morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Bailey's Gap shelter

To: Sarvers Hollow shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Nothing beats a great pair of legs. Today was a real challenge. Over 4000' in elevation climbs and decents. In the morning most of those at the shelter declared their intentions to go the 21 miles except Feather. She had less expectations for the day. As usuall I was the first one out since we lost Tank. I walked by myself most of the morning until Feather caught up with me and we walked together for a long time. She tried to thru hike in 2005 but tendenitis set in and she could not get rid of it so she had to get off the trail at Pearisburg. So she is picking up where she left off. The terrain was hard at times today. There were lots of bolder fields to cross. Bolder field are large areas that have man sized bolders laying on the hill side and you have to hop from one to another. They are irregular sizes and shapes and each foot placement is a separate decision. It is the kind of terrain that goats would have trouble with. Two trips into the valley made up for it. When we are walking a ridge we get views of the valleys and every so often we drop down off of the ridges and get to feel the lush green grass under out feet. On the last climb, a 1600' steep climb we found trail magic at the base. A trail angel left soda in the creek. We all stopped and celebrated our accomplishments so far and convinced ourselves that the climb was going to be easy. Even I had a can and the extra blast of sugar helped me get up the hill. Once we got to the shelter turnoff we found that the shelter was another 1/4 mile down a steep hill. So the 21 miles became 21 1/4. At the shelter was Messenger, Braveheart, Scout, and Firefly. Also at the shelter as Uncle Bud. He is a section hiker in his mid-sixties I would guess. I told him that I have an uncle named bud and that I call him Uncle Bud. Scout entertained us with songs she had wrote. Some day soon I will talk to you about food, but tonight I am tired beyond description.
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Sarvers Hollow shelter

To: Pickle branch
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

While visiting Arlington National Cemetary a couple of years ago I stopped by the burial site of Audie Murphy. I remember watching the movie about him when I was a kid. He starred in the movie, I believe it was "To Hell and Back." He was the most decorated soldier of World War II. He recieved 24 accomadations, including the Medal of Honor. Today I visited the memorial on a ridge of Brush Mountain. It is where he was killed in a plane crash in 1971. For me it was a somber moment. I am thankful for the men who placed the monument there. I had been looking forward to this day for some time now. So today I walked with a certain purpose that made the day go by so much faster. It made me think about the sacrifice of the innumerable men and women who have shared in the price of freedom. All of the soldiers unlike Audie Murphie who did not make it home alive. Or the men and women who were injured or permanetly disabled for our freedom and the freedom of other countries. Don't forget the mothers and fathers or husbands and wives who had to recieve that dreadful knock on the door that told them that they had lost a loved one. Or those who went into battle only to live with a strange sense of guilt the rest of their lives. Or even the men and women who put their lives on hold and to train and serve their country and put themselves in harms way. The Appalacian Trail is 2,176.4 miles long. If all the heros of freedom were to have memorials placed side-by-side on the trail I am sure we would need to extend the trail. Such is the cost of freedom. So it is fitting that the hero of heros should be remembered on that ridge. As I walked today I could not help but be thankful for the freedom that allows me to walk across these mountains. The words of Lee Greenwood came to mind and I found myself singing them: "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free, and I won't forget the men who died to give that right to me. And I'll gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, for their ain't no doubt I love this land, GOD BLESS THE USA. All is well!!!PS. To learn more about Audie Murphy to to www.audiemurphy.com.
Date: 2006-03-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

When I did my shakedown hike in July of '02 (see '03 AT pre-hike journal) I met a young man whose trail name at the time was J.C...he is now Sorcerer(see '02 picture above) I was as green as they came and really had no idea what I was in for. I wasn't eating right, I got dehydrated and ended up with Lyme disease. The bright spot was meeting and hiking with Sorcerer...a young college professor who was backpacking 500 miles of the AT that summer.I walked into this shelter early one morning and woke him up. We became friends and ended up hiking together the last several days of my two week hike. I made a new friend and we have stayed in contact ever since.Well, he is getting married Saturday and was nice enough to invite me to the ceremony. I figured since the wedding is taking place in Jonesborough TN which is close to the AT, I could hop on and do a couple of hundred miles while I'm there.updated 12/14
Date: 2006-03-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Last year I got off the trail at the Partnership Shelter to attend Trail Days in Damascus. The plan is to pick up there and continue NOBO and backpack 350 miles or so to Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park.Big Meadows is where I ended my 165 mile SOBO shakedown hike in '02 with Sorcerer. We shared a cabin there the night before I went back to my job in Ohio.If I can complete this, my next section will be NOBO from Route 30 in PA to where Charlie and I got on in '04.BTW, both the '04 and '05 section hike journals are listed under the "AT 2004" hike here on Trail Journals as I did not create a new account for '05. I learned from Zipdrive at Trail Days that I should start a new journal every year of my section hike.
Date: 2006-03-05
To: I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...
Miles today: 0.0

I'm in Erwin TN getting ready to drive up to Partnership shelter where I will get on and hike NOBO for a few weeks. The weather sounds and looks really good for the next few days.After Sorcerer's wedding, I dropped in on Miss Janet. There I met the last two 2005 SOBO's and we all had a nice chat. They said the trail has been pretty lonely in some spots...once a stretch of four days without seeing anyone. Hey, I'm used to hiking alone since the OT and OHT. I have to admit I do like to see someone...at least once a day.Miss Janet was working on the laundry hook ups (I think that's what she said)...getting ready for the NOBO surge.I really lucked out this time...while driving to the wedding I happened to pass by this bargain retirement community (see picture above). We've been looking for some place close to the AT where we can retire to when Julia's ready. I bought the third on in...the nice two bedroom with a bay window. Yeah, we are a little close to our neighbors but hey, the price was right and I'll be spending most of my time on the Trail anyway...you can't have everything. I hope Julia is excited about it as I am. $500 down and $100 a month for 300 months plus $100/m lot rental. BTW, congratulations to Sorcerer and his beautiful bride Rachel. It was a beautiful wedding and she is one gorgeous bride...they were a beautiful couple in deed. Here's wishing you two a great life together. At the reception, I told them I bought em a two man tent as a wedding present...I can't tell you the look on Rachel's face...I don't think she thought it was funny and then when I told her I would have bought her some new boots, but I didn't know her shoe size they moved on to talk to someone else. I'm told she isn't a backpacker....yet.I would like to tent everynignt this trip. I would like to make it to where Sorcerer (J.C. then) and I got off in '02. However, I may have to turn around and hike back down to Waynesboro as there won't be any traffic to hitch.Hope to update this at my town stops.
Date: 2006-03-05
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Stealth tent site two miles past Atkins
Miles today: 13.6

Well, as I¢m writing this I¢m pretty upset. I¢ve managed to lose this small Sony hand held recorder which I took along to take notes for this journal. I kept it in a zipped front pocket on my P1 backpack with the toilet paper and hand sanitizer. So now I have to rely solely on my memory¢¦which is bad. When you hear about the other things I lost on this hike you will wonder how I even survive at all out here¢¦it even amazes me. I would have rather lost the toilet paper as you can always improvise there.I do remember arriving at the Mt. Rogers NRA Headquarters at eleven in the morning where I began the hike and left my ride. I opened the gate (closed on Sunday) and parked along side several other vehicles. Since you have to register your vehicle, I¢ll have to call as soon as I can during the week.I felt great today with the sun out and being back on the trail. Late afternoon I arrived at route 615 and the Settlers Museum Living History Farm. The museum was still closed for the winter but I did get a nice picture of the old house. It¢s neat how you come on these things that you remember from your thru-hike but forgot exactly where they were on the Trail.Just before Atkins, in the middle of the Trail was the "guts" of a wrecked and stripped ATV on a two wheeled cart. It looked like someone was trying to haul it out but just gave up and left it parked right on the path...obviously not a hiker...hiker's "leave no trace."Around four, I came to where the Trail crosses I81 near Adkins. I was surprised to find BOTH the Dairy Queen and the Barn Restaurant closed and up for sale. Damn! The Barn was where I had that ¢Trucker¢s Special¢ served by one of those waitresses with that ¢southern hospitality.¢ And no blizzard from the Dairy Queen either¢¦first big disappointments of this hike. The Shell gas station has a snack bar that is not open on weekends and closes at two during the week¢¦so I would have missed out anyway. I was going to buy something out of the cooler but the line was too long.After a short break on the bench out front I hiked on. I didn¢t check to see if the motel where Charlie and I stayed in ¢03 was still open¢¦it looked like it was.Found a decent tent site. I¢m still getting used to setting up this new tent¢¦it¢s taking me longer than it should. I did not cook tonight as I ate pretty well during the day.I was surprised that I saw abosolutely no one on the Trail today. Being Sunday and nice weather, I expected to see some day hikers.
Date: 2006-03-06
From: Stealth tent site two miles past Atkins

To: Lick Creek Tent Site
Miles today: 15.0

Last night, I had the tent tucked away under some trees and rhododendrons. It forty per cented all over me¢¦starting out as rain and changing to snow. Not much accumulation at this elevation but I figured there would be more on the ground up the Trail. It took me awhile to wipe down the inside and outside of the tent¢¦wringing lots of water out of the towel. Even wearing water resistant gloves it was coooold.I don¢t know what made me think I had a string of good weather days to start out with¢¦just the eternal optimist in me I guess.I did not do the miles I expected. Charlie and I did 21 miles out of Atkins and made it all the way to the pond site up the hill south of Chestnut Knob in ¢03. I stopped and took a picture of Davis Path Shelter (see above) and did not seem to have the energy I usually have. I stopped and took breaks often on the climbs.The climbs today seemed frequent and steep and I was not going to do over 1,500¢ to get to the pond campsite¢¦it would have been well after dark by the time I would have gotten there anyway. As it was, by the time I got set up I was cooking in the dark.The tent site was not as level as I usually get. I¢m very particular about my tent sites. I love to tent but insist on a nice comfortable surface beneath me.It was overcast and cool all day. It started raining during the night and I could hear it change over to snow (the clumps vs. the rain drops). I figured I¢d be in for a rough climb tomorrow as I reached the higher altitudes.I saw absolutely no one out here today.   Beamis and Permeation kind of warned me that this would not be a popular section. They said they once went four days without seeing anyone on the Trail. I got used to hiking by myself in Arkansas and had my MP3 player loaded with my favorite music¢¦so it wasn¢t all that bad. Just the same you like to see someone at least once a day.
Date: 2006-03-07
From: Lick Creek Tent Site

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: clear sky

Well, I¢m already a full day behind schedule¢¦not that it matters all that much. What bothers me most is I don¢t have the energy I usually have. When I was feeling tired on the OT, it came right back in a day or so. I expected today would be better than yesterday. It might have been the trudging through the snow.Yes, today was trudging through the snow. As you can see from the picture above, no one else¢s foot prints are ahead of me. I don¢t know if you¢d call it ¢post holing¢ as it was about six inches or so on the climb all morning (with some good size drifts on top just before Chestnut Knob Shelter.)   I was lucky to do over a mile an hour¢¦I left around 7:30 and it took me four hours to do the six miles to the shelter.The sun was shining right on the door of the Chestnut Knob Shelter and there wasn¢t much wind. I decided to take an hour break; hanging the towel, gloves, handkerchief, and tent out to dry. I lie down on the tent ground cloth just inside the door and bask in the warm sun while snacking on snickers and Famous Amos¢¦turned out to be one of my best lunch stops ever.I originally had not planned on stopping in the town of Bland. However, I am behind and don¢t have enough food to bypass it safely. Since I knew I am going to Bland tomorrow I stopped today with plenty of daylight left after 15 miles.I seem to have all the right gear. The best thing is these gloves I bought at the outfitter in Little Rock. Except for going so slow, it really was a good hiking experience. As you can see from the picture, the snow is beautiful and it¢s so quiet out here.It was really interesting that just beyond Chestnut Knob the snow more or less disappeared. By the time I got to Jenkins there was very little on the ground and it had warmed up nicely.
Date: 2006-03-08
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: US 21/52 Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Sunny and warmer today I would have liked to have made up some time and kept on hiking past Bland. The town is 2.5 miles off the trail and the only motel is another mile outside of town. Also, it does not have a coin laundry.It was an easy hike back and forth over the Little Wolf Creek.Got to the highway before noon where I hitched a ride with a nice younger couple in a beat up car. They took me right to the door of the motel, but the office was locked. The maid said she was new and the clerk would be back soon. It wasn¢t that long until she and another young lady with a 2 year old showed up.When I stayed here in ¢03, I believe the young male owner checked Charlie and me in without a problem. This time when I asked for a no-smoking room the female clerk said, ¢All rooms are non-smoking.¢ When I opened the door to my room I could smell the cigarette smoke and there was an ash tray and matches on the cabinet.When I asked for another room she said, ¢All the rooms are smoking except for the ones that aren¢t.¢ I said, ¢I want one of those.¢ She replied, ¢They¢re all the same.¢ As soon as she opened the door to the room next door I could tell it was non-smoking¢¦no smell and there weren¢t any ash trays. So I had her move me. But, she kept insisting all the rooms were the same. What a screwball! My guess is she was told to put hikers in certain rooms since they can be pretty dirty. She just didn¢t want to tell me...either that or she¢s just the dumbest motel clerk I¢ve met in a long time.I went to the Dairy Queen down the hill and had a BBQ pork sandwich, fries, slaw, Coke, and milkshake. There¢s a new Subway across the highway with a sign that says they open at seven and they have a $2.50 daily special. I decided to stop on my way by in the morning and pack out a sub for dinner tomorrow evening.The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent washing my clothes out in the sink and shower, then drying them out.
Date: 2006-03-09
From: US 21/52 Bland, VA

To: Tent Site past White Horse Campground
Miles today: 24.8

A real spring like day and better yet, I seem to have gained my energy back. Today, I felt like I could go on forever and, in fact, considered hiking on into the night. I did end up stopping too late as it was and had to eat supper in the dark (by the light of my headlamp).I hiked nearly 25 miles today. I have to admit there were not a lot of long or steep climbs, and the last 14 miles was easy¢¦never with a maximum variance of 500 feet Again, no real activity and I seemed to be out here alone.Also, there were two road crossings (VA606 & 608) where I could have gotten off and walked or hitched to a store less than a mile down the road. On my ¢03 hike I rarely missed these opportunities to get ¢non trail¢ type food. But today, I had packed a salami sub from the Subway this morning and didn¢t really want to get off the Trail again after visiting Bland last night.I have a nice level spot across the trail from the stream in a rhododendron thicket and can hear the water gushing over the rocks. It¢s raining again tonight which means I¢ll have to wipe down the tent before I pack up in the morning.
Date: 2006-03-10
From: Tent Site past White Horse Campground

To: Pearisburg VA
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: overcast clouds

A real summer like day as it got even warmer yet.I originally planned on staying two nights on the trail between Bland and Pearisburg. But, with the miles I did yesterday, I knew I could get to Pearisburg by late afternoon. Today was the first day I started packing up before dawn and I was walking by 7:30.I¢m still having a little trouble taking down my new tent. The ¢spinal rod¢ inserts into a hole on a strap at each end of the tent. Because it has to be tight in order to hold the tent up high, the tension makes it difficult to insert and remove the end rod from the hole. However, I did finally master the removal of the spinal rod by pushing it out rather than trying to pull. If you try and pull it, the elastic cord lets the sections separate and it gets hung up as a result.Today¢s walk was not as easy as yesterday¢s. Early on, after a short stop at Wapiti Shelter you come to ¢The Wall¢¢¦a climb of 360¢ in a half mile followed by another 800¢ in less than two miles. There were obviously steep sections without the much loved ¢switchbacks.¢ The rest of the day was plenty of ups and downs over some bad rocky sections. Unlike the JMT and even the OT, they don¢t rearrange any rocks to ¢form a path.¢ It is one of the worst sections as far as rocks go in Virginia.Pearisburg is spread out east of the AT. On my ¢03 hike I got off too early by taking a side trail into town. This time I hiked a half mile further north but ended up at the bottom of the hill¢¦a mile from the motel where I wanted to stay. So, I had to walk up the hill in the hot sun. I didn¢t bother to try and hitch. When I came to a Hardee¢s, with a sign in the window ¢Two Double Cheeseburgers for $3,¢ I walked in and ate dinner.After dinner, I went back to the same place I stayed at in ¢03¢¦The Plaza Motel. The same two ladies who ran it then were still there. After I reminded them how they let me use their internet service, they said they remembered me. As I recall, it is one of the most ¢hiker friendly¢ motels on the Trail. The rates are a little higher but that¢s expected. They also let me do my wash in their laundry room which saved me trip to the laundramat.I have a drop box to pick up at the Post Office in the morning. Oh¢¦and I managed to lose my gloves and my sun glasses so far. I often prop the glasses above the bill of my ball cap and they must have brushed off somewhere. The gloves, I took off on a break and left them on the ground . I remembered there is a Wal-mart across from a great local restaurant so I¢ll go there in the morning. I¢d like to lie around another day but the weather is much too nice. I¢ve got to take advantage of it while I can.
Date: 2006-03-11
From: Pearisburg VA

To: Campsite a mile past Rice Field Shelter 
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: broken clouds

Got a lot done just in time to check out at eleven.The girls at the motel told me about a new restaurant just down the street. When I got there about 7:30 it wasn¢t open yet¢¦and they did not have the hours posted outside. So, I walked over a mile to the other end of town to the Friends & Family Restaurant where Charlie and I ate breakfast in ¢03. I forgot how good it was.After a nice big breakfast I walked across the road to Wal-mart where I spent an hour or so shopping. I ended up buying two pair gloves. They did not have any made for hiking as such. I found a fairly thin pair of work gloves, then came across these extra light but thick ¢ski¢ gloves marked down from nine to three dollars¢¦couldn¢t pass them up. Also found the sun glasses and lip balm. Note: here was a little story that I told about my checkout experience. I have reviewed the rules and decided that although the explicit was not a problem, the implicit was...so I edited it out on March 30th. Hope those that did get to read it got a laugh out of it . My apologies to anyone who was offended by it.Anyway, on my way back to the room I stopped by the Post Office and picked up my drop box. I took it back to my room and packed up. I decided to save some weight by taking over two pounds of stuff and bouncing it ahead to Daleville, my next stop. The heaviest item was an 18 ounce parka that I hadn¢t used yet¢¦as it was so warm outside and mostly dry.I checked out and had lunch at the Dairy Queen. The chicken fingers and fries were just so-so but the Hawaiian blizzard was good.I think the Trail out of town changed somewhat since ¢03. It still wasn¢t a bad climb and I got to Rice Field Shelter around 3:30. There I met the first section hikers of this hike. A guy named Prometheus who thru-hiked in ¢98 and Bushman who showed up later. There were also half dozen or so day hikers who I didn¢t meet with.It was too early for me to stop. Prometheus and Bushman warned me about the ¢last chance water hole¢ at the campsite. They said it was shallow and full of frog eggs. The water at Rice was half a mile downhill so I decided to take my chances and wait until I got to the campsite.When I got there I carefully dipped out of the small stream flowing out of the spring. I strained it through my kerchief and it didn¢t look all that bad.Right down the Trail was the campsite. Nice mountain view outside the tent so I decided to stop here for the day. Other than losing my tent stakes and taking all evening to find them (inside the tent) it was a good evening. I didn¢t cook since I had eaten well during the day.The weather is supposed to stay nice at least through Tuesday.