morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-03-27
From: Jerry Cabin Shelter

To: Hogback Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

3/27 was a cold one. The moring started with a chorus of everyonelamenting every peice of frozen gear they found which was prettymuch every peice of gear. I finally dragged myself out of bed andpacked up my gear, not without incident: one of the stakes on mytarptent came apart as I attempted to remove it from the frozenground. I was left to struggle with a smooth 1/2 inch metalcylender sticking about an inch out of an Ice block for 10 minutesbefore I had retrieved my stake. As I left, Starsky and Hutch showed no signs of leaving their sleeping bags. Someone had afriend from Asheville picking them up at a gap 17 miles on, soPanch, Car Jacker, and G were pushing for that to dry out. I was pushing a more moderate 15 miles through the snow to HogbackRidge Shelter. It was a truely glorious day, since, although I was still walking through knee deep snow in some places, it hadstopped snowing more, and the sun had come out to shine for a fewhours. As I was ascending a big climb near the end of the day,I was caught by Starsky and Hutch, who were hauling ass to catchme with a 2 hour lead. Inspired by their energy, and wanting tosecure my spot in the shelter, I took up their breakneck postholingpace through the snow. I made good time on the trail after that,keeping just a hair ahead of them, until Starsky stopped to breakand wait for Hutch, who was slower. Then I got to Hogback Ridge,where I was greeted by waist high snow drifts. The last mile tothe shelter felt like 3, as I lifted my feet high with each step.And a further challenge when I got to the shelter: water was a 1/4 mile away, through deep snow. Damn. I slept well that nightwith Starsky, Hutch, Roadrunner, Packrat, and Packrat's father.
Date: 2013-03-28
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

3/28 was cold yet again. It marked the 3rd consecutive day thathad not gotten above freezing. I sat in my sleeping bag watchingStarsky attempt to line his frozen boots with grocery bags.But things were looking up,since the sun was shining and it wasn't snowing. Things were looking up anyway, until I got out of my sleeping bag and lookedat my toe.I'd spent a lot of time in the snow the last few daysand I knew I'd gotten some trenchfoot coming into Davenport,butI had been hoping that it wasn't progressing into frostbite.The blood blister clearly formed on the tip of my second toe,as well as the mild case of screaming barfies I'd had when I'dgotten into my sleeping bag the night before, strongly indicatedotherwise. I put my last remaining dry seal skin on that foot, and was ever so careful as I hiked to keep the snow off of it.It got better as I descended into a gap and the snowpack improvedI managed to keep that foot mostly dry until about halfway upthe last climb to the top of Big Bald. It was soaked by then,and my toes went numb. I decided being slow and careful was nolonger an effective strategy. I also knew that I did'n want tospend another night at high elevation, where I'd have to wake up the next morning and put my feet back in the snow. So I started postholing as fast as I could up the mountain. The snow on topwas worse that that on Hogback. I desperately postholed acrossthe two balds and past the shelter after them without even slowingdown. I slipped and slid through the snow as I decended themountain for miles. as I got lower, the snowpack improved drastically, then turned to slush for a bit, then, just 7 milesshort of the shelter I was aiming for, I saw dry trail for the first time in 3 days. It was a momentus occasion for me, but Icouldn't stop. With dry trail came increased speed, as I keptthe quick step I'd been using to posthole. Eventually, the trailflattened out somewhat, and I started running, elated to be out of the snow. I stumbled into the shelter in the last of twilightonce again, to find only Starsky and Hutch to greet me. I atedinner and laid down to a restful sleep. That is, until about11 o'clock at night, when Pack Rat, Pack Rat's father, Dirty Mike,and several others rolled in out of the snow.
Date: 2013-03-29
To: Uncle Johnny's
Miles today: 6.0

3/29 was the best morning I'd had in a long time, since it wasthe warmest. When I got out of my bag, I was only slightly chilly getting out of my sleeping bag. I made a good 6 miles toErwin, and set up my tent at Uncle Johnny's, and rented a bike.I then proceeded to take the most confusing bike path ever to the KFC buffet. I got there at 3. I left at 7. I could barelywalk out at the end. I finished my day by doing laundry, resupplying, and getting lost in the dark and rain on the bikeride back. I got to Uncle Johnny's and promptly spent the nexthour sitting in the sauna-like bathroom, enjoying the warmth.
Date: 2013-03-30
From: Uncle Johnny's

To: Cherry Gap
Miles today: 17.0

On 3/30, I got out of Uncle Johnny's just before noon, runninginto a bunch of people coming in who were behind me. I made about4 miles to the first shelter out, and met Larry Boy, who was lunching there. The trail was good until about 1/2 mile below the Beauty Spot. From there on, the trail proceeded to get slushy.It was warm enough, and the bald was dry enough, that for the first time in a long time, I sat down and just enjoyed the veiw fora while. I checked out a ring of large rocks with crypticwritings on them that I could see from the top, hoping it wouldbe an art peice of some sort, but it turned out to be a parking lot covered in graffiti. The slush made the descent from thebeauty spot near impossible, as I slid from tree to tree going down. I started working hard to make miles going up Unaka,but it was slow going, since my foot slid each time I put itdown. The sun had nearly set by the time I summited. I slid downthe mountain, making it 17 miles to Cherry Gap Shelter, which wasfull. I tried sleeping on the picnic table, but realized the predicted rain would splash in and wet my sleeping bag. So I found the least slushy patch of flat ground I could and set upmy tent.
Date: 2013-03-31
From: Cherry Gap

To: Cherry Gap
Miles today: 0.0

I woke on 3/31, and was lazy coming out of camp. So lazy, in fact,that I zeroed. Starsky and Hutch Stayed too, since Hutch's kneeswere hurting a lot, and Larry Boy stayed toon as his ankle washurting very much. We sat in the shelter, and watched the drizzlingrain wash away the slush.
Date: 2013-04-01
From: Cherry Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: broken clouds

On 4/1, I started out early, forgot my tent in the shelter, retrieved it, and pushed on. The morning was beautiful, but clouds started coming in as noon passed and I started climbing Roan. The clean, dry trail dissapeared as I ascended, and turned to ice. I crossed the summit, slid down, and crossed the firsthalf of the Highlands, with the clouds just high enough to catchthe veiw. Coming down into Overmountain Shelter, the trail was pure mud and slush. I got in in time for the sunset, finishing mylongest day yet.
Date: 2013-04-02
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountaineer Shelter
Miles today: 16.0

Overmountain Shelter was one of the best shelters I've stayed at:a refurbished old barn in a feild. Best part is, the sleeping deckfaces east, so you can watch the sunrise in the valley from yoursleeping bag. The day was clear, which was much appreciated, butcold. It was so sunny that I started crossing the second half ofthe highlands in a t-shirt. However, with crosswinds blasting meacross the whole ridge, I eventually had to hide behind a rock toput on a few more layers. I crossed into pure TN coming downfrom the highlands, and finished into Mountaineer Shelter. Thiswas also unfortunately the first day I felt shin pain. Who wouldhave thought that 24 miles would do that to you?
Date: 2013-04-03
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Kincora
Miles today: 16.0

I woke up from mountaineer and got out by 10, as usual. The weather stayed clear for the morning, but I was moving slow,trying to keep my shin from hurting. The weather started gettingcrappy as the day went on. I hit the road that lead to Kincora,and about .05 miles from the trail, I was hounded by a couple dogs, who followed me, quite agressively, until I passed what Iassume was were they lived. After escaping the dogs, I make itto a nondescript driveway with a mailbox labeled only 'kincora'.I came up, and it looked like there was no one home, but a signinstructed me to make myself at home in the hostel. I made dinneras usual, supplemented with a couple eggs I found in the fridge.No one else showed up that night, and i was tired so I grabbeda bunk and went to sleep.
Date: 2013-04-04
From: Kincora

To: Kincora
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

4/4 was the day of freezing rain. I gladly zeroed. I met Seiko and Bob, who were running the hostel,got a ride to the greocer, and cooked up a bunch of food inthe kitchen. Larry Boy came in, his ankle having recovered, in the late morning. Panch, Car Jacker, Dirty Mike, Nickelodeon, andseveral others came in that afternoon. Smuggles came in late,after having the worst day ever, having gotten sick, gettingsoaking wet when he passed out, subsequently becoming hypothermic,then falling backwards into his own poop. Best day to zero ever.
Date: 2013-04-05
From: Kincora

To: Kincora
Miles today: 0.0

4/5's morning started offmuch like the day before. Smuggles laughed as everyone packed up, saying we were all going to 0anyway. He turned out to be right, as most everyone gave in andzeroed at Kincora. I zeroed again, partly to try to help my shins,and partly because of the weather. Starsky showed up, and informed us that he and his brother were getting off the trailbecause of his brother's knees. We made a huge pot of spaghetti.It was tasty.
Date: 2013-04-06
From: Kincora

To: Watuga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

On 4/6, got out of Kinkora at a pretty reasonable hour, and madeit 10 miles past Laural falls to a shelter. I got there prettyearly, and spent the first warm daylight hours I'd had in whatfelt like forever resting my legs. It was a beautiful day withbeautiful veiws. If only I'd had some more people to enjoy itwith, as most everyone I knew was pushing hard to Damascus.
Date: 2013-04-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

On 4/8, I woke and hiked. I met Bean on the trail, and Smooth Sailin' at the shelter. On the trail, along the ridgeline in afew of the gaps, there were long piles of stones following theridgeline. They were quite obviously man made, and had been there a while, but I do not know who made them, or why. I alsopassed one of the original AT shelters, which was now foremergency use only. I was more than happy not to stay. Place was a shit hole.
Date: 2013-04-09
To: The Place
Miles today: 10.0

On 4/9, I woke up and immediately had to use the privy. Unfortunately,I was still in TN, so I dug a cat hole instead. I knew the day was going to be rough when my inner shin started hurting as Iwalked back to the shelter. I hobbled out, trying not to injur myself any more, making very slow progress - less than 2 miles per hour. But the miles I did that day did bring some reason for celebration: first, I crossed the TN/VA boarder, I was finallyin Virginia! Second, I got to Damascus, the most famous trailtown. I was hurtin', and all I wanted to do was rest my legs so they would recover, so I decided to do all my chores asap, and spend the rest of the day off my feet. I hit up the dollar general first to resupply. Unfortunately, I walked out with 3cans of spam as my only meat. I then went to Mt Rogers Outfitter.The bite valve on my bladder had been leaking, and I wanted to get a new valve that locked. I asked, and the owner said they had some, but he failed to produce any, so I bought some stovefuel and left, only to have the owner chase me down the streetto give me a free bite valve that he had salvaged from somedemo product. Great guy. I carried my stuff over to The Placehostel and grabbed a bunk. No matresses, but it was a roof and a shower, so I really didn't mind. I sat down and ate a pint and a half of ice cream, and spent the rest of the day resting.
Date: 2013-04-11
From: The Place

To: The Place
Miles today: 0.0

On 4/11, my legs felt slightly better, so I ran some errands.I looked up shin splints online. Apparently they are caused byconstantly going uphill or downhill, by walking on uneventerrain, by flat feet, and by lack of arch support. I couldn't do much about the others, but I was lacking some arch support,so I went back to Mt. Rogers outfitter and bought a pair of trailrunners. 460 miles through snow and ice, and now, just when theweather was becoming favorable for chaco hiking, I had to trade them in for more arch support. Chaco needs to find a way to putinsoles in sandles. Lep, Slapp, Dragon, Fly, Moxie, Cricket, andYe-Blaze were staying at another hostle in town. I met them at The Blue Blaze Cafe at happy hour (3:00), intending to have a few drinks then run a few more errands. After more than a few drinks, and some kareoke, I stumbled back to The Place around midnight.
Date: 2013-04-12
From: The Place

To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: moderate rain

I got my last few errands done before noon on 4/12, packed up my things, and headed out of Damascus. I felt 100% by no means,but I'd racked up essentially 3 0s there, so it was time to leave. I did just 10 miles out of town, and stopped at the 1stshelter out. Cricket, YeBlaze, and Tracker showed up later. Ihung my food in a tree for the first time since Franklin, justto add more weight to the 3 to 1 bear hang pully system thatYeBlaze had riigged up for fun.
Date: 2013-04-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 7.0

I took 4/13 really slow, since I was only going 7 miles to the nextshelter anyway. I got there early regardless, so I had plenty of time to enjoy the first half of The Lorax, which was written on the inside of the privy. SadlyN the second half was nowhere to be found. Fly, Lep, Slapp, Moxie, 12oz, and Chinstrap showed up,having come in from town. Dragon was now gone forever, havingended his journey in Damascus to go back to his job. I also metShipwright for the first time, who was doing a section from Hot Springs to where ever.
Date: 2013-04-14
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.0

On 4/14, it was drizzly and chilly out in the highlands. Slappwas feeling ill, and so he, Moxie, Lep, Fly, and I sat around in the shelter for hours after waking up. We cooked some food, andlistened to some TED talks on Lep's phone to pass the time. Itlooked like they were going to zero, but I wanted to make somw miles.So at 3, I packed up and headed into the mist. As I neared the descent that would take me out of the highlands, I saw one more herd of ponies standing in the drizzle, eating the grass. I madegood enough time to get 10 miles just as the sun was setting, andgot to a shelter where I met Paranoid, Dirty Bird, Hair, and Shipwright. There was not room on the deck, so I table crashed,which was actually quite nice, since I could spread my things out much more.
Date: 2013-04-15
To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: mist

On 4/15, I was planning on just shelter hopping 10 miles to TrimpiShelter to let my shins heal up. However the terrain was wonderfullyflat, the weather nice, and my shins feeling alright. I Ended upgetting to Trimpi before noon, and had lunch with Cat, Firehands,and Shipwright. I decided to push to Partnership shelter 10more miles over flat ground, especially because I could order pizzafrom the shelter. I got in and ordered my Pizza with Shipwright,as everyone else had already put in their order, having got inhours before. The shelter shower didn't have hot water, but atleast I had pizza.
Date: 2013-04-16
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

On 4/16, I got up and managed to hitch a ride into Marion witha few others staying at Partnership. I resupplied at the walmart,and got some new socks. The only pair of non cotton socks they had were some nylon running socks, but they would have to do.I then hiked through the rain to the post office, since I couldn'tget a ride and I had to pick up a package. I sent home some ofmy winter gear, but found that the package I was getting wascoming in 2 parts, and the second would not get there until thenext day. I was tired, cold, wet, harried, and my shins had beenhurting even just walking around the walmart, so I decided to zero. I made the most of my time in town by going to the library,where I finally broke down and got an AWOL pdf, which I printedsome pages out of. I was tired of using an inferior guidebook.I caught the town's shuttle back out to Partnership, where I metMoxie, Lep, Slapp, Fly, and Woodrow, who had caught up. I ordered pizza again, as I hadn't bought that much food for my resupply.
Date: 2013-04-17
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Unnamed Campsite
Miles today: 14.0

On 4/17, I caught a quick ride into town to get my mail, thenback out, and started hiking.I passed The Barn restaurant, and foolishly did not go in. I hear it was excellent. I hiked a fewmore and set up camp with Twix, Paraguey, and Daddy Long Legs just north of a stream. My shins were still hurting, but at leastI'd got ssome miles.
Date: 2013-04-18
From: Unnamed Campsite

To: Unnamed Campsite
Miles today: 4.2

On 4/18, I got up early. It was supposed to rain, and I wanted to do as many miles as possible before it hit to reduce thesuckyness. Unfortunately, my shins were acting up. I was moving exceedingly slow, maybe 1 mile per hour. About 3 miles in, myright shin hurt more than I was used to, with every step, no matter what I did. As I came to a gap with a stream, the rain started to actually come down. I was getting wet, and hurting far morethan I would have liked. I decided to set up camp there and let my shin recover, rqter than push it. Turns out, the flat, sandy patches of ground are like that becausethats where all the water pools when it rains. So I hurriedlyrepacked all my gear and moved my tent to a less flat, more leafy patch of ground. I spent the next 10 hours in my tent, worrying about my shins while the rain poured outside.
Date: 2013-04-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 8.0

On 4/19, I started slowly, unsure of how fast my legs could go.I'd decided that as long as I could still walk, I could stillhike, no matter how slow I went, but I didn't have too much food,and I prefered if I didn't have to hike for days without any ifI could help it. I drew up a plan to reach Bland doing only around 10 miles per day, so I would only have to streach my food supplies for one more day than I had packed for. I went only8 miles that day, hiking at maybe 1.5 mph. I also adopted a strictschedule, where I would only hike for 1 hour max at a time beforea 30 minute break, and I would streach my shins on a tree every20 minutes while hiking. If I ever felt any pain in my shins, I would stop for a break. I felt alright at the end of the day,and optimistic about the next.
Date: 2013-04-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

On 4/20, I kept following my schedule. I met Grrr on the trail,and had a few nice naps in the sunny mountain meadows. Later inthe day, I met Tin Man as he passed me, and then was passed byBison, who I hadn't seen in ages. I got to the shelter at a reasonable enough hour, and met Chickadee and Wild Rain as theypassed through.
Date: 2013-04-21
To: Chestnut Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

On 4/21, I kept to my low mileage. There was a pretty big climb in the middle of the day, but I was moving slow, and I took a30 minute break halfway up, so it didn't seem that bad to me.I was rewarded for my efforts with about 3 miles of mountaintopmeadows at the end of the day, and some pretty good veiws of central Virginia. Chestnut Ridge Shelter, at the top, is definitely up there on my list of favorite shelters- and old stone cabin of some sort, on top of a mountain in a meadow, withexcellent veiws on either side. Only disappointments were that there was a fair amount of trash around, and the inside fireplacewas bricked up. I met Lugie and BB Clif as they passed by that day.
Date: 2013-04-22
From: Chestnut Ridge Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.0

On 4/22, I had planned on hopping one more shelter, and doing only 10 miles. However, I had been hearing rumors that FreshGround had set up just before Bland, and this was confirmed whenI got to the shelter I'd planned on staying at and saw a notehe had written informing everyone of his presence just 5 milesfarther on. I'd been feeling better the past couple days, and Fresh Ground's breakfast and dinner trail magic had become legendary, so I pushed on the few more miles and got there toset up my tent by around 6. Veggies, BBQ chicken, chips, and candywere in excess, and Fresh Ground gave me and a few other hikersa ride into Bland to resupply. We finished up the evening sittingaround the campfire drinking beer and eating more food.
Date: 2013-04-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.0

On 4/23, I woke up and had a large banana pancake breakfastwith bacon and some more fruit. I was only planning on hittingthe next shelter up 10 miles on, so I stuck around for lunchtoo. I left around noon, butby the time I'd done a few miles,I was persuaded to push to the next shelter 10 miles farther. I ended up doing a night hike, since I was still sticking ridgedly to my schedule, but there was a full moon, and it wasn't too chilly, so the night hike was quite nice.
Date: 2013-04-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

On 4/24, I got out of camp a bit late, since I was tired fromthe night hike I'd done. I got out of camp around noon. The hikewas nice enough, until it started to rain, only about 3 milesbefore I got to the shelter. Moxie, Daddy Long Legs, Tracker, Twix, and Paraguey were there. It seems that my original grouphad finally broken completely, as Lep and Moxie, the only 2 ofour 6 still hiking together, were no longer together.
Date: 2013-04-25
To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 8.0

On 4/25, I got out of camp and headed on. I saw Cat and Firehandson the trail, who were doing a SoBo slackpack, just before I got to Woods Hole hostel. As I came into the hostel, I once againran into Chickadee and Bison leaving. I had a pleasent enoughtime at the hostel, updating my journal, playing with the dog, and eating a huge dinner, but I don't know why it gets such agreat reputation, since it seemed like a fairly average hostelfor the amount of money I paid for it. Grrr and Yonder showed uplater for dinner.
Date: 2013-04-26
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.0

On 4/26, I headed out of Woods Hole after breakfast. I'd hoped to get a shuttle from the hostel, but they would just call someother guy who was charging exorbinant prices. I hiked a few milesto Pearisberg, but brain farted and missed the road I wanted tohitch on by a mile. I stashed my pack in the woods and went backto the road, resupplied, and got back to my pack without trouble.I did a few more miles through the woods near Pearisberg, closeenough that I'd rather have just roadwalked so I could avoid the hills, since all the cars were roaring by me anyway. A moderateclimb out of town got me to the first shelter out, and I stayed there. The water source sucked, But the veiw just in front of the shelter made up for it.
Date: 2013-04-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.0

On 4/27, I had excellent terrain. Flat ridgeline walking for miles.Unfortunately, it seemed that poison ivy season had finally reachedout of the valleys, and I ended up having to search for placesto lay down for my breaks that were not poison ivy infested.My knee was also hurting a bit from pushing fast to make the shelter out of Pearisberg before dark the day before. However,I knew it was going to rain the next day, so I did a few moremiles than I needed to to reduce my rain walking. I was alone inthe shelter, save for a few section hikers, who mostly kept tothemselves.