morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-04
From: Lance Creek

To: Bull Gap
Miles today: 8.5

Went up and over Blood Mountain today. Awesome, just awesome. Crazy climb but at the end of this short day I will be rewarded with a shower and new shoes at Mountain Crossings. Mountain Crossings is a store that stands right on top of the trail. Pretty awesome. Best day so far. Meet a bunch of really cool people. Just all and all great. Jason jokes about me having trench foot. But seriously I hope these shoes help.
Date: 2014-05-05
From: Bull Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Pretty easy day today. Still working out some kinks in my feet and knees, but I'm getting stronger each day. Just training to put up some big numbers in a couple of weeks. Happy Cinco de Mayo. We celebrated by laying around in our hammocks for a couple of hours. Much needed relaxing day. Tomorrow we are headed to Hiawassee for resupply and stay in a cheap hotel.
Date: 2014-05-06
From: Low Gap Shelter

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.7

We booked it to Unicoi Gap today. Did 9.7 before noon so we could hang out in Hiawassee for a half day. We went to go look for some books and the response we received was hilarious. Us "do you know where we could find some books? New or used?" The three people we asked "What do you mean? Like reading books?" Hahahaha. Other than that everyone is really awesome here. Super friendly. My feet are feeling way better today. Well, tomorrow we will try to hitch a ride back and plug some more miles.
Date: 2014-05-07
From: Unicoi Gap

To: Deep Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Man. Getting back on the trail after a heavy lunch isn't our best idea so far. We decided to lay around in the hammocks for a little while to adjust. We went for a night hike around 7:30. Hiked about 9 miles with our headlamps. Pretty cool. Arrived really late at a shelter and just put the hammock up, because it's easy and doesn't make noise. Well around 3 in the morning I was freezing and used my sleeping pad to block the wind and all was right in the world.
Date: 2014-05-08
From: Deep Gap Shelter

To: Bly Gap
Miles today: 12.6

Left camp pretty early and hiked about 5 in the morning. Set up the hammocks to get out of the heat. Crossed the NC/GA border. So glad to be out of GA!!! Feet are sore but I think the blisters have stopped. We discuss having an easy day tomorrow as a reward for crossing the state line.
Date: 2014-05-10
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 23.5

Holy crap. 23+ mile day. Jason had a rough night with his tent. He was flooded and had to sleep in the shelter before his sleeping bag and clothes got wet. Rough. We ended up doing 14 miles before lunch and wanted to get to Franklin to dry out. Rained all dang day. NC is constantly bringing the weirdness.
Date: 2014-05-11
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Taking a zero day today. Staying in Franklin again tonight. Feeling great today. It's nice to recover and clean all my stuff. Had a couple of beers and a good dinner. Ready and rested for what tomorrow will bring. We are ahead of schedule to meet up with our buddy Tim, so this next week will be a relaxing hike.
Date: 2014-05-12
From: Winding Stair Gap

To: Cold Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Left Franklin today. The owner of the hotel drove us back to the trailhead. Really nice guy. Right when we started we found a backpack behind a tree. Creepy. We headed on and got to the top of an observation tower and it looked like a storm was about to hit. So we set up tents to wait it out. As soon as the tent was set up it went away. Hahaha. Oh well. Feet are feeling better everyday.
Date: 2014-05-13
From: Cold Spring Shelter

To: NOC
Miles today: 11.7

Hiked downhill. All. Dang. Day. Sounds great but it wears on the knees a lot. But we made it to the NOC. This place is awesome. Bought a good meal and just hung out the rest of the day. This place brings back great memories of fly fishing with Drew and the rest of the crew. Jason made some good points today when he decided that he wants to master some skills for his life. "I don't have time for mechanics, I can't even juggle machetes yet." Classic.
Date: 2014-05-16
From: Brown Fork Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 12.7

Terrible night of sleep. Two guys were having snore wars on the opposite sides of the shelter. But it was an awesome morning and the trail was nice and easy. Thunderstorms started popping up when I was on the ridge line between mountain tops. Then out of no where it started hailing. What is going on. Ended up in a full run down the mountain. Legs feel incredible. Welcome to Fontana.
Date: 2014-05-18
From: Fontana Dam Shelter

To: Mollies Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

Today was all up. Seems to be a pattern when we leave a town. Makes sense but it is tough to tell your body it's only short lived. We rolled up to the shelter kind of early but we were rained on the second half of the day so it made for a cold, wet night.
Date: 2014-05-20
From: Derrick Knob Shelter

To: Mt Collins Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: clear sky

Reached the highest point on the AT today. Clingman's Dome. There is a big tower people walk up for views and to take pictures. Well, when we showed up we smelled terrible, and looks were given. Fortunately for us there are much better views where we have already been. Pretty relaxing day though. The shelter is packed with a couple of groups of schools.
Date: 2014-05-21
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Newfound Gap
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

We made it to Gatlinburg. We waited on Kendra most of the day sitting in the grass like a small group of homeless people. We have become an attraction for people to look at. Quite hilarious. Kendra and Todd are awesome. They made us dinner, bought us some beer, and let us contaminate their shower. It has been 10 days since the last shower. It was a terrible stench lifted off of me.
Date: 2014-05-23
From: Newfound Gap

To: Tri-Corner Knob
Miles today: 15.6

First day hiking with Tim. He shot out like a cannon at the start. We did 11 miles fast. At the end of the day Tim started to feel tight in his knees. We brought potatoes, sausage, peppers, garlic and an onion. We forgot one thing though. We can't cook the potato anywhere. The Smokies don't allow fire pits in their park to stop forest fires and what not. Well we cooked everything except the potatoes and used mac&cheese. Best camping meal yet.
Date: 2014-05-24
From: Tri-Corner Knob

To: Standing Bear Hostel
Miles today: 18.4

Long, long day. Great views though. Reached a tower and it was worth the climb. Tim is hurting. Jason and I try to help him out but all we can do is give Advil and breaks. We end up stopping at a hostel outside of the Smokies. Standing Bear Hostel is awesome. We each eat a whole pizza and relax. This was Tim's last day here. Really glad we got to see him. Brought that original excitement back.
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

Longer day today. 20+ mile day. Reached another bald but did it before lunch. All down after lunch. Feet are sore but only because of the miles. 15-18 miles seems to be the sweet spot for my feet right now. Tomorrow brings a shower and a hot meal.
Date: 2014-07-01
From: Uncle Johnnys Hostel

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 382.5

So I haven't been the best at staying updated now with us pushing for bigger miles and no AT&T service. So here are the highlights for the last month. After Erwin we hiked to Roan Mountain and tented at Mountain Harbour Hostel. They had the best breakfast we have had yet on the trail. Then we hiked to Laurel Falls. Absolutely breathtaking. We made it to Demascus!!!! Also, to make completing our first section of the trail a success we hiked a 27+ mile day into Demascus. That was my first ever marathon day. We celebrated with a couple of beers. Demascus was a test though. Ended up getting food poisoning there. Glad it happened in a town at least. Then came Grayson Highlands. Best place yet. Sorry Smokies you just got bumped to number 2. Awesome ponies, great views and amazing camping. Marion was next for the first USA World Cup game. Great time at a cool pub. We won which was great but now we were focused on getting to Pearisburg for the next game. Pretty easy hiking the last 200 miles. Amazing views but we are getting spoiled with them. Unless they are jaw dropping they are just forgotten the next day. Made it into Woods Hole Hostel to pick up my care package from my Mom. By the way. Woods Hole was terrible to us because we didn't stay at their hostel. Okay off my soap box. Made it into Pearisburg and our motel had a....... Wait for it.......a POOL!!! Alright place to be in. Watched our crazy US vs Portugal. Then did 35 miles and took a shuttle back to Pearisburg to watch the 3rd game. What a stressful day. Lastly we made it to McAfee Knob. This has been on my bucket list as soon as I started researching the AT. Worth all 700 miles so far but Tinker Cliffs just after, may be better. Well we are in Daleville now. 30 mile days are next.
Date: 2014-08-21
From: Daleville, VA

To: Dalton, Mass
Miles today: 841.2

Well then. I see I am not very good at this whole journal thing. The day to day life out here has me so wrapped up every moment. The good and the bad are quite special. There are days that I cannot wait to set up my tent(aka my home) and just be away from the elements in my own weird comfort, and others when we just hike 24 miles without a sweat. This last month has been different for sure. The honeymoon phase is most certainly over. After Daleville and US losing in the World Cup, we finally realized that we had tons of miles to make up and really start putting up big miles. Started hiking with a really great group of guys and made the days fly by with all of the jokes and antics. After Harpers Ferry, our group split up a little and everyone had to start hiking what ever was best for their long term success. We still keep in contact and see each other every so often. Highlights for this last section: Northern PA is terrible, I don't even want to start going into detail due to the anger and soreness it caused; Shenandoah Park is kind of a joke for people wanting to hike it (just drive it, all the best views are along Skyline Drive which goes throughout the whole park); CT was amazing despite us trying to complete the whole 52 miles in one day (made it 36 before we had to can our idea); NJ was remarkably nice; NY was way more difficult than we thought it would be; Mass has mosquitoes worse than the most tropical island, seriously they are insane. This trip gives me moments I know I will never forget and others that I cannot even describe. I would like to remember all of the random people that helped us along the way but that would be impossible. My family and friends have been amazing in their support and encouragement. I hope everyone knows that it does not fall on deaf ears and I appreciate all of them. A special thanks to my great friends Clark and Christy with an incredible care package, and we couldn't have done this without our support team in my mom. Thank you all so much. The Whites are calling, I don't think they realize we are about to destroy them without a blink of an eye.
Date: 2014-05-20
To: So this is what it's come to EH?
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

My Name is Chris LeBlanc, and I intend on hiking the Appalachian Trail SOBO next month. My estimated start date is JUNE 25. My Ambition: I decided to hike the Appalachian Trail my freshman year of college when talking to my friend Jason Kellogg. Among other things I decided to do that same day was run a marathon (done) and other things which were not as simple (not even close to done). I chose the Appalachian Trail because as I saw it, it was this unsurmountable behemoth which I had no chance to finish, and an extremely impressive thing to brag to other people about. The more serious ambition: I just graduated from college with a degree in History Education. All of my favorite teachers in school were history teachers who had done something which as I saw it shaped them into who they were. Mr. Shanahan was a marine, Dr. Land was a wandering hippy, and Mr. Malone did' not do anything and really does not make a good example of what I am trying to illustrate. Bottomline: Do I think a six month hike in the mountains will change me and make me any better a teacher in the future? no. Do I think it will give me something to think about in the future when I am bored and wondering what happened to my youth? yes. These six months represent my last outstretched grasp at youthdom, sitting with no responsibilities, no repercussions and no-thing to do but walk and walk and Walk.
Date: 2014-05-20
To: Why you should read my Journal
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

There are hundreds of trailjounals which are made each hiking season and I know the majority of people will skim over the contents of the journal so why should someone read mine?I will try to make my journal unique to me and keep it from falling into the trap of being just a daily regurgitation of exactly how many miles I walked with daily struggles placed in, Although I plan on doing that too. I want too offer insight to people who aspire hiking the trail or offer flashbacks for previous trail hikers on their memories of the trailWith very few exceptions (the last one was the hunger games books) I only tend to read Autobiographies and Memoirs. I do not waste my time with novels or even biographies because I not only like to know what a person was doing when I learn about them but also what they were thinking. The reason I read these books and the reason I believe most people read Trailjournals is because they are looking for insight and that is exactly what I plan on doing. I hope to make my journal more in the vein of A Walk in the Woods (Spoiler: with 100 percent more finishing of the trail) and less like AWOL on the Appalachian Trail and Wild (with 70 percent less chick problems). People who know me know I talk, A lot and usually have good funny unfiltered thoughts. Because I am hiking alone I will make this blog my primary outlet for thoughts and provide the insight and ideas which only someone walking in the woods and talking to himself can. Lastly I plan to keep it 100 percent honest, If I don't like someone I will write about it and why and hopefully you will be on my side or just see that I am a crazy person why hates people sometimes for the worst reason.
Date: 2014-06-15
To: Finality
Miles today: 0.0

Finality is a word which I have been using a lot recently. In the time between my last post and now I have played my last college ultimate frisbee game, seen my girlfriend for the last time in about six months. Now these are only two events but, seeing how frisbee was the defining activity for me in these last four years, and the longest I have gone without seeing my girlfriend is five weeks these are to major developments on the finality front.In addition to graduating college last month and in two days lifeguarding for the final time (my only job ever) these last two months have been a finality minefield and I just keep on losing my leg. Starting something new will be great and what I need as the only thing new everyone else I know is doing is getting a job and getting a life. Losing the routine that I have been accustomed to and staring a new routine, a easy routine (wake up, walk, eat, sleep) for awhile will be beyond nice.
Date: 2014-06-17
To: Packed Bag Swag
Miles today: 0.0

I packed my bag today for the very first time with everything inside of it. Using the shitty scale that we have my pack weighed at 36 pounds with ten days of food and minus the water so looks like my starting weight will be about 40 poundsish. Not good, and ten pounds heavier than I ever imagined i would go but I can see how easy it is to go over weight. Granted It will get lighter and lighter the futher i walk in maine but the start of the 100 mile wilderness will begin the hundred mile heaviness.   Having all of my gear together is a surreal sight for two reasons, first its hard to imagine living with everything I need on my back for me. Its been 5 years since my last campout and in no way have I really prepared for this hike beside mentally. Although I am in the best physical shape in my life, I somehow doubt the frisbee sprints that dominated my life last month will give me any aide when I am trail side. Secondly DAMN I SPENT WAYYY TO MUCH MONEY. I dont mean too much but seeing how I usually have a problem buying a hard cover book in goodwill for a dollar, this is a interesting change. Only time will tell if I made the right choices on my gear, but I know one thing for sure once I gett out of Maine and dont need to carry 10 days of food stright i will be a happier camper
Date: 2014-06-23
To: final day prehike thoughts
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

First: everything else is over, college nationals is over, firefly is over, Hedingham is over, school is over I literally have nothing standing between me and hiking tomorrow morning. It's a pretty surreal feeling that I still haven't gotten used to yet, I could ask my ex roomie who is hiking what to expect, but I'm a lazy guy so fuck that. 2: the plan tomorrow we wake up in Bangor and drive three hours at the asscrack of dawn and start hiking the trail. This last day of rest is what I needed after the four days of filth dust and drinking that was firefly music festival. I literally did as much walking as I'll do in the trail albeit without a 35 poundish bag3: I never downloaded that Aerosmith Armageddon song, or that I would walk 500 miles song. That kinda bums me out.
Date: 2014-06-24
From: Katahdin

To: Katahdin Stream Campground
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Katahdin was amazing I can see how if you are going NOBO it's the perfect way to end. Eli and I struggled up, but posted a time of about 7:30 including our breaks and whutnot.Afterwards dinner of 3 hot dogs and ramen kept me satiated and I realized how much energy it is going to take to keep this thing going.
Date: 2014-06-25
From: Katahdin Stream Campground

To: Abol Stream Campground
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

Different story, I was supposed to hike with my nephew but then it was raining and they decided to go home. This meant my solo adventure could start and man was I not prepared for that. My pack weight is 50 pounds currently, don't ask me how I don't wanna discuss it, but the current plan is to slowly eat the food which is the majority of the pack weight and it will slowly get better. The second my family got out of sight I instantly was gripped with a gigantic feeling of loneliness I missed them, my girlfriend, even gayson Kellogg who was supposed to hike this with me until he dropped out in January. I am a guy who likes to talk a lot and being with myself turned out to not be as pleasurable as I thought. I didn't make any new puns today or laugh once, compared to yesterday hiking with Elijah and just joking my way to the summit. After all my talk about how I would rather be solo I think it was more of a mistake to go alone, I really need to catch other hikers to keep my sanity.I started the day at the katahdin stream campground and ended the day paying 17 bucks for a campsite at abol bridge campground because I didn't want to walk three miles further and because that's where I was supposed to meet my family if Eli had hiked with me. In fact, all hike I was just hoping that when I got to the campsite my family would be there waiting for me; I didn't think they would be but just the thought of something familiar one more time would have been so nice. Tomorrow I plan on walking about 15 miles to a lean tube and hopefully making a friend or at least a person I hate so much that they remind me why being solo is the best way to go.I spent 7 bucks on deet and vasoline because when I applied deet when the day started I left it on the trail like a moron and vasoline because chafing=unhappy Chris.I never expected the trail to be like this but I know as I find compadres and I eat my pack weight it will be better, I just wish there was a way in which I could speed up both of those things.
Date: 2014-06-26
From: Abol Stream Campground

To: rainbow stream lean-to
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I walked a total of like 15 miles is from abol stream campsite to the second shelter. The day began surprisingly with a completely different tone than I had the day before much more optimistic. This optimism paid off when I met my first other at hiker, a NOBO girl, then at the shelter I should have gone to last night I met a 58 year old dude named crankenstine. I passed him and made my way down not thinking he would keep my pace but for a 58 year old we hiked the same way, albeit he was much more cautious when he crossed streams. I met some hard core 23 year olds that put our asses in the dust but that did not concern me because one of the most important things is to hike your own hike and my hike speed is with crankenstine and not trying to keep up with my same aged compadres. We finally caught them at 30.1 aka the shelter and words can not explain how much better it was to interact with other people all day.I miss my family and girlfriend but finally talking has brought me back from that bitchy place I was yesterday. I am sure I can hike this but I'm also sure I can't do it alone. The shelter tonight was full of about 7 sobo hikers and I know that tomorrow most of us are only hiking 8 to the next shelter. Hopefully I can make a connection to another hiker who isn't a fucking 23 year old on speed who literally was hopping down the trail with a 50 pound bag on his back.It's getting better, but it's just started so who am I to judge
Date: 2014-06-27
From: rainbow stream lean-to

To: wadleigh stream lean-to
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: few clouds

Yesterday wasn't a one day fluke, today I woke up late but even though I was the second to last, I passed people as I walked and the entire June 23 crew stuck togther another day in the same shelter which is 30 miles out. It was a short ass day of only 8 miles with a little mountain tied in but it was not bad at all. Also we had a swimming break half way through which everyone jumped in and really was a great scene. Looks like for the most part the crew is staying together tomorrow night as well because of the way everything works out.I hiked with a young kid who is 17 and just graduated high school today and that was nice, he was quick witted and a good partner but apparently he is the earliest riser and takes a break at least every hour which slows him down a lot but while I was with him I enjoyed his company more than crankenstine or Darryl the only other two solo guys in the crew. I can't feel as much of a camaraderie with them because just the lack of an actual common ground and when I talk to them it seems like I constantly need to relate their thoughts to me instead of sharing them and seeing similarities.Then again there was a gap between me and the 17 year old as the only movie reference he got all day was the sea cucumber joke from finding nemo. Literally fucking no cool runnings, Forrest Gump, pulp fiction, top gun. None of it but sea cucumber walks into a bar he got.Anyways enjoying more and looking forward to a flat ten miles tomorrow