morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-04-17
From: Rogers National Rec. HQ

To: Reed Creek
Miles today: 18.2

Hiking Day 38, Ending Elevation 2607 feetPerfect weather today. It was fairly cold, in the 40s, I think, with the wind chill. This made climbing mountains more comfortable since we didn¢t overheat! We started the day climbing the required two mountains and then the terrain changed to the gentler landscape we¢d been promised. We started going downhill and walking beside streams on a fairly level plane all the way to Atkins environs. We saw scattered farmhouses along the way, including a farmhouse museum from the 1890s. We ate lunch there. On the whole, I would describe the scene as rural and pastoral.After Atkins, we had some more hills to climb, but nothing to dampen our enthusiasm. We had good energy today, and I¢m beginning think it¢s connected to having a good meal (which we did in Marion). Kerry has lost 25 lbs¢¦he could afford to lose a few, well quite a few, but he can¢t keep this up, so we¢re going to have to figure out a way to eat more. To that end when came to a gas station in Atkins, we did indulge: Kerry had a smoothie and a hot chocolate and I had a chocolate milkshake!Today, whilst up high, we¢re still seeing the bare trees of winter, but spring would come and go from elevation to elevation as we went down and up. As we got closer to farmland, we saw more bushes and trees leafing out, including a bush that glittered silver when the sun shone on it. It was covered in little white flowers that permeated the air where the bush prevailed. They smelled heavenly. We also saw white violets for the first time. Most of the wildflowers are tiny and carpet the ground.After 5 in the afternoon, we were walking on a ridge when I saw a black gnarled stick in my path. As I moved my foot to get around it, it moved¢¦scared me half to death! It was a 6 ft long blackish colored snake. I will look it up when we next have internet. Kerry has seen them before¢¦not a poisonous snake, but quite large. My scare also scared Felix, he showed no inclination to check out the snake. I think Kerry got some good photos too.I forgot the most momentous thing: we past the first quarter, almost 550 miles, of our journey to Maine. Just 1650 miles to go!Kerry just announced the food has been hung, the dog is already sound asleep. We¢re going to sleep in a rhododendron forest: first time for me! It shouldn¢t be too cold tonight, but camped beside the creek may be damp and we may be in a cold sink. We¢ll find out soon enough!People TodayRosie Eagle, an 80 year-old man out doing some section hikingJack, Jeff and Will, section hikersMcDuck, the Okie and Jeff again
Date: 2023-04-18
From: Reed Creek

To: Campsite at 565.9
Miles today: 13.4

Hiking Day 39, Ending Elevation 2613 feetWe lost Felix for 2 1/2 hours today. It was terrifying and devastating. He was traveling beside me when we came to a log in the middle of the trail, I let go of the leash to allow Felix to go under it, whilst I went over the top. Unfortunately, he got under the log faster than I got over it and in the meantime one of those wiley white-tailed deer came along and practically waived that tail like a white flag right at Felix. This was too much for him and he took after it before I could grab the leash and that was that! The moral of this story? Never trust a dog once their instincts kick in. Since it was deer he followed he probably traveled several miles before deciding he needed us more than the deer. 2 1/2 hours later he came walking back up the trail, winded, thirsty and ready for a nap, which he didn¢t get. We lost 5 miles today and might have lost the dog as well. Needless to say, Kerry and I are now hyper vigilant of where the leash is when climbing over things and related activities and Felix is in the doghouse, so to speak.We were actually off to a good start this morning when this happened, but Felix¢s shenanigans (yes, it was my fault for not hanging on to him), put a bit of dampener on an otherwise perfect day. The sun shining, wind blowing, rural Virginia, mountains to climb, who could ask for anything more?We were told there was not much in the way of trail magic in Virginia, but at one of the road crossings we came too there were two lovely blond ladies handing out Gatorade and homemade cookies and muffins. It turned out they were from Oklahoma. When I asked what they were doing here, they responded they were here to visit their husbands who are hiking the AT. Sharon is married to the Okie and Angela is married to McDuck, both also journalists on trail journals. Kerry and I felt very lucky to benefit from their kindness. They traveled 15 hours by car to get here!Up the trail, we met 81 year-old, Lumbermac, who runs Appalachian Grandma¢s Hostel, out for a walk. He told us he hoped to still be walking at 90 and he¢d be happy to be found dead by a tree on the trail rather than sitting in a recliner watching TV. He also left trail magic at the road crossing, but we missed it because it was a bit hidden from Northbounders. He seemed like a nice man.The two Daves and Superior passed us at some point¢¦for now we keep running into them. Eventually they too will disappear; we¢re slower, we just walk longer hours.Late in the day, for the first time, we took our shoes off to ford a creek where the bridge was out, The cool water was soothing to our feet, We saw more of the ubiquitous blooming dogwood trees all day but also some new ones flowering out at these lower elevations. We heard birds singing and saw more swallowtail butterflies, both the yellow ones and the spicebush. It¢s still winter higher up, but spring is coming!
Date: 2023-04-19
From: Campsite at 565.9

To: Stream/campsite at 585
Miles today: 19.1

Hiking Day 40, Ending Elevation 2448 feetAnother perfect hiking day. But I take it back about Virginia being more gentle, it¢s not. I think I confused the pastoral scenes of the last two days with less mountainous, but on balance, we still had bunch of mountains to climb. I discovered that we were walking through miles of easements on private land; that would explain the rolling grasslands!This morning, we walked from our starting elevation at 2575 feet to more than 4407 at Chestnut Knob shelter, 4 miles away, but most of the elevation gain was in the first 3 miles. Once we reached 4500 or so we walked ridgelines up and down most of the day, which was very warm. I started thinking those trees leafing out sooner than later would be a good thing, a little shade relief would be fine! At the road crossing to Burke¢s Hostel. There was a man, ¢Wrongway¢, who hiked the AT in 2019. He offered us each a coke, which we accepted gratefully. I had just been thinking how great it would be to have a coke, and there it was. I told him he made my day! It almost made up for our skipping the hostel (yes, I¢m still annoyed at Felix about that!)So then, of course, having descended to the road, we now had to climb another mountain to return to the ridgeline. Im really not complaining, this is what we do, I¢m kind of getting used to it and having lovely weather helps¢¦I am not looking forward to the next bout of rain.One interesting phenomenon that Kerry pointed out was that among the rocks we were walking on and through, some had at one time been tree roots, but time and water had mineralized them and they had turned to stone. He regrets he didn¢t get a photo but I hope to see them again so he can.We¢re looking forward to a real meal tomorrow¢¦some hikers told us about a place near the trail called, ¢the Outpost¢ on the outskirts of Bland. Then we have to figure out when to get our next resupply. The towns seem fairly close together so there are a lot of options.Time for sleep!PeopleTrapper John at the shelter we didn¢t stay at. Nice guy section hiking South with his nephew, BookwormSticks, who like 2 Dave¢s and Superior camped close enough that we could see their tents, just like last night.
Date: 2023-04-20
From: Stream/campsite at 585

To: Campsite at 604.8
Miles today: 19.8

Hiking Day 41, Ending Elevation 2244 feetIt seems like most mornings we begin our days climbing a mountain or two and today was no exception. However, we had motivation to climb that mountain quickly. We were told that the Outpost only served breakfast until 10 a.m. and we had 6.9 miles to go. Kerry loves breakfast and he had his heart set on this so we walked those almost 7 miles and arrived at 9:40 a.m¢¦..record time for us and probably not repeatable. But Kerry got his breakfast: egg, sausage and an enormous biscuit with gravy on top. The latter is not his favorite, but that was what was on offer and he cleaned his plate. This was not what you would call a normal restaurant operation. The guy taking orders was reminiscent of Seinfeld¢s Soup Nazi, but a bit nicer. I had a 3 egg omelette with lots of good stuff inside. I don¢t normally like eggs that much either, but like Kerry, I ate every scrap. All this plus orange juice, coffee, 20 oz coke and Gatorade between us and two BLTs to go for our dinner tonight, which we also enjoyed. We are trying, rather hopelessly I¢m afraid to catch up a little on the calorie deficit.After eating, we tackled the next 13 miles with gusto¢¦..since we came down for breakfast, we of course had to climb another mountain to reach the ridgeline once more. Before leaving cell coverage, I made a reservation at Angels Rest Hostel, in Pearisburg, for 2 nights in a private room beginning Saturday¢¦.it¢s now 32.2 miles ahead. It¢s supposed to start raining early Saturday morning, but at least we can get dry in the evening.The trees are mostly leafing out now, a bright delightful green that reflects the sun but has its own radiant light. They haven¢t fully leafed out so the sun still keeps us hot most of the day. Occasionally, we walk through one of those dense rhododendron forests I mentioned and that is cool and feels like heaven.One thing we¢re seeing less of is ground water, up until yesterday, I rarely had to pour water for Felix, but now I have to stop and pour some into his dish because it¢s been so dry. Up until now, and since Zen¢s Gooder Grove Hostel near the beginning, I¢ve only been carrying 1 1/2 liters of water to Kerry¢s 2. Someone either accidentally or possibly deliberately, switched my 1 liter bottle for a 1/2 liter. Until now it hasn¢t mattered but I think in Pearisburg, I¢ll get a new 1 liter Smart water bottle. We can¢t have Felix getting thirsty!We¢re by a stream, at the bottom of a valley again tonight, so I¢m anticipating that mountain we will climb first thing in the morning. This our 4th night in a row in the tent and we are really enjoying it. Especially so tonight because we were able to find our own camping spot where we can¢t even see other people.Felix is asleep and I see Kerry has hung the bear bag, and it¢s still light so we will have an early night tonight!People Raw Cat (named after his favorite jazz band)Conductor (an older fellow we kept passing)Math, who we¢ve been seeing for a couple of days)2 Dave¢s and Superior who are camped not too far away
Date: 2023-04-22
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Angels Rest Hostel
Miles today: 11.6

Hiking Day 43, Ending Elevation 1607 feet We awoke a little after 6 a.m. to a great crashing sound on the roof. The promised storm had arrived. Kerry said he woke a little earlier to some gentler rain sounds but this woke me up quite dramatically. We were happy to be under a roof and not in the tent! We had coffee and breakfast with the other hikers, settled our account and took off to rejoin the trail at close to 10 a.m. The main storm seemed to have passed but we walked up another mountain to the ridgeline where the cloud sat on us, then drizzled rain on us to make sure we didn¢t get too comfortable. After awhile we dropped back into the rhododendron forest and the cloud stayed above us for awhile but didn¢t go away. The remarkable part of the walk was when we finally got close to Pearisburg and started descending rapidly, it was like crossing into another country. The forest turned green: the understory of shrubs and ground cover, the trees, the rocks and everything was lit in that bright green that seems to create its own light, the light of spring.We saw lots of wildflowers, and for the first time, I saw a small lump of bluebells!I meant to comment about all the falls I keep having. I hesitate to even bring it up because i feel I¢m tempting fate and so far I¢ve been very lucky. The problem seems to be that when my backpack starts moving in one direction or another, I have no choice but to go with it. I¢ve been lucky that so far all I have is bruises to show for it and I hope it stays that way because I don¢t see my mishaps going away. Just yesterday I fell in a mud puddle and got up looking like the creature from the black lagoon¢¦.that was one of my softer landings!In Pearisburg, we had a wonderful high calorie Mexican dinner, each with an enormous margarita¢¦something we have been craving for a couple of weeks.  Now we are at Angels Rest Hostel. I haven¢t seen any angels but I have no doubt they are here and I¢m happy to rest the night among them!
Date: 2023-04-23
From: Angels Rest Hostel

To: PeterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mountain Trailhead 
Miles today: 20.9

Hiking Day 44, Ending Elevation 2357 feetWe were going to take a zero day today, but Kerry didn¢t want to lose a sunny day sitting around when we could be walking, so we slack packed from Peter¢s Mountain Trailhead. It was a glorious day but it started out a bit iffy, weather-wise. The first part of the hike required us to climb Peter¢s Mountain, but once we got to the top we hiked most of the day on the more or less gentle curve of the ridgeline. My friend, Arthur told me that he worked extensively on part of this trail in the 70s, so it was especially fun to see what began as some of his handiwork!In the morning, Mike from the hostel shuttled us up to Peter¢s Mountain Trailhead. As we crossed the New River, we saw a low cloud hanging along the length of the river; it was quite magical. I didn¢t know then, that I would cross the bridge over the river on foot later in the day. A special end to today¢s hike.Atop Peter¢s Mountain and walking south, back to Pearisburg, we met a hiker called Geo who informed us that he had scared off the wild goats, as though that was a good thing. He was right, he had scared off the wild goats because we didn¢t see any. I was very disappointed, but Felix knew they were there. His ears were up and he was sniffing the air for them, but they stayed hidden. What we did see a little later, was one of those dang white tailed deer that drive Felix to distraction and predictably, that¢s exactly what happened. He actually levitated from the ground trying to take off after it. It¢s a good thing he only weighs 36 lbs because if he were bigger I would have gone airborne with him.The shrubs are leafing out quickly now¢¦we even saw a vine climbing one of the old trees that looked like how I have heard poison ivy described. We were very careful to avoid touching it, having had very negative interactions with poison oak in the west. We also saw wild geraniums; I mention these because I could identify them but they were just one flower among many for which I have no names.We watched the clouds, enormous clouds, come and go all day¢¦I was worried it might rain on us because I neglected to bring a rain jacket, but it didn¢t. Instead, we were treated to watching the giant clouds cast giant shadows on the valleys below us as the sun came and went creating an always changing chiaroscuro landscape.Since we were traveling south against the flow of Northbounders, we saw a number of people that we haven¢t seen for a while and also some new hikers we haven¢t met before! I had reservations about going today, we could have used the rest but I¢m glad we did. It¢s good to break the expected routine sometimes¢¦it just means our rest day is delayed.Back at Angels Rest, we¢ve washed our clothes and resupplied the food we need for the next 4 to 5 days. Just need a good night¢s sleep before we begin again!People todayGeoWyah, a dogBoxer Mom and her dog Otis/POTUSCurious GeorgeChurch mouse, Spark and StealthProphet (or is it Profit?)Oz
Date: 2023-04-24
From: PeterÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Mountain Trailhead 

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.2

Hiking Day 45, Ending Elevation 2785 feetWe left Angels Rest after a good breakfast, with Mike, the shuttle driver and Silvertip, who was going to slack pack the same section we walked yesterday. We were on the trail by 8 a.m. but in spite of the fairly easy grade, the first part of the day was very slow going. The trail was full of old rocks to negotiate. It was also cooler than yesterday even with less clouds and more sun, but this made the hiking more comfortable overall. We went out to look at some view points (Wind Rock and Kelly Knob) but noticed that the views are closing in as the trees fill out their leaves more every day.At the end of the day we were treated to some lovely tree-sized azaleas in pink bloom. We only met 3 southbound section hikers all day. But in the shelter, we saw Purp again and Farmer Phil and his dog, Diesel. We camped behind the shelter, food in the tent with the dog because we arrived too late to hang it. Kerry thinks so far on the AT hanging food is mostly ceremonial as there are rarely good branches from which to hang food, and most of the food hanging he has observed would definitely not stop a Yosemite bear¢¦but maybe East Coast bears are less aggressive?I forgot to mention that we crossed into West Virginia yesterday, very briefly. There were no signs so I¢m not sure if we were there again today. That makes 5 states now!It¢s cold and probably going to get colder so I¢m going to snuggle up to Kerry and call it a night!
Date: 2023-04-26
From: Campsite at 690.3

To: Campsite at 707.4
Miles today: 17.1

Hiking Day 47, Ending Elevation 2234 feetKerry announced he was supposed to get his first social security check today and he can¢t wait to find out if he did¢¦that will be Friday, probably, when we get to Daleville. We slept pretty well last night and long, which I think we all needed. We were climbing our first mountain before 7 a.m. and found it was steep but gradually so. Our first stop at 3 miles in was at a monument to Audie Murphy, the most decorated American serviceman from World War II. Kerry had never heard of him, but I had. When I first came to the States, my mother and I lived with another woman and her two boys who were younger than me. But I remember they were always watching stories about Audie Murphy in movies, or perhaps they just rewatched the same movie. Anyway, the name stuck in my head, dredged up from more than 50 years ago. Murphy is clearly still well loved/respected. The monument was covered in mementos: medals, messages and artificial flowers. The path leading to it decorated with small flags, with a big American flag and a Texas flag, flying right next to the monument. It was quite a tribute.At VA 20, more trail magic: someone had placed a crate full of cokes just below the bridge crossing the creek. I might not have seen it but I had taken Felix down to the creek for a drink and there it was a nice treat¢¦helped us up the next mountain!We made fairly good time before noon, hiking almost 10 miles and passing the 700 mile mark by 12:15. We stopped for an hour for a rest and lunch, and I¢m glad we did, because then it was on to Dragon Tooth. It was very rocky and rough going and slowed us considerably. It was also very interesting geologically¢¦.I wish I knew more but I could tell a lot happened here at some point in time long ago. The trees, now green, substantially impacted the views but I¢m glad we took the little detour to see it. An hour later, having clambered down and slid on sheer rock faces (I know I¢ve already said this, but I think we may be a tad old for this kind of thing), we saw a sign, helpful to those coming from the other direction, indicating steep rocks ahead¢¦.they weren¢t exaggerating! We did make it down in one piece, more or less, but very slowly.Our big surprise of the day was to see our first rhododendrons in bloom, big purple blooms and such a treat! We didn¢t see a lot of people today but Curious George and his friend Sasquatch passed us tonight. We also saw another potential Santa Claus coming Southbound. It seems like 90% or more of the white men over 50 are sporting long flowing hair and long flowing beards, mostly white. It occurred to me that anyone looking for an authentic Santa could just stand at a Trailhead and hand out business cards (¢need a job? Be a Santa!). No more disappointed kids pulling off Santa¢s fake beard! I think I had better end on that happy note!
Date: 2023-04-27
From: Campsite at 707.4

To: Daleville 
Miles today: 22.9

Ending Elevation 1253 feetIt¢s 9:40 p.m. We have just had another great Mexican meal with giant margaritas at Pancho¢s in Daleville. After struggling with the the miles the last couple of days, we got up this morning with significant motivation to get to Daleville today: rain predicted for this evening. It arrived right on schedule a little after 5 p.m. Since we didn¢t arrive until 7 p.m., we got a little wet. Thankfully, the rain didn¢t start in earnest until after we got a room at Super 8 motel (would you believe it¢s adjacent the trail?). We are grateful, once again, to be out of the rain. Tomorrow we plan a to rest.Aside from the long walk, we had a great day! It was warmer than it has been but the gathering clouds kept us comfortable. The required mountains were not too onerous to climb and we had some special treats along the way,First, on the way, we met Ridge Runner Bill Dawson. The 74 year-old started hiking when he retired. He was counting hikers and he told us he makes the approximately 8 mile round trip to McAfee Knob about three times a week. He also told us he had seen as many as 300 people visit McAfee Knob last Memorial Day weekend!We were fortunate to visit this iconic Knob, with only a few other folks. They, helpfully, took photos for us and then left, leaving us alone in this special place. I thought this would be the highlight of our day, but I was wrong. Five miles later we walked along Tinker Cliffs, and they were amazing. The white blazes that mark the trail guided us to the very edge of the cliffs that define the edge of a sheer drop to the valley below. It was such a different view from any that we have walked so far. The mountains, densely green now with new spring growth, seem closer across valleys filled with farms and people. We could see, only here, because we were literally at the edge: no trees-bare or green between us.Beyond Tinker Cliffs, the walk was mostly through the newly leafed out forest, but at the very end, before Daleville we walked up and down a seemingly unending ridge with views to our right of a large river, maybe the White River¢¦I will need to look it up.Just waiting now for our laundry to be done. Kerry and Felix have already gone to Never Never Land. Time for me to go too.PeopleSaw day and some section hikersCurious George and Sasquatch passed us a couple of times today.
Date: 2023-04-28
From: Daleville 

To: BeeCh Hostel
Miles today: 1.0

Almost a zero day!We stayed at Super 8 last night in a room with a leaky toilet. Then this morning, today¢s manager announced that according to Virginia law (???) Felix could not be a service dog because he let out a ¢woof¢ when she banged on the door. I won¢t even go into all the illegal things she said, suffice it to say, this is not a place I would recommend to anyone. I thought about reporting her to the ADA people but just didn¢t feel I had the time to spend on it, which I¢m guessing is what she counted on. Leaves me with a negative feeling about this place, in spite of all the very nice people we met.On a more positive note, Kerry was able to get his shoes replaced, we resupplied our food for the next leg of our journey, we had two good meals, found a nice hostel (BeeCh Hostel), and met two very nice male hikers: Raven, retired military and Jelle (pronounced Yelle) from Holland.Right now, rain is predicted for Sunday, the day after tomorrow and we don¢t have a plan to avoid it so far. We¢ll walk tomorrow and see what the day brings.