morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-24
From: iron mountain gap

To: chestoa bridge / erwin, tn
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: few clouds

Had a nice breakfast, and prepared a daypack for todays southbound slackpack. Joining me were squirrel master, contagious, wolf paw, and banjoman. We got dropped off at iron mountain gap around 1030, and had till around 630-7pm to make it back to the chestoa bridge near erwin. I knew Id see my guys today, I just didnt know when. It happened pretty early in the day, only a few miles in. First came carnivore with rasta legs (who I finally met) and jodie foster. I stopped and conversed with them for about a half hour, but still no signs of mule, bud, and jukebox. Carnivore said they hadnt broken down camp yet by the time he left, surprise surprise!I finally saw them while I was making my way up unaka mountain. Hungout and traded stories for about a half hour, and then I had to get hiking. I stopped for water just before the summit of unaka, and left the bottoms of my convertible pants by the spring. I told the first few hikers that passed that if they see them, to please take them down to iron mountain gap where Ill be starting tomorrow morning. That was the first thing Ive left behind while on the trail. Not bad, but stupid of me for sure. Weather was warm so it wasnt really an issue, yet.Unaka mountain summit was very nice with the mossy piney forests. I had to make good time to hike another 14ish miles, so I kicked it into high gear. I spent a lot of time b/s'ing with the guys knowing that the last half of the hike was gradually down where I can make up time. I finally passed banjoman, so I knew the van wouldnt be waiting for me. He arrived not even 10 minutes later, and still before 7pm. Long day today, even with no pack. Im going to try to make overmountain shelter tomorrow to reunite with my group. I hear its a great place to stay anyway, so I wouldnt want to camp before it. 17 miles tomorrow, and I finally get to sleep in the woods for the first time in over a week!!
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

I had just enough time this morning to go take care of my post office duties. I mailed my bouncebox to damascus, mailed one box home that included my 15 degree sleeping bag, and forwarded my food drop to damascus. I got back to miss janets house and breakfast was just being served.Made it to iron mtn gap at 1130am, a little later than I thought. Doing 19 miles starting that late, along with the climb up and over roan mtn, is a daunting task. Especially with rain forcasted for the evening. None the less, I got off to a quick paced start and aimed to reach clyde smith shelter for a snack break which was 6.6 miles from where I started.Made it to the shelter by 145pm, but people were sleeping so I pushed ahead another .8 miles to little rock knob overlook. I stopped for a snack, drank lots of water, and checked out my map to see what lies ahead. Made it out of there by 2:55.Stopped for some water before getting to hughes gap. Hughes gap is where the ascent of roan mtn begins. From there you climb over 2200ft up, in 3.3 miles. I started the ascent around 340pm.I hiked hard up roan, but took plenty of breaks to catch my breathe. It smelled like fresh pines and evergreens up there, made the hike enjoyable once being up near the top. I passed roan high knob shelter around 520pm. I was going to stop and have a snack there, but decided to push onward another 2.5 miles to jane bald.Arrived at jane bald around 610pm, I was tired but felt great since I only had 4 miles to go. Plenty of daylight left, and no rain all day since I started hiking. Took 25 minutes at jane bald to snack, take some pictures, and look at what I had left in the 4 miles upcoming.I passed fueng shuei, just as I knew I was close. Finally I saw the sign for the shelter, now I just needed to get some water on the way and my day was over. I stopped to pump some water, then started out towards the old red barn. Once I got within shouting distance I let out our call, "Hey you guys". They looked shocked to see that I made it. 19 miles in just over 8 hours, and thats counting about 2 hours of break time.To reward me, 5 minutes after arriving it started to rain. I quickly put up my tent, got situated, and couldnt even eat dinner. I had a small snack and went to sleep, my body was ready for it.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: US19E / Merlefest
Miles today: 8.7

Well it poured all night, but around 645am it had stopped. It was very foggy out, I couldnt even see the red barn shelter. I got out of my tent to re-stake some lines, and bud joined me. I didnt really have a chance to talk with any of them last night, and I was tired of being in my tent.The rains returned shortly thereafter. We were all stuck in our tents till about 10am, but then the rain let up. We had 8.7 miles to reach highway US 19E, where we would be picked up to be brought to Merlefest.The hike over little hump and big hump mountain probably would have been beautiful. Instead we hiked through the pouring rain, in the clouds, and with lots of wind. It gave the highlands an eerie feel to them. I was exhausted from the 19 miles yesterday without dinner afterwards. Once the rains let up, I had to deal with a very slick and muddy downhill to the highway. I fell pretty good coming down, cut my left knee open and bruised it. I had fallen behind my group while adjusting my packcover going up hump mountain, so no one was there to see the fall.Caught up with jukebox and we hiked down past apple house shelter, where we heard about trail magic. Needless to say we were right on our way.I had a cheese sandwich, some chips, and a soda when we got to US19 E. We then walked down to the mountain harbour hostel to meet our ride. It was a nice hostel, and we got there first so the shower was all ours. Each one of us had time to shower before our ride showed up.Larry arrived a little past 3pm. He was super nice to us, having thruhiked himself. It was about an hour and a half to the campus where the festival is held. We arrived, got a little tour, and then met B. B thruhiked last year, and runs the volunteer program for Merlefest. He informed us of what our jobs were while we were there. Then we attended a meeting for the volunteers, found out where we were camping and set up our tents, and then were fed free pizza hut and given our VIP wristbands for the festival. Such great treatment we received. We were all very tired, and had wet tents. We were given permission to sleep on the creekside stage, since their were no performances there till friday. That worked out perfectly, because it poured all night.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Merlefest

To: Merlefest
Miles today: 0.0

Skies cleared up by the time we were booted off the stage, around 830am. We walked up the road out of the grounds for some breakfast. The festival started and we all realized how lucky we were to be there, with VIP passes for free. We also realized how overwhelming it is to be around all these people after spending the better part of 6 weeks on the trail. Musical highlight for me for the whole day was Sam Bush, he plays a mean mandolin.
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Merlefest

To: Merlefest
Miles today: 0.0

Sunny skies, all our gear is dry, and no rain in the forcast. Definitely going through people overload. Merlefest is great, but we are already starting to miss the trail. Funnel cakes and all the food you can imagine, for a price, in the big food vendor tent. Musical highlight of the day was The Waybacks featuring Bob Weir. They covered some great tunes by the stones, bob dylan, not to mention jack straw, casey jones, and st. stephen from The Dead.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Merlefest

To: Merlefest
Miles today: 0.0

Last day here, tomorrow we pack up and hit the trail. We are all very anxious. We all had a great time, and were treated great by B, Larry, and all the volunteers at the festival. I highly suggest to anyone who enjoys bluegrass to attend. Blessed to have no rain all weekend. Musical highlight of the day was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
Date: 2006-05-01
From: Merlefest / US19E

To: Tentsites on Elk River
Miles today: 6.2

We were all packed up in the van by 930am. Had to drive the hour and a half back to the trail, and stop at the food store on the way. Luckily we found one that had a Subway across the parking lot. I shopped for 2 days worth of food to get me to my food drop at dennis cove. Then I had myself a Subway sub, and we were on our way.Felt great to hit the trail, but our legs could feel the time off. We all stopped to admire jones falls, they were beautiful. The hiking was easy all day, and we arrived at the elk river with intentions of giong no further. Mule, carnivore, bud, and jukebox all went for a quick swim but that water was way too cold for me. Maybe if it were 90 degrees outside, but it had to have been only 70.We camped just a little ways up, I ate dinner right away. It had to have been only 6pm, and I was ready for my tent. I went in to catch up on my journal, and 20 minutes later I was out like a light.
Date: 2006-05-02
From: Tentsites on Elk River

To: Moreland Gap Shelter Tentsites
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Now thats what I call a good nights sleep. I must have slept over 15 hours. I got up around 330am because I heard the cow eating close to my tent. Late start for all of us, except rasta legs, she left around 9am.We hit the trail around 11am, late even for us. Our plan was to go about 13 miles to a campsite that would leave us less than 5 miles to kincora. I have a maildrop there, and mule has a package he has to pick up. The hiking was very easy, staying between 3200ft and 3600ft for most of the day. There was one steep uphill just before moreland gap shelter, luckily it wasnt long. We got to the shelter around 4pm, and rasta was here waiting for us. We decided to stay here, everyone is still tired. That Merlefest really took its toll on us. It will probably take a week to get our legs back. Thats okay though, no more zeros till trail days, we will do some miles between now and then. Just crossed 400 miles hiked today.
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Moreland Gap Shelter Tentsites

To: Griffith Branch Tentsites
Miles today: 16.3

Slept well, despite a really loud tree that was creaking in the wind. Most of us were hoping all night that if it fell, it fell away from our tents. Luckily it was still standing when we got up.Made my way down to kincora to meet bob peoples, and to pick up a food maildrop. He was building a tree house, looked like a great place to stay. After packing up, mule and I went back to meet the guys and check out laurel falls. It looked like a great swimming hole, but a tad bit too chilly.The climb up and over pond mountain was brutal, 1800ft of elevation gain in 3 miles. Of course the heat turned on, and a swim in laurel falls would have felt great.We got down to watauga lake, and the plan was to camp out on the lake another half mile up the trail. I watched the packs as the gang hitched into town to get food and beer. It was nice to sit down and relax by the lake, almost nice enough for a swim. Had a nice night by the fire, watching everyone devour hot dogs and smores. Ended up cowboy camping with carnivore and mule, first time for me on this trip. Didnt even feel 1 creepy crawly the whole night.
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Griffith Branch Tentsites

To: Griffith Branch Tentsites
Miles today: 0.0

What a great night sleep under the stars. Only bad part was hearing the road so much. Sunny skies, a nice big lake, and being so close to town meant one thing, zero day. We hitched into town for some food and beverages, and we also bought some fishing line, hooks, and some nightcrawlers. Got back to the lake, and spent the day fishing with our leki poles and just laying around relaxing and eating. Only 40 miles to damascus, looks like I will try and get there by saturday evening. I will have to take another zero to wait for the post office to open on monday. Damascus is the last good trail town for quite sometime, so a zero there doesnt bother me.
Date: 2006-05-05
From: Griffith Branch Tentsites

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: light rain

The rain started around 3am, and didnt let up much in the morning when I got up. I tented under some large trees, but the outside of my tent was still soaked. Not fun packing up a wet tent, just because you dont know when youll need to use it again and you dont know when youll get to dry it. All in all I stay dry inside it, so I just pack up my backpack from inside my tent and then strap my tent to the outside of my pack. My pack would get a lot wetter if I had to pack my tent in it.We left around 1030, not knowing how far everyone wanted to go. The rain let up and the sun tried to burn through the clouds, but to no avail.First stop was at vandeventer shelter for some lunch. I was so hungry that I cooked a dinner. We got water a few miles past the shelter, and agreed to meet at the next one to see where everyone wanted to go. The skies got nasty, winds picked up, and the temperature dropped 10 degrees. By the time we got to iron mtn shelter, it was raining steadily. Mule and Bud wanted to press on as far as they could, so they left around 515. Carnivore, jukebox and I wanted to stay dry, so we decided to stay.No falls came passing through around 630, and lit a fire under carnivore by mentioning he wanted to hike 26 more miles to damascus during the night. Carnivore tried to talk me and jukebox into joining them, but we decided against it. I remember my last night hike in the rain, and that was only 2 miles, not 26.Im in the shelter tonight with new faces, except jukebox. They guy next to me is from williamstown, nj which is only about 40 minutes from where I live, small world. He said he is waking up around 615, so hopefully that means I too will get an early start for once. Im definitely looking forward to it. 26 miles tomorrow on easy terrain, so I should make it there in the late afternoon if I can leave by 730. Ill probably be getting there as soon as carnivore is waking up, if he makes it.
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus, VA / the place
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: overcast clouds

The fog and rain continued through the night, but luckily the rain stopped early in the morning. Double zip came down with the stomach bug that has claimed 75% of the hikers we have met. She was getting sick all night in the shelter, must have been horrible for her. Right around the time she was getting sick, sweat tea came rolling in. There was no room for him in the shelter, so he slept on the picnic table which was only half covered by the shelter roof. He said he was soaked when he got up. Postcard (from nj) left around 6am, with masterplan right behind him.Jukebox and I made it out by 745. I had to stop for water a mile down the trail, so she got out infront of me. Sweat tea also passed me while getting water, but I ran into them both at the first road crossing.We received some trail magic from a church group about halfway through the day, always a good thing when planning on doing 26 miles. Snacks and cold drinks hit the spot. I met FDR, keystone, and a boy named sue shortly there after, they were slack packing north to damascus. They had stayed in damascus the night before, and said that they saw mule and bud in the post office this morning. I cant believe they hiked the whole 40 miles in one day. Supposedly they arrived around 230am, crazy.I met booger and her dog willie at the last shelter 10 miles south of damascus. She informed me that carnivore and no falls both stayed at the same shelter she did last night. That means they didnt make their goal of hiking into damascus, not surprising. The fog was so thick that they made it only 8 miles past where I stayed.I made the last 10 miles in less than 2 hours coming into damascus, only to be greeted by the guys and some cold refreshments. Great way to end a 26 mile day.Tonight calls for a big pizza and some beer. Im tenting at The Place, a very crowded hiker hostel behind the methodist church. There are no cheap motels here, so places to stay are limited. Im looking forward to a few days here.
Date: 2006-05-07
From: Damascus, VA / the place

To: Damascus, VA / the place
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

It started raining overnight, and continued all morning. Glad Im in town, but you still have to walk to get places, and walking in the rain is miserable. Cant do any post office work today since its sunday, but I can work on my caloric intake. I spent the first part of the day at the baja cafe, eating delicious burritos, yuengling drafts, and free internet access. Once the rains stopped, I walked around town and checked the outfitters out. Then it was back to the baja cafe for dinner and beer.
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Damascus, VA / the place

To: Damascus, VA / the place
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Nice to wake up to dry weather for the first time in a few days. Today the guys are planning to head out. I need to resolve some gear issues, and hit the post office. After talking with chewy, I decided to zero again and then slackpack 25 miles tomorrow.My montrail boots have taken a beating. They are splitting open, torn, and leaking water. I called moosejaw where I got them and asked for my money back. They told me to mail them back and they will let me know what montrail says. Then I went over to mount rogers outfitter and purchased some trail runners.Next I had to call big agnes about my sleeping pad. The inevitable happend, a slow leak. Im not waking up to it being flat out of air, but I do need to add a few deep breathes during the night. After talking to them, I decided to wait it out till it goes all the way flat or at least until I find out if Im going to go to trail days.After dealing with my gear, we went to lunch at the baja cafe again. I cant get enough of their food, and they are super nice people. After lunch I went and did laundry and showered, which felt great.I decided to switch hostels since mostly everyone is leaving today. I scored a room at daves place, with a lock on the door. While packing up, the mudsloggers put on a great hackysack demonstration, and a crazy juggling performance. They are brothers, and quite eccentric.The guys and jukebox left around 7pm, they probably didnt get far. Since Im slackpacking back into damascus tomorrow from the north, Ill be passing them and be able to check their progress.
Date: 2006-05-09
From: Damascus, VA / the place

To: Damascus, VA / the place
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept till 830, and had to catch the shuttle up to elk garden for todays slackpack with chewy. I quickly packed some snacks, my water filter and bladder, and another layer of clothes in my pack. It was a grey morning, but showed signs of clearing.We got started southbound around 1030, in the clouds. We climbed up to buzzard rock and had partial views. Enjoyed a snack up there, and headed out. Slackpacking is nice, but we had to cover a lot of ground, about 24 miles. By the time we saw mule, carnivore, bud, and jukebox it was already 4pm. They only made it 1 mile out of town the night before, so Im technically ahead of them and not falling behind staying in damascus.After hanging out with them for a bit, I felt rushed to finish the last 11 miles. After the uphill past saunders shelter, I began slowly running down the mountain. All was going well till I tripped, and fell face first. No real damage except for a scrapped off piece of skin on my left palm. Worst part was not having any first aid stuff to clean it up, and I had about 9 miles left to go.I washed it off at the next stream crossing, and tried to hold my hand up while I hiked to slow down the bleeding. I made it back to town by 730pm, and cleaned it out and waited for chewy to arrive so we can split a pizza. While waiting, I ran into 6pack for the first time since erwin, tn. Chewy showed up, we ate, then the 3 of us went to dots place for sme beers since the baja cafe was closed. Tomorrow we head back out to elk garden to start walking north again with fully loaded packs. Im looking forward to the grayson highlands, hope the weather cooperates.
Date: 2006-05-10
From: Damascus, VA / daves place

To: Elk Garden Tentsites
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Chewy and I had to do some last minute town chores before trying to find a cheap ride back up to the trail where we started yesterday. I skipped breakfast, and sorted out my food and bouncebox. I only needed a couple items from the grocery store, so I went to find chewy. He was finishing packing up, and said he had to hit the grocery store himself.We walked to the food city, did our shopping, and then he saw a girl he met at the hostel this morning driving into the parking lot. She offered us a ride back to town with our food bags, so we waited for her. She hiked the PCT last year, under the name of Smack.Once we got back to town, we all went to the baja for more burritos. I got one for lunch, and one to carry for dinner on the trail. I went back to the hostel to finish packing my gear, and then hit the post office.While at lunch we convinced smack to start hiking from elk garden where we needed to go. She gave us a ride up there around 330pm, only to find my hiking group awaiting me. I brought them a bottle of wild turkey, and thats where the hiking ended. Not that it started for chewy and I.She drove down to town with carnivore and bud and got pizzas and beer. We set up camp right in the woods at elk garden, waited out a short rainfall, and enjoyed the night by the fire with cold beer and pizza.Tomorrow I must hike, need to start pushing myself harder for sure.
Date: 2006-05-11
From: Elk Garden Tentsites

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 4.2
Weather: light rain

The rain started again overnight, but stopped by the time I got up around 830am. Everyone was a little discouraged by the cold damp weather. Having to hike through the exposed grayson highlands during windy cold wet weather wasnt real motivating to any of us. The rain started again, and sent everyone into their tents.Around 11am carnivore, bud, and jukebox started packing up to head out to the next shelter 4ish miles up. Smack was next to leave, but a heavy downpour had her running back to the comforts of her truck. Chewy left around 1145, and I was just behind him. Mule was hurting a little from the night before, and said he would be on his way soon.The hike up to the grayson highlands wasnt bad, just the conditions were. Temps were in the high 40s, and it was raining, and very windy. I made it up to thomas knob shelter, saw chewy, but no sign of the others. Just as I was about to push on, bud popped his head out from the loft of the shelter saying carnivore and jukebox were also there. The idea of getting inside my dry sleeping bag drew me inside, although it was still cold in there.We hunkered down for the day and night with frisbee, rip, pill box, and treehugger. Is it really may?