morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-15
From: Pearisburg

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: clear sky

Total miles today 23.3Total trail miles today 22.9start at PearisburgFinish at Bailey Gap Shelter at AT mile 645.0Staying in tent   Just a regular day. One good view, but mostly walking in the woods. Around 5 pm, I had dinner with several guys at a shelter and then we all took off for the next one.    One fun thing was that there was a bridge washed out that required that you ford the stream. When I got there I noticed that a tree had fallen over near where the bridge used to be and that it spanned the stream. Why not I thought and proceeded to walk across the tree. I didn¢t get a drop on me. Kind of fun.   Well, it is off to bed.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

Total miles today 21.3Trail miles 21.0Start at Bailey Gap shelterFinish at Sarver Hollow Shelterstaying in tent   It was a hard day in the office. For most of the morning the trail was all rocks. The feet and knees were killing me. There were also a couple of good climbs. The afternoon was HOT and I had to spend a couple hours crossing open fields. Sweating like crazy. Then the shelter was way off the trail.   Speaking of the shelter it is at mile 666! And the spring looks like something from a horror movie. Hmm...   Pretty tired now. Will try to write more tomorrow.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-17
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Footbridge along trail at AT mile 689.5
Miles today: 23.5

Total miles today 23.8Trail miles today 23.5Start Sarver Hollow shelterFinish at footbridge along trail at AT mile 689.5staying in tent   Well, today kicked my butt. I am the most tired I have been the whole trip. It was a combination of very hot weather, very rugged terrain, and my decision to push for more miles.   At about 2:30 I reached the turn off to a shelter, but it was 1/2 mile off trail and I had had enough of that nonsense the night before with a shelter .3 miles off trail. I had planned for this option by carrying enough water to skip the shelter. In this part of VA water from anything but a stream is hard to come by. I try and only take water from springs but it often is not possible.   So off I go, intending to do another 10 miles or so. An hour and a half later I am thinking I made an error. I am in very steep and rough terrain and the heat is sapping me. My progress is slow and by 4:30 I am really exhausted and running low on water. By 5:30 I am really hurting. I just keep plodding along as best I can. After about 4 candy bars for energy I can't even eat them anymore. I ration the water as long as I can.   About 7:00 I finally reach my water source where I planned to camp.   Cowpies all over the place! A few curse words later and I am setting up camp. I have no choice and I have to use the water. I could not make the 6 miles to the next water source. So I treat the water with chlorine drops, then iodine tablets, and then I boil it. Hopefully I am not sick tomorrow.    A few more days like today and I will be wishing for rain.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Footbridge along trail at AT mile 689.5

To: US220 (Daleville/Troutville)
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: few clouds

Total miles today 26.3Trail miles today 25.8Start at AT mile 689.5Finish at US220 (Daleville/Troutville at AT mile 714.3)Staying in motel   Well, I am still alive so I guess that cow pie water agrees with my constitution. I am sitting in a Mexican restaurant in Daleville getting ready to chow down. I will eat lots of salsa to help kill any wayward cow bugs. Not to mention that I am pretty sure that beer counteracts such things as well.   It was another hot day with problems finding water. The first water source I planned to use was dry, but I happened to run into an ATC Trailrunner who gave me the run down on the water situation. It is starting to look problematic. It has been so dry that springs are running dry. The second water source was running at 1 liter per 5 mins! He also indicated that there was no water at the first shelter north of Daleville either. Looks like it will be camel up at every source and then carry extra just in case the next source is dry.   To top the day off I was pushing all the way into town late, which meant a 10 mile distance with no water. So I drink a liter and carry 2 figuring that should cover it. About 90 mins into that segment I stop to get a drink and find that one of my water bottles is missing. Sh**!! This is bad news. It was not an option to turn back to find it in this terrain. Pretty unlikely. So I slow down to cut the loss of fluids from sweat and plod along, but not too slow because I have to beat sundown. Everything turned out all right, but I was pretty dehydrated. I had a headache and my coordination was going, as I was starting to stumble more than usual. Just another day of adventure.    Seriously though, this day¢s hike was very scenic with lots of nice vistas, cliffs, and strange rock formations. Even a big lake in the distance to torment me.   I am competing with another hiker to get my clothes washed at the motel. There is only 1 washer and dryer. Then tomorrow it is resupply and up the trail. After a big breakfast at the restaurant. WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-19
From: US220 (Daleville/Troutville)

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

Total miles today 13.2Trail miles today 11.2Start at US220Finish at Wilson Creek Shelter at AT mile 725.5staying in tent   Well, an auspicious day! I have walked over 1/3 of the trail now. And tomorrow morning I will have over half of Virginia out of the way.    Speaking of Virginia, the standard trail talk is that once you are out of the Smokies (i.e. reach Damascus) you are done with the hard part until New England. Virginia is supposedly flat and uninteresting. Hikers get the "Virginia Blues" here and can't wait to get out of the state. I can't imagine what they are talking about. I have now hiked all of VA except for the section between where I am now and Rockfish Gap.    While northern VA (north of Shenandoah Park) is mostly ridge walks and relatively flat, that is only about 50 miles out of 550. While there have been some easy and flat sections where one can really cover distance there have also been lots of significant climbs and challenging sections. In terms of technical difficulty we have now entered into areas of trail that are very rocky. I consider the section of trail between Pickle Branch Shelter at mile 681.9 and VA624 at mile 688.6 easily the most difficult walking of the first 725 miles. And from McAfee Knob to Daleville also has very technical sections.    People talk, "Oh, I can make big miles all through VA." Well sure we can, we have spent the last 450 miles getting into shape. We should be able to. But that hardly means it's flat or easy.   And what is this about no views? I think the Grayson Highlands was no. 1 for scenery so far. And there are tremendous views between Pearisburg and Daleville. And I know that there are good ones in Shenandoah Park as well.   So why this myth? Virginia is long, really long, and must seem to take forever to some folks. Others seem to see that the fun party time has ended, and people either have to accept that they have converted (however unwillingly) from potential thru hikers to section hikers, or they have to get serious about making miles. I have encountered quite a number of hikers who are very defensive about their progress. You ask them if they are a thru hiker and they say yes. But if you then ask the natural question of when they left Springer (which I seem to get asked at least every other day) they will evade the question or all of a sudden you get comments of the like, "I am not worrying about how fast I am going. I don't even care if I get to Maine." Kind of interesting. I wonder if it is like that when people leave a month or two earlier than I did.    As you can see by the length of this I did not walk far today. Idle hands (feet)....WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Intersection of AT and Button Hill Trail
Miles today: 20.7

Total miles today 21.1Trail miles today 20.7Start at Wilson Creek shelterFinish at intersection of AT and Button Hill Trail at AT mile 746.2staying in tent   I forgot to mention that I met a rattlesnake a few days ago. He was nice enough to pose for me and everything. He even tried to bite my hiking pole. Pretty cool. Saw couple of turtles on the trail as well. Naturally, they were Southbounders! I straightened them out by picking them up and pointing them north. Everyone needs assistance once in awhile.   I started hiking at 0600 to beat the heat. Seemed to work pretty well as I had almost 14 miles in by 1230. I wanted to have a pretty easy day so I took a long lunch and then moseyed along to camp. I could have hiked for several more hours, same as yesterday, but I felt the need to recharge a bit. If I want to do big miles tomorrow I can use the incentive of getting into Glasgow for resupply. Speaking of resupply, I am not consuming as much food lately. My appetite is down some. Must be the heat.Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Intersection of AT and Button Hill Trail

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 26.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 26.7Trail miles today 26.5Start at AT mile 746.2Finish at Johns Hollow Shelter at AT mile 772.7staying in tent   Well, the resupply in Glasgow did not workout as planned. I deliberately hiked big miles today to get into Glasgow to spend the night, resupply, and have a couple of restaurant meals. So after about 24 miles and very sore feet I finally arrive at my road crossing at 5:30 pm to hitch into town and what do I find? A sign taped up telling the hikers that the restaurant is closed. I was really disappointed. I had been thinking about a big hamburger all day. I was a grumpy boy! I also was not going to go into town and stay just to get groceries if I could help it. So my next and last option is to try at Buena Vista tomorrow afternoon. This has to work because I will be out of food and it will be almost 60 miles more to Waynesboro the next supply location. I might have to tackle one of the deer that are always hanging around.   Well more adventures tomorrow.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-22
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Along trail at Bald Knob (AT mile 795.3)
Miles today: 22.9

Total miles today 23.1Trail mile today 22.9Start at Johns Hollow ShelterFinish along trail at Bald Knob at AT mile 795.3 staying in tent   Another long day, but productive. I got to soak my aching feet in a cool stream. Oh man! It was as good as sex. They did not hurt at all for a couple of hours.   When I reached my road crossing to go to Buena Vista for resupply the first vehicle stopped for me. The man driving is an ATC volunteer, and did he go out of his way to help me. He drove me all the way to the Food Lion, which was about 8 miles past his house, waited for me to shop, and then drove me back to the trail. This was about 25 miles of extra driving. As the temps were in the low 90's and the Food Lion was several miles across town, I am sure he saved me several miles of pavement walking in the sun and several hours as well. Serious luck.   As is my custom on resupply I filled all my water bottles with Gatorade for a treat. Forgot to check and see when the next water source was. Too far away to make before dark, especially on my aching feet. Hmm... what do I use to cook my mashed potatoes with? Well, I thought there is always Gatorade potatoes. Now, what flavor do we want to try? Grape? Nope. Ice? Whatever that is, but nope. So by process of elimination the winner is...lemon-lime. Actually, it was not as bad as it sounds. The first 3 servings went right down, the fourth had to be forced, but improvisation is key to survival.   I must admit I am now a vitamin I addict like all the other hikers. I pretty much have to take one before bed or the aches and pains will not let me sleep.   And speaking of...Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-23
From: Along trail at Bald Knob (AT mile 795.3)

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Total miles today 18.3Trail miles today 18.1Start at Bald KnobFinish at The Priest Shelter at AT mile 813.7Staying in tent   It felt like a slow day. I made no effort to cover big miles but in the end 18 had gone by. I yakked with people a bunch and still got here at 4 pm.    Tomorrow will be another story I bet. There is one big climb tomorrow that looks real hard on the maps, but in the guide book doesn't look too bad. We'll see when we get there as always.    I am kind of worn down today I guess. My morale seems low. I think I need to be eating more, but my appetite is kind of down. I am sick of much of the food I have to eat. I need a few town meals in me. The next chance of that is at Rockfish Gap near Waynesboro at the southern end of Shenandoah National Park. I should reach there the day after tomorrow.   I was offered a beer today at about 9:30 in the morning by someone at a road crossing dropping off 2 hikers. Pretty early I guess, but it sure was good.   It is possible that I walked within striking distance of a big timber rattler this afternoon and did not even see it. Apparently, the two hikers right behind me (about 20 mins) said one was curled up about 2 feet from where the trail went. Hmmm... might have crawled up later I guess.   Heavy rain right now.   Later...wow was that a hard rain. Some people had their tents flooded. At one point the water flowing around my tent was at least an inch deep. I managed to keep everything dry though, except the tent of course.Wyoming   Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-24
From: The Priest Shelter

To: AT mile 834.1 just north of Blueridge Parkway
Miles today: 20.4

Total miles today 20.7Trail miles today 20.4Start at Priest shelterFinish along trail at AT mile 834.1 just north of Blueridge Parkway mile 9.6 turnoutstaying in tent   Looks like we are back in the wet cycle. Lots more rain today. It has been raining for about 4 hours, but not hard.   The rocks were very slippery today. I must have slipped bad a good 20 times but I never fell. I was going to take a hard fall one time and in desperation I really jammed my right pole down to save myself. This worked but I bent the pole. I continued to use it but I am not sure how long it will last. It did save me though. I talked to another hiker yesterday that started to take a big downhill face first fall into some rocks that saved himself with his poles and ended up breaking one and bending the other. The good point is that he did not get hurt bad.    I am constantly reminded how everyone out here is one misstep from being busted. Lots of people are hiking hurt. Almost every day I pass folks that started a lot earlier than me who have gotten hurt and are still struggling on. Some have had to take a couple of weeks off to heal and are facing a tough hike. It could be me tomorrow.   I should reach Rockfish Gap tomorrow and will then have completed Central Virginia. 392 miles of VA down and 150 or so to go. Progress. If you have enough time everything is within walking distance.   Hard rain now.   Some sweetheart left us thru hikers homemade brownies and cokes at the last road crossing. I think it was Gator's wife who has come to meet him and take him home for 2 weeks to heal his knees. He has been really struggling (fell awhile back and hurt them).WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-25
From: AT mile 834.1 just north of Blueridge Parkway

To: AT mile 855.4
Miles today: 21.3

Total miles today 22.5Trail miles today 21.3Start at AT mile 834.1Finish at AT mile 855.4staying in tent I reached Rockfish Gap about 13:15. Just in time to make it for lunch at the restaurant. A big burger hit the spot. And a beer. I resupplied at the gas station convienence store and headed into Shenandoah park. Even though you get your permit here the actual boundary of the park is about 7 miles up trail. I am camped just outside the park boundary tonight.   Just missed seeing a bear again today. Some other hikers just ahead of me were the lucky ones. I was told by another hiker that there are lots of bears in New Jersey. Who would have thought that.   It rained all last night and up till about 9 this morning. Then it started up again about 5 and got pretty hard, but quit by about 7. Everything is still soaked. I intend to reach Loft Mountain campground tomorrow afternoon to shower and do laundry. Hopefully I get a chance to dry my gear as well. But it is supposed to rain.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-26
From: AT mile 855.4

To: Loft Mtn Campground at AT mile 875.8
Miles today: 20.4

Total miles today 21.1Trail miles today 20.4Start at Calf Mtn shelterFinish at Loft Mtn Campground at AT mile 875.8Staying in tent   Nasty weather again today. Lots of rain. Lots. Everything was really soaked. Got it somewhat dried during a brief period of sun around noon, but then it started in again and has not stopped.   I heard that Washington got 12 inches of rain. We did not get that much thankfully. Also heard that it was supposed to rain for another 5 days. That means walking wet for 4 more days till I meet with the Scribe for our anniversary. My toes may have rotted off by then I think. Life is tough in the wilderness.   Pretty funny. A few days back, when it was in the 90's I made the mistake in saying "I actually wouldn¢t mind if it rained." Big mistake.WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Loft Mtn Campground at AT mile 875.8

To: Baldface Mtn at AT mile 898.3
Miles today: 22.5

Total miles today 22.8trail miles today 22.5Start Loft Mtn CampgroundFinish at Baldface Mtn at AT mile 898.3staying in tent   Well, it would be no exaggeration to say that today was a tough one. I started off in heavy fog about 0600 after a night of heavy rain and winds. The rain soon started up again. Occasionally, hard enough to need a rain jacket, other times not. Due to the very wet conditions my feet were soaked almost as soon as I started walking. This is unavoidable in such circumstances, but it causes problems when the feet are wet for long periods of time. And today was going to be the 3rd day in a row.   I trudged thru the rain for about 3 hours only seeing one other hiker. I reached a shelter after 6 miles to find one hiker still in his sleeping bag because he did not want to walk in the rain. I guess I inspired him because he was loading his pack when I finished my snack and left. About 4 hours later I reach another shelter just as the sky opens up. There were about 5 of us there and everyone was in awe of the ferocity of the rain. I mean it came down in buckets! For a long time. Must have dropped several inches in about 30 mins. Foolish me was all happy that I was in the shelter for the big rain and I hooked up with Joe and headed up the trail. It is much nicer, when conditions are bad to walk with someone. The moderate rain continued to fall for about an hour then it started raining very hard again. Soon the water was again running down the trail as much as ankle deep. It kept this up for about 2 hours. I was getting tired and was soaked of course, but worst of all my feet were hurting so bad. My feet always hurt by afternoon, but this was much worse. It was due to the long period of them being constantly wet. This is not your typical swimming pool prune job. Rather it is having the skin wrinkle so bad it starts to crack. This worries me as I can imagine how much fun it would be to hike with cracks in the bottom of ones feet.   Finally, I stumble onto a site to tent and set up in the rain. Do I keep everything dry? Noooo, not exactly. But I have treated my feet as best I can, and I¢m laying here writing this and shivering. All the hikers think this weather will last for days. Ohhh boy.   All told I would guess that it may have rained as much as 6 or 7 inches today. I have seen rain in the jungle and this rivaled those downpours. Wyoming Which way is North?
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Skyland Road north at AT mile 918.3

To: Sugarloaf Mtn at AT mile 938.1
Miles today: 19.8

Total miles traveled today 20.5Trail miles walked today 19.8Start at Skyland RoadFinish at Sugarloaf Mtn at AT mile 938.1staying in tent   One really nice thing about Shenandoah Park is the access to food. Yesterday I had lunch and dinner at restaurants and today breakfast and dinner. Being a smart hiker this means I have had 4 bacon cheese burgers, 2 orders of fries, 2 large cokes, a shake, a sundae, a Gatorade, ham and eggs and biscuits, French toast, 4 cups of coffee, 4 beers, and a pint of ice cream over those 4 meals. Plus a necessary supplement of hiker food to fill in the gaps. I haven¢t, hardly, even been hungry the last couple of days.    I finally have some pictures of a black bear. I didn't even scare this one too badly. Joe Crow and I were walking along after dinner looking for a place to camp and spied this good sized bear scratching himself on a tree. I managed to get a few pics before he ran off. Joe and I have noticed a lot of rocks have been turned over in this area and we think it is because the bears are looking for grubs to eat. They must be really happy when the berries come out.    A few minutes after our bear sighting we come around a corner and there is a skunk in the middle of the trail. Now, unlike yesterday when I almost stepped on Mr. Bear, I immediately recognized Mr. Skunk as an unbeatable foe and accorded him all due respect. He was allowed to choose his own time and pace to vacate the trail.    Saw something really funny today. There was this raccoon snooping in the garbage around one of the park restaurant areas this afternoon. I did not know until today that raccoons can open the bear proof garbage cans and get inside. This raccoon went from can to can and would jump up and open the hatch and jump in. After inspecting the contents for food he would move on to the next one. Well, while Mr. Raccoon was in this one can a hiker walked over to it to throw something away and Mr. Raccoon basically jumps out right into his arms. The poor guy almost died of fright and jumped about 10 feet away. It was one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time.   And best of all it only rained on us for about 5 minutes today. Dry feet! Yippee kaiay as they say. WyomingWhich way is North?
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Sugarloaf Mtn at AT mile 938.1

To: US 522 Chester Gap at AT mile 955.5
Miles today: 17.4

Total miles today 17.7Trail miles today 17.4Start at SugarloafFinish at US 522 Chester Gap at AT mile 955.5Staying in motel   Finished Shenandoah Park this afternoon. Joe Crow and I separated at this point as he decided to stay at the hostel just outside the park so that he could go into Front Royal for resupply.   I was picked up by my wife and will spend most of the weekend with her. Tomorrow is our 26th anniversary. Gulp!   A zero tomorrow. Whew! It will be my first zero since 20 May or 41 days ago. The legs could use a rest. Funny thing is, after getting back on the trail Sun it will be only 2 more days to my house where I will probably take 2 more zeros to re-outfit the kit and resupply. After that I don't plan on any more until maybe just before entering the Whites. But then again the rocks of PA might change that as I have tender, if homely, feet.Wyoming   Which way is North?