morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-04-03
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: broken clouds

My first 20+ mile day was an average day with some hills and some gaps. Up and down is what the trail does so that's what you do. Its a few days late writing this and nothing during the day stands out in my memory. In the evening, as we crossed Devil Fork Gap, there was a sign for trail magic 300 yards up the road. The sign said it was worth it. We were sold. We headed up to find a super nice log cabin house on a big piece of land. We were met by a friendly dog and Hercules who greeted us by saying "Welcome home!" We dropped our packs and kicked off our boots and came inside. Hercules and his wife Fal (I think) had thru-hiked a few years prior and every season they invite hikers to their home for lunch/diner. That sign did not lie. First course was a big Belgian waffle, second course was homemade beef stew (which I had seconds of) and the third course was your choice of a brownie sundae or cherry cobbler with ice cream. It was incredible. We thanked them as much as one can and headed off fat and sleepy. It was a long 7 miles to the shelter with all that food in my gut but it was worth it.
Date: 2012-04-04
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Overslept big time. Spidderman and I didn't leave the shelter until almost noon. We went 2 miles and came to Sam's Gap to find another former thru-hiker, Quiet Dan, doing breakfast trail magic. Scrambled eggs, hash browns and fresh oranges. Dan lived up to his trail name but he sure did give heaping piles of excellent breakfast. Spidderman got some cell service and he contacted Keen about his shoes that are falling apart. I sat in the sun and digested. It was a short rest of the day with some nice weather. My boots are finally dry again.
Date: 2012-04-05
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Uncle Johnny's/Erwin, TN
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up, ate and got packed. Things really become routine out here. We shuffled our way out across the remaining hills and started our descent into Erwin. Spidderman and I have been hiking together for days now and we each other's pace. He was really dragging his feet (not metaphorically) and just seemed to be wincing at each step while we were on downhills. I asked what was up and he said he felt he might be getting shin splints. Bummer. So I walked with him and wouldn't you know, 2 miles outside of town it started raining again. So now we're slowly making it down the longest 2 miles I've ever hiked (I say that daily so I'm sure you'll hear it again). It just kept going and going and then we'd go up again and then down. We did eventually get there but between the route of the trail and the rain it seemed long. First thing as you get out of the woods is Uncle Johnny's Hostel. We made a B line for it. Came up onto the deck and instantly Grimm came out and said "how old are you?" I said "30." He responded "There's a cooler full of beer and we're having a birthday party for my son tonight. I hope you eat meat." It didn't matter that I was soaked to the skin anymore. Got a room, a shower and about that time I could smell the charcoal cooking. 55 hotdogs and 45 burgers were gone in literally 7-10 minutes. Then there was birthday cake. We were fat again. Most of us spent the night playing with Grimm's son, the birthday boy, and making sure he had a good 7th birthday. Fun times. Met a cool cat by the name Sterling tonight. He's hiking the ECT. It takes the Florida Trail, the Appalachian Trail and the International Appalachian Trail and makes one big 6000 mile walk along the entire Eastern North American seaboard. It goes from Key West, FL to the top of Newfoundland in Canada. He's already hiked more miles in his trip than we will altogether. Crazy shit I tell you. He was a really fun guy to be around.
Date: 2012-04-06
From: Uncle Johnny's/Erwin, TN

To: Uncle Johnny's/Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero day?Today was never planned to be a zero day. It became one because Spidderman was having shin splint issues and needed to rest. I decided I would hang out and zero too. I hadn't thought I would take a zero day until I got to PA. Well that changed and it wasn't too bad. Woke up and had a bunch of coffee and then ate a small breakfast. Hung out listening to Grimm tell some funny ass stories until noon and then we caught the lunch shuttle into Erwin from Uncle Johnny's. We got dropped at an all you can eat pizza joint. There were about 15 hikers there and we ran through some pizza. After lunch, I did some resupply for food and called my girlfriend. It's always great when I get to talk to her and I miss her a lot. She's the best. We came back to Uncle Johnny's and hung out in the sun, drinking some beers and enjoying life. Then it was diner shuttle time. We went to a Mexican restaurant and I got some tamales. After diner, we came back and set up our tents in the courtyard at Johnny's. All in all it was a nice zero day.
Date: 2012-04-07
From: Uncle Johnny's/Erwin, TN

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Woke up and let my tent lay in the sun since it was really damp last night. Got breakfast and packed up. I was ready to hike at 10:30 and was waiting for the rest of the posse to get moving. I waited and an hour went by, I waited some more and another half hour passed. I told them all that I would be leaving at 12:30 and if they're not ready, I'd see them later. No one was ready so I hiked out alone. Today was a really cool and enjoyable hike. The first 5 miles were all along a creek and up a ridge overlooking the Nolichucky River. Then I went up up up to Beauty Spot. It was another beautiful bald mountaintop. Next was Unaka Mtn. The entire peak was a spruce tree forest. It was such a cool place to be. It seemed like a whole different world. It was just a few more miles to the shelter and water. Got there around 7, ate and went to bed.
Date: 2012-04-08
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 23.7
Weather: clear sky

Today was tiring. I knew I had a lot of climbs today and the biggest was Roan Mtn. Before getting to Roan, I had some other climbs most notably Little Rock Knob. It seemed, on paper, that Little Rock would be an easy climb but it just wasn't. It was steep and rocky. I got up it and then focused on Roan. I remembered back to when I was in Franklin, a guy that went by Otto told me that they had redone the entire climb going up and it was easy now. He was right, it was. I got to the top and checked out the Roan High Knob Shelter which is the highest shelter on the AT. 6194 feet up in the air. It was cold and windy and I had no interest in staying there. While in Erwin, a guy that went by Mailbox told me I had to stay at the Overmountain Shelter just to see the view. It is an old barn that's been converted to a shelter. So I headed over and got here around 7:15 pm. The back of the barn overlooks a nice green valley and the mountains to the east. Looks like we may get a nice sunrise tomorrow. Its cold and I have all my clothes on to go to sleep. My bag is rated at 20 degrees. I hope it really is good for that rating tonight.
Date: 2012-04-09
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

1 month, 400 miles and officially done with N.C.Sleeping in the barn was cool but cold. It got down into the low 20s last night and I was pretty chilly. The sunrise was totally worth sleeping out on the exposed deck but I was too cold to get out of my sleeping bag to get my camera. Lack of planning on my part. Immediately after leaving the barn, I began to climb Little Hump Mtn. It is a bald and there was a great view. I took pictures. Next was it's big brother, Hump Mtn, where you could see "Grandpa's Ridge" (a crazy ridge of 5 peaks that looked menacing. We don't go over it so that was a relief to learn) and you could also see the entire ridge that would take us into Damascus. It was beautiful up there. 2 miles after Hump Mtn I left NC for good and entered TN full time. The rest of the day consisted of walking along and over creeks, streams and waterfalls. I should have taken a side trail to Jones falls but I misread the sign and thought it was a mile away when it was only .1 mile away. I heard from others that it was quite impressive. Got to Mountaineer Shelter and found it's a really nice, newer (built in '06) shelter with 3 floors. It looks out over a cool section of mountain and I was glad I stayed there. I plan to end tomorrow at Bob People's Kincora hostel so I can charge my phone and iPod, eat some burgers and get a shuttle to resupply to make it to Damascus.
Date: 2012-04-10
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Dennis Cove Rd/Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 15.6

Woke up to a nice sunny morning looking out over the valley. Again I'm a couple days late writing this entry so I don't remember much. There was a park bench placed on top of a ridge with a great view that was dedicated to a gentleman who passed away, his name escapes me at the moment. I sat down and enjoyed the view and a break. If this was that guy's "spot", he chose a damn good spot. Later there was a rock outcrop near Moreland Gap Shelter that got a picture taken from it. Then the trail dropped downhill and the terrain got different. Kept going down into a valley and repeatedly crossed over a small creek as it grew larger as I followed it. It's cool how the plantlife changes as you come down in elevation. I finally popped out a Dennis Cove Rd and headed up the road to Kincora. The guy that runs it, Bob Peoples, is a living legend on the trail. It seems that he's the only guy Chuck Norris fears and every Chuck Norris joke becomes a Bob Peoples joke. He's a very nice guy who moved down to TN from Boston years ago with his wife. They built the hostel addition to their house from trees they cut down on the property. He, and his now deceased wife, have been providing a nice place to stay for thousands upon thousands of hikers. Its really a nice place to end the day and I'm glad I got to sit up in the front seat and talk with Bob on the way to and from town. We got the wood stove blasting and went to sleep.
Date: 2012-04-11
From: Dennis Cove Rd/Kincora Hostel

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

It was cold outside but not in the hostel thanks to me. I woke up a couple times to fill the stove up during the night since I can't usually stay asleep the whole time from 9pm - 7am.Got packed and Bob popped his head in to see how everyone was doing and where we were going. The general consensus was the Vandeventer Shelter. He said "Oh it's going to be cold up there. Have fun" and then he chuckled. Fuck, what a way to start the day. Right off the bat there was a 1800 foot climb which then proceeded to drop us back down 1794 feet on the backside to within 6 feet of elevation of where we started. Haha couldn't we have just gone around? The backside of that hill brought us to the Watauga Dam and Lake. The trail was a nice leisurely stroll along the lake and then over top of the dam. Then uphill and a ridge walk looking down at the lake ended the hike for the day. It was already getting cold and windy so I threw my sleeping pad and bag down and asked the guys at the shelter where the water source was. They all laughed and told me to have fun. What a horrible spot to go to find water. It was wayyyyyyy down a steep .5 mile trail and then back up. Those became a very valuable 2 liters of water after all that effort. Its really getting cold and we're all in our sleeping bags already at 7:30pm just to stay warm. Damn it feels good to be a gangster.
Date: 2012-04-12
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: clear sky

Shit it was realllllllllllly cold last night. One guy at the shelter had a thermometer and when we woke up it was 18 degrees and the wind never stopped last night. I wore every single article of clothing I had, including rain gear, and I even pulled my garbage bag (that I use as a water proof pack liner) out of my pack and stuck my feet in it to retain some heat. Despite all that, I woke up convulsing in shivers multiple times during the night. Not cool, well kind of since I know I can do it but no not really. I wasn't to excited to get out of my sleeping bag so I was slow getting started this morning so, in turn, I hiked by myself for most of the day. About half way through the day I came to a 1 mile handicap accessible section of trail. I thought it cool that someone made a nice grassy bald available to people who otherwise wouldn't be able to be on the AT. There were about 15 people from a retirement home at the top and I stopped to chat when they asked about my hike. Kept going and met up with Switchback, Salt Bomb and Boxhead at Double Springs Shelter. Ate some lunch/snack there and then headed out. Came across and old miserable looking shelter that is no longer in use but still standing. Got a good laugh out of it while checking it out.At this point I had been planning on doing a 33 mile day to get into Damascus sooner but my feet were blistered/wounded/bleeding so much that I called it quits 10 miles outside of town. I must say, I really hate these Superfeet insoles. I am also mad at myself for not keeping the original insoles. I'm currently missing the tips of a couple toes from them blistering and popping in such a cycle that they are now bleeding wounds. Who would have known...
Date: 2012-04-15
From: Damascus, VA

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: clear sky

Woke up and went to some diner/gas station for breakfast. I got a biscuit sandwich with egg, cheese and bacon, a cinnamon roll and coffee. While eating it with Spidder and others, Deeds was telling his version of the story from the night before. He's a funny guy. I wandered around with my buddy Spidder for most the morning. He got his replacement shoes from Keen today. Turns out he gave them the wrong size while talking to them the other day and the shoes he received are size 11.5 and he wears a size 12. He was pissed. I managed to get a pair of shorty New Balance running shorts from a guy in Damascus so now I'm stylin'. So finally I decided to go hiking. Spidder was staying to get a package tomorrow so I again lose my buddy, but hopefully not for long. Today was a short easy hike. It was really warm and I sweated a lot. Got to camp and made my acquired freeze dried diner. It was awesome! I did check the shelter's journal and the night hikers from last night signed in for breakfast, so they didn't make it to far before quitting last night. Currently watching the sunrise and then I'm going to sleep.
Date: 2012-04-16
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: few clouds

I only made short notes of today so I will fill in what I can. The AT ran together with the Creeper Trail (seems to be a long distance bicycle trail through VA) for a little while before a big climb to the top of Whitetop Mtn. From Whitetop, it was a pretty easy climb up to Mt. Rogers, which is the highest point in Virginia. I met a nice couple in the shelter. The husband was a retired Army Ranger and then a Commanding Officer for a Ranger Battalion (or something to that extent). He served for 36 years. I'd like to take this time to thank him and everyone else who has or is serving our nation.As I sat there making diner some more hikers rolled in. Good Deeds came in and then Whoop and Resource stopped briefly and then Babysteps rolled in at dark. We all sat around and shot the shit.
Date: 2012-04-17
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Birthday Mom! I didn't have service today but I was thinking of you. Deeds woke up and made coffee for he and I. He's a really nice guy. I'm not just saying that because of the coffee either. He and I hiked into the Grayson Highlands today. It was like being in a different world. Deeds kept saying it was like being in Texas but I've never been so I can't say. We were up on a ridge looking out across rolling fields of grassy weeds. It was overwhelming. I took a lot of pictures and now I have 2 places I want to come back to visit again. The Great Smokey Mountains and the Grayson Highlands. We kept going along the ridge and came to a 10 foot long rock tunnel called Fatman Squeeze. It was like being kids again checking it out and walking through it, good times. The Grayson Highlands are known for the wild ponies that roam throughout but we were having no luck finding any. We came down to a shelter which I forget the name of and ate lunch. While there I got out my guidebook and realized we were sitting at mile 500.6! Wow 500 miles. We have now made a dent on the trail. We hiked a bit farther and came to a weird intersection of trails. Deeds and I took the wrong one. Haha it was a horse trail that ended up putting us out in the middle of the "plains" as we called it. So we just went with it to see where we would end up. After about a mile and a half, we ran into ponies. Haha they're so tiny and have fat stomachs, probably from people over-feeding them but it was still funny. I tried petting one and he wanted no part in it so I went to another. That one just slowly walked in a circle around a big boulder staying one step ahead of me as I stayed cautiously out of reach of his back legs. So I went to a third one, he liked me and let me pet him. Finally got to see the ponies. Right about then I said "Hey dude, look what's over there" It was a white blaze right on the other side of a treeline. The ponies brought us back to the trail. We hopped on and had no idea where we were in reference to where we had been. Turns out we ended up a half mile forward of where we left the trail. Not bad. We went up towards the end of the Grayson Highlands and found 5 longhorn steer hanging out with their two calves. They were heading towards us so we stood on some rocks and watched them cruise across the trail. Turned out to be a cool day. We left the Highlands and got to the shelter just about 30 minutes before the rain. Tomorrow's gonna be wet.
Date: 2012-04-18
From: Hurricane Mtn Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: moderate rain

It rained all night and all day. The first 10 miles I stayed dry-ish. After I stopped for lunch, my jacket and pants just gave up trying to keep the rain out. I was wet to the skin but as my Pa Pa (RIP) used to say "You were wet before you were dry" so I kept on going with one single thing driving me. You can order pizza and have it delivered to Partnership Shelter. There's not much to say about the hike today but this pretty much sums it up. I walked 20 miles in the rain today. The rain stopped 15 minutes after getting to the shelter, I put some dry clothes on and ordered my pizza. The pizza is now gone, the fire has died and I am dry and warm in my sleeping bag. Today was totally worth it.
Date: 2012-04-19
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Davis Path Campsite
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: broken clouds

First thing in the morning a bunch of us went in to Marion to get a food resupply and some McDonalds breakfast. Got back and sorted out my food bag. Hiked out for awhile with Go To and Caps Lock and after a nice easy 10 miles we got to Atkins VA. That's what I was excited about because of The Barn Restaurant and their 1lb Hiker Burger. I demolished the 16oz of beef in less than 5 minutes easily. I could have eaten another. Caps Lock rolled out and Go To's friends finally caught up so I just hiked a couple more miles to get to the Davis Path campsite. When I got there I found Whoop and Resource already there and making a fire. Set up my tent and we hung out around the fire chatting.
Date: 2012-04-20
From: Davis Path Campsite

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: scattered clouds

It was really overcast and foggy when I woke up in my tent so I didn't realize it was as late as it was. I didn't end up stepping foot onto the trail until 11. Oops. Today was a nice hike with lots of water sources for most of the day. It seems that VA can be pretty sparse at times with water and its not even hot or dry yet. There were some pretty views from a section of private land that the trail runs through. When I got to VA 742 there was some trail magic from a past thru-hiker Lumbermack. It was 2 coolers filled with soda and PBJ sandwiches made fresh that morning! Nice little pick me up half way through the day. Soon I came to the climb up Chestnut Knob which went really well for the first 3/4s. It caught me off guard because you had a sort of steep climb and then you popped out of the woods and into a field. I sort of figured that I was within 10 minutes of the top. There was still 2 miles to get to the shelter. Deceiving since I didn't refer to my guidebook ahead of time. Arrived at the shelter before sunset. Ate a quick diner and made it back out for the sunset with my camera. Whitewater and Duffer met me at the shelter that night and we all talked about getting a motel room in Bland VA tomorrow night since it was supposed to be cold, rainy and windy day.
Date: 2012-04-21
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 21.7
Weather: light rain

Actually got a decent start today. Left the shelter at 8. Leaving the shelter was downhill and then it the terrain got pretty flat. There was some small ups and downs to make it a nice rollercoaster hike but then it dropped down again into Jenkins Shelter. Met up with Whitewater there since he wakes up early and is always ahead of me due to that haha. At the shelter there was a lost dog. I'm a sucker for a pooch and so is Whitewater so he called the owner since he got reception at the shelter (Verizon has amazing coverage in the south). We fancied a leash out of some string and took her 5 miles to VA 615 where the owner met us to pick her up. Good deed done! From here W.water and I hiked together to Bland. The rain actually held off and we made it with nothing more than some mist. Seemed like the ridge we were walking on was diverting the bad weather away from us. Lucky. We got a motel room, ate some Dairy Queen and bought some beers and a razor. I decided it was time to commit to a mustache. Shaved the beard and ended up with a pretty sweet facial hair scenario. Ended the night watching Legends of the Fall. What a love triangle, or would it be a square?
Date: 2012-04-22
From: Bland, VA

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

The rain found us. It was in the 30s and windy again with rain all day. Fortunately it was a pretty easy hike with minimal up and down. The weather really limited any views today so it was just a head down and get it done kind of day. Got to the shelter and it was full but they squeezed and made room for me. I amazingly had service and got a chance to call my girlfriend. That was nice end to the day. Its supposed to snow tomorrow.
Date: 2012-04-23
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Sugar Run Rd/Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: mist

Woke up to the flurries starting after being elbowed and kneed all night since we were packed into the shelter. Can't complain since I don't have to pack up a wet tent but that may have actually been a nicer night's sleep. It was cold today. Really cold and windy with snow and sleet. Last night we decided that due to the weather we (Whitewater and I) would stay at the Wood's Hole Hostel. So I started out to catch up with him. Came down to Kinberling Creek and crossed it on a cool wooden suspension bridge. Then things really flattened out and it seemed like every .5 miles I crossed a creek or maybe the same creek. Easy hike through there. I caught up with Wwater at the Wapiti Shelter before the climb back up to 4000 feet and colder weather. Got up there and there was 3-4 inches of snow and it was cold. The last 6 miles were a sprint to get to Wood's Hole. The hostel is an old farm that a young couple now run as a hostel and organic farm. The shower was outside and it was still right around freezing with continuous strong wind so that was ummm, interesting. It was a nice place though with nicer people and great food.