morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-05-13
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Groseclose, VA
Miles today: 11.7

Day 53 - It was a fairly long night, sort of noisy in the shelter. Today was going to be an easy, short day as I only had to go 11.7 miles to get me to Groseclose, where Megan is to pick me up at I-81. So off I went around 8:15am. It was an extremely humid morning but I made good time. I saw I-81 for the first time at 11:26am; it will be a landmark for me for several weeks. I will cross under I-81, go north and east for awhile, drop back south and go under it again at Daleville. Once I climb up on the Blue Ridge Mountains, I will parallel it all the way to Harper's Ferry. I did notice today that the wildflowers are about gone, the trees here have full canopy which is good as it helps keep the sun off of you. I arrived at Groseclose and went to The Barn to eat. This restaurant is operated by a lady who has thru hiked 3 times, I believe. They have a 16oz (2-8 oz patties) hamburger called the Hiker Special which I had to try. With several glasses of iced tea, I was able to consume the entire cheeseburger with french fries. Megan picked me up toward early evening and we made our way back home. I will use Saturday to resupply, change out my winter gear for summer, see my parents and get organized as I will probably not be back here until I finish, God willing. My total mileage stands at 539.5 miles, so I continue to make progress. My phone/email coverage has been spotty for the past couple of weeks but I still find your notes of encouragement very helpful to me. Please continue to remember me in your prayers as I start hiking away from Tennessee toward Maine.
Date: 2011-05-16
From: VA 42 in a Pavilion

To: 2 miles South of Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 56- I woke up this morning with a turkey hen strutting just beyond the pavilion. We continued to lay low in the pavilion not wanting to bring attention to us being there. I knew we were out in the sticks of Bland County when the school bus pulled into the parking lot to turn around, indicating that it was at the end of the line. I was a little slow this morning, it was not raining but it was very humid and everything was damp. The day was okay as it never did really rain but it was overcast all day. The trail was still extremely muddy in places. I was disappointed as the trail went along the ridge that looked down on Burkes Gardens. I never had an opportunity to have a good enough view to observe this interesting natural oddity. The trail along the ridge was rocky which I actually preferred to the mud. Around 5:20pm, after hiking 14.4 miles, the clouds started moving in and I was walking in the fog. I walked upon a group of hikers camping up on a non-rocky area so I decided to join them. Due to the weather, they were already in for the night. So, I quickly set up my tent and actually cooked and ate my meal in my tent. It was getting colder and wetter so I just buttoned up for the night. I found out during the night that my tent spot was actually on top of some rocks but I was able to contort my body to keep from laying directly on them. My total mileage is now 566.0 miles, so progress continues to be made.
Date: 2011-05-17
From: 2 miles South of Jenkins Shelter

To: Big Walker Motel
Miles today: 18.4

Day 57 - I slept well with the winds howling all night high up in the trees, there was not that much surface wind. However, there was enough wind to continue to blow around the moisture and it was the same as if it had rained all night. Even though I was sleeping on top of rocks, I was slow to get going in the morning even though I had figured out if I did 18.4 miles today; I could be rewarded with a hot shower and a dry room in Bland. I finally hit the trail at 8:15am and headed north. I had only snacked a little for breakfast so I did stop for lunch and had a hot meal, rehydrated lasagna. Don't laugh; if you are hungry enough and wet enough it goes down fairly easy. I pushed myself most of the day, hurting a little but attempting to get where I needed to be. I came off the trail at 5:10pm at U.S. 52 and started hitch hiking to Bland. I only had 10 cars to pass my direction as the majority of the cars were headed the opposite direction. Finally, David, a volunteer at the Bland Rescue Squad, stopped and asked where I was going and I replied the Big Walker Motel in Bland. He said he would take me but that I was hitch hiking in the wrong direction!! I was headed to Bastian, instead of Bland. That certainly explained why most of the traffic was headed in the opposite direction. David was most gracious to turn around and take me the 4 miles or so to the motel. As he told me, there was only one motel in the area so there was no question where I wanted to go. I got checked in and walked down to the Dairy Queen to have dinner; it was that or walk an additional half mile to Subway. I did not wash clothes but did spread everything out, tent, sleeping bag and clothes all over the beds and turned the heat up to 90*F. When I walked back in from dinner it felt and smelled like a dirty, smelly sauna. It was supposed to go down to the mid-40*s on Tuesday night and rain so I was glad to be inside, even with the smell. I covered 18.4 miles today at a 2.3 mph pace and my total is 584.4 miles.
Date: 2011-05-18
From: Big Walker Motel

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

Day 58 - I slept in and got up at 9:00am and started walking toward Bland and the Citgo, a mile down the road. David had pointed out yesterday that the restaurant at the Citgo was the best (only) place to eat. I walked up to the counter and asked if they were still serving breakfast or if I needed to order lunch. The cook/server said that she was finishing breakfast but that she could fix what I wanted as long as it was not French toast or pancakes. I saw several strips of bacon, two sausage patties and a biscuit on the stove and told her I would finish those up if she could fix me two eggs and hash browns. It was a good breakfast for a good day on the trail. I had been given a telephone number for a guy named Bubba that would transport me back to the trail head. I called but he did not answer so I went out and started hitch hiking, in the correct direction. Soon a car stopped with Roadie and Shotgun in it and it was Bubba taking them to the trail head. So, for $5.00 I got a ride without the hassle of hitch hiking. I was on the trail at 12:20pm and only hiked 12.0 miles and set up my tent at Jenny Knob shelter. It was a good day, no rain and fairly easy terrain. My total mileage is now at 596.4 miles.
Date: 2011-05-19
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: light rain

Day 59 - It was a chilly night, 48*F in my tent when I woke in the morning but I was comfortable. I was on the trail at 8:20am and passed the 600 mile mark at 9:50am. The big event today was eating lunch at Trent Grocery. I got to VA 606 at 11:10am and walked the half mile to Trent's. I was the first hiker in, by the time I left an hour later there was 5 other hikers eating lunch. The double cheeseburger hit the spot, along with the oatmeal cake and the honeybun. While there, I saw the front page headline in the Roanoke Times about the mud and rain on the AT. It stated that it had rained 13 of the first 18 days of May and we actually had rain in the afternoon to make it 14 of 19 days. I was back on the trail by 12:50pm and the terrain was fairly easy to traverse. I did take a 0.3 mile side trail to Dismal Falls which was worth the extra steps. I actually dropped my pack so it was an easy walk. Had the weather cooperated, I would have stripped down there and bathed, the falls were so nice.   I arrived at Wapiti Shelter at 5:00pm and set up my tent. I covered 14.2 miles during the day and now at 610.6 miles.
Date: 2011-05-20
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Wood's Hole
Miles today: 6.4

Day 60 - I slept OK other than the owls were hooting at each other but it was actually pretty neat. Three times during the night you could hear one close by and 2 others in the distance. I am not sure what kind they were but they had a most unusual call. The big event today was arriving at Wood's Hole Hostel. I was on the trail by 8:35am and got to Wood's Hole at 11:50am. This is a renowned hostel, originally started by Tillie Wood in 1986. I have read about it in many publications and it is now operated by Tillie's granddaughter, Neville and her husband Michael. I loaded my stuff into the bunk room which is an old converted chestnut log cabin. The first action was to take a hot solar shower which was nice. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around looking at their raised vegetable gardens and the various buildings. Wood's Hole actually will allow non-hikers to stay there so I may go back someday. The biggest difference in this hostel than others is that they open up their house to you. I was pleased to observe that the hikers respected their house and buildings and nothing was damaged. Neville does make you take off your shoes before entering the cabin. I read a little during the day and then helped fix the salad, all of which, other than the cabbage came from their gardens. Neville fixed Mexican lasagna with homemade bread, it was tremendous. She fed 29 people that night. Before dinner, everyone stands in a circle and introduces themselves and where they are from and what they are thankful for. With this short introduction, with little if any prompting, Neville can repeat everyone's name. I asked her about that later and she said it was something she focused on. Afterwards, another crew helped with clean up and I was off to bed in my sleeping bag on top of a mattress in the bunk house.
Date: 2011-05-21
From: Wood's Hole

To: Holiday Motor Lodge
Miles today: 10.3

Day 61 - I got up at 6:45am and actually had slept well in a bunk house with 20 or so other people. I went into the main house to help prepare breakfast for 24 people. I broke open two dozen eggs, mixed juices and helped set the table. Neville and Michael fixed scramble eggs with sausage and bell peppers mixed in it. Neville again had homemade bread which was wonderful with her homemade apple butter and jellies. During the night it dawned on me that Rainbow was going to slack pack hike to Pearisburg, his friend Pam was going to drive his pack to Holiday Motor Lodge, which was where I was planning to stay too. As soon as I saw Rainbow I asked if they could haul my pack as well and they said yes, which was great. Rainbow, a retired firefighter from Allentown, PA, and I hiked the 10.3 miles to town. We were on the trail at 9:35am and with Rainbow in front we flew, walking at a 2.5 mph pace. I got settled in at the motel, took another hot shower and gathered my dirty, wet, smelly laundry and started walking to the laundry mat 0.8 miles away. I got to the laundry mat, got everything going and looked for my phone but could not find it. I assumed I had left it in my room even though I remembered unplugging it from the charger. After doing laundry, I walked back and hung up my clothes to continue to dry. To my horror, there was no phone in the room. I went to the motel office, no phone. I then decided to back track to the laundry mat and see if it had dropped out of my pocket. I walked about 200 hundred yards to a cinder block wall that I had sat down on to check my map and there it was lying on the ground. So many small prayers have been answered during this journey for me. I returned to the motel and spent several hours updating my journal. I had seen a restaurant walking to the laundry mat that was in an old bank building. Not really wanting Hardee's or Dairy Queen, I decided to try it and I am glad I did. I had a fresh salad, some risotto, and a fresh pasta dish with a glass of wine. It was a little expensive but I was glad that I made that choice as it was delicious. Back to the room, looked at my map and guide and will get up tomorrow morning and head north.
Date: 2011-05-22
From: Holiday Motor Lodge

To: camp site near Dickenson Gap 
Miles today: 13.7

Day 62 - I slept well and got up around 8:00 and showered and packed. There was no one on the motel computer so I dropped in there and finished up some journal entries. I put my pack on and walked to Hardee's and had a breakfast consisting of a bacon/egg biscuit, tater tots, cinnamon biscuit and tea. I walked on down to the trail head which was a total of 1.5 miles from the motel. I got on the trail at 11:10am and as easy and fast as the trip into Pearisburg was yesterday, it was a mean climb out of the New River Valley. The initial climb was 2,800 feet and it was a bear. The trail could actually use a little maintenance leaving town, within the first 30 minutes, I had to get onto my hands and knees to climb under a blow down and thorns. Of course, the back pack got caught on the fallen tree and I know I looked like a stuck turtle trying to crawl through. The trail boarders Celanese's acetate plant and wanders through their property. After about an hour, I crossed a creek, took my pack off and actually scrubbed my legs and arms, attempting to wash off any poison ivy that I might have encountered earlier. Today was a day of viewing wildlife; I saw several deer and fawns, garter snake and a ruff grouse. The grouse actually startled me a little, it was right on the path and puffed up and was running in circles going up the trail. It was moving too fast to get a picture. Later in the day, the same thing happened again, except this time, I saw the baby chicks. So, I guess this is a defensive maneuver to look wounded and take the focus off the chicks. I could not take a picture of the chicks because they blended in so well with the brown leaves. I was able to take pictures of the prettiest yellow lady slipper, first yellow one that I have seen. I got into my campsite around 6:20pm; I had not seen a hiker all day. I actually started my first fire to drive the bugs off; they were all over the place. There was a large weather front moving along my northern side in West Virginia and I finally did get rain starting around 8:25pm. It rained off and on during the evening but once it stopped the wind continued so my tent was fairly dry in the morning. I covered 13.7 miles and my total is 641.0 miles.
Date: 2011-05-23
From: camp site near Dickenson Gap

To: War Spur shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

Day 63 - I was up and on the trail by 8:05am and had trouble all day getting land marks to correspond with my trail guide. The problem was I needed water and I nursed the remaining half a cup that I had during the morning. Finally, I found a spring that was not on my guide and loaded up. While walking down the hill I ran across a blow down of several trees. As I attempted to maneuver over a log I placed my weight on a young sapling and the green bark gave away and I slid down the sapling onto my back. I was completely on my back, thankfully, the tent on my pack protected me from getting hurt. Again, I must have looked like a turtle trying to flip over from my back but finally managed without having to take off my pack. For whatever reason today was hard; a lot of up and downs and numerous rocks. I arrived at War Spur shelter at 6:20pm and set up my tent. There was a stream near by so I rinsed myself off, which is nice to be able to do that. There were 6 other hikers staying at this location tonight. I walked 18.2 miles today bringing my total to 659.2. Everyone is planning to be at Catawba on Thursday afternoon so we can go visit Homeplace to eat, it is a family style, all you can eat (AYCE) and is supposed to be very good.
Date: 2011-05-24
From: War Spur shelter

To: Sarver Hollow shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: moderate rain

Day 64 - I was somewhat lazy this morning knowing that I only had 12.2 miles to go today to Sarver Hollow shelter. I did not get on the trail until 10:15am, I heard thunder at 10:40 and it started to rain at 10:50am. It rain hard and was very windy and this was compounded by the fact that I had no energy at all. Each up hill climb was a chore and it was hot and very humid. I was glad it was only 12.2 miles today; it would have been a struggle to have gone any further. There were two climbs today, one up John's Creek Mountain rising 1,700 feet and Sinking Creek Mountain rising 1,300 feet. It was, however, very pretty with the Mountain Laurel either blooming or getting ready too. The blooms look like Japanese lanterns before the blooms burst open. I really did not want to go to the shelter because it was 0.4 miles off the trail and I hate wasted miles. I had no choice, however, because again I was out of water and the only source was at the shelter because the next source was 6.0 miles away. I had obtained water at every opportunity but as hot as it was I was drinking quite a bit and the water sources were further apart. The 0.4 miles was straight down hill so I was already not looking forward to climbing out tomorrow morning. Since the shelter was so far off the trail, there was only two other hikers in the shelter. Again, I had the opportunity to rinse off in the spring, after I fill my water containers. It did rain a little during the night but not as bad as had been forecasted. The 12.2 miles brings my total to 671.4 miles.
Date: 2011-05-26
From: VA 620

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 66 - Since I cramped all night, my decision was easy, I just did not know how I was going to get into Daleville. The cramps had subsided a little by the morning and I was up at 7:00am and standing along the side of the gravel road, VA 620 at 7:30am. I had told myself I was not going to walk today; in fact, I had put my sandals on instead of my boots. I was still sitting there at 8:20am and not even one vehicle had passed. So, I studied my map again and decided I needed to make some alterations to my plan. It appeared that VA 621, which intersected U.S. 311, was only a mile or so away so I loaded up my pack and off I went. Fortunately, the morning was still rather cool and I did not break a sweat. I arrived at the highway at 8:45 and confirmed my position and direction with some VA DOT workers, so I started to hitch hike. At 9:00am a gentleman stopped and gave me a ride. A very nice man, a retired surveyor and is the minister at a small, local church. He actually took me 3 miles out of his way to a local grocery store so I could get something to eat and some Gatorade. I told him that he was an answer to my prayer this morning and thanked him. I had a pork tenderloin, egg biscuit and a quart of Gatorade and topped that off with a small bag of potato chips and a cinnamon bun. U.S. 311 was fairly busy so I had high hopes of getting into Roanoke or Salem and then getting over to Daleville. When I was leaving, I saw 'Steamer", who I had not seen since the day before Damascus. He was doing well and we caught up on our travels. At 9:45am I got a ride from a young man who works at a steel mill in Roanoke. He asked where I was going and I said Daleville and he said, wow, that is a long way (25 miles) but he said he was on vacation and he would take me to the Howard Johnson. What a "road angel", as he took me all the way to the motel. I got a "hiker special" rate room at the Howard Johnson and took a shower. I then proceeded to the 3 Little Pigs and had 10oz portion of pulled pork, fries, beans, salad and a tea. I went to Kroger¢s next door and got a two quart bottle of Gatorade and started drinking. I called one of my medical team advisors, my sister, and sought her thoughts and advice on what I should do. There was a clinic down the road and she suggested that I go by there and see if they could run an electrolyte test. I had indications that I was no longer dehydrated but my electrolytes could still be out of balance. I walked to the clinic but all they could do was pull blood to test and they would not have the results until Monday. Based on my history with this cramping I opted out of the test and continued my current protocol. I will be off the trail until Monday sometime, I hope each of you have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers; they were most appreciated during the past couple of days.
Date: 2011-05-30
From: Daleville, VA

To: Lost Spectacle
Miles today: 6.3

Day 70 - After a relaxing weekend being off the trail, with plenty of hydration, I entered the woods again and was on the trail at 4:20pm. My body felt good with no cramping issues and my mental state was equally as good and I was anxious to get going again and finally get up on the Blue Ridge. I hiked solid for two hours and felt good. I had started at VA 620, where I had come off the trail last Thursday morning. It was, of course, straight up Cove mountain, rising 1,500 feet over a 5 mile span. Going down this mountain was very interesting, there were actually metal handrails that had been driven into the rock face. Imagine carrying a 40+ pound back pack, turning around backwards and going down the face of a rock, while holding trekking poles. It was very slow going but I finally made it to Lost Spectacle Gap at 8:10pm, having traveled 6.3 miles for the day. It was another hot, humid day but I drank plenty of water and Gatorade and took my potassium gluconate supplement tablets. I set up my tent but I did not eat as I had earlier eaten two Sonic chili dogs around 3:00pm. My total miles are 692.6.
Date: 2011-06-05
From: 200 yards short of Daleville, VA

To: Fullhardt Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: few clouds

Day 76 - Megan and I walked back to the location that I thought I was last Wednesday before calling 911. Nothing really looked as I remembered it and we saw no marks on the trail where it looked like my boots had dug in. I remembered the path being wider and more uphill but reality did not match my memory, I guess that is a good thing at times. We slacked packed starting north at 3:50pm and finally, after 2 weeks, I crossed over U.S. 220 at 4:06pm. We walked up a gradual trail until we reached VA 799 at 4:20pm. This was a 1.1 mile stretch plus the little that got us to U.S. 220. We reversed our direction and then Megan drove me back to VA 799. With my gear now loaded on my back. I started up Fullhardt Knob. This was a 1,300 foot climb, in the rain but I felt OK. I arrived at Fullhardt Knob shelter at 7:05pm and the area was full of Boy Scouts from Troop 6516 located in Farmville, VA. These young men and the leaders were doing a 50 mile hike going south on the AT and this was their first night out. I only did 5.1 miles today and my total is 724.9 but I finally crossed over U.S. 220 and out of Daleville.