morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2016-04-26
From: Partnership Shelter

To: I-81 underpass
Miles today: 11.6

Something I forgot about yesterday...while Stone and I were making our way to Partnership Shelter, about a mile out we heard some cracking then a part of a tree fell and part of it landed on the trail about 20 yards behind us. We looked at each other and kind of laughed and said wow! Just a few steps slower and...who knows! So, if anybody asks, "If a tree falls in the woods can you hear it?" The answer is, if your close enough YES!!! I woke up to Crisscross's alarm. He is very regimented. He has a schedule and a plan to where he and Sunray will be and how much food they will have. He wakes up and starts his routine. He and Sunray, his other half, work well as a team. They are always the first to leave. I got out at 7:20am...good time. My plan was to make it to the outskirts of Atkins and eat at the Barn Restaurant for lunch, at 11 miles. I made a big boo boo! I took off my pack about a mile from the shelter to fix something then kept going. 4 miles later I was making good time and I reached for my phone...it wasn't there. It had fallen out. I figured it fell out when I took my pack off. I took my pack off and left it right there while I started backtracking asking hikers on the way if they had seen it. I did meet a couple who were day hiking and they asked me if I was El Tejano. They were following my blog and complimented me on it. I let them know it was a team effort with my wife. That was pretty cool and it cheered me up to think that I am somewhat of a celebrity. I continued on worried that I would not find it and would lose all information and photos that I had on it. Sure enough it fell right where I thought. So, I went 4 miles back and 4 miles to where my backpack was. 8 miles of AT hiking that actually didn't count!!!!! That was no fun. I got going again and got to see a couple of great views coming into Atkins, Virginia. I came up on Zebra taking a break in front of an old one room schoolhouse. There was trail magic inside. You just helped yourself and left a donation if you wanted to. The schoolhouse was well preserved and the magic was great. I did not eat much since I was determined to eat at the Barn Restaurant. I finally got to my late late lunch about 2:15pm. I ordered pulled pork with peas and macaroni salad and iced tea...wonderful! I stayed a couple of hours, charged my phone and was joined by Zebra. I decided to stay in this town and not hike any more for the day. I walked over to a motel. Taking a shower, sleeping in a bed and washing clothes sounded good. My feet were hurting. I saw Black Bear, Sponge Bob and Ralphie come to the motel a little after me. I got some snacks at the convenience store nearby and got my gear situated. I was able to catch up on emails and make some calls. What a day.
Date: 2016-04-27
From: I-81 underpass

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

I went to sleep late but I woke up feeling okay. My right foot is still a little swollen, but once I put my boots on it felt a little better. I ate breakfast with Sponge Bob at The Barn Restaurant and got an egg sandwich to go. That sandwich will be good for lunch. Sponge Bob is a retired physician from Hawaii. He was very pleasant to talk to. He was also at the last place I stayed in Damascus. It is very misty this morning and it is drizzling a bit. The forecast is for rain all day. My goal is to reach the Knot Maul Branch shelter which is 14 miles away. It should not be a problem as I mentioned before I like walking in the rain.I left the Barn at 9:15am and I had my rain gear on since it was drizzling and misty. Within a mile, the sun came out and I took the rain gear off...it gets hot with it on. The hike was up and down with nice meadow views. I came up on a hiker going the opposite direction, south bound. He started last summer hiking south from Maine, broke for the winter and started up again, he is 3/4 through. If you finish the whole trail within 12 months it is considered a thru hike. Not a bad way to do it, you get a long break. His name was Rosy Eagle. His wife hikes with him sometimes and she told him that he notices everything and always has a 'rosy' way of describing the trail. That is how he got his trail name. I chatted with him a while. He is 74 years old!! These older hikers are definitely inspiring me to stay active. I hiked some more and came across another southbound hiker named Bean who is flip flopping. That means starting in a spot and going one direction then coming back to where you started and going the other direction. There are many reasons why people do this..weather...avoid the crowds... convenience. Bean is from Missouri City Texas which is not far from my home town. I passed Zebra, I know that Zebras are in Africa but there is definitely one on the trail!! I also passed Cold Snap and Diesel, a couple from Massachusetts. You can definitely tell that Spring is here. There is much more green everywhere. It started raining an hour before I reached the shelter but I didn't stop to put on my gear because it was refreshing and not that cold. It felt great since I was climbing. The rain stopped just before I got to the shelter and nobody was there. I cleaned out the shelter and set up my sleeping bag and pad. I went to get water and washed up. I soaked my feet in the stream. That felt really good. Cold Snap and Diesel arrived while I was having dinner, then Ralphie and Zebra arrived. Ralphie pitched his tent while everyone else joined me in the shelter. I would rather tent but it is supposed to storm again tonight. Cold Snap and Diesel shared some wine with me and we all sat and shared trail stories. Another nice evening on the trail.
Date: 2016-04-28
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at 5am but stayed in my bag until 6am. I was the first one up but once I got moving everyone got up also. It rained last night with thunder and lightening but it was at a distance. Apparently, we did not get the worst part of it. I left the camp about 7:30am. It was very foggy but it was not raining. The trail was very wet and muddy and there were many creek crossings. The sun started peeking out of the clouds after 10 am. It was an uphill climb to reach Chestnut Knob Shelter. When I reached at 12:15 pm I stopped and had lunch there. The shelter is made of stone and is 4 sided with a door. It was really a cool shelter and it was on top of the bald with fantastic views. I was able to call my wife and have a long conversation without losing signal. That was a pleasant surprise. Cold Snap and Diesel arrived and I left shortly after at 1:30 pm. Half mile further I ran into a trail devil..at least that's what he called himself. He offered me a beer...aaaaaa sure I'll take one. It went down good as I walked down the trail. Later I met another hiker, Wildcard. He was taking a break. The walking was tough for quite a few miles as there were so many rocks on the trail. The trail followed a ridge right after Garden Mountain. Although it was a tough hike, it had some nice views and neat rock formations. It is starting to get greener on parts of the trail. I arrived at Jenkins shelter at 6:49 pm. This was a long day of hiking. I was the only one there. Coldsnap and Diesel arrived then Ralphie. We had dinner and conversation. I had Ramen, tuna, mixed nuts, carrots and hot sauce mixed together. It was great!! Dessert was a honey bun which went down well with my wine!!! The others had hot chocolate with peppermint schnapps. We were all happy!
Date: 2016-04-29
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: scattered clouds

It's a wonderful Friday morning. Did I mention that it is nice to wake up and your fingers are not getting numb from the cold in a matter of minutes? Well, it is! I had a freeze dried Breakfast Skillet by Mountain House. It was very good but too much. A lot of the dried food packs come in servings for 2+. I made a sandwich for later with the leftovers. Mountain House has been the best brand of freeze dried that I have tasted. The others are ok and I will eat them but this brand is always good. I got going at 7:35am and the weather was a little overcast. It did not rain last night so the trail should not be too muddy. The trail was great today. I made good time to Laurel Creek which is very pretty with a series of cascades. I stayed there a while to take a break. I could stay much longer but... I filled my water bottles up because there is a lack of water sources further up the trail. I've been nursing my feet lately especially my right pinky toe. In Damascus I purchased Injinji sock liners which have individual toe spots hoping that would keep me from getting toe blisters. They felt good except for my pinky toe, it hurt really badly. I went back to my normal liners but it still hurt. I guess the damage was done already. I then taped my toe but it was the same. This morning I put the Injinji's back on and cut off the pinky toe part, I'll see how that works.I hiked up through many Rhododendron patches. Rhododendrons are 10-15 ft tall shrubs with broad waxy leaves. They grow in thick patches that the trail sometimes tunnels through. They bloom and their flowers are in large bouquets of ruffled pink. I have been going through many patches of these since I started but none that have started blooming. Can't wait to see that. Had many great views of the country side today. My feet still hurt but not as much as they have the past few days. My pinky toe is doing ok. I may have finally made the right move on it. I was planning to stop at Helveys Mill Shelter but it was 0.3miles off the trail. I am on a mission so I decided to move on and picked a spot on the trail to stop and eat lunch. I was about 14 miles from start. I am planning on reaching Jenny Knob Shelter which would be a 25 mile day, my longest so far. I met Gypsy on the trail heading south to Damascus. He is going to stay for Trail Days. I will have to make that event in the future. For lunch I had my egg sandwich, some cheese, jerky and peanut butter snickers. I loaded up so I would have some energy to make it 11 more miles.I made good time to the shelter. It was a nice hike, mostly on a ridge, where I had some great views. I reached Jenny Knob Shelter at 5:30pm. Bombadil and Goldberry were here as well as a few others. I soaked my feet in the creek and they are feeling better. Tomorrow I will hike to Woods Hole Hostel. It is about 22 miles away. It is supposed to rain tomorrow though. I had a really nice evening. The high is in the 60's. We had dinner then we just hung out. I will sleep good tonight.
Date: 2016-05-01
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I slept pretty good last night. It was hot in my sleeping bag though. I was sweating in it but when I got out of it, I was cold. I need to switch out my winter bag for a lighter weather one. It's time for research. I got up around 6:30am. Most hikers were leaving the shelter today but I am taking a zero to relax, heal, and do some more gear research. I helped with breakfast...I did the eggs. Eggs, sausage, bread and the best French toast I have had. It was creme br»l©e that was soaked overnight then baked. Yum! I had orange juice and hot tea also. I saw the hikers off then did some chores to help out then took a shower. I feel great!! I'm ready to hike but not yet??. Around noon I got some bread and a block of cheese for lunch. It tasted wonderful. I couldn't finish it but it will be eaten on the trail. Sitting in the living room I was able to check out lighter options for some of my gear. I think I will order some things, have them shipped home, and switch out when I go home at the beginning of June. My plan is to visit an outfitter at the next stop and check out sleeping bag options. Cold Snap, Diesel, Bombadil, Goldberry and Black Bear arrived and I took a walk around the property to check out the place. I was sitting on the porch with Diesel after dinner. It was getting dark and the tree frogs were singing. What an amazing atmosphere. I could just sit there for hours. There have been quite a few times on this hike that I have had this feeling. It is just wonderful. The feeling is simliar to some of the places my wife and I have traveled to. We sit there sometimes enjoying our surroundings and we don't want it to end.
Date: 2016-05-03
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: light rain

Woke up at 6am and it was raining so I laid there a while then decided to cook breakfast in my vestibule. That is an area which is just outside my tent door that is covered. I had freeze dried biscuits & gravy and hot chocolate...I enjoyed that. I started packing my gear inside the tent to keep it from getting wet...or should I say wetter because just about everything got wet yesterday.The rain stopped eventually so I got out of my tent. All the hail had melted. When I walked over to shelter, everyone had a story about the hail storm. Some had already pitched their tents when the storm came. A couple of tents went rolling and the hail tore into a couple of others. Two or three hikers had to hike BACK to town to repair/replace their tents. I got my tent up trying to shake the water off the best I could and took off at 9:15am. The weather was overcast with temperatures about the low to mid 50's. It was very foggy the first couple of hours then the fog lifted and I could see some views. The path was okay but then turned rocky and muddy, everything was still wet. Which made it slippery. I passed some hikers and some passed me. I stopped for lunch when the sun came out so I laid out my tent on the rocks to dry. Once I got it mostly dry, I got going again. It started raining again so I put on my gear. During the whole hike you could tell there was a storm because of the leaves and branches everywhere. I stopped at Pine Swamp Shelter, and saw Bombadil who had passed me earlier. He was there with a couple of other hikers. I left after a snack and the path got worse with water. I crossed several streams that were overflowing and it took some thinking and planning on how to cross over them. I wonder if anyone fell into the streams today? I made a tough climb to Bailey Gap Shelter and to my surprise no one was there. I swept out the whole shelter and got situated. I hung my clothes to dry then Bombadil showed up. It's good to have company. We ate and talked then settled down. Bombadil charged my phone for me..that was great because the battery was low. I will dream about a dry hike tomorrow, maybe it will come true.
Date: 2016-05-04
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I don't set an alarm to wake up, when I'm in my tent I just wake up whenever. When I'm in the shelter I usually wake when someone else is stirring. This morning Bombadil got up then I followed, another hiker arrived last nite around 10pm. He is southbound but he stayed in his sleeping bag. Bombadil left about 15 min before me but we eventually met up. It was a dreary morning...no sun and in the 40's and no rain. This is actually very good hiking weather. I got into some rocky places but made it ok. The sun started coming out around 10am an I arrived at Warspur Shelter for brunch. Tots was at the shelter. He had spent the night and is still here. He's from Connecticut and does not have to finish by any certain time. He is taking it easy. He started on February 29th, leap year day. It is a popular starting time for some hikers to start. Bombadil arrived...he is having a little trouble with his leg/calf probably because he did high miles yesterday. If the sun stays shining it will be a pretty day. The shelter is nice with some grassy camping areas. You can hear the rushing water from the creek. I am feeling pretty good. I think my toe problems have gone away for now. Just dealing with my slightly swollen right knee, but even that is better than yesterday. I went down to the creek to get water on my way out. It was very pretty and flowing fast. Of course the clouds rolled in again. 5.8 miles later I arrived at Laurel Creek Shelter, there was quite a hill to climb on the way here. 1,700ft elevation change in a 2.5 mile climb and it was rocky too. Of course the sun is still behind the cloud. It really wants to rain. As I left The Shelter there was Laurel Creek and it was flowing really good. I hiked on and came up on a couple of pastures with nice views. I then started to climb yet another mountain, crossed a creek then came up on the largest oak tree on the southern part of the AT, it's called the Keffer Oak and is 18' around. The largest is in the New York part of the trail called the Dover Oak. I kept on hiking up, up and up. The two hills were rough today, maybe it was me...tired! At the top I was rewarded with a great view by a power line. I went on a couple of miles further and arrived at Sarver Hollow Shelter, the only problem is that you have to hike 0.4 mile down hill off the trail, that means we have to hike up just to get to the trail in the morning. I had some Jamaican Jerk Chicken & Rice and a cup of hot tea for dinner. Got my food bag hung but only after the first branch broke on me. There are 6 of us in the shelter tonight, Bombadil, myself and 4 others. I may need to walk 23 miles tomorrow to a hostel. I miss calculated my food rations and do not have enough to last me to the next town. The hostel has a free shuttle to town. I sure hope that I can make it. I was able to talk to my wife for a bit and now it's bed time. Until tomorrow...
Date: 2016-05-08
From: VA 624, Newport Rd

To: US 220, Daleville, VA
Miles today: 25.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I had an early breakfast at 6:30am and got picked up at 6:50am to go to the start of my hike. Started hiking at 7:15am and felt really good. The weather was overcast and it was in the mid 60's. There are supposed to be nice views from the top of the mountains and ridges I will be climbing today. After 6 miles I crossed a road and saw Highlander and Nomad just starting. I hiked 10 miles to McAfee Knob in less that 4 hours. I saw Black Bear up there and we took some pics together. I also met Shoe...we had passed each other a couple of times getting up there. Shoe and I hiked together off and on the rest of the way. The next nice views were at the Tinker Cliffs which was a great hike, we actually hiked for 1/2 mile on the cliffs and the views were spectacular. Shoe and I took pictures. We hiked to passed a couple of shelters and I stopped at Lamberts Shelter to eat something and rest a bit. Magellan and Doc were there and we missed seeing a bear by just 30 minutes!! Darn, I missed another chance to see a bear. The whole days hike will be over 25 miles and I started getting tired at 20. I passed Hong Kong Steve and chatted with him a bit then I saw his hiking partners, Freight Train and Sparky. Visited with 3 hikers resting on the side of the trail, they were Sneaky Pete, Hailey and McGyver. It remained clear the whole day. It was a bit cloudy and it did threaten to rain a few times but it never did. I arrived in Daleville at 5:50pm, the second half was definitely slower than the first. When I got to the room I hand washed the clothes I was in and took a shower. I walked to dinner with China(who is now Aurora) and Conundrum. It is good to see them again and catch up with what has happened during the past week. Sitting next to us on one side was Freight Train, Hong Kong Steve(Wow, he can eat) and Sparky. We had a chat with them after dinner. Several other hikers were there as well. We walked back to the hotel and I got on the lobby computer to update my blog...I was tired. I will be calling the Verizon number tomorrow to see what they can do for me.
Date: 2016-05-09
From: US 220, Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

First I want to apologize on the untimeliness of the blog. Since I have phone problems it has been a chore to upload the blog...especially the pictures. I had an okay nights sleep. It's funny that I get more rest when I am hiking than when I am in town and at a Hotel. Well, I got my gear together and went for breakfast. I called Verizon and they said I had a warranty until June...that is not what the Verizon store told me. The store was definitely trying to sell me something...anything! They are going to ship a new phone to me but I won't get it for another 4 days or so. Thanks Yvonne for the suggestion that Verizon's call center may offer better service. My plan was to hike only 11 miles today. Although I reduced weight on my gear, my bag is heavy due to lots of food. I will be eating well for the next few days. OK, maybe not well but I will have a lot of calories and proteins. I hope that I can take pictures and put on blog. Looks like noon for me to get on the trail. Chena(now Aurora)and Conundrum left about 11am, I saw Crisscross, Sunray, Champa and Get Weird as I went for lunch, looks like we are all heading to the same shelter. Had a good meatloaf sandwich and took off. It was a nice hike coming up on a meadow to begin with then crossed a few roads. I am writing this on Friday from memory so it will be short. Arrived at Wilson Creek Shelter around 4:30pm, my regular hiking friends were there. More hikers came in as time went by, I finally met Food Bag, she is an Aggie and is from Houston, we had heard of each other but this is the first time we met up. Also met Mouse, Bug Stick, Spiderman, Ozark and Mismatch(from Wales). We had a good time at the shelter, good group. I made Ramen, spicy tuna, peanut butter and instant mashed potatoes mixed together, it was sooo good. realized that I did not have my spork(combination spoon and fork) so I had to find a branch to eat with, will take a picture of it later so you can see. Ozark was just doing small miles and going South, He had a lot to say and it was his birthday tomorrow so I gave him a food present, he was happy. Once we got settled and sleeping, there were only 3 of us in the shelter everyone else camped, Mouse came over, it was 9:30pm. Something had taken one of her food bags and she was a little scared. I told her to bring her sleeping bag and stay in the shelter with us. She did that and now had to hang her bag, she did not want to go out there alone. I went with her to hang it with mine, it was too much weight for the branch to hold and it came crashing down, I started laughing but Mouse did not, she had had enough this night. We found another tree and got them up. It was a tough night for Mouse.