morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-08
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: overcast clouds

5/8Woke up to rain.  It rained off and on all day. The trail pretty much followed the ridge all day so was fairly easy hiking. The first spring I crossed marked the 20% mark! I did see a garter snake and three bears, probably cubs. They were fairly close when I spooked them. I looked up in time to see them running off into the woods. Apparently I was in a zone all day as I missed some chimney looking monument ten feet off the trail that read, "He lived alone. He suffered alone. He died alone." I also missed a huge very brightly colored fungus. Luckily I did not miss the metal box with cold sodas left there by the Nelson Chapel Baptist Church Girls in Action, grades 3-6. Thank you girls! At a road crossing, some guy tried to sell Bill, Rhyno, and me pot. About a mile before our destination, we passed the "Holiday Inn" shelter. It is an old decrepit structure covered in ants that would sleep two very short people. We were the first three at the real shelter, but we were excited that Almost Awesome and Possum showed up! The Noodleheads call them the APE Team, Awesome Possum Expedition. They're a lot of fun.
Date: 2012-05-09
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: moderate rain

5/9Woke up to more rain. It rained all the way into Damascus. Three miles short of town, we entered Virginia! There we passed Moose who gave us the rundown on all the best places to stay and eat. Right before town, there was a cooler with sodas. I feel spoiled by all this magic. Rhyno and Bill, now called Nola (New Orleans, LA), got a room at the "nicer" hostel and then we walked to Pizza Plus for AYCE gorging.My parents came to town for a few days visit. They picked me up at the pizza place and we stayed at Dancing Bear vacation rentals. It was a really nice apt style rental. Well worth the price they charged. The rest of the day we explored town, ate out and lounged in the apt.
Date: 2012-05-10
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

5/10Today was a zero day spent lounging, eating out, and exploring town a second time over. We spent some time strolling along the VA Creeper trail which is a bike and foot path that runs 34 miles following an old RR bed along Whitetop Laurel Creek. Some of the trestles over the creek were pretty cool. The big business in town is renting bikes and shuttling them to the top of the trail. It's all downhill and you can coast the 17 miles into Damascus. I also got a package filled with goodies and letters from three wonderful ladies. Thank you so much Rel, Lydia, and Lynn! Postcards are in the mail. In the afternoon, my parents and I drove to Grayson Highlands State Park to see the wild ponies. While NC/TN uses fires and mowing to maintain the balds, VA uses ponies. They're so used to people that they come right up to you and let you pet them. They do expect food in return though. Well worth visiting if you're in the area.Lesson learned: after the trail, ease back into driving. The fifteen minutes of driving to the laundromat were very over stimulating. Too many fast moving objects and construction and shifting gears. It was a little stressful.
Date: 2012-05-12
From: Damascus, VA

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

5/12Well, it was finally time to get back on the trail. The first ten miles out of town, the AT and the Creeper parallel one another. I took the Creeper as the trestles and the stream that it followed made for much prettier walking. It was also virtually flat. Some may consider this cheating but I did it for the scenery, not to be lazy. Being a Saturday, I must have passed at least 100 bikers coming down the trail. Big business indeed. There were even restaurants set up along the Creeper. I had a cheeseburger with a cool family from my birth town at one of them. Around the ten mile mark, the two trails merge and then cross the creek 60 ft up in the air across a 200 yd long trestle. It was way cool.I pulled into the shelter around 3:30 and there were about 15 SOBO weekenders. Luckily only a few of them took a spot in the shelter. I played Nertz and Oh Hell with a lovely couple, Mack and Sarah, and her sister Helen. It was a fun and relaxing evening.
Date: 2012-05-13
From: Lost Mtn Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

5/13Another dreary day. The biting cold wind rolled the fog in as I passed Buzzard Rock near Whitetop Mtn. This marked an 8 mile section of trail I had hiked several years ago with a camp, Wilderness Trail. It was foggy then too. On another hike with this camp, I had done most of the AT section that parallels the Creeper so I don't feel too bad about skipping that section. After Mt. Rogers, I officially entered the VA Highlands, which meant much more exposure to the cold dreary weather. I stopped for lunch at Thomas Knob Shelter where I met Cheez Whiz. He and I hiked together the rest of the day. We met ponies and pet them. When we got to the shelter, it was already full. Everyone snuggled up to make room for one more. Cheez Whiz took that spot as he got there first. I had to sleep on an 18" wide squared log that was on a slight incline. The log is used as a step down from the shelter platform. I took a Benadryl because I knew this would be a long night. But I'll take it over setting my tent up in the rain.Also, mile 500!
Date: 2012-05-14
From: Wise Shelter

To: Hurricane Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: moderate rain

5/14Good thing I slept under the roof of the shelter. It poured all night long. I actually managed to get decent sleep too. Cheez Whiz and I waited around for several hours for the rain to stop. We set out and immediately hit some flooded fields. Even the strategically placed stepping stones were under water. We found more ponies. One tried to eat a zipper off my pack. The sun had come out so I took my pack off and put all the rain gear away. When we were done playing with the ponies, I put my pack back on. It immediately started raining despite the sunshine. Thankfully the rain didn't last long.As it was a short day, we got to the shelter at 3:15. There were already 4 spots taken. I guess no one wanted to get stuck in the rain at a full shelter. We were all in our sleeping bags by 6:30. The shelter filled up by 7.  Pappillon showed up too! At 7:30, Coozie and Darwin rolled in, the self-described Bad Idea Train. After dinner they convinced Cheez Whiz into getting out of bed, packing up, and night hiking in the rain to a campsite 6 miles away. Not even a shelter!  None of us could figure out why he would do that. He claimed he'd rather hike in the rain at night than do twenty miles the next day. Five minutes after they left, some serious lightning and thunder started. Yikes.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: Hurricane Mtn Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: overcast clouds

5/15This morning was a first. One, everybody woke up en masse at 6:15. No one laid around at all. Two, I was the first to leave, out by 7! Given the big miles today, I needed to not waste time. I stopped at Trimpi Shelter, the halfway point for "lunch" but it was only 10:15. There I ran into Mud and Callie (Vandeventer Shelter), Coozie and Darwin, Spam, a SOBO hiker hiking with her cat riding on top of her pack, and Mattress Pad. Apparently, Cheez Whiz was still in his tent miles back after his night hike in the rain. Callie was funny as she pulled a log out of the fire pit and was whimpering to play fetch with it. I threw a stick instead and she refused. So I threw the log and off she ran to fetch it. Apparently she thinks she's too good for sticks. It was entertaining.I headed out with Spam and we hit some more trail magic together. Valley View Baptist Church Youth had left three coolers but only a couple sodas and ginger snaps were left. We got to the shelter at 2:30! This shelter is next to the Mt. Rogers Rec. Area Visitor Center. The shelter itself has a "hot" shower and the visitor center has a phone from which you can order pizzas and have them delivered.I thumbed a ride into town for Little Caesar's pizza which was much cheaper than delivery. I met a bunch of guys down there who elected to eat at the Chinese buffet. I sat in there with them and then we hitched a ride back up the mountain. The second time it only took us five minutes before catching a ride! Spam had bought a hardback copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends and was having everyone at the shelter sign it like a trail yearbook. Neat idea but heavy.
Date: 2012-05-16
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, VA; VA 683; US 11; I-81
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

5/16The hikers downstairs in the shelter all woke up early and were having a vigorous religion and politics discussion by 7am. All of us sleeping upstairs were frustrated.  A few hours later, a bunch of us caught a shuttle into town. The shuttle is actually operated by the town of Marion. It was amazing to have a trail town big enough to have public transportation. Nola and I went to McD's for breakfast. Navigating parking lots and roads by foot was a little nerve-wracking. I had a McGriddle, a parfait, two sausage burritos, three hash browns, and at least six cups of coke and sweet tea. It's sad when your diet is such that you consider McD's as real food. After taking the shuttle back it was time to hike. The twelve miles to Atkins were very easy, especially with all those calories. Along the way, I passed under some low hanging high voltage lines. The electrical hum was loud enough to require talking loudly to hold a conversation. The trail also goes right by the Settlers Museum of SW Virginia. They have an old schoolhouse and farm. There was a man playing and singing old mountain music on the front porch. I sat in a rocking chair, looking out over a meadow with mountains in the background and was transported to another time. It was delightful. After a few songs I moved along through meadows and cow pastures. The previous shelter register warned of it being tick city so I tucked my pant legs into my socks. Never did find a tick on me or my clothes though.I got to the Atkins I-81 truck stop where the next day an FBC Damascus shuttle would take us back to Trail Days. Several of us were sitting around the gas station waiting for others to arrive so we could figure where to camp, when a section hiker, A1A, invited us to stay in his motel room with him. Nola, Mountain Spice, and I took him up on that offer. After dropping off our packs, the four of us and Oak walked to The Barn restaurant. I had the Hungry Hiker burger, a 1 lb burger. It felt more like an appetizer though. Afterwards a bunch of us sat around the motel room shooting the breeze for hours, including Spam.
Date: 2012-05-17
From: Atkins, VA; VA 683; US 11; I-81

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

5/17The morning started with a huge breakfast at The Barn. After that, we just sat around the gas station waiting for the shuttle. It wound up being about 20 of us. Here I met Xango and Peter Pan among others. Once at town, the day was just a lot of walking around. There were no planned festivities in town and all the vendors were setting up all day. The church makes a point of providing as many services to hikers as possible each year, bringing volunteer church groups from all over the southeast. I made use of a couple seamstresses who were there to fix clothing as I had a seam coming undone.Most hikers stayed at tent city, which was a hike out of downtown. A friend from my time in WI told me to talk to an Alexwho worked in one of the three outfitters in town. Alex let me crash at his house for the weekend. That night we sat on the porch watching thousands of lightning bugs in the field and up the mountain in his front yard as well as the massive lighting storm that was drenching everyone in town. It was such a beautiful sight. We were out there so long I fell asleep.
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Trail Days

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

5/18I cooked breakfast for the two of us before we went back into town. As soon as I got out of the car, I spotted Sunbeam, Guano, Lisa (now Blis due to some wicked blisters on her feet), Cheetah, Mitch (now called Mange), Wild Bill, and The Detective!! Sadly The Professor couldn't hack it and got off trail for good. I was excited to know that they were only 75 miles behind me. Some of us went to the church. Blis needed free medical help on her feet and I got a foot washing and massage. It was so good.  The rest of the day was again spent wandering around town. I did overhear that the Noodleheads skipped Trail Days and they had been trying to convince everyone else to go last time I saw them. I was hoping to see them again. That night Alex had a bunch of friends over for a bonfire and some went swimming in the creek. It was a good night.
Date: 2012-05-19
From: Trail Days

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

5/19Again another day of wandering around town. However at noon was the hiker parade which was a glorious town-wide water fight, with squirt guns, super soakers, water balloons, and garden hoses. The hikers walked down the street and tried to catch thrown balloons while dodging jets of water. Some hikers came prepared with weapons of their own though. It was great to see all the kids in town, and adults too, get to completely let loose and be the essence of childhood. One man had a squirt gun in a second story window. Every time he opened it to squirt us, ten balloons came flying at him. One on duty police officer even participated. He was also a favorite target.  One lady hiker in front of me hurled a balloon at a crowd. The crowd all parted except for a 2yo girl who got drilled. The hiker felt awful and we all laughed/cringed at her misfortune.That evening I went to tent city where the major gear manufacturers had sent reps to fix their products for free. There were also some massive giveaways. Michigan won a $550 backcountry GPS, which is dead weight to thru-hikers unfortunately. There I caught back up with Sunbeam and Co.  They're calling themselves Team Chick-Fil-A. The name comes from when I first met them at Low Gap Shelter back in GA. They had been talking about how awesome it would be to eat at CFA, but so far their hasn't been one in any trail town. We all went out to dinner and then I camped with them at tent city. Every night around the campfire they've been reading out loud a chapter of The Hobbit!  It was great but it saddened me that I hadn't kept hiking with them. I sure hope they catch up! They want me to leave them riddles in shelter logs. (There's a whole chapter of riddles in The Hobbit.) In the distance was the sound of drum circles where many were dancing and not sober, but it made for great background music to the book. Additionally, Rhyno and his gf Tammy stopped by to deliver some cookies trail magic.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Atkins, VA; VA 683; US 11; I-81

To: Knnot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

5/20On the walk to breakfast, I discovered a busted zipper on my pack. Too bad the Osprey tent had already packed up. I bought some new gear at Alex's store, Sundog Outfitter, but it was Sunday so I couldn't mail home my old stuff. At 1 pm, the church brought a whole school bus worth of hikers back to Atkins. Some of us went to the Barn for lunch but they closed way early on a Sunday. We went back to the gas station to find that nothing works there. They had a sort of restaurant but the soda fountain and ice cream freezer were out of order, their CC and gift card activation machines were out of order, and they had lost their liquor lisence due to selling to a minor. The place just felt pathetic.After eating some mediocre BBQ sandwiches, we started hiking. The hike was easy and largely cow/tick pastures. A bunch of us stopped at a Civitan pavilion for dinner and camp. There were soda coolers trail magic! I had two Cokes to fuel a night hike but everyone else stayed for the night. The night hike was uneventful other than seeing some small white reflectors stuck to trees.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Knnot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Spring at Walker Gap
Miles today: 10.6

5/21When I woke up everyone else at the shelter had already cleared out. I don't think it was that late. Maybe they all wanted to put as much distance between them and me as possible given my late arrival? Anyways, the caffeine in the sodas kept me from sleeping deeply and so I was groggy all day. I took a snack break 1.2 mi down the trail at Lynn Camp Creek. I sat on the edge of the bridge dangling my feet, enjoying the relaxing sound of water, and feeding Better Cheddars to the fish. At the top of the next big climb was an old ranger hut turned shelter. It sat on top of a bald with some great views, including a distant thunder storm. I wish I had stayed there for the night. I was so sleepy that I almost fell asleep writing a riddle in the log. I finally motivated myself around 4:30 to get going, feeling guilty about staying and only doing a nine mile day. Unfortunately I only made it to the bottom of the mtn befor giving in and making camp next to a spring.
Date: 2012-05-22
From: Spring at Walker Gap

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: light rain

5/22A LOUD thunder crack startled me out of a deep sleep in the middle of the night. I was tenting in the middle of a torrential downpour. Water that hit the ground next to my tent was splashing up under my rain fly. I even had a small pool at my feet that my sleeping bag partially soaked up. Several strikes hit within a mile of my location. It was terrific.The trail during the day followed the rim of God's Thumbprint, a unique geological formation. It's a crater like depression where no water flows in and no water can flow out. Thus no soil nutrients wash away and the ground is extra fertile. The inside of the rim is rocky cliffs which is what I was hiking on top of. The soil was also sandy up on top which was unusual. At one of the gaps, I Don't Know was camping and providing trail magic! I sat and talked with him awhile. I eventually caught up to Xango and Peter Pan and hiked a few miles with them. I stopped at the shelter for a late lunch but they kept going. I decided to stay there due to the threat of rain and the hope of hanging my stuff out to dry in the shelter. The shelter log had several reports of an overly "friendly" bear who swatted at some hammocks and laid or stepped on a tent, one sighting being three nights prior. Gulp.
Date: 2012-05-23
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Lickskillet Hollow
Miles today: 25.0

5/23The first twelve miles were along the side of a mtn and seemed to make make many more and sharper right turns than left. I have no idea how I didn't walk in circles. At the gap several of us called a pizza place and ordered delivery. I ate an entire 10" in under 10 min. Just as I finished, Xango and Peter Pan come riding up in the back of a pick-up. I joined them the rest of the day. Some fun sightings: a black snake with yellow lines, a squirrel falling out of a tree, and a grouse charging us to protect its baby.We camped at mile 600! (At least according to one of the guide books.) The camp spot was along a dry stream bed that had flowing water upstream of the spot and downstream. No idea how a stream can stop flowing and start again elsewhere. We played cards before bed. They're big gamers!
Date: 2012-05-24
From: Lickskillet Hollow

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: overcast clouds

5/24Five miles into the day, we stopped at a convenience store for a break. This is a popular stop for hikers and many were there. Xango, Peter Pan, and I took a three hour break eating and playing cards with Honest Abe and his two section hiking friends. After that the three of us hiked to Dismal Creek Falls. We swam, lathered up, took a waterfall shower and then laid on the rocks in the sun to dry and warm up. That water was freezing.Hiking to the next shelter, we followed a deer down the trail a little ways before he took off. We stopped at the shelter for a snack and Yahtzee break. Next stop was the top of the next mountain for a vista at sunset which was gorgeous. With the sun down, our headlamps lit up the trail in front of us, making finding a tent sight difficult. We planned to book it to the shelter but the trail became so rocky that it was dry slow going. We saw more of those reflectors stuck to trees. One had a little tiny box on it. I wonder what these are for. They're impossible to find during the day. We also saw another deer. The eyes glowed yellow in the light of our headlamps. It was creepy. We didn't arrive at the shelter until midnight. It was a long hard hike but it was nice to have a day filled with fun that wasn't just hiking.Lesson learned: don't eat an entire pizza as a meal two days in a row. The consequences were no fun.
Date: 2012-05-25
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 8.2

5/25Nothing of note on the hike into town except a super steep climb down and a garter snake. Where the AT crosses the road, Knief and I were standing around trying to figure out which way to town. Carefree Fran offered us a ride, took us past town a mile or so to the Walmart and bought us McDs! Trail magic from a previous thru-hiker is sweet! After lunch and Walmart, I tried to thumb back to town but failed so I walked it, passing by a possum skeleton just sitting on the side walk. I had some gear to send home but the PO closed before I got there so I had to stay in town. I did eat Chinese buffet and hit up the laundromat.
Date: 2012-05-26
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Campsite past Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

5/26After breakfast and the PO, I was feeling lazy so I bummed around in town until lunch. I was excited that DQ had fried cheese curds! (It's a WI thing.) The hike up out of town was brutal as the humidity was killer, all this food I just bought was heavy, and it was 1800' to climb. C'est la vie. Just after passing a garter snake with a full belly, there was a snake skeleton on the trail. VA must love to leave rotting carcasses right where people walk.I decided not to stay at the shelter as water was halfway down the mtn. There was a campsite up ahead with a spring. Bam joined me there as well. He found a copperhead by his campsite and bashed its head in with a log and cremated it. When I got in my tent for the night, there were quite a few bugs inside, including a tick. After I killed them all (I hope) I saw that the outside of my tent was crawling with bugs, including another tick and a hundred daddy long legs. Eek.
Date: 2012-05-27
From: Campsite past Rice Field Shelter

To: Dismal Branch; Captain Jack's
Miles today: 12.3

5/27The big black flies we're swarming my gear this morning as if something had pooped in it. The breeze was stiff which had me excited for a cool day. Of course it died as soon as I started hiking and it was just muggy all day. Saw another garter snake and another deer.I had my first kill on trail today, a baby rabbit. He was sitting on the trail and had a bum rear leg and couldn't go anywhere. The flies already were preying on him. So rather than let him suffer, I bashed his brains in with a rock.My destination was Captain Jack's house. He has a zipline from the trail, across the creek to his backyard. I picked a good day as they were having a big family get together and cookout. Trail magic burgers! The grandkids and I waded into the creek and threw rocks and looked for crawfish. Bam, Amish and I camped in his backyard. This place is sweet!