morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-03-25
From: Walnut Mountain Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I thought I was gonna be fine last night by myself and I was till about 2 o'clock in the morning and someone shined a light in on me. I turned to make room for the person in the shelter and by the time I turned back around they were gone and so was there light. I figured they must have hit the latrine and would be up in a second and I sat up for about 30 minutes waiting for them until I started to get paranoid that they were gonna sneak up around me and kill me or something so I decided to read a little bit to settle my mind and get me to fall back asleep.Luckily I made it through the night besides the midnight visitor and the wind which was just as bad if not worse. It was coming in from the south all night and that's the direction the shelter opening faces that in combination with the fact this particular shelter has no filler in between the logs it made for a cold windy night. I ended up moving to one of the corners to try and get a little more shelter which ended up helping a little bit but not much.As soon as the sun came up I was up and packing all my stuff to get going I was hoping to hit Hot Springs by 1, which I did. The hike today was quiet without any music but I really enjoyed since all the birds were starting to come out and sing. I stopped by one spring for about 15 minutes just to take in the sounds and sights of the woods coming to life as the sun started to hit the little valley. I was really glad I had my headphones off to hear it all. I usually don't hike with my music very loud so that I can hear stuff around me I use it more as a back ground noise that I kind of tune in and out of. So this is probably going to sound like some dumb hippie crap but I think I can comfortably say that I've stopped and hugged every tree along the trail that was over 200 years old. I encourage everyone to do it because it makes you stop and take in all the sights, sounds and smells, around you. These honestly have been some of my happiest moments on the trail when my arms are wrapped around a tree so big I can't reach my hands on the other side my beard gets embedded in the moss and I can look out over the amazing views of the Mountains. Evening thinking back to some of the stops now puts a smile on my face, it really is the little things in life you get the most joy out of.
Date: 2015-03-27
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Got a pretty slow start to the day again because of a headache and that pretty much set the pace for my day. I knew the Hiker Ministry was throwing a Hiker feed so I thought if I slipped out then I'd have a better chance of making it to the shelter in time for a spot. They ended up getting shepherds pie and a bunch of southern sides which sounded delicious and would have been well worth it since I didn't end up with a spot in the shelter.I had the trail pretty much to myself until late afternoon when I ran into a south bounder and townie both of whom I had a snack and talk with. I really wasn't moving very quick at all and everyone caught up to me at about 4 o'clock and were going at a pretty good pace. It was kind of funny though because as I was chatting with the south bounder he told me how many spots left just as the group passed me and I said well there they all go. I didn't mind at a bit though since I'd been waiting for it to happen all day and if they did I was gonna take a side trip to the fire tower. The view from the top of the tower looked amazing since all the Mountains around 3500 feet and above were covered in snow and ice from the night before. The tower itself was covered in ice and felt a little sketchy going up it but I'm glad I did since the clouds cleared out for a bit as I was on top. There was a huge bald far off in the distance that looked amazing and I was wondering if we'd get to climb it eventually.By the time I got to the shelter it was all filled up like I had suspected and I ended up setting up my hammock. Pretty much everyone was gathered around the picnic table when I got there so I threw my stuff up and went sat to grab some dinner. I asked everyone if they'd gone up and checked out the view from the fire tower, but I was the only one who had and I said something about the bald and Rambling Man said it was probably Hump Mountain and we'd like it after we go over Roan Mountain. The weather today was kinda crappy today and started with rain then turned to sleet and eventually snow the higher up I got. I never mind the snow it's probably my favorite kind of bad weather to hike in since you don't really get wet only the ground gets nasty. Rain hasn't been bothering me much anymore though with all of it that we've gotten lately and I started listening to Podcasts today. I think I love these things they're so awesome since I could actually think about different topics and hear what's going on in the world since I've been kinda isolated out here.
Date: 2015-03-28
From: Spring Mountain Shelter

To: Jerry Cabin
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

All I can say is Brrrr, it got really cold last night and we woke up to probably about a quarter to half inch of snow this morning and bitter cold temps. I could see the snow pilling up during the night every time I peaked out of my bag to check for daylight. It felt like I didn't even sleep at all with how cold it was but I had a couple of dreams so I know I slept at least a little bit.I skipped breakfast and just wanted to get going with how cold it was so I got dressed as quick as I could and broke down my tarp and hammock. I've been really impressed with how well this underquilt has been working in these freezing temps I haven't been nearly as cold as some of my ground dwelling counter parts. Pretty much everyone in the shelter was gone come morning and only a couple of tents remained up on the hills.It was a really cold start and my muscles felt about as cold as the ground and was hardly moving for the first hour or so. The wind had picked up a bit too by the time I hit the trail so I threw my gloves back on along with my rain jacket to help break the wind a bit. I had passed Roadside and Ozzy on the way down to the gap and stopped to grab a snack near Moms, the sign made from siding was a real deterrent and scared me more than anything so I decided to skip it. Everyone said it was a great breakfast sandwich and I'd missed out though but oh well there's always another day.The hike was amazing today with the ridges completely snow covered and the valleys looked as dry as a bone. I don't think it broke above freezing all day though which I actually didn't mind too much since it made for amazing views over top of the exposed ridge trail. It looked incredible and you could see for miles since there was hardly a cloud in sight and you could see big hump again, that thing looks so fun to climb.On the way up the mountain today I thought I had heard a dog barking and sure enough when I got into camp everyone was trying to corral a stray dog. Some how he'd managed to get himself stuck up on top of the exposed ridge trail and Happy and Hawkeye were able to get him to follow them to camp. Team Bad Ass was going to try and get him back on the trail and home but they couldn't get a rope around him. We called the owner and left a message as well as a text but never heard anything back from the person. We ended up building a fire and getting some 550 cord around the dogs collar and tied him up next to the fire so the poor thing wouldn't freeze over night.
Date: 2015-03-29
From: Jerry Cabin

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Did a solid 15 miles today and am feeling pretty good body wise, I just wish I had been able to get out of camp a little bit earlier but it was 11 degrees this morning when we all got up. I don't think anyone even left camp till about 9 but the majority of us didn't leave till probably 10 or later since we all wanted it to warm up a bit. We decided to name the dog Doyle after his owner and he had kind of a dumb looking so we all thought it fit perfect. He fell asleep quick last night and snored like an absolute monster and it was hilarious. The hike today was great with the sun out and I could actually wear a t-shirt for a little while which was a nice change. I also got to call Mary for about an hour and a half finally and sat out in the sun and ate a little lunch at the same time. I talked to a few folks along the way and they said there was a storm coming in tomorrow so we'll see if I end up doing that 20 after all. A group of ladies had also agreed to take the dog Doyle back into town and if the owner didn't want to come get him one of them would adopt him which I think would have been his best bet at a happy life.I was doing great till about the last mile and that mountain kinda kicked my but on that final climb. The only thing I was thinking was make it to camp before dark. It's so annoying when you get into camp at dusk or later my motivation to get camp chores done is virtually zero, but luckily I made it in with a little extra time to spare.
Date: 2015-03-30
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We woke up to rain and fog this morning just like everyone had said and my motivation to do that 20 was pretty much cut in half. I was feeling extra lazy so I cooked breakfast right there in my bag to keep me extra warm and toasty as I hoped the fog might roll out. It was a slow start again with the fog today but I didn't mind it too much just means I can throw on some music and get lost in thought.I ran into Ozzy as he was hitting the trail and hiked with him for a good bit of the morning which helped the day fly by. It didn't start to clear up until later in the day when I was getting towards the top of Big Bald but you still couldn't see very far out at all. By that point everyone had gotten pretty spread out but as I was coming down from the Bald I heard Seeker shout at the top of his lungs from the top. Everyone was sitting at the shelter having a little lunch when I finally got in and I was debating whether or not to hike on or stay and do the 20 miles tomorrow.I checked my phone and saw that I had full service and it was still pretty early in the day so I thought I'd give Mary a nice long call this afternoon. Everyone headed out and I took care of my camp chores and then got to talk to Mary for 3 or 4 hours. Thought I'd get the shelter to myself but there ended up being a section hiker and Banjo Jack there that night. I really like actually kind of enjoy having the shelters to myself after finding out how rare that is during a thru-hike.
Date: 2015-03-31
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up early at about 7 and started packing up as the sun was rising which made for a pretty nice scene as I was gathering all my stuff. It still takes me about an hour to get everything together and going in the mornings but it was worth it because Banjo Jack recommended that I throw my oatmeal concoction into a powerade bottle and just drink it as I hike. What a great idea, I'm definitely going to hold on to that little trick that way I can keep my jet boil a little cleaner and not hang around camp eating.Got to hike all day in the sun and stopped for a little while in the this little hollar as the sun was starting to shine through and all the birds and squirrels were getting active. There was even a woodpecker working his way through the little ravine I was in I must have stopped there for like 20 minutes. It was pretty cool to watch everything come to life like that, it's these little kinda moments that I enjoy the most out here.I stopped in at No Business for some lunch and ran into a couple section hikers followed by Houdini a bit later. He'd run out of food and was hiking on Honey into Erwin so I threw him a Tuna pack and got lucky and scored some left over tortillas. He said we was staying at Uncle Johnny's with everyone else and having been told there was an all you can eat KFC in town so I was easily convinced to go into town with him. We hiked into town together for a few miles and got some pretty cool views of the river and rail road tracks.Uncle Johnny's was a pretty nice place and I think we managed to cram about 7 people into a 4 person cabin but I opted out and camped instead it was a little to cramped in there for me. The rest room facilities and showers were really nice and they were putting in a new washer and dryer the day we came so our clothes got super fresh and clean. The only downer was that I realized I'd left my hammock rope tied up to the trees a few days back so looks like I'll be sleeping on the ground for awhile.They ran a shuttle to town for 99 cent taco night at the local mexican place and they had 32 ounce beers for 3 bucks. I ate about 6 tacos and was feeling pretty good after my beer wish I had gotten a couple more though since I've been crazy hungry lately. After dinner I ran over to Walmart to grab snack for the trail cause some days I just feel like it's not always enough food so I've got like 2 pounds of Starbursts and a bunch of little debbies.
Date: 2015-04-01
From: Uncle Johnny's

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Had a pretty lazy morning today since everyone was only planning on doing an easy 8 miles to Freshgrounds for dinner. Ended up going to Huddle House for breakfast and felt pretty disappointed with the amount of food and the price I paid for it. Ended up going to Mickey D's right after and got myself breakfast and lunch since I was there at the meal change. Didn't get out on the trail till about 1 since I stopped and talked to Mary for a bit on the way. Took a small little break a the shelter along the way to sign the long and get a couple extra calories. Ran into Houdini again and talked with him for a bit till I took off on the trail again and finished up the last couple miles listening to music. I got into Fresh Grounds just as everyone was eating so it was perfect timing on my part. I went ahead and set up my tarp so I could just chill and relax after I ate dinner. It was a pretty awesome night with all of us up there hanging out around the fire with Fresh Grounds and full bellies. We all talked about how he had scarred the crap out of me when I was at Walnut Mountain Shelter and had a pretty good laugh about it. We all hit the hay kinda late around 8:30 but it was well worth the time talking with everyone.
Date: 2015-04-04
From: Over Mountain Shelter

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Boy oh boy was the wind whipping this morning and just about all night, there was a couple of times that I thought the roof was going to blow off. Hearing the trees slam up against the sides of the barn made it so hard to get going especially when you could feel the wind working its way through the slats. I probably sat in my bag for about an hour packing and eating till I finally got the motivation to go out and brave the winds.The climb up to the balds was a slow windy one and I wasn't making very good time at all. Everything above 5000 ft was coated in a layer of almost horizontal frost and amazing with the ice clinging to the sides of trees, branches, and shrubs. Clouds were blowing by me as I climbed the balds and it almost seemed unreal how thick the fog would get as they blew by. When I hit big bald the wind was blowing so hard that I could barely stay on the trail and was leaning into it with almost all my weight. I'd love to know how hard that wind was blowing because I've never felt anything like that before.I didn't see a thing going over top either one of the balds with the all the cloud cover unfortunately but I've learned to be okay with my hikes through the sightless wonders I'm gazing upon. As I was coming down I crossed a pretty large group of people one kid in particular looked absolutely miserable and was basically dragging himself up the hill with a walking stick. I couldn't give him much sympathy since as I looked back up the hill the clouds were rolling out and I could tell they'd be able to get a view. The walk down the hill turned into a beautiful one with the clouds clearing out and making way for some sunshine.Even though I didn't get to see any views I had an awesome hike and I got to see some golden warblers today which was amazing. I sat in the field for about 20 minutes not more than 15 feet from their nest and watched them fly around and sing. I found them as I was going through a field that was a restoration habitat for Golden Warblers. I could hear them calling about half way up and I stopped to listen for a while until I saw them and moved in for a closer look. Seeker stopped by but didn't hang around for the birds, his loss.The final few miles for the day felt endless and my feet really started hurting on the balls and heel it almost felt like I had no more cushion left in my shoes. I ran into a section hiker as I went by the river and he told me there was only a couple of miles left but it didn't help any. As I rounded the last switch back I could smell a fire burning and that was the motivator that helped get me the rest of the way to the shelter. There were some pretty cool section hikers there that night Chief and bullet who were on their way to Damascus and made for nice company. I was lucky getting to stay up in the "Penthouse" which had a bear standing over me for protection just like a dream catcher.
Date: 2015-04-05
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Bob Peoples Kincora Hiking Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

It was another early start to the day for us all since everyone had planned to go to Kincora hostel and we all knew we had to be there by 5 to catch the daily shuttle into town. Some People were moving pretty quick first thing in the morning but I wasn't one of them it was a slow start for me since I knew the hike wasn't too far and I had no need to run into town. I was second to last out and only Houdini was left by the time I got out of there.My body had pretty much recovered from the day before and my feet were ready for another day. I was making good time again today and ran into just about everyone at the shelter for lunch. The rest of the climb down to the hostel was an easy hike and we got to check out a cool old barn right next to the trail, my guess is people probably used it as a little shelter back in the day.When I hit the road I was a little confused about which way to go but luckily I ran into a guy at the parking lot there who was just coming back from a day hike and asked if he knew which way it was by chance. He not only knew where it was but also offered me an orange and a lift up there, I took him up on the orange but decided to pass on the ride. As I was getting ready to take off up the road I saw Seeker and we kicked it up to Hostel together. We were all pretty stoked when we came in to find out that some former through hikers had gone out and bought all the fixings for an Easter Dinner and it was open for everyone. We all got in at a pretty decent time with plenty of sunshine and decided to hang out on the front porch for a while and play a board game. Monopoly was the conscious and we all decided to sit down and get a game in before the Easter Feast. We took a small break for dinner and got a couple more turns in before everyone else headed into town for a resupply, while they were getting food I decided to take care of all the dishes since the guys had been so kind as to buy and fix us dinner.By the time everyone got back we were all ready to sit back down and finish up the game. We came so close to finishing a game but everyone got too tired to carry on and we agreed to count our money and let that determine the winner. As we were wrapping everything up Rolling Thunder came out and told us his sleeping bag had been pissed on by one of the cats everyone laughed in disbelief and felt terrible for him but luckily he was able to get it washed and dried before morning.
Date: 2015-04-06
From: Bob Peoples Kincora Hiking Hostel

To: Bob Peoples Kincora Hiking Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up today to the smell of cat piss. This place is awesome but good lord does it stink like cat pee in here, the smell is almost unbelievable in some rooms like the upstairs. Everyone who stayed in the main house today left except for me but Houdini, Banana Boat, Roadside, Sparkles, Hot Pants, and Seeker stayed out in one of the side buildings. I asked what the plan was and we all came to an agreement that a zero would be in order to try and hold off hiking in the potential rain as well as prepare us physically for the Damascathon a 33 mile push for the city. With the day off we decided to try and play another board game with risk as the obvious choice for a full day off. We got everything all set up and had settled on the agreed upon rules but the wind started picking up and the pieces that had been replaced with paper began to blow all over the place. We put up risk and decided to play trivial pursuit for awhile but everyone lost interest pretty quick when no one got any questions right in the first couple of rounds. With Monopoly as the last real option we all settled in and agreed that we'd play it to the end.For the first time in my life I made it all the way to the end of Monopoly game and got second place. We were all shocked that we actually managed to play an entire game it was impressive to say the least. While we were playing though the health inspector came by and I think everyone of us had to chuckle a bit after everything that had happened to Rolling Thunder the night before. Bob came back to the house close to shuttle time and we pleaded him for a ride to subway or McDonalds when we got to town but he wasn't having any part of it. Everyone piled into the back of his pickup and unfortunately I got stuck in the bed.The ride down into town was vicious on me and my stomach with how much that road zigzagged down the mountain. When we got to the store in town I felt like absolute crap and the store was pretty disappointing with its selection and prices. I need to eat dinner still so I settled on some chef boyardee and a couple of fruit pies. On the ride back I asked if I could snag a seat up front and Roadside was more than willing to offer his spot when he saw how crappy I felt.When we got back to the hostel I felt like absolute crap and went to lay down for a while to shake my headache. I woke up a couple hours later feeling completely revived and ready to chow down on some chef boyardee. I went inside the main house I was shocked to see the dynamic duo sitting there at the kitchen table. They'd been slack packing and getting picked up by Bob and staying at his place for the last couple of days. It was nice to get a days rest and some good food in my belly before I go for the 33 mile haul in a couple days.