morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-20
From: rock spring hut

To: Pass Mtn Hut
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

we got up late and got on trail by 8am. there was no rush to get going early since we were going 15 today over moderate grades. after the first five miles wildcat and i stopped at the Skyland Road restaurant for our 2nd breakfast. the food was great, but you can never leave one of these shenandoah tourist traps without spending $15. talks with trees and mountain goat arrived at the restaurant a short time after we got there.wildcat and i moved on another five miles and had lunch at the Pinnacles Picnic Area (see a pattern emerging here?). it was misty and humid all morning but decided to rain while we were eating peanut butter and bagels under the pavilion. to appease the rain gods we put on our pack covers and rain jackets, which, as most hikers know, is a sure fire way to make it stop raining. within 5 minutes the rain ceased. we were sweating to death anyway so the rain gear went back in the packs. a short moment of silence was had for the survivors of the very rainy 2003 hiking season and we pushed on. (i don't mind being wet and damp for a few days in a row, but 30 days in a row? god bless the class of 2003.)we hiked another five miles and... well, this time it was different. we went to the snack bar near the Panorama Restaurant. CLOSED UNTIL THE 27TH! nooooooo! :-O ok, no biggie, i had one of my grande size snickers bars instead. it would have been fun though.a mile later we arrived at the shelter. there were already four solo section hikers there. wildcat fired up the cowboy tv (campfire) so all could dry boots, socks, and clothing. mountain goat and talks with trees arrived about 30 minutes after us.
Date: 2004-05-21
From: Pass Mtn Hut

To: Terrapin station hostel
Miles today: 22.7

another cloudy, misty day in the 60s. wildcat and i got underway at 7am after first breakfast. our destination: second breakfast, 7 miles away. (we eat like hobbits, i guess).at elkwallow wayside we had two breakfast sandwiches each and a blackberry shake. the shake was from the shake mix, not ice cream like yesterday's. it was good, but didn't compare to the ice cream shake.as we were eating, the sun came out and we began drying our shoes and socks on the picnic table next to us.wildcat led until the next shelter where we stopped for lunch and water. we met two UVA students who were traveling south... and north... they just didn't know where they wanted to go.in the shelter register i spotted an entry addressed to me dated 4/26. it was from my backpacking buddies suzanne and deb. they must have taken vacation in the shenandoahs.thanks for the note guys.after our lunch break, i lead the next 10 miles to terrapin station. it is a hostel in a former thru hiker's home. i was so glad to get here. i was in desperate need of a shower and laundry. the owner, mike, had frozen pizza and ice cream on hand to satisfy those hiker cravings. wildcat and i hung out in mike's living room writing journal notes and using the internet. we saw swiss miss now has a journal on trailjournals. if you don't remember her name, we hiked with her all through the smokies. seems her foot is hurt and she's slowing down for a bit. wildcat and i should be able to catch up with her in a week or two.tomorrow we will be going to Front Royal to do some shopping and then get back on the trail for a short day.p.s. thanks to everyone who answered my logan's run query earlier this month!p.p.s. i'd like to send a 'hello' to Dave D. and the 2B project team. i hope all is running smoothly over there.
Date: 2004-05-21
From: Pass Mtn Hut

To: terrapin station hostel
Miles today: 22.7

another cloudy, misty day in the 60s. wildcat and i got underway at 7am after first breakfast. our destination: second breakfast, 7 miles away. (we eat like hobbits, i guess).at elkwallow wayside we had two breakfast sandwiches each and a blackberry shake. the shake was from the shake mix, not ice cream like yesterday's. it was good, but didn't compare to the ice cream shake.as we were eating, the sun came out and we began drying our shoes and socks on the picnic table next to us.wildcat led until the next shelter where we stopped for lunch and water. we met two UVA students who were traveling south... and north... they just didn't know where they wanted to go.in the shelter register i spotted an entry addressed to me dated 4/26. it was from my backpacking buddies suzanne and deb. they must have taken vacation in the shenandoahs.thanks for the note guys.after our lunch break, i lead the next 10 miles to terrapin station. it is a hostel in a former thru hiker's home. i was so glad to get here. i was in desperate need of a shower and laundry. the owner, mike, had frozen pizza and ice cream on hand to satisfy those hiker cravings. wildcat and i hung out in mike's living room writing journal notes and using the internet. we saw swiss miss now has a journal on trailjournals. if you don't remember her name, we hiked with her all through the smokies. seems her foot is hurt and she's slowing down for a bit. wildcat and i should be able to catch up with her in a week or two.tomorrow we will be going to Front Royal to do some shopping and then get back on the trail for a short day.p.s. thanks to everyone who answered my logan's run query earlier this month!p.p.s. i'd like to send a 'hello' to Dave D. and the 2B project team. i hope all is running smoothly over there.
Date: 2004-05-22
From: terrapin station hostel

To: jim & molly denton shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

wildcat and i were shuttled to town (front royal) to buy groceries and visit the outfitter. we planned a short day today so getting an early start was not necessary.we were last to leave terrapin station around 11:00. the sun was beating down. it will be 90 today in the non-forest world. with tree cover and breezes, we will fare much better.well, the first 4 miles we fared pretty well. then we got to the 2-miles-uphill-with-no-cover section. that was a taste of the deadly heat.the shelter we stopped at is quite exquisite as shelters go. this one had a porch, skylights, picnic table with a pavilion overhead, and a spring-fed cold shower and water spigot. sensory overload for the spartan hiker.after my freezing, but refreshing, shower i noticed i'm getting that dang bumpy rash on my shoulders from the salt in my shirt. i've been rinsing my shirt whenever i can, but i am still breaking out a little.talks with trees and mountain goat stopped by for 15 minutes, but kept on moving since they were coming from front royal - a short distance away.smurf limped in, followed by four students (eric, missy, charlie, bill) from wisconsin. smurf is thru hiking and the students are doing a nobo section from here to harpers ferry. it is the weekend here near the park, so we are expecting to see more people than we did in the previous 6 days. the further we get from the park the less crowded it will be.wildcat and i assisted in blister surgery on two of the wisconsinites. seems they'll have more tomorrow. too bad they won't be doing 19 tomorrow and stay with us. i did give them my small roll of duct tape, since they figured out moleskin doesn't stick to sweaty feet.also in the shelter tonight: dead lung and stairmaster.
Date: 2004-05-23
From: jim & molly denton shelter

To: rod hollow shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

i woke this morning at 5:30 and moved my legs. pain and tightness shot through my left knee. what the...? it was ok last night. i used my hands to swing my leg out over the edge of the shelter. i was not happy with that but my immediate need was the privy. i had trouble finding my waldies (camp shoes). i tried the pair near my bag. nope, too small - those are smurf's. to the left were a pair. yup, those fit. i walked to the privy to do my business. on the way back i looked down. my waldies looked funny. too bright. too clean. then i put them under my headlamp. THEY'RE TEAL! woah, ok, these are not my shoes! (sounds like a good plot for a dr. seuss book) i searched the shelter for my blue shoes, but came up empty. i looked around and saw that stairmaster was up and about. turns out, in the early morning light, or lack of, he strapped my shoes to his pack. that trauma over with, i now focused on my left knee, which did not want to bend. vitamin-i will be on the menu this morning along with 1/3 of the entenmann's strudel i'm carrying.i decided to just drug-up and see what happens. i fished my knee brace out of my pack and started walking - slowly at first and then up to normal speed by time a mile went by.fifteen miles went by without a hitch and then my right knee started to hurt the way it did months ago. that really bummed me out. i sat down and rubbed my knee and thought about the issues that brought this pain on the first time. i did the last two miles at very slow pace, hoping things would heal some. when i got to the shelter the pain in my right knee had stopped, but the left knee started hurting again. oy! i'll lather on tiger balm tonight and see what happens.the cicadas, some bug that hatches out of the dirt every 17 years, flies up to the trees, has sex, puts more eggs in the ground, and dies, were going full tilt today. the noise is a lot like the phaser sound from the old star trek tv show. now imagine that noise as loud as a lawn mower and you'll know what i've been through today. miles of them. LOUD. very loud. thank god they shut up at sunset.at the shelter tonight: ben, wildcat, 30-30, giggles, ham and bj.
Date: 2004-05-24
From: rod hollow shelter

To: blackburn a.t. center
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

today started with a whirlwind of emotion. i guess i've been holding it in and not expressing it for a few days. this leads to a pressurization of sorts and then some minor thing will release the pressure quickly.the event that triggered me into a hurricane of four letter words was slipping off a rock into the water. my right foot went all the way under - just what i didn't need today.i was angry. i took off my shoe and threw it, wringed out my sock... all the while cursing myself for such stupidity. i could feel i had a lot of pent up anger inside. i sat by the edge of the stream... feeling and breathing with my head hung low. i was not enjoying my journey, but i did not know what to do about it. after many moments, wildcat came over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said to let him know if there was anything he could do.i told him i didn't know and tried to describe how i was feeling inside. it, the trail, seemed stressful... like work.i told wildcat i'd be a few more minutes since i had to dig another sock out of my bag. he put his pack on and started up-trail. "wildcat", i said, "thanks for the support". he turned and walked back to me, extended his hand, gave me a firm handshake and look in the eye. i forget exactly what he said, but he knew i truly appreciated his willingness to support me even if i was acting like a nut case. trail friends are true friends.as i moved along today both my knees hurt. all my previous methods of keeping my body healthy were not working. my last resort is vitamin-i, and i really didn't want to hide the pain with that. remember the entry where i said pain is denied joy? that's how i was working it as i walked... from that perspective.we (wildcat, 30-30, giggles and i) stopped at bears den hostel for a break. we were going to stay the night, but 30-30 mentioned if we did 8 more miles today, tomorrow will be a 12 instead of a 20 mile day. all in favor of 8 miles after ice cream?that's what we did. after a pint of ben and jerry's and a bottle of gatorade, we set out to the blackburn a.t. center, which is another hostel before harpers ferry. so we're trucking along... and sweating... a lot. at 4pm i asked wildcat to let me see his thermometer. it's 90*... in the shade... at 4pm. ouch. that was the one thing we didn't take into consideration when we decided to push on. oh, well, we can just shower with our clothes on at blackburn.the caretaker at the blackburn center greeted us with sodas and ice pops. we sat on the porch and peeled our boots off as she told us about the facility and where we could shower and sleep. i chose to sleep on the porch as it has tons of room, while my three compatriots opted for the bunkhouse. since we got in late, showered, and ate late, we all got settled near 11:30pm - way past our usual.
Date: 2004-05-25
From: blackburn a.t. center

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: clear sky

Dearest Virginia,while i usually favor your northern mountains, your rolling southern hills and pastures caught my eye immediately. your rolling grayson highlands were the best ever and something i must see again and again.i did take pause at your midsection though - always rumbling, moving, and noisy. i must say though, it is the only place i actually got to see the animal side of you... several times. but, alas, it will not work between us. i am through and through a thru hiker and must move on to new adventures. so, goodbye for now. it was great spending over 500 miles with you.--Dharma xoxo4 states down, 10 to go. Harpers Ferry, WV is the psychological mid-point of the AT. i'll be at the real mid-point in a few days. also today... over 1000 miles!!! w00t!for y'all that don't know, "w00t" is a word used by on-line gamers as an expression of joy, kind of like "woohoo" or "yeah!".tonight i'm staying at the hilltop hotel with wildcat, 30-30, and giggles. i was really sad tonight and felt i've been rushing too much... sticking to a schedule too much... and, like yesterday, hiking was starting to feel like work, not fun. i was denying myself relaxation because i wanted to keep up with the schedule. what's really funny (as in strange) is i make the schedule that i'm stressed over.i talked it over with wildcat and decided i'd take a zero day instead of moving on with everyone else. i was just needing some downtime away from people and some time to catch up on journaling and town chores.30-30 was concerned i might leave the trail. i guess there is a thing called the virginia blues where people get sad because they are in the same state for 5-6 weeks. i can see how that could happen, but that's not where i'm at right now. i'm just in need of some down time and not giving it to myself.well, zero day, here i come.
Date: 2004-05-26
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

harpers ferry is not the best trail town though it does host the ATC home office. if you want to stay near the trail, you have to walk miles to do laundry, internet, eat at a restaurant, or even get to a 7-eleven. wildcat and i walked forever to the laundry this morning. tortoise said it was a mile out of town. not! we decided to split up since we spent more time walking and i had to be out of the room by 11:00. so... i walked back while he did laundry.i got to the hotel five minutes after checkout but they didn't mind. i switched to a single room and brought wildcat's and my gear in there. wildcat will be leaving today after we restock at the outfitter and have another black rasberry milkshake.there was so much activity today i still did not feel rested, so i chose to have another zero tomorrow.i was so tired i also had dinner in the hotel. you know, that's big $$$. when dinner arrived i thought i was transported to an alternate universe - a place where the plates are really big and food small. was this bazzaro-earth? no, but something was wrong with the meal. it was calorie-challenged! yeah, there were two skinny chicken breasts, a baked potato, and a bunch of veggies. my hiker vision (all AT hikers develop visual powers that tell them the caloric density of any food) signaled red alert. this meal would last maybe 2 hours in my belly then i would be eating out of my restocked food bag like a shenandoah bear cub. i looked at the waitress and said, "is that it?" by the look on her face, i don't think anyone had ever asked her that before. there was that uncomfortable silence as i waited for her to say something. waitress: "Ummm, i could bring you some rolls?"dharma: "how about a whole basket?"w: "sure."d: "and butter... real butter too?"w: "yes, we have that."so, dinner was saved by complex carbs and many pats of real butter. the slower burning and denser fats are what keep the hiker hunger away.before bed i was feeling satisfied, but did sneak a granola bar from my food bag.
Date: 2004-05-28
From: Harpers Ferry, WV

To: Rocky Run Shelter
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

today is my 3 month anniversary on the trail. it's been quite some time. i've seen snow, cold, heat, ice, rain, injuries, pain, tough climbs, and easy flat trail. i was talking to gbx last night on the phone. she told me i know it all already and all i have left to do is hike. she's right. there's no graduate level of thru hiking. this is it.from what i said in yesterday's entry, all i have left to do is know how i want to fit into this experience. i'm working on that right now. i did an easy 15 today,stopping to rest my knees and feet and also spending some time with tourists' questions on my journey. they think this is amazing. it's not that hard. getting time to do it is the hard part for most i bet.back to my experience of the day... i'm typing this from a covered swing next to the shelter. as i swing and type, the sun is shining on me and the spring to my right is bubbling by. very peaceful. i've eaten dinner already and got my sleeping space together. for tomorrow's miles, i've made several plans. i can relax and type.but there is one thing that gets in the way of this serenity -- tick bites. i think i forgot to mention them in my past entries. on 5/23 i removed two deer ticks from my legs. i put them in a zip lock and saved them for harpers ferry. there, i went to the walk-in medical facility, got one prophilactic dose of antibiotic, and sent the little buggers away to be tested. i'll know if they were lyme disease carriers in 5-7 days.the one thing i should have done is marked where the tick bites were. i know about were they are, but not exactly. i look at my legs and i can see red splotches here and there. some near the tick sites. what i don't know is if he redness is from insect bites or could be the beginnings of the classic bullseye that marks lyme disease. this is why i have several plans for tomorrow. i'm marking all the places i can get to a phone and also get to town/pharmacy, just in case. i should have asked the doc to give me a scrip for the meds when i was there so i don't have to deal with the logistics of calling harpers ferry. oh well, at that time i didn't think i would get lyme disease. i've had deer tick bites before and never had a problem.in yesterday's entry i said my knees were speaking for me (with pain) because i wouldn't express that i needed a break or wanted to slow down. well, lyme disease would sure slow me down. that's what scares me... i got the issues that would go along with the disease. the trail has impeccable timing. hopefully i got the right support (understanding my issues & antibiotics) at the right time to avoid lyme disease all together. i'll keep you posted.p.s. i talked to a few couples as i navigated through the civil war tourist areas. it was interesting to notice that i would comfortably rest my arms on my poles and the people i was talking to were swatting at flies the whole time. not one bothered me.
Date: 2004-05-29
From: Rocky Run Shelter

To: Ensign Cowall Shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: clear sky

today being saturday and part of the memorial day weekend, bazillions of people were on the trail. today i've seen the most non-thru hikers ever, out and about, on the AT. i stopped and talked to a few people out alone and also a couple of couples. this thru hike thing really excites them. is it the freedom? the challenge? the ability to not work for 6 months? the next time i get the chance, probably tomorrow, i'll ask them.i burned up a lot of time talking and sharing today, but i enjoyed it. another thru hiker i met today, indy, kept her focus and blew by everyone. she made it one shelter farther than i did today.as i hiked today, i listened to the radio. they are playing the top 101 grunge songs all weekend. grunge is that depressing music that followed 80's heavy metal and began with nirvana. i just don't understand how a generation could flip from music about having good times, partying, and hanging out with your buds to depressing, angry, spiteful music. thank god i'm generation x.speaking of angry and depressing, i lost a snickers bar today. i had it in the side pocket of my pack and when i reached for it hours later it wasn't there. man, i was DREAMING about eating that snickers for miles. gone! it's a good thing it wasn't one of the 510 calorie ones.at about 4:30 today i stopped at the cowall shelter. i wanted to push on the next 4.5 to the next shelter. since i'm trying to listen to my body more and not be ruled by performing to a schedule, i popped off my shoes and checked my feet. the heels hurt and the toes hurt. not badly, just the usual late day pain. my knees were fine, but not 100%.here starts a 20 minute fight between my head and my body. my mind wants to do the miles. my body, which doesn't have a mind, so it can't argue, just repeats the state of itself - a bit of pain here, a bit of pain there.so my mind also takes the body's side and goes through the pros and cons of walking the miles:there still plenty of light.tomorrow will be easier.you'll get close to catching wildcat. you'll be closer to finishing in early august.you might be in a lot of pain tomorow.you're supposed to be taking it easy.i hurt now. what don't you understand?you'll feel more rested tomorrow and heal better if you stop now.so the message for today is:pain trumps performance. i stay here.i do feel like a loser for stopping at 4:30. i hope this really helps me get back on track and pain free. it was a hard decision to make.that's all for tonight.there's weekenders all around, but amy is the only other thru hiker in the shelter tonight.