morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-08
From: Campsite N of Abbington Gap Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: clear sky

Another good weather day even though I only have about 6 miles to Damascus. I slept well last night on a tent site that hadn¢t been used a lot lately. The ground was soft and level while I was good and tired. I¢m up and ready to hike about 7 in the morning, rolling up my tent (the last thing I do) when a section hiker, Black Wolf, with his beautiful golden retriever stop by for a visit. (This guy is quite the talker) and after chatting for a few minutes I¢m on the Trail hiking by 7:30.It¢s an easy walk into Damascus where I arrive a little before 10. As I walk through the park where the Trail Days festivities will take place there is little activity and not much set up yet. I stop to unload some trash, and instead trying to make it back to my camper, I head out to the highway north of town to hitch a ride down to Hampton to get the Blazer. Since the Trail goes all the way out here I have probably done more miles than the 6 listed above. On the way I stop for a late breakfast at the Old Barn¢¦pretty good and not that expensive. I asked the proprietor if I could chain my ten speed bike here tomorrow when I return to the Trail. She graciously said to go ahead and chain it to the outdoor grill around the side of the building.After hitching for ten minutes or so, I get picked up by Larry Toms and his wife who are visiting from NC on a short vacation. I have been so, so lucky in hitching rides. Larry happens to be going into Hampton and drops me off right at the door of my Blazer I parked at Browns market. Since, we actually changed routes on the way I really lucked out. Not only that, but Larry is into hiking and on the way we have a great discussion. He has done some backpacking and would like to do more if he can keep his back from bothering him. I recommended the section I did the last 3 days¢¦perfect for a ¢tentative¢ hiker with plenty of ¢bail out points.¢ Drove back to the campground, got cleaned up and went to the grocery store. For dinner, I ate some leftovers in the RV and turned in early. In the morning I will ride my bike 3 miles back to The Old Barn, have breakfast and return to the Trail and keep hiking while the weather holds out.
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Damascus

To: Campsite just past vacated house
Miles today: 18.6

Weather: Warmest day so far this outing after a nice cool morning¢¦felt like the upper 80¢s. Some clouds and breezy towards evening.There is a nice bike trail into town from Iron Horse campground. At the last minute the other day as I was leaving the house, I decided to strap my old 10 speed on the back of my Blazer even though its tires had been flat for years. I put air in them when I arrived at the campground and they held. So this morning I rode to breakfast with my pack on my back and the poles on the rear carrier. It was a chilly ride into Damascus but only for a few minutes.As I was hiking out of Damascus (1,928¢) it warmed up gradually and I started climbing. By 11, I had done six miles and the sun was hot. I was thinking how glad I was to get some climbing out of the way early. I stopped briefly at both shelters Saunders and Lost Mountain (both 3,100¢).Again today, I passed only a few people and did no real socializing until I stopped for the night at around five. I really didn¢t want to stop this early but I have a long climb up Whitetop Mountain ahead. The next 10 miles have only a few places to camp, at least places with a spring.When I came to this campsite someone had already pitched a tent on the level area next to the spring. It took me awhile but I found a pine needle bed on a slight angle in the pine grove...decent place to pitch my Nomad Lite.I joined two guys who were having dinner on the front porch on the shaded side of the old abandoned house. We got into a great conversation that lasted until we turned in around dusk. They are Circuit Rider and Sherlock¢¦two Christian ministers on their 4th thru-hike, I believe.   Really cool guys, even if they are ministers¢¦very intelligent and not at all ¢overbearing.¢ In fact, I was the one that prompted the religious discussion when I told them about it being a topic on Whiteblaze.com (which they have yet to visit on the internet.) When it started to get a little chilly I decided to hop in by bag for another great night¢s sleep. I have really gotten used to sleeping in my tent and actually look forward to it. I don¢t think I¢ll ever get used to trail food¢¦I¢ll always look forward to eating in town.
Date: 2005-05-10
From: Campsite just past vacated house

To: Campsite below Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 26.8
Weather: light rain

Weather: Cloudy and warm with rain threatening off and on and expecially towards evening.The mileage above is correct¢¦and 26.8 miles is my longest day backpacking. I heard about this new shelter and wanted to make it that far (even though I¢m tenting.)I was up and out before Sherlock and Circuit Rider. It only took me about an hour to climb Whitetop via the longest switchbacks I can remember on the AT.Had a real pleasant surprise mid morning¢¦ran into Gnome Sharpa hiking SOBO into Damascus for Trail Days with a couple of his friends. I first met Gnome Sherpa last year in Maine when I was hiking with Charlie and he was working on his thru-hike. Great young man and he even remembered my name. And, one of his friends remembered meeting Charlie and me last year in Maine.I must be living right. As I was crossing Grayson Highlands after seeing a few ponies, it got darker and darker while I could see lightning and hear thunder moving in. I made it to Wise Shelter (where Charlie, Liteshoe and I stayed overnight in ¢03) and was able to get my water from the spring there just before the heavy downpour hit. In the shelter waiting for it to pass was I met a young man, Curly, who is thru-hiking this year. Sherlock and Circuit Rider were not so lucky and came in about 5 minutes into the storm. Everyone hiked on after it passed¢¦I was the first one out around 2:30.I stopped around five at Old Orchard shelter and had supper. It was full with a group of young weekend hikers who acted like they were also moving on after supper. Curly and I caught up with each other several times as we were both planning to stop at the same place.At VA603 a thru-hiker from the year 2000, Soleman , and his wife were handing out trail magic. I had one can of soda while Curly showed up and was able to ¢reenergize¢ himself with some snacks¢¦I think I heard him say he was running low on food and was pretty hungry.I got in just before dark and pitched my tent immediately thinking it was going to rain any minute. It held off until 9 or so but rained enough that I¢ll be packing up a wet tent in the morning¢¦I need the experience cause whenever it rained or threatened rain during my thru-hike (which seemed like every day) I stayed in a shelter. BTW, great level tent site along the babbling brook. This being my longest day¢¦I¢m tired and will sleep well tonight.
Date: 2005-05-12
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

Thursday May 12thAfter breakfast and laundry I drove out to where the Trail crosses next to the Dairy Queen at Adkins. There were lots of hikers mulling around and it wasn¢t hard to find four that needed a ride back to Damascus.Later that afternoon I drove back to Adkins, but returned by making a loop, first stopping at the Mt Rogers NRA Hdqtrs and continuing via Troutdale and Dickey Gap back to Damascus. There was no one left who needed a ride. At Mt. Rogers Hdqtrs I ran into Sherlock & Circuit Rider plus a few others. Since I didn¢t take the opportunity day before yesterday to order a pizza, I hung around with them where we had pizza delivered to us at the gate.Trail Days May 13th, 14th, 15thMore hikers than ever showed up this year. Great to meet up with and have a beer with Wicked Wizard, Lucky, Snail, and Cosmo from my thru hike. Later, finally met up with Goldberry (who I believe is now known as GBX) and Tang. We all had pizza downtown compliments of Backpacker Magazine.Got to meet Lion King and picked up a copy of his video for $20. Bought myself a Packa and two pair of new gaiters (I wanted to try both out).There was a gathering of Whiteblaze participants on Saturday morning at a local bar. Nice to put faces with names of those who regularly participate in forum discussions about hiking and anything else. A heavy downpour occurred just as the hiker parade was to take place, so they tried to cancel it. Us hikers, who were all gathered at the head of the parade route just waited for it to let up and held our own parade. The parade is actually a big water fight between the hikers marching in the parade and the onlookers along the parade route. All kinds of water pistols, pump guns, buckets, tubs, etc. are used to douse others¢¦especially those dry unsuspecting bystanders. It is always great fun.Great to see some hiking friends again like Skittles, Footslogger, Stumpknocker and CuppaJoe but missed Liteshoe who couldn¢t make it this year. Skittles may join me to hike the Colorado Trail this summer.Talking to Zipdrive it seems I should have started a new journal for my AT 2005 miles instead of adding the ¢05 entries to the ¢04 journal. He said we could fix it later. I¢m going home to Ohio now to take Julia on vacation and take care of a few things. Don¢t know if I¢ll return to the AT this year as I'll be heading to Colorado in July.
Date: 2003-03-14
To: Amicalola Falls Lodge
Miles today: 0.0

I'm excited. The general sense of apprehension that I had on the trip here is gone. The brooding fear that I had neglected some important detail is no more! Now I'm excited.The Train arrived 4.5 hours late at Gainsville, so I knew that I would not start the approach trail today. I got a cab to take me to tha Amicalola Falls Lodge. I could hardly understand the drivers accent and I suspect visa-versa. He smoked trip long,pinching the filters from the cheap ["11$ a carton"] Canadian cigarettes. We stopped so that he could visit with his daughter, get coffe for him, get gas for the cab, and play the Lotto [twice] He had a load of stories as best as I could tell about various hikers that he had driven to the AT, designed I suspect to impress and terrify all future potential AT hikers. Stories of wind storms with helicopter evacuations, broken limbs and other terrifying tails. He did however manage to get lost once we reached Amicalola Falls S.P.The Lodge is a modern four story hotel on top of the falls. There were a bunch of AT hikers in the lobby, some of whome were starting out like me in the AM. Since check in time wasent untill 4PM, I left the pack in the lobby and walked down the 500+ steps by the falls. Very impressive. At the bottom I visited the Visitors Center and signed in on the register. I was relieved to see other hikers with pack weights of 60+ pounds. At 47 pounds and 225 pounds body weight I dident look so bad.I decieded to take the approach trailback up to the Lodge. Rained intermittantly. Very steep climb back up to the Lodge for a flatlander like me, but I felt good enough to go for a 1/2 hour hike North of the lodge on the blue blazed trail. Soon passed a side trail ,to Ken Foot Hike Inn. Came across some people camping on a high impact area of the trail. Returned impressed by the ups and downs of a very switchbacked and serious trail. Currently back in the Lodge in room 409. Plan an early breakfast and a start on the remaining 7.5 miles of the approach trail to Springer. Forcast is for rain- nad cold.
Date: 2003-03-15
From: Amicalola Falls Lodge

To: Stover Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: light rain

First day on the actual trail completed. The approach trail to Springer was very tough with a lot of vertical gain in a short distance. It started out wet and showery but gradualy cleared up and I did not have to put on the full rain gear. There were two people ahead of me for most of the morning- an old man and his younger companion. I passed them after a few hours and felt good untill I was passed in turn by about 10-12 other hikers- so in truth I realy am a sSlow Walker. I got to the top of Springer mountain which is the official start of the trail at 1.10PM. There was a crowd of approx. 20 people on the top along with a Ridge Runner who gave us all some very good pointers on Low Impact Camping. The shelter at Springer Mountain was already full- so I hiked the 2.5 miles here to Stovers Creek. I was the 3rd hiker to arrive here and now there are a total of 8 of us, so I count myself luckey to be among the 5 who are in the shelter.I am feeling pretty good after the first day but still think that I have overpacked and am carrying too much weight. Currently it is close to 6PM and it is still light. A good first day- 10 miles- only 2.5 on the AT
Date: 2003-03-16
From: Stover Creek Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Just over 12 miles today. It was dark and overcast at first, but it turned out to be a good day. The trail started off nice and easy . I started at 7.30 AM and made great time at first. Then I hit the big climb. Sasssafras was a humdinger. It just never seemed to end. It took forever, a realy tough series of ascents and descents.Was leapfrogging all day with a group called The Kansas City Ladies. They camped out last night and I suspect tonight also. Another hiker called Bridget is realy under the weather with a vey bad cold . She was with us most of the day but finaly decied to camp at Justice Mountain. I cant realy blame her. The sun was shining, it was already 3.30 PM and the camp site had a very nice stream running through it. I was tempted to stay there myself. There is a new bunch of people here at Gooch Mountain. Only the prision guard- who keeps telling funny stories- made it with me from Stover Crek. Some of the group that I met at A.F Lodge are here. They did the smart thing and got a ride to Springer Mountain and never did the appproach trail. No point in doing miles if they dont count. They stayed last night at Hawkes Mountain.I have decied to camp out tonight, The shelter is full and it looks like it will be a nice night. Several people are also camping. Tent went up no problem and I am sitting in it writing with my headlamp on at 7PM in the gloming.12.2 miles to day in 9.5 hours- tough going. I just want to keep it to about 10 miles a day during this stretch.Had my frst experience with a moulding privy here. Worked just great!
Date: 2003-03-19
From: Neels Gap Hostel

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

It REALY rained today. In fact as I am writing this I am in the tent at 6.10PM in the middle of a thunderstorm- thunder, lightning, the whole bit. But to recap... Got up at 6.00AM and was on the trail by 6.45AM. No breakfast- no cooking allowed at Neels Gap hostel. Dident miss it. Rain, rain, and more rain all day long. Very, very muddy. All the repair work and the dry gear of yesterday was undone in the first 30 minutes on the trail. A long hike. On the top of Cowrock Mountain it was bear rock and torrential rains and high winds. Nature was once again putting on quiet an exhibit. I realy had to struggle against the winds, with the rain cover acting as a sail on the pack it was hard to maintain a secure footing on the slick wet rock. I got here at about 2.30PM, only to find the shelter full once again. They said that 30 people had stayed in the shelter or camped there last night. Currently there are 18 people in a 6 person shelter. Everyone wet and muddy. No choice but for me to camp out in the pouring rain. Today I was passed by Noid,Goober and YO-YO. Plugger is here also. Like me he arrived very cold and wet. He is now camped out in his new tent He was able to reduce his pack weight to 28 pounds and is in good spirits. Also here is Chris, a local young hiker who was hiking without a tent or a stove. Despite all advice he left to get to Blood Mountain so that he could get a ride home. I feel good both physicaly and mentaly. Very happy to have this tent. It may weigh 4 pounds, but you can lay out all your wet gear in it, you can sit up in it, and with the vestibule you can even cook comfortably in it , all without getting wet. Cant beat a double wall tent. And I am getting better at pitching it every time!
Date: 2003-03-20
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Tray Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

15 miles today. It took 10.5 hours, but still 15 miles. Very, very foggy all day long. It was so foggy that it was like hiking in a soft rainfall. The kind of rain that in Ireland we would hope would "fall softly on your fields" to ensure a good growth for the crops. The first half of the day was to the Blue Mountain Shelter. Since I was making such good time I decieded that I would try to push on to Tray Mountain. As I now know the second half was much tougher hiking. I got a raw spot on my right shoulder. I think that the cord of the rain jacket got trapped under the the sholder strap of the pack and it has rubbed the spot raw. While hiking it dident seem that much of a problem, and I decieded to continue on. I was surprised that it had turned into a red, raw, blistered area, when I took a carefull look at it here at the end of the day Thing to remember- If something is wrong, fix it at once. It will almost certainly not get better on its own, and it you dont fix it at once it will only get worse. A lesson for the trail and for life! Got a good cell signal at Unicola Gap and spoke with wife Kathy and son Dominic. The country is at war! God help us all. I am in the tent again as the shelter is full. There seemes to be a particular brand of hiker whose major main in life is to race from shelter to shelter to claim space. Or it could be that I have a lot of envy for all those hikers who are faster than I am. After all I am not called Slow Walker for nothing. Fog cleared up after dinner and we got our first good sunset. Hiking in the fog is frusterating, since you always feel that there are great views all around you, but you just cant see a thing. Wayfinding has not been a problem so far, even in the fog. The trail is well trodden- "on the beaten track"- and very well blazed. Currently there is a light wind blowing which I hope will help in drying out the tent and the gear. Everything is damp! 15 miles! and the nation is at war!!
Date: 2003-03-21
From: Tray Mountain Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: scattered clouds

A great day! Wonderfull sunset last night and an even better sunrise this morning. A full moon during the night with starry skies and the lights of Helena twinkling below in the valley.The rain stopped just before sunset. Shelter cleared out early, but I hung around until the sun came out and it turned into a great day with bright sun and temps. in the 50's. Blue skies and bright puffy clouds. Strange how we are so affected by the weather. Why is it that we are so elated when we have sunshine, but not so when it rains? Why do we call sunshine "Good weather" and rain "Bad weather"? Both are equaly needed for Nature to work her ways. Whatever the reasons, I was elated today.An easy 7.1 miles to Deep Gap, but no cell signal today. I arrived here at 2.30PM and lounged around in the sun. I got all of my stuff dried, tent, bag, pad, and rain gear. Mabey that is why we call it "Good weather". This is the life! It's now 6.00PM and Plugger has also arrived in great spirits as usual. There is also a young couple here, both pipe smokers, but it smells like tobacco! The sun has just disappeared over the ridge to the West, but you can still see the sunlight on the hills on the other side of the valley. It's getting cold now that the sun is going down. If evereyday was like today there would be no problems at all. But I suspect that we would begin to complain about the good weather if we had it constsntly. We should focus our attempts to change things on only those things that we have the ability to influence. Complaining about the weather, or the trail, or the shelters, may relieve some deep seated emotional need to complain, but they are what they are, and for today at least, lets accecpt them as they are.Writing now in the cool of the evening after dinner with the smell of pipe smoke reminds me of scenes out of an epic hobbit saga. Current plan is another short day in the AM and to go to Plumborchard Gap.
Date: 2003-03-22
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: broken clouds

Another great day. Started out from Deep Gap at 8AM. Wonderfull weather conditions and I moved along nicely. By 2.30PM I had arrived at the blue blazed trail to Plumborchard Shelter. Since it was so early I decieded to go on to a camp site about 2.5 miles ahead that had water. After about 2 hours I met with 'Noid- which is short for Paranoid- and she told me that I had already passed the camp site which was on a knoll off the trail. I figured that since I had missed it on the way North , I was just as likely to miss it again if I retraced my steps going South. It was about 4.30PM, so I decieded to hike on to the next camp site which was here at Bly Gap.I got here after a 12 mile day at about 4.30PM. There are a bunch of hikers camping here. I crossed into North Carolina just before I got here. There is a marker on a tree and 'Noid took my picture. Got a good cell signal at Dicks Gap and spoke with Kathy. She is following my progress in the Tru Hikers Companion, and tells me that the forcast is good for the next few days. Good news! Put moleskin on both my heels. No blisters but it felt at times today that I was begining to develop a hot spot. Better safe that sorry. Otherwise things are good. Food is hanging from a bood bear tree limb. There is water here , so all is well. The ground does slope down a little and I am slowly sliding down in the tent. Good day. 12 miles.