morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-08-15
From: Maine Route 15

To: Wilson Valley Lean-to
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: scattered clouds

August 15, 2005ME 15 (2053.6) to Wilson Valley Lean-to (2064.0) 10.4 milesMy niece (trail name Dugan) and I had planned on hiking the 100-mile wilderness and Katahdin. We drove to Millinocket yesterday and stayed over night at the Millinocket Inn. This morning, we got a shuttle to Abol Bridge where we left my truck and then on to ME Rt 15 near Monson. The drive up to Millinocket took a bit under 6 hours including a long wait to get through the toll booth in New Hampshire. While we were waiting in line, a bee landed on my finger. Luckily it did not sting. My cell phone stopped working after one phone call at the hotel. We started hiking about 10:30. I started with a pack weight of about 31 lbs and Dugan had about 47 lbs. She is a much younger and stronger hiker than I. She had done all of the AT except the 100-mile wilderness and Katahdin 19 years ago. This will complete her hike. We are sharing some gear: tent, water filter, stove, pots, etc. It was a harder day than I expected. My feet are doing OK but my right knee is a bit sore on the down hills. This will be an Advil evening. We had to ford one stream and one river. We both brought wading shoes so we can keep our boots dry. I had been warned that mosquitoes have been horrible in Maine but we have seen almost none. We arrived at the shelter about 7:00. Dinner for me was cocoa, granola bar, mountain house chicken and rice and some candy. I should have used a little more water for the rice & chicken.   Dugan is vegetarian and cooked millet and dried vegetables for dinner. I teased her about eating bird seed and then had to explain how my white Canada Mints are all natural and therefore qualify as health food.
Date: 2005-05-24
From: Blacksburg, VA

To: Watauga Lake, NC
Miles today: 0.0

TESTING TESTING TESTINGit is "the day before", and i am worried and tongue-tied. had i forgotten anything? had i given the appropriate boxes and proper directions to my helpers? is my mother right, saying that there are other, safer ways of finding myself? do i really love the woods enough to walk the trail day in and day out?on the way to watauga, i drove past shenandoah on I-81 yesterday after a storm, and watched the rainbow show me the way, the sun rays touching lightly to the mountain tops, and the clouds painted white gold by the moonrise... yes, i am going, i am almost there. the trail awaits. just one more day...thru this trailjournal, i will do my best to keep relatives and friends up to date on my whereabouts. computers don't grow on trees, yet (though monsanto may get there soon), so i am really not sure how often i'll be able to post updates. it's a live-and-learn kind of experience.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Watauga Lake, NC

To: Vandenvetter shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We took our time hiking from Watauga Lake (which is long and beautiful) to Damascus. I think it's only a total of 41 miles or so that we did in 3 days, gradually getting into shape that office jobs seem to prevent. The best thing about hiking with Chris (from here on known by his trailname - Dr. Jones) is that around every corner there's an adventure. It's nice of him to see me off. He's checking to make sure the trail is not too dangerous for me to hike alone, and I appreciate the company on these first few days, especially since I know the rest of it I will walk alone.There we were trucking up hill and all of the sudden i heard the most girlish scream - turned around to find Dr. Jones breathless, and a thru-hiker with a dog behind us. "I was walking and all of the sudden I hear this panting up my leg, and then I turned around and there's a wolf - well, it looked like a wolf to me!" he says. That gained him the temporary trailname Chicken Little. You should have seen the thru-hikers eyes! He was stunned, too! His name is Pellet, and his golden retriever is Cabway (Cabby). About a mile later, we saw a black bear cub, about 50 feet down in the ravine, so Dr. Jones was rightfully afraid, to an extent. We made it to a shelter just 8 miles from our starting point, but that entire trip was uphill, and we are badly out of shape. We watched the sun set over the blue ridges and the western forks that feed Watauga Lake... it is so nice out here.
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Vandenvetter shelter

To: Double Spring shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

We were off to a late start, because Dr. Jones decided that it's the end of May and he doesn't need to bring his zero degree sleeping bag, so we made do with my 45-degree bag and two skimpy airplane blankets, but that left us sore and cold all night. "Chris, I'm cold from the armpits up", is all i recall saying this morning when Pellet left the shelter. I finally figured how Dr. Jones manages not to do anything at camp - he pretends not to know how to do the things that need be done, and since I'm not about to sit down and explain the long procedure of setting up/breaking camp, he just lets me do it all myself. "I'm just letting you get used to doing it all yourself, you know, like you will be doing the rest of your thru-hike."I am carrying all the gear on this trip, and Dr. Jones has the marshmallow pack - mine is more like brick, so my trailname "Marshmallow Pack" has been scrapped, in lieu of Cucumber Girl (in a banana world... she feeds the seagulls on the shore... from one of Dr. Jones' recent songs). "I'm just letting you get used to the weight," he says, but i already know that I'm ditching half of the tent, half of my medical kit, the extra cooking pot, the Steripen (or at least the extra batteries), and the cell phone the moment we're off the trail and back at his car for an off-trail day.We stopped for lunch of australian shiraz, perrano cheese, and crackers at a shelter. The liter of red went down so quickly we didn't even notice. "Look, it's the baby wolf that climbs trees - i think you call them squirrels in America." (Dr. Jones is hilarious!) Then, we set back out on the trail with a mission, rounding about 3 mph, trying to make it to a shelter for the evening. About an hour and a half later, Dr. Jones says, "Lets take a short water break," and we passed out on top of our backpacks in the middle of the trail for an hour! I was so tired. What do you mean drinking wine and hiking decent miles is not compatible? I don't even know if anyone had passed us while we were asleep!That night we stayed in a shelter by a stream, so I decided to do my first bit of laundry in 38-degree water... and the soap smelled so good! Shared the shelter with Chance (aka Nightcrawler) -- he said we'll be seeing him more on this trip.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Double Spring shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

.DAY 3 (27 May 2005)It was really cold with just one sleeping bag last night! I felt mice running over my feet all night. We started the day on the trail in rain, only 20 minutes after Chance; caught up to him quickly and let him go. Once the weather began clearing up, we caught misty glimpses of the neighboring ridges - my heart pounds every time i see this! Lunch at the Abington shelter, or so we thought. It was a rinky dinky little thing that could squeeze 3 elfs in a snow storm. Turns out the real Abington Shelter was 1 mile down, with a Holy Bible in a ziplock drawer - just like in a 4-star hotel! We decided to push another 10 miles on to Damascus (for a total of 18), even though our feet weren't agreeing at this point. So, on 1/2 liter of water we plowed up and down the 'munkville territory, creaking and whining, taking a rightfully earned siesta in fly-land, and down down down hill into Damascus. Ran into Pellet and Cabby on the way in, and Chance was already in town (he walked right into a family of 4 bears on the trail, had a doe attack him, and a quail family hiss at him that day, and he was just a couple of miles ahead of us!!!). We walk into the town, and have no clue where we are. Three days on the trail and we didn't even glance at a map; walk into town and we can't read the map in the guide! There's a man trying to catch his dog, so I ask him for directions - he's drunk, i can tell, and not very helpful, although outmost kind. I ask him to glance at the map I've got, "Sugar, I've already had quite a few beers today, so I can look at the map, if you like, but... it won't help you any".We found the hostel, alright. Went out for burritos, and Dr. Jones decided to taste test every kind of beer at the bar, so 10 of those later we sneak around the midnight alleys of Damascus back to The Place (hostel), where Dr. Jones makes enough of a ruckus (sp?) to get us kicked out, but everyone is patient - everyone knows how tempting it is to down one after another on your first day in town. I mean, people do it, I don't. I guess I'm too much of a control freak.Heard a great quote - "the difference between a day-hiker and a thru-hiker is that the latter will not pass an M&M laying on the trail". I can finally say I'm getting to the point of the latter, at least when it comes to M&Ms.
Date: 2005-05-28
From: Damascus, VA

To: campsite
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: light rain

DAY 4 (28 May 2005)After rocking out to internet music at the Damascus Public Library, we set back out on the trail. Music is something I've been missing. Though I'm carrying a CD player, the batteries only last a couple of hours. We did an easy 11-mi day along the VA Creeper Bike Path. Got to splash in a river at lunch, and boulder a little along the way. Discovered that the uphill goes by faster if we're telling stories, so today was my turn - Stevenson's Treasure Island. We met many trail people in Damascus (Weatherman Bill, Hellen Keller, Carnivore, etc) that i'm sure we'll be seeing along the way. In the evening, we set up camp in a pine forest clearing near a pond, got the fire going, then a little tinkerbell come down the trail - turns out it was the headlamp of a hiker, but it took a while to figure this out. Meet Nick. He was very much wanting to stay, but didn't want to invite himself. The moment he settled in, Phil and Pheonix rolled in. So we set up our Eurekaville (all of us had the same tents!) and enjoyed a night at the fireside and under the stars. Phil even treated us to some hot dogs he carried from Damascus, complete with hot dog buns and hot sauce.We got hot showers in Damascus!!! Who would have thought that this trail experience would make you love and appreciate everything you've got. I definitely didn't expect it, not this early. The people in Damascus, as well as those we met on the trail, are amazingly nice. It seems to be a very tightly-knit community of hikers and supporters (trail angels), and each has their stories to tell - it's great! I already know we'll be running into Pellet & Cabby (and the girlfriend that is due to arrive when Dr. Jones leaves), as well as Chance and his brother Bushhog for the next couple of days/weeks, since they communicated their itinerary to us. I just wish my feet would heal faster, but i guess it's just the beginning, so no need to rush (but i'm russian...).
Date: 2005-05-29
From: campsite

To: White Top Mtn
Miles today: 12.0

Dr. Jones and i are early risers, so we broke camp and got onto the trail the moment Dr. Jones thought there were bears creeping around our tent. Turns out Pellet and his golden retriever Cabby had passed our camp in the wee AM. Sorry, but a golden retriever is hardly a bear, even though it is technically the same "wolf" that scared Dr. Jones just three days ago. Met Magic Touch and Sawbuck (he's got to be in his 50's!). Lots of uphill today, especially up Whitetop Mtn. The only diamond in the rough was a strawberry gusher chewy snack i found on the trail on the way up - removed the 2 ants, and popped it in my mouth. We ate lunch at the windy top of the mountain with stunning views! Finally utilized my one leisure item - CD walkman - on the way down - almost 4 miles in 72 minutes! Can't beat that! Pellet and Cabby were waiting for us at the bottom of the hill, since my brother has been coerced into bringing Pellet's girlfriend to the trail and taking Dr. Jones and i back to Dr. Jones' car at Watauga Lake. I must stay, it was strange to ride in a vehicle, and it was most uncomfy sleeping in the car. i prefer the woods, any day
Date: 2005-05-30
From: White Top Mtn

To: Hurricane shelter
Miles today: 17.0

Dr. Jones returned me to the trail at Whitetop trailhead today. I got a chance to repack into a smaller pack. I think my original pack weight was close to 40 lbs, but the smaller pack couldn't be more than 35 lbs. After we said our goodbyes and he wished me luck on the rest of the trail, I took off up the mountain with the walkman on full blast (some days, it seems that's the only way to rack up mileage). This is the portion of the trail that runs over Mt. Rogers, and it is beautiful!!! The top is rugged, rocky, with few trees, and most of those are sweet-smelling fraiser firs! I had the crazy notion of catching up to the gang from two nights ago (Nick, Phil, Pheonix, Carnivore, Hellen Keller), since all of them passed us while we waited for my brother. The boys have some mega calves, though, and have been on the trail for almost 2 months, so even the idea seemed surreal. Of course, who could have thought that i'd meet Mr. Gimp at the first (Thomas Knob) shelter up the mountain, who, immediately after expressing "you've got to be plain dumb to get lost on the AT" realized that we hadn't seen a blaze in over an hour (we've been walking together and talking by this point). We ventured thru rocky tops, meadows, and clans of ponies that wanted to lick our salty hands and armpits, and arrived at a place called "Scales", where we finally saw a white blaze, only to see Nick and Phil walking towards us. For a while we couldn't figure out which of us was headed in the wrong direction. Turns out we took a shortcut on a horse trail, which caught us up nicely to the group. We dined with Stove pipe (an Amazon woman from New Mexico that we met in Damascus - she's only 18 and hiking the whole trail by herself!), as well as Erin & Pellet & Cabby at Old Orchard shelter, and moved on 4 mi to the next (Hurricane) shelter. This was my first bit of night hiking. The next shelter was full, and since i was the only girl, the boys moved over enough to make space for me, but Mr. Gimp ended up sleeping on the picnic table.
Date: 2005-05-31
From: Hurricane shelter

To: Partnership shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

After several hours of getting kicked in the head by Nick, and rolling into Tony Danza (whom i hadn't even met yet), i decided to get out on the trail. Sleeping like sardines in the shelter can be smelly and loud, with an occasional knee in the head. Eventually, Mr. Gimp and Tony Danza were up too, and we set off into the morning mist. Couple of miles later, a man with a welt on his forhead, looking outraged and confused, approached us in the woods, "am i headed south or north on the AT?". Mr. Gimp, of course, pulls his chains and gives him the wrong directions. Twenty seconds later the guy returns, "are there any water sources on the AT?" We cannot contain our laughter by this point. Turns out, the guy asked Tony Danza the same questions, because he didn't believe a word of ours, but we were the ones telling the truth. We had our second breakfast on a grassy patch near a road, where Magic Touch and Sawbuck got dropped off after hitching a ride into town to breakfast at a restaurant! They taunted us with coconut cream pie and western omlets, as we gnawed on our mushed granola and powdered milk.The mission for the day was to cover 21 miles to Partnership shelter, where there is a hot shower, a sink, and supposedly pizza and beer get delivered right to the shelter. The whole crew from Hurricane was headed there, and so were we. This was one looooong day! We covered 10 miles by noon, and lunched at Trimpi shelter with a doe, Tony Danza, Hellen Keller (who is a young man from Oklahoma, but the name-person combination is hilarious) and Carnivore. But after that, we must have crossed 3 Brushy mountains (of which there are 14 in a 3-page interval of the Thru-Hiker's Handbook), and each time we got passed, the passer said "it's all downhill from here" or "it's just easy walking from here on out to Partnership". Needless to say, the expressions "easy terrain", "all downhill", and "Brushy mountain" are more of a joke on the trail. It also didn't help that everyone asked us "going on to Partnership for pizza?" At one point, Mr. Gimp and i were so tired we just sat on the trail and wished our feet would move, out of breath, out of water, just waiting for some benevolent force to somehow transport us to Parnership, when Pheonix showed up, obviously exceeding the speed limit for this part of the trail, and i couldn't take it any longer. I popped in my techno CD and took off up the mountain. Yep, the boys ate the dust from my tires for a while, and we all really did make it to Partnership, even before dark! The shower and pizza were great, as were the fireside stories. The shelter itself is nice - new, log, two-story.
Date: 2005-06-01
From: Partnership shelter

To: Chatfield shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up early, with the intent to move on, but one turn reminded me of the pain dues not yet paid for yesterday's 21-mile dash. Most hikers took a zero (no miles) or a nero (nearly no miles) day in nearby Marion, but Mr. Gimp and i moved on in the morning drizzle. Hiking together is like exercising together - you either motivate each other to keep going or motivate each other to be lazy. We stopped for a break at a gravel road crossing, and sat on some boulders, when i suddenly saw 3 black figures some 20 feet from us. Three wild boars came out of the woods, sniffing the ground, shamelessly approaching us, disregarding the racket and hooting that we were creating to scare them off. One of the boars chased us out of our sitting spots and followed us a ways up the trail! Several yards later, a grouse took off from the brushes next to the trail, about giving me a heart attack. This is when i recalled Nightcrawler's story... on approach to Damascus, he was flying downhill and found himself in the midst of a black bear family. He froze and waited for them to run off, certain that he was counting his last minutes. Then he got scared off by a grouse with grouselings (?), and recalled that "bad things happen in threes", so he got a stick and was on full awareness when a doe jumped out a yard in front of him and he almost stabbed it with his walking stick! Keeping that story in mind, we walked the rest of the day in search of a black bear or some other creature to scare us for the third time, but found none. Turns out the zeroing/neroing gang was pretty fun, as Mr. Gimp and i trod thru 7 miles of wet, muddy, downhill only to collapse at the next (Chatfield) shelter with 4 SOBO's (southbounders), 2 of which were Hokies.
Date: 2005-06-02
From: Chatfield shelter

To: Davis Path shelter
Miles today: 7.0

!DAY 9 (2 June 2005)The shelters are usually ridden with mice, and all the packs and food sacks must be hung up where the mice can't chew thru them. Well, last night a mouse got tangled in my hair, while on his way into the warmth of my sleeping bag! I keep thinking of the screaming that would have come out if my mother would have been with me! Apparently, there are several thru-hikers carrying mouse traps, but i hadn't met any yet, except maybe Epistomelogical Maglomaniac. This is also the night that i got poison ivy on my right wrist (long awaited). The wrist has been taped since then, and so far no spreading had been noted. The rain hasn't subsided, and no matter how much i wanted to get out of the shelter and just walk to the point of collapse (usually rainy days bring good miles), Mr. Gimp suggested an alternative itinerary: only do 7 miles to the next shelter, with a mid-point stop over in a truck stop for breakfast. Trucker breakfast? Sold. On our trek through abandoned orchards, we came to an old school (part of the Settler's Museum living history farm), and then walked through fields that were full of flowers and a sweet, wet smell. I discovered that my water-proof pants weren't waterproof, so hiked the rest of the way with make-shift gaiters of ziplock bags and duct tape (they worked great!). By the way, the breakfast stop was great - omelet and potatoes, and washing myself in a sink with running water... small wonders. On the way out of town, thru more fields, we ran into a herd of cows that not only refused to move out of our way, but pooped at the sight of us in perfect harmony right where they stood! Pellet and Cabby passed us, as did Pheonix (they are flying!). I was totally ready to stop for the day by the time we reached Davis Path shelter. I've long wanted some time to catch up on journal writing, and re-organize my pack. The rain raged on, tearing down a tree very close to the shelter! Yes, we were there, and yes, it made a great sound!!I'm quite surprised how easy it is to access civilization from the trail. Of course, i've heard this is typical for TN, NC, and VA. The group i've been traveling with is always excited to go into town, but then again, they've been on the trail for almost 2 months by now. Maybe i'll be feeling the same way soon.This has been going pretty well, actually. I certainly don't feel like i'm alone in the woods. The group (there are 7 of us now) doesn't travel together all day, but we pass each other, or lunch together, and eventually congregate at the same shelter for the night. I feel safe that way, and we sort of watch after each other, but we still get the solo hiking during the day. Mr. Gimp and i have been setting out of shelters together, but hiking most of the days solo, only to reconvene with the group at the end of the day.
Date: 2005-06-03
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 10 (3June 2005)I love seeing what other thru-hikers are carrying with them, and especially what they're eating. There's the usual Ramen, Mtn. House, Liptons, but every so often you run into these insane combinations:- Ramen, mashed potatoes, tuna, raisins;- Ramen, mac & cheese, all the cheese and ramen flavorings, hot sauce;- stovetop stuffing, ramen, hot sauce, mayo, all the stuffing and ramen flavorings;uncooked ramen with peanut butter eaten as a cracker;and all of these are sooo good!Another easy day today (11mi). Saw a 4-ft black snake at lunch, then hiked up through meadows - these are the prettiest parts, because you actually get some views, instead of being in the woods all day. Two SOBO's shared trail magic - apple and a bottle of oj, and a pointer to where there's a whole cantaloupe stacked on a stile 2 miles down the trail! The cantaloupe was good, and i found some spearmint along the way too! Got drenched in a thunderstorm before rolling into Knot Maul Branch shelter with Mr. Gimp, Carnivore, Hellen Keller, and Kerosine (a SOBO); Phil and Nick joined us later --- you get the point.I was very excited to make instant jello pudding for dinner, and the package said "oreo" on it, which added spice to the excitement. I followed the cut-out instructions and wound up with a snot-yolk looking goo. Turns out the package said "Next time try our Oreo Instant Jello pudding with real Oreo cookie bits"! I was so disappointed! Yolk-snot flavor (aka butterscotch) was good, but the oreos would have made the day.