morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-05-17
From: Laurel Creek Shelter 

To: Niday shelter 
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Day54I fell to sleep 3 times when wrote my blog last night. That¢s how tired I was.When I got ready to hike this morning, the lightening and thunder started. Soon the showers followed, with some intense moments. I waited for about an hour. When it was getting lighter, I walked from shelter into the rain. I welcomed the change in the weather. The rain made the forest much more alive, with greens sparkle and flowers fresher. Of course this rain was the type that makes you smile not scream. After about 1.5 hours the rain stopped. I happened to reach an edge of a grassy hill. The views opened up. Green hills floated with white steaming clouds. Nice houses and cows dotted the hills. The light purple grass heads heavy with rain drops and seeds nodded with the breezes. I stopped long enough to make a time lapse video.Hiking a little further, the grasses had grown to the height of my chest. Blackberry plants were loaded with white flowers. I can feel and smell the summer. span class="Apple-converted-space"> Keffer Oak. I was glade that ¢Budhi¢ and ¢Whity¢ also reached there at about same time so that we were able to take pictures for each other. I met them in Woods Hole Hostel, and we kept about the same schedule ever since.Back to the forest and climbed up the Sinking Mountain, the trail got even more interesting. There were many rock caines lineup along the trail for almost a mile. They looked like fallen graves from very early age. Only a couple are still in nice shape. In the silence of the forest, looking at them half buried in the grasses, I was hoping someone can tell me the story of each one of them. Then on the northern section of the mountain crest, the trail went through slanted rocks. I guess that¢s how this mountain got the name as Sinking Mountain. On the left side of the trail, it¢s rocky cliff, drops a few dozens of feet straight. On the right side, the rocks sliding down to a void of valley far below, only a few short bushes are below the rocks. I was glad that I passed this mountain when it was not raining. This felt like the trail in Castle Rock State Park back at home, the rocky part that passes below Goat Rock. The difference is that this one is about 3.5 miles long vs. 0.5 mile in Castle Rock. It was only less than 13 miles today. But it still took me about 9 hours to complete.
Date: 2019-05-18
From: Niday shelter 

To: 4Pines Hostel 
Miles today: 16.8

Day 55Virginia mountains are so much fun and sometimes can be quite challenging. I started the day with easy trails going at good pace of 1.8 miles per hour. I was planning to reach 4 Pines Hostel by 5 pm for a 17.2 miles hike. In less than 3 hours, I have climbed up the first big up hill of the Brushy Mountain. Just before the intersection of the top, someone stacked many big bottles of Gatorade. Just what I needed! I took one bottle, and quickly finished the first 10 miles by 1pm. And very soon, I hit the 700 miles marker. Yes, today, I completed 700 miles on A.T.!>span class="s1">It was only 2.5 miles from the Tooth to the end of my planned hike for today. However the one mile from the Tooth down was the hardest mile on A.T. so far. Many big rocks, some with bolted hand hold bars as steps to get going, many don¢t have anything. I used all fours, on my butts, with trekking poles, threw trekking poles down or over, whatever it felt safe to get down from those rocks! So 3 miles before reach the Tooth + 1 mile got down from the Tooth costed me 4.5 hours. I was so grateful that it was not raining when I was going through there. And the forest provided much needed shades in this very warm day. When I finally reached the Hostel, it¢s about 7pm. It was nice that they run shuttles for dinner and resupply market. I was well fed in the Home Place restaurant, a local one famous for home style cooking of southern cuisine. Tasty meal!Today on trail the mountain laurels are in full blooming. Many blueberries had formed nicely and densely on low bushes. Some rhododendrons are already near the end of their blooming season. Bye bye, Spring.By the way, due to connection issues, I couldn¢t upload photos for the last a few days. Now I loaded them up and updated the blogs with photos.
Date: 2019-05-19
From: 4Pines Hostel 

To: Lamberts Meadow shelter 
Miles today: 16.3

Day 56I left 4Pines Hostel in early morning after a night of not good sleep due to the noisy fans that stayed on all night. The country was peaceful and quiet. I passed pastures where grasses were chest high. The heads of grasses dropped heavy with the weight of morning dewdrops. When I pushed them apart with my trekking pole, a mist of water, pollen and grass seeds was bursting into the air. It looked really cool. Very soon my pants were soaked with all of these, as wet as going through a rainstorm without rain gear. There were also many wild rose bushes with white flowers sparkling of the dews under sunshine. A few daisies opened big, they were also loaded with dews. Spiders had been very busy in these pastures. Many dry twigs held well constructed webs. They also dew covered. Against sunlight, they looked like sails. Hundreds of sailboats in the sea of grasses, ready to attack and conquer any enemy¢s army. When I passed the narrow walkway between the grasses, I had to push many webs away, frequently clean my face for the threads of webs just stick to my face. I felt sorry that I had to destroy spiders¢ hard work. It was a very warm day. But the trail going to McAfee Knob was very easy comparing to yesterday¢s that went to Dragon Tooth. Being a Sunday, I shared about 4 miles of the trail with many day hikers. One couple who¢s planning for a thru-hike in next year chatted with me for some time. They just came back from Trail Day, and started to prepare for their trip. It felt great to share some of my experiences with people of the same interest. McAfee Knob could be the second most featured images on A.T. (The most featured might be the Northern Terminus sign at Katahdin Mountain). The huge rock felt bigger than I expected. It was so picture perfect shaped! It was a great feeling to stand on it, after more than 713miles walk. I spent almost one hour at this place. In late afternoon I came to Tinker Mountain Cliffs. Another great phenomenon on A.T.. About 0.4 miles of the trail hugs the cliffs. Sometimes it¢s so close to the edge that even me as a cliff lover wanted to get away from the trail just a little bit to the tree side. At about 6pm, the lovely low lights made the scenery even better. It was very windy. The trees near the cliffs swing swiftly. Making loud ¢shua, shua¢ sounds, as if telling a story of their own. Against sunlight, the ridges across a green valley looked like a long wall guarding a great treasure site. A hiker, sitting on top of a large rock at the Cliffs with his girlfriend, told me that they form the Tinker Loop, that can be backpacked in a few days. Just below the Tinker Mountain, I encountered 2 bear cubs and a mama bear. My first bear sighting on A.T.. The cubs were scrambling down the two trees when they heard my noise. The mom stayed closer to the cubs. And within one minute, all three disappeared.
Date: 2019-05-20
From: Lamberts Meadow shelter 

To: Super 8 hotel 
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 57My original plan was to do a 20 mile hike plus resupply stop near noontime when crossing road 220. However I must be over spent my energy and felt it was unrealistic to complete these in one day. It was true. My energy level was low and hiking pace has been slowed noticeably in the past 4 days. So I only reached the road after 2pm with less than 10 miles done. I decided to rest for the half day and checked into a hotel. Looking at the next 9 days schedule, I will adjust it to slower pace. Also the weather reports showed temperature above 90s in next week. It will be harder to go fast. Today¢s best views were on the ridges. One was overlooking Carvins Cove reservoir and another one was overlooking the valley and town below the ridge. Even though there was not hard climbs, on the ridge it was still rocky at many places. I have learned that flat profile can be deceiving. When it¢s flat and rocky, the going can be very slow.
Date: 2019-05-21
From: Super 8 hotel 

To: Babblet Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 18.5

Day 58Dalesvile is quite convenient. I called a Uber in early morning and went directly to A.T. trail head on US 11, skipping about 1.5 miles of the trail where it just too close to the highways. Back to the forest always gives me quieter time.At noontime, I stopped at Curry creek for lunch. A big black butterfly came on to my backpack, checking around the zipper part on the top pocket throughly, as if trying to find out whether the zipper is a good place for her to lay her eggs.It stayed for a long time, enough for me to take a time lapse video.A little after 6pm, I came into the  Babblets Gap shelter. Max who thru-hike and find work along A.T. To build fire rings had been here the whole week. The new fire ring was beautiful. And he sing beautiful songs while playing a guitar. A perfect night before go to sleep, a peaceful night.And I got cellphone signal at this shelter! Quite uncommon!
Date: 2019-05-22
From: Babblet Gap Shelter 

To: Foot of Floyd Mountain 
Miles today: 17.0

Day 59Max was in the business of building fireplaces. He sold his business and came on A.T.. While he¢s on the trail, he doesn¢t just hiking it. He stayed in various shelters and built beautiful fire rings, voluntarily! I met him yesterday at Bobblets Gap shelter. The stone work that he did for the fire ring and channel for the spring looked like pieces of art. His 5 days of effort. He also played guitar and sang with a wonderful voice. He will continue go on to other shelters and build fire rings for them.Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club maintains about 90 miles of the trail in this section. I met two volunteers fixing water bars on the trail. They also cut off the downed trees that were blocked the trail. Max and all the volunteers who help to make A.T. better are the real heroes here! I cannot thank them enough for their contribution that allowed me to have great experience on the trail.When I got to Jennings Creek, the shallow water looked so inviting with stones I can sit on. I enjoyed watching people fly fishing in the wide creek and soaked my feet to cool me down.I have marched on tirelessly today for 16.5 miles. The plan was to do 13.5 and stay in Bryant Ridge shelter. But I got there at 4:30pm, still 4 hours before sunset. And the privy was swarmed with yellow jackets. So I lost my desire to stay and pushed 3 more miles, +1700ft to a small gap before Floyd Mountain to camp there. Tomorrow I will have less climbs to do! A few weeks ago, I saw some plants looked and smelled like sweet corn. Now this plant are blooming with purple and hot pink flowers. I still don¢t know its name. But they are pretty.
Date: 2019-05-23
From: Foot of Floyd Mountain 

To: Marble Spring campsite 
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 60It¢s been 2 months that I have lived on A.T.. The trail still not bored me yet. Even though the excitement from observing the Spring wonders had subsided, the growth of the Summer has just begun. Many plans I saw emerging fresh and new at the spring time now baring young fruits. Many tender shoots a month ago now formed beautiful flowers. Blueberries, strawberries, mulberries, even wild grapes formed nicely already. Today I saw a few patches of tiny little purple flowers that form a cluster and surrounded by spiky hairs. They looked ugly and forbidden to be touched. But beauty is in the eyes of Lovers. Maybe it was very attractive to some specific  creatures. Nature always assign a purpose to everything.In the past a few days, many rhododendrons have past their peak blooming time. Many petals dropped to the ground that made the trail colorful and a little sad. But today in James River Face Wilderness, there were still many rhododendron trees at their peak.
Date: 2019-05-24
From: Marble Spring campsite 

To: Punch bowl shelter 
Miles today: 18.4

Day 61I passed many bridges today. The most impressive one was James River Foot Bridge, built in year 2000 for the memory of Bill Foot, an A.T. thru-hiker in 1987. With his wife, they lobbied tirelessly to have this bridge built. The longest foot bridge on A.T., a very sturdy steel, cement and wood construction for all hikers easily and safely across the wide James River. Next to it is a railroad bridge. I watched a long freight train coming and cross that bridge from the trail. It lasted for almost an half hour!Having big climbs in a hot day was tough. Having 90% of the big climbs in the afternoon in a hot day was even tougher. That was what I had for today. 18.4 miles to a shelter with over 3500ft elevation gain in the last 9 miles. The shelter name is Punchbowl. I really felt punches in my stomach when I walked up the steep hills in the hot humid afternoon. Thankfully I was mostly under shades and there were some breezes on the ridges. I saw two snakes today. The first was one big black snake just crossed trail, with the tip of its tail still brushing the trail. The second was in a creek next to a shelter I passed in late morning. It swam against the current trying to go upstream. The water was a little stronger then its effort. So it was washed down multiple times. Eventually it managed to climb the rocks on the side of the creek, and get to the upstream as it wanted to go. Near the end of the day, a rabbit jumped on the trail. When it noticed I was coming, it hurried into the bushes next to the trail and stayed there frozen. Even when I took its pictures, and walk passed its place, it was still not moving in plain sight. It¢s good that I was not in the mode to hunt a rabbit!
Date: 2019-05-25
From: Punch bowl shelter 

To: Buena Vista Motel 
Miles today: 11.3

Day 62My guide book says Punch bowl shelter is hunted by little Otties ghost - a little boy less than 5 years old disappeared and died in this mountain in 1891 when he was gathering firewood for his school house. I am not sure about the ghost, but it was a heaven for wildlife. Having a pond next to the shelter, last night I heard a concert of birds, bull frogs, and many creatures that I just didn¢t know what were they. Near midnight, I heard loud voices of two creatures:¢Ho Hoo Ha, Ho Hoo Ha...¢ for a good 20 minutes. It sounded from very big creatures, maybe like big foot! The concert of birds went well beyond sunset for one or two hours. A few nights ago in another shelter, we had birds talking well into darkness for about two hours. Whity deciphered their words as came from two birds. One was calling:¢Great Fire!¢ The other was asking:¢Where?¢ Over and over again. At the next shelter, there was a bird woke up one hour before sunrise, and started talking. I heard it saying:¢I¢m sorry!¢ in apologized voice again and again. Last night the birds, being so many of them talking at the same time, it can hardly make out any meaningful words. While the low vibrating call from bull frogs added additional sound track to balance it out.When the trail crosses creeks, there are always honeysuckles nearby. Their sweet fragrance filled the air creamy and dreamy. The white and yellow flowers have been used in Chinese medicine for soothing throat. I loved the smell of them.Talking about creeks, there were a few today. The Brown Mountain Creek was especially nice. Rocks formed many steps along the creek, creating cascades and dipping pools. Hikers soak their tried feet in the cool water so they don¢t get over heated in the hot day. I was doing a short 11 miles day to get resupplies from town. Also save the big climbing to next morning. The afternoon shower was too short. It didn¢t cool down the temperature. Only added more humidity to the air. Even though this section of the trail is said the follow Blue Ridge Parkway, the hikers can hardly see the parkway except only a small part of it in the first day. I always felt that I was in the middle of a large forest. The BRP was out of sight and out off mind for the last two days.
Date: 2019-05-26
From: Buena Vista Motel 

To: Seeley-Woodworth shelter 
Miles today: 14.0

Day 63It turned out Buena Vista Motel was not a good choice for me last night. They don¢t have laundry. I had to do my laundry 1.5 miles away. All extra walk should have been avoided. One thing I like in this small town was an ice cream shop where they hand make rolled ice creams with many flavors. It was so much fun to see liquid cream turned into ice cream, then rolled up for each customer¢s order. Being a long weekend, there were many short distance backpackers on the trail. One of them gave me a sucker candy. I gave it to another hiker. On the trail in a warm day, the food I craving most was watermelon. Only real supermarkets have that. Only when a supermarket is easy to reach.Overall this was a relaxed day. I got the my destination before 5:00pm and got to rest after 7.
Date: 2019-05-27
From: Seeley-Woodworth shelter 

To: 1 mile after Chimney Rock 
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: moderate rain

Day 64Nothing makes me feel so good than a good night of sleep. It rained in the night but cleared in the morning. So the air was very fresh, full of moisture and oxygen. I slept nicely from 9pm to 6am. Sleeping in my tent in the forest feels much better than in hotels! In the morning I was happy and felt very energetic on trail. Singing along with silly songs when the trail was not steep or rocky. This easy going lasted for about 4 hours. One of the nice place I passed today morning was near Spy Rock. There were many blooming rhododendrons in that area, along with nice grassy campsites. On top of Spy Rock, there were nice views and cool winds!After lunch the trail went straight down for 3200ft in about 4 miles. This slowed me down. But when it bottomed at Tye River, it was a nice resting place with many rocks near the banks of the river. I cooled my hot feet in the cool water. There were many tiny fish in there. Nothing bothered them. Other fellow hikers swam in the river. Later they said it was the best feeling when they dipped into the river.Well, after the cool down, it¢s all hard climb again for another 3100ft. Especially after dinner at the Harper Creek shelter, I continued the hike before sunset. From there to Chimney Rock and half way to the top of Three Ridges, the trail was very rocky and no suitable campsite for more than 3 miles. Finally I reached a place that was good to setup a tent. Just in time to finish that and watch the sunset!Sweet dreams.
Date: 2019-05-28
From: 1 mile after Chimney Rock 

To: Camping spot just passed Bear Spring 
Miles today: 15.0

Day 65The major climbing was done last evening. So I had an easy start today. Only half mile to the highest point of Three Ridges. In the forest, the most sound one can hear were bird talks. One bird kept saying ¢children, here.¢ After a while, another bird disrupted the ¢motherly ¢ call with ¢Zhi Dao, Zhi Dao! (§¥© 14§¥©Chinese for I know, I know )¢ Very impatiently. Quickly I reached the Hanging Rock. It was so nice up there at the top of the big rock, not only saw the view of the low land, but also saw the mountains I had walked through in the past two days. The breeze was strong there, making it more enjoyable in the morning cool air. There was also good cellphone signal strength, so I uploaded photos and edited my trail Journals. I stayed there for almost an hour. When I expected a shorter easier day, I always ended up taking too much time on breaks. As a result, I have not been able to reach my destination before 6pm on almost any day!At lunch break, I reached Maupin Field shelter. Yes, 4 miles took me 4 hours. That¢s how slow I moved this morning. It was the first shelter I saw that has a bear pole. The spring water source didn¢t has water from the pipe. So I gathered water from the stream next to it.In the afternoon, the trail joined BRP twice, and was very rocky in between. The great areas were Cedar Cliffs and Humpback Mountain Cliffs. They provided views and cool breezes.I also met another big black rat snake today in the middle of the trail. This snake had its head deep inside a big hole in the ground. The rest of its body occupied almost 2 feet of the trail. This time I didn¢t bother it. Since its busy working on its meal, I run quickly around it. Phew!After Humpback mountain I started to look for a campsite. Only after 7pm, almost 2-3 hours I found one. The next shelter was too far, so I was happy that I could rest for the day!
Date: 2019-05-29
From: Camping spot just passed Bear Spring 

To: StanimalÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hostel 
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 66I was going to Waynesboro today. Only 9 miles of gentle rolling trail to the town. Somehow I woke up extra early when it was just day break at 5:25am. By 7:00 am I was ready for the hike.After a little less than 2 hours, I reached the Mill Creek and Paul Wolfe shelter next to it. This creek was a very cool place. Big stepping stones run across the wide path, forcing the water goes into interesting patterns. A frog jumped from under my feet when I crossed a rock, surprised me as well as the frog prince. When I bent down to take its pictures, it stayed still as handsome as a prince can be. This place is a photographer¢s dream place.Tonight I am staying in Stanimal¢s hostel, a past AT and PCT hiker operating the place. He gave me free shuttle rides from trail head to hostel and to the shops in downtown. Great service and a neat  place to spend the day.