morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-03-15
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter 

To: Fontana Marina
Miles today: 11.1

The dawn broke clear and beautiful this morning, and I was among the first out, behind Sojo and Mantis. The first part of the hike took us over a long exposed ridge line, and we had beautiful views down to Fontana Lake and the surrounding valleys, where low hanging fog made an ocean of cloud throughout the morning. As I created the hill beyond Cable Gap Shelter, I saw the dam for the first time and whooped with joy. Nothing particularly exciting happened during the hiking. The section right above Fontana was the muddiest I have seen yet and was somewhat slow going. Soon enough I was at the Fontana Marina. I shrugged off my pack and headed to the bait shop, where Lassie claimed the best resupply was to be had. That was a lie. I picked up an apple fritter and a Coke only to remember on my walk back up that I was saving those 3 dollars for the shuttle ride into Fontana. When I got back up, Timeout (the only hiker who started after me whom I've yet seen) said he'd already called the shuttle and that they would be there within 15 minutes. Mantis showed up and we all waited. And waited. And then White Rabbit showed up. And magic. And Little Tree and Pots. And it had been about two hours. This was ridiculous. Magic managed to hitch in, but repeated calls to the hotel and still nothing happened. Finally, a van carrying linens came over and we all piled on amongst clean and dirty towels and headed to the lodge. White Rabbit stuck around and waited for her dad and later claimed that once he showed up, she had no trouble calling for a ride. I was going because I needed to resupply and get my permit for the Smokies. We arrived at the general store and I was disappointed to see no freeze-dried meals (as the guidebook claimed they had) and no Spam Singles left in the Spam Singles box. It is an iffy resupply option at best, but apparently only opened yesterday for business this year. The next day's through the smokies will be an experiment for me, food-wise. I went up and printed off my smokies permit in the lobby and the offer to split a room with White Rabbit and Large became too good to pass up. I put my stuff in their room before taking a shower and heading back down the general store. I bought some dinner /alternatives/ and a six pack of beer, which I proceeded to share with North Star and Greyhound on the porch of the store. Greyhound and I bonded over the Red Hot Chili Peppers before I went to find dinner. I got dinner at the hotel restaurant with White Rabbit and Large. Like the NOC, it seems to be very early in season for this place. The service was exceptionally slow with only one waitress working. Bed was soon after, with White Rabbit struggling to fix a problem with her phone. Tomorrow will find me crossing the Fontana Dam and then entering the smokies, and then following the NC/TN line, where I'll be for 200 or so miles! Fun to be here!
Date: 2016-04-11
From: The Barn Restaurant, VA 11

To: The Barn Restaurant, VA 11
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It's been a whirlwind of a few days. I flew home, spent a lot of quality time with Ali, got some real New Haven pizza, finally traded in my blown out boots for some new ones, watched the Spizzwinks(?) in their biggest concert of the year, went to a brunch with lots of friends, drove to New Jersey, saw my brother and my extended family, went to a beautiful and moving memorial service, ate, rested, and flew back. Now I'm back in Atkins ready to hit the trail tomorrow morning. I got a lot of questions about my hike from family and people at the service, and also a few people at the Charlotte airport recognized me as a thru hiker (including one former thru hiker himself!). Unfrotunately, Martha wasn't available to drive me back to the trail, but I organized a shuttle from Rambunny and Aqua, two former thru hikers and hostel owners who live just off the trail in Atkins. Rambunny picked me up from Tri Cities. She's hiked the trail three times and knows it inside and out, and it was great talking to her. She and Aqua seem to have fallen on some hard times physically - she's got some bad hip and leg issues and his kidneys are failing - and she says that helping hikers and hearing their stories keeps her going. She wants to wait a couple years and hike the trail again and become the oldest woman to thru hike the trail. We stopped in Marion so I could buy some groceries and I picked up a mail drop I sent myself at the Barn and then she dropped me off at the Relax Inn, just at the start of the road walk through Atkins, where I'm staying the night. Despite about three signs to the contrary, the Mexican restaurant next door was closed, so I somewhat reluctantly went to eat at the Barn again. It was tasty, even though the place truly feels like a middle school cafeteria. I looked through the hiker register they have, and saw that Doctor Trails and Seal Tree passed through a day after I left, Coco Ken, Santa and Wonder a day after, Magic two days ago and the Roman Noodles just earlier today! I think I'll be seeing some familiar faces for a while. I do hope I catch up with Frost and Rain Man though. Willard is just now getting to Damascus, where his family seems to be meeting him, so he'll stay about five days behind me. He's apparently finally picked up a trail name, Blue Ox, which I think fits him. He always said he wanted a unique name, and that's a great one. I'm looking to make it about 80 miles in four days to Woods Hole Hostel, where I'd love to stay the night. Then it's another 4.5/5 days of hiking to Troutville and the Roanoke area. These next weeks in Virginia look decently tough, actually, in terms of terrain. There's a lot of climbing up onto big ridges and then falling off them. We'll see. Shouldn't be any crazier than what I've already seen. My dad says that he is going to try to come down, pick up my brother and come visit me on the trail in about two weeks' time. That'll be lovely to look forward to. Back on the trail tomorrow!
Date: 2016-04-23
From: Buchanan, VA via Bryant Ridge Shelter 

To: Lexington VA via James River Bridge
Miles today: 24.5
Weather: light rain

Slept pretty well on a couch last night, breakfast this morning was a giant affair with fresh croissants and a frittata. Eventually we made our way back to the Bryant Ridge side trail, and the three of us walked down to the AT and I showed them the big beautiful shelter. Dan and I then headed out up the trail. I still had my pack on, but didn't bring my sleeping bag, pad, stove or tent, so it was considerably lighter, and we made good time up a series of hills to where dad met up with us for the first time. He had donuts and soda, and had just met Lightning, Audubon and Quixote. We passed over Apple Orchard Mountain, over some pretty flat hiking with a few good views and down to Petite's Gap, where dad met us again, and we ate some lunch. It had been drizzling a bit in the morning but cleared up here. Dan said he wanted to keep going ten more miles with me, so we pushed up and over Highcock Knob and then along some very flat nice climbing along a ridge in the late afternoon light. We listened to Red Hot Chili Peppers the whole way and the music helped us out. I ran into Quick, whom I hadn't seen since Hot Springs: he flipped up to Harper's a few weeks ago from Atkins and will return when he gets back there. The descent down to the James River became hell on Dan's feet: I'm not sure exactly how he came out here and did 25 miles with me, but damn, he did. I lent him my poles so he could have an easier time and took his walking stick. At Matt's Creek Shelter we ran into Bolt and Babbit and followed them down to the James along a lovely creek. After a mile along the big river, the footbridge, the longest on the AT, came into sight. We were excited to see dad after his apparent car troubles, and Lightning, Audubon and Quixote were there too. Dan and I decided to take part in the tradition of jumping in off the bridge, then carried out stuff over to the car. The three others were looking for a way to get to Glasgow, and my dad offered dinner, so we (somehow) crammed six of us and all of our things into the tiny rental car and went to Don Tequila in Buena Vista, had a great meal and then dropped them off at the public camping in Glasgow. They're all planning to take tomorrow off, so I may not see them for a while. The three of us headed to our second Airbnb stay and crawled into bed. Dan said he was never hiking with me again.
Date: 2016-04-24
From: Lexington VA via James River Bridge

To: Lexington VA via US 60
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: clear sky

After yesterday's marathon, I slept in later than I normally do, and only got moving around 8. We decided that Waffle House was for breakfast and ate ravenously. Dad and Dan drove me back to the James River and dropped me off. They did a little hike up to Matts Creek shelter while I began the toughest climb of the day up towards Rocky Row Mountain. The climb took a while, but my light pack helped a bunch. The ledges on top had an absolutely incredible view back towards Apple Orchard, the James, and the huge plain to my east. The hiking flattened out then was another climb up to Bluff Mountain, where I met Teflon, who gave me some gummy bears! I sped down to Punchbowl Overlook, where dad and Dan met me for lunch with cold cuts and water. I paid Teflon back for the Bears with a soda. Dan decided he wanted to hike with me, and we took off over the four mostly downhill miles to Reservoir Road. I had a freakout when I received a text from dad saying he couldn't get to the road crossing. Neither Dan nor I was happy about the idea of having to do 11 miles together with Dan's feet still hurting badly. Fortunately, dad was there at the suspension bridge, having found a way around. I took some nice pictures and ate a banana before heading out over the next 7 miles by myself. I cruised with the lovely terrain and my light pack and had a great great hike. The last few miles were next to Brown Mountain Creek, and were absolutely gorgeous. I like the creek hiking that has been common the last few days. I stopped in at the shelter just before the road crossing and said hi to White Rabbit and Large, and met Lucky Duck, Dill and Spidey. I made the last few miles to the road where dad and Dan met me with Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Bud Light Lime, two of my real weaknesses. I snacked and hung out in the sun. A southbound hiker came up to the picnic table after what was her longest day and we gladly gave her a beer and the rest of our sandwich makings. Her name is Five Weeks, for how long she has to hike during her vacation, and she was very nice to talk to. Hikers are always so appreciative of magic. We finally packed up and ate some burgers at Ruby Tuesday and stopped at Walmart for resupply before going home, where dad figured out how to connect our phones to the TV so we could watch the season premiere of game of thrones on the big screen!! I am going to try and keep up with the show as much as I can. I facetimed with Ali before heading to bed. Tomorrow dad and Dan will say goodbye to me and I will head off with my full pack again.
Date: 2016-04-25
From: Lexington VA via US 60

To: Priest Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept very well last night. I was exhausted, but very satisfied after a good day of hiking and game of thrones! I repacked my food bag and got all my things together and soon we were out the door. We saw that Country Cookin had a breakfast buffet, and went there instead of back to Waffle House. That was a mistake. It was a very limited buffet and very little about it was appealing. I had a lot of biscuits and gravy before we drove back out kicking ourselves for not going to Waffle House. Dad and Dan drove me back to the trailhead, where I saddled up my way-too-heavy pack. It was so nice to have this break to look forward to and to see them. On a more logistic note, their visit managed to break up an otherwise very awkward length of trail without good (or at least obvious) resupply between Daleville and Waynesboro. I am so happy to have had these days with them. The hiking up to Bald Knob was long and strenuous with my pack full and with 2 liters of water (I didn't want to go off trail for water, so I had 12 miles before the first source). After topping out at bald knob the day become a gentle rollercoaster of hills. Cole Mountain had a gorgeous bald meadowy area that may be the last bald we see on the trail (not counting the alpine zones in NH and Maine). I passed Sooner or Later and Large on the trail, and they caught up with me for lunch and we chatted. I also passed Spidey and White Rabbit. The highlight of the second half of the day was Spy Rock, a tall dome of rock next to the trail with very good views all around. Up there I met a couple from Richmond, one of whom knows New Haven quite well from having worked there for two summers. She took a picture of me with a film camera which she promises to send to Connecticut. The last miles of the day were pretty taxing on me, but I rolled up to the Priest shelter at about 5:20, and met three flip flippers from Harper's, Crystal Bird, Old Job and Monkey Dancer. I snagged a spot in the shelter and waited around for dinner because I wasn't hungry yet. White Rabbit and Blues Brother came in about 20 minutes after me. I haven't met Blues Brother before. He's a former soldier, and has a knack for making every story side-splittingly funny. He started the trail in early February I believe. Spidey came in and thought the flip flopper's name was Monkey Cancer, which had me in stitches for a while. Everybody made dinner and then hung out by a fire made by the Two Peas, some hikers whose entries I've seen for some time. Tomorrow morning will see me up and over the Priest in the morning, down to the Tye River 3000 feet below and then back up 3000 feet to three ridges. Yeesh. I am planning to stop after about 16 miles and hitch to Devil's Backbone Brewery, who allow hikers to camp outside and make them breakfast the next morning. It'll make for a long day into Waynesboro but seemed like an amazing experience.
Date: 2016-05-01
From: Terrapin Station Hostel via Elkwallow Gap

To: Terrapin Station Hostel via Chester Gap
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

The crowd was up just as early as usual for our shorter day as we were for any other. I lounged around in bed as usual and finally put together a day pack for hiking from Elkwallow back to the hostel this afternoon. The small packs were used by others, so I just unloaded most of the gear from mine and used that. We drove down with Mike to Front Royal in the miserable rain and fog and resupplied at the Martin's, where I also bought some breakfast, and then headed back up to the trailhead. The rain was coming down seriously at Elkwallow Gap, and going out was not easy, but the idea of the warm shower and bed at the end of the day pushed me on. I led the group, but almost everybody kept up with my very fast pace because we were all carrying so little. There were a couple small climbs but nothing serious at all. The rain slackened off, and right before the climb up North Marshall Mountain, the clouds broke into a gorgeous day. White rabbit and I paced each other for that last bit of the day, while we created a few peaks and then descended back into the fog for the last flat fire road miles down to the hostel. We pulled in just before 2, having kept up a 3+ mile per hour pace for 5 hours. A good day. I heated up the rest of my leftover pizza. White rabbit had been sure that she would be able to convince her father to do 9 more miles on the day. I severely doubted it but kept that to myself. She did not succeed. I'm frankly amazed that they are still hiking together considering the difference in what they want to get out of the trail right now. Anyways. We sat around the hostel all afternoon napping and taking showers and talking. Eventually we got ourselves together and Mike drove us down to the Mexican restaurant whose portions did not disappoint. Spidey ate an entire slice of lime, rind and all, after I joked that he was going to eat everything. We all drove back up and drank beers and played Trivial Pursuit. The team of Mike and me destroyed the other team. Everybody else went to bed, but I stayed up and watched Game of Thrones. It was a fabulous episode. Tomorrow back to normal-ish hiking!
Date: 2016-05-06
From: Pine Knob Shelter 

To: Deer Lick Shelters
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: light snow

We slept in comparatively today, only starting to move around 7:30. I usually use other people as my alarm clock, but that makes for some variable wake up times. Most of my night last night was spent dodging leaks in the roof, which kept splashing me in the face and legs. I moved my pad around many many times. I must have missed the leak hitting me in the right chest, because my bag was soaked there. Eh. Still probably better than what would've happened in my tent. I managed not to be the last one out today, actually. Maryland has some beautiful trail. Most of it is very wide forest corridor with good dirt or gravel footing. But we hit some very serious sections of rocky, wet trail today that even stopped me in my tracks. Even the ridges of southern Virginia aren't like this. It just takes such care to find footing. I think this is what I've got to look forward to later in Pennsylvania. It started raining at around 10 am and didn't stop. All. Day. Recently, with the addition of all the flip floppers from Harper's, we've met a bunch of newbies on the trail. Some are pretty conscientious, but others, like some I met at Raven Rock Shelter today, do stupid shit like accidentally set someone else's pack on fire with their stove... (Wasn't my pack.) the stop in at Raven Rock really took it out of me: I started getting very cold and hearing other people talk about getting out of the weather made me want to. But Bolt and I kept going and soon I warned back up and felt better. Eventually we came to Pen-Mar park and took refuge from the rain under a pavilion with a stage in it. Double dip and Dirtface and blues were all there. Soon after, we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line and officially entered "The North" and Pennsylvania! Hooray! State seven! The border was cute and had a little sign and a little mailbox but it was still raining badly so I didn't stick around. The hiking was pretty easy from there to Deer Lick Shelters, two identical 4-person shelters right next to each other. Sooner or Later was already here, and Blues and Bolt pulled in soon after. I'm in one shelter with two Guys named Paul and Ray who are out section hiking as a preparatory trip for an excursion in two weeks in which they will try to do all of the AT in Pennsylvania in only 10 days. They've never backpacked before and averaging 23 miles a day for 10 days seems super ambitious. They're also putting themselves in the belly of the beast in terms of overcrowding from AT hikers. Yeesh. The rain is still going strong at 9 pm. This has been the wettest day I've had yet. Tomorrow, this group and I will get up on the early side and make it 13 miles into Fayetteville, where we'll do some laundry, eat some lunch, resupply and regroup. We'll probably push past if the weather holds, but may end up at the hostel there. It's been a while since we've dried out.
Date: 2016-05-08
From: Trail of Hope Hostel via US 30

To: James Fry Shelter 
Miles today: 27.1
Weather: clear sky

Sooner woke me up just before 6. They wanted to make an early start and pancakes were already being made by one of the long-term stays people there. The pancakes were delicious. I packed up. My food bag was toooo heavy. AWOL suggests you need two days of food from Harper's to get to Duncannon because of all the extra food on the side. I have about four days of food. I an two days from Duncannon. Yeesh. We got driven back the short ride tothe trailhead. We could already tell it was gonna be a gorgeous day. We walked through Caledonia State Park then up the only tough climb of the day, where I pulled ahead of most folks. I started walking behind a hiker who had a Deuter pack I thought I recognized. Palindrome! I caught up with him, he's been hiking along since Harper's, but has been making big miles to get to Pine Grove Furnace by Sunday, since they won't open on weekdays until May 15. I also ran into Spidey Large and White Rabbit since they pulled ahead of us when we got off in Fayetteville. White Rabbit sprinted ahead, exhilarated by the idea of making it to the halfway point, in just a few miles. I followed close behind her and gave a loud whoop when I got there, scaring some section hikers. They took a picture of me. Since the midpoint moves around, they just had a little sign on a post marking the "2016 midpoint." I walked on and off with Large, Spidey and Palindrome down to Pine Grove Furnace state park, and pulled into the general store, home of the Half Gallon challenge, in which hikers attempt to eat a half gallon of ice cream in under an hour. Given that ice cream doesn't sit well with me even in small doses, I decided to order a burger and fries. Which was delicious and a good choice. Palindrome motored through a half gallon of chocolate ice cream, but Spidey stuttered out just before the end. This was surprising since he regularly eats jars of Nutella in a single sitting. I headed out before most folks, wanted to still get in at a reasonable time to James Fry shelter, still 7.3 miles away. Also, I knew waiting for me there would be Frost, Rain Man, Dr. Trails and Seal Tree, whom I haven't seen since Atkins! The terrain was quite easy and I made good time, despite my knee hurting me a little. I rolled into camp at just about 5:45 and was greeted by the raucous voices of the four hikers I hadn't seen in now just over a month! They all seem to be doing well, they've been taking it a little slower recently (including Seal Tree's five days off in Waynesboro). They played euchre all evening. I cooked up a tasty ramen chicken dinner (with my new spoon), called my mom for Mother's Day and talked with Ali for quite a while. White Rabbit and Large showed up and I think Spidey and Palindrome are camped down by the water source. Today has been my longest day so far, my first longer than a marathon! It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I had so much fun. I live for days like this.