morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2015-05-16
From: Trent's Grocery

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

After my last few recent hotel stays the Holiday Inn Express in Wytheville is like a Ritz Carlton. Oh high speed internet you run like the wind. All of my pictures uploaded to Google Photos in record time last night. I didn't even check for bed bugs. Spoiled rotten.I actually slept until after 8:00. Bojangles was an obvious given for breakfast. It's been too long. Wal-Mart was conveniently across the street from there and I got a quick resupply for the next couple of days and an AC adapter with 4 USB ports on it. The one I had with one port just wasn't cutting it. Simultaneous charging just might be a game changer in town.We went back to the hotel after that and I spent a while in the hot tub. Again, spoiled rotten. About an hour later I was hungry again so we headed down to Skeeter's for hot dogs. After four I had to stop and save room for dinner. I wanted about eight more. Tonight we met an old friend of my Wife and her husband in Bristol, VA for dinner. Steaks, salads, potatoes, cheesecakes, etc were all welcome sights. Brian graciously picked up the tab which made them our trail angels for the night. They need to come to Durham so we can repay the favor.We had a great night and a lot of great conversation. I haven't had the opportunity to hang out with them very often but it's always a good time. Brian even gave me a knife to add to the pack. It will easily replace my Gerber. Thanks Brian!Tomorrow I head back to Bland and on to Pearisburg. It's been a great zero and I can't express how great it is to see Mrs. Rock Boat. I still can't believe she lets me walk through the woods everyday.Also, pictures have been added to earlier journals. Check it out. That's it. Back to our regularly scheduled program tomorrow. Really wrestling with stopping short at the legendary Woods Hole Hostel tomorrow. We'll see.
Date: 2015-05-17
From: Wytheville, VA

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: broken clouds

I was in absolutely no rush this morning. This is the first zero I've taken with the Wife where she didn't have to work the next day. I slept in a little but was still up around 8:00. We only started getting ready to leave because it was hiker feeding time.We had a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel then made the trip up to Bland. It was obvious neither of us were excited about goodbyes but that's just life right now. It's easily the worst aspect of this entire trip. At 11:30 we got back to the trailhead, I climbed the stairs from the road and waved goodbye from the top. I'm glad the first 8 miles of trail were easy because I lacked any discernible motivation to hike. It's just tough on days she leaves.By mid afternoon I returned to the ridge line and was able to get a call out to check if she'd made it home safely. We talked for about 30 minutes until I had to continue on. With the late start I needed to get moving so I can be in Pearisburg at a decent time tomorrow.Around 6:00 I reached the turnoff for Woods Hole and decided to skip it. I'm still fresh from town and not feeling highly sociable anyway. I made my way up the 500 foot climb right after Woods Hole and decided to camp right behind a really great viewpoint. I threw my tent up, without the rain fly, and went out to the rocks to check everything out. When I got there I could see dark clouds rolling in and could actually hear the line of rain moving across the ridge toward me. I immediately ran back and frantically threw the rain fly on. As I was getting it on the rain started but everything is dry. It was just a quick thunderstorm anyway.So, the plan for tomorrow is to head to Pearisburg and get everything together for the 92.9 mile trip to Daleville. McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliffs lie between Pearisburg and Daleville. Two places I've been excited about since the start. I'm only planning to be in Pearisburg for the day. That's it. Miserable goodbyes, Cracker Barrel, thunderstorms and 16 miles today. 9.7 miles into town tomorrow. The trail still seems really quiet. Oh, and I sent home my Winter gear and got my Summer sleeping bag. The pack is noticeably lighter. The Wife is a pretty awesome human being.
Date: 2015-05-18
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 18.4

It was so peaceful when I got up this morning. Nobody around and a nice view all to myself. I sat on the rocks with a granola bar and a jar of Reese Chocolate Peanut Butter. I left a few minutes later than normal because of it all.There were some good viewpoints along the way which slowed my progress to Pearisburg. With 2.4 to go I came to Angels Rest which had a really great view of Pearisburg. It's fun to see where you're going and then look back up the mountain when you get there to see where you've been.I decided to get to the 2nd road into town before heading in since it was a shorter walk into town. It turned out to be a mistake because the .9 mile back into town included a nice uphill walk on a 4 lane road without a sidewalk. Not to mention the heat radiating off the asphalt. By the time I got to the top I wasn't hungry, only insanely thirsty.I stopped at a gas station and knocked out a huge Gatorade, mountain dew, and a quart of chocolate milk. I found a power outlet outside the store and sat there for over an hour. During that time Diehard waltzed by. I hadn't seen him since Unaka Mountain in Tennessee. He apparently spent a few days doing work-for-stay at Woods Hole. I should have just gone over there last night. Oh well.Afterwards, we packed up and headed to Food Lion for resupply. While packing everything up outside the store the skies began to darken and we decided to head over to a Mexican restaurant to wait the rain out.It poured for about 30 minutes so we didn't get back to the trail until 4:30. The first mile was across town and over the river. After that is was 6 miles and 2000 feet up to the ridge. The goal this afternoon was to finish the 7 miles to the ridge and into Rice Field Shelter. I got there at 7:00 and still felt good so I decided to head the 1.4 miles to the next campsite.Immediately after leaving the shelter the trail went out onto a treeless ridge that looked off into West Virginia. With the sun setting it was a really cool way to end the day.By 7:40 I reached the campsite and found where the crowd was. Diehard was there and we decided to move up the trail a bit. We didn't actually make camp until around 8:30. It's now a little after 10:00 and we have baby deer all around our tents. Definitely not a normal day but I like knowing I can stop for five hours and still make some decent miles. As it gets hotter we'll all be sitting out the middle of the day in favor of the early morning or dusk hours.I haven't had time to look for a plan for tomorrow so I have nothing to add there. I'm looking to be around Catawba, VA after Thursday to hit the Homeplace restaurant (it's only open Thurs-Sun). That's the only plan for now.
Date: 2015-05-19
From: Stealth Campsite

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: scattered clouds

After getting in late last night it was tough getting out at the normal time today. Diehard asked what my hurry was and that was a good enough argument for me. I finally left camp right at 8:00.We had a little over 10 miles across the ridge and down the hill to the first shelter. Which meant I had to not chug water until we got there since there was nowhere to top off until then. The entire way was fogged in so it wasn't too hot anyway.I got to the first shelter around 11:30 and proceeded to eat half a bag of Frito's and drink 80 ounces of water. I ate the lunch I had planned as well.About half a mile later the trail skirted a little creek. My hands and face needed a quick wash so I headed out to the rocks. I realized I didn't think my cunning plan all the way through when I slipped with both feet at the same time and fell in. Oh well, atleast I didn't have my pack on at the time.A little later I came to The Captain's place. This is a guy that owns a house just across that same creek from the AT and encourages hikers to use his yard to camp in. It was way too early to stop but this is one of those thing I'd always heard about. Notice I said 'across the creek'. Well, he has that figured out via zipline. I'm not one to ever pass that up.After shuttling myself across I hopped on the back porch, signed the hiker register, and helped myself to a soda. I sat on the porch for about 30 minutes enjoying the afternoon. It was a very nice place to sit for a few.I left, not because I wanted to, but because I had 11.5 more miles to do, including a 1700 foot climb. For lack of a better term, those miles kicked my butt. Once the climb flattened out it was a trail full of rocks and boulders of all sizes. I had to work twice as hard and went half as fast. It was about 5 miles straight of tedious walking, knowing one misstep would end my hike. Mildly frustrating.I made it to the shelter around 7:00 and everyone that has come in has said the same thing. We're all a little beat up tonight. The shelter does have a great stream and I was able to take somewhat of a bath. With that and dinner I'm feeling much better.No idea what tomorrow brings. The word is the rocks ease up after Daleville. I have 60.7 miles to go so I should be in late Friday or early Saturday. Stopping at the Homeplace may push that back a tad.Pretty good climb out of camp tomorrow and another one in the afternoon. Hopefully the trail tread is a little more forgiving than it was today. Alright, bed time. I've been staying up far too late the last few days. (It's 9:07)
Date: 2015-05-20
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 20.1

There's one thing to be said for a really tough day out here, I usually sleep like a baby. My eyes didn't open until light started to break. It was fantastic.I took a few extra minutes this morning to eat a decent breakfast and doctor up a blister on one of my toes, finally rolling out of camp a little before 8:00.Within a mile the trail went 1700 feet straight up. I was feeling really good and the first two miles flew by. I came to a road, saw a guy sitting there and asked him how much further to the top. I was pumped when he said a half mile.Once on top it was more ridge walking, although this one was shorter than average. I hopped off the trail at Kelly Knob hoping the view would also let me get a call out to the Wife. We spoke for a while before I headed towards the valley to Laurel Creek Shelter for lunch.These Virginia valleys are incredible places. Just walking through the grassy fields for a mile or two makes the day so much better. About halfway through I stopped at a creek to drink my weight in water and clean up a bit. I spoke to a local who sounded like the Cajun guy in The Waterboy. I'm pretty sure he said something about it being hot. I gave him a "yes sir" and headed up the trail.Just a short walk from there was the Keffer Oak. The largest oak tree on the Southern AT at over 18 feet around and over 300 years old. It was cool, I guess, but I was more interested in my cow friends about 50 yards up the trail.When I got there a baby was feeding and the mom was giving me the 'get out of here my kid is eating' look. Like any good Samaritan I watched for a while, took a picture, and watched a little more. That cow ain't the boss of me.Right after that was a 1000 foot climb straight up the mountain. With a breeze blowing through the woods it wasn't too bad. I got to the power line on top, took a picture and called the Wife again. It was cut short when the call died but a Father and Son from Blacksburg showed up and we spent the next 10 minutes discussing everything I'm going to eat at The Homeplace and NASA. A varied conversation but I'm always willing to talk about food and rockets.I ran into Two Bad Dogs shortly after and we hiked for a bit until they stopped to get a bite to eat. The rest of the ridge was a combination of tiring rocks and ridiculous views. I was beat coming down the mountain but I'll take good views any day.I got to Niday Shelter around 6:15 and had to have a long conversation with myself to continue the 2 miles to where I planned to go. I'm glad I did though because the sound of a fast moving creek will put me right to sleep. Two Bad Dogs even showed up while I was cooking dinner. It's just over 40 miles to Daleville and I'm trying to get there by Friday. Mrs. Rock Boat is coming again because she has some new shoes (mine are in a bad way right now) and I'm in the part of the trail that's closest to home. This section of trail has been tough to move fast through but I'm still on track. Hoping to do 20-23 miles tomorrow. That includes Dragon's Tooth which I'm pumped about.
Date: 2015-05-21
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Catawba Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 22.8
Weather: light rain

Scratch everything I said about tough days, creeks, and their relationship to a good night of sleep. It's been a tough stretch and my legs finally cried foul last night. I woke up all through the night with legs that just wanted to ache. It's okay, I deserve it. 78.6 miles in four days over that many rocks may have been a little much.The light hit my tent a little before 6:00 this morning and there wasn't much of a reason to stay in the sleeping bag. I put my big boy pants on, swallowed some vitamin I (Ibuprofen) and was headed the 1500 feet up Brush Mountain by 6:30. Much like the cows, my legs aren't the boss of me.I crested the top a little before 8:00 and headed down the ridge. By the time I got to the end of that ridge it was raining. When I hit the road at the bottom it was pouring. The last thing I wanted for the trip up and down Dragon's Tooth was rain.It rained most of the way up which made a lot of the bouldering sections a lot trickier. Fortunately, when I arrived at the summit and took the .1 mile side trail to check out the actual Dragon's Tooth it had stopped. This was great as the descent down was probably the most technical hiking I've ever done. For almost a mile the trail comes down a rock face. One bad move and you'll literally go tumbling off. There are even multiple ladders drilled into the rock face to help from section to section. I actually enjoyed that part. It was so different from the normal routine and was more rock climbing than hiking. It was the toughest descent we've had by far.After the first mile it eased up a bit then picked back up somewhat down the trail. By the bottom I was pretty beat. Doing the 8 miles up and down the mountain would be a proud day hiking for anyone.Luckily at the bottom it was only a .4 mile walk to a gas station. Myself, Forever, Burl, and Beardless walked over while discussing our disdain for rocks. After the last week I think we're ready for some relief.The four of us sat at the store and ate mediocre gas station food and drank our weight in sodas. It was just what I needed. We then all headed back up the trail together, still making rock jokes.Rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. I spent the last few miles talking about life, the trail, and Mrs. Rock Boat with Forever. It made the time fly and we rolled into camp a little before 7:00.Tomorrow is the cruise into Daleville. The famous Mcafee Knob and Tinker Cliffs lie in between. Forever and I have already made a plan to hike the 1.7 miles to the Knob together. It's the most famous picture to have on the entire trail and we're both happy to be sure someone will be there to snap it.It's 17.8 miles to Daleville where the Wife will grab me from the trail. After this week that mileage seems like a day off. Maybe all that flat Virginia trail I've been hearing about lies North of Daleville. I still haven't seen it.
Date: 2015-05-23
From: Daleville, VA

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Beds are so nice. Beds in clean hotels are even nicer. Showers then beds in clean hotels can't be beat. I've taken far more zero days than I thought I would but I have to be honest, I feel recharged.We started off this morning with a trip across the street to Cracker Barrel then we headed out to the hotel parking lot to spray permethrin on my hiking clothes and tent. The ticks have started to come out and I'm not interested in lyme disease. Hopefully everyone coming through town is doing the same thing. I've already seen one picture of a sick hiker in a hospital bed. Yikes.After that we went to Wal-Mart for resupply and to grab a few other things. Instead of just a blood pressure tester they had a machine that did blood pressure, weight, vision, and a couple other things. For the first time in well over 15 years I'm under 190 lbs and my blood pressure is in a pretty good spot. Hiking is good for you. Who knew?We came back to the hotel and I took a bath in epsom salt to get the aches and pains out. There isn't a hot tub here but the bath really helped my joints and muscles. I know Jamie is reading this with that "I told you so" nod. Yes, you were right, I was wrong. I'll probably take another one in the morning before leaving.I drank half a gallon of chocolate milk so I didn't get hungry until 4:00. We ran over to Three Little Pigs BBQ for dinner. It was delicious. And that isn't the hiker hunger talking. We ran into Burl and Beardless afterwards as they were packing up from resupplying at Kroger and drove them back to their hotel. It was great seeing them since I hadn't since we had lunch after Dragon's Tooth the other day. We dropped them off and ran into China Rock and Weatherman. Mrs. Rock Boat likes playing shuttle driver and China Rock needed to run down to Kroger so we made the trip back. Unfortunately that was the last hiker she saw or I think she could have done it all day. Like I said, she's a pretty solid human.Rest of the night has just been packing up my food bag and rebuilding her ipod for my use since mine broke a few weeks ago. I can't believe she just gave it to me, but again, amazing human. Music has the ability to change my mood in an instant and it's such a good thing for me to have while hiking.Currently uploading the last week of photos and I'll fill in the holes on the journal that don't have one when it completes. Tomorrow I'll head North on trail that, rumor has it, isn't as rocky. I'm excited to meet up with the Blue Ridge Parkway and head towards Shenandoah. Only 135 miles. The goal is to make it to Waynesboro before resupplying. It will be my longest stint by far and I'll check at Buena Vista to see if the food bag can make it the distance. I'm thinking I can be in Waynesboro by next Sunday if I don't have to stop.That's it. Another sad goodbye tomorrow but it's been a great zero day. Hopefully we'll find a way to see each other before I get too far North.
Date: 2015-05-24
From: Daleville, VA

To: Stealth Campsite
Miles today: 14.2

Just like last week there was no hurry to get out of the hotel room this morning. We woke up around 8:00 and watched NFL Network documentaries all morning. I also ran down for a breakfast snack because I'm constantly hungry. By 11:00 we were finally packed and ready to leave.After last night's dinner we both wanted to go back to Three Lil' Pigs BBQ. It was still delicious and we sat there until about 12:30 talking and drinking all of their tea. We took the very short drive back to the trail and said goodbye again. It still stinks but it feels better since an end date is mildly starting to predict itself. Hopefully I can stay healthy and on track and get home a little earlier than anticipated.I finally headed into the woods around 12:45 and enjoyed some easy walking for a few miles. Actually, the 14 miles, although hilly, were pretty fast. I stopped at the first shelter and one more time at a creek to chug water. Other than that it was smooth sailing with good trail and the iPod.My goal was to make it to the Blue Ridge Parkway and start looking for campsites. The first time I saw the road the trail was too close and the cars were loud. I went about half a mile up the trail and found a campsite shielded with boulders. Perfect. In the morning I'll take a really short walk (.1 mile) to my first view on the Parkway.I'm pretty excited to be getting to this part of the trail. Hopefully I'll be to Waynesboro in 6 or 7 days then into the Shenandoahs the next week and out of Virginia the next. I've lived in the South my entire life so I'm really excited to start hiking in less familiar territory.Tomorrow could be a long day as I'm thinking a little under 23 miles. If the trail tread continues to be like today it might not be too bad. I remembered today how much I enjoy climbing mountains when I'm not picking my way through sharp rocks.
Date: 2015-05-25
From: Stealth Campsite

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 22.7
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept great last night. I heard there were a few people camped down by the road but nobody came to where I was. I got up at 7:00 feeling great only to realize that shampoo had come apart in one of my stuff sacks. I usually don't carry any but remember Trent's Grocery? The shampoo was still there and I had completely forgotten about it. Oh well, I got it cleaned up. No harm, no foul.I planned to hike 1.9 miles to Harvey's Knob Overlook before having breakfast. Not for the view but for the picnic table and trash can. Remember the little things? When I got there I was greeted with a cheese omelette instead. 8:00 AM trail magic with eggs? Amazing. I left there about 8:45. The trail followed the Parkway for quite some time and the hiking was quick and easy. By 1:45 I had finished the first 14 miles to Jennings Creek where I planned to have lunch.I came out of the woods, crossed the bridge and what did I see? More trail magic. This time it was gourmet sandwiches, chips, homemade banana pudding, chocolate, mountain dews and an apple. When they offered the second helping of banana pudding I was in no place to refuse. For the life of me I can't remember their names but it was a really great couple from Roanoke and I had a blast hanging out with them.By 2:45 I reluctantly had to leave. I had a little over 8 miles to go and it included some tough climbs. The first one straight out of the creek was 1000 feet up Fork Mountain. With a full belly and a load of caffeine I made quick work of it.A little before 5:00 I came to the really big one. It started off at 1211 feet and tops off at 4255. It's 9 miles from start to finish and I was only going the first five. The highest I had to go was 3560 feet then back down to 3100 for the shelter. At the end of a 22 mile day I was pretty toast when I got here. The climbing was steep in places but the trail is still not very rocky. I like it.I got here a little before 7:00, put my tent up and made dinner. Tomorrow I'll finish the last thousand feet to the top where there is another FAA tower. I'm pumped about that. I'm looking to go 21.6 to Johns Hollow Shelter tomorrow. I calculated it out and it looks like I may make it to Waynesboro on Saturday. It'll be a week of long days but I'd like to do it. There are some really big climbs between here and there which will up the difficulty.That's it. Good day. Trail magic times two. Should cross the James River tomorrow. Longest footbridge on the trail. Will I jump off of it? Probably so.