morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-04-17
From: Skyline Drive, mp 92.4

To: Calf Mtn Hut
Miles today: 6.3
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Easter!  Ellen & I went to the Episcopal Church, together with a young hiker named Evan [from NH]. Their service was earlier than the Lutheran, & I had arranged with someone from the Episcopal church to pick us up at the hostel & also to take us out to the Trail. Thanks to them & powered by cookies from the church, we were out hiking before noon. A nice, sunny afternoon. Mostly downhill, crossing Skyline Drive several times, to Calf Mtn Shelter.I thought this would be a short enough day for starting Ellen off on the hike. On the way, we met thru-hikers from Australia & Montreal. We got set up in the shelter & had supper.
Date: 2022-04-18
From: Calf Mtn Hut

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: clear sky

Our spell of hot weather has definitely ended! I had chosen Waynesboro to change to my warm-weather sleeping bag. Even after learning that we¢d have a couple of nights below 40o, I persisted in sending stuff home, figuring I could just wear more clothes. I did & was still pretty cold [for a couple of nights]. The snow began as those little frozen balls I¢d seen a couple of weeks ago. This time they stuck & covered the ground all day. Not difficult for walking, tho. We began to learn about our different hiking styles. I like to stop for about 30 seconds periodically to clear out the lactic acid in my legs. Ellen [trail name Chako] has trouble with that because the intermittent starting & stopping sets off her asthma or migraines. So she wanted to go on ahead. I told her there was a visitors center at Rockfish Gap & would meet her there. So she took off, thinking of a place to sit indoors, maybe even with Wi-Fi.As I got down to the Gap, I saw a man running in boots on Skyline Drive, apparently from the Entry Station to shut the gate. The road had just been closed on account of weather. Otherwise, we saw no one all day. We met up at the gap. Chako hadn¢t been able to find where the AT drops off the edge of the road to continue South, & she had found the visitors center up the hill, but it was closed. So there was a porta-potty! Obviously, everyone else has taken a zero day in town.We had our snacks & then hiked together the 5 mostly-level miles to the Paul Wolfe Shelter, passing the ruins of an old house along the way. Once again, we had the shelter to ourselves. I got to initiate Chako in the workings of the bear poles. It seems like a good basic idea but still hard for most people to work [The lifting poles are too heavy, once they are loaded with food bags]. I¢ve never had a chance to see how the bears work them.Again, we had the shelter to ourselves. Chako set up her tent inside, which I don¢t like to do, but which was probably warmer. With the help of my ¢space blanket¢ & my poncho, I was able to sleep, tho not warmly.
Date: 2022-04-19
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

Beautiful morning, sunny, with snow on the ground and ice on the trees. When I came thru here in 2016, the creek crossing by the shelter had lots of ice on the rocks. Apparently the ground isn¢t so cold now, so that was no problem today.I got up early & started off, leaving Chako to get up later. We¢ve learned by now that she can hike almost twice as fast as I, so she could meet me later. The first 1.5 miles goes up 1200 feet ¢ I wasn¢t going very fast, & she caught up just before I got to the top near Humpback Rocks. Then it went up a little more the rest of the morning. That¢s where we finally started seeing other hikers, some thru- & some day-hikers. It¢s also where we were walking thru an icy wonderland, with chunks of ice falling off the trees as the sun hit them. The only name I remember is Swede [from Sweden]. Everyone seemed in a hurry to make up for the weather delay.I stopped to fix a meal early afternoon on Humpback Mtn. Chako wasn¢t much interested. We should have talked more about food & water. I could have given her the cooking stuff & water filter, figuring she¢d need them before I did.We weren¢t that organized yet.I also told her I¢d be stopping for a city council meeting at 6:00, hoping I¢d have enough reception for ZOOM. She went on ahead, intending to meet up & stay at Maupin Field shelter. The Trail from Dripping Rocks to Reid¢s Gap is pretty level, but rocky in places. By then, the snow was gone.I stopped near 3 Ridges Overlook, just before Reid¢s Gap, thinking I had at least 2 bars for phone reception. But it kept fading in & out, not enough band width for me to receive the link for the ZOOM meeting. It wasn¢t going to be a long meeting; so after I struggled with it for a half hour, I quit & moved on. By that time it was starting to get dark. With only a couple of miles to go, I thought I was making good time on the fairly smooth Trail going up the next little Mtn. Still some light there, but it got dark fast as I came down toward the shelter. By the time I got there, it was 9:00, & Chako was quite worried about me, talking with her mother on the phone.She had gotten set up in the shelter & received help, with water & hanging a bear bag, from the other hiker camped nearby, ¢Queen of Denmark¢ [from Denmark!]. I didn¢t meet her till morning. The last few shelters have bear poles, with 8-foot steel rods to raise food bags up to hooks 10-12 feet up. Maneuvering heavy bags on the end on heavy rods is hard enough ¢ trying then to get them to hook at the top is really tricky. If there aren¢t many hikers using the pole, the easy way is to throw a line over the hook & haul the bag up. Easier than finding a suitable tree branch, & probably quite effective at deterring critters.Not as cold as the previous 2 nights, but I still wore everything I had.
Date: 2022-04-20
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Just past Tye River
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

Another beautiful day & definitely warmer. I started off first again, & Chako caught up on top of Bee Mtn. She stopped there for a while, & we alternated hiking together & separately up & over 3 Ridges Mtn. From there, the Trail goes down to the Tye River & up the next Mtn, The Priest. The latter has a reputation for the longest climb on the AT, 3000 feet in 4 miles, but the 6 miles coming down 3 Ridges is harder, with fewer switchbacks & lots more rocks. I saw my first fire pinks flowers of the trip, one of my favorites, and also my first poison ivy [not a favorite].It took us most of the day to get down to the river. There might be some place to camp part-way up the Priest, but it was getting late. Also, we had both about exhausted our phone battery power. So we stealth-camped at the beginning of the slope up the South side [being careful about the poison ivy]. There was a house across the road; so we knocked & asked if we could re-charge our devices there. The owner was very nice about it, so we sat on his porch for a while. He seemed lonely & hospitable & told us about his plans for the place. It¢s a nice location along the river, but he might have flood-plain & zoning issues to deal with.When we got back to our camp, we were joined by a NOBO hiker, who camped nearby. Definitely a warmer night.
Date: 2022-04-21
From: Just past Tye River

To: Seeley - Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: overcast clouds

On a previous trip, I counted 37 switch-backs going up The Priest; this time, 39. It¢s very subjective: e.g., does it have to be more than a 90o turn to count a new one? At any rate, it¢s not difficult ¢ just a long way up.Chako & I alternated hiking together & separately, & we were passed repeatedly by a group of 4 section hikers from Roanoke, also headed South. When we got to the shelter, there were lots of NOBO hikers, & as they left, more came. Another SOBO we met there was Mama-San. The privy was a busy place. In the course of the afternoon, I passed 5 blow-downs plus 3 walk-unders.The 6.5 miles from there to Seeley-Woodworth Shelter was pretty level, with a lot of little ups & downs. I didn¢t stop at Spy Rock because I¢d been there before. Some hikers we met were Funkytown, Cast-Iron, & Gazelle. Chako went on ahead & had her tent set up & water filtered before I got there. I stayed in the shelter, she out back. She¢d also gotten acquainted with the group of 4 we¢d met earlier. Sir-Packs-a-Lot, Play-list, Bezos, & Caboose have hiked sections together over a number of years. They shared their drinks & their fire while I prepared my supper. Chako stayed up with them while I went to bed.
Date: 2022-04-22
From: Seeley - Woodworth Shelter

To: Cow Camp Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: scattered clouds

I got up early again & started off ahead of Chako. It wasn¢t long before I was passed by Mama-san, who had camped near the shelter, & then by Chako & the group of 4. Actually, they all passed me again after they stopped at a road-crossing for re-supply. I was also passed by Two-Step, whom I¢d met in SNP. I did a little trail work at a couple of places. One NOBO hiker helped me a bit with that; another refused. We spent some time on Tar Jacket Ridge today, & then on Cole Mtn Bald; so I was in the sun a lot today. Not that there was much shade in the woods!I have never stopped at Cow Camp Gap Shelter in previous hikes. Now I know why: it¢s a full half mile off the AT. However, I wasn¢t up for going much farther; I was pretty tired from yesterday. I can see that I am definitely slowing down. I had hoped to be spending more time hiking with my granddaughter than seems possible with our different speeds. At the same time, it¢s good to see her making this her own hike, not just tagging along with me. She¢s really getting good at filtering water & throwing a bear rope. We did get complaints from one hiker who thought our bear bag was too close to her tent & to the shelter [Wait till she gets to the shelters with steel bear poles, usually pretty near to the shelter!]. It¢s hard enough to find a suitable branch without imposing arbitrary limits. She was pleasant enough in later conversations. All the SOBO hikers I mentioned above were tenting nearby, plus a NOBO named Fancy-Pants. I had the shelter to myself.
Date: 2022-04-23
From: Cow Camp Gap Shelter

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: clear sky

First one out again ¢¦ & soon passed by everyone. Long but gradual uphill out of the valley, then more uphill on the Trail to about 4000 feet, then down to 1300 feet, then level for 5 miles. Not really difficult, but tiring on another hot day. At the lower elevation, the leaves were definitely out on the trees, especially tulip trees.I stopped to eat at Brown Mtn Creek Shelter. That¢s the beginning of a series of interpretive signs [I thought there used to be more] about the freed slaves who farmed this valley for about 50 years after the Civil War. Even with the leaves, the Trail seemed always to be oriented so that I had very little shade! The trail follows the creek for a while, & then a long lake (reservoir), crossing on a nice bridge below the dam. It seems odd to me that the FarOut guide makes no mention of the lake, even tho it¢s the most obvious feature of the landscape for a couple of miles. In the course of the day, I met Bucky, Rebi-Mo, Lentil, Loose-Leaf, Tin-Man [Neth], & a few others.I was beginning to think I would never get to that bridge over the Pedlar River. When I finally got there, about 3:00, there were 4-5 NOBO hikers gathered under it, all middle-aged, some from New England. I was able to wash the sweat off my face & get my shirt wet. That helped a lot with the heat. Actually, by the time I started up the next Mtn, the day was beginning to get cooler in the course of going up the next 1500 feet.  About 7:00, I reached a spring along the Trail. I didn¢t need water, but it was the place to stop for a few minutes. The sign said it was 2.8 miles to the shelter, so I thought I was safe texting Chako that I would be to Punch Bowl Shelter by 9:00. Now I see FarOut says it¢s 3.4 miles [plus .2 blue-blaze off the Trail]. Whatever it was, it got dark pretty quickly after that, the Trail got rockier, & I must have gotten slower, because I didn¢t get there till 10:30! I remember there were lots of water bars to climb up & that I was so tired I would have stopped & set up my tent if I¢d been able to spot a suitable site. Lots of tents around the shelter, but only one person in it. Campers were quiet, but the frogs in the adjacent pond were certainly noisy, as were the birds [talking about eating frogs, maybe?]. Chako had filtered me some water, but I didn¢t see her till next day. Slept well.
Date: 2022-04-24
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Glasgow Stanimals
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

First one out again, tho the hikers from Roanoke [their last day on the Trail] were up & passed me before long, as did Two-Step. Up Punchbowl Mtn & Bluff Mtn, then down a little along the 4-mile ridge to Big & Little Rocky Row. Chako caught up before the ridge, & took a break there, caught up again, & we hiked together the rest of the day. Coming down from Rocky Row, we met a woman from Maine & talked a little. I also got enough reception to call the hostel in Glasgow to let them know we were coming.  From there it was all downhill, tho I didn¢t feel I was going very fast. Another 90o day! Even in the woods.We stopped for a snack at Johns Hollow Shelter, meeting a couple of pairs of day-hikers, then pushed on the last 1.7 miles to the highway. The hostel said they¢d pick us up in a little while; so we finally found some solid shade under the bridge across the James River. It¢s the longest foot bridge on the AT, but it¢s name comes from Bill Foot, a thru-hiker who worked to get what was left of a railroad bridge re-built for the AT. At the far end we could see maybe a hundred young people jumping off the bridge into the river. Plenty of signs prohibiting that at our end of the bridge, but nobody was enforcing anyway. Many jumpers going & coming past us while we enjoyed the cool.In a little while, the driver from Stanimal¢s 328 Hostel in Glasgow came & took us & some others into town. Turns out he was a hiker too, pressed into service by Charlie, who operates the place pretty much on his own. A lot of people in a fairly small house, with 2 bedrooms filled with bunkbeds ¢¦ & one bathroom. In spite of what we¢d heard about Charlie, this hostel had a more casual atmosphere than the one in Waynesboro. Plus a nice big porch to hang out on.By the time we took our turns getting showers, we were ready to eat. Only one restaurant in town, but it wasn¢t bad for pizza & other Italian stuff. I ordered a calzone to take out, since they weren¢t open on Monday, & we had already decided to take a Zero day tomorrow. Actually, we had plenty of pizza to take back to the hostel [14 mile away]. And someone paid for our meal!We still had time to explore the grocery/hardware store & the Dollar General, the other two food sources in town.
Date: 2022-04-25
From: Glasgow Stanimals

To: Glasgow Stanimals
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Nice place to relax, tho the day was pretty hot again. Seemed like more hikers arriving all during the day, including a couple of Australians. I had incoming packages to sort thru & stuff to mail out, getting to the post office just in time [actually, my third trip ¢downtown¢] . I¢m really not doing very well at having the right amount of stuff at the right place. Still carrying too much.While I was doing that, Chako took the shuttle to a sporting goods place. She had decided to get her own water filter & some hiking poles. She enjoys all the socializing with the other hikers, & soon got a new trail name. She¢d lost a toenail a couple of days back, & while she was tending to it, someone suggested that putting honey on it would make it feel better. So she did. Then she also received & accepted the name ¢Honey-Toe¢.Charlie was moving to a new house in town & wanted help hauling stuff in from a rental truck; so several of us spent some time helping with that. Many hands make for quick work, & he bought our supper in return. Fourth Monday again, so I spent some of the evening on my City Council meeting. Sitting on the front steps was reasonably private [with the setting sun warming me up for a while], the Wi-Fi worked well, & I felt I was able to contribute to the proceedings.
Date: 2022-04-26
From: Glasgow Stanimals

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Charlie got me out to the Trail early for a pleasant walk along the James River, followed by a gradual hike uphill most of the day. Honeytoes took a later shuttle & caught up with me after 3-4 miles, shortly before we reached a creek crossing. We met some section hikers in that vicinity, then continued uphill. I failed to notice the Granite Springs campsite last time I came thru here . . . & it happened again! Some hikers I met included ¢Living & Loving It¢, Boomerang, Green, Ghost Snooper, Jester, Teddy-Bear, ¢I Bet¢, Nora, Croc-Eater, Bard.Gradual uphill all day ¢ nothing very difficult. Only crossed 2 roads. Shortly before the shelter, there was a blow-down I wanted to clear, but I also wanted to get some supper, & it was starting to get cold; so I figured the work could wait. Honey-Toe had saved a place for me in the shelter. The Trail used to go in front of the shelter; now it runs behind, & there are a new privy & bear box! The latter was very hard to operate¢ we hoped it was difficult for a bear as well.
Date: 2022-04-27
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Turn-off to Middle Creek Campground
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

Up & out as quickly & quietly as I could [noisy bear box]. I went back a few hundred yards & cut out the branches across the Trail.I proceeded on past the ¢guillotine¢ [rock formation] & the radar station on Apple Orchard Mtn [one of the highest around]. Cold wind on the Mtn ¢ lasted all morning. Then it was mostly downhill for a long time. Near Cornelius Creek Shelter, I stopped to get some water & cook lunch. Honey-Toe had caught up with me by then, & a number of other hikers passed while I was stopped. We agreed to stay tonight at Middle Creek Campground, located just before Bryant Ridge shelter. In the course of the day, I met Newsbox, Marathon, Laps, Yeah, You-Don¢t-Care, Yard-Sale, Penguin [Ger], Garden-Gnome, Fugitive, Flatlander, Smooth, Tin-Man, Boone, Yes, Sneakers, Least-Analysis, Kauai, Ken-Again, Just-John, & 4 or 5 others.I continued on thru open woods, feeling that I was making good time, but apparently not so many miles. I followed the blue-blazed trail just North of Bryant Ridge shelter, up a couple of steep slopes, to a road with a small parking area. Just before that, there was a short stretch with some phone service, so I was able to make shuttle arrangements. Susan picked me up after a short wait. Honey-Toe had already gotten us a cabin. I had to order my hamburger very quickly because they were going to shut the grill down. I joined a few hikers in the lounge area & ate slowly as usual. Hard to have much conversation while I was eating but interesting to listen. There was a middle-aged couple there, looking toward finishing their section hikes soon.Honey-Toe had already decided to give me the bigger bed by the time I got up to the cabin. I got my devices charging & went to bed. The cabin didn¢t have running water, but the campground restrooms were right across the road. Not really convenient for someone who gets up a couple of times each night, but it worked.
Date: 2022-04-28
From: Turn-off to Middle Creek Campground

To: Boblett's Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

I got up before Honey-Toe, had some breakfast, & went down to the store/office to see about getting the first shuttle.Cool morning & I had to wait awhile, but eventually Susan showed up & took me right to the place she¢d picked me up. A quick walk down to the Trail, then another short piece to Bryant Ridge shelter [one of the biggest new-style shelters], where I spoke briefly with a hiker who¢d stayed there last night. Last time thru here, the next stretch ofTrail had lots of blow-downs for me to work on, but it was in good shape now. I met Leafblower, Target, Xbox, Leapfrog, Joe & Lazarus, Reese, Angel & Bullfrog, Boosie, Bus-Ride, But-Just, Pegasus, Jedi, Riveter, Speed-Goat, Bounty, String Bean, Stick[Brit], in the first half of the day. In a few miles, I crossed Jennings Creek. Every other time I¢ve been here on a week-end, when the place has been crowded with people, swimming, rafting, & fishing. No one around this time, so I didn¢t stop. A little bit up the next hill, I stopped to fix my lunch & was passed by Mama-San & a couple of younger women. Soon, Honey-Toe passed as well. I later met Piniatta, Mischa, Quarter-Tank, Work-Boots, Platinum, Sleepy, Frostbite [Scot], Trek, Giggles, Tomato/Tomato, Prophet. Based on my progress so far, we agreed to stop at Bobblet¢s Gap shelter tonight. I¢ve never stopped there before because it seemed so far down off the Trail, but the distance came out about right, arriving just at dusk after seeing Springer, Jeff, Trillium, Halfway, 2-Ball, & Summertime. I guess we¢re in some kind of NOBO hiker ¢bubble¢ now, tho probably not the biggest one.In the course of the afternoon, the Trail closely paralleled the Blue Ridge Parkway [which largely displaced the original AT thru this area]; in fact, Bobblett¢s Gap is sort of straight down the hill from the parkway. I stopped for supper at Cove Mtn shelter, one of the few on the Trail with no water nearby. When I got to Bobblett¢s Gap, Honey-toe showed me where she¢d hung a bear-bag. It turned out to be rather difficult on such uneven ground, with sore legs & increasing darkness; but I got it up eventually. Roadrunner is the only name I remember.
Date: 2022-04-29
From: Boblett's Gap Shelter

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: broken clouds

Up early again. Got the bear-bag down & took off, following the parkway again for 5 miles before leaving it for the last time. Mama-San passed me at 8:15. By the time I¢d stopped for lunch at Wilson Creek shelter, I¢d been hearing from various hikers that there would be no water between here & Fullhardt Knob shelter. Actually, I found water at the next creek; so I tried to let Honey-toe know that she should be sure to get some when she came by. I was certain she was still behind me, since I hadn¢t seen her, & I thought hikers passing by were visible from the shelter. Hiker met today included Agony, Session, #2-Pencil, Zee-X, Old, Goatbeard, Squirrel, Joe-Mama & Grit, Survivor & Danville, Gandalf.This is a section of the Trail that feels very isolated, even tho it¢s not far from metropolitan Roanoke. Once you get out of the ¢hollers¢, the last 3 miles are a gradual downhill. I was feeling good & tried to measure my speed. It looked like at least 2 miles per hour, faster than I¢ve been doing lately. Got there in daylight!At the shelter, I found a tent nearby & Mama-San in the shelter. No water, as predicted; but I was OK. I was expecting to see Honey-Toe soon [I never know how early she starts in the morning]. Then Mama-San told me the that was Honey-Toe¢s tent! Apparently, she had passed me while I was using the privy; so my messages about water were too late. Of course, she took care of herself on that ¢ something I¢m getting used to.