morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-08-16
From: Big Meadows Campground 

To: Stealthing on Hightop Mt
Miles today: 20.1

I got my stuff together kinda early this morning, worried that some park ranger would come by to collect their money. But no one ever came! Saw a lot of wildlife while hiking this morning, 2 bears and 2 deer. That¢s almost one bear a day now!Stopped at another SNP camp store today to stock up on snacks. There was another hiker in the store talking to the checkout clerk. I ease-dropped on their conversation, and turns out this guy is ALSO a southbound flipflopper who started in Harper Ferry! I tried not to stare, but I felt like I was about to meet a long lost sibling that I had gotten separated from at birth. LolHis name is Production, which he says is because he¢s kind of dramatic and likes to make a ¢production¢ out of things. Lol We chatted and ate snacks for nearly two hours at that camp store. I was so happy to FINALLY meet another flipflopper that was also headed south. We never crossed paths during the northern part of our hike because he started nearly a month before I did, so he was always way ahead. The only reason we were meeting now was because he took a couple weeks off to go home and visit family before starting the southern half. We talked a lot about our different trail experiences up until this point, how much of a bitch Maine was, and how happy we were to finally be in Virginia. Production had a few setbacks though. At some point in Massachusetts, he contracted Lyme Disease from a tick bite. He was never experiencing any major symptoms though, so he didn¢t know he had it until he was home a couple weeks ago and decided to go and get tested on a whim!! And the tests came back positive! So now he has to take medication twice a day for three weeks. The medication makes your skin super sensitive to UV rays though, so he has to hike in long sleeves, long pants, and this dorky sun hat. LolTalking to Production about his run in with Lyme Disease has really made me paranoid now. Up until today, I¢ve never found a tick on me. But guess what, It¢s just my fucking luck that tonight while cooking dinner I looked down at my arm and found a tiny tick embed into my skin!! WTF! I fucking jinxed myself. Production and I ended up stealth camping in the same area on top of Hightop Mt tonight. Dinner with a view! When he finally showed up to camp, I yelled at him and told him he was bad luck. Thanks to him and his tick jue-jue, I will definitely be getting tested when I get off trail. Lol
Date: 2018-08-17
From: Stealthing on Hightop Mt

To: Blackrock Shelter
Miles today: 21.9

Today ended up being kind of a big day. I decided to go further than planned, so that I can get to the next town a day early and have more time to chill there. I passed Production on trail today. I thought I might see him tonight at camp, but I think I pushed too far ahead. I¢ll be zeroing on Sunday, so I assume he¢ll catch up. I passed through the last SNP Wayside stop today. Without these little snack stops everyday, I don¢t know what¢s gonna motivate me to hike once I leave the Shenandoahs. Lol I noticed they had these little single serve boxes of Silk soy milk, so I bought one of those and a mini box of Frosted Flakes! #CerealGoals. And yes, Frosted Flakes are vegan. LolPacked out a bunch of snacks and took them to the top of Blackrock Mt for dinner. Got to see a partial sunset over the mountain. It¢s the weekend though, so a steady stream of families were coming by. At tonight¢s shelter, there¢s 6 people here! That¢s the most I¢ve seen yet. Lately, it¢s just been myself and sometimes one other person. They¢re mostly section hikers I think. I showed up kinda late though and am too tired to chat, so off to bed for me!
Date: 2018-08-19
From: Waynesboro, VA Hiker Campsite

To: Waynesboro, VA Hiker Campsite
Miles today: 0.0

Today was chill. Woke up around 8am and waited for the YMCA to open at noon, so I could shower. They gave you a towel and small bar of soap, but no shampoo. Washing long hair with a bar of soap is challenging, but I¢m almost surprised this is the first time I¢ve had to do it. Lol I also got to floss my teeth in front of a mirror and weigh myself on a non-digital scale! Living the high life. I didn¢t eat breakfast, so by 1pm I was starving. And since I didn¢t have to pay for my meal yesterday, it felt appropriate to eat the Ming¢s Garden buffet for a second time. I guiltlessly ate all the veggie noodles and spring rolls to my stomach¢s content. Then I walked a mile over to the laundry mat and Dollar G. Probably my two favorite places to hangout when coming off trail. LolNo one else really showed up to the hiker¢s campsite in town this evening. It¢s weird taking a zero day by yourself. I¢m not sure how I feel about it honestly. Kinda itching to get hiking again.Shout out to my Uncle Larry! It¢s his birthday today and he reads these things. Lol It¢s also my best manfriend¢s birthday Daniel Hammer. He doesn¢t read these things, but regardless I love you both!! And hope y¢all have a fantastic day!
Date: 2018-08-20
From: Waynesboro, VA Hiker Campsite

To: Maupin Field shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Was really hard to leave town today. Woke up to misty air and thunder in the distance. The post office opened at 9am, so I swung by there on my way out to pick up some packages. One of them was another highly anticipated care package from my Uncle Larry and Aunt Pat. Love you guys! The other was the ¢Southbound version¢ of the AT guidebook because for the past week I¢ve been using the northbound one and just reading the directions backwards and well, that was getting really annoying. Got a lift out of town and back to the trailhead around 10am. Even with the late start, I still somehow managed to put some good distance in. Been doing consistent 20 mile days lately. Rain definitely motivates you to keep moving and it rained most of the day. It was also extremely foggy. There was only like a 30yd line of sight through the woods, which made for an eerie hike. The little orange salamanders are back! I hadn¢t seen them since southern Vermont. Saw more salamanders today than people. Just two older guys passed by me going north this morning. And there¢s another old guy at the shelter tonight. I reached camp at 7pm and this guy is already asleep in the shelter with his earplugs in. Not feeling that desperate for a spot, so I¢m tenting. While hiking, I get a lot of time to myself, which means A LOT of time to think. Sometimes too much time. It¢s easy to get stuck in your head out here. Lately, I¢ve been thinking a lot about post-trail life and what that¢s gonna be like. And it all really stresses me out. And I¢m not just talking about the ¢so, what are you gonna do now¢ question. That¢s a whole other stress topic that I don¢t want to get into yet. It¢s more about people and time. Time out here moves slow. Like really slow, especially when you¢re alone. But talking with friends back home makes it seem like the world is moving SO fast out there. And then you realize that people¢s lives are moving forward without you everyday. Everyone I know has either moved, gotten a new job, new relationship, or all the above. Part of me wanted to believe that I could just put my relationships with people on hold until I returned. But the world doesn¢t just stop when you¢re not there. I knew this before coming out here, just everyday it feels more real. I know, I probably sound like some angsty teenager that just needs to be a little less dramatic. But it¢s true. After this, nothing is gonna go back to the way it used to be because what it used to be is gone.
Date: 2018-08-22
From: Porters Field campsite 

To: Pedlar River campsite
Miles today: 21.8

Super windy this morning, but it stopped raining! The wind dried out most of my tent, which is nice. Today¢s hike was pretty chill, just up and down over some peaks. And then a longggg decent down the mountain ridge and into camp. Came across a wild crab apple tree today! Never seen that on trail.Tonight at camp is me and TWO other southbound flipfloppers! I¢ve never been so excited to see two older guys in their 60s who are essentially strangers to me. Lol There names are Buster & Disco. It was nice having dinner with them. They summited Katadhin just 3 days before I did, so they¢ve just always been a couple steps ahead of me. They asked me how many miles I did today and I said about 22. Then they both simultaneously said ¢Well, nice knowin you!¢ Lol.We recapped our experiences through the Shenandoahs and then also Maine and New Hampshire. They had nothing nice to say about Virginia. Lol They called it ¢boring¢ and ¢mind-numbing¢. Said they missed the views and rock scrambles of Maine. What. Lol I couldn¢t help but think, how dare y¢all... After everything we went through mentally and physically up north, how dare you both wish upon us all the furry and misery Maine and New Hampshire offers! I will forever kiss the ground I walk on in Virginia. LolI asked if they¢d met a guy named Production and they said they had and that he¢s about a day ahead of us. I hope I run into him again. If I manage to somehow keep up this 20 average, I figure I¢ll see him again soon. Tomorrow will be a bit of a shorter day though because I¢m dipping into Glasgow, VA and staying in town at a free hiker campsite. Tonight¢s camp spot is alright, but there¢s TONS of tiny black flies here. My body was just starting to heal from the last assassination of bites, but once again I¢m literally covered in welts. I know they bite other people too, but I swear my skin has some next-level reaction to these fuckers. Like, god damn. Give me a break!Also, shoutout to everyone who reads these!! It blows my mind to see how many people are keeping up with my journey that I don¢t even know! The fact that strangers read my blog and somehow find it entertaining, or dare I say ¢inspiring¢, is beyond flattering. I get all y¢all¢s comments and messages and if there was a way to respond to them I would. And I¢d be saying THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS & SUPPORT. IT MEANS EVERYTHING.
Date: 2018-08-23
From: Pedlar River campsite

To: Glasgow town shelter/campsite 
Miles today: 15.0

It was a breezy and sunny hike into Glasgow today! The sun was out, but it was just windy enough to where if you stopped for too long of a break the sweat on your back felt really cold! Lol Perfect hiking weather. Had to veer off trail to a shelter midday to get water from a spring. Met a real character there. Older guy who goes by the name Starfork. Starfork has long gray hair and one eye. I walked up on him laying piles of orange mushrooms across a picnic table. Said he¢d been foraging for mushrooms for 3 days and was now letting them dry out since the weather was nice. I looked around at the campsite, and ya it looked like he¢d basically moved in. All of his clothes were hanging on a makeshift clothesline and the whole shelter looked like his own personal cabin. He was definitely living on the trail. LolI got a hitch on the road pretty easily. Always do, really. Perks to being a young woman. Lol It was by this 22 yr old guy named Richard who was not only one of the most sincere people I¢ve ever met, but he was VEGAN! We geeked out over vegan ethics and extremes through the whole ride. It was magical. So magical I¢m kicking myself for not connecting with him on Facebook or Instagram. I would have zeroed to hang with this dude. For sure. Haha. Pulling up to Glasgow, VA was interesting. The whole town is just a single street with one restaurant, post office, laundry mat, gas station, auto shop, library, and church. That¢s literally the whole town, like seven buildings. Oh, and a Dollar General of course! Lol Richard dropped me off at the one restaurant where I got a veggie sub sandwich and a sweet tea. Afterwards, I went to the laundry mat next door. I really wanted to wash ALL of the clothes I have, so I asked a waitress at the restaurant if I could have a big black trash bag. I made myself a super classy trash bag dress to wear why I did my laundry. I didn¢t realize that the dress was slightly see-through until I got some weird looks, but regardless it worked! LolThen I went through the usual motions at Dollar G and then hung out at the library until it closed. I¢m staying at a free hiker shelter/campsite in town tonight. It¢s right behind the sandwich shop. Lol It¢s a pretty sweet spot. It¢s got outlets, a water pump, wooden bunks, and an outdoor shower. I didn¢t shower though. It¢s only been like 5 days. Too much work. Lol A sign explains that the place was built by some Eagle Scouts and is now maintained by volunteers from the Lutheran church. I can only imagine what this place is like during peak hiking season. I bet it¢s a poppin place when all the NoBos are coming through. Unfortunately though, it¢s just me here tonight.
Date: 2018-08-24
From: Glasgow town shelter/campsite 

To: Marble Spring campsite
Miles today: 7.7

Slept terribly last night. I stayed up WAY too late for really no good reason. Like nearly 2am. And the truck stop across the street was pretty noisy all night. And then this skunk kept doing laps around my tent. At one point I felt the skunk set both of his front paws on my leg through the outside of the tent! That¢s when I finally got up and decided to hang my food bag instead of sleep with it. LolThus, I was moving slow this morning. It was also pretty chilly last night. It dropped into the 50s. So I didn¢t get out of my sleeping bag until like 9am. Lol Buster and Disco came by the shelter this morning to check it out. They stayed in town last night at a hostel and were gonna stay another night and zero for the day. I chatted with them for a bit while waiting for the sub shop to open, so I could get another good meal in before hitting the trail. I was feeling super lazy and tired. And very full. Didn¢t get back on trail until 1pm. I kinda expected today to be a short day and it really was. Ended up doing a nero out of town. A whole 7 miles! Lol. Tonight at camp is me and one other middle aged guy, The Little Green Light. That was his name. Lol He¢s also a flipflopper, but he flipped on the trail twice now. So he¢s doing it in like three different segments and headed north now. Kinda confusing, but whatever gets it done I guess. We spent a good half hour recapping our different experiences on the trail. Everyone seems to really miss Maine and I just don¢t understand that. He was able to recall so many different names of places and mountains and towns. To me, it¢s all kinda one giant blur honestly. I remember a lot of stuff, but I couldn¢t really say where and when it happened. LolIt¢s 7pm and I¢m already in bed. Never felt so tired in my life. Hoping to reset my sleep schedule and be back on track for tomorrow.
Date: 2018-08-25
From: Marble Spring campsite

To: Bryant Ridge shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was rough. Consisted of a lot of ups and my stomach was killing me all day. I don¢t know if it was food I ate in town yesterday or if I¢m getting sick, but it¢s not good. And it made hiking today really hard and uncomfortable. I was really hungry, but couldn¢t keep any food in me. And the feeling of water in my belly sloshing around while I hiked made me feel queasy all day. I¢m surprised I made it as far as I did. I took like a hundred breaks. Not only was I experiencing physical aliments today, but I was also losing the mental game again, HARD. I¢ve realized that I spend the majority of my time out here hiking alone while thinking about people - people back home and people I¢ve met on trail. All my thoughts are consumed with people, but of course here I am. ALONE. I used to look forward to town stops. Like that¢s what motivated me from one destination to the next. But I¢m realizing that town days are boring without someone to spend them with. Like eating out by yourself is just sad. I¢m supposed to be in Troutsville in like 2 days and I don¢t even care. I¢m blaming the ¢Virginia Blues¢. Getting the Virginia Blues is a thing that almost every thruhiker experiences, no matter the direction their hiking. I don¢t know what it is, but something about this state sends a lot of hikers into a depressive rut. I think It¢s partially due to Virginia just being a really big ass state. Since 1/4 of the whole trail lies in Virginia, it kinda makes it feel like your here forever. Also, the scenery never really changes. It¢s 500+ miles of sameness. Virginia really isn¢t that difficult of a state to hike and I keep reminding myself of that. But the mental hike is still very real here.... Someone come hike with me!!Tonight¢s shelter is pretty impressive. It¢s like massive. Two-stories! Tenting inside of it since I have it all to myself. And going to sleep really early again hoping this bug passes.
Date: 2018-08-27
From: Buchanan, VA

To: Buchanan, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Still not feeling great, so I¢m zeroing at the motel today. I was thinking about pushing on, but then right as checkout time was approaching my favorite movie came on the TV (Resident Evil 3: Extinction). And I felt like that was a sign, so I¢m staying. Lol Troutville, VA is about a 20-mile hike away and they have an Urgent Care. So tomorrow I figure I¢ll slowly make my way that direction and hit up the doctor¢s office if I¢m still having bad symptoms. Fingers crossed for a healthy body and mind!
Date: 2018-08-29
From: Troutville, VA

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: mist

David gave me a ride to the trailhead today on his way to work. Super glad to have met the dude. Also, BY THE WAY, I¢m feeling 100 again! No more tummy troubles. Was moving at top speeds today! The weather was hot, but still really nice. Got some really nice views from Tinker Cliffs. Ran into Buster and Disco this afternoon. I was hoping I¢d catch up to them again. We¢re all at the same campsite tonight. Even though they¢re both over the age of 65, I really enjoy their company. Lol I also really enjoy being back in my tent. After three nights of not sleeping in the woods, this is great. This is HOME.
Date: 2018-08-31
From: Catawba, VA

To: Niday Shelter 
Miles today: 16.8

Got up early today and left the hostel with the old dudes. We didn¢t hike together today, but every time I stopped for an hour break they eventually would catch up. Lol There were two big climbs today. The first was a 2.5 mile hike up to Dragon¢s Tooth Rock, which actually ended up being a pretty rocky/scrambley climb. The whole way up I couldn¢t help but think ¢WTF Virginia??¢  The second bump was a slow and steady 3.8. It was after lunch and it was hot. One thing I¢ve noticed about VA recently is that water sources are scarce and far in between. So I¢ve been forced to carry WAY more water up hills than I would ever want too. It¢s just the three of us at the shelter/campsite tonight. Buster and Disco are tenting and I decided to throw my tent up in the shelter because it looks like it¢s gonna rain. Buster is starting to get on my nerves. He never stops talking, which isn¢t the end of the world. But he¢s one of those people that has lots of big opinions and shares them unsolicitedly and always has to be right. He keeps trying to push me to talk about politics and ¢vegan athletes¢ and all this other BS that we OBVIOUSLY disagree on. I¢m all about ¢respecting your elders¢ and whatever but sometimes people need to be told to shut the fuck up. No madder their age. Super pumped for tomorrow though!! I got off-trail plans with a guy from Virginia Tech! His name is Hector, he¢s 23, going to vet school, and VEGAN. So basically my soulmate. Lol He¢s picking me up after work and taking me back to Blacksburg, VA for the evening. We¢ve been talking for about a week now and pretty much have everything in common, so I think it¢s gonna be great. Plus I¢ll get a shower, laundry and real food, which never gets old. I¢ll try and update soon, so that no one thinks I got axe-murdered or something. Lol!
Date: 2018-09-01
From: Niday Shelter 

To: Blacksburg, VA
Miles today: 9.9

Woke up in the middle of the night to a bunch of flashing lights. At first I thought it was a group of people coming down the mountain with their headlamps on. But it was actually an electrical storm. No rain or thunder, just tons of lightning lighting up the sky. It was a cool, but creepy thing to wake up to at 3am. Slept in until nearly 9am this morning. It was only about a 10 mile hike to the road Hector was picking me up on and he couldn¢t be there until 4:30. So I was taking my time all day. Hit the 1,500 mark today! I¢m getting there, eventually! Also, met an older lady on trail today going north. Her name was Pathfinder and she claimed to be the last NoBo of the season. And considering it¢s Sept 1st, I believe it. I got to the road at like 2pm, so instead of waiting around I hitched 8 miles to a gas station where I hung out drinking sweet tea and eating apples and potato chips until Hector picked me up. Hector is a cool dude. He¢s this scrawny little 5¢5¢ guy with a thick Salvadorian accent. He¢s 23, senior at Virginia Tech, works at Chipotle, and has 3 girls for roommates. Lol He¢s one of those very personable, yet extroverted types. He kept talking to me like we¢d been friends for years, when really I¢m a smelly stranger he met online and just picked up out of the woods. Lol! We talked about tons of stuff like the trail, his giant Salvadorian family, college life, the ethics of zoos, and lots of vegan shit. After I showered and did laundry, we drove downtown for dinner. Blacksburg, VA is a small college town, so ¢downtown¢ was only several blocks backed up by the giant university. It¢s a cool little town though. Like WAY bigger and nicer than any of the trail towns in Virginia. Like the traffic lights actually had crosswalks with little timers that talked to you. It freaked me out at first. Hector shocked me when he asked if it was okay if we went and ate at Mellow Mushroom for dinner... Mellow Mushroom?!? I couldn¢t believe Blacksburg had a Mellow Mushroom. It¢s only like my 2nd favorite place to eat-out at in Austin, TX!! It¢s a super hip pizza place that carries vegan cheese that you can put on any pizza you order. I was SO excited. First REAL trail pizza! Afterwards, we walked to this small coffee shop that sold a variety of vegan pastries. I stocked up on muffins for tomorrow¢s breakfast. Later, we watched a movie called ¢21¢ on Netflix about a guy who learns to count cards in Vegas and becomes super rich. Lol I¢m staying up way later tonight than I probably should, but it feels really nice and refreshing to do ¢normal people¢ things. Haha
Date: 2018-09-02
From: Blacksburg, VA

To: Johns Creek campsite
Miles today: 7.4

Omg it was so hard to get up this morning. I slept until 9am. Felt like I was sinking deeper and deeper into that Tempur-pedic mattress with every hour that passed. Lol After I finished eating my vegan pineapple muffins, Hector drove me back to the trailhead and I was hiking again by 10:30am. I could have slept all day in that bed, but unfortunately Hector had lunch plans with friends so I had to go. Lol But we agreed to stay pin-pals for the rest of my trip. Hanging out with Hector in a cool hip college town eating good vegan food was all a nice break from the daily hiking routine, but also made going back to trail really hard. I didn¢t make it very far today. A whole 7 miles. Lol I¢m already itching to be in the next town - Pearisburg, VA. Oh, and I¢ve come to the realization today that I am terribly fed up with trailmix. Like I officially hate peanuts and raisins. Just the thought of them makes me wanna gag. Oh and I did a thing this evening. I busted out The List. You know, that List I made before trail of all the reasons I¢m doing the trail, shouldn¢t quit the trail, and what I think I¢ll gain from it. Ya that one. Lol I don¢t feel like I¢ve officially cracked per say, but the reminder was over due. I¢d share The List here, but it¢s not time yet. I will say though that there¢s a lot of things I¢d hope to get out of this trail that i think I¢ve already achieved out here. There¢s also some things that still need time and a lot of work. I just gotta stay focused. No matter how long it takes me, I¢m finishing this trail. Lol