morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-04-13
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Plaza Motel, Pearisburg
Miles today: 16.6

During nt wind was gusting over 20 mph. Sleet showers woke us several times. Hope no trees felt like blowing over on us!Woke to bitter cold wind and low cloud cover. Wind chill must be low- fingers not working properly..stiff. Met a father and son hiking from other direction going to frog pond to spend the night. They sure picked a challenging weekend weatherwise to camp out up there! Fairly easy hike to next shelter, but frequent sleet and snow showers fell on us along the way. So glad it's not raining. Our fingers and feet would've soaked and be bone-chilling. Startled a red hawk into flight when we rounded a bend. The hawk was just a few yds away from us. Beautiful bird ! Saw a bluebird, junter's stand in tree, huge ping pong ball sized walnuty nuts on ground, walked thru an area that'd been recently sprayed by a skunk. "Mmmm", Take It Easy says. We got to Doc's Knob Shelter around 1:15, arriving with Chatter,Sandalwood,& Just Rick(they'd caught up with us). Sandalwood and Chatter stayed to cook up some hot lunch. Take It Easy and I each had a spoonfl of peanut butter & hit the trail, Pearisburg bound. We left the others debating the merits of hunkering down at the shelter til tomorrow. That would mean as soon as they finished cooking and eating they'd have crawl into their sleeping bags to stay warm as the wind chill was way down. Can handle it ok if you're moving, but gotta bundle up if you're still. We couldn't see us sitting in our bags for 6 hrs waiting for dark and bedtime. We'd rather move on to town where a hot meal, and warm hotel room await. The night promised to be bitter cold with the sleet and wind increasing. Plus there were no good tent sites at that shelter, the shelter is drafty. Of course, the 8 miles into town were rugged. Had the surprise of coming out onto a bald on a peak and finding our path blocked by...you guessed it.. a black steer! Take It Easy hollerd at it and stepped toward it. The steer turned slightly and took a few steps off the path. We shuffled past and paused to take pictures of the steer. It began to spin in circles following its tail. It spun maybe 8 times before we walked away. Poor steer; he must be sick and dying. How in the world did that steer wind up at 3800 ft elevation, 3 miles or so above town on the AT with no pastures nearby? Another interesting sight were several piles of olive-sized pellets of scat. Looked like huge deer scat pellets. Have to find out what left them behind. Rapid, steep descent to Pearisburg. Room at Plaza Motel is super clean and well lit, plus warm! And....the Masters was still being played so we got to watch the last several holes! Yippee Dinner at Dairy Queen 75 yds away, complete with hot fudge sundae. Bliss!
Date: 2008-04-15
From: Plaza Motel, Pearisburg

To: tenting at campsite
Miles today: 8.1

Awakened at 6 a.m. by loud siren sounding in the valley. found out it was the signal to the volunteer fire dept to rush to the fire station. Ate breakfast at Hardee's where Just Rick, Chater and Sandalwood came in to eat, too. Sandalwood told us today was the last we'd see of him and Chatter. Theyr'e getting shuttled ahead to hike to Catawba before their AT hike comes to a close this weekend when they'll return to Quebec. We'll sure miss them. who'll call out "Good night, Mary Ellen!" to me in the darkness at bedtime? Chatter, your teasing was such fun! Now you're gone there'll be no more Walton show goodnights. And Sandlalwood, your wit and spark will be missed also. Your "original" wise, pithy sayings will guide me. How do you think up so many truisms? Ha, ha! Today's hike was under sunny skies, mild breezes, temps in the upper 45-55's, I guess, never looked at Take It Easy's thermometer. The usual climb out of town, then the usual boulder hopping balanced with shuffling thru ankle-deep leaves, several balds with spectacular views. Take It Easy's feet rate a B+ ; minimal pain, no swelling and feeling so good we went past Rice Field Shelter to a campsite with a water source. Staying here tenting are Just Rick and Heavenbound(from Knoxville, Tenn). Cowboy Killer stopped by for a moments rest. There are small piles of sleet still clinging to the shadows of the tree trunks. We've seen millions of may apples sprouting up above the leafy forest floor. Loads of butterflies, evidence of hogs rooting around in numerous places. Spring is coming to the higher elevations! Temps today were good for hiking-never got sweaty or chilled. Everyone ate before 6:15 and went to their tent. 7p.m. now and all have turned in. Moon is up, sky is clear. Take It Easy's telephone weather report says Pearisburg temps tonight around 26 degrees, so we're expecting it to be around 20 degreees here at campsite. 9 p.m. coyote howling quarter mile away. Cozy, nice, and safe. Goodnight.
Date: 2008-04-16
From: tenting at campsite

To: Bailey's Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Cold nightm, but never got too chilly cause used pocket warmers and wore almost all the clothes I brought. Sunny morning. All headed out within minutes of each other after helping Heavenbound hunt for his eyeglass lens that fell out. No luck finding it . Variety of terrain today: steep ups and steep downs, rocks every which a-way testing our ankles as they struggled to keep us up on the jagged rock-strewn path. The trail hightlight was fording a stream! The bridge was out. As it turned out, most of the hikers we know opted to walk the mile+ on the road to avoid fording the stream(gotta take shoes and socks off, switch to Crocs, cross knee deep rushing water for 60-70 ft, then dry off). Take It Easy and I, of course, wanted the thrill of wading the rushing stream. We rolled our pants up and dashed carefully into the icy waters. After drying off we headed up(always up!) the trail ahead to the shelter. Other interesting events today were running across a turkey hunter sitting ON the trail with his rifle. Personally it doesn't seem too safe or wise to hunt on the Appalachian Trail at any time, particularly during hiking season. We also met a trail maintenance worker refreshing the white paint on the blazes that guide us/keep us on the path. If he stays til the job is right his family won't see him for months! Temps today reached upper 60's, low 70's.--ideal for hiking. Here at the shelter are Liz&Will, both Virginia Tech students. They brought up smores fixings and say they'll share! We are their instant friends! Rick fumigated the shelter upon arrival with a smoky fire to rid the shelter of the flies that were feeding off the mouse that the advance mouse trap hikers caught. Those guys need to throw their catch AWAY from the shelters. Don't leave them right up at the shelter--ewww!
Date: 2008-04-17
From: Bailey's Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: clear sky

Southbound Mule and Smiling Tears(husband and wife) are here for the night. They're southbounders, and interestingly, he's a CNU grad! Also here are Heavenbound and Just Rick. Today was sunny, in low 80's- hot climbs over rocks and more rocks! We ran out of water an hour before reaching the shelter. Guys at War Sour Shelter told us wrong about water availability--we learned a lesson. Not a fun hiking day in my opinion. Few views,, mostly rocks to climb or descend. Goldfinches, robins, and bluebirds sang to cheer me. Snidely Whiplash and Applecore arrived just now. If I haven't already mentioned it, Jenny got trailname Applecore cause she ate Piglette's apple core. Also I need to correct a miss-statement of a few days ago: I did eat ice cream at Dairy Queen a few nights ago--how could I forget! It was a small Blizzard: vanilla ice cream with chunks of Heath Bars mixed in---mmmmgood!
Date: 2008-04-18
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Sunny, hot 80's. Talked to Mule before leaving. He used to hang out at some of the same spots my son, Adam, goes to in Newport News. Mule says he doesn't recognize Adam's names(Buddha is his nickname), but probably does know him somewhat. Snidely Whiplash took some pics this morning. Smiling Tears was envious cause she's a photographer, but didn't bring her camera on this trip. Hiking today across gorgeous pastures on the start of our hike day. Followed by a huge, hot up--uggh! Then ridge walking on rocky slabs tilted down toward the valley thousands of feet below. You can bet I took my time with foot placement on that section--it lasted 1/2 mile or so! Just Rick hiked with us from lunch time on. He likes company and is a great guy. Pretty valleys to look at, songbirds singing here and there along during the day. Feeling so good we skipped a shelter and went on to this one. Generally shelters are spaced at intervals that correspond to a decnt day's hike, taking the terrain challenges into account. So for the past few days Take It Easy's feet have felt so good that we've been picking up our daily mileage by doing 2 days of hiking in one. Everyone's motivation is to get to The Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba before they close Sunday at 6 p.m.. Their meals have quite a reputation for being scrumptious, an all you can eat feast which hikers love. If we don't meke it in time(only open F, S. Sun) our backup plan is to hike to the grocery store in Catawba with Just Rick and possibly Heavenbound(he's taking the Geyhound home Sunday night)and buy hotdogs, subs, etc., hike to the next shelter to cook them up and have our own picnic shelter feast. Snidely Whiplash and Applecore stopped by here for water and to cook up cous cous before they go on a couple of miles to a campsite. They're determined to get to The Homeplace for Sunday dinner. The shelter journal here has messages to us from Sandalwood and Chatter and Piglette and Smoky who yellow-blazed ahead of us. Here at the shelter are Dropkick, Jax, Fester, Launch Pad, Leprechaun. Stovie got a blister and hitched to Pearisburg to heal. Neat sight today was along the ridge of Sinking Creek Mountain there was about a mile of stone "igloos" scattered thru the woods. Maybe a 100 or more of them. Were they mounds over long ago fallen soldiers, or were they piled up so Civil War or Revolutionary War soldiers could be protected behind them while shooting? Another amazing geographical highlight was crossing the Continental Divide, the point where waters split; eastern slope waters run to the James River and Atlantic Ocean, western slope waters run to the Missippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Cool!
Date: 2008-04-19
From: Niday Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Would've slept well last night, but a whipporwill sounded out several times repeatedly starting at 1 a.m.. I never heard another one answer him--so why did he keep on trying to scare up a mate? Great day to hike a big ascent with gentle switchbacks and mild temps under cloudy blanket sky. No sights 'cept a vally view on both sides, the Audie Murphy monument(near where his plane crashed), and a rain shower to punctuate the day. Tomorrow's challenge is Dragon's Tooth. Here's what the southbounders we ran into and chatted with had to say about Dragon Tooth: Ed: "It's dangerous. If you fall you'll tumble down 40-60 yards and will fetch up against a tree or rock; his wife of 28 yrs named "Where Is She" says she only "froze" once while getting thru it and was quite surprised the AT includes Dragon Tooth in its trail since you have a heavy, shifting pack to unbalance you as you search for handholds and foot holds(can't use poles). Great! Something to worry over while I'm supposed to be sleeping tonight! Brent and Roses here, too, and Michael(a 19 yr old Keith look-alike from Roanoke), Just Rick, too all excited about the grocery store tomorrow after we come down from Dragon Tooth. Heavenbound says he's coming to the shelter, but turns out he talked to Michael along the path and told Michael to tell us he's going on past Dragon's Tooth tonight. Brave, as rain is coming in now! Heavenbound doesn't want to chance missing his bus to home, we guess. Trail magic today: a cooler with snacks and basket of drinks in a stream from Barnabas a trail hiker shuttler. Thanks, Barnabas! Lots of stories tonight before turning in. Michael told of being followed into the woods by a bull, which tore off, ran smack into a tree, shaking its head--weird--what's going on with the cattle in these mountains?! Michael also told of us a mountain lion that got hit by a car in the Roanoke area-pic in newspaper. Great--didn't know I needed to add worrying about mountain lions to my list! Heavy rains and thunder 8-10 p.m. Spooked bat from under eaves when I went to privy. Also Take It Easy had to toss out 2 dead mice that were in shelter near my pillow area--pooey stinky! Shepherd gave me 2 little containers of cotton balls soaked with peppermint oil to ward off more mice and take the stench away. Much better!
Date: 2008-04-21
From: John's Spring Shelter

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: moderate rain

Rained all night long, just sprinkling at 6:30 a.m.. Today we had a delicious breakfast of bisuits with applebutter, leftovers from our meal. Yum, yum Squirrels played in the trees in front of the shelter. Cold day, wonderful cushiony trail- few rocks, not many ups. A chipmunk scampered across the path. Beautiful blooming mountain laurel line the path up to and around McAfee's Knob. It drizzled all the way up there, but cleared off within minutes of our arrival. Drop Kick, Jax, Leprechaun, Launch Pad, and Fester had just gotten there minutes before us. Everyone took pics using each others cmaeras. The guys got more courageous and eventually each sat down, dangling their feet over the precipice for more photos. Later in the day the trail led us to Tinker Cliffs, high on the opposite side of the same valley which McAfee's Knob overlooks. The views were superb as the trail flirted the cliff edge within feet for about 1/2 mile! Standing and walking so close to the drop for such a long spell was fantastic. The sky was clear during that portion of the hike, too, so the view was crystal clear. Now we're at Lambert's Meadow Shelter. It's raining, but the sky brightens every now and then, giving us hope of warming sunshine. The young bunch of hikers went on to Troutville(it'll be a 19 mile hike day for them). Just Rick and us want to get our money's worth, so tomorrow we'll hike the remaing 9. something miles into Troutville, arriving at lunchtime. That'll give us the afternoon to do wash, shower, etc., taking a zero mileage day the next day. Yippee! Brent and Roses are sheltering here, too, getting picked up tomorrow in Troutville for her brother's wedding. Golly it is chilly now! It's quite breezy and drizzly. It's 4p.m. and everyone is hunkered down in sleeping bags to keep warm. Brent and I are awake, others are napping. Also here are Firejuggler and Don Juan. Very cold.
Date: 2008-04-22
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Howard Johnson's Express Inn,Troutville, VA
Miles today: 9.4

Rained all night. Don Juan packed up at 5:48 a.m. so not too long afterward everyone got up. Rain, drizzle, and heavy fog lasted til around noon. During the early a.m., Anet, I thought of you often as there were obvious overlook rock slabs from which all that could be seen was fog. You could sense the huge void of altitude, but just like when we hiked the Smokies together, we couldn't see the valley below.-just fog. After the rains lifted we heard Canada geese flying south, got good views of valley holding Troutville, Daleville, and Cloverdale, and the large reservoir. Trail was quite nice, mostly pine tag covered(so soft for our feet ) with a few rocky traverses, but not difficult at all. Best part was the heady aroma of honeysuckle as the trail winded thru acres of it as we approached town. H.J. Express Inn is our home til Thurs a.m.. Great surprise to be shown the room smack next to Piglette and Smoky, whom we thought were far ahead of us on the trail, never to be seen by us again! Just Rick is here, too, as well as a few other hikers. Went to lunch and margueritas at Rancho Viejos across the street and there sat Brent & Roses and his parents! Intros to parents, and farewells to Brent& Roses with hopes to see them eventually when they return to the trail next wk. Take It Easy sends a BIG thank you to John Gulick for his counsel on shoe selection. The Merrills are fabulous! His feet rarely complain at all, and never for long. Miraculous! Thanks for advising him to get them. He's able to enjoy hiking without pain and able to cover more miles comfortably. And Bludegrass Momma, my special trail angel, your keychain picture still travels on the outside of my backpack, watching my back, so to speak. So far so good no bears chase me! Now it's almost hikers' midnight(9 p.m.) and we're settled down into our warm, dry room with full tummies from dinner at Pizza Hut across the street. Just Rick joined us for dinner. Sweet dreams tonight as we look forward to a resupply trip to Kroger's tomorrow and then the outfitter to replace my leaky Platypus.
Date: 2008-04-23
From: Howard Johnson's Express Inn,Troutville, VA

To: Howard Johnson's Express Inn, Troutville
Miles today: 0.0

Awoke to muffled birdsong cause of being inside hotel room. Sunny skies. What a good town day to hike over to the outfitters and Krogers! As we ate eggs, cereal, yogurt and apples at the complementary breakfast, Just Rick came in and ate with us. He's clean shaven now. In a little while, Take It Easy will be, too, as he preps for future warmer weather. Before we got to the stores we'll have to carefully scrutinize the trailguide to calculate our anticipated mileage, and nsxt town supply opportunity. Sure hope we don't have to lug more than 6 days of food with us. My shoulders and hips would appreciate the break! Now we're back in the civilized, hectic world here are some of my impressions of the hiking and wilderness life. Even when the woods look bleak and dripping wet and trees are still in leafless winter mode, there is such beauty and energy to the forest. Unseen animals watch us. Approaching winds sound like distant surf rolling closer and closer, arriving to lift the leaves, twirling and dancing them around. Here and there hardy dandelions, violets and buttercups proudly beam with colorful glory. And the smells...they add to sensory overload! Today I met Rat Sandwich and Traveler( a retired oncologist who says that in his experience all pediatricians are kind and generous people--that's my dad ). I want to thank Linda and AB who are managers here at the Howard Johnson's for their company and good humor while I plugged away entering all of these entries and photos. They've made our stay here quite a warm, hospitable one. Tonight we ate at the Mexican restaurant across the street with Just Rick..another good night. Tomorrow we'll eat the breakfast here and head out to the trail. Probably will be another 5-7 days before we hit another town to resupply, shower, and eat a full course meal. Happy dreams of awaiting nature sounds tonight .
Date: 2008-04-24
From: Howard Johnson's Exoress Inn, Troutvile

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today we met Thud, a Michigan high school grad(graduated early in order to fit in A.T. hike) and his dog, Moneylost Max. Thud said we're the first people he's seen all the way from Pearisburg til now! He was getting a little bit bummed out by the feelings of isolation. Thud earned his trailname by often kicking rocks and things in the trail. Initially he headed out on the trail with a friend, but the friend had to go back to Michigan, so now it's Thud and Max. We got hot and sweaty during ups, but none were very steep or long-lasting. Great soft trail, mostly strolling today. Could've gone 5 miles or so farther, but no campsites were listed in the guide so we didn't want to chance it(often the trail is surrounded by thistle and underbrush-no place to pitch a tent). We did skip past the Fulhardt Knob Shelter where we had our snack braak. Passed 4 women hiking southbound from Harpers Ferry, headed to Springer Mt, GA, then will fly to Maine to hike south to Harper's Ferry, enjoying the fall foliage. Seemed like happy people. Ran into Traveler, slack-packing south to Troutville to spend a few days with his wife who's driving in. Traveler is a retired oncologist. He had kind things to say about how pediatricians are generous spirited souls when I mentioned my dad was a pediatrician.   Firejuggler left here to go ahead to tent. Thud told us about his luxurious stay at the Comfort Inn in Troutville: huge breakfast buffet, silk sheets, multi-stream shower nozzle--Michael was right on with his recommendation. Neat to read shelter journal entries from Persistent, Young Eagle and Lunar from last yr. Napalm(dad) and son Craig are here now. Napalm got his name cause he caught a faming falling marshmallow at the Fontana Hilton Shelter. Ineresting area we walked thru today with a detailed sign telling us the area was called "The Pit". Trees were felled to help make charcoal for iron mill. Once antracite was utilized, the need to fell trees to make charcoal diminished.
Date: 2008-04-25
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Hot hazy day. Take It Easy feeling good so we all breezed past one shelter, breezed past the next, too. On our way to a 20.6 mile day, to land at the Bryant Ridge Shelter that has a newish, modern layout: tri-level, sleeps 20. Thunderstorms in valleys on both sides of the ridge. Glad to get down to lower land before storm and rains hit. It just started to sprinkle 20 minutes before reaching shelter--arrived dry! Here, too, are Piglette & Smoky, Just Rick, Thud & Max, Napalm(who dosed me with Aleve for my sore shoulders both midday and before bedtime) & son Craig, and 2 section hikers: Rich(who's hiked a lot of the A.T.) & his friend Ty(who discovered today that he doesn't much like hiking). What a great shelter! We didn't cook cause Take It Easy didn't have enough water for it and didn't want to go out into the rain to the stream to water up. I'm eating a bagel. and a tortilla with peanut butter spread on it for dinner--pretty tasty Neat sights today: brown frogs on trail, unknown colorful bird-have to look up once home, kindfisher bird perched overlooking stream, Hollins University van and driver & Hollins girl who drove separately to a trailhead to plan a class hike trip this wkend(asked us questions about trail, etc). 7:42 p.m. and all are in bed, rain on roof to lull us, all tired from long day. Oh, my sternum strap broke loose from it's grooves on my pack. Take It Easy used diaper pins(they don't rust) to reattach it. Boy, are my shoulders achey . Pack weight needs to decrrease. Thud advised me about various strap adjustments that should help. Thanks, Thud! Raining hard now.