morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Erwin, Tn

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

What a nice toasty night! We woke at 7 but were in no hurry to head out in the cold. We had breakfast in the cabin, a six pack of honey buns! We packed up and finally started hiking at 9. The trail started off fine with just a slight uphill grade. We walked beside a beautiful stream for several miles. After that the grade increased and it seamed we were climbing the rest of the day until we hit Unaka Mountain. The day had been cool but not bad until we entered a dense spruce forest on top of Unaka. The sun was completely blocked and the temp must have dropped 20 degrees. The forest was beautiful but all we wanted to do was get through it and back into sunshine. From there we had 3.3 miles to the shelter for the night. This should be the last cold night, hopefully!
Date: 2012-04-13
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: scattered clouds

We really had no plans to climb Roan Mountain today. We had hoped to get to the base and go over tomorrow but the day went so well we were at the base at 2:30 so up we went. The lower section is wonderful now thanks to Bob Peoples and his crew for all of the wonderful switchbacks they have put in over the last few years. Then came the second half. We are so glad the lower half was easy because the top was a killer. Not the climb you want at the end of the day but it is over now. We are staying in the shelter tonight in hopes of staying warmer. Just before the shelter we came across springs that were frozen with ice across the trail. We even saw icicles. This shelter is the highest shelter on the A.T. at 6194 feet high so I'm sure it will be cold tonight!
Date: 2012-04-14
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Roan, Tn.
Miles today: 16.5

Last night was cooold. We were in the shelter but it didn't help. We were in the attic but the air was blowing in right next to me so not much sleep. We were up at 7 and gone by 7.30. We climbed several balds today with some serious climbs. The views were wonderful and the day warmed to about 70 by the end of the day. We made it into Roan Tn. and stopped in at the Mountain Harbour Hostel. Showers and laundry done, we headed to town for pizza. We are hanging out in the hostel enjoying the warm weather. "50 degrees"
Date: 2012-04-15
From: Roan, Tn.

To: Upper Laurel Fork
Miles today: 13.4

Mountain Harbour Hostel offers a breakfast for 9 dollars. Do not miss it! Wow, everything from french toast to shrimp and grits. A truely wonderful experience. Now of course there was no way we were going to get an early start with that. The dew was heavy so we waited for the sun to dry most everything before packing up. We finally got started at 10:45.    What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we had every stitch of clothes on to keep warm and today we were melting on the trail. The trail was supposed to be pretty flat so we were suprised when we had more ups than it looked like on the map. We came upon an area that had apple trees in full bloom and man you should have seen the bees. All day the air was thick with the smell of spring.   We crossed several roads with a house here and a church there. I commented to Suzie how bizarre it was to think that this little path we were on wanders through these little areas almost without notice, yet if you chose to walk down it it would take you all the way to Maine.   We soon came to an actual river so we knew it must be time for a break. Off came the boots and into the river we waded. It didn't take long for the calves to start cramping in the cold water. With break time over we decided on our spot for the night and hiked on. We are tenting right by a stream with a little waterfall. The sound is so soothing.         Tomorrow we head for Kincora Hostel in hopes Suzie's new boots have arrived. We will also resupply for our 3 day hike to Damascus Va. Yea, that's right, Virginia! And for those keeping track we went over 400 miles today!
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Upper Laurel Fork

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 11.0

What a great night's sleep with the waterfall beside us. We got moving up the trail at 8 but the motivation was not there. We knew we were only going 11 miles so the brain wasn't into it not to mention the legs. We eventually got in gear and moved up the trail.    We arrived at Kincora about 2 but Suzie's boots had not arrived. UPS had not arrived so there was still hope. We settled in because the resupply run to town was at 5. We grabbed a shower and visited for a while. UPS showed up but no boots were aboard. I made a call to Vasque only to find out the boots won't arrive until Wednesday. . . Soooo Bob Peoples will take the package to the Post Office and send it up the trail to Atkins, Va. We will retrieve the boots at the Relax Inn when we arrive.     We did make it to town and got resupplyed and had (Your not going to believe it) Pizza! We head out tomorrow with 50 percent chance of rain. Oh well. . .
Date: 2012-04-17
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

We had a nice evening at Kencora visiting with everyone. We were up at 6:30 and gone by 7:30. The morning hike took us to Laurel Falls and down into the Laurel Fork Gorge. What an amazingly beautiful spot. The trail went on a rock ledge right down by the river with shear cliff walls on both sides. We then had our big climb of the day up Pond Flats. The switchbacks made the climb nice even with it being a 1700 foot climb.   After our climb down we came to the shores of Watauga Lake. We took our break at the picnic tables by the sand beach and enjoyed the sun. It seemed like a strange place to find ourselves after the morning in the gorge. We moved on but the trail followed the lake for several miles until we crossed the dam and headed up the into the hills. The rest of the day was a slow climb. We did see our second deer of the trip. She was right on the trail. The rains that had been called for started to arrive when we had 2 more miles to go. We put on our rain gear and pressed on. We were hoping to stay in the shelter but   there was a crowd. We ended up tenting behind the shelter with a great view of the lake below, not to mention a great rainbow!
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: moderate rain

The rains returned and it rained all night. We woke to a puddle in the tent and the thermarests got wet on the bottom. The rain was light while we broke down but with everything wet and hanging on our backs it didn't take long for us to get soaked. Even with our raingear on we kept getting colder as we hiked. By the time we reached Iron Mountain Shelter we knew we had to get warm and dry. We quickly changed out of our wet clothes and into dry. We unrolled the thermarests and let them dry (good thing they dry quickly). We then jumped into our cocoon and under our quilt. It took a couple hours to get completely warm.   Other hikers came and went but we stayed put. We knew if we hiked on we would have to sleep in our wet tent since there was no sun to dry it. There also would be no room in the shelter 8 miles ahead. We had hoped to get to Damascus tomorrow but that won't happen now. We would rather be safe and warm and be a day late. 6.8 is our shortest full hiking day but we will make it up down the line.
Date: 2012-04-19
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus, Va.
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: overcast clouds

The mules woke with a mission on their minds. If you have ever delt with a mule you know the only way to get their attention after they have made up their mind is to use a 2 by 4 upside their head. Well there was no one on the trail with a 2 by 4 so we hiked 26.3 miles to Damascus. That made up for yesterday for sure!    We were up at 6 and gone by 6:45. We were on a stretch called the Tennessee Turnpike and it worked out well. We came to the wheel chair accessible piece of the trail. It runs .8 miles and wanders across a beautiful open field. We stopped at the top of the hill for breakfast. We were moving at a pace faster than we usually do. By midday we were over half way there and feeling great.   By mid afternoon we came to the Va/Tn state line. Three states down, eleven to go! Of course there is 500 miles in Va. We had thought about stopping outside of town about two miles but the town magnet was too strong and before we knew it we were in town getting a room at Dave's Place. We headed over to Quincy's for some food. We started off with the loaded potato skins. Then Suzie had a calzone and I had the half pound smokehouse burger with fries. Both accompanied by a couple cold beers. Man we love town food! We headed back to Dave's for a shower and called it a night. We will zero tomorrow to get all of our chores done and to consume town calories. There's a rumor of snow Monday . . . Oh joy!
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Damascus, Va.

To: Damascus, Va.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We were up at 6:30 because our list of chores was so daunting. Laundry was in by 7 while we ate breakfast. The top to my pack has come apart at the zipper so we stopped in at Sundog Outfitters to see if they could do a repair. No luck with that but Suzie fixed it with seam seal later. We will see if it holds. We finally got the tent dried out and the water filter cleaned. We also had a stop at the Post Office to send a few things out.   After that we went for lunch at Pizza Plus for the all you can eat pizza buffet. After that it was a good time to go resupply at Food City. We figure we have 5 days to Atkins so the packs will be heavy.    With the cold weather coming we went and bought a few things we think we might need for the next few days. Of course we already own all of these things but we sent them home at Hot Springs. Anyway, we will be warmer with our purchases. As a side note to future hikers. . . Do not send home your warm weather gear until after Mount Rogers. That is what everyone said and we didn't listen!   So with everything bought and everything dry we are ready for the next five days and the rain and snow that is expected. Damascus is a cool little town and we have enjoyed our time here!
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Damascus, Va.

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

We expected it to be raining when we woke but the skys were clear. We headed out by 7 and cruised out of town. We kept watching the sky but the clouds came and went without rain. We really hate leaving town. The packs are full of food and always feel so heavy. It seemed like we were moving slow but we had 10 miles by 12 o'clock. Most of the morning we parralled the Virginia Creeper Trail. It is a rail to trail for bikes. We want to come back and bike it later.     We were about 2 miles from the shelter when the clouds decided to deliver as promised. We made a mad dash to the shelter and got the last 2 spots. The rains soon stopped so everyone made dinner and hung out. Tomorrow we will head over Mt Rogers and into the Grayson Highlands. For those who don't know, that is where the wild ponies are. Yes, we brought carrots!
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: light rain

We were up and gone by 7:30 heading towards Grayson Highlands to see some ponies. First we had to get past everything else. The day started with light fog that we hoped would burn off soon. The sun tried for a while but no luck. Our first climb was up to Buzzard Rock, a climb of about 1800 feet. No views and the weather was colder up there. From there we continued on to White Top Mountain. Still no views and the wind was picking up. Our next feat was to get up and over Mt. Rogers, our last 5000+ peak until New Hampshire. We were prepared for a good hike but didn't expect a 3 mile rock scramble. What a slow go, and to top it off it started sleeting.    We finally made it to the Highlands and went through the stiles. As we walked along thinking this is not the weather to see any ponies, one walked out from behind a bush. She had a look that said "What do you have for me my hiker friends?" She was white with brown and black markings. She knew just what to do with the carrot Suzie offered her. After a couple more carrots we moved on to find others but she was the only pony we saw. We felt lucky to have seen her!   We headed to the shelter hoping there would be room. When we arrived we were the only ones there. We settled in and had dinner. It wasn't long before our friend Stats showed up. As of now it is just the three of us. They are calling for snow here so it should be interesting to see what daybreak brings!
Date: 2012-04-23
From: Wise Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: light rain

Well, we woke to snow and 25 degrees in the shelter. Overnight our buddy Stats had put his tarp across the front of the shelter because the snow was blowing into the shelter. We laid there in our nice warm bed trying to decide how to approach our day. We had 3 options, stay where we were, hike 5.9 miles to the next shelter or 10.9 to the one beyond that. There was one 20 miles but that was out of the question. We settled on the one 10.9 with the 5.9 as a bailout if we got too cold.    We climbed out of the warm bed and quickly got moving. It wasn't too bad to begin with. It was kind of fun walking through the woods with the snow falling. We could hear the wind above howling but it wasn't reaching us. . . YET. Soon we came to Stone Mountain, a bald just under 5000 feet. We headed out across the open tundra with the wind blowing right at us. All you could do was keep your head down amd lean forward. Every few seconds I would steal a glance up to make sure we were still on the trail. I kept scanning the horizon for a treeline but the snow was blowing to hard to see that far. We finally made it to the other side and found ourselves back in the woods.    We made it to the first shelter but didn't stay. We did heat some water and had a cliff bar. We moved on heading for the shelter 5 miles away. We knew we had a road crossing in 2 miles and about half way there I said to Suzie how cool it would be to find someone there handing out hot chocolate. We both laughed thinking how no one would be out on a day like today. Lo and behold as we turned the corner there were 2 tarps up with tables loaded with goodies. Turns out it was 2 seperate trail magics at the same place. We had our choice of cookies, brownies, chili, lasanga, beer, and of course HOT CHOCOLATE! They even built a fire for us to sit around while we consumed all of the bounty! After some time decided to move on to the shelter so we told them thanks and headed out. Many thanks to T.Suds, Motor, and Grunt!   We made it to the shelter and got set up for another cold night. Stats is with us again as is a girl named Tag and her dog Gizmo. We have hung the tarp again in hopes of keeping some of the wind out. Tomorrow should start a slow warming trend. Fingers crossed!
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: light rain

We woke to 29 degrees but there was a bright light in the sky giving us hope for a warmer day. We knew we had a big day so we were off and running early. The hike today didn't have any big climbs so the miles came quickly. The day was warming but the pesky wind would not die down. We spent most of the day adjusting our wardrobe to fit the temp.      We had planned on stopping at the shelter for lunch but we passed it by because it wasn't right on the trail. You wouldn't think one tenth of a mile would matter but it does. The second half of the day had a few more ups than we would have liked but nothing too bad. We did have trail magic today. We came upon a cooler of sodas and a tupperware tote full of cookies, pudding, crackers, oatmeal, ramen noodles and assorted other goodies. Thank you to the Valley View Baptist Church Youth Group!      We finished our day at the Partnership Shelter. This is no ordinary shelter though! Because it is close to the Mt. Rogers Visitors Center you can order pizza from Pizza Hut and have it delivered. That is just what we did and we washed it down with a 2 liter of Dr. Pepper. I did make a call to the Relax Inn where we will be tomorrow afternoon and Suzie's boots are sitting there waiting on us! We are upstairs in the loft of the shelter where the wind can't reach us. It's gonna be a nice night!
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, Va.
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

The rains came back over night but had subsided by the time we started hiking. There was still alot of fog in the higher elavations so we kept the rain gear on for most of the morning. We only had 11.6 to go until we hit Atkins, Va. for our resupply so the day moved quickly. We stopped at the Chatfield Shelter for our break. The rain and fog had moved on by then so we shed the rain gear at that point.      As we were headed to town we came to a Settlers Museum. Well, Suzie and I being the history buffs we are took the detour and went to see what it was all about. The farm was dated 1890 and all of the antiques had us both drooling. The house wasn't open but we still enjoyed walking the property. We headed on down the trail and came to the old school house which we promptly stopped to see as well. It's wonderful to see this history being preserved.      Suzie and I were laughing today as we got close to town. Every time we come into a town we know we are close because we can hear someone mowing the grass. It has been that way for every town. We made it to town and got checked in at the Relax Inn. Suzie's boots were there so we dropped our gear in the room, Suzie put on her new boots and we went to the Barn for lunch. We each had the 16 oz burger and fries, yes, we know that is a pound. We headed back to the motel to get showers and laundry done. While we were waiting on the laundry Suzie made me make some phone calls about some gear issues I have been having. First was to Gregory, the maker of my backpack. The zipper on the top pouch had come apart. Suzie had tried to repair it with seamgrip but I still needed it repaired properly. Customer service said they didn't have replacement parts for just the top but they would rather replace the whole backpack for me. Yes, the whole backpack! The pack is 4 years old. Yes, I am a happy customer. The next call was to Black Diamond, the makers of our hiking Z polls. One of the buttons that allows my poll to collapse came up missing way back in Georgia. We had put a small pebble in the hole amd put duct tape around to hold the pebble in. The poll works fine, you just can't break it down. Yes, they are replacing the poll as well. Man, these gear companies are great and really stand behind ther product.      I also made a couple phone calls and got our side trip to Maryland all set up. We will be getting of for five days so we can celebrate my mom's 80th birthday in May.      After that we resupplied, had dinner, and called it a night. Say a prayer for our friend Stats. He has been very sick the last couple of days. We will see what the doctor says. Rain tomorrow. . .
Date: 2012-04-26
From: Atkins, Va.

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: moderate rain

The rains came in overnight and it rained until just after noon. We packed up and headed out in hopes of having breakfast at the Exxon. I know that doesn't sound good but there is a little breakfast spot there that was supposed to be good. They were not open yet so we grabbed a couple of honey buns each and a soda. With that done we headed out. We went under I-81 and out across the Virginia farmland. The rains kept coming and soon the trail was a river. Suzie's new boots got a workout as both of our boots were soaked. All of the streams were starting to flood and run all over the forest floor.     Soon we came down off of Walker Mountain and found the Holston River completely out of it's banks. The problem was we were supposed to cross the river there on Shady Grove road. The river was 3 feet over the road at that point. We were with a couple other hikers so we all went to the old farmhouse to see if anyone knew of another crossing. The little lady told us how to pick up the trail further down the road. We all headed down the little country road in hopes of finding the trail. We finally found it after about a 2 mile road walk.     There was a pavillion there so we all sat down to take a break. One of the other guys pointed out the coolers so we headed over and there was trail magic. Sodas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Thanks to Lumberjack and Lab Rat. We finished the hike to the shelter and everyone worked together to gather wood and build a fire. We were able to get everything dried out.
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: broken clouds

We woke to sun and were gone by 7:15. We had several stream crossings first thing, the streams were still up but passable. We were happy we didn't have this section yesterday because there would have been no way around some of them.   It wasn't long before we started our 2000 foot climb up Chestnut Knob over about 4 miles. After about 3 miles we came to the bald section of the mountain. The sun was so warm we decided to take our break beside a pond that was there. We moved on and soon came to the Chestnut Knob Shelter, a fully enclosed stone shelter with a door. There were several other hikers there sitting in the grass enjoying the sun as well. We hung out for a while and then headed for what was supposed to be our easy afternoon. The map showed very little elevation change so we had hoped to fly over it. There may not have been much on the map but it seemed we were either going up or down for short spurts all afternoon. To top it off, we were on a ridgeline full of rocks. No flying over this stuff!    By the time we made it to the shelter our feet were killing us because of all the rocks. We thought the rocks were in Pennsylvania. We were thankful for no rain and we also had some trail magic of carrots and apples. We will head into Bland, Va. tomorrow to resupply and keep going.
Date: 2012-04-28
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Mile 592.2 campsite
Miles today: 17.0

We had a good night's sleep after the hard hike yesterday. The 12 miles to Bland, Va. were so much better than yesterday. We were flying and had the the first 5 done in an hour and 45 minutes. We made it to the road into town and there were 4 other hikers there waiting to hitchhike into town. I said town is just 2.5 miles so we should start walking that way. Of course with 6 hikers no one wanted to stop to give us a ride so we walked all the way.    Turns out there was no grocery and the Dairy Queen was still a mile away. As we were deciding what to do a lady at the gas station asked if we needed a ride. We asked if she would take us to the DQ and she said yes. All 6 of us piled in and off we went. A double cheeseburger with bacon, fries, Dr. Pepper, and a Blizzard ice cream filled the bill. From there we headed to the Dollar Store in hopes of finding some kind of resupply. They had everything we needed so we are supplied until we take our break starting Saturday.   From there all we needed was a ride back to the trailhead. We broke into groups of 2 hikers and all got rides back in short order. We headed for the shelter and when we got there we decided to get a few more miles. We went an hour and a half further and found a great spot for the night.