morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-03-13
From: possum creek

To: jenkins shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: clear sky

3/13: Jenkins shelter - 22.3We slept pretty close to the road and someone was backing up with a reverse beeper this morning. Kind of a strange way to wake up I guess.We both didn't get up when we heard it. Once we got up with the sun, it was after 730. The time change is going to take some time to get use to.It was cold, but not too terrible. It felt weird to be on trail at 8 not 7. We knew it was going to rain later in the day, and we felt like we had gotten a late start. It wasn't too bad all morning, we stopped for a break at a shelter before making our way up to chestnut knob shelter. It's a long climb up. The first half is somewhat steep and the second half is really gradual and easy open walking. We saw on other guy hiking. We haven't seen anyone in a few days.It was also really windy towards the top. Sometime after our morning break we both changed to shorts. We had to bundle back up as we got closer to the summit.We stopped for a late, and long, lunch/oatmeal break at the shelter. It was around 1215. Chestnut knob shelter is not only on top of a mountain with an awesome, but it also has a door and an indoor picnic table. Super luxurious.The break ended up being so long because we were also able to check the weather and that made us rethink our plans a bit. Tonight was suppose to rain/snow until late morning and tomorrow was suppose to be a low of 8 degrees.We called a place in bland to see if they allow dogs and if they could pick us up tomorrow at a gap. They didn't answer and I left a message.Allys rain jacket zipper also broke, so she emailed outdoor research about it.The shelter was around 11 miles further and it was on a bumpy ridge. We headed out around 2. It was cold at first but then the wind died down. The clouds grew darker as we got closer to Jenkins.We were nearly running on the last mile to get to the shelter. It was close to 6, and we thought the rain was coming.We met a girl at the shelter and we talked a bit. It started to get dark around 745 and there was no rain before we went to bed at 830.We are hoping to get up a little earlier tomorrow.
Date: 2017-03-14
From: jenkins shelter

To: va611/0 days inn/bland, VA
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: overcast clouds

3/14: 0 days inn/va611/bland, va - 20.3The alarm went off at 610. Back to the good ole alarm to get us moving. We all got moving pretty quick. I woke up a few times through the night to make use the rain and sleet wasn't coming in the shelter. It started sometime after we went to sleep and it was coming down pretty hard for a while.By the time we woke up, it was just snow flurries. There wasn't much snow on the ground, but the ground was covered in nearly an inch. Some areas of the trail were bare and melted, and others were not.We both started with our rain pants and jackets on and then we wore them the entire day. It was cold as we got moving in the dark but it wasn't that bad after a bitIt was a climb up to a ridge, then completely flat. The wind picked up on the ridge and maverick had a little stare off thing with a deer.As the day went on, it got much colder. I didn't sleep well last night and neither did ally. I never sleep well in shelters. It was mostly easy hiking though. A windy, snowy, foggy and grey skied winter day. It was really beautiful for a while, then it started to get too cold. We were lucky to get a few minutes of phone time before it shut off from the cold. I talked to the owner at Zero Days Hostel and we made the plan to stay the night.By the afternoon we were booking it. There was a 1.4 mile road walk over I-77 about 12 miles in and we debated getting the shuttle from there to the hostel, this is the main and fastest way into bland, but he is further north from Bland. So the shuttle from va611, which is a dirt road, was actually cheaper and allowed us to make it to where we planned to.It was 7.75 miles after the road walk and it was cold, windy and never ending. There were no land marks on the stretch and my phone was too cold to turn on, so we had to guess on timing. We didn't want the shuttle to wait on us, but we also didn't want to wait too long in the cold.Maverick was wet from the snow and it was slowly freezing from the wind. It's hard to defrost him in my tent.It was a much better option to stay inside and we were happy we arranged for the shuttle before hand. We made it to the gap at 214, which was right on time. We also made the detour to the grocery store in bland so we could make some food. Ally made the vegetable chili and I made pancakes as the appetizer. After that, we just veg'd out - like we always do. We looked over the plan, checked the weather a few more times, and then decided to do our first slack pack tomorrow.
Date: 2017-03-15
From: va611/0 days inn/bland, VA

To: trents grocery/0 days inn/bland, va
Miles today: 9.6

3/15: trents grocery/0 days inn/bland, va - 9.6We slept in and were happy to be out of the cold. The weather while we were eating breakfast said it was -7 when factoring the wind chill.The sun looked like it was going to stay out, so we stuck to the plan to slack pack. Slack packing is when you get dropped off back on trail, and hike with only what you need for the day. Afterwards, you get picked back up at another gap North of where you started. Just a day hike.It worked out for us because trents grocery, almost 10 miles north, was closer to the hostel than 611. Ally and I don't have anything against slack packing, but we weren't sure we would ever find a use for it. Today was a great day.We ate a great breakfast of eggs, home fries, pancakes (some with chocolate chips) and had some coffee. It was still in the teens around 10 so we pushed the drop off to 11. We even almost called it off.We were happy we didn't call it off once we got on trail. It was cold, but some spots were blocked really well and we were able to do the hike in less than 3 hours. It would have been a different story with packs and if we were dropped off and picked up by a climate controlled vehicle.Maverick (us too) go a little crazy sitting inside, so it was nice to get a quick walk in. Doing it without the gear is just an added bonus on top of lowering the miles to pearisburg. I didn't bring my camera on this stretch, but I snapped one photo on the phone. It was windy and cold, but nothing like yesterday. We picked up our box at trents grocery around 215 and waited a minute or 2 for the shuttle back to the hostel. We spent the afternoon and evening hanging out. We eventually got bored of just sitting on our phones. I read a bunch of journals. It's nice to have so much time, but I always crash after a little bit. Tomorrow should be warmer than these past few days, but still cold. 20s at night. After this, we are back in the 30s.Pearisburg in 1-2 days, daleville in 6-7.
Date: 2017-03-16
From: trents grocery/0 days inn/bland, va

To: docs knob shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

3/16: doc knob shelter - 17.5We slept in, and it was really nice. Ally said I was even snoring until around 8. I felt a little groggy in the morning, but after a breakfast of eggs, squash, and a few pancakes - I felt awake.We packed up, cleared our stuff out of the bunk room, and rolled out around 930. Nature boy, the owner of the hostel, drove us back out to trents grocery and almost picked up a really sketchy, NON-hiker hiker, hitch hiker.The hostel we stayed at, Zero Days Inn, was just starting up. We were happy it was there. It worked out for us really well, but it's still starting up, which made the stay a bit interesting. Super nice guy though.It was cold when we started. It seems like it's been windy every day for the last little while. Most of the trail has been on ridges here in Virginia, and there still aren't any leaves on the trees.It was easy hiking out of the trents road crossing. We were really happy to have finished up that slack-pack yesterday. It put us a nice distance from pearisburg, about 25 miles.We called woods hole hostel, which was about 15 miles out, and their bunk room wasn't open yet. They had indoor rooms, but between the two of us and the dog, it was a bit pricy for the night. We weren't trying to hang around too much because we felt we had been stuck inside the past few days. From what I've heard, it sounds like a great place.It was cold. I was able to warm up when going uphill, but any exposed skin was still cold from the wind.Overall, any easy day, but the trail was covered in 1-3 inches and it got rocky towards the end of the day. It was slippery and annoying because we couldn't see the rocks.We met a guy from CT who was just starting the last section hike of his south bound thru hike. Once he makes it to springer mountain this year, he will have hiked the trail in both directions - he will also be 74!As we got to the shelter, it started getting even colder and the shelter is in a very wet area. The ground was surrounded by way more mud than usual.We decided to set our tents up in the shelter to stay a little warmer. Maverick was wet so he had to hang out in the shelter for the evening. He doesn't like doing that because that's normally his play time. He dried off really quick though.Low 20s tonight. To stay in pearisburg tomorrow night, or to keep moving?
Date: 2017-03-17
From: docs knob shelter

To: pearisburg
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: broken clouds

3/17: pearisburg - 8.4My tent was a little frosty this morning. It's hard to get enough ventilation without having the stakes perfect. In the shelter, I can tie a few down, but it's never enough.We packed up and got back on trail around 730. It was cold, but not too bad without the wind.As we moved on through the day, it felt like it was getting colder. We thought it was going to warm up. The sky was dark grey until late morning and it was hard to tell what time it was.It was a short hike into pearisburg. It felt like it was taking us a while though. Towards the end there were two really nice views over looking pearisburg.On the last stretch in, we decided to stay the night in town. Everyone was a bit tired. We made a few different plans for when we got in. The hostel at the motor lodge doesn't open until may, so we planned to grab our boxes and go to another place. We called the other place and he said there was a wood stove, but currently no wood. He assured us he would TRY to deliver some wood, but he promised nothing.We walked .7 on the road into town and one of the first buildings in the motel. The lady was really nice. We told her we didn't realize the hostel was closed, and she offered us a room for the price of the hostel. We took it.I sent mavericks dog food here. It was a 15 pound bag. I split it, and took the other half to the post office. I mailed it to daleville, Va. where we will be in a few days.The 15 pound bag works out well. It normally covers 2 full resupplies for maverick. He has been eating around 6-8 cups of food a day. Out of choice, he also normally only eats once a day - in the evening.After that, ally and I went to pizza plus for the all you can eat pizza and salad buffet. It was a good meal. We didn't feel like we went crazy, but we ate a lot.After that, we split up and did some town chores. The grocery store is across the street, along with everything else we needed, so we made our rounds. We packed out our resupply and adjusted our plan over the next few days to daleville.It also rained from 17 till 8. The weather should warm up midday tomorrow, but then get cold again over night. Not as cold, but there is a chance of rain in the afternoon and more wind.
Date: 2017-03-18
From: pearisburg

To: pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

3/18: pearisburg - zeroWe decided shortly after waking up that we would stay another night if they would let us stay for the same rate.They agreed and we took it slow all morning.We went to the post office at 930 to mail a box to four pines hostel. Four pines hostel is in between pearisburg and daleville and would allow us to carry less food. Now we only need to carry about 3 days to four pines and 1 1/2 to daleville. The post office didn't open until 10 so we went to rite aid across the street and looked around for a while.The lady at the post office was really nice and it needed up being really cheap to mail the box because it wasn't going very far.We walked down every street in the downtown pearisburg area and looked around. It's an interesting little town and there was a lot of people driving around but not many outside. After that we went back to the motel and decided to get some Mexican food for lunch. Ally called a few places to try to get a haircut but it never happened.The Mexican place was awesome. $1 off fajitas all Saturday.Then we went to goodwill and ally got a book. She spent the rest of the day reading and ended up finishing the book. I spent most of the day reading articles and journals on my phone. In between, we ate little snacks and I took maverick for a few walks. Overall, we felt like the weather wasn't so great and we are in no rush to pass or beat anyone, so we just hung out. It was less boring/awkward than the last hostel we stayed at and we both agreed it was nice to do nothing.
Date: 2017-03-19
From: pearisburg

To: pine swamp shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

3/19: - 20.4I woke up at 7 and took maverick for a walk. It was damp and kind of raining with some wind. Cold but not really cold out.Once I got back, ally was awake. We packed our bags, grabbed some coffee from the office when they opened at 8, and ate some snacks for breakfast. We ran across the street to food lion to mail a few post cards and grab a few last minute things.We left the hotel room around 9 and walked over to hardies and ally got 2 egg sandwiches.We walked back to trail and passed tenacious d on the way back out to the trail. We talked to him for a little bit and he said he was on his way to eat the AYCE pizza buffet at pizza plus.From there we crossed a bridge with a ton of cars flying by and it was really cold. We passed by a really large power plant or something and then we went back up into the mountains.Halfway up the climb we passed a landfill and eventually, we made it to rice field shelter. There is a really beautiful view there. Ally and I stopped for a break and switched from shorts to pants. From there it was bumpy and rocky, but pretty flat on a ridge. It was hailing/sleeting on us just about all day.We planned on camping at a spot on the ridge, but all the trees were frosted over and chunks of ice were falling. We continued down to the shelter another 5 miles.We met another hiker from West Virginia there. He was sectioning south for a month. He was an interesting guy who was retired and did a lot of traveling.The shelter was made of stone and had a fire place in it. He already had it going, but it wasn't too cold out. We ate dinner and talked with him for a bit then went to bed.Since we didn't plan on coming this far, we are now ahead by a little bit.
Date: 2017-03-21
From: laurel creek shelter

To: trout creek
Miles today: 21.3
Weather: overcast clouds

3/21: trout creek - 21.3Last night was one of the warmest nights yet. I slept in my short and a t shirt. When I woke up, I put my pull over sweatshirt on, and stayed in shorts.On trail around 8 this morning. There were some really nice fields a few miles in and we took our first break there. Shortly after, we crossed a road, went through some more fields, and we saw the Keffer Oak.The Keffer oak is a huge oak tree.After that we went up a really steep hill. Ally and I were both sweating a lot at the top. It was an 8 mile ridge. It was mostly easy but had some large rocky sections.Easier day than yesterday. Our campspot was right next to the road. It was still a nice spot. We made a fire, but the wind picked up a bit and it was blowing all over. It burnt Allys sweatshirt.
Date: 2017-03-22
From: trout creek

To: catawba/four pines hostel
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: few clouds

3/22: Catawba/four pines - 13.7My tent was on a slant last night. I didn't see it and thought it was flat, but right at the end it slanted down hill. I had to get up in the middle of the night and sleep backwards. Other than that it was a nice night. The wind was going off pretty hard above us but it didn't hit us.We woke up around the normal time, filled up some water on the way out because there wasn't much, and we started climbing up. Early on we passed the trail to the shelter. It was about 1.5 miles in and we skipped it. It was easy walking. We were definitely gaining elevation but it was smooth.Then we started getting closer to dragons tooth. The climb up the backside was windy and rocky. We split up, and were zigzagging in and out of large rocks while climbing up a steep ridge. The wind mostly made it feel harder than normal. My hands were really cold.At the top, I took the short side trail to the dragons tooth, but didn't climb up it. I skipped it last time too because of the rain. You can see through the gaps and the views along the way are enough for me.I waited for ally at the trail junction but it was too windy and I kept going.The other side of the mountain is even harder! It's rocky and super steep, but there wasn't any wind and it was warming up. Maverick does pretty well with scrambles but has a hard time with squeezes. He runs and jumps up and down big rocks much faster than I do.I passed a 2 groups of people and they seemed surprised at how well he hopped down the mountain.At the bottom, we made 2 plans. Take a left and walk down the road to the gas station, then walk back the opposite way to four pines hostel. Both were less than .5 in both directions.I got to the store before ally did and I hung out in the front and used their wifi. Maverick slept and waited very patiently as I went inside - the lady at the counter commented positively on his behavior.Ally showed up, we ate some food, and walk d the road back to four pines.We met joe Mitchell - the owner of the hostel - and talked with him for a while. He's definitely a talker and a really cool guy. We grabbed our box, sorted through our stuff, and lingered a little longer than we planned.As we walked out and made our way down the road, we made the choice to get shuttled back to the hostel in 6 miles. This way we still do some miles and get to hang out with everyone where for a while. It was also going to be in the 20s again.The weather was nice all afternoon. We walked on a beautiful ridge, and got picked up at the road crossing. This road is a few miles before mcafee knob, so we expected to pass a lot of people if we kept going.We ate a tub of ice cream, made some eggs, got a fire going in the wood stove and just hung out for the evening. There were a few other dogs there that maverick played/chilled with.
Date: 2017-03-23
From: catawba/four pines hostel

To: daleville
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: few clouds

3/23: daleville - 19.8There was only one other guy in the 3 bay garage hostel and he was the care taker there. He woke up early with his dog, and so did ally and I. So we were up around 630.I made a ton of pancakes and we slowly got ready to leave. It was a bit of a slow and sluggish morning.We got shuttled out around 8 and picked back up where we were. It was really fast moving all day today and the trail through the first quarter of the day was wide and well used.We made our way passed 2 shelters in the first 2 miles and went over mcaffee knob around 3.5 miles in. We passed a few groups going different ways, or camping, but we had the view to ourselves.We took pictures, ate some food and moved on.Still easy moving after that and we were on a ridge for a while then hit tinker cliffs. We ate lunch at the cliffs and changed into shorts. It was getting warmer but still windy and chilly.The rest of the way we just cruised into daleville. Even with our later than usual start, we got to daleville at 5.Ally and I split up in daleville. She took a left and went to get a hair cut and go to the Kroger and I went right to drop maverick at the motel 6. It was rush hour and there was a ton of people driving pretty crazy. Daleville is a major stop on I 81 so there were tons of semis and even more cars. The motel 6 is on the other side of the interstate, and the road under it is really scary.The on and off ramps had cars flying on and off and there is no where to walk. Definitely stressful with maverick, but everything worked out fine and we made it to the motel.The motel was actually really nice.
Date: 2017-04-07
From: daleville

To: Connecticut
Miles today: 0.0

The day after arriving in Daleville, I rented a car from Roanoke Airport and made my way back to Connecticut.There are a few reasons why, but mostly because I felt Maverick needed a break. Physically, he was going but he just seemed a little worn out. Daleville is such a convenient place to leave from because the AT crossed I-81. I was really happy to have made it to that point.Having some time off was OK. I was able to take care of a few important things. Maverick had to see the veterinarian twice to make sure he is all good, I prepared and planted a garden, I fixed my car up, and I was here to see my family on my moms birthday.Maverick is doing great. I took him back so he could rest, and to have his hips and joints X-rayed. Waiting for the X-ray appointment is what held me up the second week.It¢s weird how 2 weeks feels like such a long time. I could go back to the AT and still be early in the season, but I wasn¢t into it this year. There are too many people doing the same thing. It¢s awesome and exciting when it¢s a new experience, but I want something different.Anyway, I spent a lot of Mavericks ¢forced rest time¢ planning a trip in New York. I will be writing a journal so check it out if you want. Thank you to anyone who read this journal. I really enjoyed writing these entries.
Date: 2017-01-31
To: feeling the momentum
Miles today: 0.0

I¢ve been preparing for my Appalachian Trail adventure for the past two years but I¢ve arbitrarily chosen today to draft my first trail journal entry, probably because I¢m finally feeling pressure to fill in the last minute gaps and wrap up my AT prep. I¢ve been researching and acquiring gear and I¢ve had lists of ideas growing since August, 2015. However, this weekend it hit me how rapidly this adventure is approaching. It was merely a distant dream to fantasize about until my nerves started to take over and the reality of this overwhelming ambition started to sink in.        This past weekend I had dinner with my friend Northstar (who thru hiked in 2016) and that added some momentum to my planning as he shared stories and answered my list of questions about the details I hadn¢t previously considered. I was also appreciative to be at a top shack with Calvin Decker the two days preceding my weekend because he helped me get past the overwhelmed feelings that temporarily paralyzed me from continuing prep-work and reminded me why I¢m excited for this adventure on the horizon. So at this point, the ball is rolling. While time appears to be moving quickly, I¢m grateful that I¢ve been able to allot my precious time intentionally in the past few days. I¢m enjoying my life on ski patrol and as this season comes to a close, I want to make sure to remain present throughout my preparations for the next big step.
Date: 2017-02-07
To: things are happening
Miles today: 0.0

Big things are happening. Bought my flight to Atlanta, GA on April 3rd and registered to start hiking on Springer Mt on April 4th. Bought lots of last minute gear items and also chopped my hair off (leaving slightly more to be shed when weather permits) because I was curious, I figure I¢ve got nothing to lose and it¢s less of a hassle to have to deal with.