morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-03-27
From: stealth camp near state rd 611

To: wapiti shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: clear sky

....okay....sometimes you simply must accept the fact that you may NEVER know what galloped away from your tent in the middle of the night!........19 miles today....(yeah...i know it says 17, but we added ONE extra mile to the "trents-grocery-with-the-promise-of-a-burger", along with ONE mile before that where we took a WRONG TURN to the "trents-grocery-with-the-promise-of-a-burger"!).........cold chocolate milk covers a multitude of sins!........met "lonestar" today from san antonio....he has hiked all over the world!.......annnnnnd......according to spicolli and rambo, one should NEVER take a job at the winery in atkins, va, unless one is VERY fond of limited servings of baloney sandwiches!........happy to report that even here into virginia, we are still having great views and plenty of water!....(gotta love an early start on a thru!)........a tom turkey is gobbling us a lullaby....
Date: 2012-03-29
From: wonderful woodshole!

To: stealth camp near ricefield shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: clear sky

....guess we're officially "hiker trash" now....after a HUGE breakfast this morning at woodshole, we STILL could not pass up a single blue M&M lying in the middle of the trail!....we halved and ate it.......and searched the treadway for more........(if this was a "test", we failed it....or....perhaps passed it, depending on your perspective!)........it's amazing what 5 minutes of clean clothes can do for morale!....(5 minutes is about all you get out here before that "hiker aroma" is back in full swing!)....some time to reminisce this morning about our great stay with neville and michael at woodshole!....but i'll not "spoil" the surprise for those still coming along.......just...check it out!........met "triple crowner",ed, and parkside (aka park bench, sidecar, parkway, etc...heh heh!) and his cute little nutty dog, nutty....great guys we'd love to get to know better....alas....they're headed (30 mile days) to catawba so as not to miss the buffet!.....dan and his young friend, russell, were up on angel's rest doing trail work today!...(thanks guys!)....dan said the valley had 5 inches of golf ball size hail the other day (to which the road scrapers had to respond!)....somehow we continue to be blessed to "escape" such severe weather! :-)....there's a "short cut" into pearisburg (michael at woodshole informed us)...MUCH BETTER!....comes right out at the dairy queen!...(how CONVEEEEEEEENIENT!).......i'm getting to where i associate japanese honeysuckle and chinese privet with HAMBURGERS!......(town)....narrow corridor? no switchbacks!....it's just that simple!.......so happy to be back to the FREEDOM of the trail and under the tarp with paw-ee!....i'm sure my dreams tonight will include visions of a relaxing day under clear blue skies, and blizzards and burgers at the DQ!....
Date: 2012-03-30
From: stealth camp near ricefield shelter

To: pine swamp branch shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

....some days.......wellllllllllllllll.......perhaps it's time for a real live ZERO day!........but let me just give fair warning....the privy here has water in the bottom of it!.....(yes, hatman......i'm thinking of you and a similar experience you and happy feet had somewhere up on lake michigan?????!!!!)....
Date: 2012-03-31
From: pine swamp branch shelter

To: war spur shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: light rain

....I AM STARRRRRRRRRRRRVING!......(and now that that's out on the table......oooooh!....don't say "table"!).....i'll move on to attempt to sum up our day).........read in one of the registers today that parkside saw a BEAR yesterday!...(i had the sort of FEELING like i saw one, too, as we came down into this stream valley!)........short day today....and thinking of "lollygagging" for a few days in order to physically refresh (AND perhaps land at the "homeplace" for the buffet!)........garrison keillor makes for a great threesome under a tarp on a saturday night!.........PHilosophy PHorming/PHinding/conPHirming PHootpath!....i love me some appalachian trail!......
Date: 2012-04-01
From: war spur shelter

To: niday shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

....palm sunday!....hosanna!... .....whew!...sinking creek mountain!....(i reckon them thar sarver folk warn't countin' on no compan-eeeeee!)....gliders buzzed us up there!...(so cool!).....alriiiiiiiight!.....AYCE TEABERRYS!.........ANNNNND.....(i kid you not)....TWO (count them) instances of trail magic beside the trail today!.....(much needed!....thanks, angels!)........KEFFER OAK!....(i feel so teensy-weensy!.....and YOUNG!)..."fantastic foods" black beans rehydrate well by soaking in cold water...make an excellent lunch with corn chips!........spring has sprung.....blossoms blossoms blossoms!...(including corydalis and azaleas!)..........some pretty large hemlocks up on the mountain....wish someone would look after them (saveourhemlocks.com)........"oh thou greatest Source of gladness"!.......
Date: 2012-04-02
From: niday shelter

To: stealth camp past VA 624
Miles today: 0.0

....booyah!....snagged the "snaggle" today!...(dragon's tooth!)......probably our most physically demanding day so far......BUT!....it ended well with burgers, dogs, sodas and icecream from the catawba quickstop!....(those ladies make an excellent cheeseburger!).......hikers coming behind may find it a little strange that i (maw) adore this little "scruffy" ridge just past trout creek....but i do...why?.....because it's so botanically diverse!....you can see little "treasures you may not ordinarily see elsewhere (like turkeybeard lily....and shrubby oaks the size of mtn laurel...and rose pagonia...or "gaywings" as some folks call them)....sterile, dry ridge soil in the appalachian range can sometimes yield the most interesting plants!....love it!.....stephen the "dentist" gave us a free lift back to the trail from the store!....thanks, stephen!....it was an uphill half mile we weren't exactly looking forward to!.........met "milkshake"........the best part of my day (besides getting safely over dragon's tooth) was talking to my awesome-beautiful-talented-wise-helpful-always-can-make-me-laugh DAUGHTER!....(luv ya, hunny bunny!)
Date: 2012-04-03
From: stealth camp past VA 624

To: lambert's meadow shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: clear sky

....whew!...."candybar-melting-weather" came early this year!...(where's that cold stream?!!).......that 15 felt like 20!...for those hikers just behind us?....expect plenty of dry, slippery leaves on the trail on the sections heading into catawba! (slick as uh....owl...uh....jello!)........you never know what sorts of beautiful "gardens" you might find blossoming on top of an ancient, rocky ol' mountaintop!.......okay...see if y'all can help me figure this out : 3 thru hikes began at 3 different times of the year....and a famous AYCE restaurant is open 4 days out of 7......HOW COME WE CAN NEVER CONNECT????!!??!!!......sheesh!....what do 2 hot, thirsty hikers do with a perfectly good, unopened can of beer you find lying on the trail?....(no....this is NOT a trick question)...........MCAFEE KNOB!....TINKER CLIFFS!......need i say more?
Date: 2012-04-04
From: lambert's meadow shelter

To: daleville howard johnsons
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

...welllllllll.....anybody wanna encourage us?....(bad case of homesickness!)....go north?...or go home?.........sigh.........BUT.......we did have the most interesting encounter with a snake today we've ever had!....an orange-colored, checkerboard patterned "copperhead" (?) "stood up" and flared its head at us like a cobra!....beautiful and terrifying!.......oh....and if any of you hikers out there are considering the shoneys AYCE?....it's not as good as it used to be........and i should mention that if you are planning to stay at the howard johnsons, you can get a coupon booklet at the gas station next door and stay (1-4 people) for 39.95!...(which makes up for the not quite so true ad that they offer a "full" breakfast....they do have a waffle maker, though, along with their "continental style" offerings).....
Date: 2012-04-05
From: daleville howard johnsons

To: zero at howard johnsons
Miles today: 0.0

....raining.....cold....good to be for our first real zero in a while.........pizza hut AYCE salad bar AND pizza!.....hot soup felt good on my scratchy throat and warmed my chilling body.......struggling with decisions on whether we'll go home for easter....grand reunion of hiker friends here : spicolli....rambo////no problem....viking....iceman.....even ED!......ANNNNND....to our joy and amazement....our old friend CRASH!....he's baaaaa-aaaaack!....
Date: 2012-04-06
From: zero at howard johnsons

To: greyhound world
Miles today: 0.0

.....no....the bus station was definitely NOT our "destination"!....however....after making the painful decision to come off the trail for at least a few days, a little "surprise" at the hertz counter made that decision for us : BOTH our driver's licenses had expired!...(yes...both!....where WERE our heads last fall?!?!?!!!).......saying goodbye to hikers and even a surprise encounter with "angel" homer witcher (who, along with his wife, teresa, and their kids hosted us in '06 with a bonus outing to the "floyd county general store" friday night bluegrass extravaganza), was REALLY a downer.......but the 12 hour bus ride/culture shock experience seved to lift our spirits (not).....
Date: 2012-04-08
From: zero at home on lookout mountain

To: easter dinner with family
Miles today: 0.0

....HAPPY "RESURRECTION DAY"!...."LIFE" IS GOOD!.........have enjoyed quite the celebration today with all the family we have so missed!...when we do get back on the trail, we will take these treasured memories with us!.....ahhhhh!...."heart food"!...........i guess today would be a good time to "explain" our little "greek greetings" in all the trail registers up and down the trail (at least for hikers anyway who have asked me "what does that mean?").......we begin each entry with "xaipnrn" (chairete = kah-ee-ray-tay).....and basically it just simply means "joy...peace....and all the best of LIFE to you!"....if you could conjure the greeting in "images", you would probably picture something such as the "skipping of a lamb across a fresh green meadow in springtime"!...sheer happiness!....sheer life!........and the reason "today" is a good day to explain "xaipnrn" is because we first learned of this greeting as it is used very simply in the new testament (matthew 28:9) within the story of the resurrection of Jesus!........and i like it!....i like the fact that Jesus basically just gave a short greeting to the women he met along the way....no "sermons"....no "philosophies"....no "sage words of wisdom".....none of that was even necessary at THAT point!....because the Risen Lord was standing before them and THAT was "enough said"!....so today....paw and i would like to simply say to all our hiker friends and readers "chairete"!...."Life and all its best" to you and yours!.........hope to be back out there soon!.....
Date: 2012-04-11
From: department of motor vehicles

To: the basement (and maybe...argh!...walmart) 
Miles today: 0.0

....yes......"hostel du snyder" (my daughter's house) is spoiling us BIGTIME!....(oh no!.....are we losing our "hiking mojo"?!?).........we'll be digging out new shoes and summer gear today....maybe doing a bit of shopping.....anticipating continuing our hike from daleville next week........IN THE MEANTIME..........yikes!....we'll be headed back to hot springs, nc, tomorrow to try and fill some HUGE "angel shoes" ....(those of chuck norris and tigger who are managing a hostel there!)....but so looking forward to seeing them, ANNND, the rest of our "class" who are steadily gaining on us as we hike north!.....hope to be able to "pay forward" a little as we do some laundry, clean some toilets, and/or offer any other help we can to our "hiker family"!....YAY!.......again, we want to thank all our readers who have contacted us to wish us well.....(we so rarely get to a computer, you know, so it's hard to keep up)....we wish we had a chance to just sit down and visit with ALL of you!....thanks, too, for being patient in waiting for posts and pictures....(i guess we're living out the "better late than never" motto???? ...heh heh)........signing out STILL with growling stomachs!.....(vvvvv "oooooohhhh!...what does it mean???? vvvvvvv)
Date: 2012-04-12
From: the basement (and maybe...argh!...walmart) 

To: hot springs , nc (via our 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

.....ahhhhh!....hot springs!...."home sweet home"!.... (can't get enough of this awesome little trail town!).........ANNNNNND.....the "smoky mountain diner"!....(everything from homemade biscuits and apple butter to homemade pizza!....check it out!)....but the best part about rollin' back into hot springs once again is seeing our good friends, chuck norris and tigger! (both looking healthy and happy!....i think "hosteling" must be agreeing with them!) :-)   ....and the hostel is amazing!....it was a pleasure meeting the owners, pete and karen, too, who have done such a tremendous job turning this property (which was once a jesuit monastery) into a beautiful lodge/retreat center, and, fortunately for hikers, a top notch hostel! (complete with LINENS and plenty of complimentary coffee!)....dogs are even welcome! (say hello to "artie" and "chigger"!).........so good to experience a bit of the "herd"!...(up the trail we meet hikers more "sparcely")....it was good to meet members of our "class" who may just come flying past us soon, farther northbound :-)....took part in the hot springs community thursday night potluck this evening!...(unfortunately, when we came through, we had just partaken of the hiker-sized pulled pork at the diner........i know....."SO?", you ask!)....thanks, this time, to sunny and all the others who invited us to share some MIGHTY fine "grub"!.......snug in our "private" room in the hostel....takin' in all the familiar hiker sounds and...(ahem) ...."aromas"!....good to be back with our "peeps" again!
Date: 2012-04-13
From: hot springs , nc (via our 

To: the laundry room at the hostel
Miles today: 0.0

.....yikes!....ATTEMPTING to fill these HUGE "chuck and tigger shoes" all on our own today (while they attend the ALDHA meeting at bear's den)........wellllll....not totally "on our own", because "mark" is helping us!....wow!....he's supposed to be on his vacation, but dropped in to see how he might contribute ....thanks mark!....what would we do without you?!?!!!.....so lovin' seeing hot, sweat-y hikers trudge down that hill and their eyes light up when they realize they're AT the hostel!....(yep!.....they can drop their packs before hitting the diner!....woohoo!)
Date: 2012-04-14
From: the laundry room at the hostel

To: here and there at the hostel
Miles today: 0.0

.....(you might have noticed we're having a bit of a "photograph SNAFU" here on our journal....sorry.....we're HOPING we can add more pics soon and haven't "lost" them" in the "E-theric" somewhere!).......anyway................PIZZA today!.....no....not at the diner, but handmade by "chef-boy-ar-BIGFOOT"!....thanks, bigfoot, for treating the hikers to your culinary gifts!........and the "kid" got a cooking lesson!......."old" friends today!....(wellll....not "old" as in "old"...heh heh)....."the honeymoon hikers" and "red hat"!......so great seeing their familiar faces again!.....enjoyed so much visitin' with you all (in between cleaning toilets and doing laundry!)........(later) : (ahhh....found some pics to add!)
Date: 2012-04-15
From: here and there at the hostel

To: tigger's kitchen
Miles today: 0.0

.....CINNAMON ROLLS!....(if you make them, they will come!)........chuck and tigg rolled back into the hostel a little early today with smiles on their faces! (good meeting?....a little rest?...happy to be back "home" with hikers?....all of the above?).....at any rate, we're glad they're back (even though their return signals that our stay here is soon coming to an end) :-(....sunday pot roast special at the diner today!....(thanks to chuck and tigg who bought our lunch!...thanks, guys!).......had to say "farewell" to the "village" this morning :-( what a great bunch of hikers!....(unity in diversity!)......thanks, village, for blessing us with everything frome homemade bread and pizza, to lovely lilting german accents, to beautiful 12 yr dreadlocks, to an appreciation of generational interaction, to laughter and stories and new perspectives!.....y'all are awesome!....hope to meet you again up the trail somewhere!........mark "got his wings" today!....yep!....a TRAIL NAME!.....he will hereafter be known as "UPS" (thanks to a hiker reference in the hostel register)!....."UPS" is appropriate, we think, not only because he works for UPS, but also because he has such a unique gift of hospitality and lifting people "UP"!......yeah....good trail name!.....paw and i have the afternoon and evening off!.....ahhhhh!
Date: 2012-04-16
From: tigger's kitchen

To: back to chattanooga
Miles today: 0.0

.....(itching to be back on the trail in daleville again!)........made a quick stop in our favorite outfitters this a.m.....paw bought an "awl" and some belts and buckles for his pack (hoping it will make for a more comfortable hike)......and i bought "big sur" bars (yum!)....such a rich experience at the "laughing heart hostel" (soon to be re-named "stone's throw"?)....hope we can contribute again someday..........the "sooby" with us and all our gear is chattanooga bound.....lots of "discussion" as we head back about "future plans".........but for the meantime, we hope to be back on the trail for a couple of months....can we "get it together" for departure on wednesday?....we'll see.....lot's to do......
Date: 2012-04-19
From: anywhere ada wants to go

To: fullhardt shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

.....(willie nelson voice) : on the trail againnnnn!....it's so good to be on the trail again!........walking out of daleville felt awesome!.....hard to leave family this a.m.....but received much encouragement from isaiah 43.........not sure if FULLHARDT shelter will be the exact place we will land this evening, but our "HARDTS ARE FULL"!.........a big "thank you" to michael and carli and the girls for hosting us, loving us, feeding us, playing with us, hashing out future plans with us, chauffering u, entertaining us and PRAYING for us!....(one little maw-made butter cake doesn't come close to expressing our appreciation!).........(later): we did make it to the shelter!....yahoooooo!.....and our "old friend" margaret queen of england seems to be here in her tent behind the shelter....(though we saw only her light in the middle of the night)....felt great to be hiking again!.....sweet solitude so rich and deep it felt almost a sacrilege to even speak!.....and in camp here tonight there is an "amen" over this knoll.....both the woodthrush and the whipporwill are singing vespers....ahhhh!.........hope we can stay warm....we left all our winter gear at home!...
Date: 2012-04-20
From: fullhardt shelter

To: stealth camp just past hwy 43
Miles today: 17.0

......note to selves : never hike 17 miles when you're old and have been off the trail for a couple of weeks!....ouch...........lot's of "goodies" on the trail today :....rhododendron trying to bloom........"turkey surprise"... (no.... not our lunch....but a big tom that flew just in front of us and surprised the dickens out of paw!)........newts!.... (or properly, the "red efts")........and the "piece de resistance", lady's slipper orchids!....we're facing the possibility of two very rainy days ahead....(the great weather this year has spoiled us!).........good supper tonight!....added fresh sauteed squash, shallots, garlic and cherry tomatoes to our mac n cheese!....(tuna and slim jims too!.....no kidding!....it was delicious!
Date: 2012-04-21
From: stealth camp just past hwy 43

To: cornelius shelter
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: light rain

.....this was one of our more "blessed" days!....here's why :.....new friends, sarge and weaver!....and old friends.... (hi, MiG!).........milkshakes (yes....it's perfectly legitimate to have a shake with your egg biscuit!)........incredible azalea "gardens"!..........bryant ridge shelter break (the "lodge" in the woods!)........sunshine (hot!).......rain (to cool us off again!)........wildflowers! (everything!)........and an owl signaled the anticipation of a sweet night's rest!.....jennings creek was a GREAT stop today!....the extra 2 miles was worth it!........with the COLD, rainy forecast, we're thinking about actually "zero-ing" here in the shelter tomorrow.....(slim pickin's in our food bag.....hmmmmm....what to do)......
Date: 2012-04-22
From: cornelius shelter

To: ...hmmmmmm...
Miles today: 0.0

....our original plan was to hike over 4000 ft apple orchard mtn (for just 5 miles today)....but when the wind and rain both picked up, paw nixed that plan...(and i agreed!) :-)....T.I. Joe came in a little later and we've enjoyed getting to know him.......had to ration our food in order to remain here, so we had an iddy biddy supper made from bits and pieces of all our other meals...um!...GOULASH!.......later on "flip", "b-man" and a hiker from louisiana came in, dripping and cold, but their cheerfulness helped to lift our spirits as well!....nice to have a full house!....(and our tarps hung across the front of the shelter helped to block out the cold!)......someone mentioned the possibility of SNOW tonight?????...