morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-03-23
From: Erwin, TN Uncle Johnnys

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

NICE HIKE TODAYstarted along the Nolichucky river and then climbed from 1700 feet to 4400. Went across three 4000 ft peaks and then up to UNAKA mt at 5180 feet. On the way up I passed through an area where there was a fire last year or this year. All trees burned and the ground is being taken over by young green azalea plants. Then I saw a big cloud and thought a thunderstorm was coming but when I was high enough to get a view I saw 3 fires in woods below me. It turns out they were planned burns by the forest service. It was worrisome at first, especially when ash started falling and the smoke made it hard to breath. I was starting to think of plans to get to a river if the fire came my way. This made one of the few blue sky days not so great of a day. I SHARED THE SHELTER WITH THE YOUNGUNS...SPLINTER,.EWOK,ZACH,AND WALKABOUT AND HIS DOG TOBY. ALSO two section hikers who both are one semester away from completing medical school.They are taking this last chance to hike before thet start residency. Virginia is still deciding her specialty but Will is looking at 7 years residency to become a brain surgeon.O.M.RIVER
Date: 2009-03-24
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob 
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: clear sky

The young guys left early planning a 20 mile day. WALKABOUT AND TOBY left right after me and passed me on the trail.Today was a long climb up to the Roan MTN shelter at the top of Roan Mtn,6280 feet.This is the highest shelter on the AT and also the last 6000 ft peak until MT WASHINGTON in New HAmpshire.Roan MTN is cross mountaibetween the Blue Ridge.MTNS and the Unaka Mtns which run parallel north.Roan is special because it is so high that the vegetation at the top is only found in CAnada. This is called the CAnadian zone and is covered by fir trees that travelled south witj the glaciers. I was not awate that the glaciers came this far south but they did. The Roan is also known for havinsome of the oldest rocks in the world, 1 billion years old (cranberry gnesis). The only life on earth when these rocks were formed were sponges.coral and jellyfish so not any fossils up here. The Roan Mtn is estimated to originally have been 20,000 to30,000 ft high before they were cut down by glaciation.THE SHELTER was great, a cabin with 4 walls and a door and a loft. Good thing because at that elevation ice was still on the ground. Wgen I arrived at the shelter WALKABOUT & TOBY were there. After eating our hot reconstituted dinners we started a fire in the firepit.A bit later the DOCS showed up cold and tired and very thankfull for the fire to dry out the.wet clothes. (Clothes are always wet from sweating all day...hiking is hard work)O.M.RIVER
Date: 2009-03-25
From: Roan High Knob 

To: U.S. 19 East Elk Park NC
Miles today: 15.5

RAIN started before we got up and the decision was to stay and ride the storm out or head out. It was very windy but actually the rain was lite under the tall pines. We all discussed that after the strenous hike of the day before that the rain couldn't be any worse. We all agreed that a quick 15 miles would get us to a hostel and out of the weather.Down the mountain under the spruce trees was very pleasant until I hit the service road. Out in the open the wind was gusting and the mountain was engulfed by clouds. Worse the next 5 miles was over balds. None can explain why trees don't grow on the baldalthough BOTONISTS have been coming to the Roan Mtns since the 1800's.In fact many countries like Russia and France sent botonists here to bring the rare plants back to their botanical gardens.The CAwtawba rhododendrom was the star of the show and still is.Anyway the winds were gusting over 60 miles an hour and wlking across the balds was difficult.It was hard to stand up and the pack covers acted like sails. At one point I couldn't get my poles back down out of the wind. I lost my backpack raincover and my crocs in the wind. Fortunately WAlkabout picked them up for me. Long story short is the wind made the 15 miles some of the hardest hiking ever but also the most exhilirating. Old man wind tried but O.M.RIVER WON.That night all 4 of us and Toby spent the night in the quaintest hostel we have seen so far...MTN. Harbour B&B &HOSTEL.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Date: 2009-03-26
From: U.S. 19 East Elk Park NC

To: Dennis Cove Road
Miles today: 24.4

Again it was raining in the morning so we all slept later than usual... had coffee and enjoyed the real bathroom. It was 1030 when I started the trail. Today would be easy since we are at 2900 feet and the highest peak we had to cross was 4260. In theory this sounds good but the ups and downs still make the miles long. It is very difficult to make more than 2 miles an hour. By the time I made it to the shelter I was tired but WALKABOUT said he was going to the KINKORA hostel about 6 more miles I looked at the old shelter and decided to go. That proved to be the hardest 6 miles yet. WALKABOUT is tall and has a good pace and never stops to rest. Every time we went up I fell behind and every down was spent catching up. Next the sun went down and we were hiking by headlamp. WAlkabout using skills he learned in the army first, Toby with his doggie backpack second / and me holding up the rear. WAlkabout slowed to my regular day pace and Toby stopped every once in a while to look back and see if I was coming. I kept up as best as I could following the reflectors on Tobys pack while my breath kept fogging up in the light from my headlamp. I had to resort to breathing out the side of my mouth so I could see while we came down the hillside ledges over rocks and roots and mud. I slipped twice and have decided that nite hiking is best left to those who don't need glasses. OM RIVER
Date: 2009-03-27
From: Dennis Cove Road

To: US 321 HamptonTN
Miles today: 8.9

We arrived at Kincora the most famous hostel on the trail because of the owner Bob Peoples. Bob has been taking care of thru hikers for decades, not years and has an attached section to his house that will accommodate 20+ hikers. Since we arrived late (9:30 pm) the other hikers were asleep and it was too late to cook anything so I just went to bed. We had left Pound Hound and Garage Man and Will and Virginia at the last shelter with a shady character named Paul. Seems Paul talks about hiking but has been homesteading at that shelter for a week or so. He is an old man like me and probably just likes the out doors but he was out of place and I was told he listened to Rush Limbaugh on the radio without a headset so all had to enjoy that show with him. That shelter only holds six people so it must have been an interesting night for the group. I am glad I walked during the night although it almost killed me.The reward came the next morning when Splinter walked downstairs at the shelter and saw me sitting there with a cup of hot chocolate. "You stayed here last night?" was his first question.Then Enod (I was calling him EWOK) came down and I became accepted as part of the young group because I have kept up with them for the last 5 days.After talking with Bob Peoples I headed for the trail and an easy 9 mile day that would put me on the other side of some of the most beautiful waterfalls and rivers I have seen so far and into Hampton, TN. I have to stay in Hampton because I have a mail drop with my food for the next week sitting at the post office. The hike was beautiful but it started raining at the end of the day and I decided to duck into a hotel for the night. I soaked my feet in Epsom salts, had a pizza , a warm bed and a nice shower ...all is right with the world.(except my clothes still smell .... no washing facilities here)O.M. River
Date: 2009-03-28
From: US 321 HamptonTN

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: moderate rain

Started at N36 18.123 W82 7.661Being Saturday morning it took me a while to get a ride back to the trail but as always happens in these towns someone comes through. The person who picked me up had driven past me because there was a car in front of them but he saw me in his rear view mirror and turned around and came back. Seems he has friends who completed the trail a few years ago and he knew all about where the trail crossed the road so he was another "trail angel".The hike took me past and around Wautauga lake and over Wautauga Dam and up to a ridge that paralleled the dam for several miles. I heard a turkey by the side of the road at the dam and about 30 minutes later I saw a hunter looking for turkeys. The hunter was calling it quits because it was starting to rain. The hike was pretty quiet, usually on the weekends there are a lot of locals hiking but this weekend was a wet one and no one was on the trail. About 4 pm I met Will (doc) on the trail as I was pumping water at a stream. He was also glad to see someone else on the trail and we hiked the rest of the way to the shelter. I hung my rain fly (tarp from my tent) in the open end of the shlter and we cooked supper and settled in our sleeping bags. I played some Dylan from the songs I had saved on my phone and Will did some reading. It was about 8:30 pm, just after dark, and along comes Walkabout and his dog Toby, easy Going and Bob? . They were doing what is called the 40 mile challenge, non stop from Hampton to Damascus. Since they started late the next 26 miles would be in the dark. Not the best way to hike but the young folks seem to enjoy it. They stayed for a few minutes and then were off into the darkness with Walkabout leading, Toby following and the other two hikers in the rear.O.M. River
Date: 2009-03-29
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus,Va
Miles today: 26.1
Weather: broken clouds

Will and I woke to a cold morning and once we got on the trail we made good time. It was damp and raw with some wind so the best thing for us to do was keep walking. We were crossing the peaks and one side of the mountain would be windy and cold but if the trail crossed to the other side where we were protected from the wind it was nice. We made good time and arrived at Abingdon Gap shelter by 3 pm. That was 16 miles and we were tired but it was early, it was cold and it was only 10 miles to town,. We decided to go for it and although by the time we arrived in town Will had a pain in his left quad the long days hike was worth it. We stayed at THE PLACE a hostel run by the Methodist church , we had a great pizza at Quincys , and the showers at the hostel was hot, life is good.We completed 26.1 miles today but it was the best trail we have seen on the AT so far. It was mostly across the tops of peaks with a gradual downhill from the Iron Mtn Shelter (4125 feet) to Damascus (1900 feet) and much of the trail was wide from roads built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930's when they had a center in Damascus.Damascus,VA N36 38.162 W81 47.378O.M. River
Date: 2009-03-30
From: Damascus,Va

To: EASTER BREAK
Miles today: 0.0

Monday March 30th... the sun was out and it was a bright spring day here in Damascus, the flowering trees are all in bloom and daffodils are flowering. I had the famous blueberry pancakes at Cowboys Exxon station/convenience store/restaurant. As I live part time in Maine, I must say the pancakes were not that world famous but the hospitality was.I did my laundry and also washed all the towels from the hostel. The hostel is run on donations and anything hikers can do to help out is appreciated. All the towels were used when I arrived but when I leave they will all be clean and dry. If you have extra towels you may want to send them to THE PLACE in Damascus, they don't have too many. I stopped at MOJOS , the local coffee shop to get ajava and use the internet. The barista has a 1969 VW bus camper completely restored sitting in front of the store. What a beauty of a vehicle. I can see myself truckin down the highways of America in such a vehicle. It might even beat walkin!! Do you know how much a VW bus that cost $2500 IN 1969 COSTS NOW? over $10,000 IN GOOD CONDITION. That BEATS THE RETURN OF MY 401k.My friends, Art & Arlene and Joe & Rosemarie from Arlington, TX drove down from Roanoke to see me. That was a real treat as I got them to buy me lunch!!! I showed off the Spartan hostel to emphasize how rough I have it out here on the AT, what is luxury to me now would be unacceptable to most people.I have reached DAMASCUS one week earlier than planned and I have seen the forecast for the weather (more rain). It snowed on Mt Rogers last night so I have opted to come home to TEXAS a week early for my Easter Break. I will return to Damascus and continue this trek on 18 April.Thanksfor reading and I hope you all have a happy Easter wherever you are.O.M. River
Date: 2009-03-31
To: back to trail
Miles today: 0.0

Well that was a nice Easter break but it is time to get back on the trail. My legs actually hurt for about a week when I wasn't hiking so I guess since they no longer hurt that my muscle has turned back to mush and I will have to retrain them. I am skipping a section (mile 463 to mile 538) and I will be doing that section later. It is a section I want to do with my grandson and I am also hiking the next section with REDHAT who is section hiking and has done that part already. REDHAT has a journal under 2005.Lots of folks say "is that allowed" , well yes, there really are not any rules except to be considered a thru hiker you need to hike the entire trail in one season. As long as I finish by Oct 15 when the Katahadin trails close I will consider myself a through hiker. That is 1700 more miles so who knows if I will complete this ordeal.SACO SCHOOL is it starting to look like spring in Maine yet? What are the signs you are seeing ( Is the maple sap running?).The days havve been getting longer about 2 minutes per day so when I get back on the trail I should have almost another hour of daylight to hike.The next section will take me Southwest Virginia from Atkins to Waynesboro.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-17
From: VA 42

To: Knot Maul shelter
Miles today: 2.1
Weather: clear sky

After a long drive to Waynesboro VA. I met up with REDHAT. We left her car in Waynesboro and drove back south to the new hostel on hwy 610/ 42 south of Bland Va. .The owners of the hostel ( which is still being built) are letting me park my car on their land for the next month. They drove us to the tarilhead and we did a short 2.1 miles to the shelter. It was a good thing it was a short day because after almost 3 weeks off my legs are saying "OH NO NOT THIS HIKING THING AGAIN!"The new hostel is really a vacation home on a beautiful bluff overlooking green fields and farmland. It is still waiting for the water to be connected before they can take in guests but once open it is sure to be one of the must stop places on the trail. Lumbermac, the owner, hiked in 2005 and with his wife they are creating a place for hikers to rest as a way to pay back to the trail all it gave him during his hike. These people are just the nicest people as are most I have met on the trail.At the shelter I met Charlie a section hiker who does a few hundred miles every year. Charlie is old like me but probably not as old as me.We were joined by 3 young hikers doing long days ( as most of the youngsters do). Unplugged, Postman, Gumby and Mobely. Postman had picked about a pound of Morel mushrooms and was cooking them up for everyne at dinner but I passed. I know they cost abou$500 a pound and are a delicacy but I wasn't ready to try wild mushrooms just yet.it was a beautiful day to get back on the trail.I know a lot of you readers have been waiting for journal entries but without internet access I can't get them posted so I can only post when I hit a town that has a computer I can use. Right now I am in a public library.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Knot Maul shelter

To: Rt 623 VA
Miles today: 14.1

The day started out beautiful and i was off by 8 am. the Young Guns passed me about an hour into my hike as they had plans to do another 20+ mile day.The hike today took me up to the overlook of what is called God's Thumbprint" , also called Burkes Garden. It is a huge valley that is inside a giant crater. we hiked along the edge of this crater for miles with stupendous views into the valley. The rich farmland was sought after by the early settlers who of course repossessed the land from the Indians. At the top of the climb is a stone shelter and a good place to view the landscape so i stopped there for lunch. Four lady hikers came up from the north and we chatted a while. Actually I listened as they chatted with Redhat but it was nice to share the view with others. On the way down we started having water issues, again a lesson I forgot from earlier hiking, as the streams were few and far between. I refilled when we came to the first water source which is easy to do now that I am filtering. I don't need a lot of water flow just some small pools to filter from. It turned out to be a bit farther to the next shelter than we could muster ( that first 14 mile day had taken its toll) so at 5 pm we stopped on the taril and pitch our tents near a view of the valley below. Actually REDHAT uses a hammock and not a tent. Hammocks are lighter to carry thean a tent and many folks use them. With a tarp over them they are enclosed so you stay dry and hammock users swear they are comfortable. Redhats' even has a shelf inside to place things on. O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Rt 623 VA

To: Bland VA 
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a pleasant night except for the farmers dogs that barked until midnight in the valley below. They were hunting dogs and not bashful about mmaking noise, Maybe that is how they keep deer etc. away from the farms but it was annoying. The forecast was for rain later in the day so it was go as far as you can as fast as you can and then get shelter. On the way out of the hills was a cache of gallons of water left for hikers. I had refilled and didn't need any but it was nice. The water was left in memeory of a hiker who died right before he had planned to start a thru hike. His friends carried a flag the entire length of the trail and then gave it to his wife. Met 4 weekend? hikers from Maryland. All in the mid 40's-50's. You can tell the serious hikers from those newbies by the clothes they wear.We hit the road to Bland about 3 pm and it started to rain right on cue. We were picked up by the 4th car and given a ride to the hotel from a memeber of one of teh local churches. We had already experience trail magic from this church as we had stopped at a cooler of gaterade iced down about 5 miles earlier. The church also has breakfast for hikers every monday morning.Once at the hotel a quick shower and a walk across the street to DQ. I also ordered a pizza for supper from the local pizza parlor.At the DQ I met Mule , a hiker who was waiting for a ride from his friend. He was getting off the trail to go to a wedding but his friend wouldn't be able to pick him up until middnight. Mule came to the hotel and enjoyed watching some TV until 10 pm. He had already spent 8 hours hanging at the DQ and had fallen asleep on the grass outside until the rain woke him up. The rain was cold and a reminder that Spring was just starting here in VA.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Bland VA 

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up early and was on the road hitch hiking by 7:30. Traffic was lite so it took a while to get a ride but after 20 minutes we were picked up by a local who took us to the trail and told us about the sites on the next section. The folks in these trail towns are all very nice and supportive of hikers.Aftera 2 mile climb we stopped at the first shelter to read the journal and we saw the 4 section hikers we met the day before. They were cooking over a big pit fire and had more food and equipment than you can imagine.As we crossed the first road we met RANGER a woman hiker who had completed the AT a few years ago and who drove down from Cleveland to hike for a month. REDHAT lives in Brennan Texas and it turns out that RANGER had hiked with a friend of REDHATS and also had visited that friend in Brennan and had even gone to REDHATS church. Small world. Ranger was moving slower than us but she kept catching up with us the next few days at the shelters.We stopped at Jenny Knob Shelter and shared the shelter with Ranger, the 4 section hikers, unihiker & six shooter and their dog AYA, and Hardcore. The four section hikers were the designated fire starters as one was a NASA Engineer and another a Dept Of Defense employee. Between these two the fire was an engineering marvel and our picnic table was levelled with varios size rocks under each leg. They also told me about the phenomenom that occurs when you try to melt snow for drinki8ng water. Apparently if you heat snow in pot it will just turn to gas and evaporate ..it will only change to water if you have some water in the pot to start with. This si good to know if you are desperate for water in the cold.I slept in my tent and as I have another cold or allergies it is a good thing as I am coughing all night. Unihiker and six shooter (boy and girl) share a sleeping bag and AYA slept at their feet. AYA does have her own tent but because rain was forecast they chose to stay in the shelter. Redhat stayed in her hammock and when we woke there was another hammock set up. It was Hardcores. His trail name is hardcore because he is doing big days. He did 30 miles to end up staying with us. We would see him once more as he stopped at the shelter the next night, he only stopped for a quick meal and was back on the trail.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

A strange day, cold, warm, cloudy, sunny , as if the sky couldn't decide what to do. definately not spring yet. The goal for the morning was Trents grocery, a gas station convenience store, deli 4/10ths of a mile off the trail. We arrived there as it started to rain. A COLD RAW RAIN. This was also a campsite and we thought about staying here for the night but their showers weren't working yet and we had only hiked about 6 miles. I did get a fair Philly cheesesteak and bought some snacks for the road and we were off. Once we hit the road the sky cleared up and it was nice, but cold. We made it to the Wapiti shelter ( site of a double murder in 1984) and met HARDWAY a SOBO section hiker. Later we were joined by John alias WHISKEY JOHN becaue he carry a pint of really good whiskey to celebrate with on Katahdin, and Hoodie and Nightlight, two hikers from Maine we met at the grocery store . We were also joined by Stunned Mullet a young girl from New Zealand who is one day ahead of her partner.O.M. River