morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-23
From: er....MacKenzie Residence

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: light rain

See, I told you I would hike. Allen took me to the trail before church, and it was a beautiful day for a walk. I was surprised at how much the trail wended its way around Pearisburg before finally heading up the ridge. Shortly after reaching the ridgeline, I ran into Swift Creek and Small Wonder. Swiftcreek seemed to have recovered from his food poisoning incident. Soon after, we passed Treegirl on a southbound slackpack. She was helping build a new roof at the local hostel, but still wanted to get some miles in. We bid her adieu, figuring we would see her in the morning. I hiked with them past the first shelter. The register there informed me that Casino had joined up with Treefingers/Ramble-On again. The left a message for me to meet them at a particular shelter, but I was of course one day behind where they thought I was. I will catch them in the SNP. They are likely to be slowed down by friends and family, what with being so close to home. The trail got a little rocky and harder to negotiate after lunch. Freckles and I sped along and ultimately lost sight of Swift Creek and SmalL Wonder. We arrived at the shelter after quite a grueling climb, followed by a series of lazy switchbacks down. I hear it said that the trail is graded for northbounders, but I think it averages out pretty well. At the shelter, I found Red B and LP, and introduced myself to Restless. It looked to me like the shelter was going to be pretty full, so I opted to tarp, not having done so in a while. I was even more right than Icould have known. Three or four more hikers arrived after dark, and even though Red B departed for some night hiking, the shelter and surrounding tent pads were packed. I slept better than I have in a long time. The shelter floors are just too hard for me. Although, I do need to get Freckles his own pad. I sent home half of the double wide in Atkins, and now the two of us are always fighting for space. You can probably guess that the spottier one typically wins.Tomorrow I am doing a 21 miler to VA42, where I will again be picked up by Allen for a night in Blacksburg. Not only will I get a good meal and a bed, but I get to see a new episode of Prison Break. See you in the a.m.
Date: 2006-04-25
From: MacKenzie Residence

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Allen dropped me off at the trail around 8am and wished me luck. I really enjoyed catching up with him.I plodded through a couple of fields before catching up with Swiftcreek/Small Wonder. At this point, something odd happened. I must have been so intent on catching them that I became oblivious to everything else. Evidently, I walked past a large, dying cow. For the rest of the day, all I heard was "Did you see the cow?" and "What was up with that cow?" I recollect no cow. Also I walked past the Keffer Oak. I guess it wasn't that impressive.The hike itself was mostly ridgeline once we got past the first big climb. The most amusing thing happened though. I remember hearing that my two companions were both afraid of snakes, but today I saw the situation first hand. Out of the blue, I heard tandom shrieks. Loud, girly, ear-splitting shrieks. I couldn't tell which came from whom, but the poor black snake that caused it was probably terrified. I know FReckles was. Once I realized what had happened, I responded with a fit of laughter.I kept wishing for trail magic all day, which is a sure fire way to stave it off. At the shelter, Restless was enjoying his book. I trudged the 100 yards down to water source, returning with all I could carry. I proceeded to cook way too much dinner and go to bed. Later, I would find out that rattlesnakes had been spotted in the privy there, but I never saw them.Tomorrow, we have quite a hike. Twenty plus miles over rocky ground. I think the forecast calls for low visibility, so all the great views will be lost. Oh, well. Life on the AT.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Last shelter before Daleville
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: mist

Twas a long gray day today. We passed by some of the nicest views VA has to offer and did it in near total white-out. Dragon's tooth, McAfee Knob, Tinker Cliffs. All tourist/day hike attractions. We saw nothing. Oh, the features themselves were cool, but I will have to return to see the views. The climb up Dragon's tooth was surpassed in difficulty only by the climb down. It is an extremely rocky summit, with technical bouldering. At two points, there are pins sunk into the rocks to help gain purchase. Surprisingly, Freckles did fine. He tossed caution to the wind and rocketed down the rock face like the Dog from Snowy River. I even say him make his own sitchback in what I thought was a vertical surface. Amazing. He's a little spotted mountian goat. I, on the other hand, nearly busted my keester.We stopped in at a store in Catawba, after the first 6 slow miles. The store had everything I needed, and I enjoyed a burger at liters of sugary liquids. By the time we finished up, it had really cooled down outside. I walk/jogged the .3 miles back to where I had stashed my pack and headed north up the trail. The weather looked bad so I put Freckles' new rain jacket on. It seems to fit well except for the hood.The trail was unbelievably well graded today. You could tell that this was a popular hike. Their were some Eagle Scout built bridges that made for easy hiking along the rocky hills. I did miss out on some trail magic, though. There was a cooler full of empty bottles and cans at one road crossing. It looked like someone had kicked it in out of frustration. As it would turn out, some one had. I won't mention his name, but it is the title of a Led Zepplin song.STrangely, around McAfee Knob, the Roanoke trail club fell asleep. The blazes virtually disappear, and multiple trails spring up leading nowhere. It was frustrating, but we found our way. We caught up with Two Shoes in the gap just before Tinker Cliffs. He was standing in the middle of the trail, staring down a bull. The bull, it seems, did not want anyone messing with his ladies, and was prepared to defend them. Once there was four of us and a dog to contend with, he turned and barrled down into the woods, taking his bovine hotties with him. We hikers, on the other hand, began a painfully low and seemingly neverending ascent up to Tinker Cliffs. By the time we got there, I had set myself up for disappointment. They were a series of long, flat cliffs. After that, it was mostly downhill to the shelter. I rejoiced, knowing that I had only 8 miles to town. I never thought I would be so excited by the steady buzz of an interstate, but I definitly enjoy it now.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Last Shelter before Daleville

To: Econolodge, Daleville, VA
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

On town days, everyone is an early riser. I still managed to be the first on the trail. I was really cruising until the pudding I had for breakfast kicked in. Evidently, while I was taking care of business, Restless sped on by me. Nonetheless, I made it to town in my own time. Glorious civilization. By civilization, I mean Pizza Hut, Econolodge, and Kroger. I don't know if that's how anthropologists define it, but that's what it means to me.I was the only one at the Econolodge. Everyone else was at the HoJo. But it was a nice room at a great rate. They didn't even charge extra for the dog which is exceedingly rare. I had just enough time to shower up and change before the Pizza Hut buffet started. Only this Hut had no buffet. We opted to eat there anyway, and I spent way too much money on pizza and wings. I figured that my room had a fridge for a reason. After lunch, I retired to my room to watch some mindless TV. Before long, I got a phone call from none other than the Flavor Flav crew themselves. Treefingers, Ramble, and Casino had been staying right across the hall from me. They had just checked out and thought they would try to find me before hitting the trail. I told them to come on up, and soon they arrived with groceries in hand. They used my room as a staging area to get food ready and wait on their laundry to dry. They said they were only doing 5 miles that night, so I would see them early the next day.After the guys left, I walked down to the outfitter and Kroger. I passed Two Shoes, Swiftcreek, and Small Wonder on the way. They said they would call me when they were going to Cracker Barrel. I continued on to the outfitter to use the internet. Unfortunately, they were too busy to let me use it and I really didn't need to buy anything. I headed over to Kroger and shopped for a while for both the next few days and the rest of the night. I headed back to the hotel loaded down with groceries. Fever Pitch was on HBO, so I watched that while I waited for the dinner call. The movie ended and I decided to walk over to their room and look for them. They were nowhere to be found. I returned to my room to watch Smallville and wait. By 9pm, I decided to start eating my leftovers and give Sarah a call. I spent the rest of the night watching random channels and wondering what happened to my friends.
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Econolodge, Daleville, VA

To: Some Shelter
Miles today: 24.0

Restless arranged for a slackpack today from a local trail angel named Delwood. I dropped off my stuff at the their hotel and joined them for breakfast. They claimed to have gone to great lengths to try to get a hold of me the night before. They said never picked up the phone. I don't know what happened. I wasn't shopping for that long and the phone never rang.Anyway, Restless and I hit the trail and kept pretty much together for up until the first shelter. Then I headed up to the shelter to wake up the guys. That shelter had a cistern as its water source, which is odd. After a while, I managed to get them going and we headed out. It was a fairly uneventful day. The miles flew by as we meandered back and forth across the Blue Ridge Parkway. Soon I was waiting on the side of the road for the elusive Delwood. When he finally arrived 30 minutes late, he charged us $27. I'm not sure if this qualifies as trail angel. Afterword, he gave us each his "card."It was a little creepy. It mentions touching our family and friends and changing lives. The shelter we were headed to had no water, so I had to lug a gallon up the mountain. By the time I got there, I was deleriously singing at the top of my lungs. The shelter was pretty full, so I pitched the tarp. Casino and crew decided to hike another 3 miles to a river to tent. I didn't want to push Freckles 27 miles so we stayed there. It was a little chilly so we went to bed early.
Date: 2006-05-03
From: Last shelter before Daleville

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

(Sorry for the gap in time. I'll fix it later.)Today I awoke at my usual 6am and headed down to Montebello to get my mail drop. I have become seperated from Ramble On, Casino and Treefingers. It seems Treefingers had to hitch into Buena Vista due to dehydration. I hope he's OK, but I would still like to know where they are. In Montebello, I got my drop with Freckles' food and bought enough food for me to get into Waynesboro on Friday morning. I could get there my tomorrow night, but since I'm supposed to be going back to Ramble's house for the weekend, I had better find him first before I make too many more miles. I am currently at the Dutch Haus B&B, where they serve a free lunch to hikers. They were also kind enough to allow me net access so that I could check mail and post a few journal entries. I hope to catch completly up in Waynesboro. For now, I will head back to the trail and look for my wayward companions.
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Ramble On's House

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

One day late, we hit the trail to tackle the SNP. We filled out our registration cards for the park and Ramble's friends Alex and Adam (Guthrie) dropped us off at Rockfish Gap. We tore up the trail today. It was almost perfectly flat, although it does cross the road in sometimes strange and arbitrary ways. We didn't get a lot of views. There are just too many leaves on the trees now. You can't see much anymore. By the time we got to Blackrock Hut, Alex and Guthrie had their tent pitched. They chose a strange sight that was far away from the shelter. We quickly discussed the possibility of slackpacking the rest of the week with them. Ramble and I had been hatching that plan for several miles, and they agreed to it. We could spend the rest of the week in beds and still make miles. The sky, which had been darkening all day, broke loose with rain around 10pm. It didn't let up until around 4am. This was the first night I had tarped in full on rain, and it held up nicely. I stayed warm and dry. Thanks, Ray Jardine.
Date: 2006-05-09
From: Somewhere in SNP

To: Simmons Gap
Miles today: 15.0

Thanks to Guthrie, we got moving at reasonable time today. As usual, Casino was the last one up. He really seems to fight the sun every morning. As he claimed, though, he usually packs up fairly quickly. We hit the trail after a short breakfast. Guthrie and Alex were able to keep up with us pretty well today. We all stuck together as we headed the 7.5 miles to Guthrie's jeep. He parked it at the Loft Mountain Campground. Or so he thought. In all reality, he parked it at the Loft Mountain Wayside. Not the same place. After a 1.5 mile roadwalk, we arrived at the car and the wayside. The waysides in SNP are run by Aramark. If you have no experience with this company, let me just say this. They are very capable of making a buck. For ten bucks, we each got a soggy little sandwhich and maybe 6 french fries. Even amusement parks provide better value than that. After lunch, we recalibrated our scedule. We had been planning to slackpack another 15 miles, but Guthrie had a softball game to get back to. We decided to shorten it to 8 miles, making our destination Simmons Gap rather than Smith Roach Gap. We figured it would take us about 2.5 hours. And it would have, except we had left the trail about 1.5 miles earlier than we thought we had.Nevertheless, we managed to make it to the extgraction point only 20 minutes late. At the road, Freckles proceeded to run out in front of a speeding SUV. A speeding SUV driven by a park ranger. Fortunately, he neither died nor earned me a ticket. I did receive a warning about leashing him. Ordinarily, I do it at road crossings, but he ran ahead of me when he saw Treefingers and Erin. I was surprised to see them. Evidently, they camped at the same shelter as us last night. They just didn't come all the way down to where we were. Crazy. We shuttled those two up to Lewis Mountain Campground so they could get some refreshments and head on to the next shelter. They were planning on taking it easy, and meeting us at Big Meadows for dinner the next night.The rest of us headed home to Rambles for a night of rest. The night was peaceful, and the only thing that really sticks out in my mind was the greatest game of pool I have ever played. I ran the table on Alex like some kind of shark. Tomorrow we have to make up for what we skipped today by hiking a 25. Wish us luck.
Date: 2006-05-10
From: Simmons Gap

To: Big Meadows Wayside
Miles today: 18.0

Today I was stymied by extreme chafage. But that comes later.We got a late start today. It was 10:30 when we got to the trail and then there was nowhere for Ramble to park. He decided that since he had hiked this section before, that he would just drop Casino and I off and park farther up the trail. We had 25 miles to do in just over 7 hours in order to meet up with Ramble's Aunt Sarah at Big Meadows. She and a friend were coming up with a big picnic dinner for us. Casino and I hit the dirt hard, pulling 4 mph over the first 5 miles. We passed Ramble's car and kept pushing. Unfortunately, with no time to stop and rest, we were doomed to lose our steam. By mid-afternoon, I was staggering forward held up by sheer will power. It was around then that my thighs started to chafe almost to the point of drawing blood. We stopped at the Lewis Mountain Campground for a soda. It took us much less time to shuttle Treefingers up there the day before. Such is the miracle of the automobile. After the break, Casino flew ahead of me, determined to make the miles regardless of how long it took. I made it another mile before the pain got the better of me. I headed out to Skyline Drive to wait on Sarah to drive by. She recognized me right away and picked me up. At the picnic area, we found Erin, Treefingers, and Ramble awaiting the spread. And what a spread it was. BBQ pork, sodas, chips, cheesecake. She fed us and several other hikers as well. Treegirl was there. Evidently she has been road walking the park. I don't really know why. But it was good to see her. She said that she had taken 2 more zeros in Pearisburg after having been electrocuted by a circular saw.Soon most of the food was gone and Sarah and company packed up to leave. Still no sign of Casino, and I was getting worried. I was afraid he might have stopped to wait for me. Sarah made him a plate for when he arrived and I sat and watched the woods. Suddenly, he appeared from a completely different direction, exclaiming his confusion. He had zoned out and missed the sidetrail, causing him to hike an extra 4-5 miles. He was not happy about it. Ramble pulled up, after having been shuttled to get his car. His friend Greg from UVa pulled up to follow us back to Harrisonburg. On the way home we were tearing around the curves like a madman. I was quite certain we were going to hit a deer, which I have done before. It isn't pretty. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Ramble and Greg, the rangers monitor that sort of thing. Flashing lights in the rearview brought us to a halt. Twenty minutes and 2 speeding tickets later, we were back on our way at a slower pace.Back in town, we relaxed with more friends. Tomorrow I have to try to make up the miles I missed. I guess I'll leave Freckles at home and push for as long as it takes.
Date: 2006-05-12
From: Big Meadow's Campground

To: View Entry
Miles today: 30.3

Today something shocking occured. Ramble and Casino woke up at the agreed upon time of 5:30am. We had said that we wanted to be hiking no later than 7am, and Ramble's dad, having returned from the shore, had agreed to take us up to the trail. We did arrive past 7am, but not for lack of effort or planning. With that much time to hike, we knew we could make the 3o miles, even if we were exhausted at the end. Our first ten miles went by without incident and we were feeling pretty good. We stopped at the Pinnacle Picnic Area for a deserved rest and first lunch. I almost got a ticket again for having Freckles off leash, but was able to tie him up just in time. We also took advantage of the comfort station, which is a fancy national park service term for a toilet. There was no convenient stopping place at the 20 mile mark, so we opted to continue another 4 miles to the Elkwallow Wayside. We enjoyed sodas and grilled sandwiches. As the Wayside closed for the day, a medium sized raccoon came trotting out of the forest. He proceeded to climb into what I am sure are intended to be animal proof trashcans. Casino and Ramble chased him around with a camera, trying to snap a shot of him climbing out of a can. Each time he hissed, they would jump back and then start chasing him again. The workers inside the wayside seemed rather amused.We felt slightly rejuvenenated, at least enough to trudge the last 6 miles. At the shelter, we were pleasantly surprised to find our wayward companion, the Fingers of the Tree. He had gotten on the trail midday, and had passed us somewhere during the raccoon fiesta. We were very happy to see him and despite being exhausted, stayed up talking and chilling. Tomorrow, we make it to Front Royal at the end of the park. Then Casino is visiting his some family, including his mom, his aunt, and his mom's mom (his grandmother.) Ramble is heading up to PA to visit his ex-girlfriend, Sarah. I am going to MD to visit my dad. Treefingers is going to zero just north of town and burn stuff.
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Shelter

To: Front Royal, VA
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Will wonders never cease? I woke the guys up around 5:15am and they all got right up without argument, including Casino. Oh you could tell he was unhappy about it, but he did it nonetheless.We had to make it to Front Royal by 10am to meet his family. Right away there was confusion getting back to the trail. Ramble started leading us up a jeep road which I didn't remember being on. Treefingers and I said something to that effect before turning around and finding the correct trail. Oddly, the other two kept hiking up the road. We wouldn't see them again for 10 miles.The hike flew by. Treefingers and I talked the whole way about life, liberty, and whatnot. It was nice to get to hike with him. I hadn't done that since before his dysentery illness. (I had trouble journaling during that period. So if you haven't heard, Treefingers got very sick and had to leave the trail for nearly two weeks.) We decided to stop at the Tom Floyd Wayside, which as it turns out is only a shelter. After shooting the breeze with Applesauce and some others, Casino and Ramble showed up. They had eventualy turned around, and Ramble claimed no recollection of Treefingers and I turning around or warning him of his error. Curious.The last few miles were rough on my feet, and the others got a bit ahead of me. I caught them on the last uphill, just before the National Zoological Park. Didn't see any animals, but I was quite glad to see Casino's aunt a half mile from the road. She walked with us back to the van, where we enjoyed sodas and chocolate cake.After that, they shuttled me to the P.O. to get my second care package from Mom, and then dropped Ramble/Treefingers off at a gas station to await there rides. I was invited to join Casino's family at Cracker Barrel in Winchester while I waited for my dad to come. Of course, I accepted and was soon devouring chicken 'n' dumplins. My dad arrived around 2pm, and after a two hour drive, we arrived in Bel Air for some rest, relaxation, and family.
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Front Royal, VA

To: Dad's House
Miles today: 0.0

The first of several zero days. Of course, I woke up early with nothing to do. My sister, Gina, and I played fetch with Freckles quite a bit. We also went to Blockbuster to get some movies. The highlight of the day was steamed crabs in the afternoon. Nothing terribly eventful. Just spending time with family before I head on up to Maine. I'll be alone tomorrow. My dad has a golf tourney to play in unless it rains, my sister has school, and my stepmom, Pam, has work. I guess I'll hang out at the library or something.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Dad's House

To: Dad's House
Miles today: 0.0

Another lazy day. Watched some more movies, bought a book from Barnes and Noble, and took a nap with Freckles. My dad took me to visit and old friend of his and godfather to me. It was good to catch up with Bob and his wife, Dandy. I'm planning on watching the season finale of Prison Break, maybe reading a little, and then hitting the hay. I need to work on some supply drop stuff tomorrow, but tomorrow is tomorrow.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Dad's House

To: Dad's House
Miles today: 0.0

My last zero here in MD. I'll hit the trail tomorrow afternoon and push on to Harpers Ferry by Friday. I have some repairs, shopping, etc to do before then, but otherwise not to much to report. My sister, Gina, invited me to go canoeing with her girl scout troop. I figured it would be fun (and my father was probably happy to be off the hook.) It was a peaceful trip up Deer Creek. We saw a beaver and possible a turtle, though we weren't quite sure. Thankfully, I wore my rain jacket and other synthetic gear because Gina managed to splash me on every third stroke.