morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-10
From: Greasy Creek Gap

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: moderate rain

4-10-09 FridayI woke up at 5:45 and the moon was still shining brightly. I got up and fixed oats, jerky, and coffee, ate, packed up and was on the trail at 7:00. Rain was supposed to come in and I thought I might be able to make Roan High Knob Shelter before it got here. I walked 5 miles by 9:55 which put me at the base of Roan Mountain. I had seen 7 deer and a bear¢s foot print in the mud on the way to here. It started raining as I started up the mountain and I still had 3.3 miles to go, all uphill. It was 35 degrees so it was a cold rain. It stopped raining just before I got to the shelter some 3 hours later. I was soaked to the skin. I climbed into the loft of the shelter, which is an old fire warden¢s cabin, because it seemed a little dryer and warmer. I put on dry clothes and got into my bag to get warm. Lone Wolf, Brickyard, and 4 section hikers are here too. About 6 p.m. the real storm hit with rain, sleet, hail, high winds, and lightning. It is still storming at bed time. The trail will be messy tomorrow.
Date: 2009-04-11
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Highway 19E Elk Park, NC.
Miles today: 15.7

4-11-09 SaturdayIt was still raining lightly this morning and the temp was 35 degrees in the shelter. The wind was gusting 30 to 40 mph. I told Lone Wolf we had to get off this mountain to lower altitude. Lone Wolf had been here two days already because of the snow storm. I stayed in my bag and cooked my oats and coffee. After I had eaten I packed up and left. Everyone else was gone except for Lone Wolf. It was 10:30. The trail was slushy and in places a stream. After about a mile it turned to mud. Near a road I found a cooler with cokes, carrots, and the best brownies I have ever eaten (trail magic). I took a coke and a brownie and hiked on. I walked in the clouds all day until 5 p.m. I went over Round Bald, Jane Bald, and Little Hump Mtn. without seeing anything but white. The wind was so strong that it would blow you right of the trail and if you leaned into the wind it would suddenly let up and you would go off the other side of the trail. My pack cover flapped in the wind like a loose tarp on a truck going down the road at 50 mph. Finally as I was starting down off of Hump Mtn. the clouds suddenly lifted and I got to see some beautiful views of the valley below. It was one of the best views I¢ve had on this walk. I wanted to make it to Highway 19E near Elk Park, NC so I could not stay too long although I would have liked to. There was a steak house and hostel near where the A.T. crossed the road. The steak was not the best I¢ve eaten but it was much better than red beans and rice. And the waitress did give me a ride down to the hostel. I¢m going to attempt to go to church near the hostel if I can get my laundry done in time. I got here too late to get it done tonight. I fell hard twice today on wet rocks. That makes six. It was a very up and down day. It started out terrible and ended up great. I am at Mountain Harbor B&B and Hostel with Brickyard, who is from Speedway, IN and Capt. Max. Max is 75 years old and is doing a 300 mile section. This is an area I want to return to in good weather sometime. I will have to stay here until the P.O. opens Monday. My feet have been wet for four days. Maybe I can get my boots dried out.
Date: 2009-04-12
From: Highway 19E Elk Park, NC.

To: Highway 19E Elk Park, NC.
Miles today: 0.0

4-12-09 SundayI took all my clothes up to the main house at 8:00 and Mary had them clean, dry, and smelling good by 9:30. Capt. Max and I decided to go across the road to the Freewill Baptist Church for Easter Sunday Services, about a half mile walk. Everyone was very nice to us and one member offered to drive us back to the hostel. We took the offer as there were a couple of dogs that acted like we would make a good Sunday dinner when we walked by them on the way to the church. Mudflap and Grayson came in to spend the night. Poof stopped by for a shower then went on. He is a fast hiker. He left Springer Mtn. on March 21 and has already walked 388 miles. That¢s nearly a seventeen mile per day average. Terry, the owner of the hostel, came down and told us supper would be ready at 5:00 and we were invited to eat with them and their family. They usually don¢t do this but since it was Easter Sunday it was their gift to us. We had four kinds of salad, deviled eggs, baked beans, ham, and roast beef. We also had 3 kinds of dessert. They know how to fill a hungry hiker. We went back down to the hostel, which is in the hay loft of their barn, to pack for getting back on the trail tomorrow. I left my boots setting out in the sun all day and they are finally dry. It is only 75 miles to Damascus, VA and 12 miles to go over 400 for the trip. I¢m ready to move on but it looks like a wet week ahead.
Date: 2009-04-13
From: Highway 19E Elk Park, NC.

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 16.5

4-13-09 MondayI went up to the main house for breakfast this morning. It was $9.00 but very good and AYCE. I had ham, bacon, sausage, eggs, gravy, biscuits, fruit, coffee cake, pancakes, key lime bread, and more. Terry took me to the P.O. at Elk Park but my maps were not there. The USPS failed again. I asked them to forward them to Damascus, VA. I was on the trail at 10:30 and walked pretty much non-stop until 6:45. The trail went over rolling hills, similar to what is around Brown County, IN. only here the hills were covered with rhododendron bushes. I took a side trail to a nice waterfall. It is 9:30 now and I¢m in my tent beside a stream tumbling through big rocks. I¢m not positive of where I¢m at but from what I can tell from my guide book I think I am at 404.7 miles. That would give me 16.5 miles today.
Date: 2009-04-14
From: Stealth Camp

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 7.9

4-14-09 TuesdayI slept the best last night in my tent that I have since I¢ve been on the trail. It must have been the roar of the water. I woke up and did my morning chores and was on the trail at 8:10. About 10:00 it started to rain. So I put on my rain gear and pack cover. At 10:30 it quit so I took them off. I reached Bob People¢s Kincora Hostel at 1:00. 8 miles done. I was going to just stop briefly but the sky was darkening and I felt tired. I decided to stay the night. That was a good decision because within an hour it was raining heavily with lightning. About 5:00 Bob took Mr. Green Tea and me to Elizabethton to resupply. I now have enough food to get me to Damascus. Mudflap, Radio Freq, Grayson, Mr. Green Tea, Jones, and The Dude are here tonight. It is 8:24 p.m. now and it is still raining. Hopefully it will clear tomorrow. About 9:30 Capt. Max walked in and shortly after Cascade and her younger brother, Bennett, came in. They were all cold, wet, and hungry. There was some left over spaghetti on the stove but it was soon gone.
Date: 2009-04-15
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Stealth Camp
Miles today: 16.1

4-15-09 Wednesday I slept great last night, the best ever in a hostel. I was up at 7:00 and went down to the kitchen and made a pot of coffee and warmed up a pop tart in the toaster. That just didn¢t hit the spot so I raided the fridge. I found some English Muffins that Radio Freq had left and some bologna and cheese. That was more to my liking. I washed up all the dishes and cleaned the kitchen up. It needed it badly as hikers are not the cleanest people in the world. I was on the trail at 10:30. I met Ironwood and Southside as I left the hostel. The trail took me to Laurel Falls, a beautiful 50 foot drop in the Laurel River that had a lot of water going over it. The climb out of the gorge was hard but worth it. It was 10 miles to the next shelter. I got there at 5:00. I wasn¢t too tired so I pushed on. About 7:30 I had done another 5 miles and was tired. I put my tent up on a narrow ridge overlooking Lake Watauga on one side and Elizabethton on the other. I had a good view but no water left after I cooked supper. That meant no breakfast until I found water in the morning and I was on a really dry ridge. It is cold up here.
Date: 2009-04-16
From: Stealth Camp

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

4-16-09 ThursdayAn owl woke me up at 5:00. It sounded like he was right above my tent. I decided that as long as I was already awake I would get an early start. I was on the trail at 6:17. It was still dark so I started out with my headlamp for the first time. I had no water so I had to wait until I found a spring to fix breakfast. I found Radio Freq just as he was leaving Vandeventer Shelter and he gave me enough water to sip on until I found a spring. According to the guide book that would be about 5 miles away. Sure enough there was a nice spring there and I fixed breakfast and filled my water bottles. Not a lot to look at today just a lot of walking. I stopped at Iron Mtn. Shelter for a break and hung out my tent to dry. I made a few phone calls and walked out into the woods to answer a call of nature. I probably had to walk 200 yards downhill into the woods as there was not much underbrush in the area. When I came back up the hill everything was gone. The trail, the shelter, my pack, and my tent were all gone. All I had was my roll of t.p. Everything looked different and I realized I was lost. After about 15 minutes of wandering around I spotted something shining down the hill from me. It was the shelter roof shining in the sun. I had gone nearly 180 degrees the wrong way trying to return to the shelter. Lesson learned. I¢ll pay closer attention from now on when I go off into the woods. I¢m in my tent now on a hill just above Double Springs Shelter. I visited with a music teacher and her son out for a few days down at the shelter and there is a family out for spring break tenting up here with me.
Date: 2009-04-17
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus Va.
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

4-17-09 Friday What a bummer day. Reaching Damascus, VA should have been a mental high. I struggled all day although the trail was not all that hard. My right leg started hurting yesterday afternoon and was worse today. That is disheartening because my left leg is back to 90% after hurting for 3 weeks. You walk 12 miles a day averaging 2 ft. per step and that¢s 31,600 steps and 31,600 jolts of pain a day. Multiply that by 17 days walking and you can see why my right leg starting to hunt concerns me. I¢ll try to get some ice tomorrow and start treating it. Pity party over. I got up this morning and went down to the shelter and fixed breakfast. I visited some more with the lady and her son from W. VA who are out for a few days. I was on the trail at 8:40. I crossed the VA-TN state line at 4:33 and arrived at Damascus, VA at 6:12. I am now finished with GA, NC, and TN. I am staying at Dave¢s Place Hostel. Pirate, from the hostel at Neels Gap is now here managing this hostel. Mudflap is here too. We went to Fatty¢s Diner for burgers and fries for supper. The burgers were very good but $11.50 for a big burger, fries, and lemonade is a bit steep. I¢m tired.
Date: 2009-04-18
From: Damascus Va.

To: Damascus Va.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

4-18-09 SaturdayI couldn¢t go to sleep last night. I just tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. I don¢t know when I finally got sound of sleep but it must have been the early morning hours. I woke up groggy so I went to the bathroom and washed my face. Mudflap and I went up the street to Cowboy¢s gas station-convenience store-diner and had breakfast. I went to the Dollar General and bought some reading glasses. I broke mine a few days ago. I bought some ice for my legs and iced them for a while. I went to the laundry mat and did my laundry. Mostly I just sat around talking to other hikers and some older locals who filled me in on some of the town¢s history. I went over to the outfitters and got my pack adjusted. I walked to Food City, nearly a mile away, and bought a few items. Mudflap and I ate supper at Quincy¢s Pizza and Sandwich Shop. Several new people came into town today and I have a roommate tonight. I don¢t know anything about him yet.
Date: 2009-04-19
From: Damascus Va.

To: Damascus Va.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

4-19-09 SundayI slept good last night. I¢m not sure about my roommate as he moved out and went to a B&B. My snoring may have claimed another victim. I did find out he was from Sturgis, KY. I had blueberry pancakes for breakfast at Cowboy¢s. They were certainly not as good as the Pancake Pantry¢s in Gatlinburg but they were filling. I went to The First Baptist Church and loved their service. Everything just seemed to flow so smoothly. They had a young minister and I was very touched and impressed with his message and delivery. It touched on several things that have been on my mind the last couple of days. After the first song that was traditional, all the music was songs I had never heard but they projected the words on the wall so I could sing with them. I just snacked for lunch, apple, banana, crackers, and popcorn. I loaded my pack to see how it would carry after the adjustments at the outfitters yesterday. It was terrible. So I put it back like it was and raised the hip belt about 2 inches. I¢ll try that for a few days and see how it feels. My legs feel much better today. A little after 5:00 Capt. Max walked into town. I was glad to see him. I think he sometimes misses the trail when it is not clearly marked, although he is probably able to take care of himself out here better than I am. Capt. Max, Mudflap, and I will probably eat supper together after Capt. Max gets cleaned up. I am leaving tomorrow after I go to the P.O. and mail my bounce box. I just have to figure out where to mail it to. Still no maps. Maybe they will arrive in the morning mail.
Date: 2009-04-20
From: Damascus Va.

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

4-20-09 MondayI slept good last night. I guess I¢m getting used to the hostel here. I was up at 7:00 and went to Cowboy¢s for biscuits and gravy, eggs, and sausage. I went back to the hostel and finished packing up. I went to the P.O. and mailed my bounce box to Waynesboro and mailed a letter home. Still no maps. I called the P.O. at Elk Park, NC and they told me they still had not received them there. I told them to just forget it. Mudflap said he wanted to hike with me today and we were on the trail at 9:00. I think he wants to use me to hold his mileage down a little bit. He was feeling draggy after 3 days in town. We decided to do a short day to take it easy on my legs. We reached Saunders Shelter at 2:00 just as a light rain began to fall. Good job. It rained off and on all afternoon but never hard. This is the first VA. shelter and is the best shelter so far on the trail (my opinion). It is set in a little pine tree grove and has plenty of nice tent spaces around it. It¢s a little chilly (53o) just sitting around so we have been lying in our bags to keep warm. Mudflap is taking a nap and snoring. Loon and Dom walked in about 5:00 and are tenting behind the shelter. That¢s a good idea with 2 snorers in the shelter. I¢m going to try for 12 miles tomorrow. My legs seemed to hold up fairly well today. We¢ll see how they feel in the morning.
Date: 2009-04-21
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Whitetop Mtn.
Miles today: 11.7

4-21-09 TuesdayThis was a very mixed up day as far as the weather is concerned. I was up a couple of times last night and the moon and stars were shining brightly. But by morning the clouds were back. Shortly after getting on the trail at 8:30 it started raining. It rained until 11:00 then the sun came out. As we were climbing Whitetop Mtn. it started to snow. It flurried all afternoon mixed with periods of sun. Tonight Mudflap and I are tenting on top of Whitetop Mtn. It is very windy at times. It took both of us working together to put the tents up because of the wind. I think a cold front is passing through. It will be cold tonight as we are at 5250 ft. and are totally exposed because there are no trees to protect us. However, we can see for miles. Cooking supper is going to be a challenge because of the wind. I am getting everything done early today because when the sun goes down it will get real cold, real fast.
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Whitetop Mtn.

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

4-22 WednesdayWhat a night. The wind howled all night and it snowed off and on. It was in the high 20¢s this morning and the wind was 30 to 40 mph. My tent shook all night and I had to get up and retighten one of the vestibule straps that had come loose and was flapping in the wind. I could not cook breakfast because the wind was just blowing too hard. I ate a couple of pop tarts, ugh. We lay in our tents this morning and co-coordinated our packing and eating so we would be ready to come out of our tents at the same time. It took both of us working together to get the tents down and packed. We were on the trail at 8:10. It didn¢t know what it wanted to do today. It would snow then the sun would shine. Then it would snow then the sun would shine. We walked down off of Whitetop Mtn. and then up Mt. Rogers. Neither was impressive, just cold and windy. The Grayson Highlands were nice but it was too cold and windy to enjoy being up there. I did get to see the feral ponies that live up there year round. They have really long hair to protect them from the severe winters at that altitude. They are not really wild as one of them let me pet him. But they are free roaming inside the massive Highlands area and are very pretty. We had a lot of rocky trail today and a small amount of rock climbing. It was hard on my legs. I am at Wise Shelter tonight with Mudflap, Ironwood, Triple C, and Racheopod. It is going to be cold again tonight. I¢m tired of cold windy weather. It has to warm up soon.
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Wise Shelter

To: Hurricane Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: clear sky

4-23-09 ThursdayThe wind blew most of the night, at times hard. It calmed somewhat after daybreak and warmed up a little over night. I fixed my oats with raisins added, jerky, and coffee and was on the trail at 8:30. We were in the forest for a while, and then went through a large open area for several miles, then back into the forest. We had nice trail for most of the day with just a few rocky places. My leg did pretty good today and we reached Hurricane Mtn. Shelter at 2:45. I cleaned the trash out of my tent and hung it to air out. The ground cloth was damp so I hung it to dry. I built a fire to burn what trash I had been carrying around for a couple of days. I just sat by the fire and waited for time to cook supper. It did warm up somewhat today. It is 60° now. That is still chilly when the wind is blowing. No phone signal here again tonight. No one is here except Mudflap and me. I went over the 500 mile mark today.
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Hurricane Mtn. Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

4-24-09 FridayWell, it finally warmed up. I was able to get up and fix breakfast without putting on a lot of clothes on. I started on the trail today in shorts and short sleeve shirt. The temperature climbed to 80° today, but the climbs were all moderate and the trail mostly dirt. We walked 5 miles out to VA 16 and tried to get a hitch to Troutdale for a burger and small resupply. There was very little traffic but after 40 minutes a local hiker named Whippoorwill picked Mudflap and me up and took us 3 miles to Jerry¢s Kitchen and Goods. I had a double cheeseburger and large fries and sweet tea. It was one of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Whippoorwill ate with us. Mudflap picked up his bill. After buying a few food items Whippoorwill took me back to the trail. Mudflap rode back with Loon and her friend who had been hiking with her this week. It was only 4 more miles to the next shelter and it was easy trail. We were at Trimpi Shelter at 2:40. I am going to try tenting without the fly on my tent tonight. The air feels so dry that I don¢t think there will be any dew tonight and it will be cooler without the fly. Also I will be able to see outside if Mr. Bear comes into camp tonight. I saw a couple of piles of bear scat on the trail today. It is the first signs of bear activity that I have seen. Mudflap said he heard a large animal behind the shelter last night but he did not get up to see what it was. It looks like there are going to be several hikers at the shelter tonight. Tagless and Tag-A-Long, Loon, Bow Willow, Hot Sauce, Kiwi, Javelin, Plunger, and Mr. Right are all here. Ducky and her dog Madison are here but they are getting ready to leave and do some night hiking. I think the big crowd of young, high mileage people is catching up to me.
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: clear sky

4-25-09 SaturdayI had a very restful night last night in my tent. I could see the stars through the mesh of my tent. I just sleep better in my tent. Mudflap and I were on trail at 8:00. The trail was kind today, easy slopes, few rocks, and no long climbs. We did the 10.6 miles to Partnership Shelter in 5 hours 45 minutes with a rest stop for lunch and a couple of other short breaks. It finally looks like spring is going to arrive. I saw 3 mushrooms by the trail today and the small song birds are beginning to return to the mountains. There are still no leaves on the trees. I found a small tick on my leg today. The big highlight of the day was the ¢trail magic¢ when I arrived at Partnership. Daddy-O had a gas grill set up and was cooking burgers and hotdogs. He also had chips, brownies, and soft drinks. I ate 2 cheeseburgers, 2 hotdogs, some chips, 3 brownies, and drank 2 Mt. Dews. 4 hours later 4 of us each ordered a pizza from a Pizza Hut in the nearby town of Marion, VA. This shelter is near the Headquarters Building of The Mt. Rogers National Recreation Area and has a phone on the outside of the building that hikers can use. They will deliver up here for a $2.00 fee. I ate all but one piece of my large pepperoni, mushroom, and green pepper thin crust. Growler came in to the shelter and was hungry so some of us gave him some pizza to eat. Sharing is a way of life out here on the trail. Loon, Hot Sauce, Katie, Steamboat, Mudflap, Growler, and a couple of other people are here tonight. The bad news on the trail today is Tagless has developed a hernia and had to leave the trail today. He and his wife Tag-A-Long are very nice people.
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Groseclose, Va. (Happy Hiker Hollow Hostel)
Miles today: 11.6

4-26-09 SundayI had a very rough night last night. I woke up at midnight with a bad case of acid reflux. I ended up getting up at 1:15 a.m. and walking around the Headquarters Building parking lot until after 2 a.m. I finally was able to lie down and get some sleep sometime after 3 a.m. I was up at daybreak, fixed breakfast, packed up, and was on the trail at 7:30. Mudflap never cooks for breakfast so he does not have to get up as early as I do. The trail was mostly good today although there were a few rocky areas and moderate climbs.We stopped for about 30 minutes at the Settlers Museum, which is an old 1890¢s farmstead and checked out an old one room schoolhouse that was unlocked. We got to the Shell-Mart at the I-81/U.S. 11/ VA 683 Junction around 1p.m. after a hot day of walking. Mudflap called Aqua to come pick us up and take us to his hostel. Actually the hostel is the whole upstairs of the house that Aqua and Rambunny live in. It is an old farmhouse that they purchased last year and are restoring. Loon, Growler, Steamboat, Mudflap, and I are all staying here tonight. Aqua took us to town to resupply and later Rambunny had a delicious supper for us, AYCE. Good day, good hiking, good friends, good shower, good food, clean clothes, trip to town, good hostel keepers. What more could you want. I want my leg to quit hurting. I weighed on the scales in the bathroom. I weighed 175 pounds. I weighed 218 went I left home. That¢s 43 pounds I have lost in 2 months. That is too much weight loss. I am going to have to eat more somehow.