morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-11
From: Watuga Lake

To: campsite
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

We got up early and caught our ride up to the road at Watuga Lake. It ended up being a suprisingly nice morning. The trail worked its way around the lake while climbbing higher and higher into the hills. We pushed hard to the second shelter and had lunch while it sprinkled for a second. The afternooon hike cruised along the hills until we reached the Grindstaff monument. Apparently Mr. Grindstaff was an old hermit that lived in the hills. He had his heart broken after fighting in the civil war and went up into the hills to live. The inscription on his tombstone said "He lived alone, suffered alone, and died alone."We ate dinner and then hiked on until dark. We walked through some beautiful pastures right around sunset and then into the woods where we stopped on some rocky hillside and attemted to camp. Damascus tommorrow.
Date: 2005-05-12
From: campsite

To: Damascus
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

Wole up super early and got a good starttowards Damascus. After the 1st five miles we came across a man named Hammer. He is a retired Navy cook and was cooking up hearty bean soup for hungry hikers. He was a hilarious guy and we realy enjoyed meeting him. It was a hot afternoon push to Damascus with very little water on the map. We rolled into Damascus around 4:30 and managed to complete the Damascus challenge (hiking the last 40 miles into Damascus in two days) with time to spare. We went to tent city and the first person we saw was Blotter. We hadn't seen him since back before Franlin. We set up our tents nearby his and found out that Indi-Andy (Bear) was also camped nearby. A nice fellow named geek hooked us up wiht some icy cold beverages and we were set. We then headed down to the creek to do a little swimming/bathing. I saw a huge trout take off when I jumped into the icy mountain water. It felt so good after such a hot, salty afternoon of hiking. Other kids were using inflatable rafts to float the creek 1 mile down to where all the vendors were set up. The festivities of Trail Days appear to be in full swing.We went into town and picked up some beers and then ate a burger at the Dairy King. We went back to tent city and the campfire was staring to get wild. Drummers were invoking the spirits of hikers to move in wild and contorted ways. Some gritty hikers were swirling their hiking kilts a little too high but no one went to jail so should be a good party tommorrow.
Date: 2005-05-13
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Shagwell was up early this morning ready to go into town and scare up some coffee. Camel got up too and we scored an easy ride into town. Ended up at the firehouse for beakfast. It was ok but cost five bucks and wasn't exactly prime. We then scared up some grounds and a couple of cases of coors and went back to the tent city. Everyone was up and wandering about so we plopped down int he sun and relaxed. It was then that I heard my name and turned to Rodge and Katie. They came in from Columbus and brought all kinds of good stuff. Mom, thanks for sending all of the woderful goods. Everyone loved your chocolate chip cookies. The watergun also came in handy. Jon, the tanktop int he envy of many a hiker out here. I really appreciate you letting me borrow it. I only bust it out on special hiking occasions. Rodge and Katie thanks for bringingall of that stuff out. Especially the two handels of liquor and the liter of Johnny Walker black. It was a good weekend.After the guests arrivedwe all had a few cocktails and thats about the most we did all day. It rained a bit later and put a damper on the evening but it was a good day.
Date: 2005-05-14
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up and grabbed breakfast at the mill then I went and checked out all of the vendors. Picked up a bunch of cool schwag. Then at 2:00 we headed to Dot's for the hiker parade. On the way it started to pour and rained for a good 45 minutes. We also got a killer lunch deal that rivals even the special at the IGA in Carrolton. It consisted of two hot dogs loaded with chili,a bag of chips, and a drink for a dollar. After the rain let upSandy told me that he would not be participating in the hiker parade for reasons he wouldn't mention. So Bear and I went on and met up wiht one of the wildest and wetest group of hikers that have ever pushed there way down the main drag of Damascus. Some carried double water cannons like Rambo, others little purple water pistols and flowered umbrellas. Ready for carnage or a carnival I wasn't sure, but I got swept away in the wave of madness. The locals lined the streets and the kids were armed to the teeth and chomping at the bit to soak a little hiker butt. Ahh, but the locals strategic error was that we were already wet from the storm while they were high and dry on their porches so it was kind of easy pickens. Some kids had huge tubs of water balloons that the hikers would locate and pilage. The hikers were a giant soaking, smelly amoeba. When we reached the end of the route, the sun came out and the semblence of a line disinegrated into a giant water free-for-all. We headed back to the tent city and had a few beers to celebrate. Victory was ours.
Date: 2005-05-15
From: Damascus

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It rained all night into the morning. People packed up and after throwing back some good breakfast mostly everyone had moved out. We were staying through so we wound up going into Abington for a movie. I saw "Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe". I really liked it. Came back to camp and the sun poked through. We drank a few stray beers and made a fire in the middle of what used to be a sea of tents. It was now just Boose, Shagwell, Bear, Blotter, Sherlock, Camel, Smokey, Katie, Rog, Sandy and I. Good Trail.
Date: 2005-05-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up and the sun was out. Imagine that! Everyone dried out their gear and we all said goodbye to Katie and Rog. I snagged a quick shower while my bag was drying and then we all took off. Spent a few hours in town running real errands and then grabbed a bite to eat. Some of the folks that we have been hiking with decided to take a Blue Blazed Train along the creek for 10 miles till it meets up with the A.T. Judge them for yourself. Andy, Sandy and I pushed 5 on the A.T., the trail we are thruhiking , to a lovely little campsite where we made it an early night. Trail Days was a riot. Thanks Damascus. Good Trail.
Date: 2005-05-17
From: Damascus

To: Grayson Highlands.
Miles today: 0.0

Cowboy camped last night (under the stars, no tent) and it was a treat to be away from the sounds of 1000 tents and the constant slamming of porta john doors. Hiked with some new folks today named Sloppy and Golez. They are some nice folks. Hiked into the Grayson Highlands. It is Beautiful up here. I have hiked here once before, in fact, I just hiked past the place where my picture for Trail Journals was taken. I really like the scenery up here. It's really rugged with lots of grass and boulders. There are also wild ponies that live up here although I haven't seen any yet on this trip. Hiked something like 15 miles today. Should be a pretty day tomorrow although Camel and Smokey are heading back to Atlanta for a few days, so that'll stink. We'll see them soon enough though.
Date: 2005-05-18
From: Grayson Highlands.

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It was a beautiful hike today up into Grayson Highlands. Everyone slept late and we ended up taking our time as we moved through amazing terrain. Lots of grassy knobs. We reached Thomas Knob Shelter and had a great lunch. The wild ponies came up by where we were eating and we all fed them handfuls of grass while we were taking pictures. They lick your arms for the salt. We hiked on through the Ag at a leisurely pace. Camping tonight in a beautiful meadow sunk in the mountains. New folks have been showing up. Stump, Clock, Boose, Bear, Blotter, Bugget and Goat Shagwell. Blotter caught us today. We are going to try and go 16 tomorrow to Troutdale to resupply. Beautiful night tonight.
Date: 2005-05-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up early and was expecting all kinds of rain but it was absolutely beautiful. Got moving a little late because of the sunny laziness factor, but made good time. Everyone made it to the road to Troutdaug by 4:00. Ramblin mand and Corporal scored a hitch that took all 8 of us all the way into town. Andy (Bear) got to the post office in time and Blotter scored us a ride to the general store. Besides the church, that is about all the town consists of; and the guy who gave us a ride ended up being the pastor. He asked us what our plans were and we said we were going to camp but he invited us to stay at the church hostel. He told us where everything was, dropped us at the general store and went on his way. We went inside and did your resupplying and the nice waitress ended up charming us into dinner which was as tasty as it was cheap. A 1/2 lb. burger, and when we heard reports of severe weather we decided the church sounded good. We went over and dropped our gear but the bunk houses were full so we set up our stuff in a big pavillion on top of a hill. I grabbed a shower and when I returned more people were running in. We ended up cramming 20 guys in. It rained in droves but no one got wet. Thanks to the Troutdale Baptist Church for their hospitality.
Date: 2005-05-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Got up early and went to the General Store for breakfast before snagging a ride in the Lance Snack Truck back to the trail. It was supposed to rain today so we made a b-line for partnership shelter. You are supposed to be able to order pizza from the shelter. So we were motivated! When we arrived a guy named Dameon gave me a beer and Rainbow man took orders for the Pizza Pigs. The shelter looked packed so we set up our tents dispite the drizzle. Blotter and Boose hitched into town and brought back 2 dirty 30's of Old Milwaukee. Barkshag opened up the bar tent and we had a record breaking bar night with 13 people in the tent at once!
Date: 2005-05-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Everything blew off last night and it looks beautiful for today. There was supposed to be a DQ on the trail so we definately were excited about that so we made really good time and stopped at a replica school house from the 1800's. Had lunch and decided to push to the DQ. The hiking is amazing. We have come down out of the big mountains and are hiking along lush plants in full bloom. Often you roll off of the ridge and walk through huge grassy valleys. After stopping at DQ, we grabbed a few beers and packed them up to this grassy hilltop overlooking the valley. We chilled there till the sun got low then moved on to the next shelter. It was full so we pushed on 3.5 to water and a campsite. Hiked into the night. A good day.
Date: 2005-05-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today was one of the best wildlife days I've had so far. After a late start and some brisk winds we got going on a really nice sunny day. An hour or two into the hike we heard some rustling and two bear cubs came running across the path. It was my first bear sighting. After lunch I about walked into a deer. We proceeded to follow a creek for a while and I saw some trout feeding. tonight we are camped with Ramblin Man and Corporal. Going to go into Bland tomorrow to resupply because we've been out for while now.
Date: 2005-05-24
To: Bland
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up early after a stormy and wet night. The lightening was so loud, there was a depression where my tent was pitched. We hiked the 7 into Bland, quickly scored a hitch and were at the Citgo eating breakfast in no time. Did all our town chores and were back on the trail by 2:30. Busted a hard 13 to a campsite where we caught up with Smoky and Camel. Tonight everyone carried fresh ingredients for burritos. As we were about 20 cooks, someone noticed that we were close to a store that might sell beer. Blotter and I walked a mile to the store but it was closed. Blotter charmed an old farmer into giving us a ride to "Beer City", scored 2 cases and got back to camp right as the burritos were done. Burritos and brewskees. Livin rough on the trail.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Bland

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Pulled another 20 today so we could way up for Pearisburg. We passed the same place we stopped for beer and stopped the night before and stopped for a couple cheeseburgers. I ran to the cooler and pulled out a big jug of milk, payed, went outside and took a big swig only to gag on the sour curds of buttermilk. At about that time Sandy walked up and I asked if he would want to refresh himself with a slug of milk. It was a mean trick but it got a good laugh. Pearisburg tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-26
To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiked a quick 6 or 7 into town on a beautiful sunny day. A nice guy picked us up in his truck and took us to the Pizza Hut buffet. We slammed there for a while. There were about 40 hikers there at one point. We then went to the Holiday Motor Lodge and booked rooms, procured xxxxx and procedded to lounge in the sun. That night we hit the bar and all hell broke loose. There were rounds of whiskey shots for all. Blotter transformed to the dancing gopher from Caddy Shack. That night a fire extinguisher was discharged on the second level of the Holiday Motor Lodge but the cops were never called.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up to Blotter and Songline storming into the room in their newly acquired short shorts. One pair is hot pink the other has sailboats on it. We hung around and gradually persuaded ourselves to take another zero. Ended up enting a van so we could drive to Blacksburg, also the campus town surrounding Virginia Tech and see Star WArs Episode III. We crammed in our crew, Roamer and the Corporal and headed to town. Hung out on the campus for a while and caught the flick. Then went back to the Catholic Hostel that runs in the town for the night. Hit up the grocery and resupplied. Lauren came to visit Trend and brought good wishes from C-bus. Crashed Cowboy in the lawn of the Hostel.
Date: 2005-05-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Ate an ice cream cone from DQ on the way out of town. Got a good start and was at our lunch spot before I knew it. Stopped in a big meadow on top of a hill. Everyone is listening to the Indi 500 on their radios today. Put in a 20 and zoned out for a good while. Stayed at a shelter with Goat and Buffet. It was an early night.
Date: 2005-05-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Memorial Day. I got out of camp early again and booked it. There were a couple good climbs today. Met Hookie at lunch. She is from Sundury, OH. Small world. At the top of the climb ater lunch there was a cooler with sodas and candy bars. Those processed sugars never tasted so good. Camped at a kind of bad shelter but was so pooped it didn't matter.
Date: 2005-05-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hard miles today over Dragons Tooth. That is a rocky ridge with some really nice views. Hiked late into the night. A guy had some icy cold Coors Lights at the road crossing before the shelter. Stopped for a few and then pushed on to the shelter. When everyone else showed up, Camel and I booked up the hill and found a field that everyone pretty much collapsed in. No tents were pitched, much sleep was had. Going into Catawba tomorrow.
Date: 2005-06-01
To: Catawba
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy B-Day Mom. I almost forgot but saw the date in a Trail Mail register. Hiked into a town called Catawba today. I couldn't get a hitch because traffic was shut down due to road work. So I walked the 2 miles to the town. Hung out there by myself for a while and had a great cheeseburger. The General Store was a really cool place. It had an old time vibe to it. Real western. All the farmers would stop in to ponder the news report or view the knife case. A little toddling girl ordered her grizzled grandpa around all afternoon. Around 4:00 everyone showed up. There was talk of rain and the owner of the store said we could camp behind the store. We set up and ate good from the store. There was interest in going to a bar so Blotter and I stood outside in front of the gas station. A guy named Brad stopped by and said he would take us to the bar or we could go to his house to hang. He was a nice guy and brewed his own Stout. We took him up on his offer and in no time we were in an awsome house on soft couches listening to the Dead, sipping Stout and digging the scene. After a while he offered to drive us all to the BW3's where his girfriend worked to drink and get wings. We went out and had a good time. Also called Mom from the BW3's but it was a little late. All the hikers sang Happy Birthday. Went back to the store and crashed as it continued to rain.
Date: 2005-06-02
From: Catawba

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up and had a couple buiscuits and a huge quart of O.J. Got a hitch with Andy in the rain from a retired Marine in a Rendevous listening to some heavily orchestrated music. People are wonderful out here. Hit the trail and climbed to McAfee Knob and it was cold and soggy. Kept pushing and caught Camel. He, Bear and I decided to push into Daleview (?) to do a real resupply and get out of the crappy weather. Did 20 miles by 7:00. Got a hotel room for pretty cheap and went to a good Mexican restaurant across the street. It reminded me of El Vaquero. Fell asleep in 30 seconds.
Date: 2005-06-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up, did laundry. Went to the Outfitter and resupplied. The guys still weren't in town so we waited outside for them to show up. Finally Blotter and Sandy walked down the road. In a while everyone showed up and wanted to get rooms. The afternoon was spent catching up on chores and ---- good. Watched the Memorial Tournament at the Mexican bar across the street. Stayed up for a while. I couldn't sleep for some reason.
Date: 2005-06-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Talked to Mom and Dad this morning on the phone to try and set up the plans for my brother's graduation. I'm going to get off the trail on the 11th and be back on by the 13th. I'm looking forward to seeing all you guys if I have time.Only went about 11.2 miles today because of the late start, humidity and enjoyment of the trail. Since we saw Star Wars we have re-cast the movie with thru-hikers. Here's the breakdown:Sandy-Luke SkywalkerFester-R2D2Bali-C3POBlotter-Obie Wan KanobieBear (Indi) - Hans SoloLimbo - Anakin SkywalkerThe Emperor-The Honey BunWe'll cast more roles as the correct characters make themselves known.
Date: 2005-06-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Pushed hard into Jennings Creek. I hiked most of the day by myself. Did the 14 in by 2:00 and made a really good sandwich then went down to the swimming hole. There were a lot of locals that had brought their kids to go swimming. I cooled off and waited for the rest of the group to show up. Everyone had a dip and hauled themselves up on a large rock. The hikers looked like a buch of tanned seals. Blotter and I caught a hitch into town with a retired Navy man. His name was charles Ware. He took us to grab beer and dogs at the local IGA. We cruised around for a while with him while he talked about a variety of topics. He had a lot of interesting viewpoints. He took us to his hunting lodge for a shot of rum. We had a couple then he brought us back to the Trail. It was a super fun hitch to get.
Date: 2005-06-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up with a little bit of a headache probly from dehydration. songline, Blotter and I walked to the campstore and scored a few sausage and egg biscuits. We took off out of camp and hiked through some humid junk. Watch the first summer storm of the season rool through and pushed on to a really buggy shelter called Thunder Hill. Went under a rock feature called Guilloting (sp). It is a bolder suspended over the AT. Supposed to be hot for several days.
Date: 2005-06-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Got up early and made a push for the James. Hiked by myself and made good time. Saw a black snake eating a frog and when I startled it the frog pulled out of the mouth of the snake and made a hop for it! 10 feet down the trail I rolled up on a copperhead! Hitched into town and ate several ham salad sandwiches outside of the supermarket. Soon everyone showed up. Had burritos for dinner back by the river. A cool cat named Jonathan swung by and brought a guitar for us to play. Going to be an early, long day tomorrow.
Date: 2005-06-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Songline and I woke up early and cruised up a 3000 foot climb to the Ottig Cling Memorial. Hiked 20 miles with another 3000 foot climb at the end of the day. Stayed at a shelter .5 miles off the trail with Songline. Very tired. Saw a bear but was so slow to look I almost missed him. It was just a yearling.
Date: 2005-06-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hiked another long day today. Right after lunch a big old thunder storm hit while we were walking a ridgeline leading up to the priest. I had to pick myself up off the trail a couple times after big strikes!! Made it to the Tyg River and walked to a dirty little store called The Mountain View Tea Room. Ate snacks and got back to a camp spot right as it started to rain. Very wet in my tent...it's like a sauna in here. I'm naked, sticky and wet. Good Trail.
Date: 2005-06-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

We decided to push all the way to Waynesboro today. It was supposed to be 30 miles but we talked to Tennessee Rebel and he mentioned that we could walk the parkway and cut off 5. Made it into town by 5:00. Fanny Pack picked us up at the Trail and took us around to the store and the hotel. By the pool drinking a cool Coors Light and watching the sun set. Going to meet the folks at Tastee Freeze tomorrow. I'll head back to Columbus for my brother's graduation. The rest of my group, now known on the Trail as "the Sleazebags" or "Guy Thigh Crew" are a day or two behind. Should meet up with them when I get back. See y'all later on the Trail.
Date: 2005-06-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It was another scorcher today. Pushed to Blackrock Hut for lunch and then Blotter and I pushed to the Loft Mountain Campground by 5:30 to see if we could purchase some dad pops. Needless to say, when beer is the objective, we very rarely fall short of our destination and this was no exception. It cooled a little in the evening and we sipped beers until we moved to this little site. Cowboy camped.
Date: 2005-06-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Cruised pretty good today. Things have cooled down a lot and hiking is so much nicer. There is a lot of wildlife around. The deer have no fear of humans. I woke up the other night and there was a deer looking at me from about 3 feet away. Just his head was sticking out of the brush. It was kind of creepy.
Date: 2005-06-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Crazy day. Got going at a reasonable time. It was a cool morning. Hiked into Lewis Center and had a nice lunch of sandwiches and beers. They sell beers everywhere in the Shenandoahs. Works out well for thirsty hikers. Took a couple of beers with me after lunch and drank them on the way down the trail. Hiked into Big Meadows Campground. Blotter and I got there and met up with Bear. We had been trying to take him his sleeping pad. He thought someone had it ahead of him on the trail. Anyway, he was happy that we caught up with him. We went to the lodge bar for a while and then went down to a site that Songline had acquired. There is a ton of noise and commotion with all the rivers around. A real wilderness experience.