morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-19
From: Doll Flats

To: Stream Camp
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm soaking up the sun in a lovely meadow with views back to the Roan Highlands I traversed yesterday and over to what I think might be Grandfather Mt. The trail this morning has been winding through what were once farmlands and now are returning to the wild. I love the feeling of these abandoned lands where the plants, trees, birds, and animals are now free to do what they please. I went a little farther than planned yesterday due to the lack of a suitable campsite, but the evening hike over the high balds was worth it. It was another very cold night last night, but today the air is crisp and clear and the powerful May sun is gradually warming things up. My body feels sun starved and very grateful for these warm rays after yesterday's battle with freezing fog and high winds. I feel like I'm sitting in a puddle of perfection in this vastly imperfect world.This was the quietest day on the trail so far. On a beautiful sunny Saturday I saw just two hikers on the trail and that was early this morning. I'm probably in a thru hikers vacuum as the Trail Days celebration in Damascus, which is a multi-day party that celebrates the Appalachian Trail and thru hikers past and present, has sucked all the young hikers off the trail for the next few days. If they haven't made it to Damascus by now, still 60+ miles from where I sit, they will either hitch-hike there or get a shuttle from one of the local hiker hostels.
Date: 2007-05-20
From: Doll Flats

To: Stream Camp
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I've stopped to rest at one of the rare view points on this sunny cool mornign, and what do I see? Right across the valley, so close I could practically spit on them, are the very Roan Highland Mtns I traversed two days ago! The AT can be quite perverse in its meanderings, and this time threw in a huge loop to the south. As the crow flies it's only about 1000 miles from Springer to Katahdin but the trail goes 2, 174. And this kind of loopiness is one of the reasons why. If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then the longest distance between two points would be the Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2007-05-21
From: Laurel Park Gorge

To: Iron Mt. Camp
Miles today: 14.0

I've just climbed Pud Mt.; sorry, that's a little trail slang and sarcasm, it's actually called Pond Mt. But Pond Mt. could actually be the biggest P.U.D. (pointless up and down) on the trail. It adds about six miles and an 1800 ft. climb that could easily (and many do, I'm sure) be bypassed. As in this case, there are many places on the AT where it's possible to shortcut by taking a blue blazed side trail and eliminate unwanted miles. Which brings up the whole messy, much debated (sometimes heatedly) subject of what constitutes an AT thru hike. The so-called purists walk every foot of the white blazed AT. Blue blazers are those who will take blue blazed side trails, sometimes to scenic locations but most often as shortcuts. And yellow blazers will skip some sections entirely by hitchhiking. And then there are the rainbow blazers who enjoy all the colors. And of course there is the issue of slack packing where shelter arrangements (usually at hostels) are made so you can walk sections without your pack.I'm almost a purist as I don't slack pack or blue blaze but if I leave the trail for a little bit (we're talking 100 yards or less) I won't make a point of getting back on it exactly where I left it. Bunkers, who just stopped to chat as I was writing this (she has a journal on Trailjournals) is a true purist as she will make every effort to walk every foot of the official AT. As far as I can see the only consensus on what a thru hiker is, is walking from Springs Mt. to Katahdin in one calendar year. Basically it's a game (GA -ME) we play where we make our own rules. And the only one who should be judging is yourself. I've been finding the challenge of the game quite entertaining. But if it turns out that I can't finish the trail this year for whatever reason, the journey, for me, is far more rewarding than the destination. So it's all good either way.I enjoyed climbing Pond Mt. even though the climb was strenuous and there weren't any views. But there was a profusion of blooming Laurel and some flame Azalea and wonder of wonders, a white sand beach waiting at the bottom where I joined Bunkers at a picnic table for a snack and a good conversation. Not so pointless after all.
Date: 2007-05-22
From: Iron Mt. Camp

To: Holston Mt. Camp
Miles today: 14.0

I'm now on the long ridge walk in the Iron Mt's. that stretches some thirty miles to Damascus. Occasionally there are brilliant splashes of purple and orange against the spring green where the rhododendron and the flame azalea are in bloom. For the most part it's a relatively easy walk on a grass-lined trail through the sunny woods. There is a continuing shift in my mind from seeing the trail as a physical challenge, the game of getting to Maine, to that of a very long, thin Zendo, a vehicle of spiritual practice. A Zendo is what a meditation hall is called in the Zen tradition, a place to approach the sacred qualities of life, much like a church or cathedral. There are times now when my walking meditation practice turns into a state of pure wonder. Wonder is the state of mind that is the exact opposite of boredom. Where boredom is time heavy, narrow, constricted, and unsatisfied, wonder is joyous, free, wide open, and timeless. Little children are often in this state, you can see it in their eyes. Unfortunately adulthood is exactly that, a condition where the hood has been pulled over our eyes and we become blind to what is really present. Much of what spiritual practice is, is determining what this hood is made of and learning how it got there and finally how to remove it. But what is on the other side of the hood can be too infinitely beautiful to gaze at directly and one gets shocked back into a sense of self. So it takes practice. It can be a tricky business looking directly into the face of God.
Date: 2007-05-24
From: Damascus

To: Strait Mt. 
Miles today: 9.5

I stayed at the Place hostel which looked more like a MASH unit filled with the walking wounded, casualties of the AT. I saw a badly infected leg, broken toe, cut head, sprained ankle, and blistered feet. It's the war of attrition and as the miles accumulate, so do the injuries. It feels a little like being on the TV show Survivor, but there's no million bucks at the end, only a mountain named Katahdin.Anyways, I'm glad I escaped Damascus and it feels great to be back in the woods once more.
Date: 2007-05-26
From: Low Gap

To: Hurricane Mt. Camp
Miles today: 17.5

There is only one cloud in the sky but it's parked right over the highest mountain in Virginia, Mt. Rodgers, where I happen to be right now. But I'm snug in the Thomas Knob Shelter waiting for it to rain itself out. It's been an almost tropical morning for this altitude with the trail winding through the ferny beech and red spruce forest which makes a distinctive feeling to this last highland area before New Hampshire. The cloud is wringing itself out so I'm moving on to the Grayson Highland park.These highlands, complete with wild ponies, are reminiscent of the Rocky Mt. high country with crazy outcrops, spruce trees, and wide open views. On a Saturday, on Memorial Day weekend, with easy road access to one of the most scenic areas in Virginia and an easy day hike to the highest mountain in the state, you have a recipe for a crowded trail. And indeed it was, with hundreds out taking in the sights.
Date: 2007-05-27
From: Hurricane Mt. Camp

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 17.5

The Mt. Rodgers and Grayson Highland area was a unique and interesting section of the trail. There were even areas that looked more like the plains of Africa than the Appalachians! And with the big descent from there I've said goodbye to spring as summer has taken over the low lands. With the haze and humidity, this is the first really summery feeling day of the trip. I'm all refreshed right now as I just took a dip in the creek that runs through this valley. Cold and invigorating, which is a good thing late in this sultry afternoon.One of my major reasons for doing this hike was to walk north with spring. And the glory of spring in the Appalachians was more than I had hoped for. If the journey ended today it would have been complete in itself just to have been so totally immersed in the vitality and beauty of this time and place. But it's not over yet, and neither is spring completely as the rhododendrons, laurel, and flame azaleas are still blooming in the woods.
Date: 2007-05-28
From: Stealth Camp

To: Groseclose
Miles today: 17.0

Stayed at the Relax Inn at the truck stop at I-81. Dumpy little place but perfect for hiker trash like us! Lots of other thru hikers there taking refuge from the afternoon thunderstorm. I took advantage of the situation by ending the beard experiment. It never stopped itching so I shaved it off.
Date: 2007-05-29
From: Groseclose

To: Lynn Camp Mt.
Miles today: 16.0

I notice that sleeping in a motel my body doesn't recharge the same way as under the trees. The trail has often been abruptly transitioning between the deep woods and open fields. It's a lovely contrast but always a bit of a surprise. While I was resting and writing this, a nice couple - O.D. and C.C.- who are south bound from Harpers Ferry, told me that I had the latest start date they had encountered so far. I know a few who started later and passed me but on the whole it means I'm catching up with the pack.   After a tired morning, I was in a blissful mood the rest of the day and enchanted with the way the trail was changing from the rural, and strangely beautiful, cow pastures and the deep woods. The trail has also been quiet again as it left the popular state parks, and the holiday weekend crowds are gone. Only a few thru hikers left marching on north.
Date: 2007-05-30
From: Lynn Camp Mt.

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The trail never stops surprising me. I had thought the big balds and wide open views were a thing of the past. But when I climbed up Chestnut Mt., what I had assumed would be a woody ridge with no views turned out to be another grassy, sunny bald with big views! It may indeed be the last one as these balds are only found in the southern Appalachians. But I'll try not to assume anything about this trail.   Walking the long ridge called Garden Mt., which is studied with rocky outcrops, and lined with the purple Rhododendron flowers, I've been discovering in my walking meditation practice just how a judgement thought that has even a very small negative connotation, can effect the overall energy flow in the body. If I think "boy, the trail is starting to get more rocky and this is going to slow me down", then the preference for a smooth trail over a rocky one sets up an energetic constriction that I find located mostly in the heart center, but which also effects how the energy (chi) is flowing throughout the body. The great Zen poem the Hsin Hsin MIng ( verses of the heart-mind) starts out with: "The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no preferences" Now its seems to me that this statement if true even on a physical level! I'm looking forward to exploring the ramifications of all this in the journey to come. It may turn out that a good deal of what I think of as fatigue is actually being generated more by subtle negative thought than by humping a heavy pack up and down mountains all day. Or maybe not . We shall see.   Surprised a bear cub at 15 yards and it took off like a rocket. The woods were fairly open so I was able to watch it accelerate away for a good distance. It reached a very impressive speed. After sighting a bear cub, the woods get very interesting for a spell as one seeks to answer the big question. Where's Mama? No mama bear in sight this time.
Date: 2007-05-31
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

A day with the rare easily graded trail. Lots of laurel blooming with the delicate scent they add to the woods. There were lightning bugs (fireflies) last night blinking silently in bushes by the creek. My mail drop package has not arrived yet in Bland so I'm overnighting at the Big Walker Motel. It should be here in the morning.
Date: 2007-06-01
From: Bland

To: brushy Mt.
Miles today: 15.0

I think there has been a Brushy Mt. on average every ten miles in the last forty. They need to use some more imagination in the names around here. Laurel creek in also popular. And low gaps abound from here to Georgia.   I finally saw a box turtle! I haven't seen one of these in over 30 years. They were quite common in Northern Virginia where I grew up. I've noticed that so far the forests in Virginia are far less diverse than those found further south being predominantly oak with some maple and dogwood. Very much like the woods I knew as a child. Its been another easy day with mostly level ridge walking and not much in particular to see. But I've been getting pretty worn down lately, so the gentle grades are appreciated.
Date: 2007-06-02
From: brushy Mt.

To: Doc's Knob
Miles today: 17.0

The thunder is rumbling again on the steamy, jungly, day. As the trail came over Brushy Mt.,which was after all aptly named, with the trail being overgrown and lined with poison ivy which was difficult to dodge being as high as my waist. And the Dismal Creek valley was thick with humidity and Rhododendron thickets. I'm now in the process of climbing out of the valley and it sounds like the thunderstorm is just over the ridge ready to pounce.
Date: 2007-06-11
From: Doc's Knob

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Do some trouble with my chronic illness Crohns disease, I've been losing too much weight so I've decided to get off the trail for a couple of weeks. I'm resting up and having a great time staying at Cinnamon Bay Campground, ST John, U.S Virgin Islands National Park. If things go according to plan, I should be back on the trail around the 18th. It will be a couple of more weeks before my next journal update as my transcribers are going on vacation about the time I start hiking again. So I should have a new posting around the beginning of July or so.
Date: 2007-06-19
From: Pearisburg

To: Peters Mt.
Miles today: 8.0

It's a joy to be back on the trail after so long a break. Feels like coming home. Coming out of Pearisburg I had to negotiate a trail lined with poison ivy, walk along a busy highway on a bridge over the surprisingly big New River, and pass a huge factory that was humming a grinding like some alien monstrosity plopped down in the peaceful south Virginia hills. And despite the noisy, smoggy, hot afternoon, I'm elated to return to this wonderful absurdity, walking to Maine, that feels so right. I've managed to put on some weight on my vacation from my vacation, and my digestion has improved, but if this will last is unknown to me. So I really have no idea how much farther up the trail I'll get. But I have the will, so maybe I'll find the way.
Date: 2007-06-20
From: Peters Mt.

To: Big Mt.
Miles today: 15.5

Taking two weeks off has given me the perspective to appreciate how precious and unique this journey really is. It's a lot more than a walk in the woods. There's an accumulative effect of all the people met, the beauty seen, heard, and smelled, and even the pain suffered, that gives me a feeling of being immersed in something far grander than just a long hike. It's a beautiful morning walking the flat ridge top of Peters Mt. with the booming thunderstorm of last night having chased out the stagnant air, leaving everything freshly washed and sparkling. A wood thrush is singing and a scarlet tanager appeared and disappeared in a flash of brilliant red. It's very good to be here.
Date: 2007-06-21
From: Big Mt.

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: clear sky

Brilliant sun, and a cool fall-like breeze on this first day of summer. AT this view point called Wind Rock I can see back to areas of forest devastated by the Gypsy Moth catepillar. These voracious creatures strip all the leaves off the trees for miles around. The amount of caterpillars needed to do this is absolutely mind boggling. Yesterday I walked through some of this area and found it quite disturbing. The trail after taking a big loop to the west, all the way to the West Virginia border, has now swung back across these long parallel ridges providing some good ascents and descents as it crosses the valleys in between. It's now evening at the Kelly Knob overlook. I'd like to camp here but am out of water so will move on again to the shelter below. The Mountain Lake wilderness had long sections of open, mature forest making the waling serene and delightful. And I surprised a momma bear and her cub on the trail bring my bear count up to eight.
Date: 2007-06-22
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Audie Murphy Monument
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

Lunch stop on Sinking Creek Mt. and I can see more of the endless parallel ridges of southern Virginia. They line up one after another like giant ocean waves. I've been experiencing increasing Crohn's symptoms the last couple of days which if it continues makes the continuation of my journey tenuous at best. But this morning the trail passes the Keffer Oak tree which measures 18 feet in circumference and is estimated to be 300 years old. The energy field emanating from this forest giant was very powerful and I'm feeling much stronger after my tree Chi-Gung practice with it. It's hard to imagine what the primeval forests must of looked and felt like being populated by these giants. Hopefully our descendants will again experience something like it in the protected areas like the Appalachian corridor.
Date: 2007-06-23
From: Audie Murphy Monument

To: Catawba Mt.
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

The view from Dragon's Tooth is the best lately. I can see a long way north along the route the trail follows. It's a sunny Saturday and this is supposed to be a popular day hike but I have it all to myself. I've been very impressed on how much of the valleys are forested in these parts. One would think they would be all farm land but that's not the case. Only the endless and frequent power lines really mar the scenery. My energy was very good yesterday afternoon and I did 18 miles, so today I'm going to take it easy. The descent from Dragon's Tooth was very rugged with a bit of rock scrambling. I started to run into all the day hikers who were climbing in the late afternoon to avoid the heat. Of course that is the hottest part of the day. One big guy with a southern accent asked me "Did you carry that pack all the way up here?" which is a pretty stupid question if you think about it. I answered, "No, from Georgia." He said, "Oh, my God! I get tired just thinking about that."
Date: 2007-06-24
From: Catawba Mt.

To: Tinker Mt.
Miles today: 15.0

Very interesting day. Great view from McAfee Knob with its classic overhanging cliff. Without the pollution haze it would have been spectacular. The next mountain over, Tinker Mt., proved to be a magical place. Walking the connecting ridge over to Tinker I was feeling increasing fatigue. I tried taking a nap a couple of times, but the ants wouldn't let me sleep. At the point where I was thinking that I was near the end of this journey, a rather astonishing thing happened. I had the thought that if I couldn't go on due to illness, I'll just stop being the person who is sick and weak. Almost instantaneously I was filled with a powerful sense of confidence and vitality and was all of a sudden walking easily at double the pace up the slope. With its solemn trees, sculpted rock formations and clifftop views, there was a deep sense of presence and power on Tinker Mountain.Tomorrow will tell if I was using energy I didn't really have, or if I've opened into a turning point, a new source.A wise woman once asked me if I was a dragon slayer. I answered yes but didn't really know why. I slayed a dragon today but not your typical fire-breathing overgrown lizard. It was a dragon of delusion.
Date: 2007-06-25
From: Tinker Mt.

To: Daleville
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Last night the thunderstorms came in like the finale of a Fourth of July fireworks show. A bit thrilling and kept me awake far into the night. Despite that I'm still feeling the sense of expansion and vitality from yesterday's transformation. Due to the foggy and polluted weather that the storms failed to remove, I can hear but not see the interstate at Daleville where I'll pick up my next mail drop. My camera died on Tinker Mt. so it will likely be Waynesboro where I'll pick up another one. Undoubtedly in that 130 mile stretch there will be all kinds of amazing things to photograph. Oh well. This sentence is being written at the bridge over Tinker Creek. So I'm a pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I just had say that. Read to book by that title, it's great!
Date: 2007-06-26
From: Daleville

To: Bobbits Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Finally really back in the woods after a couple of days of the heavy impact of the Roanoke area. I'm sitting by the first drinkable non-cow pasture stream I've seen in a long time. I can no longer hear the hum of the interstate, just the gurgle of the stream and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. It's a very humid warm day that's bound to end in the evening thunderstorm cycle. I'm moving fast (for me) and feeling strong, and because of the water locations will probably do a long day today.
Date: 2007-06-27
From: Bobbits Gap Shelter

To: Floyd's Mt.
Miles today: 15.0

Finally a clean creek big enough to have a swimming hole! It's a very hot, sticky afternoon and I have a big climb ahead of me, so after the refreshing dip in Jennings Creek I won't be feeling refreshed for long.Also finally saw a rattlesnake next to the trail yesterday. Beautiful fat thing. There were two salamanders and a little ring-necked snake in the spring by the shelter last night.My energy has been running high today which I'll need to get up this next big mountain in this heat. But I expect a cooling thunderstorm will move in soon as they did last evening. So far I've been lucky and have only been hit by the garden variety thunderstorm and not one of the big monsters that can roam around this time of year. But even these moderate ones are rather thrilling to walk through.
Date: 2007-06-28
From: Floyd's Mt.

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 18.0

I'm sitting in a sunny meadow with a cool breeze and a bizzare radar dome on top of Apple Orchard Mountain. At 4,255 ft. there is nothing taller on the AT until New Hampshire. The trail now has a cozy relationship with the Blue Ridge Parkway for the next 200 miles. It's often in sight of or crossing the road and occasionally swinging a big loop away. But for the most part it's an unseen presence that does detract somewhat from any small remaining sense of wildness that might remain up here. I had a good view of the James River and the enticing mountain beyond. It's a six mile HITCH hike into Glasgow tomorrow for the mail drop. And it looks like a good section ahead from what I could see.
Date: 2007-06-29
From: Stealth Camp

To: Punch Bowl Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

The view from Little Rocky Row out over the James River is a great one. I just did the 1700 ft. climb up here, with more to come, and it's good to be back in this big mountain country. I got in and out of my Glasgow resupply in just a few hours but there is a waterless nine mile stretch here that will move me on late in the evening. It's now 3:30 and I still have seven miles to go. But I'm feeling strong and enjoying the ascent. It's a good thing it's still hazy or I'd be really missing my camera. I'd have a perfect shot right now of the turkey buzzards soaring over the river gorge with a train moving through.(TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: I will add photos from previous unposted stock that Steve has sent.)