morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-11-16
From: Campsite 0.4 south of VA311 

To: Niday Shelter 
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: scattered clouds

(In which I/we wake up to a sorority outing and I say goodbye to Kevin) -Currently sitting at a picnic table in front of the shelter next to a fire-This morning I woke up to the sound of a dozen female voices. At one point I heard "...is that a dog or a person?" which I assume was in reference to me, cowboy camped and partially in the fetal position. The three of us started to emerge from sleeping bags and tents and saw 10 to 20 girls at the campsite admiring the sunrise with more arriving every second. They apologised for waking us up but we assured them it was time to get up anyway. We gathered from their conversations that this was a sorority outing. After they stood around for a few minutes they kept hiking south. Stragglers kept going by so the whole group must have been around 25 members. Five minutes after the last of the stragglers hiked past we heard a massive upwelling of chanting and yelling girl's voices in the distance. It was what you would expect from a football team in a huddle just before a big game. We couldn't understanding a thing they were saying but we stood there and listened until the end anyway. A few minutes later they all came flooding back up the trail towards the parking lot. I've never undersood the sorority or fraturnity thing... and this experience didn't help that.After the crazy morning wake up call I said goodbye to Kevin and kept on keeping on. Every bit of the trail that I hiked today I've hiked in the past and for most of the day it was a walk through old memories. It wasn't an easy day though and I was happy to drag into the shelter just before dark. Tomorrow I'm headed for Wind Rock... potentially my favorite place on the trail. I'll wait until tomorrow night to explain.Today's post was brought to you by sororities, becuase making friends is easy in college if you're willing to pay your dues...
Date: 2012-11-17
From: Niday Shelter 

To: Wind Rock 
Miles today: 23.1

(In which I camp on Wind Rock and pass Keefer Oak) -Currently sitting in front a roaring fire-Eight months ago I drove to Blacksburg, VA for a pole vault competition from Madison, WI. The day before the competition I drove up a gravel road about 40 minutes from the Virginia Tech campus, passed Mountain Lake (site where Dirty Dancing was filmed) and then hiked an extremely short 0.2 miles along the AT to this little rocky overlook. The reason I bothered to do all that wasn't the view, it was just to reminisce. If you ask a thru hiker if they remember the time they passed Wind Rock they'll probably look at you funny and tell you they didn't know it existed. It's no more special than the hundreds of other views you see on the AT. It's only real claim to fame is that it's 0.2 miles from an easily accesible road that's close to the VT campus but too far from any kind of authority to patrol it. It's a party place. I sat on the rocks in March and thought about how, if all went well, I'd walk back to this spot eight months from then. All went well. I also thought about all the memories I have of Wind Rock. The time that Tessa drank an entire Nalgene of red wine in about 30 minutes and spent the rest of the night with her head over the edge of the rocks. Or the time that 6 of us were so proud to have finished 48 jumbo hot dogs, only to realize we hadn't yet opened the second pack of 24. Or the time Adam insisted that the 4 of us still awake finish the last 8 beers - followed by an extremely rough morning. Or the time Erin kicked me awake because I was snoring so bad, and I threatened to... well, we'll forget about that one. Or the time all the pole vaulters came up here and one of the vaulter's roomates wanted to spoon with everyone at the end of the night. Ooo - how about the time it snowed 4 inches on us over night and the puppy we had with us (Pickles) was so excited about snow he ran around in it until his paws turned to ice cubes - kinda like our water and our boots in the morning. I rarely left Wind Rock without a smirk, a headache or both. I love this place.Also significant on the day was the passing of Keefer Oak. I'll put the picture in tomorrow's post. It's one of the biggest, oldest organisms on the trail. 18' around and 300 years old. Standing next to a tree that big makes you feel small and reminds you that in the grand scheme of things, our lives are fleeting. It's not every day that you get to touch something that's 300 years old. I hope it keeps on going.Today's post is brought to you by Wind Rock, because I walked 1,527.3 miles to sit on this memory-saturated rock.
Date: 2012-11-18
From: Wind Rock 

To: Rice Field Shelter 
Miles today: 20.3
Weather: overcast clouds

(In which I wake up in the coldest cold yet and discover VIA favored coffee) -Currently sitting at a picnic table watching the sun set-Last night, as expected, a few Tech students strolled up from the parking lot to spend the night. Dante went to sleep early but I stayed up a little longer to chat with the overnighters. The gave me some of their beverages and one of them offered me some extra Starbucks VIA. I wasn't about to turn that down but when they gave me the extra package I was confused. It was 3 times the size of a normal VIA package. I read the front and it said it was vanilla flavored coffee. This is important for later...In the middle of the night I had to slip my sleeping bag into the bivy. It got COLD. Really cold. They don't call it Wind Rock for nothing. The bivy worked great and there was minimal condensation in the morning, but the cold was intense when I had to slide myself out of the bag in the morning. I essentially threw everything into my pack to get moving as soon as possible. The next hour of hiking was a drag and when I pulled up to the next shelter to take a break, I decided to make use of that new coffee packet (now that my water was less frozen). Vanilla flavored VIA rocked my world. Move over hot chocolate! I'm guessing I wont pack it often, but when I find it, I'm carrying it.The picture today is of the Keefer Oak that I passed yesterday. I put my pack and my poles up against it for perspective. Yesterday's post was all about Wind Rock, but the Keefer Oak deserves an in-post display. Better late than never...Today's post is brought to you by ice water, because when you have ice water you don't need a thermometer to know it's cold.
Date: 2012-11-19
From: Rice Field Shelter 

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: mist

(In which I resupply in Pearisburg and I note my third month on trail to the day)-Currently sitting in my sleeping bag in the shelter after dark-This morning Dante got going before me but I still night hiked for about 30 minutes. The ridge you walk down to Pearisburg has great views and in the dark it's like flying over a city in an airplane at night - looking down on all the city lights. Oooo, ahhh.In town I found Dante waving to me through a window in the Dairy Queen. I had been planning to stop at Hardees but he mouthed through the glass that there were power outlets available - sold! So we made camp there while the phones charged. If you ever find yourself in a Dairy Queen around breakfast time, try the Ultimate Breakfast Burrito. After eating well and watching some mind-numbing Today Show nonsense about "how to shop like a man", I made a trip over to the Food Lion for a single day's worth of resupply. There's a grocery store 0.5 miles off the trail tomorrow so one day is all I needed. I'm like a day hiker! The hike out of town was a monster climb up to Angel's Rest. The language lessons got me up it in good time and then I made it to the mid-day shelter around 2pm. I stopped to pick up water and sign the register and by that time Dante had caught up with me (he had to do some post office chores earlier). We decided to push another 9 miles to this shelter even if we had to night hike some. The miles flew by for me. I think this was because of the topic of conversation - religion and science. Count me in! He's Mormon, but not entirely convinced. I spent most of the time referring to Richard Dawkin's books and was more than happy to field any "...but what about..." questions. It was a fun conversation that obliterated 3 hours of the day. We made it to the shelter around 6. We would have made it about 15 minutes earlier but we stopped to listen to a pack of coyotes growling and snarling and howling about 50 yards from us at one point. Dante let out his own brand of howl and his eyes got wide when the pack all simultaneously went silent - oops.Today was my third month on trail to the day! One more to go...Today's post is brought to you by 1-day resupplies, because this whole trip would be so much easier if they just put a town every 20 miles along the trail...
Date: 2012-11-20
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Halveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: broken clouds

(In which I slug out an uneventful 24 and resupply at Trent's Grocery)-Currently sitting at a picnic table next to another fire started by Dante (he makes one every night and it's amazing)-There's a halfmoon tonight that makes me think of song lyrics: "There's a halfmoon rising in southeastern skies, there's a cold wind blowing across the great divide, and the stars they guide my way across the night, there's a halfmoon rising in southeastern skies tonight." - Yonder Mountain String Band. Look em' up. Today wasn't all that eventful so I want to reply to guestbook posts today. Mama Schramek, thanks for the cookies - they were amazing. One bag was for lunch, another was for dinner. Probably the healthiest I've eaten out here. Ruthie, I love my DIY (do-it-yourself) stove. I put a picture in this post. It's a beer can style. My friend Dan and I spent a lot of time years ago making different designs and trying to find the most efficient. Whatever the case, alcohol stoves need a windscreen. I found that using the bottom of a tuna can under the stove and putting a drop of alcohol in the outside ring of it (light it at the same time as you light the fuel in the stove) primes the burner faster and saves about an 1/8 ounce of fuel for every ounce burned. The little bugger boils 2 cups of water in 4 minutes and I never need more than an ounce of fuel to make dinner. A third of an ounce does well for heating a cup of tea water. It's durable (lasted many years), extremely light and I've learned since Maine that it works great in cold weather as long as you warm the fuel up first - on really cold nights I put the fuel bottle between my long tights and my hip as soon as I get to camp. I learned that the beer can style stove works best with a large pot (my pot is about 6" in diameter). If you have a smaller pot like most hikers out here, I think the same design stove with Red Bull cans would work better. If you want more info on the design let me know. Happy to share more.Today's post was brought to you by Trent's Grocery in the middle of nowhere, because as the most redneck establishment I've visited yet, it is deserving of a head nod.
Date: 2012-11-21
From: Halveys Mill Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: clear sky

(In which I slug out another 24 and get jello legs for the first time on this trip)-Currently sitting in a four-wall, concrete shelter on top of an unnamed mountain-I realized last night that with the food I picked up at Trent's I'd be eating about 3,000 calories each of today and tomorrow - both planned 24 mile days. That's not nearly enough and when I laid out my food on the table last night, Dante eyed it and said "not enough, take these..." and then he gave me a Cliff bar, a BIG power bar of some kind and a bag of trail mix. When I told him he didn't have to, he told me he didn't want to carry it. I believe him too because he picked up an entire week¢s worth of food from a mail drop in Pearisburg and he has been carrying it since. With the extra calories he gave me (close to 1,000) I'll make it comfortable to the Shell station in Atkins tomorrow just in time to have a gas-station Thanksgiving. Not many times in my life where I've been so excited to get to a gas station. Today I passed about a half dozen hunters - none had any luck. Dante and I passed one at a dirt road crossing who offered us soda from a cooler. For some dumb reason I declined, but then the hunter pointed out a trash bag hanging from a tree that said "For thru hikers and section hikers". Someone had left a bag full of chicken flavored Ramen. Wohoo!! I had two dinners tonight. Trail magic is few and far between for us late start southbounders so the few packs of Ramen we picked up were a real high. At the very end of the day there was a serious climb to this shelter. I don't think it was any more difficult than the other climbs today, but being at the end of 24 miles made it horrendous. At the top I was pathetically tired and my legs, for the first time on this trip, felt like jello. I've been tired before, but the legs have never been so out of gas.Tomorrow Dante and I are planning 24 miles to the gas station followed by a 3 mile night hike to the shelter. I'll knock out this 27 mile day and then it's Kelly to the rescue. I'll pull a half day to Partnership shelter where I'll shower, order pizza and wait for Kelly to arrive at the Mt. Roger's Visitors Center. I've taken 5 zero days so far, but I haven't needed one like I do right now.Today's post is brought to you by big climbs after long days, because nothing whips the legs like a 1 mile long, 1,000 ft climb after 23 miles of hiking.
Date: 2012-11-22
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter 
Miles today: 27.5
Weather: clear sky

(In which I have a gas-station Thanksgiving with Dante)-Currently sitting in a Shell convenience store off of I-81 after dark-I'm writing up today's entry before the day is done. I like having warm fingers, so rather than type late tonight at the shelter, I decided to get this done in the warmth of this Shell. Dante and I were both exhausted today from the 24 mile days we've been pulling but the anticipation of the convenience store tugged us along all day. His left knee has been bothering him the last two days so he spent most of the day at a slower pace than me. I'd see him at the end of my breaks when he'd come slowly striding along. At the gas station we had a Thanksgiving feast: pizza, chili, chilidogs, a ham and cheese sandwich, ice cream and too much soda. Those are all Thanksgiving staples right? For those gravely concerned about my health, I promise after this trail I'll never eat like this again. We've been sitting here planning the next few days into Damascus and then into Kincora hostel. In the next half hour we're going to hike another 4.5 miles to Chatfield shelter. Tomorrow is a 7 mile day to Partnership shelter to wait for Kelly. Dante is planning to ease up a little and will pull an 18. A much deserved break after 100 miles in 4 days.Unrelated to the trail, I realized today that in the past ten years, nine out of ten Thanksgivings have been spent in different locations. It's entirely unintentional, but I like this odd tradition... how many people get to have Thanksgiving in a gas station? So lucky.Today's post is brought to you by Thanksgiving chili, because sometimes turkey is just too old fashioned (and not to mention very unavailable).
Date: 2012-11-23
From: Chatfield Shelter 

To: Partnership Shelter 
Miles today: 7.1
Weather: clear sky

(In which I order pizza with Dante at Partnership shelter and Kelly comes to pick me up)This morning Dante and I woke up at 7:30. It was such a late start that I didn't need my headlamp in the morning. I realized it's the first morning in a long time that I've gotten up with daylight. It was great. Knowing we only had 7 miles to hike made it even better. We made it to Partnership shelter by 11:30 and immediately went to work trying to order pizza. The Mount Roger's Visitors Center is 0.1 miles from the shelter and only a few miles from Sugar Grove, VA and Marion, VA. We ended up calling about 5 different pizza places which either didn't deliver or wouldn't start to deliver until later in the day. At that point Dante about had a panic attack. I was a little disappointed but since Kelly would arrive later in the day it wasn't a big deal for me. Just as we were about to call it quits, the phone we had been using (attached to the visitor's center) rang. When I picked it up it was the voice of the woman I had talked to at Chi Pizza who told me earlier that the visitor's center was too far away for delivery. She had told her boss about our request and he decided he'd make the delivery to us anyway. This made Dante's day and in an hour we had two large garlic pizzas and two medium cheese breads. Heaven. I finished my share with ease but Dante saved half of his pizza for dinner after hiking another planned 10 miles. After saying goodbye to Dante for now (I'll probably catch him after he zeros at Kincora hostel) I caught up on some of my French lessons and waited for Kelly. She arrived with Thanksgiving leftovers in hand and we made our way to the nearest town. Marion, VA might not look like much on a map, but it's a nice little town. We did some quick hotel research and found the General Francis Marion Hotel. If you ever find yourself in Marion, and in need of a place to stay, this little hotel is a gem and a great deal. Lucky find. Dinner, laundry and relaxation were on the agenda. Mission accomplished. While Kelly was driving down, she did some homework and found out that Virginia Tech is playing Virginia tomorrow in Blacksburg. One up side of VT's poor football record this year is that tickets are cheap... we bought two and we're headed to the game tomorrow. Wahooo! Wait... I mean Hokies!! I'm very excited...Today's post was brought to you by Chi Pizza in Chilhowie, because Dante's life is hard enough without having the promise of pizza yanked out from under him.
Date: 2012-11-24
From: Partnership Shelter 

To: Partnership Shelter 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

(In which Kelly and I watch the Hokies play)This morning Kelly and I took our time, but we wanted to get to Blacksburg early enough to walk around town before the game. We made it to Blacksburg around 10:30 and I gave her the tour - mostly a tour of my old dorms, apartments and memories. We had ourselves a mini tailgate party with the Thanksgiving leftovers and lost track of time. When we made it to the stadium the game had already started (very sad to miss the intro to a VT home game). Despite the late arrival we had a great time watching a great game. It was very, very good - too good. I'd much prefer to see Tech crush UVA, but a field goal to put Tech up with time expiring will do... go Hokies!! After the game we got dinner in town and stopped at the grocery store so that I could pick up 3 day's resupply before heading back to Marion. Another fantastic zero day. This will probably be my last zero day, and it was spent very, very well. Today's post was brought to you by Thansgiving leftovers, because I was kidding about the gas station chili earlier... it was a sad affair.
Date: 2012-11-25
From: Partnership Shelter 

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: clear sky

(In which I say goodbye to Kelly again and pull an easy 20 miles)-Currently sitting in the shelter after dark-This morning Kelly and I took our time eating breakfast and packing up. By the time we made it back to the visitors center it was 9:45. She hadn't seen an AT shelter yet so I showed her Partnership but I assured her that few shelters on the trail are so nice. Goodbyes are never fun, but there's only one month left of the trail and the holidays are right around the corner. Hiking today felt great. I knew I needed a break, but it's always difficult to tell if it's a physical break you need, or a mental one. There's always a mental boost to breaks, but this break was a boone to the body. I hiked quickly and comfortably and 6 hours of hiking went by with the same kind of fatigue I had been dealing with after 2 hours of hiking last week. I'm not planning on taking any more zero days, but if I ever find myself slugging out mileage slowly and painfully like I was last week, I'll probably take one anyway. Twenty miles breezed by. Tomorrow I'm planning a long day (about 28) so that I can camp at much lower elevation. That'll also leave me a short day to get into Damascus. Grayson Highlands State Park tomorrow, Damascus Tuesday and Kincora hostel two days later. Good plan! Today's post was brought to you by breaks, because sometimes you need to stop in order to keep on going...
Date: 2012-11-26
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter 

To: Lost Mountain Shelter 
Miles today: 28.2
Weather: broken clouds

(In which I pass through Grayson Highlands State Park and see the ponies)-Currently sitting in the shelter after dark-Today I was on a mission. The mission: get close to Damascus and camp and low elevation. I wanted to make the miles by sundown so I was hiking by 6am and only took 3 breaks - first, second and third lunch. I kept em' short. Though I made it to the shelter before dark this afternoon, it took me 11.5 hours. Far too much hiking on the day. Ten hours of hiking is my redline and I'll keep under that unless I'm on a short term mission. I spent most of the day walking along ridges in the Grayson Highlands. I think it's one of the prettiest areas I've hiked through yet. The AT spends a short 3.3 miles in Grayson Highlands State Park, and I was disappointed when I left the park without seeing one of it's main attractions... the Grayson Highlands ponies. I wish I could tell you the back story (cue Wikipedia), but all I know is that wild ponies have been thriving in these highlands for a long time. They roam about and are very used to seeing hikers. I was a little bummed about my bad luck, so I put on my French lessons after the park and marched along. It turns out that the Grayson Highlands ponies aren't just constrained to the state park - while mumbling bad French I almost walked into one. Very exciting! What's not to love about mini horses? I watched for as long as I'd let myself on a 28 mile day and took a few pictures. They are so used to hikers that not only did my presence not bother them, I could have been invisible as far as they cared. I didn't try it, but I'm sure I could have walked right up to them. Definitely the highlight of the day. My legs are a little tired but today's mileage was, once again, relatively easy compared to last week's pre-zero-day hiking. Tomorrow's short day might be the last for quite some time. 482.7 miles and counting...Today's post is brought to you by the Grayson Highlands ponies, because other than the trees they were the only other living things I saw today.