morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-30
From: Spring Mtn

To: Hogback Ridge
Miles today: 30.0
Weather: light rain

This morning tricked me. It started out warm and sunny and then BOOM! Rain pour out of the sky like out of a breached dam. I spent the first few minutes of the storm trying to make it to the next shelter, where I could get my clothes out of my pack etc. Eventually I settled for a large pine.After the storm passed I was treated to a beautiful day. The AT climbed out onto a Rocky Ridge with views of a large valley to the north and cloud choked mountains to the south. The hiking on the ridge was actually kind of interesting for a change, climbing and scrambling etc. The rain from earlier in the day had soaked through my shoes and socks and now my feet. By the time I¢d reached camp, my feet looked more wrinkled than a rhino. They looked like they'd aged 80 years. Hogback Ridge was already inhabited by Pathfinder and Half-fast (say it three times fast just to get the joke). They were older, blue-collar, section hikers from Pennsylvania.
Date: 2004-05-31
From: Hogback Ridge

To: Erwin
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: heavy intensity rain

There was a massive thunder storm last night. The thunder was so loud the shelter shook. About two inches of rain fell in two hours. Even though all my stuff was in the shelter, my shoes and socks were still wet from yesterday and they got another soaking from the grass along the trail so my feet began to shrivel again. The morning walking took me over Big Bald. The rain hadn¢t completely stopped yet. It was sprinkling tiny drops, but the wind was howling and throwing my poncho around like a flag. All in all it was awesome.I reached the town at 4:00 and hitched a ride with an old man(85), wearing what looked like a patients hospital clothes. He was driving a brand new Buick Le Sabre and had lived in Erwin since he was two. We spent the ride talking about the way the town had changed the past 80 years. People who pick you up are always fun to talk to.I had asked him to drop me off at the post office, but he remained me that it was memorial day and the post office was closed, so he left me at Miss Janet¢s instead. I did my laundry and got myself cleaned up. I went to resupply with Hobo John and Carol, a couple from Mass. Dinner consisted of some mashed potatoes, 12 gallon of chocolate milk, and a bag of grapes. The hostel is full of hikers. Miss Janet isn¢t around for some reason so Hobo John is ¢running things.¢ Other hikers include Steve, a 20 something neo-hippie with massive earrings and Laren & Laren¢s friend, a married couple from Florida, who live on a boat. It¢s quite a crew.
Date: 2004-06-01
From: Erwin

To: Roan mtn shelter
Miles today: 31.0

After watching Joe Dirt last night, I finally got to bed 2-3 hours after my bedtime. Miss Janet still wasn¢t around in the morning, so breakfast was some grapes, a bag of donuts and a bacon cheeseburger from Sonic.A series of rides got me to the trailhead at 11:00. Only 31 miles to go today, almost all uphill.The day¢s walking was difficult but quite nice. It included a small romp through an open ridge with the appropriate if not creative name of ¢Beauty Spot.¢ I had three fairly large mountains to climb ???, Rock knob and Roan mtn, a nice little 3000ft stroll over the last three miles. The last three of the day. I got to the top in a sort of weakened daze like state and half walked, half stumbled over to get some water from the Mountain top restroom and take a picture of the sunset.I made it to the shelter 10 minutes later. Bilbo and Road runner are here. I finally caught them. They might hike with me tomorrow.
Date: 2004-06-02
From: Roan mtn shelter

To: Morehead gap shelter
Miles today: 36.8
Weather: broken clouds

This morning¢s walk was as close to perfect as it gets, The stretch from Roan Mtn to Hump mtn is covers with spectacular grassy balds, which shone gold in the morning light. A cold, hard wind cut across the ridge making the grass move in waves, alternating gold and silver in a smooth undulating pattern. I walked slowly.I hiked with Bilbo or Roadrunner or both most of the day. Their top speed was right up with mine, but I wore them out at around three o¢clock. After we dropped down from Hump mtn. we pushed hard from 11-4 through shallow sunny valleys and small hills. We stopped off at a small waterfall, and I had a brilliant idea to climb to the top for a picture. The rocks were exceptionally slippery. The climb up was ok, but coming back down was more worrisome. I ended up myself down a large crack, working my way to some shrubs and using the shrubs to lower myself to the bottom. We camped at Morehead gap shelter. It is about to storm. As long as it doesn¢t rain tomorrow morning, I don¢t care. I¢m enjoying my dry feet at the moment.. We are sharing the shelter with a few 4-wheelers. A couple of local southern boys mid 30¢s to mid 50¢s, tooling around, drinking beers and talking to hikers.Older southern boy ¢We really aren¢t supposed to be here.¢Younger southern boy ¢Dude, they know that!¢We tried to be hospitable. But when they starting tossing around their beer can, it was hard to be nice. They eventually left in a puff of exhaust.
Date: 2004-06-03
From: Morehead gap shelter

To: Iron Mtn
Miles today: 30.2

I got out of bed at 8 am and starting walking 6 miles down the trail. I jogged a 12 mile along a road to a breakfast of bacon and eggs, oh so satisfying.The morning¢s post-breakfast hike went into a mini-gorge with steep walls and pretty waterfalls, then up and out and over onto a table mtn top. The climb was made much more difficult than it actually was by the heat and because it was rather unexpected.The descent dropped me off the shore of Watusa Lake. I got some water and started walking back to the trail, waving a quick hello to a pair of girls sitting under a tree with a boombox blairing ¢you could be my Romeo. A return wave and giggling ensued.Girl 1(Trisha): Ya¢ want some fries with that shake!¢ (thick southern accent.)Me: ¢What shake?¢Girl 2: (Ashley): ¢Your shake!¢Me (always thinking of food): ¢Have you any fries?¢Trisha: ¢Not on me.¢ Me: ¢Well, that¢s too bad then.¢ and I walked off.The trail took me around to a massive scary rag-tag, but sickeningly fun looking rope swing. I sat and ate lunch, while watching a few high school boys dare each other, unsuccessfully, to jump off.Just as I finished lunch, the two girls showed up right after the boys left. Trisha immediately stripped down and grabbed the rope and swung, hesitantly, but with confidence. Now that I¢d witnessed a jump on this thing, I had to try it.You take hold of the rope swing and ponder what you are about to do. Then you make the commitment. You run down a hill, swing out and just at the right moment let go. Your body hangs in the middle of the air completely motionless for that one instant when you look down at the water 20 to 30 ft below. Then you are under the water and swim towards shore. I had to go again.I went a few more times. On the fifth time, I heard Bilbo and Joe yelling, ¢Yeah Will!¢ Apparently they had caught up with me. Joe and Greg both went off the swing once. I went off 5 more times. Once the girls found out we were walking to Maine Their first response was ¢Why? There second was ¢Why don¢t you fly?¢ and their third was ¢Does the trail go beyond the lake?¢   Eventually, they had us talking to their friends on their cell phone. They amused us greatly. The rest of the day, by necessity, was dull in comparison. Greg and I made the last 7 miles to Iron mtn in an hour and 50 minutes. A thruhiker and a section hiker from Texas are joining us for the night. Looks like rain. I saw bear number nine this evening. Greg and Joe were jealous. They haven¢t seen a single bear yet?
Date: 2004-06-04
From: Iron Mtn

To: Damacus
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: moderate rain

The morning greeted us with rain. Joe left in a hurry. I was a bit more lazy in getting out of my sleeping bag. Eventually, I got out and into the rain with Greg still in his bag. I wanted to get to the post office in time.With the exception of a half mile stroll through an old farm, the day¢s hike was a nondescript walk through the woods on a rainy day. I fought to keep my mind occupied. A few hikers including a massive horde of about 12 at the double spring shelter offered a bit of a distraction. I stopped once, but was so cold as I left ¢the holiday inn,¢ a 70 year old two person shelter that I never stopped again.I reached Damacus at 3 pm, in a light drizzle. I dropped off my stuff at ¢the Place,¢ took a shower and went to do laundry. A massive storm came up the valley as Joe and I washed our clothes. We enjoyed watching the storm from the comfort of the laundramat.Dinner at Sicily¢s Pizza, now time for bed. Maybe zero day tomorrow..
Date: 2004-06-05
From: Damacus

To: Thomas Knob
Miles today: 28.0
Weather: light rain

Greg and I both woke up at about 8:00 am with one thing on our minds, Breakfast. After an extremely short discussion given the gravity of the situation, we settled on all you can eat pancakes. The first plate arrived with 4 average sized pancakes. They disappeared with 30 seconds. $ plates later we had each consumed 15 pancakes, 14 bottle of syrup, and 14 cup of butter. We waddled of Dairy King holding the new joint record (12 was the previous mark).   I took care of PO business, resupplied, and chugged down a half gallon of OJ, then took off. I had planned to walk only 15 miles to the lost mountain shelter, but the shelter was filled with campers, spilling out all over the area. I decided that if I had to set up camp anyway I might as well move on. I walked for about a hour and a half, climbing to the top of Whitetop, the second tallest mountain in VA. At the top I realized that if I hold pace, I could make it to Thomas Knob before it got dark. The hiking around Whitetop and Mount Rogers (the 2nd highest mountain) was pretty and fairly simple. I saw a few cows tending to their calves in the valley between the two mountains. and I was even treated to the rare sight of a peeing cow. Going around mount Rogers, the trees parted briefly at a perfect moment to watch the sun go down. Spectacular. Then just as it was getting too dark to walk in the forst the trees gave way to an open ridge. I closed the evening with a beautiful walk along an open ridge. Probably the best 40 minutes of the trip.I¢m now at Thomas Knob. It¢s dark and the temperature is dropping fast. I have a feeling the night will be uncomfortable.
Date: 2004-06-06
From: Thomas Knob

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 35.7
Weather: scattered clouds

This morning¢s hike ranks up with the Roan Highland as one of the nicest spots on the trail. The morning started while I watched the sun burn a torch through the morning fog. A few Rhododendron bushes were beginning to bloom along the trail, big bright purple flowers. I can only imagine what they will look like in a couple of weeks. The ridge was alternating golden grasses, gray rocks, green spruces, and purple bushes with a few ¢wild¢ ponies thrown in for good measure. The pony population is maintained by the state park and NRA to keep the ridge bald. However, all good things must come to an end. I descended into the forest for an afternoon of flats. I cruised along at about 3.5-4 miles an hour. Now I¢m lying down in Partnership shelter. with a belly full of pizza and Dr. Pepper. This shelter is only 200meters from the Mt Rodger¢s NRA visitor¢s center, which means a phone and a pizza guy are only 2 minutes away. This shelter is also equipped with a hot shower. I¢ve realized today that the AT for some people is more about the towns and the zero days than the trail. I told someone I hadn¢t taken a zero day yet, she¢s taken 20. That¢s more days than I¢ve even been on the trail.   She said, ¢you should take more days off and have some fun.¢ For her, the AT is just the mode of travel between towns. It¢s interesting how many different kinds of hikers there are.
Date: 2004-06-07
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob
Miles today: 35.5
Weather: clear sky

I woke up a little earlier than usual this morning, surprisingly refreshed, given the amount of caffeine I had consumed the night before. Also strangely last night I was never forced out of bed to pee, but I was forced out by thirst. It¢s like the anti-2 liters of caffeine effect. Today took me over rolling hills in Piedmont VA, under a warm, bordering on hot, Sun. I reached I-81 at around 11:00 am and spent about an hour consuming a grand total of 2,500 calories worth of ice cream, and chicken sandwiches. Refreshed I set out again across the patch work of fields and forest. The day was pleasant, but uneventful, until I found myself stepping over a root, only to see the root come to life and slither across the trail at remarkable speed. Next thing I knew, I was flying through the air with my heart racing.   Obviously my hypothalamus had chosen the ¢flight¢ respond, as had the 5ft black racer.Vowing, and failing, to stay more focused on the trail, I continued toward my planned destination for the evening. Chestnut Knob may be waterless, so I¢m filling up at a small frog and fish filled pond before I get to the shelter. The ridge I¢m on is exceptionally pretty and would be even more so if all the pollution didn¢t reduce the area visibility. Tonight¢s dinner will be my 500 mile no-bake cheesecake celebration. A little later but who cares. The cheese cake will bring my total calorie intake to 7000. I think that¢s a new personal record. Eat your heart out Mom.
Date: 2004-06-08
From: Chestnut Knob

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 33.6
Weather: light rain

I had it all planned out. I was going to take advantage of a day of flat walking to put in a high mile day. and get myself up to be in town tomorrow afternoon. The only problem was my plan required making camp as opposed to staying at a shelter and making camp in the rain sucks. The day started off well enough. The views would have been great were it not for an impenetrable haze hovering over the valley. Visibility was about 3 miles.The trail eventually wound down to a stream and followed it for a while (the purpose of this being to get hiker¢s shoes as muddy as possible), then climbed onto another ridge slowly and undulating as the hike progressed. This second ridge was perfect for walking fast. Graded, good tread, fairly flat. I put my body into cruise control and drifted off into a daydream. Then I heard thunder. A storm was chasing me down.   The rain began to fall¢a drop or two at a time. But then BOOM! It was everywhere. The storm was really starting to dampen things for me. Being on top of a very long ridge, I had nowhere to run from the massive amount of electricity in the air. So I walked along the trail, which had now become a stream, with my feet disappearing beneath the raging muddy torrent. I got to Jenny Knob shelter at 6:00 pm, giving me 3 hours to kill. Luckily, the shelter was stocked with a People Magazine, so I got to catch up on all the celebrity gossip I¢ve missed. Now, I¢m hanging out here with Red. We¢re daring each other to eat the bag of oats that¢s been left here since God knows when. I tried a piece, it tasted like chalk.
Date: 2004-06-09
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 30.6
Weather: broken clouds

I left Jenny¢s Knob with the thought that I might get to Pearisburg before the PO closed allowing me to send some stuff home. I moved quickly until I saw ¢The Cooler.¢ The was probably the hottest day I¢d hiked in so far, and I could feel my heat rash coming back. I was moving quickly, but breathing heavily with beads of sweat pouring down every inch of my face. ¢the Cooler¢ contained apple juice. It could not have contained anything for which I would have been more thankful , because I have constant cravings for fruit juice and chocolate milk. I sat and drank to my heart¢s content.A hard sweat inducing climb, a long rock traverse and a steep knee jarring descent later, I emerged from the woods in a tired stupor and walked towards the Post Office. The Post Office had just closed, but the merciful post master helped me out anyway.Next, I hit the grocery store. Along with enough resupply to last 300 miles (the next town was 70 miles away), I bought two boxes of strawberries, a package of cookie dough and 12 gallon of OJ and chocolate milk. After eating for half an hour, I examined the shoe selection at Magic Mart. It wasn¢t promising. I left without buying anything, but after talking to my Dad on the phone, he convinced me to buy a hold over pair until I reached the next outfitter.I spent a long time talking on the phone to my girlfriend and my parents, so now I had an excuse to stay in town for the night. I went to the ¢All Sports Caf©¢ to see if their were any hikers around who wanted to split a room. The place was packed with 15 thru-hikers and an equal number of locals They had a 1lbs ¢Big Mcguire¢ burger, which I quickly ordered and consumed. All of the hikers were there to celebrate someone¢s 21st birthday. It didn¢t look like the party was going to let up for a while.
Date: 2004-06-10
From: Pearisburg

To: Laurel Creek
Miles today: 37.6
Weather: few clouds

I left Pearisburg at around 8:30 after making rounds at Hardee¢s and a Grocery Store for Breakfast. I felt weighed down by all the food in my pack, but I couldn¢t pass up an Egg, cheese & bacon biscuit and 12 gallon of OJ. I spent a good deal of the day reading a copy of Watership Down that I¢d picked up the day before, unless the trail was too steep or the rocks too numerous(which was often). There were all of three major climbs today. The rest was rolling, rocky and mostly viewless ridges. These ridges were fairly flat, but covered with numerous large stones at odd angles that had a tendency to grab your toes and make you stumble. There were, however, a few pleasant meadows with fairly extensive views.Also, the biggest news of the day, it didn¢t rain¢much.
Date: 2004-06-11
From: Laurel Creek

To: John's Spring
Miles today: 35.0

I had been told for days that Dragon¢s Tooth was a knife-edge rock scramble, a towering 90 degree precipice, exposed dangerous and almost impossible to go down.I was disappointed.The rest of the day had been pleasant. More ridges, but less rocks. Dragon¢s Tooth, however, was rocky, but hardly exposed. Every now and then ladders had been forged into the rocks. They made life more difficult, because I was determined not to use them. I had to use my hands occasionally, but on the whole it didn¢t really require much scrambling. It was far less difficult that stuff I¢ve done on the PCT and Old Rag.Town, however, didn¢t disappoint. I arrive at the Homeplace restaurant, all you can eat $12, at 7:15. I was famished and eating by 7:40. I ate with a group of five other hikers. I don¢t know how much food I ate, but I know it was a lot. Walking out of town, it was all I could do to keep my stomach from coming up. I drifted onto the AT at 9 pm and walked to the first shelter. It was empty. My first night alone on the AT.
Date: 2004-06-12
From: John's Spring

To: Bobbet's Gap
Miles today: 38.0

I had been told for days that Dragon¢s Tooth was a knife-edge rock scramble, a towering 90 degree precipice, exposed dangerous and almost impossible to go down.I was disappointed.The rest of the day had been pleasant. More ridges, but less rocks. Dragon¢s Tooth, however, was rocky, but hardly exposed. Every now and then ladders had been forged into the rocks. They made life more difficult, because I was determined not to use them. I had to use my hands occasionally, but on the whole it didn¢t really require much scrambling. It was far less difficult that stuff I¢ve done on the PCT and Old Rag.Town, however, didn¢t disappoint. I arrive at the Homeplace restaurant, all you can eat $12, at 7:15. I was famished and eating by 7:40. I ate with a group of five other hikers. I don¢t know how much food I ate, but I know it was a lot. Walking out of town, it was all I could do to keep my stomach from coming up. I drifted onto the AT at 9 pm and walked to the first shelter. It was empty. My first night alone on the AT.
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Bobbet's Gap

To: John's Hollw
Miles today: 40.0

Down a large hill, up a bigger one, then back down. That was the day. The meadows on top of the mountains were enshrouded by clouds as well.I wanted to be in Waynesboro by Tuesday, so I needed to travel 40 miles both today and tomorrow. The terrain I covered today wasn¢t exactly conducive to that sort of mileage. I reached Matt¢s Creek shelter 4 miles from John¢s Hollow and 30 minutes before sunset. I decided to keep going.I half-walked, half-stumbled to the James river, crossed on the massive foot bridge and proceeded to get lost on the other side. Now ordinarily, getting lost on the AT is unthinkable; however, at this moment it was dark and raining. Imagine! And there were road heading it every direction!Eventually, I found the trail and strolled into camp at 9:30 I was greeted by a 71 year old man in his fourth year attempting to reach Springer by doing sections. His name was Moosekiller He¢s been thwarted by a broken ankle, kidney stones, an attacking moose, and a heart attack. This guy has more guts than I do. Oh yeah and he¢s minus a large intestine.
Date: 2004-06-14
From: John's Hollw

To: The Priest
Miles today: 40.3
Weather: light rain

--Nothing in the world is better to wake up to in the morning than a nice little 300 ft ascent through a massive tangle of spider webs. Yech!Most of the ground I covered today, I¢d already hiked 10 years ago with my parents, when I was half my age today. I began to recognize the terrain in bits and pieces. Sometimes almost immediately I recovered memories, I¢d forgotten. It was pretty cool.The trail cruised over Bluff mountain, dropped down to a valley containing a reservoir, and started up again. Along the initial portion of the trail I met tow Trail angels. They had dropped off some hotdogs at the next shelter, but all they could give me now was a Reeses.I thanked them and sped up toward the shelter to get there before all the dogs were gones. I reached the creek where a girl was getting water. I decided the shelter must be close, so I hurried across the log bridge, the split half, wet, slime covered, log bridge. My third step failed to stop. I found myself on my butt still sliding one leg in the air, the other to the side. Suddenly I was no longer on my butt, but in freefall with the stream drawing close. You can guess what happened next. I tried to salvage my dignity (and my gear) by getting up quickly and laughing it off, but I knew I¢d made an ass of myself. There was one hotdog left, so it was all worthwhile. After lunch, I continued up the hill past a troop of 16 girls from some ??? school or so I heard). About 50 yds ahead of them was a cooler filled with coke and mellow yellow, and 100 yd after that a 3 ft copperhead. He wasn¢t going anywhere. I waited for the girls to catch up and used one of their sticks to move him off the trail (the brush was too thick to go around). Their ensuing flood of gratitude renewed my confidence. I climbed and their ¢huzzas¢ and ¢woo hoos¢ receded behind me. \A surprise mellow yellow at the top and a flash rainstorm later I am now in the Preist shelter. I am in the middle of a cloud so thick that visibility is only about 20 meters. The shelter is empty except for one sleeping hiker. (It¢s 8:50). I¢ll probably meet him in the morning.