morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-17
From: Partnership shelter

To: Atkins Virginia
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: broken clouds

I would first just like to give a shout out to the Southern New Hampshire University golf team and my son Matthew. Good luck to everyone this week in Denver Colorado for the Division II National golf championships.   Well everyone woke up alive and well this morning. Thank God. The strange local was one of the first people out of the shelter and everyone took a sigh of relief. It was another perfect morning to wake up under a shelter while it was raining outside. Most of us including myself stalled for over an hour and a half waiting for the rain to subside. Once it did we quickly head out on the trail knowing we only have 11 and a half miles to the Relax Inn.   Except for some mud and slippery sections the trail was fairly easy today. Midway through our hike we took a break at the shelter and this older couple mention that there was Trail magic 1 mile down hill. Before she could finish her statement I was already putting my hiking shoes back on and moving out. It still feels like being a small child at Halloween. When I hear Trail Magic I literally start to run for fear of everything being gone.There has never ever been a bad Trail Magic experience. How can you go wrong with burgers, hot dogs, Pizza, beer and soda in the middle of the Woods?    We were notified that this particular Trail Magic would be in a one room schoolhouse near the road. Grape soda,chips and three great hiker boxes of which I probably obtained $15 worth of supplies. We kind of posed for the picture above and it was hard not to laugh. They also had a hundred-year-old punishment list for offenses in school. One of the rules not to break is being mean to girls. All the punishments were in lashes and this law required the boy to get ten lashes if he was bad to a girl.   Right after we passed the school house there was a handwritten note on a wooden fence directly on the trail. This elderly woman stated that she was a widow of a thru hiker named Ziggy in 1989 and she would take the first four thru-hikers that responded to her letter. I had a brief conversation with her. Such a sweet lady but the logistics of her agenda did not agree with our group. So the next four people behind us very quickly took her up on her offer. We all think we made the right decision because you can actually see the Appalachian Trail down the street from this motel. One of the stipulations for the elderly woman's stay was that we would spend at least 3 hours in a car and not know exactly what we were getting into.   When we arrived at the Relax Inn around 4 o'clock there were only 2 rooms left. The entire Motel is full of thru-hikers. We have food and coffee right next door. The laundry was quick and once again it was $15 apiece well spent. The beds are very comfortable.
Date: 2016-05-18
From: Atkins Virginia

To: Chestnut knob shelter.
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Got out of bed this morning feeling good. Luckily with 4 guys in one hotel room nobody really snored which meant for a good night's sleep. Our initial goal was to go 14 miles a few shelters down the trail. But I soon had other ideas as this was not a typical hike out of town. The first few miles were beautiful rolling cow pastures as far as the eye could see in every direction. Quite a nice change from the dark, damp woods we've been hiking in lately. At 3:30 everyone in our group had arrived at the shelter and was laying out their sleeping bags, claiming their spots. I've made a quick decision to try to get to the next shelter 10 miles away. Even though there's rain in the forecast and I probably won't make it until dark.      Made the 24 miles to the shelter.There were a lot of people setting up their tents and told me there was no more room inside. But when I opened the door and saw some hikers that I haven't seen in a long time they made room for me. It probably helped that I looked pretty bad and they commented on me doing such a long day in the rain.   Am now sleeping under the bunks in a 18 inch space on the cement floor. All that confined space training with the Fire Department is now paying off. Another big day planned tomorrow. Good Night.
Date: 2016-05-19
From: Chestnut knob shelter.

To: Bland Virginia
Miles today: 22.0

Woke this morning after dreaming that I was in a coffin all night. The dream wasn't far from the truth. I had to be very careful getting in and out of my sleeping bag for the two Inch Nails coming through the deck above. I've left most of my crew behind by hiking 46 miles in the last 2 days. So my two new hiking companions, Jetson and Curly came up with the a plan. If the three of us can do 22 miles by 5 o'clock we could hitchhike into Bland and split a room. Sounded great to me because as usual I was running out of food. Mission accomplished. The 46 miles are in the bank and the three of us have a nice warm hotel room at the Big Walker Inn. Life is good in the body feels great after the two long mile days   I have recently met numerous thru-hikers who are also on trail journals. Most of them tell me how they neglect their daily blog and sometimes journal once a week. It really is difficult to get this done as sometimes I miss out on social events. I do realize that this journal will probably be my greatest souvenir from the hike and knowing so many of you are reading this makes it all worthwhile. Thanks again.
Date: 2016-05-20
From: Bland Virginia

To: Jenny knob shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Once the three of us settled into our very spacious motel room it was off to eat. It started at Subway with a loaded steak and cheese followed by a Banana Boat for dessert from Dairy Queen. After the 10-minute walk back to the hotel I spotted a burger joint where I had to go in for a double cheeseburger. Yum,yum. Around 6 o'clock a few more thru-hikers showed up next door with a dog. They looked over at us and were wondering about space. We quickly agreed that we were all set and we're happy with our arrangement. Normally the more hikers the more fun but not with a big smelly dog. This is one of the first times I have an entire bed to myself with my arms and legs spread out as wide as they can be. We call it the starfish. Quite a change from sleeping in my mummy sleeping bag every night.   Its 1 p.m. and I am almost at our final shelter for the day. This has been the easiest, flattest and softest trail the entire trip. Truly a stroll in the park. I'm excited about being at the shelter early and planned a big fire and making a dent in what is my heaviest food bag to date.   I am journaling this from exactly the 600-mile mark on the trip. I've been sitting on a log for 10 minutes when I just turned around and noticed the marker.
Date: 2016-05-21
From: Jenny knob shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostle
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: light rain

Up at 5:43 a.m. this morning. Was already in a good mood from last night. Just before bed a young couple named fat hen and talon spun around and started slapping his backpack." Hey terodactyle did you lose your cooking pot?" They had carried my kitchen over 40 miles to return it to me. It's unbelievable how everyone takes care of each other out here on the trail. I had already gone to the dollar store and replaced it figuring it was long gone. So the dollar store version stayed at the next selter and I now have my titanium pot back. Yes!   As usual plans changed multiple times during the day. Originally we were supposed to stay at Woods Hole hostel and even tried to pay for a reservation in advance. After a very long day of hiking we decided we did not want to stay at Woods Hole hostel. When we emerged from the woods a pickup truck was there with Trail magic and offered to take us down to the hostel for free. Since we didn't have to walk the half-mile extra we decided to check it out. The hikers I was with decided if we're going into town the following day let's just tent in the woods so we left the hostel quickly and set up right away. The second we got done it rained for hours. The cold rain doesn't seem to bother you as much if you know you're going to hike into town the following day. My 20 degree sleeping bag keeps me comfortable but my tent and backpack definitely have to be cleaned soon. Just hoping it's not raining tomorrow morning when I have to break down this tent. Good night.
Date: 2016-05-22
From: Woods Hole Hostle

To: Pearisberg Virginia
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A very muddy start to the hike this morning. The 12 miles into town would be nearly impossible without hiking poles. It can get frustrating because you want to get the miles done but you have to be very cautious. The three of us got to the road crossing around 2:30 this afternoon and hinted to a few families in the parking lot that we needed a ride into town. We didn't have much luck. So we started the 1.5 mile walk and immediately got picked up by an older gentleman.   This Motel is a throwback to the 80s and we missed the opening of the swimming pool by a few days. Although I snuck in for a quick dip anyway (shocker). It's always amusing when we come into a town like this and literally takeover whatever establishment decide to stay at. I would estimate at least 40 north bounders here today.   The hiker in today's picture sitting next to me is from the Netherlands. There seems to be a large number of foreigners in this particular hiking bubble. Time to have a few cocktails and watch a movie. About 20 are all meeting in one room to watch Hot Tub Time Machine. Sun is shining and it's warm outside. Another great day on the Appalachian Trail
Date: 2016-05-23
From: Pearisberg Virginia

To: Captains place
Miles today: 0.21
Weather: mist

Wow. Once again I'm overwhelmed at everybody following my journal and signing the guestbook. A quick shout out to everybody at Eversource, Chantilly's, The Firehouse, and so many others around the country. This Trail journals site was the single largest motivator for me to hike the Appalachian Trail. For 15 years I've been reading everyone's Journal. I would get home from work and spend two-and-a-half to three hours and read one Journal a night. Like everyone else out there following me, I would sit in the comfort of my home and dream about 1 day hiking cross-country.I want to again thank my wife for making this possible by supporting this adventure 100% And motivating me to get out there and do this now while I'm still healthy enough to enjoy it. I still wake up in amazement every morning when to my surprise I do not have one sore muscle. I thought after 20-mile days I would wake up creaking and cracking but the slow methodical pace seems to be working. I was just asked to zero in town today and stay with Grizzly and PBR. It's so tempting but this happens often in town and I just want to save those rest days for when they are really needed. I feel good and I'm ready to go, so it's off to the woods for the next 5 days. Today's goal is a 21 mile hike to a zip line that crosses a large river to the Captains place where this man will let you camp at his house for free.   The first 10 miles flew by today which was a good thing since we didn't get on the trail until noon. There's 5 of us hiking together this afternoon and we had a quick lunch at the 10-mile shelter before moving on. It looked like it was going to be a perfect day when all of a sudden the terrain got rocky for a while and then a surprise shower. We all stopped and put on our packcovers and our ponchos only to have it stop raining within 15 minutes. Now there are beautiful blue skies above. It rained just enough to make everything slick and I'm slowing my pace for the rest of the day as the others are pushing ahead. There's only five and a half miles left to the Captain's House and its 5:30 so I'm no longer worried about hiking in the dark the last two miles are all downhill according to my book and the elevation graphs.
Date: 2016-05-24
From: Captains place

To: Laurel Creek shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: broken clouds

Made it to Captains well before dusk . While everyone was trying to figure out how to run the zip line across the river I decided to take matters into my own hands and just jump in and swim across. Some of hikers near the fire on the other side started to yell as they thought I fell in by mistake. This place is awesome. The gentleman has a perfect setup for multiple hikers and does not charge anybody for anything including a refrigerator stocked with soda.   So I had breakfast in a sauna this morning. At 140 degrees I was the only one that chose this option and it was great. The sauna is out on his screened porch overlooking the river. I overheard a few of the hikers this morning saying that terodactyle is crazy. I guess I'm getting a little bit of a reputation out here but it's a good one. Waking up every morning being able to do anything you want, when you want and how you want it is very liberating and I'm looking forward to a fun summer. Time to hit the trail, we're shooting for 22 miles today.   The first five miles this morning were extremely tough with the mud and rocks. Our plans of 22 miles vanished instantly. It took everybody almost 5 hours to go 6 miles. It didn't help that Mother Nature has finally cranked up the thermostat and we were hiking in the mid-eighties by noon. Personally I still say bring on the heat, it's better than freezing to death. I couldn't seem to get my energy level up at all today and was very tired throughout most of the afternoon. It seemed to take forever to finally arrive at Laurel Creek shelter with 17 miles done for the day.   Today I crossed a very large 6-foot black snake on the trail (should have taken a picture) and three different rabbits one which I actually had to shoo away off the trail as he just brazenly stared at me. Just helped build a big fire but I'm too tired to enjoy all of it, off to sleep.
Date: 2016-05-25
From: Laurel Creek shelter

To: Niday shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

Woke up this morning to the birthday plan that some of the hikers had made for me. We all decided that we would not spend more than 3 hours trying to get into town, get picnic supplies for tonight and get back on the trail.   After two easy miles of strolling through cow pastures we came to the road crossing. We put 22 year old (M) formerly known as Jetson on point. She stuck her thumb out and the very first car that passed by pulled over and gave us a ride directly to the store in town. It gets better. We thanked the gentleman and as I was about to open the door to the grocery store two other locals started asking us questions about the trail. I ended the conversation with, how hard it was going to be to getting a hitch back to the Appalachian Trail 7 miles down the road? He then told me he would go home and get his van and be back in 10 minutes. It gets better. So we thanked him and are now buying hotdogs, beer and everything else we need. As we waited that last two minutes in the parking lot another person came up with a handful of Dr. Peppers and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. A lot of these small towns near the trail really treat you like a celebrity. I understand it because doing Trail magic years ago I was in awe and treated other hikers like celebrities also. After what has to be a 14 mile round trip record time into town and back to trail we came across a large river 1 mile into the woods. I immediately started taking off my sneakers and jumped in. This time everyone else followed including (M) who decided to take off nothing and jump in with her skirt, blouse, shirt and everything else. Pretty funny! So much has happened today and it's not noon time. I'm very grateful that this group of hikers talked me into this birthday. Looking forward to a fun afternoon with Chuckles, (M) , Curly and the rest of the Gang .   The afternoon terrain was very tough going. The extra 10 pounds felt like 100. It was all worth it though when we arrived at the shelter. Felt a little bad because we did not have enough for all the other arriving hikers. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday on the trail.   The oak tree in the picture above is estimated to be three hundred years old. I joked with everybody about how the wood from that tree could heat my house up north for 10 yrs. Until tomorrow.
Date: 2016-05-26
From: Niday shelter

To: Four Pines hostel
Miles today: 17.0

Was a little sluggish getting out of camp this morning. Too much fun at my birthday in the woods. The beginning of today's hike was extremely easy. It still amazes me how you can get to the top of a mountain or cross a street and the terrain completely changes. Everybody around the shelter last night was talking about four Pines hostel. I have seen this hostel in videos and I've heard a lot about it. So once again plans changed and I am here tonight with about 40 hikers. Everybody is throwing as much firewood as they can on a giant tree stump. This thing is almost 5 feet across.   Near the end of our hike today we came across dragon's tooth. It is a rock outcrop with great 360 degree views. I was one of a few hikers that refused to go to the very top like PBR is in the picture. A foot-and-a-half either way is a 200-foot sheer cliff. Since retiring from the fire department I make it a rule to stay on the ground. I would hate to have gone my whole career as a fireman and then die falling off something like this.   With only doing 17 miles today we now have to do a marathon tomorrow. Curly and M have invited 5 of us to her bosses house in Roanoke which means we have to be at the road crossing at 6 o'clock and have done 26 miles. So I'm planning a very early evening and hopefully I'm on the trail by 5:30 a.m. Another very exciting and fun day on the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2016-05-27
From: Four Pines hostel

To: Roanoke Virginia
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Heading down the road at 5:50 a.m. this morning. Already sweating walking through numerous cow pastures. It's going to be a long day!   As usual the morning miles flew by. The early start worked out perfect because with a one and a half hour Head Start Grizzly and PBR caught up to me at McAfee knob. After taking pictures our next stop was Tinker cliffs. Some of the best views on the entire Trail. This was a big surprise to me today. In the afternoon we all melted like snowmen. We couldn't keep up with water intake as there were not sufficient streams on the trail. I don't really remember the last four miles of the hike today as I was sleepwalking in a pool of sweat.   As all 5 of us (PBR,Grizz,Curley,Jetson and myself) emerged from the woods together. Our ride was there waiting for us. As a former thru-hiker this woman knew exactly what we wanted and had a cooler of ice-cold Gatorade waiting in the car. We are now all showered and full from the barbecue they cooked us on their back deck. Everyone has their own bed tonight in a small single family house in Roanoke Virginia, compliments of Jetsons former boss. The way this hike is going maybe I'll just spend the rest of my life on the trail (ha,ha).
Date: 2016-05-28
From: Roanoke Virginia

To: Daleville Virginia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up this morning to Curly's famous pancakes. He cooked us all a full breakfast with extra fruit and chocolate milk. The girls we stayed with last night gave us one of their cars for the day so it will be off to Howard Johnsons down the street. The five of us will split a $50 room tonight which includes a full hot breakfast tomorrow. And the bonus is that they opened the pool this morning. I believe I love rest days more than hiking days.   After going to the grocery store for resupply for the next 5 days of food. We came back to the motel and laid out by my first pool of the summer. So nice. It's very tempting to stay in town again tomorrow as many hikers are asking me to share a room. But I realize I still have at least 1400 miles to go.
Date: 2016-05-29
From: Daleville Virginia

To: Double zero in Daleville
Miles today: 0.0

There seems to be a pattern developing when you take a zero mileage Town day. After eating breakfast and contemplating mileage three of us decided that we could get a lot done if we stayed in town again. So I will now run down a typical agenda for a zero-day.   Immediately after breakfast I walked down to the front desk and let everyone know I was looking to get to Walmart 5 miles away. It didn't take long for someone to offer me a lift. Perfect! After 2 months my Dr. Scholl's extra gel pads needed to be replaced. Not that I was having any foot problems but the present ones were pretty nasty. Then it's off to the grocery store. Not to forget the zip lock bags because everything you buy is opened and put in zip locks to save space in your food bag. Most hikers will then empty every single item from their backpack to inspect, clean and reorganize their pack after living out of it for a week.   The ride back this afternoon from Walmart turned into a big adventure. As I mentioned I am not good at hitchhiking. 45 minutes on the highway and not one person even slowed down. I then walked up to a fire station and my luck changed. Initially they stated they could not give me a ride to the hotel for liability and department policy reasons. But after 20 minutes and 2 cups of coffee one of the guys told me to jump in his car and he would bring me back. This was clutch as once again it began to rain. It would have been the worst zero ever walking 5 miles on the highway in the rain. Thanks guys!!!   We invited a handful of hikers to come over and barbecue for supper. Our resident chef decided to cook steaks on the grill. It was fun but I was tired and right after I ate decided to let the young kids stay up and party, while I went to bed.