morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2019-04-10
From: Damascus 

To: Damascus 
Miles today: 0.0

Weds day 52,Zero Day in Damascus Well this is only for the gear junkies.I¢m kidding of course as I believe anything you can learn from other hikers will hopefully keep you from making the same mistakes or better yet help you succeed. Remember I¢m still just a 470 mile newbie myself so sit back and laugh if I go down the wrong path ¢pun intended ¢ That being said I sent3 lbsof gear home today.  I sent some of my most favorite gear home that has been there for me getting me thru all the cold nights and blustery snowy days. I sent home my Sea to Summit Thermo reactor liner the orange heavy duty one. This thing is absolutely gold and truly will increase the warmth rating of your sleep system. My opinion only but based on my experience a 19 degree mummy bag with this liner will get you down to 7 degrees. Remember that super cold night right out of Franklin so long ago? It¢s a proven fact for me however we all have individual comfort ratings .Second and equally valuable and loved piece of gear Is my Patagonia R2 black fleece jacket. I hated to send it home but my puffy is so much lighter and will stay with me for the duration. The Patagonia or Pataguchi Line as I lovingly call it is seriously good stuff, hard to justify spending that kind of loot unless you plan to be in the extremes then it¢s worth every penny. I also sent my liner gloves, beanie hat, and sleep socks home. All all a bit over 3 pounds according to the post office. I know Spring can be unpredictable and don¢t worry I still have my Ice breaker base layer , buff,and my trusted Arcteryx puffy.  I replaced my Altras Lone Peaks 3.5 with brand new shiny 4.0s they are in my favorite trail color black. Actually I¢m working on my spring wardrobe and mixing in some color as the Johnny Cash look is getting depressing. My final big purchase was a Hyperlite Windrider White back pack. Understand I love my Zpacks Arc Haul Zip but I bought it used and those who have been following since the beginning know I had some issues that I had to rig. The way I see it the first 500 miles was a test and I believe I¢ll need this new gear to finish... that¢s my story anyhow. Well that¢s it for the gear till the next 500 miles!
Date: 2019-04-12
From: Damascus 

To: Lost Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 14.9

Day 53 and 54 Damascus to Lost Mountain Shelter. 14.9 miles.Yesterday Thursday I took another zero. Unfortunately my meds and resupply box did not make it in till Friday morning but I actually benefited from an extra day. It¢s interesting how zero days are quite busy with equipment chores, repairs and resupplying but the most important task of all is physical recovery. My muscles and ankles healed up from the rest , today I was able to fly up the mountains with no pains at all.Today the AT trail ran parallel to the Virginia Creeper trail and also a beautiful stream . The Virginia Creeper trail is a famous rails to trails pathway that people hike and bike. There are at least four bicycle outfitters in Damascus as well as three outstanding hiker outfitters stores . This along with fine trout fishing makes Damascus a great place to visit for the outdoors enthusiasts. I¢m attaching a link.Oh and the restaurants are fantastic in this town. The Damascus Diner , Mojos, Seven Rivers, The Mill were all superb. There¢s also a very good barbershop and several good churches and other places of interest.https://www.vacreepertrail.org...So Friday, We did have a lot of climbing and our bags were heavy from the resupply but we were in great spirits and fully rested.Q, Timber and I left town a little after 10 am and got to the shelter area around 6:30 PM. There are several of us tented a hammock camping all around the shelter. We are all excited as we will hopefully get to see the Grayson Highlands wild ponies either tomorrow or the next day. We also have  coming up the highest point in Virginia Mount Rogers and the famous Fat man squeeze to go through and last but not least the 500 mile marker is in our grasp.  Exciting stuff!Btw all my new gear seems to be working fine.Unfortunately we are hearing trail talk of upcoming severe get out of dodge weather forecast. Hmph!Seriously we have a backup plan if it gets as bad as they say. Other than that is off to see the ponies!!
Date: 2019-04-14
From: Massie Gap

To: Fox Creek Gap
Miles today: 9.8

Sunday April 14, Day 56Massie Gap to Fox Creek 9.8 Miles.Q and I woke up and headed downstairs to the General Store for Breakfast. The accommodations were excellent as good as any hotel I¢ve stayed in. Our plan today is to get back to Grayson Highlands and hike north ten miles ,but the number one objective is to see wild ponies. As you know they were very elusive yesterday. The rain started to fall and the wind picked up as we got closer to our starting place. Once again we were in the ¢Scottish ¢ Highlands complete with sheets of rain blowing sideways. I pictured the wild ponies comfortably wrapped up in blankets in their secret caves laughing at us as we searched for them in the rain in vain.We hiked up the mountain on the AT heading north and would cross thru several livestock gates. With each step in elevation I felt our chances of seeing the wild ponies were getting worse and worse. As we approached the summit the weather fortunately started to clear , Q was ahead and silently signaled me that he had spotted ponies up the trail. I had totally given up on seeing the ponies so I was ecstatic to see them!The ponies are amazing ,these four seemed skittish and we enjoyed them from a distance .What an awesome day, we did 10 miles not too bad under the weather conditions we were in. Virginia is still mountainous but will hopefully get easier soon . Weather permitting we will hit it again tomorrow.
Date: 2019-04-15
From: Fox Creek Gap

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 15.3

Monday April 15, Day 57 , 15.3  miles -Fox Creek to Stealth Campsite -Virginia Highlands.>span class="s1">Spring can and is producing winter like storms. Unfortunately many of us are no longer carrying all of our winter gear. The good news is the cold snap will only last a day or two!Actually as the day went on the weather improved tremendously, still unseasonably cold but very nice. The trail took us through cattle pastures today and at one point I sensed I was being followed by a cow. Oh I need to tell and warn you about what happened to some of my friends the other night. Remember Saturday evening when Q and I left some of our group at Thomas Knob Shelter because we wanted to hike further and see ponies? Well True story in the middle of the night a band of renegade ponies came into their shelter area and tried to eat straps , hiker gear and poor Iron man one horse ate his hammock tarp strap and the rain fly broke and unfortunately the weather got ugly that night and he got wet. I did not realize the wild ponies could be mischievous like bears and  raccoons , again it¢s peoples fault for feeding them and consequently they lose their fear of humans. Anyway future hikers take heed .Today we got to see a waterfall cross many creeks and saw several cows up close. I¢m safe and sound in my tent , it¢s supposed to drop to around 34 degrees which is cold but not freezing. I¢m out of the mischievous horse country and the bears leave us alone so it should be a peaceful night.
Date: 2019-04-16
To: Stealth Camp 1890 Farm 
Miles today: 15.0

Tuesday Day 58, Stealth Camp site to Stealth camping behind 1890s farm house. 15 miles.Well Virginia is still very mountainous if you ask me, I did not need anyone to rock me to sleep last night. I slept pretty good however my pillow is now not holding air. Funny how equipment falls apart out here. Also the weather was quite cold yesterday but it warmed up tremendously today. What an absolute gorgeous spring day, the leaves on the trees are starting to bud , tiny flowers; yellow, white and violet are starting to bloom, birds singing, turkeys gobbling, it¢s the absolute best spring ever , I believe I said this before but I feel like I¢m part of this transformation somehow. I was in love with winter;the cold nights, beautiful snow , spectacular views ,no bugs, But now I¢m ready for the new world that¢s more alive, colorful and longer days to play outside. Spring is my new favorite!The hike this morning was a great climb up to Glade Mnt which at 4113 ft rivals many Mountains we have conquered. I was able to get enough reception to call Rhonda and upload yesterday¢s journal.Q took a picture of me wearing a cheap red flannel shirt I had to buy that looks like Snugg¢s pajamas. I may have to send it to him for his Snuggles trail collection . You know cotton doesn¢t always kill, it actually saved me from a very cold night.Today at approximately 7 miles in, the trail took us thru The Virginia Pat Jennings Visitors center and later we had to cross VA 16Q. Q surprised us all by getting there ahead of us and ordering two Large Pizzas!!! Fantastic amazing trail magic from our very own Q.  Q is one of the most generous amazing gentleman you will ever meet, he helps so many people in so many different ways. His trail name should be ¢Super Amazing ¢Tonight we are stealth camping maybe illegally we don¢t know behind a beautiful  1890 farmhouse  complete with barns, sheds, cellars, chicken houses and other structures. Something like the Shire out of the JR Tolkien¢s Hobbit .When we got here we went up to the farmhouse to get permission to camp ,but no one answered. So we went behind one of the barns and decided to set up our tents . I hope we don¢t wake up with a shotgun to our noses. We are careful campers and leave no trace. Did you guys ever watch Wearwolves of London ? We have a full moon again and the CCR song Bad Moon A Rising keeps playing in my head. Just a random thought.All is great tonight the weather is cool but not cold like last night , tomorrow morning we plan to dash into Atkins Va 4 miles away resupply and get some breakfast at The Barn a famous hiker restaurant .That is if we¢re not in jail for squatting....
Date: 2019-04-17
From: Stealth Camp 1890 Farm 

To: Possum Creek Campsite
Miles today: 15.7

Wednesday Day 59 Stealth campsite behind 1890 farm to Possum creek campsite 15.7 miles. I slept wonderfully on the soft farmland grass , my tent felt like it was pitched on a Serta Perfect Sleeper mattress the ground was so soft. Six a.m.came way to soon but we had plans and places to go. We quickly struck camp , none of us cooked breakfast because we had plans to eat breakfast at The Barn a famous hiker restaurant that is under new ownership and is now called M&M restaurant approximately 4 miles up the trail.We started our trek ,hiked up and over a hill and there was an old restored 1800s school building , Timber was standing on the porch eating an apple and let us know there was trail magic inside. Sure enough the local United Methodist Church had a cooler full of drinks, and boxes of resupply items and snacks. I mean everything from toilet paper to apples it was a great way to start the day !We made it to the restaurant and boy was the food good, I had two breakfasts and coconut cake for dessert !Today we climbed and climbed and we also crossed several pastures, and creeks.I love the diversity of the terrain. We hit an important milestone today 548 miles which is 1/4 of the way!Tonight we are camping at Possum Creek campsite, Q, RG, Stingray,Timber and I are all in our tents. The coyotes are active and yelping may be the full moon? What is sweet but annoying at the same time is the whippoorwill that is singing in my ear. Go to bed little bird...
Date: 2019-04-18
From: Possum Creek Campsite

To: Walker Gap Stealth Campsite 
Miles today: 12.7

Thursday Day 60 , 12.7 miles Possum Creek Campsite to Stealth Campsite Walker Gap.Woke up to slight rain, just enough to wet our equipment. No worries as there is actually a pavilion at this site ,I don¢t believe we are supposed to be using it according to the AWOL guide however rain trumps all rules. We had a steep climb out of camp straight up Brushy Mnt then another climb up Lynn Camp Mntand the a long five mile ascent up Chestnut Knob. I am beat as I lay here in my tent writing. Truly VA is as mountainous as any of the states I¢ve walked through if not more so. Everything is very beautiful and Spring is being Spring we are expecting some severe weather tomorrow ,hail , cold weather, thunderstorms etc.etc.etc. (Yul Brynner)Today we ran across a section hiker that was not feeling well. , it was his second day in and the mountains were seriously kicking his tail. Stingray gave him some electrolytes to add to his water and RG had some anti Nausea medication. I offered low dose aspirin. Hey if you ever get sick on the trail hope 4 old guys show up as we carry enough medication to solve any illness. Q was once again the super hero and slowly hiked down the mountain with this individual thanks also to Ginger wolf he¢s a nurse and  hiked with them as well. As suspected the hiker had overheated and dehydrated a combination of tall mountains, Hot day and bad choices which I won¢t go into but hope he learns from this experience!We are all camped on a high Gap in the mountain and the wind is howling. We hope the bad weather holds off a bit as we will try to get into town tomorrow if possible.I wish everyone out there a wonderful Easter Weekend. God Bless each and everyone of you!Special shout out to all the youth involved in the Lads to Leaders conventions going on across the nation this weekend. My Father in law Dr. Jack Zorn founded this organization 50 years ago! https://christianchronicle.org...
Date: 2019-04-20
From: VA 623

To: US 52
Miles today: 15.8

Saturday Day 62, 15.8 miles VA 623 to US 52.Bubba our shuttle driver drove us back up the mountain this morning to where we got off yesterday. Q, RJ,Stingray and I headed up the trail hoping to knock out 16 miles before the heavy rains came. The terrain was mild compared to what we have been dealing with lately and we covered the distance in record time averaging 3.5 miles per hour. The weather was a little rainy but not bad like yesterday. We ran across the Malone family hiking north, the Malones are amazing the mom and dad and four young girls age 5 To 13 are hiking the entire trail. I¢ve mentioned them before but I¢m so impressed with this young family .We got back into town and hiked down to Dairy Queen for supper and ice cream. Pushing 60 came off the mountain and joined us for dinner. She weathered the storm in the enclosed shelter last night with several others.A gear review moment: I purchased new shoes in Damascus Altras 4.0 and Q got the Altras TIMP. Great proven shoes however the toe guard on both styles have already failed and turned loose. We were able to superglue the guards back and seal the edges with silicone.The fix seems to be working but come on Altra ,our shoes should last longer than a week before failing!That being said and off my chest, I 100 percent recommend these shoes for hiking. Lol another paradox.Once again we are safe and sound from the rainy weather outside.Tomorrow we will attend worship service in town and then hit the trail heading north.Happy Easter to all!
Date: 2019-04-21
From: US 52

To: Stealth Camp by two streams
Miles today: 12.9

Sunday Day 63US 52 to stealth camp 12.9 miles.Last night I had an amazing dinner;1/2 pound burger combo and a hotdog at Dairy Queen complete with a Caramel Sundae for dessert . I¢m down a few pounds so I do try to eat as much as possible when in town.  I excused myself after dinner from Q,RG,Stingray and Pushing 60 and took a stroll into town. Everyone was pretty beat from our force march today but I wanted to explore  town a bit. The town of Bland VA is pretty small,basically you have the Dairy Queen and Subway and that¢s it for eating establishments. There is an Italian restaurant that delivers from a nearby location but I could not find it on my walk. I was able to find a couple of churches and got their Easter service times , a couple were having sunrise service starting at 6:30 in the morning. I stopped in and resupplied in Grants Grocery Store  a very clean what I presume to be one of the last Mom and Pop type stores in the nation , I just don¢t see these little groceries stores anymore especially not in Florida. I enjoyed exploring but realized walking miles off trail don¢t count and headed back to the inn to retire.Sunday morning I woke up to a cool 38 degrees but fortunately the sky was clear and would turn out to be a beautiful spring day. Q, Pushing 60 and I walked into town and attended a beautiful church service , the preacher Kevin was super friendly as well as all the members and they all went out of their way to make us feel welcome . After church service the kiddos had an Easter egg hunt on the premises. It was small town USA at its finest! One of the members offered to carry us to the trailhead after we went to Grant¢s Grocery store for sandwiches and additional supplies. When we got to the trailhead we sat at the picnic table and ate our lunches. We looked up to see Crumb Dumpster formally Texamo and Doc coming down the trail. We shared our sandwiches with them and we had one wonderful Easter banquet with our trail family !After lunch Q and I headed north on the trail , Pushing Sixty headed south and CD and Doc waited for a shuttle as they were staying tonight at the Inn we just left . Pushing Sixty would catch up with them later at as well. RG and Stingray would be waiting on Q and I up the trail. Complicated I know but that¢s how we continue to bump into one another in these remote locations.So tonight we are camped out by a two streams intersection . I would not dare be camped here if rain was in the forecast as I would probably be swept away. The sky is clear and the temps will be in the 30s again.But I¢m happy to be in the woods were I belong. Oh we hit 600 miles today Ooh Rah!
Date: 2019-04-22
From: Stealth Camp by two streams

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: broken clouds

Monday Day64 Stealth site to Wapiti Shelter The thing about Spring time is that the weather can be so perfect it¢s hard to want to do anything but relax.Today was one of those days ,a gorgeous morning with every bird in the forest singing, sound of the streams flowing, it was hard to get going.None the less we all packed up as we looked forward to stopping at Trents Groceries an outpost famous for their hamburgers and milkshakes about 6 miles down the trail at a road crossing. Funny how we are so motivated by food.Right before we reached the road crossing we crossed our very first suspension bridge over a large stream. The AWOL guide had the bridge listed and said drinking was discouraged which seemed kind of funny but I totally understood once we all started walking across as it was more thrilling than a ride at Disney.The cheeseburgers and milkshakes at Trent did not disappoint .The young lady working there was hands down the most customer oriented , friendly person we have met at any establishment on the AT and I would highly recommend anyone to check this place out!We were soon back on the trail our next stop was the beautiful Dismal Falls. The falls were spectacular and we enjoyed our second lunch on top throwing the occasional stick in watching it go over the falls . Once again the beautiful day, warm sun , sounds of the waterfall made it hard to leave.We finally got going and certainly the flora and the fauna was flourishing all around, we saw five deer, a four foot King snake, wild flowers,fingerling bass in a mountain pond full of salamanders,it was a beautiful active spring day. We finally made it to the shelter area and pitched our tents we met new section hikers , Osso,Lucy and Dragon and We met a new thru hiker Hawk Bait and she shared news on our tramily behind us as she had been with Sunshine, Bluegrass,Peach,Gopher and Papa Bear a few days before. It¢s so cool the way news travels up and down the trail, I envision this to be the way it was back in the olden days. Another old friend Young Gun showed up I had not seen him since Hot Springs. That night before we all retired to our tents we discussed how two hikers were murdered here at this shelter in 1981.As you can imagine the mood got somber and one young hiker moved their tent closer in to ours .  I¢ve pasted a link to the newspaper article. It¢s a very sad story but the reality is there are more dangers back home then here. https://www.roanoke.com/webmin...We ended the night on a more cheerful note waiting up to watch the meteor shower (which we never saw).  The night was cool and perfect for sleeping.... no scary stuff.
Date: 2019-04-23
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Stealth site by Spring 
Miles today: 15.4

Tuesday Day 65.  Wapiti Shelter to Stealth camping near Springs15.4 miles.We all survived the night without incident , it was a short night as we stayed up late hoping to see the meteor shower. Although we didn¢t see any meteors the stars were beautiful.  It¢s amazing to see stars without the light pollution from the city. The climbs today were tough, long and rocky but we were rewarded with some beautiful views. I absolutely love it when the skies are clear and I can see for miles. So often I¢ve been robbed of views with bad weather. Ultimately the mountains give us what they want.At one point we hiked through what appeared to be a dead forest. RG believes the trees could possibly have suffered from the ashborer beetle. We are going to try and find out for sure, but what a shame to see so many magnificent trees dead.After a day of climbing and descending and climbing again we finally got to our destination. I mean the day was tough but I liked it because I was feeling strong. We camped near a spring right before Angel¢s Rest which is a cliff formation with a spectacular view of the town of Pearisburg VA.Tomorrow we will have a short hike into town as Stingray and RG have shoes and other items that have been sent to the Pearisburg Post Office. We will decide if we we will spend the night or move on. Another great day in store!
Date: 2019-04-24
From: Stealth campsite 

To: Pearisburg i
Miles today: 2.4

Wednesday Day 66, 2.4 miles Nero day into Pearisburg VA.https://www.google.com/search?q=pearisburg%20va&tbm=ischStingray, RG, Q and I arose early and headed down the mountain into town. We did stop briefly at Angel¢s Rest to enjoy the morning sunrise but nobody wanted to risk the climb up the iconic Angel¢s Rest boulder , too sketchy this early in the morning plus we had breakfast waiting for us in town.We spent the rest of the day resupplying and handling business back home. All of us on the trail greatly appreciate our support system back home, I know I could not be here following my dreams without the support of my lovely wife. Thank you sweetie!The day in town went by swiftly and I still have some unfinished business that I need to tend to at the local library . We decided to extend our stay and arranged a shuttle to slack pack us and get in a couple of 20 miles days.Tonight we ate big at the local Mexican restaurant and all is good!I attached a link to this quaint little town, I like it a lot!