morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-07
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

Slept good last night. Out of camp by 6:50am. Dawn is around 6:30am this time of year in this part of the country. Tom, Bill and me agree to meet at Dismal Falls for lunch. Down 470' in the first 1.5 miles to the water source. then a moderate 650' climb over the next 1.5 miles. Then small ups and downs over the next 3 miles eventually coming to kimberling Creek suspension bridge. the bridge is 60' single suspension built by volunteers for foot traffic. It does bounce a bit, but was fun to cross. after crossing VA 606 I climb modestly for 300, The trail becomes narrow and a bit overgrown thru this area. I start to hear the sound of water in the distance to my left. I keep a look out for the side trail for the falls as the trail seems to circle. Finally I see the marker for the falls to my left and start down the trail. The vegetation is thick on this side trail. I pass a few nice camp areas as the sound becomes loud. Finally after a long .3 miles I'm at the fall at 11:30am where I meet Bill and Tom. DIsmal Falls is a great spot and worth the trip. The falls are wide and drop about 10". In hotter weather this would be a great swimming spot. There are also great camping spots. Tom and Bill leave at noon but I hang out till 12:30 enjoying the surroundings in solitude. Once back on the trail there is little elevation change over the next 6 miles. There are a lot of small streams to cross including at least 12 small foot bridges. I reach Wapiti Shelter at 4pm after 14.2 miles. Bill and Tom are the only other ones here. There are numerous good camping areas around the shelter to choose for my tent. One other hiker arrives around 5pm, Valley Girl and here dog.
Date: 2014-05-08
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: clear sky

It must of been humid last night because by morning the tent was damp. It should be a short day today since the hostel we plan to stay at is only 7 miles away. Tom is the first out of camp as ushual. Thats how Tom got his trail name "cobweb", because being first, he clears the cobwebs from the trail. I head out 10 minutes after Tom at 6:50am. The trail started out going up and got steeper further up the trail. Bill eventually catches up and passes me. I reached the top of the ridge after 2.3 miles and 1400' elevation change. I did have a nice view while I rested. I walked along the ridge for the next 2 miles. I came upon the side trail to the look out tower and gave a yell to see if Bill and Tom were there. They answered, so I dropped my pack and walked back to enjoy the great view. Once back on the trail we stay together for the 2 mile hike down to Sugar Run road (gravel). The .5 mile walk down the road is not part of the AT, but brings us to Woods Hole Hostel by 11:30am. They have a bunk house to house the majority of the hikers. We opted to spend the extra money and stay in the main house. Bill and Tom stayed in the semi private room and I stayed in the private room. It was truly a great experience to stay here, don't pass this place by.
Date: 2014-05-09
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Stealth Camp, North of Pearisburg Va.
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Slept good in my Queen sized bed. Coffee at 7:15 and great breakfast at 8am. Breakfast included eggs with sausage, peach cobbler and heavy cream, fresh pineapple, home baked breads and jams. After the .5 miles up the gravel road we are back on the trail at 9:15am. 500' climb then 350' down then flatter with scattered ups and downs. We stopped at a great rest stop at the PowerLine over look. We also passed two good view points before we started the steep 1.7 mile 1600' drop to Cross Avenue. At Cross Avenue we left the AT and headed into Pearisburg to resupply for the next 4 days. After about 1 mile we arrived at Lucky Star Chinese AYCE restaurant and make a dent in the buffet. The Food Lion was our next stop for our resupply. We were going to leave town by way of Main Street to get a different view of the town but some how missed the turn and went a half mile down the wrong road. This turned into a 1 mile detour. Off of main street we turn onto Lane road to pick up the AT. The problem here we can't find the trail. Bill and Tom are almost to the end of the road and I'm about half way down when I spot a blaze between two houses. Finally back on the trail, it goes over a bridge and leads us past an industrial area and then into the woods. After .7 miles the trail circles and brings us back out of the woods and along a road a short distance from where we entered. Again we enter the woods and again it circle back to the same road. Talk about pointless ups and downs. After we enter for the third time we finally stay in the woods and start our 2 mile 1400' climb to the our campsite. The climb becomes steep and is slow going. Bill and Tom are getting further ahead and just out off site when my legs start giving out on me and I'm only one third the way up. I yell up to Tom and tell him I have to make camp and will try to catch them in the morning. I find a small mound off trail to set up my tent. The area is not ideal, its covered with thick vegetation, but will make due considering its clouding up and getting dark. I climb into my tent just before it starts to rain. I didn't eat because of the large late afternoon meal. The industrial sound from the factories below are what I have to listen to this evening. Thirteen AT miles and around 4 town miles today.
Date: 2014-05-10
From: Stealth Camp Site, North of Pearisburg Va.

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

It stopped raining during the night. Back on the trail by 6:25am in hopes of catching Tom and Bill. The hike up to the camp site was 1.5 miles and took me 1.5 hours due to the constant up hill climb and stoping to filter water . Tom and Bill are gone. The trail flattens out with moderate ups and downs. Rice Field Shelter is only a little off trail but I just keep walking. It starts to rain about 10am and the trail becomes rougher. This makes for slippery conditions. The trail conditions improve but the rain continues, hard at times. Hiking becomes harder with rain gear on. The trail passes by large old orchards. By noon I'm very hungry and have to eat in a light rain. I finally come off the ridge and start down hill. At this time the rain stopes and the rain gear comes off. I cross over a spring on the trail, stop, and load up with water now not knowing how far the water is at the shelter. The water at this spring is fantastic, cold, clear and tasty. I finally make it to Pine Branch Shelter at 4:45pm. Tom and Bill are the only ones there when I arrive. Due to the hard morning climb and rain all day Tom and Bill are surprised I made the 16.5 mile hike by 4:45. We are staying in the shelter tonight due to the wet conditions. Many other hikers arrive. There is 6 of us in the shelter, 3 tenting and 3 who continued on due to the crowd.
Date: 2014-05-11
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: broken clouds

Slept okay last night. When I sleep in the shelter I'm always conscious of how much noise I'm making and with other people also making noise it wakes me up during the night. I usually leave a little bit later in the morning when I'm in the shelter not wanting to make noise in the morning. I leave at 7:40 a.m. and I'm the first person out. The first mile is downhill as I walk parallel to a small Creek. At the bottom of my descent the trail meets up with a larger creek called Stony Creek. I start to walk along Stony Creek, eventually I come to a zip line that crosses over the creek. This zip line leads to "The Captain's". This is a person who allows hikers to tent in his backyard and on his back porch. From my advantage point. I can see that there are two tents in the backyard and one person on the back porch, this is where the overflow of hikers came after leaving the shelter last night. At this point Bill in Tom catch up to me and we start hiking together. The trail eventually leads uphill and it goes over a hill and then back down to the creek. Then it leads us once again up hill over another hill and then back down to the creek. We start to wonder why the trail just couldn't stay along the creek. Oh well, the trail is never the fastest way to get anywhere. Billy eventually hikes ahead of me and Tom. We continue to hike together, Tom's knee is giving him some problems so we can't hike to fast. We come to a nice foot bridge that takes us over Stoney Creek. Halfway across the bridge, Tom, all of a sudden falls like a sack of potatoes. This further adds to his knee problems. We cross over VA 635 and start an uphill climb of 1,400 feet. Halfway up the climb Tom's knee is really starting to bother him and he starts debating whether he should go back down and call it quits on this hike. I encourage him to continue on to Bailey Gap Shelter and survey the situation. When we get to the shelter Tom asks for my caffeinated drink additive which he uses quite liberally. From there he decides to press on and before long he was out in front of me and out of sight, apparently the caffeine did the trick. Once on top of a ridge I continued to hike for 6 miles. Eventually the trail then starts to go downhill again for 1700 feet and I end up at War Spur Shelter at 4:20pm after a 12.7 mile day. Tom and Bill are there. Tom's knee is bothering him a lot and he feels that he has to get off at the road crossing a couple miles away. He tries to make a phone call to set up a shuttle but there's no cell service here. We will try in the morning down at the road. Tenting sites are very nice at this shelter. There's also a nice stream right in front of the shelter. I take advantage of this to wash out some of my clothes as well as myself. About six other people arrive at the shelter area.
Date: 2014-05-12
From: War Spur Shelter

To: VA 42, Newport VA
Miles today: 8.6

A beautiful night last night, I slept good in my tent. We make it to VA623 quickly since it's only one mile down. Then we start the 1700' climb up Kelly Knob. Bill then Tom separate themselves from me on the long hard climb. Finally over the top I start down hill. As I approach Laurel Creek Shelter I see Bill making is way from the shelter. I continue down with Bill with Tom a few minutes behind. We walk thru a few nice fields. I stop to rest in the shade between fields as Tom catches up and Bill continues on. When we are ready to continue on Bill shows back up and informs us that he finally got cell service and arranged for a shuttle from Joe from Three Pines Hostel to pick us up at the VA42 road crossing. We continue down for the next couple miles. Right before we get to the road crossing the trail becomes very muddy and obscure because hikers are trying all different ways to get thru the marshy area. Once at the road crossing and our ride back to the hostel we leave for home in Tom's Truck. This ends our section hike of 192 miles this spring.
Date: 2014-09-24
From: VA 42, Newport VA

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This is the start of my fall 2014 hike with Billy Goat, Slowski and his dog Molly.Slowski and I pick up Billy at 7am in Philadelphia and continue south in our rental car. We arrive in Salem VA at 3pm to turn in our rental. Our shuttle driver then drops us off at VA42 and after a few commemorative photos we start up hill at 4:15pm. After a mile we come upon the famous Kiefer oak. It's over 300 years old and measures 18' around and it's the largest tree on the southern half of the AT. As we continue up the trail, markings become sparse and at one junction we aren't sure which way to go. We find our way and make it up the 1300' climb at 5:45pm. The trail flattens out for the next 1.5 miles. We then head .4 miles down the blue blaze (a side trail thats not the AT) to Sarver Hollow Shelter arriving at 6:30pm. We are the only ones here and we sleep in the shelter.
Date: 2014-09-25
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Foot Bridge VA620
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Tossed and turned a lot last night, which is normal for my first night in the woods. Slowski and his dog mollie left first. I followed about 15 minutes later. It was a steep .4 miles to get to the AT at 8am. It was flat for the first 2 miles. then I made a wrong turn down hill. Apparently quite a few others before did the same thing due to the lack of white blazes.
Date: 2014-04-03
To: First post
Miles today: 0.0

The Appalachian Trail has A.D.D. You travel in many directions to end up at a single destination. I've walked that path all my life; it's not a bad way to get somewhere.¢If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don't do it, and it won't happen.¢Desiderius Erasmus
Date: 2014-04-06
To: Pre-hike Irish Blessing
Miles today: 0.0

On my last day of work, Enda Conneely my friend/foreman burned some peat and read a blessing for my hike. I consider it my first gift of trail magic. Thank you, Enda. May the road rise up to meet ye.May the wind always be at your back.May the sun shine warm upon you face,And the rain fall soft upon your fields.For every storm a rainbow,For every tear a smile,For every care a promise, And a blessing for each trial. For every problem life sends,A faithful friend to share. For every sigh a sweet song,And an answer for each prayer.
Date: 2014-04-09
To: Ready to go
Miles today: 0.0

   My hiking partner on the trail for this thru attempt is my youngest son, Mike. He decided to join me not long after I started talking about this dream two years ago. It'll be nice to have a twenty-something to carry me when the trail gets tough.   At home, of course, my wife Amy will be doing the hard part; working, keeping the bills paid, and doing logistics for us. I can't repeat often enough how lucky we hikers are for our support systems; both at home and on the trail.  We begin our drive to Dahlonega, Ga. on Friday the 11th. A one way rental that we drop off in Gainesville, Ga. It is a 16 hour drive from home. I'm not sure if we'll do it in two or three days; we'll see how we feel. Somehow, this is the step that makes this all feel real. We are heading to Georgia. We are going to take the first steps on our thru hike. I'm excited, nervous and ready to go.
Date: 2014-04-12
From: Roanoke to Gainesville

To: Dahlonega
Miles today: 0.0

We made it to the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega. Ready to start tomorrow morning. I'm a bit nervous. I just need to get on the trail so I can quit thinking about getting on the trail. I hope to get some sleep tonight so I'll be able to enjoy the first day out. It looks like we'll have beautiful weather to start. I'm glad for that. First milage stats tomorrow!!
Date: 2014-04-13
From: Springer Mountain

To: Day 1 - Hawk Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 8.1
Weather: broken clouds

   Began a day early to take advantage of the weather. A bit warm for us northern boys after such a cold winter in Boston but, the sun was out and we had a decent breeze.    We started out south for a mile to the Trail Plaque. So excited we forgot to sign the register. Headed north and found the early going relatively easy. From Three Forks the trail started to climb a bit and the heat got to me. Took a break, ate and drank some gatorade.    We stopped around 2 at Hawk Mt. Shelter. Hung out, gabbed with the other hikers and set up the tent.   All in all a pretty good first day. Rain is predicted for tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.   Goodnight from the AT.
Date: 2014-04-14
From: Hawk Mt. Shelter

To: Day 2 - Gooch Gap; Beating the Rain
Miles today: 7.7

   Up early today, well not really, since we didn't sleep much at all. The excitement and strangeness equaled a long restless night. We had our packs ready at six and we headed out at first light just before seven.   We were hoping to beat the predicted rain. Our destination Gooch Gap Shelter. We were warned that Sassafras Mt. was the first real test, but it wasn't too bad. It was more about being tired and not eating much that made it tough at all. Again, the excitement of the start. We've met some nice people out here already. Wayne Hall from Arkansas, Tracy Renaut from Mansfield and Dean from Knoxville, Tn.   Mike and I beat the rain with the early start, cooked some food and napped through the storm.   Most everyone else got caught in the rain, but the storm went by fast and we all enjoyed some time around the campfire talking. A good ending to a good day.
Date: 2014-04-15
To: Day 3 - Gooch Gap to Lance Creek campsite
Miles today: 8.5

We set out by 7:30 with a promising weather report that turned out to be all wrong. What looked like a day of light showers and decent temps quickly became a cold and rainy day with heavy winds.   We decided to hike in our regular gear rather than rain gear. Oops. By the time we got to the parking lot at Woody Gap trailhead, 5 miles into the hike, we were drenched. The wind was blowing about 30mph so we ducked into the bathrooms they had there. We rearranged our clothing to something warmer and headed out the last 3.5 miles to Lance Creek.   As soon as we got there we threw up the tent, got into our only dry clothes and crawled into our sleeping bags to get warm. There was a tent set up but, no one there. They must have bugged out in the heavy rain the night before.   After an hour we checked the weather again. They were predicting 28 degrees for tonight. We were thinking of hiking back to Woody Gap to try to get to a hostel but, the rain stopped and we had a chance to dry our wet stuff by hanging them in the trees.   As we were putting things out, a hiker we've been keeping pace with the last three days came into camp. His name is Wayne and he's from Arkansas, a real nice guy. We were glad to see him. I got a fire started Davy Crockett style by squirting alcohol on the damp wood. Voila, fire! Had time to sit around chat and eat.   Bed time comes early out here. We were in the tent by 8.   Heading to Neels Gap tomorrow. Bye.
Date: 2014-04-16
From: Lance Creek

To: Day 4 - Lance Creek to Neels Gap
Miles today: 7.4

We had a little snow last night, temps in the 20's and howling winds, but slept warm in our bags. There were some strange noises in the night, however, that kept us up. What we thought at first were the growls of animals unknown, turned out to be the snores of tired hikers. Parvan, a section hiker, was the champ, rolling out deep grrrs with every breath. When we got up, Tim and Dan, father and son hikers from Maine, said they thought it was Tracy who was camped next to them and were shocked to realize it was Parvan 50 yards away.    Once the sun rose over the mountain tops, the air started to warm. We all broke camp and headed, each at his place own pace, toward Blood Mountain and Neels Gap beyond. It was a beautiful day for hiking. Quite a change from yesterday. We finally had some spectacular views.    Everyone was a bit leery of Blood's reputation. Word was it was a very tough climb, but I think because we had all suffered through yesterday's hike it didn't seem bad at all. We took an hour at the summit enjoying the views and the old stone shelter. While taking our break, Wayne, Tracy, Mike and I decided we would share a cabin at Neels Gap. $60 a cabin at Blood Mountain Cabins. Great deal. We got to the outfitters at the gap around 2, and went inside to grab some snacks. There was a guy in there with a Red Sox hat on, Baltimore Jack, a past thru-hiker who's well known in the hiker community. Being that he's a Bostonian via Cambridge, when he heard my accent, he knew instinctively that this Bostonian via Quincy could use a beer and he presented me with a frosty. Thanks Jack! We said goodbye to Tim and Dan who were moving on and headed toward the cabins. After settling in, we paired up and hitchhiked to Blairsville to resupply and get some pizza. I didn't realize it at the time but, Mike, Wayne and Tracy were all virgin hitchhikers. It seemed strange to me because hitchhiking had been my primary mode of transportation when I was a kid. I forgot how dangerous the world had become in forty years. We went to The Pizza Company next to the Hi Lo grocery in Blairsville, all you can eat buffet $5.36, sodas and ice tea free for thru-hikers. Yes! We hitched back to the cabins and were up past 10, late for us.    A special thanks to those who gave us rides in and out of town. Good luck to George, thru class 2009 on her upcoming wedding. She dropped Mike and me off at our cabin door. She works at Mountain Crossings in Neels Gap, so we'll thank her again in the morning.    Special note to Kay: Tracy is doing great and it's been a pleasure to have met such a remarkable young woman.
Date: 2014-04-17
From: Neels Gap

To: Day 5 - Neels Gap to Low Gap
Miles today: 11.5

11.5 miles today with heavy packs from resupply equals re-aggravating an old foot injury for John. I iced it in a creek and swallowed some iboos. I'll wrap it tomorrow and we'll see how it does.On the bright side, we four (Wayne, Tracy, Mike and I ) all ended up at Low Gap at the end of a spectacular day for hiking. Beautiful views and great weather. Also, Mike's knees seem to be getting better the more we hike.A lot of people at the Gap tonight. This is the area's holiday week so there are a lot of overnighters as well as thrus.Got a nice fire going which always draws people in. We met Nightwalker who has never finished a thru but has hiked about 5000 miles in total along the trail. All in all, boo boo aside, it's been a fantastic day.   TTFN
Date: 2014-04-18
From: Low Gap

To: Day 6 - Low Gap to Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 9.7

I wrapped up the sore foot and we headed out of Low Gap about 8:30am. We were hoping to make Unicoi Gap so we could get to Hiawassee and pick up some rain gear. Mike's pants got soaked in the last storm. We weren't happy about going into a town so soon, but we had no choice with rain in the forecast. It was cool and cloudy all day as the trail rolled along at an easy rate. We made good time and my foot didn't bother me much at all. The miracle waters of Georgia's creeks. We hiked for a while with Wingnut, a registered nurse from Idaho. I asked and he gave us some nutritional advice. We'll be adding more protein to our diet. We made the gap by 1pm and tried to hitch into Hiawassee. It took us more than an hour and only after I left Mike alone did we get a ride. That little cherub face is hard to pass by. They even let me go along. Ryan and Nicole were fishing at a family cabin nearby and decided to take a ride into Hiawassee. Lucky for us! Thanks, Ryan and Nicole! Besides the rain gear, we knew that we needed to get Mike's new debit card. His bank decided now was a good time to close his old one because of the Target Christmas fiasco. We decided to stay in town to see if we could take care of that too. We got a room at the Budget Inn. Mary (Mom) had sent the new card to the Blueberry Patch Hostel, which is outside Hiawassee. The hostel owner, Gary Poteat, was very helpful, even calling Mary back to help with things. Mike grabbed the shuttle from Budget and they took him to pick up his card. Thanks for your kindness Gary! When Mike got back, we got the rain gear, something to eat and arranged a ride back to the trail in the morning. (Free with a stay at Budget). We hope to be on the trail for the next week with only minimal town time. Bye for now.