morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-21
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 7.2
Weather: broken clouds

Easy 7 mile day. Didn't even camel up on water. This hostel really is a slice of heaven. While sitting around relaxing and taking in the whole place I came across some light reading about the history of the hostel. Learned about yet another example of how the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) served America. A good bit of the trail and shelters along the Appalachian Trail was a result of their work and the quality of it still shows even today. These were skilled handymen, craftsman, and woodworkers. Then I read about the history of elk in the area (Wapiti means elk). The population was basically hunted and exterminated well before I was born. I've never seen an elk before I would like to, especially after reading about them here. Anyways, today has been immensely relaxing. As usual I did not get much personal reading or writing done. Too busy chatting away with interesting people left and right. Then I dove into a book I found in the hiker box instead of the one I've been carrying. Neville is a little powerhouse of smiles and goodness. El Borrego must of been very thankful to see this place. He takes the cake for the worst on-trail injury I've seen with my own eyes so far. He dropped a flaming alcohol stove on his lap burning his inner thigh dangerously close to the crotch. Stop, drop, and roll didn't exactly work for his situation and after a good attempt at that, he had to jump in a spring. The burns in such a sensitive spot will probably be a trail ender. Dinner consisted of things grown right from the garden among other mostly local sources such as the Amish store. The first real food I've had in a really long time. It was the best salad ever. The homemade bread was excellent. And the lasagna really hit the spot. This was all topped off with ice cream and a meditation. Every meal starts in a hippy thankful circle of guests holding hands and sharing what they're thankful for today. It's a good practice and quite meditative in and of itself. I guess it's like saying grace and it reminds you to take a moment and reflect. I took a personal moment to reflect on how well the trail has been treating all of us. I also liked the "broke hiker jar". It's there for people to donate giving broke travelers the funds to stay and help keep this place running.
Date: 2014-05-22
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night thunderstormed hard for a bit. Gave my tent a beating and people inside the bunk house were worried about me but I think it's because the tin roof makes it sound worse than it is. I woke up wide awake around 1am feeling well rested (could it be the meditation?) and I contemplated staying up just to read. Nah, wanted to be well rested for today since I decided to uncharacteristically make reservations for a place in town. Stone Bear convinced me it would be hard to find a place due to a bunch of circumstances in town. Still don't know why i didnt just zero in woods hole and pass through Pearisburg. Oh well. I remained dry but someone else who tented got soaked. When breakfast time came around, I was blown away. Best grits ever. Neville cooked up a storm and I enjoyed every bite. Potatoes and Tea Bag had risen early to help with te bread making. Not sure who made the bombtacular cinnamon rolls. Oh. And the coffee. I'm not a coffee drinker but you can't deny the quality of that brew... I wanted to stick around longer but I headed out by 10am to see what would be awaiting me in Pearisburg. Instantly made a hiker regret not staying at Woods Hole once I got back on the trail and I was already nostalgic of leaving. Boy does making reservations screw up your ability to be flexible.
Date: 2014-05-23
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: clear sky

I recognize nearly everyday on the trail how much good a long distance backpack is doing me. Besides enjoying the outdoors, meeting loads of people that only want to share a good time, and walking towards general contentment there are many other positive benefits. I've reaffirmed my belief that you really don't need a lot to live a great life. You don't need a lot of money, you don't need a lot of things, you don't need to live your life on schedules, or worry about living up to other people's expectations. What matters is your occupation. What is your obligation and responsibility? Not as a tax paying and working citizen. Just as a human being. Right now mine is to walk and learn. The trail is my life right now and I am not to take it for granted. One of the greatest inspirations I have gained from the trail so far is the power of giving. This one simple concept was prevalent from the start. It comes in so many different ways such as the simplicity of giving your gratitude or making a good conversation to a curious local. Trail magic by the New Union Church was a powerful reminder of what giving does to you. They picked up myself and a good handful of other hikers from a road gap first thing in the morning and showed us complete hospitality just to give. The breakfast they served was tremendous. Everything was homemade or cooked right there in front of us. Nothing was pushed upon us nor were we asked to do anything. They just wanted to share and add to our trail experience.What this does to all of us goes well beyond our bellies. It's very emotional and such acts inspire you to be a better human being. It makes you want to give more and take less. You feel an obligation to do to others what they have done for you. Can you imagine a world where everyone just gave their best to everyone they encountered regardless of who they serve? Sure there are always a few that just want to take advantage or see how much they can get. But that's not relevant. That's ego getting in the way of selflessness. Maybe it's more complicated. I don't know. All I know is how great it is to let go of all these social, political, and personal barriers we accumulate for our sense of self as we get older.The rambling can go on but I've gotta get my hike back on.While in towns I catch a glimpse of television and become ever more appreciative of leaving that debacle behind. Just watching one commercial made me sick. Advertisements for things, things, and more things can saturate your mind when it's at it's weakest - when you just want to sit down and let your brain go stupid in front of entertaining moving pictures.Happy trails and give your thanks for the littlest things. Leaving Pearisburg right now which means I'm hitting mile 700 really soon. I know I'm a few weeks behind on updating but I'm trying... So much to do and hardly any reception/wifi to do even a daily quick update.More to come.
Date: 2014-05-24
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: clear sky

Got up for sunrise at 5:30am. Camped close to the trail where it stretches along a ridge overlooking nice views to the east. Walked my chilly butt over there first thing in the morning and looked at the sunrise for approximately 2 minutes. Decided it wasn't worth sitting on a windy cliff in the cold to look at pretty colors. Reminded me of. Movie trailer with Seth Rogan looking at the Grand Canyon after driving up to it. "How long should we look at it?" They lasted about 10 seconds. Could have been hiking by 6:30 but I didn't want to disturb the other sleeping hikers since no one else was up. Should have just gone for it but oh well. Had to carry a lot of water today since the sources were really spread out on these mountain top ridge walking. It was good hiking but I nearly twisted my ankle then ate it because my pack was too heavy to compensate for catching my balance while leaning forward on a downhill. I packed way too much food out of Pearisburg and I was feeling the weight. Then I got interrogated by 3 southbound section hikers. They annoyed me. Not in person but afterwards with their collective interactions. They were hiking together but spread out 2 minutes apart from each other struggling up the mountain at the same exact pace but 50 yards apart. What was annoying was how they all asked the same questions in the same way one after the other. How far is the water? Where is it? How many times do you cross it? Where's the last crossing? How long did it take you to pass it? How far is the last stream? Is it a good source? Mind you, this questioning is happening right next to the stream they're asking about. 2 steps away roaring right next to our boots and the part where you cross over it is right around the corner I just came from. The trail follows it for quite a while and they've been walking along next to it. Yet there they were asking me the same exact questions one after the other even though they all knew the answer to it already. Geez. Just drink the water while its there! If you can't walk an extra 100 steps with the water weight, why are you backpacking? I'm watching a bold shelter mouse dart around the ground snapping up crumbs and rummaging through abandoned hiker litter at Pine Swamp shelter as I write this. Taking a long break to wAit out the hottest part of the day before hiking on to Bailey Gap
Date: 2014-05-25
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

Got up later than I expected. Slept really hard and that's not really something to be concerned about. It's not like I'm going to be late for anything! Good sleep is always welcome. It's too hot and for my preference though, hence the shorter hiking hours I'm putting in te middle of the day. So I should really try to get up earlier.It's past 7pm right now as I write this and I'm sitting in my tent naked and sweating. With this weather I'm seeing a ton of deer, lots of snakes, and having green worms falling down from the sky out of nowhere. Ticks are beginning to come out as well. As for thru hikers, I now only see a few once in awhile at shelters or some kind of nice rest spot. I'm able to hike entirely alone throughout the day except for passing occasional section hikers. Quite a lot more of them in this area.
Date: 2014-05-26
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Trout Creek (VA 620)
Miles today: 21.3

Was out of camp by 7 and it was already warm. At 1pm I was chilling out at Niday Shelter. This has been the most amount of hikers I've seen in a long time. Of course the shelter would be where everyone stops to eat and rest up. I'll be saying here til the sun lowers then night hike out. While hiking this morning I had a moment where I stopped and zoned out for an unknown period of time. Straight up was just staring at the ground and my brain went stupid. Ill count that towards my daily meditation. In truth, I think my brain was just fried in multiple ways and I hope this isn't a warning for an impending heat exhaustion incident. Since stopping midday I have eaten 3 times in between reading a Game of Thrones I found in a tree, talking to Forager, playing with dogs, and bull shitting with hikers. As soon as I hit the trail at 7pm (wasn't much cooler and I don't know why I was deluding myself with the hope that everyone just magically drops in temperature after 7) I started sweating hard. The water sources sucked but luckily there was trail magic at a road crossing with Gatorade and fresh homemade cookies. Dem electrolytes powered my ass through my night hike with all the water sources spread way the hell out. This has to be the sweatiest and grimiest I've been on the trail so far. Buckets of sweat, I say. Rain would be extremely welcome. But really all I'm hoping for is that I don't have any ticks on me. Will be harder to spot at night. Just flicked some cockroaches and a few mosquitoes out of my tent (be sure to have your headlamp off when you're getting into your tent at night.) my eyes feel a little puffy and glued from all the spider webs. Sentences further deteriorating. Me tired.
Date: 2014-05-28
From: Pig Farm Campsite

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 15.5

Dodged a bulletMiles from Daleville and I got a lovely surprise of pissed off hornet in the tongue of my boot an hour ago.I'm deathly allergic to bee stings. I guess I only got bit not stung since I haven't had to inject myself yetHustling my butt to town! update: felt like an angry cat mauled my ankle and then a bear came and spitefully farted on my open wounds. The irony is that just last night, Potatoes told me about how a bee flew into his shoe and got stuck under the tongue just like mine. He wasn't able to get it out as fast so he got stung repeatedly. I laughed at the time. Of course that wasn't fun to be walking up a steep mountain in the heat minding my own business to suddenly get the sensation that you're being aggressively attacked by a flying insect that always looks infinitely pissed off and it's stuck inside your boot. Got an adrenaline rush out of that for sure because like I said earlier - I am deathly allergic to bee stings. Well it doesn't help to freak out about it so I walked my butt over to a log and took out my epipen, took some Benadryl, and than just drank the rest of my water because I basically said "well s---" this kind of f---s up my hike. Then I realized I have to climb up the rest of the mountain I was on just to get service so I can call 911 when I progressively start dying in a exponentially quicker fashion. So up I went. Saw some people enjoying the view and they asked me how my day was going. It was going pretty well but I didn't want to freak anyone out by saying instead of sitting on a rock relaxing, I was sitting on log waiting for anaphylaxis to hit me. I felt and saw no symptoms showing (15 minutes since the sting) so I downplayed it thinking that maybe I was just bit several times and not stung. I guess that must be the case considering I'm now in Daleville. Today was another hot hike and I was glad to finally get into town. Frankenstein must have been real happy I made it as well... I found his phone in the woods haha. Man and technology is now reunited.More to come.
Date: 2014-05-29
From: Daleville, VA

To: zeroville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Taking a zero in Daleville, VA. Even if my ankle wasn't still red and swollen from the wasp yesterday, I think a zero is a good idea anyway. Past few days were particularly rough because of the heat and looks like the forecast isn't improving - it's going to get hotter.Like many other hikers in the current bubble I'm in, we're wondering how it came to be that all of us thought that Virginia would be more flat. Granted that the ruggedness isn't as consistent as before but we're starting to get destroyed by insects, the heat, and the LIES!!!! Just kidding, it's really not that bad and seems like I've had the pleasure of seeing the most beautiful part of the trail the past few weeks. And there are some "flat" spots but they're more like gentle hills that roll through pastures. Don't get them everyday and those nice little breaks from the mountains only last for a mile or so. All this talk of Virginia being flat came from former hikers taking another shot at the AT. Seems like most of them have dropped out by now and I think they were the ones who talked the most just trying to bestow upon us their superior knowledge. I guess those little seeds grew like wildfire and now we're all like WTF!? It's hilarious looking through the trail registers and every page has at least one comment asking when the flat parts are coming.Well... Time to rest up and fatten up. Will try to fill in the past month I've failed to update in between food comas.
Date: 2014-05-30
From: Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek
Miles today: 10.9

Left town around 1:00pm. So many people here were recuperating from injuries, Giardia, or other reasons. Hiking out of Pearisburg with too much food sucked, but I decided the extra calories would do be a lot of good. So my food bag is stuffed, but not overly stuffed this time. Shouldering extra calories is well worth the pain in my opinion. After 6 miles of progressing up the trail, I had reached the other side of the first mountain and was rewarded with a steady breeze of wind. Even a slight breeze makes a huge difference when you're drenched in sweat. From this point of the day I was alternating between mildly dripping with sweat and blissfully cruising along in the wind. This helped make the day go by surprisingly well. Had to keep my ankle wrapped up tight in a bandanna so it wouldn't get rubbed so much under my Darn Tough socks. Glad I picked up some cortizone before leaving town because my ankle is not the only thing suffering from insect attacks! Stopped short of a shelter because I didn't like the look of some clouds I spotted through the trees. Decided that getting my tent set up as soon as possible would be smart and I was soon rewarded as I comfortably read a book and listened to the rain splatter on the tent above my head.
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Wilson Creek

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: broken clouds

So the swimming hole at Jennings Creek was "meh". Washed my shirt in it and slapped a catfish. Of course it was nice to take a dip in it, but it had nothing on Dismal Falls. Jennings Creek did not live up to all the hiker hype. I actually worried about catching something nasty the whole time I was in it. I'm sure I already mentioned this before but it seems like all the thru-hikers are getting even more thinly spread out. The only people I saw this morning was Rowdy and Weatherman. Oh yeah and another hiker who had left his guide book at a shelter 6 miles back... he would have to trail run back for it and loose 12 miles total before his day even started. Mocha Pot had given him hope I would have brought it up the trail for him due to my history of reuniting hikers with their lost belongings. Well it did not occur to me that the guidebook sitting there was forgotten, so that sucks.When it comes to learning things as you continue to rack up mileage in a long distance backpack, my latest tip would be to leave your tent's rain fly open. I get a ton of condensation inside when I don't leave mine wide open. Not much to talk about today besides the usual monotonous day to day stuff I avoid writing about in trail journals.
Date: 2014-06-01
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Marble Spring
Miles today: 17.1

Did not sleep well. Was half awake a majority of the night. Right before I was falling asleep in my tent right outside the giant 20 person shelter, I thought I heard a bear come up outside my tent. When I took a look with a headlamp I couldn't find anything. So I investigated and figured that it was a smaller animal in combination with an inconsistent snorer in the shelter. The sounds were bouncing into my tent in weird directions due to the trees, boulder, oddly slanted ground, and the acoustics of the shelter. This snorer had an eradicate and unusual kind of snore. He would turn over every 10 minutes or so as well with a loud air pad. Usually I'd sleep right through that but I never hit that deep sleep for some reason. It wasn't until 4-5am that I started dreaming. I remembered it was about hiking the AT. Then someone gave me drugs and things got interesting. Enough said.Turns out everyone in the shelter slept poorly that night due to gnats, mosquitoes, some unknown reason, or something about their gear being uncomfortable. Seemed like a strange coincidence.Highlight of the day was meeting Shroomer. I believe he's currently working on his Triple Crown. He's retired and full of life so he added a charge of energy to my day hanging out with him. Picked his brains a bit about foraging for mushrooms and I amused him with my knowledge of Stoned Ape Theory. He doesn't run into a lot of people who share such a specific interest in certain things that don't ever come up in normal conversations.
Date: 2014-06-03
From: mile 798.8

To: US 60 (to Buena Vista, VA)
Miles today: 3.8

Basically crawled out of the woods this morning and caught a shuttle to Buena Vista. Staying at the Blue Dog Art Cafe hostel tonight. Lots has happened in just the past few days and ill get to writing about it after a shower, food, and resupply.Hit 800 miles today! Woooooooo touch© poison ivy... It appears I can get rashes from you after all. For a couple weeks I trampled through you without a problem besides making me paranoid about washing my legs with dr bronners. Or maybe this is just a severe case of insane mosquito bites... I really can't tell. My arms and ears are definitely suffering from gnat bites and I know there's plenty of insect bites on my legs. But my ankles are particularly itchy tonight.
Date: 2014-06-04
From: Buena Vista

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up at 6am after a so-so sleep. One of those times where you tell yourself you'll get up kinda early then find yourself intermittently waking up throughout the night. Frankenstein and I pulled the "it's too early to get up with so many people sleeping so we held our phones up in the air above our faces browsing the Internet" kind of thing. As I right this, it is 6:30pm and the rain is coming down hard on my tent. Just 20 minutes ago there was sunshine and blue skies. I had spotted a gray cloud tumbling towards us through the trees so I set my tent up as soon as I could and it paid off. Sucks for those who just took off for the Priest Shelter. Nothing like the woods suddenly going dark and thunder clapping overhead to make you regret pushing forward. In regards to leaving Buena Vista, I was double fisting burritos and ice cream as I rode in the back of Blue Dog's pickup. Waved at an entire school of middle schoolers with my ice cream as we drove by. I don't think they have ever seen an Asian before so I wish I had yelled something memorable at them. Oh well. The first climb of the day was 2000ft upwards which went by relatively easy with all the town food calories. Rest of the day was really mellow too. The trail magic set up by Goman and his lady was a great treat and prevented me from having to dehydrate myself out of laziness (avoiding long treks off trail for water.) the trail magic became a watering hole of Gatorade and I was entertained by the stories from The Mountain Slothes.Stay dry my friends.
Date: 2014-06-05
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: broken clouds

I've been in my tent for nearly 12 hours minus going out to piss and brush my teeth during a break in the rain. That's a record so far. Was nice to sit back and read in my temporary sanctuary. Did not sleep as much as I should have though. There were moments the rain dumped so hard that water flowed around my tent so fast I thought I would get flooded for sure. It held up though and it's just caked with wet mud right now.By the time I left camp at 8:30 after all the thrus have already left, I encountered a dry wet sectioner building a fire and hanging all his stuff over it. He only slept for 30 minutes until he started having problems. Gave him a tip about putting his tarp inside his tent under his sleeping pad instead of under his tent when it's pouring. What typically happens is that water can collect in between the layers you out on the ground and form collective puddles which will soak through your tent all the same. Might as well let your tent get wet and keep everything else dry. Meanwhile I didn't even use a ground sheet last night... Just pitched my tent and tossed my stuff in. My tent is definitely wet everything else is bone dry minus my sweaty clothes. Had to tie my boots to my tent flap so they wouldn't float away last night though.Since I was making today an easy 14 mile day anyway, I spent a 2 hour lunch break at the priest shelter drying out my tent in the sun. Had Da Bobcat entertain me with his ridiculously stupid thinking that you can't help but love. After Bobcat, Bliss was the only other person I saw all day. Got Harpers Creek all to myself tonight - everyone was pushing for the brewery that lets you camp out overnight.