morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-01
From: Trimpi Shelter 

To: Mount Rogers Visitors Center
Miles today: 10.0

Wow, June 1st!One of those dancing fire flies from last night danced its last dance and I was a witness. As lay in the shelter trying to fall asleep, one flew in (perhaps to get out of the rain), and eventually got trapped in a spider web between the rafters. It struggled and flashed like crazy until its flashing got slower and longer until...lights out, RIP.So all the youths that camped at the shelter last night were up at 6:00 am and on their way by 7:00. This of course got me going and I was on the trail by 7:45, my earliest yet and still I was second to the last to leave camp. My goal was Marion, VA, a short (?) 10 miles from camp. This was a PERFECT day to hike, temps in the low 70¢s and a cool breeze out of the West for most of the day. There were a few clouds, but the rain held off until 3:30, I arrived in town at 2:00.Because I¢ve had two good weather days in a row, the trail was in pretty good shape, most of it dry and relatively easy to navigate. Several smallish sharp rocks and roots to dance around but at least it was dry. About a mile of today¢s stroll was through another pasture surrounded by beautiful mountains, but most of the trail was typical hardwood forest with long gradual ups and downs; naturally, mostly ups. The most unique part of the trail was the end approaching the Mount Rogers Visitors Center nearing Marion. With the exception of maybe 1/4 mile of the last 2 miles, the trail was a literal tunnel of rhododendron trees, unfortunately, no blooms. There was not much light nor breeze in the roughly 10-15¢ tunnel so the ground itself was covered with wet rhododendron leaves and deep thick mud that just couldn¢t dry out. The sun beating down on tunnel from the outside increased the temperature and the humidity so the comfort level inside was decreased a bit. With the exception of bird song and the faint rolling rapids of a stream that paralleled the trail, it was wonderfully peaceful. It was a good way to end the hike and it feels kind of good to say that at 10 miles, today was a NERO, near zero.
Date: 2018-06-02
To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m not sure what¢s going on exactly, but I¢ve come down with something and I¢m wondering if it might be Norovirus. I¢ve started feeling some of the symptoms earlier in the week and once in town, I was hit pretty hard. While in town I¢m trying to get done what I need to do, but like on the trail, I¢m slow.After a restless sleep last night I found the shuttle to downtown Marion to visit the post office to mail a package home and visit the farmers market with hopes of some fresh vegetables and/or fruit. I bought a cucumber. There was a very disappointing number of vendors and an even more disappointing selection of fruits and vegetables. I don¢t know if this part of Virginia has much of a farming community, but they were not represented today. While waiting for the shuttle to go back to my hotel, I ate my cucumber. I also walked around the downtown area and took in the sights. Other than the farmers market, nothing much was going on in town. There was however a recent celebration of Memorial Day that included a parade, which I didn¢t see, and several hundred crosses and American flags planted along Main St., mostly on the grounds of the Smyth County Courthouse. Each flag represents a citizen of Smyth County that served our country and has passed away. Those who died in the service of our country have flags displayed on the lawn of the Baptist church; fortunately these are only several dozen of these flags.On a side note, but specific to hiking, hikers smell bad. I mean really bad. Since I¢ve been in town I¢ve showered, I¢m clean and I smell good. When I finally caught the shuttle back to my hotel today, there were eight hikers just off the trail and they stood out. Perhaps if I were hiking with them I wouldn¢t have noticed but because I¢m clean and shiny, I noticed their funk and I felt bad for the everyday passengers on the bus. By the way, I knew four of them and never noticed how badly they stunk. It¢s a good idea for me and all hikers to bathe or shower as often as possible. PLEASE.I hope to be back on the trail Sunday.
Date: 2018-06-06
From: Lynn Camp Creek campsite 

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 8.5

Train Wreck and I planned on a short day today and it was in terms of mileage, 8.5, but it was again uphill from the very start. Seven hundred feet over 1 mile, 800¢ down over 1 mile, reasonably flat for 1 mile then 2,300¢ up for 5+ miles with very little water along the way. Since we got a late start this morning, we stopped for lunch before the big climb. The first 6 miles were through the wooded lands with the Mountain Laurels being highlighted throughout most of the day. A few rhododendron blossoms are still holding on but fading fast as summer begins to take hold.We eventually made our way out of the woods and onto Chestnut Ridge that for the most part was a big open field of wild raspberry bushes, flowers and grasses. But as the horizon of the ridge rolled off, the views of the distant mountains and landscapes were amazing. Be certain to see my other journal entry for 6/6, Part 2 for some perspective. My guidebook said that 2 miles before where I¢m camped tonight is the most reliable water source for this site, so TW and I stopped to fill up all of our bottles and bladders. I normally carry two 1 liter bottles in my pack, that¢s just under 4.5 pounds and since I needed water for tomorrow too, I filled my 3 liter dirty water bladder as well and that¢s just over 6.5 pounds. This I just strapped to the back of my pack where it bounced around for 2.5 miles uphill making the end of my day just a little more enjoyable. The ¢reliable¢ water source turned out to be a rather slow trickle and with both TW and I needing water, we spent nearly 45 minutes filling and filtering in the baking sun. Off in the approaching distance, and I mean distance, I heard two people talking. It seemed I heard them for five minutes before I even saw them. When they finally passed me, they greeted me and explained their discussion was concerning Percival¢s role in the Court of King Arthur. As I left them at the water source to return to the trail, I could still hear their loud voices arguing some point about the Court, but never did I hear them mention Brave, Brave Sir Robin; nor did TW, as he broke into song just as the minstrels surely did so many years ago.I¢ve pitched my tent on the north end of the ridge overlooking Burke¢s Garden, an 8.5 x 4.5 mile crater that turns out to be a limestone sink hole. Historically, an ancient sea bed and home to several indigenous peoples over the years. More recently the area received its name as a joke in the 1700¢s when a cook named Burke, working for a surveyor, threw out some potato peelings and when the surveyors returned a year later, the potatoes had grown everywhere. The town now also has a thriving Amish community. I¢ve positioned my tent opening to witness what the weather promises to be a stunning sunrise in the morning.
Date: 2018-06-06
To: Chestnut Ridge
Miles today: 0.0

6/6, Part 2Refer back to my 5/29 journal entry when I mentioned Whitetop Mountain and Mount Rogers. Tonight I checked into a campsite at the Chestnut Knob Shelter. The featured photo on this entry was taken from Chestnut Ridge approaching the shelter.  For the purpose of perspective on how far we hike and an appreciation for where we've been and where we're going, the black arrow points to Mount Rogers, 71 miles away by Trail, 29 miles as the crow flies. The red arrow points out Whitetop Mountain, 79 miles away by trail and 31 point to point. Train Wreck and I summited both on 5/29 and walked this ridge today, six hiking days later.
Date: 2018-06-07
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter 

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 10.75
Weather: few clouds

When I set up camp last night, I positioned my tent flaps such that I could unzip and flip it to the side of my tent and witness the sunrise as photographed over the town of Burke¢s Garden. As you see, the sunrise did not disappoint. I awoke at 5:57am and the sun broke the horizon at 6:04; I then fell back asleep for another hour.The dew was quite heavy last night, both the inside and outside of my rain fly for my tent was wet and it took until 9:00 to dry it out. I could have packed it wet but who needs the extra weight, so I don¢t get out of camp until 9:45. Still, I wasn¢t the last to leave, Spoon left at 10:30 after ordering a new back pack and tent on line; he¢ll have them sent to a post office in an upcoming town. I ended up returning to camp this morning after hiking .5 mile to collect my full water bottles. I also missed a turn on the trail after 1 mile and headed down a Blue Blazed Trail leading to a dried up water source. This detour added another mile to my day that I didn¢t need to hike. In all, I walked an extra 2 miles because I wasn¢t paying attention. (These miles are not included in the 10.75 total that I officially recorded for the day, but they took a toll).Spoon, Train Wreck and I were to meet at a stealth site on the Laurel Creek for the night, 15 miles from last nights camp.  I guess TW made it, Spoon was going for it after he and I had dinner at my camp site and of course I didn¢t even try. Though I only recorded 5.5 hours of actual hiking for the day, I am beat and was all day long. Two breaks in the morning, one of which I spoke with Cathy from high on a rocky cliff, lunch and two afternoon breaks. It was just hard to get going. I will say that negative talk on the trail is not good. There were six hikers stopped at a gap for lunch, I had met three before, and they were all talking about how much they missed home, missed the cat, hated cooking, hated hiking, hated this or that...throw in four of them smoking cigarettes and it was a real blessing. I was having a difficult enough day without that. Too bad I didn¢t notice Spoon off in the woods cooking pasta for his lunch, I would have certainly joined him.Other than a lot of big rocks that I jumped to and from, the trail was unremarkable today, save the second to the last mile into camp. The trail was crowded on both sides by walls of Mountain Laurels, just beautiful and very fragrant as well. I also saw some rhododendrons holding on as well, perhaps I¢ll continue to see those as I keep heading north.Finally, Cathy is heading down this way to see me next week. I¢m really looking forward to spending a few days together after nearly sixty days apart!
Date: 2018-06-08
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Zero Days Inn Hostel
Miles today: 11.5

I slept like a rock last night, 8:00pm until 6:35 this morning. Good cool breeze blowing through my tent and it wasn¢t anywhere near as damp as the night before. I still wasn¢t out of camp until after 9:00 but the day was supposed to be an easier hike, mostly flat with a couple of decent climbs. So off I went...It was warm and sunny, that¢s like five days in a row of great weather. However as the streak grows longer, the breeze fades and that makes for an uncomfortable day. Am I ever happy about the weather? As soon as I turned on to the trail out of camp this morning, I started a climb. This was the steepest of the day and lasted about two miles. There were plenty of flat sections and the rest of the climbs were long and gradual...still, I don¢t like climbing. I also came upon a section of trail that has recently burned. I¢m not sure when or if this was an attempt to contain it, but this fire did a number on the forest.I planned to meet my crew at a shelter just after Bland, VA as they were all going into town for a resupply then heading for the shelter. Once I came out of the woods, the trail followed a dirt road for just over 1/2 mile and where that road emptied into a state highway, I was greeted by about 15 hikers having lunch, ice cream and other snacks at Brushy Mountain Outpost. I joined them. I ended up staying for almost 2 hours and met many more hikers coming off the trail, doing the same as I. That was it, I was done after 11 miles today. I was SO done, I called Zero Days Inn, a hostel and made arrangements for the night. This place is pretty far off the trail, maybe 10 miles, but there are others here that were at the outpost for lunch, so I¢m not alone. I had dinner, a shower, a shave and am doing laundry so I have clean clothes (hopefully) next week when Cathy gets down here.I believe that I¢ll slack pack tomorrow from where I was picked up and the proprietor will meet me somewhere with my full pack and I¢ll take off from there, maybe find my crew. However, Train Wreck is set on camping at Dismal Falls tomorrow night and if that¢s the case, I shan¢t be joining him. I¢ve heard through the trail grapevine that while the water falls at Dismal Falls are truly dismal, it has a great swimming hole and several partiers from the trail are planning a Zero there on Saturday and Sunday. This is NOT TW¢s crowd!It¢s disappointing that I¢ve now done two ¢short¢ days in a row, I¢m just not feeling it right now. What I am feeling is six out of the last seven days I have successfully hung my food bag over a branch 20¢ up on the very first try. That seventh day took me thee attempts because I was standing on the rope once and my depth perception was off because I wasn¢t wearing my contacts and the setting sun was just right.Weather report for the next seven days calls for 60-70% chance of rain every day.
Date: 2018-06-13
From: Sugar Run Gap, Woods Hole Hostel

To: Narrows, VA
Miles today: 11.8

Cathy left Ann Arbor this morning and made pretty good time in getting here, she arrived around 3:00pm and sat in the Dairy Queen parking lot waiting for me to descend Angels Rest, the final mountain just above Pearisburg, in the pouring rain. That descent was pretty impressive, over 2000 feet in 2 miles. And I won¢t say it was the first time since I¢ve been out here, but it certainly was the most noticeable, it took a toll on my knees. I¢m sure the rain didn¢t help as it was steady the last 4 miles of my 12 mile day.It was a pretty nice day to start off with, cool temperatures, sunny and a slight breeze that motivated me to keep moving. The ground was wet and soft though not saturated, with the exception of trail that weaved through a very long green tunnel of low hanging rhododendrons. Other portions of the trail offered big rocks to jump to and from, smaller rocks and roots to carefully step around, wide, well traveled paths that could perhaps support a small ATV and of course the slick mud and clay with the occasional rocks and roots that finished the day leading into Pearisburg, VA.The trail afforded many views from high atop a running ridge line. And with the clear skies early on, I was not disappointed. I took a nice 45 minute lunch break in one such location and though I was sitting under a high tension power line, an unnatural and intrusive structure in such a beautiful setting, I could follow those lines down into valleys on either side of the ridge and right up the next mountain and even see the straight line cut out of the trees on the higher mountains past those. The greens below varied in shade due to vegetation type; grasses or a variety of trees and whether they were in direct sunlight or temporarily shaded by a passing cloud. I could have stayed longer but the bugs were a real nuisance and the clouds secretly began to gather and plot against me while I wasn¢t paying attention to them.I was by myself all day and saw no one until the top of Angels Rest. This 19 year old hiker named Rush began the trail on May 12, right after he got out of school...600 plus miles in 1 month! So far he had completed 7 days of more than 30 miles a day and expected to summit Katahdin by August 19 so he could return to school. He assisted me by taking a couple of pictures and was off.When Cathy saw me, she jumped out of the car, ran to me and gave me the biggest hug I can remember. It didn¢t matter that I was soaked with sweat and rain or that I was wearing a 40 pound pack, she found a way to get her arms around me and that was nice. It was a 40 minute drive to our hotel near Roanoke and before we arrived she verbally acknowledged to me what most people at least notice when they come in contact with a hiker...¢you stink.¢
Date: 2018-06-15
From: Catawba, VA (VA 311)

To: McAfee Knob
Miles today: 4.5

I have been posting pictures on Facebook wishing that I could be sharing some of these experiences with Cathy. Not only the scenery but the efforts required to get from one point to the next. So today we decided to do a little slack packing of our own. We moved forward on the trail a bit to one of the most photographed locations on the entire AT, Mcafee¢s Knob. It was a relatively easy climb, 1200¢ over 4 miles with mostly small rocks and roots to navigate. We did get to jump from big rock to big rock for a short period of time, she elevated her heart rate a bit but she handled it all so gracefully; like a natural.Once at the top, the entire ridge was exposed and the rock platform was in some cases an overhang and in other cases a shear drop off of who knows how many miles, or feet. We were figuratively at the edge of the world. It is by far the most amazingly impressive and complete presentation of views that I have experienced on the trail thus far. We spent a good hour up there exploring and taking pictures, which is HUGE for Cathy as she has the most intense fear of heights that I have ever seen. She got to within 15¢ of the edge for a photo but as we were heading back down, she rethought the opportunity at hand and wanted to go back up and have solo pictures taken of her actually sitting on the edge. So we did and the pictures are incredible. She did great. Sitting by the pool at our hotel later in the day, she was going through her photos again and said just looking at them was making her heart race.So tomorrow is going to be a sad day as she packs up and heads for home. In a way, I think I would like to go with her for a number of reasons. Either way, I¢m so happy she came to see me and we got to spend some time out on the trail together.
Date: 2018-09-21
From: Dalton, MA

To: October Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 12.2

I¢m back on the trail today, first steps since June 15 with my bride Cathy, at McAfee¢s Knob. Of course this time around it¢s as a section hiker heading south out of Dalton, MA. Now please forgive my writing style as it may take a bit to get back to Purlitzer quality to which you¢ve become accustomed; that should come with the introduction of new characters and stories.My old friend Tommy ¢Kuhn Dog¢ Kuhn, whom I know from my career with Inmet, now lives in New Hampshire and he agreed to meet me out on the trail (when I was in his neighborhood) and hike with me for a few days. Kuhn Dog is an experienced hiker, though he hasn¢t practiced in quite some time. More recently he¢s been training for a marathon (that¢s long distance running without a bear on your tail) and considers this a good source of cross training for that event. In addition, he and his wife Kathy, are attempting to climb the ¢Forty six 40¢s¢. There are 46 mountains in New England that are over 4,000 feet high that they will climb, a handful of which are on the Appalachian Trail; The Presidentials in NH...look them up. Good luck Kuhn Dog and Kathy!Today started out cool and overcast but soon became cool and misty. It¢s possible it could have been rain from time to time, but the water falling could have been just moisture falling from the trees due to the cool wind. But it was a comfortable day to hike. The trail was a mix of beaten down earth either covered in pine needles or leaves of various hardwoods. In some sections the trail was deep mud and in others deep water. In those areas the trail was elevated by 12¢ planks supported by a three foot section of railroad tie at each end; very slippery, Kuhn Dog slipped off but gracefully stepped right onto a moss covered tree strategically placed by nature about two feet to his left.After a brief lunch/snack at Kay Shelter, we settled in for the night at October Mountain, just over 12 miles from our launch point. We were greeted by three section hikers, ¢Scattered¢ and ¢The Irish Couple¢. Scattered, originally from Amsterdam, has made his home in the US for about 45 years, splits his time between MA and NC and has jumped all over the AT logging miles. His stories of the trail are plentiful and his love for America is above admirable. The Irish Couple are just that, a young couple from Ireland. Starting at Katahdin several weeks ago they conquered ME, NH, VT and MA by the end of the week, at which time they¢ll return home amazed at what they¢ve seen and proud of what they¢ve accomplished. Lady Ireland repeatedly used words like ¢lovely¢ , ¢splendid¢ and ¢grand¢ to describe what she has seen while here.Twelve miles was a tough day for the first day back, but I¢ve done it before and I¢m sure Kuhn Dog has somewhere in his hiking career.  But kudos to Kuhn Dog for pounding it out. I¢m sure we¢ll both sleep well tonight.
Date: 2018-09-22
From: October Mountain Shelter 

To: Upper Goose Pond Cabin
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: light rain

Oddly enough neither Kuhn Dog or I slept well last night. Dog slept on a hard wood platform and was uncomfortable all night while I just couldnt fall asleep...finally 4am and awake at 730. We were both impressed with the incredibly high winds that I thought for sure would dry up some of the water saturated trail due to Florence recently passing through. But more impressive was the incredible rain storm that passed though beating the day lights out of the shelters steel roof. That all cleared up to a frigid, sun shiny morning. After 24 hours back, I REMEMBER LIFE ON THE TRAIL! Well, not the sun shiny part.After a not so impressive breakfast and a reload of fresh water from a tannin laiden stream, we headed south for day two. For the most part the hike was quite pleasant and relatively flat for the first 5 miles. Of course it was still pretty moist but we experienced varied challenges like roots, bigger roots, rocks and even bigger rocks. The last 4 miles was a continuation of this terrain but uphill. We were both frequently winded and couldnt believe how long it was taking us to reach our destination of Goose Pond Cabin only 9 short mile down the trail. And though it was only 4 miles of the 9, I think Dog experienced a decent representation of life on the trail later in our day.Goose Pond Cabin is an incredibly cool place. Located on a big pond, its a rustic two story, brightly painted red building, with a big front porch and rocking chairs, no running water, no phone, no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury. Kind of like Robinson Caruso.  It should be noted that the water on site was toted daily by canoe from a spring half way around the lake, and there is nothing better than ice cold spring water! Upstairs in the cabin are 16 or so bunk beds and situated around the property are elevated wooden platforms for tents; very uncomfortable to sleep on without an air mattress, ask Kuhn Dog! The care takers are Trail Magic and his wife Jiffy Pop, who like many others during the hiking season, volunteer to host and run this place. Its beautifully located, (no roads in or out), quiet, clean and free...donations accepted. Did I mention breakfast is served at 7am? Well it is, cooked on a gas stove by our hosts.Upon arrival we ditched our gear and headed for the pond to scrub off the sweat, stink and mud from todays hike. Both of us happened to misstep and found at least one of our feet somehow in the muddy water along the trail. The water was calm and ca-ca-ca-ca-cold, but on three, in we went, though ever so briefly. (Do you recall the Seinfeld episode when George went swimming in the ocean? ) After a nice box of wine, complements of Kuhn Dog, we went outside to dine. During and after dinner, we sat around the campfire till the wee hour of 845pm exchanging stories about bears, the trail, the Crowne Vic police cars, insurance litigation and something about A-Fib...I was doing dishes.Although were both sore, it was a good day on the trail for hiking and experiences at a place and with people that one just cant get elsewhere in life.