morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-27
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Uncle Jonnys Hostel 
Miles today: 5.8

I hiked out in the cloudy morning air without my pack cover on but soon I stopped to put it on because the rhododendrons were hanging over the trail brushing against my pack. I was hiking pretty fast to try to make ti to Erwin before the rain. I got to some views and took my camera out to take some shots of the river and town. I turned my camera on and it just kept shuttering and said lens error. Oh no!! It was broken. I looked at it and almost cried. I try to be so careful with my camera because I love taking pictures so this was one piece of equipment I did not want to break. The guy with the kilt was taking pictures as well so he looked at my camera but didn't know what was wrong. He offered to take a few pictures and email them to me. That was nice so I tried to smile even though my camera just broke. I hiked on just 20 more minutes and came to the road where the hostel was. The hostel had a pretty cool sign with the mileage pointing to different places like Katahdin or the post office. I got my box and started going through it, organizing what I just got and what I still needed. I saw many of my friends there and soon joined them at the free trail magic down the road. A church had cooked up delicious burgers, hot dogs, numerous pasta salads, and an enormous array of desserts. It was hiker heaven. I loaded my plate with one of each dish, telling myself I'll come back for dessert. I talked with one of the volunteers from the church and he prayed over my cough. I was really starting to cough bad by this point and I wasn't sure what it was or what was causing it. I'd been sick with a severe cough Nov 2011 to April 2012 so I was worried. I got up and filled my plate with desserts, a chewy chocolate chip cookie, an ooey gooey brownies, a sweet red velvet cupcake... After I was done enjoying my plate of desserts, I picked up a few snacks to go. I called my mom to tell her I was sick as I was walking back to the hostel in the rain. I checked in and set up my tent before the rain got too bad. It was tent city out back! There must've been at least 15 tents by only 2pm. The rain sure drives hikers out of the woods. I caught the 3pm shuttle to town to go to Food Lion and the pharmacy to get a few more groceries and medicine for my cough. We fit 18 wet smelly hikers and a dog into a 15passenger van. I met Triggs and her dog, Grommet. We had 15minutes to shop before the shuttle would be back so we all scurried about the store. I saw Laces and Brooktrout as the shuttle came back. I organized my food and just hung out at the hostel. I was planning on heading out the next day after breakfast. There was a TV and VCR in a cabin so some of us starting watching Dances with Wolves. It took forever to rewind and play. I went to bed at 10 because I knew I wouldn't stay awake as it's a long movie. To my surprise, my cough didn't keep me up all night so I got some much needed rest. I got up and caught the shuttle to breakfast at Huddle House with Berkeley, St. Nick, Triggs and Grommet and several others. The food wasn't that great but it was better than oatmeal.
Date: 2013-04-28
From: Uncle Jonnys Hostel 

To: Uncle Jonnys Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I showered again and hung out in the cabin I was in last night but was alone. Half the hikers left in the rain and half of us stayed . I met Patchouli, outside dog, Hypsy Gyssy and husband Oak. I to was nearing lunch and I was getting hungry. Outside Dog invited me to the other cabin where the fun patrol was staying and where Hand me downs mom and grand pa had brought BBq buns chips and water for us YAY!, I'd found food. I was coughing up a lot by this point So outside dog insisted on making me hot tea with honey. That relived some. We watched a beautiful mind and rise or shine brought out bananagrams. One of my best friends in Texas showed me bananagrams so I knew the game well. We all decided to order out for dinner but discovered Rodney Pizza was closed on Sundays. Luckily there was a pizza plus. I am splitting a pizza with hand me down. The food took over an hour to come to us and it felt like forever. Finally everyone's subs or pizza came and all was silent in the cabin. We quickly devoured our food and after everyone was mostly done the chatter began again. I took some medicine and went to bed after it got dark. I awoke early to pack up and leave. I cooked oatmeal and I remembered St. Nick was going to go home for a week to heal his foot so I asked if I could borrow his camera til Damascus. YAY! I was so excited to have a camera especially cus I heard there were waterfalls. I mailed home my box and left the hostile around 10.
Date: 2013-04-29
From: Uncle Jonnys Hostel

To: beauty spot clearing (tenting)
Miles today: 12.7

It turned out to be a gorgeous day even though the forecast was for rain. I stopped at Curly Maple gap Shelter for lunch and saw several people I knew including Atlas and Vegabond. I began running out of steam going uphill about 4 miles from where I was planning on camping. I had a snack of banana chips and that gave me enough energy to keep going. I made it to the bald and could see the trail continuing on up the bald. My cough was better but it had weakened me especially my lungs, so it was hard to catch my breath uphill. I took some pictures once I reached the top of Beauty Spot. HypsyGypsy and her husban Oak passed me but it but it was only 15 min. till we reached our destination. Again I was one of the last to get there so I got a not so flat spot. There were some past thru hikers out for a week camping there so many of us talked about trail days. We wee all hoping to go past Damascus and then shuttle back for trail days. There was going to be a hiker parade with water guns! I hope it warms up by then cus it's pretty chilly. I got my feet wet trying to get to the water source which wasn't all that easy to get to. I've been having trouble sleeping so I got some diphenylehydrimine, I took it and it knocked me out til 8:30!! I haven't slept that sound or that late in a long time. I got up to make oatmeal and hot chocolate and most everyone had already left. Cutoff, Laura, HipsyGypsy and Oak were still sleeping. They're all late resers, but it still made me feel good to have people there.
Date: 2013-04-30
From: beauty spot clearing (tenting)

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

I immediately started hiking up and up climbing up Unaka Mtn. It's a denser spruce forest so it was real neat to walk through. The trail was hard to follow at times because it was flattened needles everywhere. Even though it was sunny out it was dark in the forest. I stopped to eat some trail mix and a power bar on a log in a sunny clearing. I kept turning my phone on to look for texts from my sister, she was due April 23 so any day now the baby would come. Nope no text about a baby yet. I took another break at Cherry Gap Shelter for a whole hour. Cutoff, Laura, HipsyGypsy and Oak joined me and we all chatted for awhile. Cutoff stood up under the shelter and hit his head hard. He didn't knock himself out, but it sure sounded like it.   I left that shelter at 3 with 9 more miles to go I can do this! I flew through the next 3 miles, up and down. I stopped for some banana chips and peanut butter. The next several miles were tough. My back was hurting and I was just done. I made it to the gap near the Greasy Creek Hostel. The next 2.9 miles were filled with tears I don't really know why I was crying, the tears just came. A lot of days include tears from the frustration and difficulties I face. Not huge tears but just enough to stop up my nose. I finally made it up the mtn. an it was .1 mile to the shelter. Argh! The shelter came into view and I just kinda stood there in front of it. There were nice tenting areas and it was forecast to be good weather, so I tented. I set up my tent slowly and cooked dinner by the shelter. Someone was cooking popcorn by the fire, they'd taken kernels and oil butter and put it in their pot over the fire. After awhile the kernels started popping! Popcorn was happening! I got a few pieces and it was delicious. It was getting dark and I still needed water. I'd heard it was far down the steep hill. I grabbed my filter and platypus and headed on down. It was steep and rocky. I sang as I pumped water because it was dark and I didn't want to get scared. I turned my phone on in the tent and my sister is having contractions. My niece would be here tonight or tomorrow!!My backpack zipper broke and I spent a half hour trying to fix it. It wouldn't budge, so it almost made me cry again.   The news from my sister certainly made me happier. I woke up and turned my phone on at breakfast. At 12:11 am my sister had her baby girl, Gracie Lynn. I tried to keep a smile on my face from being an aunt again but I had to pack my backpack. the zipper was making packing difficult. I made do with carabiners and hair ties. I finally left at 9:30
Date: 2013-05-03
From: Mountain Harbour B +B Hostil

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

The first several miles were easy, walking through grassy meadows with lots of wild flowers and dark pine forests and sunny balds. I went down the side trail to Jones Falls and ran into snail and Double D. The falls were amazing! There was a sign that said "dangerous do nto climb, several people have been injured here " Patchouli, comes up and tries to climb up a little closer Ay,Ay,Ay... We all took off and they all passed me. I had a tough moment climbing to the next waterfall but I made it. This one was right on the trail.. Everyone had climbed up closer on the dirt.. It was fun feeling waterfall splashes. I continued on and came to a wrought iron bench facing a view at the top of a mountain. I'm really not sure how it got all the way up there. It was a memory of someone so that was nice. I didn't sit on it though. I hiked a few more miles and saw many people I knew Berkeley, honey badger, Vitamin C, Soulshine, ZunZie and some others. They had all been hiking together the past few days. They had a much faster pace than me. I hiked on looking forward to what my map called hardcore cascades. The wooden sigh on the tree said hardcore cascades but they water falling over 3 rocks was not hardcore. The next 3 miles were difficult, mostly because completing them would mean a 19 mile day for me. It started getting cold as I was hiking which was unusual. I was so relieved when I saw that shelter. My back was hurting bad probably because i had pushed it too far. My group of friends that I'd seen before was eating dinner and pushing onward. A southbounder and another guy were there in the shelter. The SOBO said it was up, the next hill then a gradual downhill to Hampton Tn. The 2013 AWOL guide said there was a what-a-burger in Hampton. I ws super excited about that because I hadn't had a whataburger since I went to Texas in October. I cooked dinner in the shelter and turned my phone on to text my parents where I was. My mom texted me could she meet me in Hampton the next day, with my dog. I texted back sure! That made me excited to get up and going. Snail also showed up to the shelter. He was writing super tiny in his journal so that he could fit his entire thru hike in one book. I told him I sent my entries home for my parents to upload (Ha, I am not uploading I am typing micro notes from a 3x3 book) He said then I can't say secrets like if I met a cute guy on the trail and he out hiked me or I out hiked him. I thought that was a pretty funny example. I went to bed exhausted in pain but happy because my mom and dog were coming to me tomorrow. I got up early and Snail had said I could use 10oz of his water for my breakfast but he wasn't awake awake yet. So I made the very long trek down to the water and back. Silly water source,why can't it be on top of the mountain next to the shelter? I made my oatmeal and hot chocolate and got going around 8
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Blackbear Resourt

To: Blackbear resort
Miles today: 9.0

I'm glad I'm disconnecting from the unnecessary things in life. My mom brought a heating pad and we set it up under our sleeping bags in our cabin. It was super nice. I got up around 7 to make oatmeal and it was tough to get ready from a cabin. I was planning on going slack packing south found 9 miles from 321. double D Patchouli were slackpacking with me as well. I was just slow getting ready and didn't get on the shuttle til 10.
Date: 2013-05-06
From: Blackbear resort

To: Blackbear resort
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Bailey was so excited she crawled in my lap on the shuttle down. She knew where she was going. We all hopped out of the van and Patchouli,, DD and Dixie soon left me. I was hoping I'd see some of my friends as I was heading south. I saw Triggs and her dog, Grommet, soulshine, Kunzit and several others. It was a drizzliy and just a bit chilly out so I had on my rain jacket but my slack pack pack was getting wet. I got to the side trail to Hampton and the trail got nice and flat next to the rover. Patchouli and DD were waiting for me at the bridge. We stood there and talked for awhile. They moved on and I went on up to the shelter. It was practically straight up to the shelter. There was a guy with a big dog in the shelter. He acted like his dog was disobedient the way he was talking to it. I quickly ate my banana chips with peanut butter while Bailey was eating some random dog food near the shelter. We left and the roar form the falls was starting to get louder and louder there were a few tough rock areas to climb close to the roaring river an I was little worried about Bailey slipping and falling in. We soon got to the waterfall and the roar was deafening. It was super windy and wet because of the spray. I took a of pictures and started up the huge rock climb. After a few minutes I hear a whistle and looked up to see my mom coming down the trail. Even though I was slackpacking It'd taken me a really long time to hike those 9 miles. We walked back to the hostel together getting there together, getting there around 3. I decided we didn't need to do more miles so I showered to just hang out. Chuckwagon Whiskey and women, laces and brooktrout arrived. Later that evening laces had had a large tree branch fall on her head. OUCH! Several more people came in that I didn't know. I tried to get to bed early so I'd get going faster. I got up cooked oatmeal and was super slow packing eeverything up. We didn't leave till almost 11am.
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Damascus 

To: HOME, for 6 days, till 5-15
Miles today: 0.0

I went home for 6 days, on the way home my dog crawled up on top of my backpack and fell asleep the entire way. The next 9 entries are to log the start stop places and miles, Indigo will fill in when she gets time to write up the entries.
Date: 2013-05-25
From: campesite before va 635

To: Jenkins shleter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

the trail immediately went up. It would not up for the next 4.5 miles. Bailey barked at Redup so I hiked with her on a leash. I got to the clearing and it was pretty. There were several trees filling the area with dappled sunshine. It just sprinkled through the trees making both me and Bailey happy and carefree. Finally after days of rain and clouds there was a view. I re-entered the forest a little before the shelter but came out again into a clearing. I turned the corner and there was a concrete shelter in the middle of a field. It had views south and north and had a door. The table was inside and it looked like bunks in a hostile. It was getting warm and I was standing in the sunshine so I read the trail register outside the shelter. Teaka and Readup and another guy were there, 2 south bounders showed up saying they'd seen a small bear north of there Woohoo! I might see a bear today! I left at 11:15 had an hour long break. It hadn't been but 15 mins before I saw something move out of the corner of my eye. It was a bear! Bailey saw it to and ran off chasing it!!! I don't think I've ever yelled her name so loud, as if she were about to get hit by a car or something. The bear was small so I was worried a mama bear might try to protect her cub from Bailey. She disappeared over the hill but reappeared moments later. Trotting fine and panting hard, grinning as much as she could.   Ay ay ay silly doggie. I continued up a steep hill and passed Redup, telling her of my bear story. The next 5 miles were nice small ups and downs along a rocky ridge line. I took a break at a view spot, ate some Oreos and took my shoes and socks off. Bailey passed out on a grassy spot only lifting her head a few times to bark at passing hikers. I rested almost a full hour and a half before continuing on. Bailey parked at these 2 guys and was so scared of them it was hard to get her to walk forward. We'd catch up and she'd freeze. She's skittish of most people but never like this. So I deemed them shady. We eventually passed and came to Jenkins shelter. There were Lots of people around . About 5 in the shelter, 6 hammocks and lots of tents this was a popular place. Everyone was excited to see a dog there because there's been bear problems there recently. I set up my tent on a semi flat spot and tied Bailey to a tree because there were so many people cooking and eating. I started cooking a whole creamy garlic shells pasta side when Teaka brought out marshmallow fluff. He and Redup had peanut butter and Redup offered tortillas. Several of us had Marshmallow fluff with p.b. on a tortilla. It was so tasty! I tried not to eat my whole fluff p.b. quesadilla before my shells. The garlic shells were great but not compared to fluff. The privy was just a throne, a white toilet on a platform. I got in my tent at 7:30 to journal and go to bed early. I got up at 6:30 but didn't get going til 8.
Date: 2013-06-02
From: campsite, foot bridge 663.3

To: hotel
Miles today: 0.0

While waiting for my Mom I journaled and dept cold wet rags on my hips til she returned at 11:30. We needed a place to eat , repack and adjust my pack and a place to stay. We checked out the 4-Pines hostel picking up and dropping off Lowb and Ash (Katie and Cullen) there. I decided the hostel was to dirty/moldy for me so we didn't stay. We went to the Homeplace Restaurant for lunch. It's AYCE family style so they bring out bowels of fried chicken ham slices roast beef slices, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy biscuits, baked beans and cole slaw. AND some real good peach cobbler with Ice cream. Eating good food made us both feel better. We drove to Daleville to get a hotel and figure out the pack situation. Since my hips, shoulders and lower back bones were so bruised and swollen I would take my Moms custom padded external frame pack. It fit well enough and wouldn't hurt me further
Date: 2013-06-03
From: hotel

To: Catawba mtn Shelter
Miles today: 7.9

The climb went up immediately which was good because it kept my thoughts of leaving my dog. I crossed a footbridge after a very nice looking campsite on pine needles next to the creek. I was lost in a daze as I came around a bend in the trail and almost ran into a COW that was directly on the trail. I looked at it and said "MOVE"!! it took a few steps back, I said MOOOOVE! and it took a few more steps back. It was staring me down daring me to ask it to move again, so I went around it. Marathon Jon and the German guy caught up to me as I went over another stile. Stiles usually meant Fields so sure enough, sunny grassy fields. And of course it was uphill.   It was almost 10am and already really hot! I took my time because I was only doing 8 miles today. I ran into Slow n Steady and Pantry as they were slack packing south back to 4 pines hostel. I crossed VA311 which was surprisingly busy. The trail became much easier because it was a touristy trail 3.9 miles to McAffee Knob. It was wide mostly free of rocks and they had put bridges over the slanted rocks. I stopped at the first shelter (boyscout shelter)to check it out and sigh the register. It'd been built in honor of a thru hiker that had committed suicide later in life. There wasn't a reliable water source there so after lingering for a bit I moved on. It started sprinkling so I quickened my pace. I passed a very slow dripping pipe and hoped that wasn't the water source for the shelter, it was. I was the only one there having arrive at 1:45. I set up my bed to take a nap but snuggles and lazyboy stopped in. We chatted fro a bit and they moved on. I journaled til dinnertime, then got water from the tiny pool. I'm glad I dept my pump filter because this pool would've been hard to dip a water bottle in. I heard several day hikers pass by but none came to the shelter. I made dinner, hummimg to myself. I wasn't scared of bears or critters, I just didn't want to be alone. I'd lost my friends, sent my dog home and hadn't seen or talked to more than a few hikers that day. I was pretty bummed as i got in bed, ready to spend the night alone in a shelter.Just then at 8:15 Storytime rolled in an decided to stay in the shelter. Yay! I wasn't going to spend the night alone. We chatted some and when I went to bed at 9, I felt a little better. When I woke up at 6:30 he was cooking away from the shelter and picnic table. He didn't want to make noise to wake me up. Storytime was probably one of the most considerate hikers I've met so far. on the trail. I don't think I left til just before 8 but I just had a short day. day
Date: 2013-06-06
From: Daleville hotel

To: Daleville hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I just sat around my hotel room, journaling, waiting for Reddup's husband to arrive to take us all to the Homeplace Restaurant. Cozy was updating her blog and Reddup was knitting. I had part of my bbq sandwich and hushpuppies leftovers for lunch. Tony (reddup's husband) finally arrived and took us to the shopping center for some errands then onto the Homeplace Restaurant. The food was a delicious spread, complete with cherry cobbler with ice cream. Redup was happy she got some chicken and we all left there feeling fat and happy. We passed a Gander Mountain store on the way back but didn't go into it. This night, I went to bed on time and tried to sleep in til 7. I didn't tire of a waffle and donuts for breakfast.