morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-01
From: Near Rich Mountain Lookout Tower

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: clear sky

The most memorable section of today's hike was a technical traverse along the Whiterock Cliffs near mile 296.6. A sign at the bypass posted the "bad weather" trail. Ironically, the tilted sign and tattered vegetation at this junction, looked as if a hurricane had passed through. I took a couple of photos and proceeded north on the narrow, rocky ridge line of the Whiterock Cliffs. The AT along this ridge line is characterized by a high frequency of vertical blocky terrain requiring all limbs to be used for either balance or scrambling up or down vertical relief. The rock, as implied by the name "Whiterock" is a poorly sorted, quartz rich arenite sandstone. The AT meandered along razor-like ridge lines with spectacular panoramas. I stopped at one of the vistas and called my parents with crystal clear reception and left a message with Britta. This was becoming the norm for communication since reception in the lower valleys occupied by Appalachian towns was virtually non-existent. After exiting the Whiterock Cliffs, the AT traverses a control burn area called "Firescald". By late afternoon, I arrived at the Jerry Cabin Shelter. Two older men were resting at a patch of grass below the bear cables and in front of the shelter. I stopped momentarily and pondered the feasibility of hiking to the Flint Mountain Shelter before dark. I had plenty of light, but my body was relaxed and ready to drop at this point. I set camp down slope of the shelter and just off the trail. I joined the others in front of the shelter and cooked dinner at the fire ring. It was hear, that I met an ecologist who was able to assist me in identifying some of the wildflowers I had taken earlier photos of. I shared with here some of my geological observations along the way as well. She mentioned the book called "Underfoot" which described the geology of the whole Appalachian Trail. I was excited, or at least curious now, to compare notes, to verify what I observed, to satiate my imagination of ancient depositional facies. I would order this book for future reading when I was off the trail when I got into the next town.
Date: 2013-05-02
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Whistling Gap Campsite
Miles today: 28.3

I hiked the long ridge line north of Jerry Cabin Shelter with no particular goal to reach by the end of the day. In the early morning, while taking a short break at the bottom of the topographically V-shaped Flint Gap, a young woman by the name of Aviator stopped too. We introduced ourselves, before I headed northward. Aviator hiked with determination and great speed on her ascents, I discovered, once she caught up with me and hiked ahead. There were many long climbs and drops. I caught up to Aviator at Sam's Gap, where she was enjoying a hiker's style picnic, spread out on a grassy patch of ground off the road side. She was spreading humus on tortillas, which looked delicious in comparison to my dehydrated food. I wondered how she managed to pack it without refrigeration. I had eaten along the way, so did not stop for lunch. It was here, that a group of young kids attempting to through hike, had hitched a ride to the Little Creek Cafe, then to the Wolf Creek Market to re-supply. The market had closed just before they arrived. They came back to Sams Gap empty handed and frustrated by their misfortune. Along the long climb to the summit of Big Bald, I gained on a young man hiking bare-foot with a pair of high-top boots strapped to the top of his pack. His pack was also adorned with yellow flowers, and fern, which I had first assumed he was collecting for pressing. His trail name was Piper. We introduced ourselves, during which time I learned that he was collecting flora for food consumption. He was still living, so must have known which plants were toxic and which ones were not. After passing Piper around mile 323.4, the AT climbed abruptly up rocky terrain for about a quarter mile to the top. I was at the summit of Big Bald by late afternoon. I still had day light and debated whether I'd stop at Bald Mountain Shelter, and call it a day. I decided to push on into darkness, making it over a short but steep ascent of Little Bald, to the loaded campsite of Whistling Gap just before dark. A group (which included a red head by the name of Green Light, his better half, First Gear, a middle aged gal named Swagger, and and older gray-long-bearded man named Rodger) sat around the roaring fire, sharing stories and eating supper. The fire was a welcome sight, as bone chilling wind and low clouds blew through the woods. I set up camp across the trail where no one had set up a tent yet. A few tens if yards away, I found an ideal branch to toss my parachute chord over to hang food for the night. I had gotten wiser about this, taking advantage of the light when I could. I hiked to the slow running spring, enhanced with a pipe, filtered water for dinner and washed up. I cooked dinner at the fire, enjoying its warmth in the damp cool air of the early evening. The camaraderie was pleasant after hiking much of the day alone. Aviator apparently had stopped somewhere south of me. After cleaning my cook pot, I brushed my teeth and buried myself in my silk liner and bag for the night.
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: US 19E Elk Park
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I crossed over the Roan Highlands in the fiercest storm experienced on the AT yet. I hiked with a guy named Pool Cats from New Zealand. Pool Cats hiked ahead of me and had the uncanny ability to vanish. It turned out his secret was running with his pack. His logic was to keep moving at all times, or suffer hypothermia. The storm that passed over the Roan Highlands on May 5, produced cold temperatures, strong wind, sleet, and rain. The conditions of course were exacerbated by the elevation and exposure hiking over the balds. The sleet blew sideways over the balds, stinging my exposed face, and numbing one side, causing paralysis. We stopped to eat at the Roan High Knob Shelter, the highest one on the AT (EL 6,194-ft). There were several hikers with a transistor radio listening to the weather and getting stoned. Pool Cats and I ate our snacks standing in the darkness of the enclosed shelter, while shivering from the cold. We were drenched and I was feeling the onset of hypothermia, every moment I stood still. We braved the heavy rain and wind, hopping to the Stan Murray Shelter, and the Overmountain Shelter, before descending into the calmer, lower elevations close to US19E. The AT was a river! The heavy rain produced 1-ft deep water, which funneled down the trail for miles. It was pointless to even try to hike on the higher sides. By late afternoon, we were enveloped by a vibrant green forest, pierced by rays of sun that burned through the overcast skies. The temperatures had increased significantly. We had survived! By late afternoon, we had arrived to the Mountain Harbour Hostel. When the owner opened the front door, a gush of warm air comforted our shivering, borderline hypothermic bodies. She said the hostel was full and to check with the hikers above the barn. Naturally the owner had no say in whether it was ok to cram a few more wet hikers into a wet space. We ended up paying one of her business partners 10 bucks to drive us into Hampton, a block from where she was going anyway. So much for southern hospitality. I noticed a lot of exploiting through hikers. We stayed at the stone castle hostel and resupplied at the market across the way.
Date: 2013-05-07
From: Camp by stream, mi 398.6

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 28.2
Weather: broken clouds

North of camp along the stream at mi. 398.6, the AT traversed streams, cascades, and pierced its way through narrow gorges, north of Dennis Cove Rd. It was at Dennis Cove Rd. that I caught up to an older man named Chris, from Oregon. He was sitting against the fence in the parking area, working on his feet. I had yo-yo'd with this particular hiker for I think a week. He hiked a steady, slow pace, but consistently accomplished distances around 20 to 22 miles/day. I'd hike fast, passing him early in the day, only to be caught up to later in the day while taking a break myself. Once again, I passed him at Dennis Cove Rd. around mid-day. The AT dropped steeply down coarse talus to the Laurel Falls and followed the Laurel stream through a narrow gorge for about a mile. By the time I made it up and over Pond Flats to Shook Branch Road, the billowing black clouds of the late afternoon gave way to heavy rain. I hiked down US321 following signs for the detour around a section of the trail inundated by the swollen Watauga Lake. The trail was diverted around the edge of the lake, down a private road, where it joined the shoreline again. The trail was flooded. I was forced to navigate through dense forest in the rain. The white blazes were elusive. In near darkness, and heavy rain, I fortuitously landed on what appeared to be a former section of the AT, overgrown, but marked by dingy blazes. In a short distance, it rejoined what was very clearly the main alignment of trail. I made it to the fully loaded Watauga Lake Shelter (mi 426.8) before dark. I hiked back south to search for a place to pitch the tent and ran into Pool Cats. We both found marginal, sloped spots just off the trail, and set up camp in the rain. I cooked dinner under the vestibule and changed into my dry wool for bed.
Date: 2013-05-08
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter, VA
Miles today: 29.9
Weather: moderate rain

The AT crosses the Watagua dam at mile 428.0. The Watagua Dam, unlike the concrete gravity arch dam of Fontana Lake, is constructed of a broad earth berm with clay core some 318-ft above the Watagua River channel. Water is carried down stream of the dam via pipe to a hydroelectric facility approximately 1 mile down stream of the dam where a campground was also constructed. At the time of my visit, it appeared that the Tennessee Valley Authority, responsible for constructing the dam in the 1940s, was conducting a geotechnical investigation down slop of the crest along a bench, likely for seepage. The trail continues up Wibur Dam Rd., before exiting into the forest again and trending north east along a narrow, eroded ridge crest toward the Virginia border. I arrived to Abingdon Gap Shelter in the late afternoon drenched from heavy rains. The Abingdon Gap Shelter was the last shelter in Tennessee, approximately 7 miles from the TN-VA border. Along the way, I passed the dilapidated McQueens Knob shelter, which AWOL notes to be "disused". The shelter was packed with hikers who had sealed the place with ground tarps to keep the rain out and were cooking inside. I poked my head in to see who was in there, before deciding to hike a little more than a mile further to the Abingdon Gap Shelter.
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: The Place, Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: moderate rain

I hiked across the TN-VA border in the early morning, taking several photos of the signs posted on the tree. I thought for a moment of the the state I was about to enter and the long miles ahead, but it wasn't so overwhelming with towns like Damascus along the way. I arrived in Damascus, approximately 5 miles north of the state border by late morning. Pool Cats followed in after and mentioned he was planning to stay at The Place, a hostel a block off the main street through town (which the AT follows), run by the next door Baptist Church. Pool Cats and I first satiated our appetites at the Dairy King with two ice cream desserts each, then made our way to the Place, which was run by an obnoxious man named Bayou. Bayou proceeded in taking us into the hostel and reading the rules off a large white board incase any of us were incapable of reading on our own. We decided to pitch our tents on the lawn outside the facility after drying our gear on the picnic bench in the warm afternoon sun. We were in Damascus a week and a half before the big "Trail Days" event, where typically 1000's of hikers converge on this tiny town to mostly party, and attend seminars, and see the various hiking vendors specializing particularly in ultralight gear. Later in the day, I met up with Pool Cats (after a resupply at Food City north of town on the 58). Pool Cats was naturally at the Blue Blaze Cafe where the pool tables were, and had ordered beer and pizza. It was here, that I met a young Austrian brother and sister (Half and Half and Hakuna Matada respectively). We ate together and talked about the trail as Half and Half ravenously opened the parmesan cheese shaker and emptied its contents down his throat. After I finished my large pizza, he polished off the crests that I piled up too. We finally made our way back to the lawn at The Place well after dark, turning in for the day.
Date: 2013-05-10
From: The Place, Damascus, VA

To: VA 600- Elk Garden, mi 490.6, VA
Miles today: 23.5

On my way out of Damascus, I stopped at Cowboys, a diner attached to the service station where the AT turns from Laurel to Douglas Dr. This restaurant had been highly recommended by locals as a great breakfast place, particularly noted for its blueberry pancakes. I stumbled into the place in the early morning and ordered the blueberry pancakes and spoke with a young man who had just finished his breakfast, whom I can't remember the name off. After breakfast, I continue a ways down Douglas Dr, until it bent towards the east and ascended a flight of wood stairs over a near vertical cut slope at the edge of the highway. The trial followed a river for a ways along a relatively flat gradient before ascending Iron Mountain. For a short length of this ascent, the AT follows the Creeper Trail, an old rail grade that was renewed as a recreational path which also allowed bike riders to use.   On my way down Iron Mountain, I caught up to Half and Half and Hakuna Matada, resting on the trail side and filtering water. We hiked a ways together until the lower flanks of Whitetop Mountain. Once again, billowing black clouds had hovered over us and looked threatening.   Half and Half and Hakuna Matada decided they would set camp around mile 484. The day was still young, and since I was already wet from the heavey resin. I said good bye, and proceeded northward into the rain. Not more than 10 minutes after my departure, the first eardrum puncturing thunder clap reverberated overhead. This was followed by heavy hail and rain. I pondered for a moment...should I continue my steep ascent of Whitetop Mountain, into an angry thunderstorm, or make a U-turns and head back a mile to join Half and Half and Hakuna Matada? My clothes were completely drenched. It made total sense to continue on with several hours of light remaining. On the ascent to the summit, I through my walking poles on the trail in front of me, as bright white flashes of lightning illuminated the trail. The storm seemed to come in two major waves, with a small clearing in between. It was frightening, horrifying! Lightning is something we rarely experience on the west coast, so my unfamiliarity with it lead to more fear than usual. When I made it to the bald, the rain had ceased...at least momentarily, allowing for beautiful vistas beneath broken clouds.   I passed a group of hikers camped just after Whitetop Mountain Rd. (mi 488.2), hiking a fast clip down the back side. It rained the remainder of the afternoon. I arrived at VA600, where a parking area and restroom existed. I set up camp in an opening beneath the trees in near darkness. The rain was beginning to let up a bit, though still very wet. Once again, I cooked dinner under the vestibule, and retired early for the day.
Date: 2013-05-12
From: camp site and spring, mi 517.6

To: Relax Inn, Atkins, VA
Miles today: 24.6

In the early morning, Pool Cats had risen to make his traditional coffee and consume his pop tarts. I was fiddling around with wet gear, attempting to squeegee the condensation off the inside of my tent as well. It must have taken me an hour to finally drop my tent and begin to pack things up. Pool Cats was packed and ready to roll. He did not wait. It must have been at least an hour after he left before I ambled my way upslope to the AT and began my hike north. By early afternoon, I caught up with him at the Partnership Shelter, which had attached showers and phones at the near by visitor center which one could order pizza. A large, juice watermelon sat on the picnic table in front of the shelter, which a trail angel had drop off earlier. A peculiar man, whom I can't recall the name of, was bragging about his great NASA invention and the millions of tax payers dollars he had to play with, before sending his concoction to the far reaches of space...essentially the same as throwing your money over the edge of a dam. He pulled out a large, single bladed knife and offered me a slice of watermelon. Pool Cats had been drying gear out in the sun, and had already eaten lunch. Chris, the peculiar man from Oregon, had taken a shower, and was getting his gear organized. He thought I was crazy not to take advantage of the shower, but unlike him, I had planned on occasion to stay at hotels, where I could enjoy hot showers and a bed. Chris must have been on a tight budget.   Rumor was that he camped every night, and took no zero-days. I skipped lunch, and proceeded north with Pool Cats. A short ways north of the Mt. Rogers Visitor Center, along the very rocky ridge top, I caught up with Pool Cats, who was hobbling. He had apparently stepped on a sharp rock with his minimalist running shoes, and bruised the bottom of his foot badly. He was in pain! I offered him some pain killers...Advil and a Tromadol, left over from my broken hand. He gladly accepted. I hiked ahead of him. In the late afternoon, descending Glade Mountain, I visited the historic Lindamood School (mi 539.5). I was the original structure. I stepped into the school house, and leaped back in time over 100 years. I signed the register in the front of the classroom. I made it to Relax Inn, a run down motel on VA 683 a few miles outside of Atkins,VA. Next to the motel, was an abandoned gas station and another one with a mini-market still in business. I received my first replacement of Salomon amphibian shoes since starting the hike on April 14, some 542 miles south. The shoes were toast. Britta had sent the new pair and delicious food for the next few days. I washed my muddy clothes in the bathroom and hung them on the chair next to the heater. I ordered a large pizza and 2L soda to be delivered. I was up late, reorganizing, blogging, and thinking about the miles ahead.
Date: 2013-05-13
From: Relax Inn, Atkins, VA

To: Walker Gap, mi 566.5
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: clear sky

With a new pair of Salomons on my feet, and a relatively sound nights rest at a dump, known as Relax Inn, just off the trailhead and outside of Atkins, VA, I was on my way north again. The AT crossed through large open grass fields just north of VA 683 before climbing a ridge towards Little Brushy Mountain. Numerous streams were crossed, fence stiles (wood ladders over typically barbed wire fences bounding private land), and mountains. The last big climb of the day, was long and gradual, traversing the beautiful grassy balds, with blossoming orchards of Chestnut Knob. I made it to the summit and the stone, fully enclosed Chestnut Knob Shelter just before sunset. The shelter was full, although room could have been made if I wanted to stay. The man from Oregon, Chris, was there, along with a half dozen others, sitting at a table, cooking dinner with proper ventilation. They would all be resting for a long long time from carbon monoxide poisoning, which I warned them of. I decided to hike down to Walker Gap into dusk, where there would be water and most certainly, some flat area to pitch a tent. On the descent, I spotted a black bear! It was almost invisible in the shadows of the forest, but it was there. It was officially my first sighting after 564 miles of hiking. I made it to Walker Gap before dark and set up my tent next to a group of about 4 hikers sharing tents. I cooked supper, hung my food for the night, brushed my teeth, and fell asleep quickly.
Date: 2013-05-15
From: 2 mi north of Helveys Mill Shelter, mi 591

To: Lookout tower/Communications-mi 618.1, VA
Miles today: 27.1
Weather: clear sky

From where I dry camped about 2 miles north of the blue blaze path leading to Helveys Mill Shelter, I was about 14.5 miles mostly west of VA 606, where I was planning to hike a short 0.5 miles west along the highway to Trent's Grocery.At Trent's Grocery, I set my backpack and walking poles on the bench in front and stepped into the air-conditioned market with my eyes fixed on the beverages behind the glass doors of the side refrigerators. Then there was the deli itself, where they made either custom or specials. I grabbed a couple of cold beverages, including a chocolate milk, and an ice cream Snickers bar from the freezer box. At the register, I put in my order for a sandwich, and sat at one of the tables inside, where I could see my pack sitting just outside the window. It was here, that peculiar young, and portly male through hiker, had approached me and asked if he could interview me and record it on interview. His name was Eric. He carried a great deal of excess weight not just in his belly, but in electronics to support his hobby of shooting short documentary films. I agreed to answer his questions, but it was awkward to say the least, having someone you don't know, holding a video camera pointed at you. I noticed that other hikers had agreed to be interviewed as well, so it seemed harmless. He asked me where I was from, what I did for work, and what my scariest moment was on the AT for some of the questions. I told the story about passing over the Roan Highlands in a brutal cold front on May 5, which he seemed amused by.http://www.deadlyquests.com/2013/05/day-57-mile-620.html#comment-form