morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-05
From: Harrisonburg, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

"How does this movie end? Are they going to go kill some puppies?!?" --KatAll the shopping is done. The food is packed and we are ready to hit the trail! It¢ll be good to be back out there again and doing some high mileage to get more of the trail behind us...that is, we will be ready as soon as ¢Legends of the Fall¢ is over.What a brilliant movie!And what great company. The dogs, my mom, Bloody, and of course my best friend Kat--the most movie neglected person I know. She hasn¢t even seen ¢Braveheart¢! Who hasn¢t seen that???
Date: 2004-04-06
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: clear sky

Bushwhack, be quiet.It¢s not fair that we can now face a 20 plus mile day without fear and then half way thru realize we have time for 3 hrs worth of breaks before needing to get to the shelter in just over 10 hrs.You have corrupted us. Jerk.What an amazing difference no snow and a little less crowd makes! It¢s like a different adventure. New people. New places. Not better, just new.It¢s nice to know there won¢t be 20 people at the shelter who don¢t want to set up their tent.We ran out of water today, but luckily we ran out right near a new development. Some very nice ladies with a very white kitchen and very tasty lemon cake stopped their meeting long enough to help us out. Mmmm. Hope we didn¢t track too much mud in....Well, it¢s been a long day. Staying at a shelter with three sectioners and two flip floppers. Ah, what a nice change. Doh! I¢ve just had dinner and my before bedtime snack and am still hungry. Ahhhhh!
Date: 2004-04-07
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Whoever said Virginia is flat should be hung up by their toe nails from the top of the Priest!The Priest is like coming out of the NOC, straight up, forever, with lots of false summits--the kind that makes you start to rethink your silly dream of thru hiking the AT.We ran into some guys going up the mountain who talked in vertical feet rather than miles or minutes."There's a nice overlook about 300 vertical feet up." -Vertical Feet Man"Oh yeah, how long to the top?" -Xena"Oh. about 1500 vertical feet." -Vertical Feet Man"Oh, right. Of course." -Xena2 miles? 3 hrs? Speak so we can understand! Who speaks in vertical feet???We were supposed to go on to the next shelter, but it didn¢t happen. My fault. Just dont have the drive. Tomorrow will be longer but I can¢t think about that right now.Might have to rethink the whole plan for VA when we get back for Easter. Will do a better job looking at profiles!
Date: 2004-04-08
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: broken clouds

(Conversation 5.5 miles into hike)"You know...once we get to this shelter we'll only have 17 miles left." -Bloody"Shut up. That¢s not funny." -Xena"Well, it could be worse." -Bloody"How?" -Xena"Well, we could be at the B and B eating scones and drinking tea."   -Bloody"And that would be worse.....how???" -Xena"Well, we'd get fat. We're probably getting fat just thinking about it." -BloodySo, today was a bad day. The Priest hung with me this morning and made everything very mental. It¢s the kind of day where I¢ve been thinking about quitting and figuring the quickest way to get out of the woods and back home. Every step of the uphill was a huge chore and I just was not impressed.So once we got to the first shelter I broke down and decided I was, in fact, heading home and getting off this stupid trail.The next six miles flew by in two hours. Trying to run away from the demons that try to sabotage hikes.Needless to say, I¢m still here and am too into this to quit the first time I really feel like it, but it was a tough day.Just 19 miles tomorrow...
Date: 2004-04-09
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: Glasgow/James River Foot Bridge
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

What a beautiful day. I was going to keep this in chronological order, but I can¢t.Highlights of the day:MY SISTER PICKED ME UP FOR EASTER!What a nice almost-suprise!My feet started bleeding-guess its time for another pair of shoes.Peddlers Dam was awesome to walk under!Oh, and did I mention my little big sister picked me up for Easter???Looking forward to a wonderful weekend with family, the Solemates, Bloody, and some AMAZING food!
Date: 2004-04-12
From: Glasgow/James River Foot Bridge

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 1.7
Weather: moderate rain

Hiking in the rain adds a whole new level to hiking. Everything is sleek and sharp. Colors are crisp. Rocks are slick.We haven¢t really hiked in the rain yet and I¢m not complaining. Actually it was kind of fun. We did only go 1.7 miles, but its all good.I¢m now on my 3rd pair of shoes. This time trail runners. I am not a supporter of trail runners, but after my bleeding toes on Friday, I¢m game to try anything.TIPS FOR BREAKING IN TRAIL RUNNERS:1. Buy a brand you haven¢t heard of.2. Make sure you get a pair that does not have Gortex.3. Be sure you pick a rainy day to leave on your break-in hike.4. Try to find a trail with a river and a tall mountain that water can rush down the side of. 5. Be sure to walk through all the tributaries that are running across the trail.6. Continue for 1.7 in soaking trail runners.7. Take them off and let them stay wet all night and be wet in the morning when you plan to do 18 miles through more rain.Whoopee!Not to mention that I left my Thermarest at home. I traded it for a book.One luxury for another. It¢s the price you have to pay on the trail.Preacher and Pi are here and its good to see them again. Full shelter here with 10 of us, though it only sleeps six. Too wet to be outside. This boy scout experience is not as nice as our last one. These leaders are just sleeping while their kids are loud and role playing. Sure do hope we get some sleep, especially with some precariously placed bags of food above my head.Bon soir.
Date: 2004-04-13
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: moderate rain

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! Cornelius Creek shelter has THE best privy on the trail so far.Soon, people will flock from near and far to oooh and ahhh over this privy, so please hurry and come smell and see for yourself. BEST, I tell you! BEST!It¢s interesting that it rained for 15 of the 18 miles (and by rained, I mean poured) and I didn¢t really feel bad. It was a long hike, but not hard and it was uphill but not so bad that I was wishing I wasn¢t here, which is usually what happens on uphills combined with bad weather.We didn¢t get much sleep last night because one of the boy scouts kept kicking me in the head. Not on purpose, but had they moved over just a tiny bit, we all could have fit in a comfortable way. Guess boy scouts these days aren¢t learning trail etiquette.Weirdly enough, when we hit the 15-mile mark, a strong wind blew and then all of a sudden the rain was gone and there were blue skies with sun! It was so incredibly wanted and beautiful! The trail runners are soaked but once I traded out of the new insoles I bought, my feet felt a little better. My arches are hurting but I think it's because of the arch on the insoles. Too high.When we stopped for lunch, stepping out of the pouring rain which soaked us, to sit in a soaking wet shelter, we weren¢t planning on staying long. Events, however changed this.Two hikers approach:-Hey-Hey, how y¢all doin¢?-Good. Wet. You?-The same.-Oh, I don¢t know if you remember me, but I¢m Boy Wonder. I met you guys at Gooch Mountain Shelter. I started March 1st.We were floored. How in the world has he made it this far! He¢s seriously hiking fast!!!O.K., I¢m tired and am heading to bed.Good night.
Date: 2004-04-14
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 0.2
Weather: moderate rain

.2..hmmmm...Well, it was a long walk to the privy...and the privy was so nice we just couldn¢t leave after just one night!In reality, here¢s what happened.Remember the way it poured yesterday and then the sun came out? We dried everything out and then a thunderstorm came up in the middle of the night. When we woke up the storm was raging and the wind was blowing and the fog was covering everything. I¢m sure my dad said it was going to clear up today...we'll just wait till 10:00, I¢m sure the storm will blow over. Well, at 10:00 it was still raining and the fog was still around.If we wait till noon, we can still go 12 miles and we¢ll just do longer days tomorrow and Friday.At noon the rain had stopped but we couldn¢t see out of the shelter.At 2:00, we could still go five miles and then do a little longer day tomorrow.At 2:00..it was snowing. Ugh.And, what, you may wonder, do you do while stuck in a shelter all day? Nothing. That¢s what.You talk about beaches in Spain that have GOT to be warmer than this.You talk about dogs.You talk about scars on hands and foreheads and where they came from.You sleep.You eat. Lots.Then you talk more about Spain while eating.So now we¢ve got 53 miles to do in 2.25 days. We have to be at McAfees Knob by 9:30 Saturday morning.Time to run!
Date: 2004-04-15
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: I-81 Interchange
Miles today: 36.0

"I love the sun. It¢s like..the best thing in the world." -Xena"What about those heat lamps in the bathroom. Those are nice." -Bloody Cactus"Yeah, but..." -Xena"Or those tanning beds you girls use." -Bloody Cactus"Yeah, but..." -Xena"Or those..." -Bloody Cactus"Oh, shut up." -Xena"You¢re wearing old lady glasses straps!" -Xena"Are you laughing at me?" -Bloody Cactus"Yup!"-xena"Hahaha! It sure is windy. Good thing you¢ve got those old lady glasses straps so you don¢t lose those sunglasses!" -Xena"Shut up." -Bloody CactusYeah. We rock. We know it. Squishy is good!Beautiful views today, amazing sun today, sore feet today, incredible breakfast at Peaks of Otter today!We met some geologists at one point around mile 15 when the trail crossed the Parkway and then around mile 32 or so, they ran into us driving down the road and asked us if they could give us a lift! Of course we said yes and before we knew it we were drinking breves with a shot of vanilla, eating pizza and loving some Dominos Cinna-Dots! Mmmmmmmm! Now we are 4 miles ahead of schedule.See, I told you we rock!
Date: 2004-04-17
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: clear sky

What an amazing day! We got up early and were blessed with the best sunrise on the trail so far! After dallying around far too long we got going around 7:30, we had four miles to do in 90 minutes in order to meet up with my parents.After eating too many breakfasts, Bloody Cactus, my sister Amy, Stephen (our friend from northern Ireland), my parents, their friends (and mine) Norma and Olen, and my beautiful dog, Gwyn, headed up to McAfees Knob, a day trip that had been planned for a few weeks.What an amazing hike. Hard (even for pro hikers as ourselves) and hot, but beautiful; the time at the top was well worth it. We even got our Christmas photo taken up there.We upset some Boy Scouts when my dog laid down for a dip in the stream where they were planning to get water! And even though there was a perfectly good, untainted waterfall about ten feet above us, they were stubborn and decided to go on to get water somewhere else.Oh, it¢s just incredible. I don¢t know what else to say about it. Everyone should go on the hike to McAfees Knob. Its just...well...you understand.After getting back down and eating turkey and cheese bagels from my favorite place at home, we packed up and the caravan of cars headed to Four Pines to drop Bloody and me off. After saying goodbye to the folks and introducing ourselves to John, Joe, Sundowner, Valentyne (ahhh, names with random y's! I love them!) and Cairo, we jumped in the shower, then headed to the Home Place, a family style ayce (all you can eat) restaurant that has the reputation of having the best food on the trail. It definitely lived up to the name, and even though Bloody got sick. We¢re sure it was from the heat and dehydration, definitely not from the food. I¢m sure he¢d say the same, though we really do need to get him to eat red meat!We got back from celebrating Valentyne's 24th birthday and I played guitar for a while! I haven¢t picked up a guitar in ages! So much fun!I think the good parts of the day definitely overshadow the fact that I popped my Camelback and have to get a new one sent to Pearisburg, and the fact that one of the dogs at Four Pines peed on my pack and now my pack smells like..well....dog pee. Yummy. As if I don¢t smell bad enough as it is!
Date: 2004-04-18
From: Four Pines Hostel

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

"See, guys know guys need things with handles."-Bloody CactusThis was, I swear, in no way my idea. It was not my idea to zero. I didn¢t put up a fight, but it was not my idea.We got up this morning with all intentions of going six miles over Dragons Tooth and get to Pickle Branch Shelter, but Bloody Cactus had a massive headache and we didn¢t want to be walking in 85-degree weather while he had a headache. We reckon we¢re both dehydrated anyway, so we¢ve been loading up on the Gatorade in hopes of helping out the situation. So this afternoon we helped Big Joe out by burning a huge pile of trash for him. Took about 2 hours to burn the whole lot. I sat on the swing for quite a bit of that time and even with sun tan lotion, I¢m sure I¢m lobster red at the moment.Should be a good evening. Rumor from one hiker who made it in today is that Haiku should be along to the hostel tonight. We hope that¢s right. Should be good to say hi to him after a month and a few odd days!So it¢s just now beginning to sink in how long of a hike this is. We¢ve gone about 450 miles, which means were not even a quarter of the way... which is very intimidating. Are we taking longer than most? Will we get to the end before Bloody's visa runs out? We don¢t know what¢s going to happen, but at least were not stressing out about it. We¢re not going to rush the big miles because that makes the hike lose its fun. Were not going to dawdle either, but were definitely not going to rush, especially not in this heat!So we¢ll see what happens and we¢ll get as far as we can, hopefully K, but if not, we¢ll finish it another time, take another few months off work!It¢s all about the journey, not the destination!
Date: 2004-04-19
From: Four Pines Hostel

To: Niday shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

"If this is what fighting dragons is like, I¢m glad its left up to the men folk. Let princes have their dragons, I¢ll just go stitch a bit."-XenaObvious statement of the day:"Well, once you climb up to the ridge, you¢ve got a flat hike until it goes down again."-Section HikerWow. I don¢t know where to begin. What a day!Bloody and I have decided were going to tackle this heat problem a different way. We are going to get up early.... like 5:30 and hike like mad until about one or two, when it gets really hot. Then we're going to siesta until about four and finish our miles in the evening. We think its safer, especially since there¢s no water on the ridgelines, which can last for 10 miles or so. Not to mention that we only have one camelback right now.So we left early this morning and headed up Dragons Tooth. Well, I got told by the trail! I thought McAfees Knob was a hard hike, but boy, Dragons Tooth kicked my butt! There were metal ladders drilled into the rocks and everything!Once at the top, Bloody and I took the blue blaze over to Dragons Tooth and I was the first one up to the top! Mom and dad thought my McAfees Knob picture was bad.... wait till they see this one!It was a long hot hike to Pickle Branch Shelter, but we ran into Walk On, who we started with, as well as Heald and Wonderdog. Wonderdog has over 10,000 AT miles under his collar!We had a nice siesta at the shelter by the river and soaked our shirts and hats before heading on. We drank 3 liters of water between us and thought we would pour ourselves down the trail, or at least squish a way!Ten miles on the ridge after lunch--hot and tiring. We crossed a memorial to the most decorated veteran of WWII. It was pretty neat reading his story in the AT companion.Next there was a HUGE down and then another up to the shelter. Ah, I know my descriptions are wonderful, but I¢m tired.Finally made it to the shelter and were cooking dinner when lo and behold, Haiku showed up! Finally! I get to stay in a shelter with two kilted men! It was great to see him and he must have been happy to see us because he wrote a haiku about us!!!Well, its 9:15 and 5:30 is going to come really early.....
Date: 2004-04-20
From: Niday shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

This is going to be a quick entry because for some reason I can barely keep my eyes open and its only 6pm!Took some pictures with Haiku and Bloody Cactus this morning and then started out around 7 am - hey, did you really think I could get up at 5:30???After climbing to the ridge--I hate climbing to the ridges--we had a nice easy 5 miles along the ridge over rocks, but thankfully the sun was behind the clouds.Since my camelback broke, Bloody and I have been sharing his, which means we have to fill it full since there¢s no water on the ridgeline which means there could be 9 miles of ridge walking in 85 degree weather with nowhere to fill up! So, we're alternating days of who carries the 3 liters. Today it was my day but boy was that thing heavy!We got to the first shelter, and even though it was .3 off the trail we decided we'd better go get more water. Left our packs at the top and headed down to the shelter-boy was it nice! Too bad it was .3 straight down! --and then the water source.I swear it was like something out of a horror movie. Old fallen down houses, perfect for mass murders and the like, not to mention little stone piles, very Blair Witch-esque.Once back at the shelter we decided to siesta since we only had six miles left....... 3 hours and 45 minutes later....Back on the trail and now we get to go thru some cow fields! Up and over and down at least 10 stiles that went from field to field without gates having to be opened.Ran into Deja Vu, Kung Fu, Tells It Like It Is, Hoss (a different one), and another one whose name I can¢t remember.Just before the shelter we came across the Blair Witch House! No kidding! Complete with handprints and everything! Bloody Cactus asked if I wanted to go in ... definitely not!Beautiful river before the shelter, great to take a bath in and rinse shirts off. Try to get a little bit of the hiker funk out of the clothes and off the body.Ohhhh...I still have to make dinner! I¢m too tired!On a side note, our friend Lloyd from the last shelter got off the trail, he was feeling dizzy this morning and almost threw up,we were looking forward to hearing more stories about his motorcycle accident and his hiking trips!Had a nice thundershower after we got to the shelter, cooled everything off and left it smelling like spring! All we need is freshly mowed grass.Looks like Bloody needs new shoes. This foot thing sure is tricky!Oh, a little shelter register trivia courtesy Pickle and Peanut:Q: What is brown and sticky?Q: What do you call a seagull who flies over the bay?Q: What do you get when you spell "go hang a salami, I¢m a lasagna hog" backwards?Q: Why did the turtle cross the road?Answers in tomorrow¢s journal....
Date: 2004-04-21
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Holy Family Church Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

"He was naked except for his shirt, he was snot rocketing everywhere. He had just peed in the river, but when he took of his boots...it just ruined my day"-dinner table comment"Oh happy birthday, oh happy birthday. Death, destruction and despair, people dying everywhere on your birthday, but happy birthday."-dinner table songTHE ADVENTURES OF XENA AND BLOODY CACTUS: EPISODE TWO--THE ONE WHERE XENA ENDS UP IN THE HOSPITALWhen last we saw our fearless hikers they had just escaped with naught but their lives from a fierce snowstorm and headed north to hike some more.Now, the heat is on full blast and Xena has a bite that looks like a bulls eye. She hasn¢t eaten in a day and has been lying down for 13.5 hours when Bloody Cactus pulls her ruthlessly from her sleeping bag, puts her pack on her back and makes her hike one mile in one direction, then turns her around and hikes her four miles back the way they came.They get picked up by a biology professor and dropped off at the Newport Rescue Squad where vitals and pulse ox (its just like ER!) and taken to Giles County Emergency Room with a scare of a brown recluse or black widow spider bite. Our fearless heroes wait in the ER. A doctor comes in, says "Um, it's just a bite..But you are dehydrated. You need to take a day off and get yourself full of Gatorade."So, alas, our hikers are off the trail for a day, and once again trying to figure out some semblance of a schedule.Holy Family Church Hostel is great. 15 of us here tonight including Seeker, who pointed me in the right direction one of the first days on the trail near Justice Mountain and Chestnut, our buddy with the broken ribs from Hot Springs.Nice to see familiar faces. Great to have more hikers to talk to! It certainly does lead to interesting dinner conversations!Answers to the previous journals¢ trivia questions:A: A stickA: A bagelA: Go hang a salami, I¢m a lasagna hog!A: To get to the shell station.
Date: 2004-04-22
From: Holy Family Church Hostel

To: Holy Family Church Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

"Huh, that¢s the first time I¢ve been whistled at."-Bloody Cactus"Hey! How do you know they weren¢t whistling at me?"-Xena"Well, you may have the legs, but..."-Bloody Cactus"But what?"-Xena"Nothing. Never mind"-Bloody Cactus"Yeah, you'd better watch what you say! A girl doesn¢t like realizing that it¢s not her being whistled at but rather a guy in a skirt being whistled at!"-Xena"Oh, sorry! Did you want to go in there?"-Xena"Oh, you go right ahead. You¢re gonna want to use the bathroom before I get in there, Xena!"-Hiker at Holy Family Church HostelWell, I¢m not peeing Gatorade, but I¢ve certainly ingested a lot!And now, thanks to the United States Postal Service, it looks like I¢ll have another day to drink my fill. It sure is hard to plan meeting up with someone when you don¢t know when you¢re leaving and how many miles you have to hike to get to someplace accessible for a car!Bloody and I did some much-needed laundry this morning before hitting an AYCE (All You Can Eat) pizza buffet and the local library for Internet.Had a wonderful lazy afternoon reading and swinging on the porch swing while waiting for my camelback ..which still hasn¢t arrived and I can¢t hike without.Spent two hours in Wal-Mart, oohing and ahhing, finding the soundtrack to my favorite show, the OC, on Fox. Thank goodness Fox does episode guides for the OC or I don¢t know what I¢d do! Couldn¢t justify buying the cd since, well, I don¢t have a cd player with me, but its definitely going on the wish list. It¢d be nice to upload to my mp3 player, but I have to be home long enough to do it!Well, time for bed!