morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2023-03-24
From: MM 592

To: MM 604
Miles today: 12.0

Day 13. 12 mi. MM 604Yay!!! Passed 600 today. 6 down 16 to go to get to Katahdin.  At least it's a milestone.  They are all important out here. Small objectives keep you going.  This hike was more like what I expected VA to be like. A climb up to a ridge that you run for a few miles then down -- repeat.  The ridge runs are where I make my time. Slow up - slow down. But able to do 2 or more mph on the "flats". Again another super dry day. I had trouble finding water at the shelter which is very unusual. There's a SOBO here tonight named Leaf and he says good water north. Yay again!Having a great time.You should all be here.
Date: 2023-03-25
From: MM 604

To: MM 616 - Dismal Creek, VA
Miles today: 12.0

Day 14. 12 mi. MM 616Well, I'm up Dismal Creek without a paddle although I don't know why I'd need one.  Three days that felt like I was in the desert and today I was near water half the day. The last good source I saw yesterday was Kimberling Creek near Bastian. I literally stepped across it in one step. This afternoon I crossed it again on a 60' hanging bridge. Unbelievable how fast it grew. Then up a 400' hill and I walked near to Dismal Creek for 4 miles. Anyway, I drank my fill today. Hit a bit of a wall today after lunch.  Just couldn't seem to get going. When I first got to Dismal I drank a full liter of water- it was so cold and nice!  Then I ate some sugary trail mix and after 20 minutes of rest things started getting better. The last half of the walk was through pine forests which is very pleasant. Nice soft needles to walk on and that smell is heavenly. Lots of roots to watch out for though. Started setting up camp around 5:00 and just got in the tent when it started to shower. Better to be lucky than good!
Date: 2023-03-26
From: MM 616 - Dismal Creek, VA

To: DocÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.0

Day 15. 12 mi. MM 628At Doc's Knob shelter tonight alone. That's always nice. First time this trip.  This is one of the most unusual shelters I have seen. It has a large deck on the front with benches and an Adirondack chair for two. I kid you not! I got here early- about 3:30 and really wanted to go another couple of hours but water situation going forward prevented that.  If I went on there were no reliable sources so I would have had to carry enough to finish today and get through 10 miles tomorrow. So I stayed and used the time and sunshine to set out some clothes and my quilt.  Also planned out the resupply stops for the next two weeks. I¢ll be in Pearisburg sometime tomorrow afternoon. Next stops look like Catawba,  Troutville and Glasgow. All are close to the trail and have grocery stores so they make good stops.  I'm still carrying too much food. First thing I want to do at the hostel (Angels Rest) is weigh what I brought in. I really need to dial this in better. I think is going to be 5-7 pounds. Just dead weight!  I think because I'm moving faster than planned, I'm always carrying a day and a half extra. Always some problem that needs to be solved. It's NOT just a walk in the woods.
Date: 2023-03-27
From: DocÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Shelter

To: MM 637 - Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 9.0

Day 16. 9 mi MM 637Walked into Pearisburg today.  Managed to get here before 2:00 pm. Made the right decision yesterday to stop - there was no water until the very end. It was safer to wait until morning and start full.  It was a pretty hike in. Saw three deer, two snakes and a bunch of chipmunks.  Also first flowers above 3500¢ so Spring is coming. There were cliffs overlooking the town which was pretty awesome.Speaking of awesome¢ my brother Wayne showed up broken arm and all and took me to dinner. He said it¢s 20 miles ¢ I said that¢s two days! ¢ he said nah, I have a thing called a truck that will get you there in half an hour.  Of course, I thought he was pulling my leg. But darned if that contraption goes 60 miles in one hour!!!  Will wonders never cease? Had a magnificent steak at Outback in Blacksburg - home to Va Tech. My brother is super cool!
Date: 2023-03-28
From: MM 637 - Pearisburg, VA

To: Zero Day - staying in Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Day 17. 0 mi. MM 637Going to Zero here today and get rested a little. I have several tasks that require being able to use my phone as well. It¢s 8:45 and I¢m already bored. Still, it has to get done.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMILY! Best granddaughter anywhere.Day 17 proof of life photo attached!
Date: 2023-03-29
From: MM 637 - Pearisburg, VA

To: MM 656
Miles today: 16.0

Day 18. 16 mi. MM 657So today was a first for me. I did a ¢slack pack¢. Basically, the hostel takes me down the trail (north) and drops me off and I walk back towards the hostel (south). I¢ll actually stay at the hostel again tonight. What¢s the advantage, you ask. The slack part!  I didn¢t carry my gear - only food and water for the day.  Which means my pack weighed about 10 pounds instead of 30 something.  Much easier on the knees!  Usually, slack packing is much faster because of the reduced effort. That didn¢t turn out to be the case for me. Getting through the rocky parts, especially downhill, is my limiting factor. Being lighter didn¢t help all that much. Still, I did get a 20 mile day in. Tomorrow I¢ll start at the same place and go the normal north direction.Spent a lot of the day hiking along the state border with WV.  Cool for me, since I¢m a real, live hillbilly from there.  In fact, it felt like I could almost see Beckley. Oh, wild goats - I almost forgot about them. They live along this stretch of trail and are very friendly. I shushed them away with my poles - they¢ll actually eat your clothes right off you. A little tired tonight but ready to get going again. This was a great place to stay. Next stop - Catawba.
Date: 2023-03-30
From: MM 656

To: MM 669
Miles today: 12.0

Day 19. 12 mi. MM 669Whew!  Tough day. Two of the 12 miles were like Rocksylvania and took over 2 hours to navigate. Small medium and large boulders all scattered together. Extremely hard on ankles and knees and believe it or not on your brain. Since I had to decide on every single step, my brain actually needed a break twice to reset. I was getting a headache from the concentration. I did not think I would get to the shelter tonight. Fortunately, after clearing the rock field, had about three miles of flat easy to rest on.  Then back to three miles of regular downhill - not easy but getting used to it. Staying with three other really interesting people tonight: Eyore (sic) yes the donkey.  Fearsome and Hero. Look them up on Facebook. Inspirational women keep showing up on the trail. Very sore feet tonight. Hopefully they'll recover over night.  Rain is coming - been lucky so far.A link to the fearsome¢¦http://www.fearsomeis.org/
Date: 2023-04-01
From: MM 682

To: MM 688
Miles today: 6.0

Day 21. 6 mi. MM 6880700 and the troop wakes up, eats and hits the trail by 0800. Eventual destination is McAfee Knob about 50 miles away - they planned to be there in three days and I'd bet money they made it!It's still raining so went back to sleep! About 10:00 am (back on civilian time), the rain stopped and the sun came out. I put everything out in the sun. When my pants, shirt and shoes were somewhere between wet and dry but acceptable I started packing up to go. Made it to the top of the hill at noon and was off hiking again.  I made it to the next shelter six miles away at about 4:00. Should have been quicker but three of the miles were on "ledges."  An AT term I have come to translate as large boulders mixed with sloping smooth rocks whose intent is to kill you. Hands and feet were often needed to make way forward. The wind was still howling with strong gusts. Twice as I heard one approaching, I dropped to a knee to keep from being toppled.  It wasn't really dangerous as much as it was focusing. You absolutely had to be 100% on task to get through this part. And I was so I did. The sun was warm so when I arrived at the shelter I decided to hang stuff out to dry there rather than hike another 4 miles or so. I needed a little break and some rest. Fearsome and Hero came in about 5:30 so I had good company for the evening.
Date: 2023-04-02
From: MM 688

To: MM 699
Miles today: 11.0

Day 22. 11 mi MM 699Back to a somewhat normal day. It was quite chilly and still windy in the morning. Todays problem: a bridge is closed on the trail. What to do?  The recommendation is for a 5 mile road walk around the area. Never fun so not my first choice. I plan to go to the bridge and ford the creek - it's a creek after all. Weeelll, upon arrival it's a little more than a creek - more like a small river!  With all the recent rain, it's flowing like gangbusters. The water is deep at the bridge but upstream looks to be a place where it might be possible to ford. After giving it a good look, I decided I would not do it alone. Too dangerous as there was a lot of deadfall in the water downstream. No road walk. No ford. How did I get across?  Not saying. The bridge was closed NOT destroyed. Now up Brush Mountain 1600' a decent climb but with really good surface. So not bad at all. At the top was the Audie Murphy memorial. He was America's most decorated WWII veteran and died in a plane crash there. Was headed to a campsite at 701 but found this beautiful one at 699 and decided it was too good to pass up. G'night ya'll!
Date: 2023-04-03
From: MM 699

To: MM 704
Miles today: 6.0

Day 23. 6 mi. MM 704Good news. Passed 700 today only 1500 to go. Gulp!  Man, this was a tough six mile stretch. A lot of what's, unfortunately, becoming normal - the boulder walk on top of the ridge line. But after that comes the Dragon's Tooth. A very technical (in hiking terms that means really hard and steep that requires both hands and feet to traverse) descent of about 300 feet then just normal 900 after that. I actually didn't find it as hard as it was built up in my mind. Mainly because weather was ideal today. In rain, it would be virtually suicide. It's a popular destination and there was a lot of traffic. But it was fun at the same time - no room for error. Staying at a nice hostel called Four Pines. Very laid back and peaceful. Only one other hiker here tonight. He's 34 and we had a long discussion about parenting and life in general. I think I may have done some good. I hope so. Next stop is Troutville. It's 26 trail miles away. Unfortunately, doesn't appear to be any way to break it into two 13 mile days.  I'll be crossing McAfee Knob in the middle which limits places to stop. I hope I can get 12 in leaving a 14 day to go. There's a shelter at 10 and maybe I can get some advice from a SOBO that I pass. Tomorrow's problem....
Date: 2023-04-04
From: MM 704

To: MM 717
Miles today: 13.0

Day 24. 13 mi. MM 717Well, it turns out you can break the hike into two 13 mile days. All you have to do is pitch your 8x7 tent in a 9x8 spot. I'll try to send a picture. Basically, I'm on top of one those ledges I talked about a couple of days ago. Wedged in between the rocks and a pretty sharp drop off - not a cliff, that just wouldn't be safe! Paaalenty of room. So I thought you might be interested in tonight's dinner. I haven't talked much about how we eat out here. It's not very pretty.  I try to meet two basic criteria which are completely different from normal life. I try to get as close to 1000 calories in each meal as I can.  Then snacks during the day add another 1000 or do. I also try not to carry any food that is less than 100 calories per ounce.  But you can't always do both.This was dinner:Tuna, beans and quinoa packet. Lots of good protein and stuff but only 160 calories in a 5 ounce package. Clearly a loser on rule two!  I added a package of six Oreo cookies - no real nutritional value but 320 calories. I had two hard boiled eggs that I hope were about 100 calories each. Then for dessert, a share size pack of peanut M&Ms worth another 450 calories and some protein too. Pushing me over the thousand mark and perhaps getting an award for the strangest meal combo yet.You eat what you have to eat - and can get. My last resupply was from a gas station so I was lucky to get tuna packs.  That's why hikers dream of real food that can be had in town.  Like tomorrow when I hit Troutville. Look out first restaurant I walk past!!!*side note added by ¢blog assistant¢ on the calories eaten today¢¦78 calories - 6g protein in a large egg79 calories - 16g protein in 2.6oz tuna222 calories in 1c quinoa - a superfood
Date: 2023-04-05
From: MM 717

To: MM 731
Miles today: 14.0

Day 25 14 mi. MM 731Made it into Troutville today. Staying at BeeCH Hill hostel. Had a pretty nice walk into town. For awhile it looked like it was going to be a breeze but the AT laughs at those thoughts. I passed by a shelter about 10 am that was really nice and had second breakfast.  Great water source and nice, wide smooth trail. Since it was 7 miles to town I had a feeling it might just finish out that way. The locations that are close enough for other than long distance hikers to get to easily are usually in better shape. So I made the next three miles in an hour!  That felt really good and I was having fun  with just the hiking piece.But alas shortly after that point, the trail turned back into the rocky track I have seen a lot in the last 80 miles. But I¢m feeling stronger and more confident than even a week ago and made it to the hostel. I was expecting to have a town walk through city streets for the last mile but the ATC has somehow managed to preserve a narrow corridor of ¢wilderness¢. Lots of road noise from I-81 but otherwise, visually, it seemed you were still in the mountains. You couldn¢t see any ¢town¢.  The exception was crossing US 220 - possibly the riskiest thing I¢ve done yet!  Grabbed a shower, some loaner clothes and a ride to the BBQ. There I had two full meals - one was a dinner sized salad so don¢t judge!
Date: 2023-04-06
From: MM 731

To: MM 731
Miles today: 0.0

Day 26. 0 mi. MM 731Yep. Took a zero today. Thunderstorms in the area were pretty bad. May have a lot of rain tomorrow. So we¢ll see. Got all my ¢chores¢ done so I am ready for tomorrow if the weather cooperates. Staying with hiker Fortune who has a YouTube channel documenting his AT adventure. Take a look - you¢ll get to see some stuff. Search for ¢Fortune Adventures.¢  Taking some grief about my trail dinner a couple of nights ago. Contrast with my town dinner tonight. Went to a Cracker Barrel and had the 8 ounce hamburger steak topped with onions and brown gravy and sides of steak fries and broccoli.  Fortune had different sides.  It was so good we both had another. Waitress thought we were joking; it was her first experience with ¢hiker hunger.¢  There is no way I could have done this back in the ¢real world.¢ But right now I am pleasantly satisfied. No idea where it goes¢¦Link to Fortune Adventures¢¦https://youtube.com/@Fortuneadventures
Date: 2023-04-08
From: MM 731

To: MM 745
Miles today: 14.0

Day 28 14mi MM 745Just had lunch at the first shelter. 5 miles in 2.5 hours -I¢ll take that. After 2 days of sitting eight back up to about 12-15 lost. Lot of water going up and down.Chilly at night. I¢m at a shelter with two others tonight. Should be warm enough. Got a late start today and did 10.5 mile¢s which I¢m happy with after two days off the trail.
Date: 2023-04-09
From: MM 745

To: MM 759.5
Miles today: 14.5

Day 29. 14.5mi MM759.5A little catch up. Easter was a fabulous food day on the AT. And you've probably picked up on how important that is to every hiker.  There is a Trail Angel named Fresh Ground who I've heard about for years but I thought was just a myth. Turns out he is very real. He drives up and down the AT in his white van/ kitchen and makes real meals for hikers. I was lucky enough to get three meals in a row from the Leapfrog Cafe. Easter lunch and dinner and breakfast the next day.  There were hikers literally running into his Cafe once they heard where he was. It is not possible to overstate what he means to the long distance hiking community. Many, many thanks to him!Re: attached photo - Fresh Ground is on the far left. This was the end of the day on Easter.
Date: 2023-04-11
From: MM 768

To: MM 776
Miles today: 8.0

Day 30.  8 mi. MM 776Ok, the last 4 days have been so crazy - in a good way- that I haven't kept up. Sorry. I won't be able to cover it all at once so I'll just tell you about today and work some of the other stuff in as I think about it. Clare picked me up yesterday and we went to Lexington to resupply and get reacquainted. All went well. Surprisingly, she didn't make me shave!  She dropped me off at Cornelius Creek shelter and I made it to a really nice camp area but it's filling up which I don't really care for.Decided to add my summer clothes to the pack and send back most of my cold weather stuff. Switched to my lighter Zpacks pack. This dropped about three pounds. I also decided to switch cooking setup back to my Jetboil setup. This is about a pound more altogether. So I netted two pounds down and am carrying the lighter pack which is a mental win for me. It feels like I'm under 25 pounds pack weight less water even if I'm probably not quite. Most importantly, Li'l Engine caught up with me at camp this evening and is feeling a little better. She stuck with her decision to hold her miles down which I know is super difficult. I'm proud of her. Signing off for the evening...
Date: 2023-04-12
From: MM 776

To: MM 789
Miles today: 13.0

Day 32. 13 mi. MM 789First full day in my "summer" gear and it felt great. I pulled in to John's Hollow shelter at 3:30 with time and energy to spare -- at least a little of the latter. Would have liked to put 1-3 more miles in but the topo map did not look promising for finding any campsites going up the next mountain. Big climb tomorrow. A bit over 2000' in under 3 miles so it will be steep. Water also challenging for the next 10 miles so it will be a 'heavy'  load tomorrow morning. But I'm getting used to it - maybe I'm finally getting some trail legs. Went over the James River this afternoon on the longest footbridge on the AT. It was almost 1000' long. Built on old railroad bases I think. Beats swimming!A little catch up. Easter was a fabulous food day on the AT. And you've probably picked up on how important that is to every hiker.  There is a Trail Angel named Fresh Ground who I've heard about for years but I thought was just a myth. Turns out he is very real.He drives up and down the AT in his white van/ kitchen and makes real meals for hikers. I was lucky enough to get three meals in a row from the Leapfrog Cafe. Easter lunch and dinner and breakfast the next day.  There were hikers literally running into his Cafe once they heard where he was. It is not possible to overstate what he means to the long distance hiking community. Many, many thanks to him!
Date: 2023-04-13
From: MM 789

To: MM 802
Miles today: 13.0

Day 33 13 mi. MM 802Passed 800 today!  8 down 14 to go. Those milestones make for a happy day.  I feel pretty good this evening. I managed 13 miles with over 4000' of vertical -- one half mile of which rose 700'.  That's a 26% gradient!!!  Most treadmills max out at 12-15%. You can't even simulate that kind of a climb. But it was gratifying to make and not feel like I was gonna die. Temps were outrageous today--86 on my thermometer. So glad to have my summer clothes -- bless you Clare!  I don't think I would have made the second top in my long pants and shirt. It was a dry climb; no water for the first 9 miles. So I started out with 3 liters which weighs about 7 pounds. And I arrived at the water source bone dry which was perfect. I didn't carry any extra up the hill. Unbelievable camp site tonight. Right on a large creek. I set up my tent so I am looking at it. Soaked my feet, washed my shirt and socks. Felt good to knock the days sweat off. On a more somber note, I passed the memorial for Ottie Cline Powell. I'm sure you can find the story online so I won't go into details. It happened a long time ago but still brought tears to my eyes. Hug your babies every chance you get!
Date: 2023-04-14
From: MM 802

To: MM 815
Miles today: 13.0

Day 34. 13 mi MM 815Good day but a tough day. Took on a 4 day resupply with one still in the bag. And then needed to do a 9 mile, no water hike up 2000'. So I was carrying about 19 extra pounds up the mountain. Oh, and then it decided to rain. Yuk.It was a tough mental climb. Twice I stopped to check out a tent spot and was ready to check out for the day. But neither panned out so I kept walking eventually making it to the top. The good part of water weight is that it goes away as you drink and well, you know. I kinda got a second wind. The top was pretty and had good trail so I got moving pretty good. Then, of course, the AT does its thing and it's down another thousand feet. At this point, there was a shelter but it was 0.6 miles downhill and I hate to walk that far off trail for a shelter. It was 4:30 so I sat down to evaluate my options. Next campsite was 3 more miles up on the other side of that thousand I just gave up.  I had just enough water and time and thought I had enough energy left in the legs so on I went. About a quarter mile up the hill, I see two Gatorade bottles propped against a rock. Trail Magic! I downed one which was a huge boost and thought that was a sign. At the top, I found myself on a bald which wasn't mentioned in anything.  So I had a nice mile walk on relatively flat grassy trail. A real Godsend--as easy as the AT ever gets. I got into camp dry as a bone - would have been tough without that Gatorade. A common hiker saying is: the Trail provides. Maybe my best day yet as I felt in sync.  I pushed through some adversity; made a tough decision; and felt great at the end of the day. Hike on!
Date: 2023-04-15
From: MM 815

To: MM 830
Miles today: 15.0

Day 35. 15 mi. MM 830First, supplemental report on yesterday. The night didn't go as well as the day. I did not realize two things. It was Friday and the spot I had chosen was readily accessible by car. So at midnight a couple pulls in and begins setting up their camp next to me. At 2:00 am I had to yell for them to turn down their music. They did but it started up again at 5:00. This time included words related to bodily insertions. The short message was I did not get much rest. Fairly typical walking day -- up and down, repeat, repeat. It's getting much warmer and I'm even more thankful to be in shorts. Can't wait for the leaves to come in so we can get some shade. Had a decent cool breeze most of the day and I found myself stopping in the shade of large tree trunks. Talk about desperate!  About 2:30, I stopped at a shelter for a late lunch and decision on where to stop. My 13 mile mark would put me at one of those car accessible points on a Saturday night. That ain't happening again.  Fooled me once - shame on you. Fooled me twice - shame on me!  Next good stop would be at 15 miles after another long climb at Priest shelter.  A bit of a press but had a point at mile 11 where I could stop short if I didn't think I would make it.  I pick up my pack and in walks Li¢l Engine. She didn¢t want to admit but she wanted to press for Priest as well. So we did!Our reward for our effort was a Boy Scout troop at the shelter but that was fun to watch too. Lots of memories¢¦
Date: 2023-04-16
From: MM 830

To: MM 843
Miles today: 13.0

Day 36. 13 mi. MM 843Nothing really special to report today. Looked like rain all afternoon but never came so that was nice. Clouds made for less sun. A lot of folks are having issues with the sun but I¢m lucky in that it doesn¢t really burn me like others. I¢m not even carrying sun block. But I will be happy when the canopy comes in to reduce the heat. A bunch of folks headed to a brew pub tonight just off the trail a few miles. It has tenting, showers, food and beer. Hiker¢s paradise!  I would have needed three more miles plus I really wasn¢t interested in the beer. Hope they all had fun ¢ I¢m pretty sure they did.