morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-27
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

It was an early rise (6 a.m.) having slept in the shelter and everyone else in a hurry to move on. Most of the hikers who spent the night were thru-hikers. I quickly used Squirrels' Sawyer Squeeze to process our water before she headed out. Before us today stood Floyd Mountain, a 2500' hard climb up. The thru's were smart enough get an early start and summit before the heat of the day kicked in. My plan was to hike only 10.2 miles today to the Thunder Hill Shelter. Most everyone else along with Squirrel had plans to go further than I for the day. Squirrel headed out early and the plan still stood to meet her at Hog Camp Gap on May 30th. Thus, we lingered at this great shelter and were the last to depart for the day.We were growing accustom to the fact that Virginia was just a lot of hiking work and found nothing of great interest for the first 9 miles of the day. 4.5 miles past the Summit of Floyd Mountain we had to climb another 1000' feet to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. Along with great views down we got a good look at the FAA tower on top of this mountain. Due to the thunder in distance we did not pause very long here taking a few pictures and moving onto the Guillotine. The thunder continued to keep us moving so sadly we only snapped a few quick pics at the Guillotine and hustled along.Shortly after the Guillotine, we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway, skipped past the spring and walked the 0.3 miles along the AT to the shelter. We were the first in and discovered that what they called a water source wasn't just poor but not acceptable even if I did have a Steripen that worked. We opted for one of the campsites up the hill behind the shelter, gathered our water bottles and headed back to the spring (sigh)... more hiking. Jack-Jack once again carried an empty backpack to help me carry water back to the shelter.After getting water and starting supper, several thru hikers joined us. One was my guardian angel Indy. He once again started a nice fire to make his dinner. He discovered that I didn't have any means to purify my water and gifted me his bottle of bleach along with a great description on how to use it! Bless him. I called him my guardian angel because a few days prior he had found my hat along the trail and had made sure to return it to me. Now here he was solving my #1 gear problem. All the thru hikers decided after dinner that it was too early to stop and they all headed back out. Shortly thereafter, the three German boys came into camp and setup for the night in the shelter.
Date: 2014-05-30
From: Punchbowl Shelter - BRP 51.7

To: Hog Camp Gap Campsite
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

This morning was rinse and repeat of yesterday morning, only this time we were packing EVERYTHING up and moving out of the cabin. We again packed for a slack pack but this time Water Boy wasn't going to need his pack either. There would be plenty of water along this route. The rest of my heavy gear and the boy's packs were packed separately with the 4 days of food that arrived in our mail drop. We would put all these items in Ken's trunk so he could drop them at Hwy 60 for us later. There were numerous items that I had determined I no longer needed to carry, like that dead Steripen (Grrr....). I put all these items in a box addressed to myself and had the owner of the KOA mail it for me at home.Ken arrived promptly and once again whisked us up to the Blue Ridge Parkway parking area at Mile Marker 51.7. Today's plan included a lot of hiking but back in the NoBo direction! We were going 17.2 miles! Wow! The first 11 miles though were NOT difficult at all and had plenty of interesting aspects to explore along the way. First was Pedlar River Bridge where we lingered taking pictures and having second breakfast. Next was the Lynchburg Reservoir with many loops in and out of ravines along the east shoreline of the reservoir.The trail soon fell into step following along the Brown Mountain Creek. The entire raven created by the creek had been home to the Brown Mountain Creek Community of emancipation slaves. There are wonderful markers and stories along the trail that describe this community that was tucked away here, away from the cruelty of mainstream society. We arrived early at the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter. There were several thru-hikers having lunch here. As I considered lunch, my eyes grew heavy and I opted for a 10 minute power nap. I jerked awake 45 minutes later having overslept and now being late to meet Ken at Hwy 60. We scrambled up the path that was now taking longer than I wanted to make mileage.We met Ken at the Hwy 60 parking lot 20 minutes late and retrieved all our gear and packs. Mouse Hunter and Water Boy were hard to convince that they now had to carry those heavy packs after playing all morning. I crammed all my heavy gear into the base of my pack and loaded all the extras onto. Wow, this was now a heavy pack! And wouldn't you know, but we now faced a huge 2000' climb up to Hog Camp Gap. (sigh)Today was the day we were to meet back up with Squirrel and Zima so we pushed forward as fast as we could. We didn't want to be too late into camp and our reunion. 1/2 way up we stopped for a late afternoon break and shortly thereafter Squirrel and Zima caught up with us. We arrived at camp around 6 p.m. and found some nice campsites in an open field area along the trail. The dogs all played as we set tents, walked the 0.6 mile roundtrip water retrieval chore, and made dinner. Lights out at dark. No trouble sleeping after walking 17 miles and climbing a 2500' mountain!
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Hog Camp Gap Campsite

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: broken clouds

What great luck we are having on this year's Section, once again, absolutely no rain overnight and clear skies today! Yipee!! Thank goodness it was now cooler and not as hot as it was several days ago. Today's plan was 14.3 miles to The Priest Shelter with plenty of water sources along the way. The elevation maps all made it seem like this would be an easy hike so talk of going further than The Priest Shelter became part of the day's ongoing discussion. Squirrel/Zima and I/boys all hiked separate from each other as Squirrel traveled much faster than I (I wouldn't say I exactly had my trail legs quite yet).There were several 500' climbs up/down over and over for most of the day. At one point we caught up with Squirrel and Zima. Squirrel was reclining on a rock shaped as a chair and reading her Harry Potter book while eating Fish Crackers and drinking her soda from the last Trail Angel cooler. Ah, yes, today there were several Trail Angel coolers at the various road crossings. Love when that happens. Thank you Trail Angels!!! As the day grew late into the afternoon, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to go any further than The Priest Shelter and then we ran straight into the last 1000' climb that led up to the Shelter. Wow! I collapsed into the shelter.... how come Squirrel looked so rested? Ah, she assured me that staying at the shelter was a wise choice for her too. See the next five miles were all straight down to the Tye River, a 3000' rocky drop.A nice tent site was located and chores commenced. Managed to make it to bed just before dark.
Date: 2014-06-01
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: scattered clouds

A new day with an extremely large challenge laid before us. The infamous Priest!!! A long 3000' 4.3 mile decent to the Tye River and its suspension bridge. Then another 3000' 6 mile climb back up. We left camp before Squirrel and Zima but they quickly passed us and disappeared. We didn't see them again until the bridge where we met to take our group picture. Unbelievably clear skies AGAIN!!!! I must be dreaming!The climb out of the river basin wasn't too bad the first three miles, but as we entered the Three Ridges (Southern, Middle, and Northern Ridges), things quickly got interesting. First, we really were ridge walking on a fairly narrow sliver of a trail. There were steep drops to either side and an occasional difficult rock climb up. I'm always amazed to come around a rocky outcrop, be presented with a very difficult negotiation, and see my dogs at the top of it looking down at me, like "Will you hurry up!" And when I say up, they can be 2-3 stories above me looking down. Wow! There were a lot of beautiful rock outcroppings along this route as the trail wound its way along the ridge line to the top. Climbing is much more exhausting that simply hiking. Squirrel tells me this is the last major climb until much further up north so I tried to suck it up.At the summit (without views of course) we stopped to talk with a Ridge Runner (AT maintenance and essentially DNR wardens). No new major news, nice lady! All we had left were 2.5 miles of 1200' decent into the shelter. When Squirrel and I split at the Tye River, we'd discussed the possibility of going farther than the Maupin Field Shelter. Tomorrow was our last day of hiking at it was to be a 21 miler, my longest day ever. If we could knock a few more miles out tonight, that was that many less miles tomorrow, right? But that last 2.5 miles did me in. I got to the shelter early and sat at the picnic table debating if we should go on or not. But I was physically spent.So up went the tents, water source was right behind the shelter (nice!), dinner made, chores done, we climbed in the tent. I proceeded with tick check!!! 30-40 ticks per dog takes a looooonnnnnggg time to do. I have discovered that ticks are hard to find on a black dog. BUT!!! Ta-da!!! If you put your headlamp on and shine it at the black fur, the ticks really standout. Finding ticks on a yellow dog is a piece of cake! LOL After nabbing each tick, I methodically place it on a rock and cut its ugly little head of. Lights out!
Date: 2014-06-02
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap, Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So you do the math, I hike really slow, there are only so many hours of daylight, and 21 miles stood between me and meeting Homer Witcher at Rockfish Gap, Waynesboro, VA to get our ride back to Daleville. Homer asked that I be there after 5 p.m. Yep, you got it, I got up at 3:30-4:00 a.m. and was on the trail, hiking in the dark by 5 a.m. We left Squirrel at the shelter in hopes of getting a good head start on the day. It was awesome to hike as the sun rose. The trail started out a bit of a rock scramble and eventually settled into a lot of field walking. Homer had noted that this stretch was fairly level and relatively easy. He was so right. I kept doing the math over and over in my head as I hiked. How many more miles, how many more hours, and how fast was I going. I'd time myself and keep checking my watch to make sure we were on schedule. No long breaks boys!!!! Go, go, go. At Humpback Mountain we started our final decent into Rockfish Gap. First there is the 2000' drop to the Paul C. Wolfe Shelter. By the time we arrived, my feet were killing me and I was thrilled to soak them in the Mill Creek that ran in front of the shelter. Really, really nice shelter. Would absolutely be wonderful to spend a night here. Squirrel headed NoBo ahead of us. It was good incentive to keep me going. My calculations said we were still good on time but I wasn't going to take any chances.The stretch from Paul C. Wolfe Shelter to Rockfish Gap was really nice but it seemed to take forever. Must have been because I was in a hurry to sleep in a real bed after a nice long hot shower. Ok, maybe TWO long hot showers! With real takeout food for dinner! But FINALLY we popped out of the woods and into a really busy interchange. Now, I always get overwhelmed when I exit the woods after days of going 1.5-3 mph and have to deal with traffic that is going 45 mph. After careful negotiation of the streets, I found Squirrel and Zima sitting at a picnic table at a gas station, waiting for us. We couldn't have been there more than 15-20 minutes when Homer pulled up early too! Yippee! We negotiated a ride for Squirrel and Zima to the YMCA tenting area and all crammed into Homers car. It was bitter sweet to drop them off at the tenting area. Now I didn't want to leave anymore, I wanted to continue hiking NoBo with our new friends! We hugged and said our good-byes. Homer drove us back to Daleville and dropped us at the Howard Johnson. I was relieved to see my van in one piece!We checked in, unloaded everything into the hotel room and spread out. Pizza Hut was dinner. Phone calls home and WiFi to upload pictures consumed our evening. Ok, I was ready to go home. It was one heck of an awesome year!!! So many miles, absolutely NO rain, so much fun with Squirrel and Zima!!!
Date: 2014-06-03
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Up and at'em early today. Have to fly this van and two dogs back to Wisconsin. It is always so bitter sweet to be leaving the trail and all the new friends I've made. I dressed in street clothes and made my way down to the Continental Breakfast just outside the lobby. A new group of thru-hikers were taking advantage of all the great food. I didn't know a one of them and now by the way I'd cleaned up and dressed, they didn't have a clue I'd even been hiking. Yet, my feet and knees told me that they were glad I was going home. I passed a group heading out to the trail, packs already in place on their backs, talking with excitement about the day. I longed to fall in step behind them, but responsibilities at home were already lighting up my phone with requests. It was time to leave. We stopped and loaded up on road snacks and drinks and spun the van northward.In summary, it was a great, great year this year. No rain, tons of miles, one of the best mileages I'd put down. I'd thoroughly enjoyed hiking with Squirrel and Zima and will be anxious to watch their progress to Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of this beautiful trail. As I leave the trail, I vow that next year I will not attempt to take two dogs with me. The burden of carrying water for two dogs is a huge responsibility. Jackson did pretty well for his first year out and I'm pretty proud of the little black monster now known as Water Boy.
Date: 2014-03-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hi! We wanted to make sure we know how to post to Trail Journals, so we thought we'd do a test run so to speak. In this entry we decided to introduce ourselves. We are Jon and Sarah Slay and will be hiking the AT with Jon's Dad, Kent, starting April 6th, 2014! Until this January, Jon was a special ops soldier in the Army (which put a huge damper on long distance hiking and he was not a fan). He previously worked on a 130ft luxury yacht as a fishing guide. After all his travels, he was inspired to fulfill a lifelong dream of hiking the AT and finally did so in 2009! He then went on to thru hike the Colorado Trail in 2010, and we both just finished thru hiking the Florida Trail with our dog Duke! Jon is not much of a social media guy - he doesn't even have a facebook account! When hiking the AT, he was often asked why he didn't post anything. It was a personal journey for him; he didn't do it for accolades, but for himself. However, he realized that was a missed opportunity to inspire others. So here we are! I am Jon's wife, Sarah. Until January the longest distance I had ever hiked was a weekend trip here and there in the Gila National Forrest or the Grand Canyon (maybe 50 miles tops). Needless to say, my first official thru hike of the Florida Trail was an eye opening experience! But I've learned a lot and hope that helps me on the AT! Having had a surgery on my Achilles tendon just over a year ago and a follow up on my back last December, will probably be my biggest obstacle, as my foot is still quite painful. But women hikers can't be faint of heart, so I'll push on through as always.We are both excited to share this experience with Jon's Dad! He has wanted to hike the AT since May of 1978! After Jon completed his thru hike in 2009, Kent was sad he didn't take the time to do it with him. Now having retired from Law Enforcement, he is more than ready to start this adventure. Back at home in Pensacola, he will have a huge cheering section from his family. He hopes to teach his grandkids a powerful lesson; anything is possible if you hold onto your dreams.
Date: 2014-04-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The excitement mounts as our departure date gets closer! Final prep is in full swing. The last few days have been spent packing, repacking, weighing gear and deciding what goes in the pack and what stays home. This usually ends with us either adding things that were previously deleted or subtracting things once deemed necessary. The fact is, it's not what one carries in their pack, but what one carries in their head and heart that matters. For the most part we are packed and ready to go. There is an adage on the Trail that states "no rain no Maine". It was with this in mind that today was spent trying to "weatherproof" our gear as best as possible. Cans of spray on water proofing and seam sealer were purchased, gear was laid out and the spraying began. This was more for our minds' sake, as we know that there is virtually no way to keep the rain out. But it can't hurt. Up next is shopping for the first round of food. Dollar Store here we come!
Date: 2014-04-02
To: Hiker food!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Last night, Jon and I had the pleasure of taking his Dad for his first "re-supply"! When we were on the way home, he kept commenting on, "all the crap we bought". Welcome to hiker food. When walking all day with an extra 20 to 25 pounds on your back, it's hard to carry enough calories to replace what you're burning. Therefore, hikers tend to lean towards the most calorie dense food at the lightest weight. Which means lots of snickers, little Debbie snacks, ramen noodles, and pop tarts! Not the healthiest of foods, but makes for the best shopping trips! Imagine walking into a grocery store and getting any food you ever splurge on you're "cheat day". Now load up on it, remove from packaging, shove into your pack and hit the trail. Did I mention that you're typically doing this outside the store on the sidewalk? It's all part of the hiker experience.
Date: 2014-04-04
To: Last post from home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Hello from the comfort of home!Tomorrow we head to Dahlonega, GA so we can start hiking on Sunday! We have all spent hours packing and re-packing our packs, justifying what we have and why (ok this is mostly me), and making sure everything back home is taken care of while we're gone. Tonight we will have family over to spend time before we head out!We have received lots of questions about the trail, so I thought we'd try to answer some of them.Where we sleep: We will sleep along the trail either in shelters (basically a three sided platform with a roof) or near them in our own shelters. Kent and I will be using tents and Jon will be in a hammock.Food: We carry only enough food to get us from one town to the next. This is usually three to four days. There is a fine line for the amount of food one wants to carry because the more weight carried, the more calories burnt. Town stops: No, we will not be in the woods the entire time! We will stop in towns along the trail to re-supply, stay in hostels, and perhaps the best reason, to eat town food! All you can eat (AYCE)restaurants are a hikers best friend! Miles: We will probably average 15-20 miles a day. The AT is 2,200 miles long and our goal is to finish in the beginning of September. Most likely we will not hike all day together as our paces will vary. Our plan is to meet every night at a campsite we have decided on each morning. That will allow all of us to get up and start hiking when we want, walk our own pace, take breaks when we need them and generally enjoy our day without holding anyone up or rushing one another. Pack weight: All of our packs weigh different amounts depending on what we've decided to carry (I put a picture of my stuff v Jon's stuff so you can see the difference). With that being said, Jon's pack weighs a grand total (including food and 2 liters of water)of 20lbs. Kent's pack is 26lbs and mine is 35lbs. Yes, I'm carrying the most. Jon prides himself on being an ultra light backpacker, but I won't sacrifice comfort and warmth in order to carry less!   If there are other questions you'd like answered feel free to ask! We will attempt to update our page when we are in towns. Plus, I'm sure there will be many entertaining stories to share! Thanks for following us!
Date: 2014-04-05
From: Spinger

To: The Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A thru hike of the Appalachian Trail is by no means an easy feat. One must shoulder heavy loads, walk many miles, struggle up thousands of mountains, deal with the elements; rain, cold, heat, snow, and the like all while forgoing all modern day comforts. The question then is why hike. When asked why he wanted to climb Mnt Everest famed explorer George Mallory simply replied "because its there". So why the AT, simply because its there. I think that something in our DNA propells us to explore and challenge ourselves. If you believe in the evolution then we all came from the primordial sea. Something drove our earliest relatives out of that sea and onto land. If it were nor for the sense of adventure and exploration man would have never left Africa (or was it Asia) to migrate and inhabit other continents. What was it that drove Colombus to sail the seas? Had he not we might never had discovered new lands. Then later two explorers named Louis and Clark set out to map our young country, sparking what would become manifest destiny. A nation would follow. After we as humans mastered our own planet we looked to the heavens. This underlying sense of adventure and travel inspired man to stand on the moon. Most of us do not posses the means to climb Everest, the oceans have been discovered and we will most likely never stand on the moon. Yet, the AT offers us a real adventure. So why hike? Because it is there. Or as John Muir said, "the mountains are calling and I must go.". Life is good. Salty