churches in the South are so thoughtful to hikers- it's really amazing.We walked into Atkins and stopped at The Barn for burgers and fries, called for a shuttle and went to the Comfort Inn. Great place- we are warm, dry and clean but they don't have laundry services. We will have to figure that out tomorrow.Our friend Cocoa Ken is here and we haven't seen him since Damascus so excited to hear about his adventures this past week.Because of the weather forecast we bounced my 20 degree sleeping bag from Damascus to Atkins (I held on to the 0 degree bag). It appears that we walked faster than the Post Office can post a package. Hopefully we can figure it out without having to hang around until Monday.Happy to be in town and thankful for all the encouraging comments on our journal. They really help especially when the journey gets difficult. Thanks for your prayers and kind wishes.
Date: 2016-04-10
From: Atkins, VA

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Perfect town day! Amazing breakfast at the Comfort Inn, laundry, Walmart, Ingles, Pizza Hut for lunch, bath, nap, dinner at Subway.A little annoyed because we will get a late start tomorrow because my sleeping bag isn't here and we have to go to the post office before we can start our hike. We will hike a short 14 mile day tomorrow.We saw Chickenfoot at Subway. We don't see him often because he sleeps in and hikes until about 11pm and we are fast asleep. He is an interesting man from New Jersey so we hope to see him more often.It's always hard to leave comfy beds, warm rooms and yummy food, but I am excited to see what the trail has for us in this next section. It's always different and always interesting.When we got to Atkins and went to The Barn to eat we saw an ad for a shuttle driver named Drew.He drove us to the hotel, then into Marion so we could do all our chores. He will also drive us back to the trail Monday.He was telling us about his life and it was a sad tale. Life is very hard in this part of the state. Coal workers have lost well paying jobs and there hasn't been much to replace them.
Date: 2016-04-11
From: Atkins, VA

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: light rain

We both had a hard time sleeping last night. When I can't sleep, I really miss my girls and the little man. It's the only time I am homesick.We got to sleep in this morning because the post office didn't open until 8:45. An awesome breakfast- waffle, eggs, sausage patty, donut and three glasses of juice! I love nice hotels. The lady at the post office was great and found my sleeping bag and helped us ship some cold weather stuff home. The South is such a friendly place to be.The hike today was amazing. Started with a road walk under I-80 then over a meadow and big then into the woods and up to the ridge. We walked on a ridge without snow or sleet or wind- perfect. Lots of puds (pointless ups and downs) but the weather was beautiful and we were only hiking 14 miles today. We stopped in a pretty gap for lunch then climbed through farmland and stopped to soak our feet in a cold river. Another climb to the shelter and we are done for the day. An older section hiker is here as well as a new thru hiker. We got a late start so the group we were hiking with is at least one shelter ahead of us. It will be nice to meet some new people.We walked for 12 miles before seeing another person today. Santa and I had lots of time to chat. He really is a great hiking partner. He helps me on with my pack every time, hangs our food, puts up with my moods and is almost always in a good mood. Really happy to be out here with him.And we passed the 1/4 mark today!!!
Date: 2016-04-12
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: broken clouds

Last night we sheltered with Justin, a thru hiker going to med school in the fall and Cool Hand, a seventy year old section hiker. I got too close to the stove while cooking and melted part of the sleeve of my purple puffy jacket. I am totally fine but my jacket now has duct tape on it It rained last night but we stayed warm and dry in the shelter. Woke up to drizzle and sprinkles but packed up and headed out for our 20 mile day. As wonderful as yesterday was, today was kinda terrible. Long hard climb in the mist and we missed the views Russ told us about because we were in a cloud. As we dropped in elevation, the cloud disappeared and we could see beautiful Virginia farmland. I think I would like to live on a farm, they look so peaceful and serene. Santa tripped on a wet rock and sprained his big toe- not a happy hiker. He's having some discomfort from where his waist belt presses against his abdomen. I hope we can figure this out- it's pretty uncomfortable for him.We both missed the shelter! Walked right past it and didn't realize until we were in another big climb. Got out our book and realized we had passed the shelter. Not turning back and going extra miles! So we walked further and then checked the time and it's 6:45 so Santa looked around for a tent site while I cooked dinner. We are tented right next to the trail, our food is hung and we are ready to sleep. The weather was warmer today and got into the low 50's. It will be in the 30's tonight but we will be safe and warm in our sleeping bags and awesome tent.Thanks for the encouraging messages and prayers. Sometimes this journey is going to be really hard (like the past week or so) and sometimes it will be amazing. We are together and pushing through the unpleasantness and hoping for some good days soon.
Date: 2016-04-13
From: Stealth Site

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

Quiet, uneventful night in our tent on the side of the trail. Probably my best night's sleep yet. I worried about a hiker falling into us night hiking, a bear stealing our food or a sudden rain flooding our tent, but fell asleep right away and stayed that way Today was a great hike. We woke up to a sunny sky and just started walking. Nice lunch break near a stream after a somewhat confusing road walk. Saw a sign on a trash barrel asking people not to put deer carcasses into the barrel because a 70 year old man and 78 year old woman maintain the trash barrels.Water was somewhat limited today. We filled up this morning and both carried 2 liters. The only other water was at a shelter .3 miles off the trail with a .3 mile walk to the water. Didn't seem worth it so we walked on. Got into the second shelter with zero water. I hate that! I seem to get thirstier the less water we have. But all was good and we got water, treated it and made dinner.Saw some hikers we haven't seen in awhile- Ghost, Thor, Phat sister, Bean and Ash. As we were finishing dinner and doing nightly chores, they came in, ate and got ready to night hike. They like to sleep in so they often hike by headlamp.Thor is a hiker from Ohio who works for One Feather, another hiker and his brother, as a landscaper. He is hoping to be in Harpers Ferry to celebrate his 21st birthday. Last Saturday we were hiking with him and he came into the shelter for lunch and started picking the garbage out of the fire pit. He had lost his hat and was hoping that doing a good deed would cause trail karma to return his hat. Not five minutes later Large walked in with his hat. It was quite the moment. Thor took a few days off because One Feather's wife drove from Ohio to visit and brought Thor's dad. Thor sent his stove home and is now eating only cold food. Saves weight but I really like a hot dinner and a hot chocolate when my day is over so we will keep our stove for now.Off to sleep- 24 mile day tomorrow in the plans.
Date: 2016-04-14
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 21.7

We were excited to see Cocoa when we got to the shelter last night since we thought he was a shelter ahead of us. Unfortunately it wasn't for a good reason. Cocoa has a bad case of tendinitis.This morning was chilly! It was hard to get up but we were up and out at 7. This mornings hike was awesome! It was cool and sunny and we had beautiful terrain. We took a break 6 1/2 miles down the trail to walk to Trents and had burgers, ice cream, juice, and soda for breakfast. We met a very nice local man who vacations in Camden, Maine and loves Owls Head General Store. I told him to go to Owls Head Baptist and to tell the pastor that he met two thru hikers. He used to teach elementary school so we had a nice chat. And he gave us a ride back to the trail. Then we hiked about 7 more miles and stopped for lunch.The hike after lunch wasn't much fun. Long up then a really rocky down. We decided to go into Woods Hole Hostel for dinner. Desolation and Baby Blue suggested that we stop. Great choice to listen- we had salad, lasagna, carrot soup, bread (yum) and homemade ice cream. It really is all about the food for me.Sleeping in the bunkhouse with lots of other hikers. It's a steep ladder walk to the bathroom tonight. Hope I don't have to get up more than once.We are all getting up early to hike into Pearisberg tomorrow morning.Pendexter, Toast and Dill are here tonight. Pendexter is a seminary student and we had a great discussion last night about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Pendexter got his name because he broke his glasses and fixed them by taping a pen across the top(see picture). Toast just finished undergrad and will be going to grad school to be an occupational therapist. I was laughing because she may be teaching people how to use utensils and she's sitting in the shelter with a summer sausage in her hand biting off chunks. Dill got her name because the duct tape on her hiking poles has pickles on it. She's really excited to stay at the Puckle Shelter even though it's .4 mi off the trail with a lousy water source. It's quite the discussion amongst the three of them.Really late-10:00 so off to bed and a 9 mile walk into town in the morning.As Kim Bromm would say, "I am living the dream."
Date: 2016-04-15
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: clear sky

Last night in the hostel was interesting. We met someone section hiking from our hometown in Westborough who has a son that Santa taught at the high school.Nice bunkhouse to sleep in though two of the occupants, Dill and Gold Digger, both talked in their sleep. Santa was annoyed by the wind chimes that sounded all night.Nice walk into town. We did a lot of ridge walking where the trees were bare and the ground very brown. As we descended into town, we saw green grass, leaves on trees and sweet and pretty purplish blue wild flowers.Pearisburg is a very small town but has everything we need. We went straight to Pizza Hut for lunch and met Large and North Star. We didn't think we would see Large again but White Rabbit wasn't feeling well so they zeroed. Then we went to the Holiday lodge and got a room. The door wouldn't stay closed so we had to move. Our new room has a door that closes but the lamp doesn't work, there is no stopper for the tub, and we had to unplug the microwave to plug in the tv. But it's clean, there is hot water, and heat. Plus we can walk to DQ, restaurants and a food store! We had our resupply boxes sent here and the girls always throw in some special treats (thank you!) I was also excited because a first grade class sent us cards. They were amazingly thoughtful and colorful. Made me miss school though. Thank you Mrs. Anderson's class!We had dinner with Cocoa and Ghost at the Mexican place across the street and then went to DQ for dessert.I was able to reply to everyone's comments on our trail journal and we were able to talk to our girls.Town life can suck you in and the weather is supposed to be nice this week do we are heading out in the morning. Off to sleep
Date: 2016-04-16
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

So our plan to hike out this morning didn't happen. I had stomach trouble last night and this morning. Thought it best to rest and be near indoor plumbing.Had a great nap and felt much better. We walked to a pizza place for salad and subs- yum! Then went to DQ with North Star and Ghost. We really try to get lots of quality calories in town.Took a walk to Rite Aid and bought cards to send and fruit snacks for tomorrow's hike.Off to dinner with Cocoa and North Star. Cocoa is feeling better and is going to try hiking lesser mile days and see how he feels. We are really going to miss him- we have been together most days since early Georgia. But the way things work on the trail, we will meet up again. Plus we are friends on Facebook now. North Star is taking three days off to visit with his wife but he will catch up with us soon.We really are hiking tomorrow so off to sleep. We are excited about this next section. Lots of beautiful scenery in our future.
Date: 2016-04-17
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: clear sky

It's always hard to leave town but today was extra hard because Cocoa is staying behind to rest one more day then going back to Trent's and doing low miles to see if the tendinitis will allow him to continue.Today started with a road crossing, a walk past a landfill, a brook that you can't drink from, a cell tower, power lines, and then finally back into wilderness. We had an easy walk this morning and afternoon so decided to go for some extra miles. The last 3.9 miles were pretty nasty. This was the worst maintained section we have walked yet. Lots of blow downs, no switchbacks, low branches that hit you in the face....We are at the shelter with Palidtone, Rabbit and Slug. The rumor is tomorrow is a rock crawl so that should be interesting.We saw Slug at DQ last night but he was heading out of town so we were surprised to see him this afternoon sitting in the sun talking on his phone. We saw him later when we stopped for dinner. He said he was having a tough day. He's trying to get in miles because his wife is coming to visit in a few days. He's a retired guy who is really enjoying hiking and loves to just throw up his hammock anywhere along the trail.
Date: 2016-04-18
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

Last night I was able to sit in the shelter reading my book listening to Slug and Santa chat. Slug is such a nice man. He's intelligent, friendly and cares for the hikers he encounters. His wife is driving their Mercedes Sprint van which they have had outfitted as an RV to meet him this week. He's very excited to hike with her.The two hikers last night got up at 5 because they wanted to do a marathon hike today. They were not quiet and didn't put their headlamps on "red light" so it was not a fun way to wake up. I had some stomach trouble in the night but felt better and we had a really nice hike to the War Spur Shelter. I took a short nap, put my sore feet in a very cold river and chatted with Santa under the shade. And off we went for a short 5.8 mile to the next shelter. It was awful. A straight climb up a dirt road with no shade and no switchbacks. Our cold weather from last week was replaced by 80 degree heat! I didn't do so well and got nauseous and dizzy. Santa was my hero and carried his pack to the top of the 1 mile climb then came back for mine. I wouldn't have been able to make it carrying my pack in that heat.We are at a shelter with Golddigger who we met at Woods Hole Hostel. She said she saw Brightside and Slug and they were saying unkind things about the terrain. I had some food, lots of water and the weather has cooled off and I am feeling better.We are going to do lower miles tomorrow and see if that helps.
Date: 2016-04-19
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Stealth Site
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Nice cool night at the shelter. Poor Goal Digger thought she heard a mouse near her stuff so put everything (not her food) into her sleeping bag and slept fitfully listening for the mouse. She told us she heard it so I was worried I wouldn't sleep, but no worries, I went right to sleep and only got up once to go to the bathroom. Goal Digger started in Virginia and is hiking to Maine and then south from Virginia to Georgia. It's hard for her because we all have our "hiker legs" after 600 miles and she's not there yet. But she'll get them.Today's climbs were much better than yesterday's! I must have been really dehydrated because I drank 5 liters of water today and I ate a lot of food! We didn't see one person today after we left the shelter this morning. It's a bit disconcerting.We are stealth camping about a mile past Audie Murphy's memorial. He is the most decorated serviceman in American history.Tomorrow we see one of the most iconic photo ops on the AT: McAfee Knob. We are excited that we will be there tomorrow because rain is coming in Thursday and Friday. The only bummer is that we wanted to eat at the Homeplace Restaurant but it's only open Th-Sa. But it is what it is...Trail News: at Watuga, bears pulled down the bear cables and ripped two tents. No hikers were injured but they were shaken up. (I would have quit!)Shenandoah: a friend from home facebooked us and said they were on vacation there and picked up a hiker because there is a wildfire. We have a ways to go to get there so hopefully it will be all under control soon.Side note: when I was sitting on the side of the trail yesterday recuperating from my illness and thinking "I am not mentally and physically strong enough to be a thru hiker", I turned on my phone and saw 6 encouraging thoughtful messages from people following our journey. Thank you- it gave me the boost I needed to get up and walk!