morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-02
From: Indian Grave Gap 

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Waking up to the sound of Fresh Grounds saying "Who's ready for another pancake?" is how every morning must begin in Heaven. I packed up my gear in between plates of pancakes and cups of coffee, making effort not to rush anything. Surprisingly, I was able to make it out of camp before 9am and was making my way northward when I quickly ran across some trail magic. Score! Fresh fruit (I grabbed an apple) from a trail angel whose name I can't remember to save my life. I could barely stomach anything else! I was still stuffed when I arrived at Beauty Spot, a bald which made for a perfect place to stop and enjoy a quick mid-morning break. Up ahead was the slow and steady ascent of Unaka, a beautiful peak covered with a dense spruce forest, which stands at a little over 5,000ft above sea level. A few hours later, I cruised into the next shelter for a lunch break only to find some extra spicy Slim Jims had been left for thru hikers. More magic! I snacked until I was satiated, refilled on water, and quickly made my way back onto the trail. No sooner than I found my hiking groove was I floored to spot ANOTHER trail angel (Rob & Casper, the AT friendly van) set up at the next gap. That's 4 in one day!!! Unbelievable.I finally settled into Clyde Smith Shelter after 17.8mi for the night as the sun was beginning to set. Today was an all-around perfect hiking day, I must say.
Date: 2015-04-03
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter aka. The Barn
Miles today: 15.5

I was, apart from Bearded Bandit who was taking a zero, the last one to leave the shelter in the morning at 8:30. I made quick work of the descent into Hughes Gap and started up the steady slope of Roan Mountain. When I had glanced at my map before starting out, it looked like a considerable climb, but after an 90min of ascending I had to stop and check the map. I was barely halfway up the mountain! I heard voices up ahead as I climbed and stumbled across Rolling Thunder, Hot Pants, and Banana Boat taking a snack break. I joined in and soon I was on the way back up, following Banana Boat (she has a steady uphill pace that is easy on my stifd right knee) towards the summit. After another couple of miles, we bumped into Hot Pants again at the top (nearly 6,300ft in elevation) and continued on to the nearby shelter. Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest shelter on the AT, sitting at a cool & breezy 6,194ft. It served as the perfect place for a lunch break.Within a half hour we were again descending, this time towards Carvers Gap and three balds. You could definitely tell that it was the weekend, as we ran into more clean-smelling weekend hikers in the subsequent miles than in the last week combined. As rain threatened to our West, we quickly made our way over the beautiful tops of Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Grassy Ridge Bald. I felt almost as if I were in a Lord of the Rings film as we crested each grassy bald and took in the surrounding views. Continuing on, we ended up sliding into Overmountain Shelter (affectionately known as "The Barn") amidst a few light sprinkles right before 5pm.Our 'group' is the first main clump of northbound thru hikers that most people have seen - Roadside, Mozart, Romeo, Seeker, Banana Boat, Rolling Thunder, Brightside, and myself. We found ourselves woefully outnumbered by day, weekend, and section hikers by almost 20 heads. Almost as if it were instinct, we all began attempting to "yogi" - tell non thru hikers about your trip in hoping they'll give you free food - people as we meandered around the camp. All in all, we ended up fairly successful. I personally enjoyed a hot dog and half of a baked potato in exchange for a bit of storytelling. A good deal in my book and a great way to end a great hiking day!
Date: 2015-04-04
From: Overmountain Shelter aka. The Barn

To: Mountaineer Shelter 
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: scattered clouds

About an hour after 'hiker midnight' (9pm), a nasty cold front moved in, carrying with it a blast of cool air, high winds, and misty rain. I'm guessing the temperature only dipped into the low 40s, but it was enough to leave everyone in the shelter feeling chilled as they awoke in the morning. You could tell by the groans, moans, and cursing that revolved around the loft as people woke up.One by one though, all 8 of our thru hiker crowd plodded our way into the harsh wind. As I climbed, I noticed that all of the branches and grass had been frozen with ice hanging off horizontally, no doubt due to the high winds. The winds buffeted me left and right as I walked. In my ascent of Hump Mountain, the last bald of the day, the wind was strong enough that I was able to lean into the wind and have it hold me up. Impressive! (And very cold.)Almost as if someone had flipped a switch, the clouds cleared out to reveal blue skies and sunshine as soon as I topped the bald. It was still windy, but the suns influence was enough to make me lose a few layers.Five miles of descent later, I rolled through the intersection of US 19E and headed towards the Mountain Harbor hostel to pick up a package from my mom, resupply, and to charge my phone. Included in the package was a new sim card which should allow me better reception on the trail.I took a little too long at the hostel and made it back on the trail by 5pm with 9mi left to go. Thankfully, the terrain was easy and I arrived at the shelter with a little less than a half hour left before dark. We added one more to our group - Sparkles - so we are sitting at 9 thru hikers in our group for the moment.
Date: 2015-04-05
From: Mountaineer Shelter 

To: Dennis Cove Rd. (Kincora) 
Miles today: 15.9

I didn't feel like leaving my sleeping bag when I woke up this morning, so I 'slept in' while everyone else got ready and left. Taking my time, I was still up and out of the shelter before 8:15. I hiked by myself for the whole day and, other than the nice spring weather, everything was pretty unremarkable. I arrived at Kincora hostel and found the entire 'crew' waiting to take the shuttle into town. Bob Peoples was preoccupied with other business, so Rambling Man and others prepared a hearty Easter meal for everyone: ham, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, carrots, rolls, and even ice cream for dessert! For some strange reason, I wasn't feeling as much spring in my step though, especially when going uphill. Considering this, it didn't take much persuasion by the others to make me stay and zero here at Kincora, especially after a 6hr game of monopoly that ended at nearly midnight. Looking forward to the zero tomorrow!
Date: 2015-04-06
From: Dennis Cove Rd. (Kincora) 

To: Dennis Cove Rd. (Kincora) 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

My sleeping schedule has been majorly altered by now. If I'm not in bed by 10pm, I'm yawning every few seconds and drowsy. If I'm still asleep at 8am, it counts as sleeping in. Today was definitely a day to sleep in - I didn't get out of my bag until 8:30. Talk about a luxury!Mozart & Banana Boat left right after breakfast, attempting the same mileage I will after my zero: an 18mi day followed by a 33mi day into Damascus. The rest of us stayed and started in on a game of Monopoly. After almost 6 hours, Hot Pants emerged victorious.There isn't much to do at Kincora (Bob Peoples' place) but it's nice to be able to lounge around and just rest. There should be a shuttle into town at 5pm to get groceries. Hopefully the forecasted rain will hold off tomorrow for the trek up to Vandeventer Shelter.
Date: 2015-04-07
From: Dennis Cove Rd. (Kincora) 

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained. Hard. All day.Well, I don't want to exaggerate too much; it did clear up for about an hour of non-downpour weather. All things considered though, it was a pretty wet day.I slipped out of Kincora around 9am in the middle of a light drizzle. The drizzle soon transformed into a deluge, complete with intense lightning and thunder. "Nothing I can't handle" I thought to myself as I began the steady climb up to Pond Flats. While this may be true, handling it was much different than enjoying it. I soon found myself soaked to the bone and, despite a temperature in the mid 50's, I began to get chilled. My rain shell proved to be enough to stave off any shivering and I soon warmed up and continued.Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my rain pants as they are nowhere to be found in my bag. Due to this untimely realization, my waterproof Saloman boots (which I love) soon began to fill with the water than ran down my legs. After nearly 18mi, I was carrying a small lake with me in each Gore-Tex compartment. Combine this with slipping on some wet rocks, which aggravated a previously-managed knee problem, and I was more than relieved when Vandeventer Shelter came into view.Tomorrow's 33mi 'Damascathon' is going to be tough in soggy boots...
Date: 2015-04-11
From: Damascus, VA

To: Saunders Shelter 
Miles today: 9.8

After two zeros, during which I sampled a week's worth of local food and beer, I was feeling pretty good. I stayed at The Place, a bunkhouse run by the local Methodist Church, for two nights and at Dave's Place, a hostel across from Mt. Rogers Outfitters, for a night. Both were nice places for the money, but only offered bunks with wooden slats - not much better than a shelter to be honest. But I'm not in the habit of complaining, especially out here, so no worries!I found out that I'd be able to get about 16mi of the trail done before Evan gets here, and a cheap shuttle could being me back. Sounds about perfect. I hung out around town for all I could manage, including about 3 hours spend enjoying a solid wifi signal and a few sandwiches from Subway before I headed out. The trail follows the Virginia Creeper Trail - a rail to trail that runs clear through the city and is full of tourists on bicycles - for a mile or so out of town and then weaves in and out of it for the next 15mi or so. I took the opportunity to knock out an easy day to the first AT shelter outside of town: Saunders Shelter.Despite being brutalized by the never-ending switchbacks that preceeded it, I enjoyed the location of the shelter. It was nestled near a small pine thicket and even had a small, backyard-sized clearing. Approaching the shelter on a short side trail of the AT, I even heard two wild turkeys calling back and forth to each other. How neat! This is going to be a great place to stay the night.
Date: 2015-04-12
From: Saunders Shelter 

To: US-58 Summit Cut 
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

I had booked myself a shuttle before I left Damascus. To get there in time, I would only have to do a measly 7.4mi to US-58. Combined with the conservative time schedule - I was to be picked up at 3pm - I had plenty of time to kill. I spent a good chunk of this time relaxing in my sleeping bag while everyone else packed up and headed out. Eventually, I crawled out of my bag and made breakfast. It had the beginnings of a beautiful day, and I didn't want to waste a second more of it inside. Spring sunlight is a wonderful thing!At nearly 11am, I plodded back out onto the trail and began northward. Soon, I felt the "need" for a break and plopped down on a steep section of the trail where a rock outcropping gave me a nice place to sit and a beautiful vantage point over a nearby stream. One pack of peanuts later, I reached for my water bottle, fumbled it, and watched it go careening down the ravine. I mentally kicked myself as I spent the next 5 minutes traversing the thick undergrowth to retrieve it. Thankfully, no one was around to witness this ordeal or to require an explanation to my position in the ravine. In fact, it felt like I was the only one around for miles, but that feeling was shattered as the AT intersected the Creeper Trail, loaded with weekend cyclists. Once I got back into the woods, I found myself within 20ft of a male peacock and his mate, who both scurried off into the brush. How odd! The two must have been lacking in evasive maneuvers however, because I again spotted them ahead of me on the trail and quietly pursued them for close to a half mile before they made their way up a stream and into a thicket. Only a mile further, I stopped to relax (again) at the Lone Mountain Shelter where I ran into Lone Hiker, who is hiking "inside out" from Harpers Ferry (the halfway point) to Springer Mountain and then from Harpers Ferry to Katahdin. We chatted for a while about gear and random things before we parted ways. Cool dude.A short 1.1mi north, I found the place where my shuttle would arrive in about 40min and sat down to wait. After more than an hour, I began to worry - both for my soon-to-be blistered skin and for my ride back into town. Thankfully, a section hiker who was parked nearby emerged from the woods and happily gave me a ride back into town.It seems that there was a small mix up in the location of my reserved pick up spot, but it was nothing worth complaining about. I'm in too much of a good mood: In a few hours, my dear Evan will be arriving!
Date: 2015-04-13
From: US-58 Summit Cut 

To: Lost Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Evan's bus arrived around 10:30 at night and we had been shuttled back to Damascus within an hour. I gave her the streetlight tour as we walked through town towards Ruby's Rest, the bed and breakfast which mom booked for us. I can't pass up an opportunity to recommend this place for any thru hikers or couples that come to Damascus. We stayed in a beautiful backyard cottage with all the amenities I could ask for, surrounded by friendly cats, a dog, and even a few chickens in the back. It was very relaxing and a great deal for only $40!When we got up, we made our way around town to stock up on groceries and a few last minute items before our shuttle left at 2:15. As we were shuttled up to the pass where I left off yesterday, we passed cascading streams and mountain meadows. Virginia is a beautiful place! Once we arrived at the gap, we got our food and water settled and began trekking northward. Less than a mile later, we decided that it would be best - and much less stressful - to backtrack to the Lone Mountain Shelter instead of attempting to make it 10mi up to Thomas Knob Shelter late in the afternoon. At the shelter, we ran into at least 10 other thru hikers and had plenty of interesting conversation as we made dinner. By dusk, we had our tent pitched, our beds made out, water filled, bear bags hung, and all of our social desires and physical hungers quenched. It was a great day with Evan.
Date: 2014-12-05
To: Prepping
Miles today: 0.0

I'm starting a NOBO thru-hike in February. Haven't quite nailed down an exact date, so I'm aiming at a moving target. Counting down without a countdown?I've enjoyed reading journals of thru-hikers and have learned many things that should help me on my hike. I'll do my best to keep my journal current and hope it will help others who may stumble on it.I'm a retired teacher/swim coach. My youngest son will graduate from college tomorrow. My wife works, but may be able to join me for a section hike when it fits the schedule.Since I'm thinking about returning to teaching/coaching in the fall of '15, I'm starting the hike early so I'll (hopefully) have that option.Have purchased most of my gear, but still need to get up to the Houston REI to pick out clothing and other misc. items.My 2015 Thru-Hike blog url: http://zipperthruhike.blogspot.com/Not sure how much/little I'll post while on the trail. I'm hoping to find the right balance between being "disconnected" and "connected".That's more than enough for a first entry, right?
Date: 2014-12-06
To: Gear
Miles today: 0.0

The add gear process sure looks time-consuming, especially since I already posted info on my blog. If it's a "must do", I'll get around to it.If it's not, first gear post is here: http://zipperthruhike.blogspot.com/2014/11/gear-lists-galore.htmlHaven't purchased clothing yet, but boots post is here: http://zipperthruhike.blogspot.com/2014/11/footwear.htmlIf this breaks rules or isn't at all helpful, I'm sure y'all will let me know.
Date: 2014-12-28
To: Tech Test
Miles today: 0.0

First journal entry from phone. Hope it's this easy from the trail!Now I need to start (partially) disconnecting from the digital world. Gradually easing down email volume by unsubscribing from just about everything that comes in. Unfollowing/muting on Twitter. Dumping unnecessary apps from phone. What about Facebook? Since I don't do it, I won't miss it, right?
Date: 2015-01-29
To: Nine Days
Miles today: 0.0

Went for an easy walk (4 miles) with a 20# pack yesterday. Since we don't have any hills here, it'll be much different with 30+ and ups/downs. Will take a few weeks to adjust, so plan is to keep mileage reasonable for a while.Managed to shave a bit more weight today and have pack weight - including food & water - down to 31#. Much better than I'd hoped for! Once we can send home cold-weather clothes & sleeping bag, I should be hiking with no more than 30# the rest of the trip.Had final doctor visit today. All's well and I'm ready to roll. He had suggested I train on an elliptical to prep for the trip and was impressed that I can knock out an hour at a time now. My first shot back in the fall was fifteen minutes. He wants me to do some lab work when I get home in August. Will be interesting to compare it to last fall's.Booked room in Dahlonega and am readying a box to ship to Fontana.Just a matter of tying up a few loose ends in the next week and then it's go time.
Date: 2015-02-09
From: Springer mountain

To: woody gap
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 1 - 2/7/15 - Got to Springer via parking lot trail. Longhorn and I got pics and signed spiral at 9 am then went back down for our packs. Said our goodbyes to Leon and hiked out around ten. Section hiker Professor hiked last few miles to hawk mountain shelter with us. I was hurting last couple of miles. We got water, cooked/ate, and set up tents. There were other section and thru hikers there.Day 2 - 2/8/15 - Great weather but really suffering on climbs. Got late start and made gooch shelter at dark. Same routine as hawk but in dark. In sleeping bag by eight.Day 3 - 2/9/15 - Rain started around 12:30 am so I hustled and put on rain fly. We packed up slowly in morning and left as rain ended but with pack covers on just in case. Another challenging day for me. Longhorn takes his time and is patient as I stagger up the hills. Made it to woody gap to camp but Longhorn was able to get us a ride to town with Ultralight, his wife and their dog. Trail angels! Ultralight thru hiked in 1995 and has been doing trail maintenance for many years. He started another thru this morning. We got a room and had a great dinner and are cleaning up and nursing a few blisters.Thanks for the encouragement. Time to git ta snorin!
Date: 2015-02-13
From: woody gap

To: unicoi gap
Miles today: 31.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 4 - 2/10 - We hiked out to the highway and two hitches later were at Woody Gap. Thought I'd lost my sunglasses day before but there they were on picnic table bench - nice and frosty! Ice rained from trees for next few miles. I'm not doing well with camera but Longhorn will post some on his instagram (instagram.com/bwbobb/). Made Woods Hole shelter fairly early. Group of school kids got in later and we had a lot of tents there.Day 5 - 2/11 - Got early start and went up and over Blood Mountain then took break at Neel Gap. Ate lunch, resupplied, sent postcards, and hiked out to Whitley Gap shelter. Rather than hike 1+ miles off trail to shelter we camped at turnoff with school group.Day 6 - 2/12 - Another early start. Stopped at Low Gap shelter for lunch with RJ, Desperado, and Professor. They stayed and we hiked on toward Blue Mountain shelter. Last few miles were brutal. High winds with gusts over 40 mph and temps falling below twenty. Made fire and ate. Set up tent in shelter as we were only hikers crazy enough to be there. Average miles per day over eight after twelve mile day. Very, very cold night. 16 when we crawled into sleeping bags.Day 7 - 2/13 - Got fire going and gradually warmed up. Packed up and hiked down to Unicoi Gap. Kids had camped a bit before our shelter and endured a bitterly cold night in their tents. They hustled down to the gap to their school bus (them's some danged tough kids, I'll tell you what!) while Longhorn got us ride to Hiawassee. They drove us to front door of hotel and folks at HIE let us check into room early. Very hiker friendly. Went across street for huge meal at Daniel's. Highly recommend it! Longhorn lined us up shuttle for tomorrow so we can do short slackpack once it warms up. Almost time for long soak in tub. Who said today wouldn't be lucky?Notes:Today was a "NERO" (near zero) as we only hiked a few miles. Planning another NERO tomorrow.Muscles that have lain dormant for decades are starting to wake up.Slackpack is hiking with minimal gear. Since we won't need tents, sleeping bags, etc. we'll make much better time and give feet and knees a little break.Good luck to Matthew Wilkins at Texas state swim meet next week!Thanks to all for encouragement. Still going slow but we'll get there. Thanks fer follerin and good night!
Date: 2015-02-25
From: winding stair gap

To: NOC
Miles today: 27.5

Days 15/16 - 2/21-22 - We took zero days to recover from the tough ones. Ate some pizza and enjoyed a couple of visits to shoney's. All 70's music there.Day 17 - 2/23 - Bev picked us up early and we did some last minute shopping at Wal-Mart. She then drove us out to Winding Stair. Rocks and roots that were coated with ice last week were now clear and became our best source of traction as the AT had become a trough of ice in many places. Longhorn took some pics from the tower on Wayah Bald and then we stayed at the Wayah Bald shelter. Day 18 - 2/24 - We woke up to six inches of snow. Hiked in ankle-deep snow all day. Very tough climb out of Tellico gap up Wesser Bald. Didn't go to tower as we were in clouds and snow flurries meant no view. Took my first fall today, sliding a bit off the edge of the trail. Stayed at Wesser Bald shelter.Day 19 - 2/25 - Very tough day. Looked like a relatively nice hike down to NOC but there were plenty of steep ups and downs. Ended up on my back twice and face-planted once. Several other near-misses. Once at NOC we ate good meal and checked into our "room". Longhorn, Ox, and myself. Room for one more if anyone takes it. In common area now. Much warmer than room and good WiFi. We're waiting out more bad weather so taking zero here tomorrow.Notes:Coyote were really howling last night. Sounded close!Snow has just started here. Weather advisories all over area. It's really starting to come down heavily.Weather has put us a little behind schedule but if we get in enough hundred mile weeks in April, May, and June we'll be fine.Thanks fer follerin.