morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-04-10
From: Cosby Knob Shelter

To: Standing Bear Shelter
Miles today: 10.5

Started hiking from Cosby Knob shelter, very hot and humid. Exited the Smokie Mtns. and received trail magic from Skidmark's wife. She had fresh baked oatmeal raisin walnut cookies and cold water, very delicious! Continued on to Standing Bear Hostel. Interesting place, that's all I better say! We hiked 10.5 miles.
Date: 2011-04-11
From: Standing Bear Shelter

To: Brown Gap
Miles today: 10.0

Left Standing Bear Hostel and began a long climb of 4.5 miles all up to Snowbird Mtn. Very hot and humid and no breeze. It was worth it all for the views we could see back into the Smokies. We were able to call out today, we had a signal! Talked to Jeb and we were able to get caught up. From Snowbird Mt. summit we continued on to Brown Gap where we are tenting with Pigeon, Flame, and Skidmark. It is 6:30 p.m. and we are all in our tents! Our bodies really do need that many hours of rest. Weather report says we might get thunderstorms tonight, we shall see! We are enjoying our adventure, but really miss our family!
Date: 2011-04-12
From: Brown Gap

To: Unknown!
Miles today: 11.1

The started out with blue skies but quickly turned nasty with rain, fog, and strong winds moving in. We arrived at "Max's Patch," a huge meadow that is about 100 acres in size at the top of the mountain. We were a bit disappointed to not be able to see more of the meadow due to the weather but the wind was so severe that we did not stay long. It felt like we were going to blow right of the side of the mountain. We heard from another hiker that his pack cover blew off and he nearly lost it! About 2:30 p.m. we gave up trying to hike. The wind was gusting 30 to 40 m.p.h. straight sideways, howling through the trees. We tried to set up the tent lower down into a gap and crawled just after 2:30 p.m. The rain continued until this morning so we stayed in our sleeping bags for about 15 hours.  Tomorrow looks better, hopefully we will dry out!
Date: 2011-04-13
From: Unknown!

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 12.5

We've been on the trail for one month as of today!! A good to celebrate our one month anniversary! The weather was beautiful today and we arrived in Hot Springs, NC today about 2:30 p.m. after putting in 12.5 miles. We climbed Bluff Mt. today. Hiking in the mountains in spring is proving to be beautiful with a lush carpet of green grass spreading out all around us and wild flowers starting to poke their heads out as well. We are staying at the Alpine Motor Lodge. A local that we met on the trail recommended it and we we're lucky to get a room. As we headed into town, we considered heading straight for the restaurant and then going to the Lodge, but decided to get a room first. We got the last one they had available!! Thank goodness we didn't listen to our stomachs on that one! ;-) Lovely place, we're really enjoying it. Hot Springs is about the size of our hometown of Pickford, MI. It's very much a hiker town since the AT actually runs straight through it. As you walk down the sidewalks, you'll see trail markers actually embedded in the sidewalk every 50 ft or so! (see the photo section). The town has white water rafting as well. We got to "Facetime" on our iPhone with our kids and granddaughter as well, which was great since we haven't been getting a consistent phone signal through this section of trail. Greenstone weighed himself at a local outfitter and discovered he has lost about 20 lbs. so far!
Date: 2011-04-14
From: Hot Springs

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 0.0

We are taking a zero day today in Hot Springs to rest our feet, do laundry, and a few errands. We also adopted a small, pink sock monkey! Thimbleberry has decided to let our grand-daughter, Olivia, name it and we will include her in our photos so Olivia can follow our progress along the trail.
Date: 2011-04-15
From: Hot Springs

To: Spring Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 10.5

Thimbleberry has seen two black snakes today at least 4' long. Hiked from Hot Springs to Spring Mtn Shelter and tented. 10.5. Winds were strong gusting to 50 mph plus. It rained overnight along with the winds. Olivia has named the sock monkey, her name is now officially Adalena. You'll be seeing her in our photos!
Date: 2011-04-16
From: Spring Mt. Shelter

To: North of Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

Broke camp at 9:30 a.m. in between rain showers and hiked in the rain. The sun came out and we had a pleasant hike to a stealth site 1.5 miles north of Little Laurel shelter for around a 10 mile day. We are camped with Skidmark & Fortice. We were fed and in bed by 6 p.m.
Date: 2011-04-17
From: North of Little Laurel Shelter

To: North of Flint Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: broken clouds

We are camped about a mile north of the Flint Mtn shelter with Flame, Pigeon, and Skidmark. We had sleet and rain last night that froze on the tent along with high winds. Nice day with sun and 60. Did around 12 miles. We passed 300 miles at the top of Big Butt Mountain! Skidmark and his wife, Pat, treated us all to some wonderful trail magic today--thanks guys!
Date: 2011-04-19
From: North of Low Gap

To: Devils Creek Gap
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: moderate rain

We camped last night at 4300' elevation and by 9 am we had climbed to the top of Big Bald Mtn@ 5510'. Had great views with temps already in the 60's. We did 11.5 miles today with temps near 80. We are stealth camped about 9 miles out of Erwin, TN where we hope to stay at the Super 8. Time for showers, laundry and some good town food.
Date: 2011-04-20
From: Devils Creek Gap

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 9.0

We made it into Erwin, TN today. Got up very early and we're on the trail by 7:00 and made it to No Business Knob Shelter 90 minutes later as it started to rain. It rained for awhile as we headed down the trail but stopped about an hour before we got to town. We made it into Erwin by 12 p.m. The picture is of a shuttle van from Uncle Johnny's into town, packed with 23 very hungry hikers! They were headed for an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet. Luckily, Skidmark and his wife were kind enough to give us a lift into town. We've checked into the Super 8. After we all filled up at the KFC buffet, the ladies went to the laundromat to do laundry. We were sad to see Pigeon leave the trail today to take a week off for a family Easter vacation. Pigeon's friend Linda brought us trail magic today in the form of fresh fruit, chips and pop. Thank you Linda. We'll be taking a zero day tomorrow!
Date: 2011-04-21
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0

Enjoyed our zero day in Erwin, TN! Did some shopping with Flame, Skidmark, and his wife, Pat. Erwin is a great little town with a railroad theme a railroad theme designed into many of it's building, including this credit union. Note the RR crossing flasher.
Date: 2011-04-22
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 12.5

Left Erwin yesterday at 7:30 a.m. Pat was kind enough to dropped us off; We hiked up and up and up, through Beauty Spot (yep, that's really its name) and stopped at campsite near a spring about 12.5 from Erwin (Deep Gap?). Hiked in rain for several hours with fog.
Date: 2011-04-23
From: Low Gap

To: Greasy Creek Gap (1 mi north)
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Slept under clouds all night with heavy fog, dripping precipitation on the tent. We hiked up Unaka Mountain today but were in the clouds surrounded by an erie fog. Luckily, as we came down the mountain we broke into sunshine and were promptly sweating. Temperatures were in upper 70s and we were in short sleeves and shorts (Thimbleberry had her hiking skirt.) We made a few phone calls from the Rock Pillar. Taking lots of breaks, aired out tent at one spot. Hiked past a beautiful meadow, with a spring, and the field was rolling carpet of green--beautiful. Met girl from WI who thru-hiked in 2008 and had two dogs with her, Willow and Journey. We had a blast playing with the dogs in the meadow.
Date: 2011-04-25
From: Roan Mountain

To: Doll Flats
Miles today: 13.5

Camped here tonight. Hiked 13.5 miles of AT, plus .6 to Overmountain Shelter for lunch. We hiked up and down a lot of balds today: from Carver's Gap we could look back and see Roan Mt. where we camped last night, and then we hiked over Round Bald and Jane's Bald to Overmountain Shelter for lunch. The shelter is actually a barn with an open front and porch. From the porch you can see for miles and miles down into the valley. It was gorgeous!!! We wish we could have stopped and camped here, but it was only 7 miles into the day. We headed onward and promptly hit rain. We through pack covers on and ran into Flame just ahead of us on the trail. Since the storm looked severe, we tossed up our tarp all huddled under it while the storm blew through. A fair amount of lightening flashing out in the valley so we were glad we had pulled off the trail. After it blew through, we saw blue sky headed our way and headed up Little Hump Mountain. After coming down into the following gap, we stopped at a stream for water refill and found our planned campsite for the day. It wasn't very appealing and since it was only 2 p.m. we decided to go onward--over Big Hump Mountain, which involves a steep 800 to 900 foot elevation gain. Rain promptly found us again and the wind started blowing at 30 to 40 miles per hour with dark, black clouds rolling overhead. Thimbleberry and Flame blew me (Greenstone) away and I came over the mountain about a 1/4 mile after them to find them tucked into a sheltered spot waiting for me. We are currently camped at Doll Flats, a beautiful upper meadow. We set up our tent behind a big boulder. The wind roared all night and we had rain but stayed warm and dry. Despite the weather, today felt like being in the Sound of Music all day as we hiked miles of mountain top meadows. The HILLs are Alive......come on, you know the rest!
Date: 2011-04-26
From: Doll Flats

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

We are staying at Mountain Harbour Hostel today. Took a short hike today--about 3 miles to get from Doll Flats to the hostel. The hostel is located in a beautiful spot with rolling hills, dogwood trees, and a babbling stream nearby. They have horses and goats that roam about and live in the barn. There is a porch to enjoy the beautiful view from. We hitch hiked into town (Roan Mountain, TN) about 12 p.m. and resupplied on groceries, ate out for lunch and had ice cream for a treat! We hitch hiked back to the hostel. A nice local fellow, Julian, dropped us off right at the hostel. We really appreciate people's kindness on days like these. Tomorrow we get to enjoy an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet here at the hostel...mmmmm....can't wait!
Date: 2011-04-27
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Mountaineer Falls Shelter
Miles today: 9.0

Hello all!We hiked 9 miles to the Mountaineer Falls Shelter today. Weather reports forecasting bad weather moving in so we did not want to be out on the trail. This shelter is two stories plus a loft! Very nice shelter. I am enjoying looking for wildflowers as I walk along the trail. We have seen a few deer, but that is all of big wildlife! I did photograph a bright orange salamander. Yes, I am desperate for wildlife!! We passed by two waterfalls today, they were very beautiful! Going on to Kincora tomorrow, maybe, if we want to do the milage. We will see! Love to all of you ~ Thimbleberry, Mom, & Grandma. (Don't jump too high on that trampoline, Olivia!)
Date: 2011-04-28
From: Mountaineer Falls Shelter

To: Kincora Hiking Hostel
Miles today: 16.0

We put in a long day today but passed 400 miles!! We road out the storms down this way at Mountaineer Falls Shelter. It really wasn't too bad for use but we did see a lot wind damage in the trees as we hiked today. According to Chili and Pepper, who stayed in the treehouse at Kincora Hiking Hostel that night, the wind swayed the trees enough to make them a little seasick. After arriving, we picked up our drop-box with our re-supplies. Thimbleberry was delighted to have received her belt--her hiking skirt keeps falling down without one! We cooked up supper at the hostel and then Bob took us to the grocery store where we posted some of the drop-box stuff forward. Bob and his crew actually are responsible for the awesome shelter at Mounaineer Falls-the two story with the loft in it. Tonight we decide to sleep in our tents since it was a little quieter and perfect sleeping weather in the mid-40s. The wildflowers continue to be beautiful!
Date: 2011-04-29
From: Kincora Hiking Hostel

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Tonight we are camped in what we are calling the "Poison Ivy Stealth Campsite," a little north of Watauga Lake Shelter. There wasn't much room around the shelter to camp, so we decide to go onward and find stealth spot. Unfortunately we realized a little too late that there is poison ivy everywhere in this area and we are sleeping on a bit of a slant! We got a late start this morning--about 9:30 a.m. and enjoyed the Laurel River and Falls today. The area was covered azaleas in orange, pink, and red. We also saw our first Rhododendrons! Happy Anniversary to Flame and Pyro!
Date: 2011-04-30
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: clear sky

Put in 12.8 miles today in some warm weather. It was in the mid-70s by afternoon. We did a lot climbing today. Iron Mountain Shelter is real pretty with a nice view out over the valley. Tomorrow we are hoping to do 14 miles or so to keep us on target to meet our friends, Steve and Leanne, in Damascus on Monday. Can't wait to see our fellow Yoopers!!
Date: 2011-05-01
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

We are at the Abingdon Gap Shelter tonight. After a steady 16 miles today and have a manageable 10 tomorrow to get to Damascus to meet Steve & Leanne. We are tenting in a nice little grove of pines. The day stayed comfortable with temps between 60 and 70; we walked 11 miles by noon today. The picture is of our lunch spot for today at VanDeventer Shelter. We also watched a T-storm this morning about 5 miles away on the mountain range that we hiked next to. That's all for now. Time for sleep. Thimbleberry is already out.
Date: 2011-05-02
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Abingdon, VA (Days Inn)
Miles today: 10.5

Today we headed out early and were on the trail by 7 a.m. and were cranking along at 2 miles per hour. Knowing our fellow Yooper friends from home, Steve and Leanne, were meeting us in Damascus helped us fly along! Weather was warm, sunny, and partly cloudy--in the 80s. We arrived in Damascus by 11 a.m. Steve and Leanne met us at the Laundromat and we all ate at Golden Corral for dinner (this was my (Greenstone's) first time to the Golden Corral, and I am now a huge fan ;-) We are hanging out at the hotel and Thimbleberry is patching her Big Agnes--we discovered a small pin hole in it after submerging it in the bath tub. Tomorrow we are planning a trip to Outback and then off to the trail!
Date: 2011-05-03
From: Abingdon, VA (Days Inn)

To: Abingdon, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Steve & Leanne & us & Flame drove out to Grayson Highlands State Park. Then we went out to dinner and resupplied. Went back to motel and packed our packs for the next day! A friendly face went by our window, and it was Skidmark, Pat and Pat's brother.   He and Skidmark are hiking together for a few days!
Date: 2011-05-04
From: Abingdon, VA

To: South of Lost Mnt. Shelter 
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: clear sky

We headed to Damascus to get our shuttle to Elk Gardens trail head. We are hiking 24 miles south on the AT with Steve and Leanne and Flame. Much to our disappointment it was cool, foggy, but that is trail life! As we made our way up to White Top Mtn, we found a dusting of snow and rime ice on everything! It warmed some as we got to a lower elevation, but the day continued cloudy, cold, and misty. We hiked 10.3 miles. We camped beside a beautiful mountain stream but it started to rain, so we dove for our tents after getting a quick dinner. It was 5:00 p.m. and we were in our tents for about 13 hours!
Date: 2011-05-05
From: South of Lost Mnt. Shelter

To: Near Feathercamp Ridge
Miles today: 12.3

Hiked out of camp, it was cold but blue , sunny skies! We continued south for 12.3 miles. We had a nice day of hiking and we continued to meet many north-bound hikers. Some were old trail friends and then some were ones that we had heard of but just not met yet! We hiked on and thanks to Patrick, we found a nice stealth campsite and had a nice campfire and conversation. It is so great to catch up on home news!
Date: 2011-05-06
From: Near Feathercamp Ridge

To: south of Wise shelter
Miles today: 8.5

We hiked the remaining 1.4 miles into Damascus and had a great breakfast! Went and did a few errands, then Steve and Leanne shuttled us back up to Elk Gardens. It was very hard to say good bye to them. They are the best! Anyway, after hugs and tears it was up the mountain we went, and again it was foggy, rainy and cool! We got near the top and waved good bye to Steve and Leanne down in the parking lot. We and Flame continued up into the Grayson Highlands. Skies did clear and we had great views. We saw highland ponies and their new foals. Total we hiked today was 8.5 miles. We are camped in a beautiful spot with Mtn views and we can see ponies! Some up close and personal! At one point this evening they were running through our campsite!We just want to say a very special "Thank-you" to Steve and Leanne, for all the driving us around to get chores done and waiting for us. It was so great of you to come and visit us and hike with us, we and Flame really enjoyed it. We talked about how much we enjoyed it as we hiked out this morning!   Love ya!
Date: 2011-05-07
From: south of Wise shelter

To: Hurricane Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We slept with the ponies munching outside our tents last night. Flame awoke to one licking her tent! Luckily a quick yell drove them out pretty fast. We hiked through Fat Man's Squeeze today--it looked like a groomed golf course green because the ponies have grazed it down tight. Today was mostly high clouds with good hiking weather in the mid-60s. We met Snakehips and Spuds today and were lucky to get some trail magic. A local day-hiker in a bright orange shirt (who had thru-hiked the trail in the past) met us hiking down the trail and gave us coke and a sack full of treats! Perfect timing for us!
Date: 2011-05-08
From: Hurricane Mtn. Shelter

To: North of South Fork Holston River
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Slept in the rain all night and woke up to fog and light rain in the morning, sometimes heavy rain through out the morning. The clouds broke up midday and we had a nice sunshine and cloud mix. Hiked to stealth site, and put in 14.5 to 15 miles today and broke through the 500 mile mark!
Date: 2011-05-09
From: North of South Fork Holston River

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a nice day! We hiked about 4.5 miles into Partnership shelter for lunch. Partnership is a great shelter--has a shower and a phone that you can order pizza with! We ordered one up with some salad and cheesy bread for lunch. We hiked on to Chatfield shelter and put in about 12 miles today. Tomorrow we are headed into Atkins, VA and taking a zero day to resupply and do some laundry.
Date: 2011-05-10
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Atkins, VA--Relax Inn
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: light rain

We are taking a "nero" day today (short miles). We hiked in from Chatfield shelter and are staying at the Relax Inn. The Barn restaurant in Atkins is delicious. For breakfast today we had:2 pancakes, 2 bacon, 2 sausages, 2 scrambled eggs, home fries & toast or biscuit. It was called hikers special - $6.99! We'll be heading there for dinner as well. Our waitress is a former through hiker--actually she has hiked fully three times. She and her husband now own a hostel on the trail. Unfortunately, its going under renovations right now because the road in is under construction this year.
Date: 2011-05-11
From: Atkins, VA--Relax Inn

To: O'Lystery Pavilion 
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

We hike from Atkins to stealth site, behind O'Lystery pavilion, total of 12.1 miles. We were really glad to be leaving Atkins, Relax Inn, the worst motel that we have ever slept in! We do not recommend it to anyone. Started hiking out of town through rolling hillsides, very beautiful! Then up into the mountains, climbing over numerous fence stiles. We saw the beautiful Holston River again. Just a nice day for walking in the woods. We came to the place that we were stopping for the night and found trail magic! Cold pop and goodies! At the end of a hot day that was wonderful! Thank you Lumberjack and Lab Rat !
Date: 2011-05-12
From: O'Lystery Pavilion 

To: Walker Gap
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

Hot, humid day and it was the day for going uphill. We climbed 3500 feet today, climbing up Chestnut Ridge. Every little stream we were wetting our heads and faces down just to keep going. Flame had hopes for a pond to cool off in but when we came to it, it did not look as good as she had hoped for. We continued up the open ridge and had almost 360 views of the surrounding mountains and we had a nice breeze! We are stealth camping tonight and there is a nice, cold well for water. Great way to end a very tiring day.
Date: 2011-05-14
From: Laurel Creek

To: 4 miles north of Bland, VA
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

We we woke up at 6:40 a.m. and hiked the 7 miles to U.S. HW 52 by 9:40 a.m. Chad, an wonderful trail angel who turned out to be from Michigan!, picked us up and gave us a lift into Bland, VA. He was kinda enough to stop at Dollar General so we could do some re-supplying. After he dropped us off, he was headed to another hotel to pick up another hiker to drop back off at the trail. Thanks Chad! We got a quick shower, grabbed some burgers and blizzards at DQ and picked up dinner at Subway before heading back to the trail for another 4.5 miles to finish off the day.
Date: 2011-05-15
From: 4 miles north of Bland, VA

To: Trent's Grocery
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: moderate rain

We passed the 600 mile mark on the trail today! We are thrilled! Greenstone discovered the insoles in his boots are wearing out so we will be ordering up some new ones. Thimbleberry bought new insoles recently at an outfitter along the AT. We are tenting behind Trent's Grocery--nice place, you can get showers, there is a deli, and it only costs $6 to camp!
Date: 2011-05-16
From: Trent's Grocery

To: Woodshole Hostel
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

We headed out around 6:45 this morning and were soon on the trail after walking the 1/2 mile back up the road from Trent's. The nice thing this morning was having Pigeon back in our hiking family. She caught a shuttle from Hwy 52 yesterday afternoon and joined back up with us. We were all excited to have her back with us, especially Flame! We arrived at the Woodshole Hostel mid-afternoon and were greeted warmly by our host Neville. She and her husband Michael have done a great job with the property since taking over the hostel after her grandmother passed away. We chose to tent in an upper meadow and signed up for dinner. We met several other hikers both before and during dinner. The meal was excellent as was the company. We retired to our tents around 9, which is way past our normal hiker bedtime. Soon after the raindrops began hitting the tent and continued most of the night.