morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-06-04
From:  Cobblestone hotel Wainsborough Pennsylvania 

To:  Chimney rock tent campground 
Miles today: 7.7

The hiking day started  later, because when I am in a hotel, like to take full advantage of the entire day off.  So, I didn¢t get on the trail till about 1130. It was a moderate to easy day, with only one significant uphill. I was supposed to stop at the third shelter along the way, but, I felt strong enough to go up the only significant uphill of the day. I ended up spending a night at chimney rock campground. As soon as I got set up, a group of teenagers and their leader from Outward Bound showed up to set up for the night. They didn¢t bother me, until it was time to go to sleep, and they kept shining their light at my tent. They gave it up pretty quickly, and I went to sleep. It was pretty cold overnight, and got down to around 52 in town. I¢m not sure what that was up on the mountain, but it was colder than I wanted it to be.
Date: 2018-06-05
From:  Chimney rock tent campground 

To: Quarry Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 11.0

The morning started rather cold  for June. It was around 52°. I got up around 730, and was on the trail for about 830. I planned on stopping at Caledonia state park, to eat at their snack bar. The hiking was easy, and I got there about 1 o¢clock. I asked some of the people there and they said the snack bar was closed. It doesn¢t open until this weekend. I was looking for a restroom, and I ran across a guy name Matt. He told me where the restroom was, and I asked him about the snack bar just to make sure . He said there was a great restaurant about a half mile north of here called the Timbers. I guess he saw the look on my face, because there was no way I was going to walk a half-mile to a restaurant. He offered to take me there, and then he ate lunch with me, and brought me back to the trail! The best trail magic yet! I had a nice bacon cheeseburger with fries! What a great guy! I bought his lunch. He¢s a college kid, working on his masters degree  in clinical mental health. I got back on the trail, and went to the next shelter. It¢s a beautiful shelter, well-maintained. I¢ll take pictures and post them. It¢s currently pouring down rain as I type this.
Date: 2018-06-06
From: Quarry Gap Shelter 

To: TomÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ run shelter 
Miles today: 13.6

today, was going to be my longest hike so far with a full pack. I am attempting 13.6 miles. There are only a couple of Moderat elevations during the day, so I should be able to handle it. I walked through burned forest for a while today, and also stopped to rest at a shelter that has some very creepy history. I was leaving a shelter, and a hiker  that was southbound, informed me that the shelter I just left was the scene of a double murder many years ago. It was very creepy knowing that two women had been killed there. The hike was uneventful, and I got to my shelter at about 4 PM. Not a bad day!
Date: 2018-06-07
From: TomÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ run shelter 

To: Pine grove Furnace State Park 
Miles today: 3.7

I ended today at the half gallon challenge. I did not take up this challenge. I don¢t think it would¢ve ended well for me! I did eat a bacon cheeseburger and fries though. Pretty good. Today is my final date on the trail for this year. My knees ankles and feet are hurting too much at the end of each day to continue. I  May continue this adventure at a later date, but I want to rest, get home, and see my wife. So, that¢s all for now, we¢ll see what the future holds. This trail is tougher than I ever thought it would be. I have a newfound respect for those that actually finish. So, until the next chapter, so long.
Date: 2018-05-04
To: Abingdon, VA
Miles today: 0.0

I caught a ride from Delaware with my brother Paul, who will be hiking with me for a few days, and my sister-in-law Jan, who will be meeting us when she can where the AT crosses roads.The drive took us from the flatlands of Delaware and Maryland, through rolling hills in West Virginia and northern Virginia, and finally along what you could call really big hills or very small mountains. Pretty drive.We drove through Virginia on I-81, which must parallel the AT because we kept passing by towns that I¢m planning to send re-supply boxes to. We saw a big forest fire near Montebello that looks like might be affecting the AT. I weighed my bag this morning with a week¢s worth of fuel and 3 days of food but no water and it was 17 pounds, so I¢m guessing my base weight is around 14 pounds. Very happy with that. Paul says his pack with water and 5 days of food was 29 pounds. Ugh!We stayed in Abingdon because it¢s about 12 miles away from our starting point of Damascus. We checked into the hotel and then went for dinner. I chose this place called the Bone Fire Smokehouse after quickly glancing at Yelp and it turned out to be a lucky choice! They had a bluegrass band of young guys from Asheville, NC with an acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, banjo and stand-up bass. The fiddle player had a long ZZ Top beard and it seemed like he had to bow across his beard when he was playing. The restaurant had all kinds and meat and 5 kinds of BBQ sauce, which isn¢t my thing, so I ordered sides. Collard greens, pinto beans, broccoli salad, cornbread fritters and fried green tomatoes. Yum! Also had a honey cream ale from a brewery in Abingdon called Wolf Creek. Great food and music!
Date: 2018-05-06
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Whitetop Mountain
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

6:00 am coyote wake-up call - they must have just killed something or were fighting. What a racket!At breakfast, one older section hiker announced he had left his breakfast in Damascus, and asked if anyone had any extra food. The weekenders gave him cherry Pop tarts, a freeze-dried dinner, two gallon ziplocks of Cheerios, and a packet of tuna. Score!We had lunch at Lost Mountain Shelter. Then we trucked it through cow pasture in the rain to meet up with Jan at a road crossing. We turned on the heat and waited out a shower.We didn¢t have good options for shelters - either 6 miles or 18 miles. I had previously decided we should camp on Whitetop Mountain because there were campsites and a spring there. The walk up was rainy and windy and I was really cold. When we got to the spring, we starting setting up our tents but my hands were too cold. I put on all the clothes I had and felt much better. Two hikers came to the spring and said there were campsites across a parking lot, so we followed them. The sites they showed us were better sheltered from the wind but it is really cold. I am emptying stuff sacks to put on my hands and feet. I made a hot water bottle using a Smart Water bottle - it kinda deformed but didn¢t melt.Again here is Paul¢s notes:5/6/2018 To: 491.9 Whitetop Mt. Rd. CampsiteLooking at the trail guide this looked like a fairly benign morning but by the time we got to the shelter for lunch I was pretty tired.  Not much interest in eating anything, but I knew I needed to eat something.  Probably the previous day was catching up with me as well.We crossed a pasture with some rather large beef cattle munching on grass. They weren¢t much interested in us, but I still tip-toed past them.  Well maybe, tip-toeing around the cow pies too.  These were Costco-size cow pies.Jan met us in the early afternoon at a road crossing just as the rain started to dump.  We got a 15 minute break or so, but had more miles to do, so back into the rain.  At least we had some cover from the woods.The afternoon with a long uphill at the end of the day (in the rain) that made it that much tougher.  I was pretty beat in the afternoon ¢ sort of getting to the point of being ¢stupid tired¢.   I was mentally counting out hiking stick stabs to keep moving; 27, 28, 29, what comes after 29, oh 40, I¢m good, 41, 42, 43¢¦  I can understand how people get to a place of making mistakes.We were in the clouds at Buzzards Rock.  Probably would have been the best view of the trip, but at least we got a couple of minutes to look under the clouds and see the valley.We made it to Whitetop Mt. and found two campsites next to the spring.  After setting up out tents, Judy thought it would be best to move.  A couple of other hikers came down to use the spring and told us that there was a campground just up the road.  Maybe that is what Judy had in mind.  It was a good move since the campground was less exposed and the wind during the night was fairly strong.  The weather cleared enough for us to set up again and make dinner.
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: clear sky

My food was there in the morning!I decided to do a big push today because I have a resupply/laundry day tomorrow. Instead of getting in late in the day and rushing around, I can get my stuff done and then have time to relax. The place I want to stay has a hot tub, so I definitely want time for that!I made good time in the morning - nice weather and trail. When I would start to lose focus, I would walk to the mantra of HOT-TUB HOT-TUB. Lots of hikers on the trail rushing to Partnership Shelter to get the shuttle to Marion for re-supply.I arrived at Partnership Shelter and asked where the water was. Usually it¢s a spring or creak but was told there was a sink behind the shelter. I wasn¢t sure whether or not they were pulling my leg but there actually was a sink with running water. There is also a shower (cold) and a second story. I had lunch and continued on. I lost steam in the afternoon but knew I had enough time. The trail was too rocky for me to use my mantra.Every so often a thunderstorm would threaten, and then either rain a few drops or dissipate. When I was a quarter mile from the shelter, there was thunder and lightning, and when I spotted the shelter the storm really hit. I rock hopped across the stream and ran up to the shelter. There were three guys in the shelter and I told them I was just a little too late! Then the storm picked up even more, and hail started. So maybe my timing wasn¢t so bad after all. Then we had blue skies again in about 20 minutes.I hardly saw hikers in the afternoon and was thinking I would have the shelter to myself. I¢m glad I¢m not - too creepy. Here in the shelter with section hiker Tortoise, who was in the Saunders Shelter my first night (he asked how Paul liked his hike), and 3 thru-hikers Steady, Boxcar, and a third guy who just showed up a short while ago. This third hiker said he had literally no camping experience before the AT. His first night he saw a food bag hanging from a tree and didn¢t know what it was. He is averaging about 25 miles per day so he has really found his metier. We have a really loud stream in front of the shelter - I love falling asleep to the sound a water.
Date: 2018-05-11
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Long Neck Lair Alpaca Farm, Rural Retreat, VA
Miles today: 4.6

AT lingo lesson: when a hiker has a rest day and does zero miles on the AT, it¢s called ¢taking a zero¢. When a hiker does less than 5 miles, it¢s a ¢near zero¢ so it¢s called ¢taking a nero¢. So I took a nero today. As I did my short morning walk, the bird song was gradually drowned out by the siren call of I-81. I picked up my maildrop from The Barn restaurant and had breakfast there. Boxcar was there and has some calf issues. The Finnish couple were there too and narrowly missed the rain last evening by hiding out in this old schoolhouse that is now a museum. Then I walked up the road and just as I was turning into the driveway of the farm, this guy pulls up and asked if I just got off the AT. It turns out it was Jeremy¢s dad and there is a problem with Jeremy¢s anti-seizure medication, and they haven¢t been able to get in touch with him. I went with the dad to show him where the trail markers are where he could leave a note and made some suggestions where they might be able to find him. Yikes!I waited with an orange tabby at the farmhouse until Ken showed up. Then a leisurely afternoon of showering, doing laundry and re-packing my stuff. In addition to alpacas, there are hens, 2 cats and 2 dogs. I had set my tent up with the rain fly up but then a thunderstorm passed over and I had to get it in place again. Cindy, my hostess, drove me a quarter mile to a Mexican restaurant. Miss Janet was there with a Filipino guy that I heard she is slack-packing all the way to Maine. She remembered me from the other day. I went to the Relax Inn to put some of my extra food in the hiker box. I have PB&J for my lunches but couldn¢t find tortillas/bread at either of the two gas stations here. Found a pack of whole wheat tortillas in the hiker box! I saw Boxcar there and he is taking a couple zeros (see lingo lesson above) in the hope of letting his calf heal  The hot tub is covered and at this point, I¢m so happy to be clean and wearing clean clothes I don¢t even care. And to think the hot tub was what I was dreaming about on those chilly nights!In my tent listening to the drone of the interstate. Kind of like a mountain stream?
Date: 2018-05-12
From: Long Neck Lair Alpaca Farm, Rural Retreat, VA

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 15.0

I walked down to the Sunoco to pick up the trail and get a canned Starbucks drink. My bag was SO heavy. I sadly decided to lighten the load by sacrificing my favorite Whole Foods cranberry trail mix and my favorite Trader Joe¢s sesame covered almonds. I left them on a bench outside the gas station so maybe a hiker would take them.A short walk under I-81 and back into the woods. I came upon a clearing with a privy and a picnic table that Steady was sitting at. Looking more closely, I could see the site formerly had a shelter. Steady had spent the night camped there and since there was LTE phone service, he sat at the picnic table, watching videos and eating Frosted Flakes out of the bag. See, even on the AT you can be a couch potato!Shortly before lunch, I passed a sign marking the end of the first quarter of the trail for the north-bound thru-hikers.The afternoon was really hot. A lot of cow pasture and stiles. I didn¢t see many hikers and was surprised to see no day-hikers at all on a Saturday. I guess the Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands area we just passed is more popular for that.I just got slower and slower with the heat. Finally made it to the shelter at 7 pm and didn¢t get dinner and chores done until after 9. There are 2 other hikers in the shelter with me, another one tenting, and Steady had hung his hammock. They were talking about their 25-35 mile days and their gym workouts - yawn.
Date: 2018-05-13
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: clear sky

I was looking forward to an easy 9.4 mile day, but it was so hot it wasn¢t easy at all. I checked the weather and it said the high was 82 degrees but it felt much hotter.I found a nice deep creek and spent some time wading - so great especially as I¢ve developed a heat rash on my ankles and calves. I ate my lunch as my feet dried.Then it was a 2,000 foot climb over 4.7 miles. I kept stopping in every spot of shade to rest. About half way up, I just lay in the middle of the trail. What am I going to do when it¢s really hot?1.8 miles before the Shelter was a spring-fed pond. I stopped there and filtered some water - cold and delicious! I also dumped some on my head. It gave me enough relief to make to the shelter (at 4:40 pm - my easy walk took all day!)The shelter is a former fire warden¢s cabin made of stone with a field in front where I set up my tent. A great view of the valley below which is some kind of unusual limestone sinkhole.When I got out of the shelter last night, the stars were so bright but my view was obscured by trees. I figured I would roll back my rain fly here for good star viewing, but wouldn¢t you know it, the temp really dropped after the sun went down. I have half the fly open and can always close it if I get too cold.Several tenters and a loud talkative group in the shelter.
Date: 2018-05-14
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: few clouds

I did see stars, but got up in the middle of the night to pee and put the rain fly down for warmth.Another hot day (high of 82?) but looks like we will have 70s for the next week or so.The valley in front of the Chestnut Knob shelter was made from the peak of the mountain collapsing into the limestone cavern beneath it, so there is a ring of ridge above the valley, like a volcano caldera. The morning walk was along that ridge.Around the middle of the day, I crossed a road. The local hiking club had left a nice big bear-proof trashcan for hikers. I had to read the instructions carefully to open and close it, but was glad to get rid of my trash. Next to the trash can was a large bin with a note for north-bound hikers to please take a bag of wood shavings to this shelter (Jenkins) for the mouldering privy. (You throw in a handful to ¢flush¢.) I opened the bin - full of trash. People can be such pigs.Ten miles along that road is a general store run by an Amish family. A group from the previous shelter called the store and they sent a horse and buggy to pick them up ($5), brought them to the store, sold them burgers, fries, and ice cream, and buggied them back to the trail.The afternoon was long and I was moving slow. My feet are really hurting from moving slow - kinda like having a job where you stand all day. Hoping to have a better pace tomorrow.The conversations today are about Trail Days, a festival for AT hikers that is in Damascus, VA this weekend. Hikers are trying to figure out how to hitchhike or get shuttles and how to meet up with other hikers up and down the trail. I heard this funny idea where people who have the same trail name will have to cage-fight or mud-wrestle for the name. For example, there are two Aladdins, two Rockys, and four Jukeboxes.There is another female section hiker close to my age named Dreamcatcher, and two middle-aged thru-hikers named Hills and Tab. They¢re moving more at my speed - 10-15 miles per day - so maybe I¢ll get to see them for a while.It¢s actually warm here and this may be the first night I don¢t bundle up.
Date: 2018-05-15
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to overcast skies - yay! The trail today was easy walking - actually a dirt path. The trees are starting to leaf out enough that there was shade even when the sun came out mid-morning. A guy walking southbound chatting on his phone gave a little shriek as he almost ran into me. He said about 25 minutes away he had seen a cub so mama was probably prowling around. Then as he walked away he said into the phone, ¢Jeez, there are a lot of hikers¢.I am super scared of bears but I figured the bears would have probably moved on by then. I know at other times I would have spent the rest of the day yelling, clacking my trekking poles, and nervously scanning for bears. I remembered this hospital where I worked in Tacoma had a banner with an outline of Mt. Ranier that said ¢Live Like the Mountain is Out¢. So I decided to ¢Hike Like Mama Bear Isn¢t There¢.The trail went through a burned section that still smelled smoky. I really wonder if it might be from the same fire as we saw driving down I-81 to Damascus. Everyone was moving fast to make it to a new general store called the Brushy Mountain Outpost right on the AT. I made the 11.3 miles in 5 hours 30 minutes which is fast for me. I had a veggie burger, fries, and sweet tea and was so stuffed I was going really slow to the shelter. It looked like it would storm soon so I got busy staking out my tent. The storm hit and I dived in and finished setting up my tent from the inside. I just rested until the rain stopped and went over to the shelter - and saw the funniest thing. The hikers were sitting along the back of the shelter watching ¢My Cousin Vinny¢ from a phone projected on a screen made from a tyvek ground cloth stretched between two trekking poles. I watched for a while, but I knew the water source was a stream a quarter mile down hill. So I went to get water so I could be back in time for the part where the Marisa Tomei character testifies. After such a big lunch, I just had snacks and tea for dinner, then got settled in for the night. Now there is really heavy rain but I¢m all cozy in my tent.
Date: 2018-05-16
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Lickskillet Hostel, Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: moderate rain

There was no rain as I was eating breakfast and packing up. Shortly after I started walking, the rain started and never really stopped. A misty, verdant and wet hike. At times it was ridiculous and the trail became a brook. There was just no stopping and there was no way really of how much ground I was covering. Finally came to the road the hostel was on and knew it was 0.8 miles from the AT. I don¢t think I would have found it but fortunately Hills saw me and yelled at me from out the window of the hostel. Almost 6 hours of nonstop hiking.Lickskillet Hostel is a great name - like the hikers are so hungry they lick the skillet clean. But actually it¢s named that because it¢s located in Lickskillet Hollow. The host Mungo is super nice, and it¢s donation based. But it¢s a little funky. The main hostel is in an old church and has beds, a pool table, a TV, and kitchen area with fridge and a hot plate. But no running water. There is a porta-potty and then a wood shed with a dirt floor that has the shower and washing machine.When I first got here, there was only Hills and TAB, but now there¢s over a dozen hikers and some will have to sleep on the floor (I think hikers can handle it). I thought I would get hypothermia when I stopped walking but I really was OK. Just changed into dry clothes and wandered around in a stupor, wolfing down BBQ potato chips and red Twizzlers and looking out at the rain. Then made last night¢s dinner and some mashed potatoes I found. When the rain stopped and I showered and did laundry. The washer was an odd semiautomatic thing where you opened the line to fill it, set the timer for agitation, then let it drain into the dirt floor. Then you transferred to a spinner. Then to the hostel for the dryer, which was pretty normal except for the exhaust coil that is haphazardly sticking out a window.I sorted through my resupply box and mended my shorts (seams coming apart). I ate again and got into a real bed. Not only that, I have an outlet and WiFi! The rain will lessen and then just come in buckets.