morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-03
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus 
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: clear sky

We left at 7am. The hike was easy. A few hills but mostly flat or downhill. I find it a little easier and less painfull on my leg to slowly jog downhill. I have to be very careful to watch for rocks and roots that may twist my ankle. We made great time. We arrived in town at 10:15 and headed to the All You Can EAt pancake place! They never tested so good! (well they would have been better with real maple syrup.)We are staying at the Place. It is a nice hostel owned by the Methodist Church. It is a $4 donation per day to stay. No heat but its warmer than outdoors. Warm showers though. We're taking 2 zero days here since there is more to do and I want to give my shin a rest. Boots is happy because the library has internet for free and he found a Star Wars book that he can read. So he has spent at least 8 hours so far sitting in the window of the library reading his book. I've been doing some errands and resting my leg. This is a very nice place. We'll be back in a few weeks for a festival they have every year called Trail Days. My mom and Boots aunt are going to hike with us for a week after Trail Days.
Date: 2005-05-05
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Another day of rest. We've been catching up on sleep. Although I feel rested on the trail, I realize that I only get 2-3 hours of sleep at any given time. The past few nights here I've been out like a light all night long! My leg is feeling a lot better. Its good to give it a rest. Lots of ice and ibuprofen. We'll head out tomorrow though. I'm crossing my fingers that things will go well. Since today is Cinco de Mayo, we'll be doing a bit of celebrating later on today. They have a mexican resturante here so we'll go there for lunch. My Mom and George's Aunt are meeting us next weekend and will be hiking with us for a week. I can't wait!! We won't be doing any 17 mile days but from what I hear the area that we'll be hiking in is very nice. Next weekend we'll be back in Damascus for Trail Days. Every year they have this big festival where the hiking community gathers to celebrate and reconnect. There are also a lot of hiking gear vendors here with good deals and they do repair work on you gear if needed. We'll enjoy that!!
Date: 2005-05-06
From: Damascus

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

 No more pain! My leg felt fine on our hike out of town today. Hopefully it will continue to feel good. It was nice to get out of town and back on the trail. We stayed with our friends Cycle Hiker and Slap Happy at the shelter. We got a late start because the computers were down at the library and we really needed to check email before we left town. Saunders Shelter was one of the spots where my Mom visited when she was on her hike a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to hiking the trail she was on. She also left us some entries in shelter registers (notebooks that you sign at the shelters) so that will be neat to see. The hike today was so pretty. We passed a creek that was beautiful and hiked on the Virgina Creeper Trail. If you like to bike, this trail is a must do. It is a gentle ride (not difficult) and brings you past some beautiful places.
Date: 2005-05-07
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Whitetop Mtn.
Miles today: 12.9

Another great hiking day. The weather was great, sunny and clear. We enjoyed hiking some more on the Virgina Creeper Trail. We ate lunch with our friends at Lost Mtn Shelter. A guy came up with a pack of beer to share with other hikers. Boy that tasted good. I took a picture of me holding the shelter register where Mom had put a note a few weeks ago for us. The funny thing was that she was there in a terrible snow storm while we were there in shorts! We had a tough climb today up to Whitetop Mnt. We'll head into Grayson Highlands tomorrow where we hear there are wild horses. We'll also hike up Mt Rogers which is the highest point in Virginia. We camped with Troll, Anchor, Oblivious, Silent Bob, and Padre. We found a great spot in the woods, built a fire and enjoyed time together. My leg is doing great. No pain!! We're humming right along.
Date: 2005-05-08
From: Whitetop Mtn.

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: clear sky

The climb up Mt Rogers wasn't bad at all. The trail doesn't actually take you to the summit because there is not view. You're just in the trees. But it does take you very close. The leg appears to be back to normal. No pain, with 3 days of hiking. Yeah!! If you get a chance to visit the Grayson Highlands, definately take the opportunity. It is a beautiful place unlike anyother that we've hiked through so far. Some say it reminds them of Montana, grassy covered mountains with large boulder/rock formations. The rocks are tough to walk on after awhile because they hurt your feet but it is worth it to go to this spot. We hoped to see wild horses but didn't for quite awhile. We stopped for lunch at a shelter that had horses a few days before. But nothing when we were there. But after lunch as we began to hike again, we came up upon a large herd (15 or so with foals)! We dropped our packs and went out to see them. They ate out of your hand and let you pet them. So cool! We'll have pictures of it soon. We're not hiking a lot of miles this week because we're meeting Mom for Trail Days on Friday. We've decided though to get a ride into town on Thursday instead of having her pick us up in Atkins on Friday.
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Whitetop Mtn.

To: Troutdale Baptist Hostel
Miles today: 16.1

 Great hiking weather and terrane. Not too difficult. We hiked into Troutdale to get our maildrop. We decided to stay there because there is a hostel that is very reasonably priced (donation). We finished up our hike in Grayson Highlands. We did cross a few streams that looked great for a swim...just a bit too cold still. We haven't had to actually hitch for a ride into town yet. We seem to have been lucky to arrive at our destination and have someone just show up who gives us a ride to town. But this time, we had to stand on the road and 'ask' for a ride. I was hesitant to do this because I haven't done it before but they say women have better luck (go figure!). So we were there with our friend TDS and I dropped my pack, walked to the road and began to wait for a vehicle to pass. I began waving to the first one that came and luckily they pulled right over!! Success! I don't know the guys name but he was driving a truck that had an extended cab so it had plenty of room for 3 people. The neat thing was that he was Boots age and graduated from NC State University the same year Boots did! We ate lunch at this small town diner named the Troutdale Trading Post. Good food and lots of sweet tea. Yummy homemade cobbler too. Everything is close in this small town. The hostel was great. Free (with donation) laundry, a non-pay phone (so no fees for using your calling card), and hot showers. We met up with our friends Bruce Spruce, Piker and Mileage.
Date: 2005-05-10
From: Troutdale Baptist Hostel

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: light rain

We again hitched a ride out of town today with no problem. We decided to hike a very short day today because we have time to spare before trail days. We got to the shelter around 12:30 and stayed! We did avoid a horrible thunder storm by staying! Played spades and a new game called up the river down the river. Boots is teaching me some of the finer points of spades. I can play the game but don't really use any kind of strategy. So as we've hiked the past few days he is teaching me some strategy and then we test my skills but playing 'fake' games of spades. I'm getting the hang of it slowly.
Date: 2005-05-11
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: clear sky

Today is our last day to go on a big hike before we join with Mom and Vicki. We had a challenge for ourselves to see how fast we could hike the 10 miles to the next shelter, Partnership shelter. We both made it in under 3 hours! This shelter is unlike any other because you can order delivery food from a local italian resturante. We weren't sure if they would deliver for lunch but I called and they said if the order was at least $35 they would. That was easy with several hikers. We enjoyed pizza, wings, subs, etc. There was also let over beer from the previous night when the hikers there had a party. We really don't drink on or off the trail but it's neat to have a beer or two on a day like this. Or that is what we thought until we began hiking again!this shelter also has a solar shower and the privy is really nice. The US forest Service has an office there so there are also real bathrooms too and a phone!Oh, the hike to the next shelter was awful with a full belly and having had a beer. It was hot and the trail had lots of hills. It reminded us of being back in Georgia in our first few days on the trail. We won't do that again anytime soon. We did have a nice stream by the shelter to cool off in. We have a short day tomorrow. The bugs are starting to come out...ugh I don't like bugs. Can't wait to see Mom and Vicki.
Date: 2005-05-12
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Atkins/Trail Days
Miles today: 4.5

Four short miles today. We got up and out early so we could go in for breakfast. Met up with some friends who stayed in a hotel in Atkins and who are also going to Damascus today. We were able to get showers in their room. We got a ride to town from Skeemer. A former thru-hiker who was on the way to Trail Days. We stayed at tent city (a large gathering of folks who tent for Trail Days). Good to be in Damascus, can't wait to see mom tomorrow. She'll meet us at noon. Dropped off my hiking poles for maintenance. Leki will repair and maintain your poles for free. I also was able to get a free camera bag that hooks on my backpack. Granite Gear (the manufacturer of my backpack) has a few demo items they plan to sell next year. When they heard I was a thru hiker they gave me the bag to test and give feedback on! Cool, free gear.
Date: 2005-05-13
From: Atkins/Trail Days

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

Met Mom at noon. It is great to see her and Marsha. We have hotel rooms in Abington for the weekend. I"m definately staying there because tent city was too loud for me at night. Although it was fun, I'm on the trail camping every night so when I get a chance to have a real bed...I'm taking it. Maybe in the future I'll stay in tent city all weekend.Lots of fun stuff to see and do. We walked around town, visited vendor booths, and basically hung out. We went to see an AT movie, Walking with Freedom.Our friend Heather also drove up from Raleigh to visit for the weekend. She arrived at 8pm. We talked Boots into staying at the tent for the night so Heather and I could have 'girls night' at the hotel! Fun times!!!
Date: 2005-05-14
From: Trail Days

To: Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0

A late night for Heather and I but we're feeling good. We spent the day in town again visiting the attractions for Trail Days. Today Vicki met us so we spent time showing her around. There was a free medical screening booth. We had our blood drawn to get our cholesterol, etc tested as well as our blood pressure and body composition. This was a really neat service. Our blood results were wrong because we had had a big breakfast just before the test. You really need to have this done when you have fasted for several hours. But the body composition was cool. Boots has lost quite a bit of weight, I haven't. I've gained muscle but stayed basically the same in weight. Our results were awesome though. You can tell that we're very fit and have lots of muscle. The main event today was supposed to be a parade. The hikers was at the end of the parade and by tradition they carry water guns and spray the crowd and the crowd does the same in return. Boots didn't want to walk in it but I did. Just before the parade was to begin, the sky broke open with a terrible thunder storm. It poured! The parade ended up getting canceled but the hikers said, no way we're walking anyway! (We figure we have to walk in all kinds of weather so what difference is this). It was lots of fun. I didn't have a water gun and I basically avoided getting too wet. We didn't stay too late in Damascus as we had lots to do to get prepared for our hike the next day.
Date: 2005-05-15
From: Trail Days

To: Reed Creek
Miles today: 6.2

After breakfast at Cracker Barrel we said goodbye to Heather and finished packing up. Mom and Vicki are all ready to hike with us for the week. We parked Vicki's car in Bland, VA and started our hike in Atkins. We began at 2:30pm on Saturday. They did great! 6 miles is good for less than 1/2 a day. We found a nice camping spot to pitch our tents. I think they were both worn out but glad to be hiking. It looked like rain all day but we avoided it some how. It was nice hiking weather though because the clouds covered most of the sun. We had a poundcake in tow, given to us by Boots Grandma Maw Maw! Yummy! WE gave slices to other hiker's as we went along. Thanks Maw Maw. We're looking foward to another poundcake in Harper's Ferry!
Date: 2005-05-16
From: Reed Creek

To: Lick Creek
Miles today: 10.8

A full day of hiking today. Boots carried vicki's tent for her in order to lighten her load a bit. We want to help both Mom and Vicki to make this trip not only doable but enjoyable. We found an awesome camping spot by a beautiful creek. It was worth it after a long day of hiking. Towards the end of the day we decided to push past a campsite to hike a rather large hill so that we didn't have to start the day with a big climb. Although that was tough, I was worth it when we found this campsite. It is really fun to hike with family. Of course they are slower then our regular pace but that is fine because its fun to spend time sharing our current life with them. Both Mom and Vicki said they have a new appreciation for what we're out here doing. Not only is it hard, but they can better see what we love about the trail.We hit the sack early, probably all of us are asleep by dark! We're worn out!
Date: 2005-05-17
From: Lick Creek

To: Garden Mtn
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: scattered clouds

 Another great day of hiking. Today we had a large climb. Over the course of 5 miles we climbed 2,000ft. Vicki and Mom did great! We were talking with some of our fellow hikers and we agreed that the climb reminded us of our days in Georgia where we had tough, steep climbs. So, for 2 new hikers they did great. Water is was hard to come across for several miles so we had to fill up. When we left Chesnut knob we tried to make it to a campsite but it was just too far to hike in one day. Boots and I found a spot where there really were no spots to camp. We were lucky but we the spot was awesome. We had enough water to get us through dinner and still get to the next water source the next day.Again to bed early, this time asleep before dark!
Date: 2005-05-18
From: Garden Mtn

To: Little Wolf Creek
Miles today: 10.7

Vicki and Mom have decided to finish up the hike tomorrow. Our hike will take us to Bland tomorrow and they have had enough (in a good way). We'll hike the 6 miles into town and get off and stay in a hotel. Our hike today was good. The terrane was great, not too difficult. I hiked with Mom all day because I won't get to be with her for a few months. We set up points to meet and see how things are going but we basically hiked our own paces. At one point Little wolf creek crossed the AT 12 times. It was fun to hop across the rocks to get across the creek. Mom and I stopped to soak our feet in the creek. Cold but great! It was a beautiful sunny day. The creek reminded us of the creek on my Grandparents (Mom's parent's) farm in Upstate NY.I guess yesterday we also hiked through several pastures that reminded us of Nana and Grandpa's farm. I have pictures that will be on the site soon.We found another great camping site next to Lick Creek.
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Little Wolf Creek

To: Wytheville
Miles today: 6.8

Today came the end of our journey with Mom and Vicki. A great hike into Bland. Boots and I went ahead of them and hiked our regular pace. We're averaging 3 miles per hour. We got to the road and ran into a former thru-hiker, Funky Monkey, who gave me a ride into town so I could get vicki's car. Mom and vicki got in at noon. What a great hike!We decided to stay in Wytheville, about 20 miles away from Bland, because there is movie theater there and a hotel with free highspeed internet access. We all showered up! We smelled funky! Vicki said she thinks she reached the limits on being dirty. Boots and I are so used to it that I don't really smell how bad we stink! The funny thing is that we smell 'clean' people more than our fellow stinky people. The detergents and sprays, wow you can get really sensitive to it!Mom and I left to do laundry, get groceries, and movie tickets. We finally washed our sleeping bags! Tomorrow will be fun, a noon showing of Star Wars! We went to Mexican for dinner and Boots had time to play on the computer. It will be sad to say goodbye to them but we really had fun.When we get back on the trail Boots and I have set a challenge for ourselves. We need to pick up our pace and we plan to meet his Mom Bonnie, Jim, Ike, and Maw Maw in Harper's Ferry on June 11. So beginning Sunday 5/22 we are challenging ourselves to hike 20 miles per day, for 20 days spending no more than $200 dollars. It is doable but tough. We have 2 mail drops so there will be a few days when we hike less than 20 miles but we'll make it up on other days. We can easily spend close to $200 in town for one day/night so this part of the challenge is to conserve our money. I guess over this part of the trail there are several towns and places to get off for lunch etc. We'll bypass those to keep on budget. We probably won't get to update the journal until then so wish us luck!
Date: 2005-05-20
From: Wytheville

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

It was sad to leave Mom and Vicki but we headed out on the trail at about 3:30pm. It felt good to be hiking, so good that we went 12.10 miles in about 3.5 hours! We arrived at our shelter in time to make dinner, catch up with a few friends, and get ready for bed.We will be getting off in Pearisburg on Sunday so that we can go to the post office on Monday. Then we'll begin the 20 mile days.
Date: 2005-05-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Rocky Outcrop at 3800'
Miles today: 16.6

A great day of hiking today. We had great weather and the terrane was pretty good. About 6 miles from the shelter, at around 11am, we ran into a man who asked if we were hungry. Of course....we're always up for some food. We'll this ended up being Scuba Mom and Dad - the parents of a 2003 Thru-hiker. Every year they make their way to the trail from Richmond to give the current group of hikers some trail magic. And what magic it was - freshly grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, homemade potato salad, chips, brownies, homemade strawberry shortcake, drinks....It was great, tasty, and filling. Thanks! After our filling lunch we hiked on and eventually got to our destination - or the one we thought we'd stay at. It was kinda early, maybe 5pm and we had some energy left. So we had a snack and decided to push on up the hill that was in front of us and try to camp on top of the mountain.A great plan! The views were awesome. We stayed at Sugar Run Mt. summit. A rocky outcorp that overlooked the valley and mountains. An amazing view. We'll have pictures up soon. We were able to find a campsite right there so we saw the sun set. Bootz said this is on of the top 10 experiences. When we left Scuba Mom and Dad earlier in the day that said they wanted to set up somewhere for breakfast. We helped them find a location...right in the valley below where we stayed! So we got up early and hiked about 4 miles to Sugar Run Gap where we found them and bacon, french toast, donuts...etc. Just great!
Date: 2005-05-22
From: Rocky Outcrop at 3800'

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: clear sky

After breakfast we made our way toward Pearisburg. Beautiful sites today. We were again greeted with great weather. We spent time relaxing on the various rocky outcrops basking in the views. The trail is very rocky through this area so that put a beating on our feet. We arrived at Pearisburg in the afternoon and headed toward the Hostel.Our big mistake was that we decided to walk! We should have hitched a ride right at the trail head but went up the hill 1 mile and before we knew it walked almost 3 miles to the Hostel. Our feet hurt! We enjoyed the Holy family Catholic Hostel. Several of our friends were there too. We were able to go to Wendy's for dinner and get a few things at Walmart. I needed new sunscreen because mine had a pretty harsh fate. I pulled it out at one of the rocky overlooks because it was really sunny. Well it dropped right out of my hands and tumbled over the edge! Too bad because Mom had just given me the sunscreen.
Date: 2005-05-23
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pine Swamp Branch
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

We again made the mistake of walking from the hostel. We went to the post office which seemed close and then to Food Lion and before we knew it we were walking back to the trail. So even thought it says 19.6 miles today, add about 3 to that due to off trail miles. Again our feet were hurting.The mountains in VA are not flat as we had been told. There are actually several tough climbs to make each day. We enjoyed the day though and caught up with the Troll family. The sky looked like rain and by nightfall it began to pour. Luckily we were in a shelter so we were dry. Tomorrow will be a big hiking day for us. We really want to catch our friend Cycle Hiker so we can give him a few items that he wanted us to buy at Trail Days.
Date: 2005-05-24
From: Pine Swamp Branch

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: light rain

As you can see by the miles we hiked, it was a long day. We still arrived before sunset though. We had 3 climbs of over 1200 feet today. I guess the AT cross-cuts the mountains in central VA. We do run the ridges some but it has been more up one side and down the other. that makes for a tough hike.We arrived at a shelter before Pine Swamp at 4:30 and our feet wanted to stop but we had time to go a few more miles. After much debate and attempted toss of a piece of paper (we didn't have a coin), we decided to move ahead. It was a good decision. We met up with Slap Happy and Tree Trunks and Pine Swamp is a new shelter, very nicely built. We hiked through meadows and farm land, that again reminded me of my grandparents farm. So beautiful.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Dragon's Tooth
Miles today: 20.1

This area in VA is a must see if you like hiking. We are fortunate to have great views every day. Today's destination was Dragon's tooth. A rocky formation on top of a mountain. It was a tough hike, again our feet hurt but the Dragon's tooth was worth it. We found a camp spot just behind the rocks. It was windy and looked like rain but it held off. We rested well and were ready to take on another long day.
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Dragon's Tooth

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: few clouds

We awoke at Dragon's Tooth, hiked to McAfee Knob, and Tinker Cliffs all in one day. There probably aren't many thru-hiker's that do this. IT was so worth it! The weather was great. We ate by the sunrise and rested at McAfee with a few that streched for miles. We could see Roanoke, Troutville/Daleville, and many miles beyond. Tinker cliffs is nerve raking because the AT skirts the edge of the cliffs. At times you're within feet of the edge. For those that are nervous around heights, this may be too much to handle. But for .5 miles the view is awesome!And as we entered the shelter, we were fortunate to meet Cycle Hiker! We caught him. I had said to Bootz that the 20 mile challenge won't work much longer for me if the terrane stays this tough. He promised that if we kept the pace up long enough to meet Cycle we could then evaluate our distance every day. So it was such a pleasant suprise to see him - for many reasons!