morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Carver's Gap, TN

To: Doll Flats
Miles today: 10.7

This hike was a short overnight hike in late June 2003 with my significant other...Mary. The Carver's Gap section of the AT has always held special meaning for me. This is the first place I had ever set foot on the Appalachian Trail. I had hiked a short way NOBO to the Grassy Ridge area, but never any further. I always thought, what is on the other side of this bend...what comes next. This fueled my dream to hike the AT. The hike over the Roan Highlands was beautiful. The 360 degree views were clear, and the hiking was not too intense. Mary was using one of my old packs, so I was worried about her carrying much weight, but since it was just an overnight hike, everything was ok. We reached the Stan Murray Shelter and met two different people. One guy was doing a long distance section hike from Harpers Ferry to Springer Mt. The other guy was doing a day hike, returning to Carver's Gap. I was concerned about him trying to get out to Hump Mt. and back, but he seemed experienced, so I didn't say anything. We hiked by the trail to the Overmountain Shelter. This is an old barn renovated to a shelter. We didn't stop, but on another day hike, Mary and I came back to the shelter to visit. It's beautiful, and is a great place to camp. The view is amazing. We hiked up Little Hump, and then met a group of teenagers from a camp. They were looking for a place to camp. We talked for a while, then began the ascent of Hump Mountain. There are several false summits, each one convincing you that you have reached the top. The work was worth it! Mary and I took a long break at the summit, then began the descent to Doll Flats and our camp site.After we reentered the woods, we had to cross this wicked section of rocks. Mary was hiking behind me when I heard her fall. She fell hard and hit her head on the rocks. I was so worried. Fortunately, that woman has a hard head! There was a knot, but I didn't see any signs of a concussion and she was able to carry on to Doll Flats. I have hiked most of my time on the AT as a solo hiker. There are advantages to hiking alone...setting your own pace, tranquility, solitude...but there are advantages to hiking with a partner. Mary and I really enjoyed the hike over the Balds, and camping with someone special is well.....it just makes everything you see just a little more special. The next morning was our hike out to US 19E. I was a man on a mission. Knowing that food wasn't too far in the distance....it just does something to me. Mary had to keep telling me to slow down. We hiked past the Apple House Shelter, and on to the road crossing. We road walked for a few minutes until this truck pulled over, and they gave us a ride to where our car was parked. (parking at the trailhead is discouraged due to vandalism....in the past some major destruction of cars). This was a short hike, but a really nice one.
Date: 2003-07-18
From: US 19E Elk Park

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Since this was a longer section hike, I am going to try to do this journal day by day.I had left my wooden hiking staff at Carver's Gap this past week, so I didn't have anything to help with my hiking. I have seen many people using trekking poles, so I broke down and bought some. I thought I wouldn't like "double sticking it" as one of my friends calls it, but after a little getting used to, it is wonderful. It has saved me from many falls.I began my hike ascending several knolls and kept having to watch out for horse...well....manure. It was everywhere. The sun was just rising over one knoll when I saw this family of horses. The stallion was there of course, the dam and several colts. They took a great interest in me, and even more of an interest in my golden retriever (annabelle). This was the last AT hike I took with Annabelle. I decided that long distance hiking for her was too difficult after this trip. I can't describe the moment of seeing the sunrise over these horses. It was pretty amazing. This section has a fairly new relo. This was created to take hikers away from areas near private land where the owners, and the AT hikers had disagreements because the Gov't took some land for the AT. I have never seen all the vandalism that has taken place in this area, but I was a little nervous. I noticed a lot of litter after crossing US19E and before the relo. Hopefully this will change. It was the most litter I have ever seen not at a shelter. I will say that the relo is beautiful. I hiked by Jones Falls, and along a pretty river. I met two long distance hikers ( a couple) and just continued my hike. I ascended to the ridge line of the White Rock Mountain, followed the ridge line until I arrived at Moreland Gap shelter.
Date: 2003-07-19
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a hard day. I ascended to the white rocks mountain fire tower, which you can't climb. It looked more like a radio tower. I continued the hike down in to the Laurel Creek Gorge and to Laurel Creek Falls. There is a great hostel (Kincora) near the road before Laurel Creek Gorge. Unfortunately, I had just begun my section hike, and had to carry on. Maybe I'll get to visit the hostel on a future thru-hike. The hike into the gorge is pretty easy until you get about a half mile from the Falls. Then there are huge rock steps/boulders you have to step down. I am a little over 6' tall, and I had a difficult time navigating the steps, they were that far apart. The falls were beautiful and loud. There were lots of people in the gorge area, and it was strange to have so many people around me. I ran into some campers with a springer spaniel nobo past the falls. Springer spaniels are very territorial and I thought for sure that I and Anabelle were going to be bit. I'm not usually afraid of dogs, but this dog was very violent and the owners had to hold on to the dog (all the time laughing about it). This and conversations with other long distance hikers helped me to decide to leave my dog at home. It is safer for Annabelle, and better for me. I finally reached the place where the trail ascends Pond mountain, to Pond Flats. This mountain almost ended my section hike. The climb for me was brutal, I didn't think it would ever end. I thought I had reached the summit, when I looked ahead...there was another big climb ahead of me. I made it over Pond Mountian, and descended to US 321 and Watauga lake. I was struggling whether or not to call Mary and have her come pick me up. I was chaffed badly, and my feet were in lots of pain from my arches (or lack of them). The summers hiking had taken its toll on my body. I sat by the beach at the lake and rested for a while. I decided that I would hike to the shelter, spend the night and see how I felt in the morning. I arrived at the Watauga Lake shelter, set up my sleeping bag, cooked dinner, read and relaxed.
Date: 2003-07-20
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: few clouds

I woke up this morning, feeling much better than the day before. I medicated the chaffing (it had healed some from the previous day) and ate breakfast. I gathered all my gear, and decided that I was going to continue the hike. I hiked across Watauga dam, which has a beautiful view of the lake. I saw a boat on the lake, and it was just a peaceful Sunday morning.The climb up to Vandeventer shelter was pretty intense. It finally leveled out some, and the view of the lake from the rocks above the shelter should not be missed. I was continuing to feel pretty good as I hiked the ridge line. I met some hikers who warned me about a rattle snake ahead (never saw it, it was supposed to be curled up under a log). I arrived at the spring .2 from the shelter and filtered my water. I then had a wonderful relaxing evening.As night approached, I heard some snorting, Annabelle was looking seriously in the direction of the trail the snorting came from. I have been having bear fears the entire summer, but hadn't seen a bear yet. Was this to be the night? I watched as Annabelle moved to where the trail led out of the shelter, and she laid down between me and the sound. I continued hearing the sound on and off all night, but had no visitors.
Date: 2003-07-22
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up early, long before dawn. I was excited about good food, crossing into Virginia, and seeing Mary (we won't put those things in order of importance). The rain had begun again the night before, and it was still with me that morning. I thought...maybe I should sleep, and the rain will go away. I roll over and sleep for a few more hours. When I next wake up, the sun had risen, but it was hard to tell, the rain was still beating on the top of the shelter. I lounged around for an hour or so more, finally realizing that the way to Damascus was filled with rain. My shelter mate for the last evening seemed in pretty good spirits, but was still tired. He wished me luck, gave me a little extra water (he had filtered the night before, even though I had offered to go filter it for him) and off I went. It rained all the way to the Virginia line, where it finally stopped. Here I am, about to cross out of Tennessee into Virginia. I step over the line, and just keep going.About .5 miles from Damascus, I see a person trail running with his dog. I know I'm close! I leave the old road bed, and start crossing down to the back yard of someone's home (staying on the AT). I am now in Damascus. I see the welcoming arch and I decided to take a little time to clean myself up a little. I break my sticks down, change out of my rain pants, try to wipe all the mud off my legs (not to successful), and I walk through the town. I had a reservation at a small hostel. I cleaned up, showered(that was SO wonderful) and went to wash my clothes. I wasn't expecting Mary for 12 hours or so, so I had a lot of time to kill. I ate a sub from a local store, drank several ginger ales, ate chocolate...washed clothes, ate more food, AHHHH! Heaven! Mary surprised me by getting off work early and after a few hours in Damascus, it was time to go home for the summer, and start school in a week. I had learned a lot that summer, but there was so much more to learn.
Date: 2003-10-10
From: Damascus, VA

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

The Highlands after Damascus are some of the most beautiful parts of the AT that I have seen so far. I took a Friday off of school and a Sunday off of my church work (choir director) and took off for Virginia. The hike out of Damascus was different for me. This was my first October hike where I was carrying a backpack. The air was nice and crisp, the leaves were in the process of changing and everything seemed vivid. A lot of the immediate trail after Damascus follows the Virginia Creeper trail (old railroad bed, turned into a bicycling path). It also follows White Top Laurel Creek. The creek was clear, fast and turbulent. The AT would run above the Creeper trail in places, follow it completely for a while, then play tag with the Creeper trail some more. I decided that one day I would come back and ride down the Virginia Creeper trail on a bicycle. I've done that twice now, and will go again. It is truly a beautiful place to visit. The temperature seemed to drop as I gained elevation. 15.8 miles was a pretty ambitious start considering I hadn't hiked with a pack since the end of July, but I finally made it to the shelter.The shelter had three brothers camped out behind it. They were from Mass. and the accent reminded me of the guys on NPR and CarTalk. They were funny, and we talked for a long while. They shared their campfire with me,and I shared some of my magic fire starter with them and marshmallows. The fire starter (I read about on some website) is to put cotton balls in vasaline Jelly. It burns long and slow. Great for starting fires. I spent a wonderful evening with them and finally it was time for bed.
Date: 2003-10-12
From: Just north of Thomas Knob Shelter

To: VA 603 at Fox Creek
Miles today: 12.3

I said good bye to the family of horses that made my evening so entertaining, and continued north. I hiked over Wilburn Ridge and had the most amazing views. I am told that this area is similar to New Hampshire, I hope so, because this is one of my most favorite places on the trail. There are boulders, small little peaks, short grass, and views, 360 everywhere. You can see in the distance where you have to go, and you can see where you have been. October is a great month to be here, but I would love to be here anytime, except maybe deep winter. Not a lot of protection from the elements. I don't give much advice, considering I still feel I am learning, and probably will continue to learn for most of my life, but I would say you should slow down through this area. Spend more time, carry a little more food. Do more exploring. It's well worth the extra time. Unfortunately, time moves on and I had to travel to make Fox Creek and my jeep. I hike down to Wise shelter, filter some water at a creek a few miles before the shelter, take a good break, and continue my journey. As I hike and descend into scales, my feet really begin hurting. I just couldn't seem to shake my hurt feet. I ascended Pine Mountain, then descended to Old Orchard Shelter, and then on to Fox Creek. The fall leaves were exceptional through this area. It was a great hike!
Date: 2004-04-11
From: VA 603 at Fox Creek

To: VA 16 Troutdale
Miles today: 8.5

This hike began after my Easter services were over. We had missed a lot of days due to snow, so instead of a full week of hiking, I only had three days. I was supposed to have two of my friends hike with me, but the weather forecast was cold and wet. The weather lived up to the forecast.The ride to the trail head was wet and long. I began my day with the threat of rain for the Easter Sunrise service, but it ended up being pretty. I ended my day with a hike on the Appalachian Trail. I left Mary at the trailhead, and I journied up hill, once again traveling North. The rain was mostly drizzle and the temps were moderate. I intersected several trails, including the Virginia Highlands horse trail (which I was to see more of over the next couple days). I ended up at Commers Creek and took the blue blaze to see more of the falls, and look for a hammocking site. Now you would think with all the trees, finding a hammock site would be easy. I was trying to avoid the cold wind, and find a good spot. It seemed all the good spots had no protection from the wind. I tried setting up in several places, but could never be satisfied. I decided to hike further north. By this time, darkness had fallen, so I used my headlamp and did my first night hike. The night was very foggy, and visibility was low. I hiked for several more hours, until I came to VA 605. Even though I try to avoid the road, there were some good spots, so I found a spot, hung my hammock and slept. The first night for me sleeping in the woods is always strange. A mixture of excitement and worry combine to make sleeping a difficult thing to do. This night was no different. I finally did fall asleep, but never quite got comfortable.
Date: 2004-04-12
From: VA 16 Troutdale

To: just past Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: moderate rain

I woke up cold, and the rain had intensified over night. In between the lack of sleep getting ready for the Easter service, the lack of sleep from the night before, and the bad weather, this wasn't turning out to be such a great trip. I put my cold, wet clothes on and debated my situation. I was dangerously cold, but I figured that walking would warm me up. I decided to keep going, hoping that my gear would hold up, and that I would warm up as the day continued. I hiked almost four miles until I reached the Trimpi shelter. I was cold and weary. I had to get warm. I got to the shelter where I saw a thru-hiker (Swiss Miss). She was getting her gear together from the night before. Two other thru-hikers came to the shelter, one was named Moon Pie. I'm horrible with names, and can't remember the other hikers name. They talked to me for a while, got water, then continued on. I changed out of my wet clothes and got under my down hammock quilts and bag. I warmed up some, but I was concerned for the rest of the day. Finally the rain lets up some, but it is cold, windy and everything is wet. I make some hot chocolate, and finally decide that I must hike on.The weather is becoming somewhat better as the day progresses. It is still chilly, and misty, but at least the rain has abated. As I hike above the Virginia farmlands, I can see the promise of spring below me. It's like a patchwork quilt, green and alive, while where I am it still looks like it is in the grip of pre-spring. I hike across the Holston River and continue on. Eventually I reach the Partnership shelter, where I use the privy and call Mary from the phone at the Mount Rogers Headquarters. The hikers in the shelter encouraged me to stay, but I wanted another shot at making my hammock work better, so I headed across the road and up the next mountain. I would have camped at the shelter, but my gear wasn't really designed for shelter sleeping, and I was afraid I couldn't keep warm. Also, there was no camping within 1/4 mile of the shelter, so I couldn't have set up my hammock. I hiked for about 15 minutes and found a spot off the trail, below the ridge line. I hoped this would protect me from the wind, and I was successful. This was a hammock site and I was able to stay warm all night.
Date: 2004-04-13
From: just past Partnership Shelter

To: VA 617 past Groseclose
Miles today: 12.4

This was the last day of my Spring section hike. So far, I have experienced rain, very chilly weather, met several thru-hikers and tried out my new hammock. I woke up warm and comfortable. About an hour later, I finally convinced myself that I would have to put those cold, wet clothes on, and continue my journey to the pick-up point. The rain was falling steadily, and it was still cold. I had experienced several scary moments because of being too wet and cold, but I knew that if I kept moving, I should be ok. I hiked up Brushy Mountain (one of many in this area) and just kept moving. The rain would go between steady to drizzle, but there were no views. I hiked up Glade Mountain, which was pretty interesting. The rain finally gave way to fog, and somewhere, high above me, I could feel the sun. The temperature started rising, and my rain gear finally came off my body, for the first time in the trip. The hike toward Chatfield shelter was pretty. There is a creek that runs near the shelter, all the way down the mountain. Because of the rain, the AT was gushing like the creek beside it. I had to cross the creek several times, but I didn't really mind...my feet were perpetually soaked anyway. I spent some time at the shelter, relaxing and resting. I continue descending the mountain, and cross through an apple orchard. Down below me I can see the interstate. I'm not too far now. I cross over the holston river (again) and walk across a very pretty meadow. The sun is shining and I am well ahead of schedule. I take off my boots and socks to dry, spread my tarp out to dry, and take a little nap. This is the first really pretty weather of the trip, and it's almost time to go home. I just soak up the sun and let my gear dry out. I continue down to a gas station and buy some gingerale and chocolate. I kill some time there, then hike through some other meadows to VA 617, my destination. As I wait for my ride, a major storm threatens, and there isn't much protection. The land is fairly flat and open. Across the road is an old abandoned barn. I hold up there until Mary finally picks me up. I loved being on the AT, and even though I was physically miserable at times, I still couldn't wait to get back out here. I found out that the next day the thru-hikers got snowed on. What a few days. Now, I had to go back in the middle of what was supposed to be my spring break, and make up missed school days from snow.
Date: 2004-05-14
From: VA 617 past Groseclose

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 1.6

I wanted to hike a short section with Mary before my big summer hikes, so we headed up to where I finished my Spring break hike and went out for an overnighter. We hiked through a meadow, and then entered the woods. While Mary and I took a blue blaze to water, we saw a white tailed deer. Mary's first expereience with wildlife on the trail.   Once we arrived at the shelter, we found a place to hang our hammocks behind the shelter, and proceeded to set up camp. It took a little while to get things the way we wanted them, but we finally got settled. It was a little strange having someone camping near me in a hammock. I kept hearing mov't around me, and would forget she was there. You know...you hear night sounds, and wonder..."what's out there". Then I'd think....oh, it's Mary, get a grip!
Date: 2004-05-15
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: VA 42 at Rich Valley
Miles today: 9.1

Mary and I woke up and broke down our camp. We cooked some breakfast and read the shelter register. As we hung out, two thru-hikers came through. They were older men, but in great shape. They were already moving this morning, and looked ready for a full day of hiking. We talked for a while, and heard some of their stories. We wished them well, and they headed on their way.We finally decided to start moving, so off we went. We filtered some water at Reed creek, then continued on. The AT has a thin corridor is parts of this section, and we could see signs telling us to stay on the trail. As we approached VA 610, we saw some trail maintainers. They were working hard, making sure that we could have a good hike. We talked for a while, and I must say that of all the sections I have hiked so far (Springer to Harpers Ferry), the trail maintained by PATH is the best maintained trail of the AT. I'm sure the North has some good maintainers, and I'm not "dissing" the other trail maintainers, but this group really takes care of the trail. We crossed over a style and ascended through rich farmland, everything was so green, and hot. What a big difference one month makes. We finally got to Tilson's mill and crossed over the Holston River once again. While there, we ran into some more trail maintainers, one who was working on possibly restoring the old mill. We learned a lot about the history of that area. They were great. We stayed at the bridge for about an hour cooling our tired feet, then we knew we couldn't avoid leaving any longer. We had about 2.5 hours driving ahead of us, and we had to pick up the other car. We had to finish this section, and go home. So, we continued hiking and arrived at VA42 a half hour later. Time to go home.