morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-04-28
From: Hogback Ridge shelter

To: No Business Knob shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: clear sky

The morning was dry but it wouldn't last long. We rose early in the cold and stowed our sopping wet stuff. Today would be a long one. We dropped steeply to Sam's Gap, still under cloudy skies. Just as we crossed under the highway Bimbo and Dibbs came down from the overpass. They'd spent the night high under the concrete beams! It was a dry night for them. The skies began to open up as we climbed Big Bald. Near the top the winds kicked in and we could feel the temperatures dropping.As we left the trees at the top the rain turned to hail. We buttoned up our rain gear as best as possible and pushed on across the huge meadow. At 5500 feet on top the rain turned to sleet, snow, and hail with a strong wind. I had to hunch over, pulling down my rain hood, just to stay upright. Several times I nearly walked into a post with a white blaze on it. Bald Mountain shelter was a welcome sight! Inside we found Rock and Roll and Bimbo trying to warm up. We put on all our clothes and still shivered.Beth fired up her stove for ramen while I ate my no-cook lunch, both of us freezing. The wind would let up, return, and the hail came and went. Eventually we had to go out again. It was tempting to stay at the shelter but we knew it would be a brutally cold night. We pushed onwards downhill, through more steady rain, another 10 miles to No Business Knob shelter. Inside we found Hot Foot, very cold, along with section hikers Day-Glo and Blue Bird. We joined them for the night, happy not to setup our wet tent. Our longest day yet at 21 miles and through the worst weather. It was a pretty cold night but better than at Bald Mountain. We later learned they had ice everywhere.
Date: 2010-04-29
From: No Business Knob shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: clear sky

We packed out early to Erwin, TN at about 11:30. Right were the trail meets the town is Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky hostel where we stayed the night. We pitched our tent on the lawn to dry out, hopped in for a quick hot shower, and had just enough time to jump on the lunch shuttle! Hot Foot joined us for all-you-can-eat pizza at Pizza Plus. I'm sure they were sorry to see us thru-hikers roll in since we f inished off about 13 plates worth between all of us! Buffets are your friends.Some time left, so we walked across the street to White's Grocery in search of beer. No luck, so on the way back Uncle Johnny swung by the gas station for us. We returned to the hostel, cleaned up our gear and did laundry, then sat around the rest of the day. Beth and Hot Foot matched wits over a 2.5 hour game of chess, ending in a stalemate.Afterwards we went out for Mexican food on the dinner shuttle. As our shuttle driver pointed out there was an ambulance out front, just in case we overdid it. Our dinner group was myself, Beth, Lorod, Gonzo, H2, and Hot Foot. Never before have I eaten Mexican food and still been hungry afterwards. All of our plates were cleaned. Next we walked to the Dollar General for some resupply items and Klondike Bars. Lorod and Gonzo even stopped by Subway for sandwiches before the shuttle returned.Back at the hostel Funky Monkey had arrived! She'd hitched in from Sam's Gap and was dropped at the Holiday Inn. She walked next door to the A&W in search of a burger to find it closed. As she walked back a woman in a car asked why she looked bummed out and she said the burger place was closed. As she checked in this woman drove across town to Sonic drive-in, bought a couple burgers and fries, drove back, and left them by her backpack! What a great surprise! Rather than stay at Holiday she caught a ride back to the Hostel and got a cabin.Eventually everyone turned in. It was a loud night with trains rolling by across the river and a road nearby. I had to break out my earplugs for the second time this trip. Beth slept through it all. Overnight all our nice dry gear became soaked again from condensation. I have been having the time of my life so far and stayed up most of the night planning out how I could stay here and finish the AT with Cerveza. Car? Loan it to my parents. Apartment? Sublet, or have my brother stay in it. Job? Leave of absence. Money? Savings account and credit card. Have I gone crazy?
Date: 2010-04-30
From: Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel

To: Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We caught the breakfast shuttle into Erwin and ate at JD's Market. It's a little store with a breakfast counter in the back. The fare is pretty typical southern breakfast: biscuits and gravy, eggs, bacon, biscuit sandwiches, etc. The prices are incredibly low for the portion size too! Very good and highly recommended.Uncle Johnny's offers loaner bicycles so hikers can ride a paved 4 mile trail into downtown Erwin. Beth and took advantage of this and rode to the library to update our journals and send photos. The computers were frustratingly slow and riddle with "child-safety" software that also blocked Facebook and just made things take a long time. Finished with this, we had lunch at Sonic and rode back to Johnny's.Rather than spend another night in the tent we moved into one of the small cabins, keeping our stuff dry and giving us a nice bed. t was a great step up from our tent on the lawn. The place has a great VHS movie library and we started off with Vertical Limit (it was the most appropriate movie we could find). We also caught the dinner shuttle to do our resupply and eat. The van was totally packed and I ended up with Beth riding on my lap, not that I was complaining. While the others ate we went into Whites Grocery and Dollar General to pick up our food. On the way out we grabbed Subway to go. Back at Uncle Johnny's we continued our movie marathon.
Date: 2010-05-01
From: Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

In the morning I snagged the old, slow hostel computer and transferred photos from my dwindling stack of memory cards onto a USB thumb drive. As the computer worked I made some phone calls. We then caught the shuttle back to JD's for another awesome country breakfast. Seoul Patch was talked out of ordering two portions of biscuits and gravy by the cook. In the end he couldn't even finish the first huge portion, though he tried! On our return to the hostel we found many new faces, as well as Annie and Niko! We went back to our room, cleaned up, and checked out. It was tempting to stay for the BBQ at 5pm but we needed to get some miles. We finally hiked out at 11:30 am.The climb out started slowly, thankfully, because it was very hot. We passed a very nice creek and Beth was tempted to jump in. At the last minute she changed her mind but ended up forgetting her wristwatch as she walked away. We continued our slow climb upwards, passing two streams. We decided to keep going since the guidebook said we could find water at Beauty Spot (a small bald with views of Erwin). As we climbed higher Beth first ran out of water, then I did too not long after. We were still a few miles from the marked water and getting thirsty.At Beauty Spot we did not find water, only a big grassy meadow and lots of bugs. The next marked water source was also dry. Not good! Eventually we found a spring at Deep Gap two miles further and camped here. As it turned out it was better we did not camp on top of Beauty Spot. Fellow hikers Hollywood and Hedgehog camped there in the grass and were nearly run over by locals offroading their Jeep in the dark!
Date: 2010-05-02
From: Deep Gap

To: Clyde Smith shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: light rain

We packed out early and hiked over Unaka Mountain, the climb for the day. It was fairly easy and had a cool forest of spruce and fir trees on the top. We dropped down on the far side and continued on to the next shelter for a snack. The bugs were annoying so we didn't stay too long. Hiking onwards we once again ran into DayGlo and Bluebird. A few miles further we were getting hungry so we pulled off the side of the trail and ate lunch. We later found an old apple orchard that would have made a much better stay.As we neared the shelter for the night the clouds were looking more and more ominous. Gray was building and about a mile from the shelter the thunderstorms began. No rain yet but we doubled our pace and hoofed it onwards, hoping to get space in the shelter if it rained. The shelter was very full so we instead pitched our tent and hoped for the best. The rain thankfully held off and we stayed dry. Many other familiar faces were here: Dibbs (no Bimbo due to foot problems), Rock and Roll, Sockeye, Grizzly, River, Tour Guide, Niko and Montana, Barley, Stix, Hedgehog, Hollywood.
Date: 2010-05-03
From: Clyde Smith shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Our biggest climb in awhile: Roan Mountain. The dark clouds over the peak were not inspiring. As we dropped to the road before the climb Montana informed us we just missed soda trail magic! She got the last can. Oh well. Up we went, gaining a few thousand feet in the process. The trail was pretty steep but evenly graded and happily had switchbacks in the worst spots. On the top the clouds parted and we even had limited view! We crossed through the old hotel site and finally found the trail, moving on to the shelter.After eating lunch here, and leaving DayGlo and Bluebird behind, we started our descent to the highlands. The skies were amazingly blue but the wind was really blowing! Huge gusts that made it hard to walk, let alone stand upright with a pack on. The area was full of rolling hills, grasslands, and amazing clouds. It was very cool. Beth posed for goofy photos and was her usual awesomeness. We slowed our pace to enjoy it. To keep the balds from growing over they also use goats to graze the balds. We found a mailbox partway with pamphlets of info on the goats, but sadly the goats were not here today.We dropped downward to Overmountain Shelter for the night. Overmountain is an old barn that sleeps 20 (officially) in the hay loft. It was one of the coolest and definitely the most unique shelter so far! We claimed a spot upstairs and setup our tent rainfly. Rain and high winds were in the forecast and the barn isn't exactly waterproof. The loft filled up quickly as others had the same idea. In the end the upper floor was filled with tents like some backcountry gear shop. I put my earplugs in for the night and slept pretty well.
Date: 2010-05-04
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 9.2

In the morning it was drizzly and cloudy, causing some confusion for hikers. Nobody wanted to get wet but everyone wanted to get some miles. We sat around awhile and when it became clear there was a break in the weather we hiked out. We crossed more of the grassy highlands and began our drop down to Elk Park (US 19). The top of the area is also a cattle grazing ground and we saw some cows here. Beyond we dropped into the trees and the trail became rocky and slow. After lots of stumbling and sliding we finally hit the highway and walked to Mountain Harbor Hostel for the night to stay dry.We were greeted at the main house by the owner who cheerfully did our laundry for us (she touched dirty filthy hiker clothes with a smile!) and we bought a frozen pizza from the house to cook in the bunk house. We had the semi-private king bed for the night while others took the four bunks. The bunkhouse is the top of a converted barn (with horses and goats in the bottom) and is very nice! The living area was comfortable with a TV and movies. Still others setup their tents or hammocks on the lawn while another group took up residence in the RV. We made the most of the day lounging around on the house porch in recliners or hammocks, petting the dog "Girl".After showers and laundry we caught a shuttle to Dollar General for resupply, then returned to the hostel to drop our goods. Just as quickly the pickup truck was on its way out for a dinner shuttle run. This one was far more popular and we crammed about five hikers into the cab of the full size truck, along with another 8-10 in the bed! It was squished to say the least. Just as we pulled out on the roadway a state patrol rolled up behind. All the cop did thankfully was pull in close, I assume to see the squished load of hikers, then back off.Dinner was a Bob's Dairy-Land, a local place where everything is fried. It was quite good! The owner was slow returning to get us so we sat around awhile. Once more we crammed into the full truck bed for a beer run. Re-armed with alcohol we cheerfully squished into the truck and made it back to our home. Hopping out of the bed nearly everyone had trouble walking due to the tight squeeze on already tired legs!We walked back to the bunkhouse, watched some movies and sorted our resupply, then turned in for the night with promises of an epic breakfast in our dreams.
Date: 2010-05-05
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Laurel Fork camp
Miles today: 12.6

In the morning we woke early and each grabbed another shower. Apparently my first one was not wholly successful since Beth slept on the far side of the king bed away from me. We packed our stuff and walked to the main house at 7:15 for breakfast. This breakfast had been talked up by departing hikers and others who knew the place, and Terry and Mary did not disappoint! They welcomed us into their home (the bunks are separate) and turned on the weather channel for us while we had coffee.And then the food. Oh god the food! Understand that our typical breakfast (and any meal really) is cooked on a stove in a little pot. So when we saw the kitchen island overflowing with food I think we all about fainted. Scrambled eggs, quiche, sausage, strawberries, monkey bread, biscuits and gravy - I'd say about 10 different things! All homemade! I took yet another photo in the "Beth smiles happily while having breakfast series". We ate to our hearts content and waddled back to our packs to hit the trail.We were slow at the start but thankfully the trail wasn't too difficult here. The route was very pretty, following beside a river for some distance and past several waterfalls. We slowly made our way up trail to Mountaineer Shelter. It's one of the newer shelters and has three floors. Stopping here for lunch we were caught by Seoul Patch who had stopped to see or splash in every waterfall. We were feeling unmotivated and agreed to camp with him near Laurel Fork creek by a waterfall.He hiked on ahead while we kept on going. When we crossed the foot bridge and found the spot he was nowhere to be seen! The day was getting late so we finally decided to just stop and make up the miles in the morning. Our campsite beside the creek was very nice and we continued our ongoing rummy game, then slept well, though it was colder than we'd expected.
Date: 2010-05-06
From: Laurel Fork camp

To: Pond Flats
Miles today: 17.5

We packed out early and made our way up trail to Moreland Shelter, our original destination for the night before. In the log we found Seoul Patch had camped here ... after convincing us to give up on it! Dang it. Babalu showed up and said he was aiming for Kincora Hostel 6 miles away for lunch. We made this our destination as well.Arriving at Kincora, we found Bob Peoples was out doing trail work. Tour Guide was here nursing his shin splints and we were soon joined by Deja-Thru (she thru-hiked the trail years ago) and Popcorn. We walked around and checked out the cool tree-house that features a double bed. After lunch we decided to push on, despite Kincora being a very affordable place.The next stretch of trail was incredibly beautiful. After walking back down to the road the AT follows a perfectly flat tourist trail for two miles before dropping steeply and on rocks to Laurel Falls. The falls were incredible, the biggest we'd seen so far. We worked our way close to them and took a break, cooling off in the spray. Back on trail the AT dropped to the river level, at times only a foot above the rushing water on stone ledges. Very cool.The trail continued along the river at a very easy grade, allowing us to make fast progress. Soon enough that progress came to an end with the climb up Pond Mountain. It is only 3 miles and 1900 ft of gain to the top, easy enough back home or at the start of a day, but after already covering 15 miles on a very warm day it was tiring. We reached the top (Pond Flats, though we never found the pond) and called it a night here.Camp was nice and the weather was warm and calm, another great night for sleeping. Before long we were joined by Draggin' Tail and Sherpa (Not named after the WA peaks) who owned an identical tent to ours. So far nobody else has had a 3-man tent we had seen. They are hiking for a charity called Hiking For Water. They're great guys and would appreciate donations.
Date: 2010-05-07
From: Pond Flats

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: clear sky

In the morning I didn't really feel like hiking anymore. I was also fighting some wicked allergies. This was really strange since I dont have allergies back in Washington but something here would send me into sneezing fits. Later on I would have to take a Claritin every day.A few miles down the trail we came across a turtle hiking up towards us. This was very odd, not only because it was a hiking turtle which was going southbound, but because there was no water nearby. As we approached he slowly retracted into his shell and stayed put. We checked him out and moved him off to the side so nobody stepped on him before continuing on. As we neared the bottom we were caught by another Washington thru-hiker named Limestone. We all continued on to Watauga Lake beach, where we were joined by Deja-Thru, Truth, Draggin-Tail, Sherpa, and Krispy Kritter.After a too-long break on the picnic tables, debating whether to go swimming, we continued on along the far side of the lake and past the shelter, hoping to cover a long mileage day due to easy terrain. Pushing onwards we crossed over Watauga Dam and further up the trail. The terrain wasn't quite as easy as we'd hoped, combined with the head, so we were falling behind. We stopped short of the next shelter at a dirty spring to gather water. As we filtered water we were met by a hiker named Sticker.Refueled with water we headed to Vandeventer Shelter for a snack break, finding Limestone here packing up to move on. We continued onwards as well hoping to make Iron Mountain shelter for a 20 mile day. I was still feeling crummy and unmotivated so I just tooled along behind Beth. We made it to a spring just short of the shelter before learning hikers H2, Mad Mike, Uncas, and The Professor were just up the trail so we toughed it out and put in another mile. I lacked energy and slept poorly.
Date: 2010-05-08
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Spring
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: few clouds

In the morning we packed up and headed out early, hoping for another high mileage day. Deja-Thru, Limestone, and Truth all passed us as we packed up camp but we were soon on our way. Just two miles away we passed the Nick Grindstaff Monument. It's for a hermit and has the inspiring inscription: "Born alone, lived alone, died alone."As we dropped to the highway crossing we found a huge orange metal box and a sign from the local church. Trail magic! Inside we helped ourselves to a cold soda and cookie. Across the highway the trail goes through a great section of rolling fields with abandoned farm buildings. It was a blue-sky day and very pretty. We enjoyed this stretch, and were happy it was flat, so we made great time too. Soon we reached Double-Spring Shelter and stopped for water. Four miles later, both of us getting hungry, we stopped for lunch at the crossing of Tennessee 91 at a stone picnic table. Draggin-Tail and Sherpa were both here too. I ate my lunch of dehydrated refried black beans, cheese, and tortillas while Beth cooked a Lipton meal. Further up the trail at the next water source, an unreliable spring, someone had put up a sign reading "Free Shitty Water". We had enough thankfully and moved on. Another few miles and we passed McQueen's knob, site of one of the oldest shelters on the AT built in 1934. It is only for emergency use and is in poor condition.A few miles past we reached Abingdon Gap Shelter for another snack break. I grabbed my water bag and followed the blue-blazes to the spring for water. Little did I know the side trail went 0.6 miles steeply down into the valley. Argh, not what I wanted on a long mileage day. At least it was a good flowing source. I hauled it back up to the shelter, not happy to expend the energy on a side trip. We ate another snack and then pushed on, our goal a spring 8 miles down the trail.In 6 miles we crossed the Tennessee / Virginia state line! Cross off another state! From this point forwards my hiking would be in Virginia. We reached the spring about 7:45 pm, making it a 24 mile day. It was only 2 more miles into Damascus and we considered going on, but decided to just stay put and save the money of a room for one last night in the tent. Draggin'-Tail and Sherpa joined us again. The sky was totally clear so we left the rain fly off and were rudely awakened by a passing rain storm.
Date: 2010-05-09
From: Spring

To: Damascus
Miles today: 3.1
Weather: scattered clouds

We were up fairly early and moving to Damascus. Our first goal was to hit the Post Office to pick up some gear drops and letters since they were only open 10 am - 12 pm today. Our visions of a quaint little town were shattered on arrival: today was the town-wide yard sale kicking off Trail Days. People everywhere. We were a little overwhelmed and also didn't want to stay in a bed-and-breakfast or the hostel so we decided to hitch out of town to Abingdon and stay in the Days Inn there.We walked on to get some stuff at Sun Dog Outfitters and then stopped at MoJoe's Coffee for breakfast. As we sat there calling hotels we talked to Jill, one of their employees. She was heading to Abingdon for groceries and out of the blue offered us a ride! We gratefully accepted and enjoyed a nice car ride out of town. After checking in Beth surprised me by letting me take the first shower. Of course this was just pretense so she could run across the street to the discount beer and wine shop, returning with a couple six packs. Not that I was complaining.The rest of the day involved being lazy, which is very recharging. We lounged on the beds, watched TV, and did our laundry in the sink since there was no laundry service here and downtown was far away. After three soaks / rinses our socks still turned the water brown! Later on we walked across the highway to eat at Harbor House seafood restaurant. It was very old fashioned and nearly everything was fried. Then back to our room for more TV and making some phone calls. I tried to make peace with the mental struggles I'd been fighting since Pond Flats, tried to accept that reality bites, and late that night I booked my return flight out of Roanoke for the 23rd. My trail expiration date was a reality.