morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-04-25
From: Mt Rogers Visitor Center 

To: Davis Path Campsite 
Miles today: 14.6

Today I woke up at 7:00 and had breakfast in the lobby of motel. It was not very good. On the way back to my room someone called out 'Pilgrim', It was Javaman. We talked and he gave me an orange. He asked about Trekker. After I ate his orange I ate a Honey Bun and finally started to feel full. John, my trail angel from last night, came by at 8:45 as promised. I bought him some gas and he dropped me off at the trail at 9:5. The trail started out all uphill and full of rocks. That basically continued for about 7 miles until I reached the Chatfield Shelter. Thereafter, the trail was walkable and I made good time. Javaman passed me, then Forge and Hiccup (a young couple from St Louis).The highlight of the day was when I reached Atkins, Va. Right on the trail was this restaurant called the Barn. In front of it was a grassy slope and 10 or so thru hikers lounged there, getting some sun and talking. As I arrived, Feed Bag was just leaving to hitch a ride south to Damascus where he said he was going to work until the Trail Festival begins. When I went in the restaurant Javaman, Doc, and Boone called me over to their table and I sat with them for dinner. Doc and Boone have to take a zero day because their drop package hasn't arrived yet. Doc's iPhone charger was on the fritz, so I lent him mine while I napped on the front lawn letting my food settle. Finally, I left and came to this campsite. While setting up camp a lone hiker came in from the north. We got to talking and he had started at Katahdin in September and now was down to here. His name was Sherpa Chief. Staying here also are Forge and Javaman.
Date: 2013-04-26
From: Davis Path Campsite 

To: Chestnut Knob
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I started out leisurely by getting up at 7:00 because I was only going to go 12 miles. But as I hiked, I was passed early on by Condor. He convinced me to stretch it out today and go to Chestnut Knob because of the rain forecast. (Rain on Sat around 4:00, rain all day Sunday, and a chance of rain Monday and Tuesday). So at first, today I walked through farm pasture land. We crossed property lines by using fence styles to go over the barb wire. Around mid-day I ran into some trail magic. While I was there the guy who left the trail magic actually came up to refill the bins with sodas and cookies. His name was Lumberjack and he had thru hiked the trail in the past. He said he had been in California when he was in AIT at Fort Ord in 1966. So I hiked on, and passed by my original destination. Wouldn't you know it was almost all uphill from then on? At one point I went straight up for a 2,000 foot elevation gain in about 1 hour. I was really weary because most of the way did not use switch backs. Finally at 6:30 I got to my shelter. This one is made of concrete blocks and has a door. Sleeping here are Hurricane (from New Zealand), Javaman, Condor, Dumbledorf (a girl who gave me cookies at the Barn), Hiccup and Forge, and Ice Cream and Ashley ( a young couple).
Date: 2013-04-27
From: Chestnut Knob

To: US52
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started with very menacing with rain hitting our shelter roof about 4:00 in the morning. We were all hoping the rain wouldn't start till after lunch. Anyway, the night before Condor said he would hike with me and then stay in Bland together. (His credit card got stopped because he was using it on the east coast). We headed out together, got water for the day and started hiking. He is faster so he went on ahead and waited for me at the next shelter. This whole section of the trail was full of boulders. Never once did I get to stride it out. So I was kind of unhappy and said I knew my 20 mile day just got longer. But after Condor and I left the next shelter, with 12 miles to go, the trail became very nice and we had a nice hike into US 52.When we were about 5 miles out we called Tru Brit per AWOLs guide. He readily agreed to pick us up. This guy first took us to order pizza, then over to buy beer, then took us over to his encampment. It was raining out, and he set up, under this huge tarp with the center opened up, a big bonfire. Condor and I ate pizza and salad and drank our beer while he sat and talked to us of all his ideas to turn all this forest property he owns into a wilderness camp. It would have a zip line, horses, archery, hiking, and a hostel for thru hikers, and mountain bike riding. His plans were pretty elaborate about the buildings he would have and their uses. He has a great vision and I would someday like to comeback thru here and see how it turns out. The next morning he dropped Condor off at the trail (in the rain) and he drove me over to a motel in Bland. Both Condor and I offered him money for his services but he refused. He and Fresh Ground both help us hikers out from the good of their hearts. And both of them are the most content and happy people I have ever met. So I slept most of the day at the motel, just going out to eat or to resupply. I have called Bubba shuttle service and he will pick me up here tomorrow at 9:00.
Date: 2013-04-28
From: US52 (Bland VA)

To: Kimberling Creek Mile 605.4
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

Today I was up at 7:00 in my motel room. Walked over to the DQ for breakfast, then waited for Bubba to come pick me up. He arrived a half hour early, but it was to give another thru hiker a ride to a different location on the AT. He was back to give me a ride and I was on the trail by 9:30. The trail was very easy for a long time. In fact, on this 7 mile stretch between gravel roads, I saw first one older lady section hiking southbound that was using a cane and about an hour later I saw two ladies-one with 2 canes that gripped her arms and her friend. I also saw, towards the end of that section, the other hiker that Bubba had picked up at the motel. He was slack packing southbound. We introduced ourselves. He was from Myrtle Beach, North Carolina but his trail name I've forgotten. I've been losing a little too much weight so now I think that weight loss is now my newest and probably hardest challenge of the hike. The question is: How do you gain weight while walking 12 to 20 miles a day? My idea, besides loading more food into my bag during resupply, is to use the towns of my resupply as a place to eat as many good meals I can while I'm there. Also, if I gain a day like I did coming into Bland to beat the weather, then I will cash that in as a zero day to revitalize my body. My other strategy is to try to have the last day going into a resupply town always be real short miles-wise so I can get into town early and rest and eat. So going into Pearisburg from Bland there is a total of 43 miles. And this time, at mile 33, there is a hostel that serves meals. So instead of going to Jenny Knob shelter at 12 miles I pushed it 6 more miles so I went 18, leaving 15 miles to get to the hostel tomorrow and then only 10 miles to go on my way into Pearisburg. I don't know if it¢s possible to gain weight on the AT but this my challenge and we'll see how it goes
Date: 2013-04-30
From: Kimberling Creek Mile 605.4

To: Wood Holes Hostel
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

I got up early in order to reach the hostel early. I was passed around 12:00 by Glover and Atlas. All the first half of the day was good trail. The trail was slightly uphill as I walked alongside a river, on a pine straw path that was always shaded by trees. By contrast, after lunch the trail made a steep hour long climb and the sunny day started to become a little unbearable. Then it stayed on a ridge line with lots of boulders and lots of sun. After saying hi to Glover and Atlas who had stopped to eat lunch on an overlook ledge, the trail made a traverse along the side of the ridge that was back to being walkable. Then, finally, the trail went through a burn area that was very slow again due to the boulders. Now I'm happily sitting here at Hole in the Woods Hostel sipping a blueberry and banana smoothie. The smoothie was made by Rainbow Braid. She is going to work here for 2 weeks and then hit the trail again. Already here are Javaman and just beating me was Sandman the guy I met back at the motel in Bland. Coming in late was Foxtrot. According to Javaman, Patriot left here this morning. The dinner bell rang at 7:00. The lady of the house, Neville, a tiny young lady, arranged us all in a circle around the 2 long dining room tables. We started with about 10 seconds of silence then each of us gave our trail name, where we came from, and what we were thankful for this day. I was thankful for the home cooked meal. Neville sat next to me at dinner and by what everyone was saying about this meal and some who had been ere yesterday were saying about yesterday's meals, I knew she could help me with my weight problem. So I asked her what would she bring on the trail to prevent weight loss. She looked at me and said yes I looked little on the skinny side. She what was I ate. I started off with Honey Buns and Pop Tarts. She looked at me aghast. When I told her my first 2 snacks were Snickers, she told me to hold it right there. She said I wouldn't do that in civilian life what makes me think it'll be good for me when I'm hiking? She said my body will run right through the sugar and leave me nothing. We decided I would eat oatmeal with maybe some olive oil and some of my trail mix added in, and bagels with cream cheese to start the day. Then have a cliff bar as my first snack because it has everything I need for the day. Then some cheese and sausage for some of the breaks and my trail mix as needed. For dinner I could have pepperoni with cheese bits on a tortilla or add sun dried tomatoes to a Nora meal. I'm hopeful that this new trail diet and my lowering the miles a little bit and walking slower, and eating numerous meals on my resupply day will do the trick.
Date: 2013-05-01
From: Wood Holes Hostel

To: Pearisburg VA mile 630.8
Miles today: 10.2

Got up and had my pack ready just as the breakfast bell rung. We again held hands in a circle and what we were grateful for. I was grateful for the hiker diet I was given last night and for all those who contributed to it. Rainbow Braid came over to me and said she too was going to have a discussion with Neville about diet on the trail before she started hiking again. I left the hostel with it raining slightly. All day was overcast and cool, perfect for hiking. I got into Pearisburg and after my shower the first thing I did was eat (Chinese buffet). By the time I did my laundry, shopped for my resupply, ate again for dinner, went to the ATM, and finally brought back my banana shake from DQ it was 8:30. Not much rest, on my resupply day, but got in a lot of eating. To keep from carrying over 4 days of food, I'm going to have to average 17 miles per day for the next 4 days. Oh well I'll make it even though I would like the daily average to come down a little.
Date: 2013-05-02
From: Pearisburg VA mile 630.8

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

May 2 Day 57 ¢ 19.3 miles ¢ 650.1 total miles Pearisburg to Pine Swamp Branch ShelterI slept good during the night. Then I started hearing water flowing through the pipes and cars whizzing by. I told myself trust the iPhone - it'll get me up at 5:30. It did but I was surprised at how many people got up so early. I packed up and walked over to the DQ, which opened at 6:00. An elderly gentleman asked about my hiking and the lady at the counter told me to be careful out there. After a mile of walking, I got to the AT. Then, after crossing the river, I pulled up at the bottom of the mountain and ate a Cliff Bar and took off my top shirt. For the next hour and 45 min I worked up a great sweat going up some pretty vertical routes. At the crest, I met a couple and their 2 dogs, going south. I wondered why they wore jackets. When I crested the ridge, the wind was strong and cold. After stopping to put on my shirt I continued to make good time. But finally the ridge turned to rocks and for about 2 hours the going was slow. I knew I needed 10 hours to reach my destination and with about 4 hours to go I ate another Cliff Bar. With about 3 hours to go, I had to climb another steep hill this time only taking me 30 min. After that I was dragging. In my mind I thought I had already passed the junction of the Allegheny Trail and had less than 2 miles to go. I saw a sign up ahead and really thought it was going to say ¢Shelter¢ with an arrow on it. But when I got there, it was the Allegheny Trail junction. Boy was I deflated now! I still had 2.5 miles to go. So I stumbled along in the heat, hoping my water would hold out till I reached the shelter. I reached the shelter at 4:30 and I had only 1 swallow of water left. Already at the shelter is B Man. He is British but lives on a tiny island of Nevis in the Caribbean. He can only get 90 day passes to stay in the US, so he walked from Springer to Woods Hole last year then hitched a ride to Canada. After 2 weeks he got another 90 day pass and he walked from Katahdin to Gorham New Hampshire. This year he's doing Woods Hole to Gorham.   He is actually trying to raise money by doing this hike to upgrade the Alexander Hamilton museum on Nevis (where Alexander Hamilton was born). Buffalo and Postman came by but since this is a little shelter decided to go on to the Captains, where he allows tenting on his property. Sherpa came by later and he, too, went onto the Captains. Hufflepuff came around 7:00 and tented it. Hufflepuff is actually hiking home. She is from a little island off the coast of Maine. She was a school teacher there in a school with a total enrollment of 8 children. She has taught all grades up to 6th grade.
Date: 2013-05-03
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

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

Today I hiked from 6:30 in the morning till 6:30 at night. But most of it is because I'm so slow through the rocks. Buffalo and Postman passed me at 9:30 before all the rocks and they got to Laurel Creek shelter at 2:45. I am that slow. Today started with a climb away from the river that lasted a good hour and a half. Then came the boulder field. The boulders covered about 4 miles. It wore me out. Then we had some fast walking on the top of a hill. Then down a chute of rocks for about a half mile, then some easy switch backs down to a river. After the river a hiker club from Virginia Tech was camping out and gave me and Sherpa a PBR (Papst Blue Ribbon beer). After the beer I climbed 2 miles on a very steep climb. At the top was a trail magic box and I grabbed a Grape soda. Then came another mile of steep climbing before I had to descend through the rocks down to the shelter. Staying here are Buffalo and Postman, Hufflepuff, Sherpa, and Doc and Boone.
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Audie Murphy Monument 

To: VA 624
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: scattered clouds

The wind howled last night flapping my tent around but I was warm and comfy in my sleeping bag and tent. I was up and walking by 6:30. It was a nice walk down to the bottom of the ridge. There I met Sherpa and I refilled my water in the stream. About 2 miles further I stopped in at a shelter. All the hikers were asleep except 2 section hikers. One of them asked me if he could do a 30 second video of me. I said yes, made my speech and then, all of a sudden, all of the thru hikers woke up. That's when BP yelled out hello from his sleeping bag and then a hiker popped up out of his bag and said, ¢Hi, i Pilgrim¢. It was Night Walker (now called Spider Mac). He asked what happened to Trekker and said he still uses the emergency blanket he gave him. So Spider Mac and BP did their videos and then Doc and Boone got up and did their bits. After we caught up on where the other March 7 starters were, I said ¢goodby¢ and headed out. The trail went up a ridge and began getting rockier and rockier. At the end of the ridge is a special trail to see a rock formation called Dragons Tooth. Then the trail went straight down the granite. It was so steep there were steel rungs drilled into the rock to help in some parts. So I finally arrived and walked .3 mile to the 4 Pines Hostel. Spider Mac, BP, Doc, and Boone and I all went to an all you can eat buffet. I ate till I felt bloated. The others continued to eat 4 helpings to my 2. It was topped off with a cherry cobbler. As the owner of the hostel picked us up he dropped 6 more hikers including Glover and Atlas. Then we were shuttled to the store to be resupplied. Back at the hostel I taught Doc and Boone how to play 301 darts while Spider Mac played BP some chess.   Drank some beer and called it a night.
Date: 2013-05-06
From: VA 624

To: Lamberts meadow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

I got up in the nice cozy hostel garage (warmed by a wood heater all night) at 6:40. Noticed that Doc and his hammock were still suspended from the meat hooks (used to hang deer) and nothing was broken. I took a look outside and saw it was raining hard. I almost went back to sleep but decided I couldn't dodge all the rainy days. So I ate breakfast (oatmeal with trail mix added and a banana nut muffin), packed my pack, and was the third one out the door. I had on my rain pants and hard shell rain jacket all day. They both kept me warm and dry throughout the day. The rain continued all day with a cold wind driving the rain sideways. The trail started off going through farm lands as I had to climb many fence stiles. Then it started going up to the famous McAfee Knob. Many hiking magazines have a picture of some hikers looking out at the view from this ledge. I arrived there and no one was around so I sat and ate my lunch. Then Tincup showed up (he gave me one of his beers last night) and we took each other¢s picture on the ledge. We then left together and hiked the next 7 miles to the second shelter. Already there was a section hiker Frago and his dog, Dundee, and later Doc, Boone, and Piddlehead completed it. They say it¢s going to rain tomorrow too, I hope I can get to Daleville early on.
Date: 2013-05-07
From: Lamberts meadow Shelter

To: US 220 - Daleville
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

Wow, 2 months on the trail today. Listened to the rain and wind all night while sleeping in the shelter. In the morning it started to thunder and lightning. Got up with Dundee and Tincup while Doc and the others slept. I was out in the rain by 8:00. The trail was real fast as Tincup and I made good time. All we had to do was watch out for slippery wood, slippery rocks, or slippery mud. My socks were soaked within an hour. Finally, as we drew near Daleville, we had to wade through mid-calf depth of water. For the last mile my feet were then very cold but we finally made it. We checked into Howard Johnson's right away. After taking a shower I went next door and we went over to Wendy's for lunch. Then we went over to the outfitter, where Tincup needed a water filter. He liked what I had to say about the Sawyer so he got one. Then I went over to the grocery store to resupply. I got some protein supplement powder in addition to my regular food needs. Then back to the motel to do laundry. There was only one washer so, since my clothes were more wet than dirty, I skipped the wash and put everything in the dryer. We'll see how that works out. I see there is a Mexican Restaurant across the street and that looks like where I will have dinner. The sky looks like it is clearing up so maybe I'll have a dryer hike tomorrow.
Date: 2013-05-08
From: US 220 - Daleville

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Again the day started out with rain. I got up in my motel room at Howard Johnson¢s around 6:30. Packed up my pack, and was in the lobby dining area for breakfast at 7:00. There I saw Postman and Buffalo (they had taken 2 zero days), B Man and Tincup. I hit the trail by 7:45. The rain came down lightly all day until about 4:00. No one passed me in the morning. When I arrived at the first shelter, I met Moxie just as she was leaving. Later after a nice hike in the rain I caught up to her. She was on the other side of this fast moving stream putting her boots back on. Since I didn't have my water shoes yet, (my wife is bring them to me on her visit), I just waded on across with my boots on. So now I once again had wet socks to walk in. The trail crossed the same stream 3 more times. On all those I was able to find rocks to cross on. The last crossing was the hardest. There was this huge boulder in the middle that you could sort of hop over to. I nearly lost my balance on its slippery surface, my feet going 2 ways but my poles helped stabilize me just in time. Then people started to pass me. First Hufflepuff, then Pushup and Cleveland. I arrived at the shelter by 2:00 but had to leave my wet boots on while I ate and got water. Later Postman and Buffalo stopped to eat and then moved on, saying were going to stay with Hufflepuff, Cleveland, and Pushup. Then Patriot showed up. He knew Moxie and he asked about Trekker, how he left the trail and asked if he was alright now. Then Dave came in, then Sherpa. Sherpa chose to tent it. The last to arrive was Starman. I ate good today. Besides my dinner of Mac and Cheese, I ate an apple and a banana. For snacks while walking I had a giant chunk of cheese, some beef jerky, and a large amount of trail mix. Also, while walking, I finished 16 ounces of protein drink. I'm very hopeful I'll stop the weight loss and put some back on.