morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-10-10
From: Camping spot

To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.6

What a glorious day for back on the trail. We left our good friends, Sandy, Tom and Cole around 10 am who so graciously brought us to the trailhead. Thank you.   Then we hiked to the first shelter over a pretty easy terrain where we had lunch and put our feet into the cool stream. The day was warm but not too hot. We did have a few gnats 'bug' us over the ups. And boy were there a lot of short ascents. Climbing up Humpback humped our backs for sure. We are carrying 12 days of food and we felt it! There is a nice camping area at the northern side of Humpback. We chose to do this climb and pitch our tent at a stealth site just past the Rocks. After we had dinner at a spring on the way up and getting our tent set up, we backtracked .1 of a mile to the side trail to the Rocks. There we had hot chocolate, peanut butter/jelly sandwiches and watched the sun set. Awesome! Now it's time for sleep listening to the wind blow through the trees.
Date: 2010-10-11
To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was very tiring. We had a lot of rocky places to traverse which made the miles go slow. We did stop and enjoy the views, though. The tendon beside my knee was really hurting by the end of the day. Some motrin and a rub down when we do our evening feet rubs will take care of it. Tomorrow we hope to get to the base of the Priest.
Date: 2010-10-12
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: past Cripple Creek
Miles today: 10.6

Whew! What a day. We didn't realize that going over Three Ridges Mountain would be so exhausting but we soon found out. There were some incredible views, like from Hanging Rock. We just sat there and relaxed, after eating, of course.   Then heading down to the Tye River at the base of the mountain brought back memories of Maine. A lot of rocky, steep terrain as we descended. We went over three rock slides as well as we descended. There were fairly flat areas to cross these, though. After we headed down to Cripple Creek where we hoped to camp we met up with a problem. There was no place to camp, so we decided to eat and get water and continue up the mountain, "The Priest." Fortunately, we found a spot about .4 past the creek. Thanks goodness, we were both exhausted. As for my knee - It was great. The discomfort left and I was hiking without even thinking about it. I did wear my knee brace and will probably continue.
Date: 2010-10-13
From: past Cripple Creek

To: North Fork of Piney Creek
Miles today: 11.9

We made it up the Priest, stopping to take in the views as we went along. We had gotten to the Seeley-Woodworth Shelter where we decided to have our dinner and take a break. Our dinners have been mostly Mountain House dehydrated meals which only require boiling 2 cups of water in our Jetboil stove and then pouring the water in the package and letting it sit for 5 -10 minutes until it's ready to eat. The meals have been delicious. We decided to hike another 2 miles to the Piney Creek where the guide says there is camping and of course, water from the creek. But when we arrived, it was pretty ugly, and we saw very little places to camp. We managed to find a spot that would work for the night, so we settled in. I washed in the stream as best as I could, but washing my hair will just have to wait until we get to town. Being out on the trail in hot weather seems to make washing even more needed. We do have hand sanitizer with us, but you still need to give attention to the attempt for cleanliness. There is a joke that you should never shake hands with a thru-hiker. Anyhow, during the night it started to rain and by morning there was even thunder and a bit of lighning. It seemed pretty close, but we felt safe in our tent. By the time we got our packs ready inside of the tent, the rain had subsided and we were able to head out in only a foggy mist.
Date: 2010-10-14
From: North Fork of Piney Creek

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

The day started with four miles of hiking with some ups and downs. The trail seemed to be preparing us for climb up Tar Ridge Mountain. It was still overcast with the wind blowing, chilly, but not a bitter wind. We stopped to eat soething by a dirt road before we climbed. Because of the rain which had started again, we set up our emergency space age lightweight foil blanket held over our heads with clothespins attached to our poles along a fence rail. It actually worked as we ate our tuna fish sandwiches. They tasted so great! Then the climb. About a quarter of a mile past our lunch spot we came by an overhanging rock that would have protected us naturally. Who knew! The ridge was neat, but when we next climbed Cold Mountain, that was awesome. It is a bald up on top, and as we walked across, we could only imagine the view. We only saw mist and felt the wind. Then onto Bald Mountain. Here the sun soon appeared and even create for us a great place to stop and eat mashed potatoes and corn. Boy, were they good. We sat on a rock up on top of the mountain and felt the sun on our bodies.   The descent was long and often steep, but we soon arrived at the shelter. This creek, Brown Creek, was once the homestead of a community of freed slaves in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Lots of stone remains of buildings were seen.
Date: 2010-10-16
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Big Cove Branch
Miles today: 14.6

We left camp early hoping to make some extra miles. But we created Rule #2 when thru-hiking. Anytime you get to a trailhead or crossroad, be sure you follow white blazes. I'll get to what this means in just a few moments. We climbed up Punchbowl Mountain and then onto Bluff Mountain. From the top of this one we could see in all directions. The sky was just awesome - lots of wind and blue sky, but lots of sun too. There is a memorial on Bluff Mountain to little Odie Parsons (something like that), who wandered 7 miles up to this mountain when he was out hunting firewood for the school master. They found his body right on this spot 5 months later. He was 4 years and 11 months old. I think the year was around 1880 or so.   Then we went onto Rocky Knob and stopped at a rock outcropping overlooking the James River Valley, another major river that we cross on our way south. There were some neat views. This is where our problem began that led to rule #2. We came down from Little Rocky Knob as it was called to the old post saying it was Fuller Rocks Trail. We paid no attention to that the AT trail actually turned to the left and instead we just kept going straight. Lonnie was leading and I was just following behind him. Finally as we had gone up one knob and down another several times, I shouted out to him, "Do you see any white blazes?" He looked around and I looked around, and we realized that our thoughts had been somewhere else, and then Lonnie happened to look at a tree beside him and he saw a blue blaze. Oh No! It couldn't be that we had messed up way back up the mountain where that trailhead was, but alas, that is what happened. So we hiked back up the mountain to the trailhead, and saw that the AT actually went down a rocky very steep side of the mountain. For 1 1/2 miles we had gone out of our way, so that is why we have rule #2. We did make it down to the James River and up to the other side where we camped at the Big Cove Branch stream. We were very happy to find a place to camp there.
Date: 2010-10-17
From: Big Cove Branch

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: clear sky

Today we left camp around 8 am and finished our climb out of the James River. We tend to get up just before daylight, around 6:30 or 7:00, then it seems to take us around an hour or so to get going. This morning it was nice having the hardest part of the mountain climbed. Then we traveled around several mountains that formed a bowl like shape. As we approached High Cock Mountain we knew it could be steep, and it was, as well as rocky, lots of bouldering as we climbed. Then Thunder Ridge. We made a lot of miles today as we moved past Thunder Mountain and climbed to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. It had a field on top where we could see both sides. Awesome views! Then down towards the Cornelius Creek Shelter and a very nice time to sleep. We are tired
Date: 2010-10-18
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Top of Cove Mountain
Miles today: 15.8

Today we were following the Blue Ridge Parkway weaving in and out of crossing it coming up to overlooks as well. At one overlook there was a guy watching for hawks. It reminded us of the guy we saw up in New York. This man said he counted ove 5,000 hawks in one day in September. Quite a migration! I think it was around September 19.
Date: 2010-10-19
From: Top of Cove Mountain

To: Knob before Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

It was nice to sleep up on top of a ridge. We woke to more sunshine as we headed down to Bearwallow Gap. Then another climb to the next ridge. The day seemed to drag on as we climbed one ridge to another following on along the Parkway
Date: 2010-10-20
From: Knob before Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: light rain

We woke in the night to raindrops and by morning we had to wear and rain gear and pack up inside the tent. Not always an easy thing to do. Even so we made it out of camp by 7:45 am. The hike down to Daleville wasn't too bad. The rain had stopped and by the time we got to HOJO's (Howard Johnson's motel) the clouds seemed to be clearing out. Cleanliness ruled out when we got to the hotel. I couldn't decide if I would want to eat first or shower first. But after our wonderful showers we began to 'pig out.' We saw One Pace, Gearmo and Black Eagle again as they were heading out to buy food and stop at the supplier. It was fun to see them again for by the time we went to he store, they were still outside of the store trashing the boxes and putting the food into baggies. Gearmo's birthday is tomorrow. He'll be 27. These young guys! We then went back tot he room to watch the baseball playoffs and relax.
Date: 2010-10-21
From: Daleville

To: Topo of Rucher Knob
Miles today: 7.0

This morning we relaxed around the hotel. Then mailed some things we decided were not needed onto Pearisburg. It was nice afterwards stopping at Mill Mountain Cafe and Coffee shop for milk shakes and sandwiches. Great lunch- almost too filling fr our afternoon hike up to Tinker Ridge. Beautiful views of the Carvins Cove Reservoir, filled our afternoon as we climbed over the rocks of the ridge. Finally after we climbed up to Rucher Knob we decided to make camp at a beautiful rock outcropping. It was a great place to see the sun rise in the morning as well as the sun setting and the full moon coming up.
Date: 2010-10-22
From: Topo of Rucher Knob

To: Knob on Sawtooth Ridge
Miles today: 13.7

We left our little campsite in wind and colder temperatures. Then up to Tinker Cliffs. These were rock ledges overlooking the valley below. It was windy and cool, but sunny too. Apparently this ridge has been named after Revolutionary War soldiers who went AWOL during the fighting and hid and lived up on this ridge. They made pots and pans, tinkering around.    We then went over a number of spurs along the rocky ridge and a huge climb up to McAfee's Rock. What an awesome place as we looked back and could see all of Tinker Ridge that we have been following. There were a number of day hikers that we chatted with. Two older men from Norfolk were there who were out for some day hikes over the weekend. Two young girl came up just as we were leaving. The one older guy said to the girls, "Will you do me a favor. Get over there with my friend and let me take his picture with you. It's been one of his fantasies." So as we left I looked over my shoulder and I saw the two girls standing beside his friend with a big grin on his face.   We headed down the mountain to a shelter where we stopped to get water and eat dinner. Were we ever tired when we left there and headed down the mountain to the road and up part of Sawtooth Ridge. It was not as easy as a down as we thought it would be. We made our camp on top of a spur about a mile from the road, not the best spot but it's home for tonight.
Date: 2010-10-23
From: Knob on Sawtooth Ridge

To: Trout Creek
Miles today: 12.8

Friday nights are the strangest times out on the trail. About 1 am we both woke up hearing a girl's laughter and another voice too. We were up on this narrow ridge and we knew we were not alone. Then we saw the headlamps. A young girl and guy were out in the night without packs. Fortunately, they did not see us as they headed down the trail that we had come up. Somebody's coming all over again. On Friday nights people seem to show up where we never expect it! The morning was another cool but pleasant one as we went up and down over Sawtooth Ridge. We were both already exhausted as we headed across the fields to Dragon's Tooth. Since it was Saturday there were many day hikers climbing this mountain too, only they missed the initial climb we had to do over lots of rocky crests. By the time we got to the 100 yards of climbing over rock with some ladders to assist in the climbs, we were tired. This trail is right on the edge of a cliff so when I watched 7 -10 year olds doing it with ease, I felt rather old. But then they were not carrying a 28 pound pack. We finally made it to the top being careful of how much water we drank. We knew we still had a long way to Trout Creek. There on the top we again met up with the two older guys from Norfolk who had day hiked this today. Perfect timing, but this time there were no young girls for a photo. We said goodbye to them as we went down the spine of the mountain. It curved around just like a dragon's body and tail. Finally we arrived at Trout Creek and decided to camp with lots of water available.
Date: 2010-10-24
From: Trout Creek

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: clear sky

This day started out so nice. We had a pleasant climb up to the top of Brush Mountain where we followed a woods road across the crest. Then we arrived at the memorial to Audie Murphy, the WWII most decorated veteran and then film star, who died on this mountain in a plane crash due to fog and storms in 1971. We had cheese sandwiches at the memorial spot, where there were several benches and a large granite memorial. Then we had a pleasant descent down to the road. We could have gotten water there but we decided to wait until we came to a stream called Cabin Branch. There was a man returning to his truck after having placed his deer stand up on the mountain. He offered us some water as we were still resting, but we declined, knowing we'd get some up the mountain. That made more sense to us, since we wouldn't have to carry it. We even opted to pass at a shelter where water was a good distance down a hill. But as we hiked, it became obvious that there was no Cabin Branch. We found no water and each had to rely on about a 1/2 liter to get to the next shelter that was .4 of a mile down the side of a mountain. This was Sinking Creek Mountain and it was very rough, and Hot! We walked over rock ledges for about a mile, then through woods, making for a long, rocky and grueling climb. When we sawthe shelter sign, there was no doubt that we were heading down this steep slope. We were glad to see some switchbacks. Then we had to find the water. When we got to the spring which looked like an old well for the Sarver family who used to live on this land (back in the 1860's - 1930's), there was just a little bit of water. But the spring was moving slightly, so we were finally refreshed. Tomorrow will be an easier day, we hope.
Date: 2010-10-25
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Warspur Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

We saw cloudy skies in the morning as we left the shelter and headed across Sinking Creek Mountain. Just as we came down it started to sprinkle. We had to cross some fields and as we did so we could see the rain up on the next mountain. Then it was upon us too. Fortunately, we got our coats on and the downpour was short-lived. Then up to the shelter to dry out and have some lunch. We took a good long rest then headed out for the next shelter. It was 5:15 when we arrived at WarSpur.
Date: 2010-10-26
From: Warspur Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

When we left WarSpur we decided to stop at Wind Rock for a break. And this rock outcropping was well-named, for there was lots of wind. The sky was overcast with lots of clouds blowing across the mountains. There still was some sun and it was neat watching the shadows of the clouds dancing on the distant mountains across the valley. We also were watching the leaves blowing out in the open air. There was a section of trail of rocks that reminded us of Wolf Rocks in PA. These rocks lasted for about 3 miles- very hard on the feet. NOT FUN! While we were doing this section, there was a tremendous loud noise coming from out in the valley. We both heard it, stopped, and I looked ahead and saw the fighter jet. It seemed like the pilot was doing a maneuver between the two mountains, like practicing dropping a bomb. It took so long for us to find Bailey Gap shelter where we planned to have lunch, that I was beginning to think that had been his target. But we did find it. Then we continued on our way, looking forward to arriving at Pine Swamp shelter. When we arrived, I must say that we both though it was one of the worst. The skies had really looked like rain, and we couldn't even fit the tent inside. Then there were beer cans around and other trash as well as overgrown weeds. We finally made the decision to pitch the tent on the only tent site available and sometime in the rain it began to rain.
Date: 2010-10-27
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: moderate rain

We left the shelter early after packing up inside the shelter. Fortunately, our tent did not get wet, only the fly, even though it rained hard through the night. It's a comforting thought staying warm and dry inside our bags and tent. Just as we got ready to leave the rain started again. We had to climb Peters Mountain but surprisingly, it was an easy switchback climb with the rain stopping and even a speck of sunshine. We made great time as we moved across the mountain. Syms Gap meadow was neat to go over. There were some more apple trees but the apples didn't look as good as the ones earlier in our journal. We had a great view across the mountains where it looked like it was raining. We only stopped briefly to get a bite to eat. I like to change my socks every 5-7 miles. Taking our boots off during the day and rubbing our toes and feet is a wonderful treat too. When we were almost to Rice Fields, the rain started coming down hard. Poor Lonnie did not have his raincoat on and there we were just a short distance from the Rice Fields Shelter. He said afterwards that the rain was freezing cold as we had to traverse across a powerline that ended up being more than just a crossing. We navigated down a section of it too where we were completely out in the open. By the time we went over a stile into the field, the rain had stopped, and we had another beautiful view right at the shelter. How come we can't seem to find these awesome shelters to spend the night at? Rice Fields Shelter has a neat view, but I'm not sure about the water situation. It was set in the woods halfway up the field right across form an overlook spot. Here we made the decision to just finish our hike into Pearisburg. We only had 6 miles to go and it was only 2:30. But it was hard to leave this place. We hiked down the mountain arriving in Pearisburg by 5:30 pm. When we crossed the bridge of New River, we decided to keep walking up the road right into town.
Date: 2010-10-29
From: Pearisburg

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We left Pearisburg around 1:00 taking advantage of the 1:00 check out time at the hotel. We climbed Pearis Mountain, a 2,000 foot climb that caused many particular words to come out of our mouths, words I can't write here. But we did make it to the top, where I had a small meltdown. A few tears were shed as I was so overwhelmed with how steep of a climb it was. Then we had a rest at an overlook. There about 20 feet from us, a hawk was sitting on a branch. Lonnie saw it first, tapped me on the leg as we were sitting on the rock. The hawk took off and we watched it soar out into the open air. Quite impressive. A number of miles later we found ourselves in the Virginia green tunnel, that is, about 3 miles of continuous rhododendron thickets. Finally, our arrival at the shelter, and a secluded tent spot.
Date: 2010-10-30
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Dismal Creek
Miles today: 13.4

Shelter Graffiti: Smoke Week, Go to Jail Do Coke, Go to Congress   Do Meth Live in a trailor park Do all the above Be a loser "Misspell Trailer, and you are a burn-out. That's what was on the Wapiti Roof where we had our lunch today. We hiked a number of miles this morning until we came to a lookout that showed us the valley we saw yesterday from the lookout with the hawk. We even think we saw that place. Then as we sat on this spot, another hawk on a nearby branch took off. But this time, we heard a snorting kind of huffing sound. We knew it wasn't a deer or a bear, but it was coming from the rocks below us. Lonnie leaned out and saw it was two vultures. Then seemed to be upset about the hawk. We figured they had a nest there. Then the first bird was right under us. We watched as his black wings covered his entire body and his head swiveled 180' so it could see in every direction. It seemed to be about 18 inches in height. Finally it soared out into the valley, being content the hawk was gone, we figured. It had brown on the ends of its wings. Then another vulture also flew out, could it be the female? Then there was more movement from below and we saw a smaller one fly to another branch. Once again, this younger one looked in all directions. It looked like it still had down on its head. We watched as it flew to another branch, but it just wasn't quite ready to soar out on its own. We finally left. As we came down the mountain, we saw a hunter dragging a deer down the trail. Today was the first day of muzzle-loading deer season. We saw more hunters as we neared the bottom of the mountain. As we made camp by the Dismal Creek, 2 bow hunters came through and crossed right at our spot. One thing to add to 'Somebody's Coming.' Last night was Friday night, and we always seem to have company of some sort show up. As we were both sleeping last night, we heard 2 male voices coming up from the woods below the privy. Then we saw their headlamps. It seemed to us as they might be hunters. We checked the time and it was 6:45 am. Yes, hunters.
Date: 2010-10-31
From: Dismal Creek

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 3.8
Weather: broken clouds

We got the idea to head to Trent's grocery store for breakfast since it was only .5 mile from the trail. Then we thought about spending Halloween at a hotel. When we got to Trent's we ordered breakfast, and thought more about our plan. We talked to numerous people and finally called the Big Walker Motel in Bland, where we connected with Bubba who would shuttle us. While waiting we talked to a guy named Crowbait, who drove a formal ambulance. He told us a story he heard while traveling in Wyoming. Back in the 1800's a man bought some land without seeing it ahead of time. He tried raising cattle on it, and it was too dry. He tried farming, soil was too bad. He finally decided to try to sell it, and when he attempted to put a for sale sign on it, the board would not go in the ground. So he got an iron bar to drive the sign in. As he drove it down, he broke through the crust of earth, and a gusher of oil came out with such force that the man was killed. His widow was left a millionaire from all the oil. A hand-dug oil well! Bubba picked us up and we were off to Bland for a day of rest, and football!