morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-16
From: Trail Days - Damascus, VA

To: Trail Days - Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Despite feeling groggy because I was still developing a pretty nasty chest infection, I had a lot to get done before the Trail Days parade. I spent several hours organizing some mountain flowers and making some small notes to send home to loved ones and close friends, in appreciation of their love and support. At around 2 pm, it was time for the big parade. In this parade, hikers are separated by their ¢class¢ and start at the opposite end of town, or on the north side of the AT. I was in the Class of 2009 and walked in the front, while other classes, were listed behind. I even saw a sign of the Class of 1973. It just shows you how much tradition exists. Anyway, the parade isn¢t much of a parade, but a huge water fight. The entire town swells to 30,000 people (from 1,000) during the parade and small local kids roam the streets with tons of supersoakers and water balloons. We, too, prepare ourselves for battle. It¢s absolutely great to see the community respond and everyone take part in making the day a great one to celebrate the town of Damascus and the spirit of the thru-hiker. Throughout the one-mile walk through town, we were absolutely bombarded by hoses, water balloons, and various water guns. On several occasions, I actually caught the balloons in mid-air and then fired them at the people who were standing up on the roofs of buildings. By the end of the ¢hike¢, we were absolutely soaked. The parade leads itself to a campground and playground, directly alongside one of the rivers that rushes through town. Hundreds of vendors were set up to display their goods and services. The exhibit that especially perked my interests was one on the Mountains 2 Sea Trail through North Carolina, starting at Clingman¢s Dome in the Smokies. It is far from completed ¢ maybe around 50% - but it is bound to become a great trail for generations to come. Next up was the talent show, where hikers have the chance to get up and show off their talents. Sideshow had his unicycle with him, on which he performed. Another guy sang a song about the AT hike. Another juggled batons that were doused in alcohol fuel and lit on fire. Another played drums on the bottom side of a canoe. There were some pretty interesting performances. After scarfing down another subway sandwich, we headed off to the Contra-dance lesson. I never realized how much fun this type of dance was! There are multiple variations to the dance and I won¢t describe each at the moment, but I can say that it utilizes the participation of many dancers and is quick and upbeat and requires many moves and following directions, all to the rhythm of bluegrass music. We all ended up dancing from 7 pm ¢ 10 pm. By the end of the night, my chest infection had become so bad that I knew that I had to rest up in order to recover. So, I headed to the small convenient store and picked up an expired knock-off Nyquil and some Vick¢s Vapor Rub. Throughout the night, I applied this topical lotion diligently, hoping that there would be some relief from coughing and spitting up nasty parts of my chest.
Date: 2009-05-17
From: Iron Mountain Gap

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: overcast clouds

It absolutely poured down with rain last night, which did not do much to help my cold at all. Scavenger and Ninja headed off, but I wasn¢t feeling well at all, so I stayed inside my tent resting and sleeping until almost noon. It was a good decision b/c, by this point, the rain had subsided and provided me with some R&R. Rushing into town, I had to create a ¢maildrop¢ for the MRO, as I would be passing through Damascus in a weeks time anyway. After getting this out of the way, I ran to Subway to purchase two footlong sandwiches, before rushing back to the First Baptist Church to meet up with everyone waiting for a lift back to their respective points on the trail.The shuttle was only dropping hikers off on the main highway, so Scavenger and I had to hitch 8 miles up to Iron Mountain Gap. We were dropped off by the road that would take us up to the gap and began to hitch ¢ again. Within 10 minutes of hitching, we caught a ride in the back of a pick-up truck with a large, white, burly dog named Gus who was riding in the back with us. At the time, I was only wearing my rain jacket without my fleece or pants. The air was already cold to begin with and, as we began to ascend, it started to rain and the air brushing against my skin only made my body temperature drop even more. I was absolutely freezing! The two guys that dropped us off were characters. They wanted to give us some things to help us out ¢ things that we didn¢t really need, but insisted on giving them anyway. When we were thanking them and declined the huge carton of wet wipes that they were giving us, the one guy grabbed Scavenger by the shirt, pulled him over to the side of the truck and shoved the wet wipes container down his shirt. It was so funny. We did get a chance to thank them and, as they were pulling away, they shouted to us: ¢Man, you guys have bigger balls than we do! Good luck!¢ Aside from the harsh manner in showing it, this type of generosity is something that each of us greatly appreciated. People have been most wonderful and accommodating out here on the AT. I have now arrived at the shelter 6.1 miles in and really need to get some sleep. I¢ll be dreaming about Roan Mountain tonight, as I hear that it is a tough climb. Surprisingly, this is the first shelter in which I have slept in weeks. I completely forgot about the rats! They are everywhere!
Date: 2009-06-04
From: Dublin, VA

To: Dublin, VA
Miles today: 0.0

For the entire day, I rested my weary body, icing my leg and taking an Epson salt bath in Robin and Jeremy's tub. I then proceeded to do many exercises, hoping to strengthen the muscle and tendon that had been inflicted with trauma. In the evening, the three of us headed to Radford, home to Radford University, eating at a Mexican Restaurant with Adam and Michelle - two of their close friends. Jeremy grew up in the area and Robin went to school at Ratford, so this Mexican joint was a hangout for them over the years and they knew several people either working or eating at the restaurant. Michelle is a homegirl from Damascus, VA, my favorite trail town out on the AT and she is 8.5 months pregnant with their child! Adam was quite a character, cracking jokes most of the evening. The least that I could do was treat Robin and Jeremy for dinner - a small token of appreciation for their generosity. They invited us back to their place to try some homemade moonshine and whiskey out of an oak bottle. Jeremy and I indulged and had a few sips of each. Both were absolutely wonderful, but it was the homemade whiskey that really put some hair on my chest. Whewwwww! Michelle is a physical therapist and she tested out my leg with her fingers and sold me some 'BioFreeze', a topical substance that is similar to Icy Hot, but much, much stronger. She also invited me and Robin to come in the next day to see her and she would put some steroid shocker device on my leg (similar to STIM) to penetrate the medicine into the affected area. We came home and I ended up falling asleep on the couch, watching TV. Robin's schedule is a bit all over the place (each week she has a new shift at the lab) and she passed by close to midnight as I was completely passed out on the couch. Good night all!
Date: 2009-06-08
From: Dublin, VA

To: Dublin, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Today was supposed to be my last full day staying at Robin and Jeremy's house, but I chose to stay one day extra to allow my leg to heal up. Nothing too dramatic happened during the day, except that I uploaded all of my videos onto my Facebook account and began to organize my belongings. I also went to the store and picked up all the necessary ingredients for a wonderful pot roast meal. I picked up: potatoes, garlic, an onion, stewed tomatoes, a huge slab of a meat, browning sauce, flour, assorted vegetables, broccoli, asparagus, carrots, mushrooms, and some garlic bread for dinner. It took a little while to prepare everything, but I knew that, in the end, it was going to be well worth the effort. Jeremy returned home early from work, as the temperature had soared up to 90 degrees. We had been planning on heading to the park alongside the New River, once Robin was finished with work, where we would take the dogs to pull us around on a skateboard and rollerblades. At the park, we had so much fun. Both Jack and Marley pulled us all over the park's walkway. As we were flying down the way at 30 mph without any padding, it was a bit dangerous if we were to fall off, but moving this fast on a skateboard was just so much fun. We ended up taking some great pics and videos of the dogs and then we were off! Robin and I went up to Christiansburg, where I ended up shopping at Big Lots, buying a ton of protein bars, steamed oysters, sardines, herring, oatmeal, asian-style noodle meals, chocolate raisins, beef jerky, beef sticks, and much more. I saved so much money from going there. Afterwards, we stopped by Dick's Sporting Goods, where I picked up a lightweight knife, earplugs, and two knee braces for my brittle knees and a thigh pad to increase blood flow to the wounded area. I was reluctant to buy the thigh pad, as the knee pad put some pressure on my thigh and it might have been a superfluous item and an extra 4 oz. in my pack. But, I decided on the side of caution, as these 4 oz. may help to improve the condition of my muscle. When we returned home, we dived right into the pot roast in the croc pot and the garlic bread. It was sooo delicious! I still had a lot of things to get ready for early the next morning, so Jeremy proposed that I stay an extra day in order to get my things in order. I had yet to update my Trail Journals site as well, so I agreed and am thankful for his hospitality. So, one more full day in Dublin!
Date: 2009-06-09
From: Dublin, VA

To: Dublin, VA
Miles today: 0.0

This morning was largely spent organizing all of my food for my next 10 days of hiking. Since I am a week behind schedule, I also had to plan out a route to make my way up to Jill's house in the Waynesboro/Staunton area. This means that I will probably get off the trail in Catawba and hitch my way up to Lexington, VA and then all the way down to Amherst, VA, where Jill works at Sweet Briar College. Logistically, it is a lot to handle, but it should all work out. After all, I have to get up to Dan and Kim's wedding, right?!? I also had a chance to talk to Scavenger. He just arrived into Bland with his girlfriend, Lillian. They would be hitching back to Troutdale today and then Lillian would be driving him back to Bland in the morning. Ironically, Jeremy will be taking me to Bland in the morning as well and it looks like we'll be able to re-connect very easily. I'm actually about 13 miles ahead of him, but I'm guessing that he'll be able to catch up within no time. He flies like Superman! In the afternoon, I cleaned up the house, took the dogs out for a walk, and did the dishes again (doing the dishes each evening was my primary job throughout my stay). I took a bath early this morning as well to give my muscles a much-needed jolt of rest and relaxation. Jeremy and I then headed to the supermarket, where we picked up some fresh yellow corn and potatoes for the evening, as Robin had invited some friends over to the house for a wee cookout. After doing my 'chores', I popped onto the computer and began typing away to catch up-to-date on my trail journals, since I'm heading back to the trail in the morning. Man, I'm so excited! I'll use this last paragraph to thank Robin and Jeremy again for taking me in. I wish there were more people in the world like you guys. Feel free to look me up wherever I am. Please keep in touch! I'm going to miss you guys - and your hospitality!!! And Jack too!!!
Date: 2009-06-19
From: Daleville, VA

To: New York, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Highlights:-        Jill taking me to airport. Mechanical problem on United flight, so they were going to drive me to DC to catch my connection. Changed flight to US Airways direct to La Guardia. I arrived two hours earlier than I was supposed to arrive.-        Dan picked me up at airport. So great to see him again. Headed back to his house for lunch ¢ great to see sister, Dawn, father, Eddie, and mother, Patty. Headed out to get haircut and beard trimmed up. -        Drove up to cottage in Brewster, then off to wedding rehearsal in Goshen, NY. Was able to see old friends and meet some new people from Dan and Kim¢s family. First time seeing Kim in a long while ¢ looked so excited to get married. Very beautiful. -        Rehearsal dinner: Talked with Dani, Elliot, Lexis, AJ and family of both bride and groom. Very enjoyable evening. Dan forgot keys to house, so he had to break in through a separate window, haha. I had to cup my hand to prop him up on the ledge.
Date: 2009-06-20
From: New York, NY

To: Brewster, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Highlights:-        Talked to Mom and Dad in morning. Touched base with Aunt Kathy regarding maildrops. Ran around with Dan in morning (into Connecticut) to pick up wedding flowers. Helped Dan cut flowers and insert into glasses ¢ took most of morning and early afternoon. Special day tomorrow for Dan and Kim and wanted to help with anything and everything. Picked up Joey and headed up to Goshen area to get new tuxedo for Dan, as his did not fit. Headed down to Palisades Mall, where we met up with Michael, AJ, and Elliot for Dan¢s very low-key bachelor¢s party. Had a great meal and played some video games. Headed back to cottage.
Date: 2009-06-21
From: Brewster, NY

To: Goshen, NY
Miles today: 0.0

Highlights:-        Wedding day! Handsome groom and groomsmen. So proud of Dan and Kim and very happy for their celebration of marriage. Drove to wedding in Mercedes Benz. Saw Glackin and Audrey for first time in three years. So good to see them again, along with other people from Iona. Hung up flowers at church. Prepared for ceremony. Beautifully done. Glackin led Kim out with bagpipes. Dan waiting patiently and with a radiant smile. Honoured to be one of their groomsmen. -        Great wedding reception. Took wedding photos with wedding party. Perfect day for wedding. No sun, not too hot, no rain, slightly overcast. Beautiful setting outside ¢ natural river (couldn¢t help but think of my Polar Pure iodine crystals and purifying some water at the river). Everyone up dancing at reception. Had a spectacular evening. -        Went back to Days Inn. Dan and Kim left key in separate car. Kim¢s twin sister, Samantha, who I hadn¢t seen in three years, and I drove key out to them. Chatted on the way ¢ great to catch up with her again. Invited in to have toast of champagne with Dan and Kim. Great setting at Bed and Breakfast. -        Headed back to hotel and watched Batman: The Dark Knight before falling asleep.
Date: 2009-06-22
From: Goshen, NY

To: Charlottesville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Highlights:-        Breakfast at diner with charismatic Kennedy family. Dropped off tuxedo with Elliot. Elliot dropped me off at La Guardia. Flight delayed for 2.5 hours. Missed connection in Charlottesville. Didn¢t get into C-ville until 11:00 pm. Jill picked me up ¢ had fruit and snacks with her again. Had already purchased denatured alcohol at hardware store and refused my money. So friendly : ) Stayed up trying to send emails to friends that had written me a long while back.
Date: 2009-07-05
From: Fishers Gap

To: Byrds Nest #3
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: light rain

Happy Birthday to Tully! In the morning of the 5th, I raced around at Ruth and Tom¢s house trying to get everything organized for the upcoming week and for when Ruth and Tom and kids would be visiting me in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Tom ended up driving me the full way back to Shenandoah National Park ¢ a very long drive ¢ in addition to pit stops at REI and Dick¢s Sporting Goods to get some other needed essentials. It was great trail magic, especially after he had such a busy 4th of July weekend. Thank you, Tom and Ruth, for making it happen. I really appreciate it. On the way back to the trail, I was asked a multitude of questions by Matthew and Alex regarding the Appalachian Trail. As I write this, I can still hear them yelling: ¢Uncle Steve! Uncle Steve!¢ I explained to them all about trail names and they each took on their own trail names: Sport, Gecco, and Sleepy, with Tom being Linguini and Ruth being Mama Bear.   It was terrible weather as we approached Fishers Gap, but it did clear up enough for us to get out of the car and go for a very short stroll. The kids became very excited as a deer literally walked directly in front of us right across the parking lot. There was a sense of excitement for the boys, but I knew that Tom and the kids would have to get going soon in order to return to their house back in Ashburn. We parted ways, gave one another hugs, and acknowledged that we would be seeing each other in a week¢s time in Harpers Ferry. I made it to Rock Spring Hut, thinking that the next shelter was a very long distance away. I found out from Dreamcatcher and the AT ridgerunner that there was another shelter ¢ Byrds Nest #3 ¢ that was within 10+ miles. So, I started booking it and arrived just after 8:30 pm. I approached the shelter and there was already a fire burning and recognized the inhabitant as Night Moves, who I had met all the way back in Bland. We chatted for a while and I warmed my cold, wet body by the fire before climbing inside my sleeping bag, thereby creating an insulation layer and warmth for my body. Then, it was off to sleep.
Date: 2009-07-06
From: Byrds Nest #3

To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: broken clouds

In the morning of the sixth, I awoke a bit late and chatted with Night Moves in the morning. His family was now living in Carlisle, PA and he had invited me to visit with them once I managed to get closer to Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Central/Southern PA. When I left the shelter, I climbed up the blue-blazed trail of Mary¢s Rock, which had a beautiful viewpoint of the valley beneath. The thick musty clouds had descended into the valley, thereby creating a heavenly mirage down below in the green underlay. I then arrived at Pass Mountain Hut, passing many ¢Bear Activity¢ signs, warning thru-hikers that several people have had packs and food bags stolen from bears. I saw in the trail register that Jungli and Patch were just ahead and I was looking forward to catching up to them. I finally stopped at a wayside, where you can pick up quality food on the top of the mountain. I had heard many thru-hikers raving about the blackberry milkshakes and I was due to try one. So, at the Elkwallow Wayside, I popped on in, thinking that I would have just one milkshake. This one shake turned into another shake and then I had a large bit of ice cream on top of that. It was a hot day, but it was the sheer sweetness and richness of the shake/ice cream that kept bringing me back. Maybe it was just because my taste buds were dying for some helado. Since I had my iPod with me, I was listening to some of my aunt Kathy¢s David Sedaris tracks. I have to say that it was absolutely hysterical and he was very entertaining as I traversed down the mountainside. While listening to it, I came across two very large bucks just at the side of the trail. They had been chowing down on some of the leaves and one just walked within five feet of me to pass the trail. I just kept quiet and watched nature literally pass me by. I knew that the deer were very tame in the park, but I couldn¢t believe that they were THAT tame! Further down the road, I saw another large bear that ran off into the distance. I stopped for the night at Gravel Springs Hut and the bugs were just brutal again. While there, I met Jim from Kansas and John, a ridgerunner from Louisville, KY. We talked all about the Appalachian trail stats and John helped me to recognize that I really need to get moving or else I will be in jeopardy of not finishing the trip.
Date: 2009-07-20
From: Boiling Springs - PA 174

To: Duncannon, PA
Miles today: 25.6
Weather: broken clouds

Mom and Dad dropped me off in the early morning, arriving in Boiling Springs at 7:30 am. I immediately started walking through farmland and it was very easy terrain. I had a new iPod and had tons of great songs, audiobooks, and language recordings, and was really looking forward to listening to them. I began with The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, which turned out to be an exceptional book. I crossed over the Pennsylvania turnpike and Interstate 81, two thoroughfares that I had used many times during my youth en route to soccer practices, games, tournaments, and camps. Geez, we really burned a lot of tires on these roads.The day went by very quickly and before I knew it, I was descending into Duncannon after a 25.6 mile day. The descent yielded a beautiful view of the Juniata River down below, the town of Duncannon down and to the right and the mighty Susquehanna River winding its way in the distance. At this point, I called my good friend, Luke Rettig, to see about meeting up over the next two days. He was just on his way back from Lake Placid, NY and we determined that he would come and pick me up that evening in Duncannon.The town of Duncannon was a bit depressing, but I¢m sure that it was a bustling port town back in its heyday. I went straight to the Doyle Hotel, which is a great stop for thru-hikers. It is a rackety old building and, as Phoenix Rising showed me, the rooms were far from ideal, but it was a place to sleep. The beer was cheap and, from what I heard, I had missed quite a party on Saturday evening, when my friend thru-hikers had arrived into town (as I was at a family wedding). I also saw Dah Wah He, met Two Lions on the way, and met Vickie, one of the owners of the Doyle. She took my picture and recorded it into the 2009 Thru-Hikers book, as she keeps a log for every single thru-hiker that walks through the Doyle. I saw the pictures of Pippi and Hamburglar, along with several other thru-hikers that I had met from last year¢s contingent. Luke came and picked me up shortly, thereafter. It was great to see him again. We took a quick stroll through the Doyle and then we were en route to Hummelstown, which is where he lives. I have been good friends with the Rettig family for quite some time now, ever since I went to school with Molly at the University of Richmond. Luke and I became good friends during my time out in AmeriCorps while I was in California and I was a Big Kick Soccer Camp Counselor for their brother Mike. I was extremely tired and nearly falling asleep on the ride back to the house. We made a stop for food, but I was nearly too tired to eat. We talked for a while and planned a ¢slackpack¢ day for the following day and then I headed off to bed.