morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-02
From: Half a mile past Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: broken clouds

I had a pretty good night last night. I planned a long day so i got out of camp fairly early. I was able to get a mile or two warm up before I had to start going up. It wasn't a long up but steep. After that the trail wasn't too bad. When I got to the top I stopped and called my mom. She was the only one hadn't had a chance to talk to when I was in town the other day. As we talked Squabbler and Shit to Do walked by. It was nice to see some familiar faces. After my phone call I hustled on down the trail. I still had a lot of miles to do. I came to the road crossing before the giant hill. Squabbler, Turtle and Shit to Do were there chilling. I started on up the hill. It was a 3 mile climb. It was a beast. Part way up I took a water and snack break. Squabbler and S.T.D. passed by. We ended up hiking together up the hill. Squabbler and I talked horses and TX the whole time. It made the climb go by a lot faster. It was probably the most serious conversation I've had with Squabbler. And the longest. His rediculousness grows on you. At the top of the giant hill was Chestnut Knob Shelter. Right smack in the middle of the bald. The view was amazing. It overlooks Burkes Garden which is a large carter shaped depression surrounded on all sides by a high ridge. It was amazing. The shelter was pretty cool. It was fully enclosed and had a door...like a real house. Inside there were bunks and a fireplace and a picnic table. One of the fanciest shelters yet. We ate lunch at the shelter. I met a few southbounders, section hikers and another northbounder called Mad Hatter. I moved on about 1230. I stayed there for an hour, longer than I wanted. But I still had another 11 miles to go. After a steep 1 mile downhill I picked up some more water. It was the last chance for water before the shelter 10 miles away. And what a hassle those 10 miles were. It looked fairly flat in the book but the book lied. Lots of ups and downs and really rocky. I was getting more and more annoyed as the afternoon wore on. Finally I made it into camp around 530/6. My feet were sore and I was ready to chill. It was a pretty warm day and I don't think I ate or drank enough. I set up camp and took my sponge bath in the stream. Squabbler and S.T.D. showed up while I was at the water. I grabbed my food stuff and went to the picnic table to make dinner. Hot Sauce and Jacoby were staying there as well. I had seen Hot Sauce in the shelter logs so it was cool to catch up. Mad Hatter was there as well. I crawled in my tent a little later and read for a bit. I was still debating how far I was going to go tomorrow.
Date: 2015-05-04
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Dismal Falls
Miles today: 18.1

It was a pretty warm night last night. I used my sleeping bag as a blanket instead of crawling in it. The privy at this shelter is stupid. No walls around it, it has a 'privacy' wall in front of it so people from the shelter can't see you but people walking down the trail can. So that's delightful. It was a pretty easy 9.6 miles down to the first shelter where I had lunch. Hot Sauce, Jacoby and a German couple named Mr. Clean and Little Debbie were just finishing up when I got there. They were talking about going to Trents Groceries. It's suppose to have some really good food. I decided not to go because I knew I was going to be at the hostel tomorrow and didn't want to spend extra money. It was a warm, sunny day. I crossed a cool suspension bridge. I was originally going to camp here for the night but I realized a measly 2 miles up the trial was a waterfall. I had to see if there was camping by it. I made it to the falls about 4/430. It was pretty awesome. I had choice of campsites and found one off by itself. I set up my tent quickly then went down to the water. There were some awesome rocks to sit on. I washed off and was tempted to go swimming but the water was sooooooooo cold. Haha! I brought snacks and my nook down to the water and just sat and read for a few hours. So awesome and peaceful. Some of the people from the shelter last night came down to camp as well. Eventually I went back to my tent and made dinner. Afterwards I crawled into my tent to relax, it was almost hiker midnight (around 8/830pm). Haha. I could hear the falls from my tent. So awesome!!!
Date: 2015-05-05
From: Dismal Falls

To: Sugar Run Gap Road.... Woodhole Hostel
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: scattered clouds

It was another warm night. I'm thinking I can finally send my cold weather clothes home. I'm also thinking about switching out my sleeping bag when I get to Daleville. Depending on what the outfitter has. I really dont need my 25 degree bag anymore. The hike to the hostel wasn't too bad. The first couple of miles went really fast. There was a bit of a climb buy eventually I made it to the road crossing. The hostel was .5 miles off the trail. The place was awesome!!! It's an 1880s log cabin in the middle of the woods that does sustainable farming. I got a smoothie the second in hit the porch. It was massive and cost 6 bucks but it was the best 6 dollars in ever spent. I got a bed in the house, I had a shared room. Only one other roommate named Mighty Mouse. After I threw my stuff down I went to collect my resupply box and Sunny's box! Sunny sent me a lemon pound cake!!! One of my favorite things. It was sooooooooo good!! I even shared. Fireman and Chimney were in the bunk house with a southbounder named Gypsy. I also shared with Sweet Eyes, Mouse and Wrecker, who were there enjoying the smoothies and then pushing on. I ate the rest of it for lunch! My resupply was great too. I got an enormous amount of food which worked out because then I didn't have to go into Parisburg tomorrow to get anything. The hostel also sold blocks of cheese so i was really all set to go. The shower was pretty awesome too. I got to condition my hair for the first time in forever. It felt so nice!At about 5ish Neville (one of the owners) came outside and ran a short yoga session. It was great! I even learned a new stretch for my hips. After that she went back in to start working on dinner again. Dinner was amazing and completely worth the money spent. First came salad, lettuce right from the garden, I watched Neville pick it. There was homemade tahini and ranch dressing. Homemade bread! Then, for Cinco de mayo, we had burritos. With homemade tortillas!! I watched her make them!! There was beef, roce, beans, a lovely mole sauce, cheese, peppers and onions, etc to pUT in it. It was so unbelievably good. And for dessert we had ice cream cones!! I can't wait for breakfast tomorrow! There were a few hikers I knew and a few hikers I had yet to meet. I'll just list the names I remember. Hot Sauce, Jacoby, QTip, Small Fly(Fry?), White Blaze, Hula, Peck, Haha, Casper, Mighty Mouse....that's all I can remember.
Date: 2015-05-07
From: Rice field Shelter

To: Captains 
Miles today: 14.0

It was a beautiful morning starting out. Amazing view on the bald, I caught the tail end of the sunrise. You could also see down in the valley. A sign was pointing out west Virginia. The walk all morning was nice...as far as views. I came across a great meadow which would have been great for camping. Koz was just packing up his things when I got there. He and a few others camped there last night. The weather was bright and sunny. It got warm pretty quick. About lunch time I stopped at a shelter. There were already a bunch of people sitting around. They were all talking about Captains. Captain has a place along the trail. He has sodas in the fridge on the back porch and he let's people camp in his yard if they want. It's not a hostel or anything like that. The best part is that to get to his place you have to cross the river. He set up a line with a pulley system to get hikers across. It was only a few miles from where we were eating lunch. I figured it'd be cool to check out. Plus the whole group was going to be stopping, how could I be the only one to skip. I had planned a short day of 16 miles so I could afford another break!I think I got there about 1 or a little after. Doc, Hip, Fireman and Koz were already in the water. I dropped my pack and jumped right in. It was a very hot day and the water was nice and cool. It felt so nice to swim!! I have been waiting for this moment for a long time! Most people had brought there packs across the river to keep in Captains yard. I wasnt too wotried about trying to get it over there since I was going to be hiking later. I went and grabbed a soda and saw that Iron Will was already there as well. They guys did some more swimming while I relaxed with a soda and chatted with Mighty Mouse. Captains place was great. Huge yard, a nice fire pit and along the river! It was such a great place to hang out. Papalu had to get a shuttle into town to hit up a doctor. The guys decided they were going to stay at Captains and Papalu was going to the store for supplies while he was in town. I was invited to stay and I figured why not!! A bunch of us had packs on the other side of the river that we had to collect. While papalu was at the doct or we hung out and played cards. And of course built a fire. The weather was decent, a storm moved in but it was over fairly quickly. Plus we had a screened in porch to sit on. Papalu brought back hot dogs and all the condiments, chips, ice cream and beer! We cooked the dogs over the fire pit. We went through 5 packs, within like 10 minutes. It was like a feeding frenzy! Haha. It was such a great time!!A little bit later The guys taught me a game called 99. A drinking game of course. Super fun to play but it can really mess up your night if you keep loosing. I lost 3 hands in a row...card sharks the lot of them. Lol!
Date: 2015-05-08
From: Captains 

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: light rain

Thankfully I wasn't feeling too bad from the night before. We ate breakfast and then started the train across the river. I didn't swim this time! I took the seat scross, there was even a clip to hang the poles and pack from. Pretty cool. And then the climbing started. And it was a very hot and sunny day. The first shelter was about 3 miles from where we started. It was a very very very long 3 miles. And thankfully I wasn't the only one feeling that way. After a quick break I moved on. Still more climbing. It was definitely a struggle. I really felt like I was walking in quick sand all day.At about lunch time I got to Wind Rock. Amazing!! The view was spectacular. I figured it was a good place to stop and eat. A few of the others were drying out some gear. When I started that morning I was hoping to do 24 miles and make up the mikes I missed yesterday from staying at Captains. But there was no way that was happening. It was a long morning and I felt like it took forever to get no where. Eventually I moved on. At some point that evening I made it to camp. I was pretty exhausted. From the heat and probably from drinking the night before. It was such a relief to get to the shelter. I set up my tent and went to the creek to wash up. Heavenly. I was actually pretty hungry today and ate a pretty big meal. Chimney wanted to play cards. So after we finished eating Doc, Mighty Mouse and I taught him Euchere. I love that game. But poor chimney hated every second of it!! Lol! I felt kinda bad. But Mighty Mouse and I won! Off to bed I went. Planning big miles tomorrow.
Date: 2015-05-12
From: Daleville, VA

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Such a great nights sleep! I slept in till 8! So glorious. I wasnt too sore either. My feet hurt a bit but that'd about it. I went down to the breakfast room. Papalu and Koz were there so I ate with them. Koz got in about 430 am. He hiked all night. Mind you he had gotten up at 545 the previous morning and hadn't slept yet. This guy is unreal. Too cool for school and the way he tells a story on unreal. He's a pretty awesome guy.After breakfast I walked to town. I hit up goodwill for amother pair of shorts. It was the nicest goodwill I've ever been in. On the way to the post office I saw Hip, Squabbler and Shit to Do having coffee. I stopped and chatted for a bit. Told them Koz's story. The walk to the post office was a bit sketchy but I made it and picked up my box. On the way back to the hotel I stopped at a bank to get some quarters. I needed to do laundry but the front desk at the hotel was out of quarters. At about 12 Mighty mouse and I went over to the Dollar general market. Which is a dollar general with food too. Like real food, fresh fruit and everything. Pretty awesome. I bought too many snacks but oh well! I don't have to carry too much food. We have a town crossing in 3 days, one in 4 days and then another big town stop 3 days after that. Then we'll be in the Shenandoahs. We had Chinese food for lunch, yum! I went back to the hotel and grabbed my winter stuff to ship home. Finally!! I'm also shipping home my sleeping bag and i got a lighter one for the warmer weather. After that I went back to the hotel organized all my crap and then took a nap. So nice. Hip texted me about dinner so I met up with everyone (squabbler, shit to do, papalu, chimney and koz) and we got chinese! Lol! I ordered sushi this time. After dinner we hung out a bit at the hotel. Salmon and Clank were there when we got back. Stayed up way too late to finish this journal. Back on traIL tomorrow. Maybe it will be easy terrain, haha.
Date: 2015-05-13
From: Daleville, VA

To: Bobbletts Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.5

I had another great nights sleep in the hotel. I even enjoyed another shower. I went down to breakfast and ate with Salmon and Fireman. Fireman sat at a different table though because he's been sick for the past couple of days. And to top it all off someone stOle his clothes out of the dryer. Hopefully, someone took them by accident...hard to say. On the way back to my room I saw Hip and the other guys. They were going to Shoneys for the breakfast buffet. I was fine with the free breakfast at the hotel so I declined thier invitation. Plus it was already 930 and I really needed to hit the trail.I packed up and moved on out. It was a beautiful morning. Nice and cool and sunny. The trail was actually pretty decent today. Minor ups and downs nothing terrible. I was having a slow morning though. My feet and knees were still a bit sore from the other day. It took a while for them to warm up. I ended up stopping for lunch at a diet road crossing. I packed out some avocados and had some super tasty avocado and cheese wraps for lunch. I think I need to do that more often when I leave town. It was such a treat.onward I went...the trail was still decent. I kept thinking I was in the twilight zone. Wheres the mountian of death. But the book was actually right this time...Fairly easy walking.I made it to the shelter 11 miles in at about 330. I was contemplating stopping there for the night. I was pretty tired from being up late the past couple of nights and my feet were getting tired. I asked Wrecker and Mouse about the water source. They were there eating as well. Wrecker said it was really far down a pretty steep path and he regrets having to go down there. That pretty much made my decision for me. On to the next shelter. Thru hiker logic... I'd rather walk 7 miles to the next shelter than have to deal with a .3 mile water source down a steep embankment. Lol!I pushed on. Again having a lovely trail. The next part of the trail crosses the the blue Ridge parkway a few times. I ended up with some awesome views at all the road crossings. It was pretty cool. Eventually I made it to camp about 7. The shelter was .2 miles of the trail, downhill of course. But at least the trail down had some switchbacks. When I got to the shelter the water source was right in front! Score! However there are no tent sites. It's all a rocky hill. So that really sucks. I walked 18 miles to tent on rocks. I managed to find a spot that would fit my tent without too much of an angle. I situated the giant rock at the back of the tent to keep me propped up so if I roll over in don't roll down the cliff taking my tent with me. Lol! Oh well. Its actually not too bad. I cooked dinner, ate a bunch of snacks and talked to my sister. It was a pretty awesome day.Another 18 mile day tomorrow. Hopefully the trail continues to be pleasant.
Date: 2015-05-14
From: Bobbletts Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: broken clouds

It got pretty cold last night. Figures the minute I send my sleeping bag home it gets really cold again. Luckily i still had my down jacket and my rain pants. I put those on to keep warm. Other than that I slept pretty darn good. The day stayed fairly cool as well. Great weather for hiking. The terrain this morning was pretty easy as well. Nothing too drastic. At about lunch time I came to a road crossing and there was a lovely creek right next to it. It was perfect. A few other hikers were there, I went down a little further and put my feet in the water and ate lunch. It was like being on the beach. It was great. I was there for about an hour relaxing. Plus I wasn't looking forward to what was coming next. A giant climb. It was a pretty steep climb and thankfully short lived. A little over a mile. What goes up must come down. Back down to a gap only to have a beast of a climb to the shelter. It was a long climb. I made it to the shelter about 530ish. The water source was a small little creek that I was able to wash up at. There was great tenting sites all around the shelter too. Much better than the place last night. I set up and did my chores then made dinner. There was one other group of hikers there setting up too. I'd seen them hiking today, leapfrogging. They werent too talkative so I never got thier names. I crawled in my tent and read a bit. After dark I heard a few more people tromp into the camp site. Hopefully tonight would be a bit warmer.
Date: 2015-05-15
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Another cool night but I used my down jacket as an extra blanket. I got a late start this morning. I didn't really want to get out of bed. It was pretty warm when I got up. I left in my t shirt but had to stop along the trail and change into my tanktop. I had a pretty hefty climb first thing in the morning. Made it to the first shelter for a quick snack and water break. Ended up staying there for half an hour, much longer than planned. About lunch time I came to the death climb. It was a beast. Vertical for over a mile. I never thought it was going to end. I saw some trail volunteers working on the trail. They were chopping rocks, pretty intense. Finlly I made it to the tip and then down the other side. There was a spring at the bottom I was aiming for to eat lunch at. When I got there Sweet Magnolia and TR and Sweet Mag's dog Sullivan were there eating lunch. I met them today long the trail, we kept leapfrogging. We chatted a bit as we ate. The dog was the cutest I've seen! After lunch it was pretty much downhill to the shelter. Of course they can't make it easy, they have to throw some ups in there. I made it to the shelter about 5 pm. Not too bad on time today. There were some lovely camp spots and the whole place was along a nice big creek. I set up my tent as it started to rain. I put everything in my tent as fast as possiblet then when down to grab some water. I crawled back in my tent and washed up as best I could. I changed clothes and just relaxed for a bit. The rain eventually stopped and I opened my tent flap and made dinner. I heard some people down at the shelter bUT I didn't feel like going down there. After dinner I closed up my tent and read. It's been so nice lately being by myself. I do miss the guys and everything but it's nice to unwind and be by myself for a bit. I can have quiet time!! Lol! So far it's much warmer tonight, that bodes well.
Date: 2015-05-20
From: Rockfish Gap Waynesboro, VA

To: Kannapolis, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

So last week I decided I wanted to try and see Sunny Smiles one last time before I got too far north. She wasn't able to come back to the trail so in Thought I would visit her. I talked to her husband and we set up the little suprise visit.The church volunteer dropped me off at enterprise in the morning and I headed back to north carolina! It was wierd being behind the wheel of a car. Before I left I stopped at the post office to pick up my resupply. I met another hiker named Finn. He was pretty awesome. I gave him a ride back to Rockfish Gap before I left. He's hiked the trail 2 times already. It was pretty awesome chatting with him so I hope I see him again.The drive down was pretty awesome. I had the windows down, the sun roof open and the music up! It was a beautiful morning. I got to Sunny's about 1pm. I knocked on the door and pecked my head around since it was somewhat open. She was sooooooooo suprised to see me!! I got the best hug ever! It was so awesome!! I finally got to meet her husband too! He's a pretty awesome guy. We chatted for a bit, did my laundry and went through my resupply. Sunny and I made a run out to REI. I was thinking about getting a different water filter and she had to return some things. I ended up leaving with a new tank top...on sale! And some bug spray with deet. I don't want to use it, I feel like the deet is going to melt my skin off but the bugs are going to turn me into a homicidal maniac. We went back to the Sunny's where I met her friend Kim and god daughter Amanda (who's 3). And Sunny's son Seth. It was great meeting the people that I've heard so much about. Doug made a fantastic dinner of grilled chicken and shrimp, grilled corn on the cob, grilled watermellon. It was sooooooooo good. He had a sweet/spicy marinade. To die for! There was also hippy juice and margaritas. It was great!! I stayed up way too late past my bedtime.
Date: 2015-05-21
From: Kannapolis, NC

To: Montebello, VA
Miles today: 0.0

I felt like I slept in pretty late...yeah, no. It was about 730 when I woke up. Oh well. Sunny has decided to get back on the trail! She's going to hike the Shenandoahs with me! She had been wanting to get back on trail bit hasn't been feeling well. Hence my visit. But it wasn't my intention to try to get her back on the trail. But I love that she is!! We went to the grocery so I could get a few more food items. And to Verizon so i could get a memory card for my phone. I was running out of space and now I can take over 6000 photos!We got all our crap together and did some last minute things and then hit the road. I had already made plans to meet up with a woman named Regina for tonight. She is a member of the Wild and White Blazing group im a part of. She is a ridgerunner in VA, in the area I'm in now. She said she would host me for the night. She is house sitting Dutch Haus, which is a lovely bed and breakfast that hikers have been to in previous years. They're closed this year because they're hiking in Europe. The B&B is beautiful. Out in the middle of nowhere and the beds are super comfy.Anyways, we drove to Montebello, VA and met Regina and her partner. They were so awesome. They offered us dinner of lovely seasoned fish, sweet potatoes, salad and cantaloupe. It was great!! We chatted for a bit and then watched a movie. I also had a call in to Wild and White Blazing. They were doing a group call to tall with me about trail life! Luckily there was a landlines here but there is no cell service. The call was great!! The support is just so awesome. I loved being able to talk and share stories. Now i really need to catch some sleep. We have to leave by 7 to return the car. Shenandoahs tomorrow!! And I think I'll be in Harper's Ferry next weekend !!