morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-20
From: Stealth Site

To: Catawba Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: clear sky

Great sleep at our stealth site. Up early for a long day of hiking. The morning was easy and the first part of the climb to Dragon's Tooth was sweet. There were switchbacks, old pine forest with protection from the sun and sweet smelling and soft pine needles underfoot. Then we started climbing straight up and over rocks-felt like we were in New England. I loved the climb up and around Dragon's Tooth. The climb down was very tricky and steep (technical in places) with rebar in the rock to help the descent. I employ the "throw my poles down and scoot on my bum" method at times. Santa did not enjoy himself.Then to a road crossing and a 1/2 mile walk to a gas station. I had a cherry slush, a bottle of crangrape juice, and a cheeseburger and fries. Santa had multiple sodas, chips and a cheeseburger. He got two Gatorades to go and I got devil dogs. Then off to climb 8 more miles to put us in position to get up early (5am) to see sunrise at McAfee Knobb. Desolation, a thru hiker, said it was "biblical".Unfortunately we can't go to the Homeplace for dinner because they are only open Th-Sa and we went through today. But we go into town tomorrow for showers, laundry, resupply and town food!Water has been a problem in Virginia. It hasn't rained and water sources are drying up and some are pretty sketchy. It's supposed to rain Friday so I hope that helps the water situation.We met a family of section hikers from Lee, MA. They are Jigsaw, Just Helen and Bumblebee. We met at the gas station where they also had lunch and they picked up some food for the next two days. They were out hiking for Bumblebee's school vacation week. She's a senior getting ready to go to Saint Michael's in the fall. Really friendly family. Bumblebee and Just Helen may also hike out early to see the sunrise.We also met a man on a Harley who has just finished cancer treatment. He's hoping to gain back the weight he lost and find some energy. He is appalled that Santa is not "carrying a toy" (gun). This man has a license to carry a concealed weapon- he showed it to me. He asked why we don't carry and all I had to say is "we are from Massachusetts" and he understood.There is a bird making bizarre noises outside our tent. Hope I can sleep- early start and 17.1 to town.
Date: 2016-04-21
From: Catawba Mountain Shelter

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 17.8

Santa and I set up the tent and changed from hiking clothes to camp clothes. As we changed we looked at our legs and feet and were appalled at how filthy dirty we were. Back over to the shelter and down the hill to use his camp towel to scrub off the worst of the dirt. Feels nice to be semi cleanUp at 5 am to pack up and hike to McAfee Knob to see what was billed as a "biblical" sunrise. Unfortunately it was cloudy but the views were nice but not spectacular. We met a man who hiked in last night to see the sunrise. After chatting for a bit, we found out he lives in Uncasville, CT which is right near where I grew up. He took pictures for us and I took his picture to send to his wife.Then off we went to Tinkers Cliff. It was a pretty cliff walk with awesome views. We met a thru hiker named Bald Whistler. He is hiking a unique flip flop hike. He was trying to ensure good weather but said he has experienced spring, winter and summer already. He is hiking from Harper's Ferry to Damascus then NY to Maine then from Harper's Ferry to Damascus to Springer.We walked what Cocoa calls "AWOL flats"- what is shown in the book as a flat walk is actually a series of steep but short ups and downs up on the ridge line. Not hard but frustrating. You go up just to come down, repeat...Today was another hot sunny day in Virginia. It was like the hiking we have done in southern California.The dirt in the trail is dry and cracked, water sources are scarce and sketchy, lots of little lizards and a SNAKE. I am happily hiking along when I see something on the trail and abruptly stop. Santa bumps into me and asks what the problem is. I just point and he walks around me to poke at it with his hiking pole. It doesn't move but it's tongue is flicking so he gently flips it off the trail. It doesn't move and I quickly move past it.We walk into town, drop our packs at the Super 8 and head over to Pizza Hut. We each ordered a medium pizza and sodas. Life is good when your belly is full of town food!Walked into town to get our resupply box at the outfitters (thanks for the treats girls) and to get Santa new shorts. Then off to the food store for some juice and snacks. We walk past the 3 Pigs BBQ and see some hikers we know- Ghost, Pilot, Spirit of 76 and others. They identified my snake as a copperhead. Thinking I might be rethinking the wisdom of this hike. People are trying to figure out if they are hiking out tomorrow. We are taking a zero to rest sore legs and recover from my stomach bug. They are predicting thunderstorms tomorrow so more people may be staying over tomorrow.Got to talk to our girls and my sister tonight. Life is good!
Date: 2016-04-22
From: Daleville, VA

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Good sleep at the Super 8. Up and ready for breakfast and then town chores. We went to the outfitter to get Santa new shorts (his are too big) and some Glide. Then off to Kroger's for extra food. We got bagels for me and tortillas and peanut butter for Santa plus our usual pepperoni, cheese and cracker lunch. And Santa got candy bars and Gatorade powder. While we were at Kroger's we saw Jigsaw, Just Helen and Bumblebee. They are fine with their section hike and heading home tonight.Then off to the gas station for lunch. It's a little scary how often we eat at gas stations these days. I took a nap and Santa shared all the photos we have taken to our kids. Courtney will add pictures to the photo section of our journal (thanks Courts!)Then to the Three Pigs BBQ for dinner where we met Ghost, Spirit of 76 and Pigeon Toe. We each had an appetizer then split a salad and Santa had the free-to-hikers banana pudding and I had blueberry cobbler with ice cream. It may seem like all we do in town is eat- and that is true. Gotta fatten up before we go hike another 100 miles.Today was a good day to be in town, it really poured though it's nice and cool. The weather is supposed to be in the high 70's and 80's this coming week.Relaxing and taking care of our feet before we start hiking tomorrow and taking lots of showers and baths. It's weird, while hiking being dirty isn't a big deal but once in town, we really like to be clean.Excited for the next section. Spring has arrived and we are hoping for green leaves and pretty flowers as we walk.We both love seeing small town southern America as we come into the various towns. Very different from New England towns. People are more open and friendly to strangers, churches are involved in public schools, Bibles are in shelters, Bible verses are written on chalkboards in restaurants, people openly carry guns...It's turkey season so there's lots of talk about how many birds everyone has gotten and as we hike we often hear gunshots. Luckily we don't look like turkeys!
Date: 2016-04-23
From: Daleville, VA

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

Great sleep in our warm hotel room then up at 7 for breakfast and to hit the trail. It was an interesting walk today. First we hiked past I-81 then through a green meadow. Then we walked through a stole and onto a pasture with cows in it. We had to walk carefully so we didn't step in cow poop and we had to walk around a cow that was in the middle of the trail contentedly eating grass and not paying any attention to us. We saw some calves and they ran away from us to their mama but she didn't pay any attention to us either.Then we climbed some mountains but there were switchbacks and the trail was nicely maintained. We stopped at the first shelter to have a drink break and saw a family out for a day hike. The 8 year old son gave me a bag of candy! First trail magic for awhile and he was an adorably energetic trail angel who asked some good questions. Easy walk to the second shelter for lunch. We then came to a road crossing and we discovered that we will be following the Blue Ridge Parkway for the next 100 miles. A truck from PA stopped and backed up so they could talk to us about the trail. It was fun chatting with a couple that's interested in our journey.We are at the third shelter for the night. Ghost is here in his tent and there are three flip-floppers that are hiking southbound. Santa helped Shoulder Wide hang his first bear bag. Seldom Seen and his wife Morning Dove are also sheltering with us tonight. It's a wee bit chilly tonight but I will be toasty warm in my sleeping bag.
Date: 2016-04-24
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

Last night a wonderfully kind man made us very happy hikers. Vincent, Eric's uncle (the young man who gave us candy), surprised us with 2 pepperoni pizzas and chocolate cupcakes! We had all finished dinner, hung our bear bags and were getting ready to get in our sleeping bags when we saw three people coming down the blue blaze trail to the shelter. Then we heard a loud voice ask "are Santa and Wonder here?" It was Vincent and his parents bringing us trail magic. How unexpected and kind!Today was one of our hardest days in awhile. The morning started out cold, which is great for hiking and we had the usual go down to go up terrain. At lunch we saw Quick who we haven't seen in weeks. He was having knee problems so went home to Alexandria to have it checked out and then started hiking southbound. We also saw Klaus and his dog Nanook, who we haven't seen since Atkins. It was fun to sit and catch up on everyone's hikes. Klaus said if he hadn't worked so hard to get to America to do this hike, he would go home. I think it's harder than he thought it would be.After lunch we had a 4.9 uphill climb. It was hot and sunny and woefully lacking in switchbacks. Not too much fun. We thought about going a bit further since we got in at 4:45 but decided to call it a day.We have the shelter to ourselves. Klaus always tents with Nanook and Cabot and Hob (two young hikers from Maine) tent because they sleep in. We are hoping to get an early start because the forecast is calling for temps in the 80's.We sent a mail drop to the Three Springs Hostel and we should get there Tuesday. Unfortunately they are open Wednesday-Sunday. We tried to call because our book says you can get mail drops even when they are closed but we are struggling with cell service at the moment. We have three bars but can't send text, email or make a call. We will be gaining more elevation tomorrow so we will try again.Missing family and friends today but it has overall been a great day for a hike.
Date: 2016-04-25
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: clear sky

Last night it was just the two of us in the shelter at nightfall when a day hiker that we had seen earlier stopped to chat. He is a member of the Natural Bridge AT Club that maintains this section of the trail. We told him that they do a really good job and complimented him on the privies in this section. He told us that a man who doesn't hike much anymore because he's getting old cuts the wood and puts the privies together at his house, then they take them apart and transport them into the woods and put them together again.After he moved on, Wizard showed up. We had met him at a previous shelter at lunch time. He was talking with an odd man who was using the shelter as a "base camp" to hike to waterfalls. He had 3 months of dehydrated meals and a huge Rubbermaid box of tobacco and rolling papers. Anyway, Wizard attempted a thru hike last year but made classic mistakes- too heavy of a pack and tried to keep up with kids half his age. While he was gone, his wife cleaned out his closet and gave most of his stuff away. He's out for a section hike and has ultra lite gear. He also has two bamboo hiking poles. One of them has a honed 3/8" bit that he used to protect himself from a wild boar. Things can get interesting in shelters.Today's hike was fun. The leaves are coming out and the forest is looking alive. We passed many brooks and streams which have been absent from our landscape lately. It's really hot- in the 80's - so we stop and splash water on ourselves to cool off.We saw a sign for the Apple Orchard Trail. One of my kindergarteners misunderstood and thought we were hiking the Apple Orchard Trail so I had to stop and take a picture to send him. We saw Shoulder Wide slack packing southbound. We saw him on his second day when we had the trail magic pizza and didn't think we would see him again. He hiked his first four days with his wife, Slow As Molasses, Sam for short, and is now hiking 10-12 until he gets his hiker legs. Then we hiked past the FAA tower and under the guillotine (a rock formation that looks like it's going to fall on you). The AT parallels the James River for a mile and we crossed it on the longest footbridge on the trail.In for the night and Cabot and Hobbs are tenting and a section hiker is hammocking with his dog. It's finally starting to cool off. We took a quick sponge bath in the brook and Santa rinsed his shirt. A short 20 miles to town for a quick resupply tomorrow. It's supposed to be really hot so we are going to get up early to do our big climb before noon.
Date: 2016-04-26
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: broken clouds

Last night after midnight a hiker came into camp shining his headlamp, then proceeded to noisily set up his tent right next to Cabot and Hobbes tent. He also kept hearing an animal all night so he kept shining his light. We were in the shelter and it was annoying. It must have been really annoying in the tenting area.It was nice having the shelter to ourselves. We rubbed each other's feet, calves and shoulders, then snuggled in and went to sleep.Up and out early this morning. We had a big climb or two to start the day and it's sooo hot that we wanted to get started early.Beautiful terrain today with green forest and lots of wild flowers. The trees at the higher elevations haven't leafed yet so they don't provide much protection from the sun. The water sources in the middle of the hike weren't very good, but the southbounders we met were great about telling us where to get water. The last part of the day went past a river where Santa went swimming to the other side to get us some water from a freely flowing source. Then we walked along lots of streams where we stopped to cool off and soak our feet.We grabbed a shuttle into town with Cabot and Hobbes where we also found Brightside. Ordered Italian food which they delivered, walked down to the gas station for some resupply and a milkshake, took showers and now are watching HGTV.We had sent our resupply box to Three Springs Hostel. She's not open on Tuesdays but left our boxes out so we could get them with a note to get ourselves a cold soda. She was off getting baby goats today so we didn't get to meet Velma. Not only did we get our expected box with additional special treats from our girls, but the Marcotte family sent a box of candy and notes! Life is good!While we are sitting here, we are watching a pretty sweet thunder and lightning storm out our window. The heat was up in the high 80's here in VA today and our girls texted that they got 4 inches of snow in NH. Weather is weird.Cabot and Hobbes are a young, just out of college couple we have been hiking with this week. Cabot got her name because she started with a pound of Cabot cheese. Hobbes is named because he follows after Cabot trying to keep her wild ideas in check. They have met some interesting characters on the trail. I am glad we haven't met some of them. Some older hikers can be very condescending to younger hikers, especially females. Cabot and Hobbes have both worked in the AMC huts in the White Mountains and know about hiking. We had extra food in our resupply so they were happy to help us out and take some.Big hike up The Priest tomorrow and hopefully time to play in the waterfall so off to sleep.
Date: 2016-04-27
From: Buena Vista, VA

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Good night to be in town- huge thunder and lightning storm. But we were snug in a bed watching Fixer Upper.Up and out at 7:30 for a 20 mile day. There was a big climb at the beginning and a climb at the end but most of the day was ups and downs- typical AT day.Santa was very excited last night with the candy from the Marcottes. He ate all the candy bars today to help power him up the hills. We got to the last mile when it started to sprinkle on us. It actually felt good because it was hot and humid today, but not as hot as yesterday. We got to the shelter just as it started to pour. Brightside is tenting and Cabot and Hobbes got rained on pretty hard before they got here. But it stopped raining and they got their tent set up. After dinner Santa ate the Mike and Ike's and I had a Kit Kat.We are sharing the shelter with an interesting gentleman hiking in jeans. I think he might be homeless. Gave us lots of tips on how to hike cheaply. We cooked two dinners and decided to give the second one to him. We might be a little hungry tomorrow but he was eating corn chips for dinner-he certainly needed it more than we did. Another interesting day on the AT.We are hoping to hike about 20 miles again tomorrow to set us up for a reasonable day on Friday into Waynesboro. The shelters are strangely spaced so it looks like we will be tenting. We have been lazy lately and haven't used our tent much so it will be nice to be cozy in it tomorrow.Brightside was born in Monson, Maine but moved in 5th grade. He now lives near Mount Shasta in California (Santa would like to retire near there in Weed). He's a really fast hiker who takes long lunch breaks and chats with other hikers. He also likes to get in early so he has time to socialize. But when he needs to, he can hike 30 mile days. Right now he's excited because his wife is flying out to visit with him.
Date: 2016-04-28
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Campsite
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: light rain

Last night as we got into our sleeping bags the mist started to roll in. Santa and the other man in the shelter were fascinated- I was creeped out. It looked like gray skinny fingers reaching out to grab you. So I put my iPod on, tucked myself into my sleeping bag and went to sleep.Today has been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It started with all our stuff being very damp from the mist including our sleeping bags. And nothing will wake you up faster than putting on a wet and cold sports bra, t-shirt and shorts! We hiked out into the mist and descended from 4000 feet to 1000 feet then back up to 4000 feet and down to 3000 feet. It was hard hiking with wet rocks and boulder fields. There were 8 picture icons on our map today (awesome views) and we didn't see one because of the constant cloud we were walking in all day.As we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway and Santa went over to throw out our trash, a man pulled into the parking lot and got out of his car with his daughter. He wanted to talk to me about the hike and take our pictures. It was fun to chat with him and his second grade daughter.We stopped for a quick snack/energy break and then started walking again. I heard a crashing in the woods above me and stopped. A bear cub came racing down the mountain, across the trail and into the woods below us. I didn't get a picture- it happened too fast but we saw our first bear!So off we go walking up the trail and we hear thunder. So now the race is on. Can we beat the storm to our planned campsite? We did but just barely. We put up the tent and as Santa tied down the rain fly, I emptied our packs of everything we need for the night into our tent. We climb in and it starts storming. Rain is pouring down, thunder is booming and lightning is flashing. We are contentedly eating almost everything in our food bags- town is 12 short miles away tomorrow.I really do not like thunderstorms especially when I am on a mountain in a tent.Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day on the AT.
Date: 2016-04-29
From: Campsite

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Astonishing thunder and lightning storm last night. We were up on a ridge but not above tree line We stayed warm and dry in our tent and watched the lightning flashes on our rain fly as we fell asleep.Woke up early to pack up our soaking wet tent and hit the trail. It was an easy 12.3 miles into town where we found a list of trail angels who offer free rides to town. Yellow Truck Guy gave us a ride and Six Legs and his dog to town.We dropped our packs in the lobby of the Quality Inn (our room was being cleaned) and went to Pizza Hut for lunch. Walking back to the motel we passed a UHaul place and Santa had a wonderfully awesome idea- he rented a small cargo van!So while he took care of that, I came back and unpacked our backpacks. We have a tent footprint, tent, rain fly, and two sleeping bags drying out.Santa came back and went to the laundromat while I showered, took a bath and a nap. Then we drove to the outfitters to pick up a few things, our resupply box and a surprise package! Tanya sent me Pittsburgh Steelers duct tape to jazz up the duct tape on my purple puffy coat (the one I melted by sitting too close to our stove). A wonderful surprise! Then we went to dinner and ran into Brightside and Ghost. Enjoyed a wonderful dinner then drove to Krogers for ice cream and dropped them at their motel. Now we are in our room finishing up our town routine- rubbing each other's sore feet and legs.We are taking a zero tomorrow to rest and relax and figure out the next leg of our journey. We want to meet up with two of Santa's fraternity buddies if possible, and the trail closing due to a wildfire is a bit tricky.Off to sleep because tomorrow morning is all you can eat pancake day!
Date: 2016-04-30
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: mist

We had a wonderful sleep out of the rain and slept in until 7:30 this morning! Texted Ghost and Brightside and we piled into the "prison van" for a ride to breakfast. Brightside is a retired CHP officer and the cargo van brought back some memories. We went to the all you can eat pancake place but only Brightside got the special. Ghost and I had pancakes, eggs, home fries and ham. Santa got a breakfast sub. Then back to our room for a nap for me and Santa took Brightside to the trail and Ghost switched from his motel to ours (closer to amenities).Santa and I went to the movies. We saw Mother's Day and really enjoyed it. And they had popcorn with real butter! Then we called Ghost and off we went to the Outback for dinner. It was prom night and there were some pretty girls in beautiful dresses. Then a restful night talking to our girls and watching the Penguin/Capitals game.Tomorrow it is supposed to rain and possibly thunderstorm so Ghost is taking another zero. We have made plans to meet some people in the next two weeks so we will be heading out.