morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2018-05-12
From: TN-VA Border

To: Damascus
Miles today: 3.5
Weather: clear sky

It is so easy to Resupply when the trail runs straight through a town. We arrived in Damascus to a town wide garage sale. The sidewalks and the park were packed with people. Every third or fourth house had a yard full of stuff for sale. In the centre of town we stopped so that I could use the public washroom. When I came back out, Cole was standing there looking very awkward and uncomfortable as a gentleman was trying to make conversation with him. I stepped in and continued the discourse with the fellow who was simply inquiring about our hike. Once we got moving again, Cole said, ¢I think that when we come into a town, there are three kinds of people that we find. There are the people who avoid us because we look funny and smell bad. There are people who just treat us like everyone else. Then there are the people who are overly interested in what we are doing and they want to be friendly and chat.¢Then he added, ¢I would feel more comfortable if they all just avoided us because we smell.¢I find this interesting because when we come in to camp in the late afternoon all he wants to do is socialize with whoever is there. He dislikes it when we don¢t camp with other people. Maybe he feels awkward around ¢non hikers¢ because he knows he stands out and....yes we smell. With other hikers we don¢t have to be concerned about this because we all look funny and reek together.We found our way to Subway to eat. We had spent the entire week rationing our toilet paper. My bout of diarrhea on Monday had seriously depleted our stash. When we got to the subway, I was ecstatic to use the washroom and use as much toilet paper as I felt necessary to get the job done properly. No more alternating between leaves and paper in order to stretch the supply further. In addition to food, we had a list of things we needed to pick up in town, so when our bellies were full I popped in to the outfitters next door. Just inside the door was a hiker box. At the top of the box was a brand new still in the plastic role of toilet paper. Score! Isn¢t life funny sometimes. That night we stayed at a church run hostel called The Place. For a few weeks now I¢ve had a blemish on my face near my nose. No big deal. Rosacea is a regular occurring thing that I deal with. However, this blemish isn¢t going away, and it is growing. I am becoming concerned. Late in the day I was chatting with a lady at the hostel who mentioned that she is a nurse. I asked her to look at the blemish. She recommended that I see a doctor because it looks infected and she feels I need a prescription antibiotic. Oh dear! By now everything in Damascus was closed. Our next town stop is in Marion about five days away. I will have to figure out how to get help there.
Date: 2018-05-13
From: Damascus

To: Unmarked Campsite Mile 483.6
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: mist

Cole was feeling the weight of his pack this morning, even though we had one day less food. Admittedly I did stock up on a lot of snacks. If I fill his pockets full of food he will snack all day. He took out a cliff bar, unwrapped it and didn¢t quite make it to his mouth before he dropped it onto the ground.¢I am not eating that¢, he quickly pronounced.Obviously I fed him too much in town. I gave him mine which was still in the wrapper and tucked his into my hip pouch (and devoured it later in the day, dirt and all.) At first I thought Cole was going to hike with me, but he must have found his mojo because soon after, he was racing up the trail. We followed along in the same direction as the Virginia Creeper Trail and could often see it and people riding bikes along it from the AT. We could hear the river all morning and in some sections of the trail we came down along side it. It was a warm day and all I could think about was how wonderful it would be to put my feet in that water. By the time Cole was searching out a spot for us to have lunch, the river was far below us out of reach. We were contemplating aiming for the next shelter to spend the night but my feet didn¢t like that idea. Searching for an alternative stopping point, I noticed on Guthooks that the AT met back up with The Creeper Trail down by the river! Woohoo! We found a fantastic campsite right along the river beside a bridge. There was already a handful of hikers set up there. I couldn¢t get my shoes and sox off fast enough! It was cold, but the water felt oh so good! There were no Mother¢s Day gifts, no hugs or kisses, not even a ¢Happy Mother¢s Day Mom¢ from the teen I was adventuring with, but there was a perfectly situated rock to sit on and a lovely cold river in which to soak my weary feet. Sometimes you just have to put on a happy face and find joy in what you¢ve got. Someone got a campfire blazing, so when my feet turned purple from being in the cold water for so long I joined the hikers who were by the fire and warmed my tootsies back up. I picked the brains of our camping companions too, trying to find out if they have ¢walk in clinics¢ here like they do at home in Canada, and about how much it costs. The answers ranged from $60 to $150. Of course, I still have to find one and figure out how I am going to get there. It probably isn¢t worth the amount of concern I am attaching to it. It might mean taking an extra day away from the trail. No big deal. Right? Stop worrying Sheila!!!
Date: 2018-05-15
From: Bald near mile 497.4

To: Old Orchard Shelter 
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

Miles I took off ahead of Cole again this morning. He caught up rather quickly and I was glad because we were soon to come upon a milestone that I wanted him with me for.....the 500 mile mark. I can hardly believe that we have hiked 500 miles! We would also be entering Grayson Highlands State Park. There are wild ponies in the park, but as we discovered yesterday, there are also wild ponies outside of the park. A fun obstacle that we went through today was ¢Fatman squeeze¢ which is a rock tunnel through which the AT runs.I was very slow going through Grayson Highlands and beyond. The trail was very rocky. There were big rocks to climb, medium rocks to hop across and small rocks to walk along. All of them are hard on my feet and slow me down a lot. By the time we stopped for lunch at Wise Shelter, we had only gone six miles. Granted we did stop a lot to pet the ponies, but not in the Park. It is illegal to pet them in the park, so I was glad that we encountered them elsewhere. Rain was forecast in the afternoon so I hustled out of Wise Shelter as fast as I could. Cole was letting me lead again. The sky rumbled. It dripped. Then it down-poured and I was out of steam. Going faster was no longer going to keep me dry anyway so I slowed to my regular pace. Cole eventually caught up. He had stopped for water but had also taken a wrong turn and had to backtrack a little. I told him to hurry on ahead to the next shelter to get out of the rain. When I arrived, he had set up the tent during a lull in the rain. I crashed on my bed at 7pm. We hadn¢t really hiked all that far, but I was just so tired and the pitter patter of the rain on the tent lulled me to sleep.
Date: 2018-05-17
To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 3.6
Weather: overcast clouds

In the morning we discussed a few options for getting Cole¢s raincoat back. Option 1: carry on to Marion and hope Dunk and Egg pick it up. Option 2: Cole hikes back to get it. I carry on to Partnership Shelter to rest ( I was totally spent after our 20 mile day) and we go into Marion tomorrow. Option 3: Cole goes back for the coat, I continue to Marion to Resupply without him and we meet back at Partnership Shelter. This way we don¢t lose a day of hiking. We discussed the pros and cons of each option and in the end decided that we should stay together and go forward hoping that our friends would pick it up. The four miles to Partnership Shelter was slow. I had a blister from hiking in wet footwear. We had dry sox on today and plastic bags on our feet in our shoes. The forecast was for rain but thankfully the sun was shining brightly. We reached Partnership Shelter, caught the bus at the visitor centre just beyond it, resupplied at Walmart, ate pizza and returned by shuttle to Partnership Shelter. There is a shower at the shelter. A very cold shower. I took one anyway.....with my clothes on. Yes, seriously I did that. I just smelled so badly! I stood by the campfire for a while afterwards to get dry.The shelter began to fill up. Pizza was ordered ( It is one of the only shelters on the AT that you can order pizza from) and alcohol appeared. Unfortunately Partnership Shelter is also a party shelter, but there was just no way I could hike seven more miles to the next shelter. Oh, I almost forgot! Before we boarded the shuttle bus, Dunk and Egg arrived. They had hustled! Guess what they had.....Cole¢s rain coat! What a relief!
Date: 2018-05-18
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Mile 546.6
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

It rained all night last night and it wasn¢t letting up in the morning. We decided to hike in our underwear and rain pants. Rain geAr is like a sauna suit. Maybe it keeps the rain off of you, but you end up soaked from sweat. This way we would stay cooler and keep our pants dry inside our backpacks.The first section that we hiked was steep and rocky. Rain. Rocks. Rain. Rocks. I had to find something to look forward to and focus on it. The Schoolhouse! I had seen online that the one room Lindamood School was open to hikers and full of trail magic. If we could make it there we could take a nice long break in a dry place. Rain. Rocks.I had wrapped plastic bags around my insoles to try to fend off the slushing inside my boots. It delayed it, but eventually I was sloshing again.When the rocks ended the streams began. Numerous flowing streams would normally delight me with their rhythmic music. Today, it was just more water to me, and lots of it. The streams were flowing high and spilling over their banks. Would be stepping stones used to aid in crossing were now submerged. Slosh slosh sloshWe came upon Chatfield Shelter and rushed over to it for a brief reprieve from the endless pitter patter on our heads. It was a very small shelter and even though it was barely past noon, inside were hikers who were staying for the night. They did not want dripping intruders getting their space wet. We rested briefly then moved on.Then finally...the school house. It was stocked with snacks, cold drinks, toiletries, first aid supplies, and anything you could think of that a hiker might need. Cole snacked and snacked. I changed my clothes so I would be dry and warm and took off my boots and sox. We stayed for a long time! I had accidentally left my bandana at Partnership Shelter. There was one in the box at the school!! Score!While we were there, a couple from the church who provides the trail magic stopped by to Refill the supplies. It was nice to be able to thank them in person.Eventually we gathered ourselves back together, put our wet gear back on and headed out. The rain had let up.The next section of the trail traversed fields, a highway, and a cow pasture. Cole decided to stay with me as we hiked this section. We shared some laughs, mostly centred on my missing bandana. Why? Well because the bandana has been my ¢pee rag¢ .  We made up stories about where it could be and how it might have gotten there. When you have been hiking in the rain all day, laughter is a good uplifter, even if it is over something silly like a missing pee rag.On the far side of the cow pasture there was a very small campsite just waiting for us. I hung wet clothes on a line in an attempt to dry them out, but was soon rushing to pull them off the line again as the skys let loose on us once more.
Date: 2018-05-19
From: Mile 546.6

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

When you find yourself pulling on cold wet smelly clothing in the morning, you know for certain that you have become hiker trash! At least we both had dry pants available since we had hiked in our rain pants yesterday. It seemed like it might rain again, so I started out in my rain pants, but quickly changed to shorts as the day warmed up. Although it wasn¢t raining, the trail was a wet mess. Even if we had started the day out with dry feet, they probably would not have stayed that way for long. At least that is what I kept saying to console myself. My new boots just weren¢t keeping the water out like their predecessors had in their prime. The forecast was calling for thunderstorms, but sunshine was breaking in through the trees. I wanted to focus on the scenery, I really did, but one thought just distracted me all day. Find an open area to dry your feet! Find an open area to dry your feet! We hustled along until past noon trying to find an open area. When we did find it, it was occupied by cows. One particular cow was chewing the grass right beside the AT. It stopped eating and looked up at us as we approached. It wasn¢t your typical black and white jersey cow like you might see on a milk commercial. He was grey, stern faced and had horns atop his head. He looked mean...and stubborn. We stopped. I wasn¢t too thrilled about passing him. ¢I know that this is your pasture cow, but could you please just move along, move along, move along.¢He continued to stare, but resumed chewing his mouth full of grass.When he was done, he slowly turned and moved along. It began to drizzle before we finished crossing the pasture and I thought we had lost our opportunity to dry out. The sky rumbled a bit but failed to follow up its threats with any kind of real action. Soon the sun was out again and what do ya know....another cow pasture. No cows were in sight. We spread out our footprint, threw off our footwear, spread out everything we had that was damp, drenched, or somewhere in between, and then we laid down and had a nice long rest while our clothes dried.The sun was bright, and  the clouds were few. Everything dried quickly. Cole dozed off and time marched on. Not far from us a ¢rock¢ that I had been staring at twitched its ear. A cow was napping with us too!Eventually the cow got up and moved on and so did we. Convinced that the threat of thunderstorms had passed, we sauntered on a few more miles towards the next shelter. That is when the AT laughed at us and our foolish notion of ever being dry.One mile from the shelter it began to sprinkle. A half mile from the shelter the skys let loose and dumped everything they had on us. Every bit of me was soaking wet and my boots were sloshing once again. We set up the tent in the rain. As it continued to pour down, we fell asleep knowing that we would be starting yet another day with wet feet.
Date: 2018-05-20
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Mile 571
Miles today: 11.3

Last night Cole wasn¢t feeling well. He didn¢t want to eat dinner and he didn¢t even want to socialize by the shelter. This morning he was reluctant to get out of bed. Lately our morning routine has looked like this. I wake up and start packing up my things. Cole gets up, gets dressed and goes to retrieve the food from the tree it was hung in the night before. (What else would a 13 year old have on his mind first thing in the morning besides food!) While he eats, I pack up his bag for him, making sure that dry things are where they will stay dry. Then I quickly eat my breakfast and head out leaving him to pack up the tent.This morning I got myself dressed and retrieved the food. I ate my breakfast then packed my bag. Cole was still in bed. I coaxed him to get moving and made him pull the plug on his air mattress before I headed out (to discourage him from crawling back into bed after I left).I have never left him behind with so much still to do to get ready. It made me a bit nervous. What would he forget to do? Would he leave anything behind?As wet as everything had been yesterday, it was nothing compared to today. The streams were wider, deeper and harder to cross. In some places the stream had taken over the trail. Each hiker I came across had a different approach to tackling these obstacles. One just waded on through the water shoes and all. One removed her sox and shoes. One bushwhacked up stream to get to an easier crossing point. One took a road around missing an entire mile of the AT. One actually took the time to try to move things to make stepping stones....that one was my son. It is no wonder then that he took a very long time to catch up to me today. I almost thought that perhaps he had gone back to sleep. But nope, he had gotten himself up and moving and hadn¢t left anything behind.We had a long ascent around lunch time and eventually came out into a clearing on Chestnut Ridge. There were fluffy white clouds in the sky and the sun was shining once again. Rain was in the forecast. Dare we try to get dried out?Cole was still not feeling like his usual energetic self and he wanted to rest. He also said that his toes hurt. Once again we pulled out the footprint, threw off our boots and spread out our wet smelly things. Cole laid down to nap and I took a good look at his feet. He had a rash all along the tops of his toes on both of his feet. He said that they weren¢t itchy and I saw no blisters, so I ruled out poison ivy. Still, I didn¢t know what it was. Could hiking in wet footwear day after day cause that?We were near a pond. Cole napped while I sat listening to croaking frogs and worrying about him. When we finally got moving again, neither of us had much motivation. We passed Chestnut Knob Shelter hoping to go a few more miles. Cole¢s toes hurt. When the sky threatened us with a rumble we quickly called it a day and set up the tent having only hiked 11.2  miles.
Date: 2018-05-22
From: Trail Boss Trail Intersection 

To: Jenny Knob Sheltet
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Five miles. That is what stood between us and a hamburger. I was on the trail by 7:30 and Cole followed shortly thereafter. The terrain was favourable to us and by 9:45 we arrived at Brushy Mountain Outpost. The question was, would they cook hamburgers for us at 9:45am?They did! Delicious burgers! Cole had an ice cream cone once he had finished his burger. It had two huge scoops of black cherry ice cream on it. He was all smiles! Sometimes he is easy to please. I am not sure if that was our second breakfast or our lunch, but we marched on until mid afternoon before our tummies rumbled again. We laid down on our footprint in an insect infested campsite to have a snack. Cole doesn¢t like bugs. REALLY doesn¢t like bugs. He doused himself with bug spray but that didn¢t really keep them at bay. There was a swarm of flies busy buzzing around something nearby. Ugh! Someone had pooped right in the campsite. Cole got a stick and flung it away. The flies followed. A flying thing with oversized wings danced along Cole¢s back while I watched it. Then it rounded his head and flew into his face sending him jumping and flapping to get it away. When he returned to the footprint, a long worm shaped creature with multiple legs had taken up residence in his spot. I gave it a flick. Not the best of spots to take a break. Then I noted a Guthooks entry that someone had written about the site: ¢This Campsite is not optimal unless you want 1000 millipedes and spiders all over you and your gear.¢ I guess we should have read that first! We moved on.Rain was in the forecast...but you probably already guessed that. I wasn¢t in the mood to rush, so I went at my usual speed and took in my surroundings. I never really noticed how much racket I make trekking along the trail. It is hard to hear the beautiful symphony of sounds that the forest produces when my pole are clacking and my feet are stomping and my backpack is rustling. Today I stopped and listened. I don¢t know the names of the various birds that were calling out, each with their own distinct voice. Nor could I identify the bugs that buzzed or even what kind of critters were clicking and clacking in the distance. If I had a working knowledge of musical terms I might be able to describe the entire ensemble much more creatively, but I cant. It will just have to be sufficient to say that it was a beautiful melody. I stopped for a few other things today too. For a butterfly that couldn¢t decide which flower made the perfect perch, so she had to try out them all. For a snake that stretched himself right across the trail and wasn¢t bothered enough by my presence to move. For a pair of dung Beatles who were rolling their little ball of treasure straight down the middle of the AT. I wonder if they were headed for Katahdin. I arrived at Jenny Knob Shelter about twenty minutes after the rain started. It graciously let up long enough for us to cook and eat our dinner, then it pittered and pattered on the roof of the tent all night long.
Date: 2018-05-23
From: Jenny Knob Sheltet

To: Lickskillet Hostel
Miles today: 1.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Taking a well deserved rest day at Lickskillet Hostel. I called myself a hiker, but I knew nothing about walking 8-12-16 miles day after day after day.Yes, I would say, I have backpacked before. But what did I know about dwindling my backpack down to the lightest, most essential of items and living with nothing else for months on end? Nothing! I am smarter than I was before.Everybody passes me. I thought it was because I am old. Then older people passed me. I thought it was because I was a little overweight. Then heavier people passed me too. I feel so slow when people pass me, but I don¢t speed up for them. I listen to my body. Sometime I make it listen to me.Hurry up Sheila, it is going to rain.Hurry up Sheila and get to the privy.Hurry up Sheila, there is Trail Magic. And sometimes still...Hurry up Sheila, Cole is waiting. I can¢t completely let go of that one just yet. Still, I am faster than I was before.I cry.When my feet are sopping wet and ache down to the bone, I cry. But they hurt less now than they did, and I am stronger than I was before.When I wake up in the middle of the night because my muscles are screaming in pain, I cry. But they ache less now than they once did, and I am stronger now than I was before.When I¢m blanketed in exhaustion and we have more miles to go and I just can¢t seem to catch up to Cole, I cry. But now I can last longer, I can go further, I have more confidence in Cole and I am stronger now than I was before.When something beautiful, like a view of the mountains or a colourful sunset, makes a dramatic appearance, I cry.When prayers are answered and my needs are met in surprising ways, I cry. I am blessed just as much as I ever was and....I am stronger now than I was before.1586.6 miles to Katahdin.