morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-09
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Not doing really great miles but I will never complain again about walking nice flat ridge tops for mile after mile! Today was all ups and downs-about 2000 ft. each! First the trail went along the Blue Ridge Parkway again. I was able to get rid of my trash at one of the overlooks-that's always nice. Then we were back in the woods and finally away from the road noise. We had a long steep descent into Jenning's Creek where Lonestar and I stopped to play. We washed ourselves down the best we could and then got a ride 1 1/2 miles to the Middle Creek Campground (formerly "It's a Wonderful life Campground). There we picked up a few extra provisions and I had a grilled cheese sandwich and an ice cream bar. Lonestar got a cheeseburger and fries. Then it was 4 more miles to the shelter but we also had to walk to 1 1/2 miles back to the trail-yuck! This shelter is really amazing! It's a 3 story job but unlike the shelter last night, the privy isn't as good. The privy at Bobblets Gap was amazing-large, spacious, new, no odor and skylights! Anyway, the highlights of today's trail is 2 fold. First (Jeffrey and Marc don't get too excited here) but I came across blueberry bushes-with ripe blueberries! And, I ate not just one but two! I don't care much for blueberries, matter of fact I can't stand them. These quite honestly didn't taste much like anything. They are so small-no more than 3/8" diameter. Nothing like the big, plump, juicy, berries in the grocery store. Later I was cruising down the trail listening to my I-Pod when I hear Lonestar call me. I had walked right past a copperhead snake that was 1/2 way along the trail. It just blended in with the leaves on the trail. I can't believe I missed it esp. since I keep my head down watching my feet the whole time. This snake was not moving and we thought it was dead. I tossed s small piece of bark at it and it moved a tiny bit, enough that we could tell it wasn't dead but it sure was very lethargic. I got some great pictures of it. Lonestar had to get off the trail to find a way around it. Tomorrow morning we have a monstrous climb in front of us.
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Short day today except that we took a blue blaze side trail to AppleOrchard Water Falls, It was over 1 mile (each way) and 1000 foot drop tothe falls, and it wasn¢t worth the effort. This past month ¢ May, has beenthe driest month on record for this area.Anyway, the day started with about a 3000 foot climb up to Apple OrchardMountain. This is the highest point on the Blue Ridge Parkway (4250 ft)and we haven¢t been up this high in a long time. Combined with yesterdayslowest point of 950 ft it was a lot of UP, but not really a hard climb, itwas over about 10 miles. But when you add in the extra climb ¢ down and up¢ to the falls¢¦.The highlights of today were ¢ I flushed out a family of grouse, a wholebunch of babies took off in one direction and the mother (?) flew up infront of me, fanned out her tail and then took off in a differentdirection. I saw another snake today, a ribbon snake, it had yellowstripes running down the length of it. There was a field full of ferns growing almost 5 feet tall in clusters, andsome other plants that I¢ve seen growing now have flower stalks shooting upover 6 feet high which have large clusters of small white flowers.Lone Star and I stopped at Black Rock Overlook which had a pretty view, andwalked under the Guillotine (see photo). It was very pretty up nearCornelius Creek Shelter, and here at this shelter as well. TheRhododendrons are still in full bloom, and the trail was littered withpurple and pink blossoms. It was especially pretty when the sun wasshining and there was scattered sun on the trail with the blossoms.Well, its very cold up here, my thermometer says 58* and its breezy. Thereis a good chance of storms tonight. There is a group of weekend hikerssponsored by the Blue Ridge Outfitters in Greensboro NC here, They areexcited about meeting us ¢Thru Hikers¢. Black Snake is here as well as theFather /Son section hikers I¢ve been with in the past few days.
Date: 2006-06-11
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: US 501/VA 130-staying at Wildwood Campground
Miles today: 14.6

I got a late start this morning (8:00am) but made really good time - forthe first time since I got back on the trail. The terrain was fairly easyeven though it was about 3000 feet down the mountain side. My new shoesare still doing great; I guess I¢m ¢back in the groove¢. It did rain lastnight so it was foggy and drippy out when I started. It did drizzle on mea little but the sky¢s never opened up with a down pour. Temperatures werein the mid 50¢s, so it was easy hiking. I did about 12 12 miles to the nextshelter of very uneventful hiking, it was nice when I could finally spotthe James River from the mountain.When we got to the shelter just before the river crossing, Lone Star, BlackSnake and I were taking a break when a day hiker came in looking for a pairof glasses his friend had lost over the weekend, He had hiked the trailin 2000/2001 under the trail name of Sunshine. We were able to yogi a rideto town with him! I went to the campground where I got a cabin (and ashower and laundry), Lone Star and Black Snake went to the grocery store tore-supply and then back to the trail to hike to the next shelter. It¢sbeen a week since Lone Star and I got back on the trail, I don¢t know howshe can continue on a few more days without a shower or laundry! I wasjust too nasty not to stop. I also need to get into Glasgow for my maildrop, my bounce box and a new (smaller) waist belt for my pack.There is a guy here at the campground, Ken, who shuttles hikers around, hewill take me to the post office at 8am and then drop me off 12 miles northof here and I will slack pack back to the campground. Tuesday I will doanother slack pack, and, I get to take a shower every day! What more can Iask for?
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Blue Ridge Parkway-mile marker 51.7

To: US 501/VA 130
Miles today: 10.9

I did a SOBO slack pack, 11 miles in 4 12 hrs, not bad time. It was a drippy, foggy morning, it had rained most of the night. I met up with The Wanderers, I havne¢t seen them in a long time. They all looked great. I also passed Lone Star and Black Snake, she looked pretty miserable, cold and wet. I¢m so glad I stayed at the campground last night. I passed 2 more turtles on the trail, one going SOBO, one going NOBO. I saw another family of grouse, a white tail deer, and a blue bird. Ken, the trail angle that is shuttling me around picked me up at the James River and we went to get lunch. Then back to the campground so I could go through my mail drop and bounce box. I did get the new waist belt for my pack. Tomorrow, the plan is that Ken will drop me off 10 miles north of where I was today and I will do a 15 mile NOBO slack pack to the Dutch Haus B&B at Fish Hatchery Rd. He will drive my pack up there for me. Then, I hope to do another slack pack from there.
Date: 2006-06-13
From: US 60

To: Fish Hatchery Road
Miles today: 16.3

I did a NOBO slack pack today from Rt. 60 to the Fish Hatchery Rd, and yes, there is a fish hatchery here. They raise trout for release into the streams. I started at 7:50 am, it was very cold and sunny, but I warmed up quickly as I had a climb of about 2000ft up to Bald Knob. Only problem is Bald Knob is NOT bald! The undergrowth of the forest is more like overgrowth here, its 4 ¢ 5 feet tall and crowding in the trail. The trail would quickly disappear without all the dedicated trail maintainers! Some sections today are sorely in need of maintaining, while others show signs of very recent mowing. I wish I had a pair of binoculars and bird books today, the forest is so full of song birds. If I stop and stand still for just a moment I can see dozens of birds flitting around in the trees. The Cow Camp Shelter was over 12 mile off the trail, so I skipped it and went on to Cold Mt. Now, Cold Mountain IS a bald, it¢s a series of balds with an almost 180* view of the surrounding area. The view is spectacular, but spoiled by a series of radio (phone?) antennas, but if they weren¢t there I wouldn¢t be able to get a cell and call my son in the army from here! I wish I had the words to adequately paint a picture of what this area is like. The grass is knee high with slivery seed heads gently bending in the breeze. There are small yellow flowers scattered through the fields and butterflies of every size and color flying around. Tiny pale yellow ones, large orangey yellow ones, large black/blue ones with swallow tails, and pure white ones. Some of the oak trees on the edge of the bald have been riddled by bugs but the leaves look like filigree lace. I have seen a lot of apple (crab apple?) trees with small green apples growing, as well as peach trees with small fuzzy green peaches about the size of almonds. The birds are singing all through the meadows, its such a glorious day it makes me want to sing also, but if I did I would scare off all the birds and butterflies! At Hog Camp Gap there was another meadow with a campsite and someone has rigged up a couple of swings, so its time for a break and a swing! I passed a small group of Boy Scouts out for a 35 mile hike. It was nice to talk to them, they were from Hot Springs, VA. The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful and easy, I made it to the Fish Hatchery Rd by 4:15 pm and got picked up 1 mile further down the road by Earls dad. Earl & Lois run the Dutch Haus B&B, and during May and June they feed hikers lunch for free! And give us a special rate at the B&B. Spin Master and Jack are here, they are the 2 section hikers I¢ve seen off and on for the past few days.
Date: 2006-06-14
From: VA 644-Reeds Gap

To: Fish Hatchery Road
Miles today: 19.9

Slack pack in the rain 20 miles, not much at all to say for today. 20 miles even without a pack on is still a long hard hike. I like to get out early and be done by 6pm but I didn¢t get started till after 8am due to breakfast and shuttle schedules from the B&B. Combine that with the bad weather and I just walked and walked and took very short breaks. The rain is from the storm Alberto that is hitting Florida, we are just on the edge of it. It was never very heavy, though I did wear my rain poncho at times ¢ I do like the poncho, it really keeps me dry as well as all of my gear. There is plenty of air flow under it so I don¢t sweat to death (if it were 80* and raining that might be a different story). I climbed 2 major mountains today; down Three Ridges and then up the Priest. I crossed the Tye river in between the 2 mountains. There is a neat suspension bridge spanning the river, yup, I jumped up and down on it to make it swing! I got back to the Dutch Haus B&B around 7pm exhausted, Cynthia and her husband were still there ¢ they are an older couple visiting the area and staying at the B&B. They are from Austin, TX and Cynthia is a massage therapist, and yes, I got ANOTHER foot massage tonight! (She gave me one last night ¢ true trail magic!) Lone Star made it here with Black Snake. They put her in my room, which I don¢t mind, but there is only one queen size bed in the room! I was a bit upset about her being put in my bed with me! Its one thing if you show up at a place with someone and say ¢ no problem, but to do this when I wasn¢t even there! I did tell Lois I couldn¢t share a bed, I don¢t mind sharing a room, but not a bed, and so she made different accommodations for us.
Date: 2006-06-15
From: VA 644-Reeds Gap

To: Paul Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh, back to hiking with my pack! It feels like I¢m carrying rocks in it again! I¢m using my new waist belt, but its not the one I wanted, Granite Gear makes one that tightens by pulling from the sides to the front (like my Osprey pack does). So when I get to Waynesboro, I will call them and see about exchanging it. The day seemed VERY long and I was going VERY slow. There were some really nice overlooks, and places to rest early on in the day (when I didn¢t need them) but nothing much after that. And, as usual Wingnuts book and the signage on the trail just don¢t match up at all. Sometimes I wonder if he has ever really hiked the trail with his book as a guide. There were signs of recent trail work, and I do mean recent, fresh cut leaves and brush on the trail. They weren¢t even wilted yet, but I didn¢t see anyone at all out here working. The Paul Wolfe shelter is really nice, its new, has a large covered patio area and raised platforms for sleeping on. Best of all, I¢m the only one here! This is the first chance I¢ve had to have a shelter to myself. Its close to a loud creek so I get to listen to it all night long, along with the rest of the night sounds and the lightening bugs. Well after dark I did hear what sounded like an owl hooting, but not quite, then I heard some hiking poles coming down the trail and a head lamp, I forget the guys name but he was going to continue on into Waynesboro tonight!! 5 more miles in the dark! Not me!
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Paul Wolfe Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap-Waynesboro, VA- Holiday Inn Express
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: clear sky

Easy 5 miles in 2 hrs time this morning. And again, Wingnuts book tells you to turn Left when you get out of the woods, you need to turn RIGHT! I got to the visitors center and there was a very nice older couple ¢ trail angels- that had just brought the Wanderers back from the YMCA where they had stayed so they could get back onto the trail. They immediately told me to hop in the car and drove me to the hotel. They said if I couldn¢t check into the room yet that they would take me home and feed me breakfast! Such wonderful people. The Lutheran church has a huge network of people that shuttle hikers around town. I was able to check into my room. I¢ve talked to Granite Gear and they will exchange the belt, turns out only the women¢s belts tighten this way and I had a men¢s belt. I¢ve also talked to Jetboil about the sparker (igniter ) on my stove not working and they will send me a new one to my next mail drop . I need to get to the outfitters and get a new hose for my platypus. I¢ve been putting Gatorade in it and now its growing mold, so moral of that story is water only! And now, I¢m just waiting for Marc to get here!
Date: 2006-06-17
From: VA 624

To: VA 311
Miles today: 5.9

6 miles in 2 hrs! It was very easy terrain, and slack packing is so easy. Marc drove me back to Catawba so I could make up the 6 miles I skipped when I got back on the trail. There were several stiles to cross and a hay field that must have been mowed yesterday. The hay was laying on the ground to dry and it smelled really good. It made it very hard to find the trail though, there was no ¢well worn path¢ to follow. Then it was back up to the ridge line, and a short walk to the car. I passed a few day hikers and a group of scouts out for the weekend.Marc then drove me to the Blue Ridge Parkway to pick up the 11 miles I had skipped between Glasgow and Fish Hatchery Rd. It took 4 hrs and 10 min to do this section! I was flying just to get it done and over with. As usual, Wingnuts book is wrong. There was a relocation done a couple of years ago (or so I was told by a guy that works for the ATC) and you don¢t¢ cross the Peddlers Dam. The section also added 0.3 miles to the trail. This section was very pretty down by the Brown Mountain Creek. I stopped in briefly at the Brown Mountain Creek Shelter to sign the register.
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Blue Ridge Pkwy Mile 51.7

To: VA 60
Miles today: 10.9

Happy Fathers day to all the fathers out there. This is a zero day but I¢m listing this milage that I did yesterday as I don¢t know a way to enter 2 different section under one day.We drove to Chevy Chase, Md. To see my mother and father in law, and then went to Marcs¢ brothers house in the evening for bar-b-q for fathers day. I had a really nice day with family.
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Marc dropped me off back at Rockfish gap at 1pmand I headed into the Shenandoah National Park (SNP) I took it slow and easy since I only had 7 miles to do. One of the first sights in the park are a bunch of radio towers, they were humming! It reminded me of the movie Contact where they were working with SETI searching for extraterrestrial life! After that it was a walk under some power lines that were buzzing! Not a great welcome to the park. The shelter is packed there are at least 8 people in the shelter and several tenting. I was able to get a spot in the shelter and its pouring outside right now. I haven¢t seen so many people in one shelter in a long time. Mummy toes is a young (20 something) guy who is very much into birding. He has several CD¢s on his iPod with bird calls on it! I would love to have something like that, and he identified the bird that I love so much. It¢s the Wood Thrush. I imagine it¢s like a Nightingale even though I¢ve never heard a Nightingale, this wood thrushes song is so exquisite I could listen to it all day and night. Mummy Toes also is carrying a rather large bird book and a good pair of binoculars! And, his entire pack weighs about 20 lbs. I wish I could do that! He is not carrying a tent, just his poncho which can be rigged up as a tarp. No water filter ¢ just bleach drops, a very thin blue foam pad for a ground pad. I just can¢t get that light weight. Hawk & Pilgrim are here, they thru hiked a few years ago and are doing a secion hike now.I¢ve seen quite a few deer here in the park, and when I went to get water earlier I saw a doe with a tiny little fawn full of spots, they were standing right on the trail to the spring and just watched me for a few min before they ran off.
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Loft Mountain Campground
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: few clouds

I was planning on just going 13 miles to Black Rock Hut but got there at 1 pm and it was too early to quit for the day. Hawk & Pilgrim were planning on coming to this campground so I sort of tagged along, though it took me quite a bit longer to get here than it did for them. We are stealth camping behind the camp store, it¢s a great spot, flat, soft grass, I¢m just worried about getting caught because we are NOT supposed to camp here.I saw a bear today, or rather just a large dark blur as it was high tailing it out of sight. They can really move fast! I was amazed at how quickly it booked it out of sight. Black Rock Mountain was interesting, the whole side of the mountain is just a huge tumble of giant boulders all down the side of the mountain. And, they are gray not black so I don¢t know how they named this place.I saw a lot more deer today and a few more ticks on me, but I got them off before they took hold. I just worry that there may be some on me I don¢t see.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Loft Mountain Campground

To: Powel Gap, Skyline drive mile 69.6
Miles today: 11.2

Longest day of the year, summer solstice and, Hike Naked Day! (I¢m NOT).I slept well behind the camp store, the weather was great and the ground soft. I woke up at 5:30 as I wanted to get packed up and remove any signs of our illicit camping before anyone else came around. I was on the trail by 6:40 am and started trudging up the hills again. I had developed blisters on both little toes yesterday for some reason (first blisters on the trail!) and they were bothersome, but not painful until the one on my right foot popped. I had to sit down in the middle of the trail (there was no where else to sit) to clean and tape it up.Somewhere along the way this morning I hit that proverbial ¢brick wall¢ I just couldn¢t go on. I was miserable and burst into tears. This was it, the problem though was thatI was in the middle of no where and couldn¢t get a cell on my phone. I was going to try and call my husband to see if he could get his brother to drive out and pick me up. I had to force myself to go on, at least to the road (Skyline Drive) where I figured I could hitch a ride out of the park. I passed an older woman who was out for a day hike with her dog, she was heading up the mountain as I was heading down, I briefly exchanged a few words with her, but couldn¢t really talk as I would have burst into tears again (I take after my mother in that I cry at the drop of a hat). When I got down to the gap, there was a large grassy field and a blue VW bug with the license plate ¢BLUEY 2¢. I assumed it probably belonged to the woman I passed, so I kicked off my shoes, aired out my feet and lay down in the grass for a break. Within the hour she came back down to her car, and yes, I burst into tears as I asked her if she was leaving the park and could she give me a ride. This wonderful woman, Sue gave me a ride into Charlottesville where I got a hotel room and a plane ticket home. Sue, thank you so much for the ride.So folks, this ends my adventure. 887 miles. I tried to go at least half way, but just can¢t make it to Harpers Ferry. Over the past years as I would read other peoples journals, I would always get disappointed with whomever when they dropped off the trail and didn¢t make it to Kathadin. I now have a much better understanding of what it was for them to hike and to quit. I¢m sorry if I disappoint anyone out there in cyber space. My hike just wasn¢t fun anymore, it was trudge, I wasn¢t happy, I wasn¢t enjoying it. There were several factors leading up to this, but it has been building for weeks. I have pushed on as long as I can. The thought of returning to Houston¢s hot humid weather and lack of mountains is quite distasteful but to go home to my home, family, husband and friends is, and so I bid you all goodbye. Thank you all for reading my journal and following my adventure. I doubt I was able to convey a lot of what it was like for me on the trail but I tried my best. Some days I just didn¢t feel like writing much.Perhaps next year I will try to complete this journey or at least another section of the AT but for now this is it.The END