morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-17
To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Wed, 5/17Zero Day in Marion, VA0.0Had a tough time getting to sleep last night. Finally slept at 1:30 but the most sound sleep was from 6-8:00 this morning. Went to Walmart and had a salad at McDonald's for lunch. Bought a new shirt to sleep in and wear in town. My current one is fleece lined and too warm. Will send some more cold weather clothes home after I get thru Grayson Highlands tomorrow.Relaxed this afternoon.
Date: 2017-05-18
From: Marion, VA

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: broken clouds

Rambunny shuttled us back to Elk Garden. It was so great to see her. We started hiking at 9:00.  Our first climb was up Mt. Rogers, about a 1,000 ft climb over 4 miles. Not too bad. Ate lunch at Thomas Knob Shelter. We had great views all afternoon but the trail was rocky the whole time. We saw and petted wild ponies before we even got to Grayson Highlands Park and then didn't see any more. We saw another small group from the ridge but never saw them once we got closer to where we thought they were.Got to Wise Shelter around 4 and I decided to stay in the shelter because it's supposed to rain tonight.  After dinner a mother pony and colt came by the shelter...Stopped to graze a few minutes then moved on. A few minutes later the dad came running by. He's now grazing just past the shelter close to where hikers are camped. The log book for this shelter says there's a raccoon who climbs up trees and gets food bags down. Ours are hung in a tree so I hope we still have food in the morning.Beautiful views today but we had to really concentrate on our feet to make sure we didn't stumble. So it's almost 8:00 and I'm thinking about getting in my quilt.
Date: 2017-05-20
From: Hurricane Mtn. Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: haze

What a night we had last night.  Everyone  was in bed in the shelter and it  was dead quiet.  Suddenly there  was a very loud swoosh and I had lost all the air in my sleeping  pad and was lying on the hard board floors  of the shelter.  The plug to the pad had come out.  I started laughing and No Worries asked "What happened?"   I got up snd blew it back up.  I think the strap to my pillow had wrapped around the plug and when I pulled on my pillow the plug came out.  What a shock and a lot of noise!The rain had stopped late afternoon but at 2am I woke up for a nature call and the wind was blowing really hard.  As I got out of the shelter it was like a spigot had been turned on.  When I got back in bed, wet from being outside, everyone was grabbing stuff that was in danger of getting soaked.  When we all got back in our sleeping bags there was a huge clap of thunder.  Made everyone jump.  Up and on the trail at  7:50 this morning..  It was a beautiful, sunny day. Nothing of note on the trail but the rhodedendrons are starting to bloom. They are gorgeous! When I came out of the woods at Dickey Gap, No Worries was talking to a guy standing next to a pickup truck. Evidently No Worries had walked a few yards to a main road and this guy, Casey, had stopped to see if he needed assistance. So Casey had offered to take us up the road to Sugar Gap to the convenience store and then bring us back to the trail. We jump in the bed of Casey's truck and have a great ride into town. The sun is shining and the wind is blowing in our faces.  It rrminded me of when I used to ride mororcycles.  We get sandwiches, chips, soft drinks and I get an ice cream sandwich. Thanks so much Casey!!!
Date: 2017-05-21
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: VA 601
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We started out at 7:40 hikng toward Partnership Shelter. Our plan was to get a ride from the Mt.Roger's Visitor Center into Marion for the night. The hike was about normal but rocky.  I had just reached a smooth stretch of trail when I saw No Worries on his knees beside the trail facing away from me. I hurried toward him and asked him if he was sick, then I saw his bloody face. He had tripped on a small tree stump at the side of the trail.  I pulled out my first aid kit and wet wipes and cleaned his face. He had 2 gashes on his forehead and several cuts on his nose. I was worried that he would need stitches on his forehead. He complained about his neck hurting and I thought he'd probably twisted it trying to keep his face from hitting the ground. I put Band-Aids on his cuts and he said he was ready to go. So we put on our packs and started walking.In about 1/4 mile we came to a gravel road and decided we should try to get to town from there instead of hiking the last 4 miles to Partnership Shelter. I still thought No Worries needed to go to a Medcheck to get his cuts cleaned and possibly get some stitches. I pulled out my phone and realized I didn't know who to call. I started with the Mt. Roger's Visitors Center hoping they could send a ranger or someone to take us to town.  They told me to call the sheriff's office and gave me the number. I called and they asked me to call back in on 911 so they could get a ping from my phone. I was fairly sure we were at VA 601 but they didn't know exactly where it crossed the AT. Finally after I walked down the road several hundred yards they got a ping and said they would send rescue. Didn't know what that meant but it was already in progress. After about 15 minutes and no one had come I started to call again when we heard noise at the trail crossing. No Worries had walked down to where I was when I was on the phone earlier so no one was at the trail crossing to tell them where we were so I started running uphill to the noise. I rounded the curve and saw an ambulance with red lights flashing. I thought oh no, this is overkill. No Worries thought the same thing. The EMTs examined No Worries and after he complained about his neck, they put him in a collar. They took us to Marion Hospital and after a Cat Scan the doctor told us that No Worries had fractured his C-1 and C-2 vertebrae in his neck. We were both stunned. After discussion the doctor arranged for us to go by ambulance to the Johnson City Medical Center since Marion Hospital isn't equipped to handle his injury.  It was an hour and 40 minute ride to Johnson City. The neurosurgeon will talk to No Worries tomorrow to tell him whether surgery is needed.
Date: 2017-05-22
From: Johnson City, TN

To: Johnson City, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Very tired from all the activity yesterday. I learned how to navigate the bus system in Johnson City.  By the end of the day they had decided to do surgery on No Worries' neck tomorrow to put 2 screws in the C-2 vertebrae because they aren't sure it will heal properly on its own.
Date: 2017-05-23
From: Johnson City, TN

To: Johnson City, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up early and took the bus to the laundromat. What a bunch of stinky clothes!  Just as I was leaving the laundromat to go to the hospital it started raining. The bus stop didn't have any cover so I stood across the street under the overhang at the gas station. A very nice lady, Janet, asked me if I needed a ride and she took me to the hospital. Another wonderful trail angel!! No Worries had surgery to put a screw in his vertebrae. All went well.
Date: 2017-05-30
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: light rain

Back on the trail...hiked 4.6 miles to account for those that I missed when I helped No Worries. Am hiking with Big Blue Tony for a few days. He has a car and so we're slackpacking for a couple of days.The hike today was very scenic...very green and not difficult. Staying at Partnership Shelter tonight. Around 5:00 we had a rain downpour but by dark the stars were out. This shelter is very nice...has most of the amenities hikers want...a shower (cold water), a sink and water faucet so you don't need to filter water, a covered picnic table, a clean and non-smelling outhouse, a trash bin for garbage, and bathrooms at the Visitor's Center with flush toilets. It's jjust the simple things in life that make us happy. O yes, how could I forget, a phone outside the Visitor's Center that can be used to order pizza.
Date: 2017-05-31
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Settler's Museum
Miles today: 8.8

I was on the trail by 7:45 today. Big Blue Tony took his car to Settler's Museum and hiked south while I hiked the same section north. When I got to the museum I drove the car to Partnership Shelter where Tony ended his hike. When I arrived at the Visitor's Center (.2 from the shelter) he wanted to go into Marion and get a motel, so that's what we did. Found Jennifer and Gabe who had been in town for 12 days because of Jennifer's knee problem.  They're getting back on the trail doing 4-6 miles slackpacking until her knee is better. Lots of injuries happening. It was good to catch up with them.We planned out the next 9 days until I leave for R.I. to meet up with my sister, Yvonne, to hike Maine together. Tomorrow is a 12.5 mile slackpack day, so I need to get some sleep. There were another couple of rain showers at 4:00 and 8:00pm. When will the rain ever stop. The trail is muddy.
Date: 2017-06-01
From: VA 683

To: O'Lystery Pavilion
Miles today: 12.5

(I am skipping the 2.8 mile section between the Settler's Museum and VA 683 because I did that several years ago when Brenda and I visited Rambunny and Aqua.)I dropped Tony at the Settler's Museum and took the car to O'Lystery Pavilion where he will pick it up at the end of his day.  I slackpacked today but it was a tough day. The trail was sloppy mud in many places and slick. I managed to stay upright all day. Started out foggy but it quickly burned off and we had a beautiful, sunny day and the forecast for the next 3 days is warm and sunny. Should dry up the mud. Started at 7:45 and finished around 4:00. Saw a large deer. She was crossing the trail slowly but when she saw me, she jumped to the other side of the trail and ran off.Had planned to visit with Rambunny and Aqua today but it didn't work out so Big Blue Tony (BBT) picked me up and we had dinner at The Barn in Adkins. Good food! We're both tired so we're planning to sleep in the car rather than pitch our tents. That will also allow us to get on the trail earlier tomorrow morning. Planning to do 3 days with BBT hiking south and I'll hike north. We will be back to carrying our full packs.
Date: 2017-06-02
From: O'Lystery Pavilion (VA 42)

To: Walker Gap
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

BBT left at 6:46am to take the car to Bland, VA. He will then hike south and I'll hike north from O'Lystery Pavilion (VA 42). We'll take 3 days to do this 34 mile section. I had mostly uphill climbs today. When I got to Chestnut Knob Shelter I decided to stealth camp. It is an old brick building that was formerly a ranger house. It smelled bad and it was very hot inside and there were no windows.I'm all by myself at the campsite and all I can see are trees and a campfire ring. Another tough day so I'm going to bed early (before dark). I think water may be a problem tomorrow. I didn't cook dinner tonight because I didn't want to use any water.
Date: 2017-06-03
From: Walker Gap

To: Laurel Creek (VA 615)
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: scattered clouds

 Was on the trail by 7:30 after a good night's sleep. I wanted to get on the trail early because where I camped was off the AT, on a blue blazed trail and if BBT came by early today I might miss him which would mean I wouldn't know where the car was parked.It was a long climb first thing this morning as usual. I was running low on water but not panicing yet. BBT met me around 11:00 and we exchanged information. I warned him about the shelter and the water situation.About an hour later I ran out of water. I asked a hiker who was headed the same direction if he had any extra water and he was out too. About an hour later 2 guys that I'd camped with a couple nights ago came by going SOBO. They had plenty of water and gave me half a liter and offered more but I said no. There were no water sources until mid afternoon. I was so glad to get there. Seems like all you can think about when you're out of water is how thirsty you are.Was planning to stay at Jenkins Shelter but somehow I walked right past it. Another hiker said he did the same thing. The next place to camp was 4.4 miles further but by the time I realized I'd missed the shelter I was halfway up an 800 ft. climb and not about to turn around and go back down. So I got to camp around 5:30. I had sore feet, sore legs, and needed more water. There's a big creek across the road from the campsite so I've been drinking water all evening and have plenty for tomorrow.
Date: 2017-06-04
From: Laurel Creek (VA 615)

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept well but very tired after 2 long days. Weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. Since I only had 7 miles to do today didn't start hiking until 8:15.  Not very many hikers on the trail today. Wonder where all the day hikers that are usually out on the weekends are??? A funny thing happened yesterday. I was just about to answer nature's call...I had just stepped off the side of the trail behind a bush because I was so tired and didn't see any large trees nearby. I also hadn't seen any hikers for a couple of hours. Had just started to unsnap my pants when around the bend come 2 hikers. I quickly pulled my shirt back down and just stood there. I was so glad I had been facing their direction or boy would they have gotten a view! They apologized and I said I just hadn't found a big tree that I felt like walking to. The girl said that sometimes it's harder to deal with things like that than you would think. She is certainly right...especially for women. That was a close call!!Finished my hike around 12:30 and the car was waiting for me. There's a small store right there so I went in and the clerk says it's closed, he'd just opened to give ice cream to the kids from the church across the street but if I needed something to drink he'd sell it to me. Thank you!! I was so hot, tired and thirsty.Drove into Bland and picked up drinks for BBT and headed to the Pavilion on VA 42 to wait for him. After an hour he arrives and we go to the Big Walker Motel to rest. We go to Wytheville to do laundry and have some dinner. Feels good to take a shower and have clean clothes.
Date: 2017-06-05
From: Bland, VA

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Spent the day in Wytheville at the Red Roof motel. Ran a few errands and ate lunch at the KFC buffet. A couple of hours later bad things started happening to our stomachs. Not sure it was due to the food but could have been.Spent the rest of the day relaxing. Planning to do a 13 mile slackpack tomorrow.
Date: 2017-06-06
From: Wytheville, VA

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

I still didn't feel well in the morning and BBT's leg was still sore so we decided just to skip the slackpack and drive to Harpers Ferry. I'm taking the train to Rhode Island tomorrow to visit my sister and her family for a week then we'll head to Maine to hike for the rest of June and July.Got to the Teahorse Hostel around 2:45 and had to wait for check-in at 3:00. BBT is driving on to Maryland to plan his hike for the rest of VA.Went to the AT Conservancy to pick up a map for No Worries and had dinner at Mena's Pizzaria. Hadn't eaten much today but feeling better and hungyy, so had the special -- 6 in. sub, fries and drink for $6.99. The meatball sub was delicious as were the fries. Caught up on emails and walked back to the hostel. Organized my pack for the train trip tomorrow. Now I'd better get some sleep.
Date: 2017-06-16
From: Rhode Island

To: Gorham, NH
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Travel day from Rhode Island to Gorham, NH.  Rob, from Yvonne's hiking club, drive us.  Took us about six hours with a couple of stops.  Thanks so much, Rob!!  Checked into the Barn Hiker's Hostel on the edge of town.  We stayed in the bunk house which didn't have bunks but comfortable beds with linens.  It was actually the loft of an old carriage house.  Rosie Red (Yvonne) and I walked into town for pizza and a stroll around town.
Date: 2017-06-17
From: Gorham, NH

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: light rain

Our shuttle left at 7:30 and we were on the trail by 8:00.  Right off the bat we were faced with baldfaced slanted  rocks.  I fell 4, 5, 6 times or more.  I lost count.  I was definitely not prepared for that.  I'm not having any fun.We arrived at the campsite and pitched our tent.  Only one other hiker is camped here.  I must have forgotten the ground cloth for the tent so we had to improvise with a piece of Tyvek that we use to cover our packs at night.  We had a peaceful night but we heard rain.   Bummer!
Date: 2017-06-18
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Genetian Pond Shelter
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: clear sky

When we woke up and opened the tent flap,  we were surprised with dry surroundings.  Must have been dew falling from the trees that we heard last night.  There was a lot of fog which burned off soon.We started hiking and immediately had to navigate more rocks.  It was just too much for me and I had a meltdown.  I told Rosie Red that I wanted to go home.  She calmed me down and encouraged me.  So I continued on, not that I had any choice.  We were in the middle of nowhere and no way to get out but to go forward.We met a hiker from Germany and talked a few minutes.  She was SOBO so we parted in opposite directions.  A couple of hours later Wind Chime caught up with us and introduced himself and asked if we"d lost a ground cloth.  He handed it to us and said a female hiker had found it on the trail and figured it belonged to a NOBO hiker and asked him to see if he could find its owner.  I must have dropped it yesterday when I fell and the hiker we met this morning found it and gave it to Wind Chime.  We were so glad to have it back.  Thanks to both hikers!Rosie Red had an encounter with the muck.  She was going through a boggy area and she lost her balance off a rock and stepped in muck that sucked her boot in all the way to the top of her sock..  When she took a step to get it out, her boot stayed in the muck and her foot almost came out of her boot.  This caused her to stagger like a drunk for about four steps before she regained her balance.  Her boot was covered in muck.  Oh yuck!I was feeling a little more confident late afternoon but took another tumble.  This time I scraped my elbow and had to take off my pack to get up.  This part of the hike is not going well.  Rosie Red is doing great but I'm struggling.  We stopped at Gentian Pond Shelter and this was Rosie Red's first nite in a shelter.  She isn't any fonder of them than I am, but it will keep you dry.  Rain was in the forecast so we didn't pitch the tent.  There were only 3 of us in the shelter and Wind Chime set up his hammock nearby.  The water source was down a huge rockface and I had had enough so Rosie  Red went down to get the water.  She was a trooper because the bugs were biting horribly and she had to get a lot of water so neither of us would have to go back down there (like I could have gone down).The view from the shelter was gorgeous.  I didn't sleep well and was up at 5am taking pictures.  (The birds in ME start chirping at 4:30 am when it gets light.)   We even had to go up a rock to get to the privy.
Date: 2017-06-19
From: Genetian Pond Shelter

To: Carlo Col Shelter
Miles today: 5.2
Weather: scattered clouds

This was an 11.5 hr. day to only go 5.2 miles.  We didn't even stop for lunch because there had been a couple of periods of rain but we wanted to beat the heavy showers expected.  The rocks were horrible and got worse as the day progressed.  The last rock jumble of the day almost did me in.  It was raining and everything was wet and slick.  Several young hikers passed us by and one of them tried to help me thru a bad area.  At one point I got my foot stuck and he couldn't figure out how I should move to get it unstuck.  He got me thru it but I could tell he was anxious to move on.  Again Rosie Red got me through the day and I know she was exhausted from having to encourage me at every turn.  Even bootie scooting didn't work in some places.  When we got to the shelter it was almost full but everyone started moving things to make room.  It was still raining but we checked out the tent sites and decided to pitch.  We had already decided to spend the next day drying out our gear and knew it would be easier at the tentsite.  We managed to get the tent pitched without getting any rain inside and we didn't cook dinner but ate snacks from our food bags.  We both slept well except Rosie Red's air pad had started losing air last night and went completely flat a couple of minutes after she blew it up tonight.
Date: 2017-06-20
From: Carlo Col Shelter

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

The rain had stopped by morning and we started pulling everything out that was wet and strung a clothesline to hang it on.  We spent the day keeping things in the sun so they would dry.  We went down to get water and just as we returned it started sprinkling.  We were grateful that we made it back in time to grab all our stuff before it got wet again.We made the decision to get off the trail and skip Mahousic Notch.  This area is known as the worst mile of the whole trail.  I'm definitely not ready for that.  It was going to be a long walk to get out, but that's what we had to do.
Date: 2017-06-21
From: Carlo Col Shelter

To: Andover. ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We actually walked about 15 miles today but none of it was on the AT so it doesn't count. We walked 2.4 miles on the Carlo Coll Trail to get to a gravel road where we walked a couple of miles when a couple from MA stopped and gave us a ride 2 miles up the road to their destination.  We started walking again and stopped another couple to ask directions.  We weren't sure they'd told us right but no one else was around to ask.  Turned out they were correct but it was another 10.2 miles after we took their advice.We did have a nice surprise in the middle of the afternoon...a mountain spring.  It was called Mountain Fountain and had wonderful clean and cold water.  We filled up our bottles and hit the road again.  Just before we got to the highway a beekeeper, Robin, picked us up and took us to the hostel in Andover.  She had passed us earlier in the afternoon, had finished checking her hives and come back to see if we were still on the road.  She had seen a bear earlier so she wanted to make sure we got out safely.  Thank you Robin!!  Another long day but at least we didn't have to contend with climbing rocks.
Date: 2017-06-22
From: South Arm Rd.

To: East B Hill Rd.
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: moderate rain

Today we were slackpacking.  On our way to the trail we saw a moose.  It was on the side of the road and we had to stop because it looked like it might walk into the road.  It walked along the side of the road for several yards then walked in front of the car.  That was our first moose sighting.  How cool!Started at 7:30 and climbed Moody Mountain.  Had to call David at lunch to let him know when we would be ready to be picked up.  We told him 4:30 since we had 6 miles to do and figured we'd be able to do 2mph and he told us it was an easy hike..  Boy were we wrong.  It took us until 5:30 to get to the road.  David had another coupe of hikers to pick up so he left and had Gloria who also works with the hostel to come pick us up.  Thanks to both for getting us back to Pine Ellis.We went to The Little Red Hen for a Mexican buffet.  It really tasted good and we ate lots.  We had the bunk room to ourselves last night but tonight Freight Train and Salesman moved in.
Date: 2017-06-23
From: Andover. ME

To: Andover, ME
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Staying another nite at Pine Ellis Hostel. We moved to a private room because we wanted to spread out our equipment and make some repairs and it was nice to have some privacy and quiet. The bunk room was probably going to be full tonight and we wanted the extra room to spread out. Had a busy but relaxing day.