morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-04-17
From: Brown Creek Shelter

To: US 60
Miles today: 1.8

I had a fitfull night of sleep. The temperature got down at or below freezing. It is hard to  sleep in this temperature. When I woke up, it was so cold, I didn¢t want to get out of my sleeping bag. The wind was blowing pretty good too. It¢s very difficult to make yourself get out of the sleeping bag, put on your cold boots, and start packing up all of your cold items to put into your backpack. By the time that¢s done, the fingers are burning from the cold. My toes were burning from cold also. About the time I finished with my backpack, I noticed it had begun to snow. This cold is demoralizing. I strapped on my pack, and headed on a steady uphill climb. Just before I left the shelter, Buckey told me that there was a highway 2 miles ahead. That¢s in the back of my mind. As I was trudging up the trail,  I remembered the weather report stated that it would be a little bit colder tonight. I could manage to hike the 2500 feet up hill, as long as I can sleep somewhere comfortably. That was not going to happen tonight. These were the things that were going through my mind at the time. I wanted to get somewhere warm so I could sleep. It took me about an hopur and a half to two hours to get to the highway. Once I got there, there was a  rest area, and a few picnic tables. I took a seat at one. There was a shuttle driver who had just dropped off two hikers. She asked me if I would like a ride into town. I told her no and she sped away. I hadn¢t decided yet. About five minutes later, another shuttle driver arrived, and two hikers came out of the woods and got into her van. I asked her where she was going, and she said Buena Vista. It would cost me five dollars to tagalong. I jumped in, and she dropped me at the Budget Inn in Buena Vista. I was finally warm! I thought about taking a couple of days off to let this cold air mass get out of this area. Then I started thinking about slack packing. I arranged for the shuttle driver to pick me up and deposit me all along the trail for the next several days so that I can keep getting somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 to 10 miles a day. Tomorrow, she will put me at salt log gap, and I will walk southbound to highway 60. I will be watching the weather closely.
Date: 2018-04-18
From: Salt Log Gap

To: US 60
Miles today: 8.5

The morning started off fairly cold. Probably in the upper 30s in the city. In the mountains, probably near freezing. I did a southbound hike today, because that was less elevation to have to cover. 2 miles into my hike,  I got my first trail magic. Fresh Grounds and the Leapfrog caf© were at  Hog Camp Gap. He cooks meals for hikers from the time the big bubble of hiker starts in March until he runs out of money. He was in my area for a few days, and then is moving to Maryland. I had three banana pancakes which were delicious! He has anything and everything you could want  it is like a small traveling restaurant. While I was sitting there, I met two other hikers from Louisiana. No Doubt, and Glowworm. From New Orleans, and Covington, respectively. That was three Louisiana hikers at a table for four. What are the odds! I tried to upload a picture, but it¢s too big for trail journals. Around noon, the sun came out, and the wind died down, making a very nice hiking day. I finished my hike around 330, and was returned to the hotel. I will be brought out and deposited back at salt log gap again tomorrow morning, heading north for about 9 miles or so.
Date: 2018-04-19
From: Salt Log Gap

To: Spy Rock Road
Miles today: 7.8

today was an uneventful day. It was cold, and very windy. Temperatures were in the 30s in the mountains. The trail was easy to moderate. There were a few times where it sleeted, and snowed for short periods of time. The wind was the main reason it was so cold. There were no  overlooks, or views on the trail today. But still, it was quite enjoyable because the trail was so gentle on me. Tomorrow, I will go from spy rock Road, to Virginia Highway 56.
Date: 2018-04-20
From: Spy Rock Road

To: VA 56
Miles today: 9.0

It was in other very cool start to the day this morning. The hiking was moderate. It started off with a 1 mile uphill on spy rock Road to get back to the trail. Then it was a 1/2 mile uphill to spy rock. Spyrock is a beautiful outcropping, or High Point, where the two armies in the Civil War used to spy on each other. It has beautiful 360° views. After that, the trail was both up and down  until we got to priest mountain. There were also great views on priest Mountain as well as on the way down. The downhill was painful, as it was about 4 miles long, and steep. I am sleeping in a hostel tonight, as it will get down below freezing once again! I¢ll be glad when the weather finally gets warm!
Date: 2018-04-21
From: ReedÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: Tye River
Miles today: 10.8

The trail seemed to be very favorable today. I decided to take this section southbound as the elevations are better. I got to the highest point at around 1130 in the morning, and thought it would be easy downhill from there. Boy was I wrong! The downhill to the Tye river was grueling. Mostly, just the upper 1/2. It was just as if someone unloaded 1000 truckloads of bricks onto the ground  and claimed that it was a trail. It was very difficult to walk on for several miles. It was also very steep. There were several beautiful areas to look down into the valley, which I enjoy. Also, a very beautiful stream about 2 miles north of the Tye river. The Tye river near Virginia  highway 56 is a very pretty area. Tomorrow, I will be relaxing at the Devils backbone brewpub! Cheers!
Date: 2018-04-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

today was a day off for me. I was in the vicinity of the Devils backbone brewery. It is a place not to be missed according to the guide books. They were correct! It¢s a beautiful facility surrounded by the mountains of Virginia. There are two restaurants, two different bars, and a beautiful courtyard area with an open fire pit. It¢s just a great place to relax drink some good beer, and eat some good food. They offer  A free camping area for hikers. There are groomed pads for tents, with a picnic table and restroom facilities. Very nice! They also brought me back to the trail at no charge. I thoroughly enjoyed my day off!
Date: 2018-04-23
From: ReedÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To:  Humpback rocks picnic area 
Miles today: 6.1

I got a free ride back to the trail from Devils backbone. Very nice service provided by the facility! I got on the trail about nine. It was fairly easy for the first three or 4 miles. Then, the rocks showed up again. It twists your feet and ankles in such crazy ways, it sucks the energy out of you and a lot of times, hurts! This lasted for a mile or so, and then the trail started to go up in elevation. It seemed like it was  step after step after step, many of them 18 inches or so high. It tires one out very quickly. I was glad to get to my destination at about 3 o¢clock. Only hiked six hours, but I was beat! The hostel pick me up at the picnic area and brought me into Wainsborough.  I had to buy a new set of trekking poles, as one of my poles snapped in half at the bottom. I don¢t even know what it got snagged on, I just went to put my hand down, and it was about 6 inches lower. I am not hiking tomorrow due to the huge amount of rain that is supposed to be falling tomorrow. I will get back on the trail Wednesday morning! See you then!
Date: 2018-04-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

today, it rained all day. I spent the day relaxing at the hostel. I got a ride to the post office to pick up my mail drop. Thanks to my beautiful young wife! I walked back home, and ate lunch at New York pizza. I had a Stromboli. Pretty good! Other than that, watched a few TV shows on HBO and relaxed. Tomorrow I¢m back on the trail, going from where I left off, to Paul Wolf shelter
Date: 2018-04-25
From:  Humpback rocks picnic area 

To: Paul Wolfe shelter
Miles today: 8.0

today started a little later than I would have liked. I didn¢t get shuttled back to the trail until about 11 AM. There were so many hikers in the hostel  trying to get out of the rain. There was quite a bit of rain overnight and all the streams are running fiercely. The hiking was fairly moderate. There were one or two decent views. Just before I got to the shelter, there was a huge stream to cross. It was swollen due to all the rain. The rocks were too deep to cross on foot. A hiker in front of me got on a fallen tree and got almost across, but about 4 feet from the bank, stepped in water about calf deep. I didn¢t want to repeat the same mistake, so I looked a little further upstream and found a dead tree. I was able to scoot across it from end to end and keep my feet dry. Yay!  There were three other southbound hikers at the shelter already. Later, a hiker  who said he had through hiked multiple times, came in. His tent was wet, his sleeping bag was wet, and his feet were wet. He was a little crabby! I guess I would be too. I spent an uneventful night sleeping in the shelter. The noise from the raging stream blocked out any snoring from my shelter mates. Tomorrow, I will be  hiking north of Waynesboro for the first time.
Date: 2018-04-26
From: Paul Wolfe shelter

To: Bear Den Mountain 
Miles today: 10.0

The hiking from the shelter to Rockfish gap is moderate. There were no real views, but I did across an old cemetery, and an old homestead area. Once I got north of Waynesboro, my destination was a shelter about 8 miles north. For some reason, the hiking was very difficult for me this afternoon.  I could only make it 5 miles. I set up my tent near some communication/radar station towers on the peak of Bear Den Mountain. It wasn¢t the greatest spot, but it was getting late, and I needed a decent place to camp for the night. It began to rain in the  middle of the night.
Date: 2018-04-27
From: Bear Den Mountain 

To: Turk Gap
Miles today: 7.1

I had to pack up my wet tent from the rain overnight. It was foggy and drizzly all morning long. I stopped about midway Of the day¢s hike to take on as much water as I could. The next shelter, was quite a distance off the trail, and it was the only water source I would pass. I didn¢t want to have to hike down to the shelter, and hike back up, so I  loaded a gallon of water in my pack. For some reason, the hiking was very difficult for me again today. It seems like on uphill stretches, I can only go 100 yards or so without stopping to rest, and catch my breath. This is not usual for me, as I have been able to go much longer stretches without a problem. It¢s getting frustrating , Because I want to get faster, not slower. I made it to Turk gap, and found a nice flat spot to put up my tent. It was sopping wet, and added about 3 pounds to my overall pack weight. Taking it out and drying it out was actually pretty good for it. I hung my bear bag, and cooked supper.  By the end of the day, I had used half of my water. I drink sparingly during the night as I wanted to make sure I had enough water for tomorrow¢s hike. Overall, about 2.5 L for tomorrow.
Date: 2018-04-28
From: Turk Gap

To: Black Rock hut
Miles today: 8.6

for some reason, that was not clear to me yet, today¢s hiking was very difficult. The longer I went, the more discouraged I got. It seemed like it took forever for me to get anywhere. My destination was the next shelter, which had a water source. I stopped about mid day, and used some of my water to cook some oatmeal. This was at a parking lot on skyline Drive.  A day hiker was kind enough to give me a 24 ounce bottle of water. I drank about half of it, and the other half used for cooking and cleaning. I didn¢t know how much water I had in my bladder inside my pack, but I thought it was sufficient. Throughout the day, I would drink sparingly. I noticed when I got up from the parking lot to leave, I was quite dizzy. I had a feeling, I might be getting dehydrated. I still had several miles to go to the shelter, and didn¢t know how much water I had. About an hour before I got to the shelter , I drank the last of my water out of my bladder. When I got to the shelter, my old hiking buddy, Buckey, was there. She filtered water for me, and I drank about 2 L. I think I was quite dehydrated by this time. After I felt better, I cooked supper, and  called my wife. We had a long discussion about my nutrition, and water intake. On this stretch of the trail, there was no water to be had for about 13 miles. I don¢t hike fast enough to get from source to source, so I had to pack as much as I could. I¢m going to be more careful about water in the future. I think this was a big part of the degradation of my hiking abilities. I am also going to eat more, as I know I have lost a decent amount of weight so far on this hike.  We all settled in for the night at the shelter, there were probably six or so of us, as well as about 15 tents. It was supposed to be a cold night, and it certainly was. There were no views on today¢s hike, so I posted a picture of my roses at home. Hope you like it!
Date: 2018-04-29
From: Black Rock hut

To: DoyleÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs River Overlook 
Miles today: 4.4

I woke up this morning to sub freezing weather again! The wind was howling, and I hated to get out of my sleeping bag. I stayed in my bag till about 830 or so. Finally, it was time to get out, because it didn¢t seem to be getting any warmer. By the time I packed up everything, my hands were freezing. I called Stanimals  hostel, and they agreed to pick me up at Doyle¢s River Overlook.  It took about 45 minutes of uphill hiking for my hands to thaw out.  I drank about a half a liter of water before setting out, and drank generously throughout the day. There were two moderate uphill climbs today, and I never had to stop once for either of them. I think my biggest problem was dehydration. I¢m going to hydrate myself over the next couple days while I take a zero day in Waynesborough. Black rock had  A beautiful view, and the picture is shown here. Also, at Doyles River Overlook, there was a magnificent view of the valley below. I got picked up about 2 o¢clock, and brought to the hostel. I will take a day of rest tomorrow, and get back on the trail the day after.
Date: 2018-05-01
From: DoyleÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs River Overlook 

To: Pinefield Hut 
Miles today: 8.8

I started today from Doyle¢s River Overlook. I am determined  to increase my food intake, as well as my fluid intake. I seem to get weak fairly early in the day. I will now eat when I¢m not hungry, and drink when I¢m not thirsty! I have added an electrolyte supplement to my drinking water. We¢ll see if that helps. There was a camp store on the trail today that I was excited to be able to hike into and get a cold drink or two. When I got there, about  2 miles into my hike, it was closed. I got my days mixed up. Guess what? It opens tomorrow! Yay!  There were several elevation changes, none of them too drastic. The worst one was a 650 or so feet uphill. Other than that, my day went very well. It was one of my best hiking days on the trail. It seems that 8 miles or so is my sweet spot right about now. When I got to the Hut, there were several people that were there just to get water and continue on. I think I got there around 3 o¢clock. I had done 8 miles in something  like five hours which is great for me! I was very encouraged with my strength and stamina, and I think my diet and fluid intake helped a lot. There were several of us in the shelter tonight, me, Buckey, Patty Wagon, as well as a father son and aunt from Austin Texas.  Oh, I also went over 200 miles for my trip!!!
Date: 2018-05-02
From: Pinefield Hut 

To: Hightop hut
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: clear sky

this morning started with a wake up from a local trail maintainer named Larry. He showed up at the hut at the break of dawn. He was telling us all of his experiences and miles of maintaining the trail, hiking the trail, and all the history behind the section that he takes care of. So needless to say, I was up at the crack of dawn.  Today¢s hike was only a little over 8 miles, but there were some pretty severe elevation changes. The first was only around 300 or so feet, and I went over it easily. The second, was around 900 feet, and took all of the energy out of me. I had to finish today with a 700 foot uphill challenge. I made it, but it was exhausting. I pulled into the shelter at about 4 o¢clock, which was not bad.  When I got there, Buckey told me that she is quitting the trail for now. Her feet are blistered, and she is losing some toenails. Too much pain to continue. I¢ll miss her. Patty Wagon was also there, a section hiker, who is from Pennsylvania. She is only hiking one more day and then returns to work. The three of us slept in the shelter, and there were several people in tents and hammocks around us.  Tomorrow, will be my longest hike of the trip. I am aiming for the next shelter, which is about 13 miles away.
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Hightop hut

To: Lewis Mountain Campground 
Miles today: 11.6

today¢s destination had four uphill elevation changes. 400, 800, 700, and 400. I knew this would be a tough day. Also, it was the longest distance I would¢ve traveled with a full pack. I intended to go to the next hut, but decided instead on a campground which was a little closer. The campground would have nice flat tent  areas, a real restroom, freshwater, that I didn¢t have to filter, and a store. I was looking forward to it. After the first two uphill challenges, I knew that I was completely exhausted. Combined with the previous days elevation changes, it was a bigger challenge than I thought it would be. I made it over the last two hills, and trudged into the campground at about 5 o¢clock. I had hiked for about nine hours. The  last hour or so, I had run out of water. When I got to the campground, I picked out a tent  spot, and drank a liter and a half of water. It felt so good! I called my wife and let her know how exhausted I was. I¢ve got to refigure my distances. If it¢s too far to the next objective, I¢ve got to scale back. This is more than I can handle  at this point in my hike. 8 miles seems to be about the right length, provided they are not too many elevation changes. I¢ve got to plan better in the future,. I bought a couple of sandwiches from the camp store. Very very nice people here. A section hiker bought me a beer at the store which was fantastic! Also, the camp host was a great guy. He let me store my backpack with all my food in his car overnight, so I didn¢t have to hike back up to the top of the campground  to put in a bear vault.  To add to my exhaustion, Virginia¢s weather has gone from February, to July in about five days. I was wearing all of my overcoat, as well as my mittens exactly 4 days ago. The high today was in the mid 80s, and somewhat humid! The second half of the day I was very hot. I don¢t have my summer clothes with me right now.  I went to sleep fairly early, around 830 or nine. The wind picked up shortly after that, and it sounded like a metal sign on rusted hinges swinging in the wind all night long. It was very aggravating. About 4 AM, I got up to go to the restroom, and realized it was a shovel hanging off a dumpster right behind my tent. I took the shovel off and set it off to the side and that took care of the noise.
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Lewis Mountain Campground 

To: BootenÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap
Miles today: 3.3

I went to bed last night, feeling exhausted. I set my goals for today, very attainable. I am going to hike 3.3 miles and get a shuttle to pick me up and bring me to a hotel. I need a day off, to recuperate. This old body can¢t handle too many tough days in a row. I looked at the elevations to get to the next shelter and it would be another  very challenging day. I¢ll tackle it once I am fully rested. I got up, and the camp host came and brought me a cinnamon roll Bundt cake for breakfast. Very very nice camp host here at Louis Mountain Campground. It was great to have fresh water, and a real restroom to use. The restrooms by the way, were very clean! I intended to do a rock scramble at bear fence mountain, but the view was so hazy, I gave it up pretty quickly. Also, being tired, it seemed to be somewhat dangerous. I hiked to my pick up spot, and left the mountains in the afternoon about 130. I got a shuttle ride to my hotel. I showered, walked back into town, and went to the local outfitter. Appalachian Outdoors Adventures in Luray Virginia is a great outfitter to go to. I bought a pair of hiking shoes, as well as some gaiters. I asked if someone could bring me across town to Walmart, which was 2 miles away. Not only did they bring me to Walmart, they also brought me to my hotel first to drop off my old boots, then to Walmart, waited while I shopped, then brought me back to my hotel. Truly wonderful people. If you can, please visit them when you get a chance!  I ordered some pizza, and went to bed early. Had a great night of sleep.
Date: 2018-05-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I tried to get all of my town chores done today. The hotel staff was nice enough to wash my clothes for me. I had already resupplied my food. Yesterday I bought new hiking shoes, and with the advent of warm weather, I want to wear them, and ship my heavy hiking boots back home. The post office is not open today. I don¢t want to lug those boots around for the  next week or so, so I will mail them off Monday morning. Someone has agreed to shuttle me back to the trail so I can pick up where I left off Monday morning.
Date: 2018-05-07
From: BootenÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: Rock Spring Hut 
Miles today: 9.0

I got a shuttle ride to the post office in Luray Virginia to mail some of my winter gear back home.  I got dropped off where I left off. The elevations, and distances were nowhere near as bad as they had been. I guess today¢s race makes a difference. It makes a huge difference!  Instead of going where I originally planned, I stretched it out about a mile and a half further to the next shelter. There I met Hippie King, and Smalls. Both of them are philosophy majors, and one of them has graduated already. Talk about a weird conversation!  There were complete sentences, but they made no sense to me!  I had a good night of sleep, but my air mattress is losing air overnight! I¢ll have to get that replaced.
Date: 2018-05-08
From: Rock Spring Hut 

To: Hughes River Overlook
Miles today: 6.7

I woke up from a fitful night of sleep, due to my air mattress leaking overnight. I had to wake up several times to reinflate.  I called REI, and they are shipping a replacement at no charge to the post office in Luray Virginia! Great customer service! Got on the trail about 8 o¢clock, and was pretty excited about eating at the lodge. I made pretty good time, and got there at about 10 minutes after 11. It was then that I was informed that the dining room was closed until 12 noon. So,  I elected to fill up my water bottles and bladder and wait the 52 minutes until they opened. I ordered a gourmet burger, and blackberry cobbler. I hate to be that person, but they were both very average. On top of that, it was close to 1 o¢clock before I left. Almost 2 hours wasted that I could have gone down the trail. Oh well. Live and learn.  It was too far and too many elevations to get to the next shelter, so I camped in the woods. It was not a great spot, but it worked. Tomorrow, I make it all the way to Luray Virginia! Yay!