morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Vandeventer shelter

To: double springs shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

5.10.13Vandeventer Shelter - double springs shelter14.5 miles 7 hoursGorgeous morning view from shelter looking down @ dam lake and surrounding hills. We follow the crest for a while, lake views to our right side. Gradual climb all morning through rhododendrons and mountain laurels (no flowers yet) Lunch at Iron Mountain shelter, we are all sluggish from previous day climbing. Continue on seeing the small flowers of purple, white, and lavender. Hawk advises us to watch for poison ivy which is now out in this area. Later we exit the forest & cross the street, and through 2 livestock gates onto a privately owned cattle farm. We go through another gate and walk amongst the grazing cows then over another cattle barrier back into the forest for another climb into Double Springs shelter. P leads the way & pulls the rest of us with behind the fast pace short stride. Our plan is to get water here at the shelter & go 2.5 more miles, it begins to rain so we have early dinner while storm moves through. Rain stops, G2, hawk & roadrunner decide to move on, i will stay in case rain starts up again, which it does 30 minutes later. Quinn from GA, Wyoming from Maryland, Kat from PA are also in the shelter for the night. Early to bed, early rise for long day across VA border and into Damascus.Smart phones: myself and many others on the trail use smartphones as a primary camera, music player, journal and for texting/phone/internet. Since much of the trail so far is in very remote unpopulated areas, 3/4G data network is unavailable much of the time, voice is available a bit more frequent but the signal is usually weak. Most keep it on airplane mode to conserve battery & will occasionally check for signal if a town is nearby. Very handy to have all these tools in one compact device. Battery is big concern since electricity is unavailable on the trail. Some use solar chargers, backup or extended capacity batteries. I use a smaller, cheaper smart phone and move the SIM card into it if the main phone battery dies. This way i have a backup available in case main phone loses functionality. A bit heavier than backup battery but less risk is the advantage. Also automatic transfer of photos/ videos to the cloud makes for efficient storage and backup. Smart phones are powerful tools to have when on the trail, I'm happy with my system so far.
Date: 2013-05-11
From: double springs shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

6.5 hoursEarly rise for early start to catch up to Hawk & Roadrunner. Kat leaves first, followed by P then I follow after 5 minutes. Cool and misty, alot of downhill, muddy & slippery from rain last night. We make a brief stop to photograph a small orange salamander on a branch in the path. We move at good pace, get to camp 2 miles down & see Roadrunner finishing breakfast, Hawkeye left 10 minutes earlier. Later we cross a road, I signal for P to continue on, I change into rain gear quickly as rain picks up. Push on in the rain, keeping good speed but cautious for soft mud & rocks under wet leaves. I pass Roadrunner who passed me earlier as I got rain gear on. From top of Pig hill I see small log cabin shelter below. Kat, Hawk, & P resting & snacking inside, Roadrunner catches up & joins them, I choose to stand & lean on wall while drinking from Camelback tube & eating Goa snacks. Don't want to sit so I can forge on and keep warm. Terrain is relatively simpler, only slight grade uphills & down hills. Rain persists then gradually decreases. Alot of fallen trees to climb over or around. Some larger trees snap 10 feet up with the part forming a bridge over the trail. Maintainers paint a white blaze on the underside of these bridges above the trail which is sign for hikers to go underneath. Pretty obvious & unnecessary but it is different & I appreciate the humor of it. On a side note, white blazes are frequently marked in this area and paint looks bright & new, thanks to all volunteers who worked around this section for that. Anyway, by the time TN / VA border reached, rain stops, sun is out. Enjoyed TN, now in VA!! Descent into Trail town USA Damascus, VA. Kat & I take pics at welcome sign, then proceed through park & right turn over bridge and down main drag Laurel street. Saturday street & lawn sale day. Booths selling ice cream hot dogs, drinks etc set up shop in town. We find bunk space @ The Place run by & located behind Methodist Church. Well maintained & clean, reasonable rules, pay by donation, no alcohol on premises. Care takers here are really friendly. Dinner of smoked meat bbq plate@ smokey mountain bbq was great. Sat out front on the picnic table, watched cars and hikers go by. Ran into Smiles, Timone, Gilgamesh, Dorothy and more. Drank Devils Backbone 8 Point IPA from Lexington, VA, me likey. Live music by local guy@ blue blaze bar. Back at bunkhouse Pink dishes out local ice cream from gallon container. Fun Saturday night, long day, bedtime. Virginia!!
Date: 2013-05-12
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Zero Day. Slept in as long as i could. hostel makes you vacate for a few hours so they could clean. did laundry, checked out the outfitters. my mail drop was supposed to be at Sundog outfitter, tracking showed that it was delivered. I learned that it was definitely not there after they checked several times. After lunch, returned to the Place. Caretaker recommended I check the Mt. Rogers outfitter, so i did, to my surprise it was there!! Label had the Sundog outfitter address, Caretaker told me this happens on occasion. The post office gets inundated with hiker boxes during hiking season, most going to one of the two outfitters. Walked around town, checked out the trains displayed on the east side of town as well as the murals pained on the side of buildings on Laurel ave. got shuttle to grocery for some resupply, afterwards got dropped off at the pavilion, joined others enjoying some brews, hanging out, telling stories, telling jokes, etc. until sun goes down.
Date: 2013-05-13
From: Damascus, VA

To: lost mountain shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: broken clouds

5.13.13 day 43Damascus, VA to Lost Mountain Shelter15.7 miles - 8 hoursLate start today after a post office and dollar general stop. Frodo & Joanne were making breakfast at bunkhouse. Scooter left at same time. Met up with Roadrunner at Moejoes cafe on north end of town on trail. My trail mate since Lance creek at the base of blood mountain in GA, Hawkeye, unfortunately will not be hiking with us today or next few days due to emergency dental issues. He will be tending to that for next few days & hopefully will rejoin us afterwards then make up missed mileage later. I lead the way, Roadrunner follows , then P in the back. We get a little scare when Roadrunner & I stop at the road crossing to let P catch up to us. We drop our packs, and snack & drink for a while. After almost 30 minutes & no sign of her, Roadrunner goes back while i wait with our packs. When i don't see either for a while i go in. I see P coming towards me, great. She took a wrong turn earlier when Roadrunner & i were out of sight, she back tracked then corrected course. Roadrunner went looking before the wrong turn & didn't see her return. I had to run up & get him while she rested & waited with our packs. Everyone is safe, all is OK. A big benefit of traveling in groups is the added element of security - others know where you are and ought to be & when, that really helps in case things go wrong. back on the trail, slow climb in sunny spring weather, lots of rocks today, also lots of may apple plants line the forest floor. I was thinking about the Tennessee Virginia state line crossing the other day, the first plant i saw in Virginia was a rhododendron so i kissed it, today i was thinking rhododendrons are not trees so i found a pine tree to smooch, done. Several bridge & stream crossings today, hiked along & near stream waterfalls much of the day. Kat, Gilgamesh, Quinn & Wyoming show up at Lost mountain shelter a few minutes after we do. A youth group and its leaders come by to see the shelter, sign the register and get water from the spring. A yellow mallet is at the side of the shelter, a sticker on it jokes its very effective against mice but is not PETA approved. Aviator, who we met at Mountaineer Falls Shelter arrives as well, eats dinner then is fast asleep in the shelter. The privy here had The Lorax written on the inside wall to the right of the toilet. Getting prepared for a cold night in the shelter, around freezing overnight is expected.
Date: 2013-05-15
From: wise shelter

To: Dickey gap
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: clear sky

Cold night, cold morning. made some hot herbal tea. ate Larabar for breakfast, I like brand and flavors, but need to watch the expiration date on them as they dont keep well for long. collected water just past the camp, after climbing up and down a fence ladder is a fast moving cold water stream. most of the morning had the same highlands feel: hilly, grassy, open areas with an abundance of wind, stoney trail and different sized rocks poking out of the ground. Red, gray, and brown brush areas amongst the green of the grass. Some white smooth rocks, gray jagged rocks in other areas. Plenty of sun. Near the road and exit of the park is a brick privy. Garbage cans around back to help lighten up the pack. Gradual downhill in the afternoon until reaching road at Dickey Gap. Hitch a ride to Troutdale, VA where the Baptist Church Hostel is, a wood 2 room cabin with a bunch of wood bunks, a hiker box and some food donations from the congregation. Porch with lawn chairs, picnic table with benches, a hand pump water supply. over the hill is the Church, behind is bathroom and showers. stack of towels. Aviator is here already. We meet a past thru hiker named Double Dare here, named after 90's game show which he and family were contestants on. If you seen the Appalachian Impressions documentary, you will see him there a couple times, hair is darker in that video. We cross paths with him several more times in the coming weeks. We are bummed to learn that the general store and restaurant nearby is out of business, all were so looking forward to going there, a big reason for getting off trail here. Others were in the same boat. Blitz ended up hitching a ride out to the next town, reaching its store right before it closed. Rest of us cooked up the donated canned ravioli and spaghetti. Hot shower was nice, hand washed some clothes too and hung them on the clothes line. No cell reception here. Nice view from top of the hill. watched sun set behind the ridge.
Date: 2013-05-17
From: Marion,VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero day. Got a hitch from Dakota Dan, who thru hiked with daughter last year. Heading back to Damascus for Trail Days. Roadrunner will zero in Marion then hike tomorrow. Hawkeye will already be in Damascus, recovering from wisdom tooth pull. Dakota Dan drops us off @ tent city. Entered the gated area after paying $5 and getting a wristband. We set up shop just beyond outfield. Indian and his sons who I hiked with around Blood Mountain coincidentally was set up near me, cool to see those guys again. Saw Smiles, he arrived early in the week and now was leaving town to get back on the trail. Ran into Uncle Buck at the outfitter, hard to miss, he is well over 6 feet tall 300 pounds, has neon pink mohawk and wearing matching neon pink shirt that reads "Dont laugh its your girlfriends shirt". Last time I saw him we were all huddled in Overmountain shelter, he was wrapped in his sleeping bag with his small dog nestled between his arms also inside the sleeping bag. At first he looks intimidating but turns out to be like a big kid and the funniest guy I've met. Can't judge a book by its cover. Gather winter gear & mail home@post office. Lunch @ Mountain Manatee vegetarian vegan restaurant. I get wrap with avocado & all sorts of veggies. Appetizer is multi grain chips with hummus, guacamole and salsa dips, all excellent. Fatty is there, she hikes fast and high miles per day and is not at all fat, just named that by some guys as a joke. Sticks, Green Blaze, and Shady (formerly Solo) show up, glad to see them, haven't seen since early on. Across the street a past thru-hiker is at a table with the book she published about her experience and how she met husband on the trail. I forgot her name, I heard her book is pretty good. Met up with Hawkeye & went to park to see vendors tents. Won a pair of socks in raffle. Met David AWOL Miller in his booth. We chatted for a few minutes, was surprised how down to earth & low key he was despite being a trail rock star after his must-read book & must-have trail guides. What a cool experience to meet & talk with him. I didn't expect him to be asking questions about me & how my hike was going, very cool, awesome to meet the guy whose book I read & enjoyed and guide I use everyday. Started to rain hard, hung out with Big Spoon, Pink Lady, Coon & others under Sundog tent. Brian Titus was there, picked up guitar & played/sang under the tent while it rained outside. Cool voice, strong vocals, got that southern mountain sound I heard about. Even lyrics subject set in mountain country, usually about relationships. He played for about an hour straight, what a cool spontaneous experience. Later ran into Survivor, Nuke all who I haven't seen in a while. Checked out the vendor booths, giveaways, and hiker feed at tent city. Had some beers at the Inn. Noah and Bad Larry were there. Checked out the live music they had there before going back to tent city where the parties and drum circle was in full swing. Long night, one to remember, as much as I can remember anyway.
Date: 2013-05-19
From: partnership shelter

To: camp 548.5
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

5.19.13 - day 49Partnership shelter - camp mile 548.517.1 miles - 8 hoursGlad i got to experience Trail Days, great to see all the faces of those i met but haven't seen in a while: Cheese Steak (Rupp), Foot Shelf & Bad Larry (Travis & Noah), Slow & Steady, Green Blaze & Solo, Sticks, Danger Dave, Mooch, Timone, Lost & Found, etc. I dont regret attending at all, I would recommend it to any thru hiker, no matter where you are, make the effort to attend just for the experience. For me, well worth the trip back to Damascus, added more memories to my collection. Got hitch to route 81, then another to Marion, then another to Partnership shelter. Slow climb, may apple flowers staying to come out, but most still buds. Had to crouch down to see flower since it is under umbrella. Saw first rhododendron with nice big pink flowers, can't wait till all full bloom. Met Bahala Na, leukemia & brain tumor survivor. He said his name translates to 'whatever may come my way' which is close enough , actual usage is a slang put down 'whatever'. Saw old one room lindamood school from around 100 years ago & Settlers museum, lady talked about history of Germans, Irish/Scottish immigration to area also musical tradition, including the Carter family, i know of them, will have to checkout some of their work. starts to rain as me & P cut through fields of cow pasture. Arrive@ camp, greeted by Cowabunga, who help set up my tent in rain. I use a 2 person tent for me and my pack, he has the same model made for 1 person for him and his dog. Acorn & Earth Balance are in hammocks under tarps. they recognize my voice and say hello, though i cannot see them. Another nice surprise is that Wyatt who I met at the train station in Atlanta and climbed Springer with is under a hammock tarp, haven't seen him since, now known as Side Show. Too rainy to cook so i have cold dinner of spam, puri, corn nuts & jerky. Oh well better than nothing. Sleep time, listening to Wu Tang Clan &Adelle. I know baseball season is here, normally i go see cubs white Sox & brewers play@home, not this year. Also i make it a point to see other parks for the first time, last year saw nationals , pirates, & Astros. Maybe i can take a zero day & go see one of the east coast teams nearby. I see that high school and college new grads will take off the summer & travel across country & see all major league teams play@ home stadium in one season, very cool. Maybe after finishing trail I'll have time to see a game also. New York or Boston would be cool.
Date: 2013-05-21
From: chestnut knob shelter

To: stream camp mile 588
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: broken clouds

5.21.13 - day 51Chestnut Knob Shelter - stream Camp Mile 58822.7 miles - 10.5 hours Bright moon last night, could see the light through my tent. Slept great, grass was tall & thick. sun is up, view of valley covered by morning mist. I leave 25 minutes after Dorothy. Map shows relatively flat land but right away it is clear this is a rock field, slippery from yesterdays rain, i slipped once on a large flat angled rock sheet & again on a muddy log, luckily no injuries. Plenty of quick up & downs over & through rocks. I pass Wolf at sign for Davis camp site. Fast downhill, get water at nice cascading stream, Wolf passes us. Down to Jenkins shelter for lunch, Fancy Feet, Acorn & Pink Lady are there. The only guy there is me, we talk about how this year there are so many more female hikers than any previous year. I find out everyone else fell down today also. After fruit & nut trail mix, jerky & baklava, continue down trail, Dorothy & Side Show are stream side, been there a while for lunch & bandanna bath. Later gets hot & humid, terrain not so tough but uncomfortably humid. Stop to rest, passed by Dorothy & Side Show, further up we pass them as they rest near phone lines. Later they pass me when i take bathroom break. A nice view of tree covered hill to west. down gravel road, at a turn there is broken toilet, rusted metal & other junk on the outside corner, German cross & other spray painted graffiti on inside corner rock face. Down to street intersection, a few houses & baptist church, i look down street for vending machine or gas station but none. Down along street shoulder, big rock bluff to our right, interstate below to left. Bridge over interstate, white blaze ahead on guard rail, at end of guard rail is trail into forest, i look in, looks too small, at my feet there are 20 golf ball sized rocks in shape of arrow pointing downhill on road, (made by earlier hikers to help those who follow). Re-enter forest quarter mile down. Dorothy & Side Show sitting stream side again. the shelter we were heading to is 1.2 miles away. They inform us they will camp here since climb is steep, shelter is a ways off the trail & water is a ways down steep hill. I decide to join, we all pitch tents stream side. 2 logs to sit on to make & eat dinner. Rice with taco spice & tuna, plus herbal tea. Dorothy gives me some honey in plastic bear she bought from organic stand in Damascus. After cleaning & washing up, into tent. Dorothy asks if it is ok if she practice ukelele, we say ok. Not only did she play, she sang too, it was awesome! Beatles when i saw her standing there, blue moon, some where over the rainbow, what a wonderful world, really refined pretty vocals, like Norah Jones. We complimented & thanked her for singing & playing for us in the dark, with the sound of the flowering stream in the back what a pleasant surprise before bed. Crossed 600 mile mark today!!
Date: 2013-05-22
From: stream camp mile 588

To: stream camp mile 607.7
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

5.22.13 - Day 52Stream camp mile 588 - Stream camp mile 607.619.6 miles - 10 hoursFast morning, many quick up & downs and flat section too through forests. Got to Jenny Knob shelter for lunch pretty quickly. Side Show, Fancy Feet, Dorothy, wolverine, legend & others are there. To our delight, Roadrunner was there too. After eating, there is light thunder & rain, we all wait in the shelter. After it seems to pass, people begin to leave. It is sunny for about a mile but we can see darkness up ahead. As we climb, light rain becomes heavier & wind gusts pick up. I stop put on rain jacket & pack cover, RR moves in front out of sight. After 3 minutes, loud boom above & left of me, i see bright flash and am sure lightning just struck. Instinctively i crouched down fast, nothing fell, everyone ok. PL commented that it looked like bright light was coming out of ground. Moved on quickly through the rain on the ridgeline, worst place to be when lightning. Made it down muddy descent, slipped twice on wet mud on steep downhill. Across suspension bridge to road, RR is there, we wait for PL before taking a left to grocery half mile away. After 25 yards on the road a gray haired man in blue pickup pulls along side, tells us to hop in back, he'll take us there, awesome, got a hitch without asking for one! Same crew we saw at lunch are at Trents Grocery sitting at cafe tables. i get double cheese burger, fries & Dr. Pepper, ate it fast was still hungry, got a hot dog everything on it, she brought out a slaw dog: hot dog with Cole slaw, chili, mustard, ketchup, & onions. Never had it like that before, i liked it alot. They also had ketchup flavored potato chips by uncle ray's , a treat I've only had from my Canadian friends bringing back bags of old Dutch brand, which i like better. A few more miles past the falls to a stealth stream camp, nice flat area surrounded by rhododendrons, right on stream side for second night in a row. Really nice to camp by the side of a stream, sound of it I find so appealing.
Date: 2013-05-23
From: stream camp mile 607.7

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: few clouds

5.23.13 - day 53Camp mile 607.6 - sugar run gap12.8 miles - 4.5 hours7 am start, hiked with heavy wet tents in pack. Shorts still slightly wet. hurried through mud & stream crossings to meet up with RR at Wapiti shelter. Wolverine is there, along with Bear Snack & Gare Bear. climb up hill then levels off, hike thru controlled burn fire area. Ground is blacked, nice green ferns pop up here and there, cool photo of the contrasting bright green on black. Down to gap, take side road down to Woods Hole Hostel. Main cabin with separate bunk house adjacent to it. Pig Pen to left of driveway, vegetable patch to the right, chickens all around. Run by Neville & hubby Michael, this place is awesome. Well run, very hiker centric, organic foods & sustainable practices. Homemade food friendly atmosphere make this a must stop got those planning for next year. Food is local & organic, milk & ice cream of from local Amish store, dinner & breakfast is excellent. Salads are from their vegetable patch, bread is made onsite from scratch. checkout their website, she posts her recipes there. Lots of familiar faces here: Dorothy, Side Show, Beast, Wolf, Patchoulli, Acorn, Nimble, his brother and mom (whose hostel we would stay at later) and more. Really unique place, one of my top hostel stays on the entire trail.