morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2011-06-22
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Chatfield Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 7.1

Day 66We had an epic thunderstorm last night. In the shelter register there was one mention that there were some leaky spots upstairs. Yeah I found one...right over my head! Luckily there was a lot of room to move as it was just myself and one of the youngins who hung his hammock from the rafters.Of course as we were eating breakfast it started to rain. I very stubbornly said I was NOT going to hike in the rain!!The young guys were going out for 2 and 3 weeks and they took advantage of having 3 seasoned hikers there and picked our brains. They had mentioned that Grant had a very heavy pack so I offered to "Shake him down" if he wanted. He said he would appreciate that so he took his food out for breakfast. The first thing he took out...an apple. Shakedown over. The kid must have 20 lbs in food! I gave him the trail name "Produce" and found that he signed the log book here with that name Apparently the other kid is now "Null"I moleskinned and duct taped the crap outta my heel and REALLY took my time getting here. I still ended up getting here before 3. Imagine was here when I got here. He said he had been here about 10 minutes. LOL, I think he left the shelter at least an hour before me!The town of Atkins (and my maildrop with my PANTS!) is only 4.5 miles away. But there is no hostel there and the next shelter is 18 miles. So here I am. Imagine and I decided we will split a room in town so we can do laundry and shower. We can totally take our time. There is the Lindamood School Settlers Museum on the way, so we can check that out and still get to town early
Date: 2011-06-23
From: Chatfield Memorial Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: light rain

Day 67Nero day into town today.Of course it rained the whole time up until my feet hit the road.On the way was the Lindwood School Settlers Museum. I stopped and poked around looking at that and still made it into town before noon.Imagine had gotten a room for us and I picked up my resupply with my new pants that FIT! (They were way to small before I left) and did laundry.I had an amazingly productive day. I called REI about swapping out my pack because it is the wrong size for me. Everyone kept saying I shouldn't notice it on my back anymore so I went to the outfitter in Damascus and yeah, they measured me and I need a small height wise. So, new pack will be coming to Pearisburg.I called L.L. Bean because of my bent pole that I've dealt with since the Smokies. New Poles will be coming to Pearisburg. I called Mom about swapping out my "waterproof" boots for the vented shoe style boots. New boots will be coming to Perisburg! So I have to get to Pearisburg by next Saturday at noon or I will have to wait there until Tuesday due to the holiday. Just about 90 miles. I should be able to do that. Doing another short day tomorrow to a camp site to the let the heel have 1 more easy day. That should be enough and then I will be off and running with 10-14 mile days. We ran into TamiJo...Scratch left the trail. His ankle just kept getting worse. We invited her to share our room, but she decided to keep going. Then I ran into NoHurry. He had been hiking with Chaos and I guess SittingBull, Grandma, and Speedy were with him too. He decided he needed to break away and move faster.The restaurant down the street is amazing. Awesome very homestyle and CHEAP! I can't wait to try breakfast. The waitress had done 3 1/2 thru hikes! Whoa!All I have to say as I am tucked into this bed...is SHEETS!
Date: 2011-06-24
From: Atkins, VA

To: Davis Path Campsite
Miles today: 2.9
Weather: light rain

Day 68I hate going such short mileage, but my heel is healing nicely, so, I guess I am doing the right thing.It has actually not rained today (yet). We are at a campsite that used to be a shelter. It is like they took the roof and walls off and left the base, including the steps. There is a privy here, but no water. Most of today was through really pretty meadows. Well, I guess half was, the other half was in a pretty wood and all uphill.I found some ripe blueberries today! I was on the side of the trail picking them when Imagine caught up to me.We did breakfast at The Barn Restaurant in Atkins. OMG, so good! If they could duplicate this place all along the trail it would be awesome.Since there is no water here, any my food bag is now like 27 lbs (not really, but it is heavy) I decided to share my summer sausage with Imagine for dinner. The Voice had given me some 4 cheese potatoes. So we will have meat and potatoes for dinner with blueberries for dessert!We have gathered up a bunch of fire wood to make a good fire to roast the sausage on and boil the water for the taters. I have been foraging around hoping to find enough bullbriar or plantain to make a salad, but I couldn't find any smaller leaved ones.NoHurry showed up, but decided to keep going. Imagine and I made dinner, roasted the summer sausage over the fire. Just as we finished this kid named Jolly showed up. Seems like a good kid. he goes to Clemson, but omg can he talk. I though I was bad, and that NoHurry was bad. I finally at 7:30 (still totally light out) decided to go to bed. We all got int our tents...and he talked to himself. I got my earplugs ready, but hate to use them cause then I can't hear the wind. He is currently talking to his mother on his cell phone. As far as he knows Imagine and I are sleeping...Anyway. It seems like it isn't going to rain, so I only put my fly on half way. I left the back up so I could get a breeze and see out. I realized if it starts to rain I will have to go outside my tent to put it down, so I rigged it up with a rope. I threaded it from the pole, up through the tie the other tie, and under the other pole, then through to the front and into my tent. So, if it starts to rain, I just have to pull a string Yay me! (Course if it rains really hard, I'm not sure how will this will work. Hopefully I won't find out!)
Date: 2011-06-25
From: Davis Path Campsite

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

Day 69We got out onto the trail by 8am. It was a nice hike again today. A lot of meadow walking. I love walking among the butterflies and grasshoppers. The cows gave us the eye as if asking WHAT we were doing in their area! My hip started hurting today. The heel is almost healed up and now...the hip! I'm hoping it was just from too much weight and the pack being the wrong size. MedicineMan and Chaos caught up today. It was cool to have Eve come into camp She's so awesome.Tonight in the shelter is Jason (He has been with the kids and Chaos.), 3 young section hikers, myself, Chaos, Eve and an old section guy named Walker Kentucky Ranger.Walker KY Ranger has a lot of tips for everyone. He cam sobo so he told us all about the lack of water in the next seciont and the best way to get through it all.Eve is tucked up against me right now
Date: 2011-06-26
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Day 70Today was a short day of pretty much up. More than half of the day was just steady up. Walker KY had hold us of the water issues. Even with all the rain, we are walking over dry creek beds and springs the majority of the time. We had to get water 4.6 miles from the shelter and that 4.6 was all UP. I carried 5 liters of water. That's about 10 lbs in just water, all uphill.Chaos was out of water when I got here. I had stopped along the way and called Chris and told him about the water and he specifically said "Don't share it with anyone except the dog." I told Chaos I would trade him 1 cup of water for fuel for my dinner. I'm not sure that he knew I had 5 liters. I forgot to get more fuel in Atkins, so I'm a little low. Worked for me.Food out here is a huge part of life. The main topic of conversation most of the time is going to be food. TheVoice had given me some dehydrated soups. So tonight I tried the chili. MedicineMan had given me a 1 inch square piece of gouda that I decided to save for dinner. With water being so tough tonight I made the chili and then drained off some of the water into another pot. I rehydrated a little jerky and then pulled it apart. We dubbed it "Hiker Pulled Pork." I put that on a tortilla with the gouda. Yeah, it was good.SittingBull, MedMan and Jason were making a hot chocolate concoction. They said if anyone wanted in, they had to contribute something and have a spoon. I added dried milk and cinnamon. They had put in Hot Chocolate and Vanilla Cinn Spice Coffee. Then they mixed it all in a pot and we all took turns taking spoonfuls. OMG! It was soo good!I had gotten here about 1:30 and Jason and Chaos were here. Section Hiker Harry showed up on his sobo return hike to Partnership. Imagine, Grandma, MedMan and SittingBull all came. Then a guy came in and he said "I'm Neil." ... Well he has been with the family for a few days and said they were on their way. I got all antsy waiting and finally about 5 I decided I would walk back down to the last clearing.   The trail was an old road and pretty smooth to do in my crocks. I had JUST about gotten to the clearing (about a mile) when I saw them! It was awesome to see them again This shelter is a concrete cabin. It used to be a fire warden cabin and there was a fire tower right outside. So tonight I and actually INSIDE!We had a short rainstorm and afterwards there was a rainbow. It was the best camp TV yet. All of us just stood outside gawking at the clouds with the rainbow and the sunset. We all took tons of pictures. It was so cool to see all of us out appreciating the beauty of nature. Everyone was pointing out things on one side or the other. I love that so much. After the family came, Kevin went with the guys to go get water nobo 1 mile. Caroline, Dylan, Grandma and I all sat outside on the grass, in the sun, with the breeze. The view here is awesome and I thought to myself as I sat there, "I love my life."
Date: 2011-06-27
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: light rain

Day 71This morning Chaos woke everyone up with the worst shelter etiquette I've ever encountered. It wasn't even 6am. He and Jason took off and now like it or not we were all awake.Everyone else got going before me but I caught up to the family as they were just leaving from getting water and Neil caught up with me as I was finishing.We all ended up hiking together and it was nice to be with the family again.This shelter has a privy that is just a toilet seat on a platform. No walls. It is situated behind a stand of hemlocks so it has its privacy. I actually love it. Kind of like an open air shower.Tonight we played a card game Garbage. It was a blast. Firebug, SittingBull, myself and then either Neil or MedicineMan (they switched off) played.Imagine is here too and I think he got a kick out of everyone.I love sheltering with my friends. It really feels like it is my family. We all get along so well and repect each other.
Date: 2011-06-28
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 72A deer came into camp this morning, it had no cares that we were there. There was one that came around last night too and Dakota (SittingBulls' dog) could have cared less. I do hope if a bear were to come he would have a bit more of a reaction.We stopped at a river for lunch. The kids were there already and Neil caught up to us. Firebug started feeding the minnows and it was pretty cool. By the time we left there was quite a school of them!We had been planning on getting to the next shelter 2 miles past town, and Imagine said he may not make it.We all decided we would stop in Bland to go to Dairy Queen. We got to the trail head and X3 was ahead. I saw them kinda step to the side as if to confer on which way to hitch. Neil also pulled to the side. I walked out of the woods, saw a truck coming, walked to the road, put out my thumb, and...it stopped. The guy asked where we wanted to go "Dollar General? The Post Office? Dairy Queen?" I said. "That's it." and we all piled into the back of the truck. As we were going down the raod we saw the kids and yelled to them. The guy stopped and we picked them up too! Caroline, Grandma, Firebug and MedMan got into the cab while all the packs, Neil (Caroline named him CrowFeathers last night), Kevin, SittingBull, Myself, and the dog (a Husky) were all piled in the back. It...was EPIC!!While we were at DQ the skies became quite threatening and people were coming in saying they had just driven through the worst rain they had ever seen. X3 decided they would call the motel across the street and we found that the rooms weren't too expensive. I turned to CrowFeathers and said "Wanna Split?" He very matter of factly nodded his hsead and said "Yup."CrowFeathers is doing a 6 week hike and he started in Damascus. This is his first night since then (120 miles) in a motel or taking a shower or doing laundry.We went to Dollar General for him to resupply and I picked up a pair of $8 mens cotton sleep pants Yay cotton to sleep in Then we went to Subway to get dinner. I have been craving a tuna sub so I got that with ALL the fixins! Back at the room we put a chair between the beds and used it as a table. We put out our sandwiches and poured some fritos between them and we each had a beer. CrowFeathers took a picture LOL.We washed our laundry in the sink as did X3 in their room and we hung a line outside. We took my tent fly and suspended it over the clothesline to protect the clothes from the epic store that manifested itself into a few passing sprinkles...sigh. Oh well. I got a shower and sheets!
Date: 2011-06-29
From: Bland, VA

To: Kimberling Creek
Miles today: 18.3

Day 73Yes, that is correct...18.3!!Aaaand 600!!!! Aaaand night hiking in order to complete it all!We had been planning on getting to Jenny Knob Shelter which would have been about a 12 mile day, but that would have brought us to within 3.4 miles of 600! So, we (in some sort of dilirium) decided to just go for it! Only another 6 miles! (It's weird how you forget you just did 12 and now its "only" 6 to go.)The family pulled ahead and I hung with CrowFeathers. I figured we might end up night hiking and I didn't really want to do that alone. We had a lot of fun and sang Disney songs as we went. We did ended up night hiking and its started over some fairly rocky terrain, then along a skirt. I realized my head lamp is NOT worthy of night hiking and was grateful that his was very bright. He was behind me and illuminating my path.We got to the river just after 10pm. We had been on the trail for just under 12 hours. But we had had a few good breaks. Caroline and I had actually jogged a lot of the trail today, it felt great to do that, but I think we will feel it (along with 18 miles in the morning!)At one of our breaks today, we came across a bizarre finding. There were the remains (bones) of a few different animals. At least a deer, coyote, and a boar. Bizarre.This camp site is very reminiscent of a hobo town. We are all spread out along the river. Sunshine has her hammock under the bridge, and there are a bunch of people cowboy camping (just in a sleeping bag on the ground, no tent). You can tell it is a party place for locals as there are beer cans and trash strewn about. Its been a long but amazing day and I am glad to be in my tent and ready to sleep! I am using my food gab to put my feet up on, sure hope there aren't any bears!
Date: 2011-06-30
From: Kimberling Creek

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: clear sky

Day 74"Short" day today. Along the way was Dismal Falls. Firebug really wanted to go, but someone had told us it wasn't worth it. I told him since it was only .3 off the trail I would take him if it was ok with "the rents" (how I refer to his parents ) We all decided to check it out and we were soo glad we did. It was a beautiful low cascade with wide steps of stone and then a large drop down a to a pool. The guys all ended up swimming and jumping into the pool. Firebug ended up finding some fishing line and a hook and made a pole from a stick. They had seen a few big trout in the pool and it was amazing to see the father son experience happen before me. Firebug ended up catching 4 small fish, he was so happy and it was so fun to see.It is just X3, CrowFeathers, and myself at the shelter tonight. I went to get water and came across a grand patch of ripe blueberries. Firebug and Caroline picked a bunch then we took some apple/cin oatmeal and made a blueberry crumble over the fire. It was soo good!There are a couple of deer that have absolutely no fear of us. They are just on the boundary of the shelter site eating. Maybe 15 feet away.When I went to hang a bear bag there was one watching me. Apparently, deer also get a kick out of watching the fools try to do this thing!
Date: 2011-07-01
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 75Today's amusement rides consisted of a long and arduous 3 miles of up, amazing views, and a RATTLESNAKE! Oh, and of course then getting here to Woods Hole Hostel The family, CrowFeathers, and I all pretty much stayed together today. The first part of the day was just plain old up, but we all powered through it and got to the top.We had read in the journal at the shelter that there was a rattlesnake at one of the views. We got to the view and no snake, but some pretty cool views.Then we got to where there was supposed to be a fire tower. no fire tower, just lots of cell towers and a view that was just beyond words. The rocky outcrop itself was amazing and then there were these views. There were turkey vultures kettling all around, it was awesome. CrowFeathers had me do the Karate Kid pose for a picture and he must have taken a full two minutes to actually take it. I was impressed with myself that I was able to hold the pose that long. I then proceeded to get stung by one of those tiny little bees that you don't thing will sting cause it's too cute. Carolyn gave me some tea tree oil to put on it and firebug said to tape a penny to it. I did. It worked!We were all going along. I was actually keeping up pretty well with Kevin, then behind me a bit was Carolyn, Firebug and then CrowFeathers when I heard firebug yell up to me "Rattlesnake!" I relayed it ahead to Kevin and we all congregated back on the trail to gawk a the snake. This snake KNOWS it is top dog. It's amazing how when it wants to look menacing, it TOTALLY becomes menacing. It even seems to lift its scales like the hair raises on the back of a dog or cat. It was about 3 1/2 feet long and gorgeous! It's coloring was like deep deep wood tones. Mahogany and dark maple. CrowFeathers asked if I wanted him to get a closer picture. I told him I wasn't going to carry him off the mountain so no thank you!The terrain turned from a nice easy path along the ridge line that seems like it is lined with purple slate to a more rocky path having to jump from big rock to big rock. Rocks ranging from large microwave size to comfy cushy chair size. I was going along at a good pace when my knee decided it wanted to try a new direction...sigh. I ended up moving to the back of the line and lagging way behind. oh CrowFeathers had a friend join him today. He was expecting to meet him at the hostel, but the friend (Corey) decided to hike sobo till he found us. So our 5-some turned into a 6-some. The family pulled way ahead, CrowFeathers and Corey moved on, and I gimped along. The guys ended up waiting for me and we got to Woods Hole Hostel together. The kids are here along with NoHurry, Sunshine, and Hawk. NoHurry is going to be getting off the trail and his girlfriend is driving down from CT to get him. X3's daughter and fiance (and possibly a couple cousins) are coming to see them. It's like family and friends day...
Date: 2011-07-03
From: Woods Hole Hostel/Pearisburg

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day 77Today I zeroed. It was a lovely day and I did some work-stay to try to help lower my cost.I helped Michael by pulling onions. He had 3 beds that needed to be pulled in the garden. Outside the garden are a couple of bee hives and the bees really didn't want me to pull the onions in the 3rd bed. I finished the 1st 2 and half of the 3rd then went and found Michael to let him know that the bees were having none of it. He assured me that they were not being territorial, just wanted water. I grew up and around bees and am perfectly comfortable with them. These bees were being territorial. Michael said he would do the last bed and I shortly found him walking very quickly away from the garden saying he would wait till it was cooler and then stuck his head in the smoker.We cut all the onions to prep them for drying and saved all the flower tops so they could use the seeds next year.Woods Hole was an amazing place to stay. The hostel was actually started by Neville's grandfather. It is also a B&B retreat with guest rooms inside. Both Neville and Michael are licensed massage therapists and they offer daily yoga and meditation. All the meals are prepared in the kitchen with help from the guests. I helped prep for the first dinner of mexican fiesta by cutting onions and making salad dressing and cutting the freshly pulled greens for salad. Neville made tortillas by hand and had all the fixins canned.When I got back from slackpacking they had made pizza in the brick oven Michael had built himself.I participated in meditation and yoga (most of it, not the on your knees stuff) and also planted potatoes and folded laundry.Woods Hole is a vacation spot anyone would love. Check them out online. I think I will call them next year to see if they need help.There is a really nice couple staying at the B&B. We all went out for dinner and expected to see fireworks, but come to find out they aren't till tomorrow. I spent most of dinner talking with Michelle. She is pretty cool. I love that part of this journey the most. I have met so many people that have touched my life. Some I only met for a short time, others a lot, but most all have had an impact.
Date: 2011-07-04
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Campsite Somewhere North of Pearisburg
Miles today: 4.6

Day 784th of July!!!I think I forgot to mention that Imagine showed up at the hostel yesterday. It was so nice to see him again! He is definitely one that I will keep in touch with (I hope).Michelle and George gave me a ride to the trail head this morning. It was a good drop off trail magic because otherwise I would have had to pay for a shuttle and I am very low on money now. I had a small amount in my 401k that I had already determined I may use for the trip or when I got home. I called and cashed it out. Now I am waiting for the logistics to work out so the $ is actually in my account. It's amazing how your mental state affects your physical so totally. Worrying about money had put a great weight on me and my pack is heavy enough as it is!!I only went a short distance today; The climb was very hard out o town and the weather threatening. I came to a great campsite just as it started sprinkling so I set up my tent as quickly as possible and then decided I might want a fire if it stops raining so I went and gathered a bunch of wood and put it in my vestibule to keep it dry. The skies opened and I was tucked up in my tent. I wasn't sure about the water situation. Sooo many water sources have been dry, so I set my pots and cup under the edge of my rainfly to catch water. I ended up getting enough to cook dinner but also found that the spring is running well and has a nice pipe around it so no issue with water. I made a nice fire and lit some sparklers. It's tough being alone on a holiday. I am a big traditionalist and really miss my family.