morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-11-03
From: VA Highway 630

To: The Captain's
Miles today: 20.6

Another day of slack-packing. Weather was beautiful with a cool breeze. This is good hiking weather.Took Crunchmaster and Gospel in to Pearisburg for food and then returned them to the Captain's. His house is just across the stream from the AT and he has hooked up a zip line to cross the stream and onto his property. He allows hikers to camp in his back yard; a very nice set up and a great service to the hiking community.Left for home about 8:00 in the evening and made it home by 1:00 a.m.Just a couple of photos for the day. Several have asked what kind of camera Crunchmaster uses. It is an iPhone 5 with 8 megapixels.
Date: 2013-11-04
From: The Captain's

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

"I woke up this morning to find everything, including my tent, covered in ice. Gospel and I had a short day planned so we were in no hurry at all. We let our tents dry in the sunlight so they wouldn't be wet when we packed them. We finally got on the trail at 10:00. We had one climb at the beginning of the day and then we walked the ridge the rest of the day. We knocked out the climb fairly quick and then put the cruise control on. The weather was pretty chilly all day so we never really stopped for long because we would get cold. We got to the shelter at 4:00. Before cooking supper we went and checked out the sunset. It was a pretty amazing view! And we only had to walk a couple hundred feet to see it. Tomorrow we are going to the Woods Hole Hostel. People say it is one of the nicest hostels on the whole trail so we can't wait to get there! It's only 5:45 and it's already dark which means it's time for bed."
Date: 2013-11-05
To: "Happy"
Miles today: 0.0

The photos that follow contain views on the way up to Dragon's Tooth near Catawba, VA. Those labeled with 'blaze' contain one or more blazes. Those labeled with 'view' are views and only one of these contain white blazes.Your challenge is to correctly spot every white blaze and give the correct number sighted. Place your answer/count for all 'blaze' and 'view' photos in a guest book entry. Also, tell me which 'view' photo has a blaze(s). I'm looking for one number, or the cumulative blazes in all photos in this special guest post. In several days I'll confirm the answer and recognize all who found them all.View 1: Sign at bottom of climb to Dragon's ToothBlaze 1Blaze 2Blaze 3View 2 - The Dragon's ToothView 3 - The Dragon's ToothView 4View 5View 6Blaze 4Blaze 5Blaze 6Blaze 7View 7View 8 - Crunchmaster at the Dragon's ToothView 9Blaze 8Blaze 9Blaze 10Blaze 11Blaze 12
Date: 2013-11-05
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 17.2

"We woke up to a very cold morning up on the mountain. It took me about 15 minutes to get the courage to get out of my sleeping bag and get moving. We both left the shelter at 7:45. The first few miles was up on the ridge and it was very windy. I was hiking in my down jacket to stay warm. We were both in need of water since the shelter didn't have any. We were suppose to cross a stream right before town but when we got there all we found was a creek bed with leaves in it. So we made the decision to make a pit stop in Pearisburg. We went to Hardees for a second breakfast and to refill water. We jumped back on the trail around 11:45 and started the 2,100 foot climb out of town. It was a tough climb but we eventually reached the top. From there on, the trail was pretty easy. We got to the hostel at 4:30. This hostel is a really cool place to stay. It's an old log cabin out in the country. The owners invited us to supper and I'm really glad they did! We had burgers, fries, soup, salad, and ice cream for dessert. I can't wait for breakfast in the morning! Just 155 miles left in Virginia!"
Date: 2013-11-06
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: few clouds

"There were four other SOBO hikers that stayed at the hostel last night. It was Gospel, Fives, Sasquatch, and Slingshot. We all woke up at 7:30 and headed inside for breakfast. We had pancakes, eggs, grits, and fruit for breakfast. It was really good! We quickly packed up and were on the trail by 9:00 ready for a big day. It was really foggy and drizzling most of the morning which didn't allow for any views. I just kept on hiking until I got to Wapiti Shelter at 11:30. Fives, Buck, and Stub were already there taking a break. I ate a few snacks and was back on the trail at noon. The next 8 miles was extremely flat! Flat enough where I was cranking out a 3.5 mph pace the whole time. Fives and I got to the road at 2:30 and decided to walk .5 mile down the road to the deli to get some food. After a turkey sandwich and a half gallon of chocolate milk we were on our way again. The weather ended up being great all afternoon. It was mostly sunny and in the 60s. I got to the shelter at 5:30, and Gospel and Fives showed up about 10 minutes later. Buck and Stub were already here. We are all staying in the shelter tonight because rain is on the way overnight. I really hope it stops before I start out tomorrow so I don't get all wet. The weather looks great for the next week after tomorrow which is good. Going to be doing a big day tomorrow so I can make progress on catching Milkrun and Cerveza."
Date: 2013-11-07
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Bastian, VA
Miles today: 11.9

"Today was a rainy, windy, and cold day. I had to keep moving to stay pretty warm. The rain was never really heavy so I didn't get too wet. Fives, Gospel, and I decided to stay at Fort Bastian. "TruBrit" lets hikers stay at his camp for free and he will cook breakfast for us in the morning. Not much to say about today because not much happened. We will be slack-packing the next three days and hope to be in Damascus by Tuesday."Just one more dreary photo...
Date: 2013-11-08
From: Bastian, VA

To: Walker Gap
Miles today: 20.6

"After a great breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and eggs we were on the trail by 9:00. The trail was pretty easy most of the morning with only a couple ups and downs. We took 2 breaks before reaching Jenkins Shelter. After the shelter was a 1,600 foot climb. I was not wanting to climb it at all because my hip has been bothering me for a couple days now. It only hurts on the uphills. It was a relief for me when I reached the top. From there, it was a 6 mile ridge walk to Walker Gap where my dad was waiting on us. He had a fire going and supper already cooking. If only I had that every night! We will be slack-packing the next couple days as well."
Date: 2013-11-09
From: Walker Gap

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 24.3

"I woke up at 5:00 this morning and sat by the fire while my dad cooked turkey bacon and eggs for breakfast. It was in the upper 20s so the fire felt really great. Gospel eventually got up and ate and we were on the trail at 7:00. The day started with an 800 foot climb up Chestnut Knob. There is a shelter on top that is fully enclosed with a door on it. It would have been cool to stay there but it was way too early. After 12 miles we came across VA 42, where my dad was waiting with some drinks and chips. As the afternoon went on we saw tons of hunters. We probably saw about 15 total for the day. We knocked out 24 miles by 5:00 and got a motel room here in Atkins. I will be slack-packing one more day tomorrow while Gospel stays in town for church. They are calling for snow on Tuesday and Wednesday while I'm crossing the Grayson Highlands. Hopefully it isn't a serious storm."Photo by "Happy" - how many blazes do you see?Photo by "Happy" - Can you find the blaze? There's actually two blazes in this photo, though one requires the original (they lose quality when posted on TJ). Trevor is actually in this picture, as well, shown in blue shirt.Photo by "Happy"
Date: 2013-11-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Total Blazes found in photos in 11/05 guest entry equals 39Congratulations to ¢Spiritwalker¢ for coming the closest (38) to correctly identifying the number of blazes. For all others who provided guesses, don¢t feel bad, sometimes rocks contain white spots created by sunlight through the trees and can be very deceiving, particularly in a photo. Some blazes tend to bleach out or fade with time and are hard to catch.Blaze photo 1 ¢ 3, 1 single, 1 double, plus 3 white arrows (which don¢t count as blazes)Blaze photo 2 ¢ 4, 2 singles, 1 double, plus 1 white arrowBlaze photo 3 ¢ 2, both singlesBlaze photo 4 ¢ 2, both singlesBlaze photo 5 ¢ 2, both singles (one on tree, one on rock)Blaze photo 6 ¢ 2, both singlesBlaze photo 7 ¢ 8, from bottom or photo going up, the 4th blaze is only partially showing, the 6th blaze is on a rock just below the tree (the other splotches to the right of blaze 6 are sunlight patches), there is a double blaze on the tree (the top one is an old blaze that has faded quite a bit)View 9 photo ¢ 2, one faded blaze on tree to left and a little higher than sign, the other may require you to enlarge the photo is on a tree up the trail in between sign and faded blaze.Blaze photo 8 ¢ 2, both singles for hikers going either directionBlaze photo 9 ¢ 3, all singles, the top one could easily be confused as a bright sun patch, in fact a sun spot on the lower half makes it look like a sun spot.Blaze photo 10 ¢ 3, 1 single, 1 double, plus a white arrow (note the short rectangular white splotch on the rock at the bottom of the photo is a natural white marking of the rock itself), also this is the same place as blaze photo 2 but is looking up the trail, rather than downBlaze photo 11 ¢ 2, 1 double, is on tree at center of hairpin turn in trailBlaze photo 12 ¢ 4, 2 doubles, is at hairpin turn, 1 double for SOBO and the other for NOBO
Date: 2013-11-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I'm copying here in TJ my FB post alerting all SOBO hikers and anyone interested in providing some trail magic on Thanksgiving day. More updates will follow and will be 'guest' entries so as not to interfere or get mixed up with Crunchmasters' daily entries and photos."SOBO's don't typically get the same amount of attention that the masses of NOBO's get at the beginning of the season. We'd like to give some special attention to all SOBO's on Thanksgiving day.Crunchmaster is planning on staying on the trail through the Thanksgiving holiday. We are planning to bring a Thanksgiving meal to him. I'm projecting he'll be between Hot Springs and Newfound Gap. Weather, along with a host of other factors, can change projections, so we'll not know for sure until the weekend before Thanksgiving day. I will post my projections here on FB on that weekend. If the weather permits we'll host a 'potluck' type meal outside. We'll have cooking capability (coleman stoves), a covered awning, a firepit (raised fire pan), camp chairs, and of course food and drinks. I will be offering shuttles from the trail to the site and then again back to the trail for all SOBO's (within reasonable distance), who contact me and make arrangements. My cell phone number is 423-313-1807. You can call or text me for more information or to make arrangements.To anyone not a thru-hiker who would like to join us for this event and help provide trail magic to SOBO's please call me to discuss, or leave a message on the guest book and include your email address. I'm fairly certain of 3 other SOBO's who will be participating that will be in close range with Crunchmaster(Gospel, Milkrun, Cerveza). I know of about a dozen additional SOBO's who could be close enough to take part. If I have enough volunteers to provide shuttle services we could expand our range. If you know of anyone on the trail that may be interested please give them my number.For planning purposes it will be helpful for all hikers to contact me so we can plan accordingly for food. If we only have 4 show up, we'll have a great meal, and a great time. Trevor will be posting an invitation and my phone number on register books at all upcoming shelters. This morning when he got on the trail he was a little over 300 miles from Davenport Gap, with 30 shelters before Hot Springs and another 4 between there and Davenport Gap. Word will have to get out to any hikers already south of Crunchmaster whom he doesn't catch up with. If anyone you know fits in this category and has interest in being a part of this please pass along information on how to contact me."
Date: 2013-11-10
From: Atkins, VA

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

"I left the hotel around 8:30 this morning which is pretty good for a town day. It is usually very hard to leave a nice warm room and head out onto the trail. Gospel went to church so I was on my own for the day. The first 7 miles was all a gradual uphill. I stopped for a short break at Chatfield Shelter. My hip started getting sore again so my pace slowed up a bit. I reached the road where my dad was waiting and he had subway for me. It doesn't take much to boost my moral and that definitely did the trick. I was originally planning on doing a 22 mile day but decided to cut it short because of my sore hip. So since I had a bunch of time to just sit around, my dad and I made out a plan for the rest of the trip. My finish date looks like it's either going to be the 14th or 15th of December. I could finish a little before that if I wanted but I'm wanting to finish on a weekend so my family can come. The next few days Gospel and I will be going through the Grayson Highlands. Tuesday and Wednesday is looking like snow. Possibly a couple inches so maybe I can get some good snow pictures. Going to bed now and it's only 6:00! Crazy, isn't it?"
Date: 2013-11-11
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: few clouds

"I didn't feel like getting up and hiking this morning so I stayed in my bag until about 7:15. I finally crawled out knowing I had to get moving. I ate breakfast and was on the trail about 30 minutes after Gospel. It was actually warm enough to start out without a jacket. I made it about 5 miles before I took a short break. Then another 4 miles down the trail I came across Gospel sitting down and eating snacks while drinking a soda. Yes, there was trail magic there! The trail magic was provided by a local church in Sugar Grove. After a nice long break I continued on. I made it about 3 miles before the shelter and stopped for a snack. While I was eating I noticed something moving in a tree about 20 yards up the hill. It was a opossum climbing the tree. It was too far for a picture. I knocked out the last 3 miles pretty quick and got to the shelter at 4:30. Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day. I will be going through the Grayson Highlands, one of my favorite place I've been, and it is still suppose to SNOW! Time to get the winter gear out! Oh, and today it was in the 60s. The weather can change so quick up here. Time to get some rest."
Date: 2013-11-12
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light snow

No word from Crunchmaster today. I suspect he ran into a little snow. He is in familiar territory now. We take frequent winter backpacking trips to Grayson Highlands Park. The winter before last Trevor and Brandon spent the weekend and stayed one snowy night in the Thomas Knob Shelter. The shelter has a loft but it isn't air tight from the outside winds. They ended up getting quite a bit of spindrift snow blown in on them. Tomorrow will be a cool day, most likely in the upper teens in the morning and not much above freezing throughout the day.I'll post as soon as I get word.It is 7:30 p.m. on 11/13 and I just got Crunchmaster's FB post. Here is its..."When I woke up at 8:00 this morning the sun was shining right in my face. Twenty minutes later, snow was coming down hard! I left the shelter at about 9:00. Within 30 minutes the trail was covered in snow. However, I was very warm and enjoying it. I stopped for a break at Old Orchard Shelter. It got cold quickly so I left pretty quick. After a couple miles I was at 5,000 feet for the first time since Mt. Lafayette in New Hampshire. After I passed through the scales, which is a livestock corral, the next mile was very exposed. It was in white out conditions. I had to just keep moving. Then some trail magic came my way. I saw someone hiking towards me and then she asked if I was Crunchmaster. Turns out, she has been following my journal. She gave me a Snickers bar before she left. I ate it right away! Thank you Frogger for the trail magic! I got to Wise Shelter about 20 minutes later and Gospel was there taking a break. I ate a couple snacks and then we left together. We came across some of the wild ponies right after the shelter. I was eating an apple at the time. As I was petting one of the ponies another came up behind me and took the apple right out of my hand! Thats when the whole herd thought I had food. They were trying to get in my pockets and some of them were actually pulling on my jacket. I finally got away and kept on hiking. The next 4 miles were all in very exposed areas. I checked the temperature and it was already 19 degrees. The wind was howling and blowing snow everywhere. We finally reached the shelter at 4:00. Cash and Hawk were at the shelter already. I looked at Gospel and his beard was solid white. He said mine was to. We had ice all over us! We quickly got dry clothes on and started cooking. I melted some snow to make hot chocolate. It's now 5:30 and we are already in bed! It is currently 14 degrees and the winds are about 25 mph. There is about 2-3 inches of snow on the ground. Hopefully the weather is better tomorrow!
Date: 2013-11-13
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 27.8

All our winter backpacking made today a lot easier for Crunchmaster...here's his FB post..."Last night was not a pleasant one with the weather like it was. I never got cold but it was just cool enough to make sleeping pretty difficult. I woke up at 6:45 this morning and my thermometer read -5 degrees. My water, filter, and boots were all frozen solid! I packed up quickly and was out of there by 8:00. The first mile was tough because my feet were so cold. They finally warmed up and the rest of the day was pretty nice! It never got above freezing the whole day. Snow remained on the ground until I got below 3,000 feet. Originally, Gospel and I had planned to do a 18 mile day, but since everything was frozen, we decided to push it all the way into town. We made it to town around 6:30 and checked in at the Hikers Inn. Then we made our way to the Subway in town. It's so nice to be warm and not be freezing out in a shelter right now. Tomorrow we are going to slack-pack 15 miles and then come back to town. So glad to almost be done with Virginia!"
Date: 2013-11-15
From: McQueens Gap

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Crunchmaster's FB post..."Today started with an amazing breakfast provided by Fidjit and Mamie! As always, it was really hard to leave the warmth of someones home. It was 9:00 by the time Gospel and I got on the trail. The weather was really nice all morning. We reached Double Springs Shelter around 11:45. There was a previous thru-hiker there with his dog. They are just out for the weekend. He told me it was really late in the season to being going SOBO. I'm sick and tired of people telling me when I should be doing my thru-hike. If I want to finish in the middle of February, then thats what I'll do. Anyways, Gospel and I hiked another 5 miles before we stopped for a break. About 10 minutes after leaving we came across 3 bears, a mama and her two cubs! That makes 22 bears for the trip so far! A light rain started to fall. We just made it to the shelter before the rain got a little heavier. Our original plan was to go another 7 miles to the next shelter, but since it was raining we decided to stay put. Tomorrow, we will be heading into Hampton. Right after Gospel and I laid down, several trail workers walked up to the shelter. Looks like a full shelter for tonight."
Date: 2013-11-16
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Hampton, TN
Miles today: 15.7

"I was up at 7:00 this morning and started hiking at 7:45. The rain had stopped and the sun was out. Gospel and I knocked out the first 7 miles to Vandeventer Shelter and took a break there. While I was sitting there eating a snack I was stung by a yellow jacket on my neck. Angrily, I kept on hiking hoping to not get stung again. It was a long descent to Watauga Lake. The trail actually goes right across the dam. We stopped at the shelter for a break. It was really warm today and the bugs were out. Much different conditions than a few days ago! We got to US 321 and hitched into Hampton. We are staying at the Hikers Haven. We ate supper at McDonalds and Gospel bought my meal since my birthday is coming up. Gospel is going to zero here while I keep going. I will be doing two short days on Monday and Tuesday to take some time off for my birthday. Gospel will catch back up after that. Got a big day planned for tomorrow so I'm headed to bed."
Date: 2013-11-17
From: Hampton, TN

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 24.2

"I was up and ready to hit the trail by 7:30. However, it took me an hour to get a ride so I didn't start hiking until 8:45. The first few miles were all uphill. It was pretty warm out so I was really working up a sweat. As I was descending the mountain, I was going into the Laurel Fork Gorge. I stopped for a break at the shelter and then continued. Laurel Falls was really nice but I didn't take the time to get pictures of it. The next 4 miles was mostly uphill again. I was so sick up the hills I had to listen to music to keep me motivated. I reached Moreland Gap Shelter at 2:30 just as it started raining. I had 9.6 miles to go still. I put on my rain gear and kept moving. The rain eventually let up a little bit which was really nice. The trail was very easy for the last 8 miles. It was mostly downhill or flat. I had to get my headlamp out and night hike for the last hour. When I was about a half mile from the shelter it started raining pretty hard. I walked into the shelter at 6:30 and found that nobody was there. Looks like this will be my first night alone in a shelter on the whole trip. It's still raining and I'm so thankful to be under a roof right now. Tomorrow I will be doing an easy 9 miles, where my mom will pick me up. We are going to get a hotel so I can watch the Patriots game. Sounds like a good birthday to me!"
Date: 2013-11-18
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Hwy 19E
Miles today: 9.3

Crunchmaster turned 19 today. Here's his post..."The sun was shining when I woke up this morning! From that moment, I knew it was going to be a good birthday! I basically ran the 9 miles to meet my mom. She picked me up around 12:00 and we headed straight to Taco Bell. The rest of the afternoon I just sat around and relaxed in the hotel room. Earlier this evening we went out to eat for my birthday. For the rest of the night I will be watching my New England Patriots play the Carolina Panthers! I'll be doing another short day tomorrow so that I don't have to get up early. This will surely be a birthday I'll never forget!"