morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-04-14
From: Spivey Gap

To: Erwin, TN/Uncle Johnny's Hostel
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Yay, town! I feel like the last four days have just been a crazy stretch, and I'm relieved to have made it into Erwin. I wasn't quite as fast as I wanted leaving camp this morning (8:45), but that was fine, because I flew! Even with a couple of short breaks, I hiked the 11 miles into Erwin in 4 hours and 35 minutes. I got to Uncle Johnny's, a fantastic hostel, a little after 1. Just moments after arrival, I saw Dormouse come around the corner. They did hike out later today, but it was great to hang out with she and Dirt Stew for a while. I should catch them again soon. I had a great lazy afternoon including a cold, but refreshing dip into the Nolichucky River. I've met back up with RedHat, and she and I are splitting a cabin here. Speaking of Red Hat, she tried to do some incredible trail magic for me yesterday. She was slackpacking from Sams Gap to Spivey Gap and thought she'd run into me. She packed an amazing, fresh lunch of chicken salad, grapes, soda, & other goodies into a hotel ice bucket wrapped in garbage bags and put in her pack. I'm sorry I missed you, RedHat, but thank you so much for the attempt!!!I went on a yummy dinner/resupply run this evening and came back to another awesome surprise. Although I thought she was well behind me, Braids hiked in this evening! It was so fun to see her, and I look forward to hopefully hike with her for a few days soon. RedHat and I are slackpacking tomorrow, 19 miles from Iron Mountain Gap back here. It's more money - $30 for both days' shuttles and more for another night's lodging, but I'm really excited that I decided to do it. Should be a fun day! With that, I'm off to dreamland. Early start tomorrow!
Date: 2010-04-15
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Erwin, TN/Uncle Johnny's Hostel
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: clear sky

First of all, this will be the first entry going to my cousin, Megan, for transcription. Everyone say, "Hi, Megan!" In unison, now....this means that my first transcriber, Jody, is all finished with his job. Jody, thank you SO much for your hard work helping me share this journey!!!Today was an absolutely glorious slackpack! Before I get into that, though, I must relay very sad news. I don't know details yet, but my good friend Longhaul had a bad knee injury today. All I know now is that he was able to hike out the 3 or so miles to Indian Grave Gap and that he is headed home to DC to see a doctor. I am holding out hope that the injury isn't as bad as it seems and he'll be back on the trail soon. Please join me in keeping him in your thoughts.Today's decision to slackpack turned out to be a great one for me. I hiked my first twenty, but it didn't seem like nearly that much. At times I was quite literally skipping though the forest. Red Hat and I leapfrogged each other all day in the (once again) incredible weather. Slackpacking Southbound is a great social experience, too. I didn't count the hikers I passed, but there were many. I passed Beefstick, Roughin It, Aikido Jo, and Donner this morning. We discussed their hiking plans, and I've realized I can now reasonably catch them at Kincora on Sunday. I'm excited to hike with them again. I also stopped to chat with Boston (Steve when I knew him), who I had not seen since Neels Gap. I also enjoyed a beautiful lunch at Beauty Spot and generally enjoyed beautiful trail all day.I feel like the slackpack was definitely money well spent. To make things even better, I exercised self-control and cooked trail food this evening instead of going on the dinner shuttle. My dinner actually happened to taste great (chicken curry), but it was made even better by the Diet Coke and Mayfield banana split ice cream pint that I bought yesterday. Yum! I'm still full. Add in part of Braveheart playing on the VCR and long chats with Mom, Dad, and Spud, and it made for a lovely, relaxing evening.Before I go to sleep, I have a note on maildrops. To those of you interested in sending me mail, I would suggest sending stuff at least 7-10 days before my listed ETA. I'm tending to run ahead of my planned "schedule," so if there's any question, pick a later drop location to send to. I'll try to update the list every few weeks or so, so be sure to check back right before you send. I'd really hate to miss something you're trying to send! Also, please let me know if I should expect something and whether it's a letter or package, as this will help me make sure I get it.One last VERY important thing - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BIG BROTHER, ALEX!!! I LOVE YOU!!!Postscript, April 15, 2011: I missed Longhaul so much after this. He came back out on the trail a month or two later, but eventually determined he was too injured to keep hiking. It's now been an entire year since I've seen him. Longhaul, if you read this, I miss you!
Date: 2010-04-16
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: few clouds

I am sitting in my sleeping bag in perhaps the coolest shelter yet. Overmountain Shelter is an old barn converted into a shelter. It supposedly sleeps 20, but I suspect it could sleep even more than that. I managed to get a spot on one of the lower level platforms, which are unbelievably amazing. The platforms are fully open in the front, and overlook this beautiful valley. The sun should rise directly in front of where I'm sleeping. This is the life!Today was such a hard day! Hiking over Roan Mountain absolutely kicked my butt. As follows with a day like that, I feel wonderful, satisfied, and accomplished now! I hiked over 6,000 feet for the last time until Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. We should also now be done with snow until then. Impressively, there was still some snow left up on Roan Mtn.I would also like to thank Connor Garvey and Justin Roth for serenading me as I hiked today. A special thanks goes out to the cast of Across the Universe for propelling me up and over Roan! Hooray for iPods. The hike today was also incredibly beautiful - gorgeous spruce and fir forests, followed by magnificent balds. I really do love life out here!
Date: 2010-04-18
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Dennis Cove Rd/Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 15.6

Kincora is wonderful! I'm here with a huge group, and am currently sitting in the living room of the hostel in a comfy chair, surrounded by hiking friends. I'm clean, fed, have clean laundry, and have fresh strawberries and Moose Tracks ice cream waiting on me. This is yet another happy night.The theme for today was speed! I hiked 15.6 miles in 6 hours and 12 minutes, including lunch and breaks. I hiked the last 6 miles in 1 hour and 57 minutes. Yes, it's ridiculously dorky that I know and am quoting these exact times, but I was really proud of myself today. I hiked so hard and am exhausted, but very satisfied!A huge thanks goes out to my brother for an awesome package with delicious turkey and deer jerky and some great pictures, both new and old. It made me very happy. I shared some of the jerky and put the rest in my pack for the next few days. At least a few of the pictures may stay in my pack until Katahdin. Definitely in the "worth the weight" category. Thanks, bro!
Date: 2010-04-21
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 26.1
Weather: light rain

Oh, my. I am SO tired. I planned to go to Abingdon Gap Shelter, a 16 mile day, but by lunch had decided to hike my cold self and wet gear on into Damascus. I hiked all but the first 7.5 with Braids, and we had a blast! We talked about all kinds of stuff, told stories, and sang songs. The miles just flew by, and the last 10 seemed like half that much.I took a nasty (and scary) fall today, including a pull on my knee that felt very close to the feeling just before I tore my ACL a few years ago. This didn't happen, however, and although I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow morning, I came out of it just fine and perhaps a bit wiser. We screamed and laughed as we crossed out of Tennessee and into Virginia. This will be home for many, many miles to come. We are now at The Place hostel with Dirt Stew, Dormouse, Panther, and Ridley. I'm so tired that I even finished up my trail snacks - yummy jerky, a Snickers, and Smores Pop Tarts - for dinner instead of going down to Quincy's for a burger. I'll eat well tomorrow. For now, I am exhausted and headed to bed.Postscript, April 21, 2011: Wow. I remembered how bad that fall was, but had completely forgotten about the pull on my knee. As soon as I read that line in this journal entry, I remembered it like it happened 10 minutes ago. It's scary to think that one tiny little change in that fall could have meant ending my hike right there and today not being a thru-hiker. Weird...
Date: 2010-04-22
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

What a fantastic zero! I started off with breakfast with Aikido Jo and Roughin' It at Mojoe's Coffeehouse. Then, I took care of chores like picking up my maildrop, resupply shopping, and airing out my hammock. Thanks to my dad for awesome "Hostel Magic" in my maildrop - club crackers, peanut butter, and homemade/homegrown muscadine jelly, complete with plates and plasticwear. He even sent the bronze jelly, knowing it's my favorite. If only I could eat it all before leaving town! I'll spread the love to other hikers, though. In the afternoon, Braids, Dormouse, Dirt Stew, and I got the easiest hitch ever to the Holiday Inn Express in Abingdon. We settled in and spent our afternoon doing laundry (thanks to Braids for doing most of the work!), getting online, and generally relaxing, Then, it was up to the Cinemall (we also got a successful hitch for that mile) to see How To Train Your Dragon. It seemed like we all laughed a lot and enjoyed feeling like "town folk" at the movies. We had a ride back lined up (thanks Alicia and Paco!), which took us straight to the Cracker Barrel. We were told it was open until 11, so this is what helped us decide to eat after, rather than before, the movie. Wrongo! We pulled up right at 10 and as we walked in an employee locked the door behind us. Apparently, they're only open til 10 on weeknights. He beckoned us on in, but we all immediately agreed that there was no way we could do that to the poor servers. Our Cracker Barrel dreams dashed, we settled for a not as good, but cheap and satisfying, meal at the Huddle House next door to our hotel. I'm completely exhausted and ready for bed! I've had a blast today, though, and am grateful to be with such fun people for the moment.Tomorrow, the rain comes.
Date: 2010-04-23
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

So, you may notice that it says "0 miles" above, but remember from yesterday that I planned to hike out today. Hmmm.....so, here's how my day went - I got up and had an amazing hot breakfast at the hotel, then started on the abnormally long process of packing my stuff. Braids and I walked to the other side of the interstate and quickly got a hitch in the back of a truck back to Damascus. We were dropped right at the post office. I mailed a couple of packages and then set to picking up a couple of things that I neglected to get yesterday. I then headed to Dave's Place hostel to say a quick hello to Beefstick and get my gear all squared away before hiking out of town.Now, I make this all sound like I was task-oriented and motivated this morning. Not true! I went through the motions, but there was absolutely no motivation behind them. By the time I had my stuff ready to go, I was seriously considering a second zero day. I was waffling between the options for a while, and then finally decided to leave it all to chance and flip a coin. Yes, it's true. I quite literally flipped a coin to decide to take a second zero. I'm so glad I did!I've had an amazing, super-relaxed day since then. Since I got all of my town chores done yesterday, it was an unexpected free day. I hung out with friends, strolled around town, watched movies with other hikers, went to the library, read, and just "chilled out." Best of all, I'm now really excited to get back to the trail and hike on tomorrow! Postscript, April 25, 2011: hahahaha... I had totally forgotten that I flipped a coin! I should have just made the decision anyway: that was a fantastic zero, and it kept me hiking with Braids, as she had to stay to wait on an errant maildrop. One of the biggest things I miss about the trail is just making spur of the moment decisions like that and going with the flow.
Date: 2010-04-24
From: Damascus, VA

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was, indeed, good to get back on the trail today. I was slow getting out of town this morning. I actually left the hostel pretty quickly, but then I sat around for quite a while at Mojoe's. By the time I had eaten breakfast, chatted with friends, checked email and weather, and perused a detailed Trail Days schedule (have I mentioned how excited I am?!?!), it was about 9:40. After checking, unsuccessfully, for sandwiches at the convienence store across the street, I realized that I could wait just 20 more minutes and hike out with a Subway sandwich for lunch. While I was leaning against my pack outside Mojoe's waiting for the Subway next door to open, a man pulled up and hopped out of his truck. He said, "you a thru-hiker?" When I said yes, he gestured to Mojoe's and said, "You want something?" I said, "Oh, thank you, but I just had breakfast and I'm just waiting for Subway to open to grab a sub for lunch." He replied, "Oh, no, no, no, you want something. How 'bout a brownie? They have really good brownies." I gave in, "well, okay. Thank you!" Just a minute or so after he went into the coffee shop, Subway opened, so I went in. When I returned, his truck was gone but there was a brownie sitting on top of my pack. How cool is that?!?! I never really got to thank the guy, but I was very grateful for the awesome trail magic! Maybe I'll see him again at Trail Days. I hiked out around 10:15, hiking pretty slowly in the early part of the day. I found Braids at one point, and we hiked together for several miles. Miraculously, I was only rained on twice while hiking, and both of those were light showers. It did open up in the evening and through the night, but only after I was at the shelter. We fit 10 people in a shelter built for 8 last night, and I was one of the last 3, so I was very appreciative to my sheltermates. Oddly enough, we got a lot of rain, but never the thunderstorms I expected (if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm writing this the following morning). All in all, it was a great day, ending with lots of laughter in the shelter.Tomorrow or Monday I may get to see the famed ponies of the Grayson Highlands! Postscript, April 25, 2011: I left out on little key point here- although I got in that evening before the heavy rain hit, Braids was not so lucky. She arrived just a few minutes after the beginning of the deluge, and she was soaked to the bone. Poor girl. She got dried off in the shelter, though, and we had a fun time laughing and eating Mountain House chocolate strawberry toffee crunch dessert. Yum!
Date: 2010-04-25
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

PONIES!!!I have had the most wonderful, relaxed day. As you can see, I only hiked 12 miles, and I've spent most of the day with Braids. I had only hiked a couple of miles when I passed a few southbound hikers. I was hiking by myself at this point and they asked, "have you lost someone?" I was confused by this question and said, "no." They said there was a backpack sitting by the trail with no person anywhere in sight. Sure enough, I soon hiked up on Braids' red pack and poles sitting by a rock. As I looked around for her, I heard a whistle. I eventually found her perched in the top of a tree directly over the trail. I was sure that the other hikers had no idea they had passed directly under her.She and I hiked along together for the rest of our short day, taking long, luxurious breaks. We even laid in the grass on Whitetop Mountain in the sun. Although it rained pretty furiously before daybreak this morning, we didn't get a single drop during our hike. I'm proud to say that I took 8 1/2 hours to hike 12.2. miles!Right as we hiked up to the shelter, we came upon our first wild ponies that Braids and I had both heard so much about. There were eight out in a field. I walked up to one, and it immediately started licking the salt off of my arms! It was so incredible!After a lovely, relaxed evening at the shelter and dinner on a rock with a breathtaking view, I am now snuggled in bed, with the wind whipping and maybe some bad weather blowing in. Goodnight, trail! Postscript, April 25, 2011: That was such a wonderful day!!!
Date: 2010-04-26
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Brr!!!Well, that's not entirely true anymore, as I am now snuggled warm and dry in my cozy sleeping bag. That was, however, the prevailing thought as I hiked today. The weather was cold, rainy (or sometimes misty), and VERY windy. This made life especially fun crossing the balds of the Grayson Highlands. Aside from the weather, it was a fine hike. I hiked with Braids much of the day and we got to see several more ponies throughout. The big highlight was seeing a tiny adorable foal at Wise Shelter. We hiked fast and got into Hurricane Mountain Shelter at 3:45. It can be tough to stop that early, but today it was great to take off all of my wet stuff and change into dry.We're supposed to have one more day of crappy weather, but this should be a little easier to handle tomorrow knowing that pizza, soda, and a shower lie at the end of the hike. Woohoo!I went through some lows this morning when I was cold and wet and feeling sorry for myself, but I'm definitely back to loving the life of a thru-hiker.
Date: 2010-04-27
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: moderate rain

What a long day! I have finally made it to the famed Partnership Shelter after a looong day of upset tummies (starting in the wee hours of the morning, unfortunately), rain, and cold. Although it's about 45 in the enclosed loft of the shelter, outside temps are in the high 30s. The long day is ending fabulously, as Braids and I just devoured a large pepperoni pizza, cheesesticks, and half a 2-liter of Dr. Pepper. We're both cold, but are full and happy. See, one of the best things about Partnership Shelter is that you can walk just a few hundred yards to a ranger station, use the phone (free local calls), and have pizza delivered. It was delicious! Today has been a town food day. I'll explain!This morning, as I said, my stomach was very upset. I was the last out of the shelter by far, because I felt so bad. The first five miles were really tough, so while hiking them I decided to take a break. At the five mile mark, there was a road to the tiny town of Troutdale. I decided that even though I had 20 miles to hike today, I had time to hitch in for a Ginger Ale (to settle my stomach), a real bathroom, and a break. When I got to the road, Braids was still there, and she decided to come with me. We got a ride easily, in the back of a pick-up truck (in the rain) that took us to Jerry's Kitchen and Goods. This place was fantastic!!! Although it appears to be a tiny store in the middle of nowhere, it is a great little spot for hikers. Jerry himself welcomed us in, showed us where to drop our wet packs (inside!), and made us feel like home. He brought us his trail register and made sure we knew where the computer was so we could get on the internet. As it turned out, the restaurant there had a great menu including fried catfish and hushpuppies. Long story short - I went in for things to settle my stomach and ended up eating fried catfish, fried okra, hushpuppies, and mashed potatoes smothered in butter instead. I know my mom had be sitting somewhere shaking her head even though she didn't know why. I felt worse for a bit, but it was worth it! Braids had possibly the biggest burger I've ever seen. We both enjoyed ourselves and hung out for awhile.A very nice lady - Jerry's sister-in-law - gave us a ride back to the trail and then the rest of the day was hiking, hiking, hiking. It rained pretty hard for the first five or six miles, but eventually let up almost entirely. We were both soaked to the point that rain gear felt pointless (but probably wasn't....). When we got to Trimpi shelter (after 4 miles from the road) for a break, it was SO hard to convince myself to go back out into the rain for 10 1/2 more miles. As always, though, Braids and I talked and sang and the miles passed on by. It felt crazy and long at the time, but now that I'm dry and warm with a belly full of pizza, it seems like the day was nothing. Oh, the life of a hiker!Tomorrow we're hiking just 11 miles to a hostel that sounds amazing! I'm so excited!
Date: 2010-04-28
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Happy Hiker Hollow/Atkins, VA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Attention future thru-hikers!!! When you come through Atkins, VA, you MUST stay at the Happy Hiker Hollow! This place is amazing!Braids and I hiked a relatively easy 12 miles, stopping for a bit at the Settler's Museum. We learned a lot of interesting stuff from Dylan, our fabulous tour guide. It's pretty incredible to imagine, as we walk, the hundreds of years of history that has taken place on the same ground on which we walk.We got to the Shell station at VA11 and I-81 early in the afternoon. I called Rambunny at the hostel, and Aqua was there to pick us up in less than 5 minutes. We settled into our room at the hostel, and it immediately felt like home. There are real beds, books and movies galore, tons of toiletries for our use, games, foot baths, internet, and a phone with free long distance. There was a closet of clean clothes for us to put on after our showers while Rambunny did our laundry. In the afternoon, Aqua took us to a grocery store in Marion. Around 6, Rambunny called us down to an absolutely incredible homecooked dinner. Before I even got downstairs, Braids sent me back upstairs for my camera. The feast before my eyes completely blew me away! There were dishes galore of chicken, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, baked beans, candied carrots, rolls, and corn pudding. There was delicious lemonade and incredible pineapple upsidedown cake. Two hours later, I am still stuffed! I understand that we have a similarly amazing breakfast ahead of us tomorrow. At $40 per person, the rate sounded steep before we took into consideration all that included. Here's the take-home message: it is absolutely, 100% worth it! One other very cool thing - the only other guest here at the moment is a woman named Rose. She came here from Texas on 2 planes and a bus and is starting her thru-hike tomorrow. She plans to hike north from here, then come back here after climbing Katadhin and hike south to Springer. It has been amazing sharing this night with her! I hope to exchange numbers so that she can call me when she gets to Georgia. Here's the crazy part - Rose had asked Rambunny (who thru-hiked 3 years in a row!) for a pack shakedown. We planned to do it all together after dinner, but then Rambunny had some chores to take care of, so she asked Braids and me to get started. In the end, Rambunny came to check in and added some great input, but Braids and I ended up doing most of it. It was insane to be on that side of the pack advice, but as it turns out, we both actually know stuff! I'm not sure when that happened, but it's pretty cool! Postscript, April 28, 2011: There are a lot of great hostels out there, but I think Happy Hiker Hollow officially gets my vote for Best Hostel on the Trail.