morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-03-03
From: rich mountain firetower campsite

To: campsite before blackrock cliffs
Miles today: 14.5

....survived the storm........."FAL AND HERCULES" (at state rd 70)....wow!....hope all our other hiker friends got a "taste" of THIS incredible "magic"!....belgian waffles!....beef stew!....brownie sundaes!....and the sharing of "REAL Magic" ("deep magic", as c.s. lewis might describe it!)....thanks, y'all!...you're awesome!........bag of popcorn!....oh yeah!....
Date: 2012-03-06
From: sam's gap (bailing out of the weather at johnny's

To: no business knob shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

....today is what hikin' the AT is allllll about!....P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N!....(and just happened to coincide with our 17th wedding anniversary!).......if you've never visited "big bald" in NC, definitely put it on your bucket list!......"fried" up some bagel chunks to share at the shelter tonight....(otherwise, no business at no business knob shelter....expecting a sweet night's sleep under our tarp!)........old andrae crouch song : i thank God for the mountains...and i thank Him for the valleys... i thank him for the storms he's brought me through...for if i never had a problem...i wouldn't know that God could solve them...i wouldn't know what faith in his word could dooooooo!....
Date: 2012-03-07
From: no business knob shelter

To: deep gap camp (past beauty spot)
Miles today: 18.7

....(ANNNNNND....if you've never been to beauty spot, nc, put that on your bucket list as well!) :-).....springs fascinate me!........UNBIFURCATED!....yeahhhhh!.........teach your kids to keep up with their "stuff"----they may want to hike the AT some day! :-)....botanical adventure today....plantain sedge surviving still in the "rain forest" 2 miles outside erwin....and the less abundant, higher elevation, CAROLINA (not canadian) hemlock trees also lookin' good on the bluffs above the nolichucky river (another FAVORITE section of trail)....does anyone know if these trees are being treated through here?....ate two gaultheria (wintergreen) berries today as big as apples!....(wellllll....maybe not THAT big)........have bumped into our very lovely new zealand friends, merrill (sp?) and ron, here in the gap....sure do hope we can match up soon and get to visit with them some more!........"there is a deep sadness associated with depravity"....(now where did THAT come from?!?!)....how free your mind (soul) and spirit begin to be out here! no telling WHAT you might "see"......
Date: 2012-03-08
From: deep gap camp (past beauty spot)

To: clyde smith shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

....paw "emotes" (yes....he does occasionally emote) of UNAKA MOUNTAIN : "this is a special mountain!".....INDEED, paw!........a stick in the trail sooooo beautiful today, it should've been under glass in a museum!........(nah!)
Date: 2012-03-09
From: clyde smith shelter

To: overmountain shelter (but in meadow above)
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

....WIND WATER MUD ICE MORE WIND CLIMBS MORE MUD MORE ICE.....BUT WHAT A SPECTACULAR DAY!.......decided to camp in the warm, windless meadow after perusing the big red barn and finding it to be FREEZING in the "eddy" of wind coming off the top of the balds!........very PLEASANTLY surprised by the re-routes up from hughes gap and up roan mtn!....soooo much more comfortable!....(zat your "work", bill and diana?...excellent!)......met "blue list" last night....70 years young and hiking again on her 10th anniversary of a thru.....so inspired by ladies like her!....Godspeed, blue list!........time to get out the "hotties" for temps in the teens tonight?......looking forward to a couple of days with my brother in johnson city!....
Date: 2012-03-10
From: overmountain shelter (but in meadow above)

To: my awesome brother's house (19E)
Miles today: 9.2

...BALDS TODAY!....tonight we'll sleep in a real bed!....anticipating a glorious "civilian" visit with tone and kathy!........"the ground lies spewed and frozen....fractured and torn and cold....not a stitch of grass, nor covering of leaves.....raw.....waiting for the thaw....the sun....the Son....the spring.....slanted shards of decaying earth....reach we all for the redemptive dawn!"......
Date: 2012-03-11
From: my awesome brother's house (19E)

To: a zero day at my brother tony's
Miles today: 0.0

....if only EVERYONE could experience a meal like tony and kathy served us up tonight!....wow!.....gulf shrimp and fish on the grill with skewers of fresh veggies, too........giant bowls of salad and slaw.....roasted asparagus.....yum!.......a hiker could do some miles on grub like that!....(thanks y'all!....enjoyed the company, too!)
Date: 2012-03-12
From: a zero day at my brother tony's

To: can't seem to leave 
Miles today: 0.0

....wellllllll.......the weather channel DID say STORMS all day.......(they lied).....but our feet are propped....and our hosts could not have been kinder.....i'm just afraid my brother's pantry will be empty when we leave!.........wondering if we'll see our new trail friends again.........gonna go take a shower now....just 'cause i can!
Date: 2012-03-13
From: can't seem to leave 

To: moreland gap shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

....trying to absorb the "feeling" of the trail again today...(not simply trying to collect pieces of some long lost "hiker honeymoon" of our first attempt in '03) :-).....paw has kept himself occupied by educating me in the fine art of identifying old chestnut stumps!....(if he's right, then these were some magnificent trees!)........no garbage (to speak of) dumped at 19E!.....yay!....sometimes this section can feel a bit "oppressive" with the endless green tunnel of rhododendron (the oldtimers called them "hells")....but today, they helped shade us from the "hellish" heat!........walked along the elk river and saw daffodils blooming....(whose hands buried those first bulbs with hopes of a spring day such as this?)........anything with the name "laurel fork" attached to it (LF gorge....LF forest....LF falls....LF creek....LF river) is ALLLLLLL transcendently beautiful!........LOVED the new(ish) "mountaineer shelter!....but if anyone feels the need to feed the "bear" there, the ADORABLE little guy looks as if he might benefit from a dose of ex-lax!...(heh heh!)....thanks hardcore '06!.......saw our first snake today....
Date: 2012-03-14
From: moreland gap shelter

To: our beloved kincora
Miles today: 6.0

....several "offerings" now in the dennis cove/hampton, tn area....but we could never stay anywhere but with "papa peoples"!....he IS dennis cove! (thanks for everything, sir!....that bargain shelf at the grocery?....it was right on!....best "old" grapefruit we ever ate!...yum!)......still trying to work out the "kinks" in our diet/cooking....lipton's or mac-n-cheese just ain't a-gettin' it night after night!.........we had forgotten just HOWWWWW much we LOVE tennessee!....(i think at heart, i am and always will be a true tennessee hillbilly!).......we've just found out our good friend crash is off the trail..... :-( ....crash, if you see this, please know we're thinkin' of ya, and savin' you a place in the shelter!........i had a NAP this afternoon!....i did!....
Date: 2012-03-15
From: our beloved kincora

To: almost to the spring before vandeventer shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

....this day included just about about everything!...you name it!...(no...not cirque du soleil.....choose something else)........we had to begin the day with the sad ordeal of saying "so long" to bob....but not, of course, without one last engaging conversation!....i had asked him if anyone was treating the hemlocks in the area....ahhhhh!....his answer made me smile : "yes" he said "youa see theya 'do-ahg tags' attached to theya trunks"!....(music to my ee-ahs!) :-)....he also informed us that a chestnut tree up behind his place is the "real deal" (says they come to take grafts and such, as it shows no signs of blight!)...wow!....also said his barn is built of chestnut timbers!...how cool is THAT!....the falls were breathtaking in laurel fork gorge!....sorry the pics don't do it justice ...(how COULD they!) ....paw says he'd forgotten how pretty that gorge is........saw lots of wildflowers today.....bleeding heart....bloodroot....star chickweed....spring beauties (which brought a smile to good ol' seiko's face when he mentioned them to us at bob's)....hepatica....violets ...even larkspur!.........dodged a storm on the MASSIVE pond mountain! (which, by the way had the most awesome re-routes for a more comfortable climb than we've had in the past!....thanks hardcore and tennessee eastman!).....every time paw and i look up to see a steep climb ahead of us we wail out in unison, "where's the pink ribbons?!?!"......any hikers out there that might be thinking of joining the HC crew at trail days to work at some of those "be-ribboned" sites won't regret it!....it's fun!....(and baltimore jack feeds you REEEEEAL good!.........ANNNNNNND.....delicious trail magic today compliments of "singing sister" and her friend who met us at wautauga lake with a picnic to beat all picnics....veggies and dip....fruit....cold sodas and the best darn apricot bread you ever put in your mouth!.....merci beaucoup, friends!........and as we stood there finishing up, who should arrive but an old shelter acquaintance from '06 : lone wolf and his sweet dog max!....but it was bittersweet....LW informed us that he was struggling with luekemia....so sorry to hear it, lone wolf....but i meant it when i said i'd be praying for you....and we sure do appreciate the work you've done on maintaining the trail....thank you!........the rest of the afternoon was REALLY hot, and another storm blew up within about 3 miles of our goal....so we ran down of the side of the ridge, pitched our tarp and called it "home" for the evening!.......but the coolest thing that happened was paw's acquisition of a new trailname! (well....by me, at least)....at our little camp, down in that quickly chosen "holler haven", paw walked out about 100 yds and found the purtiest little spring you'ever wanna drink from!....soooooo....i've started callin' him "spigot"!...(heh heh....it was either that, or "water witch"!)........oh dear....seems like i'm not living up to my promise of brevity here........bye y'all!
Date: 2012-03-16
From: almost to the spring before vandeventer shelter

To: double springs gap shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: light rain

...."time change".....arrrrrgh!....throwin' a "wrench" in ALL our "systems!........okay....a NEAR stumble doesn't count....it's only a TRUE fall if your knees or nose scrapes the ground!.....(no....i only lunged, bolted several strides, threw my poles in the air and violently flailed my arms uncontrolably!........remained flat-footed, however!).........i asked "spigot" (paw) how he was doin' today : "ohhhh....just enjoying watching the trail pass under my feet!"......(he's the only person i know that has this particular talent of "reversing" some normal perception! :-)....it's been such a pleasant day!....cool....partially cloudy skies....but the r"red skies this morning" warned of what we now hear in the distance as we huddle together under our quilt here in this otherwise vacant shelter : THUNDER!....(glad we're snuggled in for the night!)........on to damascus tomorrow.....VIRGINIA, that is!....woohoo!
Date: 2012-03-17
From: double springs gap shelter

To: damascus & the STUPENDOUS hiker's inn!
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: broken clouds

....yep!...into virginia!....do not pass go....do not collect $100.....but DO get a klondike icecream bar at the dollar general store!....oh yeah!.........if you need a life metaphor or two (or 100), go for a hike on the appalachian trail.....uh......AT NIGHT!........OWLS!....WOWZ!.......(and coyotes, too!).......emotionally "trying" day (maybe it was the tortilla soup for breakfast!)........but mmmmmmmmmm!....the very warm air was extracting the sweetest essence of arbutus over the course of the 18 miles we enjoyed!.....ahhhhh!....the gifts of the Creation!.......a "healing balm"!........also walked a "holler" (as they say in these parts) filled with the yellow "haze" of carolina allspice!....(we used to grow it in front of our cabin at "reflection riding")....had to break off a tiny twig to sniff....it's a law....like with sassafrass...........wasn't surprised when the hiker's inn responded to our quest for lodging with : "well....we just had a cancellation 10 minutes ago...so come on over!"....(God is good!).......and more magic :   okay....so most folks receive some sodas or cookies or something.....us?.....a SEWING MACHINE!....(i'm not kidding!)....kent and nancy came to our rescue again!...(first with an AYCE pizza buffet, and THEN, produced a sewing machine from the trunk of their car so that paw could repair his backpack!.....what a "party" we had lying on the floor of the hostel sewing paw's pack....we were literally......IN STITCHES!....heh heh!.....(thanks again, you two incredible "angels"!)
Date: 2012-03-18
From: damascus & the STUPENDOUS hiker's inn!

To: another zero at the swahz-a-lahz hiker's inn
Miles today: 0.0

....and so our Creator has answered yet another prayer of mine : RAIN!...(and an actual "sort of" excuse to stay in under these crisp, clean covers instead of hiking today!) :-)....middle of the night "forum".........CHURCH!.........at the hiker-lovin' 1st baptist here in damascus!....(thanks, friends, for the way you go over and above to take hikers under your/HIS wings!....hope we can return for a bit of "trail days" and that baptist magic!)........EATING!..........if you ever visit damascus, be sure to experience paul and lee's "hiker's inn"!......you'll "feel the love"!.....thanks, guys, for making our stay one of the best on the trail!..........."not, 'what can i spare', but 'what will it take' "!..............
Date: 2012-03-19
From: another zero at the swahz-a-lahz hiker's inn

To: whitetop mtn rd stealth camp
Miles today: 21.3

.....first....a few "stats"... (just because) : lefy damascus with full packs....5 days of food....winter gear....2 liters of water (each)....paw weighed in at 32 lbs.....maw was toting a celebratory 26!....(thanks to good ol' ramen!).......it's the last day of winter!....(WHAT winter!?!?!!!!)....OUCH!....THAT one COUNTED!....(fell for real today!....blood and everything!).....soooooo.......we stopped at the spring....filled our bottles to FULL capacity and then ....proceeded to hike virginia's second tallest mountain!....WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!?!......(ahhhhh....but the beautiful pink faces of the little spring beauties that lined the trail as we hiked into the evening, seemed to whisper as we climbed : "you DOOFESS-EZZ!!!"........yawn.....i'm outa here.....
Date: 2012-03-20
From: whitetop mtn rd stealth camp

To: old apple orchard shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: scattered clouds

....PASSED 500 MILES TODAY!.....(let the geezer celebration begin!......snore!).......how we do love the grayson highlands!....(and today, we hiked the "tunnel/cave" for the first time!....always frozen or flooded before)........did i forget that virginia has boo-coodles of ROCKS?!?!........dodged another thunderstorm today..........met bamboo-ee at the shelter....his idol is nick grindstaff........thomas knob had no hold on us this time.....we stayed just long enough to leave a little "present" : some questions to ponder while hiking through the sometimes "blues-y" virginia ....(something to help occupy your mind over the long, hot rocky ridges!).....#1)what would you say are the 4 basic relationships generally experienced in the human realm of existence?....and.... #2)can those relationships be anything beyond "fractured", dysfunctional or imperfect?.......ANNNNND...#3)if so......HOW?....new food discovery : a "knorr" spinach soup with rice, tuna and potato chips is reminiscent of an AYCE potluck dinner!... (lake wobegon style?)....
Date: 2012-03-21
From: old apple orchard shelter

To: trimpi shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

....an observation concerning our "light" food supply through this particular 5-day section : i (maw)was feelin' a bit "tummy-ache-y" the last couple of days....first thought : giardiasis.....but funny...the tummy troubles went away whenever i ATE!!!!...(dumb american!....i don't even know what "hunger" feels like!)..............oh well....on to the partnership shelter, where we can have pizza delivered.......heard our first woodthrush this morning!....(now THAT is cause for celebration!).........met 3 sobo university gals from sewannee, tn today....their first words to me?...."heyyyyy!...you're the first FEMALE we've run into out here!...kinda nice!".......thinking about "feet washing" today.....on every level!
Date: 2012-03-22
From: trimpi shelter

To: chatfield shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

.....so, "mig" says he has a "bone to pick with us" : "thanks to you two, i've got this partial song in my head that won't go away, and i don't know who sang it or what all the lyrics are!....'maw and paw goin' to arkansaw'!" (heh heh!).........rest assured....the "TRIPLE P" (pizza...pepsi....at partnership) WILLLLL get you up and over those rocky ridges every time!.........folks in VA have been so nice!....as i stood in the restroom at the mt rogers headquarters, trying to "doctor" the nasty looking wound on my face, the little girl washing her hands beside me with her eyes bugged out (and her mom), offered me a bandaid!.....(and some vanilla yogurt!)....thanks, friends!........best "surprise" EVER today! : we miscalculated our mileage to chatfield and ended up at the shelter 1 hour and 3 miles SOONER than expected!.....(now THAT'S magic!)........is the water soooooo incredibly cold and clear and wonderful down here in this cove, or is it just that the ridges today were so barren and hot and rocky and dry?!?!.....(uhhhh......and robert frost, i remind you, never wrote about "nature", either!) :-)....respectfully.....i have to say....i can't really wrap my mind around giving "thanks" to inanimate, non-cognizant "things"......(glad there's the One Who Hears to receive THIS heart full of thanks tonight!).........recalling the early morning sky over trimpi....with stars so bright by the billions!.....and these words washed over me : "when i consider the works of Your Hands, what is man that You are mindful of him?"............and yet..........
Date: 2012-03-23
From: chatfield shelter

To: relax inn at rural retreat, va
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: clear sky

.....word for the day? : HAMBURGER!......yes!....the giant hiker burger with all the fixins at the barn restaurant!.....the BEST! (so far!).....so many "double-decker spider web "condos" in the dew-y meadows coming into town!........welllllll....good friends come and good friends go....saying goodbye to monk and mig.....great knowing you, guys!....maybe we'll meet again somewhere out there on the ol' dusty trail..........storms are brewing.........considering a zero day tomorrow.........paw saw a plaque up at the restaurant that said : "this is no ORDINARY country girl you're dealing with here!"....(miss you, tagalong!)
Date: 2012-03-24
From: relax inn at rural retreat, va

To: knot maul shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

.....chocolate milk and a 500 calorie little debbie coffee cake!....what a great way to greet the day!....yeah!....the breakfast of champions!....(little debbie may not stay so little at this rate!).......it was dark and drizzly as we headed out this morning....slowly making our way further and further from the bright lights of the truck stop and the hum of civilization.........but we both felt good about our decision NOT to stay in for a zero..........BOOYAH!.....42 minutes!...2 miles up and over a mountain!....and BAM!....into the shelter as the storm let loose!.....(so glad to have Help in times like these!...........and the shelter all to ourselves!.......saw our first orange "newts" today on the trail!....(paw calls them "gummies", but as far as i know, has not consumed any of them!) ;-).....also....RAMPS today!...(no time to pick however, for outrunning the storms!)........LOVELY virginia vistas today (and a couple of farms i found difficult not to "covet"!)......"there was a crooked man....who walked a crooked mile....he found a crooked sixpence upon a crooked STILE!"....(sixpence are 'bout as good as confederate money in these parts....don't spend near so good as plastic!).......as the weather cleared a bit, we were amazed at the COLOR on the ridges this morning!....brilliant red-blossoming maples....lime-green brushstrokes of newly emerging poplar.....golden crowned ash (and tenacious beech!)....all against violet slopes...brindled blue skies...and shamrock green pastures!....gorgeous!....how can a tongue find praise?!?!!!!!....paw seems so content over there, propped up against the shelter post, enjoying the cool air after the rain!.....
Date: 2012-03-25
From: knot maul shelter

To: jenkins shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: light rain

....i guess you could call this our first "official", real, walking-in-the-RAIN day.......ALLLLLLL day.....and over chestnut knob.....we have always had adverse conditions on chestnut knob..........no views to burkes garden (God's thumbprint)....BUT....in the fog....at our feet....we discovered some of the most interesting rock formations!.....they look like "fossilized roots"!.....or "prehistoric snakes"!.... i suppose i always seem to have trouble seeing the "Thumbprint" anyway.....(guess i don't really know what i'm looking for)....i reckon i'm noticing "Divine Fingerprints" on just about EVERYTHING out here........met sobos "black birch" and "horizon" at the famous lutheran cooler!...(thanks, lutherans!).......now, this isn't a solicitation or anything, but if you'd like to read a really neat periodical, join the ATC to receive this cool magazine!....interesting articles and great photographs!....we think your family will really enjoy it!....(we do!)........also....been meaning to remind everyone of "saveourhemlocks.com"....(as i look out and see the branches covered in adelgids!)..........realized the other day that i (maw) am celebrating a bit of an "anniversary" out here this year : 50 years of "Christ Connection"......i've not always held up my end of the deal perfectly, but He has ALWAYS hung in there with me!
Date: 2012-03-26
From: jenkins shelter

To: stealth camp near state rd 611
Miles today: 20.7

....if you're willing to be just a little hungry.....just a little thirsty.....just a little dirty....and a little tired....you can walk 20 miles of some of the prettiest ridgeline in the US!......RIGHT HERE IN VIRGINIA!.......supper break at helvey mill shelter.....worth the long walk off the trail!..........amazing how DIFFERENT 2 back-to-back "20 milers" can be!....(and what a difference 24 hours can make!).........were very pleasantly surprised to find a brand new bridge at laurel creek today!....(but i guess we were too early to benefit from the methodist cooler)....still....we appreciate what they've done over the years for hikers!.........minutia (sp?).....tiny lichen cups.....red capped lilliputian "british soldiers"....dry and curling grape tendrils.....bluet leaves and blossoms.....i love the "little worlds" of this world!.......munching on dry ramen noodles.....which....if you close your eyes while munching, tastes like movie popcorn.....(in no way whatsoever!)