morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-04-07
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: FS 293
Miles today: 13.7

Hiking Day 28 Ending Elevation 3446 feetI did not sleep very well, again. We got up about 6:30 a.m., unable to continue sleeping. We got ourselves ready for another slack packing day in the rain and then headed for the main house where the famous breakfast would be served. A number of hikers had told us about Mountain Harbor and this is why we had come¢¦and it turned out its reputation was well deserved. Mountains of interesting food that was all homemade, a veritable feast. After breakfast, we shuttled to FS 293, and started the walk back to the hostel. Although rain had been predicted, it had not yet to come and for the first hour or so, we walked under high fog-colored clouds that didn¢t seem particularly threatening. That didn¢t last long, first the sky started spitting at us sporadically, but it didn¢t take long to turn into a gentle downpour which stayed with us for most of the day. In Gatlinburg we had purchased Rab rain pants and jackets and this was a good opportunity to test them out. We also wore our neoprene socks and everything worked well. We were still fairly dry and comfortable at the end of the day. And tomorrow, more rain is coming so we will have a chance to try it all again.The rain pattered on our heads and on the ground, a special kind of music to walk to, but the biggest surprise, miracle really, was that looking through the rain today, for the first time, on those brown skyward reaching arms of naked trees, we could see green buds happening, almost as we watched. Not everywhere, but in swathes of trees, like a green fog rising. It was uplifting, even whilst the rain through a wet blanket over everything.Eventually, we arrived back at the hostel. I am hoping for better sleep tonight. It will be another cold wet day tomorrow!It¢s our son¢s birthday today¢¦Happy Birthday, Sam!Some people we met today:Had a nice conversation with Karen (Snap Pea), a hostel owner on the CDT in Salina, CO and Steve (Speed Bump) from Minnesota¢¦traveling together to Damascus, where they both plan to leave the trail.We met Can and Doug and another couple who are staying in the B & B with us tonight:Moon, an electrician from Ashland, who we keep running into.Jenn on her way to a shelter.Elsa and Piper on their way to the Refuge Shelter, near here.
Date: 2023-04-08
From: FS 293

To: Pond Flats
Miles today: 16.7

Hiking Day 29 Ending Elevation 3734 feetAnother final breakfast at Mountain Harbor Hostel and a final conversation with Can and Doug whose 18 year old daughter woke up very cold last night and walked from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m to get to the hostel. I¢m feeling a bit wistful about some of the lovely people we meet. I find myself thinking we might be friends under other circumstances, but as it is, we meet briefly, and we never see them again.Mary, the hostel owner drove Flipper, Checkmate and us back to FS 293 and we started North and uphill, naturally, at 9:30ish we expected rain, and we got it but not so much as I thought we¢d have. It was supposed to rain most of the day and stop toward evening. This is why we are camped atop another mountain, in anticipation of the return of the sun tomorrow.As we walked down to Dennis Cove Trailhead, we started hearing gunshots, we didn¢t think much of it at first but it continued off and on throughout the afternoon and we were a little concerned that we weren¢t dressed in bright colors for hunting season.This afternoon we walked quite a way on a fairly level path along the banks of the Laurel River. Like all the rivers we¢ve seen, it was running fast and furiously, swollen with the recent rains. We also saw Laurel Falls. The white churning water was crashing down; it was quite a sight. And as we walked up the mountain beside the River, we were treated to white dogwoods abloom and even a wild azalea in pink. Meanwhile, the River below us appeared to swell to the breadth of a lake, so we wondered if it was dammed.We decided to camp here in this identified campsite, but when we got here, there were 3 young men already here: Dan, who hiked the Florida Trail in 2020 and his friends, Jordan and Kenneth who have never camped before. I know this will sound odd, but I think these are the first people we¢ve interacted with in the last month who are not in some way connected to the trail. It was refreshing.Dark now, time for sleep and dreaming of the coming sun.Some people we met today (again)Free BirdDay DreamProf. Sprouts
Date: 2023-04-09
From: Pond Flats

To: Tent site at mile 441.6
Miles today: 15.9

Hiking Day 31 Ending Elevation 3862 feetAt 11 p.m. last night, we awoke to raindrops. This put me in fire (or should I say ¢rain¢) drill mode, but Kerry assured me it wouldn¢t last, and he was right. As promised by the weather forecasters, we wakened to clear blue skies and 32 degrees.We slept in until 6:40. Kerry was cold because something is wrong with the zipper on his sleeping bag and it isn¢t staying closed¢¦we¢ll have to deal with that in Damascus. On the bright side, we pulled Felix up between us in the night and he¢s like a very hot, hot water bottle¢¦kept us (including himself) all warmer.Anyway, we wakened to the sound of owls all around us. We¢ve heard them before, but not these and we couldn¢t identify them. I meant to mention that we are hearing more birdsong over the last week. Together with the trees starting to green, our world is starting to wake up. On our walk around the lake we saw more dogwoods in bloom, as well as Red Buds and an entire hillside of deep blue larkspur.The other sound we were a little shocked to hear early on Easter Sunday, here in the Bible Belt was the sound of guns firing, again. I just couldn¢t get my head wrapped around it. Once we came down the mountain this morning, we spent a couple of hours walking around the lake, which is dammed and named Lake Watauga. We eventually walked over Wilbur Dam, which apparently dams the Watauga River, not the Laurel River. Then we climbed back up to the ridgeline where we continued our journey around the lake. We spent most of the day doing this and were very tired¢¦not sure why, but we were more than ready to stop.Here we are on yet another high mountain side and a promise of more freezing temperatures! Still the day was bright and sunny and I can¢t think of a better way to spend Easter Sunday,Some people we met today:Karen and Steve from the shuttle ride 2 days agoDay Dream and Professor Sprouts passed us earlySolo Grandpa Mostly, surprisingly, we had the day to ourselves
Date: 2023-04-10
From: Tent site at mile 441.6

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 19.0

Hiking Day 32 Ending Elevation 3786 feetWe awoke at 6:15 a.m. to another blue sky and freezing temperatures. We spent the entire day hiking up and down on the ridgeline so it lacked the intensity of hiking up and down mountains, but was hard work, never the less.By 9:30 or so it felt like we were on a highway of hikers. Apparently, they were slack packing from Boots Off Hostel¢¦.maybe ten of them, including Jenn who told us she plans to get to Damascus Wednesday morning. We tentatively made plans to get in touch so we could say, ¢goodbye¢. She is leaving at Damascus and returning to the trail somewhere North in late May/early June to continue the trail she¢s not yet hiked. It¢s funny, she started walking about the same time we did, and she is the one person we¢ve consistently run into every few days or so. Feeling a bit wistful about saying, ¢goodbye.¢At Cross Mountain/TN 91 we met Trail angels Richard and Lori (retired army and Air Force, respectively) from Elizabethton. They were just packing up but they served us homemade jambalaya, bratwurst and Gatorade. Even Felix scored two bratwurst. He was a happy dog, although he did growl unkindly at Richard. I told him, Felix, not to be rude!That meal gave us a huge energy burst for the rest of the day. We are now less than 10 miles from Damascus and looking forward to taking a day off there.The trees are a little greener every day, it¢s like a fog that is settling in. It¢s so gradual I have a feeling we will just wake up one day and everywhere will be green. For now, I¢m watching one day at a time and feeling a little sad that soon the season will truly change and there will be no going back. Although I have to admit I won¢t miss the cold! And I really prefer to look out a window at the rain.People we met today:All those slack packers from Boots Off HostelMaverick (who camped beside us last night)Voyager (a vet who went in to Elizabethton, to see a dr. about his hurt knee)Rick aka Sleepwalker and Clay, walking together and camped nearby.
Date: 2023-04-11
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus 
Miles today: 10.2

Hiking Day 33 Ending Elevation 1927 feetMuch warmer this morning¢¦in the 50s. We were motivated to hike the last 10 miles to Damascus and we did, arriving at about noon. At about 10 a.m., we left Tennessee and entered Virginia, our fourth state at mile 467.In Damascus, we needed to find a place to stay and something to eat. The latter proved challenging as it seems that on Tuesdays and Wednesdays a lot of places are closed¢¦.someone didn¢t get that message to the AT hikers who don¢t walk on a schedule but tend to show up all the time for many months of the year.We did eventually find a decent hamburger at a place called Cowboys, whose patrons were of enormous size, probably starting at about 250lbs. After that and several phone calls, I was able to secure us a private room at the Dancing Bear Inn for 2 nights. We haven¢t had a day off for almost 3 weeks and we are both looking forward to a day of rest tomorrow. Elizabeth, who checked us in also washed our clothes and helped us access the TV (we¢d like to catch upon the news, maybe?), seems very helpful and kind. She even bemoaned the businesses that don¢t seem to cater to ¢the tourists¢ upon whom Damascus thrives.The tips on Kerry¢s poles were warm away and Lumpy at Mt. Rogers Outfitters changed them for him at no charge. I couldn¢t believe it, but he said that Leki gives him the tips so he feels it¢s a service for him to fix them. One problem solved, two to go. Kerry will probably need to replace his backpack, it¢s falling apart, but that¢s for tomorrow. The final issue is the zipper on his sleeping bag, and Western Mountaineering has given us detailed instructions on how to fix that. Hoping that works.So the only thing left for tonight was our evening meal at the Diner. Whilst we were there, Rick (from last night¢s campsite) came over to talk to us. He and his Eagle Scout friends are hiking the AT together. Apparently, last night, Rick who is 55 asked Kerry if he, at 70, had any words of wisdom for him. After demurring, Kerry told him 3 things: 1) from a spiritual perspective , to love God above all else, and love one another. 2) from Socrates, ¢know thyself¢ 3) and the 2 most important things, learned from our dog are: loyalty and to turn around 3 times before lying down to sleep (someone probably said this but he doesn¢t know who). This surprised me a little, but Kerry is philosophical.My grandfather would have been 114 years old today. I can¢t believe he¢s been gone now more than half my life. He would have enjoyed this walk.Well, I think that¢s it for tonight!
Date: 2023-04-12
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day 4 Damascus, VAWe enjoyed a nice breakfast at the Damascus Diner and shared our table with Rick, Clay and Nathan, who plan to end this section hike in 30 miles.A much needed day off the trail, but we had a lot to get done. Kerry replaced his old broken Ohm ULA pack with a new updated one. Lumpy at Mt. Rogers Outfitters even gave him a 10% discount, unasked for. Kerry thought about buying one of the waterproof packs, but he just likes the design of this one, so that¢s what he got. He was able to fix the sleeping bag with instruction from Gary at Western Mountaineering and he replaced the dyneema rope for hanging the bear bag, with paracord, so we are all set.We were able to deal with some personal matters that needed following up on and Elizabeth took us to the grocery store so we¢re ready for the next leg of our journey. Elizabeth told us she and her husband moved here 3 years ago and purchased the Dancing Bear Inn as a part of their retirement plan. She loves it here, and has been so kind to us, and other hikers, I¢m sure.Jenn arrived in Damascus today, she ends her journey for now and will get back on the trail in Pennsylvania in early June. We had a beer with her at the local tavern and said ¢goodbye.¢ Maybe our paths will cross again¢¦I hope so.We also saw Karen and Steve one more time as they also end their hike here. We¢ve enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone and it¢s sad to see them go. Enough goodbyes for now!This seems a good time to mention trail names. Kerry¢s is ¢Clueless,¢ and no, I didn¢t give it to him, although I must say, ¢if the shoe fits, wear it!¢ Our friend, Just Some Dude, gave it to him a few years ago, and now it seems to have stuck. Felix is ¢the little prince¢ and sometimes he¢s ¢the grumpy little prince¢ because he lets us know when other hikers show up. Right before we came here my friend Don said I should be ¢Elf¢¢¦.he had his reasons but when I thought about it, it sort of works¢¦the Tolkien movie elves are very old and have long white hair like me. Then someone else called me ¢Co-Pilot¢ and that works too, so the jury is still out for me!Well, all that¢s left today is dinner and a good night¢s sleep!
Date: 2023-04-13
From: Damascus. Dancing Bear Inn

To: Campsite at Mile 488,1
Miles today: 17.3

Hiking Day 34 Ending Elevation 3202 feetWe got off to a good start today¢¦a mile or so walk through Damascus, which is a pretty little town. It¢s main logging industry ended in the 60s and now the people who live here depend on tourism for survival; not just AT hikers, but bikers and other outdoor recreational activities that people participate in. Soon after leaving the town border, we headed up the mountainside once more. The endless walk down the mountain on the South side coming into Damascus 2 days ago was now repeated going up on the North side of town. Once we reached the ridge line it was up and down about 500 feet all day. But some of the walking was fairly easy, following a river at one point for a few miles and watching the fast flowing water run it¢s course from our perch above was soothing.We saw some new wildflowers today, red ones that I don¢t have a name for. We also saw some more wild iris¢¦to me they are magical. Also, today, for the first time I noticed that the rhododendrons are not looking wilted and woebegone anymore, but the leaves are standing straight out like they are supposed to. They seem to inhabit a band of elevation that spans some depth either side of 3000 feet. Where they grow, they dominate. We walk through them, tall as trees and frequently, they arch over us and we walk through a tunnel of them, the sun dancing on their leaves and on the ground.A lot of people (young) passed us today, but we just kept walking. We decided not to stay in the last shelter we passed and walked on to this campsite. We were just settling in when Possum a recent retiree from North Carolina showed up, so the three of us are camped here, a little worried about bears showing up: there are ominous signs posted in strategic locations by the Forest Service just to make sure we stay worried. Food has been hung as best we could, and we¢re counting on Felix to warn us if any bears show up.I don¢t listen to music or audio books or anything while we walk but lots of things go through my head that I think I should write about later and which in general I promptly forget but today I was ruminating the problem of being a female of a certain age (old) and the difficulty of having to squat for various reasons. This may be TMI, but it¢s quite a challenge. I¢m in pretty good shape but getting up from a sitting in mid air position is not easy. I suppose without furniture, men and women in the past used these muscles constantly and they probably remained fairly adept all their short lives. This may be one of the reasons why my aunt once said to me that old age isn¢t for Sissies. I know this is a ridiculous thing to think about but so it goes.Darkness has fallen, dog¢s already passed out. Kerry put the rain flaps out because there is a chance of rain. I¢m happy to be back on the soft, flat forest floor instead of a lumpy bed. Long walk today, I think I¢ll sleep.
Date: 2023-04-14
From: Campsite at Mile 488,1

To: Campsite at mile 499.8
Miles today: 11.7

Hiking Day 35 Ending Elevation 5436 feetWe had every intention of getting an early start and making good progress today, but we awakened to rain that didn¢t let up until 7:30 so it was slow going packing up and we didn¢t start walking until almost 9. The hiking was fairly intense, we climbed 2 mountains, White Top and Mt. Rogers and ended the day at 5436 ft, well below the summits we climbed to, a net gain of more than 2,000 feet but total elevation gain had to be at least double that.The weather improved and then reverted back and forth throughout the day. More chance of rain tonight but one thing Kerry and I agree on (and there seems to be more these days!) is that sleeping on the ground is more restful than on a hard shelter floor and also we sleep better on our own. So here we are in a field hoping the weather will be kind (30 to 50 percent chance of rain this evening) and that we will wake up to a nice day.We were fortunate this afternoon to stop at the road that passes through Elk Garden and the wind was blowing hard, so I took the tent out and let the wind blow it dry. It was great, probably took a lb off Kerry¢s carrying weight too.We¢re back to naked trees, maybe a microclimate or just the elevation. The ground however is popping green; grass, little ferns and leaves¢¦.not to mention the wildflowers¢¦more everyday. The views have not changed, but the ground has become a little more rocky, I¢ve noticed this over the last week, but now we¢re seeing more boulders and interesting rock formations. There are also more open spaces, where the grass grows and you look across to the unending undulating outline of blue mountains, it¢s quite something and we¢ve been looking at it for 6 weeks now!Our biggest treat of the day was to see 3 wild ponies on the side of Mt. Rogers. They seemed oblivious to us, as animals tend to be in protected habitats, but it was very special. Felix wasn¢t bothered by them either, he doesn¢t herd horses. These ponies looked very healthy, a beautiful chestnut color with long white mains, much longer than you see on domestic horses so I wonder if the latters¢ are trimmed.One thing I know for sure¢¦it will be colder tonight!People TodayFree BirdLucky CharmAnd their friend (sleeping in the same meadow with us)711, a young woman we keep crossing paths with, but she stopped at the shelterDave, a scouter and his son Jordan, an Eagle candidate, out for a hike with the family
Date: 2023-04-15
From: Campsite at mile 499.8

To: Campsite at Mile 518ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ.5
Miles today: 18.7

Hiking Day 36 Ending Elevation 3235 feetToday was a memorable day. We saw lots of animals. As promised the ponies of the Grayson Highlands turned out in force. We saw 12 altogether; 9 feeding right beside and on the trail. One of them nuzzled my hand when I walked toward her thinking she would move to the side so I could pass. She did eventually move but rather grudgingly¢¦I think she wanted a treat. This happened to us once in Northern England on our Sea to Sea hike, but the horse only moved when we gave him an apple! As we walked along, we saw three more individual ponies, one of them again in the middle of the trail. Emboldened by my earlier encounter, I put my hand out and petted it on its head, then for good measure I rubbed her nose. Her head came up to my chest, so they weren¢t large as far as ponies are concerned. They call them wild animals, but I think that must only be to distinguish them from domestic animals: a more gentle beast I can¢t imagine. Felix even let them smell him and nuzzle him with their noses, he didn¢t seem put out in the least!The other animals we saw today, a rabbit (my first on this trip) and three white-tailed deer naturally drove Felix to distraction. I¢m so glad I have Felix on a 4 foot leash¢¦.he nearly went airborne when he caught sight of the deer with their amazing tails held in the air like white flags. As well-trained as Felix is, it¢s just impossible to disconnect his lizard brain when it kicks in. He turns into a wild animal!Since I¢m talking about animals, we did see a few more birds today, but I didn¢t get close enough to identify them. There is also this funny looking centipede (millipede?) we keep seeing too.When we started down Mt. Rogers and into Grayson Highlands, we were literally walking inside a cloud. As we walked downward, the cloud began to rise above us and we had nice views across the open grasslands. We also walked up and down a couple of mountains again, one of them was Pine Mountain, and I don¢t remember the others, they come so fast and they don¢t all have signs to tell us. We¢re currently 2000 feet lower than we were last night, here near Dickey Gap. The weather forecast is for rain tonight and tomorrow but the sky was blue when the sunset, so I pray it stays that way. It¢s dark now and late for me at 8:30 but Kerry is off somewhere trying to put a bear bag in a suitable tree which is almost impossible to find. He just returned¢¦.after numerous unsuccessful attempts to hang it, the bear bag is staying with us, and Felix will have to warn us if trouble arrives.Some People today:Dave, son Dave and his cousin, SuperiorPossumFree Bird, Lucky Charm and a guy in an orange hatLots of day hikers and backpackers too.
Date: 2023-04-16
From: Campsite at Mile 518ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ.5

To: Rogers National Rec. HQ
Miles today: 15.8

Hiking Day 37 Ending Elevation 3237 feetI¢m just starting to write, it¢s almost 8 p.m., and getting dark. When we started out on this journey, over a month ago, the clocks hadn¢t changed and it was quite dark by 6:30. p.m. So, were I in the tent, I¢d probably be snuggled up asleep by now. As it is, Kerry and I came into Marion to wash up and avoid another downpour so I¢m happy to report that Kerry had his beer and we both had a good meal, a wash and clean clothes.We hadn¢t originally planned to come here, but with the rain, and an easy resupply it made sense for us to do so. I forgot to mention we went over the 500 mile mark yesterday!A follow-up on last night¢s lack of a bear bag hang. Felix, sleeping on the bear bag woke us up at about 11 p.m. with a couple of soft warning barks and growl. He did this a couple of times. Kerry got up to look for trouble, but not finding any we all went back to sleep without further concern. In the morning, we got up and packed up quickly and so did the campers around us, I think everyone wanted to get ahead of the storm. It was pleasant hiking and the sun burned the grey away, The promised rain came several hours later than predicted which allowed us to get to Marion without being totally drenched.While the terrain and vistas have not changed, There is something about the hiking since Damascus that has become more gentle, less harsh. I can¢t quite explain why because the mountain climbing has been just as steep, more in some cases. Perhaps it is the ridges, some of them, have been more¢¦predictable. This probably doesn¢t make much sense, it¢s my body that knows it.I love butterflies and we have seen quite a few, swallowtails and something that looks like a mourning cloak. We¢ve also been seeing a black butterfly with a blue tinge and blue spots on its bottom edge. Kerry finally managed to get a photo of it today. It¢s called a spicebush swallowtail. I probably won¢t be able to upload his photo, for some reason all his photos are coming out too large to upload, he promised to try and fix it!Back to the trail tomorrow!People:Dave, Dave and SuperiorMike and JoshCaboose, who recognized us because of FeliPossumRockySquatch, a section hiker from the UKMcDuck, the Okie and Jeff (haven¢t seen them since Mt. Harbor Hostel)