morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-31
From: long branch shelter

To: winding stair gap
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: light rain

Day 12Long branch shelter to winding stair gap. 7.3 milesWe got picked up at winding stair gap today by a trail angel named Tabasco. We ran that 7.3 miles in about 3 hours. He drove us an hour to his house in Asheville. The four of us (luscious, Cleveland, rainbow bright, and I) got our first showers in 5 days and his wonderful wife cooked us an amazing spaghetti dinner with salad and sweet tea and delicious bread and amazing pecan bars. We ate so much. They invited a thru hiker from the class of 2011 for dinner as well. Baby Ruth. The 6 hikers just sat around chatting and talking shop for hours. It was amazing. We didn't go to bed until after midnight. So late. Probably one of the best days so far. I want more spaghetti right now.
Date: 2013-04-01
From: winding stair gap

To: asheville nc
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 13Asheville NC. 0 milesWe woke up to a breakfast casserole that had cooked in the crockpot all night and fruit salad and coffee and juice. Amazing! Breakfast is the best meal. Tabasco took us to a local outfitter where 2 employees worked on my pack for 2 hours. It had not been properly fitted to me and I had been sold a hip belt that was too small. It had rubbed my hip so raw that it was bleeding. It was really great to have competent people taking care of me. Makes me think much much less of OGE in Burlington. I threw about $1000 at that place getting ready and am constantly disappointed with the product that was sold and the horrible customer service I was given on top of it. I will never give them another dollar. He also took us to REI and we had a great time running around that store. Also very knowledgable employees. I bought a whistle with a thermometer and a compass and a magnifier on it. It was meant for a kid. I love it. When we were done shopping Tabasco dropped us off at a burrito shop where we had the biggest burritos I have ever seen. It was so big that it was extremely difficult to finish. It hurt to finish it, actually. I did finish it but I hurt after. We then broke up our little group to wander around downtown Asheville. Great little town. I could see living there. Tabasco picked us up in the evening and took us home to hamburgers and chips and Watergate salad. I don't know how we managed to eat it but we did. And coffee. I think we all consumed about 5000 calories in the course of 12 hours. Tabasco also took us grocery shopping and we ended up staying up past midnight repacking our lives and getting a bounce box made. Clean laundry is worth it's weight in gold. For sure. Sleep. Must sleep. Tabasco, if you're reading this: kiss your wonderful wife for me. You both are amazing. Thank you so very much.
Date: 2013-04-02
From: asheville nc

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Winding stair gap to wesser bald shelter. I've now made it 131.4 miles into the trail. I'm writing this almost two weeks after the fact and can't really remember much of the details. I find it very difficult to actually write every night. I need to get into the habit. Also, I lost the pages in my guide for that section so I have nothing to jog my memory. I do remember a bit of the day on wayah bald. I had my first trail breakdown. It was late in the evening and the guide felt less than useful and I remember being exhausted. I threw a fit in the middle of the trail when I came across a sign that said I had 5.something more miles to go. I threw my poles and my hat and I laid down on the side of the trail and I cried. After about 10 minutes I was up hiking again. The observation tower at the top was pretty neat. Stone and round. First confirmed glimpse of clingmans dome. I remember from the day going to wesser bald shelter absolutely nothing except actually arriving there. It was at about 730. The shelter was full and we knew rain was coming. We all found places for our tents but just barely. Rainbow bright had to sleep under the bear cables and my spot was a little less than desirable as well. I definitely shooed a few instances of toilet paper off the area and after careful inspection set up my tent. There was a privy on site so my hope was that it was just girls peeing in the woods. I don't want to talk about it anymore. We were in camp for maybe 25 minutes before everyone else put out fires and crawled into tents. Me, rainbow bright and Cleveland all sat around in the dark whispering by ourselves as we made dinner. Somewhere in these miles I also leaned that nobody makes it through the AT without pooping their pants at least once. I've read a trail journal or two and more than one "travel" book on the subject and never heard this. I promise if it happens to me I will make it known. I think this is something that should be told people who dream of doing the trail. I wish I had been told that this is supposedly a reality of trail life.
Date: 2013-04-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Wesser bald shelter to NOC. 5.9 milesWoke up to steady rain. From the shelter to the NOC was all downhill. Miles of it. The cook area under the roof was packed and everyone was grumpy and wet and cold. Who wants to start their day in that mess? I ate and said goodbyes and quickly packed up but was soaked through before I was done. Without looking back I ran down that mountain. I don't have rain pants so I was a little numb on my legs. I didn't want to put my long johns on so I would have something dry to wear when I finally got to the bunkhouse. I fell 3 times on slick mud. It hurt once. My hand was a little banged up. When I got to the NOC I found luscious and we rented a bunkroom, got into dry clothes and snaked on cookies and jerky waiting for Cleveland and rainbow bright. The NOC is a multi building conglomerate that seems to cater to kayakers and hikers. It has restaurants and bunk houses and an outfitter and a train ride and a general store and a zip line and once that have you, you spend money. The restaurant was awesome. Or I have the hunger. Either way I paid a lot of money for food. Great food. That night they showed deliverance for free on their little movie screen. I had never seen it before. Drunk hikers screaming at the movie sort of ruined the effect but great flick. Jumping back out after breakfast. Long uphill in the morning. Miles of it.
Date: 2013-03-10
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

New 2013 AT hiking plans are in the works. I've decided to continue section hiking the AT north from where I last left it at Atkins, VA in Oct-2012. So the immediate plan is hop a Greyhound bus to Marion, VA right after Easter weekend. Atkins, VA is just a short drive up US-11 from Marion, VA, where I will get back on the AT at the Barn Restaurant. The Greyhound bus ride from Panama City, FL to Marion, VA is about 24 hours. Winter training has gone real well, I did an Ocala NF e2e section hike on the Fla Trail in February. Meantime, I've been fine tuning gear and clothing to shave some ounces. Until later, this 2013 AT Journal is hereby begun.
Date: 2013-03-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Continuing preparation for the hike here at home and reading some Trail Journals of northbounders that have already started, some really interesting journals. They are enduring some lousy weather this spring. This is crazy this late in March to get these winter storms along the east coast.  Supposed to start warming up next week.I've decided to drive my car up and leave it at The Barn restaurant just north of Atkins, VA. Planning to leave first week of April.
Date: 2013-04-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Wrapping up stuff here at home the last week or so, getting gear, clothes and food together and a couple mail drops ready to send off.   Ordered a few new gear/clothing items the last couple weeks, and I'm waiting on a delivery tomorrow. Last minute decisions on the "what ifs".... do I need this? do I need that? is it worth the extra 3 or 4 ounces? all part of the adventure and this is what makes it so much fun!
Date: 2013-04-04
To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Thursday April 4th. Drove from PC Beach, FL to Marion, VA.   Raining the entire way, temperatures falling as I head north. Raining and 42 degrees when I went thru Atlanta. When I arrive in Marion, VA off I-81 late Thursday night, there's snow and ice on the ground. It looks like a surprise late winter storm has hit SW Virginia. I'm staying at the Econo Lodge in Marion, VA tonite. Friday morning, I will get breakfast here in Marion, then drive the 15-20 minutes up US-11 to the Barn Restaurant in Atkins tomorrow morning, park my car at The Barn and start hiking the AT north. I wasn't exactly expecting snow, but what the heck this makes it more interesting. I'm also wondering what thru hikers I will meet tomorrow.
Date: 2013-04-05
From: Groseclose/Atkins, VA (I - 81)

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: overcast clouds

After checking out of the Econo Lodge in Marion and breakfast at McDonalds, I drove up at The Barn restaurant around 10 a.m.   There's 3-5 inches of snow on the ground here with ice on the roads. Temps in the low 30s.   Long range forecast is warming temps for month of April.  But I expect some cold days/nights over this hike. Parked the car, locked it up, and started hiking north on the AT. It's a wet snow, lots of slush, very slippery and wet. Met "Travis", a northbound thru hiker, around mid-day. Travis is from Houston, TX, and started at Springer Mtn in mid February, tells me stories about the snow and horrible trail conditions that he's endured so far. Finally arrive at the 2nd shelter late in the afternoon. Later 4 other hikers arrive. A couple of northbound thru hikers from NH, and a couple of section hikers from St Petersburg, FL. It turns out all 5 of these other hikers had spent the night before during the winter storm at the Relax Inn in Atkins, just down the street from the Barn restaurant. When I arrived this morning at the Barn, I saw all of them walking up the road toward the Barn as I was in the process of parking my car. Morning is cloudy and cold, but as the hours pass, the skies clear and sun comes out and it begins to warm and the snow begins to melt, making a slippery slush in the afternoons. Creeks are running very high from the melting snow. For a first day on the AT again after 6 months away, and the snow, it was a good day on the trail.  This section of the trail is not too hard, crossing lots of VA farmland, there's snow and slush the entire day, but later in the afternoon, the snow has melted and I welcome the rocky terrain to avoid the mud. Shelter has good water down a hill behind the shelter. Later the other 4 hikers arrive at the shelter, night gets down in the 30s.
Date: 2013-04-06
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

It's cold in the morning as I pack up to leave. The weather on Saturday has improved, it's sunny, cool with low humidity.   As the day passes, you can see the snow is already melting, the trail is muddy with a lot of slush and snow. The trail in this section passes over a variety of terrain. Rocky ridgelines, smoothly graded switchbacks, then at times the trail goes over balds and Virginia farms. It's a beautiful mix of terrain, the creeks are all running very high.Mid-day there is a long climb to Chestnut Knob Shelter. This shelter is on top of a high bald with a beautiful view of the valley below. Travis and I arrive at this shelter and take a lunch break here.   Later some day hikers arrive that are hiking southbound, they are with a Roanoke hiking club.   One of them tells me this site was originally the place selected by George Vanderbilt to build his mansion, but he later decided to build Biltmore Estate near Asheville, NC. It would be a great place to camp overnite, but it's only lunchtime, and I move on. Pass more southbound day hikers and some local overnite hikers. The trail has some smooth switchbacks, and some rocky stretches. Overall the climb up Chestnut Knob is the toughest part of the day. End the day at Jenkins Shelter, where Travis is already arrived, and I meet a married couple from Knoxville, TN who are AT section hikers who do weekend hikes on the trail, this is their last night on the trail. They are fun to talk to. They've setup their duo tent behind the shelter.   Later the couple from NH arrive, the girl "Ali" is complaining of shoulder and upper back pain from her Osprey backpack. She is having problems adjusting her pack and it's really affecting her. The other couple I met the first day from Tampa, FL do not make it to this shelter today.   After dinner everyone turns in for the night.   Great 2nd day on the trail.
Date: 2013-04-07
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Cold night at the shelter, awoke before sunrise and packed up and ate my usual breakfast, Mountain House Granola & Blueberries.   The husband/wife section hikers from Knoxville, TN also are up and we chat a few minutes while eating breakfast at the picnic table in front of the shelter. He tells me that he came down with ghiarrdia while using a Sawyer Squeeze water filter this past year, now he strictly uses Aqua Mira.   Wow first time I have heard of a problem with the Sawyer Squeeze.It's another real nice weather day, sunny, cool, low humidity.   The trail is over some creeks, farms, hills and the trees still don't have leaves, so I'm beginning to get some sunburn.   Middle of the day, the trail comes out of the woods near a Church and Senior Center, and then there is a long road walk where the AT crosses I-77 near Bland, VA. Later the trail crosses another creek and reenters the woods and climbs back up to the ridge line. I see the parked SUV with Tennessee plates here where the married couple have left their vehicle. They are driving home after they get here.I take a short 10 minute break around 2 pm at the shelter at 14 miles, decide to go on another 10 miles to Jenny Knob Shelter.   I end up at Jenny Knob Shelter about 40 minutes before sunset, have the shelter to myself for the night.   This shelter is only a few miles from a road crossing and Trent's Grocery is just 0.3 miles down the road from where the AT crosses the highway. So I'm looking forward to an early lunch there tomorrow.   A great day on the trail.
Date: 2013-04-09
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 10.4

Awoke early to the sound of the 07:15 breakfast bell at Woods Hole. It's an old farm style clanger on the front porch of the house, Neville wakes up the bunkhouse for morning coffee. Then the group breakfast is at 07:30, and it was fantastic. Neville is very knowledgeable on organic foods and healthy eating. I really enjoyed the stay at this hostel. The ATC magazine has done some feature articles in the past on this hostel. There's a lot of history here. She and her husband Mike offer hikers a couple options, including slackpacking into Pearisburg, returning to stay another night at Woods Hole. I need to get some first aid supplies in Pearisburg, so I opt to just hike on into Pearisburg and get a room at the Plaza Motel.   I say goodbyes to Scott and Chris, they are slackpacking into town and have to wait a little bit to load their packs into Neville's vehicle, and I want to get on into town. The trail down into Pearisburg follows a ridgeline, and there are several spectacular views from the ridgeline and rock outcroppings as you approach town. Angel's Rest is the most prominent view just before the trail begins it's final drop into town. It's a 10.4 mile hike, I stop frequently to take pictures, and the day is much warmer. I end up arriving into town around 2:30 pm, and then there's about a mile hike up the highway to the road intersection where the motel is located. There's a Hardees, a Dairy Queen, Pizza Plus, convenience store at the first intersection as you get into town, then just around the corner is the Plaza Motel and across the street is Food Lion and a Mexican Restaurant. My first stop is the Dairy Queen for fast food, I've been told this Dairy Queen has the best chocolate shakes and malts on the entire A.T.I check into the motel and get cleaned up, then begin the chores of picking up my maildrop at the Post Office, do laundry, go visit the Food Lion for some other stuff, the Rite Aid Pharmacy too.   I decide to take a zero here on Wednesday too, I've gone out pretty fast and need a break.   I see Chris arrive a little later and he gets a room here too at the Plaza Motel.End up getting dinner at the Pizza Plus, and it is a great place to eat. My first impressions of Pearisburg are good, this is a neat Virginia trail town.
Date: 2013-04-10
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Wednesday in Pearisburg, Zero-day.   Weather is nice today, and in other circumstances I would hike on out of town today.   Instead I decide to rest up a bit, take care of foot first aid, and visit the public library here to catchup on emails.  I kind of parachuted into the AT with the first wave of nobo thru hikers who have been on the trail almost 2 months. They have trail legs and are knocking out big mileage days. I've been in Florida, and suddenly doing 20+ mile days. I've used my Hydropel, Gold Bond powder, Leukotape, and other foot blister prevention steps, but of course I've got a couple small toe blisters, in the same spots I usually get them. No big deal, they are not a show stopper. I did not bring that small tube of Body Glide for chafing, and wish I did. So I pickup a Gold Bond body glide product at the Food Lion, and it turns out to be even better than Body Glide. Chris is hiking out later today, we walk down to a new donut shop in town for breakfast, then see a large dedication ceremony across the street that is planned for 10 a.m. on the front yard of the County Courthouse. It ends up being a big ceremony, they are dedicating a section of State of VA highway here to a local Policeman killed in the line of duty some 40 years ago. It's a big ceremony, with an honor guard, the local high school band is here to play the National Anthem and other songs, the State Police are here too in full dress uniform, and it looks like an American Legion honor guard.   After the ceremony, we walk back to the Plaza Motel, we say good byes and I head to the Public Library. On the way I stop in the Dollar General Store and pickup a cheap pair of sunglasses to protect my eyes. I also get some eyedrops and bandaids at the Rite Aid pharmacy, the pharmacist suggests them to keep the eye lubricated, and the drops really help with the eye discomfort from when I got poked in the eye a couple days ago by a tree branch.The rest of the day is lunch at Pizza Plus, visiting the Food Lion, getting gear/food organized for tomorrow, and I mail home some extra food and clothing from the Post Office. I decide to just go with my R1 hooded fleece top, send the U/L Thermawrap jacket home. Later, it's dinner at Pizza Plus, I guess I like that place.   Pearisburg is a small town but hiker friendly and easy to find stuff here.
Date: 2013-04-11
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: clear sky

No matter how hard I try, it seems it's always slow getting back on the trail following a town-day. I had wanted to get out of the motel 30 minutes before sunrise, around 6:30 a.m., the one mile hike down the highway would get me to the trailhead just after sunrise. But I watch the news and weather on TV, and don't leave the motel room til 6:45, then stop across the street at Hardees for a breakfast biscuit and coffee, so I don't get on the highway til a little after 7 am, which puts me down the highway at the trailhead around 7:30 am. The trail goes adjacent to a large chemical plant and railroad tracks and the New River, it takes another 45 minutes before I begin the climb out of town. Around 8:45 or 9 a.m., I stop to change shirts because it's already obvious today will be warm and humid. While I have my gear off, I hear a familiar voice saying "you should be way ahead of me by now"... it's Travis. We talk a few minutes, he tells me he and the other 2 thru hikers from NH had zeroed at Woods Hole the day before and they are still there today. He caught a shuttle ride from Don Raines down to Pearisburg this morning and is hiking with "Firefeet", two young sisters from upstate New York state. The sisters show up a few minutes later and we all talk a minute before resuming the hike. The weather forecast for tonight is 50-60 mph winds, severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes.... so we are all 4 trying to get to the 2nd shelter for the night, which is 19 miles, so we don't want to waste time because the forecasters say the rain should start around 5 pm.It does get much warmer and humid today. And it is a long, rocky ridgeline with no water for almost 8 miles. Unfortunately, I pass the last spring without refilling, so I end up running out of water middle of the aternoon, so this ends up being one of my most difficult days, due to the heat and running out of water middle of the afternoon.The ridgeline has some beautiful views, I can hear the trains in the distance.Finally, after the long ridgeline walk, the trail begins to drop to the rhododenrons around the creeks, and I arrive at a beautiful spring with clear water, and I almost go for a swim!   After drinking my fill of water, I finally arrive at the shelter, where Travis and the sisters have arrived. Later 3 other thru hikers arrive, two of them stay and talk for a while then move on. Later "Mountain Goat" arrives, he has done a 30 mile day from Woods Hole Hostel.   We all turn in, and later that evening, a torrential rainstorm arrives with thunder and lightning, and it lasts almost all night.
Date: 2013-04-12
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: few clouds

After hard rain all night, the rain begins to let up just before sunrise. We awake to a foggy, misty, cool morning, but the good news is the heavy rain has stopped. I'm first out of the shelter, and immediately have to cross a swollen creek just 1/2 mile north of the shelter. I have to belly crawl upstream about 25 yards to get where I can rock hop across the creek safely. Once on the trail, it's rocky and many stream crossings with high waters. It's drizzling rain all morning. By lunchtime, Travis has caught up to me, we stop middle of the day along the trail to take a short break. Soon the NY sisters arrive, and then Mountain Goat comes along, so we have 5 hikers stopped for a break along the trail. It's a chance to talk about trail food and snacks.   Mountain Goat is getting off the trail end of the day for a zero in Blacksburg, VA, only 15-20 miles away.Later in the middle of the day, the skies clear, the temps drop, it's perfect hiking weather, 60s, sunny, cool breeze in the air. The first signs of spring are now showing up, some early buds on the trees on the ridgelines, dogwoods are starting to bloom too, and some wildflowers popping up.   The change from winter to spring is rapid once the days begin to warm up.End of the day, I get to Kelly's Knob, only a mile south of the shelter where we intend to stop for the day. Here are some really good views toward Blacksburg, VA in the distance. I'm told later the views here are as good as McAfee Knob, which I'll arrive at in 2 days.   I'm checking cellphone messages, and there's a plumbing problem at home that needs some attention, so that takes some time on the cellphone.Later I meet a local dayhiker coming up on a Friday afternoon for the views, he has his dog with him. He gives me a cold beer to enjoy at the shelter later.   When I get to the shelter, Travis and the NY sisters are waiting, telling me they were getting worried about me. I share the cold beer with all of them, it's a nice evening, cool weather and no rain in the forecast, so we all setup our tents for the night outside the shelter.