morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-22
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overlook Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.9

I slept like a baby last night. I think I have gotten my hiker's legs as they say and eating a lot of calories so I think that is helping my sleeping. I was up and gone by 7:30 because I had a 2,000 ft climb to make it up Roan Mountain. I hate to say that the hiking is getting easier but it seems like it is. The uphills are just a little easier these days. The views from Roan Mountain were beautiful. I stopped at Carvers Gap to have lunch and found some trail magic on the side of the trail just before the Gap. I picked up a Mountain Dew and a Little Debbie. ( David Bahn I thought of you when I picked up that Mountain Dew) while I was eating a couple came over an offered me an apple and I took it also. There were a lot of people out hiking up the Bald at Roan Mountain to take some pictures. I met some folks from Wisconsin that was asking me about my journey. I gave them some of my hikers cards so they could follow my journal.The rest of the climb was not bad and I made it to Overmountain Shelter by 3:30. This shelter is a converted barn that can sleep probably 50 or so hikers. It is suppose to get in the low thirties tonight and there are a lot of drafts in this barn.The highlight of the day is that I met Scout and Tumbles finally. They came rolling into the shelter about an hour ago. They left the same day as me and I met their dad at Fontana but we kept missing each other. They have a trail journal and I had communicated with them before the trip. They are a brother and sister and are really neat. What's so funny is that they were tenting right next to me last night but I never came out of my tent once I got in it last night.Tomorrow I only have about 8 miles to go to get to Mountain Harbour where I have a room reserved for tomorrow night. I have to plan out my next week also.
Date: 2015-04-23
From: Overlook Mountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbour B & B
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

I can only say that I know what my daddy meant by being born in a barn. They are cold and closing the door won't help one little bit. I stayed in a converted barn last night and the temps were below freezing and the wind had to be gusting up to 40-50 mph. It was the first night that I actually got a little cold. This morning it was up and at it with only a 9 mile hike and what I thought was two small climbs over Little Hump and Big Hump. Let me just say that it was cold and the wind almost blew me over 2-3 times before I got over those mountains. It's a shame it was so cold because I had the most beautiful views of the entire trip so far. Once over the mountains it was into the trees and out if the wind. I had several good things happen today. I left North Carolina for the last time. Two states down and 12 to go. I also ran into Bob People's on the trail. He owns the Kincora Hostel and does a lot of trail maintenance and is a fixture on the AT and was out with others marking where they will do the Hardcore trail maintenance after trail days. A group of current hikers will volunteer to do some maintenance after trail days.Tonight I am staying at the Mountain Harbour B&B. I will eat their famous breakfast in the morning and then take off. I should be in Damascus Va. hopefully within 5 days.The hostel is full tonight with someone sleeping on the couch also. Several came by but there was no rooms left at the inn tonight. It is suppose to be real cold again tonight.
Date: 2015-04-24
From: Mountain Harbour B & B

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: clear sky

Last night I stayed in a real converted barn vs just a barn that is now used as a shelter. I had the semi-private room which had a king bed and a sheet covering the door. It was okay but a little cold last night but the real reason for staying at the Mountain Harbour Hostel is the breakfast they serve. Just take a look at the picture. I was late getting started due to the breakfast but I made over 18 miles today. The weather was beautiful all day but you guessed it rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Oh well I am on my way to Damascus Va and should be there Tuesday night. I will take a zero on Wednesday. That will be 11 days since my last zero. Damascus is a hikers town and every year host the Annual Trail Days that draws thousands of current and previous hikers to the annual celebration homecoming. This year it is May 15-17th. I doubt I will try to get back to it this year but maybe next year I can go. I met a couple from Canada today who were out just hiking for the day. The man was carrying a cut off hockey stick as his trekking pole. I asked him about it and he said he thought it would be a good conversation piece. ( Stephanie tell Dan to keep his old sticks because he can recycle them to be trekking poles)There is not really much to talk about to day. With good weather I can't complain about the rain very much. Bean Counter
Date: 2015-04-25
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: light rain

Well yesterday I didn't have much to report but today I may have more than you want to read. First off when I woke at 6:00 am and realized the rain hadn't started I packed up fast and was hiking by 7:00. I usually lay in my sleeping bag for about 30 minutes before I get up but not today. I hadn't hiked more than 15 minutes when the rain started. It never rained real hard and by lunch it had stopped.I was in a predicament today because there was a 4 mile section around Watauga Lake that you couldn't camp or even stop due to active bear activity. They also closed the shelter that would have been at my 15 mile mark for today. I had to make a decision whether I should have a short day or a long day. I decided I would go for the long day which was 24 miles. I never thought I would make it but I rolled into camp at 6:30 pm tired to the bone.I made a very stupid mistake at Laurel Falls today. You walk down a lot of stone steps to get to the falls and the trail takes a right hand turn about 50 yards before you reach the falls and due to watching where I was stepping and looking at the beautiful falls I didn't see it. There was a young guy right in front of me and when we started looking for the trail he thought he saw it going up. I watched him for a few minutes and when he didn't return I assumed he was on the trail so I followed him. That was a dangerous and stupid mistake because I thought I was going to kill myself following him. I made it to the top, that is the top of the falls with no where to go and realized my stupid mistake and had to turn around and come back down. The majority of the time I was holding on to tree limbs for my dear life. I finally made it back down and after looking for about 15 minutes I found the right trail. I have no idea where that young gentleman ended up. I know he was heading to this shelter that I am at but he isn't here. I guess he came out somewhere. I will never do that again.I finally made it, got my tent set up and ate some dinner before getting in my sleeping bag where I am typing this now. It was a very tiring day but very rewarding once you are done for the day.Bean Counter
Date: 2015-04-26
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light rain

I woke this morning at about 1:30 and the rain was poring down with thunder and lightning. It rained most of the night but did quit long enough this morning to get packed up although the tent was soaking wet.I knew after yesterday's long hike I could take it easy today if needed because I only have about 31 miles to get to Damascus where I have reservations for Tuesday and Wednesday night. Well right out of the gate my body told me it didn't want to hike today. You have to listen to your body out here because if you don't that's when you can get injured. The next shelter was only seven miles but I struggled and made it there around lunch. I was starving so I cooked a hot meal of a Knorr Pasta Side and started eating all the calories I could get my hands on. I did a pretty good job of replenishing the calories I burned up yesterday.I guess I probably burned 9-10,000 calories yesterday. This is the natural weight loss system. After eating I got the tent set up and changed into my dry sleeping clothes and off to my sleeping bag I went. I took a couple of naps in between snacking and now it is 5:30 and I am typing my journal in bed.There are only 2 others here right now and all three of us are tenting vs sleeping in the shelters. I have slept in the shelters in the Smokies and a couple of others but I prefer my tent. It's a good 15 degrees warmer in a tent vs outside and you are blocked from most of the wind if there is any. In addition you don't have to worry about a mouse running over your face while you are trying to sleep.Tomorrow hopefully my body is ready to hike and I will do 15 miles leaving me just a short 10 miles for Tuesday morning and a much needed day of rest. I will have gone 11 days without a full day off when I get to Damascus.I talked about my tent a couple of days ago and thought I would talk about my backpack today. After extensive research I ended up buying a ULA Circuit but after 5 weeks of using and making every adjustment that could be made I couldn't keep it from cutting into my left shoulder. This is a great pack but just didn't work for me. I may have been trying to carry too much weight in it. Anyway I had Cathy send my old pack, a Granite Gear Vapor Trail by Phil Williams when he came to hike with me. I really like this pack but one downside is that it doesn't have outside pockets with the exception of the pockets for your water bottles. What I didn't take into consideration was that between all the weight I lost on my diet a couple of years ago and the weight I am losing on the trail is that the hip belt is almost as tight as it will go. The Vapor Trail has been discontinued so I can't get a new belt for it so I plan on buying the model that replaced the Vapor Trail, the Crown VC 60. This is the pack that How Far had and I have seen several on the trail.So much rambling for tonight. Bean Counter
Date: 2015-04-27
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today was like night and day from yesterday. I woke up to a very cold morning but the sun was coming up. I was packed up and leaving at about 8:15 and within the first 30 minutes my body told me it was ready to hike today vs yesterday when it said it didn't. It's amazing how that works. I did about 16 miles today very easily and was at my destination by 3:00 pm. I only have a short 10 mile hike to get into Damascus in the morning.I ran across a sign saying that trail magic was just ahead and it was perfect timing for a snack. A Baptist Church provides this trail magic daily and I know they have been doing it for several years because I have seen photos of this in several folks journals over the past few years.I also ran into a lady at one of the gaps that gave me some fig newtons and offered me a wrap but I had just finished my peanut butter wrap. She is hiking in a totally different way. She has 2 cars and drives one north every day and ,leaves it and then walks back south to her other car. She then drives that one further north and repeats the process all over again. She plans on doing this all the way to Maine. Not sure what she will do with two cars once she gets to Maine but I am sure she has that figured out also. I also found out that her sister used to work for GP and I know who she was. I also met another man at the hostel the other night that used to work for GP also. It's a small world out here.While in Damascus I plan on eating a lot, buying a new pack and getting all my clothes and gear cleaned up and then get caught up on labeling and uploading all my pictures to my Flickr account. There is never much time to just lay around and be lazy but I am sure I will find a couple hours for this also.Bean Counter
Date: 2015-04-28
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

Last night after I had gotten in my tent two local boys from Damascus hiked up to just spend the night. They were a little loud and this morning they were up at 6:00 making a lot of racket. Most everyone out here is pretty courteous about waiting until at least 7:00 before making much noise. I though to myself, leave it up to a couple of local boys to wake me up. At about 6:30 I could smell bacon frying and then I heard them tell the young guy in the tent next to me that if he wanted a cup of coffee and a bacon and egg sandwich he was welcomed to it. That got my attention and I was out of my tent in a hurry. My entire attitude toward these guys changed just that fast. They made me the same offer and you can guess that I didn't think twice about accepting their offer.It was an easy 10 miles into town and I was here at about lunch. I got checked in, took a shower and gathered up all my dirty clothes to be washed. I am actually staying in one of the 3 bedrooms upstairs in this house. The owners live downstairs and they can sleep about 7 more folks in the converted garage. Nice owners and nice room for $65 per night.After eating lunch I was laying in my room resting when I heard someone call my name and said this is Spillman. I got up and it was Jimmy and I Believe who dropped by to visit for a few minutes. They were back in the area helping hikers and was just checking in on me. They are the greatest and would do anything for you. I am so happy that I have been able to become their friend.My lower back has been acting up the past couple of days so I had Cathy call my doctor who in return called in a muscle relaxer for me. I should sleep good tonight. I called Cathy and she caught me up on all the bad weather Baton Rouge had yesterday. Sounds like it was pretty bad but thankful no one that we know was injured.Tonight I waked about a mile to eat dinner at a pizza place. It's funny I never thought twice about walking that distance to get something to eat. It's funny that I probably wouldn't walk a block at home but instead I would jump into my truck. Hopefully when I get home I will try and walk more vs driving.Tomorrow I will go to the store and get re supplied, buy my new back pack and work out my plan for the next month. I have heard from Keitt, Richard, and David that they are coming to hike a little with me so I need to try and project as close as I can where I will be when they come. Cathy will also be coming to visit me also. Can't wait to see all of them.I almost forgot to mention that I left NC for good today. Three states down and only eleven more to go. Va has almost 500 miles in it.Until tomorrowBean Counter
Date: 2015-04-29
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Well as I mentioned I took a zero day today in Damascus but getting everything done doesn't really leave you anytime to just lay around. Here is what I have done today.Woke up at 7:00 and proceeded down the street to the local gas station where they serve breakfast. I had pancakes and sausage and then came back and headed to the Dollar General to buy my food for the next 5 days but of course they didn't have hardly anything I wanted but I brought what I did purchase back to the house. At 8:30 I walked about a mile to one of the outfitters and purchased a new pack. I actually purchased it from one of the local guys that cooked breakfast for me two mornings ago.I came back to the house and dropped the pack off and unloaded my old pack and headed to the Post Office so I could mail the old one back home. The guy at the Post Office was so helpful in helping me get the right box, taping it up and applying the label.One that was complete I walked about a mile to the other side of town to the big grocery store and bought the remaining items I needed and then walked a mile back to the house.When I bought my pack it was stuffed with some very heavy duty plastic that I decided to use as a ground cover since I don't have one. I didn't think I would need one but it would be helpful in rolling my tent up when it is wet. I can roll it up on the ground cover and leaves and dirt won't be all over the tent. I borrowed a tape measure from Paul, the owner of the house where I am staying and cut it to the correct size.Once that was completed I came back up to my room and started getting everything cleaned and organized in my new pack. By then I was hungry and ate 3 sleeves of Ritz Crackers and drank 2 diet cokes for lunch. It was starting to look like rain and I had one more errand to run so I headed back down the street to buy some denatured alcohol for my stove.Back to the house and tried to map out the next month of my journey so I could give Cathy a date to come and meet me. We have a date now and it's less than 3 weeks away. I can't wait to see her. It will also coincide with Richard and David coming at the end of her stay so she can help us out with some of the logistics before she goes home plus I won't be tempted to want to go home with her.By now it was getting dinner time so I walked a short distance down the street to a new restaurant that was closed yesterday and had dinner. I had to try their carrot cake for desert and it was pretty good. Now it was back to the house where I am typing this journal now. I will get it uploaded and finish getting everything ready to leave out early in the morning. It is a 80% chance of rain tomorrow but we had a pretty high percentage chance today and it never rained. Maybe I will get lucky. I emailed Keitt where I will be next Tuesday morning so he can meet up with me to hike with me for the day and then he and Elise will help me get resupplied before they leave. Everyone has been so supported of me and I don't know how to repay all the kindness I receive out here.Until tomorrowBean Counter
Date: 2015-04-30
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I left Damascus this morning about 7:00 and as usual had a very big climb staring me in the face. The trail runs along side the Creeper Trail for a while and I would like to come back one day and bike on it. It looks like it would be fun.It was a pretty uneventful day with not many views but as usual there was a 80% chance of rain today. I was beginning to believe that he had the forecast all wrong because the weather was beautiful until I was about a mile from the shelter I was going to camp at when the bottom fell out of the sky.Needless to say I got pretty wet and cold before reaching the shelter. I got to the shelter at about 3:30 and the rain quit just long enough for me to get my tent set up before it started again. I dove into the tent and put some dry clothes on and climb into the sleeping bag where I stayed until 8:00 am this morning. It rained all night and I slept like a baby for well over 12 hours. Just what the doctor ordered.Before I forget again I spotted another snake today sunning itself on a support beam on a bridge I had to walk over. I think it was just a black snake.
Date: 2015-05-01
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: light rain

Well after sleeping in this morning until it quit raining I got packed up and left camp at about 9:00 am with a 18 mile day in front of me. I was looking forward to today since I would be climbing up toward Mt. Rogers and then through the Grayson Highlands where the wild ponies run free. I had a big climb to start with this morning and when I got to 4500 ft there was snow every where. The higher I went the more there was. Totals were about 3 inches in some places. I hiked in the clouds all day until at the very end and my hands were cold all day.Today was a rough hike with the cold along with walking over rocks and boulders most of the day. I finally made it to where the ponies were and was lucky someone was there to take a picture of me with one of the ponies. Because of the clouds I wasn't able to get any good shots although on a clear day this place would be beautiful.I finally made it to the shelter at about 5:30 and found a great place for my tent. I got the tent set up, cooked and ate dinner and had just crawled into my tent when some of the ponies showed up by my tent. I thought I would have to deal with the ponies all night when all of a sudden a large group of scouts showed up. They took care of running the ponies off and as pretty quite by about 8:30 but we're up bright and early since they were only staying one night. I also hit a major milestone today passing the 500 mile mark.
Date: 2015-05-02
From: Wise Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 19.2
Weather: scattered clouds

We finally had a beautiful day to hike today. I met a lot of folks out just for the weekend. The Grayson Highlands and the wild ponies are a very popular place to go camp. I also met Ice Man today who said he had been following my journal and I gave him of my hiker cards. When he saw that I was Baton Rouge he asked me if I knew Dallas who thru-hiked last year and is from Baton Rouge. I remember him from Dallas and Left Turn's journal last year. He is section hiking and headed south towards Damascus.I heard from the day hikers that there was trail magic at the road and my timing would be perfect for lunch. I wasn't disappointed and had myself a grilled cheese with bacon sandwich along with some hash browns. I also ate some pop tarts and had two comes. I grabbed two satsuma's and another coke to take with me. It wasn't but about 5 miles before they were gone.I had a pretty long day planned today and made it to the shelter around 5:30 and there was only one other person here. A couple of other folks have shown up since but this is a slim crowd. Tomorrow will be a short day and will make it to Partnership shelter where you can call and have a pizza delivered to you. How neat is that.
Date: 2015-05-03
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: clear sky

What a great day. I woke up to birds singing and chirping and the sun shining on my tent. I was up and hiking by 8:00. That seems like my normal time to get going but since it is getting day light earlier now I probably need to get up and going earlier.Today was a day of many first. I saw my first deer today, 2 and later in the day 1. I saw countless numbers of chipmunks and ground squirrels. I also took my first picture of a snake. A huge black snake at least 36" long. You may never get to see the picture because I sort of promised my wife I wouldn't show pictures of snakes.I made it to the Mt. Rogers info center around lunch and knew you could order a pizza from here and they would deliver it but once there found out they don't deliver until after 4:00 pm. I sure had my mind made up on a large pizza for lunch. I settled for some snacks and a Pepsi I got out of the vending machine and took off for the final 6 miles of the day. I rolled into camp at about 4:00 and there are only two of us here tonight. Smokescreen and myself. He is from Buffalo NY and ate at his first Sonic today. He had never seen one before. I guess a drive inn probably isn't a good investment in a city with as much cold weather as Buffalo. He had to hitch a ride into Marion to resupply and ate while here. He and I have been at the last few shelters at the same time. He will take off and leave me tomorrow doing a 25 mile day. I can't keep up with the youth but I still take one step at a time and making good progress. I am looking forward to seeing Keitt and Elise on Tuesday morning. Keitt is going to hike with me on Tuesday and Elise will pick him up later in the afternoon. It is nice to see familiar faces out here.