morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2021-05-20
From: Upper Laurel Fork

To: Hampton TN
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Today was the nicest and most beautiful part of the trail yet. Great warm weather and varied terrain. We went by brooks, rolling ridges, a river (Laurel Fork) that had a big waterfall, and a rocky canyon. Then at the end of the day, we did a pointless 2,000 foot climb up and then back down a mountain only to end up at almost the same place we started before the mountain. Along the way we called a hostel in Hampton and made a reservation for the night.As I was moving fast downhill, I suddenly heard a buzzing sound and immediately did a backward cat jump because there was a huge rattler on the trail. It was about 4 feet long with 11 buttons on its tail. I started looking for a stick but MoJoe picked up a 10 foot tree limb and was going to try and flick it off the trail. Trying to pick it up bothered it enough that it started to go in the brush. I ran pass it followed by MoJoe while he tried to get rid of the branch at the same time.We arrived at a main two lane road next to Lake Watauga with fast moving traffic. We went to a pull out, and I stuck out my thumb. A big king cab pickup truck pulled out of a side road and immediately pulled over to pick us up. We jumped in the truck bed that already had two college age guys in it, plus 4 guys in the cab. They drove us to the hostel and then invited us out to dinner with them. We said we needed to check in, but they insisted on waiting for us. We jumped back in the bed, and we thought we were headed to a BBQ place in town, but we got on a highway and drove 15 miles to Elizabethton (for OCMS fans, I almost made it to Johnson City Tennessee). The four gentlemen and two guys were so nice to us. The hostel is called Braemar Castle and is a stone house built in 1909 as a commissary for the railroad/logging company. The company apparently logged all the trees in the area in about 25 years and then pulled out of the area. Stuart Brown¢s grandfather bought the place and ran it as a boardinghouse. Mr. Brown is the owner of the hostel (castle) hardware shop and grocery store in town. He keeps busy going from one place to another.
Date: 2021-05-21
From: Hampton TN

To: Spring MP 451.3
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: clear sky

We had a pleasant stay at the hostel, and Mr. Brown was very nice and accommodating. He opened up his grocery store for us in the morning so we could resupply and then drove us to the trailhead. Our private room was $25 and included doing our laundry. We had another beautiful day today. We spent most of it walking up and along a ridge above Lake Watauga. The ridge runs straight so the trail ran mostly in a straight line. So, we finally made progress as the crow flies.We walked along the lake and across a TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority - the largest public power company in the United States) embankment dam before beginning our climb, around 5,000 vertical feet up today. Tomorrow we have half the climbing and fewer miles to Damascus. We have a "PCT type" camp tonight. We are off trail 50 yards and hidden near a spring. It is a nice flat area with an old fire ring.We passed the Nick Grindstaff monument along the trail. He was an old grouchy hermit that lived in the mountains. His monument inscription reads, ¢lived alone, suffered alone, died alone¢.... Alas.
Date: 2021-05-22
From: Spring MP 451.3

To: Damascus, Crazy LarryÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs
Miles today: 19.7

We crossed over the Tennessee/Virginia state line today. We¢ll be in Virginia for several days now as this is the state with the longest AT section. We had one of the easiest days today hiking to Damascus. We covered 20 miles and arrived at our hostel, Crazy Larry¢s, by 2:45 pm. Damascus is a hopping town. It is a motorcycle tour destination as well as part of the Virginia Creeper Trail. The Virginia Creeper Trail is a major bicycle route and has plenty of day ride trail tours. I might go bike riding tomorrow since we are taking a zero day. The town is packed with people.This morning I got a text from Jetpack that she and Smiles were also in Damascus and wanted to have a beer or dinner with us. They had met up with another hiker, Dennett, that had been doing 25 mile days section hiking. It¢s a long story, but we met Dennett at a shelter and also at a parking lot waiting for my sister-in-law, Nancy to pick us up. When we got to town all five of us, plus two of Dennett¢s friends, met at a pub for food and drinks. Lots of stories and good times, Jetpack even bought us a round. Thank you!Our hostel, Crazy Larry's, is in a small house along the main highway. We have a room with two single beds. There is also a scale in the bathroom. I¢ve lost ten pounds since I started the AT, most of it was the weight I had gained before I started the AT which was my heaviest weight ever. I¢m now at a good hiking weight. We also had our laundry done at the hostel. Breakfast is included but looking at the kitchen gives me pause. We¢ll see what happens tomorrow morning. MoJoe got an extra care package from his REI coworkers that had a lot of homemade cookies in it. We can¢t carry them all, so it looks like we'll be providing some trail magic. I got my resupply box, too, which included a pair of slightly used 2020 Altras Lone Peaks. The first pair I used from the start until now, were much improved and did better than my 2019 shoes on the PCT.
Date: 2021-05-23
From: Damascus

To: Damascus, Crazy Larry MP 471.1
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was our first official Zero day. We¢ve had 2 Neros where we went into towns, but this was suppose to be a true rest day.  However, the Virginia Creeper Trail, a multiuse path on an old railroad grade, was calling my name. So, I rented a bike and got a shuttle ride to the top of the grade and rode 17 miles back into town along a beautiful river gorge.There are a couple of AT sections that share the Creeper Trail, and tomorrow we will be walking a few miles of the trail. While riding the bike today, I ran into Jetpack as she was doing a section of the Creeper Trail.We had a big homemade breakfast from Crazy Larry: pancakes, sausage, eggs, coffee and orange juice. This afternoon another person checked in who is doing the the Transamerica Trail by bike. She (Malory) is riding from Yorktown to Astoria, Oregon.Lastly, this is a big motorcycle town as well. The big bikes parked around town are amazing, the chrome blinds you.
Date: 2021-05-24
From: Damascus, Crazy Larry MP 471.1

To: Deep Gap MP 496.9
Miles today: 24.2
Weather: clear sky

We left Crazy Larry¢s early, about 6:15, after a ruckus last night. One of the hikers in the hostel who showed up in the afternoon with a 6 pack of beer may have drunk all of it and then some. Sometime in the middle of the night, he entered the hostel and he and Larry got into a verbal altercation and the police were called. The hiker was kicked out of the hostel. I just heard a bunch of yelling in my half sleep.We decided to take the alternate Creeper Trail and made good time before tackling the mountain grades. We ran into Dave and Julie for the fourth time, they were slack packing SOBO.We went up and over Buzzard Rocks, and through open country at Elk Gardens. At the Elk Gardens road crossing, there were a couple of young campers providing trail magic. We are camped at Deep Gap with a good flowing spring about 1/4 mi away.  We are working out the camping situation for the next three days as there are few campsites. In addition to being in bear country, we also heard about the wild ponies chewing on your gear at night
Date: 2021-05-25
From: Deep Gap MP 496.9

To: Dicky Gap
Miles today: 23.3
Weather: broken clouds

We got off to an early start again today and reached the Grayson Highlands just as the fog was lifting. The trail was very rocky and root bound, and it was tough hiking. We were rewarded by seeing a small herd of wild ponies. There was a stallion, two mares, a fold, and one young male chewing away on the vegetation. A short distance, later we saw a lone long horn steer. I don¢t know what it was doing on the mountain. We went through more rocky areas including a rock crack named ¢Fat Man¢s Squeeze¢.  We passed the 500 mile rocks. More rocky hiking got us to the bottom of the mountain where we crossed a road and started climbing again. It was late afternoon and the clouds started to lightly rain on us all the way until we made camp. At sunset the rain picked up a bit.
Date: 2021-05-26
From: Dicky Gap

To: Campsite MP 542.6
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night we made camp below and very close to a road, kind of a hollow with a small stream running by. After we went to bed, around 7:30, we heard people talking and making camp nearby. I peeked out of my tent in the dim light and saw two tents.When I got up around 5:15, I saw first a red and then a white light bouncing around 100 feet up the hill. When the sun rose, we saw only 2 tents and MoJoe and I speculated whether there was a third. At lunch, at a closed visitor center, we ran into Rocket, who we¢ve been leap frogging for a number of days and he told us what happened.It was Rocket camped above us, and when he was packing his gear in the morning he saw a small clawed hand reach under his tent flap to take a roll (Honeybun). He whacked it with his guidebook and the raccoon ran around the other side of his tent and tried reaching again, scratching the tent. He jumped out of his tent trying to switch his red light to white light and grabbed his trekking poles to whack the raccoon away. That did the trick for a moment, but then raccoon circled his tent while he quickly stowed all his gear in his pack and ran off. But only 10 minutes later, he passed a mother bear and two cubs. He had a busy morning. My Ursack (made of Kevlar) remained untouched in our camp.We had a nice day with no rain, although this evening it is hot. We went further then we originally planned, and now we are close to an interstate and a cafe. The new plan is to have breakfast at the cafe tomorrow, and then have a short day and stay at a hostel for resupply, shower and laundry.A couple of things I¢ve forgotten to mention in my posts are about the birds and rhododendrons. Almost every morning and a lot of evenings, we hear the most amazing bird calls. There are dozens of bird calls that are all very unique and foreign to me. I think some of the birds are called warblers. It is difficult to actually see the birds, although I¢ve spotted a pileated woodpecker a couple of times. Almost daily, we also pass through thickets of rhododendrons, sometimes forests of them up to 15 feet high. The plants are now starting to bloom and they are very beautiful. On occasion we see an orange flowering tree. They are a rare sighting, but also quite beautiful.
Date: 2021-05-27
From: Campsite MP 542.6

To: Bear Garden Hostel
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: moderate rain

So much for the big breakfast this morning, as the cafe was closed. So it was off to the Sunico truck stop for coffee, four cream filled donuts, and a Kit Kat bar chaser.  Then it was under I-81 and the start of the first climb. As we were going over the mountain, I saw the longest snake ever (MoJoe spotted it first in the leaves). It was black with blue specks and at least 6 feet long. At the hostel this afternoon, it was identified as a racer. We also caught up with the oldest person hiking the AT, Nimblewell. He¢s 82 turning 83 and is on his fourth AT thru hike. He also is off trail tonight at Bear Garden. He told us he bought his first motorcycle, a ¢48 Harley, and raced in Alabama. We also passed a sign today 1/4 GA - ME, and a fawn next to the trail (didn¢t move).It was an easy day today with shower and laundry. We are in a big open bunk house with 6 other people. Tomorrow is supposed to be storming in the latter half of the day and into the night. We did a minor resupply to get us through two days before getting to a market.
Date: 2021-05-28
From: Bear Garden Hostel

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: scattered clouds

The first half of the day was easy cruising, and we avoided the rain, although the start was sketchy as I exited the bunk house to go the privy in the dark and pouring rain. But, the rain stopped when we started hiking until 1:45. It then rained, stopped, then poured as a thunderstorm came over us as we reached the shelter.The shelter was packed with hikers, so no room at the inn. In fact, about all that was happening there were  a bunch of stoned hikers looking out at us dazed and confused as MoJoe and I arrive. I guess nothing else to do. I waited an hour for the rain to stop, but it never did. I set up my tent with the fly first and then the tent from the inside. Nothing works. My tent is the opposite of a bathtub bottom, it actually wicks water through the footprint and beads up inside. I had to put on my rain gear to stay dry in my tent. I spread out trash bags and other plastic on the floor to stay dry. The tent fly works to keep rainfall out, but doesn¢t keep water from seeping up. I guess I need flood insurance.Lastly, we did hike upon a baby skunk. It was shivering and looked lost. It stared at me, but when I ran past it, it quickly spun around and raised its tail, instincts.
Date: 2021-05-29
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Sheltet
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: light rain

After a dismal day and night, we hit the jackpot today with trail magic. First though, we found out that our resupply grocery store to get us to Pearisburg is closed on Sunday. This after I tried to cut down on weight and buy at Bear Garden exactly the food I needed to get me thru midday Sunday. But, then I called a hostel nearby, and they have resupply (Weary Feet). We then thought of a resupply at a small cafe outfitter next to the trail, but when we got there they were closed.We saw concrete picnic tables nearby and decided to eat lunch and dry our tents in the wind. As we walked behind a parked car, out came a couple that said they were doing trail magic. They had just dropped off their daughter to join their son on the AT. They wanted to repay all of the trail magic that their son got so far on the trail. As they were breaking out chips and sodas, I saw some other hikers and waved them over. Pretty soon there were almost a dozen hikers enjoying the magic. As a side note, we are camped this evening next to their son and daughter.Speaking of hikers, MoJoe and I are now ¢in the bubble.'  The bubble is the term for the week or two with the highest number of hikers on a particular trail section .At the rate we hike, and with a lot of hikers taking time off to go to Trail Days, we are now moving along the trail with a large grouping of hikers. "Tramalies" have grown up to 12, and we also are seeing regular groups of 8. This has a big impact when they decide to go to a shelter or hostel. All tent spots or bunks can be instantly taken. MoJoe and I have stealth camped, but in this stretch of trail, good water is scare. Tonight we made a reservation for Monday to stay in Pearisburg.Today we also passed the 600 mile tree and the 600.1 rocks. Woo Hoo. I also found a small shammy towelette that I¢m keeping.
Date: 2021-05-30
From: Jenny Knob Sheltet

To: DocÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After two fairly sleepless nights (I forgot to mention the tree branch that fell in the rain storm between MoJoe¢s and my tents), it was good to get a full sound night of sleep. We put our plan into action to do a minor resupply from Weary Feet Hostel (because the grocery store was closed) with the hopes of getting hot food too. After a seven mile hike, including a ten minute walk off trail, we got to the hostel and bought their breakfast of scrambled eggs and biscuits. We also did our resupply and were hiking again in less than an hour. The hostel was an old farmhouse next to a river and looked clean and organized.The trail tread today was very good, except the last two hours, and we made good time to the shelter. There wasn¢t any water in the last nine miles so we had to do a water carry.Something I haven¢t discussed which is different than the PCT are the AT "white blazes." The Appalachian Trail is well marked with white painted rectangular "blazes" on trees (or power poles, posts, etc.) 6-inch-long by 2-inch-wide. These ¢white blazes¢ serve as markers to let hikers know they¢re on the right track. If there are two blazes side by side and the left one is higher, then you make a left turn, and vice versa. If the blazes are two one on top of another it means straight (but sometimes there are two side by side).Painted blue blazes on trees means a trail to a water source, unless there are trail signs, then it just indicates a non AT side trail. When hikers refer to a yellow blaze, it means they are road walking or catching a ride on a highway.
Date: 2021-05-31
From: DocÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg (Plaza Motel)
Miles today: 9.3
Weather: clear sky

Easy peezy day today with a Nero hike into town and a motel stay (Plaza). Linda, the hotel manager, was very nice and helped us out and did our laundry. The weather also cleared up and warmed up, so that by the end of the day it was the nicest day since starting the AT. Most restaurants and stores are closed today for Memorial Day. Also, because of Covid, we had to walk through a DQ drive thru to get lunch. Resupply was from the Food Lion. We were able to spread our stuff out in the motel parking lot to dry since the sun was out and there was very low humidity. But, thunderstorms and rain are in the forecast for Thursday through Saturday. Just keep walking. Because of the 'bubble' (lots of hikers still close by), we made reservations for Friday in Daleville, 93 miles away. Time to get walking!
Date: 2021-06-01
From: Pearisburg (Plaza Motel)

To: Wind Rock Vista (664.5)
Miles today: 27.4
Weather: broken clouds

Big day today hiking out of Pearisburg. With our Nero rest day and good weather, we decided to do long miles today. I think today included about 6,000 feet of ascent.  The trail also had fairly long dry sections, up to 10 miles, so we were carrying quite a bit of water. At times, we had pretty views of farmlands and forests in West Virginia. However, to give you an indication of what the weather and trail conditions have been like, I did not wear my sunglasses for the entire month of May.Tonight we are camped near a vista rock. The vista is amazing to see how much untouched continuous hardwood forest exists. It looks like a large continuous blanket of green rounded rolling hills and mountains without any rocky outcrops or rivers.We got a ride this morning back to the trailhead. We had just exited a gas station store with our breakfast when ¢Twig¢ offered us a ride. Thank you.
Date: 2021-06-02
From: Wind Rock Vista (664.5)

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

At about midday, we passed the oldest, largest, oak tree on the AT. It¢s larger than the big oak at Tom¢s cabin. We also passed a sign identifying the Eastern Continental Divide where the waters on one side of the ridge run to the Atlantic and on the other side to the Gulf of Mexico. Not surprising, the wind kicked up at Wind Rock last night, but we still had a pleasant dry night. We had the usual couple of 1,500 feet climbs with the added bonus at the end of the day walking on slick slanted rocks for an hour. As we continue to move ahead of many people, this evening we are meeting a new group of hikers. The rain held off all day, but MoJoe and I decided to sleep in the shelter tonight. MoJoe already has heard the pitter patter of mice. I found a set of ear buds today. I asked a few people if they lost theirs but never found the owner.
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
Weather: broken clouds

Today was an especially tough day for me as I didn¢t eat enough and was stretching out lunch time. We also had a lot of short steep ups besides a couple of long grades. MoJoe had to stop me for lunch just before Dragons Tooth. It never rained all day but was very, very humid, and I sweated a lot. I had to eat and drink to recover.Dragons Tooth is a flat slanted rock formation that is very popular with the tourist and day hikers. Our trail down required holding onto rocks and even two ladder rungs at one point. It was tough sledding.At the bottom of that section, we road walked half a mile to a grocery store for a one day resupply to get to Daleville. Luckily for us, we were able to hitch a ride back to the trailhead. About a mile from the shelter, we crossed a road to find trail magic waiting for us: a banana and mineral water. Thanks, it was just what I needed.
Date: 2021-06-04
From: John SpringÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Shelter

To: Daleville (Super 8)
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: moderate rain

Many hikers talked about getting to McAfee Knob, and the AT guidebook talks about this area as the most heavily used part on the AT. I didn¢t know what to expect but can say that today did not disappoint and was the most scenic days on the AT. Having clear skies and cooler temps helped as well.McAfee Knob is a ledge that looks out onto a very pastural scene below of smalls farms and forests. Views can also be found on a lake. Later we also passed Tinker Knob which also is a series of rock ledges and cliffs. These areas are very popular for photos with hikers hanging off of the ledges.We cruised the miles into Daleville, and as we exited the forest right onto a highway, got blasted by the noises and smells, we were also treated to trail magic, and we were the first. A mom set up tables because her son was also coming off of the AT to resupply. Thank you for the trail magic!When we got to the Super 8 motel, we were near Jetpack and Smiles, and having texted in advance, all went out to dinner at the Mexican restaurant next door. I ordered two margarita-Corona combos and a Hawaiian fajita, which comes in half a pineapple. We heard about Smiles norovirus incident, which we think started at Woods Hole Hostel. It was very tough or her, but the delay and needing to come off trail was the reason we caught up with them in Daleville. Smiles is doing much better.After dinner MoJoe and I had to do the road walk to the grocery store for resupply. Lastly, we saw a very pretty tortoise today and a very thin green snake. I called it the deadly three step vine snake. Tomorrow morning we go for fours days before resupply and then on to Waynesboro, hopefully in a week, for our next resupply box which includes new shoes.