morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Just past Coon Den Falls Trail

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: moderate rain

Rained all night - couldn't open vestibule door for condensation control, so LOTS of drippage. I'm wondering if the seams I sealed in Erwin are still leaking. Top of sleeping bag damp, small puddles along downhill side of tent. Packed up in light rain with very wet tent. Reached Laurel Fork shelter after VERY ILL THOUGHT OUT PORTION OF THE TRAIL!! Trail is very strenuous down to Falls, then at the actual edge of the river, then very strenuous back up. This should be a blue-blaze and not the actual Trail. Right ankle was very bad going down and up. Shelter had Hungry Bear and Amber Kat there - they had stayed the previous night and were going to stay another night because of her ankle. My ankle NOT well - ibuprofen NOT working. Limping badly. Started Aleve as well, but still no pain reduction. Hostel very nice - almost empty. It's about 1.5 miles from the Trail, which may be why. 1920's building - very nice owner, Sutton Brown. Lots of cool antique furniture being used. I'd really like the butcher block table in the hallway!!!!One young pup had food poisoning or giardia - was taken to the hospital the next day. Laundry at local saloon - mom cat had a litter of kittens in laundry room - very cute. All tiger striped: 1 yellow, 2 light grey, 1 dark grey. Hard to walk to laundry and store. Going to have to take another zero day to let ankle subside.
Date: 2012-04-19
From: Erwin, TN

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Another zero - ankle subsiding a little. I'm getting very frustrated and depressed now with the lack of progress. Only 50 miles from Damascus, VA. I'll see if the ibuprofen and Aleve help today. Eating the oldish Trail food to clean out the food bag and won't move until this evening for supper. Heavy fog over the mountains - cleared about 1000. No rain predicted until Sat/Sun with 60% chance of t-storms. 30's on Monday night!Left heel blister doing ok - healing well and not seeping. Still have no internet at this point - WAY behind on Trail journals (this from my written journal!)Made the first 2 miles yesterday in 50 minutes or so - this part of the Trail should be NO problem for me. Very frustrating. I could make great progress if I didn't have the ankle hurting. There is a girl I have leapfrogged who sprained her ankle, is wearing a soft cast and is out-hiking me. Sheesh. Very bad mental ups and downs right now.
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Erwin, TN

To: Mile 428
Miles today: 12.5

Decided to start again - rain in the forecast and I need to make some miles. 1.5 miles to the actual Trail, so I go on Trail about 1020. Hard getting out of Laurel Fork - 1.5 hours up, 2 hours down the next hill. Group of young pups took a break in the MIDDLE of the Trail with no real way around them. I just kept saying, "Excuse me" and bulled on through. They finally pulled their feet in so I could get by. Can't understand the attitude of these types of hikers. Saw my first pink Ladies Slipper today! Very pretty. Curly haired, silver haired girl at Wautauga Lake shelter about 1630 - twisted ankle and is going slow. She was one of the ones with Father-man (he's important) a few days earlier. Went over dam - took videos for my kids back at school. Need to send this photo card back as well. Snow showers now in the forecast for Sunday now. Yay. Glad for 2nd liner - may need it more than ever. Phone call home: central VA maps have FINALLY arrived after ordering last year! Whip-poor-wills calling all around campsite. Really nice. Can see the narrows of Wautauga Lake downhill, probably highway 67. Passed 2 GREAT campsites to settle on a third OK one. Lots of leaves around - I piled them up on my tent site for additional padding. I can hear small rodents or something rustling through the leaves around me! Trying for 15 per day at least to finish on time. Really need more in case of more zero days. Right ankle stiff, but meds seem to be working. Have 2 blisters on left heel now - inside and outside edges. Outside edge one fairly large - inch long, 1/2 inch wide, 1/4 inch high! Not sure why, nothing has really changed!Got a 6x8 tarp for the top of the tent to see if it was rain or condensation dripping on me!
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Mile 428

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Got to the shelter about 1630 - ankle hurting somewhat, but seems to be OK for now. Can't remember a lot of this day - added to my written journal on the 23rd. T-storms in distance, so I stopped here. Started raining, so set up camp and rested. Rained the rest of the day and all night. No condensation, no drips, so probably the seams are leaking. The tarp evidently stopped the leaks. Vestibule door open and no condensation.
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Double Spring Gap
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

Late start out today: 1100 after breakfast. Right ankle bad, blisters bad, attitude and morale bad, bad, bad. Went up to the shelter to make breakfast and it was trashed. Slob hikers yet again. While I was making breakfast, Santa and Elf (Gnome?) came up, had breakfast as well and cheered me up pretty much. They started 03 March and are finally catching up to me. This helped quite a bit. 1430: after much pain, rage, frustration and depression over ankle and blisters, stopped just past the handicapped accessible area for lunch. Ate, rested about 20 minutes, talked with God about what I'm supposed to do, what His plan may be, etc. Can't understand why this is getting so hard as the Trail is getting progressively easier in terrain. Thanked God for the blessing of reaching this point and re-started. Kept walking and found a Trail Magic box from a group of Baptist RAs. Box was empty, but the thought really was neat, as the kids were from grades 3-6. After about 1500, ankle and blisters were pain free. Not sure why this miracle occured, but I took advantage of it. Snow was predicted: 1-3 inches of accumulation! Not sure about this, as the predictions in the past have usually not panned out. Still.......snow! Found a place to camp, but decided to push on a bit further. Got to Double Spring Gap. No wind at that time, nice area, so I set up my tent with the new tarp facing the west where the weather was coming from. Sure enough, after about 2 hours, lots of wind, light rain and then snow. Wind and snow ALL night long. Snow against the tarp sounded like a million spiders scratching to get in. I'm not worried about spiders, so it didn't bother me. Checked a couple of times during the night for leaks, etc. but nothing. Slept warm and dry, with occasional wind gusts from under the vestibule entry where the tarp didn't catch it. Still shivered about 0200, but not sure why. Calories, maybe? I'm pretty sure I'll never camp in another gap again. Everytime, the wind is from the west and blows HARD! I should know better by now. Did not realize at the time I had done 13 miles. Did not seem far at all.
Date: 2012-04-23
From: Double Spring Gap

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: light rain

LOTS of snow during the night. Great pictures and videos, but I forgot my cord to the card reader today (26 Apr), so I'll try to load tomorrow. I only get 2 hours of internet. per day at the library.Out of camp by 1030. SCIENCE TIP:   Did you know: when a wet piece of cord or rope gets snowed on, it freezes and is almost impossible to untie???? Snow finally stopped coming down about 1020 or so, but wind still strong from the west. After snow stopped falling, the wind started breaking pieces of the frozen snow from the branches above me and pelting me with them. Almost like sleet or hail.Blisters and ankle are hurting. I can walk, but it's getting painful again. Going to go slow and camp about 2 miles from Damascus. Have called every hostel/inn in town and everyone is full. Got to Abingdon Shelter about 1300 - 1.5 mph or so. Not bad, better than I thought I was going. Trail is pretty clear. Have at least 3 other hikers ahead of me, no doubt with reservations for tonight! Had lunch, lounged around trying to update my journal and finally got back on Trail at 1500 or so. Hot lunch with coffee should help, as well as going slow.Planned to hike until about 1800 and start looking for another campsite lower down the mountain to try and get to warmer temps. Made TN/VA border by 1810! Timed myself: better than 2 mph! After hitting the border and making the good time, on an uphill, the right blister broke and I literally could NOT walk. Had to stop and try to do first aid. Out of bandaids, out of moleskin, had to put pad over blister with duct tape. Skin still attached, so it's covered fairly well. After about 20 minutes, I could walk again. Now, I have to rock the right foot back and forth a couple of times to get it to work, otherwise, it starts off with massive pain. Made a reservation at the Montgomery Homestead Inn for the next two night. Ms. Montgomery apologetic, but no other openings. Another down day to get to the clinic to see what's going on. 200 yards later, feet just sore and I'm flying down the Trail again. Called from my camping spot 2.5 miles out - still nothing for tonight, but Ms M. stated "The Place" was still open. Made town at 1930 +/-. Stopped for pizza, got to The Place and got the LAST bunk, thank You, God. Was going to tent, but the temp was supposed to fall overnight. Noise from tipsy young pups finally stopped about 2300 and I got a fairly good night's rest.
Date: 2012-04-24
From: Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Can't move - ankle bad, bad, bad. Made appt at the clinic, got into my room at the Montgomery, showered, did laundry and made the appt. Diagnosis: severe tendonitis most probable. No fracture at least.Recommendation: 6-8 WEEKS to heal, otherwise permanent damage may result. Secondary: 4 days minimum from hiking to start the healing, prescription steroids for 6 days with a backup dose if the ankle continues, no pain killers until steroids are gone (OOOOWWWWWW), antibiotics for blisters, given ankle brace and told that if I continue on, to slow down. Any slower, and I'll fall over. I'll be going as slow as a 6th grader to Mr. White's science test!After twice being told on the phone and once at the reception desk that new patients were NEVER prescribed narcotic pain killers, after looking at me hobble, checking the feet and "Hmmmm"ing a bit, the Dr prescribed narcotic pain killers. Very despondent when the Dr told me weeks to heal, slow down, etc. Guy at the Outfitters states 10-15 miles per day is about average for now, but if I can't do that, then the hike may as well be over.
Date: 2012-04-25
From: Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Started steroids, as too late in the day for all the pills yesterday. Had one pain pill last night to sleep, as I had not take anything since 1500 on 23 Apr. Clinic asked me NOT to take anything before the appt yesterday. Had gone over 24 hours with NO pain meds, so it was not a happy time. After 20 minutes of walking around the room, pain back and seemingly worse that ever. Ankle brace only make it worse. Set up my tent to dry and hung my sleeping bag out to air. Went to Outfitters to buy a couple of things: stuff bags for tent and groundcloth, as the wet tent and groundcloth seem to put moisture all through my pack. Also, the stuff bag will help condense the size of my pack, since the tent will be in a smaller bag. Across street to the library to catch up on journal, read some, Dollar Store for food for the next couple of days and back to thr room and bed. Room is upstairs, so it's hard to hobble down to the kitchen for meals without holding onto everything in sight!
Date: 2012-04-26
From: Damascus, VA

To: Valrico, FL
Miles today: 0.0

Have to quit the Trail at this time. Right foot/ankle refuses to flex when stepping on uneven surfaces or support my weight going up or down obstacles, which of course, is 99.76% of all the Trail surfaces. Dr. said 6-8 weeks. I'm going to try for 3. I'm hoping to get back on the Trail on/about 18 May, with the hopes of finishing this trek by 31 Aug or a little later. Thanks for all the encouragement and support thus far. I hope to continue this journal in May.
Date: 2012-05-11
From: Valrico, FL

To: Valrico
Miles today: 0.0

Update on the right foot:Got home 30 Apr and started allegedly resting my foot. X-rays and exam indicate soft tissue damage of some sort. I was put on meds for that type of injury and joint problems. After almost 3 weeks, I have no pain in the foot. I've planned to get back on Trail 16 May now. On 10 May, after a LOT of gear shuffling and discarding (Thanks again, 6th Grade Team for the gift certificate!!), I put my pack together with 2.5 days of food and walked into my wife's classroom to give a presentation on my gear and what I was doing on the Trail. The pack weighs in at only 31 pounds, 4 pounds of which is water alone. I've gone to a Ridgecrest sleeping pad that works really well, downloaded my thermals and removed various odds and ends that had not been used in the last 2 months on the Trail. After I nail down how far to the next re-supply point, I expect my pack to weigh about 35-38 pounds. This is 15+ pounds from my starting pack at Springer and since I've lost 20 pounds, it will help quite a bit.Today, 11 May, I took the pack with 4 pounds of water and did a short 4 mile practice hike. I covered the 4 miles in 1 hour, 15 minutes, even after consciously trying to slow down. Granted, this is in Fl and flat. I hardly noticed the pack at all. I only have some stiffness and minor pain in the right foot, most of which is from where the old skin has come off the blisters and the new skin is still tender. I'm shooting for about 10 miles on 14 May, leaving on 15 May and getting to Damascus on 16 May where I'll start in front of the Montgomery Homestead Inn, where I last had my pack on for hiking the AT. More updates to follow, if my foot continues to be trouble-free!
Date: 2012-05-14
From: Valrico

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Heading north tomorrow - 15 May. Should be on the Trail 17 May. Did 3 miles yesterday - average moving speed according to the GPSr was 3.3 MPH. Took just over an hour to complete. No problems with the ankle, other than some soreness after about 2 miles or so. Would have been more, but I had the hound dog with me. She got pooped out about mile 2. She hasn't been hiking for a while!Woke up this morning with little residual stiffness in the foot, nothing more than usual for an old hiker. Pack is re-packed, weight about 38-40 pounds with the addition of 4 days of food. Still feels light, feels comfortable. Still too much food, but PB&J alone is 1 pound. Add the pop-tarts, oatmeal bars, tortillas or mini-bagels, GORP, candy bars for in-between-meals and it all adds up. Extra blister materials added: moleskin, band-aids, etc. Water filter cleaned. Maps updated. New batteries in everything.Rechargeable batteries recharged.Photo cards downloaded into the computer. Butterflies in the stomach put on active status and bouncing around!Looking to do about 5-7 miles on Wednesday, depending on when I'm dropped off. After that, we'll see. Elevation seems to be about 1000 feet out of Damascus in 2-3 miles, so it shouldn't be too bad. The problem will be trying to slow down at first, per Dr's orders. Looks like clear, sunny weather through next week, with the exception of pop-up t-storms. Might not get a chance to update the journal for a while. Once again, thanks to everyone for all the support and prayers. Off we go, like a herd of turtles.
Date: 2012-05-16
From: Damascus, VA

To: .5 Miles South of Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: broken clouds

FINALLY!!! Back on the Trail at 1500 or so. Made 8+ miles, but I'm only going to take credit for 8, as I'm not sure where I stopped.I was dropped off by my shuttle in front of Mt. Rogers Outfitters. These people were great! My driver was the former owner and his son now runs the store. We had a good discussion of what was coming up, mileage, etc. I decided to get a few more meals, just in case, as I wasn't sure how fast I was going to be going. $124 later: shuttle, new insoles, meals, etc. I finally escaped! I'm telling you, I bleed money when in a town!The Trail was pretty nice - fairly flat, smooth, nice park-like areas for camping. However, at 1900, there was no camping to be found on the eyebrow trail! I said a quick prayer, as I did NOT want to go the additional (I thought ) 1.5 miles to the shelter and 10 minutes later, on a bend of the Trail, a wonderfully flat campsite! Quick meal at 1945, bear bag up and in bed. Cool night, clear skies, off in the distance I can hear river/stream rapids. Great sleeping conditions. Feet doing great. Pack riding well.
Date: 2012-05-17
From: .5 Miles South of Saunders Shelter

To: Whitetop Mountain Road Campsites
Miles today: 12.5

Out of camp at 0930 - have to do better if I'm going to make miles. Cool morning, dry air, clear skies.Lots of people SOBO for Trail Days - I'm glad I'm out of the craziness. 20,000 people descending on a town of 900 is just not my cup of tea. Or coffee!Day is warm - sweating quite a bit - drinking a lot of water to make sure I'm hydrated. Trail seems easy, but moderate uphills are still my problem. I really slow down, esp. when hungry. Chipmunks are out big time - running over the Trail, sitting up and looking at me. They don't let me grab my camera and take a picture, though. The Trail is flattish, almost rock free and really easy to hike. There are tons of campsites now - all flat, all park-like with the tulip poplar and oak trees shading out the undergrowth and a layer of leaves from last fall for padding. It's really nice here in SW VA. In camp at Whitetop MT at 1830. Tired and hungry. Several people here already, but it doesn't seem crowded at all. T-storms growling in the west, but seem to be moving west, so I'm hoping for another clear, cool night. The residue of the blister on my left heel is pinging, but a blister pad on the site keeps any problems down. Feet are doing GREAT! Right foot sore, but just from hiking, I think.
Date: 2012-01-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Can you believe this weather. It has been so warm the last few days I am getting the itch to go back to Virginia. But I know that will change in a few days, not the itch, the weather. I got out this afternoon and took a 3.4 mile walk and saw a man fishing for bluegill. Any way it felt good to be outside and on the move. I've been sitting around too much since returning from our annual after Christmas trip to Gatlinburg. I hiked up to Ramsey's Cascades in the Smokies while there, an 8 mile round trip, and caught myself singing the old John Denver song Hey It's Great To Be Back Home Again.
Date: 2012-01-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

My daughter has expressed a desire to hike the rest of the Shinnies with me this Spring. Her work schedule allows her to be off work 7 consecutive days every month so I'm hoping we will be able to work out a week where we can hike the remaining 65 miles together. She hiked from Newfound Gap to Hot Springs with me in '09 and now has the AT itch also. She is a lot stronger hiker than me so I will have to rein her in so I can keep up. She tried out her new Ospry Pack in the Smokies last week, which suited me just fine because I didn't have to carry anything but a bottle of water to Ramsey's Cascades.
Date: 2012-04-22
To: Planning Another Section Hike
Miles today: 0.0

I am planning to return to the trail around the 12th of May for another section hike. My daughter is going to accompany for this hike. Due to her son's graduation, my grandson, we will be limited to 10 days on the trail. We should be able to do the Swift Run Gap to Harper's Ferry section in 10 days even without having our "hiker's legs". I'm not sure if we will do a north bound or south bound, it depends on what kind of shuttle I can arrange. Hope to meet some of this years thru hikers that I have been following on Trail Journals.
Date: 2012-05-11
To: Harrisonburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

First let me apologize for the untimeliness of the following entries. I was unable to journal from the trail and have had visitors at the house ever since I have been home. Having said that here goes.5/11/2012 I picked up my daughter Pocahontas at 6 a.m. and we drove to Harrisonburg, VA arriving at 4:30 p.m. After checking in at the Motel 6 we drove to Swift Run Gap to get our back country permits for the SNP. Knowing we would be getting a late start tomorrow due to our shuttle schedule we are trying to save any time we can. After a nice dinner at Chili¢s we double checked our packs and now it is time for some much needed sleep before beginning our hike to Harper¢s Ferry.
Date: 2012-05-12
From: Swift Run Gap

To: Bearfence Mtn. Hut
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: overcast clouds

As per plan we went to Shoney¢s for breakfast this morning then headed north toward Harper¢s Ferry. We are to be picked up at 1:30 by Sharon¢s Shuttle of Front Royal and shuttled back to Swift Run Gap to begin hiking north. Having some time to kill we stopped at the outfitters in Luray and purchased some Permethrin to treat our clothing for ticks. We made a stop in Front Royal at the Subway for sandwiches for supper tonite as we will probably be getting into camp near dark. We arrived at Harper¢s Ferry about noon, registered the car at the Visitor¢s Center, and waited for Sharon. She arrived on time and at 3:30 we were back at Swift Run Gap ready to hit the trail. It was 9 mi. to our planned stop at Bearfence Mtn. Hut. There was not a lot to see today, just one overlook, so we walked a fairly steady pace. About 3 hours into the hike we walked up on a nice 300 lb. bear but it quickly made its exit before we could grab our cameras. We also saw deer and chipmunks along the trail. We made it to the hut about 8:30 and as darkness was setting in and not finding the tenting area we set our tents up behind the shelter (I know bad choice). Broke park rules the first night. I thought it odd that no one passed us today and there is only one thru hiker at the hut. I had envisioned a lot of thru hikers would be coming through this time of the year. There is a deer here at the shelter that is very tame, posing for pictures, and making noise around our tents. Maybe it will leave after it figures out it is not going to be fed.
Date: 2012-05-13
From: Bearfence Mtn. Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up at 5:30 and it was already light. Not so at home. I slowly got up and started empting my tent and moving everything in front of the hut. Seems I set my tent up on an ant hill and they were not happy. Lucky for me only one had gotten inside the tent before I zipped it up last night and it met it¢s demise. I quietly got everything out of the ants abode trying not to wake the thru hiker in the hut. Pocahontas got up about 6 and we fixed breakfast. By that time the hiker in the hut was up. His name is Achy Breaky and he is from Frankfurt Germany. I find that after not being on the trail for 6 months I am terribly disorganized but we finally got hiking at 8:30. We stopped by Big Meadows Wayside for lunch at 1:00. What a treat to have Cheeseburgers right on the trail. We met Zig Zag near the Big Meadows Campground and chatted with her for a while. She is in the area doing some hiking with Greenstone and Thimbleberry. Then it was another 4.4 miles to Rock Springs Hut for the night. There were several good overlooks today plus deer, chipmunks, and a fox. There are several hikers at the hut tonite, Philly Ben, Hawkeye, Smokin Joe, Willie Boy, Achy Breaky, Whitewater, and Uno. I may have missed one or two. Pocahontas and I are tenting, although they are calling for rain tonite. I don¢t like huts and try to stay out since I am a loud snorer and do not wish to disturb the other hikers sleep. We are going to try to get up early and hike to Skyland Resort for breakfast.