morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Howard Johnson, Daleville, Va US 220

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 56 Can't beat a good night's sleep! Got up around 6:15 and headed down to the continental breakfast. Ate enough to get us up to the ridge (since that's what we do in VA - climb to the ridge every day) and hit the trail by 7:05. Crossed all the major roads: across 220, under 81 and across Rt. 11. Got all the traffic out of the way and headed back into the peace and quiet of the woods. The shelters were spaced out nicely for our breaks today. Walked 5 to the first one and stopped for a little snack. Headed on to the next one 6.2 away and had a bigger snack. During the 7.3 to the next one (where we ate lunch around 2pm) we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple times. Really nice views from the road on this beautiful day. While Swiftcreek stayed with our packs, I walked down to the shelter (0.2 off the trail) - we actually ate lunch at the sign for the shelter) to get some water since there "wasn't any" until 4 miles after Cove Mtn. Little did we know that there was a stream only 3 miles before (instead of the 6 from the shelter). Oh well. Had a nice lunch and started the last 6 miles to get here. Went up over the Parkway again and down to Bearwallow Gap where we met a crowd. Helium, Two Shoes and Restless were there waiting for their packs (they slack-packed out of town) with Quarters and Crazy Creak. Took a break and filled up an empty Nalgene in the stream before heading on the last 3.4 of this long day. Almost had a heart attack when I saw our 3rd black snake on the way to Cove Mtn. Sneaked by and slowly made our way here. Met two section hikers in for the night and also have 2 Shoes, Restless, Chestnut and Helium and Freckles here. Casino, Ramble on, Treefingers, Crazy Creek and Quarters headed on to camp at Jennings Creek 4 miles north.Really nice hike today. Beautiful weather, nicely graded climbs, great views and quiet green woods. Peace on earth. I love hiking. Going back to the noise and busyness in Richmond will be tough. So our longest day yet has come to a close. Found out that my dad and grampa who will be in the area for a golfing weekend, will be stopping by to meet us briefly in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon. I'm so excited to see them! We're definitely looking forward to Sunday.Hope things are well wherever you are! Love you family!
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Marble Spring Campsite
Miles today: 24.1

Day 57   Whew! Another long day. We had planned to stop at Thunder Hill Shelter after 17 miles, but pushed on to this campsite to spend one more night with 2 Shoes and Restless. They'll be getting to Waynesboro on Wednesday while we're taking until Friday. Better to spend the weekend at home when everyone's home from work! Hopefully we'll all meet up again in Northeren Pa when everyone's done taking days off. Regardless, it's been great hiking with you guys! See you up the trail!Ok, so what did we do today. Got up around 6:15 and hit the trail by 7. Had some major elevation changes today and first one was right off the bat. From the shelter (1925') we dropped down to Jennings Creek (950' - the lowest we've been yet). From there we headed back up Fork Mtn. which topped out at 2040', then down to Bryant Ridge Shelter (a beautiful double decker that I would love to have stayed in) at 1320'. From there we had a butt-kicking climb up Floyd Mtn. (really steep sections) and eventually made it to the top at 3560', before heading down to the shelter at 3145' Next we climbed to Black Rock (a nice overlook where we paused for a snack and a drink) at 3420', then down just a little to 3180', then back up Apple Orchard Mtn. (that has a really crazy radar dome on top) which topped out at 4225'. From there we headed down to the Guillotine (a pretty famous rock on the trail - one rock suspended between two big ones that the trail goes under) and on down to Thunder Hill shelter at 3960'. Had lunch there and continued on the last 7 to get here. From the shelter we went down to Petities Gap at 2350', then back up to Highcock Knob at 3070', and finally down here to Marble Spring at 2300'. The first part of the descent off the knob was a crazy steep knee-busting drop through tons of slippery leaves and rocks. I was definitely glad to get here and it's nice to be in the tent for a change. Good hike today though - really peaceful. We took our time and just enjoyed the walk. Lots of beautiful flowers and nice views from the Parkway (whichc we crossed twice) and Black Rock. Think we saw some trillium today - not 100% sure, but that was my best guess. Since we did extra miles today, we have a really short day tomorrow. We'll get up late, take our time getting to the road, hitch into town and wait for Dad and Grampa to find us. Have dinner with them and get enough food to get to Waynewboro and hike another mile or two to a shelter just north of the road. Should be a good day and a welcome rest for our feet. Camped here tonight with a section hiker, Bob, and Reatless and 2 Shoes. Hope you guys have a great hike to PA! Enjoy your time off and hope to see you further north!Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Love you family.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Marble Spring Campsite

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up late today since we did not have far to go. Hit the trail just before 8 and had only one gentle climb to go before we went down, down, down to the James River Footbridge. Had a nice mile long walk along the river and saw lots of blooming things - purple rhododendron, pink mountain laurel, white dogwood, and lots more. GOt to VA501 at 11:00 am and tried to hitch for 30 minutes with no luck. Fortunately for us, there was a section hiker right behind us who had arranged a ride at noon. His ride was able to give us a ride, so we made it to town just after 12:00 pm. Got some lunch at a gas station, because there are no restaurants in Glasgow, and sat down to wait. Saw Helium, Casino, Ramble On and Treefingers in town also resupplying.Around 4:30, my dad and grandpa arrived in town! It was so good to see them! They picked us up and took us to a little place down the road to eat and got us back on the trail. Definitely the high point of this week. It was so great to see them and catch up on everything. Thanks for coming to see us Dad and Grandpa! We'll see you again in a couple weeks! Love you both!Headed on the 1.7 miles to get here where we expected to see Helium and the guys. But it's just us. We packed sodas for them, so we left them at the shelter for them. Oh well. Now it's a relaxing 5 days to Waynesboro. The shorter days will get us rested up for the sprint to PA. Hope all is well where you are! Thanks again for making the drive to see us Dad and Grandpa! Love you family! Oh! Mom, thanks for the purple shells! My fav!
Date: 2006-05-01
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Another beautiful day for hiking. Slept okay last night, but not great and woke up tired. Not too many miles today so we took our time getting up and hit the trail around 7. Really took it slow as we made our way up and up and up right off the bat. Climbed Big Rocky Row and Bluff Mountain, both of which had great views. We could see Apple Orchard Mountain in the distance from a spot on a rock. On top of Bluff Mountain is a memorial to little 4 year old Ottie Powell who died after straying 7 miles from school he was attending in the 1890's. Sad little story. We took a break up there and enjoyed the view of mountains and valleys. I can never get enough of that view. From Bluff we made our way down to Punchbowl Shelter. Stopped just a minute and continued on 4 more miles to Pedlar Dam.....or so we thought. Turns out there was a reroute along the way. The AT no longer goes to the dam or the lake as it says in our 2005 guidebook. Maybe we should carry the 2006. So anyway, we went up along the mountain and had a nice view of the lake down below. Found a rock along the trail and sat down for lunch. Took a nice long break since we only had about 4 more miles to go, and met two southbound section hikers just before we packed up and moved on. On the way to our home for tonight we passed snakes # 4 and 5. And guess what they were doing?! Today we witnessed snake creation in process. I hope I never see that again. They could have at least moved more than 5 feet off the trail where they could be alone. (Swiftcreek says "That's right!") Made it here to an empty shelter at 3:30, and now at 6:30 we are still alone. Think this may be the way it is all week but you never know. Still can't figure out what happened to Helium and the guys. Guess we will find out soon enough. Went to get water from the creek in front of the shelter this afternoon and what did I see slither up over a log in the woods? Snake # 6. Man I hate snakes. Once all the "chores" were done, we had the rest of the afternoon to do.....nothing. I love hiking! I layed out on the picnic table in front of the shelter and watched through the green swaying trees as the clouds passed slowly overhead through the blue sky. Swiftcreek took a nap. So often in life I have taken the little things for granted. Out here, most days the little things are the only things worth noticing. When this trip is over I have lots of work to do - must learn all the eastern birds and wildflowers! We will sleep well tonight with the sound of the creek in the background. Getting closer to Waynesboro! Love you family!
Date: 2006-05-03
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Campsite at Mile 833.7
Miles today: 20.2

Did not sleep well last night at all. A very bold little mouse kept us awake by rustling around in our packs and scampering around on the floor all night. One reason why we are in the tent tonight. I know I said we were only doing 13 miles today, but we got so antsy at the shelter that we decided to move on. Felt pretty sluggish all day (probably due to lack of sleep - crazy mouse!), but still enjoyed the hike. This morning we finished the Priest and had some nice views from up there. Then we plunged down to the Tye River losing over 3000' feet in 4 miles. From there it was a tough climb back to Chimney Rocks and then Three Ridges. Really nice views up there though, so we at least got to enjoy ourselves a little after getting our butts kicked. Walked the last 2.5 miles to Maupin Field Shelter (where we planned to stay the night) after having a nice long lunch at Hanging Rock. Unbelievable vista from the rock - we could see the Priest and Three Ridges from our spot in the sun. Watched the shadows of the clouds pass over the mountains and admired the graceful flight of the hawks as they soared over the valley. Truly, we are blessed.When we got to the shelter we sat for about 30 minutes before we decided to move on. There were no campsites listed in our guidebook for 16 miles so we really were not sure where we headed. Got to Cedar Cliffs which had another amazing view, and thought about camping right there. Too bad there was a sign that said "No Camping". Thought about breaking the rules but decided there must have been a reason for the sign so we moved on. Got to the Parkway and found a nice little spot on the hill out of sight from the road. Think we will sleep good here in our cozy little tent. Only 14 miles to town and THREE zero days in Farmville! Can't wait! Love you, family!
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Campsite at Mile 833.7

To: Rockfish Gap, I64/US250
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

We made it! Had one good climb up Humpback Mountain (and some rockclimbing today too!) and then a beautiful walk through the long green tunnel. Woke up early to a gorgeous day. Clear blue sky and the most amazing green everywhere. I'm always a little antsy on town days just trying to get there, but today I really tried to relax and enjoy the day! BEAUTIFUL! It's so hard to explain how amazing our surroundings are. Just picture the bluest blue and the greenest green. Everyday there is something new to appreciate. I love hiking. Made it out of the woods around noon and found trail magic! Someone left a box of Mountain Dew right beside the trail. Awesome! Got up to Rockfish Gap and called Nick, Swiftcreek's brother, to see if he could drive us to Farmville to surprise Mama Phyllis. He picked us up around 1:00, and we went to Waynesboro to pick up a few things at the outfitter and have lunch at Weasie's Kitchen. I had pancakes and they were great! Huge, but great! Did not break the record through (24 for guys and 19 for girls). Hope 2 Shoes had better luck! Stopped by Nick's dorm in Charlottesville to put our pictures on a CD before heading on to Farmville. Got to the house around 5 and surprised Mama Phyllis. She was not expecting us until tomorrow! She took us to the store and we got some dinner before Nick had to head back to school. Great to see you, Nick! Thanks for taking us home, can't tell you how much we appreciate it! Love ya!And now we are just relaxing here and enjoying Mama Phyllis' company. It is so nice to be here and have a long weekend ahead. We will be catching up on baseball (Red and White Sox fans), watching the Kentucky Derby, and spending lots of quality time with Mama Phyllis and Jeremy (who comes home tomorrow). We are doing great and looking forward to the weekend ahead. Hope you are too!
Date: 2006-05-05
From: Farmville, VA

To: Farmville VA
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day Number 1. A day of relaxing with our feet up. Nice to not have any walking to do today. Got up early and had breakfast and waited for Jeremy to get home. Great to see him and get to spend the weekend with him! Love ya Jeremy. Did a whole lot of nothing all day. Watched lots of sports and caught up on all the stats. Got to see the White Sox game (World Champs!) although they did not win tonight (the Bobby Jenks comment probably did not help Jeremy! !) Good day of relaxing and catching up with the family. Lots of good food, too. Thanks Mama Phyllis! Went out to a little stand and picked up fresh strawberries that we will enjoy this weekend. Looking forward to the rest of the weekend!
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Farmville VA

To: Farmville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day Number 2. Slept in a little more today and woke up to pancakes! After breakfast we got ready and headed down town to the Heart of Virginia festival, a big craft fair in town. Got to hear FUMC's Treehouse Band (sounded great, guys!) and see lots of friends as we walked the streets of Farmville. It was great to see everyone and catch up on the trip and what they have been up to since we left. Went home after lunch and watched some television while we decided what horse would win the Kentucky Derby. I picked Bluegrass Cat who came in 2nd! Not bad! I think Mama Phyllis' horse was 7th. Swiftcreek and Jeremy's horses were 1 and 2, but Swiftcreek's ended up dropping to 16th and Jeremy's was dead last. Sorry guys! ! After the race we had dinner and watched the White Sox game before bed. Another nice day. Good to be with family and friends!
Date: 2006-05-07
From: Farmville, VA

To: Farmville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day Number 3. Got up and went to church this morning and then had lunch with friends. Great to see you Patti and Dave. Love you guys! After lunch we came back here and hung out until the Arvin's stopped by to visit. Congratulations Julia! Great to see you guys and spend some time with you. Sorry we couldn't see the Fasig's, but we are looking forward to the wedding and the beach! Ran to the store with Mama Phyllis to buy groceries for the week and then had a nice Sunday dinner together. After dinner we got all our stuff together and said goodbye to Jeremy as he headed back to Richmond. Thanks for coming down to see us Jeremy! And now it is time for bed. It has been a really great weekend here in Farmville. So good to spend time with family and see friends. Mama Phyllis, thanks so much for everything! We have had a wonderful weekend with you and appreciate everything so much! Love you!Back to the trail tomorrow to begin our section to Boiling Springs. Think we are rested and ready after our three awesome days off. Thanks again Nick, Jeremy, and Mama Phyllis!
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Rockfish Gap, I64/US250

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After 3 awesome days in Farmville, we are back on the trail. Mama Phyllis got us back to Rockfish Gap and we were on the trail by 9:15. Pretty rainy and foggy today so not many views. We did get to see some of the valley from the top of Calf Mountain. Radio towers and tractor seats up there, too! Pretty nice and fairly easy terrain all the way through today. Lots of almost flat sections and switchbacked climbs. Our first day in the Shenendoahs treated us pretty good. We were pretty slow getting back into the walking this morning. My knees and legs eventually warmed up to the idea, but my feet would not cooperate. Tried to get them on my side, but they did not want to hear it. Hopefully tomorrow they will be a little more helpful. Met Helium and the guys and the trail today. They spent the weekend at Ramble's house. Treefingers ended up really sick and still is not feeling right. Hope he feels better soon. Got here to the shelter around 5:30 and had a great surprise. I looked in the shelter and who's head popped out? BRETT! Firehazard and Cruise and Applesauce are here! It is so great to see hime! So we have been catching up on everything tonight and making plans for PA. We are going to keep a pretty aggressive schedule and think Firehazard may try it with us. He will still have to wait up for Ben though so we will see. Think he will definitely plan to take a day off in PA so that will be good.Mama Phyllis, thanks so much for everything this weekend! We had a wonderful time visiting and look forward to talking to you soon!Thanks to all who have signed our guestbook. We have had a tough time finding Internet on the trail the last few weeks. Finally got to a place to read them and the server was down. Good thing they email them to us, too! Yoohoo! Thanks for signing! Hope you have found yourself a job by now. We miss you out here, but hope you are having fun with whatever you are doing! Sparrowhawk, where are you? Did you hike past Rockfish Gap? Suzanne, we love you messages - can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks. WUMC softball team - way to go! Keep winning some games! Jonathon, worry we missed you on the trail. Have fun in Arizona! Thanks to everyone for signing! Can't tell you how much we appreciate it!Cold day and night tonight! Glad we kept our liners and my fleece. Another 20 tomorrow! Love you family!
Date: 2006-05-09
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: overcast clouds

An exciting day of WILDLIFE today! But I will start from the beginning. Got a really good night's sleep last night and got up around 6:30. Finished the climb up to Blackrock first thing and hung out on the very rocky summit enjoying the view of the morning mist. Crossed Skyline Drive a bunch of times again today. Tried to get a soda from a campstore, but they were not open yet. Too bad Wingfoot says mid-April. Oh well. Got of Loft Mountain and stashed our packs in the woods while we walked down to the Loft Mountain Wayside, a little restaurant and gift shop. Had lunch there and saw Buree and Applesauce as they were headed out. On our way back up to the trail, Cruise and Firehazard were on their way down. It's so great to see Brett out here! I love it! Got to the shelter and sat fown for a break with Buree and Applesauce. Moved on through Simmons and Powell Gap and then started up Little Round Top Mountain. Up to this point we have seen 3 deer and a really huge groundhog. As we were going over Roundtop we saw Buree stopped downhill a ways. She saw us and made a sign to be quiet. We tiptoed down the hill and looked to where she was pointing up in the woods, and there staring back at us was a black bear! Our first bear on the trail. He just stood up in the woods and stared at us for about 10 minutes before running up in the forest. Wildlife in the wild - awesome! Made it here to the shelter around 5:15 and have been enjoying the company: Buree, Applesauce, Cruise, Firehazard, and a section hiker, Ricey, with his dog Petey. Also another guy who's name I did not catch. Good day of hiking, fairly easy terrain once again. My feet still do not like me though. Think I need some new shoes. We will be picking up some new ones in PA for sure. So anyway, exciting day of wildlife, but similar to yesterday hiking-wise. The Shenendoahs continue to be very nice to us. We appreciate that. 23 tomorrow! PA gets closer every day. Love you family!As I was writing five new people in the shelter: Mr. Rodgers, Treegirl (who we have not seen in weeks), a couple whose names I do not remember, and Bugs. The shelter will be more crowded tonight afterall! Good night.
Date: 2006-05-10
From: Hightop Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 23.9
Weather: scattered clouds

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRISTA!! Woke up this morning around 6 to an absolutely beautiful day. Blue sky, big puffy white clouds and a nice cool breeze. Perfect. Left the shelter just before 7 and finished the climb up Hightop Mountain. Not too many climbs today. Fairly easy rolling terrain all the way to the first shelter. Just before we got there, we stopped at the Lewis Mountain Campground and got a soda for lunch. Not too many people camping up there today. Continued on past the shelter up to Bearfence Mountain. Great view up there that we enjoyed for a few minutes. Past the mountain, we went on up to Hazeltop and then back down to Skyline Drive where we walked .4 to Big Meadows Wayside for dinner. Met Buree and Applesauce there and soon had a whole big hiker crowd out on the lawn. Firehazard, Cruise, Bugs, Treegirl, Mr. Rodgers, Rickey, Ramble On, Treefingers, Helium, and Casino. I had some really good blackberry ice cream. Got back on the trail at 5:45 and finished the 4.5 miles to this shelter. Had some beautiful views along the way. Short entry tonight - we are getting up early tomorrow to try and do 28 miles! We will see. My feet are developing lots of new blisters for some reason. Today we walked about 4 miles of really flat ground which was great, but apparently my feet are bored and need some excitement. Blisters seem to be their fix. Hopefully the surgery I performed tonight on my feet will help tomorrow. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Happy 900 miles! Love you family!