morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-15
From: Stan Murray Shelter

To: US - Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 11.1

Orange Pacer was first to stir this morning. I heard him but did not want to get out of my sleeping bag because...you guessed it...it was cooooooold and windy! Brian was next up then we all started to move. Orange pacer took off at 7:15 am. The rest of us left about 8 am. The guys stopped for breakfast but I decided to hike a little further so I could eat breakfast away from the wind. I was able to talk to Yvonne on the phone without the wind taking my words down the trail. Conundrum, China, Brian, Justin, Sago and I hooked up again. We walked together the rest of the way, about 7 miles. I lagged back a little and caught some great pictures of the group hiking. It was a really beautiful day.We went up some balds with great views. You may be wondering why we call some of these places 'balds'. Well it is because these areas are devoid of trees hence, they are bald. They really aren't though as many of them have brush and grass growing over them. I am taking a lot of photos but they really don't do the land any justice. We finally got over the last bald and headed downhill and out of the wind. The lower we got the warmer it was. It got so warm that when we reached Doll Flats we shed some layers. From there we went nonstop making great time to arrive at Interstate 19E at 1:15 pm. Our guidebooks directed us .3 miles west the Mountain Harbor Hostel. This was the end of the road for Brian, Justin and Sago. Their section hike is over so now they are getting a ride back to hot springs for some cheeseburgers, beers and their vehicle to head back home. I hate losing good hiking partners but I know I will meet many more good hiking partners along the way. We will definitely stay in touch.The hostel is upstairs from an old barn...probably the hayloft. It is pretty cool. There are three others up in the loft with me and a couple on a king bed off the main room. It has two baths and a small kitchen like an efficiency. Orange Pacer and I got a ride from the owner in to town. Yvonne sent a resupply box to the post office and I was going to pick it up. It turned out I was in the wrong town, I went to Roan TN instead of Elk Park, NC!! It was the other way down the road. About 6 miles. Anyway I was hungry so we went to a BBQ place. I do have my priorities!!! We hitch hiked to Elk Park and got there in time to pick the package up. We hitchhiked back to the shelter and proceeded to wash clothes, shower and get everything organized. It is good to have a support system and I definitely do. I just hung out and visited with other hikers, including China and Conundrum. Some hikers ate while we watched a couple of movies. The last one was City Slickers. Remember that one? It was good to see it again. I am going to sleep now and looking forward to the breakfast buffet in the main house. I just love to eat!
Date: 2016-04-16
From: US - Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: broken clouds

Mountain Harbor is a B&B as well as a hostel. I stayed in the hostel and China and Conundrum stayed in a treehouse. It didn't have electricity but after staying in tents and shelters, who cares. Conundrum said that the mattress was very comfortable so if you are heading this way, you may want to try it out. For $12 you could partake in their fantastic gourmet breakfast. What a spread! It was worth every penny. After breakfast I gathered up my things and started on the trail around 9:45 am. I passed Stitch a little way down the road and a beautiful long waterfall. I arrived at Moreland Gap Shelter and its a good thing I did because I was on my last bit of energy. China, Conundrum, Monster(6'6" 196lb), Wanderer, Birdman, Sweet Potato and Oreo were here already. Sweet Potato who is a veterinarian got her name because she loves sweet potatoes and can't stop talking about them. It is such a small world. After some conversation we found out that Sweet Potato's mother was actually a professor and she taught China and Conundrum in nursing school! Amazing. We all ate and chatted while I got myself organized. There were signs posted saying that there is no camping between Rd321 and Watauga Dam due to bear activity so we have to plan our tomorrow carefully. It is either a 15 or 20 mile hike tomorrow. China and Conundrum are staying in a hostel 12 miles away and the rest of us are going to try to make it across the dam. How far I travel depends on my energy and feet. The bottom of my feet have been hurting for the past 4 days. It is like I am going to get blisters but then I don't. I have been taping the bottom of my feet so we will see.Wanderer is playing his ukulele in his tent and it sounds really good. It makes me feel like I am in Tahiti. BTW, I just found out his name is spelt Juanderer!
Date: 2016-04-17
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Wilbur Dam Road
Miles today: 19.3

Last night I had my first mouse experience. I heard a noise in the shelter that was pretty persistent. I couldn't figure out what it was so I used my light to see if I could figure it out. It was a mouse!! I lay down for maybe 60 minutes And couldn't sleep. It was time to pitch my tent!! After that, I slept like a baby. . This was a great day to hike. I walked a bit with China and Conundrum. They went to Bear Hostel for the night. Caught up to Juan Durer and Sweet Potato at laurel falls which was sooo beautiful. It is definitely a must day hike for a family outing. It was nice to hike along creeks most of the day and to walk along the Upper Laurel creek was fantastic. I walked with Juan Durer and had conversations about our travels. We have both traveled to many places. Magic man passed me while I was getting water. I had not seen him in a week. I am at top of a Mountain and am going to try to make it past the dam. The temp is in the 60's and clear. It is a great day for a long hike??While Juan Durer and I were going down the mountain you could see Watauga lake and a controlled burn forest fire on the opposite end. We got to the lake and caught up to Sweet Potato by the lake. I took my shoes and shirt off and got in the lake and washed my face and chest. It felt so refreshing. We hiked 5 more miles past the forest fire which was smoldering. It was eerie looking. We met up with Monster and Oriole and camped about 1/2 mile past the dam next to the road. We ate dinner together and then relaxed. Juan Durer is playing his ukelele. This is very relaxing. Monster and I are laying in the street looking up at the bats while Juan Durer plays on. This is just great!I am planning on hiking 18 miles tomorrow. Time for bed.
Date: 2016-04-18
From: Wilbur Dam Road

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: clear sky

I was awakened at 1am by Monster and Juan Durer. A bear had gotten 2 of our food bags!!! I forgot to mention that Sojo came late yesterday and camped with us. Oriole and Sojo's bags were taken by a tree climbing bear. We grabbed mine and rehung it on a different tree. It was exciting, I was going to see a bear! We heard it and scared it off but did not get to see it. They said it was a small one. Now let's see if I can go too sleep!!! I woke up at just before light. We went looking for the food storage bag remnants and found oriole's partial bag. It had some tea bags and a lighter. We pooled whatever food we had together and shared it so that everyone had enough for 2 days and nights. Our plan is to push hard for Damascus, Virginia for resupply. I had a nice hike today. There was great weather again. We could see lake Watauga for about 8 miles. It was pretty. I started getting sluggish around mile 10. With the mouse incident 2 nights ago then the bear incident last night, I have not gotten a full night's sleep in a few days. I will try to catch up tonight. I ran into Monster, Oriole, Canuck(Canadian), Moon Boots, and Clutch from time to time today. We arrived at Double Springs Shelter at 6:10pm. Bombadil and Gold Berry are here. I met them at the start of my hike but have not seen them again until now. They are a married couple from Massachusetts and their two daughters are on the trail too. They are about two days behind and closing in fast. Also here is Portugal and a couple of other guys whose names I have forgotten. I got some trail magic today...a Pepsi and some sweets. The Pepsi went down great!!! My group is planning to reach Damascus tomorrow and tent at a church hostel. I may do the same. This a good group to travel with.
Date: 2016-04-19
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 18.7

I woke up just before day light and I felt great...finally an uninterrupted sleep. As I got up I saw what I thought was a wild boar. It was just a silhouette and I walked closer to it. As I got closer I heard a noise to my left and turned my head lamp on. It was two deer. The smaller one came within 10 ft of me and I moved so he would not get closer. That was very cool. I had biscuits and gravy for breakfast and it was good. I got off at 7:40am and again, it was a beautiful day. There were not as many views as the previous day's but it was easier hiking. Finally I am in Virginia!! Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee are behind me but Virginia has about 1/4 of the trail in it, about 555 miles. It will be a long traverse. The rest of the hike was gradually downhill so I made great time. I got to pretty and clean Damascus at 3:15pm. The trail goes right through town like it did in Hot Springs except this town is bigger. I'm staying at a church hostel where you can camp on the grounds and you get a towel plus use of the shower and kitchen for a donation of $7. Not bad. I left my bag at the church and took my clothes to wash at Crazy Larry's Hostel. Sweet potato, Oriole and Monster were there too. I was last in line to get my things washed. Crazy Larry actually washes for you!! He and I had a long conversation about everything including his life. Interesting.
Date: 2016-04-20
From: Damascus VA

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0

Good morning! I woke up to birds chirping and singing. I thought it was around 7am but it was 5am. These birds sure get up early!!!! I got up and headed to a cafe for breakfast with Monster, Sweet Potato, Juan Durer and Oriole. I had blueberry pancakes and a couple cups of hot tea. I could probably write a book on "Things You Think About While Your Hiking", so I will begin to share some of those thoughts. GEAR! I think about reducing my pack weight including amount of food, water, lighter pack, lighter sleeping bag/pad, cooking system, clothes and other things I carry that maybe I could do without. I probably started the hike at about 37 lbs. when I left Hot Springs I was at 34.1 with food and water which is better but would still like to get lighter. My backpack is an Osprey Atmos 65 liter AG. It wears very well but weighs about 4 lbs 6oz. I am considering switching to an Osprey Exos 58 liter, it weighs about 2 lbs 4oz. That would be a start. It holds less but I could send some winter clothes home and reduce the amount of food I carry. I always seem to have plenty of food anyway. The water I can definitely regulate with good planning. I spent some time walking around town this afternoon. It is very clean and picturesque with lots of bike shops. Apparently it is a biking destination. We walked to the grocery store, while Juan Durer, Sweet Potato, Savage and Monster ate what they bought, Oriole and I ate at a pizza buffet. I did not overdue it like last time. I ran into Maria. I didn't think I would run into her again. She was going to leave town later today. Savage and Maria walked 30 miles to get into town, WOW! We walked back and I just lazied around and caught up with home, and emails. Chena and Conundrum were staying at the hostel behind us as well as Stitch, Poptart, Goodberry, Bombadil and Sojo. Chena and Conundrum came over and we talked gear. They bought new packs, so tomorrow I will try one of their old ones which is the Exos 58. I will see if my gear will fit in it. Oriole and I went to dinner at Subway then bought some beer on the way back. We went to the hostel behind us and Sojo was celebrating his birthday. There were a lot of us there. We stayed there the rest of the night and chatted about the trail. Yvonne called from Guatamala where she is on her mission trip. It is always good to hear her voice. I miss my wife. Tomorrow I will continue the gear conversation. I have decided to take another zero day since my blisters are still bothering me. Hope to have another good night's sleep. My body needs it.
Date: 2016-04-21
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up to singing birds again. I got up and went and had breakfast with the crew and ran into Blackbear and Ryan who is now known as Ralphie. I had a good time talking with everyone. When I came back to the hostel, I gathered my stuff to try and fit in Chena's old backpack. Like I said yesterday they, Chena and Conundrum, switched to ULA backpacks and I will try her Osprey Exos 58 which is just over 2 lbs lighter than mine. With their help I got every thing in, the pack felt good as I walked around a bit. I decided to switch and I will purchase the pack from them. Conundrum said to try it a few days then we'll talk compensation. Sounds good to me! I will be mailing my pack home along with my winter clothes. I know I'm taking a chance but I need to get lighter. I also went ahead and lanced my two blisters, cleaned them up and I am hoping that I can hike tomorrow. Juan Durer, Sweet Potato, Monster and Oriole left around 11am. They were great hiking partners. I hope to see them again. I went to the outfitter and bought some individual toe sock liners and a pair of shorts. My feet and blisters still hurt but maybe all this will help. I went to the post office and mailed my pack and clothes home and I will check my pack weight tomorrow. The local library is showing a free movie, Creed, with popcorn and drinks at 4pm. We are not missing that! We plan on going to a local brewery afterwards. I walked over to the library with the hostel caretaker, Bayou and mmet up with Portuguese, Chena, Conundrum and Ralphie. The movie and snacks were great! Chena, Conundrum, Ralphie and I walked over to the Damascus brewery but I started feeling bad before we got there and it got worse. It was a nice place but I left early and walked back to the hostel.I got sick and had bad stomach pains. I must have eaten something bad. My friends brought me some pepto and Gatorade. I am looking forward to feeling better in the morning.
Date: 2016-04-22
From: Damascus

To: Sauders Shelter
Miles today: 9.3

I got up feeling better but a little weak. I drank plenty of Gatorade and took some pepto before I packed up and walked over to the outfitter to weigh my pack. I am now at 33 lbs. I am getting it lower but I still would like to be lower. I ran into Stone and visited for a while. Saw Chena and Conundrum and thanked them for helping me last night. They are staying in Damascus one more night. I'm sure they will catch me later. It was raining when I got up but it stopped for a while. I am heading out but I stopped at Cowboys for breakfast and it started raining again. Looks like I will have to wear my rain gear today. It is 100% chance for rain for the next few hours. I may have to sleep in a shelter tonight. I'll see. I am trying to avoid them due to mice. There is a shelter about 8 miles and another 15 miles away. Since it is almost noon, I may just stop at the first shelter. After I left Damascus it rained the whole time. There were no views but the rain helped to fill some nice creeks and small waterfalls. I hiked along the Virginia Creeper Trail which is made of crushed rock and is wide. There was a bridge on the trail that had washed out so we had to take a detour on the Creeper Trail. It goes along a very wide creek. It is nice to hear the running water. I arrived at Saunders Shelter at 3:30 pm. It had stopped raining but it was very misty and humid. I set up in the shelter then ate while other hikers started coming in. I ended up with Feral, Pop Tart, Highway, Crisscross and Sunray in the shelter. Crisscross and Sunray are from Switzerland. They have very strong accents and quit their jobs and sold everything to do the hike. This is their first time in the United States. They plan on going to San Francisco next then Canada to visit a friend. Their visa is for 6 months so they want to finish the trail by late August. Stone and Owl camped out next to the shelter. We all turned in by 6:30pm. It was a little cold so it felt good to be in my sleeping bag. A very bad storm hit around 9:30pm. There was lightning and it poured for about 2 hours. Boy, was I glad that I was in the shelter!
Date: 2016-04-23
From: Sauders Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: light rain

I awakened to a very chili and wet morning. I got out around 7am in my rain gear. It was drizzling a bit. I had a couple day hikers pass me then another. I asked if there was a group and they shared that they were part of a cystic fibrosis fund raising 30 mile hike. There were about 70 hikers. I started talking to a couple from the North Carolina coast. They invited me to partake in their aid station. Yum yum, PBJ, snack bar, chips, pickles and Gatorade. I hiked along and it was rainy or misty the whole way. I talked to a couple of other day hikers from Chattanooga who have been doing the hike for a few years. The couple I talked to have been doing it for 8 years. They have raised around $350,000 as a group and donations are still coming in. What a great event! I was able to eat at the second aid station as well.I went the last part of the group's 30 mile hike with the couple from the coast and talked about many things...mostly kids and rental properties. I arrived on top of Mount Rogers at Thomas Knob shelter. It was cold and windy. It is a large shelter that holds 16. Crisscross, Sunray, Feral, Portuguese, Wonder, Justice, Polar Bear, and Ahab also arrived. There were many weekend tent hikers around. The views are supposed to be amazing but with all the mist, there are no views. Hopefully tomorrow. For dinner I had ramen and tuna again, still tasting great!!My thought today was that I sure miss drinking my wine, I started with a small wine rack then graduated to two larger racks (his and hers), then Santa brought me a small wine refrigerator. I must have been good!!! Now everything is full unless my friends like Pauline have been coming and drinking it! I have a brilliant idea...turn the pantry into a wine cooler, the wash room into a pantry and add on to back of garage for a roomy wash room. Yvonne, it's just a thought, but consider it??.
Date: 2016-04-24
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Creek Trail
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

This morning was another very cold one. We are on top of Mount Rogers that is why it is colder than normal. At least the sky is clear. I left the shelter at 7:40am and I was not expecting the wonderful views. You will see from the pictures...there are lots to see. I entered the Grayson Highlands area which looks like what I think Ireland would look like. The area is also known for its wild ponies. They have hair like Shetlands but are a little bigger and they roam the area. I got to see them up close too. The scenery is probably the best I have seen so far. I will definitely come back here. When I started walking this morning there was frost on the ground and since I sent my winter clothes home, I used a pair of socks for my hands. After a couple of miles it warmed enough to take off a layer. I have not seen much wildlife during the whole trip just some squirrels, chipmunks, and deer. I did get close to a young deer one morning and that was pretty cool.In the highlands I saw lots of ponies, cows, bulls, a snake, and my first rabbit. Can you believe, five hundred miles on the trail and I just saw a rabbit? Amazing! I stopped at a shelter for a snack and break and met 5 weekend hikers. I took a picture of them and two amazing ladies, Ziplock, and Repack. They were doing a long section hike in full gear. They were in their mid and upper 60's, very inspiring. I also met Spaniard and he is from Spain. He is also pretty amazing. There are 5 long trails in Spain and he did them all before he was 18 yrs old. He's done a lot of European country trails, southern Mexico and did the PCT last year. I hiked with him for a few miles and we spoke in Spanish. He does 25 miles a day and get this, he is 67 yrs old!!!! I could just keep up. I stopped at Hurricane Mtn Shelter at 5pm and he kept going. He said he would stop at 7 pm.   I didn't stay in the shelter. I walked down to the creek and set up my tent next to Cheddar...I just met her. She had been doing high miles too but got an injury so she will slow down a while.Three ladies joined us, I had met them briefly while they were taking a break on the trail. Mary, Siva and Faye. They are also section hiking for quite a ways. I ate dinner with all four ladies and we had some good conversations. These three ladies are also my age and older and again amazing women. All the people I met today are helping me keep going...just inspiring. 8:30pm and in my tent. It sounds great to hear the creek next to me. Hope I'm not in the bear path!
Date: 2016-04-25
From: Hurricane Creek Trail

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

I got stirring at 6am this morning. It was nice with the sound of the creek running and birds starting to chirp. It was heavy with vegetation where we camped. I got my bear bag and got everything packed. There have not been bear cables at the shelters for quite a while so we have to find a tree and throw our rope to hang the bags. Sometimes there are just not any good trees so we have to go far to find one. That was the case at Thomas Knob Shelter. I finally found an ok tree then my rope got stuck so I had to climb the tree to set the rope. Hmmmm. If I can climb it the bear can too! Well there wasn't a bear that night so I was ok. I said my goodbyes to the ladies and got going at 7:20am. It is amazing to see that there are so many hikers, male and female, that are my age or older. It was a nice morning with temperatures around the upper 40's but within an hour, it was getting close to 60 degrees!. It was another nice and clear beautiful day for a hike. I saw a cow that was right in my path. I said to it, "Move along doggy (as we say to cows in Texas) but it didn't move. I guess it wasn't a Texan cow!There weren't many views today...it was very wooded. I ran into Clutch, Medicine Man and Shaggy. They camped about 1.5 miles past me. They always pass me then I catch up while their taking a break. Stone passed me then I caught them all when we stopped for lunch at Trimpi Shelter. We had traveled 9 miles at that point and needed 10 more to reach Partnership Shelter. My phone service has been very poor but I managed to talk to Yvonne once I reached the top of a small mountain. I caught Stone and walked with him to the shelter. We made great time, 10 miles in 3 hrs 40 min.This shelter is by the Rogers Mountain Visitors Center. You can call to have pizza delivered and it also has a shower. Zebra and Ginger were already there. They are section hiking. Owl and Pilgrim arrived as well. Bayonne and I ordered a pizza each. Not sure I can eat it all but I will finish it at breakfast if I don't. Stone took a shower while I waited then I took one. It was coooold but refreshing. I hand washed a couple of clothing items as well.A few more hikers came in including Cheddar, Crisscross and Sunray, a couple. Crisscross and Sunray were ahead of me and they arrived at the shelter early. They took the shuttle to town to resupply and came back to the sheltr. It was good to see them. We all hungg out and talked about our plans. 11 miles to the outskirts of Atkins, just off the trail there is a restaurant called The Barn. That is where I plan to have lunch and resupply at the convenience store.Until tomorrow...