morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-09-19
From: Lynn Camp Creek

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: overcast clouds

It was a little warmer today. Still not much sun though. Heading to Chestnut Knob Shelter today. Heard it is a nice shelter with 4 walls and a door at the top of a long hill. Most of today was uphill climbs. Think I have finally gotten comfortable going uphill - got my rhythm. I made it to the shelter by 4:30; Carey was about 30 minutes behind me. We are both tired and will probably crash early tonight. We were unable to fill up with water today. All spots were dry and/or scuzzy. We are heading to Jenkins Shelter tomorrow - 10 miles. Looks like we descend a bit out of here and then run a ridge line for the rest of the day - no hard ups and downs. Hoping it will be an easy day. Met 5 south bounders today.
Date: 2011-09-20
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Jenkins Dhelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today started horribly. Before we even settled into our bags it started raining. It poured all night - lots of wind. Thank goodness we were in the shelter and not in tents. I woke up about 3 am and got up and read for a while at the picnic table and then went back to bed. About 5:30 am it was still raining but Carey and I got up and started packing up. Low on water so I ate trail mix for breakfast.By the time we left it had stopped raining - for the day. Walked out into the fog in full rain gear. Quickly shucker out of the rain gear. Today's miles should have been pretty easy ridge walking, but being low on water it was a hard morning. Everywhere there should have been water was dry. Carey was completely out and struggling when we met a nice older lady out for a walk on the trail. She carried an umbrella and a clipboard and had missed one of the markers she was trying to follow. She was very glad to see us and talked our ears off all the way back to her car. Luckily, she had a couple of bottles of water that she graciously gave us. We ate our lunch and listened to her talk. She had just scared a black bear - again I didn't get to see a bear! We finally put our packs back on and she drove off - we continued on.Met a south bounder who said there was plenty of water at Jenkins Shelter - thank goodness! Just 4 more miles to go. Saw 12 little orange newts today! They are so cute and tiny. They move so slowly and there is a real danger of stepping on them. Caught a glimpse of a deer running away from us. More rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday. We are the only ones at the shelter again tonight. No good tent sites. I hear owls hooting and the squirrels are going crazy with the acorns.Tomorrow should be an easy 4.8 miles. It's 7:20 and getting dark. Time to curl up with a book and some music.
Date: 2011-09-21
From: Jenkins Dhelter

To: Bland,VA
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night was a noisy one. squirrels kept peppering the shelter roof with acorns that sounded like gunshots and the owls were very talkative.Finally left the shelter at 9 am - in the rain. Trail was tough starting out and then leveled out for a fast pace. We made it to Laurel Creek (our original destination) by 11:30 - 5 miles in 2.5 hours. It was still raining so we decided just to keep going.We saw 4 south bounders today and told them no water for 18 miles between Jenkins and Lynn Camp Creek. They were grateful for the info. Not much wildlife today - just 3 newts, a frog and a couple of snails.We made it to the road outside of Bland, VA by 4:30 and then had to walk 2.5 road miles to the truck. Carey kept trying to get me to wait with the packs while he went o get the truck. I knew he was hurting as much, if not more than me, so we just kept going.Drove back to Abingdon and got Hoyle rooms for the night, cleaned up and went to Cracker Barrel for a steak.
Date: 2011-09-22
From: Bland,VA

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Met Carey for breakfast at 7 and then went into downtown Abingdon to see the old Revolutionary era cemetery and then headed home. Stopped in Chattanooga too see Grandmother and Aunt Martha, Mom and Dad and ate lunch with them. Rode home with Carey - so we could keep each other awake on the drive.It was a good trip. Glad to be home again!
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Bland,VA

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

Carey "TP" Morgan, Dave "Dah Wah-He" Foley and I left Abingdon, VA this morning after working at Trail Days with a group from my church. Good times. Drove north to Pearisburg and dropped Carey's truck then drove back to Bland, VA in my truck. Left the truck at the trailhead, loaded up and headed down the trail. The plan: 43 miles to Pearisburg by Thursday.The plan for the day was 9.2 miles to a stream and camp for the night. Stopped for lunch at Helveys Mill Shelter - Quincey's sub sandwiches - good idea! As we were getting ready to head out again, Carey informed us that his plantar fasciitis was flairing up in his heel. He was having a hard time walking. The trail was pretty sweet - mostly ridge walking with just a few ups. I had pre-bandaged my heels against blisters, but still felt my left heel beginning to burn. It was a beutiful day weather-wise, but no views at all. We stopped often for breaks. Carey said he was better if he kept moving so he went on ahead of me and Daw Wah. We took our time and enjoyed the day. Finally made it to VA 611 and caught up with Carey. Could not find the stream that was supposed to be there and no campsites. Carey was about out of water so we pushed on - another 2.8 miles - to Jenny Knob Shelter. There we met three inkers we had seen earlier in the day - B1 and Prana who were thru hiking, and A1A who was doing a section hike. They were all very friendly and we had good conversations as we fixed and ate dinner. A1A and I had a discussion about food dehydrators - he had just gotten one but had not used it and didn't know what ou could use it for. He tried a bite of my Spagetti and said he was going to get a cookbook straight away and get busy.Right after dinner I crawled in the tent and read for just a few minutes. Crashed early and slept good all night. Long, but good, day.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: VA 606
Miles today: 9.3

Woke up with the bird song but wasn't in a big hurry to get going. Visited the privy then got back in the sleeping bag for another hour or so. We took our time getting out of camp - I was the slowest one, as usual. I think we left about 10 or so. Carey made a cushion for his heel and said he would let us know how it went. By lunch he was hurting bad. Said it felt like a knife stabbing is heel. He said he was going to get off the trail and go on home. We walked on, knowing we had to do 7 miles before we made a road crossing. The goal was to get to Trent's Grocery at VA 606. The longer we walked the more I thought about getting off the trail with Carey. Trail Days really beat me up this year - I was exhausted. Also, I hated to go on without my main hiking partner. My heel had a bunch of blisters, my shoulders were sore from the pack straps, and I had a blister on the top of my little toe. We decided to put our feet in the next stream we came across and it was wonderful to crossthe suspension bridge over Kimberling Creek. Took of four boots and soaked in the icy water and took a well needed break. Carey had already called for a shuttle. While he was talking on the phone, I told Dah Wah my plans to get off too. After our soak we came out of the woods at VA 606 and started walking towards Trent's. Our shuttle driver met us on the road and took us on in to Pearisburg to Carey's truck. We took Dah Wah to the Catholic Church hostel and reluctantly said goodbye. Carey drove us back to Bland to get my truck. We split up there and headed south. Carey decided to push for home - I chose to stop at Abingdon and get a good night's sleep before driving home Tuesday. Stopped to see my aunt and grandmother in Chattanooga on the way back to Alabama and made it home by around 3 that afternoon.Would have liked to do the miles we had planned but sometimes plans take a detour. That was ok. Had the rest of the week off to recuperate and enjoyed my time off. Come fall I'll be out there again.
Date: 2012-09-08
From: VA 606

To: Dismal Falls Trail/Waterfall
Miles today: 1.8
Weather: light rain

Its the beginning of another backpacking trip on the AT. Heading to Pearisburg, VA for a week on the trail. This trip started out with a lot of invitations, 5 probables - me, Carey, Tigger, Mawee and Dah Wah He - but ended up being 3. Mawee said she could not go early in the week and then Carey called me on Thursday and had to back out as well. His plantar fasciitis had flared up again when he was working a house fire the night before. So bummed both of them could not go.Anyway, I got up in plenty of time Saturday morning and made it out the door just 10 minutes after my planned departure time. Got a couple of miles away and had to turn back to get my Bluetooth headset for my phone. 1st set back. Back on the road and almost to Rising Fawn when I was thinking about being able to listen to some tunes in my tent and realized I had not brought my earphones. 2nd setback. Stopped at a truck stop and bought a new pair.Continued rocking along but started hitting lots of traffic outside of Knoxville - the TN Vols were playing football in Knoxville today! That really slowed me down. Rained on and off from there up to Virginia but finally made it to Pearisburg. Daw Wah, Tigger and the shuttle driver all got there before me - oh well! Got everything into his SUV and he dropped us off at the trailhead on VA 606. We all put on our rain gear and headed into the woods. Only planned a 1.8 mile day because we were all coming from different directions. Tigger took the lead, I was in the middle and Dah Wah had the caboose. Saw three little newts on the way to Dismal Falls. Found some great tent spots and walked down to see and take pictures at the falls. Set up the tents, ate dinner (packed in a sub from Subway) and called it a night at 8:20 pm.
Date: 2012-09-09
From: Dismal Falls Trail/Waterfall

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It did not rain any more last night, thank goodness. Heard lots of noises - normal for the 1st night in the woods. Woke up to two owls calling to each other. Did not sleep well, but it was nice in my tent and sleeping bag.Beat everybody up this morning. We did not get in a hurry - only six miles to go today. Left camp about 8:30 and right away saw a pilliated woodpecker fly through the trees. Only saw two little frogs the rest of the day. I took the caboose most of the day and enjoyed going at a slower pace. Felt pretty good - cople of sore toes. DWH and Tigger stayed together and seemed to enjoy getting to know one another. They have started calling me The Boss. Took a nice snack break and then topped for lunch about an our later. Figured we had another 2 miles to go. Wrong! A half hour later we came to the sign for the shelter. There were lots of people there. A guy named Homer, his wife, daughter and several other lung people were working on the trail to the shelter and were digging a new privy pit. They made some repairs to the privy also and after moving it to the new location, gave it a new coat of stain. Looked nice and smelled even better!We got to the shelter about 1 pm and enjoyed a lazy afternoon. Crawled in my tent to listen to music and read for a while and then we all gather to watch the crew finish up the painting of the privy. We got a fire going, which was quite a challenge considering just about everything was wet, and had the place to ourselves. Started getting cool - 62 degrees at 7 pm. Sunset in about an hour.
Date: 2012-09-10
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Doc'sKnob Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: few clouds

It was cold last night but I was warm and toasty in my tent. Tigger slept in the shelter and said she slept good too.We got kind of a late start - out of camp around 9:10 am. I took the lead most of the day. We had an 1100 foot elevation hill to climb first thing (2 miles). Early on I heard a noise and saw a doe and fawn up the hill from us. They didn't pay us any attention. We kept going and came across the best site of the day - 3 black bears! They were to the left of us, a pretty good ways away. Before I could call out to the others they were gone. Didn't get a picture but finally got to see my bears! Could not tell ow big they were.Today's 8.4 miles seemed to take forever. After the first 2 miles of the day we walked the ridge line. It was cool and windy most of the day but we found a great overlook in the sun on a rock outcrop and took a break. A hawk flew over and checked us out - so close you could see all the colors in his wing and tail feathers. Met several south bounders - Ouligsn from Ireland, Flakes who stayed at the shelter with us tonight, and a couple others. Finally made it to Doc's Knob around 5 pm. Set up the tents and visited with Flakes for a while. Dark came early so in the tents to read. No fire tonight.
Date: 2012-09-11
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Rendezvous Motel, Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: clear sky

Dont know what went wrong last night, but even though I was boned tired, I could not go to sleep. Read for a while, played games on my phone, read some more adjust finally gave p and turned out the light and lay down. The I started sweating and could to get comfortable, tossed and turned. Very glad when morning came.We had planned to do 15 miles to Rice Field Shelter but changed our minds and stopped at Pearisburg and got rooms at the hotel for the night. Had a good hike buti have blisters on my heels (which is normal). We stopped at Angel's Rest and ate lunch and decided to cut the day short. We did not see a lot of wildlife today. Tigger saw a small garter snake and we came across a bright turquoise blue caterpillar.Got our rooms and hit the showers. Then it was off to WalMart to resupply, then went for pizza and talked about our plans for the rest of the week. We decided to skip forward to VA 624 near Dragon's Tooth and go north to Troutville. VA 624 is where I got off the trail for the last time in 2009. I will finally get to see McAfee Knob! Plans made - tonight we sleep in a bed and then head out to breakfast and then down the road we go!
Date: 2012-09-12
From: VA 624 parking lot at Dragon's Tooth

To: Catawba Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: clear sky

Up at 6 am and off to breakfast at a family type restaurant, then drove to Troutville and dropped off Tigger's car at the Red Roof Inn. We piled in my truck and drove to find our starting point. Went the wrong way but a nice lady who told us where to go. We weren't too far off. Finally found the parking lot and met a couple of hikers in the parking lot and talked for a few minutes, decided our route (took the Boy Scout trail that connected to the AT) and started hiking.First highlight of the day was watching the odometer of the truck turn 200,000 miles! worst part of the day - Dah Wah He has a cold and is feeling pretty lousy. Had lots of pretty views today, lots of stiles and flowers. Went through a couple of beautiful meadows, saw a turkey, a garter snake and a small copperhead. Also saw a mud bug (craw dad).Got to the shelter pretty late but got a late start because of all the driving.
Date: 2012-09-13
From: Catawba Mtn. Shelter

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: few clouds

Slept great last night - great camp site. First stop for the day was McAfee Knob, one of the most photographed spots on the trail. It was beautiful! We hadn't all to ourselves and had a great time taking pictures, watching the birds play and enjoying the sun and the views. Took lots of pictures and called home. We could see way off across the ridge the Tinker Cliffs, where we would be later today. Felt like we were on top of the world. Six miles later we gotta Tiker Cliffs and enjoyed another long breaking the sun. Cool to see the entire ridge line we had just traveled to get there. Didn't think we would ever get there! Met a couple of south bounders and several more raced past without speaking. After the cliffs it was down hill to the shelter. Passed a inch of deer eating on the hill beside the trail. They were not worried about us at all and just continued eating. One even walked right across the trail in front of us. Got to the shelter and went to find water. Not a bad source, just low and slow, but great campsites across the water on the other side. Ate dinner and then set up camp. Made a fire and talked well past dark. It was great! 10 miles to go tomorrow to Troutville.
Date: 2012-09-14
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville, VA and then start driving home
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

My watch died yesterday morning and my headlamp went on the blink last night. Guess its time to get out of the woods.Beat everyone up again this morning and started bandaging blisters and breaking camp. Dah Wah He laughs at me for taking so long to get everything packed up, but everything has to go in the pack in a certain order or it's just not comfortable on my back. Let them laugh - I have a system!Got a pretty good start out today and good walking most of the way. Lots of ridge line with views to either side. Got kind of hot and we were ready to be in town. Tigger and Dah Wah He were bemoaning the last day on the trail - I was glad it was the last day (such a section short distance hiker I am). Decided to stop at Daleville instead of Troutville (another 1.5 miles down the trail). Came out at the Howard Johnson Hotel and road walked under the bridge to the Red Roof Inn to get Tigger's car (about a half miles closer than the trail). First stop, cold cokes at a convenience store and then back to the parking lot to pick up my truck. Next stop was The Homeplace for a family-style dinne of fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, slaw, Mac and cheese, biscuits, green beans, pinto beans and cherry cobbler and ice cream. YUM!!!!! Ate more than we should have but it sure was good. Someone took our last group photo out front and then it was time to say goodbye to Tigger. Lots of hugs and good wishes and she headed back to Hot Springs, NC. Dah Wah He and I headed back to Newport, VA where I dropped him off at Blue Eye's parent's house for the night, and I headed south. Got as far as Abingdon and stopped for the night.
Date: 2012-09-15
From: Abingdon, VA

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up early and after eating breakfast, headed south. It was an uneventful drive. Made one stop at Sweetwater, TN at the western wear store to get some cowboy boots and was back home, safe and sound by 1:30 pm. Thank you Dah Wah He and Tigger for a great hike and fun times! Hope we can do it again sometime!
Date: 2009-04-08
To: Preface
Miles today: 0.0

Hi Guys, I just wanted to do a quick preface for my journal to make things a little easier to understand and follow. First of all most of my entries were written at the end of the day right before bedtime and usualy by the light of my headlamp. Unfortunately I did not write in the journal each and every day, and even went as much as a few weeks in between entries. Sometimes I had something to blame such as the time my journal was soaked after a torrential rain storm in NY, or having lost a pen and not having a replacement until I could snake one from town. Because I wasn't able to update daily, you will find that most entries will summarize the days in between. Keep in mind that it is a journal and that sometimes thoughts are short or scattered, and other times when I had more time and energy, it may read more like a book. On that note, these thoughts are coming from a 24 year old male living in the woods so my language and thoughts will reflect that from time to time. One last thing, due to the fact I skipped days between entries, the total mileage is off so I will keep that updated as well. Hope you enjoy!
Date: 2009-04-09
To: Starting Date
Miles today: 0.0

So here we are; Randall, Tyler, Jack, and I setting off on the Appalachian Trail. We woke up before dawn to head to Amicalola Falls SP to begin the long, arduous, journey. It was absolutely freezing in the parking lot of the park as we all got signed in to the after hours registry of potential thru-hikers. I began to second guess my choice of hiking in shorts for the length of the trip!
Date: 2009-04-10
From: Starting Date

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: light rain

Just got into Gooch Mountain Shelter after a gruelling day in the elements. About as soon as we started walking, it started raining. After a few bright pink, close lightening strikes, the hail began to fall. Day 2 and we are already getting rain and hail. I guess it is good to go ahead and get some foul weather so the sunshine will be that much nicer. We are sleeping in the upstairs loft of the shelter 6 deep. We accidentally dripped some water through the cracks in the timbers and sprinkled a woman below. She was sure to let us know about our fault, saying this and that about trail etiquette. Sorry lady, but we have been walking all day in the rain and shit gets wet when you do that. She on the other hand had been in the shelter all day taking a zero day; walking zero miles already on her second day! Anyway, it feels good to finally be on the trail; signing the Springer Mountain register, and starting after the 8 mile approach trail. Ailments: chigger bites and chafing
Date: 2009-04-12
To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

"I am having a medical emergency, I blew my whistle many times, I need Help"! In a nutshell, these are the words we woke up to yesterday from a 70 year old man who slept in a hellacious storm the night before. When he made it to Gooch Shelter, he was soaking wet, extremely hypothermic, and thought he may have had a stroke. I immediately knew we were in for a long day. (Let's talk about this man a bit; he is 70 years old, has had 2 strokes in the past 2 years, it was his first time backpacking, he was wearing all cotton clothes, and had no idea how to use his gear. We recognized him from the previous day when we was starting the trail and didn't know which direction to even begin! This aint Disneyworld people!) Anyway, for the next few hours we tended to this man and Tyler finally got a 911 call out to the local first responders. There were plenty of people who helped with the situation, but most people just turned a deaf ear to the dying man. Tyler gets the hero award as he probably did the most to help with the call, and getting the man into some warm clothes. Most of us pitched in with lending hats, sleeping bags, gloves, etc. to warm him. It took a lot longer than we hoped for the rescuers to arrive. A few hours later, some more volunteers brought in a wheeled litter for extraction. Now was the fun part. With the minimal leadership of the crew, we extracted the man on 1.5 miles on an overgrown, log ridden trail. Although there were about 8 first responder volunteers, we found ourselves doing the bulk of the work, including carrying all of the pt's gear. I digress, long story short we got him to the logging road where an ambulance awaited and then retraced our steps back to the shelter so we could begin our day. Even with our late start we were able to get about 13 miles in before it got too dark. Today was the most beautiful day we have had so far. It started out pretty cold in the Woods Gap Shelter where we slept last night. Speaking of that shelter, it was utterly infested with mice. As soon as dusk hit, the mice came out of hiding. They were on the picnic table, the ground, and the floor by our heads. I was pretty sure they were going to crawl on my face so I clinched my sleeping bag so that the only thing showing was my nose and mouth inadvertently exposing the two places I would least like to have a mouse. Got pretty good sleep and then stomped out our highest mileage day. My left calf hurt pretty bad today, but hopefully it will stretch out. I drank some "Magic Potion" from Lucky Penny which she claims to heal all kinds of ailments. The ingredients are ginger, lemon, cayanne pepper, and water all steeped together.