morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-02-25
From: Daleville VA

To: Pearisburg VA
Miles today: 93.8
Weather: overcast clouds

3/2/17:My friend Annette drove Ron and I 150 miles to Daleville VA , outsideof Roanoke where we hike south 260 miles to Damascus VA. We hiked the9.5 miles to Lamberts Meadow shelter to find that the wind wasincreasing and blowing into the open end of the shelter, so we eachset up our tents on the back side of the hill to get out of the wind.3/3/17:We were up before the sun and on the trail by 7 am. Up 1,000' toTinker Cliffs which you then have to walk along the cliffs for half amile. Anyone with fear of heights should not try this. The wind wasblowing strong into the cliffs. Next comes McAfee knob. This is whereeveryone gets their photograph taken with their feet hanging off theedge. No way, with the high winds and ice around, I was not gettingwithin 10' of the edge. We knew that it was going to get cold thatnight, so we spent the night at Four Pines Hostel which is nothingmore than a 3 bay car garage w/ shower. For $5, and wood heat, it wasokay sleeping. We had hiked 16.3 miles.Storyof the day: The Dog StoryTherewas one other hiker at the hostel, a guy and his 14 year old blacklab. Two days before, the lab had a stroke and was in very bad shape.The hiker had decided to just stay at the hostel until the dog died.From what I could see, this seems to be a good idea. That night, thehiker slept on the cold floor to be with his dog. When I got up inthe morning, he was getting up off the floor. Now the funny part. Thefirst thing he did was to go over to the sofa and say good morning tothe dog. Even after a stroke, the dog was smarter than his owner bysleeping on the sofa and not the cold floor.Storyof the day: Diver from PerrysburgRonand I decided to go out and get a pizza which was about a half miledown the road for which we would get free shuttle serves there andback. Ron sat in the back and I was in the front seat. Ron asked thedriver a question about something local and the driver said that hedid not know for he was from Toledo Ohio. After I told him that I wasto, he told me he was born and raised just outside of Toledo inPerrysburg Ohio, and that he went to BGSU. You just never know whoyou are going to meet, do you.
Date: 2017-02-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

3/04/17:On the trail at first light. 1,210' Straight up Dragon's Tooth, thisis where we failed 6 months before. It was somewhat better this time,so we moved on. Next come Audie Murphy monument ( Murphy was the mostdecorated U.S. Soldier in World War II). Back down, then backup tothe Eastern Continental Divide. After a total for the day of 22.8miles, we stayed at the Sarver Hollow Shelter. That night thetemperature was somewhere around 10 degrees.3/05/17:Hiking by 8 am. Elevation was up and down all day. We did 12.2 milesto War Spur Shelter. Another very cold night. Back down around 10degrees.Storyof the day: No air at ten degreesPeoplehave asked me when I know that I was tough enough to attempt thishike. The answer was that at night at 10 degrees, my air mattresswas not holding air for more than an hour at a time, so I just stoppedfilling it up. That meant I was sleeping on a cold hard wood floorwith just my sleeping bag at 10 degrees and waking up feeling good.Now that's tough.3/6/17:On the trail at first light. Right of the bat, was a 1,700' hike upto Lone Pine Peak. After that it was somewhat flat for most of theday until we went down about 1,000' to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter foranother cold night. We had hiked 12.7 miles that day.3/7/17:The plan for the day was to hike 12.5 miles to Rice Field Shelter onsomewhat flat ground. Early on, another hiker told us that a rainstorm was coming in that evening, and with the weather still being socold, it was not going to be a fun night. We changed our plan andpushed 20.7 miles to Pearisburg, VA where we stayed at the HolidayMotor Lodge for $20. The rain started in the evening and rained mostof the night. We had made a good plan adjustment.3/8/17:Watching the morning news, we saw that there was going to be a 4-8¢snow storm coming that weekend, with more very cold days and nights.I called Annette, and she picked us up in Pearisburg for a return toour homes in Abingdon. Ron and I agreed that we would come up with anew plan after the storm passed.
Date: 2017-03-26
From: Atkins VA (I81)

To: Damascus VA
Miles today: 75.3
Weather: light rain

3/17/17:Well, winter came in March this year. The last 10 days we have notseen much snow, but it has been very cold for March. Being at home inAbingdon VA was also a good place to be for I was sick with a badcold for most of the week. Ron and I will be heading out the first ofnext week to hike from Groseclose (Atkins) VA south to Damascus,about 75 miles. This should be Ron's last hike with me.3/21/17:Ron and I got on the trail about 11 AM, the first five miles weresomewhat flat, but then we went up 4,113' Glade Mountain. We finissed the day at Partnership Shelter that is behind Mt. Rogers visitorscenter. There was a total of 7 hikers in the shelter for the night.The hike that day was 12 miles.3/22/17:Planned on the next two days being big hikes. Hiked all morning onflat ground, and had 10 miles in by noon. After lunch, we werehiking the High Point Trail, then down to Dickey Gap by midafternoon. We passed 10-12 north bound hikers over the days hike. Wepushed into Hurricane Mt. Shelter by 5PM for a 19 mile day. My rightknee is not doing as well as my left.3/23/17:It was cold last night, down around 20 degrees. This is the big hikeday for we are going over the hump. On the trail at first light. Wecovered the 7 miles to Pine Mountain Trail by noon. This is the shortcut we get to take for our 2/20/17 day hike. This cuts off 8 miles oftrail for us. It did not cut off the 1,470' hike up a trail of rocksthat we had to take to the top of Pine Mt. Then came the trail of allrocks up Mt. Rogers, at 5,729' it is the highest point in the stateof Virginia. Down a little, then back up to White top Mt. The secondhighest point in Virginia. The last 5 miles of the day were all downhill, into Last Mountain Shelter, which my right knee was not likingat all. We saw other hikers all day. We covered 20.4 miles this day.3/24/17:Up with the sun, and on the trail around 8 AM. An easy hike day, madeeven more so by our 2/24/17 day hike. We picked up the VirginiaCreeper Trail and hiked it into Damascus VA for a 16 mile day.3/25/17:Back in Abingdon VA where I need to finish packing and move my thingsto Toledo for storage. My friend Dave Ziems will be taking me back toPearisburg VA on 4/9/17, for the next part of the hike.
Date: 2017-04-14
From: Pearisburg VA

To: Atkins VA
Miles today: 90.3
Weather: broken clouds

4/9: I missed the trailhead and Iended up starting my hike a couple of miles to the west of my plannedsend off point. I spent the night at Jenny Knob shelter with twonorth bound hikers.4/10: On the trail with the sun, Ihiked 12 miles to Bland VA. The town is about 4 miles south of thetrail so I got a lift from a local into town by hitchhiking, whichwas the first time that I have done that in about 40 years. I stayedat the Big Walker Motel for the night.Story of the day: Free coke from atrail angelComing off the trail to head to BlandVA, I was on the east side of the road and stopped to look at my databook to understand where I was going from there. It looked like afamily was on the other side of the road enjoying dinner. The ¢dad¢came across the road to invite me to join them for a soda pop. WhenI did join them, they were not a family, but a group of hikers and hewas a trail angel just giving out soda pops. This was my first trailmagic.  Story of the day: Hotel room notmade.When I got to the Big Walker Motel,the only employees there were both doing house cleaning. They bothstopped to help check me in and gave me the room that they werecleaning at that time. When I left the office, the two decided totake a break. I went to the room that had no bedding or towels in it,and just sat down in the only chair in the room. 20 minutes later thetwo came to my room and did not know why I was there. After I toldthem that this was the room they gave me, they apologized over andover. I told them that if they would leave the room just as it was,it would still be the best place that I slept on the trail to date.4/11: On the trail early again, andhiked 16 miles to the St. Luke's Hostel for $20. Rain is coming.4/12: It rained most of the night, Imade a good call on being inside for the night. It was a big UPcoming out of Burkes Garden Va which is in Medley Valley. By the timeI did the 15 miles to Knot Maul Branch shelter my legs were done. Ivery much needed a zero day, but cannot do one yet due to the upcoming Easter holiday weekend. There were 14 other hikers at theshelter site with me. I slept in my tent.
Date: 2017-05-01
From: Daleville VA

To: Wynesboro VA
Miles today: 133.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Story of the day: How I becameStillbillAs I was hiking along the trail, ahiker coming the other way stopped to talk and he asked me my trailname, which I replied that I did not have one and was still going bymy real name of Bill. I do not think that he understood what I wassaying, for as he turned around to leave he said ¢Stillbill have agood hike¢. As he walked away, I thought, well I have just beennamed. One word, not two.4/13: Up and moving before the sun. IMUST do 15 miles to Atkins VA today. There is a 10 AM FridayGreyhound that I must be on. My legs have nothing left in them to do15 miles. Where this part of the hike ends for me is a MexicanRestaurant with very good food. By mid afternoon I was about 1/4 of amile from the restaurant and could see it, but could not take onemore step. I had to stop and rest for about 15-20 min. before I couldwalk over to the restaurant. I spent the night in Atkins. So far thisyear, I have hiked 260 miles of the Appalachian Trail (AT).4/14: I got to Greyhound in Marion VAaround 8 AM for the 10 AM bus to Roanoke, VA. The bus did not showuntil after 11 AM. Had lunch in Roanoke and got a cab to DalevilleVA. I will stay at the Howard Johnson Express for Friday and Saturdaynight at $50 per night.I plan on being back on the trail EasterSunday. This time HEADING NORTH.Story of the day: Ride to GreyhoundChecking into the hotel in Atkins VA,I asked the desk clerk about how I could get a ride the 5 miles toGreyhound in the morning. He told me that he could not help me. Justthen, the woman behind me asked if I was hiking the AT and I told heryes. Well, this 80 something year old said that she and her husbandwould take me, and for me to meet them in the morning. The next day,on the way to the bus station, she told me that the two of them, andthey were both in their 80's were heading to the AT to do trailmaintenance. To this day, I do not know what those two could have donework wise, but thanks for the ride. Story of the day: Man got off the busto go to McDonald'sThe Greyhound bus only made one stopgoing to Roanoke, VA and there was a McDonald's at that stop. Thedriver told us that we could get off the bus, but that it would beleaving in 17 minutes, if we were back on the bus or not. About 15minutes later the driver came back on the bus and did a head count.Everyone was accounted for. Just then a guy in his early 20's got upto get off the bus, the driver asked him what he was doing, and hesaid that he needed to go to McDonald's. She told him that the buswas leaving in two minutes with or without him. He just said again,that he needed to go to McDonald's. After he got off the bus, sheclosed the door and we left. I always wonder what that guy wasthinking/doing as we pulled away.
Date: 2017-05-13
From: Waynesboro VA

To: Harpers Ferry WV
Miles today: 161.8
Weather: light rain

4/16:Extra zero day in Daleville, my legs were not ready to go.4/17:Left Daleville by 8 AM. Did 18 miles to Bobblets Gap shelter. Hikedsome of it with a 14 year old named Mountain Dew. 7 people in camptonight. Late in the evening a man named Norsemen came into camp. Itwas a good hike day.Storyof the day: Changed in front of 2 womenIdo not recall why, but when I got into camp I needed to change what Iwas wearing right away into my night wear. There were only two womenthere and they told me that they would turn around while I changed.Standing at the picnic table I stripped naked to change and just thenboth of them turned back at me. Just a note here, men do not expectand do not receive any privacy on the trail. Women get as muchprivacy as can be provided. 4/18:Hiked 14 miles to Bryant Ridge shelter. A good hiking day. Theshelter holds 20 people, I was the only one there this night. Rainstarted about 9 PM.Storyof the day: A family embarrassment.BeforeI started this hike, I had told my Mom and siblings that I hope thatI wouldn't embarrass them with my hike performance. Everyone told me that was not possible. Tonight in camp, I was looking at mydata book and figured out that I had now hiked 300 miles. I sat backand thought, well that is not a family embarrassment. Three otherhikers that I have met along the way have told me that their hikingpartner had quit on the very first day. Now that is a familyembarrassment. 4/19:It rained all night and into the evening this day. It was in theupper 30's with rain, fog, and a good wind blowing. I did 10 milesthat included a 4,200' climb up Thunder Hill. Hiked most of the daywith Bear Meat. Peace Walker came into camp late. She and Bear Meatslept in their tents. I slept in the shelter with a few mice.4/20:15 miles mostly downhill into Glasgow, VA. Only one climbed, 700' over High Clock Knob. This was a very steep up and down, very hard. I hadhiked with Peace Walker until then. She just pulled away from me onthis hill. That woman has trail legs. Crossed the James River on thelongest footbridge on the AT. There were 9 hikers that stayed at thetown's Pavilion with me. It rained a couple of times overnight.Storyof the day: 4 hiker swimmingIknew that we all needed a good shower, but when I saw 4 hiker'sswimming in a very cold James river, I knew that they must have beensmelling even worse than me.4/21:It was very easy getting a ride back to the trail with Wild Flower. Ihiked 22 miles to Buena Vista, VA. It was a good day for a hike.Storyof the day: hitchhiking with Wild FlowerIdid not know WildFlower because she was in a group of hikers that cameinto town after I did. Anyone would notice how beautiful she was. Inthe morning the two of us were ready to head back to the trail at thesame time. The trail being a few miles away meant that we wouldhitchhike. When we got to the road, she put her thumb out and becauseshe is one beautiful woman, every car on the road stopped, and all wehad to do was pick one. Now that is how you do it.
Date: 2017-05-25
From: Buena Vista

To: Devils Backbone
Miles today: 194.4

4/22:I was planning on taking one zero day in Buena Vista VA, but with avery heavy rainstorm due in 4/23, I added a 2nd zero day. Itrained all evening.4/23:Looking for 4-4.5" of rain this day. The rain had stopped in theearly morning and did not start again until evening. Conversation atthe Food Lion - Cashier to me: Are you hiking the AT? Me: Yep.Cashier: You must not be very bright? Me: Yep.4/24:It rained all night. Rain should have ended early morning. I got ashuttle back to the trail at 9 AM. From late morning to lateafternoon, the rain was very heavy. I hiked 14 miles toSeeley-Woodworth shelter. Even with my rain suit, I was dripping wetfrom head to toe, inside and out. There were 4 of us in the shelter,and it was a cold night.4/25:It rained all night, plus we are in a fog bank. Everything I waswearing for today's hike was still very wet and now cold. I hiked upabout 4,100' to the top of "The Priest". Taking a photothere is a must, but it was still raining and adding the fog bank. Theonly photo is of me standing in my rain gear. I hiked back down "ThePriest" to the Crab tree Falls campground for a 12 mile day. Ispent the night in a $50 log cabin, Well, at least I'm out of therain.Storyof the day: I do not know my nameNowthe full story about the log cabin at CrabTree Falls. When I gotdown from the ¢Priest¢ I needed to go about a mile up the road toget to the Crab-tree Falls campgrounds. I was again in very bad shapeand thinking of walking there was not a good thought. Hitchhiking, aman stopped just to tell me that no one was going to give me a ride,and that the road was unsafe to walk on. After he did all the talkingfor a few minutes he told me to get in and that he would take me tothe campgrounds. Entering the campgrounds front office I can tell youthat I was sub-human. My IQ by this time was 20 to 25, pushing 20. Idid not know my name and could not get my ID or credit card out tocheck in. I could only mumble heat ¢ heat. After the owner did allthe work to get me checked in, he led me back to my log cabin inwhich there was only a full size bed with no sheets on it, a smallwood table in a corner and a wood bench in front of the table. As theowner closed the door, windows, and turned on the heat, I just sat onthe bench looking like pure misery. (I now wish I would have had himtaken a photo of me then). So over the next hour, I found thecampgrounds shower and took a long hot one and put on my night wear.Then ringing out my hiking wear and hunging them around the cabin todry. After I was acting like a human being again, I went back up tothe front office to get some comfort food. I'm sure that I was notthe first hiker to come into this place like I did, but the ownerstill had to wonder who this ¢new¢ person was talking to him.4/26:The rain stopped overnight. The owner of the campgrounds gave me alift back to the trail. I had a very hard hike up the 4,000' ThreeRidges Mountain. But after a 10 mile day, I stayed at the Devil'sBackbone Brewpub, where hikers get to camp for free. Some of thehikers stayed up drinking all night. I was not in that group.
Date: 2017-06-02
From: Hamburg PA

To: Stanimal's Hostel
Miles today: 75.8
Weather: overcast clouds

4/27:I was up and moving early for a 14 mile day. The overlook view atCedar Cliffs is world class. The shelter at Paul Wolfe was very nice,but I needed to use my tent to dry it out. It rained again during thenight.4/28:Only had a 5 mile hike into Waynesboro, VA, which is at the southgate of the Shenandoah National Park. I will be waiting here untilMonday to see my sister Chris and my Brother in Law Chris. I decidedto stay at the Stanimals Hostel. The first person to greet me wasPeace Walker, it was great to see her again. She and I went out todinner and a drink together. We ran into Norseman, and she introducedme to a man named Crazy Tree.4/29:Zero day. Updated my log book and re-supplied. Peace Walker and allthe other hikers at the Hostel moved on. I'm just short of 400 totalmiles.4/30:One of the hikers that came in last night was a man named Rooster. Himand I slackpacked (That is when you take almost everything out ofyour backpack, only leaving what you need for this hike) from BlackRock Gap in the Shenandoah National Park south back to Waynesborowhich is a 22 mile hike. It was a good hike day with my backpack onlyat 13 pounds. My normal weight is around 35 pounds. I stayed anothernight at Stanimals Hostel, 11 hikers spent the night there.Storyof the day: Meeting StealthSinceI was the only hiker at the hostel that was there from the daybefore, I was now the old man of the place. Just sitting in a chair,a man older than me sat next to me and asked if there were anyrestaurants down the road by Kroger, and I told him about a placethat I had gone to. This was the first time that I met Stealth.5/1:Zero day. I moved from the hostel to the Comfort Inn where I met upwith Chris and Chris. The three of us had a great dinner atOutback. I gave my sister all my winter gear to hold for me untilmid-July. I will need it back when I get to the White Mountains. InNew Hampshire.
Date: 2017-06-18
To: Shenandoah National Park
Miles today: 80.1
Weather: light rain

5/2:After breakfast with Chris and Chris, Roster and I were shuttled backto Black Rock Gap in the SNP. I hiked 22 miles to High Top Hut. Itwas a VERY hard hike day, and my legs were very weak all day. I sleptin my tent tonight.5/3:On the trail at first light. My legs feel good. Hiked 21 miles toBig Meadows campground where the Ranger told me that the only foodwas one mile down the road and that they close in 30 minutes. Afterhiking for 10.5 hours, I got to jog with my 35 pound backpack on themile to get a Hamburger. Roster was already there. Roster, Crazy Treeand I all had our tents right by each other this night.5/4:It was cold and very windy last night. I slept in my tent and thewind was an issue. I have been planning on spending a night at Skyland resort and it was only an 8 mile hike. I had dinner with Rosterand 2 other hikers. Heavy rain is due in tonight.5/5:I¢m glad that I went to Sky land Resort yesterday. I had a niceroom and good food. It rained very heavily all night. At breakfast itlooked like the front past, and the sun came out. I set out to hike24 miles to Gravel Spring Hut. About a half an hour into the hike,the rain came back. A cold rain then fell for the rest of the day. Igot to the shelter after dark and had to take a bath in the nearbyvery cold stream to get the mud off of me before I got into mysleeping bag.Storyof the day: A Fall in the mud.Itwas raining and I needed to keep pushing forward to make my plannedmiles for the day, but hiking on a trail of wet rocks is not fun. Atone point, I slipped on one of the rocks and went face first into themuddy ground and a half second later my 35 pound backpack hit me,again sending my face into the mud. As I was picking myself back up,I noticed that where my face hit the ground was the only place aroundwhere there were no rocks. Someone up stairs is looking out for me.
Date: 2017-06-27
From: Wildcat Shelter

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 93.3

Storyof the day: Washed in full view of 3 womanWhenI got into camp I asked if there was any room in the shelter for meand a young woman said yes. Then I asked her where the water was andshe pointed to it for me. I very much needed to clean up after myfall in the mud that day, so I got my night wear out and went overabout 20 yards to the creek to wash up. The water from the creek wasvery cold, but I could not get into my sleeping bag the way I was.When it came right down to it, I needed to take a bath. So withineasy view of three women, off everything came, and I used my shirt asmy cleaning cloth to wipe off the mud, and when I was done, I put onmy night wear and went to the shelter to sleep.5/6:I was up by 6 am, and had to put on the same thing that I was wearingyesterday that was still very wet and cold. The hike today was 13.5miles in a cold rain to Front Royal VA, which is the northern gate ofShenandoah N.P. I got the last room at the Super 8 motel.Storyof the day: Front Royal ¢ Motel or Hospital ?Goinginto Front Royal VA., I was a mess. Like most times that Ihitchhiked, I got a ride from a woman. The women asked me where Iwanted to go, and I told her the Super 8 motel. Just by the way shewas looking at me, I knew she was thinking should she take me to themotel, or a hospital. Storyof the day: ¢That is not enough¢Iwent out for dinner and to watch the Kentucky Derby. When my meal ofmeatloaf, mashed potatoes and green beans which was of normal sizewas put in front of me, I looked at it then turned to the server andsaid ¢that is not enough¢. I had to add an appetizer. Afterdinner, she asked me if I was going to have dessert which issomething I never have. I looked at her and said of course.5/7:After all the rain and cold, I needed a zero day. I laid around allday.