morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-29
From: VA 615 Laurel Creek

To: Campsite near VA 611
Miles today: 15.8

I got up and got everyone moving pretty early so we could all make it into Bland, VA at a decent hour. The 7 or so miles from the campsite to town were the easiest miles thusfar. For some odd reason though my right lower leg is on fire though. I think it was yesterdays fast pace that strained something. I'll just have to keep on top of it. Grizze and I reached USFS 282 and started walking down it toward town. This guy drives up with a cooler in the back. He gave us some cold drinks and a shuttle into town. Thanks man if you're reading this haha! We went and resupplied then hitched across town to the Dairy Queen for a couple Blizzards. YES! We met this really cool guy named Sprocket. He thru-hiked SOBO last year and is hiking from Damascus, VA ( where the Trail Days festival was held) to Maine this year. In Maine he's picking up his bicycle and is going to ride for ME to CA just for fun. Apparently hes a very accomplished bike tourer with several trans US rides under his belt already. He has also ridden the perimeter of the US on a bicycle. This guy rulz!1!11! We all got out of town and started hiking. We were shooting for Jenny Knob Shltr but decided to camp a few miles south of it due to bad weather rolling in and im starting to get a shin split on my left leg. So both my legs are screaming at me now. We had made a campfire and roasted hotdogs that Birdstar packed out for all of us. I gave both my legs a thorough massage tonight too. But it's bed time!HOT DOGS RULE SHIN SPLINTS DROOL! WOOT!
Date: 2007-05-30
From: Campsite near VA 611

To: VA 606 Trents Grocery
Miles today: 9.6

i got up real early and shook everyone else up. I started hiking first. I wanted a head start because my right lower leg, in my achilles area was killing me and i am not able to keep my usual pace. I had a really hard time today. The pain was almost unbearable. I stopped and stretched it out really well and that made it feel a lot better. We got to the road and headed to Trent's Grocery just down the road for some burgers and laundry. We got the burgers and while we were doin laundry we got a couple 40oz Schlitz High Gravity Malt Liquors. Never drank it before. The whole group got some and we decided before too long to hang out and tent in the field nearby so we all got more beer and it all went down from there you could say. We had a good time though. It did me well to do low miles today. I stretched my achilles all day and massaged my shins from the splints, but it has disappeared thank God. That is one thing i dont care to deal with... EVER!THANKS TO TRENTS GROCERY FOR BENG SO COOL TO THE HIKERS!
Date: 2007-05-31
From: VA 606 Trents Grocery

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Got up and got breakfast at Trent's Grocery. They've got a restuarant with a short order menu there. Sideshow pulled out early this morning. Keymasters knees were about to explode so she didn't want to hike so she and Trailbait hitched to Pearisburg, VA. We all hiked a couple of miles to Dismal Creek Falls to go cliff diving and swim a bit. We had a blast there in the water jumping off the cliffs. We saw a huge black kingsnake on the rocks and we played with him a bit. We ate lunch at Wapiti Shelter before pushing on to Doc's Knob Shelter for the night. It rained like hell the last half of the day and we would have gone to Woodshole Hostel but it was closed for some odd reason. Due to our swim break we got to the shelter a little late but we ate dinner and laughed a bit. We squeezed everyone in the shelter b/c it's raining out. It's a little cramped in here but it's alright. I wouldn't ever leave any hiker out in the rain. There's always room for one more.DISMAL FALLS RULES!
Date: 2007-06-01
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: few clouds

We had a really nice hike this morning. We had a nice ridgewalk with a few nice vistas. We got to some big boulders and climbed around and had a nice break there. Then we had a harrowing 2000ft descent into town. I hate going downhill. I would rather climb Everest than go down 100ft. We got into Pearisburg, VA and got a hitch into the Holiday Motor Lodge. It's this place straight out of the 50s. I bet you they haven't changed a thing since 1950. But a big storm is rolling in and I have never wanted a shower more in my life. So I got a room and Grizzle got a room right next to mine. We had three other people staying in our rooms so the cost was split up. There was a Goodwill store across the street and it was early in the day so we went and bought the best outfits ever. Straight 1970s baby! We looked so pimp! We looked like disco puked on all of us. We got beers from the store and got dressed up then got loaded. We went and took over the town mexican restaurant, there was around 15 or more of us. I can't name everyone b/c it would take too damn long. Check out the pictures. Around 10PM we headed across town to a harley biker rally where thee was some really good live music. We got the weirdest looks but it was all in good fun. We danced pretty hard and had a blast. We went back to the hotel and everyone partied til midnight b.c it was BirdStar's birthday. I went to bed.HAPPY B-DAY BIRDSTAR!
Date: 2007-06-02
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: The Captain's Place
Miles today: 0.0

Slept in until about 8am which was way late for hikers. Grizzle, Birdstar, Blackfoot, and myself walked down to the Dairy Queen for breakfast. There is a hiker feed going on about 20 miles up the trail at this previous thru-hikers house right off the AT. Grizzle called him and he came to pick us up around 11am. He drove all of us to his house in his big ol Ford. There were 25 tents in his yard and a bunch of people hangin out all over the place. Free grill food and beers. All you can eat. Tons of cool locals there. Grizzle and I grabbed "The Captain's" fly rod and waded up stream to catch trout. I got two on that broke the line right off. We caught the biggest crawdad anyone had ever seen. I named him Bocephus (Bow-see-fuss). We turned him loose in the river after a while. We hung out inside and watched the Sox game and ate like kings. Some people we out back in the hot tub havin' a good time. The Captain is one of the coolest guys I've ever met. Thanks for everything Captain!THANKS CAPTAIN!
Date: 2007-06-03
From: The Captain's Place

To: Grizzle's moms house
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up this morning to heavy rain beating on my tarptent. I got dressed and ran towards the captain's house to get out of the rain. Almost every hiker was already in his living room watching tv. There were people making pancakes and any other breakfast food the captain had in his fridge. The captain said anyone could zero there if they wanted to because it was raining. Grizzle go on his cell phone and called his aunt & uncle and they grabbed their jeep cherokee and big ole dodge truck & drove a couple of hours to come get us. I hate packing up wet gear but its a necessary evil. I got all packed up about half an hour before Grizzle's aunt & uncle got there. When they arrived we put our packs in the back of the truck and stuffed all but two of us into the jeep cherokee. It was Grizzle, Keymaster, Chach, Sideshow & myself in the jeep cherokee. Birdstar & Trailbait rode in the big dodge truck. We rode for over an hour back up north to Lexington, VA to Grizzle's moms place. It is such a nice house. Built in the late 1700's out of birch and large timbers. It's a historically marked house. I love it. We met Grizzle's mom, grandparents, and the three dogs living there. They are such nice people. We all raced upstairs to claim a bed. There is a really nice, big back porch so we all spread our wet gear out to dry. Grizzle's mom & grandmother made us a wonderful dinner tonight. After we all pig'd out we went upstairs & messed around on the internet for a few hours. It's really nice to get on the internet once in a while. Tonight the whole group went downstairs into the den and sat & chatted for a bit with Grizzle's grandparents. Girzzle's grandfather was a well decorated pilot in WWII and he worked on the construction of the Blue Ridge Pkwy. He was a very interesting man to talk to. It was very nice to sit and talk with them for a bit. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did. But we have to get up at 5am so we can drive the two hours back to the trail tomorrow to get some slackpacking in. So that means bedtime.HIGH & DRYBigShantyGame 07
Date: 2007-06-04
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Captain's House
Miles today: 21.4

Got up at 5am. Grizzle's mom & grandmother already had breakfast cooking. We ate breakfast pretty quick and piled into the blazer that they lent to us. Let me just say that packing seven hikers plus daypacks and trekking poles into 1 1994 midsize chevery blazer is neither easy or comfortable by any means. We had a two hour drive back to Pearisburg, VA. I sat up front with Grizzle and served as the navigator. Everyon else just tried to sleep as best as they could. When we got to the trail in P-burg we split into two groups. One group would get out & hike northbound while the other group parked the car at the north end and hiked southbound. I chose to get out & hike north. I was joined by Keys, Chach & Trailbait. We hiked out of town pretty quickly. We crossed a really cool bridge. I walked ahead of the girls pretty much immediately but I would stop & wait for them periodically. I got to Rice Field Shelter and took a snack/water break. The view from teh shelter is really nice. This would make a very nice spot for a romantic overnighter. After about 45 minutes, Keys & Chach came walking up with Sprocket. They informed me that Trailbait turned around & headed back to town because her knee was really hurting her. I hate to hear that but you've got to take care of yourself out here or you'll never last. The rest of the hike went well but when we got done I was ready to sleep. But I couldn't because we I had to drive back to P-Burg to pick everyone up. We got to the P-Burg & everyone was already there hanging out at the Dairy Queen waiting on us. Key's & I got a spicy buffalo chicken sandwich before we headed back to Lexington. The two hour drive back sucked but at least we have a nice play to stay for free and we can have a shower when we want. When we got back we had plenty of leftovers from last night. It's Sideshow's birthday tonight we all went to the pub for a cold brew or two. Birdstar & I got some much needed hotwings. LIFE IS GOODBigShanty
Date: 2007-06-05
From: Captain's House

To: Grizzle's moms house
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up late this morning because we all got to bed late last night. We went out to the local pub because it was Sideshow's birthday So we decided we wouldn't drive two hours down to the trail just to hike a few miles and then drive two hours back up. We decided to take a trip into downtown Lexington & enjoy an absolutely beautiful day. We had a great time downtown. Lexington is such a beautiful town. It's very historic and has a lot of character. I'm in love with Lexingont. We went to a sushi bar for a very good but expensive lunch. After lunch we drove back to take a nap. This evening we ate burger & hotdogs that Grizzle cooked & they were awesome. After dinner we all went with Grizzle's mom out to the movie theatre & saw the third Pirates of the Caribean movie. I thought it was the best one yet but it had some really weird parts. After the movie the whole gang went to Walmart to get some miscellaneous stuff and because Wally World rules! We saw the most pitiful ford tempo ever parked outside. I got some good pictures. That car is a lesson in why you should not put it on your car just because AutoZone has it on the shelf. GOOD STUFFBigShanty
Date: 2007-06-06
From: VA635 Stony Creek Bridge Slack Pack

To: VA42
Miles today: 18.5

Got going early this morning. We made good time to the drop off point on the north end where we dropped off Keys, Chach & SideShow. Birdstar, Grizzle & I drove to the southern end where we parked the blazer. Birdstar bought this really cool speaker setup for his ipod thta he has attached to his backpack. It's loud as hell and the batteries last all day so we rocked out all day to every type of music except country. But we made the best time when we had some good metal playing. It just got us pumped up & we hiked fast. There were some insane rocks pretty early in the day. The elevation profile wasn't bad. Near the middle of the day we got to War Spur Shelter and took a 2 hour nap because we figured that we hiked a lot faster then the other group. I saw Moose here at the shelter taking a break. I haven't seen him since Erwin, TN. We left the shelter and hiked pretty fast to VA42 at Sinking Creek. Before we got there we came upon an empty abandoned old house in the middle of the woods. I don't like that kinda crap at all so I didn't go down to it but Grizzle & Birdstar saw thousands of black handprints covering everything inside the house. Walls, floors, ceiling, everything was covered in black handprints. It was getting near dark as we left the house so we hiked really really fast after seeing freaky crap like that. We got to VA42 & the rest of th crew was hanging out there. They had ben there for 2 hours so they were pissed we took so long. I guess our pace calculations were wrong. We went to a bar in Blackburg, VA on the way home & got a few beers and some hot wings. I love beer & hot wings so much I wouldn't mind sustaining life on them exclusively. On the way home we hit ridiculous traffic & were delayed over an hour. We didn't get home until after midnight. We'll see how tomorrow pans out.HOT WINGS RULE!BigShanty
Date: 2007-06-07
From: Blue Ridge Pkwy mile 51.7 Slack Pack

To: US60
Miles today: 10.6

We didn't get to sleep until after midnight so we all slept in until 8am or so. We decided that we ere definitely not driving over an hour just to hike because at this oint it was too late in teh day to make it worth it. But the AT went very near the house just on the other side of Buena Vista. It was only a 30 minute drive or so. So at least we would get a few miles under our belt today even though they're out of order. We got hiking around 12. We dropped Birdstar, Keys & Chach o th south end while Grizzle, SideShow & myself drove to the north end at US 60 & hiked south. We came upon Brown Mt Creek Shelter and saw something we never expected to see. As we were walking up to the shelter, ByteCode, ChurchMouse & Buffalo Bobby came out to greet us. WOW! It was awesome to see them. I haven't seen ByteCode or ChurchMouse since our slackpack with Murdock through the Grayson Highlands. We had to keep hiking but made plans for the northbound group to paick them up & take them to a nearby waterfall before coming to get us & we would then all go to the waterfall & have a good time swimming. We finished our hike around 7pm. We met this nice guy in the parking lot at Blue Ridge Pkwy mile marker 51.7. He gave us bananas & talked for a while. After he left I found a turtle & had some fun playing with him for a while. Finally the blazer pulled up with everyone inside. They couldn't find the waterfall. We decided to try & make it home in one trip so we stuffed 9 sweaty hikers & 1 dirty dog into the blazer. By the time we got everyone inside I honestly didn't think it would roll but we made it home. Virginia has some of the strictest seatbelt laws ever so if we were caught more than 1/2 of us were going to jail. But we made it. We ate another awesome dinner prepared by Grizzle's mom & grandmother. ByteCode, ChurchMouse & Buffalo Bobby were happy to have a meal. shower & laundry. We were happy to be able to help them out. The rest of us packed our gear in preparation to head back to the trail for 3 days so we can give Grizzle's folks a bit of a break. Trailbait is going home for a few days to see her doctor about her leg infection so Grizzle has to drive over an hour to take her to a bus station tonight at 11pm & then when he wakes us he has to drive ByteCode, ChurchMouse & Buffalo Bobby tothe Dutchhau hostel so we got to sleep in tomorrow.BigShanty
Date: 2007-06-08
From: Grizzle's moms house

To: Campsite at VA620 Trout Creek
Miles today: 0.0

Got up this morning around 8am pack only necessary gear for thtree days. We are headed south to the trail to do a car camp/slackpack combo trip because we ae spending way too much time driving to & from Lexington everyday not to mention gas prices are way too high to keep driving so far everyday. So we are going to slackpack & camp nearby until we get closer to Lexington & then we can drive to & from home every day. So we all elft a lot of stuff at Grizzle's mom's house because we're coming back in 3 days. We got the blazer loaded up and headed for town for food & last minute supplies. We got a lot of food and hit an ABC store for a bottle of whisky a piece. We drove to this nice ampsite right on teh trail at a road crossing. There is also a river there so we have all the water we need too. Nice spot! We got there a little too late in teh day & we were all un-motivied to hike so we decided to set up camp & tear into our whiskey for no good reason other than to get hammered. Yeah it's not the best idea but I have a good excuse...I'm young! that's what I'm supposed to do! I have been making the right choices far too long & every now & again I wanna get ripped! Most everybody has done it so get off my back! Anyways we all had a good time. Keys wanted to slackpack a little bit so Grizzle didn't drink so he could drop her off & pick her up. Other than Keys no one else hiked.JIM BEAM BLACK RULES!BigShanty
Date: 2007-06-09
From: Campsite at VA620 Trout Creek

To: VA42 Sinking Creek Valley
Miles today: 26.6

Birdstar & I dropped everyone off at VA42 & drove this realy rough dirt road back to VA624 where we packed the car. We had to hike a marathon & we didn't get started until 11:30 am. We went over Dragon's Tooth which is this huge rock tooth on top of a ridge. We were hiking southbound today so we climbed up what most people decend. Boy was it tough. We came across the Audie Murphy Memorial not long after. He was the most decorated WWII veteran who died in a plane crash on the mountain. We had a long way to go so we took a picture & said a prayer before moving on. We hit trail magic at VA621. Cold soft drinks & cookies. Thanks to whoever left that. We crossed the eastern continential divide shortly thereafter on top of the ridge. If you faced teh sign & spit once on the left side & once on the right you essentially were spitting in two oceans at once. Left goes to the Atlantic, right goes to the Gulf. Pretty cool. On top of Sinking Creek Mt there was som really nice walking & some good views. Birdstar & I walked to the top of a steep slab off to the right & looked out to see the last 5 seconds of the sun. Talk about perfect timing. We were really stoked to see that. It got dark pretty quick thereafter. We got to the Sarver Hollow Shelter sign in the dark. That spot marks mile 666.0 so I didn't hang around there too much longer than it to to drink our last coke we got back at the trai magic. I opened mine & thought I was going to die. The loud pop of me opening a can caused the bear standing nearby to take off running through the woods, knocking down small trees, and immediately scaring the crap out of Birdstar & I. It stopped 20 yds away & looked back at me & it's eyes glowed in the beam of my headlamd. Milemarked 666 + darkness + beer = SCARY! We chugged our drinks & hauled ass! As we neared the end of our hike we passed the biggest & oldest oak in N. America the Keffer Oak. Yes it's big & no I didn't get a picture, it was dark. We got to the road at 11pm & no one was there. It was dark & clar out so I could see every star in the sky. We layed in the middle of the road until Grizzle got there to pick us up & take us back to camp.BEARS SUCK!BigShanty
Date: 2007-06-10
From: VA642 Sinking Creek Valley

To: Johns Spring Shelter
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: scattered clouds

No one got to bed before midnight last night so we all slept in a lot. I woke up first as usual. Everyone else woke up shortly therafter. We all got packed up pretty quick. We had heard rumors of the Homeplace restaurant in Catawba, VA. We had heard it was amazing by many previous thru-hikers we had met recently. Wingfoot dubbed it the best food on the trail so we wnated to drive up there for lunch & then we might do some hiking. Everyone piled in the blazer & Grizzle went to crank it and it didn't crank. The engine would turn over but obviously wasn't getting any gas so we tried to fix it for an hour or so & then did the only thing we could do...hike on. We all went up to the Homplace restaurant and had the best meal of my life. When I'm in VA again I promise I will dirve to the Homeplace again, it's that good. After dinner we layed around on the lawn for a bit before saying goodbye to our friend Patches who was to get off the trail due to finances. We said our goodbyes & caught a hitch to the gas station at VA624 where we were to get back on the trai. We are all bummed that Grizzle & Birdstar have to stay back in order to fix the vehicle but we can't just abandon it. I hope they catch up soo. Sideshow, Chach, Keys, Veg, and I had a nice hike through some beautiful fields but here were some nice hard climbs thrown in there. Keys & Veg fell behind because Keys had to pick up a maildrop in Catawba tomorrow. Sideshow, Chach & I crossed VA311 and met this dude riding a brand new Kawasaki ZX-10R sportbike parked in a lot trying ot get cell phone reception. We chatted for a bit before he sped off down the road. We got to Johns Spring Shelter & got water for the night & tried to go to sleep. Around 10:30 pm some other hikers showed up & decided to be loud as hell until 1:30 am or so. I as well as Sideshow & 2 other hikers were very pissed at teh other group of hooligans and their campfire antics. But life goes on...TWO THINGS IN LIFE ARE BOUND TO FAIL:1. LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS2. FUEL PUMPSBigShanty
Date: 2007-06-11
From: Johns Spring Shelter

To: HoJo Inn, Dalebille, VA
Miles today: 18.9

I got up & got out pretty early this morning. I know I was gonna hit MNcAffee V-nob todlay & I was stoked. I have wanted to stand on McAffee's Knob for years. It was one of the coolest places I've been to yet.It's like another Charlies' Bunin almost. Not long after I got there, Sideshow & Chach showed up & we hung out there for a while. Once we got moving I knew it would only be a couple of miles before we git the Tinker Cliffs. The cliffs are another beautiful rock cluster similar to McAffee Knob only the view isn't so spectacular. We dropped ants into the ant lion holes that were so cleverly position under the rocks. We had a nice lunch on top of hte Tinker Cliffs. The hike on top of hte cliffs has been one fo the most enjoyable miles ever. I must say that this area is undenyably the gem of VA's AT section. We ate lunch at Lambert's Mendois Shelter and met this hiker named Rebel. He's cool, around our age, and he's headed for Dalesville too. He wanted to get in on our hotel room & we don't mind because it's cheaper when you split one 4 ways instead of 3. We passed a graffiti covered sandstone opthrust which pisses me off because I don't see why anyone would want to deface something so beautiful. We made it into Daleville around6pm or so & checked into the nearest hotel. None of us even bothered to shower, we dropped our packs & headed for the mexican restaurant across the street. Oh how I love mexican food. We all got stuffed on some great mexican food & we washed it all down with a couple of cold, tall ones. Life is good! They have a coin laundry room & our clothes are filthy so I'm gonna go & wash clothes. PEACECold beer & hot mexian...ya gotta love itBigShanty