morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-08-31
From: Lamberts Meadows Shelter

To: Boy Scout Campground
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: overcast clouds

today was the start of what they called the Triple Crown. At 8 o¢clock in the morning I reached Tinkers Cliff And by 1040 I reached McAfee knob. There was nobody else at tinkers cliff for that McAfee knob it was very crowded. I saw at least 40 hikers today including two college freshman group from a Lexington college that were out for freshman orientation. I really think that kind of orientation is an awesome idea. Saw my second rattlesnake of the trip and again it was very stubborn to get off trail. After using my sticks to try and push it off trail and still not getting it off trail, I decided to back up and jump over him. i¢m at three NOBO hikers today. Their names were capital Sensei, Accelerate, and Gauge.  At 4:30 I¢m at gym court at Catawba Grocery. I was able to get some ice cream before we headed the last 1.4 miles down trail for the night. We did have a nice fire tonight even though there was no water in a cell coverage.
Date: 2022-09-01
From: Boy Scout CG

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

Jim and I had a beautiful day today, it started out with a hike up to Dragon¢s tooth, the third piece of the Triple Crown. We were treated to some trail Magic by Trout Creek Jason who made us at the first major water supply with a cup of cold beers. Water is still a challenge although all the areas where it is flowing are pretty good. We took a late lunch about 80% off our last claim of the day. And made it to 90 day shelter a little after 5 PM. The shelter had three additional hikers, NOBO hiker muffin man, SOBO hiker Palidin,  and section hiker Steve. I reached two milestones today the first I have 700 miles to Springer, the second on day 108 I¢ve reached a total of 1500 miles.
Date: 2022-09-02
To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: clear sky

We left camp this morning with Limited water. Because of that we headed to the next shelter to re-supply water. Unfortunately the shelter and water down and back was almost a mile. That made for a slow morning as far as covering ground. We broke for lunch near a roadside and Jim detoured a few miles ahead. I¢m trail I met at least five hikers attempting to do major sections. Paladin Is hiking southbound after flip-flopping and ¢Hui¢ is just a hiking maniac. Over a three-year period of time he hiked over 9000 trail miles. He now has a job with the forest service and only gets to hike a couple days a week but still puts in over 100 miles a week of hiking. Jim beat Rick to camp By at least an hour and a half. Today we had good water at camp which was a nice relief and Jim and I got in a game of cribbage before we called it a night
Date: 2022-09-03
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Ridge Stealth Camp
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: clear sky

The day started expecting to stop at Pine Swamp Shelter.  We had a tough climb early in the morning and then headed for a long ridge walk.  We made it to Pine Swamp before 2:30 after having a great view at Wind Rock overlooking the entire valley.  Jim felt good at the shelter, and we still had over 19 left before Pearisburg VA where his car was parked. We decided to eat supper at the shelter and then move on to shorten the next day.  We were able to walk part of the afternoon with "Hui" who shared a clementine trial magic with us before heading off.  Unfortunately for us he saw three bears in the morning and I am still waiting to see my first. After parting ways Jim and I headed up another climb and to the ridge.  We had the option of 4 campsites on the ridge and had decided to get to the 2nd of those sites.  To our surprise there was a small herd of six wild goats at that site who were not going to leave us alone. This forced us to head down trail another 1/2 mile to have a peaceful night.  No Bears but six wild goats - who would have expected that situation?
Date: 2022-09-04
From: Ridge Campsite

To: Holiday Lodge
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

First priority of the day is wishing Jim a happy birthday. On our hike down to Pearisburg Virginia we met several hikers NOBO hikers ¢Creptius, Haggis, Little Foot, Twiggy, and Cindy¢. from Twiggy I learned about the ATC state patches and will look into that some more. We were able to make it to Pearisburg By 1:40pm. It started raining within the next five minutes and we had several periods of rain this afternoon. Jim and I were safely in his car and headed into town where we did an all you can eat buffet, re-supply groceries, did laundry and settled in the holiday lodge for the day. We were able to watch a replay of the Michigan Colorado State game. And was glad to see LSU lose to Florida State. The day ended with us having supper at Dairy Queen in a blizzard Boot. Life is good. Jim heads back to Michigan tomorrow. It looks like a couple days of rain around the horizon  and with a little bit of Jim¢s help I¢m gonna slack pack part of tomorrow before he takes off. It¢s been great hiking with him the last couple days! Happy birthday Jim
Date: 2022-09-05
From: Holiday Lodge -Pearisburg

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Jim and I woke up to rain at the lodge. We went out for breakfast at Dairy Queen which I did not know even serve breakfast. Jim was heading back to Michigan and offered to drop my pack down Trail to allow me to Slack pack most of the day. He ended up hiking it all the way to the Wapiti Shelter before heading back. That allowed me to hike with about a 10 pound pack and make good time even though it rained all day long. I saw a couple NOBO hikers And camped with section hiker ¢2 mile¢. I benefited from having a trail angel leave some energy drinks along the trail which really was hey Blessing. Even though it rained all day it was a good day and I made big miles for the day. I even had a stare down with a nice 10 point buck who wasn¢t sure he wanted to give up the trail to me. Thanks again Jim For providing the slack pack opportunity for me. It was good hiking with you for the last several days. I did make a switch from my sleeping bag liners to my sleeping quilt last night and will be carrying the quilt the rest of the trip.
Date: 2022-09-06
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

I was surprised today about seeing five different hikers on the trail, they were all headed northbound but it was good to see other hikers. I took a blue trail and walked to Dismal Falls. If it would¢ve been a week earlier I definitely would¢ve taken a swim in that area. The water has been spotty the trail angels are leaving jugs of water at Road crossings. That is much appreciated when you¢re not sure what the water conditions are going to be in a given area. That happened to me twice today and I appreciated both opportunities to get at least one bottle of water filled up. There was no water at the shelter and so being able to have water at Road crossings was a big deal. Rain was predicted for the day And enjoyed being able to let a few things dry out. Two surprises at the shelter though, I had to clear out a wasp nest, Rick four Wasp one. The second surprise was at the privy actually had toilet paper that doesn¢t Happen at very many privys. I did meet Mike at the shelter and we spent the night talking about his attempt to section hike the AT
Date: 2022-09-07
From: Jenny Knob shelter

To: Camping VA 615
Miles today: 18.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Mike was ending his section hike today. I talk to him into leaving camp a little early with the hope of making it to the Brushy Mountain store and deli. We¢ve benefited from another trail Angel leaving a jug of water at VA 611. Again today we ran into a couple groups of section hikers but we¢re pushing hard to make it to the store before they closed right after lunch. I was pleasantly surprised to make it there in time and the hikers comments were correct. I had a very good hamburger fries and a five star ice cream cone. The five dollar waffle cone Had at least a pint of ice cream in it! After lunch Mike headed to his car and home and I headed down the trail. I was pleasantly surprised to find a campsite with a picnic table next to a river. I passed two milestones today, I¢ve completed a total of 1600 miles, And I have passed the 600 mile mark to Springer. It was one of the nicest weather days I¢ve had in weeks and even though I did 18.7 miles it was a good day hiking
Date: 2022-09-08
From: Camping VA 615

To: Camping mile 565 - VA 625
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Virginia PUDs Stands for pointless ups and downs and hiking has been that today. I had heard when we were in the north about the Virginia PUDs, but I really did not understand them until the last couple days.  Do you hike to the top of a mountain and down again without seeing any views except the next mountain in front of you that you hike up and down. Trail angels did a good job today, as there were two separate spots where someone had deposited gallon water jugs full of water. Water remains a seasonal challenge, but today was the first day in several that I wasn¢t packing extra water. The one bummer today, was that I did not see a single soul on the trail. That also means that I got to break all the spiderwebs all day long. I have been hiking in an area called wilderness, which means they¢re not allowed to use power tools for any trail maintenance. The trail maintenance has been subpar in the section. I am hiking extra miles hoping to meet up with two hikers that I met in the northern section,  The trail names were onion and bubbles and I¢m looking forward to a chance to meet back up with them after spending a few days with them in the northern section.
Date: 2022-09-09
From: Camping VA 625 area

To: Longneck Lair Hostel - Alpauka Farm
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I tried to get an early start because I had five mountains to climb up and down (more Virginia PUDs). I also was anxious to try and meet up with onion in bubbles. Unfortunately, I got a note from bubbles mid morning that they decided to head down trail. After having nobody on the trail yesterday, I saw 4 Flipflop NOBO hikers today. And another group of four section hikers. The morning also started out slow because I had a ford a River where the bridge had washed out earlier this summer. I did meet up with onion and bubbles mid afternoon and we had a lunch together. We talked about our summit days at Katahdin, and some of the favorite spots that we had on the trail earlier this year. I decided to continue to hike the distance to our original hostel location. It gave me a chance to do some resupply, recharge batteries, And get another high calorie supper. The next two days are predicting rain, so I am not sure how far will push it tomorrow.
Date: 2022-09-10
From: Longneck Lair Hostel

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

The hostile provided breakfast in the morning which included cereal and some fruit. I tried to get an early start because the forecast called for rain. Unfortunately, the rain started early and continued all day. I had hoped to go further but after walking in the rain for six hours I decided to stop at Partnership shelter. It was just time to get out of the rain. My entire day could be summarized in five minutes around the 12:30 pm timeframe.  I met the only hiker I saw all day, two minutes later I slipped and took a pretty nasty fall, and I saw a bear.  It was the first Bear I have seen on the entire hike and because of the rain I was fumbling to try and get my camera out of a baggie and it heard me and took off running. It was only a small bear and it was walking directly towards me when it heard me fumbling from my camera and took off. There were no other people at the shelter but I was happy to be undercover and out of the rain.
Date: 2022-09-11
From: Partnership shelter

To: Troutdale Church Hikers Hostel
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: light rain

The morning started out dry, and after a couple days of attempting to get a hold of Mike and Paula Gort we finally talked. They were leaving South Carolina, and looking to meet up with me by the end of the day. I meant two NOBO Hikers on the trail in the afternoon, After meeting a group of five section hikers in the morning. That is the most people I have seen on the trail in several weeks.Unfortunately, the rain decided to come again in the afternoon. My day was still special for two reasons. The first, was that I was able to get into the Troutdale church hiker hostel, and they picked me up and brought me to the Hostel saving me foot 3 miles of walking. The second, who is that Mike and Paula Gort were able to join me at the hostel for supper. Thanks to the son-in-law, Chris Smoked a pork loin and sent that along as part of supper. We had about two hours of time together before they hit the road back to Michigan. They were also kind enough to provide me with apples, trail mix, some chocolate, and other goodies as Trail magic. It ended up being a really nice visit and I appreciated the company.
Date: 2022-09-12
From: Troutdale Church Hostel

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I was surprised in the morning when the Hostel pastor¢s wife showed up to driving back to trail. She also brought me a homemade breakfast sandwich which was a very good surprise. For the third day in a row the morning started out raining. I am getting sick of walking in wet shoes and socks. The good news is that the rain stopped shortly before lunch. I met two northbound hikers, Snoopy and Gunner, Who are out doing section hikes. The trail reminded me a lot of Maine, With a lot of roots and Rocks and then in the late afternoon some bouldering. But the true highlight of the day came once I got into Grayson Highland State park. The area has several wild ponies. I hit a mile stone today of less than 500 miles to Springer Georgia. With all the rain the last three days I have gone from no water to more water on the trails than I would like, I stepped over at least 50 to 60 spots along the trail. The shelter is located in one of the more scenic areas along the trail and the views from there are spectacular.
Date: 2022-09-13
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: scattered clouds

we woke up this morning to very cold temperatures, it made it hard getting out of the sleeping bag. I was only about a half a mile from the tallest peak in Virginia, so I took the 1 mile trail and hiked to the peak. The disappointing part was that there was no view at the peak, since it is completely in a tree covered zone. I was surprised how many hikers I saw in the morning, many who were day hiking to go to Mount Rogers. I did get a great view from buzzard rock while eating my lunch. There was a 360°  view from that area and the clouds it cleared and the sights were wonderful. After lunch I hiked with a couple for close to 45 minutes, before pushing on so that I could make it to the shelter on time. Part of the walk had the Appalachian Trail join the Virginia creeper bike trail. Needless to say I made good time in the afternoon and was able to make it to the shelter around 6 PM. Carrie and her dog Lizzie were at the shelter and I actually enjoyed some discussion about being grandparents. Today I actually counted how many times I crossed water over the trail and the number was 81 times. It¢s amazing what three days of rain does to the water supply. I am hoping this means that water will be plentiful for the next week or so.
Date: 2022-09-14
From: Saunders Shelter

To: The Place Church Hostel
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: clear sky

Carrie, Who is at the shelter last night asked if we could start the morning with a devotion and she read a Psalm. It was a good way to start the day. I had a short hike for the day into the town of Damascus, where I needed a food resupply, some equipment repairs, and some high calorie dinners. I made it into town by noon and therefore had both lunch and supper in town.  Town days are always good to be able to get a shower, the electronics recharged, and a little bit of time off my feet. I am staying at a hostel called The Place and was joined by a Sobo hiker who started the trail in Maine on 25 May. It was nice to go to dinner with him and have some conversations about the trail. Tomorrow I will be leaving Virginia which is over a quarter of the entire Appalachian Trail.
Date: 2022-09-15
From: The Place Church Hostel

To: Camping - Mile 448
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: clear sky

I was able to complete the AT Hike in the state of Virginia today. The trail distance in Virginia is 550 miles, which is over 25% of the entire trail. During the day I met two northbound section hikers, and Maui who is a Flipflop hiker that we had met in the northern section. Hikers Mickey D and John who are Sobo hikers had lunch with me during the day. After the initial climb out of Damascus the trail was very friendly, Level, and well-maintained. I was able to hike 22.5 miles and still be done hiking at 5:30. I set up a Stealth Campsite near A small stream since water on the ridge was scarce again. The days are definitely getting shorter, sunrise was 7:10 AM and sunset was 7:35 PM. After dark I did have a surprise visitor roaming around camp which I¢m pretty sure was a possum. Luckily he left all my gear in food alone.
Date: 2022-09-16
From: Camping Mile 448

To: Camping Mile 428
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: clear sky

The days are getting shorter, and it impacts our early I¢m getting started. I was still on the ridge today, but it was not as flat as yesterday and the trail made me work for the miles. In the afternoon I hiked over Watauga Dam it into a beautiful recreation area that follows. Unfortunately it was too late in the afternoon for me to enjoy some time in the reservoir. After two big days of hiking I slept really well. It was my second night of stealth camping but it allowed me to pick my stopping places. I am really pushing to be able to get back to Michigan for a wedding on October 1. My hiking partner in the northern section, Mike Hunnell started back on the trail today after taking two months off.
Date: 2022-09-17
From: Camping Mile 428

To: Camping Mile 412
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: clear sky

it is a Saturday, and the trail was filled day hikers. The Laurel Falls area is a beautiful area and I met over 45 day hikers today. I also met two section hikers (¢Freedom¢ is out for a 300 mile section).  It was nice to see people on the trail. Besides taking the trail to Laurel Falls, I took some time to take a dip in the laurel river. The highlight of the day was being able to hear a couple plays at the Michigan game, But after I started hiking again after lunch I quickly lost coverage of both the game and the people.  For the second day in a row, because I was camping I had to carry water into camp. The day ended with me being able to build a small fire and enjoy that for the close of the night.
Date: 2022-09-18
From: Camping Mile 412

To: Mountain Harbour Hostel
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: few clouds

Before even leaving camp this morning, I met Jebediah a true southbound hiker. He was the only person I saw until late in the afternoon. I did see three waterfalls today, including Jones falls, where I met three people and stop for lunch. The last two days have had many rhododendrons along the trail, it¢s amazing how big they grow in the wild in this region. I still have not seen a single rhododendron in bloom. I hiked into Mountain Harbour Hostel about mid afternoon. They advertise the best breakfast on the trail, and I paid for that option for tomorrow morning. The next couple days is the Roan mountain area, which is a highlight of the Tennessee AT trail I am looking forward to the next couple days hiking in this section. The other benefit was I saw my first football of the season, and even though I did not see them the Lions even won today!
Date: 2022-09-19
From: Mtn Harbour Hostel

To: Roan Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: clear sky

what a blessed day, so where do I Begin? Let¢s start with the people. Late last night a day hiker John and his dog Cooper called the hostel and told them to buy the southbound hikers a beer. About 8:45 PM John made it to the hostel and joined me watching the Green Bay Packers versus Bears football game. The next morning Mountain Harbour Hostel Served up breakfast at 8:00 AM. It was a breakfast as good as advertised, with eight main course dishes and three dessert dishes the meal was absolutely fantastic. They served homemade French toast with two homemade toppings, and a tomato pie that I had three servings.  John join me at breakfast, paid for my breakfast, and convinced me to Slack pack today from carter gap back to the Hostel. He drove me up to Carter gap and I started northbound at 9:45 AM. I was surprised at how busy it was at the gap with many day hikers. I also met a handful of section hikers, including Action, Adventure, Calmate, Too Tall, and Grandpa Mike.  Along The hike I passed the 1800 mile marker for my trip. I was able to slack pack 14.9 miles and made it back to the Hostel around 3:45 PM. John decided he needed to buy me another beer and a Freeze dried peak supper. After spending some time with the guests the hostel John drove me back up to Carter gap. We arrived at the gap about 5:15 PM and I started my hike up to the next shelter. I was surprised to find five other hikers at Roan Mtn Shelter, including Grandpa Mike and Too Tall.  There were also three day hikers who were out for a two day hike, since they had extra food they offered supper to several of us. The day ended with us building a nice sized fire and sitting around talking about how much we enjoyed the hike that day. The hike did involve four mountain peaks which were exposed and had gorgeous views. It was one of the nicer sections that I¢ve hiked in a long time. The only downside of the day was when I weighed myself at the Hostel and found that I am down to 139 pounds
Date: 2022-09-20
From: Roan Mtn Shelter

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: clear sky

Roan Mountain shelter is the highest shelter on the AT. We woke up to a very misty morning with no views. I was happy at Toll House gap Which was only a half mile down the trail, because in Tennessee none of the shelters have privies. It was nice to use the privy at the gap. Within a couple miles I caught up to Action, Adventure, and Calmate who had camped the night.  I walked the trail with them for about 3 miles before we went our separate ways. When I got to Cherry gap shelter there was a group of six people already there. I spent some time talking to Bouncer and Turtle about Bouncer¢s through hike in 2019.  One of the other groups called themselves gap hikers who had hike the majority of the trail a few years ago and now we¢re filling in some small sections that they had to skip over earlier. I did have a tree of some apples that I found along the trail and had a guest mouse join me in the shelter at night.  One of the other fun things of the day where that I met both couples that I had breakfast with the day earlier as they were out for section hikes.
Date: 2022-09-21
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Uncle JohnnyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Hostel
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

There were seven people at the shelter last night, all of them camped except for me due to the friendly mice. I left camp and spend some time with Bouncer and Turtle through the first major climb. During the morning I met two section hikers and a NOBO hiker Blue Moon. The wild life since leaving Virginia has been very scarce although I did see a nice black snake towards the end of the day. I pushed in the afternoon to try and make it to uncle Johnny¢s hostel. Just leaving Johnny¢s as I arrived was another NOBO hiker named Mollassus. To my surprise everything was closed up for a couple hours. While I was waiting for things to open back up a 78 year old section hiker (OMMA) was finishing at that location, and his wife was there to pick him up. They offered to bring me into town for resupply, and a stop at the subway store for supper. They then drove me back to Uncle Johnny¢s and I was able to check in for the night.