morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-19
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountian Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: moderate rain

My tent was dry when i got up! Whoot. But the sky looked ominous. I got a move on fairly early, lots of miles to cover. It started raining midmorning. It was a steady rain all day. I hiked up Roan Mountian. I'm sure it would have been amazing without all the rain and fog. It was a pretty decent hike even with the rain. I made it to my lunch spot a little before 12. I ate a quick lunch standing.Of coarse once I stopped moving i got cold. I had my rain gear on but it was already soaked through by then. I moved on quickly to get warmed up. It was a nice hike down to the gap. You can tell the more touristy places because the trails are nice, easy, and we'll maintained. I crossed the road and made my way up to the Jane Bald. The first part was nice and easy and well maintained. Then it turned into this narrow, muddy, little goat path a foot deeper than the rest of the ground. And the wind was insane coming over the bald. It was going like 40 miles an hour and it would get blow you right over. It was intense! So cool.Eventually I got under the cover of trees. Fireman came up behind me. He's like 'Thistle!' I turned around 'That was so cool!' I'm like ' I know, that was amazing! The wind was insane!' We then chatted about our next stop. Most of us were headed to Overmountian Shelter also known as the barn. The barn was converted into a shelter for the AT. I was so excited. I was hoping it was a real barn not some crummy shelter. I got to camp about 4 ish I think. Overall it wasn't a bad hike. I was soaking wet and my boots had a lake in them. I walked up to the barn, a real barn!! It had a picnic table in the aisle way. And a hay loft! The hay loft was what I was hoping for. There were a bunch of people there already but I climbed on up and put down my stuff. I changed out of my wet clothes and went down to make dinner. Goodman, Fireman and Chimney were down there eating. Weedeater and Stormcloak came a bit after. Papillion, Button and Seamster came in aswell. Forward and Doc were already there. I would say we had about 20 people up in the loft and we could have fit a b inch more. After dinner and chatting, I went up and snuggled in my sleeping bag to warm up. I read, people chatted. It was a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon. On a side note, the privy was the best one yet. Not only were the 3 sides very, very short, but there was no roof and you could see who was sitting on it from the barn. So classy.9 miles into Elk Park, NC tomorrow. I have a resupply at the hostel and I may talk myself into staying the night.
Date: 2015-04-20
From: Overmountian Shelter

To: Elk Park, NC
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: scattered clouds

It stopped raining during the night. Just really windy. I didn't get much sleep, way too much snoring. But it was nice sleeping in the hay loft. I loved it. The view from the shelter was absolutely breathtaking. We were right on the side of the mountian. So amazing. I hustled out of camp by 7. I wanted to get to the hostel early so I could get a spot. I walked over lite hump mountain and Hump Mountian. Both exposed balds. Absolutely gorgeous. There was a bit of rain but it blew over quick. Such an amazing hike. I took so many pictures! I officially crossed into TN today! Finally!! No more North Carolina and I'm in my 3rd state! Awesome! I made it to the road a bit before 12. On my walk down the highway to the hostel I saw Moment, Hip and Salmon. They had just left the hostel. It was great to catch up with them. They said the breakfast was to die for, totally worth it. Hopefully, I'll see them when I get to Damascus.When I got to the hostel, she said they were full up, even the couch was spok end for. So I paid for tenting, laundry and breakfast tomorrow. I jumped in the shower before anyone else got checked in. I wasnt about to wait for that! Doc, Forward, Clank and Two Shoes were staying in the hostel, they made reservations, which I need to start doing. But Doc talked to our host. Saying he would sleep in the loft with his group on the floor so they could stay together. That way it would free up a bed. And i got the bed. I was sooooooooo excited and grateful that Doc would do that. It was awesome!!A lot of people came to the hostel, some were staying at the main house which is the bed and breakfast, most were tenting. I saw Reverend! He was in the group I was with out of Hot Springs. He gave me the low down on where everyone else was. Shaggy had to get off the trail, Hedi is ahead. King fisher is behind. Backtrack is in Damascus rehabbing his knee, second star is with him determining whether she's going to quit or not.I hung out at the hostel for most of the afternoon. I was out on the porch in the rocking chair. So quite and peaceful. It started getting busy late afternoon. A bunch of us went to dinner at a great BBQ place. I can't remember the name. Dairy land I think. PR Barbie (warrior hiker that ive met before) and Papillion and I were in the first car ride. Forward, Doc and a few others were in the second. I got the BBQ Pork platter, it was a mound of BBQ Pork, fries ,Cole slaw and hush puppies! Sooooooooo good.Hung out and chatted for a bit at the hostel after dinner. Then went to bed. Such a lovely day.
Date: 2015-04-21
From: Elk Park, NC

To: Moreland Gap shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: light rain

The day started with an amazing breakfast at the main house. SOOOO good!! I had biscuits and gravy, cinnamon roll, ham, eggs, sausage, and french toast with an amazing walnut syrup. Everything home made and so freaking good!! The people who run Mountian HArbour hostel are so nice. It was a great place to stay. I wish I could have stayed longer. I got back to the trail about 9am. The hike wasn't too bad today. Lots of smalls ups and downs but most was fairly even. It was nice. Still a very long day though. Especially with a full pack from resupply. I kept leapfrogginger with Fireman and Chimney today.They ended up going much further than me today because they weren't at the shelter when I got here. I got to the shelter about 530 and pitched my tent. Heisenburg and I were the only ones here. Eventually Weedeater and Stormcloak showed up. And then Black and Blue came into camp! It was great to see her again. I thought she would be way past me by now. A bunch of the others I've been with lately stayed 2 miles back and camped along the river there. I wanted to get to the shelter because I wanted shorter miles for tomorrow.I'm hoping the weather is beautiful tomorrow like it was today. We'll be passing by a waterfall that I'm super sited for!! I love waterfalls. I'm also stopping in Hampton, TN tomorrow. Sunny Smiles' daughter lives near there. She is going to host me for the night! I'm so ok excited!!! Plus I can shower again! Whoot! Just a short 15 miles in the morning! Made it pat 400 miles today!
Date: 2015-04-22
From: Moreland Gap shelter

To: Hampton, TN
Miles today: 14.9

I slept great last night! The best sleep I've had for over a week. It got pretty cold last night, in the 30s. It was still pretty chilly when I got up as well. I packed up quickly and was out of camp a little before 730. It was a pretty nice hike this morning and it went pretty quick. I got to the waterfall an hour earlier than I thought I was going to. I was so excited about the waterfall, I've been looking forward to it for days. It was amazing! I sat and ate lunch there and had my feet in the water for a while. I love waterfalls. It was so relaxing and amazing. Weedeater and Stormcloak showed up after a while. Weedeater went for a swim, lol, it was super cold! I left the waterfall about 11. I texted Sunny's daughter this morning giving a tentative time of being at the road by 330. I was probably going to be a bit early but I didn't mind waiting for a bit. The rest of the hike went well. Not much to see. On the descent down to the road I saw a lake, I wasn't quite expecting that. I got down to the road and crossed the street. I was trying to figure out where I should wait and where the trail goes. I was standing on the side of the road making my decision when I saw a white car coming down the road. I hesitated because Rachel has a white car. The car started honking and I'm like 'that's my ride' The car pulled up and Sunny Smiles was driving!!!! I was so excited to see her!!! It was so amazing to see her and so unexpected! In the back of my mind I was hoping she would be able to come up when we talked about me staying at Rachel's. But I wasn't sure if she could. And she told me she was going to hike with me to Damascus! So I get to spend a few days with her. It was awesome. I can't even describe my excitement!!We ran a few errands and have been chatting for hours!We hit the trail tomorrow morning!! VA bound!
Date: 2015-04-23
From: Hampton, TN

To: Iron Mountian Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light snow

Slept in till about 7 this morning. Sunny And I stayed up way too late last night. But we had a good time. We got to the trail about 830ish. The first part of our hike was around Watauga Lake. It was beautiful. I took a ton of pictures. The weather was pretty good too. Sunny but breezy. We met up with Squabbler along the trail, he was waiting for his dad. It's nice to catch up with some of the people that I knew before. We stopped for lunch at a shelter. Koz and Black and Blue were there. Black and Blue is such a badass. She's 68 and pit's in a ton of miles everyday. She finished up the PCT last year. She's awesome. After lunch it seemed much cooler. I actually put my jacket on for a while. The hike was pretty easy today. I few ups but we made excellent time. The 7 miles after lunch blew by super fast. We made it to camp a little before 4. We had to stop at the stream .2 miles before the shelter to fill up with water so we didn't have to walk back down later. We set up our tents. There was one other person here. I can't remember her name but she has a dog named Storm. He was super cute.I made a few phone calls. I got a room booked for Saturday when I get into Damascus. Thankfully, a lot of places were booked and I didn't want to have to spend 100 dollars st a bed and breakfast. I also had to call Osprey packs because the zipper on my pack broke and some holes are wearing in the pouches on the belt. They are sending me a new one to Damascus. Thank god. Just having to shift a few things in my pack because I can't use one front pocket throws the whole pack out of balance and it's starting to make my back hurt. You wouldn't think that the little bit of weight that had to be moved could make a difference but it does.Hiking with Sunny was great today!! It's going to be hard to say goodbye again in Damascus. Maybe we'll take a couple of zeros at the shelter before we get into town so we could have more time together. Lol!
Date: 2015-04-25
From: Damascus VA

To: Damascus VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Pretty good night at the hostel. Not much sleep because there are so many people coming and going. But I really loved the place. Woodchuck's is totally worth it. We got a waffle breakfast, all you can eat. There was fresh fruit, cereal and oj as well. It was pretty good. After breakfast we packed up our stuff and moved on down the road. I had a reservation at The Hiker Inn. We stopped at the outfitter first to pick up my new pack. He gave me a little bit bigger pack, which was nice. I can fit everything in the main compartment now and not have too much stuff on the outside or the outside pockets. So I'm pleased. I sent a few things home, I was hoping to send more of my winter clothing home but it's still been pretty cold. We checked into the hiker inn, we had a private room! I much prefer that to the bunks. It cost a bit more but I sleep better plus I like my privacy. We ran around town and got some errands done. We relaxed out on the porch at the Inn for a while. Heisenberg was staying there too so we chatted with him for a while. Learned some things about Germany. He's a pretty cool guy. We went to the local church for a spaghetti dinner. 7 dollars for spaghetti, drinks, salad, cake, garlic bread. Pretty good deal! Fireman and Chimney were there so we all sat together and ate. Pretty good conversation. After dinner we went over to The Lazy Fox. Moment, Hip, Salmon and Papalou were staying there. We had happy hour on the porch. Heisenburg was there as well. We sat around and chatted and drank for a while. It was a lot of fun!We went to the Damascus Brewery a little bit later. It was a small little microbrewery. It was awesome. We had so much fun!!! They had corn hole so of course we had to play. Sunny and I were a team for the first 3 games and we won every game. We played Salmon, Hip, Heisenburg and Papalou. The forth game I partnered with Salmon and we played against Hip and Moment. In an effort to distract me Hip asked me to dance. Haha, I couldn't say no! But I said I was engaged before and knew bullshit when I saw it! Quite a few laughs at that, haha. Salmon and I still won that game!! 4 time champ at corn hole! It was great.We left the Brewery after midnight. It was such a great time. The most fun I've had in quite a while. Sad though...Sunny leaves tomorrow.
Date: 2015-04-26
From: Damascus VA

To: Lost Mountian Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

We slept in until about 7ish. Sunny left about 730. So sad. It was great seeing her and hanging out. Hopefully she'll get to come out at another point on the trail before I get too far north. It was a bit rainy when I left but it cleared up fairly quickly. It was pretty decent hike. Hiked along the VA creeper trail on the way out of town. It's a bike trail that goes from Whitetop VA to Damascus. Pretty neat. One of the bridges along the trail was washed out so they had us take a detour. It city off maybe 1 or 2 miles of the trail. I came across Doc slack packing at one pont. He told me some sad news. Mr. Magoo had to fly home, his wife went to the hospital. She stopped breathing, still alive but braindead. It was upsetting to say the least. I really liked Mr. Magoo, such a sweet old man. So keep him in your prayers.I made camp about 4. I set up my tent behind the shelter. There were a few section hikers and a southbounder there. Chimney and Fireman came into camp. Fireman collected an enormous amount of wood and built a fire. A fire of epic proportions. It was awesome! Moment, Hip and Salmon came into camp a bit later. They decided to push on a few more miles. But we chatted a bit about how awesome last night was!!Was getting pretty chilly night so I went to bed and snuggled in my warm sleeping bag.
Date: 2015-04-27
From: Lost Mountian Shelter

To: Big Wilson Creek
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Well, it was a pretty useless day. It's amazing I was able to get in as many miles as I did. Why, you ask. Because there were wild ponies everywhere!!!! And all we did was play with them all day!It was a pretty decent day weatherwise. Chilly last night. I had a pretry big climb in the morning. Very windy but gorgeous views. I met up with Reverend Kane slack packing. Great to see him again and we chatted for a bit. I hiked with Moment, Salmon,Hip and Papalou pretty much all day. We kept leapfroging each other. About halfway through our hike we came across the wild ponies!! It was great. They are friendly enough you can walk up and pet them. They of course are looking for food!! It was great! I miss working with the horses. A few of them had foals by there side! I got some awesome pics! I got a lot of questions about horses, ponies and reproduction since everyone knew I worked with hroses. It was great!!Eventually we moved on. Haha, it was hard because the ponies were everywhere. Moment and I hiked together a bit after lunch break. We chatted for a bit. We crossed the 500 mile marker!!! So amazing. Almost a quarter of the way done. Haha!!!We made it to Wise Shelter after 5ish. Hip, Moment and Salmon were pushing on 6 miles to the next shelter because Moment had to be at the road in the morning. She was getting off to meet her Dad in the Shenandoahs to hike with him for a bit. I only moved on to the campsite .1 mile from the shelter. You aren't allowed to camp at Wise Shelter because the ponies are there and they'll harass your tent. A log in the shelter book confirmed that, haha. Papalou camped with me the river. No ponies there, or none that we saw.
Date: 2015-04-28
From: Big Wilson Creek

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: clear sky

Pretty cold night again. I had frost on my tent. Thank fully I slept with my water filter so it didn't freeze. It's suppose to be getting warmer, not colder. However, it was a beautiful morning. I had a bit of a late start because I didn't want to get up. The terrain has been pretty decent. Ups and downs but nothing drastic. About noonish I came across some trail magic. I didn't get the guys name but he does it every year. I ate some chocolate and we chatted for a bit about the Camino DE Santiago. He's hiking it next year with his wife. I want to hike it with my sisters when the youngest one graduates college in 2 years. It was exciting talking about it and I can't wait to start planning it.I moved on and came across the next shelter about 1. I stopped for lunch and soaked my feet in the creek. Dirty R came up a few minutes after me. He was leaving the trail magic guy when I was getting there so we didn't get a chance to introduce ourselves. So we chatted for a bit. He's from CT also!!! He also has horses so we talked horses and CT for a while. It was awesome. He has a few friends ahead of him, also from CT. pretty nice guy.I moved on about 2. Still had quite a bit more miles to do. The terrain has been great still. No major ups. Just minor ups and downs. It's great. The miles seemed to fly by pretty quick. In part to the ease of the terrain but my hiker legs are getting more awesome as well!!I made camp about 5/6. I was tired but still felt pretty good. I did 19 miles!! Clank, Forward and Two Shoes were at the shelter. I set up my tent. Did my chores and ate then crawled in my sleeping bag. It was after 7 by then. At some point in heard Clank saying a mouse was crawling all over him. He was freaking out a bit. Another reason why I sleep in a tent...no mice. Haha
Date: 2015-04-29
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

It was a beautiful morning. Nice and easy hike. The views through the trees are amazing. It's what you picture VA to look like. Green fields, rolling hills and farm houses. I wish I could get a picture but there are too many trees in the way. Still, pretty breathtaking. I planned to eat lunch at Partnership Shelter. This shelter is close to the road and there's a visor center for the state park right next to It. It had a shower an you could get a shuttle into Marion for 50 cents. You could also get pizza delivered, haha. Before I got to the shelter I met a day hiker. She was handing out snickers bars!! Awesome! You're always told as children not to accept candy from strangers. As a thru hiker we accept all sorts of food from strangers, lol!!After lunch I pushed on to the next shelter. I made camp a litthe before 4. I found a piece of flat ground just big enough for my tent off in the woods a bit. Another thru hiker named Resolute came to the shelter after me. He was from TN. We chatted for a bit while we cooked dinner. Luna came up after. She's a thru hiker from Wisconsin. I've seen her entries in the log books so it was cool to be able to catch up with her and meet her. We chatted for quite a while too. Dirty R (who carries a didgeridoo) came into camp with Craynip. Interesting guy. Apparently he has a tattoo of a crayfish attacking his nipple, hence his name. Pretty funny guy.It started to rain so I went and snuggled in my tent. Excited for tomorrow. Short day of hiking and a resupply in town.
Date: 2015-04-30
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 4.5

Finally a warmer night last night. I didn't have to bury myself in my sleeping bag. I left camp a little after 7. Glorious morning for hiking!! It rained a bit last night but it was bright and sunny this morning. I made it to the road and checked into my motel at 9. I decided to take a Nero day and relax. I walked to the Dollar general. About 3 miles from the motel. I was able to resupply for the next couple of days of hiking and I bought some junk food too! On the walk back to the motel 2 guys pulled up in a jeep and asked if I wanted a ride. I said heck yeah!! They were nice and it was great not having to walk 3 miles with all those groceries. They were interested in my hike so I talked a little about that. After I dropped my stuff at the motel I walked across the road to The Barn Resturant. Really good food!! I got sweet tea, chili cheese burger, curly fries and hot fudge cake. So awesome. Some other hikers there. Luna came over and said hi! I met Wigwam and Peck. So that was pretty cool.After lunch I went back to the hotel and had glorious shower! So nice to wash my hair! I did laundry and cleaned a bunch of stuff, like my water bottle, water filter and my pot. I even dumped out the dirt and leaves on the inside of my tent. Now that my chores are done I can relax on a bed and try to plan out my next couple of days. Chance of rain for today and tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be nice when I hike. Don't forget to follow my Facebook page for more pictures and stuff!! Www.facebook.com/thistle2015
Date: 2015-05-01
From: Atkins, VA

To: Half a mile past Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.9

I had a pretty decent nights sleep in the motel. It rained during the night and I was glad to have everything dry. I got a late start this morning but I wasn't too concerned. I planned a short day of a out 15 miles. It's crazy to think that 15 miles is a short day! It was cloudy and misty all morning. I came across the 1/4 way sign. I couldn't even begin to describe my excitement! Once I realized what the sign said i let out a whoop of joy. I can't believe I'm a quarter of the way done! It does feel like I've been out here forever though...in a good way.I walked through a lot of cow fields. Lots of poop, no cows though. Most of it was private property so everyone the was a fence for the boundary crossings we had to go up and over this steep ladder thing. Such a pain in the butt with a pack full of resupply.My pack has been super heavy after resupply lately. I've been carrying a lot more food. My hiker hunger has somewhat kick in, I definitely snack a lot during the day. I'm also going longer between town stops now. About 5 days or so between resupply. The views from the hike today were amazing. After climbing up through a pasture you turn around and the landscape is breathtaking. Green fields, mountians, and farm houses here and there. Silos and cows. Just awesome. Exactly what you picture Virginia to look like. After climbing up all day I made it to the shelter at about 330. Still pretty early but I wanted a short day. Turtle and 45 (aka wigwam) were chillin at the shelter. We chatted a bit but I moved on. The water source for the shelter was .5 miles away so I juSt walked down and camped along the stream. There was no way I was going to walk a mile round trip for water. Especially since the source was on the trail. I set up camp and relaxed a bit. Did my camp chores, made dinner and hung my bear bag. I was the only one camping down there and it was glorious! I crawled in my tent and read for a bit. Peace and quiet all night!