morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-02
From: Curley Maple Shelter

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

So that whole 6:30 mumbo jumbo didn¢t work. I think I set my watch wrong. You would think that as fancy as my watch is you would be able to just tell it what time and it would wake you up with coffee and a paper. I packed up and waited for the trail to open and left around 9:30. It was a great day weather wise. It was supposed to storm but the clouds kept passing over all night. I wanted to do a little over 20 miles today so I knew it would be a long day.    As I was walking today I heard the rain start to hit the leaves before I felt it. It kept getting louder but I couldn¢t feel it so I stopped and held out my hands. I couldn¢t feel anything so I kept walking. (This happened several times) finally when I looked down I found out what was going on. Every step I took, these tiny bugs were jumping off the trail in front of me. I felt like Moses parting the Red Sea of bugs. I'm not talking one or two, I¢m talking hundreds. After further inspection and some consultation from other thru-hikers, we ruled that they were baby grass hoppers. I finally made it to the shelter after the long miles and the new shoes are holding up well. I found out that the rest of the tribe is about a day ahead of me. My dilemma for tomorrow: try and put in more big miles and get closer to the crew or go a normal day to the largest shelter and arguably the best view on the trail?
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Over Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: few clouds

After the tough climb over Roan Mountain (the last 6000 ft till New Hampshire) I decided to stop early for the day at the Overmountain shelter. It is an old barn that has been converted into a shelter that thru-hikers can sleep in. It's one of those spots that people say is a must stay on the trail. There are two levels of the barn. The top is closed in with room for about 30 people. The bottom is closed in on three sides and sleeps about 8 on two platforms. I am sleeping on the bottom level where I can look out over the valley and watch the sunrise in the morning. We sat around and waited for more to come in and watched the sun set from our sleeping bags.
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Over Mountain Shelter

To: Applehouse Shelter
Miles today: 8.2

It was wonderful being woken up by the birds chirping and the sun warming my sleeping bag. When I looked out of the barn my view was amazing. The sun was rising over the mountains in front of me as the day began.   However, once the sun starts to wake you up there is no snooze button. The stupid sun found the one board that was missing in the barn and slapped me in the face all morning. The weather was good all morning while I was hiking. I got talked into going up to the "grocery store" so I stashed my pack near the road under my tarp and some sticks. There were 7 of us walking towards the store. Miles, Donkey, Corey and I were in the second group. I used my skills to get a hitch for us. We hopped in the back of the truck and were off. We passed the others who were still walking. When we got out of the truck the guy mumbled to us and drove away. When we got in the store we were talking about how mad the others must have been for not getting a ride. Then Corey asked what the guy said. Being from New England, he couldn¢t understand the mountain man. I translated that he said he couldn¢t stop on the hill in his truck. We then made root beer floats on the porch of the "grocery store" while we watched the rain fall on the other 3 who kept walking to the restaurant. We tried to wait out the storm. Some of the guys made ponchos out of saran wrap. We decided that it wasn¢t going to get much better so we went back to the trail where we stashed our packs and backtracked .5 miles to the previous shelter. We piled in for the night. It has been raining off and on all afternoon and through the night. Big day tomorrow I hope.
Date: 2006-05-05
From: Applehouse Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 24.3

We woke up to a musky shelter from all the wet clothes inside and the downpour outside. The rain let off early in the day. It¢s Cinco de Mayo. While I should be trying to drink 24 Mexican beers, I decide to hike 24 miles instead. So I shoved off knowing that if I can get past the first two climbs I should be ok as far as the terrain for today. I made good time and felt great. I made it to the shelter 6 miles from the hostel I was shooting for. I took a break and pushed on. Right when I left the shelter it started raining. Then it started raining harder and harder. My spirits were high cause I felt great and I knew where I was. When I got to the road crossing I turned left towards the hostel. It started raining harder out of the cover of the trees. When I got to the hostel it was filling up but several familiar faces were there. Before I could take off my pack everyone who had been there for a while kept trying to talk to me. I just wanted to get dry and relax.Mouse was sitting on the porch. He told me he had some thing to show me out back by the woodpile. Mouse is one of the guys that I have known and trusted the longest on the trail and I had no idea what he had back there. I have to admit that I was a little worried about what he wanted to show me but you know me, I went. We went back to the woodpile and he whistled. Out came a dog that Mouse had found on the trail. It had followed him for a few days so he was keeping it.   When I got back inside the hostel I got a bed and did some wash. Ranger Dawg and I split a Pizza Plus Pepperoni pizza. I caught up with everyone then finally went to bed.
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Watagua Dam Shelter
Miles today: 10.7

I had told Mom and Dad to meet me at Watagua Lake today at 12:30 so I had to get going early. I, of course, waited for the trail to open at 9 and took off. I went past Laurel Falls today. This is my favorite place to hike. It is where I always go when I need a quick outdoor fix. I passed through and started climbing Pond Flats. About half way up I passed Model T and Ranger Dawg talking to Baltimore Bill. Baltimore Bill tells them that he was in the woods yesterday under a tree waiting for the rain to pass and saw me running down the hill yelling when I got close to the road. I was busted. We all got a good laugh and went on our way. When I got to the lake I met back up with Mouse and Roxy (his new dog), H-Bomb and Shasta. We waited for my parents and drank a beer from a guy on a boat who pulled up. Once Mom and Dad got there we talked for a while and then they took Shasta, H-Bomb and me to get a real meal while Mouse and Roxy watched our stuff. After the meal we took a plate back to Mouse and watched him eat. I said my good byes to Mom and Dad and I started hiking. I got about 50 yards and ran into Donkey and decided that I was too full to move so I waited a while longer. I then pushed on to the next shelter that was only a mile farther.
Date: 2006-05-07
From: Watauga Dam Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: moderate rain

When I woke up this morning and looked out the door of the shelter I saw the trees swaying in no order. It was nasty and I tried to sleep more but couldn¢t. We sat around the shelter and talked about hiking. I finally decided to get moving. I packed up and put on my swashbuckler pants. (That¢s what I call my rain pants rolled up) Usually I don¢t like wearing pants but I was in the mood for some reason. I started hiking and the rain held off all day. I only got some drops from the trees. When I got to the shelter I claimed a corner spot. I thought that would be a good place to be so you don¢t have some one rolling on you all night. I talked to a guy who was already there about the shelter. He said that he had heard that it had a small mice problem. Then right before bed they came out. They were everywhere. Climbing right in front of us for about 15 minutes then they disappeared. I think I heard one of the mice say, "go tell the fella we got a smorgasbord."
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: The Place
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: light rain

I had 2 options. One, put in a normal day and camp outside of town or make a shot at going the 26 miles, crossing into my 4th state and stay in town. Of course, I chose B. The terrain is pretty flat and goes down hill into Damascus, Virginia. This by no means is easy. Everything was going great until around mile 18. I started feeling a little burn in my feet from all the pounding. I waited for Donkey, Yankee, and Hot Springs at the boarder. We had a boarder party then crossed into Virginia. It is the fourth state and the longest. Over 1/4 of the trail is in Virginia so that can get to you mentally. Donkey and I took off from the boarder for the last 4 miles into Damascus. The thought of entering into a new state was awesome. We knew that we were close and pumped about a new state so we took off. Very fast walking and some running to get into town.   The trail goes right through town so I went on as Donkey waited for Hot Springs. I was headed for ¢the Place¢. It¢s a hostel that is run by a local church. It is a house that has basicly been turned into bunks and showers. I found a spot in an empty room and headed for the Baja Caf© to make up for missing Cinco de Mayo. Looking forward to a Zero day tomorrow to catch up on some things in town and celebrate Mouse¢s Birthday.
Date: 2006-05-10
From: The Place

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

After a sluggish start for some reason I packed up my stuff and headed towards the mountains. I felt like eating fresh so I stopped at Subway. As I sat eating my foot-long I figured out my miles for the next few days. I am meeting my dad on Friday night so I had to figure out where the best place to meet would be. The problem is that there isn¢t a road right where I want. I have to either go short or far. I chose to push ahead so that I don¢t get too far behind the crew when I get off for a day and a half. It means 2 days in a row of 20 miles or more. I called dad and made it official so I decided I needed to get out of town. The hike was crazy. I saw my first snake on the trip. It startled me at first. I looked and saw that it was a small little garter snake and took a few pictures. But later while I was walking I started screaming like a mad man when I almost stepped on a water moccasin. It scared the crap out of me (figuratively). I¢m not really liking Virginia and the snakes. Right before I got to the shelter it started raining. I put my new pack cover on my pack and kept going. I was kind of glad that it was sprinkling so that I could test out the pack cover to see how it worked. However, I didn¢t want it to rain as hard as it did. I finally made it to the shelter I made everyone else jealous by eating my foot-long sub that I carried out of town and the last Budweiser left over from the night before.
Date: 2006-05-12
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Troutdale
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

After a long night sleep that consisted of getting woken up by the wind coming through the cracks in the shelter I pushed out onto the trail right when it opened. I needed to do 24+ by 6:30 to get to where dad was picking me up to go to Charlotte. The weather was pretty nice but still a bit cold. I cranked out the first 10 miles in 3 hours. When I got to the road that lead into Troutdale, VA I had to make the decision on whether I was going to push and hopefully get to the pick up point on time or stop early and call to change the pick up point. All of a sudden it bolts lighting out of the sky and I decided to head for the town of Troutdale. Now when I say town, what I mean is a trading post, 2 churches, and a post office. I managed to get the first hitch that came by. (I am getting to be very good at hitch hiking.) When I got to the trading post I ran into Booger, Bright Eyes and The Mudbogger Express. We all ate and talked for a while. I called dad and told him the new plan and waited.Once he showed up we threw all my stinky stuff in a trash bag and headed for Charlotte.Once we got to Charlotte I finally got a shower. We had some drinks and then a few more. Then headed to bed for the big day tomorrow.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Troutdale

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

After waking up to warm air on the inside and cold air outside I finally got moving. Once I got packed up and tried to figure out where I was going to try and hitch back to Damascus for Trail Days I went back to the trading post and got fuel and started hitching. It took me a little longer to get a ride but the road wasn¢t busy at that time. When I got to the trailhead, it was cold but good for hiking. I cranked out the 15 miles in 5 hours including stops. It was great to be back on the trail. When I got to the shelter it got better. This isn¢t your ordinary shelter. It is in a state park near the headquarters. It¢s called Partnership Shelter and it has 2 levels, a sink out back and a shower in it. Yes, I said shower. With hot and cold water. No shower needed, I had one yesterday so I am still one of the cleanest out here. The other great thing about the shelter is it has a phone .1 miles away. And you can order pizza and stuff from a near by town and they deliver. they say if you use the correct lingo then they will bring beer too. The people who placed my order must not have been as smooth as SoulLive because he got the girl to bring a 12 pack and it was a great night.
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Traildays
Miles today: 0.0

After deciding to stall in Atkins for a few days I finally made it back to Damascus for Trail Days (from what I hear it should be called Trail Daze). Funk came up last night to hang out then drove us down in his van to set up for the festivities. The best way to explain Trail Days is like a hippie festivel for dirty hikers. Throw in the excitement of a college homecoming and some more dirty hippies and you have trail days. Its great to see everyone who you either passed once on the trail or have never met at all. I will be here till Sunday then its back to Atkins to press on down the trail and get back into the grind of things.
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Atkins

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

After packing up and hitting up the gear reps for free stuff we piled into the van and headed for Atkins. When we got to Atkins I repacked my bag from camping mode to hiking mode. Funk gave me a lotto ticket and said goodbye. I made sure that I had enough supplies to make it to Bland and hit the trail.I don¢t know if there is another word for sluggish but I was worse than that. I still managed to crank out 14 miles so I was happy. When I got to the shelter I got the last spot and started cooking while it was already dark. I think I might have made some people mad but oh well. If you don¢t like it stay somewhere else. They don¢t hear me complaining when they get up early, do they? I was awakened in the middle of the night to hear owls going nuts. One guy admitted to being scared and the only response was "you can¢t be scared you¢re a thru-hiker."
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Davis Farm Campsite

To: Bland
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

I barely slept at all last night. It was very cold but I got over it and hit the trail only after having to walk that .5 back up the hill from the campsite. Rumor had it that there was a bridge out and you had to take the high water blue blaze trail. The people that I talked to said either you can make it or you will never make it. I didn¢t know who was right so I took the high water route. It was boring but dry. When I got back to the trail I saw a giant cooler with apple juice and power bars. The Apple Juice was great even though I¢m not really an apple juice fan.
Date: 2006-05-24
From: Bland

To: Campsite 1.1 miles after Jenny Knob
Miles today: 13.2

After a good night¢s sleep, I was off to hit the post office to send home some of my winter gear. I figure its probably going to start snowing now that I sent my gloves home. I chugged a liter of water while some guy watched in awe. Then started hitching back to the trail. I got one "kind of" quick from a guy who looked like what Ozzy Osborn would look like if he were a Beatles fan. While we were heading down the road we saw Old Spice and picked him up too. After I got to the trailhead I found out it was another mile to the actual woods down a road and over I-77.Once back on the trail I realized how many other people there are in the woods. Between the people I passed in Bland, and the people that passed me I don¢t know barely any of them. But that¢s the crazy thing about the trail.
Date: 2006-05-25
From: Campsite 1.1 miles after Jenny Knob

To: Woodshole Hostel
Miles today: 19.3
Weather: clear sky

I was not a happy camper this morning when I was woken up at 6:15 to a hiker coming by singing. I'm pretty sure he knew what he was doing and thought it was funny but if I catch him then its on. I think I will just find him and wake him up late at night when I pass him. After not being able to go back to sleep I laid around and finally got moving. At the 5 mile mark there was a really cool suspension bridge, then a road. I had the option to keep moving or hit the store that was only .4 miles down the road. Everyone talked me into it. I got a Coke and 2 pieces of pizza, then hit the trail again. 2 miles later was a side trail to Dismal Falls. I had heard you could swim but I didn¢t think I was ready to swim in cold streams just yet. I went down to the falls. It was a nice cascading fall about 15 feet into a big pool. I had heard that you can jump off it so I looked and said, ¢If I am The River Weasel I better start getting wet.¢ So I ran and jumped and hit the freezing water. Popped out and swam like hell for shore. It was refreshing but still cold. I decided that I should get going. When I got to the next shelter I checked the register and found a song that H-Bomb and Shasta had left. I also saw a note from Soullive that they were going to Woodshole Hostel. The hostel is an old homestead that a couple used while her husband studied elk in the area. They let you sleep in the barn for free but they charge $2.50 for breakfast. It¢s a piece of history that I couldn¢t pass. I rolled in around 8 or so to be greeted by Tillie. She was happy to see me and told me to keep the Yankees under control. We could hear the first guy snoring before we even went to bed so we knew it was going to be a long night.
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Woodshole Hostel

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I know I am still in the south when you get woken up at 7 am by a triangle only to be rung again at 7:30 for breakfast. Of course I had to say the blessing since I was the only southerner. (This was decided by everyone else before we went into the house.) After a wonderful breakfast I made the dash for Pearisburg. It was only 10 miles and cruising. The last 2 miles dropped 1000 feet each mile. Pretty crazy let me tell ya. Once I got to town I had to take care of business. I headed straight for the Dairy Queen and got a large milk shake. Delicious. The next order of business was to do laundry so I made my way over to the laundry mat and did some wash. Thank goodness it started raining while I was in there cause I was only wearing my rain pants and coat since the rest of my clothes were in the wash. Finally I made it to the hostel. The hostel has a blue blazed path to Wal-Mart through a field behind it. It was perfect walking there but while inside it poured rain. It finally let up and we hitched back to the hostel for the night.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Pearisburg

To: campsite 630.2
Miles today: 7.9

Happy 200 Pearisburg!! That¢s right folks I hit town when the celebration was going on downtown but I was trying to get out of town early. I definitely didn¢t want to get sucked into the "black hole" that has been keeping hikers in town for multiple zero days for years as #2 told us. (He didn¢t get his name from what you think, it¢s because it¢s his 25th anniversary of his first hike.) My first stop was the most important, I had to head back to Wal-Mart. I am now the happiest hiker around. They had a little mini speaker that I can hook up to my MP3 player. I ended up asking the local kid who worked there a question and got his whole life story. After there I headed over to the library to update my journal to hopefully stop the death threats I have been receiving for not keeping up to date. It's great being on a computer and I could have stayed there all day looking up nothing but I pulled myself away. I walked through the festival stuff down time and I talked to some military recruiters for a long time. They got me really interested in joining up to fight for a good cause. But I told them that I had to finish hiking the trail first. So I gave my best rebel yell and told the confederate re-enactors bye, and headed towards the All Sports Bar and Grill to meet Soullive for lunch before heading out of town. When I got there it was closed. When I saw what time it opened I almost had a heart attack. 5 pm on Saturdays and 10am every other day, even Sunday. Most major sporting events happen on Saturdays. We were shocked so we got food and headed towards the trail. We passed Model T and Ranger Dawg who had just arrived in town and couldn¢t pass Dairy Queen. At DQ is where I found out that about 5 people had decided to Zero up for the day. Not Soulive and me, we headed out only to stop at the last store for the last of my supplies and were on our way. I almost made one of the biggest mistakes in not remembering toilet paper. Soullive took off from the store a little in front of me. Once I got out of town to the trail head, I sat to organize everything and all of a sudden Soullive came walking out of thewoods from the wrong direction. I laughed as he tried to laugh at himself. #2 came walking up so he laughed at Soullive too. We each had a beer that I had leftover from the day before, then pressed on to a campsite on top of the hill.Andy
Date: 2006-05-28
From: campsite 630.2

To: WarSpur shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up at around 6:30 and had to use the little boy¢s tree. When I climbed out of my hammock I saw Soullive sitting there with a look on his face like he was going to do something stupid. I went back to bed only to arise to find both Soullive and Shrek gone. Little do I find out that the trail has different hours according to them. I left kind of early around, oh say 9:15. The hike was nice along the ridge, only 8.8 miles to the next shelter for lunch. Well, the wonderful weather I have had keeps getting nicer. Only today it got hotter. Today¢s hi 90. So I soon found out why the trail opened early, around 12:30 when I was sweating buckets. So new rule, the trail only closes in the middle of the day. This means that since I can¢t hike, I will have to find some thing to do like swim or nap under a big tree. Despite the new trail rules and the sweating, I pushed it to try and catch Mouse, Shasta and H-Bomb. They are about 3 days or so ahead but I think I can gain slowly on them if I push it. I put in 23.6 miles today and got to the shelter and it was empty. I was shocked. Set up in the shelter then moved out to my hammock once I saw a mouse and a plethora of nasty bugs. So far the best thing about my Memorial Day weekend is the countdown radio shows and good reception. I heard the top 400 best party songs countdown (twice) and a flash back weekend of the best of the 70's and 80's. And now I'm passing out after a long day while listening to the best call in show of them all, Dalila. Andy