morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-11
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Pretty easy day. Morning rain= sleeping late. Yoga, Gouda, Able, and I did the first 9 miles to Chestnut Knob Shelter (Concrete blocks, fully enclosed with door) which is at about 4400' on a bald top mountain. There were a bunch of random people hanging out in there. It was also discovered that the average hiker carries a supply of hard liquor. Out of the 6 people in the shelter, the survey results yielded gin, tequila, and bourbon. Only the bourbon was still in the original heavy glass bottle. Yoga and I went on to the next shelter (10 miles). I left about 2 hours after he did. So from 6:15 to a little after 10. The last hour or so was in the dark. I night hike-snuck up on a deer and it was funny. Lots of farm land was below me today. I kept hearing wicked deep scary moos floating up from the valleys while I was hiking in the dark. There are fewer wildflowers at these lower elevations, also they are competing with the underbrush which is now coming in. The mountain laurels are starting to bloom so I'm still getting lots of color on the forest sections.
Date: 2010-05-12
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter 
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Yoga Matt and I hiked for about 12 miles through a cloudy humid day. We both missed church trail magic (Cooler only had ice and weather reports). I met 2 guy/dog pairs "Smitty and Scout" and "Mike and Pax." I didn't inquire if the dogs were using trail names. Mike traded me "The Slaughterhouse Five" for "Walking Across America", so now when I finally catch up on journal entries/don't fall asleep immediately, I can read. Yoga was way ahead of me and walked (2.5 miles) into the town of Bland, VA, which was not as exciting as it sounds. I managed to get a ride to the gas station/diner and ordered a large buffalo chicken pizza. I shared some when Yoga showed up. We also hit the dollar store where I lost my mind. No reasonable person spends over $23 at the dollar store. If they do, you can bet they aren't going to be carrying it all at once. I, however, wanted to make a gigantic trail mix bag. My dollar store mix filled an entire gallon freezer bag. Then we went to Subway. Finally, Yoga and I got a ride out, hit the trail after dark, and reached the next shelter by about 10 PM. Luckily only 2 other people were there.
Date: 2010-05-13
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter 

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: clear sky

Interesting day! Really long though. The book describes the water source for our starting point as "0.3 mile down switch-backed trail in front of shelter." Naturally this was too far out of the way to go, so we went on, assuming we'd find a stream or something. Nope, I had to stretch my half liter of H20 for 10.1 miles to the next shelter. This source was actually a puddle, but I used extra water treatment drops to make sure it was OK. Oh and thank you to whichever redneck has been using VA 611 (road) as a dumping ground for your deer carcasses. I really appreciate traveling 7 miles through the woods just to arrive at a foul set of butchered organs and bones covered in hundreds of flies. That'll wake you up in the morning. At the first shelter I met "Long John" from Maryland. He has been staying there for about 3 days now, trying to get over a case of shin splints. My buddy "So Far" showed up as well, attempting a 33 mile day. He has a family thing somewhere on the trail for Memorial Day and is rushing to arrive in time. Today I crossed over Dismal Creek and saw Dismal Falls. They should be called "Uplifting" instead of "Dismal" because they were quite lively and beautiful waters compared to the stagnant places we've been passing lately. Today was a 24 mile day, my second longest so far! However it's still very humid. I wish it would rain and get rid of the atmospheric moisture.
Date: 2010-05-14
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg VA
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: light rain

Long, tough, humid day. Please rain already! Today's trail was full of slate/flagstone looking stuff. 2 big climbs. Distant thunderstorms but still no rain in my area. I lost Yoga in the final stretch. He was stung by a bee and is allergic, so I think he stopped to take a nap. I haven't seen many other people today. On the way down into Pearisburg, I stopped at a view called "Angel's Rest" which was a boulder overlooking the town. There were 2 deer up there, quite the place of solitude. As I descended into town, the thunder and lightning became real close, but still the rain held off until I got down there. I got a cheap room and showered/laundered, then got a large meat pizza and juice. My night continued for many more hours, watching Larry the Cable Guy and others on Comedy Central. I definitely ate the entire pizza by myself.
Date: 2010-05-15
From: Pearisburg VA

To: random campsite
Miles today: 4.2

Yoga Matt made it into town this morning. I had to get up and out at a reaonable time because the Post Office was open conveniently between 10-12. I received 2 packages, 1 from my aunt and uncle, the other from my old roommate Cortney! Both were loaded with great hiking food, snacks, goodies, and nice notes. I may have a surplus; my pack weighs at least 55 lbs. Luckily, I enjoy eating and sharing. After the Post Office, I met my old friend Elly, now trailnamed "Cheese" (from Wisconsin) who I last saw in Hot Springs, NC (350 miles earlier). We got Mexican food at this place. I met "Stitch", a girl my age from Ohio who has been knitting on the AT. I wanted to get a jump away from town, so I hiked out in the dark by myself at 8:30. Pretty close to town I came across a big field full of fireflies. There was heat lightning flashing in the background, which created a magical atmosphere. The hike itself was all uphill, but before I could get to the first shelter, a thunderstorm with real rain showed up. It was difficult but interesting to set up a tent in the rain while already pretty soaked. Definitely better than being totally exposed to the elements.
Date: 2010-05-16
From: random campsite

To: Symms Gap Meadow
Miles today: 7.7

I crawled out of bed to the first shelter, where I sat eating and reading a random abandoned magazine in the morning. 3 older guys showed up, and I met "King Crawler", "Veto", and "JB". They had good senses of humor. King Crawler took a picture of me with my GORP bag. My buddies Stitch, Supermax, Elly (Cheese) and "Brooklyn" arrived. I'd met Brooklyn back about 100 miles. He is a nice guy around my age and is from NY. The big group of us hiked for a bit more and then became thunderstormed out. We all set up tents in a meadow to wait out the storm. This was at 4 PM. By 9 I determined that there was going to be no dinner or further hiking that day. I started and finished "Slaughterhouse 5", and also planned out the next few stages of the hike. Everyone is going to this southern family-style buffet called "The Homeplace" in Catawba (65 miles away), but it is only open Thurs-Sun. So we might have to go slowly. But since rain is forecasted for the next many days, it shouldn't be too hard.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Symms Gap Meadow 

To: random campsite
Miles today: 16.4

It rained all last night and to a lesser extent all day today. Brooklyn, Supermax, Elly, Stitch and I traveled together. We came across this spot listed in the book as "The Captain's Place". There is an ingenious 2-way zipline across Big Stony Creek into some guy (The Captain's) backyard. Awaiting us was plenty of his 2 dogs to play frisbee with (The Captain was not home at the time). Tenting was also available, but it was too early in the day. We ended up setting up camp later on, at a nice spot next to a good water supply. Rain was ongoing, so no fire could be lit. I had one of the Trader Joe meals that Cortney had sent, since they were among the heaviest food items. It was great for a cold rainy day.
Date: 2010-05-18
From: random campsite

To: Haunted House
Miles today: 10.7

Everyone had left by the time I got up. I met "Jerry from Kentucky" and did a big uphilll section with him. Jerry reminds me of every biology professor I've ever had. I also met "Bluejay", a southbounder from Vermont. He said I had to go to the Homeplace Restaurant because it is the most popular dining establishment on the entire AT. So I guess I'm still going. I also met "FUNK" and his dad "Spiritwalker". They are very experienced backpackers. Funk had whiskey and shared some. It rained on and off for most of the day. I was trying to reach a supposedly haunted house that Fig had told us about. It was somewhere between the 15 and 20 mile marks for the day. I wanted to spend the night inside. My hiking group wanted to check it out as well, but didn't want to do a 20 mile day. Luckily, it turned out to be much closer than that. I noticed it slightly off the trail to the left, with no glass in the windows, no doors, and a section of collapsed roof.   Basically it looked like the Blair Witch house. What was not so scary was that my friends were outside trying to start a fire and it was only 2 in the afternoon. We got the fire going, and Supermax returned from hitchhiking with s'mores stuff. Our clothes dried out and we all slept upstairs with minimal supernatural activity. The only inhuman sounds were coming from my stomach. I captured a series of great pictures that make the house look hideously scary, so get ready.
Date: 2010-05-19
From: Haunted House

To: Trout Creek Campsite
Miles today: 20.1

Everyone was gone by the time I was ready, as usual. A funny thing happened as I left: "Skip" and "Rocket" (young couple from Virginia) were cautiously approaching the haunted house early that morning. At that moment, I enthusiastically hurled myself (with full pack) through the space where the front door should have been and scared the living bejesus out of them. After they recovered, I formally met them and saw the video of Rocket falling off the zipline into the creek at "The Captain's". It was the funniest video clip I've seen in a looong time! I met several others that day, including "Greendog", "Thunder", "Backwards and Conan (Couple)". The last 3 of the above people caught up to me on a ledge overlooking Catawba. They were glad to finally meet "The famous Landfill", though they had thought from my register entries that I would be about 300 pounds. I saw the Keffer Oak, largest oak tree on the Southern AT: over 18 feet in circumference, estimated to be over 300 years old. It was a mammoth tree right off the side of the trail. No one was around, so I set the 10 second timer on my camera and then ran over to it. I also saw a donkey farm. Lastly was the Audie Murphy monument. He was the most decorated soldier from WWII. I had 1300 and 1600 foot climbs today. Luckily, the rain has stopped for the next stretch. Tomorrow will be shorter and have a buffet at the end. "Thunder" is from Catawba, VA and invited me to do laundry/shower//stay tomorrow after I eat all that food. I might do that and then proceed to Daleville the next day. My hiking shoes are degrading rapidly! Not the outside either. The inner heel parts are worn and now tearing holes into my socks. I may get my first blister soon!
Date: 2010-05-20
From: Trout Creek Campsite

To: Johns Spring Shelter 
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Lots of fun happened today. Everyone left early (before me). This was worse than usual because we camped last night in a big group of about 12 people. In this group I met "Tree" (guy my age), "Seeker" (older woman), and Seeker's brother Rich (probably not a trail name). It was a fun night. Anyway, this morning I was alone until I caught Skip and Rocket. They think that I make it a habit to sneak up on them. In reality, I go only slightly faster than them and they take more breaks. I hiked up on "The Dragon's Tooth", a gigantic stone monolith projecting upwards from close to the peak of Cove Mountain. Standing on top is possible if you do some rock climbing. Seeker showed up while I was on top and took my picture. I then raced to Catawba in time to hitch a ride over to "The Homeplace Restaurant" for the 4PM opening. Lots of hikers were lounging around on the grass by the gazebo, in sharp contrast to the dainty old ladies and classy southern folk out in their Sunday best. I sat at a huge table of 13: Me, Supermax, Cheese, Veto, King Crawler, Jerry, Brooklyn, Stitch, Muddy, Rocket, Skip, Stretcher, and some random guy. Stretcher was Brooklyn's roommate from immediately before the trail. It was a very fun meal considering I knew just about everyone. They brought out endless fried chicken, southern barbeque pulled pork, cole slaw, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet tea, lemonade, biscuits & gravy, dessert of peach cobbler and ice cream. There were also about 6 other side dishes that I can't specify right now because I was in a food coma for a large portion of the night. We as a table kept eating and receiving refills, until nearly an hour passed and I was pretty much the last one still going. When I started approaching the detonation point it was time to call it quits. The other tables full of normal southern people looked on with wonder as the skinny, smelly, happy people ate and ate yet were not morbidly obese. On the way out I absconded with nearly an entire roll of toilet paper from the bathroom, then limped another trail mile (after hitching a ride back to the trailhead). The girls were kind enough to all get their own ride back first, leaving Brooklyn and I to fend for ourselves. For those of you who don't know, it is much harder to do this without a female present. Luckily another hiker girl, "Butter" showed up and off we went. Brooklyn and I are trying to get up at 4:30 AM tomorrow to see the sunrise at McAfee Knob tomorrow. Skip and Rocket invited me to split a room with them in Daleville. We'll see if any of these plans come to fruition.
Date: 2010-05-21
From: Johns Spring Shelter 

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: few clouds

I hiked with all my buddies as a group today. It was an interesting dynamic. Summitted McAfee Knob to explore its gigantic cliff overlooks. I saw both of the area lizards (skinks and fence lizards), also a large ratsnake. Then came Tinker Cliffs with a 1/2 mile cliffwalk! Another interesting landmark was "Scorched Earth Gap." We came across a bunch of the fun old guys who we've been hiking with for the past few days. Later on it started to rain, and was scheduled to continue for a while, so the 5 of us booked a room at the Howard Johnson for the night. "Funk" came over and brought beer and whiskey. Lots of other hikers are also at the hotel. We then got Mexican food and ice cream.
Date: 2010-05-22
From: Daleville, VA

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter 
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: moderate rain

We all woke up for the 6-9 AM breakfast buffet and obliterated it! The staff kept refilling the cereal, mini bagels, eggish substance, biscuits&gravy, waffles, and apples. There was some dog show in town so a bunch of normals were down there to witness the frenzy. Then I picked up my package filled with incredibly-selected perfect items for a hiking excursion. They were perfect because I had just exactly run out of food, so the timing was phenomenal. I didn't need anything from the grocery, but I bought some bananas, cheese, tonic, and tortillas anyway. Also new hiking shoes at the outfitter (with thru-hiker discount). Also there was a liquor store so I made a big gin purchase.Then we went to the Crackerbarrel for lunch, getting stuck in a rainstorm afterwards. It cleared for a bit, so we packed up at the hotel and left. I ran into Yoga on the way out; he's only a day behind.Hiked up to the shelter. A troop of Boy Scouts and a group of Year Round Outdoor School kids were there with their respective adults. About 30 people were milling about. We got into the gin and tonic and talked with everyone. It was us in the shelter plus one annoying Boy Scout "John" who wouldn't shut up when we were clearly almost asleep. It's OK though because we made him sleep in the spot with the giant hole in the floor. It poured overnight.
Date: 2010-05-23
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter 

To: Cove Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

20 mile day!   Pretty easy, I should've done more. Tons of trail magic today. Sodas, crackers, cookies, twinkies, radishes, apples, gum! I met "Jerry from Kentucky"'s wife who was giving out goodies along the roadside. King Crawler, Veto, Spirit Walker were all slackpacking South. Lots of overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Our final destination, Cove Mountain Shelter is the first one so far with no water source at all. Stretcher stayed with us. Today I saw: 2 toads, some efts, fish, a deer, ma turkey and goblets. Crossed the 33% finished mark!PS- Lots of bat activity in the shelter.
Date: 2010-05-24
From: Cove Mountain Shelter 

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: light rain

Today started with 3 miles downhill, followed by a swim in the icy Jennings Creek. Then an 1100' and 2200' uphill fun run through the humidity. It has rained on and off through the day. We got caught at the next shelter and ended up staying for the night, unwittingly missing incredible trail magic at the next one. Someone finally has a deck of cards! There are 5 of us, so we played Rummy, Gin Rummy, then Hearts.   I experienced some version of Hearts that apparently someone's family plays in Wisconsin, which addresses the problem of playing a game with 5 people. Instead of doing any sane thing with the extra 2 cards, such as removing the 2 of diamonds and clubs, they have a different solution: "The blind trick". With this variation, the extra 2 cards are dealt face down, and are won by the winner of the first trick. They are not shown to anyone else besides whoever wins them. "It just makes it more of a challenge for someone to shoot the moon, which almost never happens anyway." I tried to convince that if we were going to play such a stupid rule, then it should only be blind until the trick is won, at which point we should all see what they were like a normal trick. "Oh no, that's part the challenge." I didn't think anyone understood the dynamics of Hearts as well as I did, but I still wanted to play. In the first hand I shortsuited myself in hearts, kept the queen of spades and other high cards.I was all set up for a great hand! Lots of Diamonds, only 2 clubs: a high and a low. The first trick was clubs, I couldn't waste the high one with 5 people, so I threw down the 4. So I missed out on the "blind trick." I then took nearly the rest of them, certainly all the tricks with points. I had everything going for me, until the end of the hand when the blind trick was revealed. Of course it was the Ace and King of Hearts. Instead of shooting the moon I now wanted to shoot everyone in the game. It isn't just "More of a challenge to shoot the moon", it's some stupid thing set up to introduce a fun variable if everyone is playing the game defensively. If someone is actually trying to make an attempt at anything besides avoiding points, it makes a murderously-annoying impact.PS- Mice in the shelter tonightPPS- A nice guy "Tree" is at the shelter tonight.
Date: 2010-05-25
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter 

To: Glasgow, VA 
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: light rain

It poured all last night and a part of this morning. We traveled out of the rain and learned that we missed incredible griddle pancakes and eggs trail magic yesterday. No views for a long time even after the rain stopped. The mountainsides were covered in mist. Ate lunch on High Cock Knob with thousands of tiny biting black flies. Then I met "Muddy Waters" who has been following my trailjournal. He also had trail magic candy and fruit for us. I found out that Glasgow was a much better resupply point than Buena Vista, so we headed for that. Right before the road was the footbridge crossing the James River (longest on the AT). Muddy Waters said that a few people had jumped off (30'), and one that he knew of had jumped off from the top of the railing (38'). Of course Brooklyn and I had to jump. 3 local kids were also there but only one of them eventually made it into the water. The other 2 kept stalling until it became ridiculous. I jumped from the top and it was great, somewhat painful though. Everyone went into town except for Cheese who didn't need to resupply. Supermax and Stitch did a good job hitchhiking while Brooklyn and I did a good job hiding in the bushes so the drivers would think it was just 2 girls. This is the most efficient formation for getting rides. Glasgow was interesting. Tons of hikers were around the new shelter being built in the middle of a big tenting field. I met "Cricket" and "Skippy." I knew about 20 other hikers who were spending the night. Everyone brought beer, cookies, s'mores, and hot dog stuff from the dollar and grocery stores and we all consumed them at the fire. There is also a giant dinosaur statue next to the grocery store in the middle of town. At "hiker midnight" (9:30) there was a drunken parade out there to see who could climb it. Eventually someone did because I saw a picture the next morning.
Date: 2010-05-26
From: Glasgow, VA 

To: Little Irish Creek
Miles today: 15.0

I slept in and lingered around Glasgow, charging my phone and camera batteries. Also got some actual milk and cereal for breakfast! Then back to the James River where Stitch and Supermax did their jumps, along with a bunch of other people. Then came some serious hiking: We summitted Big Rocky Row, then Bluff Mountain, and finally Punchbowl Mountain. The top of Bluff Mountain is home to the Ottie Kline Powell monument. Little Ottie wasn't even 5 years old when he got lost looking for firewood in the area. His body was found on that exact spot close to the peak in the 1800s. We also did some night hiking. Only Brooklyn was a fan. We found where Cheese was camping and set up with her. Hiking in the dark was really comfortable compared with the constant heat and humidity we've endured. PS- To whoever thought it was bad to steal toilet paper from The Homeplace buffet: It was either that or spend the next 2 hours in their bathroom using the exact same amount.
Date: 2010-05-27
From: Little Irish Creek

To: Hog Camp Gap 
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I hiked with Fig finally! After about 750 miles I have finally seen him move from one point to another along a trail. He caught up with us and was camping out with Cheese last night. Until now, every time I've camped with him, he has left at the crack of dawn and been at the next campsite/shelter before I arrived. But not anymore; I finally managed to wake up as early as an old guy in his 60s and follow him for about 13 miles to a nice grassy meadow where we all camped out and very narrowly avoided a thunderstorm. We went through an area which was an early 20th century freed slave community and saw some stone walls and chimney remnants. Then an epic 3000' climb up Bald Knob, followed by 600' up Cold mountain. After the first 5 miles I had to remove my sleeves, they were weighing me down. We then took a big group picture of every sleeveless person flexing. Later at the campsite, I taught everyone a new card game where the winner gets to make up their own rule for the next hand. Great fun!