morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-18
From: Deer Mtn. Shelter

To: Hot Springs
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Slept in; shoved some Snickers and Little Debbiesdown my throat and took a nice stroll to Hot Springs.Plan is to clean up a bit; meet the kids and headout in the morning. There is a hiker friendly Pub in town which wewill probably check out Weselsley and Kado strolled in from about 13 miles@ noon; they were cruising. KB and SB are meetingsome friends in town here and will hang another day.They will catch up; they always do. (Or we willslow down which we always do). Warm , nice day from Hot Springs. Got to go folks;so much to do. Laundry, pizza, Pub, Pub, Pub, andmore Pub! Everybody says Hi to everybody; and thanks to everyonewho is supporting me and the gang with all your thoughtsand prayers and such. I can't get back to everyonebut you are all in my thoughts. Also, Mom and Dad please say Hi to Grandma for me. Take care and onward towards Maine. Living the Dream!
Date: 2005-03-19
From: Hot Springs

To: Little Laurel Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Man, there are only two things you need to know about what made thisday so great. We got out of Hot Springs early; trail goes down mainstreet which is cool. Out the Hotel, 10 ft. and on the trail. After goofing around a bit on the cliffs out of the Springs, about3 miles or so into the day we stopped (Kado, Wels, and myself) for a breather and food. Kado spotted a huge bird flying behind us. We watchedit a bit as it dropped its wings and landed about 100 yds from us. A side trail went down that way so we quietly walked down and it wasa beautiful owl. Just sitting there, posing for a picture. We were inawe; kinda weird behind about 9 in the morning but it sat long enough.Made my day; just awsome. The second thing was some trail magic; this magic was above and beyond.Mid afternoon we came down to a gap about 14 or so miles from Hot Springs.On a AT post was a sign; 300 yds. up the road is soda and good conversation.By that time we were a little hazy and tired and it sounded great. Well,after some ice cream cake, pork sandwiches , chips and other goodies wehad to say goodbye. Hercules & Fal, two former thru hikers fed us andwe sat for a good 2-3 hours sharing stories. Thank you all so much; thehugs and handshakes meant as much as the food. There is a special bondI am feeling out here that is so cool with thru hikers. You two are angels indeed!(I forgot the name of the 1st two shelters on this leg; will get themin later.) "Yesterday is a history,   tomorrow is a mystery,   but today is a gift".
Date: 2005-03-20
From: Little Laurel Shelter

To: Flint Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 13.0

   (Will get names of shelters of this entry and last in the A.M.I am here @ the Erwin library and forgot my data sheets. My mindwas on burritos and burgers).   Woke up in a fog and mist; we all thought more rain but it clearedquick. Another warm, sunny day. Two in a row??    The hiking here on the N.C./ Tenn. border is fantastic. Lots ofdifferent terrain. The rocks @ the cliffs today were fun andgave great views. Came across to former thru hikers; Jaybird and Walks Alone. Had lunchwith them and was great picking their brain. Great, great stories; Jaybirdis on his 3rd thru hike and Walks Alone did it once and is gettingready for the PCT in April.   We cut the day short; build and awsome fire and just chilled. Sittinghere @ the shelter; clear blue skies and I mean really blue up here. Daydreaming is a daily thing for us up here. Pretty simple day folks, starting to meet some spring breakers andlife is good as usual on the trail. (Check out the pictures.) "Of all the paths in life that you take,   make sure some are dirt".
Date: 2005-03-21
From: Shelter

To: Big Bald Shelter
Miles today: 18.5

Man, every time I think this is the day another one tops it out here.The hiking was hard; the views were the best. What can I say about Big Bald?? I am really enjoying the Tenn/N.C.hiking. The balds offer 360 degree views and Big Bald was the best sofar. I'm sure Max Patch is just as good but alls we saw there was iceand snow. Before I forget; more trail magic. About 3 miles out of the shelterthere was another plastic drum of soda; candy and the such. Thanks towhoever again. That gave us a great push up that 2000 ft. or so climb. The cool thing about Big Bald was you could see this one from about4 -5 miles away. I really enjoy hiking towards something you can see.We took bets on which ridge it would climb and I think Wells won thatone. Nobody on the trail today; take that back there was one fellow whowas zoning out with his dog. But besides that, solitude and peace. Check the pictures out; the wind has picked up so we know a front istrying to move in. Heading to Erwin in the morning; just got thatfeeling that our 3 days of sunshine and warmth is about to end. Take care and sweet dreams. . .ZZZZZZ........................... (Listening to some Jeff Buckley and some Cure; big smile from here).
Date: 2005-03-22
From: Big Bald Shelter

To: Erwin, Tenn.
Miles today: 16.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Brrr......again. The winds shifted last night @ Big Bald shelter.Cold is back and we got up quick and headed out.The snow on the North side of this mountain was packed down to ice andsome of the downhills were tricky today. Slip and sliding, slip and sliding.Usually I will cook some oatmeal and have some tea but if I am headingto town I will jam a few pop tarts and M&M's down the hatch and ridethe sugar train down the trail. Wells and Kado and myself tend to hike a little faster when headinginto town. (Kado is like speed racer man; chanting out the namesof beers along the way in some kind of a daze). We stopped @ theNo Business Shelter for a quick lunch and almost ran the last 6 milesinto town.Just beat the rain; four days without getting wet and we were allsmiles. I'm sure that will be the record for this trip.Plan on taking 2 days in Erwin; I am enjoying all parts of the AT;the beauty, solitude, towns people and all the rest. Nothing but fun, smiles and a little pain from Erwin. I did get a kick out of one of the signs I saw in a bathroom.   "If you are going to Tinkle, please don't sprinkle".After living in the woods and pretty much going where I please, I almost fell on the floor laughing so hard. What a trip.   "Signs, signs everywhere are signs,   blocking up the scenery,   messin with my mind,   don't do this   dont't do that   can't you read the signs".
Date: 2005-03-23
From: Erwin, Tenn.

To: Erwin, Tenn.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

   Hello, getting back some calories. There is a great Mexican place herethat caters to hikers. Huge burritos and tacos and nachos and everythingelse. Hmmmmmm.....   Been getting a lot of questions about injuries and pain and whyI haven't talked much about that. It's pretty obvious that when youdo this type of hiking we all have some pains but I just don't want totalk about it. Kado is getting his toe checked out today; Wells andmyself have pains as does every hiker out here. Wells said it best;it is one pain that moves to a different part of your body everyday.We decided to call him RALPH. Ralph likes to go from your toe to yourankle to your back; all in one day. So Ralph is alive and well andsays Hi to everybody   Anyway, time to go and get to stuff done like this journal.       Living the Dream and loving every minute of it. ( I even have founda place in my heart for good ole Ralph).P.S - A shout out to KB and SB; see you soon guys and keepthose feet moving man!!
Date: 2005-03-25
From: Erwin , Tenn.

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: few clouds

Hello again everybody; lets see whats been happening.... KB & SB got into Miss Janets Hostel and we hooked up last night.They spent some more time in Hot Springs and the "Killer B's"as we call them are here. Great to see them and everybody seemsto be leaving today. Also met up with a cool dude ; "the eternaloptimist"; thru hiked a few times and had a lot of great stories. Kado had his foot checked; thought he had a broken bone but allwas cool. He hiked out last night about 4 miles to stretch the thingand Wells and I met up with him @ the first shelter. Everytime I get to a town the anticipation of getting back onthe trail is amazing. Got to get back into the woods. Alls I can say is was a beautiful day; 70 degrees and a slightAT breeze. Highlight of the day was Beauty Spot; I saw the name in my companionand sounded like a great lunch spot. We all got there and ate& snoozed for an hour or so. Read somewhere that some people think the balds were formed from space aliens or UFO's . Maybeso; we didn't see any today. Hoping an alien would come outof the woods with a steak and a large glass of milk. Take care and living the dream!
Date: 2005-03-26
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Stan Murray Shelter
Miles today: 20.7
Weather: light rain

A little birdie told me that rain is on the way so woke up @ thecrack of dawn and wanted to hike all day. Had to leave "the Kids"behind. I get up when the first bird chirps and I am reallyenjoying getting up the first hill to watch the sunrise everymorning. Met another gentleman last night; 1st from Missouri named Overhill.He resides in the Branson area and we conversed about the Katy Trail and other Missouri things. Cool dude. Also met Hippie Longstocking and Stumpknocker @ lunch; formerthru hikers and more great stories. Man, climbed the Stairway to Heaven today; Roan Mtn. which I believe is the last 6000 ft. deal until the whites. Ice, iceand more ice. A real cool thing happened today @ the Roan Mtn. Shelter. I wasthere to get some water and very faintly I heard bagpipes somewherein the woods. You hear things out here; some real and some notso real but I could swear there was music coming from the trees.Make a long story short; Overhill and I got down to Carver Gap andsome dude was playing the pipes in the parking lot. The soundshoots all the way up the mountain. Cool stuff. Another great day; tourist are starting to freak me out a bit.Two guys asked me directions today; about a hotel down the road.I can't even tell them what day it is so that conversation waspretty weak. Only thing I was missing today was ice skates......... "If you have owned more pairs of boots    then cars, you are a true hiker".
Date: 2005-03-27
From: Stan Murray Shelter

To: Pineola/ 19E
Miles today: 10.5

What a day! This is another reason why the AT is awsome.    During the night a cold weather system moved in; the winds werehowling and the fog was rolling in. Took off in the morning inheavy mist and high winds. Crossing Little Hump and Hump Mtn. was intense to say theleast. Had to be 50 MPH winds; rain was sideways and blowingme off the trail! I know I am a sick puppy but had a smile onmy face the whole time. What a way to wake up man, Hump Mtn.was crazy. Took about an hour or so to get across and the onlybreak was a few big rocks on top out of the wind. The group has split for the time being; happens on this trailand I'm sure I will see "the Kids" soon. Got to 19E said to myself screw this and stuck out my thumb.Got a ride to Newland shopping Mall from a heavy metal fanblasting Slip Knot or something like that. Brought flashbacksto my Iron Maiden days; we talked about all kinds of metaland how that music has so much classical influence; just turnedup a bit. Wanted to get dry and thus appears "the Chief"; better knownas Joe Moreno. Took me all the way to a ski hotel; showed mearound and once again another trail angel. Ate @ an awsomeItalian Rest. and stocked up for the run to Damascus.Sitting here watching the rain from the Pineola Hotel picturingthe Kids crossing over Hump Mtn. After 3 Ice Cream sandwhiches, a large pizza, a salad, a loafof bread, 3 cheese sandwiches, a gallon of milk, etc..........   Time to sleep......................
Date: 2005-03-28
From: Pineola/ 19E

To: Ed Moreland Shelter
Miles today: 17.5

"The Chief" picked me up @ 9 am and took me all the way back to thetrail. Here is a dude who has never met me and treated me likefamily. He had a great saying; "there is no such thing asa stranger, just a friend ready to be met". Big shouts out toyou Chief and thanks again. Saw the famous Weather Channel calling for rain today butclearing till Friday so trying to jump the window as they say.They were right about the rain today. Cold, drizzly day today. All the animals out here are hiding; except today. Saw 4 dogsand had some hounddogs barking behind me in the morning. The 4I say midday were funny; once they saw me three took off into thewoods but the lead guy was busy sniffing @ something. I approachedand he looked back and his gang was gone. He seemed kinda stunned;then he took off. Not much else to say today; hiked in a haze all day, slippingand sliding. Trail was "butter" ; means pretty flat and wellgraded. Also have learned "sketchy" from the Kids; all thisyounger generation lingo. See ya..... "A man can see the moment   and answers to the dream"                  YES
Date: 2005-03-29
From: Ed Moreland Shelter

To: Watagua Lake Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: scattered clouds

LAUREL FALLS! Not much needs to be said. What a beautiful areaand spent some time zoning out today @ the falls. 2 different days today; woke up with 35 degree mist and rainand by midday was 70 and almost hot. Insects are startingto make there way onto the trail; bee's and flies and such.Never have I experienced the coming of Spring like this before.Spring @ home hits and one day you wake up and say "look @ thepretty flowers, it must be spring". Out here is so different andawsome because you see each day the slow growth of spring; a bughere and a bud on a tree there. Cool stuff. Anyway, I here the Kids and in the area; we are just a day orso apart and I know we will get back together in Damascus. Beersfor all guys! Pond Flats was a heavy breather today and @ the top I fell asleepfor an hour or so. I have always enjoyed taking long naps inthe woods; very peaceful. Well, everything is dry again and got to Watagua Lake and Overhilland I watched some geese running around. He had a great idea fordinner; only if we had a net Life is good......P.S. - Mom, you will appreciate this one. Catch myself singing      John Denver songs out here a lot to myself. This is the      place!
Date: 2005-03-30
From: Watagua Lake Shelter

To: McQueens Knob
Miles today: 30.0

Called the Tenn. Turnpike, this last section before Damascus issupposed to be the easiest yet. A lot of people try the "50"in 24 hours. Too much for me but we shall see; each day bringsknew stuff. Second day in a row with warm sunshine and KB & SB showed up@ the shelter late last night. Great to see them again and theywere mumbling something about trying to get into Damascus in24 hours. Told them I would meet them @ Double Spring area and we will see. Watuaga Dam is awsome; the sun came up above the lake today andthe hike stayed on a ridge above the lake all morning. Great views here; rolling farmland and deep valleys with scattered colors.Zoned out all day; relaxing hiking. Came across the Nick Grindstaff monument - "lived alone, suffered alone, and died alone". Lots of tombstones startingto pop up and I love to here the stories behind them; storiesthat make up a lot of the history of this area. Saw Hippie Longstocking again; she is coming and going likea trail ghost; such a cool person to talk to. Anyway, got to Double Spring Shelter and Overhill's anklewas killing him so he needed to keep going. I went up the hilland put up my tent and lo and behold here comes KB & SB about@ dusk. Before I could say anything KB says "lets do it man,lets night hike into town". Big smile on my face and downedmy tent and KB, SB and myself were doing the 40 miles in24 hrs. Night hiking is so cool; yet a lot of things have tofall into place such as the weather; lack of snakes and otherthings and last night was it. Hiked all night, got into Damascus @ dawn stumbling and mumblingand loving every minute of it. I think I was sleep walking @times and I know I was seeing things by 4 in the morning. Butthat is the beauty; the experience. One more thing; crossed into Virginia @ 4:30 am and said goodbyeto Tenn / N.C. I truly enjoyed Tenn ; all the balds and sceneryand Virginia should be very cool. Very sleepy and hungry; talk @ you all later and more picturesshould be coming soon.
Date: 2005-04-01
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Okay, here is the scoop. Staying here for a couple of days and headingout Sunday. Great trail town; great chance to rest up and rain andsnow are here for a couple of days. Just heard that Overhill has to go home and get on crutches for6 weeks. Found out today that he has a stress fracture in hisankle. Only hiked with him for a few and is sad to hear hehas to get off the trail. His ankle had been swollen for a whileand he was gutting it out. Take care dude and hope to see youagain. Also, hello to Early Bird; Juice Key and Daddy D. Saw Daddy D@ Damascus. Place is packed; NASCAR Bristol race is on this weekend and thisarea is crazy with people. Also got your package guys @ 1st American and hugs to all of you. Well, decisions, decisions and more decisions. Should I go geta milk shake, a six pack, or maybe a steak sandwich??? What wouldyou all suggest?? Wells and Kado just came off the mountain so a six pack is in order Take care everbody and nothing but smiles from Damascus.
Date: 2005-04-02
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Caught up with everybody last night; the "Killer B's", Wells, Kado,some of their friends and a young kid called "shorts". Lots oflaughs and stories to tell. Sat around and played Apple to Apple;a word game that we played all night. Wells and Kado had a crazy mouse shelter their last night beforecoming in. One ate a huge hole in Kado's shorts and according to Wells it was a mouse war zone. I miss the mice; can't wait to seethem all again Thanks to Wells we had some music to listen to all night. We talkmusic 24/7 it seems and he asked me an interesting question abouta month ago in Georgia somewhere. Can you name an ablum or CD thatyou can honestly say is one you never skip a song? It's toughbecause even in my favorite list there is always a song on everyCD you have on your B list so to say. My only one I could think of is Floyd's "Dark Side of The Moon". His was a live GratefulDead recording from 72. We played both last night and smiles were abound! ( Must say that Moving Pictures from RUSH is alsoon that short list). Everybody is leaving out of here Sunday; can't wait to get backin the woods and to normality. I should get more pictures up todayor @ Pearisburg. Take care................ Living the Dream! "One likes to believe in the freedom of music But glittering prizes and endless comprimises shatter the illusion of integrity"   Spirit of Radio   RUSH
Date: 2005-04-03
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 16.0

Damascus has been cool; but time to go! Mixture of snow and rain last night but has cleared today. Thanks to Susan Bullard @ the Hikers Inn for the cupcakes andall the hospitality. Great stay! The Virginia Creeper Bike Trail goes right thru town here; wasreading a Virginia mtn. biking book last night and am goingto get myself and my bike back down here sometime. Lots of mtn.biking to do here and the Virginia Creeper looks cool. Anyway, hiking was awsome as usual; everybody is heading out today.I got an early start but the B's, Kado, Wells , Robyn, Shorts and therest are also going on. One of the cool things today was the snow falling and melting offthe trees. Neels Gap was the last time I remember such a bombardmentof snow on my fat head. Was laughing and dodging the big chunks asthey came down. Hiking helmets maybe? Brought up a 40 oz. Bud; watched the sunset on the mtns. in mybag after dinner and all is good! Take care!
Date: 2005-04-04
From: Lost Mtn. Shelter

To: Elk Garden/ VA 600
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: clear sky

Well, last night was pretty hellish. Big pain in my stomach abouta couple hours after dark and threw up heavily soon after. To make along story short I spent the rest of the night in the privy withabout 8 rolls of TP! This morning I laid around and it didn't go away. I had two choices;either go back down the Virginia Creeper Trail to Damascus and getit checked out or go on and see if things get better. Being stubbornand knowing it might be a 24 hr. thing I hiked on. Toughest 8 milesof the trip. Couldn't eat; couldn't walk and for the first timedidn't want to be out here. Once I got to VA 600/ Elk Garden I hitched a ride into Chilhowiefrom a VDOT guy. Toughest part of the trail yet; getting off thetrail was tough; very tough. But I know it is for the better; getsome meds and get back to 100%. Staying @ the Knights Inn and going to the Med center here Tuesday. "Some days you are the dog; and some days   you are the hydrant"
Date: 2005-04-05
From: Elk Garden/ VA 600

To: Chilhowie
Miles today: 0.0

Coming down from Elk Garden yesterday I was dizzy, dehydrated andtripping a bit. Saw a flag being flown @ half and asked who haddied. Shows how much we are secluded from news up here (which isa great thing). He said the Pope had past on; @ least I would havesomething to watch while recovering in bed! Anyway, don't want to go into details folks but spent the nightin the bathroom if you all know what I mean. Got checked out today;blood samples and the such. Sounds like stomach flu which is goingaround here in the area. Got some meds; laid in bed and drank liquidsall day. Can't wait to go on but what little sense I have tells me to getmy body back a bit. Plus I don't want to throw up on somebody'ssleeping bag in a shelter. (Missed yours barely Robyn; took a lotof effort on that one)! The Pope is everywhere; didn't know much about the man but soundslike he touched a lot of people out there. Also had a chance to watchthe X-Men 2 or 3 times; love that movie. Still all smiles here; shooting for Friday to leave as long as Ican stop the sh*****!! Take care all!! (Shout out to KB & SB; Kado, Wells and the rest of you all. See yousoon).
Date: 2005-04-07
From: Chilhowie

To: Chilhowie
Miles today: 0.0

Allright, feeling much better; food is staying in and body isfeeling strong again. Will be leaving Friday; have a ride early inthe morning from the hotel to Elk Garden where I left off Monday. Not much else to say @ this point except can't wait to head on northagain. Everybody here in Chilhowie have been fantastic. Once againthe hospitality has been awsome. Thanks to everybody here for helpingme out and getting me back on my feet again! Life on the AT is great; even on your back! "I still haven't found   what I am looking for"                     U2
Date: 2005-04-08
From: Chilhowie

To: Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 20.0

The parasite left as fast as he came. No wonder he left so fastsince there is probably nothing left in me @ this point Big thanks to the Manager @ Knights Inn for taking me back upwhere I left off on Monday @ Elks Crossing. Man, it seemed like90 miles coming down and about 5 miles going up when feeling better. Took the first few miles steady and realized that things werecool. The climb to Mt. Rogers was fog and mist. In some waysthe three days off where good on the legs and body. Sometimesadversity can turn into a plus and this stuff did. Had to take the side trail to Mt. Rogers; nothing to see but felt good climbing up. Highlight of the day was the Greyson Highlands. Wild ponieseverywhere and the terrain was really cool; lots of balds androcky climbs. Had a chance to get aquainted with a pony closeup and called him Bill the Pony. As I got out my snacks hegave that sad look and of course I accidentely dropped some onthe grass. (By the way thanks to the day hikers for that subwaysandwich)! Also a big shout out for the trail magic @ V. 603 ; Big Ksoda in a stream. Thank you!! Sun did come out; all is good on the AT and feeling strongagain. Hiking is getting more level and the weather is supposedto be nice the next few so maybe I'll get this old body in gearand try and catch the B'S! Take care ya'll. Bye Bye Mr. Parasite!