morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-04
From: Blackburn Trial Center

To: Bears Den
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

Trail word for the day: Purist - one who hikes every step and passes every blaze on the AT.We had a very enjoyable stay at Blackburn Trail Center and left shortly after 0800. We confirmed that we are not "purists", in that we arrived at Blackburn from a North blue blaze (more on blazes and colors in future journals)and left on a South blue blaze, this missing probably a couply of hundred yards of the AT. [Note: full disclosure requires me to admit that Miss Kitty left a little off the AT at Harpers Ferry.]Today was a long hard day. There is another hostel, Bears, Den, less than 8 miles from Blackburn. So, that was the goal for the day. The story goes that the overnight fare includes bunk bed, pizza, Ben&Jerry's and a shower. A Shiner Bock would make this deal almost perfect. The wind was blowing all day, very hard in the am. It was clear, sunny and quite comfortable otherwise. We completed a good number of climb and descents (more than we're prepared for right now), hiked about 7 1/2 hours and according to Terry's timex, burned 5100 calories today, a new trek record. We came to first scenic outlook and then shortly crossed from MD to VA. We passed a good number of section and day hikers as well. We crossed VA Rte 7, a busy state road, and had "one more" hill to climb before arriving at Bears Den around 4. THere are a number of visitos here and have the queue filled for the showers. Hopefully, I'll get in before dinner.This was the hardest day yet. However, after 3 days on the trail and 2 nights at the hostel can't be all that bad. Looking forward to shower, dinner and the bed
Date: 2009-04-05
From: Bears Den

To: Ashby Hollow
Miles today: 7.0

Sending pictures. Should be available in 2 weeks. Need to find a post office. Trail word for the day: blaze ¢painted, 2-inch by 6-inch, vertical white rectangles that are placed at eye height on trees and other objects, in both directions, to mark the official route of the Trail. Side trails are marked with blue blazes. You see horizontal, diagonal, arrows, and other blazes along the Trail.¢ On Line Conpanion (OLC in the future)Bears Den was wonderful: pizza, Ben and Jerry¢s (New York Delight). We met Carl from AZ who is serious in shape ¢thru¢ hiker who started in Harper¢s Ferry one day after us. We were up early for coffee and pancakes and hit the trail at 0800. We are 2/3rds through the worst part of this section of the trail referred to as the ¢roller coaster¢ which has 11 ups and downs. We are at Ashby Hollow a perfect camp site with a stream, feeling great, great supper and mocha coffee. Starting a person of the day entry. Today¢s entry is Mrs Elizabeth (Beth) New my fifth grade teacher in TX. She had a do a topographical map of the US from ¢plaster of paris¢ on a 2¢ X 2¢X 14¢ thick piece of plywood with oceans in blue, forest green, mountains brown with Edwards Plateau and the Appalachian Mts. This was the first time I heard of the Appalachians. She was a very loyal Texan who had us pledge our allegiance to TX every morning. Mrs New passed, Mr New remarried and I will have more to say about Mr New and the second Mrs New, Maureen, in the future. A few notes from other days that I forgot to mention. The first day I stubbed my toe kicking a 20,000 year old rock that refused to move and saw thousands of stars in Technicolor. After my shower last night, I examined it closely and I must have broken something @#$%^&! Picture to follow. I am walking fine; it doesn¢t bother me.Yesterday, we think our problems were de-hydration and lack of fuel and our boot camp dominatrix instructor is scolding us through telepathy. More about Shannon in the future.Going to pass on calling in tomorrow,Miss P & B for Tic
Date: 2009-04-06
From: Ashby Hollow

To: Ashby Gap
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

Today¢s entry is brought to you by Terry¢s cell phone. Tic¢s doesn¢t have bars or juice. Trail word for the day ¢double blaze: Two blazes, one above the other as an indication of an imminent turn or intersection in the trail. Offset double blazes, called Garveys, indicate the direction of the turn by the offset of the top blaze.¢ (OLC).Some belated thoughts from yesterday or the day before: 1) Terry¢s heart monitor (HT) said they burned 5,800 calories. 2) Bears Den. There is good news and bad news. The good news is we received our first ¢ship order.¢ The bad news is we received our ¢first order.¢ There were 8 days of meals in the box. Since we have been staying in hostels we don¢t need to carry 14 dinners. So, we will ¢bounce¢ the box down the trail and see how that process works. Today the rain was heavy. The rocks were slick as snot. We completed the 11 humps of the 13 to 14 mile ¢roller coaster.- We heard wild turkeys all over the Hallow. There were fresh bear tracks and scat including the tracks of Mama Bear and Baby Bear. Some bear up here needs more fiber in its diet. One of our main tasks for the day was water. We passed on the first spring because it was too skuzzy. At the second spring I used my TX Bandera to filter the cooties. We met spring mushroom hunters with 28 mushrooms who informed us they had been drinking straight from that spring for 30 years without any problems. We had lunch at Rod Hallow Shelter.The person of the day: Mr Aubra Azril Spry (assistant scout master). We met 25 years ago in the same scout troop. Mr T was the scout leader and I was the troop committee chairman. Mr Spry was from a WV coal mining family. He was the foremost expert on plants and fauna.   He could take a white oak sapling, split it into reeds, and weave a basket the Amish would be proud of. He could take tree limbs and make flutes and whistles. I could only tell an apple, orange or pecan tree if it had fruit on it. Today the dogwoods were thrashing; and I saw American Sycamore, Walnuts, and Chestnut trees I identified by the fruit on the ground. I wish I had more knowledge of trees like Mr Spry. Mr Spry loved beer, in quantity not quality. One time we left for scout camp on Sunday am and returned Saturday pm. Upon our return, Mr Spry said he had something for me in the back of his truck. He had a 12 oz white can with block lettering that said ¢Generic Beer.¢ It was the best beer I ever had.Where are you now Mr Spry when I need you,Miss P & B for Tic
Date: 2009-04-08
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 2.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Note: Update posted to yesterday's journalWord of the Day: Nero Day - a NEar zeRO day.Today is a nero day. It was the coldest time last night. Morning was low 30s, with a light frosting of snow still on the ground. We ate well and left early for a short downhill hike to parking lot at I-66 crossing. We were met by Ms Kit, who took us to Front Royal for stay in town. We picked a NOBO section hiker, young man named John. Had a substantial lunch a Jalisco Authentic Mexican Food Restaurant. Personally, I think it was more authentic North Carolina food as I have NEVER had cole slaw served with chips!!!!!! But, they had one of my favorite brands, Negra Modelo (I don't need you know Aubra, Thanks). And, we were well on our way to fighting our deficit calorie days.Ms Kity brought out our first resupply. We'll rest the remainder of the day, clean up our gear and get ready for the next leg. I'll also drop my first memory card to MS P&B, and maybe we can get some uploaded photos next week.POD - Saint Kit it probaobly goes without saying; but neither of us would be making this trek without the full support of our spouses, as well as many others. Ms Kit certainly fills that role and I'll call her a Saint because she brought chocolate chip cookies and a couple of chocolate Easter Bunnies.Life is Good
Date: 2009-04-10
From: Compton Wayside Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

No entry. Tic and Terry call me at 8:00 pm when they do not have access to the internet. No call tonight. Tic said cell phone coverage would be spotty.I did recieve photos in the mail today. My directions from Tic are to go through them and post the ones I like. There are a lot of shots to review so I may not post until Sunday or Monday at the latest. Most are equipment shots, shelter shots (hostils, shelters, tent), and a few shots of scenery.My thoughts are to post the equipment shots now so we all know what they are talking about and focus on scenery later on. Miss P & B
Date: 2009-04-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Tic called at 12:45 pm. We were out; he left the following voice mail: The cell phone coverage is really bad. I am calling from a pay phone. Do not be concerned, we are fine. We are in Gravel Springs and had lunch at XXXX ( I couldn¢t understand the name of the restaurant. I will clarify when Tic has time to talk.)Miss P & B for Tic
Date: 2009-04-12
From: Luray, VA

To: Birds Nest #3 Hut
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

I. Corrections or Additions to Previous Entries: Thursday evening there was a ¢evening Aspen glow¢ (photo term) over the mountains. There were two contrails that crossed each other making a perfect cross which was very appropriate way to begin Good Friday.II. Trail Word for the Day: Yellow Blaze is where the hiker can hike on a trail or hike along the highway. After our side trip to Panorama, we were ¢blazing¢ down the double yellow line on Skyline Dr.III. Report for Today: We ate breakfast at Uncle Buck¢s, caught a cab to Elk Wallow, and were hiking on the trail by 9:00 am. We hiked 7.5 miles to Pass Mountain Hut where we stopped for lunch. We were very close to a small town of Panorama where there is a restaurant famous for its fried chicken. It was a mile out of our way, but we decided to go the extra mile for a nice chicken dinner. We couldn¢t find it. It had been torn down. I have discovered how to motivate Terry. He will hike forever for a cheese burger or fried chicken. This was a big let down, there were no other options, we hiked another 3.4 miles and climbed 1,400 feet to Birds Nest #3 Hut. Today was another record for us. We hiked 11.8 miles in one day. Birds Nest is open for overnight camping. IV. Question of the Day: How long is the AT? 2,156 miles.V. Person of the Day: Pastor Sherry. I still attend services at the First Methodist Church of Sweeny. We Methodists don¢t like our preachers to get to comfortable; so we rotate them every 4 years. I am really impressed with the current minister, Pastor Sherry; to be specific I like her writing. My question is why did it take her so long to become a preacher? Did I mention she is a woman? You go girl! Thank you for all your thoughts a prayers.It is really cold tonight. I am going to have to zip my sleeping bag all the way up so only my nose is sticking out.Happy Easter from the Trail,Miss P & B for Tic
Date: 2009-04-13
From: Birds Nest #3 Hut

To: 2 miles south of Skyland
Miles today: 8.0

III. Report for Today: We slept in today and left Bird Nest at 9:00 am. We had breakfast at Pinnacles and filled up with water. It is a good thing we filled up on water here because the next picnic area was closed for remodeling and didn¢t have water. We climbed Stony Man Mountain with a 900¢ climb. We arrived at Skyland late in the afternoon.   We came upon a water tank with a dinner to the right: 3 beers, 3 ribs, fries, salad, Civilian Conservation Corp Sandwich (chicken, turkey, bacon, and ham, on a cibata roll will all the trimmings. Terry pigged out worse than me but prudence prevailed and we won¢t discuss this. We hiked about 2 miles south, put up the tent, and it has started to rain.V. Person of the Day: The person of the day is actually a group. The Sweeny MMM (Monday Morning Methodist) meets every Monday after church to handle administrative tasks. I don¢t know their names. However, the chief of police would know who to look for if a crime was committed and I would recognize them in a police line-up.Thank you for all the hard work you do at the church,Miss P & B for Tic
Date: 2009-04-15
From: 2 miles south of Skyland

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Word of the Day - Slabbing - hiking around a mountain withot actually crossing at the peak.Report: Today's report covers the last two days. The cell phone coverage has been non-existent recently, and likely to be that way for the near future. We left Skyland Tuesday am in a very thick clouds and a light sprinkle. Just after starting, we came up on a doe in the trail. She wasn't the least bit concerned with us. In fact, I thought she was going to join our group as she stayed with us for abourt 1/4 mile, staying ahead us by about 3 to 10 yards. We stopped for lunch at Rock Springs Hut. The Sun tried to break through, but quickly failed and more rain and clouds would return. It was a long, dreary 8 mile hike to the Big Meadows Campground. We checked in for a tent site and proceeded directly to the restaurant. I was embarassed with all the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, biscuit, etc that Terry consumed. He did have a garden salad to go with it. I was a little more restrained in that I only had a bowl of soup and another large sandwich. We then returned to the campsite and a got a coin operated shower and did another laundry load. Got to bed just as it started to rain again.Today (Wed) was a planned light day. It started out more cloudy, wet and cold than yesterday. Temp readings was in the 30s. Saint Kitty was coming to meet us for a minor resupply. However, we really got our signals crossed somehow. Kitty managed to checkout 4 campgrounds and drive about 60 miles in a zero visibility Skyline Drive, before a Ranger helped her track us down. We packed up our gear and I learned how to take down and pack my tent without removing the rainfly. Since the day was mostly gone alrerady, we declared a zero day slightly early, and returned to town to resupply and get the gear ready for some more hiking.Question of the Day: Froggie from California: Can I contact you this way? Yes; but be advised this is an open site, and the web manger checks for approopriate content. So, please respect these conditions.Person of the Day: Guy Gardner. Native Virginian, zoomie, AF test/fighter pilot, NASA astronaut, Riverside Military Academy Superintendente, all round good guy and a former boss of mine. Guy is the one who made me aware of the website.    Regards to Linda, kids and grandkids.
Date: 2009-04-15
From: 2 miles south of Skyland

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Word of the Day - Slabbing - hiking around a mountain withot actually crossing at the peak.Report: Today's report covers the last two days. The cell phone coverage has been non-existent recently, and likely to be that way for the near future. We left Skyland Tuesday am in a very thick clouds and a light sprinkle. Just after starting, we came up on a doe in the trail. She wasn't the least bit concerned with us. In fact, I thought she was going to join our group as she stayed with us for about 1/4 mile, staying ahead us by about 3 to 10 yards. We stopped for lunch at Rock Springs Hut. The Sun tried to break through, but quickly failed and more rain and clouds would return. It was a long, dreary 8 mile hike to the Big Meadows Campground. We checked in for a tent site and proceeded directly to the restaurant. I was embarassed with all the fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, biscuit, etc that Terry consumed. He did have a garden salad to go with it. I was a little more restrained in that I only had a bowl of soup and another large sandwich. We then returned to the campsite and a got a coin operated shower and did another laundry load. Got to bed just as it started to rain again.Today (Wed) was a planned light day. It started out more cloudy, wet and cold than yesterday. Temp readings was in the 30s. Saint Kitty was coming to meet us for a minor resupply. However, we really got our signals crossed somehow. Kitty managed to checkout 4 campgrounds and drive about 60 miles in a zero visibility Skyline Drive, before a Ranger helped her track us down. We packed up our gear and I learned how to take down and pack my tent without removing the rainfly. Since the day was mostly gone alrerady, we declared a zero day slightly early, and returned to town to resupply and get the gear ready for some more hiking.Question of the Day: Froggie from California: Can I contact you this way? Yes; but be advised this is an open site, and the web manger checks for approopriate content. So, please respect these conditions.Person of the Day: Guy Gardner. Native Virginian, zoomie, AF test/fighter pilot, NASA astronaut, Riverside Military Academy Superintendente, all round good guy and a former boss of mine. Guy is the one who made me aware of the website.    Regards to Linda, kids and grandkids.
Date: 2009-04-16
From: Big Meadows Campground

To: Lewis Mountain Campground
Miles today: 7.4
Weather: clear sky

Note to Readers: We are moving into a section of the trail with spotty cell phone coverage.   I will be calling Miss Vickie from pay phones to let her know we are safeI. Corrections or Additions to Previous Entries: We drove to Elkton to pick up our package we ¢bounced ¢down the trail. We have not opened this package twice. We have mailed it down the road again.II. Trail Word for the Day: Slackpacking is a hiking term coined in 1980 to describe an unhurried and non-goal-oriented manner of long-distance hiking (i.e., slack: "not taut or tense, loose"), but in recent years has been used to refer simply to thru-hiking without a backpack. Recently called "Freedom Packing. OLC.III. Report for Today: Last night we planned to wake up at 0500 and leave at 0600. Per Terry¢s schedule we were right on time and left at 0830 from Milam Gap. It is spring in the valley and the trees are budding. It is still winter in the mountains with snow on the ground. We tried ¢slackpacking¢ today.   Miss Kitty picked us up yesterday and took us back to Burke, VA to dry out. We hadn¢t seen the sun in two days. She dropped us at Milam Gap and we hiked 2.8 miles with Daisy the vizla (chocolate colored dog in pictures). The four of us had lunch and we bid farewell to St KitWe hiked 3.6 miles to Lewis Mountain Campground. We went up ¢bear fence rock scramble.¢ Bear Fence is the name of a mountain, and rock scramble means climbing hand over hand up a bunch of rocks. We had a 360* view from the top, and it was worth the scramble.We are re-supplying stocks at Lewis Campground. We were forced to buy a 6 pack of beer and a bottle of wine. We drank the wine and followed it with beer. Camp Lewis has a host, and we had a very enjoyable visit. Unfortunately, we did not post our camping receipt properly and she turned into the camp warden. We posted our receipt in a timely manner. She helped with cell phone coverage. Our camp site is about 5¢ bellow her site. I had no bars, but she was talking away on her cell phone. I went and asked her who her carrier was and it was AT&T. She let me place my call from her camp table where I had 4 bars. Terry has his trial name. When his main grows out it is lumpy. Some people wanted his name to be ¢gizzard¢ and others wanted ¢meatloaf¢ but he has settled on ¢Lumpy.¢ IV. Question of the Day: Sally from Austin, TX ¢ are you eating out more than I eat out? Yes, and are and enjoying it immensely.¢V. Person of the day: Leon Hale and Houston News columnist. He had a friend O F Morgan from Sweeny, TX. They made an annual migration south into Mexico in search of ¢primavera; - spring. They fished a lot of Sunday mornings. He talked about his fishing hole like it was church. He would think about church while fishing. His minister counseled him he would rather have Leon fishing and thinking of church, than in church thinking about fishing. Pastor Sherry, I pled guilty of doing other things on Sunday am and thinking about church.Later,Miss P & B for Tic and Lumpy
Date: 2009-04-17
From: Lewis Mountain Campground

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

Corrections or Additions to Previous Entries: Person of the day for April 15 ¢Guy Gardner¢ is the only person I know who can eat faster than me.II. Trail Word for the Day: Two words. NoBo Northbound thru-hiker, also a GAMEr (Georgia > Maine).   SoBo Southbound thru-hiker. OLC.III. Report for Today:   After several light days, we decided to have a ¢stretch day¢ and pushed ourselves for 11.7 miles. We wanted to start early from Lewis. But, Lumpy couldn¢t find his cell phone. His sleeping bag ate it. We took a quick run down to South River Picnic Grounds for lunch and water. Without too much information, some animal ate some other animal for breakfast; and it was the very neat and clean. Probably a fox. We climbed Hightop Mountain (1,400¢). We met two sisters from Massachusetts who have been section hiking the AT for 30 years. They hike 8 miles a day for two weeks. There is a third sister who does the driving. She drops them off and picks them up. We left Lewis dividing the food equally. I discovered that I made a mistake and was carrying two beers instead of one. Lumpy said he wasn¢t interested in his, I could have it. After 11.7 miles, up and down a mountain, Lumpy decided he wanted his beer. I will make him pay for this in the future. Hilltop Hut is a nice hut. It has a spring and we built our first fire.   V. Person of the Day: Trish, our daughter-in-law, our red headed daughter we always waited for is not feeling well. She is in our thoughts and prayers. We are really bushed and will check in with all of you tomorrow,Miss P & B for Tic