morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-11
From: Hurricane Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: light rain

I'll say one thing for the rain: it keeps things interesting. The sight of a million crinkly brown oak leaves dancing along the trail in a strong pre-rain wind is something I hope never to forget. Still, the question remains: raingear or sunscreen? One never knows... This morning was beautiful hiking. The forest is now perfect spring green and full of baby trees (mostly striped maple, it seems). The birds are sounding off like a NYC traffic jam ¢ the windchime bird, the chatterers, the cluckers, the "hello-how-are-you" lilters, the lip smackers, all calling back and forth impatiently and at once. I only know their voices, but I guess that which we call a ruby-breasted northern warbler (or whatever) by another name would still call as sweetly. Hiked for a bit with an old hippie named "One World" for a few miles (his name is his philosophy). He carries mayonnaise and chopped olives, which improved my lunch vastly. He's a bit hard of hearing ("too much rock n' roll"), so sometimes when you ask him where he's going, he says, "Just fine, thanks, how are you?" He's a good companion, though, and we're sorry he has to go back to Pittsburgh tomorrow. Partnership Shelter is luxurious and as a result, also very very very crowded. We've caught up with lots of folks we hadn't met yet and only know from registers. But neither of us is in a mood to party. I feel like an old lady sometimes, with all those kids out there yukking it up around the fire and all I want to do is finish this journal and go to sleep!The moon is one day from full, and extraordinarily beautiful when not entirely covered by these grey/black clouds.
Date: 2006-05-12
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Relax Inn (I-81)
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Marc has been looking forward to strolling into an Interstate truckstop on foot since we started this journey -- and the day is finally here! There's just a motel, an okay restaurant, and a small gas station, so I guess it's not exactly the cultural mecca he was hoping for. Oh well. It was getting dark and chilly as we approached the highway and, not being sure where the next nice campsite might be, decided to relax at the Inn.
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Relax Inn (I-81)

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

First thing this morning we crossed a meadow so replete with birds they crisscrossed regularly over our heads, and I (almost) wished we'd stayed there instead of the motel. I'm sure last night it was a regular bird circus.American chestnut is everywhere in this forest -- just the little ones, of course, working hard to restore the forest to its former glory and being struck down in their youth by the persistent Chestnut Blight. Rhododendrons are popping out all over now, in all stages. I find the deep magenta-colored closed flowers to be actually more vivid and beautiful than the open ones, their color reminds me of lipstick people wore in the 80's.Virginia is not flat, as some would have it, but it is different from Georgia and North Carolina. Now we generally walk on ridges, like wrinkles, and when one ends we climb down it and up another. For a view, it's usually only a ridge or two, rather than the mirror-room effect of mountains-upon-mountains we enjoyed further south. We're also walking through more meadows, dodging more cowpies, and seeing more houses and private property. Farms can really be pretty, though. When there are red-winged blackbirds (Hey, a bird I know!) gliding over a meadow of wheat-colored grasses that wave in the breeze, the backdrop a tapestry of unbroken green forests on the next ridge. As long as there are no cars on the road, anyway.
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Davis Farm Campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

No, I do NOT have the "Virginia Blues." This condition describes anytime a hiker feels melancholy in Virginia, but the state is 550 miles long or something, so how could you not get a little depressed at some point during the month or so it takes to traverse it?The state's a long one, it's trueSo how could we not be depressedwhen the weather is distressedour water filter's brokeand we can't even jokebut it's not VirginiaIt's not the BluesWe just gotta remember what we're doing here.Yup, tomorrow I'll get right on that: remembering that out here is better than anyplace else, and being happy about it. Maybe it is also time to stop reading Sylvia Plath.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Davis Farm Campsite

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: light rain

My mood today is much improved. Why was today so much easier than yesterday? I decided to skip Trail Days in Damascus next week. Marc & I wanted to join Hardcore, a volunteer project that will be building a shelter this year, so we were planning to go down for Trail Days and stay for the project. But I'm afraid I don't have the energy for it. I really need a few days off in a row, with no place to go and nothing to do -- I'm going to sit in Pearisburg and just read, write, maybe watch TV. Helvey's Mill Shelter is just two miles from I-77 (Bland, VA), yet the forest is excellently diverse. We can all hear the hum of the road in the distance. There's a whole new crowd at the shelter today -- Minnow brought s'mores for everyone, Low Gear has built a massive, almost dangerous-looking fire, and I'm drinking bourbon. It's actually quite like a plain-old weekend camping trip. (Disclaimer: I know LNT principles. I know we're not supposed to have huge fires out here, wasting wood for no good reason, but everyone's having such a good time, it would be unseemly for me to stand up and give a sermon on best practices. Maybe that's a cop-out, but out here, people generally don't tell others what to do. Maybe Wingfoot would, but I'd wager he'd be unpopular sometimes.)There's a deer epidemic at Jenkins Shelter. They are not at all shy -- just hang around and watch you while you use the famous open-air privy (the guidebook says it's a "must-see." haha.) We hit 3 trail magics today -- all quite pleasant and unobtrusive. First, some churchladies left a cooler full of juices along the trail, for which we were most grateful -- the taste of fresh, cold fruit-juice is something you can only truly appreciate when you haven't had it in awhile (or when hungover, I guess). Later, FDR gave us some homemade blueberry cake (we had missed the AYCE breakfast at the church) -- who can make cake like a churchlady? No one. Finally, and best of all, we found gallon jugs of water on the trail! Our water filter is busted so this was the very epitome of Trail Magic ¢ just exactly what you needed, exactly when you needed it. Our joy was tempered, though, when I read that the water was left in memory of a man who died tragically just days before beginning his thru-hike three years ago.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

To: Lickskillet Hollow
Miles today: 10.9

Pink lady slippers!! What is it that's so special about orchids? Is it that they seem to put so much energy into just a few leaves and one single stem? The lady slippers only have one flower, which makes them seem rather elegant. They're all about quality, as if they know that their single flower is so gorgeous that the bees will certainly seek it out, and they needn't bother with more than one. Also caught a glimpse of one bright scarlet bird with black wings and tail feathers.I know I should get rid of this Sylvia Plath book. It's actually her journals, which are nothing a girl should be reading if she is considering marriage. But I see parallels between Plath, as a young poet and budding feminist in the 50's, and the modern, idealistic environmentalist. She tried to push her way into a man's world and constantly felt inadequate to the task -- always failing to be a proper woman, or else failing to be a serious writer. Similarly, when one believes, in a world obsessed with money and economic growth, that economic growth is not always true progress -- one can feel sometimes very helpless, and certainly inadequate. Our values, in fact, are often at odds with those of society at large... Sylvia never survived it. But maybe if she'd had a trail to go to...
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Lickskillet Hollow

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: light rain

Lunch today was a little foray into civilization. Trent's Grocery is truly a hiker's paradise -- less than a half-mile off the trail, with a short-order grill, pizza, and ice-cream. I didn't know I liked corndogs. But I do know this is the first time I haven't been hungry in four days. There's a sawmill across from Trent's, busily shipping out matched sets of those tall, symmetrical trunks we've been admiring in the forest. It was a little bit jarring to see litter on the side of the road and the ubiquitous ads for "Superman Returns." These Madison Avenue colors -- unnaturally bright, crying out for attention -- are shocking after the subtle greens & browns of my life lately.Another easy, flat day, through mixed pine/deciduous forests, with chickweed, gaywings, blueberry, honeysuckle, and others flowering. Mountain laurel is almost out! "Scattered showers" is weatherman-speak for "you don't know whether to put on rainpants or not". I tried to stop thinking about the rainpants in my pack long enough to enjoy the light, misty drops. What does rain smell like? Only a poet could answer this question, but I'm sure that it smells old, like history is old, and like earth is old. I then spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about whether rain is water's way of being born, or dying. I eventually decided dying makes more sense, as it drops from the sky and returns to the earth¢¦ and its trip back to the sea would be more akin to birth. See, this is what happens when you don't have to think about work, or money, or obligations. Since most of my thoughts are worth very little other than the feeling they impress upon the moment (be they tranquil, or stressful, or joyous or melancholy), I'll take these meaningless ramblings about the water-cycle over the others any day.
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Angel's Rest (almost)
Miles today: 13.7

I am sitting just now on a hanging rock that juts out over a 500 foot drop into Pearisburg valley. It is late afternoon, and the sun gilds half of the valley, leaving the rest in the shadow of mountains and clouds. Below a road runs through fluffy trees, meadows, and neighborhoods. Shiny cars and trucks are glinting in the sun. Beyond the valley is another green ridge much like the one we're on. The overall effect is to remind us of a model trail set. We're only about three miles from Pearisburg, and I'm pretty excited about my upcoming days off.No rain today, but more angry gray clouds, wind, and too-cold-for-may temps. Walking mostly easy. Azaleas provide pink splashes of surprise throughout, also some magenta rhododendrons and bluets remain with us for now.Virginia's streams are quite lovely ¢ yesterday we passed about eight branches of Dismal Creek, all clear, pebbly-bottomed cascades and cool running water under rhododendrons, laurel, and azalea. I love to watch the rain making ripples in the streams.
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Angel's Rest (almost)

To: Pearisburg, VA (Holy Family Hostel)
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Usually, the closer one gets to town, the uglier the forest gets. This is certainly true of Pearisburg: garlic mustard invades the entire forest floor for the last half mile or so. But we're happy to be in town, staying at the Holy Family Hostel. It's a mile out of the center of town, but the scenery around it is lovely, and I like living in a barn. The loft is comfy, and the kitchen is well-stocked with dishes and a stove and fridge. It's my favorite hostel so far, for sure.
Date: 2006-05-20
From: Pearisburg, VA (Holy Family Hostel)

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

We had a great time last night at the All Sport Cafe here in Pearisburg watching the locals sing some karaoke and dancing. Tom attempted to learn me how to dance "southern" while I taught him what we do in Philly that is called dancing.
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Pearisburg, VA

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

Yup, still here at the Holy Family Hostel. The caretaker is beginning to be rather surly with me, though I'm the only one here (everyone's at Trail Days in Damascus, if they're not on the trail). He's a little cantankerous, but basically sweet. Just make sure y'all don't leave any lights on, and he'll be fine. I admit I like this sunny little mountain town with its modest homes, pouring from their front doors azaleas, rhododendrons, and rainbows of annuals. The birds are at home here, in a grassy respite from the dark forests all around, and their chatter is a welcome constant. Marc decided to hitch to Trail Days and stay for Hardcore, so I have a few days on my own. I'm living in a barn, and feel I could stay here always, with my books and my papers, in the "fine quiet of the scholar which is nearest of all things to heavenly peace" (to quote Fitzgerald). I am even enjoying cooking in a real kitchen, and washing dishes with soap.
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Peters Mountain
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Great to have Marc back, great to be hiking again. I really needed that double zero. It seemed to take forever to get past the celanese plant on the edge of town and out of the weedy, non-native border woods. The climb up in the late afternoon was fun, we were both full of stories and gossip about Trail Days and Hardcore (he), and Pearisburg and the Holy Family Hostel (me). Seems like Trail Days was crowded and fun, but I don't regret skipping it.Got to finish "Tender is the Night" at the DQ before we left. It made me want to find some bright, unsentimental people to hang out with.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Peters Mountain

To: Bailey's Gap Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

Before we left for the trail, we were warned about hungry bears, stampeding moose, and unstable people -- but no one mentioned anything about charging ruffed grouse. We were minding our own business when the bird came at me, squawking horrifically, with feathers puffed out all around her head. She looked rather like an insane, evil, man-eating daisy. About five feet from me, she suddenly turned, but she kept looking back, trying to make us follow her. Turns out she was trying to lure us away from her little baby grouse, who were nested right next to the trail. It seemed to me like a very brave and heroic act, but I suppose that is just what mother grouse do.
Date: 2006-05-24
From: Bailey's Gap Shelter

To: VA 630
Miles today: 17.9

These last two days have been hellish. Feel like I've gone 37 miles and haven't see a damn thing. We're chasing our bounce-box to Troutville before the holiday weekend, and going a lot faster than I'd like. The empty trail magic cooler we found today (the 2nd in as many days) seemed to match my mood perfectly: "Sorry, I got nothing left to give..." Am grumpy and unfun, but I didn't cry (yet ¢ 18 more miles tomorrow). We were just falling asleep in the shelter last night when one of the guys started snoring. This in itself wouldn't be strange, but it sounded absolutely, uncannily, like a cow mooing. Marc & I immediately looked at each other and cracked up. Funny what makes you laugh out here, and how hard. I haven't had to stifle laughter like that since middle school. Today I was brayed at by a donkey, which was a harrowing experience. I'm a city girl, and had no idea they could be so loud. I HATE pasture, and I HATE STILES! At least the mountain laurel is all coming out and it's pretty special. Also, did you know that sunlight reflecting in a heavily-forested creek can look like a TV set on in a dark room?
Date: 2006-05-25
From: VA 630

To: VA 620
Miles today: 18.0

We've been seeing some turkeys and a lot of grouse, as well as an abundance of mountain laurel. The "Keffer Oak" was the highlight of our day today -- it's a big oak tree (some say the largest on the AT) in a field near VA 620. It is, indeed, a pretty impressive feeling to stare up through its lower branches, each one as big as the trunk of a normal tree. It's probably been here 250 years or so. These days we pretty much climb up a ridge, walk on it for awhile, and climb down the other side. Then repeat. My feet are hurting lately. With any luck we'll get a ride to the Troutville PO tomorrow and we'll be able to relax. We planned very few maildrops, but when we did, we forgot to consider the holiday weekend -- and we have no desire to hang around Troutville for two days.
Date: 2006-05-26
From: VA 620

To: Campsite .5 miles N of VA 624
Miles today: 8.3

In the woods two months now. Am able to drink pot-cleaning water and go 10 days without bathing.Ah, more of the usual today: saw a rabbit very close-up, tons of mountain laurel with pink candy-blossoms in bouquets everywhere. It's a plant that belongs in fairyland. After climbing Dragon's Tooth we looked down into the valley as the mist lifted from the highest peaks. Most of the fun was coming down ¢ straight down the cliff. Marc: "Where's the switchbacks?"Me: "Uh, I think these ARE switchbacks¢¦"Some rocks were too big to step down, so the trail builders had to pound metal steps into them. An interesting section, but hard on the knees. Finally, into Troutville ¢ we hitched a ride with a retired professor who wasn't going there but drove us all the way to the PO anyway. Then he drove us back! Sometimes you just get lucky. We found out the hard way that The Four Pines hostel on 624 is now an alpaca farm, so this will be our third night in a row camped at an odd spot near a road. It's raining so we're having a nice picnic of fruit cocktail, bananas, chocolate milk, and potato chips in our tent. That's a balanced meal, right?Tomorrow we'll do only 16 miles, and I'll work on getting back my sense of wonder at these amazing, beautiful woods. Seeing the world of the interstate interchange today reminded me what life is usually like ¢ full of commerce, meaningless jobs, and exhaust fumes -- and how lucky we are to be out here. Sure, this hike may be insignificant and self-indulgent, but what it lacks in meaning it makes up by being beautiful and fun.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Campsite .5 miles N of VA 624

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: broken clouds

This section of VA is what they call "scenic": including McAfee's Knob and Tinker Cliffs. It's the rocks that make the scenery, lots of them -- big ones, jutting out of the ridgetop at interesting angles, in huge overhangs, forming archways like mini-stonehenges, forming tight squeezes, and just sticking up like colossal sharks' teeth (or "impalers" as Marc calls them). McAfee's Knob is made of such rocks, this time more parallel to the valley below. We have lunch on a ledge overhanging a green valley carpeted with cow farms, which turn to verdant forests ascending to the mountaintops. A lot of industrial haze, though, obstructs the view of farther objects. Tinker Cliffs, five miles later, is much the same with cliffs instead of ledges. Late-afternoon sunlight lights up the gray cliffs, pink mountain laurel, and even a little brown chipmunk with a golden glow. On the other hand, a large noisy industrial plant smokes away off to the far right of the scene, powerlines snake everywhere, and houses dot the valley. I like the variety of Virginia, but I do miss Georgia's sense of solitude and true wilderness.Wildlife is abundant here: we saw a turtle, a frog, lots of cool salamanders (black and yellow stripes on top and bright blue tails), and a house-cat I almost took for a bobcat. Deer are very common ¢ I was startled by one that was snacking right on the trail as I turned a corner. It just looked at me in calm surprise and took off, the picture of grace and decorum.
Date: 2006-05-28
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: VA 220 (Comfort Inn)
Miles today: 9.4

I could watch squirrels all day. They leap so acrobatically from tree to tree, across the trail, making death-defying leaps through mid-air. The noise they make indicates to me a much larger animal, say, a bear. I'm used to them now, though, and they hardly ever frighten me anymore. The chipmunks are like smaller, quieter, faster versions of the squirrels. I actually suspect that they teleport, since I've not yet managed to catch one en route. They are just in one place, then BOOM they're someplace else.Saw lots of day hikers today and some weekenders out for the holiday. We are often asked the usual questions: seen any bears? (that's #1). How do you get food? You've been out HOW long? And you're going WHERE? Sometimes we are met with surprise and disbelief but mostly I think people are just amazed at the length of our vacation.We're having a fabulous time at the Interstate Plaza that is Troutville/Daleville. The Comfort Inn is an amazing deal ($40) -- it's run by a hiker -- and the front desk guy even offered to drive us out to Walmart if we needed anything. Homecookin' & Doublezip, Rip, Treehugger, Pillbox, and No Falls are all here too. There's a pool, and an AYCE buffet, and a laundromat, and it's just great.
Date: 2006-05-29
From: VA 220 (Comfort Inn)

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

It is now starting to get hot. As I sit here in the Troutville Shoney's, it's supposed to be 90 degrees. We decided to leave late and night hike on an AYCE breakfast instead of rising early to try and beat the heat (Okay, I decided. Marc agreed when I made it clear I was not moving). We're going swimming.Didn't leave town till 5:00. As a result, my first nighthike -- for about 2 1/2 miles. The moon is just a sliver tonight, its whole outline is visible, as well as many stars. I have always been afraid of the dark, and I'm really quite amazed at myself for walking in the unknown woods at night. Especially considering this: a SOBO hiker has written recently in the last shelters' register that there's an "aggressive" bear at Wilson Creek, where we're headed (did I mention in the dark?). Thus, I'm very happy to arrive at the shelter to find only Homecookin' and Doublezip (no bears) with a nice fire. We are having a pleasant, quiet night... And suddenly there comes a mysterious rustling from behind the shelter. I am, to say the least, uneasy. Turns out to be just a bunch of just deer, chomping on the vegetation around the shelter. "Aggressive" indeed. Whoever was spreading the bear rumors apparently hadn't bothered to actually find out what the noises were. Oops.We saw many dead pine trees between Fullhardt Knob and here ¢ pine beetle, maybe? Very few live, healthy pines.