morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-15
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostle

To: Uncle Johnny's
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept fitfully last night as all of us well hydrated hikers took turns going to the bathroom all night. With a bed close to the door, I was awakened often by uncertain steps in a darkened room plus a heavy wooden squeeky door often opened. I got up two or three times myself to hit the bathroom, about the same as on the trail.Decided to stay one more day to save a little more money instead of an extra day in Charleston. Was able to move into a cabin with Lefty as his roommate left to hike. Got my stuff moved over. Made my reservation with Enterprise who will come and pick me up at the hostel and save me a shuttle fee. Spent the day preparing for a departure from the trail.As a bonus, Swifty showed up this morning as well. It was good to see him again. It was great to see some of the people I had hiked with at various times again. I was still 3-5 days ahead of them, or about 35 miles, all uphill for them as NOBO's, since I had done the SOBO back to the hostile. Maybe it will work out that I can hike with them again when I return. Lefty's knees are really bothering him. All of our knees are bothering us, mine included. Got all my gear dried out, and ate dinner at the hostel from Freebirds grill. He really does a good job with his sandwiches. He also spent an hour helping me get my pack to fit correctly. It was really out of alingment with me and needed a lot of help. It had become very uncomfortable to hike with it. Thanks Freebird.Couple of beers, some conversation with Swifty and Lefty and early bedtime.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-16
From: Uncle Johnny's

To: Off Trail
Miles today: 0.0

Lefty was in a lot of pain last night and could hardly get to the bathroom his knees hurt so much. During the night he had decided that he needed to go off trail for 3-5 weeks and see if his knees will heal. He will ride to the Enterprise Car rental place with me and then I will take him to the bus stop in Johnson City. I know this was not an easy decision for him but he didn't want to push it and possibly do some serious damage to his knees that may affect him the rest of his life. It is the same promise I made to Grey Squirrel.Enterprise showed up by 9:00 as promised and we were on our way. I intend to return to Uncle Johnny's Hostile next Tuesday about the 21st. , and shuttle to Carver Gap on Wednesday April 22. At least it is a plan. It will be great to see Grey Squirrel again.I will next update when I am back on the trail. As you know, what happens off trail, stays off trail.See you on the trail in a week or so.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Off Trail

To: Uncle Johnny's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I am back at the hostel I was at a week ago. The wedding was good, the reunion with Grey Squirrel was fantastic. Really great to see her again. I would have been here two days ago but got rear ended while I was stopped and waiting to enter traffic coming off the Interstate in Spartenburg, SC. Between paperwork and getting a headache, I was delayed returning to the trail. I was wanting to be sure I was not injured and also wanted to see what was causing the headache. Insurance paid for the extra rental car day and motel fees since the accident.I think I am ok and now need to see what happens when I strap on the pack and hike for a day or more. The plan is to shuttle to Carver Gap tomorrow and resume my northbound trek.As a side I want to thank the people at Enterprise at the Elizabethton, TN office for taking extra good care of me when I returned to their office. I faxed info to the insurance company with them and then got shuttled back to the hostile.. Especially happy to have taken the optional insurance they offered. Between that and not being cited as a cause in the accident prevented me from way more headaches than I already had.Not sure when I will get to a point that I can update again so just assume I am on the trail.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Uncle Johnny's Hostel

To: Apple House Shelter
Miles today: 13.7

What a glorious day to resume my hike. Weather was absolutely fantastic. Clear with good visibility and the forecast is good also.It was 10:30 when I started out from Carver Gap Trailhead. Definitely shorts and light shirt today.Of course it was uphill to start, it's always uphill from a town or a gap, most other places too as far as I'm concerned. First up was Round Bald and the views were beautiful in all 360 degrees. Took pictures and continued uphill. My legs felt really refreshed muscle wise after the week layoff, and I was able to zip up the hills all day. My knees were still sore right from the beginning and were screaming by the end of the day. More on that in a moment.I passed the Over Mountain Shelter and read with great interest about the significance of the barn converted to a shelter. It was used by the mountain men from the surrounding states on their march to confront the British forces. I will definitely get more information on this group and their battles when I get back home.Beautiful views from Little Hump Mountain and could see that Big Hump Mountain was definitely bigger. Unfortunately, the gap between the two was fairly deep so had to descend quite a ways before starting back up. I think it is worse if it is wide open and you can clearly see what is in store for you. No switchbacks on Big Hump. The views were a huge reward at the top and I sat on a rock and snacked while enjoying the scenery.The descent from Big hump was brutal after clearing the bald. Numerous boulder fields on the five mile mile descent. This was when my knees really began complaining. There were many beautiful sections along this part of the trail so I was compensated for my knee pain. I say knee pain, but not nearly as bad as earlier in the hike. This is at least manageable.Did not see any other thru hikers all day. I thought that was odd. Only one section hiker in the shelter so space was not a problem.I did hike with an annoying headache most of the day and it tended to be worse when I was climbing, blood pressure thing perhaps.All in all, it was good to get back on the trail and it was one of the better days for me to actually see any of the views. Great that it was not raining.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Mountaineer Shelter

To: Travel Inn via Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 15.5

I was up first this morning and began packing up as quietly as I could. It didn't take long for the whole shelter to be up and doing morning chores. Everyone wanted to get to Dennis Cove Road and Kincora Hostel. Although I was the first up I still was not the first out of camp. I left at 7:40, still pretty good for me.It had rained last night and there was still a lot of water on the leaves. The combination of a low sun and the water on the Rhododendron leaves as I walked up the trail and looked down over the leaves and toward the sun, made it look like a big lake on the side of the mountain. I had to admire Mother Natures imagery. As the leaves dried the glossy leaves still looked like a pond but with green water. Eventually the sun rose higher and the image of water evaporated. It made the morning walk pass easily. My toes were hurting in my boots, which had not caused me any problems so far, even when waterlogged. I stopped at the next shelter for lunch and tended to my foot as best as I could, tightened my socks, took off boots for a short while, simple stuff. The relief was short lived and I soon had to resort to limping, never a good thing. I knew I had my first real blister of the hike.During the afternoon you could see the whole hike we had done for the past few days. All the way from Carver Gap and past the Balds and the Hump Mtns. We had walked in a big semi circle along the ridge line. I thought I was going to go see Coons Den Falls which was .8 off the trail but my foot hurt so much that I didn't want to take the extra steps. It is reported to be quite beautiful.It was hot and humid and I went through 3-4 liters of water before I got to the hostel. Mr Peoples was not there and we sat and enjoyed talking with other hikers about the days events. I decided to go to a motel for the night so I could better attend to my injuries. I needed a few items and knew I wouldn't have enough time to get everything done on a resupply shuttle. I stayed at the Travellers Inn, the same motel I had stayed in a few days earlier. I was back in Elizabethton. Tended to my blisters and a few other aches and pains and watched a little of the NFL Draft, went and ate Mexican and called it a day.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Travel Inn via Kincora Hostel

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Bob Peoples from Kincora Hostel picked me up at the motel at 9:00 this morning and I went back to Kincora. Helped out by drying and folding a couple washer loads of towels and chatted with the other hikers. The day went by quickly.Got four days worth of food, too much food of course and ate quickly at Arbys, man have they become expensive.My blisters had not refilled with fluid today, thankfully. I found some New Skin in the hikers box and put some on my toes and then moleskin over that. Everthing held up pretty good for the day. Of course, I didn't stay on them very much and wore my Crocks for the day, not much of a test for the toes.Tomorrow I will slack pack back to Kincora for about nine miles to see if the toes will survive. Bob has day packs for us to use so I didn't have to break my pack down to the bare minimum Gentle Ben had bought hamburger for everyone and I ate another dinner, just one cheeseburger. Thanks Ben.Easy talk around the porch and then bed.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-27
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 8.9

Bob dropped three of us off at Route 321 at the beach area of Lake Wautauga at 8:45. The forecast was for 85 today. We only had one climb up Pond Flats and it started as soon as we left the beach area. There were some nice views of the lake and dam as we ascended. I couldn't help thinking that we soon will not be able to see any views through the trees as they finish leafing out. I was glad we were getting our climb out of the way early as it was plenty hot enough already. Down the other side of the mountain and then a long stretch along the Laurel River. It was beautiful and I always enjoy listening to water as it bubbles and gurgles down its merry way. People were fishing and being successful. That always makes me want to drop a line in as well.Laurel Falls was fabulous. Quite a long cascade and it was fairly wide as well. Nice pool at the bottom. If only the water were just a little warmer. I ate lunch sitting on a rock and enjoying the roar of the falls. It was not far from the hostel at this point and I was back shortly. Toes slightly hot but I didn't have to limp.Went on the resupply run even though I had resupplied yesterday. I figured it was my turn to get dinner so got chili and two packages of hot dogs. Others got similar stuff and another feast developed at the hostel. Eventually I took my shower and briefly chatted with the others. Bed next.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-28
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: clear sky

Back to Rte 321 and Wautauga Lake at 8:40, pretty much the same as yesterday except back to hiking north. Walked along the back side of the lake and enjoyed listening to the geese. Lots of flowers along the way too. Eventually I crossed the dam and began making my way uphill. Bob had his usual Tuesday trail maintenance day going on and I stopped for an hour and helped build part of a new reroute. He was putting in some switchbacks on the steep climb.The first shelter I got to was Vandeventer and it was perched on a ridge with a great view of the lake from the back side of the shelter. Ate lunch and admired the view. Back on the trail and finally got to Iron Mountain Shelter. It was 7:30 and a lot later than I normally like to finish the day's hike. It was hot and humid and, although I had tried to stay hydrated on the trail, I didn't feel like eating dinner, just having more water. Eventually I ate, but only because I knew I had to. Still didn't feel hungry. In general we all felt that there just were not as many places to refill water bottles as in the past and wondered if this was the future of our hike.I seem to be between a big group of hikers ahead of me and a big group behind me but not many with me. I like the smaller group feel to the hike and shelters anyway. I decided to leave the moleskin on for the duration of this section as it seemed to be working, at least my toes didn't feel worse.We had a great little friendly campfire, talked briefly and everyone went to bed about the same time.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-29
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

I left the shelter at 7:30 with an overcast sky and hoping the rain would hold off until I got to the next shelter. It remained overcast all morning but continued to heat up and it was still very humid. Made it to the first shelter and had lunch with the same people from last nights shelter. Two were leaving as I got there and two came as I was finishing lunch, but overall I saw all but one from last night. Most were going to try and get past the next shelter and camp close to Damascus. I was going to be happy if I got to the next shelter today.There was a beautiful Trillium patch on the hillside just after leaving the shelter at lunch. I had never seen Trilliums of some of the colors on display. I took several pictures and I think the pink trillium is absolutely beautiful. It should be posted in my pictures when Flash gets off work and can post it.It was slow going in the heat this afternoon. I filled my water bottles as soon as they emptied and I could find water. I didn't want to take any chances of running out. I was beginning to get those hot spots on my toes today. Still leaving the moleskin on.The other item of note was that the black flies made their presence known today. Not to bad when you were moving but swarming when you stopped. Any breeze made them disappear so we rooted for even the slightest breeze.There were several people at the shelter when I eventually got there but all but one was moving on to camp farther up the trail. Eventually we wound up with four of us in the shelter and, oddly enough, we were all about the same age. I enjoyed conversing with others my age and the evening slipped by rather quickly.It began to rain shortly after we finished dinner and hanging our food bags. It rained quite hard well into the night. I thought it would stop by morning and it did. Sleep came easily to the sound of rain on a metal shelter roof.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-04-30
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus Lazy Fox B&B
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I got an early start to the day. The shelter was on top of the ridge and facing East so it got light enough to see earlier than we were used to. I was on the trail at 7:15, the first of the four of us to leave. I made it to town at 10:30, 10 miles in 3 hours and 15 minutes. Easy hiking down hill most of the way. Passed into Virginia and felt good to be in a new state. It is the longest mileage state on the trail with over 500 miles so will be in Virginia a while.I went directly to the Mount Rogers Outfitters as soon as I got into town, even before finding a place to stay, or eating. The most important thing on my mind was getting a new pair of shoes. Blisters are no fun at all. Was told that the Gortex had puckered when it dried and that was part of my problem. In addition the boots shrank a little when they completely dried out, and I'm a half size bigger in the foot so I definitely needed new shoes. Settled on a pair of Montrail Hardrock low cut light weight shoes. Hope they do the trick. On to lunch. Next got a room at the Lazy Fox Inn. There are no motels in Damascus only hostels and B&B's. I didn't really want to go to a hostel and listen to the same people snoring that I listen to in the shelters. The Lazy Fox was right on the river, quiet and peaceful. Miss Ginny was a great hostess too. I enjoyed the wrap a round porch, hammocks by the stream and the swinging benches by the stream. Might get used to this. Had a beer and watched the stream babble by. Mother duck and her brood of very small ducklings came to visit so I took their picture as well. Nice afternoon.Dinner and an early bed.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-05-01
From: Damascus

To: Damascus Montgomery House B&B
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

What an amazing breakfast. If it wasn't there you didn't need it. Miss Ginny has a computer hikers can use so I finally had a chance to email all my pictures to Flash. I was able to get a couple of journal days loaded also before the web site went down. That took the morning and I had to change to a different B&B because the Lazy Fox was previously reserved. Packed and went to the Montgomery House. This was also a comfortable house. It was right on the Main Street.Went and did laundry and spent the rest of the day at the outfitters. Bought socks, shirt, a bigger food bag, the 13 liter bag wasn't big enough so I got a 20 liter dry bag, and some Aqua Mira. Once all that was done I went back to the Lazy Fox and retrieved the beer I had put in the refridgerator and went back to the swing by the river. I had a very peaceful time sitting there in the rain. Oddly enough, no one came by and joined me. Special Thanks to Miss Ginny for putting up with me even though I was no longer staying with her.I went back to the main drag and met Wicked Wahine and her brother who was visiting her for a couple days. She introduced me as the guy she slept with two night ago in the shelter. That set the tone for the evening. They were heading out to dinner in a different town and invited me along. Naturally I accepted. It was a farmer's guild type restaurant and they tried to use as much locally produced food, beer, and wine as they could. They grew some mighty good lambs in that area. Went to bed shortly after returning.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Damascus Montgomery House B&B

To: Montgomery House
Miles today: 0.0

This was a busy lazy day. Another fantastic breakfast. No wonder people permanetly get off the trail in Damascus.Figured out my itinerary to Pearisburg, VA and my food needs for the next section. Called the Holiday Lodge in Pearisburg and got permission to have a box sent there. Called Grey Squirrel and gave her the information. Went to the Dollar General and Food City to get resupplied for the next few days. Where does the time go when you are zeroing.Went to see about the possibilities of slackpacking a section. I found a group going to Elk Gardens 23 trail miles to the north. That is way longer than I have been doing but, not being any smarter about these things than I was at the beginning of the hike, decided to attempt it anyway. It was only $5.00 since there were several going. The others were going north from there. It was raining and forecast for more of the same for the next two weeks.Since I was coordinating the ride through Suzy (yes another Suzy) at the Hikers Inn I felt obligated to stay with her the next night. We will be leaving at 8:00 so I had to coordinate for a 7:30 breakfast with the other Suzy. No problem for her. I borrowed a day pack from the hostel and got everything ready for yet another move tomorrow. Went to dinner and rearranged two packs.Once all the preparations were accomplished I showered and went to bed.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Hikers Inn Hostel

To: Damascus Apple Tree B&B
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It rained a lot overnight and it was still raining this morning. Woke to hot breath in my ear. One of the perks (?) of a bottom bunk and a hiker dog for a roommate. No wonder those guys hike with a dog. Went to Cowboys for breakfast and met Ben there. He said he felt like he had been beat with a stick. I thought I was the only one who felt beaten and stiff. I asked him how he got ahead of me yesterday and he had taken the Creeper Trail all the way in to Damascus. Puzzle solved. He said it was beautiful all the way in. Oh yeah, level too. After breakfast I went and walked the last half mile along the road that I missed yesterday when I got the ride.Went to the outfitter and described the way my feet felt with the new shoes. They spent quite a bit of time trying different things to alleviate the pain I was having. Eventually we settled on a small piece of extra insole under my orthotic and a piece of foam under the tongue to eat up some of the space inside the shoe. I will be monitoring this closely to see if it will work, I don't like playing with shoes like that.Ate a late lunch at Fatty's and watched a small hiker just barely finish the five pound burger challenge inside the hour time limit. He did it and got to name the burger.Went back to the room and worked on the pack configuration since I had deleted and added several things.It was great to sit on the porch with our hosts and other guests at the end of the afternoon chatting and having a coctail. Very civilized. Coctail hour. What a novel concept.Tomorrow Ben will move into my room, yes, we cleared it with our hosts, and will be billed appropriately. Still it will be less for each of us. People were still sitting on the porch chatting when I came back from dinner but I really wanted to sleep so passed on the evening chat.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses
Date: 2009-05-05
From: Damascus Apple Tree B&B

To: Damascus Apple Tree B&B
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I could smell the bacon and coffee before I got out of bed, now that's hiking food. Grabbed a quick shower and went downstairs for some coffee and socializing before breakfast. Breakfast was great as it has been in all the B&Bs in which I've stayed. It was overcast again but the sun actually came out for a half hour before hiding in the clouds again. Then it started to rain and then rain harder, and this was supposed to be the good day for the forseeable future. Returned a pair of gaiters to the outfitter since I couldn't get them to fit the way I wanted them to. While I was there I found a pair of shorts that I liked and that hadn't been there until today. I bought them to hike in. I was looking for a pair since I had to wear my only pair wet to dinner the night I hiked the 23 miles. Sitting in the restaurant with wet shorts after taking a shower stretched my dinner comfort levels pretty good and I knew I had to get another pair of shorts. I had a spare set of everything else, why not shorts too? They are made by Under Armor. I was still sore from the long day of hiking, especially in the hips, so I got a massage late in the afternoon. I felt so much better afterward. I think I was even walking normally. Lots more mobility now. Let's hope that continues into tomorrow and beyond.Our Hostess Debbie invited all the guest to join her and Les for a Cinco De Mayo traditional dinner of Lasagna, Salad, and Garlic Bread. Now I've been to Cinco De Mayo celebrations before and this looked remarkably Italian but it was homemade and tasted great so I kept my mouth shut except for stuffing it with more great food.Gentle Ben had moved into my room today to help cut the costs for both of us.I went to bed shortly after dinner with a very full happy tummy.See you on the trail.Nice Lenses