morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-04-19
From: (28) Spring Mtn Shelter

To: (29) Rector Laurel
Miles today: 24.6

I set out at an easy pace to test my now tightly wrapped ankle. The tendon on the top of my foot had been giving me pain when extended, but the wrap has prevented this. I eventually quickened my pace as I was feeling no pain. The day was hot, so I stopped at a shelter for water. There i read in the log that Helm (he sails), who had gone ahead through the Smokies when I went into Gatlinburg, had been there a few hours earlier. This meant I would likely catch him. At last, somebody i actually knew!Unfortunately, I decided to drink my fill of water at a nearby spring before heading on (i carry little to no water and instead drink lots when i come across it), and when I did the filter fell out of the bottle and broke, so i am no longer filtering water, nor do i plan on doing so in the future. I am confident that the water bubbling out of the mountain springs is clean, and I can always boil water in a pinch. In addition, many experienced hikers do not bother with such things, and I expect my body will build immunities. At the worst, I will get sick and have diarrhea for a few days, a risk i am willing to take to save time, money, and weight. (Roll the dice, I am all in).Going along with my busted filter, my spoon has also died on me, having snapped the night before, so I am now scrapping food into my mouth with a stick. I can't wait to find an outfitter so i can buy a second pair of socks, and now, a spoon.After getting back on the trail, I caught up to Helm around 3, and hiked the rest of the day with him. Helm hikes big days like me, so i think we will partner up (he is hiking for another 23 days I believe). We found a nice camping place by a stream, and i hung up the fly of my hammock between two trees, but not the hammock itself. Instead i slept on the ground under the fly, to see if tarping is the direction i want to go to save more weight.I unwrapped my ankle at the end of the night, which was very painful due to the many leg hairs that were imbedded in the sticky tape. My ankle feels fine, even after hiking that day¢s 24.6 miles through rocky terrain. (Sometimes climbing over rock faces taller than I, you would never guess it was the trail).
Date: 2011-04-20
From: (29) Rector Laurel

To: (30) No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It sprinkled some last night, but i was dry under the rainfly. Perhaps i will purchase a lightweight fly tarp as a shelter and ditch the hammock to save a pound, but we'll see. Shortly after setting out, it began to rain on Helm and I, so we put on our pack covers and continued. Overall, we faced some pretty tough conditions during the day. In addition to several hours of rain we encountered a rollercoaster (section of trail with many ups and downs), followed by a mountain similar to Max Patch with strong winds, a section of woods full of flowers that resembled the Great Smokies, several mountains of steep and rocky terrain, and finally back into spring and pine forest. It was an interesting day, and summed up many of the AT's different environments thus far.Around midday we stopped at a shelter for lunch. A strange guy was already there and had been for hours because he refused to hike in the rain (but it had stopped raining ages ago...). I still had not acquired a spoon, so I made my mashed potatoes extra watery and squeezed them out of the bag and into my mouth, much like icing a cake. Then i ate a second bag of instant mashed potatoes completely dry, which made me feel sick (in a bloated kind of way). Helm had his usual, chocolate bars and peanut butter wrapped in a tortilla shell like a burrito (five star trail food, my potatoes would have been lucky to get one star or even reach the menu of a truck stop, so naturally i was jealous).We continued hiking, and around 7 reached "No Business Knob Shelter", a total of 26.3 miles (second marathon of the week, muhuhahahahaha!). The shelter was full, and we had caught word of thunderstorms, so I pitched my hammock and tied the rainfly to nearby trees so that it could not budge (staking to the ground is a fruitless effort when it rains, as the wind will pull them out of the saturated soil). Later Helm and I made plans to spend the next day in the town of Erwin, where we could split the cost of a motel and have a good ol' time. (As for my ankle, it still hurts, but hey! No Pain No Rain No Main! I'll see ya up north.)
Date: 2011-04-21
From: (30) No Business Knob Shelter

To: (31) Erwin Tennessee
Miles today: 6.3

Helm and I woke early to hike so we would have more time in town, and we hiked quickly, passing many people (having no water and eaten all of my food, my pack was super light and i ran the last mile!). During our hike we met two other hikers of our age, who agreed to split the cost of the motel with us 4 ways, making it super cheap! At the road crossing there was a shuttle leaving from "Uncle Johnny's" outfitter into town, but we did not think much of the man after he ignored us in his store (still no socks or spoon), so we refused to give him any business. Helm was happy with this choice because he has never hitch hiked before, and i was happy because a goal of mine is to never pay for a ride into town. We started walking, and were soon picked up by a lady who lives in the area. She showed us where the motel was in town, and then dropped us off at a BP where we bought breakfast (i had lasagna). Along with my breakfast, i received a cheap plastic spoon, so for the time being check that off of my list!We got a room in the motel, which was decent, and then went to the dollar store and grocery store to resupply our food (i bought tortilla shells, chocolate, and peanut butter; two bags of peanut M&Ms and a bag of walnuts to mix as trail mix, pop tarts, cereal bars, jerky, fig newtons, oatmeal, and other high calorie/carb high protein combos). Once back in the room i decided to break down my gear. I cut out the inside pocket of my pack to save weight (i don't use it), some plastic buckles on my rain pants, a few tags, and more. Altogether several ounces of junk that serves no use, so why carry it? I threw out the water bottle that held the filter, and replaced it with a soda bottle, saving several ounces as well. Then I picked out my winter gear such as gloves and hat, toe nail clippers, extra box of matches, and rain jacket to mail home (rain jacket to be replaced by trash bag with arm holes). Then i went even farther and cut my guidebook in half (up to PA) to mail home, saving even more space and weight. (I¢ll pick this second half up when i walk past home). The last thing i did, after receiving peer pressure from Helm, was cut my toothbrush in half. All in all, I had to have saved at least 2 and 1/2 pounds if not 3 (This weight reduction will result in a higher average of daily miles, or i want my crap back!).After mailing everything home, I hit up the public library where i now type. I am sorry to say that this computer, like the others, will not accept my camera photos to upload. I will keep trying; at the latest i will upload them when i hit Maryland.
Date: 2011-04-22
From: (31) Erwin Tennessee

To: (32) Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 26.2
Weather: light rain

Yesterday, after leaving the library, I went to the Huddle House and ordered/ate the biggest breakfast meal they had. I was still hungry, so I went to McDonalds and ordered two sandwiches and ate them both. Then I went to the motel and was still hungry, so I ate an entire block of Colby jack cheese. Still not satisfied, I had a bowl of Helm's ice cream (it was his birthday), some carrots, and a bunch of fig newtons. Hiking 10+ hours a day 7 days a week has turned my stomach into a bottomless pit!Bloated, I went to the dollar store and bought trash bags for, *gasp* a dollar. I punched out a head whole and two arm holes in one of the bags, and then reinforced these holes with tape. I stepped back; my new ultra-light rain coat was completed!Today Helm and I awoke early and to get some breakfast. We had reinforced our shoes to give them some extra miles, and while we ate the lights glinted off of our duct tape covered feet. It was cold out, but Helm insisted that we would not be able to hitch a ride if I was wearing a trash bag, so I had to shiver it out until we were picked up.Once on the trail, it started to rain, which lasted throughout the morning. It was rough weather, but no match for my shiny new trash bag! The ladies love my trash bag rain gear, and I can tell that Helm is jealous. It is light, strong, affordable, and great for separating recyclables. While hiking, Helm and I discussed the town of Damscus, Virginia. We (currently on the NC/TN border) had heard that the section of trail leading into Damascus is the flattest on the AT, and that some people have pulled 40+ mile days! Helm had even talked to one individual, Sundance, who claimed to have done 50 miles on a previous thru hike! Obviously we are planning on setting our hike up for the potential 50 miler, though we are not sure yet. More details to come, but it looks like we are going to decrease our miles before the big day, and then launch out of wherever 50 miles from Damascus is. We would start early, and travel as light as possible. Talk of this died when we reached a shelter after 26.2 miles of hiking. Several inhabitants were already there, including two hikers by the names of Hot Sauce (carries hot sauce) and Green Bean (green sleeping bag). They were the two most hilarious hikers I have yet met on the trail. They kept going on about how they had formed a fellowship of the ring on the trail, and that Green Been is going to get killed somewhere in Virginia, and that they lost the hiker "Brown" who was their brown wizard, but that he would likely show up again as the white wizard. He told Helm and I that since we were fast we would break off from the group as Sam and Frodo and that we should go ahead with the ring. It was a fun night.
Date: 2011-04-23
From: (32) Clyde Smith Shelter

To: (33) Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 23.0

In the morning I went to take down my food bag from where I had hung it in the shelter so that the mice couldn't get it. Hot Sauce's bag was hanging on the same rope, and when I untied my bag his dropped like a rock, breaking his bottle of hot sauce (oh sweet irony). We are no longer sure what to call him. (Green Been later avenged his friend by knocking Helm's cooking pot onto the ground and stating that he had gotten one of us)While hiking, Helm and I passed Green Hat, which is becoming a regular occurrence for me, since I have been passing him on and off since Georgia (he started the same day). Green Hat has a different style of hiking than Helm and I. He starts out super early but hikes slowly, passing me while I sleep. Then I wake up and hike fast, passing him. By the end of the day I will have finished more miles, so the next day I pass Green Hat at an earlier time. But whenever I am about to get a full day ahead, I have to stop at a town and he catches up completely, so I never get an entire day ahead nor he behind (my town days are lengthened by the necessity of finding a library and typing up my increasingly overwhelming stack of trail journals I write every night, each one more brilliant than the last...).Helm and I climbed some high mountains today, the highest being Mt Roan at some 6,000 feet. This bump in the road was followed by several grass enveloped mountains with scattered boulders and shrub like trees on them that reminded me of an African Safari, and went on long enough to half convince me that they were. We ended at Apple House Shelter, a total of 23 miles. There we built a large fire, made complete by a giant stump I rolled down a nearby mountain. There was another hiker with us named Metric (a German), and he showed Helm how to make his own alcohol stove out of soda cans.Helm and I ended the night by planning out our big day into Damascus. We will tapper down our mileage, doing 19 tomorrow and 6 the next, ending at a hostel. This will line us up perfectly for the 50. I still have months of hiking to go, so if I get the slightest sign of an injury I will stop, but the full 50 is well within mine and Helm's capability, and even with an injury we could peg leg it to 40.
Date: 2011-04-24
From: (33) Apple House Shelter

To: (34) Moreland Gap Shelter/ a field
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

Happy Easter!!! Helm, Metric and I all slept in until 8, which felt great after weeks of rising with the sun. We later regretted this though, because it meant more hours of hiking in the unforgiving heat. I had ripped off the sleeves of my t-shirt and burnt them the night before to save weight, and so my arms were quick to burn. Around 12 I saw a sign pointing down a side trail that promised a waterfall (large, by the sound of the roaring), so Helm and I decided to go there and have lunch. The waterfall turned out to be a fantastic 100 footer, and I spent half an hour climbing it. (I took a picture at the top, to prove that I made it)After the falls we continued on to the next shelter. As usual, I was not carrying any water to save weight, and was soon parched. There was lots of water around, and even a large river, but it was all surrounded by fields, which makes drinking the water risky because of farm animals and runoff (stupid Helm and his purification drops¢¦). We reached a shelter a few hours later and had a second lunch with a group of thru hikers, including Metric, and an energetic kid named ¢Do what?¢. I drank a lot of water and began feeling much better. Helm and I stayed in the shade of the shelter until the brunt of the heat had passed, and then hiked the remaining miles to the next shelter, a total of 19.1 miles. This shelter was occupied by a small group already, and we all ate supper together on the shelter¢s picnic table, and then hung out and talked. As for our big day into Damascus, my ankle is hurting (the right one this time) and Helm has knee pain, but tomorrow is an easy day so we¢ll see!
Date: 2011-04-27
From: (36) Damascus

To: (37) Damascus Virginia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Helm and I awoke with sore muscles but no injuries. In fact, we could both walk around just fine! News of our epic 50 mile day traveled fast, and I was approached countless times throughout the day by hikers asking if I was Lemur and if we had really done it. I felt like a living legend. As Helm put it, we were ¢Rock Stars!¢ After getting the hiker¢s special breakfast at a gas station, we did our usual resupply and chores. My shoes and socks were utterly destroyed, so I went to the outfitter where I bought two pairs of socks and was given some new shoe insoles for free. I also got a spoon (finally), and a 6x8 silnylon tarp. The tarp weighs 10oz and is my new shelter; I have mailed the hammock home. With the rectangular tarp and some cord I can make a simple survival shelter, using a piece of construction Tyvek as my ground cloth. I plan on doing this in emergencies, like if I can¢t reach a trail shelter and it looks like rain (this idea was originally put into my ahead by Portrait back in NC, and later reinforced by a SERE instructor).For lunch, Helm and I ate pizza at Quincy¢s with a mess of other hikers, including Porter and Pace who we had met during the 50. We stayed there for a few hours and had a good time. For supper we decided to take up the offer of a trail angel, and squeezed into the back of his truck with a bunch of other hikers. The angel¢s house was a neat place, with pigs and goats and dogs running around the yard amongst maybe 20 hikers feasting on lasagna, bread, salad, and ice cream. I recognized many of the other hikers from the hostel and from lunch at Quince¢s. I saw that Porter (who is a school teacher) had bleached his black hair to a red-ish blond, because he wanted to shock his wife and ¢where else other then the trail can I get away with it?¢Helm and I had originally planned on hiking 10 miles to the next shelter, but by the end of the day decided against it. We were unsure how strong our bodies were under the surface, and there was also a storm coming in that promised tornadoes and golf ball sized hail. Playing it safe, we retired to our bunks in the hostel, and I had my first zero-day.(Damascus was a nice town with everything a hiker could ask for, but no cell service, UGHHH!!!)
Date: 2011-04-28
From: (37) Damascus Virginia

To: (38) Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 28.8
Weather: light rain

Last night the storm shook the entire Hostel, so Helm and I were glad to have not been tenting. In the morning we went to get breakfast, but a guy walking down the street told us the power was out, and that a Wendy¢s down the street had collapsed killing seven people.¢Ah man¢ said Helm. ¢So I guess that means no breakfast?¢¢What is wrong with you?¢ I laughed. ¢Seven people died and you¢re sad about missing breakfast?¢¢I really wanted some blueberry pancakes" he answered.Helm and I would later learn that the storm had actually been a series of tornadoes in that area of the south, and that over 130 people had died. Fortunately for us, Damascus had been largely spared.         The rest of the day was the usual hiking, and other then sore feet we felt quite fine despite our previous 50 miler. Virginia itself did not yet look any different from North Carolina or Tennessee, but we were at a high elevation so the view was nice. At one point I stopped to fill my water bottle in a spring, but the flow was no good so I turned to fill my bottle a little lower only to discover another hiker peeing into it, thus thwarting my efforts to obtain clean water. I rushed ahead and filled my bottle in another spring before anyone could pee in it too! Helm and I eventually had to stop and sit down to give our aching feet a rest, and we ended up discussing whether or not shoes keep our feet healthy or made them weak. Helm informed me that shoes were invented for war by the Romans, because ¢it is a lot easier to hack somebody¢s arm off when you don¢t have to look where you are stepping.¢ So anyway, that¢s why we wear shoes, to help us hack each others arms off.        At last we arrived at Thomas Knob Shelter, a mighty 28.8 miles out of town, and we were later joined by Green Hat. Hungry and freezing cold, I went to get water from a spring down a hill to cook when I discovered a herd of wild ponies grazing. I got Helm and together we investigated more closely, taking some fantastic pictures and even petting one of them before it ran away.        Helm and I are now well into Virginia, a state that is as long as the rest of the states that I have already completed put together. I have decided that I am going to attempt to do the Virginia challenge, which is to try and hike the entire state in 30 days or less. This will mean being more consistent with my big days, but I know I can do it.
Date: 2011-04-29
From: (38) Thomas Knob Shelter

To: (39) Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: broken clouds

Last night around 2am everyone was woken up by those blasted ponies. They were looking for salt, and had come over to lick the shelter and our gear. The ponies were tremendously noisy for their small size, and kept us up for much of the night until we scared them off with our flash lights. (I've had better nights in a frat house!) The next morning was below freezing and windy, but I have grown used to the cold. I headed out in shorts, and rounded the corner of the tree line to find those infernal ponies again. The insomniacs were still at it, noisily munching away at grass without the least bit of consideration for their neighbors who might be sleeping. I hope a bear eats them all.The view that morning was unreal. The sky was full of dark clouds with streaks of light shining through, and as far as I could see was a grassy landscape dotted with boulders, rock outcroppings, pine trees, and small mountains. Much to my pleasure, the trail winded through the best of this. As is our routine, Helm and I caught up to and passed Green Hat. Then we met and talked to some hikers who had been in a motel during the big storm two days ago. They said a tornado had ripped the roof off of their room and that they had spent the night under the stars!The rest of the day consisted of mundane and uneventful hiking, and Helm and I passed few people. I remember that an experienced English thru hiker named Charlie had told Helm that at the rate we were going we would pass the bulk of the March 1st thru hikers by Damascus. Charlie was right. The people on the trail were spread thin, and most we talked to had started in early March. I believe we have reached the front of the condensed thru hiker pack, which is a lonely thought. There are still plenty of hikers ahead of us of course who hike a respectable pace, but hardly the crowds we had once enjoyed. We arrived at the shelter at 6, after 25.1 miles. A lady named Gypsy was there, and Green Hat later joined us. The shelter had a fireplace, so Helm and I collected tons of wood for a cheerful night around the fire. I did the math for the Virginia Challenge then. Virginia, according to my book, is 548 miles long. We have been in the state for four days, counting the end of the 50 miler and our zero day. In order to accomplish the challenge, I will have to do roughly 20 miles a day on average (Helm will be gone). I think I can do it.
Date: 2011-04-30
From: (39) Trimpi Shelter

To: (40) Crawfish Valley
Miles today: 27.5

Helm, Green Hat (also now going by Wakarusa, a nearby river where he grew up in Kansas), and I awoke at 6 today for an early start. Helm, who had slept beside the fireplace, fell asleep before throwing more wood on (we were toasty anyway), so we left a neat stack of logs for the next weary travelers.Virginia holds many new and beautiful sights for us, the thru hikers. It is spring here and therefore not uncommon to come across a valley full of flowering trees and bushes, or rolling green hills full of feeding cattle. I enjoy these segments, despite the occasional step into cow pooh.At three Helm and I came to a road intersection near the town of Atkins. There was an Exxon nearby, so we joyfully went in to resupply (sometimes I have to stop and marvel at how excited we get over such ordinary things. We went into the serenity of the woods only to blow past ¢yet another waterfall¢ but will gawk mindlessly at the wonders of a truck stop). The Exxon had hiking food such as freeze dried rice and pop tarts, but since they had the market cornered they were able to double their prices. As a result (of my stubbornness), I did not buy enough food to last me to Pearisburg some 3 and 12 days away, and will have to find another resupply along the way (or eat a lot of wild onion and dandelion, Bleck!).Helm and I then went into a restaurant called ¢The Barn¢, cleverly named after its last occupation as (you guessed it) a barn. Helm ordered two meals and a desert, because he wanted to gain us some extra time to let our phones charge in a nearby wall outlet. We were also waiting on Green Hat, whom we had promised to buy food for at the Exxon should it close before his arrival. We meant it too, seeing as Green Hat was down to his last few candy bars (an empty stomach out here can make days seem like weeks; it is no fun). Fortunately, the Exxon turned out to be open 24 hours, so after eating we left and continued to hike.We ended at Crawfish Valley Campsite for a total of 27.5 miles (Virginia challenge? Don¢t make me laugh). The campsite was overflowing with hikers, much to our surprise. Helm speculated that this was probably because the site had the only stream for several miles in either direction, so everyone in range pushed or held back to end there. I found some trees and set up my 10oz tarp for the first time by tying it between two trees with some cord and then using my piece of tyvek (think waterproof paper) as a ground cloth. It certainly was not the best, and hardly would have passed a wilderness survival course, but it gave me ideas and the motivation to greatly improve it from then on. After dark we were joined by Green Hat. He had successfully resupplied.