morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-05
From: Curley Maple Gap Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.8

Woke up last night about an hour after we went to bed. Lots of rain, wind, and some lightning!!Always hard to get used to sleeping on the trail again...especially when sleeping in a full 14 person shelter.Regardless, we were some of the first few hikers to leave the shelter and brave the rain/sleet/cold.The beginning of the hike wasn't too bad, but the winds and rain really picked up as we approached Beauty Gap. Needless to say, Beauty Gap was disappointing since it was too foggy.We estimated the winds approached 25-35 miles per hour!! OUr hands and feed were so cold, but we pressed on, up Unaka Mountain and arrived at Cherry Gap Shelter. The shelter wasn't too great, but we decided to stay in it anyway. We stayed with a few other folks, some new folks and some from last night. Hopefully, we can make it to Roan High Knob Shelter tomorrow - the highest shelter on the AT!
Date: 2013-05-06
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.8

We left camp today after a nigh of rain expecting to hike through another drury day. However, the rain lasted rather briefly and the sun came out! It was beautiful day for hiking!We made good time to Clyde Smith Shelter, so we decided to press on until Roan High Knob. We went up Little Rock Knob, which was eerily similar to Albert Mountain. The ascent up Roan Mountain wasn't too bad, but the trail for the last 1.6 miles is nothing like we saw before. We were basically hiking through a Riverbed. Glad we didn't hike it yesterday!Met a few new folks tonight, but tried to get in bed in soon as possible. Not sure where we will make it tomorrow!
Date: 2013-05-07
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Shady Lawn Lodge
Miles today: 15.8

Although we were expecting rain this morning, it was a beautiful morning!After getting all our stuff together, we headed off over what we thought would only be a few rather enjoyable up hills. Boy were we wrong!After a slight miscalculation on the trail (I took us off the trail). We made it to our first easy enough hill, but we hit the summit and could see the next hill staring us in the face! This was the first time we could truly see the elevation change in our face!With the first two hills behind us, we stopped for lunch at Stan Murray shelter. During lunch, we saw storm clouds in the distance and feel rain despite being in the sun.We ventured on past Overmountain Shelter to an incredibly steep climb, where once again, we could see the steep trail we were about to hike! We attempted to delude ourselves by thinking it wasn't our trail, but when we hit the bottom of the ascent I couldn't stop laughing (there should be a picture of me laughing and pointing). By this time, half our view was consumed by the storm clouds.Yet, the other side of our view had blue skies. We had no idea if we would end up with a storm or blue skies in our future.After we reached the top, we enjoyed some extremely beautiful views only to enjoy a very rocky descent. We debated on whether to camp a few miles before town or press to the nearby hostel. We chose the hostel, but found out that the owner was not providing breakfast tomorrow! We had heard so much about the breakfast, we ended up incredibly disappointed.The hostel was completely full, and we opted to try a new motel in Newland, NC rather than setting up our tent in the rain.One of the owners picked us up, took us to the grocery store, and was amazingly accommodating. I hope she and her husband are incredibly successful with their motel as they were very great people.
Date: 2013-05-08
From: Shady Lawn Lodge

To: Upper Laurel Fork
Miles today: 13.2

This morning we woke u early so we could hit the laundromat and grab breakfast before we headed back to the trail. After accomplishing those tasks, we packed up and were later picked up by the other owner, Justin Ray. We were dropped off at the trail and were on our way around 11:15 am.We made good time today despite lots of mud! The terrain didn't have the usual ups and downs like yesterday, but we did have the same chance of rain. We saw some great sights and had a great lunch at Mountaineer Shelter after seeing the cool mountaineer falls. We set up our tent at Laurel Fork where, despite the guide, saw no waterfalls.
Date: 2013-05-09
From: Upper Laurel Fork

To: Waycaster Spring
Miles today: 13.9

We slept in today and didn't get started until 9:45 am! Beautiful day of hiking, yet lots of streams and therefore...mud.We took a short lunch at Moreland Gap shelter and headed on. We saw the beautiful Laurel Falls after an extremely steep downhill trek. After the falls, we walked along a rock ledge right next to the water. I stopped and dipped my head in the water while on the rock ledge!We stopped for dinner, beef stroganoff and a cheese tortilla at Laurel Fork shelter. We ended up continuing on and setting up camp next to a river where no one else was camping.
Date: 2013-05-10
From: Waycaster Spring

To: Vanderventer Shelter
Miles today: 15.3

Great night sleep next to the water! Luckily, there weren't as many rocks today as yesterday. We did have a huge climb up 1,800 ft, but seemed "relatively" easy. After we came down the mountain we were greeted by trail magic! "Pepper" and his son "Chili", had a bunch of snacks, drinks, and sandwich stuff.Pepper and chili thru-hiked the AT in 2010 and then the PCT in 2011. They said they had hoped to do the CDT in 2014. Chili couldn't have been older than 14, so I'm not sure how they hike so much if he is in school.After some great trail magic, we pressed onward and upward. We basically walked all the way to the other side of Watuga Lake. However, a lot of the AT was diverted due to flooding at the lake. We met a surveyor who said the lake height was at a record high (4 ft above previous high!).As we got closer to the shelter, we could hear thunder and rain was sprinkling on and off. Eventually, the storm caught up to us and got us drenched! Luckily, it was warm so weren't cold, but we were completely soaked from our feet to our head. We eventually got to the shelter, but decided to set up our tent instead and have a quick, cold dinner.
Date: 2013-05-11
From: Vanderventer Shelter

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 14.4

Luckily, last night we didn't have too much rain, so we were able to get up earlier and get a good start. Unfortunately, the rain started while we were packing up the tent, so we left the campsite a little soggy.But, the great thing about the trail is that are unfortunate thing like a wet tent is easily forgotten after a few hours of hiking. The terrain was relatively easier than the past few days so we made good time. We stopped at a spring about 4 miles to get enough water for our final endpoint. We hiked all day without any real breaks with the rain coming and going. I think all and all, I put my jacket on and off at least four times.We got to camp and grabbed a few shelter pots so we could get an early start tomorrow, but also to stay dry in the event of rain. Hoping to reach Damascus by tomorrow!
Date: 2013-05-12
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: The Place - Damascus, VA
Miles today: 18.7

We were so glad that we stayed in the shelter last night! The was on and off, but was extremely heavy rain when it was on. Luckily, as we packed up our gear it stopped raining. Although it stopped raining it was extremely cold outside and putting wet socks was surely not too enjoyable. After a little while of hiking, we did start to finally warm-up and forget our wet socks :P and enjoyed the "relatively" flat hike in the cool weather.At the road to Shady Valley, TN, we were greeted with the trail magic, where we enjoyed some gushers, apples, capri-suns, and I grabbed a moon pie as a celebration when we finish TN!A little while later we saw an old "disused" shelter that couldn't have slept more than two people! It faked us out since we thought it was Abingdon Gap where we intended to have lunch. We quickly figured out, and ended up having lunch at Abingdon Gap Shelter. With only 10 miles to Damascus, we pressed on! The trail was flat most of the way, so we made good time and reached the TN/VA border. One of our fellow hikers, "Danger Pants", took our picture at the border, then we decided to stop and enjoy a moon pie we brought with us from the trail magic. About 3 miles later, we arrived in Damascus!WE set up our tent at "The Place", picked up a few packages mailed to us, took some showers, and Bearman did laundry while I planned food needs then finishing journal entries.After we were cleaned up and all unpacked, we went to the Blue Blaze cafe for dinner where we got a large stromboli, with ham salami, mozarella, and beef...mmmm.....We ate our food and had a great night sleep!
Date: 2013-05-13
From: The Place - Damascus, VA

To: After LH Memorial Bridge
Miles today: 14.0

After a good night sleep in our tent, I woke up early to get a final load of laundry and.While I was at the laundromat I met a nice older couple, "Bear" and "Honey" who own "The Cabin" in Andover, ME. They were a really nice older couple in Damascus for Trail Days to get the word out about their place. We do have a picture of their RV near our tent site, and hope to see them when we reach ME!After some laundry, we headed back to the Blue Blaze Cafe for some blueberry pancakes, hit the Dollar General for a quick resupply, and then hit the Post Office to ship a few extra things home.Next, we packed up our campsite, said goodbye to a few of our recent hiking friends since weren't sure we were going to see them again. They were either staying in town or decided to walk on the Virginia Creeper trail.The terrain wasn't too bad, where we stayed with a beautiful river for awhile. We past several hikers today, both thru and day hikers alike. A few day hikers we met brought a future trail in our minds, the Alfred Wainwright trail, which takes 2 weeks long to hike across England.We made our way to Saunders Shelter, met a few section hikers who used to work for state EPAs! We chatted for a bit, but we decided an 8 mile day was too short so we grabbed some H2O and pressed 2.5 miles to the next campsite. When we got to the campsite, some hikers were shooting a movie. It surprised us since it was a lot of equipment to hike with!That campsite was near a pong so we decided to keep going...and going...and going...We eventually found a small campsite near the river we crossed on the really cool Luther Hassinger Memorial Bridge. Our feet were so tired we had to set up camp and eat as quickly as possible to get to bed. Luckily, we aren't planning a long day tomorrow.
Date: 2013-05-14
From: After LH Memorial Bridge

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 13.8

Needless to say, we slept in this morning after such a long hike and late arrival. It was extremely cold, but we got moving and starting hiking in a cool, sunny day!We hiked a bit slower today, but met a lot of people along the trail. We had to have seen at least 30+ hikers today!Most of the hikers were day-hikers enjoying the great weather. We took a brief break at Buzzard Rock where we enjoyed a 360 degree view. Eventually, we pressed on and were surprised by trail magic about 6 miles later.We planned on a busy shelter area, so I went ahead to set up camp. We joined up with a lot of our thru-hiker friends, "Loopy", "Face-Plant", and "Mac". Loopy brought up S'mores which were delicious. Trying to sleep was a quite difficult as the wind was relentless. We were afraid we might blow away!
Date: 2013-05-15
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 16.0

Last night we woke up several times due to the excessive winds. At one point, we tried to discuss our options of the tent blew away! Despite our concerns, the tent withstood the wind only with some minor bends in the tent poles by the end. While packing up, we were greeted by two wild ponies. The younger one tried to eat my backpack strap, but I was able to run him off after a little bit!Met several new hiking friends today: Goldilocks, Fiddle, Mr. Bean, Laces, and Brooktrout.All of us camped together near Hurricane Mt. Shelter. Great company tonight and great conversation as we tried huddle near the mini-fire to keep away all the bugs. Fiddle attempted to make chocolate pudding in a ziplock bag using the cold creek water. While the texture was off, the flavor was there and definitely a new type of hiking treat for all of us! I tried to get some pictures of everyone trying some!
Date: 2013-05-16
From: Hurricane Mt. Shelter

To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 19.8

We got an early start today so we could make our planned ~20 miles. The hiking weather was fantastic, slightly cool and overcast!We made great time today to Trimpi Shelter where we had lunch and met a local Ridge Runner. We stumbled upon Trail Magic from a local Baptist Church Youth Group. No one was around, but we thanked them in their journal and enjoyed a few snacks. Despite our tired feet, we made it to VA 16, where we were picked up by a local named Stacey who calls herself a "wannabe" thru-hiker.She drove us into town where we resupplied and got a hotel for the night using a local cab service to get around.
Date: 2013-05-17
From: Marion, VA

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 7.0

After our cushy night sleep, we enjoyed free breakfast at the hotel: Waffles, biscuits, and bagels. We packed up our great and took the Marion Transit for $0.50 each back to the trail.We got on the trail a little later today - 11:15 am. However, we made great time to the shelter where we could rest to get ready for the 19 mile hike tomorrow.
Date: 2013-05-18
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Know Maul Shelter
Miles today: 18.4

We hike up, we hike downWe hear birds, and our boots hitting the groundThe rain comes and the rain goes,As the jackets go off and on, depending on how heavy the wind blows.Today we must have crossed at least 10 stiles, While we hiked approximately 18 miles.We saw only 1 SoBo and 1 NoBo as we pass each white blaze,So all the hikers must be in Damascus, at Trail Days.(Written in my mind during the hike)
Date: 2013-05-19
From: Know Maul Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.1

We woke up this morning early, but to the sound of rain which we interpreted it as our snooze button, Luckily, the rain stopped by the time we got up which made the day very humid.We had an awesome lunch at Chestnut Knob Shelter, which was a very awesome stone shelter on top of a clearing. Too bad we didn't make it last night, as we met a father and son who had a gourmet dinner of trail magic last night.Unfortunately a rainstorm occurred when we were on top of the ridge, lasting for 5 miles! Luckily, it wasn't cold so we opted out of our rain gear.We snagged the last two spots in the shelter where we met a few new hikers! There is a sign in the shelter claiming that there is trail magic about 5 miles up the trail tomorrow. Not sure if someone is pulling our leg or not, but we will always make the attempt for trail magic!
Date: 2013-05-20
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0

With the motivation of trail magic, we woke up early to make sure we got to the trail magic pick-up spot on time. Awesomely, we saw a bear cub in a tree on the way to the church!We enjoyed a delicious breakfast at the little church (without running water): blueberry pancakes, quiche, sausage, biscuits, yogurt, milk, juice, coffee, and lots of snacks to take! We stayed for a few hours, and despite the fact it was raining, thundering, and lightning, we got a ride back to the trail to keep going. The rain was pretty heavy for a few hours today, but the terrain wasn't relatively easy. We hiked quickly, with only one steep climb involved.We made our way to the shelter and met a bunch of new hikers. We played a game they had just invented called "Stick/Rock". Very simple game where you attempt to hit over a stick with a rock. Rules:1) One person throws a rock while the other hides behind a "shield tree" (Safety First!)2) 1-pt: Hit the stick in the ground with the rock3) 2-pts: Hit the stick out of the ground4) 3-pts: Break the stick5) Cannot through in front of your stick6) Switch sides every 6 pts7) First one to 12 pts winsAfter stick/rock, we made dinner and got ready for bed. Made a few calls and planned our final three days of hiking
Date: 2013-05-21
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Trent's Grocery
Miles today: 16.3

Accidentally slept-in this morning by about 1 hour, but we needed it after long days the past two.Today's hike had some long stretches without any landmarks. We enjoyed a long lunch at Jenny Knob Shelter. Luckily, our stuff was finally beginning to dry our.We met some new hikers since everyone was back on the trail after Trail Days. We crossed a really awesome suspension foot bridge strictly for AT traffic!After crossing the bridge, we went to Trent's Grocery. A small store where we set up our tent and enjoyed some comfort food: Chicken Tenders, hot dogs, chips, and chocolate chip creme pies.
Date: 2013-05-22
From: Trent's Grocery

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 14.9

Today we began our last "long" day of hiking. We had a few steep climbs today, but nothing too bad.We went to the dismal falls earlier in the day (about 2 miles after we started). The falls were beautiful and it looked like a great swimming hole! Since it was early in the day, we did not jump in unfortunately.We finished our hike at Woods Hole Hostel where we couldn't have been happier! It is an amazing hostel run by a young couple who grow lots of fruit, vegetables, and livestock!We enjoyed coconut curry chicken, cumin carrots, sweet and sour lentils, rice, salad, and tons of homemade bread.We ate ourselves silly! Enjoyed good company with several new hikers and decided we should get a shuttle to Pearisburg in the morning so we could say here again tomorrow!
Date: 2013-05-23
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg, VA (Woods Hole Hostel)
Miles today: 10.0

After a great night sleep in cushy beds, we started with coffee and delicious creme brule french toast, scrambled eggs, and more homemade bread!Immediately after breakfast, we got our "slack packs" and hitched a ride with Neville to Pearisburg, VA so we could hike back to and stay at Woods Hole Hostel one more night.Without a lot of weight on our backs, the steep 2.5 miles on switchbacks was not too difficult. On our way back, we wished all of our fellow hikers good luck and wished them on their way!Finished approximately 630 miles so far! Another 7-years to go!
Date: 2014-05-20
From: Pearisburg, VA (Woods Hole Hostel)

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Bearman picked me up from Roanoke Airport after a long trek from Denver for me, and a long drive from North Carolina for him. We got to Woods Hole Hostel just in time for yoga!It was relaxing afternoon, and a delicious dinner with approximately 40 other people. That was the largest dinner group that had so far this year. We shared a room with Crazy Mark, and got our stuff together to start our first day of hiking after breakfast tomorrow!
Date: 2014-05-21
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Mile 647.0
Miles today: 16.2

Started off the day with breakfast - peach crisp, homemade yogurt, fresh fruit, and eggs with seasoned pepperoni along with lots of homemade bread. We got a lift from the owner Neville and started our adventure on the AT. Met lots of great folks our first day and hit a bunch of stiles. We stopped for lunch at one of the first shelters, but decided we should press on a few more miles to the campsites listed in our guide. We kept walking and walking and unfortunately could not find any campsites that would have been deemed worthy enough for the guidebook. We had a quick no-cook dinner and then ended our day way over target, and quite a few more miles than we planned!
Date: 2014-05-22
From: Mile 647.0

To: Wind Rock
Miles today: 10.9

Last night we heard a bunch of thunder and lightning, but only got a little bit of rain. We were nervous it might be a wet day of hiking, but turned out to be a great day for hiking...very mild weather.The map had to be wrong or we were hiking very slowly since the first shelter took forever to appear. After the shelter, we took a short detour to "The Captain's". We played around on the "zipline" for awhile that hikers use to get to and from his house for the night!Lots of rocky terrain for today's hike, but stopped at a great campsite where we met a few section hikers and students from VT. Happy to get a good campsite for the night!
Date: 2014-05-23
From: Wind Rock

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.7

Slept in a little bit this morning, but woken up by a violin played by one of the VT students camping nearby. Really cool way to wake up in the morning!Nice & easy terrain to start for the first few miles, but started feeling a lot like Georgia with the number of ups and downs! Lots of rocks and lack of switchbacks!Met a lot new hikers at the shelter where we camped - Swiss Miss, Nobody, and Toasted Toad (The first hikers we met during our first day of actual hiking)!Also got to know Astro Guy, apparently he flew space shuttles for NASA in the late '80s and early '90s!Fun day of new friends, but ready to get some rest for lots of hiking tomorrow!
Date: 2014-05-24
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Audie Murphy Monument
Miles today: 17.5

Today's hiking was incredibly difficult with two major steep inclines. We were ridge hiking on rocks at near 45 degree angles on either side!We saw a bunch of lizards, heard of others seeing rattlesnakes, but luckily none for us!Our legs and feet are very sore tonight, but all part of the retaining experience!
Date: 2014-05-25
From: Audie Murphy Monument

To: VA 624, Newport Road
Miles today: 11.7

Met a number of new folks today and saw a ton of day hikers with it being memorial day! Lots of big sites for day hikers that had some tough rock scrambles - Dragon's tooth in particular. On our way down had to climb on ladder rungs in the rock!When we arrived at the road we eventually camped at, we were greeted by Nora V, who we hadn't seen since our first day. She was driving the van for the Four Pines Hostel about 0.3 miles off the trail. She dropped us off at the Catawaba Grocery (basically a Gas Station store) where we enjoyed hot dogs, Pringles, and resuppling for the next two days.Once we got back to the trailhead, we decided to go ahead and camp there as opposed to the hostel or walking further. Toasted Toad, Foxtrot, and Magic Man all joined us. Magic Man did a thru-hike in 2011 and told us all about what to expect. Magic Man and Foxtrot ventured to the grocery for food and came back with pizza and beer! For the next few hours we all sat around and chatted about a number of things enjoying the treats from Magic Man and Foxtrot.
Date: 2014-05-26
From: VA 624, Newport Road

To: Lamberts Meadow Campsite
Miles today: 16.6

Long and humid day of hiking, but awesome views at McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. While McAfee Knob is the most photographed place on the AT (for good reason), I personally think Tinker Cliffs was a much more enjoyable view. We ventured a little while longer after enjoying breaks at both views before tenting along a small creek with several other hikers. Planning to make Daleville tomorrow!
Date: 2014-05-27
From: Lamberts Meadow Campsite

To: Daleville, Va
Miles today: 9.1

We were the last few hikers to get moving today, only K-Wamp (short for Kittywampus!) and and Stealth left after us! We just had a short hike to Daleville with most of our journey we got to know K-Wamp.Once we arrived into town we decided we would stay in a hotel nearby since it was suppose to rain really hard all night. We took a walk to the Kroger and outfitter for a resupply before getting to know our fellow hikers better and enjoying a bed!