morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-05-14
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Rt. 11/30. Manchester
Miles today: 10.1

Up & out pretty quickly. Another nice day with a steep uphill to start it off. Peru Peak is followed by Styles Peak, which has some of the few views toward the East of the Mtns. [& SOUTH] rather than the West. Bromley Mtn & other ski areas are coming into view.As we passed Mad Tom Notch & started up Bromley Mtn, we started meeting lots of day-hikers, often in family groups [predictable on a Sunday]. At the top of the ski lift, a man volunteered to take our picture. That was appreciated because I¢m not very good at taking selfies with scenery in the background. On the way down to the road, we took a slight detour because I wanted to show him the big ¢new¢ Bromley shelter. I guess it¢s really not too different from the Little Rock Pond shelter we had stayed at.I had decided to get off the Trail for a night in Manchester Center, partly to give Amanuel a nice warm bed, but also because I thought we were about to run out of fuel. At the parking lot, we were able to get a ride into town from the couple we had met up top. I wanted to get to the outfitter before they closed early on Sunday. After buying a small canister, we ate at the pizza place across the street. l mean, I ate part of my meal, taking the rest with me [pizza is easy that way], as we walked a half mile up to the motel to get some rest.
Date: 2023-05-15
From: Rt. 11/30. Manchester

To: Stratton Pond Shelter
Miles today: 10.5

The motel provided what is called a ¢continental breakfast¢; so we took advantage of what there was, then walked back thru the town toward the Trail to where I thought we might be able to hitch a ride. It didn¢t take too long before we got picked up by a couple of retired teachers who were supportive of the Trails.  Fairly level Trail this morning. About 5 miles in there is a view-point called prospect Rock. The Trail goes up an old gravel road for some distance, with no notice of where the Rock is. Coming up toward a gate where the Trail gets off the road, SOBO hikers can look back & see a sign telling NOBOs how far it is to the Rock ¢¦ if we want to go back. I don¢t recall that it was that spectacular a view, but discrimination in signage against SOBOs continues to annoy me wherever it happens on the Trail.  We arrived at Stratton Pond shelter [another large one] fairly early as the wind got stronger & the temperature got cooler. There were 2 hikers there, one a long-distance hiker, the other accompanying him for a while, probably not much farther. Altho it might have been warmer in the upper level, we slept on the first floor [easier for me to get up in the night], Amanuel in the back, away from the wind.
Date: 2023-05-16
From: Stratton Pond Shelter

To: Kelley Strand Road. Arlington
Miles today: 7.0

We don¢t have time to go another 30 miles to Rt 9, so we¢ll be getting off at the next road & trying to get a ride to Arlington & a bus to Bennington. That starts out with going up & over Stratton Mtn. It¢s not a bad climb [a couple of blow-downs along the way], but the reward at the top is getting to climb a fire tower. We met an older woman hiker as we neared the top & a young man day-hiker up in the tower. It was a cold trip up the tower, with some relief in the glassed-in cabin at the top. Lots of views, tho a little cloudy today.  Then we went downhill to Kelley Strand Road [about 1:00], a gravel road with signs saying it¢s not maintained in the winter. That is an indication that there isn¢t much traffic; so I was prepared to wait awhile for a ride. It always seems long when you don¢t see any cars at all going your way. There was a car parked at the trail-head. In less than an hour, the man whom we¢d met in the tower appeared from another trail & was willing to give us a ride. He dropped us off at a gas station across from the bus-stop. It had a picnic table where we had some lunch & ice cream. As the time approached, we saw a bus come by without stopping. Calling the transit company, we learned that there would be a bus at the scheduled time, not this early.Arriving in Bennington, we walked about a half mile to Catamount Motel, unloaded our stuff, & then went to the English-style Fish & Chips place. It had good food & a lot of British items for decor, including an invitation to the coronation. They admitted it wasn¢t real. I¢ve always thought King Charles had missed out on the good looks of either of his parents, but there was a picture that actually made him look pretty good.Back to the room to finish eating, repack for airline travel, donate a full canister of fuel to the hiker box [Yes, I was wrong ¢ I actually had just enough fuel in the original canister], & get to sleep again in a warm place.  I always feel sad the last day of a section hike.  It was less so this time, with Amanuel's company.
Date: 2023-05-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Back thru town in the morning, stopping at a restaurant for breakfast, then to the bus station for a short wait, in each place talking with some people who were interested in the Trail.After the meandering bus ride back to the airport, I was pretty close to my flight time ¢ Amanuel had to wait a bit for his.He wanted to leave today so he¢d be home for his sister¢s birthday tomorrow; this will get him home tonight.Altogether, a good hike, & he seemed satisfied. We started talking about a different kind of adventure next year, involving trains!
Date: 2023-09-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Katy wanted to re-create as much as possible her college hike from 30 years ago, including seeing wild ponies. I assured her there were always ponies to be seen, but no telling where. Then she wanted to add a Waterfall hike. It was a nice little warm-up hike, but didn¢t meet any of her other goals. Then we located the parking area where her group had camped in the dark. After deciding on a loop trail & getting another day on our parking permit, we finally got our backpacks on & started hiking up. I thought it would be quicker to head for Wise shelter the first night than Rhododendron Gap. I was probably wrong, but the guide books & signs are very confusing about the distances. Anyway, it was soon getting dark. We ended up camping before total darkness just very close to the junction with the AT.
Date: 2023-09-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I wanted to take a short-cut up the Mtn to avoid setting up in the dark again. That might have included some views, but Katy insisted on the slightly more round-about AT. Seems like it adds some up & downs, but mostly it¢s part of the ¢long green tunnel¢. After a brief rest & climbing some rocks, we set out for Rhododendron Gap on the connecting trail along the ridge. It¢s a horse trail with some views, lots of large gravel, & a few mud-holes. Didn¢t meet any horses. After rejecting a horse camp, we finally arrived at the gap in time to get the tent up & eat supper before total Darkness.
Date: 2023-09-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We had camped next to a rock formation, which we climbed before leaving. Trying to follow the signs, I got on the wrong trail for the first mile or so. We missed some of the rock scrambles & saw a lot of longhorn cattle. Finally the ponies! About 8 of them. One was particularly interested in chewing on my shoes & licking me. The stallion kept chasing a younger one away ¢ Katy was very concerned about the one being rejected from the group. Another mile to Maddie Gap, then a half mile to the parking. We got out of the park fairly quickly with a brief stop at the gift shop. It still takes a while to get to Damascus. Had a good meatloaf for Lunch in Damascus. I had hoped Katy could drop off some of my excessive pack-weight at Boots Off on her way to the airport. But by the time we figured out her timing, she had to go right away. Without my info about other hostels, I chose Broken Fiddle hostel. She dropped me off, barely made it for her flight, then it was delayed & she had to spend the night in Charlotte. The hostel didn¢t make a good first impression, entering thru a smoke-filled porch, but they kept it out of the living areas, which were clean & organized. Triage runs the place, & Fathom, one of the workers there, even offered to take my package to the post office, since I wanted an early start on my hike tomorrow.
Date: 2023-09-16
From: Laurel Creek Bridge

To: Damascus
Miles today: 13.1

There¢s a book & poem entitled ¢When I am an old woman I shall wear purple.¢ After years of disdaining slack-packing (except for climbing Mt Katahdin, of course), I have decided ¢Now that I¢m over 80, I shall slack-pack if I feel like it.¢ It can lighten the load on my back, tho it entails considerable expense & complication to arrange. I took the cheapest ride I could get, up to the Va 728 trestle crossing & hiked South to Damascus. I Met Sunflower on the long rise up to Saunders shelter. While eating there, 4 hikers from Augusta, Ga. came & went. Although I think of this part of the Trail as generally downhill, it does involve going up & over 4 mtns. Being a Saturday, there were 3-4 cyclists per minute on the Virginia Creeper bike trail, which parallels at times. I took a break to cut a tree across the Trail. Afternoon, I met Jewels slack-packing the other way. Aware that several restaurants had closed in Damascus, I stopped at the cafe/ ice cream shop on the edge of town & got a fish dinner. They had live music, which was just too noisy for me. Since it was all wrapped in paper, I could easily take my supper to the hostel to eat. There I met Wheels, who had just arrived after 2 months of 30-mile days carrying a 16 lb pack. I asked what he ate: mostly powders & bars, aiming at 3000 to 3600 cal. per day ¢ he hasn¢t lost weight. A little more extreme version of what I¢ve been trying, so it was encouraging.  With only a few teeth, I can¢t chew a lot of protein bars, even when I can stand their taste. Altogether, this seemed like a successful first day on the Trail.
Date: 2023-09-17
From: Damascus

To: ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂUnnamed Mtn before Unnamed Gap
Miles today: 6.7

Everything was damp going up the Mtn, & I could tell that even without all the stuff I¢d mailed, my pack was too heavy. Nearing the top, I found a flat spot to camp & was able to set up & eat well before dark.
Date: 2023-09-18
From: ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂUnnamed Mtn before Unnamed Gap

To: Half mile before Shady Valley Road, U.S. 421
Miles today: 8.9

I was conscious yesterday, by the time I crossed the Tennessee border, that I was leaving the poison ivy zone all around Damascus & entering a stinging nettle zone. That continued today, with all kinds of brush. Not much recent effort to keep it down. More annoying than the nettles & harder to avoid are the green snaggle-vines [I¢ll have to learn their real name some time] that come out over the trail with great frequency.Out early. Lunch at Abington Gap shelter.  I met 2 hikers before noon, 1 going each way. Approaching the shelter, I met Dr Danger, & while eating lunch, a woman section hiker from Knoxville, who stopped to talk a bit.  Stopped to sit in the old McQueens Knob shelter. I hope it will continue to be preserved as a part of AT history. Nothing eventful the rest of the afternoon. Found myself a campsite about half a mile before the road to Shady Valley.
Date: 2023-09-21
From: Boots-Off hostel

To: Black Bear hostel
Miles today: 8.6

First 3 miles are up, up, up to the top of Pond Mtn. The name always seems strange, as well as the name Pond Flats near the top. I guess the top is pretty flat, tho the tree cover makes that hard to see; but I¢ve still not seen the pond [but all the mosquitos up there must arise from some water!].After a couple of day-hikers, near the top I met NOBO Micro (a dentist) & her dog Matilda. We talked for a long period of time because she has a patient who has had mouth surgery very similar to mine. I tried to get a much info as possible to shed light on my future, as I try to decide about getting my remaining lower teeth replaced by some kind of denture. Of course, all this complicates planning for future backpacking.Going down the Mtn, I followed Laurel Fork for a couple of miles. There were some people camped along the creek ¢ waved but didn¢t speak. Then I started meeting a woman day-hiker, who was hoping to see the falls. Aside from all the confusing side trails [not very good blazing in this area], her main problem was that it was beginning to get dark in the valley. She said she had a flashlight & would be able to get back all right; so I felt sorry for her when she decided, probably less than 0.2 miles from the falls, that she just had to turn around. She skipped some of the worst rocks, but missed a nice view.  I took a few minutes to take pictures, then started up the stone steps out of the valley. My memory was that there were at least a hundred; so I started counting. With some judgment calls about which rocks were really steps, I counted almost 400 before reaching the top. That¢s a lot of work ¢¦ to find reasonably flat rocks & put them in place! At the top, the trail continues, pretty level but still rocky, about a mile to Dennis Cove Road. I had hoped to stay at Kincora Hostel again, but didn¢t because the guide-book said Bob Peoples was only having old friends & family as guests. I doubted I qualified, tho I¢d stayed twice over 18 years.  So I walked 0.7 the other way to Black Bear hostel [guide-book says 0.4]. I was the only backpacker tonight. It has new owners since I stayed in 2013. It¢s a fairly nice place, tho they now seem more interested in people renting cabins & campsites. It¢s pretty spread out: long walk to the bathrooms, one cramped space for cooking, computer work, & watching TV, while the place to wash dishes is 50-60 feet away. Price of pizza seemed reasonable, so I baked one & ate most of it [That doesn't lighten my pack any!]. It was pleasant to sleep to the sound of the creek just behind the bunkhouse.
Date: 2023-09-22
From: Black Bear hostel

To: Camp around mile 401
Miles today: 8.7

Going uphill almost immediately thru nice woods with lots of storm damage [tornado?]. The maintainers had done a lot of cutting, plus some digging of the Trail to keep it from falling off the edge. Lots of those green snaggle-vines again, especially making it difficult to enjoy the views at a power-line crossing. At mile 417.5 hikers had made a shortcut from one branch of a switchback to the other. Usually Trail-workers try to stop that, but this one was very contradictory. Looking up the short-cut, you see a white blaze. Similarly from the top end. No obvious blazes to show the correct Trail, even tho it¢s built well with stone steps. Someone should fix that before a hiker gets hurt or the Trail is damaged too much.  I only met one hiker: a woman from St Louis. As I got close to Moreland Gap shelter, I was interested in how the area had recovered from the forest fire in 2016. Seven years does quite well in this climate, compared to PCT in Oregon where things grow back so much more slowly.  FarOut described a campsite around 411.3, & comments said there was another 0.2 beyond. That sounded good to me, except that the first place that fit the description was 1.0 mile, not 0.2!  In bed w/in 1 hour, including hanging bags. Only 8.7 miles in 9.5 hours!
Date: 2023-09-23
From: Camp around mile 401

To: Camp along Elk River
Miles today: 9.9

Alarm at 6:00; out at 8:15.  Forecast said 67deg now, high today 63, low 48.  We¢ll see what that means for tonight.   O.3 past FS 539, I saw a really nice multiple campsite.   Met two young guys from Colorado & saw them again late in the day  Also a man from Switzerland I¢d met at the hostel, with a young couple. Saw them again too. Then a man in early 60s trying out backpacking, who called me an inspiration because of my age. Then 3 more weekenders. Busy Saturday on the Trail. Like many things along the Trail, the signal at Mountaineer Falls shelter is practically invisible to SOBOs. The frustrating thing is that I knew it from the last time & still walked past it again! Sounds dumb, I know. It¢s just not obvious that the trail for the shelter will be right in the midst of the vaguely marked camping area [with a sign that only faces the other direction]. Anyway, once you get there it is a great place to stop for lunch. Pretty falls, from above & from below. Easy Trail rest of the day.I ended up at a nice camping spot by Elk River. First sycamore trees [great branches for hanging bear bags]!
Date: 2023-09-24
From: Camp along Elk River

To: The Refuge hostel
Miles today: 4.7

I started out & started up the Mtn pretty early because I wanted to get to church near Rt 19E.  I found another camping spot at the top of the first rise.  Also a couple of blow-downs on the way up near Jones Falls. That¢s another nice waterfall just a short distance off the trail. Fairly easy Trail up & over the Mtn. Then road crossing. Then another, right by Buck Mtn Baptist Church. A very neat, well-kept building & parking lot. By the way, if a hiker is having trouble finding the water faucet that¢s mentioned in the guide books, it¢s halfway down the left side, well hidden behind hasta plants. No one there at 10:00, so I waited till 10:55, when everyone showed up. I had wondered what ¢Sovereign Grace¢ meant above the church sign. I think I found out in the sermon [which started in Isaiah 45 & tried to cover dozens of other Bible verses]. It¢s not Grace that sets people free; it¢s grace that beats them down, the gist being ¢You are saved because of what Christ has done, but meanwhile there is nothing you can do about your life or the world around you [which is in very bad shape] ¢ God will take care of whatever needs to be done ¢ just be still & wait for the end.¢ There was some nice singing, several hymns at the beginning and one a cappella at the end. About 15 people, only one under 25. Most were friendly.Out on the trail again, I passed a cemetery & some big stones brought in for an unknown purpose, then began to alternate between woods & open spaces. These are spaces that used to be fields or pasture, but are now overgrown with goldenrod, &c. Their significance for me is that in 2005, faced with a 4-mile addition to this section thru a re-route my old map didn¢t show, I was thinking each field indicated I was nearing Rt 19E, where Susan was waiting for me. Actually they indicated that I had 2-3 more miles to go. However, this time I wanted to get off the Trail at one of these places & head up the hill & a FS road to The Refuge hostel. A little farther up than expected, I found an octagonal building with the hostel downstairs & the owners¢ residence above.  It¢s a rather new hostel that has great prices, helpful owners, & generally caters to hikers, unlike the others in the area who lean more toward their B&B, restaurant, or bar business. Cobra was there, watching a whole day of football on TV.  I watched the Packers play, plus some of the others, while I showered & unpacked my stuff [hoping to send some ahead to lighten my load].  Around 5:00, Rob offers a free shuttle into Roan Mtn. Mexican restaurant was the only one open on Sunday, but that¢s a good choice for me, with so many missing teeth.  Other than nachos, everything is nice & soft, & there¢s lots of it. I have enough for tomorrow too.
Date: 2023-09-25
From: The Refuge hostel

To: The Refuge hostel
Miles today: 0.0

After I felt I had arranged my food for rest of trip, Rob took us to town early so that I could get to the post office & Lonnie could get some re-supply. That took care of one of my reasons for wanting to stay today. The other was to have Wi-Fi to attend a Council meeting back home. The phone connexion is not strong near the hostel. Going out on the road got me enough signal to call Katy, but it was easy to lose. I had tried Wi-Fi-calling earlier, but that didn¢t work so well. The Wi-Fi itself was good enough for the meeting; I¢m still having problems getting Zoom to work well on my new phone
Date: 2023-09-26
From: Carvers Gap

To: The Refuge hostel
Miles today: 16.2

Rob dropped us off & we began uphill on a very cloudy Mtn. I put on my rain jacket for awhile, for the cold wind plus the moisture dripping off the trees. That meant that the ground under the trees was wet but dry elsewhere ¢ uncommon situation. It stayed misty on the balds most of the morning. Not many vistas. The scene reminded me of hiking with my wife in the Lake District of England 25 years ago ¢¦ except no sheep here [a SOBO named Sheepdog, but still no sheep]!  Lots of hikers out today. Early on, I met 3 siblings from Georgia. Then at the Stan Murray shelter, I saw Cobra again, still hoping for a good photography day. The sun came out soon after that! I began noticing some things about these hills. One is that the Trail doesn¢t have switchbacks ¢ it just goes straight up the bald. Another is that where they aren¢t covered with grass & brush, the balds are wooded with beech & buckeye trees ¢ more buckeyes than I¢ve ever seen in Ohio [state tree & football team]. I didn¢t find any beechnuts, but saw buckeye fruit all afternoon. Sort of. I even took a picture of the first one I saw lying on the Trail. Then I encountered a group of 10-12 school kids, out on a backpacking trip as part of their education. One of the girls showed me a buckeye, as if it were a rare treasure. I tried to be appreciative, while thinking, ¢Those are all over the place!¢ Then I realized that they aren¢t. After that first one, I was seeing loads of empty husks, but no actual nuts until late afternoon.  I also met 3 older women section hikers, SOBO Billy Goat, & then a group of 3: Propensity, Sideways, & Spokes. I stayed ahead of them up Hump Mtn, but they are much faster than I, especially when slack-packing.  Late afternoon was all downhill to 19E, then uphill more than I wanted for the end of the day.
Date: 2023-09-27
From: Carvers Gap

To: Greasy Creek Friendly
Miles today: 11.9

Lonnie & I started South from Carvers Gap at 8:00 am. Even after all my re-packing, my pack weighs 35 lbs today (17 yesterday). Roan High Knob, highest shelter on the Trail, at 9:30. No views. The school group was just packing up to leave, so I didn¢t stay long ¢ I wanted to keep ahead of them. I had already met 2 day hikers, then a father & 2 sons on a NOBO section hike. And it wasn¢t long before I was passed by Propensity, Sideways, & Spokes, out to do 30 miles today! I wouldn¢t even try to keep up, even downhill.  Everything was very moist under the conifers, tho sunny in places. At one point where I stopped momentarily, a small cone fell & landed right in a small animal hole. Did a squirrel score a hole-in-one?  Other hikers I met: Wye-East [= Mt Hood in a native language], ¢Steps¢, Mosey [completed AT; now back to enjoy certain sections again], a couple of section hikers. When I stopped at Clyde Smith shelter around 3:00, I saw that ¢Squirrel¢ had been here on the 23d [she must be going twice as fast as I]! Then a couple of SOBOs came thru ¢ they had started in Maine 14 June & were expecting to do 9 more miles today! These shelters in Tennessee don¢t have privies [against the state law!], but they do provide shovels to dig your own pit [much more effective than anything hikers can carry] ¢ that¢s what these hikers stopped for. Sorry I forgot their names.I was only going 2 more miles. I had decided to stop at Greasy Creek Friendly so that I could use the Wi-Fi for a Zoom meeting. It¢s a half mile down a rocky road. Lonnie & I were the only hikers. Connie, the owner, is a little unusual but treated us very well.  Wi-Fi seemed OK, but I had trouble with my phone & with the computer they let me use at the last minute.