morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-07
From: Bob Peoples Kincora Hiking Hostel

To: Vandeventer
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We all decided that the goal was to get to Damascus in 2 days, but were divided as to how to go about it. Half of us wanted to do the damascathon which would mean an 18 mile day and a 33 mile day or two 25's. The half that wanted to do the 25's set off early at about 5 am in the hopes they'd get into the shelter around mid afternoon. The rest of us slept in and got woken by the sound of rain tapping on the sides of the little shack we'd settled into. Begrudgingly we all got up and packed our things for the two day journey.I took off with Houdini and Neon Mountains who we met the night before and had stayed out on the porch of the little shack because he was freaked out by the thought of mice having nested into the couch he had originally settled into. He walks so fast its boarding on running and when he went down hill it was literally running. I wanted to keep up but there was no way that was happening so I stopped bothering pretty early on and kicked it with Houdini for a good bit of the morning. The rain came pretty early on and it wasn't long before I got soaked all the way through. After seeing Neon Mountains with his umbrella and then another guy going south bound with an umbrella and rain skirt we both came to the conclusion as we stood soaking wet they had the optimum set up and it was pretty appealing for summertime.Going by Wattuaga lake would have been amazing on a clear day but it poured rain the entire time I was going by it. Made for some cool pictures but I can only imagine what it's like on a sunny day. Going across the dam was pretty miserable since the rain was coming down so hard and I wasn't entirely sure if I was supposed to cross it since the blaze wasn't visible in the down pour. After a few back and forths I noticed the white blaze on a rock that was laying over and I could finally carry on up the trail.When I got into the shelter that night I was pretty miserable since the rain had been constant almost all day and then poured on my last couple hours of hiking getting me soaked again. I came into an almost full shelter but there was still a couple of spaces left so I snagged the one next to the wall and got nearly settled in till I found out about the half mile hike for water. I do not recommend going for water down there, the hike is so long there's a campsite halfway down to it. After filling up on water I climbed back up the hill to the shelter and got to catch a view of the city down below blanketed by fog on its boarders. Beautiful sight before I cooked dinner and went to bed for an early start tomorrow.
Date: 2015-04-12
From: The Place, Damascus

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I spent the entire day with Mary and planned on doing some night hiking so I could spend some more time with her. I got back onto the trail at about 5 that evening and started on my way when I ran into Tribute formerly Ryan who I had started out with back at Springer. It was great to see him again and we chatted for a bit before his group all headed out for some dinner and I went back to take on the trail. As I was heading out of town a guy offered to buy me some food at one of the local gas stations as a little trail Magic before he went to an AT preparation course being held by an old thru hiker. A hiker never turns down food so I gladly took the offer and we chatted for a bit before I got onto the trail again. I didn't even leave town until about 6 with all the talking I'd done and still had another 8 miles to go before I'd hit the shelter. I loved hiking in the night and went by some pretty awesome features as I made my way through the darkness with a tiny little headlamp to guide my way. I went by a little waterfall that looked amazing to me as the only thing illuminate when I grazed by it. My favorite part by far was crossing a precarious rock ledge the trail skirts across through the darkness with a seemingly endless fall below. Didn't seem to be moving very quickly and I hit the shelter at about 1030 with plenty of room left. I was as quiet as possible since I was so late getting in and didn't want to wake anyone so turned off my head lamp then crawled into my bag.
Date: 2015-04-13
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up with the sun as usual and realized I had finally caught Nazi Surfer Snow Zombie who I'd been about a day behind for the last few weeks. He offered me a shot of espresso which seems to be his thing and offers some to every through hiker he meets. He must have had 2 pounds of grounds with him. Took me a little while to get going but I loved having all that fruit I brought along with that was a great treat.Didn't make it too far down the trail before the poison Ivy i'd gotten back in Damascus was really looking nasty and acting up. Luckily I grabbed some calamine lotion before I hit the trail again rubbed some in. Every step I took seemed to just scratch at it like one of those green scrubbers you use to clean the dishes. After about 30 minutes though I had completely forgotten about it and all that scratching eventually lead to soothing.I had great weather till the last part of the day and the funk really started to come in and just progressed the higher we got. The view from the top of Mt. Rodgers really left a lot to be desired since it's a view less peak and the foggy misty rain wasn't helping anything. I wanted to do some more night hiking but it was just so bad out I couldn't motivate myself to keep walking in the rain, I'd done enough of that already.
Date: 2015-04-14
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up to pretty much the same weather as we went to bed with but the tin roof made it sound worse than it was. I laid in my bag for a while as I heard the rain pounding the rough dreading the journey out to the privy. When I had finally resolved to get up I was surprised to see how light the rain was compared to the sound of it. It was a pleasant surprise but still meant I'd have another day of trudging through the rain and fog.All that being said I did have the Ponies and Fresh Grounds to help get me motivated to get down from the mountain. As I crossed the view less balds all I could think about was getting to see some Ponies I had an apple in my pack and was ready to get a pony selfie. When I made it to wise shelter everyone instantly asked if I'd seen the Ponies. I simply replied "No" at that point everyone broke out their phones to show me pictures of the ones I had just missed. The next stretch of miles proved to be ponyless as well. Ok I thought I live close enough I can always come back no big deal and besides I can go down and tell fresh grounds about my tragedy as I filled myself with hot dogs. I pulled into Old Orchard shelter and Tobacco instantly asked if I'd heard the bad news and I jokingly said "What that I hadn't seen any Ponies?" after which he told me Fresh Grounds had left camp that very morning. It was a crushing blow but ever the optimist I thought well maybe he hasn't left yet and I just about sprinted the 2 miles down to the gap only to find a ghost town of the once thriving Leap Frog Cafe. All that remained was his sign pointing to a now empty clearing delivering the final blow to my already bad day.The trail gods were on my side though and I ran into an older couple who were stopping by for the day and happened to have some candy bars that they offered me. I can't even explain how badly I needed those bars not physically but emotionally. It had been a very tough day and there's nothing like kind hearted people and a little chocolate to warm ya up. I made it to the shelter and even got a little sunshine for the last couple of hours which offered a nice break from all the gloominess of the day.
Date: 2015-04-16
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Happily woke up to some left over pizza, I don't know if there's a better way to start the day. I was kinda slow to pack up even though I knew it was gonna be along day ahead of me. It was another cold morning and I was dreading only having shorts to wear but luckily for me there was a visitors center just up the road from me and I was able to hide out for a while in there warm up and charge my phone. they also had a little information about the local area and the Ponies which AREN'T actually wild and that warmed my heart a bit in a kind of sinister way.I didn't end up leaving till about 11 and wasn't going very fast when I hit the trail. The first 10 miles really seemed to drag on and I knew I wasn't making very good time at all, but when I heard there was trail magic in the School house up ahead I was almost obligated to stop. It was maintained by a local church and they had everything a hiker could ask for from bandannas to cokes. It helped give me a little extra boost so I could make it to the Exxon station and get myself a bit of a snack and a couple Gatorades a.k.a. water containers.It was 4 o'clock by the time I actually made it to the exxon station and I still had almost 12 miles to go. I knew I'd really have to move it if I was gonna make it to the shelter before nightfall. To my own surprise I managed a 3 mile an hour pace the entire way there and didn't feel too terrible by the end of it all. I was pretty much exhausted from it and completely skipped cooking dinner and opted for a honey bun just for the convenience of it, wasn't very filling but got the job done.
Date: 2015-04-17
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Garden Mountain Ridge Line
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up feeling a little sore this morning after the long haul yesterday so I was pretty slow at the start of the day. There was a good little group there in the morning and we all sat around and talked for a bit as everyone was packing up. I finally got to meet crocrocket who I'd seen in the log books for weeks and always been a day or two behind. Me and crocrocket ended up walking for a while and I was stoked when he gave me a pair of ear bud covers. Mine ripped off a couple days back and they were brutal on my ears I pretty much drapped the cords over the backs of them which was getting annying. By lunch time I had slowed down a good bit and started feeling just absolutely exhausted like no energy left at all. I only made it a few more miles past the shelter and set up camp on the ridge line, didn't even make it to Davis Farm Campsite.I figured it wasn't too big of a deal since I'd done so many miles already and wouldn't get picked up till Sunday so I knew the extra miles wouldn't kill me. I didn't have the energy to build a fire and gather wood but the wind was blowing was whipping so I decided to throw up my tarp for the night. I was all settled in by 630 and decided to watch Step Brothers till the sun went down and then I drifted off as the stars started doting the sky.
Date: 2015-04-18
From: Garden Mountain Ridge Line

To: Creek Near 612
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up with the sunrise and was feeling a lot better than the day before and had a pretty easy day ahead of me. Took me about an hour as usual to get up and moving since the wind was still blowing and made the air chilly. I wound up leaving my down vest on for a while as I waited to warm up but the terrain was so flat I never really got hot. The majority of the day was like this and I never had a big climb more than a few hundred feet.With the easy terrain I got to Highway 52 by about 3 and sat on top of a large outcropping in the median that the trail goes over giving you a view of the valley and 77. It was actually a really cool spot and I couldn't help but moon all the people down on the interstate while I was up on top of my perch. After my display of affection to all the drivers down below I was startled as a man came nearly running up to the top of the median right towards me. My thoughts started racing and he gave me a great big smile as he asked if I'd found the cash. Confused and a little disoriented I listened as he explained how there was a geocache, not cash money, that had been hidden atop the median. Relieved and amused I signed the little log that was stashed inside an old film canister role. I was the 53 person to sign and only the 5th one to identify as a Thru Hiker, the others I didn't even recognize and the oldest date went back to 2012! It was almost like a little time capsule, I thought it was pretty cool and good luck to anyone else who goes looking for it! After the geocache excitement I called Mary and talked for a couple hours till some rain came in and made my way down to the little gap next to small creek and road. I originally set up my Tarp to try and hide myself a bit since I was so close to the road but come midnight I was glad I had as a light came through.
Date: 2015-04-26
From: Creek Near 612

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Got driven back down by dad, I forgot a couple of things and luckily we realized it before we got onto 37 though. We had a nice talk on the way back down to the trail and began to notice the clouds that were hovering around the mountaintops but I wasn't deterred all ya can really do is laugh at the rain and not let it get ya down. By the time we got back down to where I had left off at there was a light drizzle coming down.It didn't take long before the drizzle had dissipated and I was just walking with the clouds. The only downside to this kind of cloud travel is all the mist as they roll over top the mountain ridges like puffs of wet smoke. I was pleasantly surprised during the last hour of my hike though as the clouds gave way to sunshine which started sucking all the moisture out of the air. I was a little disappointed to find the shelter all full when I got in but I knew to expect as much with my near sundown arrival time.I sat down at the table and joined folks for dinner where I ran into Bonafide again who I had met way back in the Smokies. After filling myslef back up I threw out my bag for a little cowboy camping. Alot of the folks questioned my decision with how wet the day had been but I felt pretty confident there wouldn't be anymore weather tonight. I laid down and started to read until the stars were completely out and then I just laid back and looked up till I was sound asleep.
Date: 2015-04-27
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Docs Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to a nice sunny morning and was a little damp from the dew, first time this has really happened while I've been cowboy camping since I usually have a fire going next to me. One of the guys in the shelter got out in the middle of the night and set up his hammock since someone was snoring so loud. Unfortunately for him his bag and hammock got soaked in dew since he was raised up so high off the ground with no cover.I decided to add protein powder to my morning oatmeal concoction to help give me little extra boost to start my day after how tired I'd gotten a few days back I figure I need more food. Put on some podcasts on and had a nice casual start to the day, I really like starting my day off with them since it gets my mind going and I usually don't hike too fast when I'm listening. The morning seemed to go really slow but I realized that was because I thought I was like 3 miles farther back then I actually was by lunch time.Ended up doing a 24 mile day when it was all said and done to my surprise and couldn't believe how good my body felt after that many miles and a week off. I thought for sure my feet would be aching but I actually felt pretty good other than being unsure of where I'd go tomorrow night. The distances between shelters is funny so I think I'll probably end up cowboy camping tomorrow night.
Date: 2015-04-28
From: Docs Knob Shelter

To: Symms Gap
Miles today: 0.0

Did about 21 miles today to my surprise after the long day yesterday I wasn't sure how my body would be feeling when I woke up. I felt great all morning till I started to get into Pearisburg and I started smelling this vinegary ammonia type smell pouring out of a nearby factory. You could smell it about a mile out and then for another couple miles down river as the wind carried it along. The trail through Pearisburg is a little disappointing between the smells of the factory and then the tainted water source you cross as you glide along the side of the local dump, really makes ya feel like Hiker trash.I was surprised at how many deer blinds I saw dotting the side of the trail as well seems like the locals don't have much regard for hiker safety. As I reached the summit of the climb out of town I sat down for lunch and called Mary when my phone suddenly died. No indication as to how or why but the thing just shut off and wouldn't turn back on. I hiked on in anger and frustration with no means of communication, music, or podcasts.Luckily I ran into another thru hiker a little ways on named mile marker and we ended up having a great talk about all kinds of things. We was from the peace corp and we talked a lot about him being stationed in Azerbaijan and the vast differences between the nations. That evening we ran into Four, Five, and Brother Louis all camped out ontop of a meadow with a nice view of the valley below. Oddly enough Borther Louis was Armenian and we had just been talking about the tensions between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis I couldn't believe the coincidence, such a small world we live in.Decided to camp out with them and catch up since I had seen those guys since I was in the Smokies so it was a nice little reunion. The sunset that night was incredible and everyone got some awesome pictures which I still need to get! I think it was the first really awesome sunset I've seen the colors were incredible and left us all pretty speechless as we watched the sun fade away to to starlight. The sunset really made up for the disappointment of my phone randomly breaking on me and can't be too mad when ya get to sleep out under the stars.
Date: 2015-04-29
From: Symms Gap

To: The Captains
Miles today: 0.0

It was a late start to the day and I don't think we got out of camp until after nine which always seems to be the case when I camp with four and five. With my phone down for the count I instantly began thinking about how I could get it fixed and knew if I could get to a computer I may be able to plug it into itunes and reboot it. I figured my options would be to either go back into Pearisburg and hit their Library or carry onward hoping that the Captain might have a computer I could use for a minute or two. Four and Five made a great point about moving forward and it didn't make sense to go back I can always hitch.We made really good time in the first part of the day and were hauling ass up over some of those little hills. When we got down to the streams we stopped for a little break and ran into a garder snake out sunning himself on the rocks. Five came over and picked the little guy up letting it run around through his fingers, personally not too big on snakes haha but it was pretty cool.I decided to take off a little sooner and book it the rest of the way down the mountain to the captains hoping I could get my phone fixed by the time they were passing by after their lunch. The Captains place was awesome and I ran into Nazi Surfer Snow Zombie again which was awesome along with Hercules. After a couple of sodas the Captain came back and was working on repainting a trailer he was converting to a model plane hanger. I offered a hand but he wouldn't take it so I just stood there talking with him for about an hour and some change as he finished up.I found out the factory I had passed a few days back was actually the place where they make filters for over half the worlds cigarettes and they don't stop production, ever. The Captain was the head of HR over there and responsible for all the scheduling until he retired a few years back. After getting to know him I asked if I could use his computer to try and fix my phone. I tried for quite a few hours but was never able to get it working to much chagrin and decided I'd go to an apple store tomorrow to get it fixed.
Date: 2015-05-03
From: The Captains

To: Mile 660
Miles today: 0.0

Ended up staying home for a couple days since it was Apple Blossom weekend and that's always a lot of fun so I figured why not. I got back on the trail kind of late in the evening so I had to night hike for a good bit and didn't find my spot till about 10 pm. It was a great night for a hike though with the moon out and the stars shining to light my way.The spot I found was amazing and I settled down on top of a moss covered rock right on the side of the trail. The spot looked like it had almost been designed for cowboy camping. I had to contend with a few daddy long legs but that's not really much to complain abut considering the spot. It was super blush and padded by the thick layer of moss and leaves covering it all.
Date: 2015-05-04
From: Mile 660

To: Sarver Hollow
Miles today: 0.0

Had a nice hike today and the heat has descended upon us and I think I got a little bit of sun poisoning today from being out in it for so long. The distances between water has also gotten pretty dang far apart with almost 10 mile stretches without a single drop. The shelters also seemed to be incredibly far off the trail with almost half a mile hikes down to a lot of them and their water sources.The climbs we had throughout the day also felt pretty intense and those wiped me out a good bit with limited water supplies. I'm probably a little dehydrated from it all too cause my head is throbbing. The walk to get water wasn't as bad as I thought and went by an old home stead site which was pretty cool.I saw loner boner at the shelter tonight who I hadn't seen since Georgia and I was happy to see the old man was still going strong 74 ain't no joke! Bonafide was also there again as well as a thru hiker named august a south bounder and a section hiker. I built a fire and started to cook my dinner and began talking with Loner Boner who told me about the odd stacks of rocks that dotted the mountain tops. Apparently these were the fields of the old farmers who had cleared them out in the hopes of growing grains to provide for their families.I couldn't imagine the work it must have taken to accomplish all of this as each stacked must have weighed a ton and there was 20 to 30 of these spread out along the ridge. Lower down on the mountain we had passed a single pile that must have weighed nearly the same as all the stacks we went by higher up and they had built a stone wall going from the bottom of the mountain all the way to top. These men were not afraid of hard work and it doesn't look like hardly anything could stop them....well except their land being taken away but that's a whole other story.