morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-05
From: Yellow Creek Gap

To: Fontana Dam Road
Miles today: 5.9

We had a nice breakfast in the restaurant at the resort and then went back to Yellow Creek Gap to slack pack to Fontana Dam Road.It was a pretty easy 6 miles with a view of the Dam that changed as you got closer. Dad started wearing his aluminum hard hat and he got a comment about blinding people with it. We made it to the road and Mom took us back to the hotel. We had dinner and walked around. Tomorrow we are going to slack pack all the way to the start of the Smokies and stay one more night. The weather channel is scaring us and there is snow predicted for a lot of the east coast.
Date: 2018-04-06
From: Fontana Dam Road

To: Smokies trail head
Miles today: 3.1

Today was easy and we used it as a day to gauge weather and get ourselves a little closer to the first shelter.The shelter at Fontana Dam is named the Fontana Hilton because it has a phone charging station, running water, and a shower house. We walked past a group of people that had stayed there and talked to them for a minute.We kept walking and found out that the visitor center was closed. The walk across the Dam was pretty cool. It's one of the larger Dams I've been to. The rest of the walk was up to the trail head.We went back to the room and relaxed and then had dinner. We hopefully start the Smokies tomorrow. The weather is pretty ominous.
Date: 2018-05-02
From: Uncle Johnnie's Hostel

To: Beauty Spot Gap
Miles today: 11.3

We woke up and had breakfast with Mom at the Steel Rail cafe in Erwin. We came back and packed up all of our stuff. We took off around 11.The trail crosses a bridge and then goes back into the forest. You cross railroad tracks and slowly wind your way up with a nice view of the Nollichucky river for the first 2 miles. Then you get to the first of the very steep section. We leap frogged with a couple of people as we took turns stopping to recover. We made it to the first shelter and took a break and talked to a couple of people, some of which we met at Standing Bear.After our break we started again. The trail goes back and forth over and along streams until you get to the top of the first section of climbing.Most of today was climbing and after the first 8 miles we still had around 3 miles of climbing left. This section was brutal. The trail was exposed to the sun and full of medium sized rocks that beat up your feet. We made it to the top of Beauty Spot and had some amazing views. Mom ended up meeting us there. We still had 1.4 miles to Beauty Spot Gap where she was going to meet us.The 1.4 miles was difficult. My ankle was hurting and my feet were mush. We made it and had some food. Then we went back to Jonesborough to go to the Depot Street Brewery. It was meh beer.We ended up staying the night in Johnson City.
Date: 2018-05-29
From: Parking lot near NY/ct border

To: St. John ledges
Miles today: 15.0

Day 1Parking lot 1457.2St. John ledges 1472.2Total miles 15.0 My son Andrew was kind enough to let his mother sleep in on her 19th wedding anniversary and made the 70 minute drive with me to the trailhead. I was able to start hiking by 8am. The first couple hours were flat and cool and I was feeling great. However with temps in the mid to high 80¢s and throw in some elevation, I was soon suffering. I played tug of war with heat exhaustion from 11-6. Needing extended breaks to lower by body temp and slow my breathing. I walked in the morning with a section biker named sister from New Jersey. She decided to slow down though, then I met a man from Japan who was visiting to do a 100 mile section hike. He seemed to hurting worse than me. At ct341, I met energizer bunny, a Scotsman that did 1400 miles last year and was looking to finish this year. Unfortunately the heat was really effecting him and he needed to get into Kent for some r&r. I stayed with him until he hitched a ride. From 341 to the St. John ledges was a death march. I saw several younger thru hikers, only caught one¢s name, landfill. I had intended to push a bit further but there is very steep boulder descent after the ledges and I was too spent, so it will be saved for the morning. Hope it¢s a bit cooler tomorrowLiving Proof
Date: 2018-05-30
From: St. John ledges

To: Mt. Sharon campsite
Miles today: 15.6

Day 2 St. John ledges 1472.2Sharon mt. Campsite 1487.8Daily miles 15.6 I was up early as the songbirds woke me at 4:30ish am. On the trail by 5:15 and an immediate steep descent from the Ledges, but I managed just fine and enjoyed a nice flat section along the Housatonic river, which made for some nice easy miles. A trail first for me was using bug spray as I was swarmed with mosquitoes along the river, turns a little deet can be a lifesaver. After still feeling the effects of heat exhaustion the day before, I hiked down rt 4 to a gas station to consume two large powerades in the shade for an hour. The rest of the day went well, I hiked with stillbill off and on for a bit, who just returned to the trail after ending a thruhike attempt in ct last summer. It seems I¢m stuck at a 15 mile a day limit atm, until I build my endurance. I¢m very happy to be at 15 a day though given my current fitness level. My biggest issue atm is some fairly severe chafing in my groin region, I¢ll leave it at that.Living Proof
Date: 2018-05-31
From: Mt. Sharon campsite

To: US 44
Miles today: 12.6

Day 3Sharon mt campsite 1487.8US 44 1500.4Daily miles 12.6  I¢ve decided my chafing issue requires a couple days off, not to mention my calves and quads are beyond sore. I coordinated a pick up in Salisbury for a couple days at home to heal up. On trail by 5:15 again I only had one decent ascent, which I managed surprisely well, although the cooler temps should get the assist there. I hiked a good bit with an older flip flopper named do right from Virginia. It does make the time go by to some conversation on occasion, giventhat I hike mostly alone. It¢s especially helpful when physically struggling. I hiked into Salisbury with do right and proceeded to eat a bunch of town food.  Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-01
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

The downside of starting a thruhike with larger mileage days is that parts of your body simply aren¢t prepared.  This year I¢ve suffered some significant chafing resulting in some raw flesh in areas that that I¢ll leave to your imagination.  That given, I¢m home to heal before continuing on.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-04
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Yet another zero and a trip to my doctor. With abdominal pain for the third day straight, I got in to see my doctor.  He thought my symptoms may be gallbladder related, which would have been a hike killer, however, after a ultrasound, it appears all my internals organs appear normal.  Doc told me start a month of Prilosec, hypothesizing a ulcer could be the cause.  Fingers crossed the discomfort will lessen soon.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-06
From: Salisbury US44

To: West rd
Miles today: 20.6

Day 9US 44 Salisbury 1500.4 to stealth camp West rd 1521.0Daily miles 20.6 Wow, long day! My wife, Kathleen drove me out Salisbury this morning and I was hiking by 7:30am. The weather was perfect!! I may be a very long time before a get a day like today weather wise. It was 52 when I started hiking and stayed very cool well into the afternoon. I hiked up bear mountain with undertow, a flipflopper. After bear came mount race and them mt Mitchell, and then ended the going up my bushnell. The last mountain want in my original plans but I reached my destination for the day at 3:45 due to the cool weather. I promised Kathleen not to overdo it, but that just wouldn¢t be me! I pushed on, but soon I was have trouble finding water and a place to camp. Finding both these things was a must, so the miles just kept adding up. Finally I managed to find something more than a mud puddle and I¢m camped as discreetly as one can be in the corner of a open field. Mosquitoes were really bad last hour of hike and setting up camp. Bug spray is effective, but think i missed my head, and they got my a good 15-20 times through my hat. Also like to mention a section hiker named blackberry, who has section hiked everything south of where I met her.  This is her 8th section hike! Very tired, time some tunes then bed.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-07
From: West rd.

To: Shaker campsite
Miles today: 18.3

Day 10West rd 1521.0 to Shaker campsite 1539.3Daily miles 18.3 I slept late today after pushing it a bit far yesterday and because it was quite chilly! I had to put on additional clothing at 2:30am. It was cool and overcast till 11am, which was nice. My left shin was tight today, so I consciously hiked slowly, trying not to further aggravate it. It appears I¢m in the midst of a mini bubble of late feb. hikers from Georgia. My campsite is totally full and it¢s only 6:30. Highlight of the day was seeing my first wild porcupine, little guy only feet from me right off the trail in some brush. Anyway, very tired and sore, but tomorrow looks super flat, so that should be nice.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-08
From: Shaker campsite

To: October mt. Shelter
Miles today: 18.8

Day 11 Shaker campsite 1539.2 to October mt. Shelter 1558.0Daily miles 18.8 I tried not to wake all my campsite mates, but it¢s really hard being quiet in the woods! I was hiking by roughly 5:30 and made 10 miles and goose pond cabin by 10:30 am. Unfortunately, I hiked a bit too fast and upset my feet a bit. Stopping at goose pond cabin for lunch was a mistake. .5 mile side trail, strike one. Taking water from a cooler with bleached water and taking a big swig, strike two. I would have been better off just lunching on the I-90 overpass, oh well. On the upside, I did a big black bear right on the trail. After seeing hundreds of chipmunks a day seeing a wild animal the size of adult male black bear is still a bit startling. The afternoon looked flat, and it was but very rocky and rooty, which made for less than ideal hiking. I stopped at October shelter, just totally exhausted. These past days of 18-20 miles are a bit much and my body is trying to get me to slow down . It¢s still super early in day, but literally can¢t go on. Sleep by 6 pm tonight.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-09
From: October mt shelter 

To: Crystal mt campsite
Miles today: 16.0

Day 12 October mt shelter 1558.0 to crystal mt campsite 1574.0 Daily miles 16.0 miles  Today was a town day! I was hiking by 5:30am, but promised myself to hike slowly as my body is sending me signals that I need to slow my pace and daily mileage. It was 11 miles to dalton ma. I made it their by 11 am, as the terrain was mostly flat and forgiving. Once reaching town I made for breakfast at a restaurant on Main Street. Two eggs, hash, home fries, bacon, Texas toast and three ice waters! I proceeded to the public library to charge my phone, call home and put my trailjournal entries in. After that i hit Angelina¢s subs and had a foot long pastrami sub. Left town about three and got to campsite about 5. This site is fairly elavated so I¢ll be falling asleep to the sound of breeze blowing through the treetops.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-10
From: Crystal campsite

To: Mt. Greylock
Miles today: 13.0

Day 13Crystal mt campsite 1574.0 to Mt Greylock 1587.0Daily miles 13.0 I had a short day today as I decided to get a shower and spend the night at Bascom lodge on Mt Greylock. Greylock was a nice little tester mountain as I¢ll be entering the Green mountains of Vermont tomorrow. Managed a resupply in Cheshire this morning, so plan is to hike straight through to Friday when I¢ll be getting off the trail for some days for my son¢s high school graduation and grad party. In the meantime, my bunk room is directly above some theater mashup taking place here at the lodge. It sounds like a herd of grandmothers laughing...Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-11
From: Mt Greylock

To: Congdon shelter
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 14Mt Greylock 1587.0 to Congdon shelter 1607.4Daily miles 20.4 The birds failed to pry me from my warm bunk at the Bascom lodge at my usual time.  Thus, an usually late 7am start to a planned 20 mile day. Coming down Massachusetts highest peak was very slow going for some reason, but I did meet some trail maintainers and thank them for their very hard work. I made terrible time all the way down, crossed N Adams and began my ascent to Vermont. This second half of the day I felt really strong. I was able handle long sustained climbs and just overall endurance was great today. Nice to see all suffering has paid some dividends. The AT joins the Long Trail as you enter Vermont, so I¢m meeting some LT newbies on their first day or two of hiking. They have some nice energy compared to the haggard thru hikers from Georgia. Planning another 20 miler tomorrow.  Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-12
From: Congdon shelter

To: Kid Gore shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: clear sky

Day 15 Congdon shelter 1607.4 to Kid Gore shelter 1626.1Daily miles 18.7 Last night got quite cold as I think temps dipped into the high 30¢s. Despite this fact I put on still sweating hiking clothes and hit the trail by 5:30. I hustled to Rt 9 by 7:15 and by 8:40 I had hitched a ride in and outta town and had nice big breakfast! The rest of the day was fairly unremarkable except for the amazing cool breeze all day. It made the hiking much more enjoyable. I took a nice hour break at Goddard shelter, which was a cool shelter. The lookout tower on Glastenbury Mt. was actually quite terrifying. As I mentioned the wind was really gusting and heights really isn¢t my thing. Amazing views, but snapped my pics and quickly came back down. Kid Gore is not an amazing shelter, but it has an amazing view right from inside the shelter, a rarity. Right knee was bothering me a bit on descents today, hopefully a night¢s rest will remedy that. Thunderstorms tomorrow, planning. 15 miles to Stratton pond shelter which I¢ve heard good things about.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-13
From: Kid Gore shelter

To: Stratton pond shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 16 Kid Gore shelter1626.1 to Stratton pond shelter 1641.1Daily miles 15.0  I was up early as thunderstorms Were in the forecast and hiking by 5:20am. My right knee was still sore from the night before and with .25 miles it was hurting really bad. I dragged my lame leg along for a bit over an hour, contemplating what my options were. I finally took a 10 minute break on a rock and when I stood up my knee felt fine. Strangest thing, but I happily welcomed pain free hiking. One big climb today was Stratton mt. and I was welcomed by a horde of gnats at the summit.   Made great time after my knee recovered and managed to get my 15 miles down by 1 pm. Luckily there are some nice folks here to kill the time with. High light of the day was I saw my first baby bear. Heard him first, but by clicking my poles managed to have him scurry up a tree and into view. Didn¢t see the mama, so didn¢t wanna stay for a photo op and surprise her.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-14
From: Stratton pond shelter

To: Peru peak shelter
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 17 Stratton pond shelter 1641.1 to Peru peak shelter 1661.9Daily miles 20.8  Last night we ended up having quite a wind storm as it blew all night long with gusts up to 40mph. I was thankful to have slept in the shelter fully protected from it. Another early morning as I was hiking by 5:30am. I hustled over forgiving terrain for 10 miles and made it a road crossing by 10:15. Hitchhiked into Manchester center, where I had breakfast at Bob¢s diner and picked up a couple things in town. I was back to the trailhead by 11:40 and proceeded to hike Bromley mt. and then Peru mt. It was another very cool and windy day. Just enough rain to get the trail wet. I was quite chilled by the end of the day and expect another cold night tonight. I have just an easy 7 miles tomorrow morning and will be meeting my dad in Dansby for a trip home for my son Colin¢s high school graduation and grad party.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-15
From: Peru peak shelter

To: Danby-landgrove rd.
Miles today: 7.5

Day 17 Knowing I had few miles to hike and plenty of time to get there, I got out of camp late at 6ish.  Another cold morning didn¢t hurry me up either.  Knowing I was getting off trail I wore my dry camp clothes to hike in.  It was kinda raining when I left camp... it¢s hard tell when I¢m in the woods if it¢s actually raining or not.  Every casual breeze drops water from the leaves above.  I wore my rain kilt and rain jacket because the rain and the cold aren¢t a pleasant combo.  Hike was fairly easy outside of a Little Rock scramble up Baxter peak.  Unfortunately, the road I got off on turned out to be a forest service road!  That means no traffic and no hitchhiking the 3.5 miles to town. I walked about 2 miles down and a car ended up coming by.  I basically made them stop and drive me to town as I despise road walking.  Home now, let this little hiker knee heal up.Living Proof
Date: 2018-06-20
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0

Just ran some errands today and filled my food bag back up.  Made my last home cooked meal for some time.  I must say my disdain for trail food is real!  I don¢t carry a stove in warm weather, so having any appetizing options in your food bag is roughly nil.  I hit the wall on pop tarts long ago...just the thought of eating one makes me shudder.  I¢m finding Larabee bars quite enjoyable this year, but I¢m sure I¢ll tire of them as well.Living Proof
Date: 2018-04-26
From: Th 311 parking

To: McAfee knob
Miles today: 8.0

Thurs Day 73 4/25 I'm very controlling being that was letting Luke's last day I want to do something it was fun. So when we came off the mountain on Sunday they predicted a sunny day for Thursday. I chose to go down an hour and 45 minutes 2 Maccabees knob. I got a bit overwhelmed driving down looking to my left at the Ridgeline that I have walked the last couple weeks. When you're just doing 20-25 miles a day it doesn't seem that far. When you drive an hour and 45 minutes and look at the mountains that go on and on and on it seems like a pretty far distance. So far I walked 880 MI. That's starting to seem like a long way. I really only looked at this as one day hiking. Set a goal, hike for the day, eat, and go to bed. Really quite a simple short-term situation. It did seem like a long way to drive. We had a nice four mile hike up to Maccabees knob. It was a perfect day weather wise. We spent an hour at the knob. We took a lot of photos. It's a very impressive place. We met 6 other thru-hikers there. The views are really impressive. Got back to the hotel at 6 did laundry packed watched the draft, and went to bed.
Date: 2018-04-26
From: McAfee knob

To: McAfee knob
Miles today: 8.0

Thurs Day 73 4/25 I'm very aware of it being Luke's last day. I want to do something that was fun. So when we came off the mountain on Sunday they predicted a sunny day for Thursday. I chose to go down an hour and 45 minutes to McAfees Knob. I got a bit overwhelmed driving down looking to my left at the Ridgeline that I have walked the last couple weeks. When you're just doing 20-25 miles a day it doesn't seem that far. Just get up do your hike get your water eat and go to bed . It's a Small World . When you drive an hour and 45 minutes and look at the mountains that go on and on and on it seems like a pretty far distance. So far I walked 880 MI. That's starting to seem like a long way. I really only looked at this as one day hiking. Set a goal hike for the day, eat, and go to bed. Really quite a simple short-term situation. It did seem like a long way to drive. The enormity of what I'm doing started to set in. This is a long hike. I mean this is a journey. It'll probably take 24 hours to drive from Katahdin Maine to Springer Mountain, Georgia. And that's with me driving 70 miles an hour. I walk 2 - 2 and 1/2 miles an hour. That's a lot of hours to hike 2,200 miles.We had a nice four mile hike up to McAfees Knob. It was a perfect day weather wise. We spent an hour at the Knob. We took a lot of photos. It's a very impressive place. We met 6 other thru-hikers there. We had lots to talk about. One fellow talked about what I just gone through, you just push a little more and a little more in a little more to find your limits and what can you do. Well I found out what I can do and I'm going to just do it a little slower in a little easier. Cuz it's still 1400 miles to the end. We had a really great time, drove back, got in around 5, had dinner. Then we all went into serious organization and packing mode. Watched the NFL draft and went to bed ready to roll in the morning.
Date: 2018-04-29
From: 13.t

To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.5

Mon Day 77 4/29 with a nice morning the weather was a little warmer. The climbs today were of the gradual nature and the trail was very accommodating. By that I mean there weren't a lot of loose rocks. It was fairly smooth footing and gentle climbs and descents. We got to the Big Meadows Wayside fairly quickly. We ordered hot food and plugged in our Electronics. Curtis got some news. He'd have to head home to take care of some business matters. Papa Bear came in soon after us. We asked him about shuttle services up to Front Royal. He didn't have any answers but he tried hard to be helpful. I ended up calling Mel. Luke had given her a ride to Front Royal on Friday. Luke told me that it took him three and a half hours to drive through the park after he picked up Mel. It was foggy and he had seen 25 different clusters of deer. Mel got right back to me and texted me a list of shuttle drivers. That's how it seems to work. You help people. They help people. Everybody's helping everybody else. You never know when you're the one who's going to need the help. So we got to Big Meadows Wayside around 11. The shuttle came at 3:30. I immediately commenced to head out towards Rock Spring Hut. As I was packing up outside the Wayside a waitress came out with a bag of 10 sandwiches. Would you like these. They were all meat based sandwiches and being a vegetarian I said of course thank you very much. I knew I'd find somebody down the road who would love to have a sandwich delivered. It was a nice hike to Rock Springs with lots of view spots. Gandalfo caught up to me at a view spot. I asked him if he'd like a sandwich. He was rather surprised. He said I'm a through hiker. I'm always hungry. He wondered why was a thru hiker with a pack doing Trail Magic. He ended up eating two sandwiches right there at the view spot. I hiked on to Rock Springs. When I arrived there were eight college kids there for a 4 day hike in the park. 6 Girls 2 Guys. They were stunned as well when I put the sandwiches on the table and said anybody want one. They consume five of the sandwiches. I proceeded to get setup and take care of my water retrieval, eating, and getting my sleeping area prepared. While i was eating my cheese sandwich there was another couple from North Carolina who do three big trips a year. They were very interesting. They are trying different gear and food always thinking to prepare for their next trip. 13 came in. He got that name because he has a base pack wieght of 13 lb and was a 1300 hiker to register for the AT. 13 was very excited and ate the remaining three sandwiches. He works at minimizing pack weight. So three extra sandwiches that he didn't have to carry anywhere was a big deal to him. We all got to bed around 9. The girls were quite noisy. when I woke up later that night I realized 13 was gone. He's hiked across Australia and New Zealand. He's hike long distances in Canada. He probably didn't like the noise.