morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-04-14
From: Thomas Knob shelter

To: Old Orchard shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: moderate rain

Start 9:19End 4:00Best Part - Well blazed trailBiggest Complaint - Wet rocks, puddles and mud   For three weeks and two days I hadn't had to use my rain gear. The two days it did rain were days that we had taken zeroes. Today meant get the rain kilt ready. I hooked my gaters to the top of my boots. I put my pack cover on and I put on my rain kilt. I saw a guy last year who talked about his rain kilt. He told me where he got it so I ordered one. It helps keep the under carriage dry. I usually don't wear my jacket in the rain. I did this first day of rain since it was cold in the morning. Since your shirt gets soaked from sweat why not just not wear the jacket. It's supposed to rain tomorrow also.   We hiked off of Mt. Rodgers and onto what they call the Grayson Highlands. This is where there are open areas and the fact they had lots of blazes on posts and rocks really helped since it was raining and we were hiking through clouds a lot. This is the area where if you're lucky you can see the ponies. There actually a breed of horse that are smaller than normal horses. They are wild. At the end of the year they collect them all, let 200 stay free and sell the rest. That not sold for meat, more like pets. This year I wasn't lucky but since I had seen them about a decade ago when I hiked here with my hiking buddies it didn't really bother me. A day later I talked with one hiker who also didn't see the ponies. He did see a bear which I really would have liked to do. By the way, I saw the following animals on this year's hike:A green catapilarSeveral grey squirrelsA grouse taking offA mothSeveral butterfliesA dead raccoon by the side of the roadA deer on my way to the privyI did not see any bears. I guess you could say I also saw a glow worm but he was actually a hiker.
Date: 2015-04-15
From: Old Orchard shelter

To: Trimpi shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

Start 8:10End 3:55Best Part - Contacts/Nice shelterBiggest Complaint - More rain   It rained again today. This time it rained a little in the morning but more so in the afternoon. I remembered that I had brought two pairs of contact lenses in case I lost or broke my glasses. I decided to wear a pair since that's a better option in the rain.   When I got to Trimpi shelter Tabasco and Glow Worm were getting a fire going in the fireplace. The format of this shelter was a fireplace in the back and on each side was a upper bunk with a platform big enough for three hikers below. That means four on each side, room for eight. I took the side next to the wall while Tabasco took the space next to the fireplace so he could easily tend to the fire. The space between us was taken by Penguin. I actually talked to her and her husband who was visiting her back at Damascus. I saw her at MoJoe's caf©. She is a lady thru hiker probably in her fifties.   More hikers arrived after the 8 available spaces were filled up. They had to tent but they came inside to warm up. We had a tarp across the open front of the shelter and it got quite toasty inside. Quite late Shadow Fax showed up. Todays hike intersected with quite a few horse trails. At one spot a horse trail went straight while the AT went right. He missed that turn and ended up back at the shelter he started from. He hiked 11 unnecessary miles for a total of 24 miles. He was soaked when he got there and he warmed up and somewhat dried out by the fire. I think Shadow Fax sort of sounds like a race horse name. They may have contributed to his mistake.
Date: 2015-04-16
From: Trimpi shelter

To: Partnership shelter 
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: light rain

Start 7:56End 12:38Best Part - Access to soda, Pizza HutBiggest Complaint - Hat on Display   Partnership shelter is a bigger shelter with a loft. Twenty or more stayed there. There's a park visitor center a couple hundred yards away. You can use a phone there to order food from a nearby Pizza Hut, $40 minimum. I ended up ordering wings.   There is a shower at this shelter. It wasn't working but a guy was there working on it. He sort of fixed it. The water got kind of warm but not hot. I decided to wait for a motel shower the next day.   You can also get pop and hang out at the visitor center which a lot of hikers did. The area in the visitor center that we hung out was right next to a school project display of info and examples of things people use hiking the Appalachian Trail. It won first in school, first in county and second in state. I took my hat off and set it there and it fit right in. Unfortunately I left my hat in the visitor center and didn't realize it till after they closed. I had to wait till they opened the next morning at 8:00 A.M. before I could start my hike.   I ended up losing a contact during the night. It probably came out when I rubbed my eye. This turned out to be a good thing. I do mono vision with my contacts. One lens is less strong than it should be which in effect makes it like reading glasses. That helps with reading but I still really need reading glasses which I didn't bring. When I only wear one lens I can hold things up to my face and read easily. I had actually done this during my first hike last year but I had forgot. Getting old is so much fun.
Date: 2015-04-17
From: Partnership shelter 

To: Relax Inn
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: light rain

Start 8:05End 2:15Best Part - Sleeping in a real bedBiggest Complaint - No wifi   Today we hiked to a motel. On the way we got some great trail magic which was located at Linda Mood Schoolhouse circa 1894. It was a one room school house. Signs before the schoolhouse directed us to trail magic inside. Someone who has hiked the trail before gave advice as to what to include in the box of trail magic. It had a lot of good stuff. I got the last apple.   We stayed at The Relax Inn. Glow Worm who I met a day or two previous stayed there too. We ended up shopping at the same gas station convenience store and when we both went to pay at the same time the clerk asked if we were brothers. Then Glow Worm said that I looked like his Dad.    The motel did not have wifi so I couldn't really post my journal entries. The AT Guide said it did but none showed up when I tried. I didn't ask about it at the motel office. From past experience I figured they would probably tell me it only works if you're in the office. Or it may have been it was that we had the next to last room on one end of the motel. Whatever I did not want to sit in the office.
Date: 2015-04-18
From: Relax Inn

To: Knob Maul Branch shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: clear sky

Start 7:28End 3:15Best Part - Hiking in the morningBiggest Complaint - Exhausted at day's end   Instead of writing about today of which I don't remember a lot I've decided to list the numerous trail names I've encountered. These are only the ones Tabasco and I can remember.Nazi Surfer Snow ZombieShadow Shadow FaxJacksLittle EngineCaliforniaChicagoChiefBulletSpartacus F BombMao (Chairman Mao)ChefBiscuit Fur BallFireball Crock RocketJust JohnMr. BeanReconNo NameNot YetRising SunDirt DogHappy WarierClifford (The Big Red Dog)Swed (From Sweden)GrumpyMacGyverLink and his twin brother Folk LoreRambling ManSoloSobo HoboPenguinBreadCheese (she happened to be Swiss)NumbersEagleBrown GandalfPoppinsGuiseppeIggyRed IceSpoonerCrazy HorseTwo hikers known as 'The Lovers'CraneWalker (A commercial oyster fisherman)Heat TabPlisken (A character from the movie Escape from New York)
Date: 2015-04-19
From: Knob Maul Branch shelter

To: Chestnut Knob shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: moderate rain

Start 7:35End 4:15Best Part - Finally getting to the shelterBiggest Complaint - Cold and wind and rain   Today we hiked to a shelter on Chestnut ridge. It's at 4410 feet elevation. Going north on the AT there isn't another as tall until New Hampshire. By the time we reached the open area the start of a clearing the wind was probably blowing 20 to 30 miles an hour. The wind wasn't much of a problem while we were still in the woods but out in the open it was very uncomfortable. I wasn't wearing my gloves and I didn't want to stop and get them on in the horrible conditions. By the time I got to the shelter my hands were so cold I had a hell of a time unbuttoning my buttons. The shelter actually had four walls and a door. I got inside and switched to my dry clothes. I didn't put my spot locator out after I got there because there was no way I was going out side in that rain and get my dry clothes wet. I put it out the next morning. Hiking on that ridge was the most uncomfortable I was on the whole hike.
Date: 2015-04-20
From: Chestnut Knob shelter

To: Jenkins shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: few clouds

Start 11:00End 4:49Best Part - Amazing flowBiggest Complaint - None   When we woke up it wasn't raining. I thought maybe we'd hike after all. When Tabasco got up he was saying "I'm allergic to rain today." The forecast was bad and it was still very windy outside. Tabasco was using his weather radio and I was getting the weather with my phone since we had verizon signal and it didn't sound good. Then Sweed came in and said we were starting to get views. It was cloudy overhead but first on one horizon and then the other the sky was clear. An hour later Tabasco came in and said the sky was clearing up. About ten minutes later I was packed up and started hiking at 11:00 o'clock. It turned into a beautiful day. When I was getting near the shelter I came across a spring that was practically gushing. A little later I came to a stream that the AT guide said was intermittent. I've never seen a stream flowing so fast. I guess all that rain from yesterday increased the downhill flow dramatically. A couple days later we found out that people going up to Chestnut Knob the day after us had to cross a stream that we rock hopped while they had water that was thigh high. A couple days after that we heard that an ex-marine broke his leg trying to make that stream crossing.I got to the shelter and claimed one of the last two spots. When Tabasco got there I let him take the spot and pitched my tent. We could have all squeezed in but I just felt like using my tent. I had only used it twice before. A little later the guys that had participated in the Damascathon showed up. Although they're doing more miles per day we're keeping together I suppose because they're taking more zero days.
Date: 2015-04-21
From: Jenkins shelter

To: Helvey's Mill shelter
Miles today: 15.3

Start 8:05End 3:25Best Part - Cool day for a hikeBiggest Complaint - Confusing finding trail again after crossing I-77   Today was a beautiful day for a hike. The terrain was nice including a mile or more of walking an old road bed. There weren't many hills and the two significant hills weren't too bad. Also the weather was cool. Choosing this time of year to hike was a good idea. When you hike when it's warm or hot you sweat a lot especially uphill. When it's cool it's much more pleasant hiking.   Today we crossed I-77. It was confusing in two ways. After following the directions to get to the crossing and making the crossing there was a blaze which pretty much showed we were going to the right. Walking in that direction at the end of a guard rail there was an obvious trail. No blaze or sign said it was the AT but it looked like it ought to be. After checking it out and deciding it wasn't the AT I started further down the road and finally saw a blaze on the rocky wall. After the blaze it was like three hundred yards down the road and no more encouraging blazes. Further down the road the guard rail on the right side of the road finally gave confirmation I was indeed on the AT with the letters 'AT' and an arrow pointing in both directions. I eventually got to the AT again and continued but the trail could certainly have been blazed better.   The second way it was confusing was why were we crossing I-77 from east to west? We'll have to end up on the east side eventually so maybe we cross it again later. We took a left turn to cross I-77 so it seemed we went from east to west. When I talked to my wife she told me I actually crossed from west to east. When we actually got to I-77 we were going south. I hadn't realized that and was surprised to learn that that was what actually happened.   Today I fell once. This makes only the third time I've fallen; one backwards, once forwards and once sideways. The time I fell sideways I was looking at a cooler of trail magic ahead and stepped where I shouldn't have. The time I fell backwards I was going downhill and slipped on some mud and leaves. I really only fell on my but. The time I fell forward my right foot got stuck on a root. The root was curve shaped and when it released my foot it directed it sideways so that it then tripped on my other foot. These roots can be pretty clever.
Date: 2015-04-22
From: Helvey's Mill shelter

To: Trent's grocery
Miles today: 16.4

Trent's GroceryStart 6:46End 2:30Best Part - Nice place to stayBiggest Complaint- AT Guide mileage on last section too low   It was a long day but when I got to Trent's grocery I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, coffee and a pop. Later I looked at the menu board and realized there are a lot of options. The food was great. Tabasco had been talking about cheeseburgers since yesterday. I ate my food and then went looking for Tabasco.   At Trent's for six bucks you get laundry. a shower and to pitch your tent. A good deal. The area you stay at is a separate building. Of four small rooms two are being used. One for a toilet and shower and the other for laundry. You camp anywhere behind the building. You get to eat good food from the grill and grocery and also get to resupply.   The last 4 1/2 miles was longer than 4 1/2 miles. Tabasco told me ahead of time and he was right. Probably a mile longer. I'm glad I knew ahead of time. I would have been hopping mad otherwise.   We saw Snow Zombie again. He told Mr.Trent as a school project he's trying to see how well he can work his way up the trail. He has the money to pay for it but he's trying to see how well he can make money working to pay for the hike. In Damascus he did some painting for someone and earned fifty bucks. He did some cleaning and hosing down and the like for Mr. Trent and earned twenty-five bucks. He says he is studying sustainability. Different things like putting more insulation in homes and using geothermal to use less fuel to heat your home. Ways to sustain our non renewable resources.   He's hiking the AT the way the trail should be hiked but seldom do. He's carrying several sources for things to see or do along the trail. When in Demascus he took the time to do some of the Creeper Trail by bicycle. He's not just doing miles. He's visiting waterfalls and many more opportunities as he goes.   That night there were lots of stars. We also saw the international space station fly over. I hadn't known that was possible and it was ineresting.
Date: 2015-04-23
From: Trent's grocery

To: Doc's Knob shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: clear sky

Start 7:50End 5:35Best Part - 2.8 more miles? Not a problemBiggest Complaint - Wood's Hole Hostel a bust   I packed up my gear and had a BLT with egg for breakfast. They had a breakfast plate but I had seen the BLT on the menu board yesterday and decided on that instead. I later realized with my growing hiker appetite that wasn't enough.    It was 15.2 miles to Woods Hole hostel not counting the 0.5 miles to get from Trent's Grocery back to the A.T. and not counting the 0.5 miles from the A.T. to Woods Hole hostel. People kept passing me on the trail and they all said they were going to Woods Hole hostel. That didn't bode well for there still being any open bunks when I got there. By the time I got there the place was packed. Tabasco was there and apprised me of the situation and suggested I have a smoothie while we decide what to do. They sold strawberry banana smoothies for $6. We decided at first to camp at sugar run gap which is where the side trail to the hostel hits the A.T. Snow Zombie arrived and wanted to but was not able to discuss sustainability with the hostel owners. They practice sustainability techniques at the hostel but this evening they were going to a local music concert and taking any hikers that wanted to go to go along with them. Snow Zombie said he was going on to the next shelter. That meant another 0.5 miles back to the trail and then 2.3 miles to the next shelter. Tabasco and I decided to do the same. Earlier in my hike if you suggested at 4:30 hiking another 2.8 miles after already hiking 16+ miles I'd tell you to forget it. Now that I'm in better shape my attitude was 'No problem, piece of cake'. Including side trail mileage to Trent's grocery, Woods Hole hostel and the 0.3 miles to Dismal Falls which I checked out I had actually hiked 19.6 miles.
Date: 2015-04-24
From: Doc's Knob shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: clear sky

Start 7:37End 12:15Best Part - Done for nowBiggest Complaint - Too cold in the morning   Since it's been two weeks since I've been able to post to my journal I'll mention that if you want to start from where I last posted, click on 'List', then select the entry for 4-12, destination 'Lost Mountain shelter'.   When we got up in the morning the temperature couldn't have been much more than thirty degrees. I had planned on making oatmeal and making a double batch. I usually make up three packets and I had six left. I decided it was too cold and I'd rather get hiking instead. I had a fruit cup and put two morning snacks (bags of mixed nuts) to eat on the way. I wore my convertible pants with legs attached, my jacket and also put my gloves on. Yesterday I did not wear my gloves and wished I had. It's been colder the last several days which is good for hiking.   Tabasco and I reached town at the same time. The first thing we reached was a Dairy Queen where we stopped for lunch. Then we walked the almost two miles to the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church hostel. We wanted to get there before the hikers that had stayed at Woods Hole hostel beat us there. We had a 2.8 mile head start and we didn't want to lose that advantage. It was an old barn they had moved to this location behind the church and converted to a hostel. It's been there since 1978. It opened just nine days ago for this year. The day after it opened a former hiker stopped by and filled the fridge with trail magic. Too many kinds of food to mention but I will mention coffee and ice cream.   Anyways I completed the section I had planned and now I only have 290 miles left. I'll have to say I had a great time on this hike. I had good luck with the weather, good luck not having any injuries and good luck finding a hiking buddy like Tabasco.   Tomorrow I'll go to the library at post my journal entries and I'll also go to the all you can eat Chinese restaurant. Tish will be picking me up tomorrow evening. We'll drive to Abingdon near Damascus and bike the creeper trail before going home.   If you would sign my guest book I'd appreciate it.
Date: 2015-07-14
From: Gorham, NH

To: Trident Col Campsite
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

Start 10:45End 4:15Best part - Having Mahoochman bring me back to the trail.Biggest complaint - This part of the trail is as tough as I remember.   I'm starting another section of the trail again this year. I'm going from Gorham, NH to Monson, ME. This 184 mile section will mean I'm done with the northern half. All I will have left is 111 miles from Unicoi Gap 53 miles north of Springer mountain, the start of the A.T. in Georgia, to Fontana Dam which is where the A.T. reaches the Smoky Mountains. Earlier this year I did 340 miles from Hot Springs, NC to Pearisburg, VA.   My friend Mahoochman, Paul Mahoochian, had been talking about giving me a ride back to the trail sometime when he was up visiting either his brother in Schenectedy, NY or his daughter in New York City. When he mentioned that to his daughter she suggested that she might like to hike some of the A.T. with her Dad. So I took the Amtrak to Springfield, Mass and Paul took me from there to Gorham, NH and he will be hiking with his daughter about 450 miles south of here on the A.T. She took a train from New York City to Pawling, NY. I met Mahoochman on the A.T. in 2009 somewhere in Virginia. He's from Raleigh, NC. You meet the nicest people on the A.T. Maine is one of the toughest parts of the A.T. Actually I'm still in New Hampshire and won't reach Maine until tomorrow but I'm already seeing the tell tale signs. Whenever you're not quite sure which way the trail goes, if you find the trail is always the steepest rockiest direction around you know you're in Maine. Other areas of the trail use switchbacks to get you up steep parts of the trail. In Maine they don't do that because the mountains are made out of granite and lots of it. So usually you're going pretty close to straight up. Sometimes they make stairs out of the granite rocks to make it a little easier but I haven't seen that yet.   For some reason I got in a very silly happy mood today sometimes laughing my way down the trail. I'm not sure why. I don't think anyone slipped me a happy pill or anything. Anyways I'm thinking about hiking this section of the trail left handed.
Date: 2015-07-15
From: Trident Col Campsite

To: Carlo Col Campsite
Miles today: 10.1

Start 9:39End 8:30Best part - JellyBiggest complaint - Really tough trail   The term tough trail now has a new meaning to me. I started the day by not being careful enough climbing over a big rock that was on the side trail from the campsite back to the A.T. My foot went out from under me, I fell backward and I landed hard on the rock and slid the rest of the way down. My right elbow hit hard and it hurt. It's not too bad. It only hurts if I lean on it but later that day when I rolled my sleeve up I found it did bleed. By then it had pretty much stopped bleeding.   I had planned on 10.1 miles figuring that shouldn't be too tough. I had forgotten how tough the trail is here. All day long I was either climbing up or down piles of rocks on the mountain sides. Since it had rained early that morning the rocks and roots were wet which made the downhills treacherous. I probably fell a dozen times. I started at 9:39 figuring I'd have plenty of time. The tough terrain was slowing me down so much combined with not being in trail shape I was having a lot of difficulty and started figuring out I might not get to the campsite before dark. I figured I could always night hike but also I was thinking I might run out of gas. What do you do when you have three more miles to go and you're already totally exhausted? Answer - you redefine totally exhausted. When I finally made it at 8:30 it was already starting to get dark. There were some openings in the shelter but I wanted to pitch my tent partly to get it to dry out and also I wanted to sleep in. I got my tent up before dark but it was almost dark enough to require my head lamp as I was finishing. I had been told where the water source was but I decided to not bother. I didn't cook supper and I had a package of pop tarts instead. I had planned on a protein bar also but decided to skip it. I got my food bag ready. It was only about 30 yards from the tent to the bear box but since I was only wearing shorts and a shirt I was audibly shivering on the way back. Since the other hikers were already asleep by then I'm sure they didn't hear me. I slept well. P.S. I'm in Maine.