morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-19
From: Crawfish Valley, Reed Creek

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

I'm never drinking anything with caffeine again! The sweet tea I had yesterdayat 3 in the afternoon kept me awake past 10:30 pm....ugh! So, of course, Ididn't want to get up this morning...and didn't until 8:30. A late start andthen 50 yards down the trail I ran into some new folks still cookingbreakfast...Music Man and Hiking Pole were as slow as I was this morning. So,of course, I had to stop and talk with them. Young married couple fromWisconsin (she's originally from Poland) and he just got accepted into atheological college in Boston so they won't be finishing the trail thisyear...takes the pressure off them.My feet just didn't seem to have any speed today. I got to the next shelter by2, but that was only about 8 miles. That left 9 miles yet to do today and Ididn't get started until 3...at 5 I had 6 miles to go and all were up hill! Yippee! No energy...completely exhausted....and 6 uphill miles to go before Icould rest. Before I would have had Abal or Slinky Dog to help drag me in tothe shelter. Today I had just me. Thank goodness I got a second wind andmanaged to get here before 8 pm. And was I glad there was someone else here. This shelter is a completely enclosed stone building with hostel-like bunksinside. And its on the top of a mountain at 4400 ft so I hear the wind blowingoutside. Hop-a-long and his dog, Ginger, are here. He's section hiking for thefirst time and learning the ropes I'm glad to have the company...otherwise itwould be creepy in here.I miss all the friends I made from before and read their entries in the trailregisters at the shelters. (Each shelter has a notebook that hikers can signwith the date and any news or comments they wish to make. It's how we keeptrack of who's been where and when.) If I don't make new friends in the nextmonth, I'm thinking about jumoping ahead to join back up with Slinky Dog. We'llsee how it goes first. I know everyone's off the trail for Trail Days, so we'llsee what happens when the trail gets repopulated. For now I have 15 or so tohike tomorrow, then on to Bland and meeting up with Dianne!!! Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-20
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Laurel Creek campsite
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

What a windy night on Chestnut Knob that was! The wind howled against the stoneshelter and metal roof...I was glad to be indoors.A quiet and uneventful day of slow rocky climbs and miles that creeped by...itgets really depressing when you work so hard and only cover 5 miles in 4hours...my mind has lots of time to try and rationalize getting off the trailwhen I'm so miserable. My plan was to do 15 today and 7 tomorrow into Bland. When I met up with Hop-a-long later this morning, he questioned whether I couldget the 15 in because I was mving so slow. His plan was to do just 10 miles tothe next shelter, so he could take his time. I told him that yesterday I did 9miles after 3 o'clock, so I knew I could do them, but I had to get these feet ofmine moving. I got to the next shelter by 3 and what a pretty spot it was. Iwas really tempted to stay there and wait for Hop-a-long and have company forthe night, but I really didn't want to do 12 tomorrow as it would eat up thewhole day and I have town chores to get done before Dianne arrives around 6 pm. So after reading and signing the register an! d using the "open-air" privy (no walls at all), I got up off my duff and gotmoving. Course, a ways down the trail, I find out I have a signal and try to getDennis to be sure all the stuff I need he's getting to Dianne to bringdown...hand delivered drop box, I love it! Then while on the phone with him,Dana calls to tell me her adventure camping on Asseteague Island with the wildponies the night of the big storm on the east coast...their tent belew down inthe rain and they had to sleep in their car! They paid for 2 nights, but had tocome home after only onme because her boyfriend, Luke, was sick and their geardrenched...they were pretty miserable, poor kids....better luck next time. Iheard the dinner Dana cooked over the fire was pretty delicious, though.Tonight I'm tarping near a roadway and the no-see-ums are out in abundance! They are munching on me as I type my journal. Should be an interesting night ifthey try to eat me all night. I don't get a tent until tomorrow, but the bugshave been non-existent until now. I'll have to see if there's some way I canuse my misquito head netting over he opening to my sleeping bag...oh oh,misquitos are out too! (I don't think misquito is spelled right!) Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-21
From: Laurel Creek campsite

To: Big Walker Motel, Bland, Va.
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: clear sky

It's 8 am...I sleep so well in the woods..got nearly 11 hours...guess I wastired. Had my scariest night yet, last night. I was all snuggled in mysleeping bag, under my tarp, and I hear a car come up the gravel road....beeping his horn...then I hear guys shouting! I knew I shouldn't have camped this close to the road...they can't see me up here, but what if they decide to come up tothis picnic spot? I knew I should have moved a bit further into the woods, butI wanted to be able to sit at the picnic table and cook my dinner. What do I donow? I'm not packing all this up, it's almost dark. Another couple of carscome. More hollering. It's dark now...they're not coming up here...go tosleep. Ok...and I did! Oh, and the mosquitoes and bugs went a way when thelight did and the breeze came up. I also looked up how to spell mosquito...onmy bottle of insect repellant! Pretty smart, huh?!Well, I have company coming today so I better get my tush out of bed and get totown so I can get cleaned up and looking respectable! I have to hitch a coupleof miles into town, get about 5 boxes at the Post Office, gert a sub at Subwayfor lunch, and get out to the motel near the interstate. I hope whoever picksme up will shuttle me around to do my errands if everything isn't right closetogether.It was a pleasant 7 mile hike to Rte 52, the road to Bland. There were few carsand those just passed me by, so I guess I'd better start walking. It's 2.5miles to town, which doesn't sound far, but I hate to waste foot wear and tearon miles that don't go to Katahdin. Finally a pickup truck stops and gives me alift in the back...with the wind blowing in my greasy, knotted hair! They tookme to the Post Office and then another mile further to the motel near I-77. Ihad the rest of the day off to do hand-washing, resupply, and rest. It's 10 pm and I'm stikk waiting for Dianne as she got a late start today. She's going to be really tired and we have plans to meet new hikers I met today(April Showers and Montreal) for breakfast at 7:30 am and give them a lift tothe PO to mail a box, and then out to the trail with us.I'm looking forward to showing her the AT and see what she thinks of what I'mdoing after trying some of it. Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-22
From: Big Walker Motel, Bland, Va.

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: few clouds

It's so much fun having a friend on the trail...one with a car! Dianne got in just after ten last night and we spent 2 hours catching up on newsand going through her pack. And I don't sleep as well in a motel as I do on thetrail, so I tossed and turned from 3 o'clock on. And we had plans to go withApril Showers and Montreal for breakfast at 7:30 so there was to be no sleepingin.When we were getting in the car, I noticed that Hop-a-long was also at themotel, so we invited him to join us. Breakfast at the local gasstation/nursery/restaurant was a good time and gave Dianne a taste for howquickly you can make friends out here. We almost convinced Hop-a-long to joinus and hike in to Pearisburg, but he said he couldn't tell his wife that hewasn't coming right home after he had called her and told her he was...we couldtell he was really torn and would have loved to spend a few more days on thetrail.Our hike today was easy and a good section for Dianne to start on. We had apretty good climb to get off the road, but the rest of the day it was fairlylevel. The worst thing that happened was we ran out of water with about 3 miles(2 hours) left to hike...and that was after I told Dianne to dump water outbecause she had so much and it was quite heavy...she won't trust me again onthat one...I thing she's going to carry the full 3 liters out every morning.Dianne brought me a gift from Brett Philips, my massage therapist....a photocopyof his hand for me to apply to my sore and aching muscles! Thanks Brett, butit's not helping! I think this body of mine is beyond help at this point!Dianne found her pack quite heavy today and by the end of the day she was tryingto figure out where to ditch it...she said it's like that song "50 Ways to LeaveYour Lover"...Just drop off the pack, Jack...make a new plan, Stan...ditch the toy, Roy...andlisten to me. Put it on a bus, Gus..no need to discuss much...hide it behind atree, Lee...and set yourself free! Do you think this girlfriend is going to make Pearisburg?....with a pack? She's contemplating how to get out of her at every road crossing!!! Time willonly tell what the next few days will bring.Tonight we are camped by a shelter with Noodles and Tree, brothers from Augusta,GA originally. Tree has a degree in chemistry and is hoping to go intoteaching, while Noodles is a chef contemplating opening his own restaurant inRaleigh, NC.I also heard from them that Hammock Hanger, a woman from Florida that I'vecorresponded with and is doing a new eastern trail, is right behind us. I surehope we cross paths while her trail and the AT are one and the same. Maybetomorrow!Well, it's getting late and we need our beauty sleep...if you saw us right now,you'd agree! Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-23
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Dismal Creek Falls
Miles today: 8.4

We're testing out a new silnylon tent in the rain (Big Sky Evolution) and it's sprinkling inside the tent. I am not a fan of silnylon because it is NOT waterproof, just water resistent. My Sea to Summit Dry Sacs leak, my pack rain cover leaks, and now my tent leaks...all silnylon, all leaking! Do not depend on this fabric if you want to be DRY. This could be a long night, but we hope not too wet a one! Only time will tell.We were quite slow this morning, since we only had 8 miles to go. And around 9:30 Hammock Hanger and Lewis showed up. Both had run out of water yesterday and were quite dehydrated when they arrived. Turns out Lewis remembered meeting me back in March on my 2nd day out when he and Bob were spending their spring break on the trail. He's come back to do more of it. Hammock Hanger is hiking the Great Eastern Trail from Florida to New York and, if she finishes it, will be the first person to thru-hike it...it's 1800 miles. It overlaps with the AT for about 60 miles.   She's finding it terribly lonely as there are no other hikers on it. She's done about 500 miles of it, but did jump ahead past Tennessee and Kentucky because there was no water sources with the drought downhere in the south. She asked if she could hike with us today because she wasn'tfeeling well from having been dehydrated and to have some company...we saidSURE! We had a great time sharing the stories o! f our lives, our kids, and the trails we've hiked. Turns out, like Dianne,she's spent a lot of time in the Adirondacks too. We got here to the fallsaround 4 after having passed a couple of Mennonite families out with youngchildren day hiking near here. Couldn't get their permision to take a picturethough. It had to be warm hiking in the heavy clothing, but they all looked soneat...even the children.The first thing we did was go skinny dipping in the pool at the base of thefalls. The water was cold, but refreshing after a very sweaty hike. HammockHanger and Dianne rinsed out their clothes and hung them to dry on the branches. We did surprise a fellow hiker when he showed up, but he politely went toanother spot on the creek and let us finish our bathing. What a life!And now it's raining, and thundering, and leaking. There's water under the tentfloor and under my Thermarest. Hope we stay dry!Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-24
From: Dismal Creek Falls

To: Campsite on Viewpoint Cliff
Miles today: 13.4

60 Days!   600 Miles!Mickey, your folks, OD and CC found me today! What a great hello I got from them and their story. For every one else, Mickey lives in a Rochester suburb and saw the article in the paper on March 11th, the day I started, about my AT hike. Now her parents (OD and CC) had been planning their own AT hike this year, but Mickey had realized what an undertaking this was until she saw the article about my hike. Leo Roth. the outdoor writer for the paper did one heck of a job researching interesting details about the Appalachian Trail, so I think that's what helped Mickey get the picture that what her parents were planning to do was not going to be an easy thing. Well, OD and CC decided they would try and find me as they were hiking south from Harpers Ferry. Mickey, you asked me to say hi to them when I saw them, but I'd all but forgotten about them until they said there trailnames...then I gave them big hugs because I remembered your note to me. It was truly trail magic that we connected today because Dianne and I had stopped by a shelter that was uphill and off the trail a bit. It was then that your folks were coming down the trail and thought twice about stopping. If they hadn't stopped we would have passed each other by without meeting up...how sad would that have been? They seemed healthy and happy, and determined! We made plans to meet in Rochester where wecould talk more after we all finish...I can't wait! We only had about an hourtoday to share our stories. I think the best one they had was when your dadrecognized Willing...and told him " You're Willing, your wife's Abal, and youwere walking with Bag Lady!" He had Willing dumbfounded, for sure!Now let me regress to our great thunderstorm last night...it lasted a couple ofhours and one crack was so loud and right overhead! The tent did stay dry...andthat was a good thing. We had a good hike today...actually all week. The terrain has been gentlyrolling with our greatest climb today. That gave Dianne a better taste of theruggedness of the AT...and she did over 13 miles today! Water has been a bit of a problem because we're drinking more and the streamsand springs are fewer. Dianne ran out again today and I was getting there...Ijust sipped less as it got lower to prevent going dry. I'll have to be morecareful of how far it is to the next water source and allow more to drink eachday. It's just that it's so heavy! This overlook we stopped at for the night has a beautiful eastern view, so we'rehoping for a beautiful sunrise. It was a great place to end Dianne's vist onthe AT!Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-25
From: Campsite on Viewpoint Cliff

To: Plaza Motel, Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: broken clouds

Dianne survived 4 days in the woods...barely, as she would put it. But we sure had fun. Today was an easy hike out, except for the downhill at the end which was really hard on my knees...a swelling or bony growth is appearing on the outside of the knee and getting larger every day.We hitched in the back of a pickup into town and the motel, so Dianne has hadthe full AT experience! We met a woman hiking alone, Shiver, on the way out ofthe woods...and it turns out today is her birthday so Dianne, Kathy (who got inaround 5 pm), Hammock Hanger, and Shiver decided to go out to dinner (afterdriving back to Bland to get Dianne's car). Small towns roll up the sidewalkspreety early and it was 9:00. We did manage to find a truly high-end restaurantin a renovated bank (called The Bank), and I begged her to ask if they wouldseat 5 hungry hiker women, one of who was celebrating herbirthday...PLEASE!...and they did! So we had a fabulous meal and Shiver got herbirthday cake. What fun..and both Dianne and Kathy got to meet hiker women whoare doing this hike alone (Hammock Hanger is doing an overlapping trail - theGreat Eastern Trail). Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-26
From: Plaza Motel, Pearisburg, VA

To: Campsite
Miles today: 3.9
Weather: light rain

Hectic! That pretty much describes today. Three women in a hotel room...one trying to exchange out gear and do resupply, laundry, wash gear,...one trying to get her pack ready for her hike beginning...and one relaxing cause she'd finished her hike. It's hard for me to focus with so much going on, but we all pitched in and got everything done. Meanwhile Kathy worked with Dianne and figured out where we were dropping her car (about 20 miles down the trail) and we headed out to take care of that. Back to town for a last meal and ice cream, and then Dianne dropped us off near the trail out of town. Kathy's introduction to the AT started with us not being able to find where itwent after it crossed the New River bridge. The white blazes just disappeared. We hiked a quarter of a mile up the road in the blasting heat (it was 3:00) ansfound nothing so we hiked back on the other side of the divided highway hopingto find where it turned up the mountain...we found it, but still have no ideahow it crossed over. Oh well, we had a mountain to climb!The trail out of Pearisburg is a steep 3+ mile climb and Kathy was truly atrooper because it was hard for me...so I can only imagine how hard it was forher. We climbed up steep slopes and over rock slides for 3 hours before I lether quit. Not one complaint out of her....great job. We found a prettycampsite near a spring and plopped down our packs...humpf! Done. Good dinner,hot bath, and now a quiet, quiet night.....zzzzzzzz! Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-28
From: Campsite under an Oak tree

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Easy walk today. Met new hikers: Genesis, Mate, Kimchi, Coach, Handyman,Junebug and Fire Hazard. Oh, I forgot to tell about meeting Skip, an RIT professor, that looked me up in Pearisburg. He'd seen the D&C story and then my entries in the shelterregisters and knew I was just ahead of him. He hiked on ahead today, so he's ahalf a day ahead of me. I hope to see more of him down the trail.This new group of hikers are quite musical. Coach and Genesis play guitar, whileCoach also plays harmonica... and Mate and Kimchi both sing. We've had awonderful evening being serenaded at the shelter. Giving Kathy anotherdimension of trail life.We were walking along today and Kathy asked if the dropping noise we heard wasrain...but we couldn't feel any raindrops on us. Then later when I was sittingon a log, I realized I had 2 inch worms on my arms! The trees are full of themand they are making the dripping sound... pooping?Tomorrow Kathy leaves me and I'm off on my own again. I can't wait to see whatnew adventures await me! Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-29
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I just opened my pocketmail device and the screen is half cracked. I'm going to try and use it, but I can't read half of what I'm writing, so there may be LOTS of typing errors...please excuse me.This should be interesting to use now!Today I said goodbye to Dennis' sister, Kathy. She had a good time, Ithink...and got a good taste of both trail life and town life. And off I wentthis morning, with no ties. I put on my iPod and am loving the new tunes thatgot loaded while I was in San Diego. A little ways up the trail I met a guythat had come into the shelter late last night, Blue Dog, a nice young man who'senjoying his journey. He stopped at the next shelter with me late morning, andHandyman and a southbounder named Kevin were hangin about. There was someconfusion about where the trail went this morning...down the road or through thewoods...all because a bridge was out across the creek....I took the road,Handyman took the woods and waded across the creek. Dianne and Kathy will knowwhat I'm talking about. When we left the shelter, Handyman chose to hang backand hike with me today. I enjoyed the company and time passes faster whenyou're talking to someone. He's a divorced father of a 16 year old boy and recently retired from the air force. He's been traveling with Coach, Mate, Genesis, Kimchi for quite a while. It's quite difficult walking and talking because my pack and feet make so much noise I often can't hear what the other person is saying..I just grin and say " Uh, huh" a lot. Guessing. Tonight is my first night in my new Six Moons Designs Lunar Solo tarptent. It set up quite easily and is very roomy for which I'm quite pleased. I hope the ventilation is decent so I don't get too hot in here this summer. So far, I'm very happy with it.Most of the same folks from the last shelter are here tonight. Junebug came upwith a way to make biscuits over the fire from his scouting days...wrapBuisquick dough on a stick and roast it. I have to say it was delicious! Nextwe're gonna trying wrapping it around a hotdog...mmmmm! This group is fun andfunny, and I'm enjoying having them around. They also are going fairly slowlywhich I'm liking!Step lightly
Date: 2007-05-30
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Loved the new tent, all except the very slippery floor. The floor attaches tothe tarp with elastic straps, so everything moves and stretches during thenight. I was on a bit of an incline and all night I slipped and slid all over inside the tent putting stresses and strains on the straps and the netting. I'm hoping that if I get a flatter spot next time, that will help.Today's hike had some memorable moment: Kelly's 'nob, a great rock outcroppingwith a view...we don't get many views any more. , the most gorgeous rollingpastures that I have ever seen, made me want to plop myself down and build acabin right there, a 300 year old oak tree 18 plus feet around with branches 50feet long or better; and the steepest climb with NO switchbacks; rock piles thatlooked like burial sites scattered all over Sinking Creek Mtn! We only went 12miles and it took all day until 5:30. I've been hiking with Handyman these lastfew days and am enjoying his company. He does push my speed a bit, but youwouldn't know it in the miles we're doing. Tomorrow the plan is to do 16 andthen 12 into Catawba for a late lunch at The I've been waffling mentally lately about whether I could do this hike all in oneyear...the mind is a powerful thing and it can really start to get one offtrack. But I thought about my daughter, Dana, and her studying the violin for12 years: it was one day at a time and she didn't like practicing, but shestuck with it, she persisted, and look at what she can do mow! So I can stickwith this...some days will be fun, some days will not, but like Dana, I can staywith it and one day I'll climb Katahdin (my graduation recital)!Step lightlyPS-Thanks mom, I know you can do it!!! One day, one step at a time, you'll make it there, and we'll all be there with you at Katahdin!! I love you!--Dana