morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-24
From: Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel

To: Piped Spring and Campsite near Beauty Spot
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: clear sky

The hike from Uncle Johnny's to Beauty Spot was the easiest 13 miles yet - in fact, there's an error in the guide book, and it's only 11 miles. Still, Butterfly powered up the 2400 foot elevation gain coming out of Erwin, and we were essentially done with the day's hike just after 4. The weather was perfect, the forest smells were wonderful - sweetened by the many flowers in bloom. It was a perfect day for hiking. Several locals said, "You know it doesn't get any better than this, don'cha?". The air temperature was in the low 60s when we started hiking and I don't think it left the 60s all day. We ended the day on Beauty Spot, another Bald and camped at a spot a couple tenths of a mile below the summit. We shared the site with Nuesiok (Dave) and Joanna. Nuesiok's trail name means peace and is the name of a peaceful tribe of native Americans who once lived in North Carolina. We enjoyed our dinner conversations with him and Joanna, and after dinner went back to the top of Beauty Spot for the 8:39 sunset. Camping on the top were Pickles and Skipper and their dogs, Squirrel and a couple other younguns. The Sunset was absolutely wonderful. It was heartening to see the young men who were tenting on top so excited to watch a sunset.Actual miles hiked today seemed less than what the guidebook said, for a change. The mileage posted on a trail sign indicated that it was 2.3 miles from Indian Grave Gap to Beauty Spot as opposed to the guidebook's 3.4 miles. Also, our campsite is about 0.2 miles below the summit. The guidebook listed this as being 0.5 miles below the summit. We welcomed the reduced mileage, though suspected it might make for a longer day tomorrow.
Date: 2014-06-02
From: Campsite just before Damascus, VA

To: Campsite next to Whitetop Laurel Creek
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

Got an early start this morning since the plan was to have breakfast in Damascus. Hiked 4 miles - mostly downhill to Damascus, arriving at 9:30. Went to the Dairy King for Breakfast, then walked around town bumping into other AT hikers (Wing It, Chef Jeff, Early and Lately, Joanna, Roo, Sunshine, Dragon ...) and got the scoop on where to go for laundry. Dropped off our laundry with Lee at the Hikers Inn Hostel - $5 a load - and then headed to Mt. Rogers Outfitters in the center of town to see if we could get a new pair of shoes for Laura; the soles of her Keens are wearing thin. We were successful in this endeavor - or at least we think so. She bought a pair of Oboz that feel good, but we won't know if they truly work until she's backpacked in them for a day or so. Laura also got a pair of flip-flops to replace her existing, heavier campshoes. We then went to MoJoe's Coffeehouse for lunch with Joanna. It was wonderful to sip latte's after so long without them. Also at lunch was Too Long Braids, or is it Two Long Braids or perhaps To Long Braids! Turns out, that it can be any of the three spellings according to, I'll call her, Two Long Braids. Two Long Braids is about 20 years old and has two braids, that are too long.After our late lunch, we went to the post office to send some stuff back home that we found we weren't using (Laura's old campshoes, some clothes we no longer need ...) and then went to the Dollar General to stock up for the next five days of hiking. We hauled our groceries over to the pavillion next to "The Place" hostel to pack up before heading out of town. David and his dog Stitch were there. Stitch is a one year old Australian Cattle Dog and David related how his instincts kicked in yesterday when we hiked through the cow pasture. Stitch ran around hearding the cattle until they were all in one group, even nipping one stubborn cow's rear legs to get it moving.After packing up our food for the week, we headed to Subway where we each bought a footlong sub for dinner, attaching them to the outside of our packs. We hiked about 4 miles up the trail from Damascus and set up our tent in a very nice campsite next to a broad creek called the Whitetop Laurel Creek. After setting up camp, we ate our dinner on a rock in the creek so that we could soak our feet in the water. So far, Lura's new shoes are working out OK, though she's only hiked 4 miles in them.
Date: 2014-06-03
From: Campsite next to Whitetop Laurel Creek

To: Campsite in Pine Grove at 485.8
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We slept in this morning because we were awoken several times last night by people walking along the Virginia Creeper trail. The last was at 1 AM - a guy whistling loudly and singing "I'm walking in the forest." Several of these night hikers whistled loudly as the walked in an effort to scare away bears. This lead me to believe there were a lot of bears near our campsite which got me concerned and made it hard for me to sleep. So sleeping in was good. We slept until 8:30. Butterfly said that she woke up earlier and that she watched me sleep. Said I was really sleeping soundly.We had a good bacon and egg breakfast and broke camp at 10:42 - a bit late. It started raining at 11. Not too hard, but we needed to cover our packs. Butterfly put her raincoat on, but I prefer getting wet with rain to getting wet with sweat, so I did not put on any rain gear except for my rain hat. It didn't rain long, enough to get everything wet, and so it was a pretty humid day of hiking. Fortunately, it was relatively cool. We stopped for a nice lunch by a pond around 2 after hiking 6.5 miles. We ate half of Laura's 5 dollar footling Subway sandwich from last night and the leftover Frittos as well as craisins, crackers, cheese.   After lunch, the trail joined Back up with the Va Creeper Trail, and we hiked over several old railway trestles (the Va Creeper trail is the old railway bed of the Old Dominion and Carolina Railway.) One of the trestles is called Hessinger Bridge and we saw two beautiful black sakes sunning themselves on the bridge.We took a break at 4:30 at Lost Mountain Shelter, got back on the trail for another 3 miles at 5:15 and stopped at a really nice campsite in a pine grove next to a field. The sunlight in the pines was beautiful. We got in the tent to relax at 9 after a nice dinner and a frustrating time getting the bear bag up. It happens.
Date: 2014-06-08
From: Relax Inn in Rural Retreat, VA

To: Virgina route 42 at mile 554.4
Miles today: 11.7

Dan and Gemma Fasani arrived last night at the Relax Inn in Rural Retreat, VA and we gave them a warm welcome. They arrived around 8 PM, and, after getting them into their room at the Relax Inn, we jumped into the car and drove to Atkins, VA for dinner at the Tuscan Grill. It was so great to have our good friends from CA join us.Tomorrow, Dan and Gemma will help us slack pack and we'll then head down to Abingdon, VA for a zero at The Martha Washington Hotel and Spa. We're really looking forward to a little luxury and card games with them.Thanks to all of you who are reading our journal and sending such kind and supportive messages from time to time. I am sorry that I have not been very good about updating the journal, but I can't always do so on a daily basis.   Cell phone coverage has been pretty bad in the mountains of NC, TN and VA, and, often when we have cell reception, I am just too tired at the end of the day to update the journal. So I appreciate your patience. Rest assured that if you don't see an update for several days, it's not because you are doing anything wrong on your computer, or that we are sick or hurt.
Date: 2014-06-11
From: Virgina route 42 at mile 554.4

To: Campsite on trail heading up to Chestnut Ridge
Miles today: 8.4

June 11, Wed.Martha Washington Hotel in Abingdon.  Shuttle from The Martha to intersection of AT and VA route 42 at mile 554.4Hiked to campsite along trail at 562.8,  8.4 miles hikedWith Laura not feeling well last night and I not feeling so well either, I knew that we would not be getting an early start if we were going to leave The Martha at all, so I did not set the alarm.  Fortunately, we both felt better this morning.  My appetite had returned - yeah.  Laura was still a little uncertain if she was completely recovered, so we decided to walk down to Zazzy Zs for lattes and breakfast as a way to test her equilibrium and appetite.  The thunderstorms last night had cooled things off nicely, and our walk through old town Abingdon was a delight.  Laura was not 100 %, but close enough to suggest that we do a half day today, so after finishing our breakfast at Zazzy's, we headed back to The Martha for a second breakfast, to arrange a shuttle back to the AT, pack up, run some final errands and to spend a little bit of time updating my trail journal on the hotel computer.  I also ran down to the fitness center in the hotel to see if they had a scale.  They do.  For the first time in over ten years I weigh less than 200 lbs.  I've lost more than 25 pounds despite all that I've been eating.The thunderstorms last night were pretty spectacular.  We watched from the front porch of The Martha for some time and saw lightning hit the radio towers atop the hill across from the hotel.  Lightning also hit the Kroeger grocery store around the corner from the hotel and the backup generators did not work - perhaps because they were also hit by lightning. The store was closed all morning but opened just in time for us to go in and grab a few last minute items before leaving town.  We also bought a great cheese-steak at the sandwich shop next to Kroegers and enjoyed it on the front porch of The Martha as we waited for the shuttle.We arranged for the shuttle driver, Bubba, to pick us up at 1:00.  Bubba was on time and had some good stories.  We tipped him $5 because we saw a black bear on the way over the mountain from Atkins to the O'Lystery Pavillion.  Yeah! Finally! Though I'm not quite sure it really counts since we were in a car when we saw it rather than on the trail.  Pshaw, I'm counting it.We started hiking at 2:30 where we had ended Sunday at a place called O'Lystery Pavillion where the AT intersects VA route 42 which is called the Bluegrass Trail.  We had a pretty nice hike, though it was pretty humid.  We got 8.4 miles in by 7 and set up the tent at a solo campsite by the side of the trail. There's been a lot of bear activity in this area, and though I've hung a bear bag, I'm a bit nervous as I write this.  We're hearing things moving around in the woods, and heard something snorting a little while ago.  I let out a shrill whistle to scare whatever it was.  I do have Butterfly here to protect me.
Date: 2014-06-13
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Friday, June 13Jenkins Shelter to Helveys Mill Shelter - 14.0 milesBecause we'd gone to bed so late last night, we slept in until 7:45.  Minutes after we awoke, it began to pour, so we went back to sleep. Didn't break camp until 10:50!  Hiking was easy - much of the trail on old road beds and by 12:30 we'd done 4.8 miles.  We had lunch at the bridge over Laurel Creek and dried out the fly, footprint and tent as well as some damp clothes by hanging them over the bridge railings which were in full sun.  Also aired out sleeping bags this way.  We took a long lunch - until shortly after 2, and found that the hiking after lunch was just as easy.  It's amazing how fast we can go when we can walk without having to pay attention to where every foot-step is falling..At 4:20, right after we came out onto the gravel road at mile 587 that leads down to VA route 52, I saw a mother near and two cubs foraging in a pile of trash on the side of the road.  (some very considerate soul had dumped the tash there, I'm quite certain, so that we would finally be able to say that we had seen bears while hiking.) I alerted Laura, and we stopped to get her phone out of her pack to get pictures.  The mother bear heard us and ran down the road away from us before veering into the woods.  The cubs, however, immediately ran into the woods.  From our vantage point, it seemed that mother and cubs were separated, so we held our position for a few minutes.  Mother came back and peered at us from behind a tree - one too small to hide her rather large rear end while she peeked around it - really cute.  I tried to get a good picture of her, but she was completely in shadow whereas the road and trash pile in front of her were in broad daylight, and none of the iPhone photos came out well. Still, if you look closely, you can see her. We were thrilled to see our first bears from the trail! After a few minutes, I ran screaming and whistling shrilly at mama, banging my hiking poles together and waving them in the air. She ran off quickly, and we hiked on.From the bear sighting to our campsite for the night at Helveys Mill Shelter was only another 2.7 miles though we hauled dinner and breakfast water uphill to it because we had heard that the water source at the shelter was nearly dry. When we arrived at the shelter, we had it ourselves for an hour and a half until Twinkletoes showed up. It was a beautiful evening, and we had an enjoyable dinner as the sun sank slowly through the trees. As it set, a thunderstorm approached, and we even got a few drops of rain, though only after Laura was in our tent for the night. After the storm passed, temperatures dropped a good ten degrees - thankfully since I sleep better in cooler temperatures.
Date: 2014-06-14
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Perry and Kathy King's house in Pulaski, VA
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light intensity drizzle

Sat June 14Harveys Mill Shelter to VA 606 where the Kings picked us up and took us to their house for the night.16.3 milesI slept really well last night despite a bright, full moon, because temperatures were in the low 50s - first time in several weeks.  We got a relatively early start at 8:40.  Hiking was along the ridge of Brushy Mountain and was easy. The trail was even, relatively free of rocks and roots, and we were able to cover miles quickly.  Lunch was at Jenny Knob Shelter 11 miles into the day.  The water source was  a few tenths of a mile from the shelter, and we were almost completely dry, so I cleaned up the shelter a bit and burned the combustible trash while Laura fetched water.  We took a long lunch - until after 2 PM.  While we had our lunch, Cop, a policeman from Germany, and his German friend whose trail name is Friend arrived at the shelter to have their lunch.  They did not know each other prior to starting the AT; they met on the shuttle to the Hikers Hostel.  Twinkletoes arrived at the shelter shortly  before we left and caught up to us later in the day and asked if he could hike with us.  We welcomed his company and our conversations helped the already easy miles pass by even more quickly.  Most of the afternoon's hike was in valleys or on the sides of mountains, and there were many stream crossings.  The most significant event of the afternoon was passing the 600 mile mark (see photo).Perry  and Kathy King met us at VA  606 and took us to their home in Pulaski for the night.  Perrt and I worked together at Inphi Corp. for a number of years, and I always enjoyed Perry's company on sales trips to east coast customers of Inphi back when we both worked there. We had a feast of hamburgers, potatoes and onions, salad and a huge dessert of home made strawberry and vanilla ice creams and banana cream pudding.  Perry and Kathy have a beautiful place in Pulaski, and we are so thankful for the surprise pick-up, their hospitality, great food, laundry, very comfortable bed and delicious moonshine.
Date: 2014-06-15
From: Perry and Kathy King's house in Pulaski, VA

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 14.9

Sunday, June 15VA 606 to Woods Hole Hostel14.9 miles.After a great breakfast, Perry King returned us to the trailhead at about 10 AM.  We really appreciate Perry taking an hour and a half out of his Father's Day to return us to the trail.  Hiking today was again easy - mostly in the "low lands" with lots of stream crossings like yesterday, but with a 1500 foot climb up Pearis Mountain to Woods Hole - a really neat Hostel.  There's a calm, peaceful presence about the place - built around an 1880s chestnut-log cabin that was restored by Roy and Tillie Wood in the mid-1900s and is now owned and operated as a hostel by their granddaughter Neville and her husband Michael.  We arrived around 5:30.  Our room was called Tillies Room and included a painting of Tillie knitting in a rocking chair that Neville painted.  Nice touch.  We took showers, and Laura had a special moment reading and enjoying a huge blueberry smoothie while I showered.  Dinner was served on tables just outside the back door and consisted of a salad made with greens and other vegetables from the many gardens, a great chicken stir fry and fresh bread that Neville bakes twice daily.  Dessert was ice cream cones made with homemade blueberry ice cream.   Woods Hole is such a beautiful place, and we recommend it to all as a great place to get away for a few days.  Very affordable too.
Date: 2014-06-16
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Monday, 6/16Woods Hole Hostel to Rice Field Shelter - 18.4 milesSlack packed from Woods Hole to Pearisburg (10 miles)Had to take care of some business in Pearisburg and needed to be there by 12:30 to meet a notary public. We met the notary at a Mexican restaurant - La Barranca - at 12:30. After signing the papers, we then had lunch and then went to Kroegers Grocery Store to resupply for 3 days. Left Kroegers at 5 PM and headed back to the trail (on the edge of town about a mile away. We stopped by Dairy Queen for ice cream cones on the way out of town. These really hit the spot as it had gotten pretty warm - in the 80s.The trail was over grown initially, but after crossing the New river, we were on a reroute of the trail that had just opened. Apparently, the old trail climbed up to the top of the ridge straddling the VA/WV border in a way that there were multiple views of the Celanese Corporation factory. Celanese makes acetate fibers used in cigarette filters. The plant is pretty industrial and so the ATC worked with multiple government agencies and the factory management to reroute the trail. According to Internet press releases, the agreement to reroute wasn't reached until April 14 of this year, and about 8 miles has been rerouted. I could not find a map or good description of the reroute, but there was a "proposed reroute" trail on the 2012 map that I have, that suggested that the trail is somewhat longer than the old. I had good cell phone reception from towers near Pearisburg, and I was able to see that as we approached the Rice Field shelter on the "proposed trail," we would actually pass below it and walk away from it for what looked like a mile before switching back and returning to it on the ridge. I thought to myself that there most be some sort of cliff that prohibits a much shorter route, but when we were near where I thought the shelter would be, we were able to bushwhack up a sparsely populated area of the woods (really more like a field with trees in it), hop over a barbed wire fence, and come out on the AT in a field on top of the ridge just as the sun set. We watched the sunset for a few moments and then I noticed someone on the peak south of us a few hundred yards away. We heard voices as well, so hiked in that direction, and, voila, we ended up in Rice Field with Two-Long-Braids, Zac-and-Cheese, Colonel Tom Parker and his dog Bobby Dylan. They had all decided to tent in the field overlooking a vast area of West Virginia rather than staying in the shelter about a hundred and fifty yards to the east, over a stile over a barbed wire fence. Anyway, they had a nice fire going, so we set up our tent near the others and cooked our dinner in the dark by the fire.   We had a good talk with Zac-and-Cheese about discernment before heading off to bed. I leant him - for the night - the Ignatian discernment book by Rosemary Daugherty entitled "Discernment" that I have been reading over the last 2 months as I discern what I will pursue after my trail days.
Date: 2014-06-17
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Tuesday, June 17Rice Field to Bailey Gap Shelter - 16.4 milesWe awoke to bright sun shining on our tent at 6 AM and did our best to snooze. The inside of the tent got too warm for me, and I encouraged Laura to wake up and get moving around 7. Zack-n-Cheese thanked me for lending him the discernment book, and said that he found it very interesting and enlightening. He appreciated the references to Thich Nhat Hanh whom he has read. Two-Long-Braids was frustrated with her knees which have been aching of late, and she was openly debating whether to get off the trail for a few days or to press on. After talking it over with all in camp, she decided to get off the trail for a few days to see a doctor and rest her knees.   She will head back to her home in Northern VA, but says she is determined to get back on the trail and finish it.We hit the trail around 9 AM before any of the others in camp - a rarity for us. Colonel Tom Parker was collecting strawberries in the field - he only found a small handful - and trying to take a nap when we left. The hiking this morning and early afternoon was ridge walking with occasional views to the west. The trail here is on the Virginia / West Virginia boarder and is pretty rocky in places, so our progress was slow. Also, I'm certain that the mileage along the ridge is underestimated as I paced it off and found AWOL's guide to be 10 to 20 percent off. Not a big deal, but somewhat frustrating. My guess is that AWOL is using numbers supplied to him by the local Appalachian Trail Club, though the mileage numbers on the signs we see are even less than those in AWOL's guide and are not mathematically consistent. Example: the sign at the intersection of the Groundhog Trail and the AT says that that Dickerson Gap is 1.6 miles north (trail north) and that Pine Swamp Branch Shelter is 5.2 miles north. However, when we arrived at Dickerson Gap, the sign there said that the Groundhog Trail was 2.2 miles south and that Pine Swamp Branch Shelter was
Date: 2014-06-23
From: Daleville, VA - Howard Johnson's

To: Daleville, VA - Howard Johnson's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We are well. Relaxed and feeling fine after a zero in Daleville, VA. Butterfly saw a podiatrist in town who did a cortisone shot to her neuroma (like that administered in CA before we got started) which immediately provided relief to Butterfly's aching foot. KO got a haircut. We plan to slackpack 21.5 miles tomorrow to Peaks of Otter. . . . more to come
Date: 2014-03-31
Miles today: 0.0

I over-stressed an area of my pack, causing the zipper to separate. Osprey has a great warranty and I was able to return it to REI for a duplicate replacement pack. I am very fortunate this did not occur on the trail. I've learned a lesson for not overloading! I am packed again and ready to go. Nine days and counting to Springer Mtn. - Hoyt
Date: 2014-04-10
From: Springer Mountain Trail Head and Trail

To: Sassafras Mountain
Miles today: 11.5

11.5 miles, M.M. 11.5. Arrived at the Springer Mountain parking lot late morning and hiked with family (Pearl, Jerry and JoAnn) up to trailhead. Beautiful! Added my name to ledger at mountain top and began my journey. I left my family in the parking lot at 12:20pm and headed on my journey. I camped after hiking 11 miles with two good guys (Cap and Chase). I met several nice people from Boston, Texas and Florida. Met a woman who recognized my hat - she shoots a Hoyt as well! I am tired but had a great first day. -Hoyt