morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-06-03
From: AngelÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Rest Hiker Haven

To: AngelÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Rest... Vortex?
Miles today: 0.0

Zero day! Today I woke up knowing I¢d take a zero. My goal was to do some blogging, but it was just hard. There were people walking in and out of the main space all day and the TV was on, and it was hot outside. I caught up on a few days, but was still pretty behind. It was honestly causing me a lot of stress on my zero day. I don¢t like getting behind on my blog because then I start to forget what happened. I¢m writing this two weeks later and I¢m forgetting what happened, so it¢s a bit stressful when you get behind on the blog. But it¢s important to write it so I can look back on it all later. Some folks were thinking of slackpacking, so Hobo, Birdman, Camel, and Texas Pete decided to do it. I wanted to have my zero, so I didn¢t join them. They did 20 miles southbound back to Pearisburg. I was thinking about that for the next day, but was hoping I could go north instead. I went to Walmart and got some snacks and food for dinner, and some new insoles. I set up my tent so I wouldn¢t have to pay for another bunk night, since I wasn¢t that comfortable in the bunkhouse anyway. I moved from tent to trailer a few times, trying to find a spot to sit and blog, but again kept getting distracted. Chug and Ziggy we¢re watching The Office, which is such a great show. I have totally stupid humor like Michael Scott and have always found the show funny. I made pasta for dinner and had some Angry Orchard Ros© cider, which I enjoy. I prefer Ros© wine, but it¢s a pretty limited selection at Walmart lol hiker trash looking for classy summer wine at Walmart. I met a few hikers at Walmart named Martha Stewart, Razzle, Ambassador, Green Bean, and Whistler. Ambassador was thinking of slackpacking too, but didn¢t care that it was southbound. I saw them all in the trailer throughout the day and hung out at night. Acadicus came in to tell us all it was quiet hours. Some hostels really enforce it and others don¢t, but Angel¢s Rest definitely enforced it. We all left the trailer and I went to my tent and slept. I told Acadicus and Tramp I wanted to slack tomorrow northbound. They said I could leave anytime that way and just call when I get to the pickup spot, so I went to bed. Little Debbie
Date: 2019-06-05
From: AngelÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Rest Vortex

To: The Vortex
Miles today: 0.0

Tramp kept joking with me that I was going to zero today. I was very firm about not zeroing and leaving today, but I knew I¢d probably Nero because I was really not feeling it. I still had to deal with my food bag and sort through that, and I had to cut my insoles and just organize my life lol. There was a shelter three miles from the place I had slackpacked up to, so I figured I¢d just walk there and it would at least get me out of town and back on trail. Cali was planning on this too. All day Tramp was like ¢right. You¢re not zeroing.¢ And I laughed as the day got later and later. I was accepting my fate slowly, and agreeing to another zero, but still fighting it off, as if zeros are such a horrible thing out here. I guilt-trip myself so much for zeroing or low-mileage days. But it¢s not worth it to give myself that guilt. It¢s stupid. I didn¢t feel ready and I knew that. I did sort through my food bag, but I really didn¢t feel ready. Cali was still set on leaving, even though she seemed to want to zero too. Eventually Cali left and I just stayed behind. I accepted my fate. Tramp and Acadicus laughed at my attempt to protest the zero, but here I was. I fell into the trap, otherwise known as the Vortex. Many have fallen into Angel¢s Rest¢s Vortex before, and they have a patch that they give you after three nights of staying there that says ¢Zerolicious¢. Lol this place! It really does suck you in! They¢ll slackpack you all over and they have the patch, so it¢s basically meant for people to come get sucked in. We hung out by the fire and tonight there actually was one! Acadicus and I were making jokes all night and I felt like I was becoming part of the fam here. He even offered for me to come stay in his camper for free cuz he had another bunk. It was very tempting since my tent was hot and gross from the past few days, but I refused for the night. Little Debbie
Date: 2019-06-09
From: Vortex

To: Vortex... for the last timeeee
Miles today: 18.9

Today Acadicus drove me to my starting point for my last 20-mile slack. It was through a meadow to start, and then very similar to the other day. A lot of ridgeline and rock scramble and some sliding down rocks. There were two climbs and two descents. It was raining off and on today. But it wasn¢t as bad as the other day. I arrived at the second climb and saw the Audie Murphy monument, the first real historical place on trail. I¢ll admit, I had no idea who he was, but after I saw it, it was very cool to know that he was such an important and decorated Veteran and I was seeing his monument right here on trail. Of course the reason is sad because he was killed in a plane crash here, but it was still interesting to see history on the trail like that. I¢m sorry I didn¢t know who he was, dad! Lol my history buff dad would probably love passing this! I sat for a bit and took it in and then called Acadicus because I was less than 4 miles away.The downhill wasn¢t too bad coming down from the monument, but it was a bit steep, and I walked out to the road and a footbridge over the water. It was raining so I just stayed standing by the bridge and then he showed up! I was a bit early. There were two folks sitting on the other side of the bridge who I had seen up at the monument. Acadicus and I drove off and it was a lot of narrow back roads with gravel. We passed a woman in her car who was not sure how to pass since it was so narrow, so she got mad at Acadicus.Otherwise the driving was smooth and we made it back in good time. We hung out in his camper and chatted for a while. Acadicus is such a cool person. I was finding out something new about him every day while here. He plays guitar and sings and composed his own song about the trail, he draws and is quite talented, he used to be a firefighter, he thru-hiked and is planning his next one, the list goes on. I was so thankful I got to spend so much time getting to know him! He¢s like family to me now.I saw Mama Squirrel tonight when I got back! I saw her the other day at Angel¢s Rest, and she had hiked out, but the rain was so long and miserable that she came back from wherever she had made it to and was showering and potentially slackpacking now. I was so so excited to see her!! I gave her a big hug and told her I hoped we could reconnect and hike together!! She¢s apparently doing 15-mile days now, which is awesome!! I¢m so proud of her. Tonight was chill and I had a nice time hanging with the people I was now calling family. I spent a ridiculous amount of time here, but I had so much fun and I¢m so thankful for the amazing experiences. That¢s what this trail is about, for ME. Maybe for the fasties it¢s about making miles and getting to Maine, and fundamentally I want that too, but I want a combo of making miles and having fun like this. Little Debbie
Date: 2019-06-27
From: Stanimals Waynesboro 

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Today it was time to enter the Shenandoahs!! But I knew it would be a Nero because I didn¢t have my stuff ready and had to sort through my food box. Because Salamander and I made our skip and ate at the lake house, I hadn¢t eaten all my food. So I hiker boxed some of it like the rest of my peanut butter and tortillas and trail mix, but packed out a good amount. My bag felt insanely heavy. I packed out Doritos and drinks from the past few days, so I knew my pack was pretty heavy. I heated up the extra pizza for lunch and then headed out in the afternoon. Thumper and I headed for the first shelter, which was about 7 miles. It looked very ominous outside so I was worried it would rain. It was uphill of course. We filled out forms at the entrance to the Shenandoahs, which was basically a small container pinned to a big wooden sign. We had to clip one to our packs for our stay. A park ranger actually came by to collect them, perfect timing! The terrain was rocky and up down up down. For some reason I was picturing the Shenandoahs as this flat, beautiful, scenic place. Well the first day was not that at all.It was pretty much dark when we arrived, but we made it! We set up our stuff in the shelter and got ready to make dinner. And we saw Salamander! I was so happy to see her again. She had made it to the shelter where I saw the bear last night, and then today she had hiked from there to this shelter. She had her tent set up nearby and came and had dinner with us. She said she was thinking about 20 miles tomorrow to a campground in the park, and her professor from school was coming to hike with her. I felt ambitious and said that sounded good, but realistically a 20 with my heavy pack and mental state right now was not going to happen. So I realistically looked at other options and told her I¢d aim for the campground. I shared food with her and Thumper in an attempt to eat through it. We tried to put our food on the bear pole, which is actually harder to use than I realized. My bag was heavy and it was swaying as we tried to put it on the pole. We got it onto a lower hook, which a bear might reach, but I was tired and just wanted to sleep. We went to bed, but of course I heard mice right away. I moved away from the wall and switched places with Thumper, who was very understanding since we had the mice encounter the last time we met before Glasgow. It was a slow and chill day that didn¢t really help my mood or accomplishments, but I¢m in the Shenandoahs and looking forward to what¢s coming. Little Debbie
Date: 2019-06-29
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Loft Mountain Campground 
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

Late start today! Lol at this point are any of you shocked? I probably had too much bourbon and brandy last night and was feeling poopy and sleepy this morning. It¢s also combined with a painful mental state of just not wanting to hike or continue on, which I¢m working on. We got out late and started the day with a climb. It wasn¢t too bad. The top was all covered in rocks and a lot of day hikers! I took my pack off and climbed up on the rocks. It was a pretty sweet view and I had Thumper take my picture. He climbed back down like it was nothing, and I scrambled down full of nerves. There was an adorable little boy and he looked at me and said ¢hike hike hike hike!¢ He was the cutest. Another little kid screamed as Thumper and I walked away, ¢have a stinky day!¢ Gotta love kids lol. Trust me kid, every day out here is stinky for sure. The day was up down up down again, and hot. We stopped at a picnic area and had a snack. We met a man named Pilgrim who was slackpacking. We got to the blue blaze trail for the campground that Salamander had headed for yesterday. We wanted to at least stop here because Thumper¢s Uncle was still following him along and was staying here. We passed a pretty amphitheater with a view and then ran into his Uncle, coming in his car. He had left a cooler with trail magic and was going to pick it up. He took us to a wayside and we got some food, and then we went to his campsite and we hung out for a while. We had some powerades and relaxed. Thumper¢s Uncle Rick offered to slackpack us the next day, and once I heard that, I told Thumper we should stay. I knew I was behind Salamander still and that we hadn¢t hiked much, but I¢ll take a slackpack whenever I can!! And I thought it would be nice to keep Rick company since Thumper was out here to do this hike with his Uncle following along.Thumper and I set up our tents and walked down to the camp store, where we got milkshakes. We walked back and made dinner and then headed to bed. The campground was a cool place. There were a lot of car campers with big fancy tents, as many would call ¢glamping¢. It was like luxury to me though. A huge tent and a car, that is truly everything lol. Cars are soooo fast and a big fancy tent is so spacious. I want both. It¢s funny how the trail makes you realize how great everyday items can be. I definitely would come camp like this in a campground and go for day hikes in the Shenandoahs. That sounds awesome to me. I¢m looking forward to a slackpack tomorrow!Little Debbie
Date: 2019-03-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Once I decided to hike the AT I then thought now what ? hahaha. I told my wife and we picked a starting date. In the begining I walked alot to strengthen my legs. Soon I realized there was alot to do besides that. At first we walked and hiked alot together. After a few months and alot of thinking I wasn't sure about leaving her at home for so long. We talked more and more and she helped me prepare. Finally one day we decided to hike the trail together. That is when we became ' Salt and Pepper ' We have bought some new gear and planned, planned and replanned. Our family and friends have been very supportive. As the start date draws near we seem to have more and more to do. The trail is calling and we must go.
Date: 2019-03-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hey everybody! Salt here. It's been a hectic week getting things ready to go. We've been rushing around doing this and that and the other thing; seeing family and making our preparations. It's a hard thing to shut a house up for six months. We are really looking forward to being out on the trail and in the woods! I cannot wait! So right now, I'm busy getting apples ready for dehydrating and then I just have to pack up some resupply boxes. Tomorrow we'll mail them off and get the packs all set to go. We are out of here on Friday!!
Date: 2019-03-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Pepper here . Well as they say 4 days and a wake up. The big day is almost here. Yes salt and pepper will step off on the trail soon. The closer we get the more there seems to be we have to do. It's all been challenging and fun though. Family and friends have all been very supportive. We have prepared and made plans prepared and made more plans. But eventually the big day will be here and off we will go. Am I a little anxious yes but that's okay. So for anyone who might be reading this please check back and join us on our adventure.
Date: 2019-03-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The big day has finally arrived! We spent the night in Durham North Carolina with my sister Cassidy and now the three of us are headed for Amicalola State Park. We're going to get all signed in and see if we have enough time to climb the steps by the waterfall today. We'll be sleeping in the tent tonight and hiking up to Springer Mountain tomorrow! Tuesday we begin the hike!
Date: 2019-03-18
To: Black Gap Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: clear sky

Like all first days, this one was a little chaotic. We set off around 10 a.m. and hiked up the waterfall trail. There were 600 steps! It wasn't as bad as we thought. Took a break up top and had a snack and water. Then off we went! Half a mile later, someone said they had seen a sandal like Pepper's on the trail. Sure enough, he only had one. He went back to look for it, but never found it. We got started again and made it to High Shoals Road for lunch, 3.2 miles. Lunch was good! My orange went rolling down the trail and we thought it was gone, but it stopped. We went a little faster after lunch and reach the spring and filled up with water. Then down to the shelter where we found most of the people who had passed us today! It was cold and windy, so we ate and then went to bed. Beautiful sunset tonight and the moon is close to full!
Date: 2019-03-19
From: Black Gap Shelter

To: Hawk Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Left Black Gap at 10 and were on Springer Mountain at 11. Signed the log and took pictures. We each chose a rock to carry from Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin, following tradition. We started down the mountain at 11:30. There were a lot of people on the trail all day. It's spring break and just a popular place. The trail was very pretty with pine trees and rhododendrons and went beside a creek quite a ways! We stopped at Stover Creek shelter for lunch. Our eggs and oranges are keeping well in this cold. Temps were in the fifties today but low 30s at night. After lunch, we continued with our downhill a while longer then started to climb. There were a few hard climbs but we just took it slow. A lot of the trail was level. Got to Hawk Mountain shelter about 6:15. This place is full of college kids! They had a fire and were noisy for a while but quieted down about 9. Ready for another day!
Date: 2019-03-20
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Justus Creek
Miles today: 6.2

This was a hard day. It was warmer, even hot during the afternoon. There were five or six hills to climb and they weren't easy! Sassafras Mountain was the hardest. It was a mile up! We stopped for lunch about 3/4 of the way up when we found the world's longest lunch log! The climb down was just as bad - steep and full of loose rock. The climb down from the previous hill was just as bad! Our spirits were sagging and we were running out of water at Justus Mountain, but it turned out not so bad. It didn't go up all the way but around the side of the mountain. And there was a spring on the backside! We stopped and got a good drink, then had a real pleasant downhill till we came to Justus Creek where we decided to camp. We are right beside the creek listening to the sound of water as we fall asleep.
Date: 2019-03-21
From: Justus Creek

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 6.3

We were up early this morning, 6:30. Still it was 10 when we set off. We are just not early starters. It didn't take long to get to Gooch Shelter where we met Cassidy who had come up early for the privy. The trails were really pretty all day. Salt's knee was hurting and she couldn't walk fast. We all have sunburn and cracks on our fingers and hands. It's just been rough on our skin. We ran into Trail magic at Gooch Gap where they were handing out apples! We saw this pretty little flower just coming up when we stopped for lunch. After lunch, we pressed on and it became cloudy with a cold wind blowing. Just before Woody Gap, it started to rain. We put on pack covers and rain jackets. Got to Woody Gap at 4 and called for a shuttle. We went back to Amicalola State Park and got Cassidy's car. Then we were off to a motel for the night. Pizza, showers and warmth. Tomorrow we start again at Woody Gap.
Date: 2019-03-22
From: Woody Gap

To: Lance Creek
Miles today: 3.4
Weather: light rain

Up early in the motel this morning. After breakfast, we went through the packs and gave some things to Cassidy to take home for us. Then we went to Walmart and did a little resupply. We had lunch in the car and then drove up to Woody Gap. A man and his wife were doing trail magic. She had been hiking 20 years before and was almost killed crossing the road to get to trail magic. So they come back there to do trail magic for others. They gave us some fudge, which was delicious! Started hiking around 2. The trails were great although it was first cold and then hot when we got away from the Gap. We went up to Preaching Rock which has a great view of the mountains! Then off through the woods. We stopped at another viewpoint with a campsite that we loved! Got to Lance Creek around 4:30 and the campground was full, so we found a spot on the side of the trail by a small brook. We are about 10 feet from the water. We spent one last evening with Cassidy. She goes back in the morning.
Date: 2019-03-23
From: Lance Creek

To: Neel Gap
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

Got up for the bathroom early this morning and woke Pepper up. We were talking, then Cassidy appeared at the door. She hopped in the tent and the three of us talked for a while. When we were all packed up, we left in one direction and she left in the other direction. It was kind of sad! We left about 9:30 and did the first couple of miles with no problem. Stopped for a break at Jarrad Gap and again to get water at Slaughter Creek. Had lunch on top of Blood Mountain. There were people everywhere! After lunch, we started down and it was slow going due to all the rocks. Pepper lost his balance and hit some rocks, but was okay. Finally made it to Neel Gap at 4:45. We picked up our resupply box and my new water filter. The packs were heavy after adding all the new things! We had pizza at Neel Gap, then headed up the mountain to a campsite. It's a little bit warmer tonight!
Date: 2019-03-24
From: Neel Gap

To: White Oak Stamp Gap
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Up early this morning, 6:30, but it took a while to pack up and it was after 9 when we left. We hiked to Bull Gap and then about .2 down to a spring. We filtered water and had breakfast there. We have mocha now and it is good! After breakfast, we set off again and climbed some mountains. We saw a lot of the people we climbed Blood Mountain with but they eventually left us behind. We are rather slow! There was a long downhill after lunch which ended in a parking lot. We crossed that and had a very steep uphill. Quite tiring! We carried water from the last stream up to our campsite, as it has none. Spaghetti was for dinner and it was delicious! Hung the bear bag. We are the only ones here tonight.
Date: 2019-03-25
From: White Oak Stamp Gap

To: Red Clay Gap
Miles today: 9.5

The day started out great when Dine -n-Dash passed our campsite and asked if we'd like some fruit! He gave us oranges. We got started about 9:45 and made good time. The trails were pretty good and we reached Low Gap before we knew it. We stopped for lunch and water at a flowing water source. Really nice! Most of the afternoon we walked in a light rain. When we had picked a good campsite for the day, the rain had mostly let up. We set up our tent and put a few things inside. We then started making dinner. We had decided to have ramen noodles. We were going to make two packs, one at a time. When one serving was almost ready then came the downpour! Salt quickly got in the tent. When her dinner was ready I handed it to her and she ate in the tent. I then made my serving and it started to rain harder and harder! I quickly put the cooking gear away, ate my soup and got in the tent. Our things in the tent were pretty well set up. I quickly changed into some dry clothes and we were both soon tucked in our sleeping bags and warm. We both slept well.
Date: 2019-03-26
From: Red Clay Gap

To: Unicoi Gap
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up late this morning - 7:15 a.m. and didn't want to get out of the tent . Last night we experienced our first downpour while hiking. So today we decided to take part of the day off and go into town, Hiawassee, Georgia, to be exact. We used the last of our first fuel can heating the water for breakfast while we slowly packed up. Our usual breakfast is oatmeal and yogurt with a cup of mocha . Finally set off just before 11 and made our way across a very narrow rocky path along the mountainside. I stopped to get water even though it was down a steep hillside. It was slippery and wet! When we got to the shelter, there was water right next to the trail! Clammy was at the shelter and we visited for about an hour before heading down to Unicoi Gap. That trail was very rocky also in parts but we made good time. Got a shuttle into town with a young couple. We are staying at the Budget Inn. We have had our dinner and done laundry and dried everything out. Tomorrow at 9 a.m. we will return to the trail to continue our hike. We will also be rearranging our backpacks. We are having a good time.