morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-27
From: Holiday Motor Lodge

To: Symms Gap Campsite
Miles today: 12.6

Finally got out of Pearisburg. Getting out of towns is becoming more and more of a chore. And I reevaluated my budget in Pearisburg, after that second motel night and I have to be more frugal. I definitely can make it on the money I have left, but I haven¢t been paying enough attention. So more frugality in towns. And more hiking. That is the whole point, after all. I left town at about one, after successfully avoiding paying money for breakfast and eating trail food instead. I hiked twelve miles, about, past two campsites with water and a shelter with possibly the best view on the trail. Coming out of Pearisbur, too, there was this hideous factory¢Celco Inc or something. It was about the foulest smelling thing imaginable and you could hear the noise from it forever. All the streams nearly were poisoned with sulfur, and one of them, coming right out of a landfill, expressly used for waste from the factory, had a big sign saying that due to naturally occurring bacteria no one should drink from the stream. Yeah, right¢¦¢Naturally occurring¢ bacteria in the only stream running straight from a landfill? Even out here you can¢t get away from the by-products of civilization. Who knows what Celco actually makes? Probably something we all wear in our hiker clothes. If only we were all forced to see the ugly underbelly of our so-called civilization, maybe we¢d all be a little more responsible.
Date: 2004-05-28
From: Symms Gap Campsite

To: Campsite past Wind Rock
Miles today: 16.0

Woke up this morning in about three inches of standing water. I had camped past an official campsite because it was full of people. This alleged thinning out after Damascus is definitely not happening. The trail seems more flooded with people than before. There are more thruhikers than ever, and now all the section hikers are out too. I feel more than ever that coming to the woods for solitude was a completely foolish thing to do. At least on this trail. I¢ve come to the woods to negotiate the vagaries of foolish people. Hiking with a hiking partner is difficult, too. There are things that are a lot easier, but there are other things that are points of conflict. All in all I think it¢s worth it for the companionship, but I miss being completely solo in my decision-making, too. More bad news, too, today: I had completely forgotten that Monday was Memorial Day, the day I was expecting to get to Catawba to pick up my package. And, of course, post offices are closed on Memorial Day. This means I can slow down, but it also means that I probably won¢t make it to Waynesboro to meet my parents on June 9 to go to my brother¢s graduation. Got some trail magic today¢some cokes at a shelter¢pretty cool. Virginia continues to be beautiful, and I love walking through it, but I forget to mention it. It¢s not flat at all, as the rumors suggest, but there are a lot of ridge walks. Which are great because they are relatively flat, and you get amazing views of these beautiful pastoral landscapes. Don¢t let anyone tell you Virginia isn¢t beautiful.
Date: 2004-05-29
From: Campsite past Wind Rock

To: Campsite at Keffer Oak
Miles today: 13.2

Got a later start than expected this morning as per usual. I have to start doing better at that, if I really want to start doing 100-mile weeks. I don¢t know why I have such a hard time getting up in the morning. And it makes it really hard to get more than fifteen miles or so in. I have been doing some night hiking with County, more than I¢ve done in the past, but I find it frustrating. Even when I¢ve done fewer miles than everyone else, I find I want to settle down and sleep at night like everyone else. I still get tired at dark. And I hate feeling like I¢m missing things. So only thirteen miles today. But it was still a pretty cool day. I met the legendary Warren Doyle, who has hiked the trail twelve times. He¢s on a training trip for another of his ¢expeditions¢ this one is 2005. We also met some of his followers at a road crossing, and they gave us trail magic¢coke, root beer, cheese ticks, apples, oranges¢it was great. And, then only a couple of miles down the trail, my pack loaded down with cans and fruit, I saw the Keffer Oak, this huge 300-year-old tree, the second biggest oak along the AT. So I decided to camp under it. Pretty cool. I do love finding very memorable places to camp even if it does mean cutting days short.
Date: 2004-05-30
From: Campsite at Keffer Oak

To: Campsite at Trout Creek
Miles today: 17.6

Another big day with a late start. I woke up this morning to rain, yet again. This always inspires me to stay in my tent way too long. When it had finally lessened, and it was late enough that I felt inspired to arise, I got out of my tent and it immediately started pouring. Nothing like packing up with the rain pouring directly into my pack. I didn¢t even get a picture eof the oak. Then I stopped at the first water source a shelter three very steep miles off the trail. It was a cool shelter though. Brand new and there was a shelter cat! Tried to wait out the rain unsuccessfully. It keeps pouring all day. My feet look like they¢ve been pickled tonight. So I went past a shelter with the idea that I could get to the post office first thing Tuesday morning, only to climb this huge1500-foot mountain at dusk and get trapped without a campsite. So basically I ended up walking five miles in the dark. Which is okay, but doesn¢t make me that happy, especially after a day of rain. Walked past this monument in the dark, to this guy Ardie Murphy, a WWII Rambo-type who single-handedly defeated a squad of Germans. He died in a plane crash on top of the mountain. It¢s weird how the woods are changing. Each mile further north, they change slightly. Much more pine now. It happens so gradually, though, it¢s hard to notice. But the woods are very different than the Georgia woods now.
Date: 2004-05-31
From: Campsite at Trout Creek

To: Four Pines Hostel, Catawba, VA
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

A big seven-mile day today. In addition to being Memorial Day today, it¢s County¢s birthday, so we had to celebrate.We intended to make it all the way to the post office tonight, but no such luck. We climbed this morning over Dragon¢s Tooth, this very cool ridge of rocks that did look a lot like a row of dragon teeth. It was fun scrambling over rocks, although my feet are sore some with all the rain. This area is close to town, too, close to Roanoke, I think, and it being a holiday, the area was flooded with day-hikers, which can be fun. They ask a lot of questions and treat us like celebrities, which is amusing.The views were incredible. When we got to the road, we hitched to the store for some celebratory hot dogs loaded with vast quantities of chili, slaw, relish, hot sauce, and everything you can imagine. Gas station hot dogs will never be the same.We ran into the guy who runs the hostel at the store and he shuttled us up here¢I needed alcohol and County needed a hiker box. He¢s on an even tighter budget than I am. They didn¢t have alcohol, but we decided to stay anyway. A whole group of hikers are here, making more hot dogs and having a good time, so it should be a good night. Some of them call themselves the BLAHS, headed by this guy Lint, who hiked the 1000-mile Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin, and his group of sycophants: MSG, Strangelove, and Wonka. A kid named Publix is here too¢he decided to get a dog to hike with, and found a Rottweiler mix that someone was offering for free at the gas station. The BLAHS (which stands for Black-Lung Alcoholic Hiking Society, incidentally) talked him out of it, which was sad in my opinion. The dog really didn¢t get on well with others, though.The hostel is basically this guy¢s garage with mattresses on the floor. I took a shower, though, and shaved my legs for the first time since Damascus. That feels great. Also, Joe, the hostel owner, said that he knows the postmaster at the post office and could have gotten packages on a holiday, so there was no need to dawdle. I feel a bit stupid about that. Oh well¢there was no way to know.
Date: 2004-06-01
From: Four Pines Hostel, Catawba, VA

To: Four Pines Hostel, Catawba, VA
Miles today: 5.9
Weather: broken clouds

I feel even more stupid today. My package wasn¢t even at the post office at all, but at the hostel! I walked the six miles, about, from the hostel to the post office, hitched the mile into the post office, only to discover my package wasn¢t there. I panicked, called my mom, who said that of course the package wasn¢t at the post office¢it was at some hostel. Craziness. Maybe I should have my own mail drop schedule?So I hitched back to the hostel an easy hitch, to find Noname and Whiskey, Dingle and Skirt, Wife and Beater all there. So we decided to stay again. It really is a fun hostel, and at least I didn¢t zero today. County and I are cooking up some leftovers from the fridge along with a full jar of salsa homemade by Joe last year instead of ordering pizza as a money-saving technique. It should be delicious. We¢re also scavenging off everyone else¢s pizza. Sometimes it¢s good to be poor.
Date: 2004-06-02
From: Four Pines Hostel, Catawba, VA

To: LambertÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Meadow Campsite
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: broken clouds

Another big-mile day, another late start. I¢m not starting out my new month very well. I started the day by helping Joe a little bit around the hostel¢sweeping, cleaning up, and doing dishes. The hostel¢s run by donations, so it feels good to help out sometimes. He shuttled us back past the post office to the trail and showed us which way to go¢I think he¢s a little worried we¢ll end up back there again! So am I, frankly.I went up McAfee Knob today, and took the requisite picture with my feet dangling off the cliff. The second most famous AT picture, I say. The first is the triumphant Katahdin pose. Then County and I went bushwhacking around below the cliffs and left our packs somewhere, probably the reason for my exhaustion tonight even after a ten-mile day. On the way out we got lost and couldn¢t find our packs for a couple of brief minutes of panic. So that¢s why they tell you not to get off the trail!Also went over Tinker Cliffs, .5 miles of walking along a rocky cliff¢s edge, with amazing views. There was also a rainbow!! It¢s my first of the trip. I love rainbows. Hiked down to the next shelter, which was packed out. It¢s crazy how crowded the trail is still. Camping tonight with No Name, Whiskey, Skirt, and Dingle. County and I thought about pressing on, so we could hit the Shoney¢s breakfast buffet tomorrow, but were both too tired.
Date: 2004-06-03
From: LambertÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Meadow Campsite

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: few clouds

Woke up early this morning for once. Mainly because I was excited about the Shoney¢s in Troutville. Booked it the ten miles or so into town over another beautiful ridge, past Hay Rock, a large sandstone upwards thrusting rock covered in graffiti and countless power-lines. Troutville is three miles from Roanoke, and you could definitely tell. It¢s crazy how much power even a medium-sized city needs. We¢ve been walking under power-lines for days. Some of the ones today were audibly buzzing and all the trees underneath were growing completely bent over, into upside down U¢s. It was freaky.We also went by Tinker Creek today, and I took a picture that I can authentically label ¢Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.¢ I think I¢m going to have that book sent to me. If this is the section of trail Annie Dillard walked, though, I¢m not that impressed. It¢s one of the most corrupted by civilization sections of the trail I¢ve seen. I¢ll have to reread the book and see what she says about it.Finally got to Shoney¢s, but not in time for breakfast. Still had a fantastic lunch buffet, though¢fried chicken, meatloaf, pot roast, and the most delicious mac-and-cheese known to mankind, and lastly a huge salad that I couldn¢t finish. County was very disappointed in me. I¢ve almost decided that AYCE¢s aren¢t worth it¢you¢re too depressed with the quantity you¢re capable of eating and then the next day mourn all the food you missed. I wish I had about three more huge bowls of mac-and-cheese right now and the rest of my salad.We ended up killing about five hours in front of Shoney¢s, making phone calls and just hanging out and then another two in front of a gas station drinking orange juice before taking off at dusk to the next shelter. The night hike wasn¢t bad¢I keep seeing things, though¢weird shapes in the dark. I kind of like it, actually, sometimes.
Date: 2004-06-04
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: moderate rain

We¢re back to staying in shelters again, mainly because of the weather. This is maybe the worst day of rain I¢ve had on the trail. The one seven-mile day in the cold with Mom felt worse, but today was the first day it rained hard all day long. We ended up holed up at Fullhardt Knob Shelter most of the day, cooked breakfast and lunch there, waiting for the rain to stop, which it never did.I ran into Daisy J and ATK again, though¢the last time I had seen them was when they were breaking for cover in Gatlinburg from the Smokies. They¢re a really cool older couple from Maine. She¢s a bartender who used to sail boats¢she sailed with two couples all the way from the coast of Maine to the Caribbean. She was telling us all about the boat she sailed in, which cost about a million dollars, but she was saying there¢s a hotline in the Caribbean where you can call and just get jobs working on the crews of boats. Sounds pretty great for my next adventure, if I don¢t hike the PCT next year.So we spent all morning cooking and hanging out at the shelter, talking about boats¢finally it started to clear slightly and we took off only to become completely soaked by the wet brush and then the rain that started again soon after. We got to the shelter at about six miles, which was packed out, and decided we could make it to the shelter after that. It was still cool walking in the rain.I¢ve finally reached the legendary section of trail where it parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the walking is much easier, plus it¢s great to finally be here. And the parkway was so beautiful in the fog, all green and misty, even with no views. We got to the next shelter at about dark, and it was still pouring out. The shelter wasn¢t anywhere near full, especially on a night like this, but everyone was asleep.We started cooking, thinking we might move on, but as soon as we finished eating, the sky absolutely opened up. We just huddled in the entrance to the shelter hoping it would clear, not knowing what to do. I, at least, was cursing the hikers in the shelter, wishing plagues on all their houses. It¢s one thing to like your space in a shelter, it¢s another to require a half-foot of space between each hiker. After two days of rain, my tent and sleeping bag were both soaked. It would have been hell trying to pitch in the downpour.Finally, after what felt like hours, one couple offered to move over for me and said that they¢d move their boots so County could sleep at the foot of the shelter. We later found out they were section hikers, not even thru-hikers, on their second day of a month out, bless their hearts. It¢s the first time I¢ve felt that upset with shelter occupants. I¢m glad I¢ve been avoiding them and I think I¢ll do so again in the future. I¢m supposed to be meeting my friend in Roanoke on Sunday¢I hope we can find a place to meet.
Date: 2004-06-05
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Cove Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: moderate rain

I was miserable last night. Maybe the most miserable I¢ve been on the trail. It¢s the first time my down bag has really been wet through, and even in my dry clothing I shivered uncontrollably all night long. I must¢ve slept some, but when I woke up and everyone was moving around, all I wanted to do was stay in my bag. So I did. I figured aside from the sun it was the best way to dry it out. I went back to sleep after everyone had left, and when I finally woke up and ate lunch it had started to clear.So we took off¢another afternoon start. We were intending to go farther, but we got to the next shelter and there were only three people here because there¢s no water. So we decided to stay¢also, this way I¢m only three miles from a road where my friend can pick me up.Pucca and Eagle Eye are here! I hadn¢t seen them since Damascus. They just took off five days to go to Virginia Beach. I¢m very jealous. Pucca has sent Zach home (her dog)¢a little sad, but she just said it became too much of a hassle. Hi-Trailer is also here¢a cool guy who used to be known on the trail for his Pokeman sleeping bag. Eagle Eye built a fire for us, in the rain¢very cozy. They also told us that they heard from a ranger that there were only 380 thruhikers left on the trail. Seems fairly incredible.   But if only 1200 started, I guess it¢s possible.
Date: 2004-06-06
From: Cove Mountain Shelter

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 3.2

A near-o day today¢we hiked down to VA highway 614 and got picked up by my friend from Chattanooga. It was a great day¢very relaxed. We hung out in the shelter all morning, which is usual for us, I suppose, but we knew we were allowed to today. We played rummy and talked to thru-hikers who came through all morning. County saw Blue, a thru-hiker he had last seen in Hiawassee. Fairly cool. We finally took off at about 1:30, making it to the picnic area at almost exactly three. We ran into Daisy J and ATK there¢they were lunching and we chatted while we waited for our ride.Tonight, we¢re in a real house¢the first real house I¢ve been in since I started. It feels weird. Good, but also weird. Sarah cooked a dinner for us tonight (starting with lots of rice) and I was bewildered by the sight of the kitchen cupboards. So much food! How do people live with that much food?It¢s so funny, too, people¢s reactions to our smell now. I warned Sarah both on the phone and in person, and she laughed and gave me a hug anyway. But, when she got us in the car, she kept the windows rolled down. I think it¢s in enclosed spaces that we¢re really bad. We showered as soon as we got there¢Sarah was really sweet and gave us old tee shirts and pajama bottoms to wear while we did our laundry. Just to wear something different than my one outfit feels terrific. Tonight, there¢s cheesecake, Strictly Ballroom, and a real bed. Fantastic.And the other funny thing is that they moved our back packs from the basement to the porch. Our smell polluted even the unfinished basement. Pretty bad. Sarah said though, when we had the back packs on the covered porch with a fan blowing on them that they smelled like horses--not so bad. I can think of worse things to be compared to than hard-working animals. That¢s what we are out here, I suppose. I feel like our sweat is honest sweat. Town sweat smells much worse. It¢s pretty bad when we¢re so afraid of our own smell that we can¢t even be comfortable with our own sweat. My brother told me, when I decided to come out here, ¢Melissa, you¢re going to smell like a human being.¢ And that¢s exactly right.
Date: 2004-06-07
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Marble Spring Campsite
Miles today: 20.9

Sarah gave us a ride back to the trail this morning early, in theory, but we still ended up hiking till dark. Sarah let us listen to music in the car, which was cool¢we got to hear some Beatles songs we hadn¢t heard in a very long time. ¢Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo¢¦¢ Way to go George.Then we hiked all day, pretty uneventfully. Twenty-mile days always feel fairly uneventful, because you don¢t have time to do much except hike. We did go under the Guillotine today, one of three spots on the AT where the trail goes beneath a rock. The others are Fat Man¢s Squeeze in the Grayson Highlands, and Mahoosuc Notch. The Guillotine is a rock suspended between two other rocks that looks as if it¢s going to fall any minute.We also found a baby bird today. It looked like it had fallen from its nest and we were worried that a snake would eat it, so we decided to adopt it. County held it in his hand for about five miles¢it finally started chirping and jumped off into a tree. We tried to get it again, but it hopped away and we thought it probably could fend for itself. We actually probably ended up killing it, taking it five miles from its home. That¢s what we get for messing with nature.We also climbed Apple Orchard Mountain today, a 4,225-foot mountain that¢s the highest we climb until the Whites. Crazy. I guess the terrain¢s pretty easy from now on. We climbed another mountain called High Cock Knob just as it was getting dark, a steep climb but a really cool rocky summit. Climbing down as it was getting dark was a little frustrating, as usual¢we passed some weekenders who seemed to be letting their children tear down the whole forest in pursuit of a fire.Finally, got to the campsite¢we had met two other thruhikers headed there for the night. Powderfinger and Red. The two section hikers who had let us into the shelter the other night are also here. They¢ve now named each other Scarf and Pimple. They¢re very cute¢he¢s from Long Island and she¢s from Denmark. We all gathered wood and Red built us a fire. I¢m guessing his name has something to do with his slight pyromania. It took him about ten times to get a fire started, but we all felt rather bad going to bed so we ended up staying up really late once the fire got going.
Date: 2004-06-08
From: Marble Spring Campsite

To: Little Irish Creek Campsite
Miles today: 22.6

My biggest mileage day so far! Other than my slackpack. And we started at noon. We were going about three miles an hour this morning which is about as fast as a backpacker ever gets.Came to a fairly gorgeous shelter, right alongside a creek. Would have been a great place to take a swim, if we didn¢t have time pressure! We¢re meeting my parents tomorrow to go to my brother¢s graduation, and we have to get to Buena Vista by tomorrow. There were all these tiny toads all over the trail that hopped out of our way with every step.We crossed the James River on a footbridge, which was cool¢it¢s the longest footbridge the AT goes over. But the cool part is that the last time I crossed the James River was on a ferry when I biked from Florida to Maine. I feel now like I¢m retracing my steps up the coast. We also crossed the road leading to Glasgow, a major town, the first time that the two of us together have resisted the lure of town. And we were rewarded, too.When we reached the next shelter, after a very pleasant walk along a lovely stream for several miles, two section hikers told us that a couple was doing trail magic breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Little Irish Creek, which had been our destination for the day. That left us with eleven miles to do starting at about five, with a huge climb coming up. But we did it¢I¢m always very motivated by food, and I hoped they might still have dinner. The climb was about five miles, the hardest we¢ve had in weeks. But it was clear sailing after that, although it got dark and we could hear this creek for what sounded like miles as we descended. No dinner tonight, but the couple woke up when we got here and promised breakfast in the morning. And, tonight County made us fantastic mac-and-cheese with all our leftover fatty food¢cheddar and pepperoni. So that¢s better than any burgers. And breakfast in the morning!