morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-04
From: Knot Maul Branch shelter

To: Davis Farm campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

DAY 11 (4 June 2005)On the trail in the morning mist, again, sliding downhill in the mud chutes formed by the 3 previous days of rain. After some more pastures and abandoned orchards I arrived at (Chesterfield) shelter that is like a stone cabin with bunks, views, and even a swing inside it!! My appetite finally increased. Everything previously packaged and labeled "2 servings" is being consumed as one, and i had 3-days worth of breakfast this morning! The other thru-hikers say that the long days consume 6,000 calories, and we barely make up for that with the food we eat. Most prefer candy bars, salami, PB, and all kinds of high-calorie junk food. I think I'll be switching to Snickers and Cosmic Brownies soon, too. Got some trail magic from weekend campers - Pepsi and Mtn Dew. I'd never drink that stuff off the trail, but on the trail anything goes so long as it has calories. PUDs (pointless ups and downs) all the way to Davis Farm campsite. The campsite, though 1/2 mile down a muddy chute, was spectacular: flattened out area, surrounded by an old wooden fence, giving a great sneak view down into the valley and across to the western ranges. The sunset and the star-gazing to the cow, cricket, and frog songs were spectacular. In the morning, the mist covered everything but the western peaks, and it was interesting to watch civilization emerge from under there! I finally got to try out my tent fly/tarp setup, which worked well, except that the little gnats get very hungry right before sunrise.
Date: 2005-06-05
From: Davis Farm campsite

To: Halvey's Mill shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: scattered clouds

.DAY 12 (5 June 2005)Hiking in the morning has it's benefits - you're the first one on the trail, so there's more probability of seeing wildlife. This morning i saw a black bear cub and a deer, but ended up collected miles of spiderwebs that had been woven overnight. Ran into the usual group before basking in the sun at a picnic ground at a river bank. Someone mentioned a Subway special (2 subs for the price of 1) at Bland, VA, and once the men decided that i could not possibly consume two 12-inch subs, they took off up the trail. The next 3 hours were spent running along the ridge to catch up to the ambitious and hungry gang. Seven mi in 3 hrs, and i came out just a few minutes behind them. Turns out they needed me for something - because some of them spent almost an hour hitchhiking and no one would pick them up, but i got the first truck to stop for us! Subway tasted sooooo good, and afterwards the group sat on the drive-thru pavement, in deep digestion. "This," i thought, "is thru-hiking". It was great. Quick re-supply and back to the trail. Trail magic at the trail head - potatoes - and then up up uphill to the Helvey's Mill shelter, where GQ and Ratrace were already settled, mousetraps in tow.My favorite food so far has been instant meso soup with minute rice, and dad's protein bars. The candy bars also get inhaled on the trail. I feel like i'm always hungry. I set off with 11 days of food, hoping to get to Pearisburg in 9 days, but now i'm not so sure if that will be enough. The last few days were slacking, barely in the double digits, if at all, but it has been raining too, which makes the going icky and difficult in muddy/rocky terrain.Nightcrawler (mentioned before Damascus) hiked with GQ and Ratrace for a while, and they are a trip! They wear pink/purple feather boas on their packs, and ribbons that say ¢you¢re a star!¢ or ¢you¢re #1¢, and also hand out bows that say ¢good listener¢, ¢potty training¢, etc. They talk non-stop, and I felt overwhelmed by their presence at first, but the moment they whipped out their mouse traps, the entire population of the shelter let out joyful shrieks! There was quite a show of how these mouse traps work, and many a mouse were burned at the stake that night (and the potatoes had to wait). They also had a radio, and it was a delight to listen to some music in the woods!
Date: 2005-06-06
From: Helveys Mill shelter

To: Dismal Falls
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: few clouds

DAY13 (6 June 2005)Couldn't sleep - too hot for sleeping bags, but the gnats bite worse than mosquitoes. Fled the shelter at red sunrise and put in 10 miles before noon. This particular section has very scarce water - none for 10 miles, then none for another 6. I saw a 4-ft black snake, collected lots of spiderwebs, saw some deer, then, a deer foot from the elbow down - it laid there, gimpy, waving on the thru-hikers. Stopped at Trent's store for snickers ice cream and faucet water - the only water source that day. Tried to wait out a thunderstorm, but it just passed on over the next ridge - no need to fear, so I hiked on to Dismal Falls, and slept under the stars on a rock bed.
Date: 2005-06-07
From: Dismal Falls

To: Woodshole Hostel
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 14 (7 June 2005)Very cozy, late sleeping. Cooked the 4 trail-magic potatoes ¢ mashed with cheese, milk powder, salt and pepper ¢ mmm! GQ & Ratrace showed up for their morning swim. These guys crack me up ¢ they walk through the woods singing Jason Mraz songs, wear loud clothing, and still have those pink boas with purple tips on their packs! We kept passing each other on the trail, and each time pretended like we¢ve been lightly jogging and not minding our packs at all. At the Wapiti shelter we found out that a couple got murdered there 24 years ago, so we traced Mr. Gimp¢s knife and wrote ¢Came here to kill. No one here. Will return tomorrow, 3pm sharp. Bring friends, relatives, and fresh pepper. Love, Rowell Lee Scott.¢ Our first witty register entry! Okay, maybe that was mean. I wonder if anyone ever stays at that shelter? Everyone that day, SOBOs and NOBOs alike, said over and over ¢biscuits and sausage at Woodshole hostel ¢ mmmm¢. So, I walked all the way to Woodshole hostel, which is run by Tillie (at least 80yo) and her 3 friends. The hostel is an old barn, decorated with Tillie¢s granddaughter¢s oil paintings, and it had mattresses and a rainwater shower (very cold)! It was quite charming, actually, with chairs, a table, a hammock, a map of the USA, newspaper clippings related to the AT, and a fridge full of soda and candy bars. One of the old ladies brought us brownies!! Mice and a fruit bat kept us company through the night, and the mousetraps were put to work immediately after dinner. The rest of our crew (Carnivore, Hellen Keller, Phil, Nick, and Pheonix) showed up at 2am.
Date: 2005-06-08
From: Woodshole Hostel

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 15 (8 June 2005)Tillie makes some mad biscuits!! She fit us in her dining room, asked for our stories, snapped a polaroid for the hostel¢s trail register, and released us. So sweet. I was out first, rushing to get to Pearisburg and sink my teeth into some oreo cookies drenched in milk. Saw a 5-ft black snake, and later on walked up on a rattlesnake coiled up near the trail. It was black, so i thought it was another black rat snake, but it had the diamondback pattern (sort of) and a triangular viper head. I wanted to warn the other hikers, especially the ones that hike with sticks/poles, so wrote a ¢rattlesnake ?¢ note and left it on the trail ¢ turns out other hikers actually saw the warning and the snake was still there. Great view of Pearisburg from Angel¢s Rest, and a knee-killer walk into town. I ate 6 burgers over the course of 30 hours in town! Got some bday chocolate and fan mail from PO, got the oreos and the milk, and began the search for the hostel. With a thunderstorm approaching (thanks for the warning from Epistemological Maglomaniac and Bubbski), I flagged down a cop and asked him for directions. We ended up being delivered to a catholic Holy Family hostel in the back of a sheriff¢s car! Can¢t beat that! The hostel was great: barn-like, open windows (no glass), porch, view of the valley, a huge live oak, and a field; bunks, kitchen, hot shower. Picked some mulberries, and then walked 1.5 miles to a Walmart. A trail angel couple gave us all a ride back to the hostel, and you¢ve got to love the people in SWVA. The guy was telling us a story, and then he says ¢What¢s that place where black people come from?¢   ¢Africa¢¦?¢   ¢Yeah, Africa. So, I called him ¢Africa¢.¢ Gotta love ¢em! Met Rollergirl and Dot (from Zimbabwe, 50+yo). Spent the evening drinking wine with friends at the hostel gazebo and watching the thunderstorm and the fireflies do their firework magic in the night sky - it was beautiful.
Date: 2005-06-09
From: Pearisburg

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

DAY 16 (9 June 2005)Sleeping in is great! In the morning, we met pastor Bill, who gave hikers rides to wherever they need to go every morning at 9am. Then walked to the Laundromat, and lounged around in rain gear while washing the rest of my clothes (mind you it was a full 80 degrees F outside, and an additional 10 inside the Laundromat). I will be taking 10-12 June off for a little break form the trail, but I'll be back soon... not soon enough.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: VA Rte 42

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 20 (13 June 2005)After living in Blacksburg for 7 years and hiking to Kelly¢s knob at least half a dozen times, we couldn¢t find the trailhead for over an hour, so my friends just dropped me off at some route where the AT crossed it. It was starting to rain, so with a short good-bye, I ran off uphill. For a while, I wasn¢t sure whether I was headed north or south, but then saw Phil far in a pasture, and got my bearings. Met Runtrails (40+yo), and we both mucked through wet fields uphill. Walked 12 mile straight down to a shelter only to realize that it wasn¢t the Laurel Creek shelter where I thought I may meet the group I¢ve been hiking with. Sarver Hollow shelter was actually 6 miles ahead, so I figured that I¢d wait and see if they¢d show up by evening. In the meantime, I explored the area around the shelter. There were some abandoned orchards, a collapsed farmhouse with the chimney still standing, a wooden shack, two tombstones for babies that died there, and a whole lot of odd rock formations ¢ large rocks piled to form waist-high wells. I explored a side trail, and read the entire shelter register ¢ all about the rattlesnake in the fire pit, the bear cub that comes too close to the shelter, and the coughing that has been heard coming from the shack. No one. Then, Surface and Nick (now, Cool Hand Luke) showed up for dinner and moved on to the next shelter. I¢m not sure why I just sat there waiting. I think I was stalling on getting on with the trail adventure, and thinking that staying at this large, new shelter would make me feel like I¢m back in civilization again. I¢m not sure. Just to make it more cozy, I drew a moose head and positioned him on the headwall. Darkness was creeping in, so I decided to spend the night right there, all by my lonesome. Yes, I spent the night sitting tight in a far corner of the shelter, my eyes peeled all night, holding pepper spray in one hand and my headlamp in the other. All night. I forgot to say, i'm afraid of the dark.
Date: 2005-06-14
From: Sarver Hollow shelter

To: Dragon's Tooth
Miles today: 21.0

DAY 21 (14 June 2005)Was out of that shelter at dawn, before the sun even thought of rising, and had run 7 miles to the next shelter only to find Phil and Nick still asleep, and to find out that Carnivore and Hellen Keller quit the AT at Pearisburg. No one had seen Pheonix. Saw a decent-sized bear 12 mile from the shelter. Actually, I was just walking in the woods, and I caught a whiff of something like a horse smell, and I thought, ¢surely that isn¢t me¢, right as I heard the bear to the left taking off into the rhododendron brush. He must have been no more than 30 feet from the trail! Saw a 2-ft grey snake perched on a bridge step. Enjoyed the afternoon on a sandy beach of a creek, with some citrus soda and Citron Absolute trail magic! Uphill all day in smoldering heat, past Audie Murphy monument*, and down to Rte 620, which marks the beginning of the climb up the back side of Dragon¢s Tooth. This has long been a favorite hike of mine, but I¢ve never been up this side before. It was getting late, and the climb (in the dark) proved to be full of knee and ankle twists, very rocky, and seemingly never-ending! Ran into two boys close to the top, ¢could you tell us where Dragon¢s Tooth is?¢ Are you kidding me? I surely didn¢t pass it! Or maybe I passed it in the dark? Found it, finally, sweaty and frustrated with the climb, but calmed myself with hot cocoa and slept in a rock chalice at the top, with an almost 360 view, and the stars above.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Dragon's Tooth

To: McAfee Knob
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 22 (15 June 2005)Dragon¢s Tooth (and other such overlook places) are beautiful, but they usually don¢t have water sources nearby, so I scrambled down to Catawba for water and a pint of vanilla ice cream, which was eaten right there on the side walk in front of the store, and was soooo goooood!!Today's descent route from Dragon's Tooth was the trail i had hiked many, many times. It was here, in 1996 that i met two guys in their early 20s, dirty, sweaty, stinky, with huge packs. They sat on the side of the trail exhausted. I had asked them why they lugged huge packs up to Dragon's Tooth and why they were so tired - it's only a 3 mile hike. They informed me that for them it was a 600 mile hike, as they walked to Dragon's Tooth from Georgia. They told me about the AT. I can't say i had the dream of hiking it right away, but then the time came, i knew hiking the AT was what i needed to do. That's what i am doing now. Who knows where those two guys are now, what their trail names and stories are, but wherever they are, i thank them for telling me about the trail.I hiked on to McAfee¢s Knob, with a stop at the Boy Scout shelter for an afternoon nap. The four of us (Mr. Gimp, Nick, Phil, and myself) leapfrogged our way through the hot afternoon, uphill to the knob, and what a view it was!! We just couldn¢t stop staring! I¢ve been to this place many times. In fact, back in my college days, my mother would routinely peel my friends and I off the floor of our basement, and take us out on a rehab-hike up McAfee's Knob. It has always been beautiful, but today it was just amazing! The mountains were like rolling waves, and ¢the open space,¢ said Mr. Gimp, ¢looks just like the ocean.¢ We were so close to the clouds that they ran parallel to the cliffs we were standing on. There are no words that would really do a just description, just that I was there, I saw it, I felt it, I smelled it, I touched it, I¢¦ felt alive!!! It was surreal! It just had the feeling of ¢AaAaAH!¢ I stared at the sunset sky for hours, before walking over to the other side of the cliffs to see Roanoke lit up below ¢ another great show! Watched the airplanes take off, counted the shooting stars¢¦ This is it. This is life. This is what I want in it. I love it! ¢¦we just ended up spreading our sleeping bags on the cliffs and enjoying the night. Why would anyone want to sleep at home. Why would anyone trade popcorn ceiling for stars, air conditioning for the moisture in the breeze on your face, a mattress and spring box for the soft pine needles over rocks (you can still feel the tiniest groves in the rock, but your body and the rock become one), an alarm clock for the bird chorus at dawn, a commute (to work, school) for a brisk walk in the woods...?
Date: 2005-06-16
From: McAfee Knob

To: Fullhardt Knob shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

DAY 23 (16 June 2005)The pre-dawn was beautiful, but I missed the sunrise itself ¢ too comfy sleeping on a rock cliff ¢ who would have thought!? Easy walk along ridgeline to Tinker Cliffs, which gave the 180 view in the opposite direction ¢ back at McAfee¢s Knob. Bouldered a bit on the way ¢ i really miss climbing, but there aren't too many bouldering opportunities along the trail to warrant carrying climbing shoes, so i left them with Dr. Jones a few weeks ago! I met the Good Witch of the East today ¢ she¢s from Holland, had 3 dogs with her, and she said the kindest things, just wandering through the woods¢¦ While walking solo, i saw a bear about 10 feet from the trail, headed towards the trail. He heard me, and began to trot, but in the direction that he was facing ¢ towards the trail ¢ towards me. About 8 feet from me he actually lifted his muzzle and saw me. ¢Hey, go away!¢ He hit his muzzle on a tree on the turn-about, by accident, i think, and took off down the mountain. Not too long after that, i spooked off 3 wild turkeys and 9 baby turkeys (chics) on the way to the spring. Gathered wild red cherries at Lambert Meadows shelter at lunch, and the first bit of blueberries on the ridge, climbing up to a side view of Roanoke and the reservoir. A fat lizard came out of the brush, ran alongside Mr. Gimp¢s instep for a couple of yards before dashing back into the brush - that was funny. It was as though the lizard was using Mr. Gimp as a protector for those few yards. A trail angel Del drove us around Troutville/Daleville before dropping us off at the trail again. There were wild strawberries and yellow/pink sweet cherries at this trail crossing!!! Mr. Gimp bought a 20-lb watermelon at Kroger and then lugged it 3 miles uphill in the dark, yelling ¢Charge! Ta-ta da-da ta-ta da-da da!¢ until a bear, that was sitting some 40 ft up a tree, decided to come down, making quite a racket, landing some 10 yards from us, and taking off up the mountain. Well, the trail wound through the dark woods up in the same direction, and I got to thinking of this watermelon and its miscibility with the bears at night... We thoroughly enjoyed 12 the watermelon that was our dinner dessert, and then Mr. Gimp hung up the other half in a tree. I slept well, but in the morning heard nothing but ranting from Gimp about how he had to stay up all night with a huge knife in his hands, fending off the bears!! The folks at the shelter sure were thankful he took it onto himself to protect us.
Date: 2005-06-23
From: Punchbowl Shelter, VA

To: Hog Gap Camp, VA
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

DAY 29 (June 23rd) Spent the night in a haunted shelter, where the frog chorus was amazing! At times i'd wake up thinking someone is talking, only to realize it was either a frog or a night bird. There were rumors (in the trail register) of a 2-ft alligator in the nearby pond, which i know is bogus, but we prodded the pond before leaving in the morning, just in case. No luck. There is also a king snake that visits the shelter and eats baby birds, so the dwelling was mouse-free for a change, because mice are just the right kind of dessert following a baby bird dinner.Met Paul and Tracker (and his beagle McKay) yesterday, and hiked with them a bit today - leap-frogging, as usual. Around noon, i ran into an older couple (this is right after we got disappointed at the trail, which had been relocated and no longer runs along the Lynchburg Reservoir shore). The older couple invited us for a cold drink, and the the lady asked, "would you mind a ham salad sandwich with cheese on a crossant?" Uh, do you have to ask? They fed us that, and cheesits, and cake, and apple turnovers... and we were full and happy. The couple is Flash and Hotflash. They thru-hiked in 1987 and have done trail magic ever since. After an hour of eating and relaxation in the shade, we walked about a mile to a swimming hole, dipped in, walked another mile through an abandoned sharecropper community in the woods, and came out to Rte 60. Flash had instructed us about a good-water pump in a widow's yard, so we went there, and ended up meeting Mrs. Taft Hughes, the widow of the last person to live in that abandoned community (disbanded since 1920)! Picnicking at the trailhead in company of Piney, who is another trail angel ("Dispersing beer and pepsi to thru-hikers for over 40 years")! He drove our packs to Hog Camp Gap and returned us to Rte 60 so that we could slack-pack (w/o our packs) up over Bald Knob, which wasn't bald, and over Cold Mtn, which was bald, and where we caught the sunset. That night i slept in a field of tall grass and wildflowers under the stars -- what more could i ask for?
Date: 2005-06-24
From: Hog Gap Camp, VA

To: Maupin Field Shelter, VA
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: broken clouds

DAY 30 (June 24)Camped in a field last night, so watched the stars and the sunrise from the same spot. In the evening, there were 2 other tents in the field, but no people. I never did see any people before going to bed. In the middle of the night i awoke to strange, loud, crackling noises - the invisible neighbors were shooting off firewords and bengal lights! Surprisingly, i was more annoyed than excited to see/hear the show.The morning was great, as usual. In the cool morning mist i made 7.7 mi in 2 hrs 15 min - fastest hiking yet (w/pack)! Met Tracker and McKay and waltzed on over to the Dutch House B&B that offers free no-strings-attached lunches to thru-hikers. Yummy, home-cooked meal in a stone/wood mansion! The lady (Lois) slack packed me 10 mi out of the B&B, and then I rushed up the mountain north of Tye River in order to make it to the BRP on time to meet my mother the next morning. Took the short cut trail of Mau-Har. Usually, when you come to a fork in the trail, it is very easy to distinguish which is the AT (besides the white blazes) - it is the fork that goes straight up the mountain. The short cut trail seemed to follow around the mountain along the same contour (topo) line, so i was delighted to take it. Once i was out of site of the fork, though, the trail played a mean trick and went straight up. "Switchback" was not a part of it's vocabulary. So, up, up i went in waist-high poison ivy. On the ridge i thought, "how nice, it will follow the ridge line", and the trail followed it for 10 feet and then went straight down, and then straight up again along the rocky waterfalls. All i wanted at that moment was to make it to a shelter before dark, as i've been warned about rattle snakes on this route, and hiking alone on this side trail just didn't appeal to me at the moment. I made it to the Maupin Field shelter before dark, caught up with Godspeed, Asriel, and Shoutout, but left my previous crew behind because of taking the shorter route. I plan to return to make up these gaps (south of Kelly's Knob and this one) at some point, so i could truly say i hiked every mile, the whole thing).
Date: 2005-06-25
From: Maupin Field shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Cake walk to BRP to meet mom for the weekend. I really do have the greatest mom - coming out to hike with me is the best support one can offer someone who is in the process of searching for herself, you know. Besides, she brought ice cream and cake for me, and we had a great time slack packing in southern Shenandoah, as well as camping out with the rest of the thru-hiking crew on a lawn behind the YMCA in Waynesboro. For now, she is Cucumber Girl's Mom, which is long, so if she hikes any significant distance on the trail, she will end up with a different trailname.
Date: 2005-06-26
From: Cedar Cliffs vista

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Slackpacked 15 mi into Waynesboro (NOBO) today. Ran into Ashley and Brook - the brothers (not los hermanos) and convinced them to hike into town as well. In the evening we were entertained by Blue Pheonix's story- told under a willow tree... some 30 hikers in town today!