morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Jennings Creek
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up at 6:30 after 3 other hikers had already gotten up. They were all going one more shelter than me. After climbing out of the valley our shelter was in, the trail started to go alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was fairly easy going as the trail crossed the parkway at several points. At one point I stopped to eat a snack. When I went around the next bend of the trail I came upon a picnic table. The sights of the valleys below were very pleasing to the eye. I passed Herdy Gurdy (he arrived at shelter late last night) and he passed me too when I stopped to take a break. Herdy Gurdy is a very interestingly character. Besides section hiking the AT every year (this year he's hiking Virginia) he has a motorcycle trip every year. He has even ridden his bike up go the Arctic Circle and parts of Alaska. Next year he intends to fly over to Hawaii and rent a motorcycle there. With that he says he'll have ridden in all states except two. He's from Iowa so he rides in their famous river to river bicycle ride. Also, next year he intends on kayaking some river that will eventually let him kayak by the Statute of Liberty. He went on and I stopped early today. Tomorrow I hike 17 miles so I am hoping to be on the trail before 6:30. As I was sitting there, Sherpa came down off the trail. As he got a bite to eat he said he was going to stop at Jennings Creek. I didn't like this shelter because it had too many bees and seemed dank. So I told Sherpa I'd see him down there. So I broke camp, and went another 3.2 miles. I found a nice spot down by the river¢s edge. Sherpa found another spot a little further down the river. After I set up camp, a man and his boy came by to fly fish for trout. It was a beautiful scene and I enjoyed watching the father interact with his son. The boy was really good at casting out there, just like his dad did. They offered to give me any trout they caught but I declined saying I didn't have the means to prepare and cook it. Later the man came by and asked if I had ever panned for gold before. He took me down to the river's edge and said after a big rain there could be some gold. Then he said scoop some of the river bottom that has black soil in it. Then, slowly using the ripples in the pan, try to get rid of all the brown stuff. After a slow process of wetting and letting the brown go you should have just the black iron and maybe a nugget. It's truly a skill and I didn't get near to getting it right, but it was a lot of fun interacting with Billy, the dad, and Sam, the son. I gave them my trail journal site address and he said he would definitely follow my journey. I think I'll get up early tomorrow and still put in 17 to 20 miles so I can be real close to Glasgow on Saturday morning.
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Jennings Creek

To: Harrison Ground Spring VA 
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The trail went up all day long. I climbed Fork Mountain and ate my first snack at the Bryant shelter. Then I went up Floyd Mountain and finally Apple Orchard Mountain. There is where I walked pass the FAA tower. I pulled into the Thunder Hill shelter around 2:00. I decided to take a nap and then decide whether to go on or not. While I was resting, Tincup, Rabbit, and Long Gone came in and set up to stay all night. I got up and made my dinner. After eating I was getting ready to go out again when Rabbit said it felt like rain. I decided to go anyway. An hour and half later I came to Harrison Spring. Someone was already sleeping in a tent. I set up my tent in a nice spot and just as I finished it started to sprinkle. I tried to scoop out some water but there were too many particles so I gave that up. Just as I decided not to refill my water the rain started to pelt me. I hurried into my tent and the sky opened up with a torrent of rain. Then the wind picked up. It felt like my tent wanted to take off and fly. But the tent was well made and withstood the rain and the wind. I settled down and had one of the best nights of sleep I've had on the trail.
Date: 2013-05-11
From: Harrison Ground Spring VA 

To: Johns Hollow shelter VA 
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I was on the trail by 6:30. I introduced myself to the other tenter. His name was Chronic and he was section hiking from Virginia to Delaware. As I left camp and went around the first bend I came upon another spring that had water pouring over a rock. Perfect! I stopped, unpacked everything and refilled all my water needs. Later coming down a steep trail, Chronic caught up with me. He paused long enough to show me the correct way to use my trekking poles on a downhill. I practiced his method and found it saved my knees and was able to go a little faster to. At the bottom I crossed the James River on a very long foot bridge. As I walked onto the parking lot a hiker was sitting under a tree by 2 packs. I asked where he was hiking. It ended up he had hurt his knee and he and his wife had to stop their section hike. I commiserated about his knee and we talked about hiking for a while. He said he was waiting for his wife to get back from hitching to their truck. I wished him well and went out on the highway to hitch my way to Glasgow. I was out there for about half an hour, all cars just passing me by. The injured hiker¢s wife picked up her husband and he drove up next to me and asked where I was going. I told him to the nearest grocery store. He waved me in. He took me to the store, 6 miles away, waited for me to get a turkey and ham sub with a vanilla malt, then drove me back to the AT trail. His name is Virginia Slim and his wife is named Charity. Their trail magic was awesome. <When I finished eating I noticed there were no trash cans. Now I have all my old trash plus the boxes from the resupply plus the sub paper and cup. At that moment a man and his family were walking back to their cars after sightseeing on the foot bridge. Earlier while I was eating he had passed by me and I noticed because he limped with a cane and had a Vet ball cap. I made eye contact with him and nodded hello while I gorged myself on my sub and malt. So now he came up to me and asked if I was hiking all the way to Maine. I said yes and got up from under the tree to greet him. He asked what other hikes I've been on and I told him this was basically my first. He said, ¢Way to go!¢ and wished me luck. I asked if he could help me out. He said sure. And I said there weren¢t any trash cans here and asked if he could help out by taking my trash. He was happy to help. As I was packing up my pack getting all my resupply situated, another guy came up to me and asked if I needed a ride to town. I was really appreciative but said I already had made the trip into town. So I donned my pack and slowly, with a full stomach, started back out on the trail. I was dreaming of making it to the first shelter and taking a nap. I finally made it there
Date: 2013-05-12
From: Johns Hollow shelter VA 

To: Buena Vista VA
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: few clouds

Got going slowly this morning at 7:30. Went up to top of Big Rocky. There I tried to send some emails which failed and brought my iPhone battery down pretty low. Then I ascended to the top of Bluff Mountain where I met a ridge runner. She said this was the best place to send emails. It failed again, maybe because I was below 10% battery . So it was then I decided to make my 2 day walk to Buena Vista into a 1 day. So I put my head down and did the Pilgrim shuffle to finish a 20 mile day. About 3/4 of the way Rabbit and Long Gone passed me. When I struggled up the last climb to reach US 60 I found Rabbit and Long Gone. I asked if they had called for a ride. They said yes and invited me to ride with them. Just as I said yes Rabbit's friend drove up and we all piled in. Man, what good timing that was! They dropped me off at the first motel. I soon had a shower and an Italian dinner delivery was in my room within the hour. Ah I'm content.
Date: 2013-05-14
From: Buena Vista VA

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter, VA
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

May 13 and 14Woke up in Buena Vista to take a zero day. Walked about 30 minutes to the laundry. There I met a man who lost a government job he loved, which was taking care of juvenile delinquents, when Virginia made budget cuts. He says all correctional work is now done in Richmond. It stops and makes you give thanks that your own job wasn't cut out from under you. After that I found the Blue Dog Cafe. It caters to hikers and on the door says there is a shuttle back to the trail every morning at 10:30. So even though I had already had breakfast at Hardee's, I went in and had pancakes and orange juice. Star Child and Patriot were there going out on today's shuttle. We caught up on some trail gossip. John (tecaketa) has left the trail. He was a guy Trekker and I met early on who was from Canada and seemed like he would go all the way. Then Cleveland came in the cafe. He had to go to the doctor for tendinitis in his leg. He also was one of the better hikers. Hope he can continue. I talked to the shuttle driver and arranged to be picked up outside my motel on tomorrow's shuttle run.   In the morning I ate some left over spaghetti and went out and caught the shuttle. I was hiking at 11:00. There were 2 big climbs today but I managed to keep up my 2 mile per hour pace with breaks on the hour. Early on I came upon Dave sitting off to the side of the trail with his pack all askew. He said his pack had just broken. I decided to try and help since I've had the help I needed every time I needed it. And me, the guy that can't fix anything, came up with the solution. He said it felt just as good as new. The tie I made looked like it would hold for the 60 miles into Waynesboro so he took off hiking and I never caught up again with him. I also saw Chronic but he was lagging today and I think he stopped early to stealth camp. When I arrived at the shelter Hufflpuff was there and Spider Mac was just leaving for a night hike. I tented it and was in bed by 8:00.
Date: 2013-05-15
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter, VA

To: HarpersCreek Shelter, VA
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Started out on the trail by 6:30. Soon a new couple I had never met before passed me by. They were Twix and Paraguay who come from West Virginia. All day long we would pass each other. They were very nice company on the trail. Hufflepuff passed me and I have not seen her since. Then I passed the group of 5 young hikers (just out of high school). We had passed each yesterday and slowly we have learned a little about each other. Butch and Sundance are from England and need to go to the University by Aug 27. The two from England met up with the three American kids before the Smokies and have stayed together since. The English guys are not purist hikers and have decided to make a new adventure out of this trek and will paddle a canoe from Waynesboro to Harpers Ferry. I talked to Pringles, one of the American kids. He wants to finish college without any debt, so he is going to go to community college for 2 years then sign up for the Coast Guard and then have the GI bill pay for his remaining years of college. Today was unusually warm and I'm glad I started early so I could take my time doing my 15 miles. Usually for 15 miles I have a lot of water left in my camelback but I drained that, my protein drink, and almost all of my electrolyte water getting to my destination. I and NBC (a young German guy, No Big Climb), and Noname, a lady who is finishing all of Virginia when she stops at Waynesboro are here. After eating dinner by 5:00, I soaked my feet in the cold creek for a while and then decided to go set up my tent.
Date: 2013-05-16
From: HarpersCreek Shelter, VA

To: Mile 849 VA
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: clear sky

May 16 Day 71 ¢ 19.3 miles / 849.6 total miles Harpers Creek shelter to mile 849 VAToday I was on my way by 6:00. It started off with a 3 mile climb and then a 3 mile descent. At the bottom was the next shelter. NBC and Noname passed me during this time. Noname was at the next shelter when I arrived. We both had the same idea of resting up there. I took off my boots and chatted with her. Then 2 day hikers came up from the water falls trail. They said only had to go a mile and they would be at their car. I asked if they had any left-over food and 1 guy gave me a Mountain House Stew and a Mountain House Chicken Salad. That was my first yogi. Noname said she was headed for the next shelter which was 15.8 miles away so she would only have 5 miles the next day going into Waynesboro. My original destination was at 15 miles at a little campsite. I said I would go for that shelter if the trail was fast. Well the trail was pretty slow most of the way with rocks and boulders. It was pretty hot out too. I had to refill at a stream along the way. As I got close toy destination I was thinking of eating 1 of those yogied dinners resting and then getting some more miles in. But just as I arrived at my originally planned campsite the sky started to rumble. I hurriedly put up my tent and got everything inside-just as the rain started to come down along with the lightning and thunder. If it keeps up, I'll stay and just get up real early tomorrow. It'll be fun walking in the rain again tomorrow, ha, ha. But the storm passed through quickly and I decided to break camp. I needed water and I still had a long hike into a resupply town. So I hiked off the mountain. And around 6:30 found a spring and I refilled my water supply. About 6:50 I found a nice camping spot. Tomorrow I'll get up early and see if I can make town in time for lunch.
Date: 2013-05-16
From: HarpersCreek Shelter, VA

To: Mile 849 VA
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I was on my way by 6:00. It started off with a 3 mile climb and then a 3 mile descent. At the bottom was the next shelter. NBC and Noname passed me during this time. Noname was at the next shelter when I arrived. We both had the same idea of resting up there. I took off my boots and chatted with her. Then 2 day hikers came up from the water falls trail. They said only had to go a mile and they would be at their car. I asked if they had any left-over food and 1 guy gave me a Mountain House Stew and a Mountain House Chicken Salad. That was my first yogi. Noname said she was headed for the next shelter which was 15.8 miles away so she would only have 5 miles the next day going into Waynesboro. My original destination was at 15 miles at a little campsite. I said I would go for that shelter if the trail was fast. Well the trail was pretty slow most of the way with rocks and boulders. It was pretty hot out too. I had to refill at a stream along the way. As I got close toy destination I was thinking of eating 1 of those yogied dinners resting and then getting some more miles in. But just as I arrived at my originally planned campsite the sky started to rumble. I hurriedly put up my tent and got everything inside-just as the rain started to come down along with the lightning and thunder. If it keeps up, I'll stay and just get up real early tomorrow. It'll be fun walking in the rain again tomorrow, ha, ha. But the storm passed through quickly and I decided to break camp. I needed water and I still had a long hike into a resupply town. So I hiked off the mountain. And around 6:30 found a spring and I refilled my water supply. About 6:50 I found a nice camping spot. Tomorrow I'll get up early and see if I can make town in time for lunch.
Date: 2013-05-17
From: Mile 849 VA

To: Wayneboro VA
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: broken clouds

Got up and was on the trail by 5:45. It was a little muggy but the early morning coolness made the walk enjoyable. I was nearly out of water in my camelback and had a little backup in one of the bottles I carry. So I took tiny little sips from the camelback just wetting my mouth. Boy does that stream water taste good when your hot and working out. I ran out of water in my camelback after an hour and a half of nice walking. Then I switched over to my bottle. About 15 minutes away from the shelter I met Regina the Ridge Runner again. I called out her name saying hello and she called out mine, returning my greeting. We talked awhile and then went on our separate ways. I came to the stream by the shelter after 2 hours. I refilled, said hello to the people in the shelter, and was on my way again. I met lots of day hikers coming south during this next 5 mile walk. I passed and crossed many streams. I took several breaks next to these streams, enjoying the coolness that the water seemed to give off. Finally I made it to Rockfish Gap which has the road to Waynesboro. On the road railing was a paper advertising a hostel. I called and within 10 minutes I was picked up by Adam (he thru hiked in 2004 as Stanimal). He took me to his basement. There I showered and started my wash. He dropped me off at the Ming restaurant for a $9 buffet. There I met Noname and we ate together. Then I walked over to the Kroger¢s and I resupplied. Then back to the hostel. Adam is going to serve dinner and breakfast.
Date: 2013-05-18
From: Wayneboro VA

To: Calf Mountain Shelter, VA
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up late at the hostel and had French Toast and cheese and egg omelet. Got on the trail around 10:00. There was intense fog and rain all morning long. Visibility was around 10 feet. It was a nice hike but I did slip and fall once on a slippery rock. The rain would start and stop several times and I would pause and change clothes every time. When I arrived at the shelter Cleveland said he was sick and how did I feel? I told him I was fine. He's gotten up out of his sleeping bag several times to go throw up. One hiker left because he didn't want to get sick. Already here was a German guy who is hiking all of Virginia. A little later two day hikers came in. When they found out I was from LA they asked if I knew of Mount Wilson. I told them I had hiked the 9 mile trail there a couple times. They said they were both astronomers who worked for the Navy. They both love their jobs. They get to do their own research and have written papers on their findings. Their specialty is binary stars or double stars. According to them, half the stars out there are double stars. For the Navy, which uses the stars for positioning, the double stars are a problem. It will throw their calculations of position off. So these two guys job is to tell the Navy if the section of the sky being used contains a double star and give another r location to use instead. Well so now I'm in Shenandoah National Park. So it's been great. Hope to see some hamburger places soon. Life is good.
Date: 2013-05-20
From: Calf Mountain Shelter. Va

To:  Loft Mountain Campground. Va
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Calf Mountain shelter to Loft Mountain campground Mile 884.1 I was the first one up in the shelter at 6:00. I felt good so I ate breakfast. During the night the rain came down pretty hard. It was cool but muggy out. So I added a little extra water to my camelbak. The walk was on real nice trails. Mostly the terrain was rolling hills. I came to the next shelter and the only people I saw during that time were Phys Ed and Pumpkin Head as they passed me. 13 miles later I was at the next shelter. My camelbak had about 2 sips of water left. So I ate lunch and refilled it to last me another 6 miles to a campground up ahead. So still feeling good I set out again. I decided to look for trash cans along the way to get rid of some of the food I bought in Waynesboro. My wife is coming to see me on Wednesday night and I had bought too much. Luckily I ran into a nice couple who were just putting their backpacks in their car and I asked if they could help me out. They were more than willing to get rid of my food for me and my pack instantly became 5 pounds lighter. I was really grateful for that act of kindness. As usual I didn't checkout the water situation before making camp and I had to use up all the rest of my water for dinner leaving me with nothing for tomorrow. But I see on my guide that 3 miles up the trail there is a Wayside cafe that opens at 9:00. I think I'll sleep in till 7:00 tomorrow so I can use itt for breakfast and maybe have them fix my lunch to go. There's water near there too,so I'm all set to go.
Date: 2013-05-21
From: Loft Mountain Campground VA

To: Hightop Hut Va 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Today started off late in order to eat breakfast at the Wayside. Found a spring on the way and stopped to refill. I made it to the Wayside by 9:30. I had 3 pancakes, 2 eggs, and a blackberry shake. I rested a half hour under a tree to let my food digest. I still was uncomfortable with my stomach but I walked another 3 miles to the next shelter. There I slept till 3:00. While I was there, Mac came by. This was all good because of the muggyness of the weather. The rolling hills had some bite to them today with long steep climbs. At the top of one climb I was day dreaming along when this snake tried to cross the trail in front of me. I jumped out and past him using my trek poles as leverage. Got to the next hut about 6:30. The shelter and almost all the tents sites were full. Ate dinner and met Trucker. He had a plastic bottle of Chardonnay with his dinner which I thought was pretty cool. When he gets to Front Royal he is going to go visit Washington DC. I got to my tent by 8:30. Tomorrow nite I see my wife. Yippee.
Date: 2013-05-22
From: Hightop Hut Va 

To: Bearfence Mountain Trail VA
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

l Today I was on the trail by 7:00. I wanted to walk in the cool of the morning as long as possible. I was passed by Trucker and Shadow. Shadow's pack rear had an old expired Maine license plate. Again I sucked a lot of water due to the humidity. I refilled after about 10 miles. As I sat in the shelter at the 12 mile mark I decided to do about 1 more mile so I could start hitchhiking to Front Royal to meet up with my wife. As I was hiking over the last hill I met a couple visiting from Belgium. We talked and I tried to help them find the correct path to see some special view. I came off the trail near the wayside parking lot. When they came down from their walk we talked again. It seems they were traveling south so they couldn't help me with a ride. After about 15 minutes of them changing shoes etc they walked over to me on the road and said that they could take 5 miles north to Big Meadows where my chances of getting a ride would be better. That was perfect. At Big Meadows I bought a 16 ounce chocolate milk that really refreshed me from standing out in the sun on the pavement. Then I got a ride from from an ex thru hiker of all 3 transcontinental hikes. As he drove it came out that he had had a serious weight loss problem when he hiked also, and he said using GNC Fast Weight Gain in the morning and night had fixed him right up. So this trail angel helped me with a ride and with my weight problem. They let me off 32 miles from Front Royal. There I waited over  60 minutes with only about 5 cars passing by. When it got to be 5:30, a young student studying aeronautical engineering at Arizona picked me up. He was from the Netherlands and he had flown to New York to meet his sister coming in from the Netherlands and they had already driven down to Florida and were on their way back to New York to both fly home to the Netherlands. I told him a little about my dart group and how they had worked for Rocketdyne and that was where the shuttle engine was designed and built. When we got to Front Royal it was a bigger town than I thought it would be. They immediately used their cell phones to find the Holiday Inn and they dropped me off at the front door. The boy was named Walter his sister Jose. They really, really helped me. Especially considering there wasn't much traffic back where they picked me up and that it was almost dark and finally that it started raining right after they dropped me off.  I owe them a big thanks. Oh yeah, I got to see my wife a little while later.