morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-25
From: Low Gap Shelter 

To: No Business Knob 
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

We woke to light rain at Low Gap this morning, followed by a Loud Woodpecker then a single shotgun blast not far away. I'm guessing the Woodpecker was looking for breakfast and someone was looking for dinner. It is Turkey season around here. We packed up in the rain and headed up the trail. A tough up right out of the gate. We got to Bald Mountain Shelter 4 miles lateral where we had Oatmeal and coffee. By this time the rain had stopped and it was getting brighter. Eventually it turned partly sunny and warm. We went on to No Business Knob Shelter and ended with 15 miles for today. Tomorrow we have 6 miles to get into Erwin TN. Where we will clean up, do laundry and Eat. After spending the night in a real bed we will be back on the trail mid morning. Time to rest.Goodnight. ~Robi1The rain started while we were breaking down camp this morning. We were prepared for a full day of rain but were pleasantly surprised when it stopped after just a couple of hours. Shorts and t-shirt weather after that for the rest of the day. Today's hike started out with an uphill climb out of Low Gap. We passed through a meadow and then two really steep sections with rock scrambles as we started the downward progression toward Erwin TN. We started the day at an elevation of 4300 feet got as high up as 5500 feet and ended the day at 3200 feet. Erwin is just 5.8 miles away and lies at 2057 feet so we have another 1100 foot descent for tomorrow's easy day. Looking forward to an afternoon break, hot shower and a real bed. Probably even watch some TV tonight....-Hooti
Date: 2015-04-26
From: No Business Knob 

To: Piked Spring Campsites
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: light rain

We left Erwin around 10:00am. Walked a mile back to the trail. Today was sunny but cool. I'm guessing low 50s. Suppose to get down to the 30s tonight. Today was a great day for hiking. We went 13 miles to Campsites at mile 355.2 across from USFS road 230. The hiking miles seemed to go by quickly today. After a short break at Curly Maple Gap Shelter we continued on and came across trail magic at Indian Grave Gap. We had sweet tea and brownies. I can see my breath in the tent so it's time to bundle up for the night.Goodnight. ~Robi1The good thing about staying at an Inn is that you get a chance to empty out your pack and get everything cleaned up, dried out and reorganized. The bad thing about staying at an Inn is that you empty out your pack and then you have to repack everything back into it. So that was why we got off to a late start this morning. Not only did we have our gear to repack but also try to squeeze in the 6 days worth of food and supplies from our maildrops. Then we had a mile plus walk down the road to the trailhead before we could officially start our day.Today was mostly an uphill climb, gaining over 2000 feet in elevation. The weather was great so we were able to get a good view of Roan Mountain in the distance. Roan Mt is the last peak over 6000 feet that we will climb until we get to New Hampshire.We found trail magic today at Indian Grave Gap where we were treated to sweet tea and brownies for an afternoon snack. About three miles past there we stopped for the night at a campsite at the base of Unaka Mountain 5 miles south of Cherry Gap Shelter. There is a strong wind and a frost warning tonight but we should be warm in our tents. Tomorrow we climb Unaka Mountain first thing and then we will tackle Roan Mt on Wednesday.-Hooti
Date: 2015-04-28
From: Piked Spring Campsites

To: Hughes Gap 
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

It was cold last night at the campsites, mid 30s. We left under sunny skies and temps eventually made it into the high 60s. About 5 miles into our hike we came to Cherry Gap Shelter and took a Cliff Bar break. We continued on with some ups and downs all day. We had lunch at Iron Mountain Gap where TN Route 107 and NC 226 cross. We stopped at Clyde Smith Shelter around 4pm, took a short break and decided to continue on for a couple more miles. We stopped just before Hughes Gap and are tenting at a site just off the trail. Total miles today was 17. Time to get some rest, Goodnight ~ Robi1
Date: 2015-04-29
From: Campsite 

To: Overmountain Shelter 
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

It didn't rain today afterall and Roan Mountain doesn't have any scenic vistas. Today's hike was not as difficult as we expected because of the switchbacks but the terrain was rocky so that did slow us down a bit. We decided to end our day when we reached Overmountain Shelter since it seemed the place to be tonight. The shelter here is an old converted barn that sleeps 20. There are 20-25 of us here with a few staying in tents. The rain should be coming in overnite so we are staying in the shelter so we don't have to pack wet gear in the morning. One of the hikers got a ride into town to pick up some beer and has handed it out as trail magic. Hanging out by the campfire tonight we got a glimpse of a rainbow.-HootiWe left the camp sites just before 9am. Started out sunny. It was not long before we were headed up High Bluff Knob at 6,000 ft. There was a parking lot with bathrooms and a picnic area but it is not open till Memorial Day. The climb was not as tough as we anticipated but took some time due to the terrain. Roots and rocks made it slow going. Same thing coming down, lots of potential ankle twisters. We continued on to Round Bald and Jane Bald were there were great views but tough climbs. It was very cold on the Balds as we were still around 5,500ft. We continued on to Overmountain Shelter. We hiked 12 miles today and the shelter was an old Barn and very nice with great views. With the threat of rain we decided this would be a good place to end our day. One of the hikers provided trail magic and got 3 cases of beer. There are around 25 hikers staying here tonight. We went over the 400 mile mark today ~Robi1
Date: 2015-04-30
From: Overmountain Shelter 

To: Mountaineer Shelter 
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We left Overmountain shelter under sunny skies and no rain. Went over little hump Mountain with great views. We went through Doll flats after lunch, and crossed the NC /TN boarder. The threat of rain was on the increase. As we made our way to Mountaineer Shelter. About a mile from the Shelter it started to rain heavy so were happy to reach what was a very nice Shelter. We ate as it was raining and them went to bed around 8pm when it started pouring and hailing making quite the noise on the metal roof. We were on the upper loft. We ended today's hike with 18 miles. Time for some sleep.Good night. ~ Robi1We climbed two balds this morning - Little Hump Mountain and Hump Mountain. Both were tough uphill climbs with Hump Mt being the steeper and taller of the two at 5587 feet. We had beautiful 360 degree views at the peak. Those climbs were followed by a 6 mile downhill before the rain developed. It was sunny until early afternoon when the clouds came in and the temperature dropped. The rain finally came but didn't last long so it didn't slow us down. We got to the shelter around 4:00 after hiking over 18 miles bringing our total miles over the 400 mark. It is cold again tonight leaving me to wonder if the weather is ever going to warm up for good. -Hooti
Date: 2015-05-02
From: Mountaineer Shelter 

To: Campsite 
Miles today: 32.4
Weather: clear sky

We climbed two balds this morning - Little Hump Mountain and Hump Mountain. Both were tough uphill climbs with Hump Mt being the steeper and taller of the two at 5587 feet. We had beautiful 360 degree views at the peak. Those climbs were followed by a 6 mile downhill before the rain developed. It was sunny until early afternoon when the clouds came in and the temperature dropped. The rain finally came but didn't last long so it didn't slow us down. We got to the shelter around 4:00 after hiking over 18 miles bringing our total miles over the 400 mark. It is cold again tonight leaving me to wonder if the weather is ever going to warm up for good. Saturday started out cold also but the skies were clear and the day warmed up nicely. Just a mile into our hike we came to Laurel Falls which is a beautiful area to take a nice break at. After that we had a good uphill climb of 1700 feet and then a downhill of the same. We stopped for the night about a mile south of Vandeventer Shelter. We have left North Carolina for good and are just two days out from the Tennessee/Virginia border. On our way to Damascus for a short break and another resupply.   -Hooti        We left Mountaineer Shelter with fog and drizzle about 39-42 degrees. There was still patches of hail from last nights storm. We hiked in the fog all day but the rain held off for us. Very cold hiking today depending on the elevation we were at. We hiked 16 miles today and made it to Kincora Hostel where we will do laundry and take a shower and spend the night. We will head back to the trail in the morning. Goodnight! ~Robi1
Date: 2015-05-03
From: Campsite 

To: Double Spring Gap 
Miles today: 21.0

Today was another good day for hiking. Our first 8 miles or so were tough with a lot of ups and downs but the trail got a little easier after that. At one point we ended up in a cow pasture where the cows seemed to follow us. They were actually heading to their feed which just happened to be in the direction we were walking. We are anxious to get to Damascus and can feel the pull to get to the Virginia border. We ended the day just 12 miles out from Damascus and plan on getting there early tomorrow afternoon. Damascus hosts AT Trail Days every year but we are a week early for this years event which kicks off Saturday the 9th. We hope to get a little break while we are there but plan on heading back out to the trail within a day or so.-Hooti        We left the campsite just before the Vandeventer Shelter about 8:30. It was sunny and warm today in the mid 70s. Not much for views today and the trail did't have too many ups and downs. The trail went right through a cow pasture today. We went through the gate and soon we were having cows follow us around. Hooti was on the lookout for the bull. There were a couple of them but they did not want their picture taken. After about a mile we exited the field through another gate and continued on to Low Gap where road US 421 meets the trail. We planned on tenting close to the Gap but could not find suitable sites to pitch our tents. We continued on to Double Spring Gap where there is a campsite and ended at 21 miles for today. Time for bed. Goodnight ~Robi1
Date: 2015-05-04
From: Double Spring Gap 

To: Damascus 
Miles today: 12.8

We left Double Spring Gap just before 8am. We had 13 miles to get into Damascus VA which we were able to do in 4 hours and 50 minutes. The terrain helped being mostly down with a few bumps. We got into town and found a cabin on the river only a short walk to either end of town. We stopped to take pictures of the Wheel of Freedom Memorial honoring local Veterans on the way in. Damascus is a trail town and the AT goes right through the center of town. We cleaned up, did some laundry and then went to eat. We will take a zero day on Tuesday and relax. We need to get some supplies at the outfitters and get hair cuts. We will head out Wednesday morning. ~ Robi1The hike in to Damascus this morning was relatively easy with fairly level terrain. A nice change from what we are used to, but the humidity made it a little uncomfortable. We passed the Tennessee/Virginia border about 4 miles before town and said goodbye to our third state. We finished the 13 miles before 1:00 and had the afternoon to get settled in. The hostels were all full because of a funeral tonight for the local outfitter who died suddenly but we managed to get a deal on a cabin on the river for tonight and tomorrow night. It has all the comforts of home so we will enjoy a little r&r while we are here. My feet can definitely use a little break.Hi to everyone at the ALC. I hope the water in the pool is warm enough for you Dan.-Hooti
Date: 2015-05-05
From: Damascus 

To: Lost Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Virginia is turning out to be the land of no cell phone reception....Day 42 (Wednesday): We reluctantly left the Cabin in Domascus around 9:30 Wednesday morning.On the way out we ran into people that we had hiked with for a couple of weeks off & on and have not seen them since Hot Springs. We were leaving and they were just getting in. We gave them some stuff we had left from our 0 day. Ice cream, a few beers and cookies. They walked to the north end of town with us where they were going to have breakfast. We said goodbye and headed up the trail. There was a good climb out of Domascus and it was sunny & warm. About 5 miles in we ran into a 4 foot Black Snake. It got off the trail and climbed up into a bush and we went by. I was leading. After that Hooti offered to lead and clear the trail if there were any more snakes. Offer accepted! About 13 miles in 2 more black snakes on a long bridge off to one side. We took a picture and went by. We continued on and soon got caught in a thunderstorm in our last couple of miles before Lost Mountain Shelter. We were drenched by the time we got to the Shelter. We waited for the rain to stop and set up our tents behind the shelter. 16 miles for today's journey.Time for bed. ~Robi1We met up with Cold Potato, M & M, Clover and Owl on our way out of Damascus this morning. They were just arriving to town so we gave them our leftover ice cream and drinks and headed back on the trail. We had a tough 900 foot climb up Iron Mountain to start the day and then another one 4 miles later. We stopped for a break at Saunders Shelter and could hear the skies rumbling in the distance. We had hoped to beat the rain to Lost Mountain Shelter but got caught in a downpour instead around 4:30. Soaked when we got to camp a half hour later and then had to wait an hour and a half before the rain stopped so we could pitch our tents. The shelter is full with 15 tents outside. The trail seems crowded again but it is probably just because we are near Damascus. Trail Days start this weekend.-Hooti
Date: 2015-05-06
From: Lost Mountain Shelter 

To: campsite 
Miles today: 15.25
Weather: scattered clouds

We left Lost Mountain Shelter Thursday morning and had a really tough climb up Whitetop Mountain. 5 miles of constant uphill. Virginia's two highest peaks are Whitetop Mountain and Mount Rogers. Both are over 5000 feet. After we climbed Whitetop, we then had Mount Rogers to climb. It rained on and off all day and the skies looked threatening when we got to Thomas Knob Shelter so we decided to stay there for the night. Between the steep climbs, boulder fields and thunderstorms, Virginia is proving to be challenging. It has been difficult to put in decent mileage. -HootiWe left Lost Mountain Shelter around 9am. under partly cloudy skies. We wanted to get around 18 miles out of today but their was a good climb a few miles in that was slow going and the rest of the trail today was a boulder field. Then the weather didn't cooperate at the end of the day. It started with light rain as we were making our way to the Thomas Knob Shelter. We didn't want to get soaked again today. We decided to call it a day at around 12.4 miles. We stayed in the Shelter. If we kept going another couple of miles we would be in Grayson Highlands State Park where there are wild Ponies grazing. We thought it would be better to go through in the morning. That's it for today.Goodnight. ~Robi1
Date: 2015-05-07
From: campsite 

To: Fairly Flat Spot
Miles today: 15.25
Weather: overcast clouds

The views from the Thomas Knob Shelter mountain side were wow the next morning. We sat on the rocks and had breakfast.We left the Thomas Knob Shelter around 9am. and three miles into our hike we entered Grayson Highlands State Park. The park is where there are wild Ponies roaming around. We only ran across a few of them on our way through. Other hikers ran into more. It's all about the timing. We we're hoping for a good mileage day but the rocky terrain slowed our pace way down but made the views beautiful. We did manage to get a fair amount of mileage for the day at 18 miles but it did not come easy. We ended the day around 7pm. Set up tents ate, hung our food bags and called it a day.Goodnight. ~Robi1Friday we hiked through Grayson Highlands State Park where there is a herd of wild ponies resident there to keep the foliage trimmed down. We saw three ponies before we entered the park and none while passing through unfortunately. We got in 18 miles before stopping on the side of the trail for the night. We were near a campground but didn't bother to walk the .7 mile trail to it and instead opted for the flattest spot we could find. It has been very warm for hiking and the nights are even a bit uncomfortable for sleeping. We'll have to start thinking about swapping out our winter sleeping bags.-Hooti
Date: 2015-05-08
From: Fairly Flat Spot

To: Campsite 
Miles today: 13.65

Left our tenting site at Dickey Gap around 8:30. It was a nice day for hiking. We took a break At the Trimpi Shelter and got some more water. We entered another gated cattle grazing area but no cattle. I was in the lead again when I came across yet another huge Black Snake. This one looked very healthy at about 4 1/2 to 5 feet. We went around it and kept moving on, eyes peeled for any more Snakes. Trail was not to rocky today and made it to the Partnership Shelter around 4:30 after 15.7 miles for the day. This Shelter was good and not so good. There's a hot shower stall attached to the Shelter and you can order Pizza and have it delivered. We took advantage of both. We each had a large meat lovers pizza. The not so good was the group at the Shelter were Ya- Hooing till midnight. Not much sleep.Not so goodnight! ~Robi1The trail wasn't too difficult Saturday but it was hot again. We got our motivation for the day from our guidebook. 16.5 miles out was Partnership Shelter where there are showers and you can call for pizza. We got to the shelter early enough to get a spot inside for the night and to take a shower before dinner. A $50 minimum order is required for the pizza so all the hikers pitched in and got one big order. The younger crowd were up late last night so we didn't get much sleep. I have decided that I am not staying in a shelter anymore. -Hooti
Date: 2015-05-09
From: Campsite 

To: Atkins VA 
Miles today: 13.65
Weather: overcast clouds

Today's hike was a tough uphill climb the first 5 miles and the rest a downhill cruise into Atkins. Flowers are blooming finally and their fragrance is strong enough to cover even my own stench. About 8 miles into our hike was the Lindamood School, an old one room schoolhouse and the Settlers Museum. The schoolhouse was open and inside was trail magic of apples, crackers, cokes and t-shirts. Nobody was there just stuff for the taking. We got into town early this afternoon and did the usual town stop stuff. We are staying at the Relax Inn tonight.I've been thinking of my Mom a lot and want to thank her for a great day.Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.-HootiWe left the Partenership Shelter around 7:30 and had 11 miles to hike to get to Atkins VA. where we have a 7 Day mail drop waiting and we will spend the night. We got here about noon and got the Laundry going, took showers and went through our mail drop. Later in the afternoon we went to the Quick Mart jut up the street to see if we could get some kind of bread for sandwiches. There is restaurant called the Barn where we were going to get an ice cream but they close at 3pm on Sundays. We just missed it. We will try and get breakfast there in the morning. We are now resting up for tomorrow.Goodnight. ~Robi1
Date: 2015-05-10
From: Atkins VA 

To: campsite 
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: overcast clouds

We left the Relax Inn in Atkins VA around 7:30 and headed for the Barn restaurant where we had a good breakfast. I had eggs, bacon, sausage patties, home fries, two pancakes and toast. We went under I 81 and turned on to the trail. It was very hot hiking today with the temps in the 90s and lots of humidity. Had a few good hills to climb and drank lots of water. We crossed two open pastures for about a half mile and baked in the sun. We took a nice lunch break where the trail crosses VA 610 just before one of the open fields. After that we came to a good size river and soaked our feet and head for a while. We continued down the trail a few hundred feet and there was too coolers. One had sodas the other one had PP& J sandwiches and snack cakes. It was Trail Magic From past thru hikers. We got water at Knot Maul Branch Shelter and went another mile to Lynn Camp Creek Campsite where we will be tenting for the night. Sounded like a thunder storm was on the way so we ended our day with 16 miles. Time for bed.Goodnight. ~Robi1Today was awesome. The terrain wasn't easy and it was hot and humid but we had a great day. At around the 10 mile mark we sat next to a road (va 610) under a tree and ate lunch. It was a beautiful spot so we stayed about 45 minutes. Very relaxing. Then we went about 2 miles and came to a large stream and cooled down in the water. The river was full of fish and also had crawfish in it. When we had to pull ourselves away from the river we went about 200 feet and found trail magic. Cold sodas and pb+j sandwiches. Then we only had 3 more miles to go to find our camping spot. We took the first ones we found because thunder and dark clouds were coming in. Have been set up for 2 hrs but no rain yet. Today's milestone - We have hiked over a quarter of the way to Katahdin.-Hooti
Date: 2015-05-11
From: campsite 

To: Jenkins Shelter 
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: clear sky

We left the Lynn Creek Camp sites around 8:30 after a early morning shower. During the night we had a thunderstorm with some loud rumbling. We set off and the skies cleared and it turned out to be a nice day. It was a tough day with a couple of big climbs in the morning. We had lunch at Chestnut Knob Shelter with some nice views. We looked at the map and thought the afternoon hike to Jenkins Shelter would be fairly easy but we were wrong. The terrain was rocky and the little bumps up on the map were big bumps when hiking. The last water source was 1 mile out from the Chestnut Knob Shelter and the next source 10 miles away at Jenkins Shelter. Our goal was to get to the Shelter. We got to the Shelter at 7pm 19 miles for the day. We set up tents, ate and went to bed.It wasn't all bad though, when we were able to get some reception good news was awaiting! My Great Niece Dorothy Grace was Born to Patrick and Sonya Robicheau this morning, can't wait to meet her, congrats again! Also we received word that Rose can pick up our new puppy at the end of June and she will even bring him out to meet me mid July on the trail. So, at least all the good news made the difficult climbing a little more tolerable!Goodnight ~ Robi1Today the first 10 miles were what we expected. 1 medium size hill and one good size hill. We saw some beautiful views and got some great pictures. The next 9 1/2 miles looked fairly flat on the map but were anything but flat. The terrain was very rocky and it doesn't sound like much but when you climb up 100 feet in elevation then climb down 150 feet then up 150 then down 100 all afternoon it kicks your butt. We got in 19.3 miles but it took from 8:30 am until 7:15ish to do. Long day, sore feet, so I guess I'll say goodnight.-Hooti