morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-05-06
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Pasture - 675 (?)
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 0700 - out at 0900. Tent seemed to be fine - couldn't really tell, as tons of condensation from last night and previous night. Tyvek might have worked, but need better system for windy, rainy nights to come. Overcast and cold - I'm wet except for new dry shirt which won't be dry for long. Foggy until 1100 or so. Clouds broke up some - scattered showers, but short in duration. Took hour for lunch - spread tent and shirt out in wind and sun - got some drying. Met Spicy - gave me ginger candy and Optimist - older hiker. Putting Tyvek sheeting INSIDE the awning against but netting with stick to hold up into the upper corner and tucking the bottom under the tent. Should hold in winds and keep drips from coming through sewn zipper. When I sewed it shut, I put some stitches through the zipper weather flap. I used dental floss, so maybe the wax will help keep water out. The floss is mint flavored, so maybe it will draw bears in !!Bed by 2100.
Date: 2016-05-07
From: Pasture - 675 (?)

To: 690
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

Miles may have been 16 - not too sure about starting and stopping places. Up at 0720. Out by ......oh, yeah, 0910. Good day - lots of rock hopping. Seems to be better than just trudging down a trail - not sure why. Clear skies - one brief shower. Tweety (girl) and Ahab (guy in skirt, NOT kilt) young pups, told me about a grocery store .5 miles off the Trail tomorrow - may be saved on food/miles situation. Huhzah!12-13 miles per day may be all for a bit - last 3+ miles hard up to Audie Murphy Memorial, but Trail Magic from Super Dave at base helped a lot. Hot dog and soda was AWESOME. Funny how small things seem large at times. I was wondering why Memorial was where it was - this is near the place Audie Murphy was killed in a plane crash. He was the most decorated soldier in WW2. Sobering Memorial, many tributes from other veterans surrounding the original Memorial, stone cairn next to official Memorial covered in medals, name tags, coins, flags, etc. Camping at base of Memorial side trail - flat, established, good bear bag hanging tree, I'm home. Camp at 1830, bed 2000. No pills tonight - ankles and knees feet good. Legs tired, but NOT hurting.
Date: 2016-05-08
From: 690

To: 701.8
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 0645 !! Lots of light, can't sleep, what the heck. Out at 0755 - call it 0800 to make the math easier. Windy - couple of rain drops - rain suit on/off, etc. Finally just took it off. Trout Creek in 1.5 hours - 4 miles !! Mostly downhills, but still........Hungry 1/2 way down - poptarts and b'fast bars not making it. Switching to tortillas and either cream cheese if I have it or peanut butter in the mornings and for lunches. Decent Trail - lots of ridge hopping. Dragon's Tooth - big rock - big whoop. Not impressed. Have passed many such; however, the Trail DOWN was horrendous. This was the worst part of the Trail to date. Steep, steep, steep downhill. Tons of natural ledges for steps, but the ledges were very narrow. Had a 2 rung ladder in one place. I am impressed with the tourists struggling up and then down the entire 4 miles. 4 Pines shuttle picked me up off the road on the way to dinner - assured me the restaurant was used to smelly hikers - OK, no prob. Whoops - Mom's Day - prob. TONS of people waiting to go in - hour and 45 minutes later, great AYCE meal with 4 other hikers. Tented outside at the hostel - bunk room was full - no towels for shower - no laundry service. Was counting on it, but what the heck. 1.5 days to Daleville and Howard Johnson for a zero. Nice place, very friendly, not quite my cup of tea. Shuttle took us to a small grocery store where I got another 1.5 days of food - I'm covered now to Daleville. Bed by 2030.
Date: 2016-05-09
From: 701.8

To: 717
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 0720 - Trail 0850. No laundry - no shower - rats. I REEK !!!!Decent speed - at McAfee Knob, I actually teared up and was emotional like at Max Patch in 2012. This is another well-known place on the AT - a tremendous milestone for me. Could NOT believe I had made it this far, even though it is taking quite a while. Had to go back down the Trail a few meters to get it under control. Had a day hiker take pictures - group of young students actually moved off the Knob to let me have my time - pretty sure they were wondering about the old guy tearing up, but no one laughed at me. Or at least where I could see it. Probably thought I was just another crazy hiker. Very cool place. Very nice views. Rumors and actual truths about bear activity at Lambert Field shelter when I got to Campbell shelter at 1600. Pack stolen, 5 bears roaming through the yard, shelter journal chewed up, etc. Thought about it - looked at the map and pushed on. Got about 1 mile short of Lambert - Tinker Cliffs - saw NO "No Camnping" signs and camped illegally. Cleaned up some trash, set up camp. Campt by 1830 - bed 2030.
Date: 2016-05-10
From: 717

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Up early - 0630. Out of camp by 0800. Still had one hiker - Ptarmigan - pass by. Stayed at Campbell, heard coffee and a shower calling him from Daleville and started about 0600. Hard core !Brief rain from 0300 to about 0400. thought I would be up all night with every sound, thinking I was going to be eaten by bears, but actually slept until 0300 when the rain woke me up and then until 0615 or so. Very nice sleep. Flat place, lots of leaves under me, warm and dry. What else can you ask for?Fog in the valley was cool - you could see where you would walk through it later. Cliff views were really good. Decent Trail again - lots of ridges, lots of places to count down the miles to the motel. Had to stop for lunch - didn't want to, but was really running out of steam with just a few calories. At the motel by 1400 - whoot !!! LOOOOOOONG hot shower, laundry, BBQ up the road. Now: griping session:No package from Woods Hole hostel - sent e-mail to them requesting confirmation numbers to start tracking it - was allegedly mailed a week ago. E-mail back: oh, we didn't know you wanted it in Daleville. We haven't mailed it yet. We'll mail it next Thursday. Is that OK?SERIOUSLY ?!?!?! $40 worth of food I have to now replace!! NOT happy. I was assured when I paid for the postage that night it would be mailed the next day. Now I get to hike up to Kroger's to replace everything. Sent e-mail back - change the address to my home and mail ASAP. Jeez. Other than that - down time - rest up - soak up calories - wait for Thursday to start again.
Date: 2016-05-11
From: Daleville, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

BBQ - rest - resupply since Wood's Hole Hostel never mailed my food forward. No prob - works. HoJo in Daleville very nice. Poor breakfast, but filled up on cereal, donuts and coffee. Outfitter for seam seal to make sure zipper repair is not leaking - hope it works.
Date: 2016-05-12
From: Daleville, VA

To: 727.5
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Started at 0925 - bad b'fast again. Cereal, donuts and coffee. Oh, well. The hotel bed and room were nice. Good day - overcast, coolish but 100% humidity. Streaming sweat by the first 30 minutes or so. First juvenile copperhead today, plus a couple of black snakes. Hot orange salamanders are out as well. Some have blue rosettes on them. Made Wilson Creek Shelter by 1600 - waited out a brief rain shower from a nearby t-storm. There was a 3rd grade girl with her father there - she had done 11 miles or so that day. Gave her an extra mapdana of the VA portion of the Trail. Moved on and found good spot to camp. Fog rolled in, light rain at 1900. Bed by 2000.
Date: 2016-05-13
From: 727.5

To: 759
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Up 0730 - out 0900.Met older hiker quitting - Optimist(?). Vomiting, diarrhea, etc. Hungry by 1130 - lunch at Bobbetts. Early, but have to load up on water. Long stretch coming up with no sources noted. Drank 30+ oz, filled both water bottles - 90 oz. Sun out at 2230 - yay !! Wind from NW and cool to cold. Temp seems to be dropping, but may be wind on sweat soaked shirt from yesterday. Nothing wakes you up better than putting on a damp shirt on a cold morning !Pace seemed to be slow in the a.m., but picked up in the p.m. Something kicked in. Was planning to stay on the top of Fork Mt, but someone was already there in the one camping spot. Drat ! Kept going - found flattish spot, not satisfied and went on. Sort of a mistake - turned out was 17.5 to the next camping location, .5 from the shelter. Passed water spots - need for a.m. climb. 3 hikers and 2 dogs went on to shelter - glad I stopped. Dense dead evergreens being replaced by young elms, maples and poplar. Still, flat space, good bear tree and quiet. Bed by 2100.
Date: 2016-05-14
From: 759

To: 772.9
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

Nice, cool night. Up 0715 - out by 0855.Hard climb, but not too long. Surprised at somewhat ease of going up. Cornelius Creek shelter for lunch. Bright sun, blue skies, very nice, BUT !!! Right when I was ready to leave, clouds blew in with cold rain. Waited until 1430 to start and the rain was almost over. Rain suit on - then off in 15 minutes or so. Another AT milestone: the Guillotine !! HUGE rock suspended between two sheer rock faces and of course, no one around to take my picture underneath. *sigh* Oh, well, pictures of the rock with a white blaze and pushed on. Reached the NOAA radar dome just as the clouds were breaking apart - very nice. One minute the radar dome would be hidden by mist, another it would be visible. The mist and clouds were moving very fast up and over the ridge. Very misty and cloudy to the west, the east was clear and bright blue. Pushed to Harrison Ground Spring - disappointed with site - down in valley, cool, damp, dark at 1800 or so. Already had 3 tents set up with hardly any space left. Got water and thought a bit. Looked up to the west at the ridge line where the sunlight was shining through a row of ferns and took a chance: climbed about 30 feet up and discovered an almost flat, HUGE area filled with ferns, open spaces and NO poison ivy. Outstanding !!!Had light until about 2015 - spread out shirt, socks, sleeping bag, etc. in the sunlight and cool wind from the west. Took quick sponge bath (I reeked !) in the cold wind and bed by 2030.
Date: 2016-05-15
From: 772.9

To: 788
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

COLD night - had to spread poncho liner over sleeping bag about 0300. Very dry air - no condensation in the tent for once. Up 0715 - out 0845.Decent speed to about 1030 - 3.2 miles in 1 hour, 45 minutes. Clear, cold, high wind. BDU liner on most of time. Off a bit to dry off during the climbs, then back on. Crossed James River - another AT milestone for me. Longest foot bridge on the AT. Had Wolfstone music on - danced and pounded my sticks in time to the music while I crossed. Good Trail - last 2 miles in about an hour !! Past Johns Hollow Shelter to Little Rocky Row - found nice flat spot. Planned shuttle gone until next day or so - will push to 806 for pickup and more miles. Bed by 1930.
Date: 2016-05-16
From: 788

To: 806.1
Miles today: 18.1

Cold night - up at 0645 - out at 0845. Cold slows me down when I pack for some reason. Good time until 1015. Called Amazon for equipment and a break. Maintainer lied to me yesterday - TONS of camping and NO rock ridge walk this a.m. Not sure why he would do that - I could have made a few more miles and cut today's miles down. Did 3.5 miles in 1.5 hours - whoot !!Still cold - milky sky at times. Haven't said yet, but we have had leaves on the trees in the higher elevations now. The new, green leaves make a startling contrast against a vivid, bright blue sky that my camera just can't catch. No humidity makes a brilliant blue. Had a class of about 20+ kids and teachers pass me while I was breaking. Too many people for the forest regs, but Hike Your Own Hike (HYOH). Found bad camping spot - pushed to road hoping for better and nothing. 2 girls giving Trail Magic helped: soda and snack, then I had to backtrack to the bad camping spot. Poison ivy and slope with rocks just under the soil at the first spot, the just poison ivy at the next. Had to clear with toilet paper before I could set up. No prob - finally had to finish at 2130 by headlamp. HATE that. No phone bars, but shuttle driver picking me up at 0800 in the a.m. for shuttle to Buena Vista. Bed by 2200.
Date: 2016-05-17
From: 806.1

To: Buena Vista
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Started raining in the night - continued until shuttle pickup at 0800.Very tired, depressed. Resupply problems - where to go, how much to buy, etc. Hard to know how far I can walk. Parts look really hard and turn out to be easy and the reverse as well. Always have too much food it seems. Weight, weight, weight. Really finding out how OCD I am with this hike. Walking is no problem - planning is the part that is hard. Getting in tune with some of my kids in my classes MUCH better now. Room is clean - bed good - water pressure not much and the water not as hot as I would like, but an almost hot shower is better than none. Resupply is hard - .7 mile away. Tried to hitch up the hill - no takers. Got what I needed and caught a hitch going down. Finished what I needed 2 blocks away at the Dollar Store. Town has a shuttle and I used it to get to the Post Office and laundry, but it stops at 1800, so missed the .7 mile to the grocery store. Still, sleeping bag is CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN !!!!! Whoot.
Date: 2016-05-18
From: 806.1

To: 821.6
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Let out by shuttle at 0935. All day fog - all day drizzle. Ick. Past Rock Spring - good spot - no poison ivy - good bear tree. Fog very, very thick. Got pictures and video - surprised by the fog. Very hard to see blazes. If it weren't for the beaten in Trail, may have gotten lost several times. Just a hard, nasty trudge through the weather. Temps are 15-25* colder than normal for this time of year, plus the rain and fog are basically March weather is what we are told. Bed - 2030.
Date: 2016-05-19
From: 821.6

To: 835.8
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Yes, the math is wrong, but I don't want to overshoot where I actually am. Fog and drizzle all night. Zipper fix seems to be working - no water seepage. Watched fog drift through camp last night and this morning. Out at 0820 !!Slept well - Tylenol PM helped, I believe. Hard up and down today - very long day. Passed a nice place on the way up about 1745, but kept going. Fog cleared about 1400 - finally getting some nice views. Got past Chimney Rocks in hopes of a camping place in the saddle between the mts, but nothing. Looked up the next 1.6 miles at 1815 and didn't think I had it in me to get up there to look around for camping before dark. Had a hiker tell me there was nothing up there that he could see, but he is really not camping, but slack-packing using hotels and hostels or staying in a shelter. Still, I think if there WAS anything, he would have noticed. Had to backtrack over .5 mile to the camping place. Very steep Trail through here. Sorry to have to back-track, but I need a place to stay. Clear, red sunset - maybe good weather for the next few days. Camp at 1845 - bed at 2030. Very tired.
Date: 2016-05-20
From: 835.8

To: 849
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Up 0645 - out 0835. Great night - sort of poked around, as I don't have to get to Rockfish Gap until this afternoon to camp before being picked up and taken to Waynesboro. Up and over 3 Ridges Mt - the 1.6 mile up from yesterday. CAMPING EVERYWHERE at the top, from 837.6 onwards for a mile or so. Sheesh. Oh, well. Could have gotten up here at dark and found nothing but a steep down. Very tired last night and unsure.Clear day until 1300 - clouds rolled in with a cool/cold wind. Dayhikers had scary stories of bears on Humpback Mt - decided I would try to avoid. For some reason, dayhikers and section hikers give bears supernatural powers over food bags. Me: haven't seen a bear yet. However, 2 shelters have been closed behind me so far due to actual bear activity, threatening behavior and food bag stealing. Another reason I don't stay at shelters. Had Trail Magic twice - once by the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) and once a couple of miles past it. got a Gatorade and candy bar from the first one - Thanks to Bear Bag's wife and an OJ for the morning from the second one. No name on it, just a label asking it be for thru-hikers only. Made the afternoon better. Took a BAD fall just before the top of the first mt - mile 849. JUST missed a rock and a tree. First real fall since the Smokies. Bounced HARD. Got up, decided everything was OK and 20 meters later, camping spots. Decided I was home for the night. Reminds me: heard of a hiker who was complaining about how hard the Trail was at the Dragon's Tooth and then slipped in a motel tub and had to quit the Trail due to injuries. Only 11 miles, but bears ahead and shaken up by a fall have told me this is the place. Problem: most of the camp sites have tons of rocks under 2 inches of dirt - can't use. Finally found a place and set up. 3 other hikers came up and set up around 1900.1930 or so - in bed when the rain started.
Date: 2016-05-21
From: 849

To: 861.3
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: broken clouds

Rain all night. Rain, rain, rain. When I looked at the radar last night, it seemed as if it was going to curve around us. Nope. Bright reds, oranges and maroons. Not sure how much, but woke up at 0300 from rain dripping on my face from the tent top. Had dirt splashed up on my bug netting under the awning side over 16 inches high. Good thing I woke up - had to start sopping water up from the tent floor with a bandana. Again at 0500. Tons of water coming from back entrance side of tent - not sure why. Had seam sealed it again a few days ago, when I did the awning zipper. Tons of condensation as well. Have to contact the seller to find out if I'm doing something wrong. May need new tent. Poked around - up late, ate late, sun peeked out for a brief time, so strung a line and hung tent over it to partially dry. Out at 1030.Got to Rockfish Gap at 1700. For some reason, I was in overdrive today. After starting, sun disappeared and fog closed in with light drizzle. Had an hour at Paul C. Wolfe shelter, but STILL did 12.3 miles in 6.5 hours or so. Wish I could do this EVERY day. NO camping last 4 miles or so - NONE. Had to call shuttle/hostel guy to see if he had any room and he had ONE cot left. Came up - got me and two other guys. Other guys went to a church hostel and Stanimal took me to the 328 hostel. NOT COMPLAINING: cot is all by itself in the fridge room and in tight space - laundry/shower/snack are, BUT I like it. All by myself, after 2200, lights out, no one to shower or laundry or grab something out of the fridge. Very nice place - residential area, clean, neat, well-organized. Happy I called. Warm, dry, roof over my head, what's not to like.
Date: 2016-05-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Dropped by shuttle 0830. Cloudy, rainy, foggy most of day. Trail is mud, very hard to walk. Spielberg from Smokies went by. Was in shelter and helped with fire when Socket made one. First time I have seen him, thought he was way ahead. Allegedly making 20-30 miles per day to make up for Trail Days in Damascus. My knees are pinging with the full load. SpongeBob suggested Front Royal for next stop. Peer pressure, here I go. Got nice video and pictures of deep and rabbits. Skies cleared about 1500. Good campsite, cool, no wind. Passed section hikers Skittles and Soda Pop.
Date: 2016-05-24
From: 877.3

To: 896.2
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Not putting up and out times any more. Suffice it to say, up about 0700, out about 0830.Cool, clear, good Trail. Heard something behind me while eating lunch - was big doe less than 15 feet behind me, grazing. Got great pictures. Depressed, as only did 9.8 miles by 1300. Have decided to get up earlier, walk longer, not faster. Did 18.9 today with that attitude. Probably can break 20 if I try a bit more. Camping site not optimal tonight - slope, vegetation but no poison ivy. Weaver Mt. Do have ivy on left ankle and arm from somewhere. Not sure how. Itchy, but manageable.
Date: 2016-05-25
From: 896.2

To: 913.7
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Very good Trail to start. 1st 4 miles in less than 2 hours. Ankles pinging from yesterday for 1st half mile, then go to go. Saw Spielberg again - NOT making 20-30 as bragged, only 14. I feel better. Uphills seem harder than they should be, but I am still trying to do 2 mph uphill. Need to slow down until I get a bit better. Running out of food - 4 days to FR. Need to plan on waysides - restaurants on the Parkway. Warm, blue skies, drinking a lot more water. More deer, no bears yet. Found campsite, decided NO. Big pike of bear scat right in the middle. No sense taking that big of a chance. Second campsite was OK, but after camp was all set up, found another pile of scat 75 feet down the Trail. Heck with it. Hang the bear bag properly and I shouldn't have any probs. 17.5 today. Not too bad. Treated myself to a sponge bath and went to bed.
Date: 2016-05-26
From: 913.7

To: 931.7
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

1st 9 miles in 4 hours!! Very nice section. Felt very good while walking Took 75 minutes for lunch at Big Meadows Wayside. Good food, other hikers, flush toilet. Nice. 2 bears today. First was before wayside - stopped to look at great camping area and young yearling bear was 50 yards away. Took pictures and it moved off. Second was cub. I had stumbled over some rocks, stopped, looked up the Trail to see what was ahead and it was 50 yards up. Saw me, took off uphill rapidly. Never saw mama bear. Made LOTS noise as I walked past where the cub had gone. Slower walking in PM, but still decent time. Realized I had left rain pants at last hostel. Set up drop with Trish after hostel owner nice enough to mail to house.Also have set up new tent to Dad's for later mail drop. Old one getting too much condensation for some reason. Seems like bug netting and fly are touching, causing water to drip in. Not sure why. Could find no legal camping last 4 miles. Splurged at Skyland Resort. Ripoff, but whatever. Had to walk quarter mile to room. No fridge, microwave, no laundry, etc. Nice west view, but not worth the money. Sandwich and OJ from restaurant and bed.
Date: 2016-05-27
From: 931.7

To: 945.5
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

Wow. Got up and could NOT walk. Ankles really bad. Took 15+ minutes to loosen up. Had to be miles and rocks from last 2 days. Can't have this happening. Too far too go.Breakfast in restaurant, then out. Toe caps on boots won't stay glued. I keep dragging my feet over obstacles and pulling the caps loose. Legs still tired from last 2 days. Ankles feel like GA all over again. Had dog problem. Dogs are supposed to be on leash ALL the time. There are signs posted at every trailhead. Had dog running loose, saw me, started growling, fur up, etc. I backed off the Trail about 6 feet, held one staff in front of me as a shield and the other was up and over my shoulder, point down as a spear. I kept telling the dog "No" in a loud voice and yelling "Whose dog?"Owner came up, smiling: " He's OK." I stated he was NOT, growling, etc. Meant trouble and ALL pets were supposed to be on a leash. Signs say so. Male asked what the stick was for and I flat out told him if his dog attacked me, I was going to do my dead-level best to kill it. I was NOT going to end my hike with a dog bite. His smile went away quickly and he grabbed the go by the collar and moved on. MEANWHILE, female day hiker came up and stated, " He's NOT a pet. He's a COMPANION."Oh, my. I hope these people don't reproduce.Ankles and toes hurting in th PM. Flat spot at 1800, took it. Hong Kong Steve went by, said "Hi" and kept going. Not too many miles, but decent.