morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-05
From: Home

To: Still Home
Miles today: 0.0

Since I am sitting at home and nowhere near the AT there doesn't seem to be any point in me writing about life on the trail. However, I do want to mention a few things that have transpired since leaving the mountains for some time off and where I am at physically and mentally. I am not sitting at home because I want to or feel like I earned a break. The doctor in Erwin said that I needed at least a week off to let the swelling in my leg subside and additional time if the antibiotics didn't work and some other course of action was needed. Since returning home I have gone to our hometown doctor and she suggested additional measures to get the swelling to go down. Elevating my leg, a compression wrap, a diuretic, and antibiotics reduced the swelling completely within 48 hours. Today I went for x-rays of the tibia, fibula, and ankle to make sure there are no fractures to cause problems when I return to hiking. I am really grateful for the care and attention that I have received and hope it gets me back hiking soon. I still have a little bit of soreness around the two areas on my leg where they kissed the rock. I am pretty confident that I will be released to continue hiking sometime within the next week. I am letting the doctors get me ready physically and I am getting myself ready mentally so that I can finish this hike. I will probably go straight to Damascus when I head back South. After spending a few days at Trail Days with my daughter Meghan she and I will start hiking north into Virginia for 4 days. Then my son Carson and son-in -law Kurt will hike for 3 days on Memorial Day weekend with me. At that point I will decide if I am going to keep going north or go back and finish the 160 miles south of Damascus. There will possibly be more people hiking with me this month and that might help determine which way I hike. At some point I will hike the remaining miles in Tennessee, it might even be after Maine but right now that idea doesn't really appeal to me. I will be the first to admit that I have underestimated the physical challenges of an AT hike. But after getting beat up a few times I am more determined than ever to make it all the way to Maine. If I had to pick a few highlights of my trip so far I would list best view- Max Patch, best Trail Magic- Pepsi's and cheesecake, best hiking companion-Lumberjack, best meal- Smoky Mountain Diner, best day of hiking- Big Stamp Gap to Hawk Mountain Shelter, best hiker made Trail Magic- snow cones, and best story- a mouse eating food out of a hikers beard while he is sleeping. Low light is being told that you have to take some time off at the Urgent Care Clinic and also finding out afterward that your insurance won't pay for the visit. I was told later that if I went to the emergency room it would have been covered. Keep that in mind fellow hikers if you need medical advice or treatment.
Date: 2014-05-17
From: Damascus Va.

To: Damascus Virginia
Miles today: 0.0

Saturday morning I drove to my daughter Meghan's house so that we could drive down to Damascus, Virginia. We both wanted to see what the hiker celebration called Trail Days was all about. She also wanted to hike with me for a few days to see what it was like to hike in the mountains. I would also try and catch up with some of the people that I was hiking with before I had to go home for medical reasons. We left Plainfield,Indiana about 11:30 ET and headed for the Virginia mountains. Just before we got into Virginia the car started running rough on the long uphills. We pulled over to check under the hood but couldn't find anything loose or missing. We kept going hoping that we wouldn't become stranded a long way from home on a Saturday night. Somehow, we made it to Damascus about 7:30 and looked for a place to set up our tents before dark. This little town had been invaded by AT hikers and most of the places that let you set up tents were full. The Methodist Church in town runs a Hostel called The Place that has bunks and places where you can set up on the grass so we set up there. It wasn't dark yet so we walked around town to see where events would be tomorrow. The town is surrounded by mountains and has a river running on both sides to make it quite scenic. The AT runs right through town and it is quite alive during this annual celebration. We ran into Grizzzelle and Dancing Feather part of our original wolfpack hiker group. Some other hikers in my old hiker bubble were also in town. Trail Lobster, Viking, Giggles, and Appocalypse were at the Blue Blaze Cafe. I was told that Lumberjack was also in for the party and we would try to catch up with him on Sunday. We saw Spirit at the Hostel, he told us that he had some medical issues back in Hot Springs and had to give up his hike. It was getting late so we returned to our tents to get some sleep.
Date: 2014-05-18
From: Damascus Virginia

To: Erwin Tennessee
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Meghan and I got up about 7:00, we couldn't find anyplace open for breakfast before 8:00 so we went for a walk. We saw some people fishing down by the river and a couple of them had caught some nice size brook trout. The Fire Dept was having a trout rodeo during Trail Days. We ate breakfast at the Blue Blaze Cafe on the main street of town. We both had a country fried steak , cheese, and egg submarine sandwich that was pretty tasty. Then we went to the vendors down by the river where Black Diamond replaced my broken hiking pole with a newer version. We also bought some socks and other items marked down for the final day. We also won a pair of kids hiking poles at the ATC booth. We did a little shopping at the Dollar Store and Food City for our hike this week. We ran into Redhawk, Bloodroot, Safety First, Wander Bus, Detroit Flyer, Frisbee, Ghost, Baloo, Achilles and some other hikers from my old hiker bubble. We found out that Munchie had gone home and gave up his hike. We had gave him and his friend a ride into Erwin one night before dark. He was the hiker that my grand daughter Rhain had called a pirate. We also caught up with the family from Canada and talked with them for awhile. Her parents were going to hike a few weeks with them. We finally caught up with Lumberjack and Heather and ate lunch with them. It was getting late in the afternoon and Meghan and I still had a long drive to Erwin Tn. so we said our good-byes and headed out of Damascus. The car ran fine today, I think it was probably just adjusting to the altitude, a problem we ran into one year when we went out west. We decided to set up our tents at Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin so that we would be there for our shuttle on Monday to the place on the trail where I stopped hiking on the 27th of April. We met SOG at the hostel who I hadn't seen since the NOC on April 15th. We went to bed about dark so we could be well rested for hiking in the morning.
Date: 2014-05-19
From: Erwin Tennessee

To: Jerry Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: clear sky

Meghan and I woke up raring to go hiking, the weather for the next week looks pretty good. We were taking a 9:00 shuttle from Uncle Johnny's Hostel to where I left off before I got hurt on the trail. For some reason they wouldn't take us down the gravel road where the trail starts even though there were several houses on this road. That added almost a mile to our hike for the day before we even got on the trail. We started out with a nice uphill that quickly welcomed Meghan to the AT. All of the uphills that she hiked on the approach trail in March didn't count as AT miles. We encountered a couple snakes along the way as we hiked to Little Laurel Shelter. They had a nice water source so we filled up our water bottles and took a short break before moving on. Spider(New Jersey) and Godfather(Maine) caught up with us there. They also rode on the shuttle this morning so we felt like we already knew them. Meghan's pack weighed 29.7 pounds this morning and mine weighed 32.25 because I left a few things back in Erwin. We had some nice views at Whiterock Cliffs and Blackstack Cliffs. We had uphills most of the day and it continued as we climbed up Big Firescald Knob. It was a rocky ridge that you wouldn't want to be on during bad weather. The view from the top was worth the effort and we took plenty of pictures. The climb down on the big rocks was also challenging. We finally arrived at Jerry Cabin Shelter where we tented for the night. I messed up the threads on my dirty water bottle when I threaded it on my water filter. We finally got our water bottles filled and cooked dinner at the shelter. We sat around the campfire with Godfather and Spider before calling it a day.
Date: 2014-05-20
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: broken clouds

We woke up about 7:00 and started hiking about 8:30. We were both a little sore mine was in my shoulders. We ate lunch at Flint Mountain Shelter about 1:00. We had hikes up Big Butt Mountain this morning and encountered a big pile of bear poop right on the trail. We talked with Rocky Bottom and No Name on the trail hiking southbound Erwin to Hot Springs. We met Boomerang at Devil's Fork Gap and turned down some free beer and pot from some other hikers. If you know me that shouldn't surprise you that we turned down that form of Trail Magic. We stopped at Hogback Ridge Shelter for the night and set up our tents. Meghan's better at setting up camp than hiking uphills. We met Wild Child(Atlanta) at the shelter for the first time. We experienced Trail Magic in the form of hot dogs but we had to cook our own. They were provided by Spider. The water source was a nice hike downhill and made our 15 mile day seem even longer. We had great phone service so I made some calls home.
Date: 2014-05-21
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 15.8

We got up early, about 7:15, we were wanting to get as close to Erwin as we could. Meghan was having issues with blisters on both feet so she covered them with moleskin and duct tape and we headed out. We were hoping for some Trail Magic at Sam's Gap to brighten her day but it didn't happen. We are either too far out of the hiker bubble or it was too early in the day. I was hoping that she would get to experience it. We hiked up 1700 feet to Big Bald, nice views but it was cloudy and windy so we didn't stay long. We stopped for lunch at Big Bald Shelter but it was really trashed by former hikers. It's a shame that some hikers don't clean up after themselves. We met Sunjay on the trail from Colorado and Babs Bunny, Aquaman, and Six Slash for the first time. Little Bald was not that impressive so we hiked on to cover some miles. We set up camp in Spivey Gap, a nice campsite and built a nice fire. I was trying to make things more enjoyable for Meghan and take her mind off of her feet. We tried to text her husband Kurt and see if he could call Uncle Johnny's and arrange for a shuttle to take her to Erwin in the morning. We couldn't get anyone at the Hostel so we decided that I could slack pack into Erwin and come back and pick up Meghan in my car. We went to bed not sure what we would do.
Date: 2014-05-23
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Old Apple Orchard
Miles today: 12.6

Most of the people on the bottom floor left before daylight. The wanted to see the sun come up but it was really foggy so I doubt if they saw it. After they left we stretched out and enjoyed the bottom floor to ourselves. We weren't in any hurry to get started because of the fog, it would seem like night hiking. We finally left the shelter and headed back down toward the parking lot where we started last night. We were hanging around the restrooms when it started raining and blowing so we hung around there about an hour. When the rain finally let up the wind cleared off the fog and clouds and we were off, southbound to Erwin. The trail was a little muddy at first because they had changed the trail in a couple of places south of Roan Mtn. and the ground had been stirred up and soaked up the rain. We saw a couple of orange salamanders and had a nice view at Little Rock Knob. We were going to go into a hostel to show the guys what they looked like and maybe get a soft drink or spend the night but we missed Greasy Creek Gap. We were meeting a lot of people going northbound and we were going in the opposite direction so we were trying to make them think that they were going the wrong way. Nobody bought our story. We went past Pillar Rock and came to a clearing that was an old apple orchard so we set up camp there. There was supposed to be a meteor shower tonight but nobody will get out of their tent tonight. I too tired! The people in a campsite close to us stayed up for it and had glow sticks all over their place last night.
Date: 2014-05-24
From: Old Apple Orchard

To: Curley Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: broken clouds

We got up and fixed breakfast,filled water bottles, and broke camp about 8:00. We wanted to get close to Erwin to make Sunday's hike a short one. Carson is having pretty good luck finding snakes but they don't look too threatening. We talked to Biscuit on the trail out for a hike with his/her dog. Biscuit thru-hiked the AT in 2010. We stopped at Cherry Gap Shelter for a break and to fill water bottles. We met Silent Bob(Quebec) and PopC(Tucson). He was from the same city as my son-in-law Kurt, now Gila Monster. He retired from the U.S. Forest Service and is a trail maintainer on the Arizona Trail. He also thru hiked the Arizona Trail and was tellin us all about it. We hiked up Unaka Mountain that took us through a dense spruce forest,it would have been cool to camp there and smelled fantastic. Later we went up to the beauty spot, our best view of the day with excellent views. We stopped for the night at Curley Maple Gap Shelter, Carson, now Seeds and I slept in the shelter because there were very few tent sites. Gila Monster put up his tent for the night. The shelter was rebuilt in 2010 with all materials being donated by LL Bean. We sat around the campfire with Drops(Johnson City), his son Austin(Memphis), and Rot Man from Germany. Another guy in the shelter had grown up around here and was telling us a lot about the area, but unfortunately he was the only and loudest snorer in the shelter. The mice were pretty quiet in the shelter though. One hiker from Florida was also tenting there and he had been living off of cold oatmeal for awhile. Seeds asked me if I had an extra meal in my food bag witch I did. He cleaned it up pretty good and really appreciated some different food. We enjoyed the campfire until 10:00 and then went to bed. Real food in town tomorrow.
Date: 2014-05-25
From: Curley Maple Gap Shelter

To: Holiday Inn
Miles today: 4.7

We were up at 6:30 and got ready to hike into Erwin. I think my hiking partners in the past week have enjoyed their hikes but also have a better appreciation for the challenges of the trail. The views have been incredible compared to the flat midwest. We had a fairly easy downhill hike crossing several streams and footbridges. I took some pictures of mountain laurel and honeysuckle. We soon crossed the Nolichucky River and we were done hiking by 9:30. We gave a couple of hikers that stayed at the shelter last night a ride to their car at Iron Mountain Gap where they started hiking a few days ago.They were getting in a hike before his son left to go to Brazil for a couple of years. Then we went Johnson City so I could do laundry, get a new backpack, and eat lots of food. Dave at Mahony's spent a lot of time fitting me with the right backpack while Gila Monster took care of my laundry. I purchased an Osprey Aether 70 that feels incredible and holds lots of gear. We decided to spend the night so we could get hot showers, get rested up for tomorrow, and eat lots of food. We went to Shoney's and went through both the breakfast and lunch buffets. In the evening we went to a nice german restaraunt that had amazing snitzell and potatoes. Seeds and Gila Monster insisted on me trying a german beer that wasn't too bad but more than I could drink. We went back to the hotel so I could transfer everything to my new backpack and the guys could relax and watch tv. I spent the rest of the evening working on Trail Journals and we went to bed way after hiker midnight.
Date: 2014-05-26
From: Holiday Inn

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Memorial Day everyone! We woke up at 6:00 at the hotel, no free breakfast so we went to McDonald's. They have a pretty good steak,egg,and cheese bagel. The guys drove me back to Roan Mtn. and joked about kicking me out in the parking lot like a discarded pet and driving off. Yogi Bear and Birdie were eating breakfast at the parking lot picnic tables and she took a picture of the three of us before I took off. I have really enjoyed hiking with family this past week but it is time for me to go it alone for awhile. I stopped at the shelter to see if it looked any different without the fog. Wild Child was there and the hikers from the other night with all of the glow sticks were too. A Ridge Runner named Fletcher hollered out to me as I was leaving. He remembered me from the Smokies and was in charge of this section of the trail now. I missed a sharp left turn on the trail and ended up backtracking to the white blaze. It was a nice hike to Carver Gap through streams and spruce trees. I hiked up Round Bald, it was a little hazy with all of the clouds. They are calling for a pretty good chance of storms today and this evening, I can still enjoy the views but the pictures aren't as clear. I had a pretty good walk up Jane Bald, the clouds have passed and I took lots of pictures. I stopped for lunch at the Stan Murray Shelter about 12:45. There was plenty of daylight left so I hiked to the Overmountain Shelter, an old barn with great views. I caught up with Wild Child and we hiked up Little Hump and Hump Mountain. There were a lot of uphill climbs today but the scenery was amazing and worth it. I thought about camping at the top and watching the the sunset tonight and the sunrise in the morning but you don't want to be on a bald during a storm. I'm going to hike to the Mountain Harbour Hostel when I get to the road, a dry bed is better than a wet tent. I'm sleeping in the loft in the barn, the beds are comfy and I don't have to worry about trees falling on me. I fixed dinner on a picnic table next to a nice mountain stream and made some phone calls back home. I worked on my journal book but wasn't able to download anything. I have a big blister on my left heel and my hips hurt because my new backpack is putting more weight on my hips. The fit is correct it's just that I have to get used to it. The humidity is also quite high and causing some chaffing issues. Other than that I feel great,it was a great day for hiking.
Date: 2014-05-27
From: Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up about 6:30 in the loft. Once again the threat of storms had chased me out of the woods but it didn't even rain. My body was tired though and I slept really well in a real bed. I met Loki(New York) at the shelter, I told her about our lighthouse vacation up by her and how we enjoyed the area. I got to Mountaineer Shelter about 1:00 and took a lunch break. I walked through a mixture of high meadows and forest during the afternoon. The trail followed a river for awhile today to make things a little different. I met Paperboy(Minnesota) and Sleepy(Ohio) during the day. Paperboy rode his bike to Georgia before beginning his hike. Mostly small ups and downs the rest of the day and stopped at the Moreland Gap Shelter about 6:00. Wild Child Had written in one of the shelter registers that she had saw her first bear today by a stream. I stayed in the shelter because of the threat of rain, I don't like packing up a wet tent in the morning.
Date: 2014-05-28
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Black Bear Resort
Miles today: 6.0

Woke up about 7:00 this morning. Heard my first screetch owl last night, they are different from any other owls. I think I know how they got their name. I left about 8:00, there is no hurry since I am only going to the hostel near Dennis Cove. My daughter Sunflower was nice enough to send me a food drop there. I will probably spend the night and catch up on my journals, I am way behind. I will also get a shower and do laundry, this humidity is making me one smelly hiker. Black Bear Resort is by far the best hostel I have stayed at this year. The owners are nice and make you feel right at home, but I especially like the way they have things set up. Little things like having the bunkrooms seperate from another building for hikers to hang out. They can watch tv, spend some time on the computer, or socialize and it doesn't interfere with the hikers that just want to sleep or rest. They have a well stocked store and their prices are reasonable. The hiker computer was in town being fixed so they let me use their personal laptop to post a few journals.They have a stream running through the property and also have caqbins, rv camping, or tent camping. They also have a banquet room that looks real spacious. The owners are from the midwest so I felt like I was back home while visiting with them. They warned me about nuisance bears near the Watauga Lake Shelter, probably due to food being left around the lake. Mathew is here in the bunkhouse, he was section hiking with his brother and had an injury that took him off the trail. He will be working at Skyland in Shenandoah National Park this summer so I will try and catch up with him when I hike through there. Another couple hiked in about 8:00 and will be staying in one of the cabins. I have been cooking my meals by the stream just as I did at the last hostel. I don't need to spend extra money and I need to lighten up my food bag. Hopefully, my body will be ready for two long days so that I can be in Damascus early Saturday.
Date: 2014-05-31
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: The Place Hostel 
Miles today: 9.9

Woke up about 6:00, my body is really tired this morning. I started walking about 7:30 but stopped and talked to the scout leaders and probably didn't leave camp until 8:00. The trail is going to be wet from the rain last night so no hurry. The trail didn't turn out to be all that wet, in Damascus it didn't even rain. I didn't stop for many pictures except for the one showing the Tenn./Virginia border. I arrived in Damascus in a little over 3 hours. I almost tripped again, my right foot caught a rough spot going over a log. As I got close to town I could hear lawnmowers and kids playing in the park. As I came out of the woods the sun was shining brightly. I stopped at the park and dried out my shirt, took off my gators, and made some phone calls. I was back in civilization! I went to the hostel to check in, took a shower, and took my laundry next door to get washed. Then I went to lunch and had the best Philly Cheese Steak ever. I went to the Dollar store and stopped at the outfitters and picked up my food package. Four days food to get me to the next town. The guy at the Outfitter Store said they have some bear problems at the second shelter north of town and take care of my food. I spent the rest of the day working on journals and then went to dinner. Once again I went to The Blue Blaze Cafe and had a great pizza. I talked to the daughter of the couple that was at the shelter two nights ago. I found out that the locals think that the area around Vandeventer Shelter is haunted. Supposedly a young girl was killed there and haunts the woods around the shelter. It was foggy when I was up there and I didn't see or hear anything. I saved some of my pizza for breakfast in the morning and went back to finish up some more journals. I am finally caught up for now. I have my food bag ready for tomorrow and I am ready to start hiking to the Grayson Highlands. It is a bald that has wild ponies on it. Virginia is for hikers!