morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Pearisburg

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: light rain

I'm convinced if we all watched the Weather Channel and took it seriously, we'd never leave our homes again. A deluge was supposed to come through this morning, yet all we experienced was about a 15-minute shower during which we were able to duck into a shelter. (Bama's weather luck is unparalleled out here.) The most challenging part of the day came after breakfast when we tried to figure out where the AT went out of Pearisburg along a busy four-lane highway. Put on a backpack and tromp around the woods along I-75 or the FL Turnpike looking for a 2" x 6" white blaze on a tree and you'll get an idea of how ridiculous this felt. It's challenging enough on the trail without having to hunt the damn thing down. Geeez.Though I had to work through a mid-day energy slump probably caused by a heavier pack stuffed with all my mail drop goodies, I'm proud of our 19+ mile day during a day when we'd planned to do a zero.We're tenting beside a shelter tonight as it's pretty full. A light rain is falling on my tent now but the Weather Channel assured us sunny skies tomorrow. Hope they're more on target than today. Since we only have 12 or so miles to go tomorrow we may sleep until 6AM!
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: overcast clouds

We were complete bums today and slept until 6:30. Today's hike was a pretty easy one (despite about three miles of rock hopping), but it was cold and windy throughout - the sun is just starting to poke through the clouds at 4:30. Reached the shelter early enough to hang a line and dry out my tent from last night's rain.Today I spotted my third scarlet tanger...didn't know what it was called until another hiker told me. I've never seen such a brilliant color of red on a bird - way brighter than the cardinals we see in Florida.It's still pretty chilly out so I am going crawl into my bag in the shelter and read until dinner.
Date: 2006-05-20
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

Beautiful day - mostly sunny skies, 60-65 degrees, and a great breeze to cool us down on the ascents. Unfortunatly the last six miles took its toll on my feet and lower leg. It was a two Aleve afternoon. Hopefully, a night's rest will do the trick on top of a ziplock of cold creek water that I held on my leg for a while. Ironically, today marks John's and my two month AT anniversary. I decided to celebrate by trying to mimic his leg injury.
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Niday Shelter

To: Trout Creek, VA 620
Miles today: 8.9

In my self-absorbed leg pain stupor last night, I failed to mention that we experienced trail magic twice yesterday. The first instance came after a steep, challenging climb out of Johns Creek Valley. A cooler full of ice cold cokes awaited us, care of Super Dave, a 2003-2004 thru-hiker (thanks Dave!)The second magic was an anonymous cooler of juice and fresh fruit beside a road and about the tenth hill we had to climb over yesterday. I've never been so happy to eat an apple and I am sure my body is still in shock from the sudden surge of vitamins.My leg felt much better this morning, but we decided to make it a short day to give our bodies a bit of a reprieve. Two other factors influenced our decision. First, the Home Place Restaurant is about 10 miles from where we left the trail - they serve an all-you-can-eat meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, biscuits, and lemonade and after 6PM Sunday they don't open again until Tuesday. We weren't about to let this opportunity pass us by. Second, Bama has a friend who lives near Catawaba who very graciously welcomed us to her home. Melody thru-hiked in 1996 and wrote a book about her experience ('Journey of Friendship') which I read most of at the B&B in Damascus. She also runs an outdoor adventure company for women. I'm thrilled to get to meet her. So far the REAL adventure of the day has been hitchhiking to get here. Yes, Little Wing and Bama found themselves riding in the back of two pick-up trucks and in the cabin of a third. We arrived at the Home Place Restaurant to people lined up wearing their Sunday church clothes while we showed up with four days of trail stink on us and our hair standing straight up from the gale force winds from our back-of-the-truck rides into town. The restaurant is known for being hiker friendly and no one seemed to mind. We even enjoyed answering questions from some of the better dressed patrons.To everyone freaking out about my safety, I promise I won't hitchhike alone. Bama and I are both armed with hiking poles and (hopefully) a little common sense. The town of Catawaba has really taken care of us though - our drivers today couldn't have been more friendly or more helpful to us. And Melody and Patti have treated us like we have lived in their homes all our lives.
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Trout Creek, VA 620

To: VA Hwy 311, Catawba
Miles today: 13.6

What a fantastic day - one of my favorites out here so far! Melody and Patti set us up with light daypacks and drove us to where we had left the AT yesterday before our fried chicken festival. Then Meloday and her two border collies accompanied us on a slack-pack 13 miles back to Catawba, the town we hitched to yesterday. There was not a cloud in the sky all day and temps were in the high 60's/low 70's and that same wonderful breeze cooled us down on the ascents. Today's hike covered a very rocky area called "Dragon's Tooth" which called for some cliff hugging and climbing down with the aid of metal brackets drilled directly into the cliff face. The area had stunning rock formations and beautiful views of the valley below, so it was well worth the effort. And having the human and canine AT experts of Melody, Katahdin, and Houdini with us as tour guides made the day all the more special. To top off a great day's hike, we pigged out at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet afterwards. We're at Melody and Patti's house now and in a few minutes I will kick back in their hammock to finish Mel's book about her 1996 thru-hike. Days just don't get much better than this.Tomorrow morning, Melody plans to drop us off where we left the trail today and Patti will drive our big packs to nearby Daleville, where she works. This will set us up for a 19+ mile slackpack into Daleville, big miles but we are hoping that the lighter packs will ease the journey. Our first challenge of the morning will be the most photographed spot on the trail, McAffee's Knob. Thankfully, the more challenging sections of our 19 miles tomorrow should come in the morning, before our feet go on strike. I want to shout out a HUGE thank you to Melody and Patti for all they've done for us during the past couple days. In addition to making us feel like members of their family in their home, they've anticipated every possible need we have as thru-hikers (food resupply, laundry, shuttles) and acted on them without hesitation. Melody's energy, hiking skills, and just knowlege of the area were a joy to be around. All the fiesty, independent women I know need to check out her company at wildsideadventures.com and sign up for a trip! I plan to do so myself when I get home, if and when I can move normally again.And another thank you goes out to Jeff Williams (aka 'Southpaw') who left Gatorade and other trail magic for us near highway 624 today - another contribution to a truly glorious day. I am going to try hard to remember days like these when it rains.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: VA Hwy 311, Catawba

To: US Hwy 220, Daleville
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: clear sky

Okay, I can go home now. I did today what I've pictured in my mind's eye on the AT for two years: dangle my feet off the edge of McAffee Knob. For a better picture of the Knob than I am capable of taking, go to Amazon.com and check out the cover of Jean Deed's book 'There Are Mountains to Climb.' We were on the trail at 6:10AM today after Melody dropped us off and reached McAffee Knob by 8:00AM. It's hard for me to put into words how thrilling it was to reach this place I'd been imagining for so long. It's like I am finally REALLY on the Appalachian Trail now - those first 700 or so miles were just a warm-up.Even with Melody's day-pack on, today's nearly 20-mile hike eventually took its toll on Bama, Old Drum (whom I caught up with on a trail OTHER than the AT that we'd both been fooled by), and me. By about 3PM, I felt like I was sleep-hiking (without the aid of Ambien!), probably because we got such an early start. Fortunately, our hotel was within sight of where the AT comes into Daleville, as well as a Mexican restaurant where I polished off 5,000 chips and salsa, a burrito, an enchilada, refried beans, Spanish rice, a huge dish of fried ice cream, and two glasses of sangria. I will be asleep before the sun sets.
Date: 2006-05-24
From: US Hwy 220, Daleville

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

Today we reached the one-third point. Somehow 725 miles sounds more encouraging to me than the fraction one-third.Bama and I had to depart from the pre-dawn schedule this morning because we had to resupply and the local outfitter did not open until 10AM. After groceries and more water purification drops, we hit the trail around 11:30 and began the usual climb out of town with packs overly laden with food. Decided to call it a relatively short day and got into tonight's shelter around 5PM.Rumor has it that a bear kept hikers up all night at this shelter last night. We'll see if he's a return visitor tonight. I may have to revise the answer I gave Ann on the phone today when she asked if I'd seen any bears yet.This next bit is for my arachnophobic nephew, Matt, as I've noticed a change in my behavior as it relates to bugs out here. First week on the trail, running into a spider web caused the 'spider dance' which we all know in Florida since there's usally a banana spider the size of your palm at the other end of it. This week I waited for a snack or lunch break to pull the spider webs off of my legs. First week or so out here, John inhaled a bug while hiking and proceeded to cough, gack, spit, and turn blue (as I would have). Today I breathed in some kind of bug while huffing-n-puffing uphill, swallowed, tried to be grateful for the extra protein that I didn't have to carry on my back, and made a mental note to shut my mouth while hiking. Perhaps another month I'll be gathering insects in a ziplock to add to my mac-n-cheese.
Date: 2006-05-25
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Some Miserable Campground Near Jennings Creek
Miles today: 16.9

No bears last night; just snoring hikers. Just like in regular life, there are some days you'd rather forget. Today was one of those days. While I felt physically fine, mentally I was zero. Had to fight the urge to be stationary all day - especially in the morning, which is usually my energetic time of day. I sat in a shelter for about a half hour mid-morning and enjoyed a good sulk, then realized the trail was less depressing than the dark shelter I was sitting in and moved on. I wonder if part of my sullenness relates to the fact that much of the trail wound right beside a highway (the Blue Ridge Parkway) today. All day long, I'm hearing cars and motorcycles roar by and was even hiking within earshot of a lawnmower and leaf blower for an hour or so. I may as well have been home hiking through my neighborhood back home.Anyway, we finally decided it might be pleasant to tent beside a creek tonight. Somehow we missed the great campsites beside the creek that our guide described and instead got snowed by a roadsign advertising a campground. The campground required the longest mile I'd ever climbed during the hottest part of the day, all to pitch out tents beside a trickle of a creek on a gnat-infested hunk of ground beside a dirt road traversed by RVs and trucks every few minutes. I hit a nutritional low for dinner tonight with cheezy-poofs and some kinda sugary red flavored drink from the general store. And since we're in tents tonight, I have no doubt that it will rain. On the bright side, we did get to take a shower here tonight - not something to take for granted. I just want to fall asleep now and put this day behind me.
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Jennings Creek

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

Rain started around 3AM and finally let up around 6AM. Packed a soaked, heavy tent up, but made a bold gear move and threw away my ground cloth. I've hated this thing since Springer Mountain. It gets wet, filthy, heavy, and last night rainwater pooled on it which made the floor of my tent wetter than if I'd pitched it directly on the ground. Done with it! May live to regret the decision (Post-Hike Note: Nope, never did!), but today I enjoyed its absence from my pack.My energy level was much improved today, which is fortunate because today's terrain resembled the southern Smokeys. Climb after climb after climb, followed by climbs. Temps also climbed near 80 today, but a cool breeze saved the day. Reached tonight's shelter in time to dry out our tents from last night's rain and get in under a roof before the current threatening skies let loose.Saw two snakes yesterday - forgot to mention that. One was a small light green friendly looking fellow who slithered into the bushes right beside my hiking boot. The other was a larger more ominous looking snake in the creek beside our tents. Lots of hikers have mentioned seeing copperheads in the area, so I'm trying to pay closer attention to where I'm stepping. The trail is also lousy with centipedes lately. One hiker had a centipede climb into her sleeping bag while she was in a shelter and it left welts all up and down her arm. I've assured this evening's sheltermates that, if I find a centipede inside my bag tonight, the'll be likely to hear about it.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: US 501, James River
Miles today: 14.6

You can sure tell when it's a town day. Bama and I covered today's 14+ miles by 1:30PM. Caught a ride into the town of Glasgow VA, about six miles from where we left the trail. There's not much here, but the basic essentials of laundromat, Dollar General food resupply, and a bed and shower at Mom & Pop's Motel have been met. Dinner was a sandwich at a gas station. (No Guthries, Brian - I was sad.)A new hiking challenge surfaced today: heat. A heavenly breeze kept us alive and relatively bug-free in the higher elevations, but we were drenched with sweat down in the valleys. The Weather Channel predicts highs in the 80's - maybe even 90 - for the next couple of days. Ouch. Also had to apply Deet for the first time yesterday and felt like a chemical factory for the remainder of the day. Heat. Bugs. I think summer has come early to Virginia. I'm looking forward to sending some of my warmer things home with Scott soon - he'll be joining me for the hike through the Shenandoahs next weekend.[Editor's note: fear not, journal fans...a pinch-editor has been tapped.]
Date: 2006-05-28
From: US 501, James River

To: Little Irish Creek
Miles today: 15.0

Managed to hitch a ride back to the trail at 7:30AM on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend with a nice fella named Roy, who assured us that the beer bottle he was holding was non-alcoholic (O'Douls). His driving ability suggested he was right.The past 24 hours of hiking have afforded beautiful views of the James River on trails lined with an almost overpowering scent of honeysuckle. Missing today though was any kind of breeze. By 9:30AM it was in the 80's without a breath of wind and the woods were literally buzzing with insects. Bama and I survuved the day by taking lots of water and snack breaks and calling friends and family members from our cell phones (which had service near the higher elevations). People who know me may start to hear a whole lot more from me in these hot summer months ahead, as I can use a phone call as an excuse to stop walking, rest, rehydrate, and air out. Plus, there's something kind of wonderfully absurd about calling folks from a log atop a mountain in the middle of nowhere.Tonight's tentsite makes up for the Jennings Creek one we loused up a couple of days ago. We're just a few feet from the AT and next to a lovely babbling creek which permitted a 'bandana bath.' I even managed to hang my food bag (after about six throws) in a manner that I believe John would approve of.Hope to get an early start in the morning. In this heat, it's essential that I get lots of miles in during the cooler morning hours. During most of today's hike, I fantasized about the warm stuff I will soon get to send home with Scott (and reduce my pack weight)...two hats, gloves, down booties, at least one Polartec fleece shirt, rain pants...maybe even my cell phone manual.
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Little Irish Creek

To: Salt Log Gap
Miles today: 14.9

The first couple of miles this morning were fun and picturesque, as the trail wound beside and over Brown Mountain Creek. Then the never-ending climb began, once again with temps in the high 80's/low 90's, not a breath of wind, and insects buzzing all around us. Someone could get very wealthy by inventing a form of Deet that we could apply to our eyeballs. One hiker we met today confessed to nearly stabbing herself in the eye with her hiking pole in an attempt to shoo away the bugs. In conditions like this, I find I have to take breaks to just sit and get my body temperature back to a level that permits moving.So feeling hot, parched, bug-ridden, and generally deflated coming over a mountain around mid-afternoon, we ran in to Swiss Family Robinson - two parents and four or five kids coming southbound on a short day hike. One of the young boys (about 8) sees Bama and I, his eyes get really big, and he asks excitedly, "Are you hiking from Georgia to Maine???" "Yes, we're trying," we respond. You would have thought we were Michael Jordan by his (and the other kids') reaction. They all bombarded us with questions - How far do you hike each day? Do you carry a tent? etc. I guess their parents had mentioned that they were hiking a trail that went from Georgia to Maine and that (if they were lucky!) they might get to meet a real live thru-hiker. As exhausted as I was, I have to say this family provided me a different kind of trail magic. Somehow the awe that these kids displayed over our little journey helped put a spring back in my step. I am completely unaccostomed to that kind of attention. A few miles later, we encountered further trail magic in the form of a Diet Coke from Courtney and Matthew and a bag of goodies (candy bars, etc.) from Caveman - a 2000 thru-hiker. So, as oftern happens out here, it was the people we encountred that helped us get through an extremely challenging day. I know I will leave this AT experience with a heightened desire to serve in this capacity for others.
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Salt Log Gap

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Forgot to mention yesterday: 800 miles! That's how hot and buggy it was. When I strode over the 800th mile, I was too focused on removing the gnats from my eyeballs to notice.Today I perfected the art of being a bump on a log. During a break from the sweltering heat, I sat down on a log to drink some water. Then I took my boots off. Then, carefully balancing, I laid back on the log and stared up through a green leafy tree to the sky. When I blurred my vision just right, the leaves took on a sort of kaleidascope (sp?) effect. Then I closed my eyes and listened to the various sounds of the woods--birds chirping, insects buzzing, etc. After about five minutes, I felt more refreshed and ready to take on the remainder of the day's hike. After I return from this journey, some of you may spot me lying on one of the picnic tables in the business courtyard staring up at the sky. Pay me no attention.The most striking aspect of today's hike (seing how the continued oppresive heat, bugs, and zero movement of air is beoming old news) was the number of ferns near the trail. Whole mountainsides were blanketed in ferns as far as the eye could see. The woods resembled a tropical rain forest; certainly they had the heat and humindity of one.We're staying in a shelter tonight with Oly, one of our favorite hikers out here. He celebrated his 70th birthday on the trail back in the Smokeys. So far, no one else is here but Bama, Oly, and I--the Early Riser Crew. Tomorrow's hike covers a beastly five-mile descent down to the Nye River, followed by a beastlier climb out of the river basin. It's only 13 miles, but in the current heat wave we'll need to get as much of this done as possible before the hottest part of the day.The coolest thing just happened. Just seconds ago (around 7PM), a white tailed deer walked up to within about 20 feet of our shelter. We stayed very still and it just casually munched on some grass, then finally looked up and stared at us when it heard Oly's bear bell. Finally wandered off after a couple minutes. We have our own personal Animal Planet Channel out here. What a great conclusion to the day!
Date: 2006-05-31
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

Some days aren't about the views or the wildlife. They're apparently about practicing how to suffer so that when you have to suffer again in the future you know you can do so without actually lying down to die because you've managed to not die before. Today was that kind of day. I trudged. I sweated. I peeled gnats off my eyeballs. Now I am going to lie down in the fetal position and go to sleep. P.S. Bama voted today's climb of Three Ridges (with the heat index) as the hardest of our AT hike so far. My only disagreement with this opinion is that I think it ties for worst with the one two days ago.
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Another sweltering day, but our early start (6:20) and a kinder/gentler terrain made for a better day. The crowning jewel was a beautiful, waterfall-laden creek right outside of our shelter. Washed three days of skank off of myself and my clothes and chose to ignore the slimy, slithering thing that brushed by one of my feet. The only thing better than a creek to bathe in at the end of a long, hot hike is knowing that only five miles sits between you and a big ol' country breakfast at Weasie's in Waynesboro in the morning.Tomorrow is a 'nero' day and we plan to take a zero on Saturday--our first since Damascus. Scott flies in tomorrow evening and will hike the first half of the Shannies with us. Right now I am very much looking forward to languishing in complete idleness on my zero day.Just saw a large owl land on a tree branch by the creek in front of our shelter. Now that I am coherent again, I should mention that yesterday, after the climb that nearly finished me off, and after Bama and I threw our lifeless bodies over a rock pile at the top of the mountain, we were staring up at the sky and noticed (no, not buzzards come to pick our bones clean) five or six hawks circling around us. We had climbed to about 4,000 feet and were nearly even with the elevation at which the hawks were flying. It was mesmerizing to watch them, and not just because we were in a stupor from the climb (though that may have contributed). Bama has done volunteer work with injured birds and thought the hawks might be a family, with the parents teaching their kids some flying secrets. Their nest was probably somewhere along the cliff below us. I like to think that our hawk show was nature's way of trying to make amends for our suffering that day. Apology accepted, THIS time.