morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-24
From: beauty spot

To: clyde smith shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Ms. Janet took us back to beauty spot where we hiked up over unaka mtn at 5180ft which is a dence spruce forest with 1 to 2 inches of snow. We hiked in short snow whiteouts off and on all day. It would snow and then sun shine. We hiked a total of 14.5 miles into clyde mtn shelter where we tented. We sat by the fire for a few minutes, however it did not help much because of the wind blowing so hard. We finally gave up and went to bed.
Date: 2012-04-25
From: clyde smith shelter

To: over mtn shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke to another cloudy morning. It rained all night again. We left camp around 9am. We headed toward roan mtn. We started up roan and there was like 5 or 6 inches of snow on top of roan. It was so cold and wet. We walked in mud, water and snow all day. Our feet were so wet. I don't think they will ever dry out. Roan Mtn is 6217ft. After we got to carvers gap we took a short break where a lady from new mexico gave us something to drink. We then headed to hump mtn. We kinda missed the blaze and we went to the end of the mtn and the trail ended. We backtracked and ran into dtunes. We all had missed the blaze and realized that we had went like a mile out of the way. We finally made it to the barn at 6pm. We set our tent up in the barn and then fixed dinner. We went back to the tent to read. Around 7 we heard the rain hitting the roof. So gald to be sleeping in the dry for the night.
Date: 2012-04-26
From: over mtn shelter

To: Elk River
Miles today: 15.2

Woke to yet another rainy morning. It was storming so hard that the thunder was shaking the barn. We decided to wait to see if it stopped. It finally stopped and we headed out around 10:40. We went up and over the balds where the wind was blowing so hard that it was blowing us off our feet. We had to take baby steps to keep from blowing over. We got to us 19e and hitched into town where we ate at Highlanders. They have the best burgers on the trail. The owner took us back to the hostel where we waited to see if it was gonna rain. We decided to head on up the trail. We hiked to Elk River where we made camp for the night. Ratman tried to catch a fish. NO success. Maybe next time. We did not cook because we were still full from the burgers and fries. Then off to bed. We have 18 miles tomorrow to Kincora.
Date: 2012-04-27
From: Elk River

To: Dennis Cove Rd
Miles today: 18.4

Left camp at 7:15. Earliest time out of camp yet. We are ready to get to kincora. Ratmans son and wife are coming to visit us tomorrow. We did 12 miles to Moreland Gap Shelter by noon. We finally stopped for a short break and then headed the last 6 miles to kincora. We saw a snake and a deer. The last 6 miles were the hardest yet. Maybe it was beacuse we were so tired and had not had anything to eat since 7am. Then it was just a honeybun for breakfast. Finally got to kincora around 2:30. Sat around and talked to other hikers. Ratman went to town and brought back pizza and cereal for supper. It was nice to sleep in a bed. Bob Peoples is such a great person for all he does for the hikers and the community."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-04-28
From: Dennis Cove Rd

To: Waycaster spring
Miles today: 2.2

Josh and Holly came to visit today. We went to Elizabethton. We went to walmart to resupply and then we went to pals for lunch. Nanner had never eaten there so we treated him to a chicken sandwich and fries. We went to the covered bridge to eat. After eating we went back to Kincora. It was 3pm before we started hiking after repacking our packs. We got to Laural Falls and tried to find crawdads but had no luck. We hiked another miles to waycaster spring and decided to camp for the night. Ratman and Nanner tried their luck again with the crawdads and ended up catching 4. We boiled them and had them for dinner. Ratman and Nanner decided to walk into Hampton for Subway sandwiches. When they arrived back at camp they had a guest with them. The trail angel that gave them a ride to town hiked back in with them and we all sat around the fire and talked. He got our info because he plans to hike the AT next year. After he left we retired to our tents for the night."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-04-29
From: Waycaster spring

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: few clouds

Left camp at 7:45. Walked along the river for a while before started a 1700ft climb to pond flats. We then made our way down to Watauga Lake. At the road there was a cooler with drinks and cookies in it. TRAIL MAGIC!!!! We then we to the swimming area and waited on Nanner. While sitting there another vehicle pulled up with more trail magic. They had sandwiches, chips, drinks and resupplies for the hikers. After spending 3 hours at the lake we then headed for the shelter 9 miles away. We walked over the dam that overlooks the lake. It was a pretty place. As we started up the mtn we saw a 6ft black snake basking in the sun on the trail. We stopped 1.7 away from the shelter and had supper by a spring. We got to the shelter and we were the only ones there. There is a huge rock behind the shelter so we pitched our tent. The view overlooked the lake and the town below from 3600ft. We built a fire and sat around and listened to the coyotes and owls talking to each other all night. It was nice to have the shelter to ourselves. It was a great night."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-04-30
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke to a beautiful sunrise over the lake. We had breakfast and then headed up the trail. We hiked 3.8 miles to a piped spring where we filled our bellies and bottles with great spring water. We made our way up to Iron Mtn Shelter at 4120ft where we took a break and talked to some sobos. We passed Nick Grindstaff Monument 1.3 miles after the shelter. As we were walking we jumped 2 bear cubs and they ran up a tree. Thank God they did not cry for mama bear because we had no idea which direction she was. We watched as they scrambled down the tree and ran over the hill. We then made our way to TN 91 that leads into shady valley. There we found trail magic from a local church that consisted of snacks and cold drinks. Very refreshing. We then hiked 3 miles where we had lunch at double springs shelter with 3 other hikers. After a nice break we made our way 3.5 miles to low gap where there was yet more trail magic from a 2011 thru hiker. He brought pizza and drinks. As we were talking to him we were amazed to find out that he knows ratmans cousins that live in bristol. The trail is such a small world. We made it 1.9 more miles where we set up camp. We were planning to do more mileage but our bellies were way to full. We camped with a retired state trooper from NJ. We were sitting around the fire talking and a short rain shower sent us to our tents for the night."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-05-01
From: Double Spring Gap

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: broken clouds

We got up early this morning so that we could make it to damascus by noon. We made it here at 11. We made real good time. We had food on the brain so we made double time. On the way we saw 3 deer and 2 snakes. When we got to town we hit Quency's and had a blackened chicken salad each, a calzone and fries. Yummy! We are spending the night at The Place owned by the church. We will head out tomorrow. updates are as followed.trail magic-47money found on trail-4.63extra miles walked-27.5slack pack-2falls- 1 eachwildlifesnakes-18deer-6turkey-4grouse-4bear-2wolf-1"Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-05-03
From: beach grove gap trail

To: piped spring past buzzerd rock
Miles today: 16.2

We had breakfast in damascus and then a guy gave us a ride back to the trail where we got off yesterday. Over the next 4 miles we climbed over a thousand feet to Saunders shelter for a break. As we were getting to the creepers trail we met a lady who had taken 119 trips to the trail to finish her thru hike. When we reached the creepers trail a storm was approaching so we raced 2.5 miles to lost mtn shelter before the storm hit. After the storm pasted we hiked 4.4 miles to buzzed rock at 5100 ft where we made camp before night fall.
Date: 2012-05-04
From: piped spring past buzzerd rock

To: old orchard shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke to a foggy morning. We hiked past elk garden and up 5500ft to Thomas knob shelter where we had a snack. There we met the shelter caretaker. She was replacing the journal because someone had stolen the other one. After the shelter we entered grayson highlands state park. We did a lot of rock hopping and we went through fat man squeeze. We saw about 20 wild horses and babies. Someone had left trail magic of cokes on the trail. As we were walking we heard a loud noise and looked up and 4 fighter jets flew above us. It was awesome. We made it to wise shelter where we had lunch and celebrated reaching 500 miles. We then set out for our camp site at old orchard shelter. We had supper and set around the fire. We then returned to our tent before it started raining again.
Date: 2012-05-05
From: old orchard shelter

To: camp site
Miles today: 18.4

Left camp at 9am. Hiked in rain showers all day. Climbed 4240ft to chestnut flats and down to picky gap. We hiked to the water falls before dicky gap. We had trimpi shelter during a pouring rain. We got trail magic of cold drinks and snacks at va 670 provided by a local youth group. We made our way to our camp. As we were setting up 3 section hikers came along and stopped and talked for a while. We sat by the fire for a couple of hours and retired to our tent.
Date: 2012-05-06
From: camp site

To: atkins, va
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

Left camp at 8am. Made it 6.3 miles to partnership shelter by 10:30am. We planned to hitch into Marion but got trail magic of burgers, dogs and all the fixings instead. Their son is on the trail also so they wanted to do trail magic. We then made our way to adkins where nanner had scoped out tent sites for us. We walked to town and had pizza then went back to the tent and fell asleep.
Date: 2012-05-07
From: atkins, va

To: knot maul branch shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

We had breakfst at the red barn with nanner, walking man, rau who is walking mans nephew. We recived food boxes from my daughter and missy who is the PT that ratman works with. Thank you Missy and Ceonia we appreciate anything we get. You can't imagine how much it lifts our spirits. While going through our food boxes diamond dave came out and offered nanner a ride back to damascus and told us he was slack packing easy mile and that he would do the same for us. How can we refuse 11.3 miles without our full packs? We summited little brushy mtn which was a 900ft climb in 5 miles but we did not mind the climb because the weather was perfect for hiking. We came upon a 6ft black snake that was very aggressive. When he noticed us he coiled up and raised his head like a cobra while rattling his tail like a rattlesnake. As we started up the next climb we passed walking man and rau. You should have seen their faces drop when they saw us coming up behind them without our packs. They started 30 minutes before us so they missed out on the slack. We made our way to the pavilion on VA 42 where we met up with diamond dave and easy mile. Diamond dave had cold drinks and our packs waiting on us. After talking for about an hour we headed on to the shelter where we set up our tent and chatted with other hikers before hitting the sack."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-05-08
From: knot maul branch shelter

To: Va 623
Miles today: 15.1

Woke to yet another rainy morning. It started around 6am so we decided to wait until the rain let up before heading out. We finally left camp around 9am. In the first 2 miles we summited lynn camp mtn and then made our way down to VA 625 where we had a snack. From there which was at 2300ft we started our climb up to 4410ft to chestnut knob shelter in 4.2 miles. This shelter sits on the original site where the biltmore estates was suppose to be built but lord biltmore chose ashville instead. We made our way down to walker gap where we had lunch before hiking 4.5 miles to VA 623. When we arrived there walking man and rau informed us that they arranged a ride to a local town where the church takes hikers in. We made it in and had our first shower in 6 days.Its great to be out of the rain."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-05-09
From: Va 623

To: Va 623
Miles today: 7.8

Taking a zero today with our church family. We had breakfast and then went to walmart for a few supplies. We are going to the church this evening to clean and maybe mow and weedeat if its not to wet. We are preparing supper for our hosts this evening which will consist of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad. We will be back on the trail tomorrow. God Bless and thank you for your support."Walk With Jesus"
Date: 2012-05-10
From: Va 623

To: jenny knob shelter
Miles today: 27.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night at supper we were talking about slack packing. Ron, our host asked us what slack packing is and we told him. He looked at ratman and said i'll do that for ya. How can we refuse. We started looking at maps and trying to find a road that he could bring our packs. We found road 611 in our book but couldn't find it on a map. We were gonna just slack 16 but when we got up this morning Ron informed us that he had found 611. So Ron slacked ratman and I and walking man and ryu. We met ron at rd 611 around 4pm and he surprised us with subs from subway. We said our goodbyes and headed to Jennys Knob Shelter. we arrived around 7 and set up our tent. We then went to sleep because we were very tired and sore from the hike in today. We want to thank Ron and Naomi for everything they did for us and what they do for all hikers. We want them to know they will be in our prayers.
Date: 2012-05-11
From: jenny knob shelter

To: docs knob shelter
Miles today: 22.6
Weather: clear sky

Today started out real cool but as we hiked it finally started to warm up. We hiked to dismal falls and to a lunch break. We sat there for around an hour. It was so nice we didn't even want to move. We had no choice though we had to press on. We hiked along a road with pines all around it was real nice and mostly flat which makes it more nice. We hiked past wapiti shelter where the book Murder on the Appalachian Trail was based. The book is about a guy that had killed 2 hikers at the shelter several years ago. It was a real nice walk however it was kinda creepy just because we know what happened in the area. We saw 3 deer and a snake for the day. We finally made it to the shelter around 7. We had supper of noddles and mac and cheese. We headed to our tent and attempted to sleep for our 8 miles into pearisburg.
Date: 2012-05-12
From: docs knob shelter

To: pearisburg, va
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: overcast clouds

What a night. Neither of us could sleep. Him because he was cold and me because i was in so much pain. We finally said heck with it and got up at 5am packed and started walking. We used our headlamps until day break. It was a beautiful sunrise over angels rest. We had several beautiful views. It was a cool morning for walking. We got to town at 9am and headed straight for FOOD!!! We ate at hardees and then found a motel so we can rest our weary bodies for a few hours before heading 20 miles tomorrow to the captains place where we get to zip line across the creek to his house. We are going to the po and to do laundry and to mexican later. We want to thank Lisa for our mail drop and also to the chapmans for all their support. Just to let you know that we plan to come for a visit and show you all of our pics along with stories when we get home..P.S Tim remember you still owe us a fishing trip. God Bless!Totals--trail magic--58money found--5.15extra miles--44slack packs--5wildlifesnakes--20deer--11turkey--7grouse--4bear--2wolf--1falls--1 each
Date: 2012-05-13
From: pearisburg, va

To: pine swamp branch shelter
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Left pearisburg 10am. They are calling for rain and storms for the day. Hoping to get to the shelter before they hit. We hiked to rice field shelter at 3460ft which was an 1800ft climb over 6.8 miles. As we we hiking up the mtn ratman almost stepped on a 7ft black snake that was right on the trail. We made our way to the shelter where we had lunch. As I was headed to the privy I almost stepped on an 8ft black snake. It was the biggest snake we have seen yet. After leaving we made our way to pine swamp. It started sprinkling about a mile and half from the shelter. We got our tent set up had dinner and went to bed.
Date: 2012-05-14
From: pine swamp branch shelter

To: warspur shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: moderate rain

Woke up to a very rainy morning. It rained all night long. We left camp at 8:30. We went to the captains place where you can zipline across the creek to his place. We decided against it because they were giving heavy rains and severe storms and flash flooding. We hiked in downpours all day long. It made hiking real hard because we were on rocks most of the day and they were so slippery. Ever step you were either sliding on rocks or slipping in the mud. The trail literally turned into a small creek. We were wading in the water plus hiking in the rain. We decided to stop at the shelter and call it a day due to the weather. We got to the shelter changed into dry clothes. We were eating lunch and the sun popped out. Imagine that. hike in the rain, stop and the sun comes out. Anyhow, we set up our tent to dry out and made a clothes line to hang our clothes to dry. After the tent was dry we climbed in and relaxed from the hard day.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: warspur shelter

To: Va, 42
Miles today: 8.2

It rained all night again. It finally stopped before we left camp. We hiked 3750ft up to kelly's knob. We planned to hike 28 miles today so that we would be 12 miles from catawba where we plan to meet aunt joyce. We made it to laurel creek shelter where we had a short break and headed on. As we headed down the trail ratman made a comment that when we got to the road we would go on to aunt joyces if we got a ride. I was behind him and I was like YES, YES YES. So of course my mind started making plans to stick my thumb our for a ride. I would even beg if I had to just to keep from hiking 28 miles possibly in some rain again. We got to the road and of course no service on our phones. We stood there for an hour and no ride. Lots of cars drove by but no ride. I'm like Oh no I am gonna have to hike 20 more miles. I was so tired from hiking in the rain from yesterday. I told him I will get a ride. I walked to a house close by to see how far we were away from catawba. I found out that it was like an hour drive. However, the lady I was talking to said today may be your lucky day. Just so happen that he roommate was headed to salem to pick up her son and was leaving in 30 minutes. WOW!!! That's how the trail works. We had a ride...yipppy!!! We got to salem and we could not get ahold of aunt joyce so we stopped by tammy's shop and surprised her. She said your not to be here till tomorrow. She was fixing to leave work so she took us to joyces. Tammy said she couldn't smell us until we got into the car and then she was rolling down the windows. Aunt joyce got home with the surprise of having guests a day early. Tammy, joyce, eddie, ratman and I spent the afternoon talking and enjoying each others company. Joyce and Tammy fixed supper and it was great. We had bbq sandwiches, potato salad, salad and cold drinks. It was great to everyone again. Trail Days this weekend.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Va, 42

To: niday shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

After arriving back from trail days with troll we started hiking. Three miles into our hike we saw our first rattlesnake close to bruisers knob at 3400ft. We decided to make it a short day since we hadn't hiked any in 4 days. Trail days was fun we saw several friends that we hadn't seen in a while. But we were ready to get back hiking. We made it to the shelter at 5:30 and met up with friends that we hadn't seen since Erwin, TN. We did our chores of setting up camp, collecting water and having supper. We then retired to our tent for the evening.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: niday shelter

To: va, 624/ four pines hostel
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: few clouds

Woke to a beautiful morning and hit the trail by 8am. They are calling for bad weather to come in and we didn't want to get caught in it. We hiked up to 3056ft to brush mtn. where there is a bench. We took our packs off and rested for a few minutes. We were fixing to head back out when we heard voices. We looked over and there was 2 people coming down a side trail carrying 2 coolers.TRAIL MAGIC!! Who would have thought of this on the top of a mountain? We had cold drinks and I had a hersheys bar. Chocolate! I had forgotten to get chocolate in damascus so this was a great treat for me. We then headed on to Audie Murphy Monument. This is where actor/war hero died in a plane crash. He was the most decorated american soldier of WWII. We then made our way to dragons tooth which is a HUGE stone monolith. The views were amazing. We heard the thunder moving in so we quickly but carefully made our way off dragons tooth. About two miles from the road it started sprinkling. the storm was getting closer so we made double time to the road and headed for the hostel. There we got to pitch our tent in an alpalca barn. Not alot of sleep thanks to the crocking bull frogs and dogs barking all night. But at least we were dry.
Date: 2012-05-22
From: va, 624/ four pines hostel

To: lamberts meadow shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: few clouds

Woke to a cloudy day. Still calling for showers today. We made our way to va 311 at catawba and hitched a ride to the PO and to the store for a biscuit before heading to McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. As we were climbing to McAfee it started storming so we headed to Catawba Mtn shelter to wait out the storm. While there several other hikers had the same plans. After the rain had passed we headed on up the mtn to McAfee. The view was beautiful even though there was no sun. You can see for miles and miles. McAfee is the most photoed place on the AT. We then made our way to Tinker Cliffs where you can look back to McAfee. We got through all of the rock mazes of tinker cliffs and headed for the shelter. We set up camp close to the creek. As we were going in to the shelter we saw 5 deer.
Date: 2012-05-23
From: lamberts meadow shelter

To: daleville
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: moderate rain

Headed out at 6:45. We were in hiker mode. We made it to town 10:20. We hiked over angels gap and hay rock. We made our way through alot of rock formations. Upon on arrival we checked in and headed for lunch. Along the way we heard sacadias(not sure about the spelling..lol) they only come out every 17 years. Sometime they sound really creepy when hiking through the fog. Pics will be posted later someone is waiting for the internet.
Date: 2012-05-24
From: daleville

To: daleville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Taking a zero today in Daleville,VA. We are 14 miles from the Blueridge Parkway. 88.9 from Montebello. 128 from Waynesboro, Va and 286 miles to the West Virginia line. Here is a list of our equipment not sure of the weight..lol. Tent..MArmot limelight 2Packs..Flash 65 REISleeping bag..marmot maverick 30 degreestove.. MSR REIPad..walmart blue padBase weight around 12lbs thats before food and water.Here are our next 5 mail drops for anyone whos wishes to send a letter, card, ETC.Winston Terry General DeliveryWaynesboro, VA 22980Winston TerryGeneral DeliveryHarpers Ferry, WV 25425Winston TerryGeneral DeliveryBoiling Springs, PA 17007Winston Terry General DeliveryPort Clinton, PA 19549Winston Terry General DeliveryDelaware Water Gap, PA 18327Thank you for all of your support. God Bless!!!