morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-10-26
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

Treadway: 6/10Weather: Dark and gloomy with light rain 5/10Stats:15.30 miles 5:25:382.8 miles per hour 1290 c2434 feet up 3884 feet down 36171 stepsNarrative:A relatively easy day into Damascus. Gosh, all these youngsters were up and on the trail before me this morning. I was up at 6:25 am and on the trail with my headlamp in the dark around 7:15 am. It was off and on rocky and not too difficult for the first 6.3 miles to Saunders Shelter, except for a flat path walk for about a mile which was super easy. After Saunders, I descended the Virginia Creeper Trail, then followed the river up and down. Here the trail was not hard, but it was annoying, with uneven surface and plenty of rocks obscured by leaves. After a short AT detour, I climbed to another rocky ridge walk, then descended off and on rocks to US 58. From there, it was a short and easy walk into town. I stopped at Subway, ate lunch there, then stopped at Dancing Bear B&B, decided to stay there, then stopped at Mt Rogers Outfitters and picked up my resupply box and new sleeping pad and bought an orange vest, then went back to the B&B for a glorious, well earned and much needed shower after 7 nights in the woods, then went to Crazy Larry's and had my laundry done there while hanging out with Crazy Larry and figuring out the outline of what seemed to be a highly promising backpacking plan from Damascus to Standing Bear Farm. Then Georgia, Rivet, Skywalker and Vicious stopped in. They slackpacked today to Elk Gardens and are Slackpacking tomorrow from there to Damascus. They are staying at Crazy Larry's. I told Georgia I would present my slackpacking plan to him and the others tomorrow night after calling and getting price quotes. Then I went back to my room and caught up on some of my trail journal entries. Then I went to Bobo McFarland's for dinner, ran into Fireman, and enjoyed chicken wings, a Bleu Cheese Burger and a pint of Guiness before returning to my room and finishing my trail journal entries.
Date: 2015-10-27
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Had a great zero today while turning 50 on the trail. Had a lovely breakfast and birthday cake at Dancing Bear, then enjoyed the hot tub. For lunch, I went to Hey Joe's Tacos and had the everything burrito, a Greek salad and a bottle of Budweiser. As I was finishing lunch, Georgia, Rivet and Vicious came in after finishing their 23 mile slackpack. Then I went back to Dancing Bear and watched part of The Third Man, one of my favorite movies. Then I took the birthday cake over to Crazy Larry and chilled with Crazy Larry, Georgia, Rivet, Skywalker, Vicious, Breezy, Bee Sting and Sunnyside. Georgia and I went to the hot dog place, and Georgia wished me happy birthday while treating me to a BLT, tater tots and a root beer. Back at Dancing Bear, I watched the first few innings of Game 1 of the World Series with Hot Soup, who has section hiked all of the AT north of Damascus. What a great day!
Date: 2015-10-29
From: Damascus

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 26.1
Weather: broken clouds

Treadway: 3/10Weather: Dark, gloomy and windy in the morning, clearing in the late afternoon 5/10Stats:24.99 miles8:05:173.1 miles per hour2067 c6023 feet up3900 feet down50569 stepsNarrative:I forgot to mention in yesterday's journal entry that I weighed myself at Hiker's Inn and I weighed 157, up 2 pounds from Harpers Ferry.A big day made relatively easy by slackpacking the first 21 miles. Today was my first 5% percent day. In other words, the distance I hiked today was more than 5% of the remaining distance to Springer.Up at 6:15 am, breakfast at Cowboys at 7 am (2 sausage biscuits, 2 Gatorades and 1 Rock Star). Met Jeff at 7:50 a.m., gave him my pack, and started the slack from Dave's Place a little before 8:00 a.m.The first 10 miles to the Abingdon Shelter were easy, a steady and moderate climb on mostly smooth trail. After that, it was off and on rocky on a ridge walk for the next 9 miles, then the last 2 miles before TN91 were an easy field walk. I ran into Nino during the field walk.I crossed into Tennessee about 4 miles into the hike. I made it to TN91 at 2:50 pm, 70 minutes sooner than I expected. Jeff was there around 3:20 pm. He was very nice to me. After he drove off, I sorted through my pack, got everything in there, and began the last 4.6 miles of the day's hike to the Iron Mountain Shelter.About half a mile into the hike, I stopped to fill up a liter of water to carry to the shelter as there did not appear to be any water sources at or before the shelter. Shortly after I filled up, I ran into two hunters wearing camouflage and carrying BIG rifles. They were nice to me and I'm sure that wearning my bright orange vest and bright orange stocking cap helped.The rest of the way to the shelter was easy. At the shelter, I had a nice talk with Nino. He is 19 years old and moved to Michigan when he was four. He visits his relatives in Guam once a year, usually in the early summer after school gets out. I told Nino that my Grandpa Daws served in the Pacific during WWII. Nino said there are many WWII era artifacts all over Guam.I also met Jesus and Skibo, who are both hiking north, and a nice lady whose name I did not get, who also is hiking north. Skibo is an Iraq War Veteran and is planning to climb Katahdin in January. He is from South Carolina but has been doing search and rescue in Montana.It was cold during the night, but I was warm in my sleeping bag while wearing my sweater and puffy jacket.
Date: 2015-10-30
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Dennis Cove
Miles today: 24.5

Treadway: 5/10Weather: Sunny and cold 1/10Stats:23.97 miles8:51:072.7 miles per hour2052 c5223 feet up6837 feet down49774 stepsNarrative:My second consecutive 5% day. In other words, the distance I hiked today was more than 5% of the remaining distance to Springer.Up at 6:45 am, on the trail at 7:30 am. The first 4 miles were smooth and easy. After that, it was off and on rocky the rest of the way to Wilbur Dam Road. I took a 15 minute break at Vandeventer Shelter and made the 11.5 miles to Wilbur Dam Road so that I arrived at 11:58 am, just two minutes before the noon meeting time. I met Bob from Black Bear Resort. He was very nice to me and we exchanged my backpack for his loaner day pack.There was another nice day hiker at the trailhead who gave me 3 20 oz bottles of water. Since I did not see any decent water sources on the trail, this was a godsend. I used the first 2 bottles to mix with two rations of my breakfast mix, which I drank on the spot, and the last bottle to mix with Cytomax, which I carried and later drank about 17 miles into the hike.Starting from Wilbur Dam Road, I climbed for a while, then descended for a while, then had a relatively flat hike around Watauga Dam and Wautauga Lake, where I took a number of photos.The trail left a picnic area on Wautauga Dam with good views, then began to climb steadily. This was a great climb on relatively smooth trail, and I was glad I decided to slack. According to the map, I climbed up to Pond Flats, but I do not recall passing any flats and recall instead that the trail began a steady descent right after I reached the high point on the ridge.As I descended, the trail became rocky. At the bottom of the descent, the trail followed the Laurel Fork and became more rocky but with not much up and down.More than 22 miles into the hike, I reached Laurel Falls, which were spectacular. This was the highlight of the day, but it also was the most rocky section of the trail. The way up from the falls was rocky and steep, but the steps were thoughtfully placed. Nonetheless, I was again very glad I was slackpacking, as it would have been brutal to be going up this steep, rocky climb with a backpack at the end of a very long and strenuous day. I made it to Dennis Cove Road around 5 pm, and soon thereafter I was at Black Bear Resort. After checking in and settling up, I guzzled two non-caffeinated orange sodas and cooked and ate a frozen pizza. It is hard to describe how wonderful the sodas and pizza were after a long and hard day on the trail.I also went through the resupply box which Donna mailed to me and sorted through my gear to get ready for tomorrow's slackpack to Mountain Harbour.
Date: 2015-10-31
From: Dennis Cove

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 24.7

Treadway: 3/10Weather: Partly sunny and cool 1/10Stats:24.07 miles 7:42:183.1 miles per hour 1999 c5744 feet up 5387 feet down 53454 steps Narrative:My third consecutive 5% day. In other words, for each of the past three days, the distance I have hiked has been more than 5% of the remaining distance to Springer. Up at 6:00 am, a breakfast of two Mello Yellows with Cheese Its and breakfast mix, then hit the trail at approximately 7:15 am. The trail was fairly smooth and easy the whole way. I enjoyed the climbs in the morning, but after 18 miles I was starting to feel it. Fortunately by then, there was not much climbing left. Hardly saw anyone on the trail. About a mile into the hike, I reached a nice viewpoint above Dennis Cove in the early morning light, just before sunrise. I hope that photo turns out okay. Not much scenery for the 20 or so miles after that. About 22 miles into the hike, I reached an open ridge with excellent views looking east and west. About 3 miles into the hike, I ran into 2 hunters who were standing motionless about 100 feet off the trail before they waved to acknowledge I was a friend, not a target. Very happy to be wearing my orange hunter vest and orange hunter stocking cap while hiking now in hunting season. At US19E, I walked .3 miles west to Mountain Harbour and met Country Gold, who checked me in. Country Gold thru-hiked the AT in 2010 and would like to section hike more of the AT and also the PCT. After changing out of my hiking clothes and into my thermals, I took a glorious hot shower, then drank the rest of my Cytomax and ate while hanging out with Country Gold and Tim from Front Royal, who recently section hiked with his daughter from Hot Springs to Damascus. I had a nice time talking with both Country Gold and Tim. I had the bunk level all to myself, and the bunk room was delightfully snug and warm, which made it easier to prepare for the two days of cold rain in the forecast which were coming up tomorrow and the next day.
Date: 2015-11-01
From: Mountain Harbour Hostel

To: Hughes Gap
Miles today: 21.4

Treadway: 4/10Weather: Overcast 3/10Stats:20.85 miles 7:43:162.7 miles per hour 1718 c4760 feet up 6020 feet down 42352 stepsNarrative:My fourth consecutive 5% day. In other words, the distance I have hiked on each of the past four days has been more than 5% of the remaining distance to Springer. Up at 6:15 am, all my gear for today's slackpack was ready by 7:15 am. Had a nice talk with Tim in the morning before breakfast, he shared with me some of his experiences while living in Belgium. Went up to the house with Tim for coffee and breakfast at 7:40 am. We met 2 doctors who were staying in the house as B&B guests, and they were very nice. Breakfast was amazing: coffee, orange juice, egg casserole, biscuits, sausages, potatoes, fresh fruit, it was incredible. Mary drove the doctors and me to our respective trailheads: we all drove up together to Hughes Gap, then Mary drove the doctors to Carvers Gap. I was on the trail around 9:10 am. The climb up Roan Mountain was steady, on good, smooth and well graded trail. Although I started in pea soup, about 15 minutes into the hike I busted through the cloud and enjoyed the fresh, clean air on the way to the top. From Roan Mountain to Hump Mountain, I felt like I was walking on sacred ground, sort of like the Giant Forest in Sequoia and the High Sierra. It seemed dramatic and peaceful at the same time. It was a wonderful hike. At Roan High Knob, the highest shelter on the trail, I stopped to take a picture and ran into Ramrod and Gravity. They were planning to make it to the Greasy Creek Hostel that night. Apparently Fireman decided to hang out in Elk Park, and Snow decided to hang out in Boone. Ramrod expressed disappointment about not hiking with them anymore, but I told Gravity and him that they should hike their own hike. The way down to Carvers Gap was easy, then I began a gentle climb up to Round Bald, followed by Jane Bald. The views at both were outstanding. The next 7 miles or so were very enjoyable. At Little Hump Mountain, I had more exceptional views. After descending to Bradley Gap and beginning the last climb of the day up Hump Mountain, I ran into Skywalker and then Vicious. At the Stan Murray Memorial, I ran into Georgia, Rivet and Bee Sting and had a nice chat with the three of them. Then I began the descent to Doll Flats, which was difficult and rocky. At Doll Flats, I took photos of the signs showing the Tennessee-North Carolina border. It was rocky and difficult for about a mile after that, then smooth and easy the rest of the way down to Highway US19E. At Mountain Harbour, Country Gold kindly shared with me his fried chicken and bread with cheese, which were heavenly after the long hike.
Date: 2015-11-02
From: Hughes Gap

To: Indian Grave Gap
Miles today: 21.1

Treadway: 4/10Weather: rain 6/10Stats:22.24 miles 7:35:392.9 miles per hour 1867 c4970 feet up5606 feet down Narrative:My fifth consecutive 5% day. In other words, for each of the past five days, the distance I have hiked has been more than 5% of the remaining distance to Springer. I did not take any photos today because of the rain, so the photo for today is the one of Hump Mountain which I took yesterday. I had another outstanding breakfast- coffee, orange juice, veggie omelette, hash browns and Canadian bacon and a biscuit. Mary drove to Hughes Gap and I started hiking a little before 10 am. It was mostly smooth except for a rocky and difficult descent down Unaka Mountain, but I had to push it fairly hard the last 5 miles to make it to the road before sundown. I stopped at Cherry Gap Shelter for 15 minutes to get water and hydrate. There was this really creepy guy there named Lone Wolf from Helltown (Front Royal) aka the Buddhist Jew. He seemed harmless enough when I first saw him. When I asked him why Buddhist Jew, he said that best reflected his spirituality. I then made what I thought was a fairly benign joke by saying that if I prayed to Jesus and he prayed to Buddha and Yahweh, maybe we could get the rain to stop. Then he asked me whether I should pray to a familiar deity, and he used Jesus as an example, or if I should pray to collective spirit in the Universe, which he said was the Lord. I immediately realized my mistake in trying to engage him in conversation. Then he launched himself into a bizarre, venomous diatribe against Western Culture, saying that all our society sells is temptation, it was all Hollywood's fault, all Western culture is wicked, etcetera. He sounded like a spokesperson for Isis. Then he shared with me the fact that he had read the Satanic Bible, as if this were the kind of book that sits on everyone's bookshelf. Then he ranted about how evil President Obama was. Then he ranted about how evil alcohol was and why we should all smoke pot instead. By now, I was done hydrating and all I could think about was getting the heck out of there. It was as close to having a conversation with Charles Manson as I will ever get. I packed up, left and looked over my shoulder for 15 minutes after leaving the shelter to make sure he was not following me. Claire at Uncle Johnnys met me at the trailhead and drove me to the hostel. After Uncle Johnny checked me in, I took a glorious hot shower and ran into Ramrod, who also was staying in the bunkhouse. I made arrangements to slackpack from Devils Fork to Spivey Gap the next day.
Date: 2015-11-03
From: Indian Grave Gap

To: Spivey Gap
Miles today: 21.9

Treadway: 4/10Weather: Partly sunny and variable pea soup 4/10Stats:22.48 miles7:51:402.9 miles per hour 1841 c6145 feet up 6118 feet down 48964 stepsNarrative:Today I skipped forward and hiked from Devils Fork Gap north to Spivey Gap. Tomorrow I will hike from Spivey to Uncle Johnnys and then from Indian Grave to Uncle Johnnys. The day after that I will start again from Devils Fork but this time I will hike south not north to Allen Gap. My first 6% day. In other words, the distance I hiked today was more than 6% of the remaining distance to Springer. The shuttle left Uncle Johnnys at 6:30 am and I was at the trailhead starting the hike at 7:00 am. I had some nice views early on, but Big Bald Mountain was socked in and my views were limited in the afternoon. The trail was mostly smooth but there was a lot of up and down, with plenty of steep climbs, and I was beat at the end of the hike. A little before High Rock, I ran into Ramrod. He was planning to stay at the Big Bald Shelter. About 5 minutes before Spivey Gap I ran into Gravity. She was planning to stealth camp. Charlotte picked me up at the trailhead and drove me back to the hostel. Skywalker, Vicious, Rivet and Bee Sting were staying the night. Georgia took a shower and was planning to meet a friend from his home town who was attending Eastern Tennessee State University. I took a well earned shower and did my laundry, then caught the 5:30 pm shuttle into town with the rest of the guys. It was $1 taco night at the Mexican Restaurant, and we all feasted. I had 5 chicken tacos, a big burrito and lemonade. It was fabulous.
Date: 2015-11-04
From: Spivey Gap

To: Devils Fork Gap
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: broken clouds

Treadway: 6/10Weather: Partly sunny 2/10Stats:19.39 miles 6:21:493.0 miles per hour 1624 c2250 feet up 5311 feet down 39451 steps Narrative:A relatively easy slackpacking day. Started at Spivey Gap at 6:50 am, hiked back to Uncle Johnnys around 10:30 am, then Jeff drove to Indian Grave where I ran into Butterbar, Milk Man and Sunnyside enjoying trail magic. The trail was mostly rocky and difficult but I still made good time and finished around 2:40 pm. I upgraded from the bunkhouse to a cabin. Wayfarer later told me that everyone was partying really late that night, including and especially Jeff.
Date: 2015-11-05
From: Devils Fork Gap

To: Allen Gap
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: light rain

Treadway: 3/10Weather: Partly sunny then overcast 4/10Stats:20.38 miles6:58:342.9 miles per hour 1668 c3992 feet up 4802 feet down 45663 stepsNarrative:Last night, I went out to dinner with Milk Man, Sunnyside, Georgia and Wayfarer. We ate at the Mexican restaurant and I had a combination dinner with a side of guacamole and lemonade. Sure beats crackers and candy bars. Then we went to Walmart and I got a ham and cheese sandwich for breakfast today and a Monster. Up at 5:15 am, took the shuttle to Devils Fork, started hiking around 7:20 am. Today's hike was much easier than I expected. The trail was mostly smooth except for the mile up and down Howard's Rock, which was advertised as "rocky and strenuous" but was not all that bad. At the sign announcing the blue-blazed bypass, someone hand wrote, "Frodo and Sam had it worse, you can do it." How true. I made it to Allen Gap by 3:05 pm, almost an hour before my pickup time. I shared the shuttle with a section hiker and his dog. Once I arrived at Bluff Mountain Outfittters, I paid for all my shuttles for the next three days, then bought some tent stakes and Dirty Girlz gaiters, then picked up my resupply box and headed over to Elmers. Elmer was out but left a note letting me the room in which I would be staying. It was the room in which Earl Schaffer stayed when he thru-hiked in 1948 and in 1998. Elmer was very nice, and his house is wonderfully antique and historical. After a glorious shower I went out and ate at a nice upscale restaurant called the Iron Horse. I had the southern fried catfish, baked potato, Caesar salad and lemonade. Delicious.
Date: 2015-11-06
From: Allen Gap

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 20.6

Treadway: 3/10Weather: Overcast and humid with occasional showers 5/10Stats:20.06 miles6:52:452.9 miles per hour 1696 c3507 feet up 6286 feet down 44244 stepsNarrative:Another 6% day. In other words, the distance I hiked today was more than 6% of the remaining distance to Springer. Last night I studied the remaining pages in AWOL and came up with the following, tentative plan for the rest of my trip:11/6 Max Patch to Hot Springs slack11/7 Allen Gap to Hot Springs slack11/8 Max Patch to Cosby Knob Shelter 11/9 Cosby Knob Shelter to Icewater Spring Shelter 11/10 Icewater Spring Shelter to Derrick Knob Shelter11/11 Derrick Knob Shelter to Fontana Dam11/12 Fontana Dam to Sassafras Gap Shelter (partial slack to Stecoah Gap)11/13 Sassafras Gap Shelter to Cold Spring Shelter (partial slack from NOC to Tellico Gap)11/14 Cold Spring Shelter to Long Branch Shelter 11/15 Long Branch Shelter to Muskrat Shelter 11/16 Muskrat Shelter to Dicks Creek Gap11/17 Dicks Creek Gap to Unicoi Gap slack11/18 Unicoi Gap to Neels Gap slack11/19 Neels Gap to Hawk Mountain Shelter 11/20 Hawk Mountain Shelter to SpringerUp at 4:30 am, met Daniel in town at 5:30 am, was dropped off at the trailhead at 6:05 am, waited until 6:30 am to start hiking. Made it to the top of Max Patch Summit about 10 minutes before sunrise and enjoyed the marvelous views and spectacular sunrise. The hike was easier than expected, generally smooth trail and not to much up and down. Met new SoBos True Grit, Diddy Kong and Blue and new LASH Pepper, who started in Pennsylvania. Ran into Ramrod and Spark, who were hiking together. Back in town, I ran into Just Mike at Laughing Heart and Gravity, Bee Sting and Rivet at Bluff Mountain Outfitters. After printing out my GSMNP permit, which was something of an ordeal, I went across the street to the Spring Creek Tavern and had a bacon cheddar cheeseburger with fries and a Coke. Staying at Laughing Heart tonight and tomorrow night.
Date: 2015-11-07
From: Hot Springs

To: Max Patch Road
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: moderate rain

Treadway: 4/10Weather: rain 6/10Stats:14.87 miles 5:28:202.7 miles per hour 1232 c3592 feet up 4383 feet down 33739 steps Narrative:An easy slack in bad weather. Up at 5:15 am, two sausage, egg and cheese biscuit sandwiches, and an energy drink for breakfast, met Daniel in town at 6:15 am and was at the trailhead and hiking around 6:45 am. The trail was mostly smooth until 12.5 miles into the hike, when I descended a steep and rocky section above the French Broad River. I took my time going down. When I got to town, I stopped in the new barbecue place and had a pulled pork sandwich with barbecue sauce and onion rings and a Pepsi. Then I stopped in the market and bought a ham and cheese sub and potato chips for later today and a sausage, egg and cheese biscuit sandwich for breakfast tomorrow. Then I returned to Laughing Heart and did my laundry while hanging out with the rest of the gang watching Kill Bill 1 and 2 on their zero day.