morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-08-01
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Tom's Journal:Day 35 ¢ Topo had a good tip this morning: how to eat instant oatmeal without taking it out of the packet. Just tear open the top and pour in boiling water, stir and eat. No messy bowl to clean.Our hike today took us under the Guillotine, a huge rock wedged between two rock walls. The trail goes right under the rock and if it was to fall you would be crushed. We stopped at Cornelius Creek Shelter for lunch and met some hikers already there. One of the hikers named Blueline had a Gator hat. Turns out he was a fellow UF grad living in Gainesville FL. Furthermore, he grew up in Miami near where I grew up. You just never know who you might run into on the AT. We continued hiking the typical ups and downs of the trail and arrived at a shelter named Bryant Ridge. A very unique shelter. The largest and one of the newest on the AT. An expansive tri-level structure that sleeps up to 16 people. I laughingly called it the Ritz Carlton shelter of the AT. The design came from a contest among architectural students at a local college. I slept on the top level of the shelter. Had to climb a ladder to get there.Scott's Journal:August 1 ¢ A new month. Day 35 of our hike. We started a little late and ascended Apple Orchard Mountain 4200+ feet. That is where Croation Sensation and Carney started their 100 mile journey. BlackRock had a great view and made for good photos. The Guillotine was a sight. We stopped for lunch at Cornelius Creek Shelter and met Seabiscuit, Blue Line, Benadryl, and KCB. They gave us 3 trail stops to look ahead. We then summitted Floyd Mountain and hiked a total of 10.2 miles to Bryant Ridge Shelter. It is the largest on the AT ¢ 3 stories. My Dad and I will sleep in the top. We are really burning calories. Jesus inspires me to eat just enough to get by. Tomorrow we arrive in Buchanan to resupply. Topo, 8 Mile Ma, and Trail Dancer stay with us at Bryant Ridge Shelter tonight.
Date: 2013-08-02
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Bearwallow Gap - VA 43
Miles today: 10.4

Tom's Journal:Day 36 ¢ We left the shelter at 6am this morning. We were headed to the town of Buchanan, VA to stay in a motel. We wanted an early start so we could have more time in town. It was dark and quiet as we hit the trail. Almost immediately we had a 1000ft climb which is always tough. However, it seemed a little easier than usual. I think it was because I wasn¢t completely awake yet and wasn¢t fully aware of the pain I was supposed to be feeling. About halfway through the hike we came to Jenning¢s Creek ¢ a large creek and swimming hole. We took some photos but passed on the swimming so we could keep hiking. We passed a hiker named Pocohantas. She said her father was planning on joining her later for part of her thru-hike. I asked if her father had hiking experience. She said no. I told her that since I had been on the trail for 36 days with my limited experience, her dad would probably do fine. We arrived at the trailhead junction with the road to Buchanan. The guidebook said go east 5 miles to get to town. A recurring problem we have at road crossings is figuring east from west. I pulled out my compass and it said right was north and left was south. That didn¢t help at all. We stuck out our thumbs to hitch a ride, planning on asking the driver if we were headed in the right direction. Immediately a man and his daughter stopped. His car was packed to the brim but he said he would rearrange things so we and our backpacks would fit. He ended up having to hold some of his own clothes in his lap as he drove the 5 miles to Buchanan. I continue to be in awe of the kindness and helping spirit of so many of the people we have encountered. We settled into the motel, quickly showered and went to eat. We had already eaten lunch, but it was too early for dinner, so we ate a meal I call pre-dinner. I was hungry. We needed to do laundry at the Laundromat a few miles away so the motel owner loaned me his truck (another act of kindness). The laundromat was right next door to the Coppertop Lounge, so went inside for a drink with the locals while waiting on our laundry to finish. Ate dinner at the restaurant next to motel. Had some great Thai food. Our waitress was an extremely nice and friendly woman named Nellie (she says just call me ¢Whoa Nellie¢!) She offered to drive us back to the trailhead the next morning.Scott's Journal:August 2 ¢ We hiked 10 miles through Jennings Creek. Great swimming spot. We had 3 tough 700 foot++ ascents. The last one was the most difficult. A very arid hill with dried out rocks. We reached the highway around 1pm and hitched with Ray, a kind man traveling to Pennsylvania with his daughter, Amanda. He had to hold his stuff from the back seat in his lap just to make room for us and our packs. At the Wattstull Motel we had a postal mixup but straightened it out with Bob and a call to the post office. Bob lent us his pickup to do laundry in town! The Mountain View restaurant was great. Strawberry shortcake!
Date: 2013-08-03
From: Bearwallow Gap - VA 43

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: broken clouds

Tom's Journal:Day 37 ¢ It was wonderful sleeping in a bed last night. Had a great pancake breakfast. As we checked out of the motel, we saw Topo, Trail Dancer and 8 Mile Ma and said our goodbyes. Most likely this would be the last time we would see them since they weren't continuing their hike until later in the day and were finishing their section hike in a week. They are three terrific ladies and we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. Nellie then drove us back to the AT.Much of our hike today criss-crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were rewarded with some spectacular views. For lunch we set up our handy chairs at one of the BRP overlooks and ate while enjoying the view. A couple of day-hikers, Doc Boots and his wife, stopped to talk to us and were intrigued by our chairs. They were from the area and shared some knowledge on places to go and things to see while hiking the AT. Later that day we ran into 2 camp counselors from a nearby camp. We were about 5 miles from our shelter destination. One of the women said she worked last summer at one of the huts on the AT in New Hampshire. She was also a runner and proceeded to run the 5 miles to the shelter and back. We ran into her again after we had hiked about 2 miles. Either she was real fast or we were real slow! We finally reached the shelter about 6:30pm, pitched the tent, ate dinner and settled in for the night. We were the only hikers at the shelter.Scott's Journal:August 3 ¢ We awoke at 8am and ate a good country breakfast at Mountain View Restaurant. I ate 2 plates. Nelly then drove us to the trail and we hiked 10 miles to Wilson Creek Shelter. The hike was flat and tolerable. We hiked past a cool rock wall 40 feet tall that the trail ran up against. It terraced the surrounding earth. We met two Jehovah¢s Witnesses stopped at a picnic table and prayed for them. A thruhiker, NAMI, I met did 2 NAMI Walks in South Carolina. While eating lunch Doc Boots and his wife encouraged us of the trail ahead and Mt. Rogers. They recommended my family vacation at Abingdon. I am tired. Happy Birthday Mom!
Date: 2013-08-04
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: US220 - Daleville, VA
Miles today: 11.2

Tom's Journal:Day 38 ¢ Unfortunately Scott woke up with a headache so our departure was a little bit delayed. We finally hit the trail around 9:30am. Today our destination was the town of Daleville which is right on the AT and has an outfitter store so we can buy a canister of fuel for our stove. It is unusual to be in 2 towns within a 3 day period. But we took advantage and stayed in a motel Sunday night. Ate at a highly acclaimed barbecue restaurant - 3 Little Pigs BBQ. A slab of ribs on the outside deck, listened to some good bluegrass music, and finished with a hot fudge sundae. Then returned to the motel to watch the Atlanta Braves clobber the Cardinals on Sunday night ESPN Baseball. All in all, a pretty good day for a hiker. We did meet a nice couple, David and Lynn, from Roanoke, who were day-hiking. We came across them where the AT crosses the railroad tracks. They had previously lived in Alpharetta GA.Scott's Journal:August 4 ¢ I awoke with a headache and my dad gave me two ibuprofens. Finally I was okay and we started later around 8:45am. We only had one steep climb. The weather is sunny and beautiful today. My legs feel strong. We hiked over Norfolk Railway and met some local hikers Dave and Lynn. After 11.2 miles we stopped in Daleville at Howard Johnson¢s. It is less than 0.2 miles off the trail. Cool. Sleeping in a bed is nice because I have a sore neck. I showered and we walked 0.3 miles to 3 Little Pigs award winning BBQ Restaurant. A band playing live music asked the people who traveled the farthest and my Dad and I won a free bumper sticker. I went to Kroger and bought hummus and pita chips, and then my Dad and I returned to the motel to watch ESPN Sunday night baseball, Atlanta vs Philadelphia.
Date: 2013-08-05
From: US220 - Daleville, VA

To: Lambert's Meadow Campsite
Miles today: 9.1

Tom's Journal:Day 39 ¢ Another great night sleeping in a real bed. Had to wait until 10am for outfitter store to open and finally got back on the AT around 11am. We bought an additional guide book which shows line graph depiction of AT elevation. We were always getting surprised by uphill climbs we didn¢t expect. The new guidebook should fix that problem. Now we get to fret over the uphills well in advance.Today¢s hike took us straight up the mountain where we were able to look back down at the town. Great views. While sitting on some rocks eating lunch, Doc Boots and his wife came upon us again. We had first met them 2 days ago. They were probably starting to wonder if all we did was stop and eat, since they never saw us actually hiking.For some reason the hiking today seemed to take a lot more effort. We took many breaks and arrived at our campsite about 6:30pm. We were the only ones at the site. As darkness approached, we tried to toss the rope over a tree branch to hang our food sacks. It¢s recommended that the sack hang at least 10¢ above the ground and at least 4¢ out from the tree. The problem at most locations is finding a tree with a strong branch that is not too high to throw the rope. Rope throwing can quickly turn into a comedy routine as we have previously experienced and witnessed with other hikers. Tonight was our worst rope throw experience yet. Somehow we managed to get the rope wrapped around 3 separate branches with the carabiner wedged 20¢ feet up. We tried desperately for about an hour to get it loose. Scott even tried to climb the tree but was not successful. We were about to give up and leave our rope stuck in the tree, when suddenly the light bulb went on. Why not turn the 12¢ long picnic table lengthwise against the tree and have Scott (not me!) climb to the top and reach the rope. Success! We saved our rope and then went to sleep exhausted. Passed the 300 mile mark today!Scott's Journal:August 5 ¢ We ate a waffle buffet at Howard Johnson¢s. I mailed home some extra pack weight from the post office and hitched a ride from Nathan to meet my dad at Outdoor Trails.We bought a new gas canister. We started on the trail and completed 9.1 miles to Lambert's Meadow Campsite. When we tried to hang our bear rope on a tree in the dark wearing headlamps, and our rope got tangled on a knot of the tree. After an hour of trying to untangle the rope, my dad resorted to turning the picnic table on its side and I climbed up to untangle the bear rope.
Date: 2013-08-06
From: Lambert's Meadow Campsite

To: VA311, Catawba, VA
Miles today: 10.7

Tom's Journal:Day 40 ¢ Today was a day for superb views from high in the mountains. The first highlight was an area called Tinker Cliffs ¢ the name derived from Revolutionary War deserters who hid near here and repaired pots and pans. About 6 miles further down the trail was McAfee Knob, commonly thought to have the best views in Virginia. Based on what I saw I would have to agree.I carry 3 liters of water in my hydration reservoir and today I used every bit of it before arriving at our destination ¢ John Spring Shelter. Unfortunately, there was no available water source at this shelter. We needed water to cook our dinner. We looked in our guidebook and saw that the 4 Pines Hostel was about 7 miles further down the trail. We called the owner Joe and he agreed to pick us up at a trailhead intersection one mile away and drive us to the hostel.This hostel was a bit unusual. It was a stand-alone structure detached from Joe¢s house that was built as a large 3-car garage. Inside were various pieces of furniture including cots, lounges, sofas, and one mattress, as well as many of Joe¢s tools. I claimed the mattress and Scott slept in a recliner. The garage also had a rudimentary shower, so we were able to clean up. There were also 3 other hikers staying at the hostel, all northbound section-hikers.Scott's Journal:August 6 ¢ We broke camp late and hiked up McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs. The views on both were magnificent. McAfee Knob was created by God¢s hands as a viewing platform, protruding out over the trees! My dad and I saw a copperhead at the top. We took a wrong turn and reconnected with the AT above Catawba. WE stopped at Johns Springs Shelter but there was no water. We hiked on to VA311 and Joe picked us up and took us back to 4 Pines Hostel. It was a 3-door garage. Nice enough He had a guitar I played for Kurt, Jeff, and Nat.
Date: 2013-08-07
From: VA311, Catawba, VA

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Tom's Journal:Day 41 ¢ At 6:30am Joe drove us back to the spot where he had picked us up the day before. Ironically, the first 6 miles of our hike today was just to get us back to the hostel. On the way we passed 3 hikers we met the night before who were going the opposite direction. We knew from talking with other hikers that the next 3 miles would be tough. We were headed 1500 feet up Cove Mountain. At the top was a 40-foot high stone monolith called Dragon¢s Tooth. From afar it looked much like the tooth of a dragon. In order to get there, it was more rock climbing than hiking. Some parts of the trail had steel bars inserted into the rock to assist with the climbing. After much effort, we made it to the base of Dragon¢s Tooth. I had done enough acrobatics for one day, so I let the nimbler Scott make it to the very top of the tooth while I took his photo. The tedious rock climbing took up much of the day. Then it started to rain and we finally reached the next shelter site, Pickle Branch, at 6:30pm. About 12 hours of hiking. Tough day, but beautiful views.Scott's Journal:August 7 ¢ We left the 4 Pines at 6:30am and hiked from 311 to the base of Cove Mountain aka Dragon¢s Tooth. It took us about 4 hours to hike up the mountain to Dragon¢s Tooth. A technical climb with lots of rocks. At the top I climbed the stone monolith known as Dragon¢s Tooth and saw both sides of Cove Mountain. We hiked down to Pickle Branch Shelter and tented for the night. We met Tumbleweed, Slugtee, Big Al, Mitch, and Brian.
Date: 2013-08-08
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

Tom's Journal:Day 42 ¢ Slept in a little later than usual to give our tired bodies more rest. Broke camp about 9am. The toughest part of today¢s hike was the 1500 foot climb to the top of Brush Mountain. We stopped at the top to see the monument to Audie Murphy. Audie was the most decorated soldier from WWII. He died after the war in a plane crash near the site of the monument. Shortly after leaving the monument, we were startled by a hiker who was yelling at us from about 50 yards down the trail. He was standing tall in the middle of the trail with his 2 rather long wooden hiking sticks. For a moment we thought he was guarding the trail from intruders. We stopped and talked to him. His trail name was ¢Poet¢. He was northbound and he wanted to know if the general store near the 4 Pines Hostel had an ATM machine. Tomorrow was his 62nd birthday and he needed cash to buy beer and cigarettes to celebrate. As we continued on, we somehow missed a right turn in the trail and ended up going a mile down a fire road before realizing our mistake. We had to backtrack which effectively added 2 additional miles to our hike. Furthermore, it started to rain which made the last part of our hike pretty miserable. We arrived at Niday Shelter tired and very wet.Scott's Journal:August 8 ¢ We broke camp at 9am and hiked to Trout Creek and then up Brush Mountain to Audie Leon Murphy Monument. He is the most decorated WWII veteran and crashed his plane near the hills of the AT in that area. Hikers place rocks in piles on his monument. We took another wrong turn and backtracked 30 minutes. We proceeded in the rain to Niday Shelter and are staying in the shelter with the wet conditions. My dad and I had some good talking. We are eating 1.5 times more for dinner. That seems to work better. We are close with the good Lord in the Virginia foothills.
Date: 2013-08-09
From: Niday Shelter

To: VA42 - Huffman House
Miles today: 10.0

Tom's Journal:Day 43 ¢ Based on elevation guidebook we expected an initial 600ft climb up Sinking Creek Mountain and then flat elevation the rest of the way to our destination ¢ the Huffman House B&B. Unfortunately the guidebook didn¢t mention that much of the flat elevation was comprised of large slabs of slanted rock! If you slipped, you were in danger of tumbling down the mountainside. The rock was extremely slippery from last night¢s rain. I must have fallen at least a half dozen times and it¢s a miracle that I wasn¢t seriously injured. Eventually the trail did become easier. Near the end we came across the largest oak tree on the AT in the south. It¢s called the Keffer Oak and is over 18 feet around and more than 300 years old. We reached VA42 and hiked another half-mile to the Huffman House where we were graciously greeted by owners and 1999 thru-hikers, Ron and Carol Baker. The Huffman House is not only a B&B but also a farm with lots of animals and Sinking Creek flowing through the property. The historic house was completely restored and expanded after the purchase by Ron and Carol. It was beautiful. The entire setting was the perfect stop for two weary hikers.We also got to attend the local agricultural fair, which is the oldest of its kind in Virginia. A special treat for 2 city boys. Watched the horse-pull competition where horse teams were pulling sleds loaded with cement blocks. These powerful horses were pulling up to 8,000 lbs.Scott's Journal:August 9 ¢ We woke up around 4:45am at Niday Shelter and left at 6:45am. The early start was great. We traversed trough a rocky section challenging our footing. We stopped for lunch under a tree with a great overlook. We arrived to the Huffman House B&B at Creekside Farm and got our resupply box. We went to the fair (Newport Fair) and saw our first horse pull and ate well. It is VA¢s oldest agricultural fair. I toured the Creekside Farm and petted the horses and saw the other farm animals. The beds were comfortable and had ultra soft linen. Carol and Ron were excellent hosts and made the stay pleasant. The house has lots of history as well.
Date: 2013-08-10
From: VA42 - Huffman House

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.4
Weather: broken clouds

Tom's Journal:Day 44 ¢ We had a great night¢s sleep at the Huffman House. Carol served a terrific breakfast at 8:30 and she and Ron ate with us as we swapped trail stories. Carol drove Scott to the town post office and then afterwards we packed up our gear and hung outside enjoying the farm animals and the flowing creek and taking photos. Carol then kindly drove us back to the trailhead to continue our AT journey. It was a short hike before arriving at the Laurel Creek Shelter. Once again we were the only hikers at the shelter. We pitched our tent, cooked dinner, and settled in for the night.Scott's Journal:August 10 ¢ We ate an amazing breakfast. I ate so much I skipped lunch. We mailed home some things. I signed the guest book, took some photos, packed our things and got a ride back to the trail from Carol. We hiked a mediocre 2.5 miles to Laurel Creek Shelter. We planned our next week¢s hiking spots leading to where my mother will meet us and stay at Martha Washington Inn for 2 zero days. Much needed rest. I love my mom and dad. I am growing closer with God¢s spirit out here. I thank Doc Boots and Susie for picking out the town of Abingdon and the Martha Washington Inn for us to stay.
Date: 2013-08-11
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Campsite north of Wind Rock
Miles today: 9.5

Tom's Journal:Day 45 ¢ Difficult hike today. We started straight out of camp with 1000 foot climb to Kelly Knob where we experienced some great views. Then back down the mountain to John¢s Creek and then started a 2,000 foot climb to Lone Pine Peak. These were back-breaking climbs. Stopped at War Spur Shelter for lunch. My shirt was completely soaked with perspiration so I took it off to dry in the sun (yes ¢ there really was some sun!) I looked over at Scott and as usual he showed no signs of exertion. He looked like he just stepped out of an REI commercial. It¢s not fair! The sun disappeared in late afternoon and was replaced by rain. We kept looking for the campsite (it was not a shelter so there was no trail sign) ¢ and finally we stopped from exhaustion near a spring and tried to figure out why we hadn¢t found the campsite. We decided we would hike another few miles. We hiked 100 yards, and to our surprise we found the campsite!Scott's Journal:August 11 ¢ We hiked from Laurel Creek Shelter to a campsite through rain. We stopped after 9 miles, just short and I told my dad ¢I can¢t hike much farther.¢ We hiked another 30 yards and there was the campsite. Thank you good Lord God! We set up camp and our zero gravity chairs. We ate a good dinner and then went to sleep. My days seem simpler like that now. Primitive functions of life. Hike, sit, eat, sleep. Thank you God.