morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-03
From: Uncle JohnnyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hostel 

To: Beauty Spot 
Miles today: 10.0

Tony, Chinook, and another guy named DJ, and I got a shuttle into Erwin at 7:30 to have breakfast. I had the big breakfast and the pancakes and coffee were awesome. The drive picked us back up at 8:30 and we were hiking before 9. The first couple of miles were nice and gentle and then it was time to start climbing and climbing and climbing. All the climbing wouldn¢t have been so bad except for the heat. We were sweating buckets. The highlight of the hike was getting trail magic at Indian Graves Gap from Brother Tom. We had a choice of sweet tea or lemonade and a choice of a brownie or banana bread. Tony and I had sweet tea and Tiny had a brownie and I had banana bread. We were going to hike 12 miles but when we came to Beauty Spot, we decided to stop became of the views and heat. It is the first Bald we will camp on. We got to see a beautiful sunset. We are sleeping with the fly off so we can gaze at the stars.
Date: 2018-05-04
From: Beauty Spot 

To: Greasy Creek Friendly 
Miles today: 15.0

Chinook said in order to beat the heat he was getting up at 5 in order to be hiking by 7. I don¢t like getting up early, but I hate the heat even more, so I was also up at 5 and packed everything I could while Tony slept. Finally at 6, I told him he needed to get up which is like waking a sleeping bear. He is even less of a morning person. We were all packed up and hiking by 6:45 and it was cool enough I started out wearing my sweat shirt. Soon we were slogging our way up a hill and quickly became too warm, but didn¢t want to stop and remove my sweat shirt until we reached the top. About a half mile from the top we came to a campsite and a tree decorated with Christmas ornaments and other things dedicated to a little boy who had passed away. We stopped there for a break. We had surprisingly hiked 2.7 miles in about an hour.We continued you on. Our next break would come at a shelter 4 miles away. Tony¢s left foot and knee started bothering him though and he became grumpy and wanted to stop more often, but we made it to the shelter for our second break. For the past two weeks he has been complaining about his knee and foot. When we left the shelter Tony was really grouchy, but eventually he calmed down and apologized for his behavior, He said he was tired of hurting and just wanted to go home, so he may be going home Sunday.There were two more pretty good size hills we had to climb that kicked my but. I loved hiking through mostly pine forest today; it reminded me of camping in Alaska.We made good time hiking and arrived at Greasy Creek Friendly by 2:30. Tony and I are sleeping in the bunkhouse house with 3 other people. It felt good to get a shower.At 6 the owner placed an order at Mountain Grill for all the hikers here and then we drove into the little town. We stopped at Dollar General first and then we went to the Grill. We had to wait two hours to get our food. It was 8:30 before we got back to the hostel and started eating. It was very frustrating.We ate and are now heading to bed.
Date: 2018-05-05
From: CarverÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: Greasy Creek FriendlyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs
Miles today: 12.0

Chinook and I slack packed today and Tony rested at the hostel. It was an easy day on the trail with the terrain and weather. We were back at the hostel by 3:30. I saw some beautiful flowers and a deer. When I got back, Tony was still hurting, so we finally made the decision for him to go home. I am sad and will miss him tremendously, but I don¢t like seeing him in pain. He was my view finder and got me to stop at views I would have just hiked past. He had also gotten where he was setting up the tent at night while I got water and started cooking. I¢m going to miss my helper.I am probably going to start waiting  few days to post updates for safety reasons. I am also going to be carrying a 5 pound tent until I get my one person tent. I also am going to have to carry the fuel and stove now. It is going to be weird hiking for a little while.
Date: 2018-05-06
From: Roan Mountain Bed and Breakfast 

Miles today: 0.0

A thunderstorm rolled in around 4 in the morning and ended up knocking the power out around 6. It was out until around 9:30 am. This really made things difficult. No one could use the bathroom until the power came back on. And there was no coffee. I was up by 6:30 and there was only one thing to do and that was pack up. I got Tony¢s bag situated and then I did mine. I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then when the power came back on, I had my coffee. Connie the owner drove us to Johnson City. We left early enough to grab lunch at Golden Corral and then we took Tony to the bus station. He got off without any problems. Then Connie drove me to the Roan Bed and Breakfast. I will probably be slack packing from here until my tent arrives. This is an awesome place and the owners are wonderful. I feel right at home and feel like I have known Ann for longer than a few hours.She took us and some other hikers to a Mexican place so we could grab some dinner. She makes a run into town every day for hikers to get supper. The food was good, but I¢m really missing Tony.
Date: 2018-05-07
From: CarverÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap

To: US 19E
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: overcast clouds

I felt a lot of different emotions hiking today. The first few miles I was sad not to be hiking with Tony. But I focused on the scenery around me and the fact that Tony would not be enjoying the hike and that he was happy to be heading home. I stopped at the Stan Murray Shelter for short break and as I was getting ready to start hiking again, I met Zephyr from Utah. We hiked together to Overmountain Shelter and talked about everything from big pharmaceutical to health care to the ridiculous safe spaces. We disagreed on some stuff, but we were able to part in good terms. He stayed at the shelter and I hiked on over Overmountain. I hiked over Little Hump Bald then Hump Bald. I would think I had reached the top only to find out I had not and it looked like it might start raining so I was hiking as fast as I could to get over the Bald. Fortunately I only got sprinkled on. I had lunch just past the summit of the Bald. One of my favorite parts was the Dolls Flats. If I had not been slack packing, I would have camped there. I finished the hike in about 8 hours. Except for the little I hiked with Zephyr, I hiked the rest of the day by myself. The last couple of hours I listened to my music.
Date: 2018-05-08
From: US 19E

To: Forest Road 293
Miles today: 13.7

I spent another wonderful night at Roan B&B. Ann and Steve the owners, are awesome and they serve the best breakfasts of any place I have stayed so far. I highly recommend any hiker stay here who needs a home cooked meal and some rest or if they want to slack pack. They offer many options. I also recommend anyone who visits this area also stay here. It is only 30 minutes from Bristol and this would be a great place to stay for a race weekend. I feel right at home here. Now about today¢s hike. We started hiking around 8:30 this morning and stopped for lunch at Jones Falls. The Falls were beautiful. The we is Chinook, who is also spending a couple of days here to rest feet and to slack pack. We also got some great views today. Then we came to another beautiful falls, Mountaineer Falls. It was a beautiful day for a hike.
Date: 2018-05-09
From: Forest Road 293

To: Dennis Cove Road
Miles today: 11.1

The hike was pretty easy today, no big climbs or descents. It was a beautiful hike with a couple of good views of the town of Roan. I saw a few section hikers and saw Zephyr, who I met a couple of days ago. Chinook was also slack packing as well and we hiked some together. I listened to my iPod for about half the hike. There were a few other thru hikers, but I didn¢t get there names.Steve, the B&B owner picked us up about 2:45. We stopped at the store in the way back and picked up stuff to make a salad and spaghetti. I wanted some home cooking, so I fixed supper about 5. It was really good. There are a couple of other hikers staying here too. One of them is the Specialist and he is hiking 25 mile days. He slack packed all the way from Dennis Cove to US19E. Of course he is young, probably under 25. I didn¢t get the other hikers name staying here.
Date: 2018-05-10
From: Dennis Cove Road

To: Wilbur DaM Road
Miles today: 13.0

Today¢s hike was by far my favorite. A little over a mile in I saw the beautiful Laurel Fork Falls. Then there was a nice flat path for about mile, and then unfortunately there was a 2 plus mile climb up a mountain and then 2.6 miles down to the beautiful Watuga Lake. I hiked most of this part with Chinook.About half way up the mountain I was focused on getting to the place with a view to take a break and a garden snake darted across the path between my feet and like to gave me a heart attack. A couple of minutes later I almost walked into a turtle who was sitting in the middle of the path. I¢m will post pictures of it. A friend of Chinook¢s, who he met on the trail yesterday was providing trail magic at the Recreation area at the lake, so I got a coke and some jelly beans. Then it started Ray, but only lasted 5 minutes, long enough to pack everything up. Chinook went with his friend and I hike on to Wilbur Dam Road. It still seemed like it might rain more, so I hurried. The walk around the lake was awesome and I loved the view from the Wilbur Dam. I finished about 3:45 and returned to the B&B and had left over spaghetti for supper. The Specialist took a zero day and is spending one more night here and two new hikers are also staying here.
Date: 2018-05-11
Miles today: 0.0

This was a true rest day. I got up around 7, had some coffee, and then Ann, the owner of the B&B served another awesome breakfast. After breakfast I watched a little TV and then went and sat out on the front porch and read. For lunch I heated up some left over spaghetti and then went and sat out on the porch and read some more. Then I took a nice epsilon salt bath and then took a nap. I ordered a pizza for supper and Ann took me into town to pick it up. It is the best pizza I¢ve had on the trail and the second best I have ever had and I had a strawberry shake from the Dairyland. My tent was not at the post office, so I will be spending another day here. Best zero day yet!
Date: 2018-05-12
Miles today: 0.0

I got up and had another awesome breakfast. It is going to be hard to leave this place tomorrow. Ann and Steve have been wonderful. I can not recommend staying here enough. Ann took me to pick up my tent which turned into a little adventure. Ann invited me to lunch with her. We left the house a little after 10:30 to go by the post office. Well the post office was only open from 8 to 10. But Hamilton being a small town, and figured she would ask her frien well the post office was only open from 8 to 10. But Hampton being a small town and asked one of her friends if she knew who the postmaster was us and we were going to see if we can get them to open the post office up to give me my intent. Well a Hampton had just hired a new postmaster who lives in Greenville. So I figured that was a loss but then Anna had the thought that or she could catch the mailman on her route she might go back to the post office after she was done and we can get the tent. Ann and Steve also have a house in Hampton, and the mail is usually delivered around 11:30, so we tried to catch the mailman there, But the mailman was new to the route so she was running really behind so again we gave up hope on getting the tent and we¢re getting ready to go to lunch. As we were heading to lunch we passed the mail woman and saw her turn into the Hampton post office and she was kind enough to go into the post office and get me my tent.We then went to lunch at this wonderful place that was on Watuga Lake and I had a wonderful steak, sweet potato, salad, and fried green tomatoes. Then we went back to the B&B and packed up my strand relaxed. I had leftover pizza for supper.
Date: 2018-05-13
From: Wilbur DaM Road

To: Iron Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

After 7 days here at the Roan B&B, it feels like my home away from home and it was extremely hard to start hiking with my pack today without Tony. I had another wonderful breakfast and Ann drove me back to Wilbur Dam Road and I was hiking by 9:45, much later than I should have started with the heat, but as I said it was really hard to get leave such a wonderfully comfortable and happy place and such good people. And it is Mother¢s Day and not having Tony here is really hard, but the cards I got from Sam and my kids, along with the chocolate is what sustained me today when the terrain and heat started getting to me. I managed to pack the chocolate in a good place in my pack so they didn¢t melt and I had some for lunch and supper with my meal. The terrain was really rocky and I had to watch where and how I stepped all day long to not roll or twist my ankle. I stopped at Vandeventer Shelter for lunch. I had a pop tart since they are my heaviest food. Then I had another pop tart for a snack. The heat was pretty intense. I arrived at Iron Mountain Shelter around 5 and set up my tent and then had supper and visua little with the other people staying at the shelter and then headed to my tent just to relax a little before going to bed. The following people were at the shelter:  Choo choo (a lady around 60), Foxy Ninja, Bear Claw, another guy that was hiking with Foxy Ninja and Bear Claw, Frieght Train, who I met as I started my hike today and hiked with a short while (he just retired from working in the train industry), Spitfire, Smiley ( an older lady from New Zealand), and a few others.
Date: 2018-05-14
From: Iron Mountain Shelter 

To: Abingdon Shelter 
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: mist

I got up around 6:15, packed up, had a pop tart for breakfast and was hiking by 7:15. The goal was to get in as many miles as possible before the heat of the day. The terrain was much much better today. In fact, I hiked a half a mile on a wheelchair accessible path, which ended with a bench facing a beautiful view. Before that was a barn with the AT symbol in it. I also hiked through a pasture that had cows before heading back into the woods. I managed to get a picture of a bumblebee on a flower. I saw more than 20 chipmunks. To top off this very interesting and beautiful day, about 4 miles before the shelter, at a road crossing was trail magic. I had 4 cups of sweet tea, a hotdog, baked beans and a pickle and a tangerine. Unfortunately I did not get our trail angels names. They do trail magic on Mother¢s Day and then whatever is left they give away the next day which is often. I got to the shelter around 5 and decided to stay in the shelter so I could pack up quickly to get in town. Spitfire, Gigi and Gut Check, Smiley and Dan and several others were at the shelter.
Date: 2018-05-15
From: Abingdon Shelter 

To: Damascus 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: mist

I got up by around 6 and was hiking by a little after 7. Today was double exciting, first crossing from Tennessee into Virginia and then finally seeing the famous trail town of Damascus. I got to Dragonfly Inn a little before noon. I highly recommend anyone who visits Damascus stay this awesome B&B. I had a very nice, beautiful room with my own bathroom. Ralph who runs the place also runs the Damascus Diner which serves great food. The hike into Damascus was not to bad. I instantly noticed a change in the trail when I crossed the border. If the trail in Virginia stays like this i will be very happy. Coming into Damascus was a memorial to all the military and coast guard who had died in the line of duty that were from Damascus. There was also  shelter as you come into town (no camping allowed in this one though). It was a very good day!
Date: 2018-05-16
From: Damascus 

To: Saunders Shelter 
Miles today: 9.6

I had a great nights sleep and a delicious breakfast. The bed and room were so wonderful, I didn¢t get hiking until 9:45. It rained off and on all day which I didn¢t mind until the last hour of hiking when it decided to rain harder, which helped me to decide to stay at Saunders Shelter instead of going 6 more miles to the next shelter and risk it being full. The AT and Virginia Creeper Trail merge for about a mile which was a nice change to be hiking on a level path with no roots or rocks. Most of the hike was easy except the last two miles which went up.We had two hikers who are cousins and one played the banjo and the other a mandolin. Their names were Spacebear and James. This was James first day hiking and he plans on hiking with Spacebear to Maine. They played beautifully and sang beautifully. Others at the shelter were southbounders, Hippo, from Germany and another hiker I did not get his name. Wootan, from England, Fraulin, from Germany, Chuckleberry Finn, Mousebait, who was section hiking and a 3 other hikers tented, but I did not get there names.
Date: 2018-05-17
From: Saunders Shelter 

To: Whitetop Road Csmpsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The day started out great, dry and with easy terrain. The trail again followed about a mile of the Creeper Trail. I got to the Lost Mountain Shelter around noon and cooked me some Raman Noodles for lunch. I was by myself until just before I got ready to hike on, then several section hikers showed up. It started raining, so I hung out at the shelter a little longer, talking to the other hikers. Finally, around 1:30 I pushed on. It was still raining a little. About 30 later the rain stopped completely, so I removed my rain jacket. I crossed a pasture and then started the 2 or so mile climb up to. Buzzard Rock. Part way up the mountain it really started coming down and I ended up soaked and did not get to enjoy any views. It was still raining when I reached the campsite and waited a few minutes and the rain let up long enough for me to get the tent up but not get the fly on, so my tent was soaked. I tried drying it out the best I could and finished getting set up with the rain still pouring. I had a signal on my phone, so I called the Grayson Highlands Store and Inn to see if I could get a room the next night. Dennis, the owner, said they were booked but that he had a room available tonight and he would come get me. So I quickly packed up my stuff and enjoyed a nice dry room. Today was definitely an adventure!
Date: 2018-05-18
From: Whitetop Road Csmpsite

To: Massie Gap
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: light rain

Dennis dropped me off at Whitetop Road and I slack packed to Massie Gap. I was so thankful not to be carrying my pack. There was a lot of ups and lots of big rocks and it rained until about the last hour of my hike, so the AT was a river. I did not go to the top of Mt Rogers because I wouldn¢t have had any views. When I reached Thomas Knob Shelter, I took a short break. The rain stopped when I was there. After that was the the ponies and the boulder scramble. I loved see the ponies. Dennis picked me back up and I ate supper at his store, but he did not have any rooms available, but he had a neighbor that sometimes takes in hikers and that is where I stayed. They take in rescue animals and they have everything from horses to dogs. They converted an old barn into several living areas and three generations live there. Connie is taking care of her 89 year old mother in the grandmothers apartment, so Connie let me stay in her living area. I love all the different people I meet and places I get to see. I am very grateful to be in out of the weather,
Date: 2018-05-19
From: Massie Gap

To: VA 603
Miles today: 10.0

I got dropped off at Massie Gap around 10:30, after having a wonderful breakfast of French Toast and bacon. The first part of the hike was a little tough with all the rocks and the flooded trail. About 12:30, I finally found a place in pasture with cows to have lunch, on a big rock. As i was eating, two men came by who said they were camping about a mile away, and they were just out for a leisurely stroll to Wilson¢s Creek. I finished eating and resumed hiking. I saw some great views and passed what I believe are long horn cattle. In fact, I passed within feet of two of them. I reached the campsite, where two other guys were hanging out, friends of the two who had passed me earlier. The offered me some water and just before I continued hiking it started raining, so I quickly put on my rain gear. I walked through some more flooded areas and rocky terrain. When I came to Old Orchard Shelter, a father and son who were section hiking, were taking a break. I was going to stay at the shelter, but, instead, I decided to press on to Hurricane Shelter. However, I saw on Guthook, a nice little place to camp with ports potties that the people who bring horses to ride on the horse trails also stay. This campsite/horse trailer parking was at a road crossing. Oh, yes and the place has picnic tables. When I got there I cooked some Raman and then I set up my tent. I started talking to one of the couples who was at the campground for the weekend, but it started raining, so I headed to my tent and worked on my hiking strategy for the next few days. Which brings me to some exciting news, Tony is rejoining me on the trail this coming week.The rain stopped, so I got out of the tent to stretch my legs. When the couple from earlier saw me, they invited me have dinner with them., Trail Magic!! These trail angels names are Joe and Vicky. I had a hamburger, chips, black eyed peas and potatoes. Vicky also said I could shower too, which I almost turned down but was glad I didn¢t. The shower was so good. I visited with Vicky and Joe for about 3 hours before heading to bed. You just never know what wonderful surprises and wonderful people you will meet on the AT.
Date: 2018-05-20
From: VA 603

To: Unnamed campsite 
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I got up around 6:45, and took my time eating breakfast and packing up. I started hiking about 8:30 after thanking my trail angels one last time. The trail was still flooded in places, but wasn¢t quite as bad as the past two days. I took a lunch break at Hurricane Mountain Shelter and met Honey Legs, who¢s real name is John Wayne. I continued hiking, planning to stop at Trimpi Shelter, but as more people passed me, it seemed like it would be to crowded. So, I decided to hike on to a campsite about 3 miles away. One of the best decisions I made. I passed two campsites before coming to the third. As I was hiking, I figured this would be my first time camping by myself and it made me a little nervous, but then I started smelling smoke. When, I reached the campsite, 5 other hikers were there and was told I was fortunate for pressing on to this campsite as they were having bratwurst for supper and was invited to join them. These wonderful trail angels were Pumpkin spice, Poncho, Bandito, Uncle Ya ya, and Chill.Two awesome nights in a row: maybe I should stop at unexpected campsites more often!
Date: 2018-05-21
From: Unnamed campsite 

To: Partnership Shelter 
Miles today: 6.2

I got up around 6:30, packed, ate and started hiking by 8:30. Most of the hike was uphill, but it wasn¢t too bad. When I got half way up the mountain, I had a signal so I texted my husband and then about 2.5 miles from the shelter I stopped for a snack. When I resumed hiking, I heard thunder, so I picked up the pace to try to get to the shelter before the rain started. I made it about 15 minutes before it started raining. I met Preacher, who was thru hiking the trail for the second time. When two other hikers arrived, Duo and Smiley, we ordered food from a pizza place in town to be delivered to us. I ordered a pepperoni pizza. Because of the weather, I decided to stay at Partnership Shelter instead of hiking to the next shelter which I knew would be full. It was a full house at Partnership. Cosmic, Citrus, Poncho, Bandito, Chill, Uncle Ya ya and Pumpkin spice we¢re just a few who are staying the night.