morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-03-08
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Burningtown Gap
Miles today: 3.6

Apparently I'm not done being sick. Last night i had a hacking cough all night. Barely got any sleep. Actually I haven't slept well at anytime on the trail.                                  This morning was freezing. Fingers were numbly cold. Gloves and rain proof mittens hardly helped warm up in the cold rain , sleet and yes half. Feeling sick already and hiking very slowly I looked at my options and decided to try and call The Nantahala Mountain Lodge/Hostel. I saw they picked up at Burningtown Gap just a couple miles ahead. Luckily they answered and had a bed available.                          "Wiggy" who hiked the entire trail in 2010 and his wife own and operate the place. Because I'm feeling sick they accommodated me in an area isolated from the other guests.                  Weather is mostly miserable for the rest of weekend and into next week. I am taking some time off to recover and reevaluate everything.
Date: 2019-03-11
From: Burningtown Gap

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 13.0

Got shuttle from Microtel at 8am this morning to drive me back to Burningtown Gap to continue hike. Weather supposed to be good today. Started out by 9am.                 Met a hiker "Bear Bait" who had camped near Cold Spring shelter and was just starting her day hiking and we hiked together a couple of miles. It was nice to have someone to talk to. She was meeting her boyfriend at the NOC and in Fontana on Thursday.           Later when I got to Telico Gap I walked around a utility truck with 4 workers to sit on the steps on the opposite side of the road and have a snack. Major power lines go through this Gap. As I started eating one of the workers came over and said apologetically that I would have to move. He even offered me a bottle of water, which of course I accepted. He explained that they were having helicopter tree trimming in the area. Yeah, apparently they trim trees around these power lines using some kind of blade hanging from a helicopter. Now that would have been cool to see.   So much for being a nice day all day. Rain started around 1 pm.               My left knee started to bother me for the first time today. Lot of downhill sections this afternoon. I readjusted my knee strap, added voltaren ointment, took an ibuprofen, and slowed down a bit, all of which helped finish out my longest day so far.
Date: 2019-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I started this hike with no goals or expectations in mind. I just wanted to get out and sense life on the trail. To really get a taste of the trail community.  I think I did. I met many nice people along the way. I was physically challenged more than I have been in years and enjoyed the challenge. I will continue to hike sections of the trail. Marilyn and I are planning hiking the Virginia Highlands this spring.           Thanks to everyone who commented and gave encouragement.                                        Bill
Date: 2019-03-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m Spike¢s Mom. I am a social science professor who decided to not renew her contract for the next school year and go for a hike instead. I still need to finish up this semester, so I will be starting in late May and doing a flip-flop of the AT. The plan is to start in Southern Virginia, hike north to Katahdin, drive back to southern Virginia, and then hike south to Springer. As I have begun to tell people of my plans, here are the questions people have been asking:Are you hiking *alone*?!?!No, I¢m Spike¢s Mom, so I am bringing Spike. He¢s a stuffed rhino (Beanie Baby, to be exact) who likes to hike. Spike also has a dad who will be staying home to work in order to fund this adventure and watch the rest of our crash.Also, I have invited one of Spike¢s cousins and she has agreed to come. Spike has 20 cousins (not counting cousins-in-law), but there was one that was the right age, gender, and fitness level to join us on this journey (let¢s be honest, I¢ll be slowing her down). We invited her and she has decided to come with us!Finally, it is the Appalachian Trail. Thousands of people hike it every year ¢ are you ever truly hiking ¢alone¢?Are you bringing a gun?Um, no. I don¢t know how to use a gun. I am definitely not willing to carry something that heavy (someone told me that they are not *that* heavy, but then I reminded them that it would be silly to carry a gun without ammunition). I will be walking through 14 different states with 14 different sets of laws regarding firearms. Instead, I have a set of trekking poles and a niece with a black belt in something and no plans to sleep with my food. Plus, have you ever *smelled* a hiker? No one (or bear) will be messing with us.Here¢s what you probably should ask: What are you going to eat?Um, I have some food issues. I am allergic to wheat, soy, and peanuts. No, I am not celiac (although my allergic symptoms do include gastro-intestinal exuberance), and fortunately I have never experienced anaphylaxis. But, still, what does everyone eat on the trail? Peanut butter (peanuts), ramen noodles (wheat, soy), Knorr pasta sides (wheat), Knorr rice sides (they have wheat too!), tuna pouches (soy), honey buns (wheat)¢¦you get the idea. I figure I will be smelling bad enough that I do not need to add gastro-intestinal exuberance to the mix and the chaffing will probably be bad enough that I do not want to deal with that on top of atopic eczema. So, I am trying to find friendly foods. Fortunately, there are a number of companies making backpacking meals that are lacking wheat, soy, and peanut ingredients. If you work for one of these companies, let me know if you are interested in sponsoring my hike with some free food!
Date: 2019-03-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Spike, Spike¢s Dad, Spike¢s Cousin, and I decided to do a shakedown hike for spring break. At first, we were going to do the Knobstone Trail in Indiana or the Red River Gorge in Kentucky, but the forecasts called for cold, rainy weather. We looked at doing some part of the AT, but the weather wasn¢t much better there. We ended up at a hotel in Greenville, SC so we could have a base to retreat to if the weather got bad. On the way there we stopped and explored a little of the AT where it crosses I-40 in Tennessee.We arrived in Greenville on Saturday and drove out to a trail to a huge waterfall the next day. It was less than 2.5 miles round trip, but there was a lot of elevation (my fitness tracker registered 91 flights for the day). Spike¢s Cousin and I wore our packs even though we knew we were not camping out.Monday night was supposed to be the mildest one of the week, so we decided to do an overnight. This was actually Spike¢s Cousin¢s first overnight backpacking trip! We did a section of the Foothills Trail. We hiked in about 7 miles and camped at an established campsite that had a lot of trash. Spike¢s Cousin went to bed reasonably early, while Spike, Spike¢s Dad, and I stayed up late talking by a fire Dad had started. By the time we went to bed, I was chilled to the bone. I put on all the clothes I brought and broke out my emergency blanket, and I still was shivering for quite a while.The next morning, we decided to pack up but leave our packs where we camped and then walk further up the trail and try and find a waterfall that was on the map. We found the waterfall and learned that we had stayed at a different campsite than we had thought. We then walked back to the campsite, shouldered our packs and returned the way we had come the day before. We only saw one other person while we were out there ¢ a man hiking with his dog who asked what time it was and our names. I figured that he was probably attempting some sort of FKT and needed to document who he encountered.We got back to the car and then drove to the hotel. We were staying on the second floor, so we had just been taking the stairs, but I walked in and made a beeline for the elevators. Spike¢s Dad made the comment that I probably had 99 flights on my fitness tracker, and I should take the stairs. ¢Don¢t care,¢ was my response. Sure enough, I got to the room and it said 99 flights!That night the hotel fire alarm went off at 11:30 pm. When we came back in, I took the stairs. I ended up with 101 flights for the day, a new record.On Wednesday we hung around Greenville, ate good food, and visited a couple of outfitters. Amazingly I did not feel sore from 3 days of hiking with my pack. I wonder if my new pack is just that much better at carrying weight than my old one.We left Greenville on Thursday and stopped by the Biltmore on our way back to the Midwest. While we crossed the AT on I-40 again, we did not stop and say hi this time. Overall, a good trip where we learned that Spike¢s Cousin doesn¢t hate backpacking. Oh, and that the Corn Chowdah from Good To-Go is really good!
Date: 2019-05-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I¢m typing this on my phone to try a journal entry without a laptop. So far everything has been done with a computer.Today I shaved off all my hair. I figure it will be easier to take care of (and find ticks in) if it¢s short. I also picked up a pack cover. I want a pair of camp shoes but otherwise I think I have all my gear. Another thing I did today (besides renew my driver¢s license before I got rid of all my hair) was to get a bone density and body composition scan. I¢m going to do one when I come back and see what changes.
Date: 2019-05-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

For those friends and family who plan on following my journals, please note that there will be a lag between posts both based on the lack of service in the mountains and to provide some measure of safety. If you get impatient between posts, feel free to check out some other journals. This is a friend of mine who hiked in 2001 and how I learned about Trail Journals: Windex trailjournals.com/windex In 2006, a friend of a friend hiked: 365 trailjournals.com/mattfetrow Then I figured out that you do not need to know people to read their journals. Here are a couple I read after they had finished:Wags (2009) trailjournals.com/aim1030G (2009) trailjournals.com/nevenaPoppins (2013) trailjournals.com/auntiesarah A couple of others I followed in real time and enjoyed:Red Panda (2015) trailjournals.com/dtbStill Sheila (2018) trailjournals.com/SheilaJacksonTaylor2018 ¢ she was only a few years older than me and hiked with her teenaged sonHungry Cat (2018)  trailjournals.com/kevink ¢ this year he¢s hiking the Continental Divide Trail and you can follow that journey at www.unfetteredfootsteps.com Happy Reading!
Date: 2019-05-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

On Thursday Spike¢s dad and I drove down to Spike¢s cousin¢s house. We put together our first few resupply boxes and spent one last night with friends and family. We got up early Friday morning and made the drive to Troutdale, VA. We stayed the night at a hostel there so we could leave a resupply box there and arrange for a stay a few days later. 7 of us drove down to VA: Spike, Spike¢s dad, Spike¢s cousin (let¢s just call her SC from here on), SC¢s parents, SC¢s boyfriend, and me. It took us about 13 hours to get to Troutdale. We stopped and got Jenni¢s ice cream in Columbus, OH and had dinner at a pizza place (I had a salad). It was an uneventful drive, fortunately. We checked into the hostel and did one last pack check, then went to bed. At 10:20pm there was knocking on the door. SC¢s dad found the hostel owner to figure out what to do. When the owner came out to bring in the newcomer, he found other hostel visitors playing a drinking game and kicked them out. So the end of the day ended up being interesting!P.S. I¢m updating from the trail and the site doesn¢t like my pictures. I¢ll try to get them added soon but you¢ll just have to read and use your imagination for now.
Date: 2019-05-18
From: Damascus, VA

To: Saunders Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: scattered clouds

I was up early at the hostel. I took one last shower and did some work on my computer. We had requested breakfast at 7 but it didn¢t materialize until about 8. We got going around 9 and arrived in Damascus about 9:45. The town was hopping with Trail Days. We walked through the booths, got a few free things, and bought a few others. We ended up saying our final good byes about 11:30 and started hiking out of town. It was hot and the hills were so difficult. We were passed by several nobos and saw several sobo-ing into Damascus. We had a great view a few miles in and stopped at a creek to get water and cool our feet. We met several people there and told them we were going to the first shelter.We were 7.8 miles in when we saw a sign that said 2 miles to the shelter. Unfortunately, those 2 miles were all uphill. It probably took us 2 hours to hike those 2 miles. It seemed like we would never get there. But then, we saw the sign: Shelter 1/4 mi!!  We got to the shelter and the people who we had met at the creek cheered and congratulated us on surviving our first day.We sat down our packs and picked out a place for the tent when it suddenly started to rain. We did a quick pitch and sat inside eating until the rain subsided. Then it was evening chores. I had cell service so I updated Spike¢s dad on where we were. We went to bed about 9pm.
Date: 2019-05-19
From: Saunders Shelter (VA)

To: Lost Mountain Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 6.5

I woke up about 5am but didn¢t get moving until 6 when everyone else seemed to be getting up and it was almost light enough to see. SC got up about 7. It took us a little while to get packed up and moving. I sent a happy birthday text to my sister and one last text to Spike¢s dad before we left as I figured it was the last time I¢d have cell service for a while.  Ended up leaving about 8:30. Saunders Shelter is a little ways from the trail and we had taken a short cut to get to the shelter so we set our packs by the trail and went back to hike the 1/2mi we had missed. We then hiked back to our packs and started north for the next shelter. Lost Mountain Shelter was only 6mi away so we took our time and got there about 2pm. After yesterday¢s hard day, an easy one was in order. We did meet up with our first ridgerunner who warned us about problems people have been having on trail with bears. She said tonight¢s shelter hasn¢t had problems and the next 2 shelters after that had bear boxes we could use. Later we passed a couple (looked like a father-daughter) who warned us to heed the bear warnings. The trail gossip is that they watched their food get stolen by a bear. I¢ve heard several people say, ¢They hung it wrong then,¢ but it¢s day 2 and I¢ve already seen a lot of poor bear bag hangs including my own!We came to a place where the trail was shared with a bike trail and there was a bench. We sat and had some snacks and then went to a creek that ran nearby to soak our feet. The rest of the hike was uphill but not nearly as difficult as yesterday¢s final climb. Because we got to the shelter relatively early we decided to stay in the shelter itself. There were already 2 people in a shelter for 6. We cooked dinner around 3 and then had a second dinner at 5:30 because we had not eaten our dinner last night. Mostly we hung around and met a lot of new people. Only one person we had met yesterday and he was just on a section hike to prepare for a thru-hike next year. There were a few people who came through and just had dinner and pushed on to the next campsite. Most of the people here came from Damascus this morning and were stopping here because the next shelter is 12mi and a 2,000¢ climb away. I think SC went to bed about 8 and I followed about 30min later. I had in earplugs but could still hear people talking out at the picnic table just outside the shelter. I must have drifted off because I was awakened at 9 by someone saying, ¢You can discuss that tomorrow.¢ The talkers took that as their sign to go to bed. No sooner than they left, it started raining and would rain off and on the rest of the night.
Date: 2019-05-20
From: Lost Mountain Shelter (VA)

To: Thomas Knob Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 12.3

The day started out anything but promising. At 4am 2 people in the shelter got up and started getting ready. At 5am they were still packing up. They had been at the shelter since noon yesterday. I don¢t know why they couldn¢t have been packed and ready to go the night before.Anyway, I got up at 5 and went to the privy. We hang our food in trees to keep it away from animals (particularly bear, this known as bear bagging). I couldn¢t get it down so I just sat at the picnic table and journaled until more people were up. It ended up taking 3 guys to get our bag down.  SC and I packed up after breakfast and then got on the trail about 7:45am. About 10 minutes later I went to blow my nose and my bandanna wasn¢t there. I had left it back at the shelter!  Spike and SC waited with my pack while I walked back to the shelter. When I got there I noticed that I had also managed to leave my camp shoes. So glad I went back but it¢s frustrating to have to backtrack. It had rained intermittently throughout the night and it was cool, cloudy, and we were occasionally rained on. We came out of the woods and we were treated to a beautiful field with cows. Once we got out of the field we decided that the clouds looked like they wanted to rain on us so we stopped to put raincovers on our packs. We then began a long uphill to Whitetop Mountain. We stopped often to catch our breath and drink water. At one point we stopped for a snack and heard the sound of claws on tree bark. We looked over to see a small black bear (looked too big for a cub but not full grown) ungracefully slide down a tree and then run away. It was only the 3rd day and we saw our first bear!!That would have made the day but it got even better. As we were climbing up Whitetop, we eventually broke out of the trees for a amazing view. It was one of those climbs where basically every step brings an even more amazing view. We stopped for lunch, enjoyed the view and watched the rain clouds burn away.Next we entered a beautiful enchanted forest. Seriously it looked like something out of a fairy tale. We thought it couldn¢t get better and then we got to Elk Garden. Words can¢t describe. The whole way up to Thomas Knob Shelter was one great view after another.When I arrived at the shelter, I had cell service so I texted Spike¢s Dad that he should send a helicopter and pick us up because the day was so beautiful and perfect, there¢s no way it could get any better and we should just quit now and go home!
Date: 2019-05-21
From: Thomas Knob Shelter (VA)

To: Old Orchard Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 11.9

We woke up in the morning and the helicopter we had ordered had not materialized, so we put on our packs and started hiking. We stayed in the upstairs of a two floor shelter. Someone had put up their tent in the shelter, which for the record is a trail no-no. That made for an interesting morning, but no matter, it was going to be pony day!We had seen evidence (aka, poop) of these ponies before we even reached Thomas Knob, and other hikers had stories of being licked. But SC and I? Nada. Not even a passing glance. But someone we shared breakfast with had one chewing on his tent. Anyway, we left the shelter and continued to be treated with beautiful views for miles. Finally, we came over a hill and there they were: four beautiful ponies grazing (that¢s what they¢re there for¢to eat the vegetation and help keep the views clear). And we weren¢t even in Grayson Highlands State Park, their main hangout.We finally entered the park. Again, lots of pony evidence, no ponies. A family hiking in the opposite direction of us warned that there was an upset mom with a dead foal ahead. We eventually saw one more pony: it was running around with some purpose in its step but didn¢t appear to be a grieving mother. We never saw the foal, but others hiking just in front of us had pictures. Anyway, we ended up having little pony luck. However, Spike had been nervous about the possibility of being licked, so he was happy when we left pony territory without incident. Once we left the highlands, we were mostly in woods. Pretty enough but nothing compared to the earlier views. Our destination for the day was Old Orchard Shelter. We ended up tenting and having dinner with some people we¢d been hiking with and some sobo section hikers. We did quite a few miles but they were easier miles than yesterday¢s. There had been stories about bears in the area so everyone was careful about putting all their food in the provided bear boxes.
Date: 2019-05-22
From: Old Orchard Shelter (VA)

To: Dickey Gap (VA)
Miles today: 9.3

We seemed to have survived the night without a bear visitation. We packed up and hit the trail. Today we would be going to a hostel for the night but first we would need to hike 9+ miles. Not long after leaving Old Orchard we hit the tail end of some ¢trail magic.¢  A couple of guys from North Carolina had set up an oasis in the woods with fruit and coffee as well as a few other things. I had a couple of bananas which helped me power up the next hill. We took a break at the Hurricane Shelter and called the hostel to let them know when to pick us up. It then was 5 relatively uneventful miles to Dickey Gap for our pick up.The exciting part was a bridge that was ¢out.¢ We were supposed to take a detour but had been told by sobos that it was fine to cross and the detour involved a hot road walk longer than the missed section. Anyway, SC and I got there not long after Old Dog and Wet Feet, a couple of section hikers we had been keeping pace with. Wet Feet was the biggest, so he went across first. It was kinda sagging in the middle on the upstream side but otherwise seemed fine. We all crossed without incident. However, a mile or so later there was another bridge and this one had loose boards and no railing. Somehow it was perfectly safe to cross?We got to the gap where Old Dog and Wet Feet decided to press on to the Partnership Shelter. We were picked up by the hostel. We were able to do laundry and take showers. We then went to a Hiker Picnic hosted by a local church. We met a couple of hikers from Indiana. Overall, a productive day.
Date: 2019-05-23
From: Dickey Gap (VA)

To: Partnership Shelter (VA)
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: few clouds

We had a lazy day planned. Get up at the hostel, have a nice breakfast, go out to the trail, hike the 4 miles to the next shelter, call it a day. It was all going according to plan until we got to that first shelter (Trimpi) and there were people talking about how it was only 10 miles to pizza. Then it was all about getting to the pizza.We ended up just shy of 14 miles, our longest day yet. Overall it was relatively flat but I did develop 2 new blisters.  We had been dropped off at the trail around 9:15 and got to Partnership Shelter just after 6. To explain the pizza thing: Partnership Shelter is close to a state highway and a town. There¢s no cell service there but there¢s a phone nearby with a pizza menu. You can call and have it delivered. SC had the steak pizza, and I had a pizza salad. I forgot to indicate a preferred dressing, so I just ate it dry, and yet it was one of the best things I had ever eaten. It¢s funny how the hiking 14 miles will do that.