morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-17
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Glasgow, VA
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: few clouds

Long day into town. I ended up jogging/running about 12mi on road to make town so I could make the PO in the AM. Turned left at Petites Gap Rd to Arnolds Valley Rd to Hwy 130 into town. It was nice to get my legs going at a faster pace for once!The town built a shelter and shower for hikers at stay at for free!To the PO, laundry and such on Sat...
Date: 2011-06-19
From: Glasgow, VA

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 21.8

Little bit of a late start leaving town. Many-Waters came by and helped motivated me to pack up and hit the trail. He drove me to the trailhead and told me exactly how many switchbacks there were ahead of me to hit the top of the ridge again.After getting up and over Bluff Mtn I ran into the Gypsy Bastards again (Gravy, Juggs, Fuego, Danish, Stamos) at a BRP crossing. I pushed on into BV with them to discuss the possibility of aqua-blazing!We made it to the gap and road crossing, but had no luck hitching. Maybe because there were 6 of us; dirty, sweaty hikers looking like bums on the side of the road...Finally got to town just before the rains hit with the help of a shuttle service.
Date: 2011-06-20
From: Buena Vista, VA

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 0.0

We got into town the night before kinda late and everyone was still tired in the AM. We decided once it was 20min to checkout time to stay another day. (Yay two zeros in three days, talk about luxury!)Fish and Finn joined us mid-day (they are section hikers doing over 300mi of VA). Also Guino (sp?) came to hang out. We all spent the day doing laundry and buying/eating food. Someone had the great idea to see a movie. So it was off to the local Mexican establishment for dinner, then the theatre to see The Hangover 2!While walking back to the motel we ran into Tin Man, his dad, sister and Strawberry. They were in town for the nite b/c Glasgow has no motel. We all stayed up sharing stories and getting excited about doing some paddling on the river.
Date: 2011-06-21
From: Buena Vista, VA

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Late nights mean late starts the next day. Thanks to Xena (previous AT hiker) we made it back to the trail about Noon for a hot climb up to Bald Knob and Cold Mtn. Once back up on the ridge it was fairly easy going to the shelter where we all set camp and had a nice fire at a campsite away from the shelter.
Date: 2011-06-22
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

BIG day on the trail. Left camp headed for The Priest where we dropped from 4063ft to 970ft; over 3,000ft in 4+ miles. Once at the bottom we stopped to swim and rest in the Tye River before climbing up to Three Ridges (3870ft). The climb wasn't as bad as people made it out to be, though I was quite happy to reach the top knowing it was only about 3mi to where we planned to camp...downhill!Epic day. Climbed over 5,000ft and dropped over 4,000ft. Pretty tired by the time we made camp. There were a few big groups around the shelter so we camped a little away.There were some GREAT views from up around the Priest and Cripple Creek (on the decent to the Tye River) was a very beautiful gorge! Got a good view of the sunset dropping down from Three Ridges at the Hanging Rock Overlook.Productive day.
Date: 2011-06-23
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: light rain

Pushed into town today. Fairly easy hiking, I ran part of the Blue Ridge Parkway to get some views; it hit a higher elevation than the Trail.Ran into Rainbow's wife at a road crossing. She had just dropped him off and was waiting on him to pass by while also providing some trail magic. Thank you for the root beer!After resting at the last shelter before town for a bit, I made a 5mi dash for town. Only took 1.3 hrs. to finish off the last 5 miles. Upon coming out at the gap there was a cyclist in his truck talking to another hiker; the other guy didn't need a ride and I was shuttled down into town right after hitting the road!The YMCA in town provides a place to camp by the river and allows use of their showers for free! Once the crew made town we all went to Ciros Pizza and each ordered a large, yum! Once full, made our way to camp and crashed.
Date: 2011-06-25
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: River-side #1 
Miles today: 18.0

Woke up early and got a ride up to Port Republic, VA where we met up with a canoe outfitter who dropped us some boats and gear so we could start the paddle. Its great to be back on the water, I usually spend a great deal of time on the water. (Lived on the coast as a kayak/canoe guide and instructor last summer).Without a map all we knew was the 1st landmark was a portage around a dam at mile 25 about. We ended up setting camp at a small community park along the river in a random small community.I sure do love paddling
Date: 2011-06-26
From: River-side #1 

To: River-side #2
Miles today: 18.0

Made it to the 1st portage mid-afternoon. Hit up a gas station for a re-suPply and grabbed a bite to eat. Paddled until nearly 7:30 or so until we found a sweet camp spot on someones farm. There were no buildings within sight/earshot...home sweet home! We opted to not have a fire to re-enforce the whole stealth camping thing.The river was a good float broken up with some easy "rapids", mainly shoals whith some little waves, couple tiny holes and some attempts at catching eddies.The AT should become a multi-sport event. Hike/run, paddle and bike (mountain and/or road). Now that is right up my alley. One mode of transport gets old sometimes and mixing it up really helps!
Date: 2011-06-27
From: River-side #2

To: Luray, VA
Miles today: 16.0

Paddled the final leg today. There was one more portage we had to do around a 24' dam. Too bad it was soo shallow below, could have been a sweet drop! Haha.After waiting on the outfitter to get their boats, we walked into town to eat and devise a plan. Found some cheaper rooms and crashed in town for the night.I found out today that one of my brothers is in the hospital and that was the straw that broke the camels back. Tomorrow I will make my way south to see the family!
Date: 2011-06-28
To: Time to Hit the Road
Miles today: 0.0

Upon coming off trail into town I found out that one of my younger brothers was admitted to the hospital for an internal hernia blocking his intestines. He had to undergo emergency surgery to remove this.One of the many things I reflected upon while on the Trail was how I want to spend more time with my family. I have spent a great deal of time out on my various adventures, sometimes missing out on family gatherings or vacations. So when I found out about this I knew it was time to support my family.I hitch-hiked south from Luray back to Waynesboro. From there I was able to get a ride to Charlottesville where I caught a bus back to Charlotte, NC. There I could provide support to my brothers and parents. He has since been readmitted for complications and had additional surgery. My place is here now, there will be another time for thru-hiking. I have had some trouble adjusting to life off the trail, but this has been a necessary step. Over-stimulation has been stressful at times coming from Trail life. I imagine it will be even harder to go back to Grad School and my "desk" job. We'll see how that goes... I will be back some time to see the remainder of the Trail and other long-trails. There is no doubt in my mind. I will return to graduate school the end of July and begin the work on my Thesis regarding psychological benefits from thru-hiking.I wish all my fellow hikers a safe journey and hope we will meet again.Sign my guestbook here and I will try to keep in contact!
Date: 2011-02-21
To: Boots
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I've spent a ridiculously long time researching the boots that I should start out with. I thought I had it sorted out, alas the boots I thought were the answer are a bit too tight. I only discovered this after a few miles in them. I suppose it's much better to have discovered this now instead of on the trail. Back to the drawing board...
Date: 2011-03-31
From: Amicalola State Park

To: Springer Mountain
Miles today: 0.2
Weather: broken clouds

Serena and I started the approach trail today. The first 8.8 miles get you to the start point of Springer Mountain. At the end of the day, only 0.2 miles were actually knocked out of the AT. It began with the "stairs of death", which climb up a fierce waterfall. The rest of the 9 miles of the day were a series of ups and downs that were challenging, but not as bad as the stairs of death! We met Dan, aka "Gun Runner" at the bottom of the falls, but he took off and blazed through the day. It was great making it to the top of Springer Mountain and seeing that first white blaze, signifying the Appalachian Trail, that I will become so familiar with over the next several months. As we passed the first shelter, Black Gap Shelter, there was an older chap that had been there the night before and had not been out of his sleeping bag all day and didn't look like he would be getting out anytime soon. Apparently he had been having bouts of vertigo and was not doing too well. Johnathan, one of the ridge runners had been checking in on him through the day. At one point, we passed another guy who looked like he was carrying an incredibly heavy pack and was traveling quite slowly. He eventually made it to the shelter and introduced himself as "Slowpoke", and we discovered his pack was 60 lbs! As he started going through his pack to reduce the weight, he randomly comes out and chucks a pair of socks on the fire. The poor lad was about to start burning half of his clothes to get the weight down, LOL! "Portrait" was also at the shelter that night, carrying a 20 pound pack of which 5lb was his camera. "Lone Duck" trickled in later, along with "Curmudgeon" and "Just Passing Through". Serena got her trail name, "Fancy Pants", from Curmudgeon because of her black sleep trousers with brightly colored polka-dots all over them. "Roadkill", a fire breather from up north, came to the shelter later. Apparently there is quite a demand for fire breathers up there... "Nalgene Ninja", "Ugly", ugly's friend, and "Bootslinger" came in later in the afternoon to chill at the Springer Shelter for the first night. It was amusing hearing everyone's stories and how they came to attempt hiking the AT. It should be a fun and interesting trek!
Date: 2011-04-01
From: Springer Mountain

To: Hawk Mountian Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

As soon as we hit the trail this morning we were greeted with some "trail magic". This is where a "trail angel" brings gifts the thru-hikers, usually in the form of food and drinks. "Mountain Squid" met us at a road crossing and gave "Fancy Pants" and I a wee juice and honey bun thing. This was a much easier day than yesterday. We passed a couple of people "YOBO", "Curmudgeon", and "Jamo". We got into Hawk Mountain Shelter around noon. Not many people were there yet, however that changed drastically as the day went on. There must have been over 50 people tenting, and staying in the shelter. We met some trail legends who have done the trail before (Chaco, Sherpa, Katahdin Kid, Tiger Bomb). Two Fathers with their sons showed up late that evening with no tents, and no idea of what they were trying to do. We felt a bit obligated (for the sake of the young lads, not the dads) to make room in the shelter for them.Around 8:30pm (after most were in sleeping bags) a covert helicopter appeared over head causing a tremendous noise. There happens to be an army ranger training station very near, so this was apparently an exercise. These guys started running through the camp on foot, in total darkness. A bit strange...
Date: 2011-04-02
From: Hawk Mountian Shelter

To: Gooch Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: scattered clouds

This will be Serena's (Fancy Pants) last day. We left Hawk early and passed a couple of people along the way. The views from the ridgetops were rather impressive. These effin' hill climbs are ridiculous... and of course Fancy Pants sprints up them and leaves me in the dust. The highlight of my day was whn I realized that I had left my camera in Hawk Mountian Shelter after traveling almost four miles to where Fancy Pants was being picked up. So, the plan is now for the shuttle lady to take Fancy Pants to the last gap (1/2 mile from Hawk) and wait for her to run in and see if it's still there. In the event that she finds the camera, Fancy Pants will send it on to Neels gaps for me. We say our goodbyes and Fancy Pants leaves me to the trail by myself. This is when the daunting task at hand seems real of the first time. I'm entirely riding solo (with the exception of my newly found commrades) and this is happening... I turned my phone on at he top of the next ridge to hear that Fancy Pants was successful in finding the camera. Nice. I passed a group of boy scouts and Lone Duck. Upon arriving at Gooch I met a few others: OWF, OWF's Keeper, Pyro, and Bear Knife. I then received an unexpected bit of trail magic from my very own trail angel, Fancy Pants. She parked the car some distance away at one of the gaps, and ran up to bring me my camera, and a well needed snickers bar! Choice. The crowd was rather pleased to see her again. We did our goodbyes again, and off she went. Nice ending to the day.
Date: 2011-04-03
From: Gooch Mountain Shelter

To: Wood's Hole Shelter
Miles today: 11.9
Weather: clear sky

First double digit day. At this point I will point out that in some cases the shelters or campsites are not directly on the trail. SOmetimes one has to take a blue blazed side trail to get to camp. The mileage on these trails do not count towards the the A.T. miles. Again, some spectacular views. I saw the Atlanta skyline from Ramrock Mountain (must be at least 60 miles away). Upon arriving at Woody's gap I spotted some soft drinks and cupcakes under the trail sign. Trail magic again. I ran into Slow Poke and Lone Duck at the gap. Slow Poke was really moving along today. I also passed Fly Feet (an amusing Israeli chap who I named at Hawk Mountain). I was the first one to Wood's Hole Shelter for the day. Slow Poke, Boot Slinger (who I also named) and couple of tenters showed up. We met a true trail legend, Cool Breeze. He's done the trail three times, and it shows. This was also my first bear experience on the trail. Slow Poke kept waking me up saying that something was making noise behind the shelter, I thought he was just paranoid. After another half hour or so I heard the bear cables (clever braided steel cables that are put in place to hoist food bags up high so the bears can't get them) shaking violently for a consistent 20 minutes. It woke the tenters up, who were closer to the cables. We all got up and yelled and threw rocks, the bear scampered off and didn't come back. The reason that that the bear was behind the shelter became evident in the morning. Boot Slinger had a URSack (bear proof bag) which he just tied to a tree stump on the ground. This bear had tried to tear and rip this bag all effin' night without much success. Ace.
Date: 2011-04-04
From: Wood's Hole Shelter

To: Whitley Gap Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

In the morning I hiked up and over Blood Mountain (highest peak in Georgia 4461') The view were again rather nice. The shelter on top of Blood was an impressive dungeon/fortress looking bit of masonry. At the bottom of Blood is the well known Mountain Crossings outfitter at Neels gap. These guys specialize in their "shakedowns" where they go through all of your gear and tell you what is garbage, and what you won't need. A lot of people are carrying heavy packs up to this point. I didn't bother with the shakedown, I'm comfortable at my pack weight of around 35 lbs (depending on how much food/water I'm carrying). There was also a church group grilling some amazing burgers as trail magic. What a brilliant idea! I inhaled two in about three seconds, I didn't realize how hungry I was. I did opt to take a shower and wash some clothes though. After a quick food re-supply I was back on the trail and heading towards Whitley gap shelter. The forecast said that a fierce strom was coming tonight, so it was critical to have a bit more of a solid stucture than a mere tent. I was again the first to the shelter, Pocahontas, Chicago, Fly Feet, and High School all wandered in later. I was apparently snoring at one point in the night, so Pocahontas threw her croc at me. Much to Fly Feet's delight, it hit him and I just kept on snoring. Ah yes.
Date: 2011-04-05
From: Whitley Gap Shelter

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: scattered clouds

The storm was hardcore. The temperature dropped quickly through the night. We woke up the a light dusting of snow, and frozen food bags (on the bear cables). I carried my food bag on the outside of my pack for the fist half of the day to dry it out. I had lunch at low gap shelter with Trump, Ren, Stone, Jons, and Silver. This day didn't have a great deal of big hill climbs, all in all a fairly easy hike. I got to Blue Mountain Shelter after 3:00pm, and the shelter was already full, as most people were scared that it would storm again, especially the two lads from Texas who got caught in the storm in their bivy bags and got drenched. I setup my tent for the first time. Bandit and Catalyst were also there. It turns out that Bandit is turkish. She lived there as a kid. As we were chatting in turkish at the shelter, another girl came up randomly and joined in. What is going on? amusing.
Date: 2011-04-06
From: Blue Mountain Shelter

To: Hiawasee, GA
Miles today: 18.9

A big day today. Last night was rather comfotable considering that I was in a wee tent. This has been by far my hardest day. Three steep, steep mountains. I got two doses of trail magic. First of which at Unicoi gap. A nice lady named Mother Nature had made some peppermint patties, banana bread etc. The second encounter was a few boxes of goodness sitting of the side of the trail (reece's cups, coke etc. I decided to push on to Hiawasee instead of stopping a deep gap shelter. I met a couple of others at the gap, and we got a ride in togehter. We destroyed the chinese buffet upon arrival. Good times.
Date: 2011-04-07
From: Hiawasee, GA

To: Plumorchard Gap shelter
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: clear sky

Got a late start today because I had to resupply, wash clothes, write journals, etc. I met up with Pocahontas, Kiddo, Wildcat, Maximus, and BAM and had Subway for lunch. We all hitched a ride back to the trailhead in the early afternoon. I want to take it easy since I did a big mileage day yesterday. Pocahontas stayed the night in Hiawassee because she had hurt her knee.We got a nice trail magic treat upon re-entering the trail!!! A couple of beers and some fruit! The shelter is the coolest I have seen by far... a triple decker! Kiddo and Wildcat showed up a little later because Wildcat was having some ankle issues.Nice easy day!
Date: 2011-04-08
From: Plumorchard Gap shelter

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

I saw a bear today, about 4 miles from the shelter; the first one so far! It was probably only a couple years old and about 150 lbs. He crossed the trail about 50 feet in front of me and tore up the hill when he noticed I was there.A big day....crossed my first state border today. One down, 13 to go! I went from GA into NC. North Carolina welcomed me with a lovely downpour so I stopped into Muscrat shelter for lunch.Standing Indian shelter did not have any bear cables so the shelter collectively decided to hang our food bags inside.
Date: 2011-04-09
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Rock Gap Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Covered some nice terrain today so I pushed a bigger day. The climb over Mt. Albert was a bit ridiculous. It required more use of my hands on a hike than I would have liked....it was a bit more like climbing up than hiking up. I caught up with BAM, Maximus, and Nalgene Ninja at the shelter.GPS and Paul were also there and I met Tic-Tac.The bear cables were broken at this shelter so we threw our bear bags over the existing cables and in doing so I got something in my eye, possibly bark, which becomes a problem for the next five days.I passed the 100 mile marker, so another milestone today!Good times...
Date: 2011-04-10
From: Rock Gap Shelter

To: Cold Springs Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: clear sky

I walked with BAM and Maximus most of the day today. Those two have an insane pace! We jumped into a waterfall earlier in the morning to make for a refreshing stroll. We had lunch in Siler's Bald and I had to tell them to push on without me since their pace was so fast. It was tough keeping up with them because it was so hot and sunny. I saw 2 snakes in the afternoon, so that was quite ace. I pushed on to Cold Springs to meet up with BAM and Maximus again. Again, the bear cables were broken so I hung my bag myself. I tented it solo tonight because the shelter looked pretty shabby.
Date: 2011-04-11
From: Cold Springs Shelter

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I got a late start today and took my time taking the tent down. Serena booked a bunk for me at the NOC for tonight so I am looking forward to that so that I can get out of the forecasted stormy weather. I passed an interesting burned section of forest on the way down where the AT had acted as a barrier.It was nice to get a shower, do laundry, and have dinner with friends. My colorings skills are far superior to my fellow hikers...HA!
Date: 2011-04-12
From: Nantahala Outdoor Center

To: Sassafrass Gap Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: light rain

The weather last night was rather fierce so I feel I made the right decision to stay in the NOC. We had breakfast at the same restaurant and resupplied at the general store. I also scored a micro-leatherman in a hiker box....FOR FREE! That was ace considering I left my other knife in Hiawassee.I got a late start to the horrendous 3,000 feet vertical climb out of the gap. Near the top I started getting drenched with cold rain and terrible winds so I retired early into the shelter. This quickly turned into a loud and rambunctious crowd in the shelter as many people felt it necessary to shelter from the storm. This is where I met the Bear Bag Mafia (Fish Head, Goopa, Two Beards, Mouse, Coyote, Rebel, Baby Ruth, Gumby, Three Hats, Rocky, Laughtrack and a couple others) who all insisted on carolling for most of the evening despite the poor souls who wanted to sleep. Amusing antics...
Date: 2011-04-13
From: Sassafrass Gap Shelter

To: Fontana Dam Shelter
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a big-mile day, the biggest so far. I got a fairly early start and the 2 steep inclines before the midday sun. I had smoked oysters for lunch...mmmmmm! They were tremendous! I pushed on to Fontana shelter with a couple others and met Preston (Lost on the Appalachian Trail or LOTAT). Also met up with Stan, Goldilocks, and Clayton. I scored an iced tea from the vending machine when we got to the dam and the shelter had showers...WHAT?! Ace!I met up with BAM, Maximus, and Kiddo again who all thought it would be a brilliant idea to do a 23 mile day tomorrow...I'm not convinced after doing a 22 miler today.Everything was closed and there was nowhere for me to resupply my food until the morning.