morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-08
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Sheleter
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night it rained and this morning it was windy and foggy so we did not get going until 9:00am. The trail continued through the fields on the top of the mountain and it was really cold and windy. The trail followed the ridge line for the first 8 miles and we made good time even though there were a lot of rocks that were slippery. We started down into a gap to an area with a creek. This is also where the first shelter was. About half way down the mountain, the sun came out so we dried out some but then it got really hot and humid. We arrived at the shelter and found that NOS was already there eating his lunch and the three of us joined him soon after DK and Big E also showed also. A mile up the trail, we saw some kind of a zip line across the creek and on the other side trail angel Captain would have trail magic. We got to the zip line and found that it was only 30 feet long and once you got to the middle you had to pull yourself the rest of the way over. I decided not to go over because it looked lame but everyone else did. They all got free cold sodas and Medicine Man even brought one back for me.From the zip line, we only had 3 miles to go until we reached the next shelter and soon the clouds came rolling back in. We were going as fast as we could. We got to the mountain on the other side of the gap and we had to slow down. It started to drizzle on us and we passed a sign that said 1.1 miles to the shelter so it looked like we beat the storm. But we were wrong. Soon it started to rain and then it just poured on us. We were so close to the shelter but we did not get there in time. We hiked another 10 minutes through the downpour and finally got to a full shelter. Medicine Man, DK, Big E and NOS also got soaked but beat us there. Blue Fox got there early enough to beat the rain and stayed dry. Big Sky took the last open spot in the shelter so I just stood in the rain...everything I had on was soaked anyway so I did not care. After not long, it stopped raining so NOS, DK and Big E decided to go on to the next camp site leaving room for me in the shelter and I quickly took one of the spots! It continued to rain off and on for the rest of the evening and it was getting cold out so I had to change out of my wet clothes. I decided to go change in the privy where it was dry and as I was changing it once again started to pour. I did not want to go out in the rain with the last set of dry clothes that I had so I had to sit in the privy and wait out the storm. After about 15 minutes it started to let up and I ran back to the shelter...I then got made fun of for sitting in the privy for that long!! Luckily it did not smell too bad. We are all cold and damp so we all called it a night at 8:30pm, a little earlier than usual but it feels good to be warm and semi dry...night all.
Date: 2012-05-09
From: Bailey Gap Sheleter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: light rain

This morning it was not raining when we woke up but it was still cloudy and damp. We were all pretty slow at putting our wet gear back on and did not get on our way until 9:50am. The trail continued up the mountain and there were more rocks than yesterday so once again we were going pretty slowly. There was a road crossing that we had planned to take a break at 6 miles up the trail and it seemed to take forever. When we got there Medicine Man was the only one there; Blue Fox decided to keep moving to the next shelter.After a short break, we continued on and soon started down the mountain into a gap. It started to drizzle right as we started down the mountain and soon it started to rain once again. We got to a sign that said that the shelter was only 1.3 miles up the trail. So we kept hiking and hiking and we finally made it to the shelter and dove out of the rain. It turned out to be 2 miles from the sign and that¢s why it took so long to get there. In the last few days the signs along the trail have been very off on their mileage; this club needs to get with the act and update their signs when they do trail relocations...it is rather stressful and very annoying. The rain continued on through our lunch break and we all got to talking about just staying here because we were in a shelter and somewhat dry. The shelter was empty and it was still raining. We also knew that the next shelter would be full because everyone that passed us while we were still getting ready this morning are ahead of us and even if we were to move on we would still be getting to our resupply point the same day. Blue Fox decided to keep going but Big Sky, Medicine Man and I decided to just stay. We got out our pads and sleeping bags and just relaxed. Slowly, one by one, hikers showed up and soon the shelter was full. The rain did stop at around 4:00pm and we decided to start a fire. It took forever but we finally got a good fire going. In the shelter tonight there is a couple from Germany, Tickle Monster, Big Sky, Medicine Man and I and two people in their hammocks: Duckit and Teflon. Tomorrow we have to do 18 miles...no cutting it short anymore...and it started to rain again so the fire went out, that means its time for bed...night all
Date: 2012-05-12
From: Four Pines Hostel

To: Four Pines Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Today we took a zero at the shelter because this place is too cool to not take a zero. Most of the other hikers moved on but Medicine Man, Big Sky, Sipsy, Catfish, Steel Head and I. So we just hung out all day, fished in the pond, played with the dogs and waited for the next round of hikers to show up. Soon the hostel was packed with about 25 hikers. Tomorrow we are definitely hiking...no more zeros!!!
Date: 2012-05-13
From: Four Pines Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter 
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning we woke up at around 8:00am and went back to the gas station for breakfast with a bunch of other hikers. After breakfast, Big Sky and I packed up and headed back to the trail at around 11:30am. We got a ride back to the trail along with six other hikers so there was a large group of us when we started but soon we thinned out. Medicine Man decided to hike with Opie and Parmesan because he went to school with them in York PA so we were going to meet up with them up the trail later today.The trail went over some hills and through a cow pasture home to many cows, and then went back up to the ridge line of the mountain. We were following DW all day so far and we took a few breaks together at some of the views. We soon got to a road crossing and the parking lot for McAfee Knob and we found trail magic there. One of the local trail maintainers put out cold sodas and fried chicken...thanks guys I was just hankering for a cold soda a few miles back. After we ate our chicken and drank our soda we started up the mountain to McAfee Knob. The trail got really easy because it is a very popular hike for day hikers so the trail maintainers made it really easy for them...no complaints from me. The trail slowly went up until the last little section where it went up fairly steep then we were on McAfee Knob.McAfee Knob is a huge rock outcropping with a great view; it is also the most photographed place on the trail. On one of the rocks that shoots out over the trees below it is tradition to sit on the edge with your legs dangling over and I was not going to miss that photo opportunity...this is one of places I was really looking forward to seeing and getting my picture there. While we were up there all the other hikers that left Four Pines Shelter when we did caught up and soon Medicine Man, Opie and Parmesan also arrived. At some point someone realized that AT&T had service for once and soon everyone was on their phone calling home to wish there moms happy mother¢s day. It was funny because you could really tell which people were thru hikers because they were the ones ignoring the great views and talking on their phones.We knew that a bad storm was coming so we did not stay too long at McAfee Knob and we moved on to the next shelter. When we got there, the wind started to blow and it looked like it could pour in any minute, the shelter was empty so we decided to stay and not chance getting rained on. Tonight in the shelter was Big Sky, Medicine Man, Cow Tail, DW, Rime-osurus and I...it did not really start rain until about two hours after we got settled so we could have moved on and stayed dry but oh well either way we will be in Daleville tomorrow...night all.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: Daleville, VA

To: Dalevill, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Today we decided to take a zero even though we did not want to because it rained all night last night and we heard from hikers up the trail that the trail was flodded from all the rain. It rained again this evening and i saw on the news that between the three storms some places got up to 9 inches of rain! Today we went back to the outfiters and ran into Sipsy driving the shuttle truck for the Four Pines Hostel, he drove a truck load of hikers up to the outfiters and took them back.   While we were at the outfiters we just sat around outside on the sidewalk and other hikers just kept coming and joining us, soon there was over a dozen of us out front. when we decided to go back to the hotel we ran into a hiker couple and their dog Diesel, i have been hearing about this dog Diesel for the last month and i finally got to meet him. The hiker couple(i forget their names...sorry) said that they also have been hearing about the other Diesel and was glad to meet me as well. For the rest of the day we stayed at the hotel till it was time for bed...night all
Date: 2012-05-16
From: Dalevill, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

Today Medicine Man decided that he was going to Trail Days along with everyone else and a bunch of other hikers were still undecided. We went to eat lunch with Catfish and Medicine Man at Pizza Hut before Big Sky and I went back up the trail. Once we were all filled we headed to the trailhead and said our goodbyes; I am sure we will meet again but it might not be for a while because they will be a week behind us. The trail followed a creek for a while and the cicadas were very loud and annoying. We crossed under Interstate 81 and started back up into the mountains.The trail went up 1200 feet to the top of the mountain and at the top was a shelter. We took a break there and decided to do another 6 miles to the next one. We saw in the register that three other hikers had left town before us but it looked like everyone else is going to Trail Days so I guess the trail is going to be really empty for a week or so. When we got to the next shelter, we found that no one was in the shelter but Notech, Stingray and Duck had pitched their tents. We figured we would have the shelter to ourselves but not long after we got there Cowtail, Alpo and his friend showed up for the night as well. Soon it was dark out and we found out that a wip-er-will liked to sing all night right above the shelter so tonight might be a rough night...night all.
Date: 2012-05-17
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Jennings Creek Campsite
Miles today: 17.2

Last night the wip-er-will went on all night long and we all did not sleep well because of it but we still got up at a decent time and were on the trail by 8:30am. Not much happened today¢¦there were no views and not a lot of people, just the everyday rocks, trees and trail. We were both not feeling it today; we both missed our trail family that we left behind yesterday and we were short on sleep. When we got to the next shelter 14 miles up the trail we found that it had no water there so we took a break there before we moved on. Soon after that Cowtail, Stingray and Duck showed up and they all decided to stay the night. Big Sky and I continued on down the mountain another 3 miles to a campsite along Jennings Creek. We ended up being the only people there for the night...that¢s the first time that has happened the whole trip. There was some thunder storms to the west but they stayed west and we stayed dry...tonight I have both my rain flys on my tent rolled up because it is hot out so I hope it does not rain tonight...night all! ....sorry for the short entry - today was not very eventful!
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Jennings Creek Campsite

To: Thunderhill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we got packed up and hit the trail by 8:30am. Today is a day of ups; I calculated all the up hills for day and we will be going up a little over 5000 feet up today. We started going up the first mountain first thing in the morning; the trail went up 1000 feet and right back down 1000 feet to the first shelter. The trail went up with a bunch of switchbacks so it was not too bad and soon we were at the shelter. The shelter was a huge one; it could hold up to 20 people, it had a big porch, a table inside, windows and an upstairs. We took a break there because we started up the biggest continuous climb today up 2000 feet to the next shelter.The climb went on forever because the trail had a lot of switchbacks and there were a lot of false summits. We finally got to the shelter at around 1:30pm and we were both exhausted. While we were there, a turkey came up the mountain and passed the shelter. We stayed a still as we could but it saw us and took off back down the mountain. We stayed there for about 45 minutes and decided to move on so we refilled our bottles at the stream and continued on up. We had another 1000 feet to go until we got to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain and the trail continued switch backing up the mountain. I got out ahead of Big Sky and passed two other hikers and right after i passed them I walked up on a rattle snake, the first one of the trip. It was about three feet long and was half on the trail. Soon the two hikers and Big Sky came up and we all took pictures. I tried to make it move off the trail but my efforts just made him mad. He coiled up and rattled at us. We had no option but to move on so we gave him plenty of space and got around him...I hope he got off the trail after we left.We had one last push until we got to the top of the mountain. I was out ahead of Big Sky again by this point. The trail got really steep and rocky but I was soon at the top. At the top was a FFA radar station and the trail went right past it. I took a break at the top and waited for Big Sky to catch up. Once she caught up we continued on down the mountain. The trail went down a bunch of rock steps, over some big rocks and through the Guillotine. The trail went through a narrow slit in the boulders and wedged between them was a huge rock...hence the Guillotine. From there the trail leveled out and followed the ridgeline for two miles to the next shelter. When we got to the shelter, there was only one person in the shelter and four others tenting. We picked our spots in the shelter and settled in for the night. It is to go down into the upper 40s tonight so we made a fire and went to bed early because we were exhausted from all the uphill we did today...night all!
Date: 2012-05-19
From: Thunderhill Shelter

To: John's Hallow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night it did get down into the upper 40s so we were a little slow to getting out of our sleeping bags this morning but we got all packed up and hit the trail at 8:00am. Today we go back down off the mountain so today we get to go downhill all day which can be just as tiring as going uphill. I got out ahead of Big Sky again and pounded out the 12 miles to the next shelter and got there at around noon. While I was at the shelter, a group of 40 or so boy scouts showed up and were planning on tenting at the shelter...I was glad that I was not staying at that shelter tonight! Big Sky, Strollin, Wanna-be and Alpo got to the shelter at 1:30 and they also took a break. We only had 3.9 miles to go to the next shelter and it was mostly flat so we did not leave until 2:30. I once again got out front of the group and got to the shelter at a little after 3:30 and the rest got there at around 4:30. When I got to the shelter I called home and decided that I will push and try to get home for the second weekend of June. That means I will have to do 18 miles a day for the next 18 days - it will be hard but the drive of getting three days off at home with my family and friends should be strong enough to get me home in time. Soon the shelter filled up plus three tents were up around the shelter. We all went to bed at 9:00pm. Tomorrow I am planning on hitting the trail at 7:00am and doing 20 miles to US 60 then hitch into Buena Vista for the night so its time for bed...night all.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: John's Hallow Shelter

To: Buena Vista VA
Miles today: 20.1

Last night we had another Whip-er-will problem, the bird kept landing on the picnic table right in front of the shelter and would sing his song...luckily he got the point and moved on because we were running out of hiking boots to throw at it. This morning I was up at 6:00am and ready to go by 6:50am, Big Sky decided to sleep in and just do the 18 miles to the second shelter with the other hikers so hopefully I will see he in town tomorrow so we can figure out if she will be staying with me for the death march home in 18 days.I was the first one out of the shelter this morning and started back up to the ridgeline, one downside of being the first to leave in the morning is I had to catch all the spider webs along the trail. I finally got to the top and had a great view of the valley below. I stayed and talked to two section hikers for a while then moved on. The trail went downhill for a while then right back up but once I hit the top it was mostly downhill for the rest of the day. I was making good time and got to the first shelter at around 9:40am. I took a short break and continued on down the mountain. I got down to the bottom and was about to cross a dirt road and came to a skidding halt because there was another rattle snake on the trail. This one was only about two feet long and got off the trail in a hurry when it saw me. I waited to make sure it was off the trail enough for me to pass and then I ran past it. The trail crossed over a creek on a suspension bridge and then back up hill a little then followed a manmade lake on the other side of the mountain for a few miles. I got to a road crossing and took a break because I only had three miles to go until I got to US 60. I continued on and got to US 60 at 1:38pm and started looking for my way into town. A SUV came down the road and I flagged them down; it turned out that they were one of the day hikers I had passed earlier and they said they could take me to town...that was the quickest hitch yet; i did not even get a chance to take my pack off and rest. We got into Buena Vista and we all ate at Hardees for lunch then they dropped me off at the motel. I got my room and took a long shower; I then started my laundry and went to the dollar store to resupply. There are not many hikers in this town. I only saw Cowtail and Roadside...I have not seen Roadside since the first day I was in the Smokeys...they both were at the other motel so I guess its just me here at this end of town tonight so for the rest of the night I made a few calls home and laid around and got caught up on my journal entries. Well its way past hikers midnight so night all!
Date: 2012-05-22
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning we woke up to clear blue skies and I was packed up and heading up the trail by 7:30am. I had a little more uphill to do before I got to the top of The Priest Mountain but then it was back downhill to a creek. On the way down, I turned a corner and in the trail was a big bobcat; it saw me right away and took off without making a single noise. Then a little further down the trail I saw a box turtle in the middle of the trail. I got to the bottom of the mountain at around 9:15am and there was a road I had to cross and then I crossed over a creek on a suspension bridge. On the other side of the bridge, were some big boulders so I decided to take a break there because from there the trail went up 2900 feet to the top of Three Ridges Mountain. I left the creek at 10:00am and started up the climb to the first shelter that was about 1.5 miles up the mountain. I got there and took a short break to refill my water bottles and then was on my way. I was moving pretty slow up the mountain because I was in no hurry. Today I am taking an easy day and only going to the next shelter. I finally got to the top and the trail went back down the other side a little. I arrived at the shelter at around 1:00pm. There was one hiker there and he was taking a zero at the shelter today so I had someone to talk to for a while. While I was at the shelter, a few small storms passed overhead but it just drizzled some and thundered a lot. Slowly one by one hikers showed up and by evening there was 5 hikers in the shelter and three tenting outside. Tomorrow I am hiking 21 miles into Waynesboro VA for a night off the trail and to resupply for the Shenandoah¢s so its time to get some shut eye...night all!
Date: 2012-05-23
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: moderate rain

This morning I was up at 5:30 and on the trail by 6:15am. It was foggy out and it made all the rocks really slippery and there were a lot of rocks so I was slipping and sliding all day long. This day was not a good day for me; I was not feeling it today and just did not want to hike. I finally made it to town and while I was there I decided to stop doing the death march to home and just get there when I get there. I texted Big Sky and she was a day and a half behind me so I decided to take a zero tomorrow so she can catch up. Plus I just needed some time to regroup and get off the trail for a while. Later on this evening I went to the Chinese buffet with Wild Turkey and Feathers and ate until I was stuffed...just eating real food really got me in a better mood. Tonight I think I will sleep very well...then again I might just stay up and watch TV all night...night all.
Date: 2012-05-24
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

This morning I woke up and went to the continental breakfast and while I was there Tickle Monster, GQ and Maxis showed up to get a room and they were very happy to get there in time to eat a free breakfast. For the rest of the day I just stayed in my room and watched TV, took a nap and I decided to wash my clothes in the sink because the laundry mat was a mile up the road and it was 87 degrees outside. Big Sky later texted me and said that she might be in town tonight and sure enough Alpo and Big Sky got into town at later in the evening. They did two 20s in a row to get to town and they were beat so they just crashed when they got to the room. Once they both showered we went to eat supper at the Chinese Buffet again and once again I stuffed myself. Well tomorrow Catfish is supposed to be getting into town and we will all head up the trail together...night all.