morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-28
From: (no name just along trail) at AT mile 272.6

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: few clouds

Total miles today 18.0Total trail miles today 17.7Start at no name spotFinish at Little laurel shelter at AT mile 290.3staying in tent3700 ft of ups2000 ft of downs   It was an odd day. At times I had energy and at others I was dragging'. But I just took it easy and kept plodding along and good miles came to me. Going to do the same tomorrow. I walked for 9 hours today. I am going to start trying to build that up to 10 and eventually 11, but it will likely take some time yet.   I met this family on the trail today that was getting prepared to have a mess on its hands. The father apparently had done some backpacking when he was younger and decided to take the wife and 5 kids for a 42 mile hike into Hot Springs. Ok for the first 2 days at 10 miles per day, but when I left them at 1300 they were not done with lunch and he had just decided that they would hike on into Hot Springs today after going to take a side jaunt to a good view. Now, they had already done 9 miles and the kids were looking tired. It was another 11 miles to Hot Springs not counting the side trip. It was very warm and humid. I am sitting there listening to this and thinking that they were headed for trouble. Hopefully he did not push them and decided to find a place to camp.   Just missed seeing a bear again today as another hiker informed me. I have no luck. My first one of the trip will be when I have to wrestle it for my food bag.   Hmmm... I hear thunderstorms. Well I haven't been rained on for two days so it is about time.   Well, Woodstock finally showed up and I am going to go yak at him. He is normally a real fast hiker who blows me away but I beat him here by 3 hours. I was starting to wonder if something went wrong. It has been hard to find good water today and it was hot enough to cause heavy sweating. Got to watch about getting dehydrated.Wyoming   Which way is North?
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Little Laurel Shelter

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

Total miles today 22.3Trail miles today 21.5Start at Little Laurel shelterFinish at Hogback Ridge shelter at AT mile 311.83800 ft of ups3300 ft of downsStaying in tent   Well, it was an ambitious day. Woodstock had decided to head to the third shelter from where we were last night so I decided to see if I could beat him there. So I got up early and hit the trail at 0620 knowing that if he didn't sleep late he would catch me. 21.5 miles and I beat him here¢¦yuck, yuck. Course we will have to adjust for time later as he probably did not get up until 1000. In any case it was my first trail day over 20 miles and I also passed 300 trail miles. Hopefully I am getting into a rhythm and can do above 15 anytime there is an opportunity. We will find out tomorrow.   I am a mess of bug bites and some poison ivy. Not a lot but it must be on my gear as spots keep popping up. Not much I can do about it but enjoy the suffering. A couple of the bug bites are kind of nasty but I guess they will heal...or I will die. One or the other. My feet are what slow me down. They HURT by the end of the day. Parts of the bottoms of my toes are going numb so maybe that will help. Lots of sore and aching muscles and joints. I might have to take my first vitamin tonight (that is Ibuprofen to you non hikers). I have done well in holding off this long, but I suspect I will not sleep if I don't.   I will try and get to my Mamma Wyoming story soon but I am kind of tired.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-05-31
From: No Business Shelter

To: Nolichucky River
Miles today: 6.3

Total miles today 6.6Trail miles today 6.3start at No business shelterFinish at Nolichucky River at AT mile 338.72100 feet of downs700 feet of ups I am sort of in Erwin, Tenn. I am staying at Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky Hostel that is right on the trail about 3 miles from town. It is a great place and loaded with facilities and supplies. They shuttled me and the others back and forth to town 2 times as well. I highly recommend it. Woodstock caught up with me here and is doing well. I just out walked him the other day and it took 2 days to catch me. I am sure he will eat my lunch tomorrow. We resupplied and my food bag weighs about 4 lbs more than his. I seem to eat more than anyone out here. But I must have the right amount as I arrive at my resupply points out of food. But I seem to buy heavier food (better tasting too I bet) than the others. Ramens only if you are starving to death!   Back down at the low altitudes my allergies are bothering me. I need to live on a sailboat I guess. Just for my health of course. I also mentioned to the scribe (who is getting to mow the lawn this year) that there are no mowers on sailboats.   There are two British thru hikers also staying here tonight. They seem to be hiking about the same speed as me so we might be with them for awhile too. Course they all may leave me in their dust as well as Woodstock. My secret weapon is that I can get up early and hit the trail while others are snoozing. I miss some of the day¢s heat that way which also helps. I eat lunch at 1200 to 1300 while they are all hiking.   The downside of all this is that I get to clean the trail of all the spider webs that have been strung during the night. The spiders have not caught on that everyday their nights work gets tore up by the first hiker bumbling along. This morning duty of mine might also explain some of the more gruesome bug bites I have on me. I have personally met several rather annoyed spiders every day. In some sections I hold my hiking poles up like the marching band leader to clear the way. Other times I just use the more traditional tool, my face.   Spider webs sort of tickle in an icky kind of way.   Well tomorrow brings another big hill.Wyoming Staying in hostelWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Along trail near Iron Mountain Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: moderate rain

Total miles today 18.4Trail miles today 17.8Start about 1 mile north of Iron Mtn GapFinish at Overmountain Shelter at AT mile 376.8staying in tent4800 feet of ups 3800 feet of downs   Well today was another hard one. Getting up after yesterday was not too bad as I woke up at about 0600. As almost everything was still soaking wet I just protected the sleeping bag and my dry shorts and socks. I had slept in my wet tee shirt to dry it. My sock liners did not even dry in the bag with me. So, even though it was not raining I had to put on wet socks and shorts and throw on a wet pack. Meaning I was wet from the start.    I hollered at Woodstock when I found his tent about a 1/2 mile after I started walking to make sure he was all right and to encourage an early start. I don't think the last part worked as it is near 8 pm and he is not here yet. If he started late, the weather will have caught him in a bad place, because it has been pouring with lightening again today. Number 19 with rain. Oops. Woodstock just walked up. He has decided to do about 4 more miles (he will have to hike by his headlamp) so that he is close enough to highway 19E in the morning to have his parents pick him up for breakfast. Lucky guy.   After a few easy miles it was time to make the big climb up Roan Mountain. This is reputed to be one of the hardest climbs on the AT. When all was done I thought it was a pretty good climb but I expect there will be worse in New England. It was probably the hardest overall so far though. Lucky for me it did not start raining until I was on top. The climb would have been much worse in the rain. And if it had rained like yesterday I doubt it would have been possible in some places. One would have got washed down the trail. Woodstock had to climb through the rain so he had it much the worst.   In the rain I somehow walked right by the shelter near the top and by the time I realized it II was not about to climb back up, so it was trudge on and hope for a break in the weather to eat lunch. It never came. Just more rain and some lightening. Naturally I had to walk over about 3 boulders, which would just be perfect places for strikes, but not today. I finally got to the next shelter and ate lunch about 4 pm. As it was still raining I was contemplating staying there (I was kind of down) and then I got hungry again so I made supper and ate that too. Then the sun came out so I grabbed my gear and headed for where I had told Woodstock I was going to be. Took me about another hour to get there. As soon as I got my tent back up it started raining again.    Interesting animal item. As I am walking down the trail this morning there were tracks in the mud that looked like elk prints. Way bigger than a deer print. About 4 inches wide and 4 long. I took a picture of them to look up later.   We'll see what tomorrow brings.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Campsite at AT mile 399.4
Miles today: 22.6

Total miles today 22.9Trail miles today 22.6Start at Overmountain shelterFinish at campsite at AT mile 399.4staying in tent   Well today started out rough but ended up pretty. It rained most of the night and at daylight we were camped inside a cloud again. Water dripping off everything. It was really hard to get up as it was pretty chilly and breezy. Not to mention that to contemplate putting ones wet clothes back on was not inviting. But the warm dry ones went back in the zip locks and I scrambled to pack up and move out. There was not a sign of life from anyone by the time I left.   Even though it was no longer raining it may as well have been. The thick and fast moving clouds coated everything with dew. Soon I was up high on the balds and conditions were brutal. Wet cold conditions, high humidity and a ripping wind. Visibility was as low as 40 yards at times due to the thick fog. My exposed skin was numb but the hiking kept me warm enough as long as I worked hard. Downhills were not helpful as I had trouble generating enough heat to keep warm.   This lasted for about 1 1/2 hours before I reached the shelter of the trees.   By late morning it was getting sunny and it turned into a nice day.   Hiking conditions were bad as all the heavy rain had made the rocks slippery and the gooey. Lots of slipping and sliding and one fall in the rocks. But no harm done.   I know that the summer heat will also be hard and you better watch out what you wish for, but...    I go over 400 miles tomorrow. My pace is good I think as I am mostly hiking around those who started about a week before me, but everyone¢s mileage is going up. The big factor is really how many zeros one takes. They really impact your progress. Time to snooze.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Campsite at AT mile 399.4

To: Dennis Cove
Miles today: 9.9

Total miles today 10.2Trail miles today 9.9Start on trail at 399.4Finish at Dennis Cove at AT mile 409.3   I am staying at the Kincora Hostel tonight. Needed a low mileage day so I stopped here to resupply, shower, etc. This is a very nice informal place.    You will notice that I am over 400 miles now. Each milestone (ha ha) has to be savored. I get another one in a few days.    Best thing about stopping early is that I am sitting inside for today¢s rain! But it is still a rain day. I just got done drying my gear out before the rain started. It is a constant battle. Me against jungle rot. I think I am losing at this point.   I am hungry. When do we hit the restaurant?   More later.   It's later. Woodstock just showed up. So it is us and the Brits and Concord heading out for Damascus tomorrow. We are talking about doing a big day. Maybe 25 miles. Oh Boy! My feet hurt already.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-05
From: Dennis Cove

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.3
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles hiked 25.4Trail miles hiked 24.3Start Kincora HostelFinish at Iron Mountain Shelter at AT mile 433.6staying in tent   As everyone says, Kincora Hostel is great. The highest of recommendations.   Well the section of trail between Kincora and Damascus is supposed to be easy and a good place for big mileage so Woodstock and I decided to let it roll and see how things went. All in all, it went quite well. We probably could have done more, but there were 2 fairly good hills in the beginning that used up energy that would have been needed to go farther. Woodstock wants to go all the way to Damascus tomorrow. That is 25.9 miles. A big day, especially after today. But I will see how the body feels and go with what works. I am a little surprised how much mileage I have been doing as I still feel my strength coming up. It will be interesting to see how strong I get. A lot of this improvement is due to trying to keep up with Woodstock.    Woodstock just saw a bear while down getting water (it is incredible how many bears he has seen). We have not heard of bear trouble in this area but everyone is hanging their food just to be on the safe side.   Pretty tired.Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Total miles today 27.2Trail miles today 25.9Start at Iron mountain shelterFinish at Damascus at AT mile Staying Daves Place Hostel   DAMASCUS!!!! Yes! Big milestones today. The end of North Carolina and Tennessee. 20% of the trail done. And Damascus!    Woodstock and I did right at 26 miles today. Kincora to Damascus in 2 days. 50 miles and change. Same as my age, 51 and change. And I don't feel like I destroyed myself either. Even my usually sore feet cooperated.   I am going to have dinner with a bunch of hikers: Woodstock, Bill and Ann that I know, and a few others that I have just met. Will do resupply tomorrow, mail, new shoes and beat feet out of town. I am trying to avoid taking zeros so even though I will hike tomorrow it will probably be no more than 10 miles. It will be after 1200 before I can get free I expect.   Going to have Mt Rogers Outfitters fit me for new shoes. I don't think the ones I have now fit right. My feet should not be getting as sore as they have been. Maybe I¢ll try a different kind of sock as well. We will see what they recommend.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles covered 16.8Trail miles covered 15.8Start at DamascusFinish as Lost Mountain Shelter at AT mile 475.3staying in tent   Well it took me until 1 pm to get out of town, but I had chores to do.   Big change is that I had the Mount Rogers Outfitters fit me for a new set of shoes. My heels have been killing me along with my forefoot. I am pretty sure that nothing can be done about the forefoot problem, but I have never had shoes hurt so much in the heel. When they measured my foot they explained why I have always had trouble finding shoes that fit right. My overall foot size is 10 1/2 but from the heel to the ball of my big toe is the length of a size 12. So if you fit a shoe to my length the arch is wrong and if you fit to the arch the heel cup is wrong. The later way is what was making my heels hurt. Well they spent a bunch of time getting me shoes that should work. Got 15 miles in today but the big test will be tomorrow. I have the big climb over Mt. Rogers. That will be a good test.   I am tired so I have to sign off. With this higher mileage I am getting tired earlier.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-08
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

Total miles today 17.5Total trail miles today 17.3Start at Lost Mtn ShelterFinish at Wise Shelter at AT mile 492.6staying in tent   Well today was special. I walked over Mt Rogers and down through the Greyson Highlands. This was easily the best section of trail that I have seen on the AT. It was beautiful and reminded me of hiking in the Rockies. Open views, rocks, pine trees etc. Sweet. And on top of that there were wild ponies running around.   Naturally it rained last night and this afternoon. Pretty hard too. So what else is new, right?   We have had some great conversations at this shelter tonight as well. That is not the norm either. One guy here, Seed, is hiking with his dog. The dog is great, has his own pack, little paw boots for the rocks. Pretty cool. So, all in all a top notch day. Hope to have a bunch more like it.   Tomorrow is the real end of the Smokies as mountains. We have one last hill over 5000 feet and then drift on down to lower elevations for the next 1000 miles. The next time back over 5000 feet will be in the White Mtns of New Hampshire. So our time of being chilled almost every day by cold rain, wind or temps should be over. The heat should be on.Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-09
From: Wise Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Total miles today 20.2Trail miles today 20.0Start at Wise shelterFinish at Trimpi Shelter at AT mile 512.6staying in tent   Today was not real eventful. I awoke at 5:45 and was walking at 6:45. It was cool and foggy for the first few hours and then pleasantly warm the rest of the day.    After 16 miles I reached the road that leads to Troutdale, Va one of my resupply points. After waiting an hour for a ride I was picked up by the minister who runs the hostel in Troutdale. They no longer can do laundry due to septic problems. This kind of makes the place much less attractive as a stopping point. In fact, I was the only one of the group at the previous shelter that went there. But I do have food now so I can charge on up the trail.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: US11/VA683 at AT mile 534.8
Miles today: 22.2

Total miles hiked today 22.8Trail miles hiked today 22.2Start at Trimpi shelterFinish at US11/VA683 at AT mile 534.8staying in hotelThis road crossing is near Atkins, VA.   Well an interesting day. The shelter next to the Mt Rogers Ranger station has a shower (with hot water), tap water and a sink. And one can order pizza delivery from the ranger station phone. Hot stuff to us primitive folks. And to top that off, if I walk like crazy I can reach a restaurant at I81 and have my evening meal there. Hmmm...is it worth it? More later.   Well I guess it was worth it as I had dinner there and will get breakfast in the morning. Then to hit the trail.   I am going to try to hike near 20 miles per day for the next few days. See if I can build the miles up.    Virginia, which comprises about 25% of the whole trail, is the 2nd main segment. The 1st segment was from Springer in Georgia to Damascus in VA. This is roughly 1/4th of the trail and is the where one builds their strength and shakes out the kinks in their preparations, or they disappear or fall behind. Virginia, being the second phase, is where one builds determination, commitment and settles into hiking with purpose. This, of course, does not apply to everyone, but it seems a general rule. The easy days of the south, with the hostels all over the place and the big social scene tails off now. One has to hike and build miles. It is time to walk the walk. We'll see how I do.   Wyoming   Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-11
From: US11/VA683 at AT mile 534.8

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: light rain

Total miles today 23.3Trail miles today 22.9start at US11Finish at Chestnut Knob Shelter at AT mile 557.7staying in tent   Well, it was a long slog today. After last nights heavy rains (I was inside¢¦ha, hhhha!), the grass was soaking wet. So it was wet feet until noon. As it was very hot today, I am pretty drained. Plus a 2000 foot climb at the end of the day. Just worn out. But we will do it again tomorrow.    It is raining again.   Got to sleep.OH! My! ... It is raining the hardest I have ever seen. For like 3 hours the tent was just smashed by huge gusts of wind, which must have been 60 mph. I had to hold the tent up from the inside! The gusts would bend the tent over 45 degrees. There was water on everything. The first time I ever got soaked while inside the tent. There was lightening all over the place as well. I must have been up half the night. Man. WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles today 24.3 Total trail miles 23.8start at Chestnut Knob ShelterFinish at Helvey's Mill Shelter at AT mile 581.5Staying in shelter (I have all my gear hanging up drying)   Woke up to a soft drizzle. But after last night I would have been happy with rain. I walked in a cloud again for the first half of the day and wet shoes, due to all the water on the grass and bushes, but lunch and dry socks made me feel better.   It was easy hiking the last half of the day and I made good mileage. Going to go for a 24 or more tomorrow.   Hopefully, I get some sleep tonight.   I am near Bland, VA and crossed I77 this afternoon.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-13
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

To: USFS Road 103
Miles today: 28.6

Total miles today 28.8Trail miles today 28.6Start at Helvey¢s Mill ShelterFinish at USFS Road 103 at AT mile 610.1staying in tent   Hey POOKA'S dad! I ran into a very nice young woman today with a trail name of Pooka. As soon as she heard my trail name, she said that her dad had been reading my journal and telling her mom and her about me. Pretty neat to run into someone who has heard of you that way. So we were thinking of putting a story about Pooka in my journal. A big lie of course, but that would be the point. The consensus choice for the story was Pooka's plans for June 21 (the traditional AT hike naked day). Everyone thought this was perfect until Pooka said that she would be home that day doing stuff for grad school. Oh well, it's the thought that counts    Very BIG mileage day for me. 28+ How's that Woodstock? I only meant for sure to go 24 (easy terrain), but was thinking of getting on top of the big hill just past the shelter to make an easy run into Pearisburg tomorrow. Well, I was eating (supper for me, lunch for the youngsters) at about 5:30 pm at the shelter 24 miles from where I started. The youngsters were heading on to the next shelter, which would mean hiking after dark. They do this kind of thing all the time. Tripping over rocks in the dark is fun I guess. Naturally, Pooka was wearing sandals because her shoes had given her blisters. This, of course, is typical of the new age college graduate, night hiking in sandals. As the father of another fresh college graduate, I too ponder how much we have paid to build up those critical thinking skills. But I digress. Off I go trooping up the hill expecting to find a nice flat spot on top to set up my tent. Over 2 hours later, I am wondering if I am going to end up night hiking myself. What a strange shaped piece of ground. In any case, I finally luck out just before dark and bid the night owls adieu.   Passed 600 miles today and when I reach Pearisburg tomorrow I will have 1/3 of VA done.Wyoming   Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-14
From: USFS Road 103

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 14.8Total trail miles today 12.0Start at USFS Road 103, Big Horse GapFinish at Pearisburg at AT mile 622.1staying in motel   Well, we have knocked off the first 1/3 of Virginia. The next third ends at Rockfish Gap (Waynesboro) some 226 miles away. Obviously, the thirds are not equal in miles, but rather are psychological. Sort of like Damascus not really being 1/4 fourth of the way nor Harpers Ferry really being halfway. But they feel like it so it counts anyway.   I decided to do a big resupply and skip resupply at Catawba. I intend to go almost 100 miles to resupply at Daleville. This is sort of an experiment to see if I can do longer miles if I don't have to keep figuring out how to get food.    The trail should be fairly easy terrain for quite awhile so hopefully I can make good miles for a few weeks. We will see how the old body holds up. One does not have to hike fast to do big miles, but you do have to hike every day and keep the wheels rolling all day.Wyoming Which way is North?