morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-05-08
To: About a Trail Dog II
Miles today: 0.0

About a Dog Part IIThe main wild life we have encountered have been shelter mice. One really dumb one that wanted to play around River's feet... didn't last long. Other than that there are just other trail dogs. Mostly we just meet on the trail going in opposite directions. We clip her into leash real quick and all the usual doggie greeting procedures are done, then we move on.I also had the personal rule about not sleeping in shelters with River. But again, for the first couple of weeks we had the shelteras all to ourselves. A couple of times when there were others in the shelters they said they didn't mind her at all, so we stayed in. Then there was the one night at Seely-Woodward where she slept in the shelter with Rubber Duckie and I slept in the tent... really weird night. But, River always sleeps through the night. She is such a princess. She doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning. So if we are in a shelter I don't worry about her bothering anyone during the night. The further we hike south the more hikers we will encounter and the more we will stay in our tent.There are two places on the AT where dogs are not allowed. First will be the Smokie Mts. My Dad will pick River up when we hit Hot Springs and return her at NOC. Dad will take her home with him to Kentucky where she will be able to play packless and leash free on his two hundred acres of woods with his three dogs. She'll have a wonderful vacation. The second spot is Baxter State Park. Greg is planning to meet us there to hike the 100 mile wilderness with us. He'll watch her until we make it out to Abol. There is a third park in New York, but I believe there is a road walk around at that spot.My only other concern is whether the White Mts might be too rough on her. After the 100 mile wilderness we will assess how she is doing. If we think she needs a break, Greg will take her home with him for a month or so. Then he'll work out another short trip to bring her back further down in New England so she can finish the hike with us.I believe that's it about River. Maybe more than you wanted to know. :o)Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-09
From: Kimberly Creek

To: Stealth Camping
Miles today: 16.0

The rain was still pounding on the tent when we woke up, so we waited until about 7:30 when the clouds started to break.The first bit of the hike for the day was on a road. I don't like roads so much anymore, they hurt my feet.I can no longer keep count of NOBO's, I tried at first but there are too many now. We met two other SOBO's though, I think they were doing a flip flop, but I don't remember.We only planned to go 12 miles today but we ended up dry camping at 16 on top of a mountain, where there were a few small places to set up tents.OwlRabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-10
From: Stealth Camping

To: Knob Maul Shelter
Miles today: 19.0

It rained a little overnight but, thankfully it didn't rain all day.At the bottom of the hill where we had camped there was a trail angel, who had set up a big pavilion and had lots of apples, oranges, watermelon, bananas, grapes and stuff, which was awesome.Then we hiked up to Chestnut Knob Shelter, where we were meeting Gary, a guy who we had met a week or so ago. He said he would bring us stuff when we got to that shelter. He had soda, candy, Pringles and peanut butter and banana sandwiches, which are now becoming one of my favorites. I think I came out with three times as much candy as I started the hike with, which of course makes me very happy.We filled up with water and hiked the rest of the way to Knob Maul Branch Shelter.I'm finding that I feel more unbalanced now without my pack than with it, is there something wrong here?OwlRabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-11
From: Knob Maul Shelter

To: Rural Retreat, VA
Miles today: 15.0

Woke up early and started hiking because we wanted to beat the thunderstorm that was coming in. The rain started to pour when we were around 6 miles out and we were on top of a ridgeline when the thunder and lightning started to light up the sky. We started hiking faster to try and get off the ridgeline, but it went on for another 4 miles at least. The rain eventually stopped just as we started walking down off the ridge.Finally we reached the hotel. Roo was very excited to see Mom again. Mom had bought me lots of junk food and stuff to eat when we got there. Tigger and Soaring got a separate room and we all took showers before walking to a restaurant called The Barn for dinner.Then we just came back to the hotel, watched the Fantastic Four 2, and went to bed.Owl forRabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-12
From: Marion, VA

To: Zero Day at Relax Inn
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Rabbit back on the Pocketmail:I felt just a bit like a wimp this morning until we headed out to breakfast at the Barn and realized that many other hikers were bailing on walking today too. What a nasty day. Raining, 30 something degrees, wind gusts predicted in the 60's. Just nice walking weather. For the other girls it's not a big deal, but I've been hanging out here since I got sick days ago. I'm like part of the hotel family. But, it feels good to feel good again and I'm ready to move.Tomorrow the weather is supposed to turn for the better and we'll hit the trail early. Meanwhile we used the down day to work on some logistics.We'd planned our hike with the intention to walk into Damascus in time for the Trail Days festival, but the last few days have thrown us off track. So in order to make Trail Days we were going to have to figure out a few details. It was quite complicated, but with a little help (thank you Greg!) we managed to work out a plan. So a couple more days hiking and then we'll work our way down to Damascus for a couple days off. Good news is those two days are supposed to be nice weather days. Yeah!Meanwhile, all are doing well. Owl just keeps moving on. This hike hasn't fazed her physically or mentally. Roo's still doing well. She does love her zero days, no problem sleeping away the day.Thanks for all your prayers through that nasty bug. I'm all better and glad to be joining the gang back on the trail.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-14
From: 2 mi past Partnership Shelter 

To: Troutdale Baptist Church Hostel
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night we went to sleep to the sound of a Whippoorwill and woke this morning to a Mourning Dove. It was colder than we expected it to be. We feared the predicted storm was coming in early so we decided to hike the morning hours as quickly as possible.Morning was spent mostly heading downhill until we hit the Holstein River. The May apples are finally in full bloom. At one point we were walking in a huge field of them. To our right they were uphill from us. We could see the blossoms underneath that were wide open. It was one of those magical places.From there we headed uphill toward the Trimpi Shelter. We couldn't see the shelter from the trail so we decided to have our lunch at the trail junction. One tenth of a mile off trail is too far off trail if we don't need water.From there it was a fairly easy walk into Dickey's gap. We were heading into Troutdale to the Baptist Church's hostel 2.6 miles down the road. We'd never tried hitching before, but thought this would be our chance. Apparently four people and a dog are too much to ask, even though several pickups passed us. We would have been perfectly happy in the back of a pickup. But no one took mercy on us, so we walked the whole way. Walking on asphalt is so much harder on the feet!We stopped first at Jerry's Kitchen and had some dinner. Excellent food, though I had a hard time relaxing. Roo was outside tied up right next to the road. I finished quickly and left the rest to do dessert while Roo and I walked on to the hostel.This is a wonderful place. Troutdale Baptist gets big kudos from our team. What an awesome ministry. The house is small, two rooms with about room for six to eight hikers per room. But the room is heated and clean. Down at the church building they have free hot showers. :o) And their port-a-potties are fully stocked with toilet paper (very cool!)I was surprised by how many people are here. The rooms are full and a couple others opted to tent.The pastor stopped by earlier to invite us down to a Bible Study they were having. They're doing Philippians, one of my favorites. But I had already showered, dressed in my pjs and tucked into my sleeping bag. Couldn't pull myself out.It appears that the rain may have stalled out. It's kind of gloomy out, but doesn't really look like rain. We'll see what morning brings.We have a scheduled appointment with Jerry at 9AM to shuttle us into Marion. We plan on getting a rental car to drive down to Damascus for Trail Days, but more on that tomorrow. For now it looks like a good night's sleep.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-17
From: Dickey's Gap

To: Fox Creek Trailhead
Miles today: 9.0

This morning we packed up and once more headed to Damascus. We needed to make the post office to drop off our bounce boxes before they closed. They are only open 9-11 on Saturday. First stop was by the gear repair tent at the campground. We had dropped off Roo's harness to be sewn up... she tried to chew it off the other day and did a pretty good job on part of it. The fix-it guy did great job! Also Tigger dropped off her pack to be worked on. She loves her new Granite Gear pack, but it squeaks. It's annoying to walk behind her and hear it, I can't imagine how annoying it was for her. They said they were familiar with the problem and knew what to do. What a great service they provide!While her pack was being worked on we made our Post Office run, then over to the med tent to pack up our blood work results from yesterday. Yikes! You would think walking 500 miles would have reduced my cholesterol, but no. Later in the day someone pointed out that usually you fast for 12 hours before a cholesterol test. They asked what I had for breakfast before taking the test... sausage gravy and biscuits. hmmm.. I guess that could have skewed the results some. Still, I think I'm back to oatmeal for breakfast.Next Tigger treated us to foot massages. Very nice, despite my tickle-ishness. The lady was very patient with me. Wish I'd gotten her name so I could give her a plug.Then we were done with Trail Days. Maybe we should have stayed for the parade, but we felt like we'd done everything we came for. We headed out of town east to Greyson Highlands State Park.Since we had the car until Monday we decided to give ourselves a couple slackpack days. First we checked into the campground at the State Park and set up our tents. Then Tigger and Soaring dropped Owl, Roo and I at Fox Creek Trailhead and we began walking north. They drove to Dickey's Gap and started south.It was about a nine mile hike, pretty uneventful and we managed to hike it in just over three hours. I think we are getting stronger. We met in the middle, traded off the key and kept walking. When Owl, Roo and I arrived at Dickey's Gap we got in the car and drove back to Fox Creek. Tigger and Soaring had just arrived.We drove back to Greyson Highlands. Nice campground...very family oriented. Nice change for us. I'm just a little concerned about Tigger, she can't seem to get warm. Sounds a lot like how I felt just as I was getting sick. I sure hope that's not what's happening.Time to get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll do another slack pack. Not many miles though, so it should be a restful day. Night!Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-18
From: Fox Creek Trailhead

To: Greyson State Park
Miles today: 0.0

When I woke this morning first thing I heard was Tigger declaring she was going to zero. She would drop us off at the trailhead, go clean up the car and rest until time to pick us up. She's still feeling tired and instead of hiking three days sick like I did she thought she'd just rest now.Owl and I got out of the tent to fix breakfast. The weather report we got said it was supposed to be a beautiful day. Instead it was freezing, windy and threatening rain. By the time we got our food out it started to drizzle. We crawled into our tent and cooked in our vestibule. I think that's the British thing to do... right Nic? ;o)Discussing through our tent walls with Soaring we decided we weren't in any hurry. We only have ten miles to cover between where we left off yesterday and where we are. We could easily do that in the afternoon. We decided to hunker down in our tents and let the storm pass.Owl read, wrote, fiddled and fidgeted. I slept. I love sleeping to the sound of rain on a tent. A dry tent that is.At 1:00 Soaring said we had to make a decision. I was still inside the tent so I asked for her weather report. No change. Her biggest concern was if it's this cold and windy here what will it be like up on the ridgeline. No doubt unpleasant. We decided there's no rush.Tigger still wanted to take the rental car to clean it up before it has to be returned tomorrow. Owl went along in hopes of finding a book to read. Soaring went also, leaving Roo and I to hold down the fort.So here we sit. The rain just kicked back up. Looks like a quiet afternoon.Later. (7:30 PM) They came back with a plan. We had been concerned with getting a ride back to the trailhead from the rental car place tomorrow morning. The guy at Enterprise said they would do it, but we were doubtful they realized how far away the park is from Marion. While in town Tigger secured a shuttle back to the trail tomorrow. They also decided to stay at the campground another night. Tigger still isn't feeling up to par and decided leaving the tents set up and slackpacking into camp would be best for her.The weather front that has hung over us all day was supposed to have passed through by now but has stalled over us. Great. Maybe tomorrow will be better.As they were driving out of the park they gave a ride to another hiker, Crabby. He was going to the campground but headed the wrong direction. He'd come off the trail. He said he could handle rain, cold or wind... or any two together, but with all three it's time to find shelter. It's always reassuring when we aren't the only ones thinking this way.Owl found her Prince Caspian book. A quick flip through did show some big differences in the story line. I'll be interested to hear Owl's take on it when she finishes.Roo is about to climb the walls of the tent. She hasn't gotten out to play much today at all. I have no desire to have a wet dog in the tent. We'll make up for it tomorrow with plenty of exercise.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-20
From: Massie Gap

To: VA 601 Camp
Miles today: 12.0

Pooh would say this was a blustery day. But that would be a serious understatement.I did not want to get out of the tent. The wind was howling, the sky was gloomy...the temperature was okay. I decided if we are going to be AT thru hikers we have to hike the yucky days too.We packed up, ate a quick breakfast and headed out the campground road toward Massie Gap. By the time we reached the spot we had left off yesterday the wind was kicking up strong.We started out across a meadow leaning into the wind. Almost immediately Owl spotted a group of ponies. She and Tigger went closer to get pictures while Roo and I searched for some protection from the wind.From there we continued on, battling the wind the entire way. It was exhausting. Owl commented that she was glad she had her pack on because she wasn't sure she would stay on the ground without the extra weight. At least once the wind almost knocked me over. We met an older NOBO gentleman who warned us we had a very dangerous climb ahead of us. I was expecting something really scary, but it wasn't bad at all.All in all it was an interesting experience. I don't think I've ever walked that long in that strong of a wind. There were some tense moments when a black cloud came over Mt. Rogers and I thought we were in for a downpour. But we stayed dry...just very windblown.By the time we stopped at Thomas Knob shelter we were tired. It's a lot of work fighting wind that hard! But when we looked at our map and realized we had spent all morning going only 2 1/2 miles we were shocked... and disappointed. Our original plan to go 16 miles had to be rethought. We decided to take small pieces at a time and see how far we could make it.By about 4:30 we came to a campsite near VA 601 at about our 12 mile mark. I can hardly believe we just did 12 miles. All because we were so worn down by that morning wind.Oh, I forgot to add, after lunch at Thomas Knob we started down the other side of Mt Rogers. As we were winding our way through the woods we came to another small herd of ponies. Owl got more pictures and this time one of the ponies came up and let her pet it. It was definitely the highlight of her day.When we arrived at the area we hoped to camp there was a tent already set up. We called up to ask if they would mind us joining them and they waved us up. It turned out to be NOBO hikers Cheeseburger and Taz. Taz is from Odenton, MD. Small world. We had a great conversation over dinner and a fire. They built an amazing fire!Since we didn't make our miles today we have to decide if we want to push big miles tomorrow to get into Damascus or make it in two days. There is also the option of blue blazing on the Virginia Creeper Trail. We hadn't planned to do that, but Taz highly recommends it. I guess we'll discuss it tomorrow.There's a beautiful sunset tonight and the skies are clear. It was a good day. I talked with God a lot about rain today. He was very good to us.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-24
From: Back to Damascus

To: Recuperating
Miles today: 0.0

Not much to add today. Owl is slowly getting better tho having a hard time with food.We worked out a plan for Granny and Grandpa to take us back to the trail Sunday afternoon. I got a couple texts from Tigger. Looks like they are moving along well.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-25
From: Recuperating

To: Still Recuperating
Miles today: 0.0

Well, the question as to whether she ate something bad and has food poisoning or is this a stomach bug was answered last night. She is contagious.At least I knew what was coming and took some Pepto right away holding off some of the worst of it.We hoped to be back to the trail today, but I'm not going anywhere for now. I'm really hoping to shake it quickly and be back on our way in the morning. Tigger and Soaring were planning a Nero for tomorrow so they could go into Hampton to resupply. Maybe we can still catch them at Kencora. I hope.I'm about tired of these sick entries. Believe it or not we are usually very healthy. Our problems seem to arise when we have been in town. I'm thinking it's time to start avoiding towns and stay on the trail.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-26
From: Still Recuperating

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Our last message from Tigger said that Monday would be a low mileage day for them since they intended to get a shuttle into town to resupply. With that in mind Owl and I figured we would be able to meet up with them at Kincora as long as we made it by noon.We tried hard to get there before noon, but Hampton is just a hard place to get to. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. When we arrived at Kincora we were told they had left early that morning and were expecting to meet up with us at 19E. Drat!I probably needed one more day of recuperating anyway, but I'm tired of getting behind on our miles. So we wound and wound (and wound) our way back out of Dennis Cove road and found 19E. Atwood and Norma were such good sports about wandering all over the backwoods of Appalachia trying to find a place to drop us off. I was glad to see what a nice place Mountain Harbor Hostel is, because I wasn't sure they were too keen on dropping us off to sleep above a barn. :o)Mary, the hostel owner is a very nice lady and made us feel very welcome. So here we are... Owl and I chose to share the 'semi-private' king size bed. (We have a curtain) The horses down stairs are quiet neighbors and I only smell them when I go outside on the porch. We've got a TV with a selection of VHS tapes, a fridge, stove, shower... I think we'll be comfortable enough waiting for the gang to catch up. We're both ready to start making up some miles.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9
Date: 2008-05-27
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

We are really enjoying our stay here. Our group gives it an ¢eight thumbs up¢...and two paws.This morning we got up for breakfast at the house. Mary and Terry put out a fabulous spread! It was delicious. We then sat around the table and talked through all the world¢s problems. The other hikers here with us are Montana Steve and Rama and Sita. It was a great time of visiting.Turns out Rama and Sita have been following us on the trail since we began. They started a couple days after us in Pine Furnace, PA. They'd heard about the 'winnie the pooh' folks their whole hike. I imagine we will continue to crisscross paths down to Springer. Nice people.After breakfast Owl and I spent some creative time, something I don't find time enough for on the trail. I got out my sketchbook and watercolors and sat outside painting. Owl sat with me writing. She's been working on her first great novel.Just after noon Tigger, Soaring and Roo showed up. It was good to be back together again... especially with Roo. She has a wonderful way of making sure you know how much she missed you.Since then it's been a quiet afternoon with all the usual reorganizing and cleaning gear... watching movies, eating popcorn (not so usual). We exchanged stories of where we had been, what we had done and who we met. Apparently we missed meeting a couple of our trail journal readers yesterday. I'm sorry I missed that!I also spent a little time today with Roo walking her around the grounds on leash introducing her to new animals... horses, goats. All the feral cats seem to have disappeared since she arrived. I hear she had problems with the Kincora cats, so it's probably just as well. Right now she is completely crashed on the floor.In a little while Mary will give us a ride into town for dinner. Did I say what great people they are? Tomorrow we'll stay for breakfast. I think Owl and I would be content to head out early, but Tigger and Soaring need to experience a Mountain Harbor breakfast. After that we'll be on the trail again...up Hump Mountain (sigh... I guess it's gotta be done). Then on to Erwin.Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9