morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-07-05
From: Dave's Place Hostel, Damacus, VA

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

We all slept in this morning. We had to wait for the post office to open so we all went to L-Bows for breakfast again. It was so good. After breakfast we went back to the hostel and got packed up, then went to get my package from Mt. Rogers Outfitters. It worked out perfectly. My package came in right at 10:30am. I got the package and ran back to the post office while everyone else headed out of town. I got some goodies from my parents. That, plus the snacks that I bought gave me plenty of food. It never fails, your pack feels so heavy coming out of a town. I mailed some stuff home that I still did not need. I got rid of about 5 pounds of stuff. It was nice to lighten my load. I do not know what I was thinking keeping some of the stuff I had. I had $5 in change so I stopped at the gas station to get dollar bills. They are lighter (haha). The lady there said she thought I was going to make it. Then I started hiking up Straight Mountain. I passed Porch, Songbird and then took a little water break. Songbird and I started back up the mountain when it started thundering and lightning. There was only a light drizzle. We were trying to push it to the shelter before the skies opened up. No such luck, it started POURING. The thunder and lightning were so loud and bright. We were 1/2 mile from the shelter and getting soaked. The trail was flooding while we were hiking and the wind was so strong. It was blinding me and causing trees to fall. A tree fell right in front of us. One of the branches hit me in the head (ouch), almost knocked me over but was OK. We made it to the shelter and got into some dry clothes. Kit Kat, Skippy and two other guys were already there. We decided to wait out the storm so we ate lunch and played Rummy (I won). Once the storm passed, we headed out. We did not make it far before the storm was back so we just walked in the rain the last 6.4 miles. We did not get to the shelter until about 8pm. We cooked dinner and packed into the shelter. The shelter says that it sleeps 8, but 8 was tough to fit, but we did it. This is the first night I had to get up to go to the bathroom since I started my trip. I slept OK, kind of restless. It felt like I never fell asleep. We all woke up at 6am and packed up. We lost Skippy this morning. He decided he was done. We all said our goodbyes and headed out. Skippy was going back to Damacus, VA. So we have lost our 44 year old German cowboy (Nutella) and Skippy. Now the group is down to Songbird, Kit Kat, Porch, Otter, Spook and myself. Still we move forward and on to Maine.
Date: 2012-07-06
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: clear sky

Well, beside losing two of our group members, this was a much better day. The weather was nice and the terrain was fairly easy. I hiked by myself in the morning which was nice and motivating. I started looking at my hiking like a game. I set a time goal and tried to beat it. This has two positives; it makes me hike faster and keeps me focused. I listened to my I-Pod a little today. This also helps me get into a zone where I can fly down the trail. We left the Lost Mountain Shelter and headed to Wise Shelter. We hiked up Buzzard Rock White Top Mountain. It was a tough climb because it was like 100 degrees out. When we hit Thomas Knob Shelter we all took a small break to beat the heat and get out of the sun. We met some cool people, but I do not remember their names. We hiked into Greyson Highlands where there were lots of people camping. It was super rocky but kind of fun to hike. We saw a heard of wild horses, or I guess they were more ponies. I took lots of pictures. This day was really draining. I think the heat and sun had a roll in that. Dehydration was a huge factor today. Songbird and I were hiking together a lot. We were jumping from rock to rock. I was tired but it was fun. Finally, when we got close to the shelter we were met by another herd of wild ponies. There were about 10 of them. Songbird took off her pack to get her camera out and the ponies started attacking here for food, so we had to push through them.   When we got to the shelter, I just sat for about 30 minutes. Then I cooked up a monster dinner. Two pasta sides, a lot of star bursts, cliff bars and snickers. We met a nice family who was camping in tents nearby. My shoes are completely falling apart. There are holes in the bottom and in the front. Porch rolled in a lot later than us and he slept in his tent while Otter, Kit Kat, Spook, Songbird and I slept in the shelter. Once again, I did not sleep well. I had a really restless sleep. We set the alarm for 5am but when it went off, we all decided to sleep until 6am. We all got up and cooked breakfast. Otter left first, then Kit Kat behind him. I had to wait for everyone to get done with my water filter.
Date: 2012-07-07
From: Wise Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Songbird thought she lost a camera lens, so she ran back 1.5 miles to look to see if she dropped it. Porch takes a while so I did my abs and push up exercises. I left with Songbird and Spook about 9am. I made it about 1/2 mile and realized I forgot my one shirt, so I ran back and got it. Then I started again by myself and was in a hurry. I set a goal for myself. I hiked 5.9 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The terrain helped. I was flying. I passed Spook and Songbird at different times. I ate lunch at the Old Orchard Shelter and refilled my water. I took a long break as a reward for beating my goal. I met a nice guy who was just section hiking and we talked for a while. Then I left. I got 3/4 of mile and realized I for my sun glasses. So I turned around to go get them. They have traveled over 500 miles. Might as well keep them (haha). I met up with Songbird and Spook on my second time leaving Old Orchard Shelter. Today was really hot. We hiked and talked all day. Today was a lot of up and down and after lunch we hiked up Hurricane Mountain and High Point. I was starving, so when I hit the road that let into Troutdale, I cooked up 2 Ramen as a snack. Then Spook, Songbird and I went the rest of the way to Trimpi Shelter. Porch went into Troutdale to get a package. After my snack I booked it to the shelter. It was about 4 miles. There were other people camping there who were really annoying with their dogs. There was also a 4.5 foot rat snake in the shelter. I got some good pictures. The water source was so slow it took 1/2 hour to fill a water bottle. I ate a pasta side, Mountain House and a MRE. I was so hungry. After it started getting dark we set up camp. I slept in my tent tonight with Kit Kat because of the snake. It was super hot so we slept with my rain fly off. After my body cooled down, I actually slept really well for once. We all got up at 5am and were on the trail by 6am. It was a very efficient morning. Porch never made to Trimpi Shelter. We miss him already.
Date: 2012-07-08
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Atkins, VA Relax Inn
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

We all walked out of Trimpi Shelter at 6am. We passed some trail magic by accident because of these people camping right next to it. We were hiking pretty fast today since it was really cool in the morning. We saw wild cows in the woods today. We ended up making it to Partnership Shelter which was 10.6 miles in about 4 hours. When we got there we were excited about making good miles quickly. But, a hiker named Crow Bar was there with Pizza, Soda, Beef Jerky and other snacks. It was amazing trail magic. We all took a shower, did some laundry in a sink and shared some funny stories. Then everyone left. On the way out to the trail we passed the visitor center. So I stopped in and weighed myself. I am down to 210 pounds. I lost 25 pounds but Kit Kat has lost 35 pounds. So he has me beat. But, he started off much heavier than me. Then, we were off again and climbed up Brushy and Locust Mountain. We went down a little, then back up Glade Mountain. We were going to stay at Chatfield Shelter but decided to push 5 more miles to Atkins, VA. When I got there I was so thirsty. We stopped at a gas station for a Gatorade. We stayed at a Relax Inn. We had 5 of us in one room to save money. I do not mean to be stereotypical, but the Indian People who owned the Motel were stupid and really made us angry. They barely spoke English. They tried to throw us out because Otter had a visitor and the Indian people said only 5 people. We told them 13 times we only had 5 people. We ordered Pizzas and it was awesome. I had a large Pepperoni Pizza and we split a Sausage Pizza. We watched some Harry Potter. Everyone showered and we did our laundry. I got a chance to talk to my mom, dad and bro for a while. We put two people each on a bed and one person (Spook) slept on the floor. We tried to resupply but it was only a gas station, so it was slim pickings. We did the best we could. It feels great to get completely clean again. Since my shoes are falling apart my feet get pretty black throughout the day. Believe it or not, a shower and a real bed can go far for our spirits. It is so rejuvenating.
Date: 2012-07-09
From: Atkins, VA Relax Inn

To: Lynn Camp Creek
Miles today: 15.1

I set my alarm for 6am, got up and took a shower. Then everyone else started to roll out of bed. When I woke up, Songbird stole all of my covers and Otter had the other bed completely to himself. Kit Kat had moved to the floor. We all started packing up since we had to check out by 11am. Songbird and Kit Kat left early at 8am. Otter, Spook and I watched some of the Boy meets World Marathon on TV. On the way out, I bought all three of us a Gatorade and we chugged it for some hydration and electrolytes, It was supposed to be really hot today. I hiked with Otter a lot today which was cool because we got to know each other. We walked on the road for a while getting to the AT, but once we got back in the woods we saw a lot of cows. We walked through an entire heard of them. We climbed 3 mountains today. (Gullion, Big Walker and Brushy). Today was a really up and down kind of day but I still enjoy going up mountains since I see them as a challenge. I love beating challenges. When I finally got to Knot Maul Branch Shelter there was no water and a note from Kit Kat and Songbird saying push onward 2 miles to the Lynn Camp Creek Campsites. I got there at 3pm and Kit Kat and Songbird were already set up. Today we hiked only about 15 miles. Once Otter and Spook got to the campsite we all cooked up some dinner and took splash baths in the creek. There wasn't many places for tenting because of some guys in their hammocks, but Songbird and I made do. Turns out it was poor tent placement. I knew it going in, but O-well. Otter and Songbird shared a tent and Spook and I shared a tent. I put my rain fly 1/2 on to try and let some air in. We all hung our food in a tree and tried going to sleep. Sure enough, it started raining. I jumped out and put my rain fly on all the way. The entire night I heard bear all around our campsite. I heard one at least 10 feet from my tent. I didn't know whether to be quiet or loud so I just pretended to be asleep. Spook slept through everything. I only slept part of the night. It rained ALL NIGHT LONG.
Date: 2012-07-10
From: Lynn Camp Creek

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: light intensity drizzle

After a full night of rain the morning came early. I set my alarm for 5am. When I woke up it was still pouring. I yelled to the others whether they wanted to get up or wait 1 hour. I set the alarm for 6am thinking maybe the rain would stop. But at 6am, the alarm went off and the rain was still coming down harder than ever. It was flooding under my tent so it felt like I was on a waterbed. We decided to sleep until 7am. At 7am the rain was still steadily coming down and we packed up and hiked in the rain. Everyone packed up in a tent the best they could, then I took down my wet tent and packed it up. I left my clothes out hoping they would dry. That did not happen. I hiked in wet shorts and just my rain jacket with no shirt. It was really raining on us so we were moving kind of slow because the trail was flooding. We hiked up all day until we hit Chestnut Knob Shelter. This shelter was a stone building. It was really sweet. Since we were all wet and cold we decided to stop here for lunch. Everyone layed out their wet stuff, cooked up lunch and we played rummy. I took a short nap. We were hoping the rain would stop, but it didn't, so we made a group decision to stay there and take a short day. We placed water bottles under the roof to collect water and decided to do a 35 mile day tomorrow. We played a couple more games of rummy. Around 6pm the rain stopped so I dried my tent and shoes out. We ate dinner and planned out the next resupply. After a relaxing day we decided to go bed early and it got dark quick. Everyone was in bed by 9pm. I set the alarm for 5am and passed out hard. I slept absolutely great on this night. For only hiking 8 miles and taking a nap I was tired. Oh, and I lost my sun glasses. They were my favorite pair but they did make it 560 miles.
Date: 2012-07-11
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 33.8
Weather: light rain

When the alarm went off everyone put on their headlights, packed up and got ready to roll out. Our stuff was mostly dry and we were off in the dark. We started out with our headlights and no rain. We went 1.3 miles and stopped to fill up on water. It started raining a little bit. We hiked the first 10 miles in 4 hours. When we got to VA 623 a church group had 9 gallons of water sitting by the side of the road with a sign saying trail magic. I got there first and finished 2 liters of water and used the water jugs to refill my 2 water bottles. We wanted to stay really hydrated on our 35 mile day. After everyone got there we all took a little break and rubbed our feet a little bit. Then we were off again. We hiked to Jenkins Shelter and took another break just to sit down for awhile. On the way to this shelter I was hiking pretty fast and I startled 2 day hikers, a father and son. I kind of made them jump. At Jenkins, I took off my shoes and rested my feet. Once everyone else got there, I was ready to go so Songbird and I left. We hiked up another Brushy Mountain. We hiked 14 miles in 5 hours. When we got to US 52 I took another 10 minute sit down break to wait for everyone else. Once Songbird caught up I decided to start getting ready while she continued to and hiked next to the freeway. The trail followed the road for about 1 mile. When I got back into the woods I hiked pretty much straight up. When I reached the sign for the Helveys Mill Shelter I saw an arrow in the dirt from Songbird. While walking .3 miles to the shelter I got stung by a bee and killed 3 more trying to sting me. When I got to the shelter, Songbird was there. Turns out she got stung too. We met 2 guys camping out. One of the guys name was 50+. He had so many snack foods so he shared some trail magic. We ate dinner and took our final big break. Turns out all of our trail family got stung by the bees except Spook. We spent 1 hour eating dinner and hanging out. At this point we had hiked 24 miles.   Songbird and Spook left first, and then Otter, Kit Kat and I left shortly behind them.   I was in a get there kind of mood. I passed Songbird and was starting to get tired. On top of that it was starting to get dark. I took a water break when I hit VA 611, the last road before the shelter. We had 3 more miles to go. I was off to the races. We hike the last 10 or so miles in 4 hours. I made it to the shelter without using my headlight even though it was dark. When I got there my feet and body were sore. There were 4 people camping there. We all ate late night snacks before bed and hung our food up in a tree. That was a funny experience trying to get the rope through the "Y" in the tree. The rope got stuck so Spook climbed the tree to get it. Then we listened to P-Troupers Crank Radio and fell asleep. Everyone was sore and talking about their injuries. We decided to sleep in until 6am instead of 5am.
Date: 2012-07-12
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

When the morning came, nobody wanted to get up. Slowly everyone got up, ate breakfast and packed up. Our incentive was a grocery store that was 1/2 mile off of the trail. I was thinking Gatorade and real food all morning. My feet were sore and it took a little bit to get into a hiking rhythm. I ended up hiking with Spook all morning. We hiked 5.6 miles when we hit VA 606. It is funny that on our map it showed downhill, but for going downhill, we sure did a lot of uphill (haha). Once we were on the road we headed .5 miles to the grocery store. On the way there, Songbird and P-Trouper were coming back from the store. When Spook and I got there we both bought a couple of Gatorades and some snacks and sat down for 10 minutes. It wasn't a grocery store, it was a gas station but they had food. Spook and I had a Ham/Turkey Hoagie. The place was called Trent's Grocery. We spent about 1 hour there eating when Otter and Kit Kat showed up. I snacked on all kinds of food. Then we left to go to Dismal Creek Falls. Dismal Falls was awesome, a great swimming spot. I soaked my feet in the water and let some stuff dry out. When we got there Songbird was taking a nap out on the rocks. We all left together and walked to Wapiti Shelter. P-Trouper was there taking a nap. We all had a snack and visited the privy. It was really nice. We were going to stay at Wapiti but decided to push on to Woods Hole Hostel. I hiked the last part of the day with my I-Pod on and listened to a lot of hill songs. This gave me a chance to do some thinking about people, life, future, jobs, all kinds of stuff. When I hit the road that led to Woods Hole Hostel we drew an arrow and a smiley face for Songbird and Kit Kat. When we got there it was a farm house with a bunkhouse for hikers. It was a really nice place. We all took hot showers, ate dinner and just hung out. I had some sodas and a couple of candy bars and some of my snack foods. We beat the rain. It ended up raining all night. Once it got dark we went upstairs. I wrote some journal entries and we fell asleep in real beds to the rain and P-Troupers Crank Radio. It was really nice. I set the alarm for 7am because we were eating breakfast here at 8am.
Date: 2012-07-13
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: light rain

The rain on the tin roof sounded so loud as we woke up at 7am. I was the first of our trail family to get up. P-Trouper was down stairs packing up. I rounded everyone up and we went into the house to eat breakfast. The house was so nice, it had a classy style. We had Zucchini Bread with Zucchini Scrambled Eggs. In my opinion, it was not worth the price of breakfast. There was not much food. After breakfast we all settled up with money and finished packing up, all the while it was still raining. We headed out in the rain, onward to Pearisburg for lunch. The terrain was mostly downhill and it was really wet. On the way I had to stop at Dock's Knob Shelter to visit the privy. I caught up to everyone pretty quickly at VA 634, 1/2 mile before Pearisburg. Once we got to the road we walked 1 mile into town. We ended up going to Lucky Star Chinese All You Can Eat Buffet. I ate too much food. My stomach is not used to eating that much. I had about 5 full plates of food and our group probably ate two whole watermelons. It is funny watching people's reactions to us hikers. After lunch we resupplied at the Food Lion Grocery Store and visited the Post Office. Kit Kat's mom sent about 8 pounds of cookies. Thank you so much. Then we headed back to the trail. On the way back Spook and I stopped at Dairy Queen for some ice cream. You know that I can not say no. Spook and I hiked together behind everyone else. The trail followed the road for maybe 1.5 miles. We hiked and told stories for the rest of our hike. We got within about 1 mile of the Rice Field Shelter when it started raining. We hiked the last mile in the rain. When we got to the shelter, Otter, Kit Kat and Songbird were hanging out and cooking up some dinner. We all changed, hung up our wet stuff and planned out the next couple of days of hiking. We started talking about splitting up because Songbird, Spook and I need to start hiking more miles. Kit Kat and Otter don't. It was a relaxing night. Everyone went to bed a little early and we all fell asleep to the rain. I slept really well tonight. The plan was for Songbird, Spook and I to hike to War Spur Shelter and Kit Kat and Otter were going to Baily Gap Shelter.
Date: 2012-07-14
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: light rain

Once again I set the alarm and when it went of we all got up, packed up and headed out. It was a nice morning. The grass was wet and the sun was shining. This was going to be the last day that our trail family would hike together. We walked through a lot of tall grass. We all told stories, laughed and enjoyed each other's company. Today was up and down, but not too bad. The day went by pretty quickly, but it was hot. When we finally got to Bailey's Shelter after going up a monster uphill, we all cooked dinner and said our good-byes. We took some pictures and that's when the thunder began. Spook wanted to leave before the rain began but I wasn't done eating yet, so he left. That is when the Hurricane started. The rain fell so hard, the lightning striking the ground and the wind blowing down trees. I made the suggestion that we either wait it out or just spend the night at Bailey. So Songbird left to chase down Spook. After a while, I got worried and headed out to search for Songbird and Spook. When I got about 1 mile I saw them coming back together. We ended up staying at Bailey's Shelter.   I cooked another dinner when we got back to the Shelter. It looks like we get to spend one more night together as a trail family.   We all took this time to let our bodies recover. I went to bed early. I set the alarm for 5am and fell asleep to the rain. We did not even hang our food.