morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-05-19
From: Stan Murray Shelter

To: Upper Fork of Laurel Creek
Miles today: 23.8

M 408.0, Upper Fork of Laurel Creek, 23.8 miles.The wind blew all night last night and this morning we woke up to find we are in a cloud. As you can imagine, everything is wet. I commented to Finder that we would be someday in the future when we would think back to the school days and wish we had cool weather¢little did I know it would be later in the same morning when it got hot and I wished it were cool! The Roan Highlands were very mystical when shrouded with fog, but it started to lift and we did get some views. After the fog lifted, as I mentioned, we got some full sun and we probably got a bit dehydrated. Will have to guard against that in the future. We exited North Carolina today and we crossed the 400 mile marker¢two big accomplishments¢Yahoo!! We found a campsite on the Upper Fork of Laurel Creek and both Finder and I quickly ate and retired to our tents. Planning to go to bed soon¢we¢re bushed!
Date: 2021-05-20
From: Upper Fork of Laurel Creek

To: Hampton, TN
Miles today: 20.6

M 428.6, Hampton, TN, 20.6 miles.Today was a day of sun, scenery and a snake. We had one of our first days of completely blue sky. The sun shone brightly but it wasn¢t too hot and there was a gentle breeze most of the day. The views were great, the scenery was superb, we even walked along the stream for a while. At one point there was a super steep staircase of stone steps that lead down to Laurel Falls, one of the highest Falls that we¢ve seen so far on the trip. The hot weather did bring out a rattlesnake¢Finder had to jump backwards to keep from stepping on it! It was black with a red diamond pattern, about 4 feet long, about 3-4 inches in diameter, and had 11 rattles. I used a long dead branch to distract it. Soon it headed uphill while Finder and I ran past it! Quite exciting¢trust me!! It¢s been fun to share this day with my Super friend, Finder.When we got to Watuga Lake, we got a hitch into town (Hampton, Tennessee) from six guys from the same Mennonite church in Heartsville, Ohio. They were: Vanguard & Ethan, Cameron, Jake, Rookie and Ross. Tomorrow they are getting a shuttle about 40 miles south and then they¢re hiking back to Hampton. They were such great people and very generous! Besides the hitch, they invited us along to BBQ and ice cream before dropping us off back at our hostel! (Side note: our hostel is called the Braemar Castle Hostel, but really it¢s a former lumber/railroad company commissary). Trail Angels extraordinaire!! Happy Trails guys!
Date: 2021-05-21
From: Hampton, TN

To: Piped Spring
Miles today: 22.6

M 451.2, camped by piped spring, 22.6 miles.Our good friend Mr. Sutton Brown drove us up to Watuga Lake this morning. Mr. Brown¢s family has been in the area over 100 years and he currently runs the hardware store, the grocery store and Braemar Castle hostel. Since we went out for BBQ and ice cream last night, both Finder and I ended up staying up way past ¢hiker midnight,¢ so tonight I¢m super tired¢sorry, that¢s all I¢m reporting about today. Good night!https://photos.app.goo.gl/CD32...https://photos.app.goo.gl/ULsR...
Date: 2021-05-22
From: Piped Spring

To: Crazy LarryÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs, Damascus, VA
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: clear sky

M 471.0, Crazy Larry¢s, Damascus, VA, 19.8 miles.We had a wonderful campsite off the trail near the piped spring last night and we woke up refreshed and ready to go. We didn¢t even have any dew on their tent¢everything was dry. The trail was relatively smooth and we did a little over 8 miles by 10 in the morning. We went past an old shelter (built in the 1930s) which was probably used by a fire tower spotter. I saw probably the largest cluster of Lady Slippers that I¢d ever seen at one time! It wasn¢t too hot and we made town by 2:30 pm after hiking almost 20 miles. We met up with Dennet, who we met at Blue Mountain Shelter in GA, a couple of his friends (he used to live here in Damascus), and also Smiles and JetPack. Food and trail stories were the main topics of the afternoon. I had chips and guacamole, pizza, chili and ice cream. Gotta pack away those calories when you can! Tomorrow we take our first zero of the trip! It¢s going to be nice to have my feet up for a day!! :)
Date: 2021-05-23
From: Crazy LarryÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs, Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day.We¢re taking a Zero today in Damascus at Crazy Larry¢s. I¢m putting my feet up with an ice pack on my right leg; Finders off to take a bike ride down the Creeper Trail (an old railway turned into a bike trail).I opened my resupply box that I had my wife Wendy sent me and I also opened the box my REI Reading MA friends sent me. The REI box was packed full of Ziploc baggies, Alpine Start coffee packets, Coffee Clif Bars, Nuun tablets, but the two special things were: homemade cookies and two pages chocked-full of encouraging notes from my colleagues¢you guys are awesome! There¢s no place better than REI Store Two-Six!! Thanks so much :)  We ate a couple of times at 7 Trails Grill and each time the food and service were great! Outside were about 12 motorcycles, many of which carried riders from afar who came to swing through the turns of a road called the ¢Snake.¢ (Hey Bill T from REI Reading¢come on down!) I would have loved to have had some coffee from this place called Mojo¢s, but it didn¢t open up until 9 am!! What¢s up with that?!Heading out early tomorrow¢that¢s all for now.
Date: 2021-05-24
From: Crazy LarryÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs, Damascus, VA

To: Deep Gap
Miles today: 25.9

M 496.9, Deep Gap, 25.9 miles.Well OK so we didn¢t really go that many miles but those are the Trail numbers that I¢m using. We ran the Creeper Trail a little longer than is on the red line (it¢s an alternate), but it was very cool right by the river so we enjoyed it. We saw deer, a guy catch a trout, and even a porta-potty! We passed over a bridge and Finder filled an engineering report. Open fields with grazing cattle gave way to Buzzards Rock and near the end of the day we got some Trail Magic. We stopped in a field with a piped spring (not at a shelter) and we hope to sleep well tonight!
Date: 2021-05-25
From: Deep Gap

To: VA650
Miles today: 23.3

M 520.2, VA650, 23.3 miles.Big day today¢crossed the 500 mile mark! Also saw the ponies on Grayson Highlands! And on top of that we saw a steer with incredible horns!! Of course it was lying down, not even moving¢(skip to next sentence to avoid a ¢Dad joke¢)¢I don¢t think I can recommend it to anyone¢I wouldn¢t want to give anyone a bum steer. (I warned you :) We hiked through a very narrow slot in the rocks called ¢Fat Man¢s Squeeze.¢ It started sprinkling about 2:30 pm and continued even until now at 7:45 pm. Looks like after 10 days without rain our luck has run out.https://photos.app.goo.gl/pFX4...
Date: 2021-05-26
From: VA650

To: Trailside Campsite
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: scattered clouds

M 542.6, trailside campsite, 22.4 miles.The trail today seemed not as steep and had better tread. Again we traversed some pastures, saw cows, and had fine weather. No afternoon showers today and it¢s the warmest evening in camp of the whole trip. I¢m rethinking my warm weather kit¢I¢m probably going to send some things home and swap out for more lightweight equipment. At lunch time we ran into Rocket again and he told us a crazy story of how a raccoon tried to steal his honey bun this morning¢the critter wouldn¢t give up until Rocket wacked it with his trekking pole!
Date: 2021-05-27
From: Trailside Campsite

To: Bear Garden Hostel
Miles today: 15.9

M 558.5, Bear Garden Hostel, 15.9 miles.It sprinkled on and off throughout the night but the total amount of rain wasn¢t much. After we packed up our first event was a stop by the Lindamood School which was built in 1894. The desk design was cool¢behind the backrest one person was book cubby space for the person behind them (wish I had taken a picture of it). Our excitement and anticipation for a full-on breakfast at the Barn Restaurant located near I-80 turned to disappointment when we found out the restaurant was being renovated and was only open on weekends for outdoor service. Coffee and donuts from a Sunoco station was the stand in. Mile 550 (1/4 trail mark), a black racer snake, and rhododendron blooms filled up the day. Just before we got to the Bear Garden Hostel Finder noticed a fawn lying still, just off the trail, in a tree well of a fallen tree! You could hardly see it! We plan to clean up then head out tomorrow despite predictions of 90% rain. Embrace the elements!!
Date: 2021-05-28
From: Bear Garden Hostel

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: scattered clouds

M 580.5, Jenkins Shelter, 22.0 milesBy the way, Craig and Pam did a great job filling in for the owners of the Bear Garden who were out of town for a wedding. It rained early in the morning but stopped by the time we headed out. There is a washed up bridge over lick Creek but we could cross on the logs. The Chestnut Knob Shelter was a very cool shelter¢completely enclosed. Today Finder found a baby skunk along the path. Fortunately it didn¢t spray either of us. We ended the day with about a 2 to 3 hour hike in the rain, and set up in the rain, and it¢s still raining. Hopefully it¢ll stop by morning.
Date: 2021-05-29
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: light rain

M 604.5, Jenny Knob Shelter, 24.0 miles.We woke up to sprinkles on the tent, but it didn¢t rain hard. When I got out of my tent I did see what went ¢thump¢ in the night. I had thought it might have been a raccoon or bear dropping someone¢s hung food bag by cutting the line holding it up in the air. In reality it was a branch that had dropped from a tree! Fortunately I was under a rhododendron tree far enough that the branch hit the tree and not my tent!The trail tred was very nice today and we made pretty good time. Near lunch time we got Trail Magic from Bob, Chris and Anna from Marshfield, Massachusetts. They were down to drop off their daughter Emma who was joining her brother ¢Indy¢ who had started in Springer. Their whole family is awesome and we really enjoyed the food!We crossed 600 miles today and also came across the first water cache of the trip.After hiking all day without rain and mostly being able to dry out our gear we hope for more trail time tomorrow like we had today.
Date: 2021-05-30
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: DocÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.2

M 627.7, Doc¢s Knob Shelter, 23.2 miles.The day started cool and gray but at least it wasn¢t raining. Most of the day the trail tread was great. There¢s a saying that Virginia is for lovers and today we were loving the tread and gradient. We went over a cool suspension bridge on our way to where we feed hostile. We had second breakfast there and did a little bit of resupply. We were seeing some new blooms of a new species of rhododendron. We made it all the way to the shelter with only a few sprinkles but our gear is pretty damp and wet yet. Tomorrow we¢re looking forward to drying out in Pearisburg.Backstory: Nimblewill. We met the oldest guy traveling the AT this year, 83-year-old Nimblewill. He¢s done the AT four times already and I asked him what¢s the thing that has changed the most since the first time you did the AT. I expected him to say there¢s more hostels or resupply is easier. But instead he said that the trail tread has really worn down. Think about it he said; roots should grow underground, and there¢s so many roots above ground on the trail and that shows how worn out the trail is. He¢s got a point.
Date: 2021-05-31
From: DocÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 9.5

M 637.2, Pearisburg, VA, 9.5 miles.We slept through a cloud up on the mountain so everything was wet this morning. Fortunately the sun came out and we plan to lay everything out once we get to town. The trail tread and gradient were again great¢we love Virginia! We hiked into town and and stayed at The Plaza Motel. Linda checked us in and was VERY helpful! She gave us a place to store our packs (our room was being cleaned) and we crossed the road to resupply at Food Lion. Lunch at DQs, the usual clean up chores and a pizza dinner took most of the day. It turned out to be a sunny, warm afternoon (probably the only one this month) and if we were hiking it may have been the only day we could have worn sunglasses °https://photos.app.goo.gl/sED99Rr6oi9BPHSw5
Date: 2021-06-01
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Wind Rock
Miles today: 27.3

M 664.5, Wind Rock, 27.3 miles.Well we¢re having breakfast in the parking lot today because we were getting a coffee at a local convenience store when Twig offered to give us a ride to the trail head thanks twig Trail Angel expert.Once hiking we soon crossed the New River and headed north out of Pearisburg on a ridge.VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/gJuc...VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PiiG...There was a tremendous view at the first bald,but shortly thereafter the trail swerved left and right around fallen branches and limbs. I¢m not sure what type of tree predominates this part of the woods but it seems an ice storm or something similar peeled off a lot of debris. It really slowed us down.But by the end of the day we were able to make it to Wind Rock.VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Y7Sa...And there, in the grass by the view point, I found my first 4-leaf clover! It must be my lucky day!
Date: 2021-06-02
From: Wind Rock

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: overcast clouds

M 687.8, Niday Shelter, 23.3 miles.Windy this morning up here on Wind Rock. But that¢s ok; things pack up dry. Again went through some pastures, today they were still festooned with small American flags leftover from Memorial Day. Also pasted the Keffer Oak, the second oldest tree on the AT.Not sure why but there were these huge cairns on this high ridge, but there they were! And we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide and will stay on the Atlantic side the rest of the trail.We¢re staying in the shelter tonight; rain is coming in, will be here all day tomorrow and will last into the next day¢should be fun!!
Date: 2021-06-03
From: Niday Shelter

To: John SpringÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Shelter
Miles today: 23.7

M 711.5, John Spring¢s Shelter, 23.7 miles.It rained briefly at 2am last night so it probably was a good idea to stay in the shelter. The forecast for today was 80% chance for showers with thunderstorms likely. We are so glad it didn¢t rain! We paid our respect at the Audie Murphy memorial. Passed the 700 mile mark!and checked out the Dragons Tooth.Like yesterday, at times the trail was steep, slanted or both, and often hands were needed to navigate through. We were especially thankful that it hadn¢t rained when we saw the downclimb from Dragon¢s Tooth!! It was so steep my hands weren¢t free so I don¢t even have photos :( Again, like the day before, not an easy day.
Date: 2021-06-04
From: John SpringÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: light rain

M 730.3, Daleville, 18.8 miles.Had great weather again this morning even though showers were forecast. We got to McAfee Knob early just as the sun broke through the clouds¢best view yet on the AT! VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kKuL...VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hEGE...We still had a little bit of sloping slabbies but nothing like 2 days ago!We were treated to views of the Tinker River, a tortoise and, compliments of Ridge Runner Susan, an official AT Hangtag!  Valley views from Tinker Cliffs, a green snake, weird rock formations and Trail Magic topped off the day.VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/x64D...Thanks to Cindy and Mike, Dolce and Quip (thru-hiker giving back!) for the food and drink!Now it¢s time to hit the Super 8 , resupply and eat as much as POSSIBLE!!
Date: 2021-06-05
From: Daleville

To: Tentsite
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: overcast clouds

M 752.6, Tentsite, 22.3 miles.Started off the day seeing a sign saying we were 1/3 of the way to Katahdin¢can¢t believe it.  It¢s a Saturday today, we¢re walking along the Blue Ridge Parkway VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/anNi...and we ran into lots of trail magic. First we met Ken Bunning, a.k.a. Nimbus, the current president of ALDHA. He told us about the flower called ¢fire pink.¢ It¢s red (not pink), has 5 petals and the end of each petal is split.We were met Joe, a.k.a. Firewalker, and got some trail magic from him. He had a very cool hiking pole with lots of metal emblems attached to it.Just around dinner time we crossed the BRP for the last time and got pizza, spaghetti, fresh fruit and drinks from AT hiker ¢The Mayor,¢ Tonya and Chelsea¢thanks so much!!(sorry about the fuzzy photo °)
Date: 2021-06-06
From: Tentsite

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: clear sky

M 772.5, Thunder Hill Shelter, 19.9 miles.Didn¢t put the fly on my tent last night. It was the warmest night so far. The morning broke warm and humid too. We¢re in for our second day in a row of high 80s-low 90s for temperatures and humidity. Even though it¢s hot there are still a lot of flowers in bloom.  We have over 6000 of elevation gain alone today so we plan to cut back on the miles. Last night in camp we met a guy from Georgia named Kitty Hawk. He and his wife started the AT last year, but had to get off. This year he¢s out by himself. During the day today apparently Kitty Hawk lost his phone. We came up on a guy named Lens who had just found it, but without a label it¢s hard to tell who¢s phone it was! But inside the phone case were spectacles¢so not a young person¢s phone! We guessed Kitty Hawk and off went Lens running. Below you can see the happy ending with Lens on the right and Kitty Hawk on the left.  We went past one of three weather and plane tracking stations in the lower US, as well as a rock called the Guillotine.Water has been tough to find but fortunately we got so from a spring at the shelter. Apparently there¢s a drought down here¢we¢ll see if it rains tomorrow.
Date: 2021-06-07
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Bluff Mountain campsite
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: overcast clouds

M796.2,Bluff Mountain campsite, 23.7 miles.Today was dominated by two features: the James River and the weather. We had to descend down to an elevation of 654 feet across the river and then we are just climb up the other side over 3300 feet on Bluff Mountain. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/AaRx...And the weather caused another sweat fest due to the 80% humidity and temperature readings. We got into camp and set up for tents to the sound of thunder and right now it¢s raining¢hopefully it¢ll be done by morning. Oh and one more thing ¢ ¢ I had an attached tick and will have to deal with that hopefully with some antibiotics.
Date: 2021-06-08
From: Bluff Mountain campsite

To: Bald Knob campsite
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: light rain

M 811.8, Bald Knob campsite, 15.6 miles.Today was the first day we made 10 miles by 10 a.m. Also during that time we passed 800 miles. We got a lift into Buena Vista by shuttle driver Derek and spent about four hours in the afternoon doing showers, laundry, resupply, Post Office, and we hope to head back to the mountains¢looks like rain though. I did find this encouragement on a sign outside the Buena Vista Library:
Date: 2021-06-09
From: Bald Knob campsite

To: Tye River Bridge
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: overcast clouds

M 834.5, Tye River Bridge, 22.7 miles.My goodness¢were we treated to an amazing lighting show last night! At a distance, but very brightly, lightening lit up the sky for a number of hours after midnight. It was quite impressive! Once we started hiking today we got a nice 360 degree view from Cole Mountain. VIDEO: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uXAe...Other than Max Patch, I can¢t recall any place with such full vistas. We dodged rain all day today. At times it would appear very dark, but it didn¢t rain on us. A few miles away we would come upon wet ground so we knew it just missed us. We ran into a trail maintenance guy doing some weed wacking. Generally this helps a lot especially in keeping ticks further off the trail (I found one crawling on my leg right after we walked by some grass close to the trail that hadn¢t been weed wacked. I¢m pretty sure the Deet I sprayed on my socks and pants made it move and helped me find it!) Today, however, with the rain on the rocks and loose vegetation I ended up falling twice! It was a little steep as well, so in the future I¢ll have to make the decision to slow down. But my biggest news has to do with my lighter pack! I cut almost 5.5 lbs by sending home my bear canister and in it my Nano Puff, quilt, gloves and compass. It¢s amazing how much lighter my pack feels. I wish I had done this sooner, but until recently, it¢s been too cold.
Date: 2021-06-10
From: Tye River Bridge

To: Wintergreen View
Miles today: 17.5

M 852.0, Wintergreen View, 17.5 miles.Today¢well, let¢s call it a ¢Grinder.¢ It rained lightly most the night so everything was pretty wet as we packed up. If it wasn¢t wet then it would be soon¢from sweat! An uphill 3,250 feet climb in high humidity was the first thing on our to-do-list. The rain started about 2pm which added to the slipperiness of the rocks on the trail. (Remember, yesterday I fell twice on wet rocks.) We didn¢t even break 20 miles for the day, but when butterflies and that big yellow thing up in the sky greet you, it¢s best to stop for the day.
Date: 2021-06-11
From: Wintergreen View

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 12.3

M 864.3, Rockfish Gap, 12.3 miles.We awoke at 5am to rain on the tent. It had rained periodically all night. I packed everything, including the tent, under the fly and then took the fly down (thanks again to JP at REI Reading for the tips on how to do this!). Took 2 photos of a new flower I hadn¢t seen before on this trail. Did a little ¢yellow-blazing¢ today¢my feet were hurting because of the trail conditions in last 2 days and Finder turned his ankle (not badly, but it was noticeable). As a result, we even learned a few things. We¢re staying at Stamimals in Waynesboro and I can¢t say enough about the place. Very organized, well run, clean and friendly. Highly recommended! For dinner we (Kitty Hawk, me, Finder and Makkreel) went to all-you-can Ming¢s. I can¢t believe I¢m saying this, but I ate too much! Backstory: yesterday while hiking, Finder and I both heard something big move on the steep terrain up and to our left. We both stopped¢and it¢s a good that we did! A large tumbling rock that looked like a bowling ball, at least 1 foot in diameter, came crashing down from about 20 feet above us, crashed past the trail and continued down hill!! Had we not stopped, I think Finder may have become a human bowling pin!
Date: 2021-06-12
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: mist

M 885.0, Blackrock Hut, 20.7 miles.Retired a shirt and my second pair of shoes. It¢s nice to get new gear. Yesterday I got my trekking pole tips replaced, bought a new pack cover and got a Thermarest patch kit. Feels good! Got a ride to trail head with Odie the hiker yearbook guy. He was helping Stamimals by shuttling hikers to the trailhead. He¢s done a fantastic job on his bus. Great guy¢check out The Hiker Yearbook!Check out Triple Crown Coffee sticker on the coffee machine. It was a little cooler today and somewhat less humid, but for much of the day hiking looked like this: OK the numbers are in¢I¢ve lost 13 pounds since the start of the trail. I eat a lot in town, but I have to start carrying and eating more on the trail. Backstory: Rich at Rockfish Gap Outfitters was outstanding! Stop by and check out the shop!!