morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-09-18
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I had the enclosed top floor of Partnership Shelter all to myself last night. Without a breeze blowing, it was easier to get out of my bag and get going. By 7:20, I was at the road, hitching into Marion; the first car that drove by stopped! I told him I was going in to grab some breakfast and that I was aiming for the McDonalds. We drove by a restaurant I had seen on my map called "The Apple Tree." He looked at the restaurant, then he looked at me. "The McDonalds, you said?" I asked him if he had a better idea, to which his response was a U-turn back to The Apple Tree. It turned out to be a fantastic suggestion on his part!I resupplied at the gas station across the street in lieu of walking further into town for a grocery store. Hitching back to the trail was harder than I expected given the way my first hitch had gone, and finally a woman in a Jeep stopped and said, "Get in, I'll take you up there, you'll never catch a ride!"I was back on the trail by 9:30. The first half of the day went by quickly, the second half not so much, I think because I was getting tired. When I stopped for lunch, I considered doing 14 more miles, bypassing Hurricane Mountain and heading on to Old Orchard, but I ultimately punted that idea.When I arrived, I set water to boiling for dinner, then tried to start a fire. I used dry wood, built the teepee the way I had built it the last couple of times I made a fire and... nothing. Try as I might, I couldn't get that fire to start! I put flammable liquids on it, still nothing! I ate my dinner and hopped in my sleeping bag - at nearly 4000 feet, it's already cold and sure to get more so! Wet clothes are going to be tough in the morning!
Date: 2013-09-19
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Whitetop Mountain Road
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: clear sky

The wind was howling and the moon was so bright it almost seemed like day last night, so I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I had slept with my wet clothes in my bag (but not on me) and found that they were nearly dry this morning! In addition to that, it had warmed up during the night, so getting ready this morning wasn't so bad.I went over a couple of fence stiles, which should have been my warning, but I was still startled when I happened upon a longhorn standing in the tall grass next to the trail! I looked around, and there was a whole herd of them, blending in to the trees and tall grass. I came upon a man later who told me the area farmers are allowed to let them graze on the public land to help keep the brush down, then collect them at the end of the season.The scenery today was amazing - I was above 4000 feet, and yet I wasn't in a forest, I was walking across vast, open expanses. Part of the trail today went through Grayson Highlands State Park, which I had heard was famous for having wild ponies. I didn't see any by the time I arrived at Wise Shelter, but I did see numerous signs warning of another large animal - "Hikers are advised to avoid camping at Wise Shelter due to an aggressive bear in the area." Yikes! I ended up eating my lunch there anyway, much to the surprise of Berry Man and Hiker Doc, who had taken the warning signs very seriously and eaten their lunch up the trail a ways. We got to talking and they told me that after 24 years, they were on their way to finish the trail in Atkins! What an accomplishment!As I was eating lunch, I got to reading the hiker log. Wise Shelter sits exactly at the 500 mile mark from Springer. Early in the log book, people had taken to writing the lyrics, "I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more..." But more recent entries by thru hikers just said "Only 500 to go!" Either way, the words "ponies" and "500" were abundant in this one log book.This afternoon, just as I was thinking I was going to leave VA without having seen a wild pony, a small white and black one stepped out of the woods and into a clearing! I had been hearing about the "ponies," but in my mind, I had been envisioning wild stallions, really good sized horses just walking around free. This was definitely a "pony" - his head barely came up to my waist! He was very sweet and even let me pet him for a few minutes!It looked like it might start raining this afternoon, so I hustled to make it to camp. I wasn't too excited about camping above 5000 feet given how cold the weather has been this week, but there isn't much wind and the campsite is very nice. Tomorrow - on to Damascus!
Date: 2013-09-21
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I was waiting for another package in the mail and had hiked from Harpers Ferry to Damascus in 30 days, so I felt like a good way to celebrate was with a zero day. The first order of business for the day was laundry. The only laundromat in town had gone out of business, but I was told that Larry, the owner of Crazy Larry's Hostel, would let me use his washer and dryer, so that was where I headed. He was great - not only did he let me use his washer, he actually did my laundry for me, gave me a cup of coffee, and let me watch TV while my clothes were washing. He also offered me toast with homemade apple butter, which got us onto the topic of him making apple butter. He told me he was going to make more just as soon as he peeled the apples on the front porch. I wasn't doing anything and I was incredibly appreciative of his hospitality, so I volunteered to peel them for him. The hostel is right on the trail, and while peeling apples on the front porch, I saw Moby walk into town - it was good to see another familiar face! I ended up peeling a large pot of apples before my clothes were finished.I hadn't been sure of what my plans for the day were going to be, so I left my gear at The Place, a hostel run by the local Methodist church that only charged a $6 donation. I returned and ended up talking with Atlas, the caretaker. He had been a hiker earlier this season, and when he hiked into Damascus, the church asked him if he would like the caretaker job - he's been in Damascus ever since! I thought he did a great job of taking care of the hostel - it was clean, the rules were posted clearly, and he was very friendly and inviting.I spent the rest of my zero relaxing on the hostel's couches and watching DVDs, including the highly acclaimed films Eurotrip and American Pie, which were made even more entertaining by the Swiss bicyclist who was watching them with me!
Date: 2013-09-22
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

When I woke up, it was raining. I headed to the outfitter because I was still waiting on my package, and they showed me the radar. The map showed a strip of green that ran from very far south way up into the northeast. I reasoned I had been making good time up to that point - a second zero never hurt anyone, right?I was happy that my package had arrived at the outfitter. I had ordered a sleeping bag liner and a new pair of socks. In addition, I had asked for warmer clothes from home. At the outfitter, I started looking for a pair of hiking pants. I would have ordered those online as well, but I realized I actually had no idea what size I should get, so I waited until town where I could try them on. I was pleasantly surprised at the size that fit - something about hiking 20 miles a day really trims things down! When I got everything back in my pack, it was noticeably heavier, but I ended up sending a couple of other items home, and I know the extra weight is being well spent on warm things!I headed over to Hey Joes for lunch and the guys working were talking about the different hiker specials they could invent, like a five pound burrito. I ended up telling them a story of my friend Not A Bear, who I met in Caratunk, ME and ended up summiting Katahdin with. After summiting, a bunch of hikers rode with me and my parents into Millinocket to go to The Appalachian Trail Cafe, where newly completed thru hikers can sign the ceiling tiles. The cafe offers an eating challenge for hikers - an ice cream sundae that includes 14 scoops of ice cream (one for each state on the trail), Snickers (a hiker's favorite food), a banana, hot fudge, etc. If the hiker can finish the sundae, he wins a t-shirt. Not A Bear decided to take on the challenge, finished without a second thought, then ordered a cheeseburger for his real lunch! Now that's some intense hiker hunger!Later that evening, I was at The Place and called home. While on the phone, I heard some people come in the hostel, but didn't go check who it was. The next thing I know, a person I didn't recognize came running into the living room and gave me a hug! After taking a closer look, I was shocked to realize I knew him - IT WAS NOT A BEAR!!! He is at school in Florida (classes started two days after he summited Katahdin!) and was on a weekend trip to Grayson Highlands with friends from school! While on the trail, he had dreadlocks and a beard - I hadn't recognized him because he had shaved his beard and cut his hair short!! Incredibly enough, he was with Oatmeal, a girl who also went to UF and who had also been on the trail all summer! They didn't meet until after the trail. I just can't believe the coincidences that take place on the trail!We ended up heading to Blue Blaze for dinner and found Moby and Numbers, a hiker who came in late last night (after hiking 40 miles in one day!) and whose parents were in town. We ended up eating a very nice dinner with them, and were the last people in The Blue Blaze Cafe on a Saturday night!
Date: 2013-09-23
From: Damascus

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I figured if I didn't leave town soon, I would just end up staying forever, and given all of the people I had met the last few days, I knew I would not have been the first hiker to decide to stay in Damascus instead of moving on! I was hoping that after taking so many days off the swelling in my toes might have gone down, but when I got up this morning, they were just as swollen and tender as ever. I wonder how long that will last after I finish all this hiking?The first ten miles went by quickly. I think part of the reason was because I started listening to "AWOL on the Appalachian Trail." It was the first book I read about the trail last August when I decided I was going to do this, and I thought it would be fun to listen to again now that I had experienced many of the places featured in the book. Along the way this morning, I crossed out of VA and into TN, the third to last state on the trail! I ate lunch at Abingdon Gap Shelter with Moby and two brothers who were section hiking. I read the shelter log, and a number of thru hikers in front of me commented on their "Springer fever," and I think I might be afflicted by a mild case myself... I headed back out and made it in to Double Springs Shelter by 4:30. Numbers had slack packed with his parents this morning, so came in behind me but continued on to the next shelter. I enjoyed a long evening of reading Outside magazine, which had been left at the shelter by another hiker, catching up on blog entries, and enjoying the warm additions to my wardrobe and gear!This is the first shelter I've stayed at with mice. One has been making quite a bit of noise since I got here and makes the occasional appearance along the top rim of the shelter. Hopefully it stays up there for the night!
Date: 2013-09-25
From: Hampton, TN

To: Black Bear Resort
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: few clouds

I had a really short day in front of me, so I took my time getting breakfast - back to the McDonalds! I half-heartedly tried to yogi a ride, but decided with such a short day in front of me, the walk wouldn't hurt. Three coffees and an hour of free wifi later, I decided I should probably hit the trail.Sutton took me back to the trail, but I left my pack at his store - I had finagled a bit of slack packing for today! It didn't take me long to figure out why Bob Peoples is such a celebrity on the trail around here. Even though the trail gained 1800 feet in elevation, I barely noticed!Close to the end of my hike, I came to a beautiful waterfall that my book told me was Laurel Falls. I spent some time climbing around on the rocks and it was such a beautiful day that I ended up swimming. I didn't remember until after I jumped in that it was the end of September - it was cold!Black Bear Hostel is a really beautiful resort area on the Laurel River, upstream from the falls. When I arrived, my pack was already here (!), and I bought lunch at the camp store. There were plenty of DVDs to watch and I spent the afternoon in a lounge area. A man, Bill, with license plates from Davidson County (Nashville!) arrived, and we started talking. He invited me to ride to Elizabethtown with him and his four-year old son Ben to get some dinner. I decided to go, and found that the route to Elizabethtown went through Hampton - right by the hostel I stayed in last night! I enjoyed learning about Bill's non-profit company, which is focused around teaching children in Tennessee the history of the state. After a meat and three dinner at a country restaurant, it was back to the hostel for the night.
Date: 2013-09-26
From: Black Bear Resort

To: Walnut Mountain Road
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

I was excited to get out of bed because I knew there was coffee brewing in the den. I drank a cup, got dressed and packed up, then went back to have one more cup and... it started raining. As I was already in my hiking gear, I wasn't sure if I wanted to take a zero or not, so I decided to wait around and see how the weather looked a little later on.In the mean time, I called Judy and Gordon, friends of Hoosier, a hiker I had spent time with on my northbound leg. They invited me to spend the night with them, and I figured even if I got wet hiking, I would have time to dry out at their house. We planned to meet at Walnut Mountain Road, a back road, to say the least. I looked up on my phone how to get there while we were taking, and they assured me they were adventurous and should be able to find it. About this time, the rain let up, so I set off!I'm trying to think of memorable pieces of the trail or events that happened throughout the day, but if anything memorable happened (other than the rain!), it was completely overshadowed by what happened when I reached my destination.I was a bit early, and as I came out of the woods, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I sat down to eat a candy bar and enjoy the sun (and thus the lack of chill I would normally get resting in wet clothes!), and on my last bite, a car drove up - it was them! They had found me all the way up here in the woods!The first place Judy and Gordon took me was Highlander BBQ for dinner, where I had a large platter of pulled pork. For the whole meal, I was thinking how much I've missed the south, and especially the food! Next we went to their house where I had a long shower, did my laundry, and spent a relaxing evening chatting with Judy and Gordon about current events, how they ended up in the area, and their beautiful family of three children and fourteen grandchildren. It is people like Judy and Gordon and nights like these that are what have made my experience on the Appalachian Trail so spectacular, and I look forward to continuing the AT tradition of helping hikers along their journey. I'm sure I will hold this night in my mind as a blueprint!
Date: 2013-09-28
From: Mountain Harbor

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

The main reason I had wanted to stay at Mountain Harbor was because of the breakfast, a meal about which I had been hearing rave reviews for well over 1500 miles. Basically any time a northbounder found out I was a flip-flopper, their first piece of advice was, ¢Don¢t miss the breakfast at Mountain Harbor!¢ This morning, I was not disappointed! Mary had cooked quiche, scrambled eggs, two kinds of sausage, two kinds of muffins, apple turnovers, tropical fruit salad, and French toast with a pecan syrup! I was in hiker heaven!After breakfast, I returned to Carvers Gap to resume hiking south. The trail headed up towards the top of Roan Mountain through spruce trees. Between the smell of the trees and the crisp morning weather, I could have sworn I was right back in the Whites and that I would happen upon a moose at any moment! The trail headed down the other side of the mountain, and even though I hadn¢t experienced anything too strenuous, I felt exhausted! I sat down at a road crossing and texted home, ¢I don¢t want to walk any farther today!¢ I sat there for a long time contemplating my fatigue. I eventually decided that, in all likeliness, I was feeling this way due to a combination of the morning¢s 4(!) cups of coffee wearing off and yesterday¢s speed-hiking adventures, so I hauled myself to my feet and decided I would get as far as I could. If I made it to my destination, fine. If not, I would just camp and hike farther tomorrow. This morning, I received a text from my good friend who sends me Zen thoughts to contemplate while I walk, something I¢ve really come to look forward to out here. Today¢s thought was: ¢You are what you think. Think it today, become it tomorrow. Nothing can help or hurt you as much as the thoughts you carry in your own head.¢ I got to thinking about this quote later in the afternoon, and, lost in my thoughts, I ended up at the shelter earlier than expected. It is difficult to explain my thoughts about this quote in regards to thru hiking the AT, and eventually ¢becoming a thru hiker.¢ It doesn¢t feel like I¢ve been doing this for four and a half months! It doesn¢t seem possible that I wake up every morning and walk 15-20 miles or more. It seems unreal that I will be standing on Springer Mountain in three weeks. Like I mentioned, a difficult one to reconcile!At the shelter, I met Jimmy, a young guy who recently separated from his wife and is searching for some clarity and space. We talked about how bad mice had been at other shelters and thought we were going to get away without any visitors tonight. Not the case - I had mice running over my sleeping bag! In addition to this, I kept feeling a hair on my face. I turned on my light to find about 6 daddy-long-leg spiders on my pillow/face/the wall behind me. In my old life, I would have been highly alarmed by all of this activity. Tonight, I picked the spiders off, hoped they didn¢t come back, cinched my bag down around my head, and went to sleep to the sounds of mice scurrying around in the rafters and foxes calling in the distance.
Date: 2013-09-29
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I was up before my alarm went off this morning, and ready to head out before the sun was up. I had a little trouble finding the trail, but eventually got on it and used my headlamp for the first mile or so. The biggest climb of the day - 1200 feet - was early in the day and had lots of switchbacks. It was over before I knew it! Cell phone service was good, and I covered the 12.8 miles to Curley Maple Gap Shelter quickly, talking to some of my favorite people on the phone as I walked.The trek from Curley Maple Gap Shelter to Erwin lasted longer than I expected it to! Part of this may have been perceptual - of course I was excited for a town day, but even more excited because my Grandma Lucy was meeting me in town! She is my number one fan, on the trail and in life, and I hadn¢t seen her since graduating back in May. I called her from the trail and met her at the bridge crossing the Nolichucky River with a huge smile on my face! Such a happy reunion!We spent much of the afternoon relaxing and catching up with each other. My uncle had told both of us that we should go to The Farmer¢s Daughter, a family-style restaurant in the next town. The restaurant turned out to be very similar to The Homeplace in Catawba, VA, allowing the patron to choose which meat she would like for dinner, which was accompanied by 13 side dishes (referred to as ¢vegetables¢). We ordered fried chicken and ribs, and also received corn bread, rolls, bread salad, coleslaw, two types of beans, mashed potatoes, spiced apple salad, mashed sweet potatoes, creamed corn, green beans¢¦ there was so much food, I¢m sure I¢m forgetting some of it! Of course, all of this was followed by dessert, strawberry shortcake. I told Grandma Lucy that all of this food would be like jet fuel for the trail tomorrow, if only she could roll me home to the hotel tonight!About the time we were finishing up dinner, Dan, the owner, came over to ask us how our meal had been. The conversation progressed, and I explained I was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He told me that he used to live just under Cherry Gap Shelter, where I had stayed last night, and before I knew it, he had brought me a pound cake to take on the trail and a bottle of sorghum molasses for my morning oatmeal, plus sent me with his phone number and instructions to call him if I ran into a jam in the next 100 miles! He then brought out a Southern Living cookbook in which his restaurant had been featured as ¢The Best of Tennessee¢ and sent that with us too! I told Grandma Lucy that I needed her to take the book home because I can¢t carry it in my pack, and I feel certain she will show it to all of her friends - Dan better get ready, he¢s about to have numerous guests from Nashville, TN and the surrounding areas!After all of the excitement of the evening, we didn¢t make it home until 10:15, and we stayed up even later once we got back to the hotel. I imagine, given this comfy bed and the late bedtime, morning will come far too soon!
Date: 2013-09-30
From: Erwin, TN

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 10.7

As predicted, morning did come too soon, but fresh brewed coffee and an impressive breakfast in the hotel lobby helped. Today, Grandma Lucy was helping me slack pack from Spivey Gap, south of town, back into Erwin. We found Spivey Gap and the trail without any trouble, and planned to meet back in town 3.5 hours later.I walked along for about 15 minutes before coming across a bear! We were walking along a flat section of trail towards each other, and saw each other at the same time. We both froze; I tried to get my camera out of my daypack, but he decided he didn¢t want to stick around, and turned in the opposite direction to run away. The trail dipped below where he had disappeared, and I kept looking up the hill to make sure he wasn¢t still hanging around, and I didn¢t see any sign of him.Other than that, hiking today was uneventful. After finishing this section, we drove to where I will be dropped off tomorrow morning - to my relief, it was also easy to find. While we were driving about the county, we decided to head into Johnson City. After a delicious lunch at the Olive Garden and some window shopping, we headed back to the hotel to turn in for what hopefully turns out to be an earlier night than last night!