morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-03-31
From: Vandeventer Shelter (3620')

To: Damascus Va
Miles today: 32.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a triumphant return compared to yesterdays collapse. I hiked about 32 miles in 12 12 hours (7:40 AM ¢ 8:00 PM). It was a relatively easy hike into Damascus, the trail went along more ridgeline today and there were some pretty views, even though they were mostly blocked by trees. I ran into only 3 people during my hike today, a nice section hiker with a dog who gave me his name and number in case I needed anything when I got to Vermont. And I passed Kado and Wels who were taking it slower to Damascus because they had friends coming to meet them on Saturday. So as I hiked into the night to get to Damascus I crossed into the State of Virginia, exciting stuff, North Carolina and Tennessee are done with now 500 miles to go through Virginia. So once I crossed the state line it got dark enough for me to need to use my headlamp for the final 3 or so miles into town. Hiking in the dark is different and you stub your toes a lot more, but you can hear all the animals moving around, except you can¢t see them. So I rolled into town, and came up the THE PLACE (a house owned by a local church, hostel for thruhikers). Everyone was there, Ross, E, Bayley, Alan, Doc Holiday, Robin and others. Ross, E and Bayley successfully completed the Damascus Dash (50 miles in 24 hours) so I caught up with some of the guys and then crashed for the night.
Date: 2005-04-01
To: Ross
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hi guys, It's April fools day and I am in Damascus, VA right now. I pulled in here about 8:00 last night after doing like a 32 mile day, how crazy is that, 32 miles in one day, and I am feeling great today. So I decided to take a zero day today and am picking up some food resupply. The trail actually goes straight through main street of the town, its a pretty neat place, it is the self-proclaimed "friendliest trail town" and is the home of "Trail Days" (big Appalchian get together party thing, which happens every MAY). So ive been doing a lot of hiking, ha yeah, lots and lots of hiking, 75 miles in 3 days. I left Scarecrow back in Erwin, TN and i dont think he'll make it here before I leave again, but I have been hiking with a new group of people and caught up with a couple of people here in Damascus. So all in all im in great shape mentally and physically. A rough estimate is that I will be in Harper's Ferry in one month, May 1st, so be prepared, mark your calenders, hide your food, Ill be home soon. By the way the support out there from you guys is just overwhelming, you all keep me very encouraged. Its so awesome to know that I have family and friends on the East coast and even the West coast that are keeping in touch, and following my trek, I appreciate all of you, even those of you out there that i have never met. So I am still keeping a daily journal and it all eventually gets posted online at some point, its a little confusing i know, but I'll send my journal home in the mail tomorrow and by next week you guys can read about my adventures from Erwin, TN to Damascus, VA. So you'll just have to click back and forth some journal entries to get all the details, or you can just wait till I get home and Ill tell you everything first hand. Alright guys im gonna go look for some more food, I hope this entry wasn't to confusing.-ROSS
Date: 2005-04-01
From: Damascus Va

To: Zero Day, Damascus Va
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I took a zero day, hung out, got on the internet, ate a lot with a lot of different people, talked to a lot of kids and adults who were on spring break about my thruhike. I just basically hung out with thruhikers and relaxed. Checked out the outfitters to see if they had anything I wanted. I'm looking for a summer sleeping bag. I keep waking up in mine overheated and sweaty. I got to meet Snowdog and hang ut with KB & SB and play some cards with Kado, Wels and friends. The weather is gloomy and overcast for the next 48 hours or so, a lot of the guys here are taking 2 or 3 days in Damascus, but I can't see myself sitting around here another day spending $ unless the weather is bad.So their all being bums sitting around town. I have a deep fear if I stay in a single place more than 3 nights, that I might never resume my jurney. So hopefully I will find someone to hike out with tomorrow, if not I guess I'll just head out by myself.Relaxed but anxious to get moving again.
Date: 2005-04-02
From: Damascus Va

To: Baja Cafe, Damascus Va
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Spent a second night in Damascus, the original plan was to leave this afternoon but the weather was not the kind you would like to start a hike in. This morning started off okay I woke up and headed to the Dairy King for AYCE pancakes, at the time it was overcast and a slight drizzle. I went back to The Place and packed up my stuff, put my pack cover and was set to go. I went to make a final call home and grab some lunch at the pizza place before heading out. While I was at the pizza joint eating all by myself it just started to pour outside. It eventually let up and I headed back to The Place. As I got back it started to snow and the wind was blowing it all around but it still didn¢t look to bad and I was of the mindset to get out of town and onto the trail. Ross came in and announced he was waiting till tomorrow t head out and then Alan stopped by and he was already planning to stay one more night so I eventually gave in to the weather and the pressure and am staying one more night.So we all headed to the Baja Caf© (great Mexican food, run by a thruhiker, Sheriff) around 2:30 probably, and I had a second lunch. Ross, Alan and I hung out there for awhile, eventually Alan went back to where he was staying, but Ross and I are staying at The Place which is very big, but no one is there and it has no entertainment. So long story short, Ross and I chilled at the Baja Caf© for over 8 hours till 10:00 pm. when they closed. I got some dinner there and got to watch some skiing and some final four basketball on TV, good times in Damascus, got to meet lots of previous thruhikers and everyone says I need to hitch back here in May for Trail Days, we shall see.
Date: 2005-04-03
From: Ross

To: Lost Mtn. Shelter (3100') Va
Miles today: 15.8

Hiking out of town is the worst for me, probably mentally and physically. Almost all trail towns are by a river in a valley, so I have to hike up out of the valley to get away from town. Not to mention I have a full food bag weighing me down, this time I¢m carrying 6 -7 days worth of food, a bit too much, 4-5 would have been more realistic.So I hiked slow but I still made it 16 or whatever miles to Lost Mtn Shelter, there is snow up here, I am hiking through snow again, luckily it¢s not as cold as it was last time I was in snow in the Smokeys. It¢s a full shelter tonight and it¢s almost a little tight, it¢s harder to sleep when you¢re worried about bumping into people in the middle of the night.Tonight for dinner I had cous cous and chicken, pretty tasty. I got the chicken off of Alan a couple of days ago and finally got around to using it up.I¢m doing good and staying healthy, no pains or ailments, just a couple of creaky bones in the mornings, a lot better than a lot of the people around me, with huge calluses from blisters and missing skin not to mention, Overhill had to get off the trail in Damascus with a fractured foot or something.
Date: 2005-04-04
From: Lost Mtn. Shelter (3100') Va

To: Thomas Knob Shelter (4500') Va
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Last night Snowdog was throwing up, he felt pretty sick today hiking, after 8 miles he caught a ride at a road to the nearest hotel. I hiked with Alan today, we only made it about 12 miles, Kado & Wels are here too, they stayed at the same shelter with us last night. We hiked in some real snow today, it becomes very tiring, 1 -2 foot drifts, for a couple of miles today I was hiking in cross country ski tracks, but it was warm, relatively, which is good because its warm but the melting snow was cold water and my feet quickly became sogged.We went over some cool balds and there is a nice view directly behind our shelter, but I thought I left this snow behind in the Smokey¢s. I was told Virginia was easy and I anticipated averaging 20 miles a day, 12 miles doesn¢t quite cut it, but we did get in here relatively earlier in the day and I was able to dry some stuff in the sun and relax for a while.So today was kinda disappointing on the whole but I am still I generally good spirits but the length and time of this journey is wearing on me at the moment. The sun will come out tomorrow.Happy Birthday Grampy!
Date: 2005-04-05
From: Thomas Knob Shelter (4500') Va

To: Hurricane Shelter (4300') Va
Miles today: 14.9

Awesome, just awesome, this was just the best day. I woke up this morning and grabbed my sleeping pad and bag and finished my sleep on a flat rock overlooking the mountains. Eventually Alan and I got our stuff together and headed out, today Alan waited for me to pack up. So we hiked 5 minutes and we ran into the wild ponies, so cool. The ponies are not intimidated and walk right up to us and lick us, we could touch them and pet them, great start to the day. We hiked through Virginia High Country today and the weather was gorgeous. The high country is full of balds and rugged terrain and wild ponies. I took some side trails to clamber up rock outcroppings to find 360 degree views of the mountains and raw country. A lot of the snow was gone today and some of the trail was dry, but a lot of it was huge puddles or flowing streams due to the overflowing springs.So Alan and I hiked through Virginia high country and it was awesome and maybe I¢ll come back and explore some more some day. Why it was awesome, maybe just because of the change in scenery or because most of the snow was gone, except for the drifts, or maybe it was the exceptional weather or maybe even it was the ponies, all I know was it was cool, and probably one of the most enjoyable days I¢ve had on the trail.So this Hurricane shelter is brand new, it¢s not on the map, it¢s just on my guidebook and posted on the information boards. So at the end of my day I convinced myself I had passed it and missed the sign or something, so I sat down and studied my map and my guidebook and convinced myself I had passed it, so finally I decide to leave my pack where it was run down the trail a little ways, then back track up the trail and try to find the shelter and Alan who had been ahead of me. So I start running down the trail and just around the corner was the shelter. I felt so stupid, I had spent 10 minutes convincing myself had hiked too far and the whole time it had really been right around the corner. So today at the shelter I finally got around to building my first fire on the trail, but after I got it going I let it go out because more important things came to my attention, like making dinner. KB & SB rolled in had dinner, KB resurrected my fire, then they continued on hiking in the night, with headlamps, crazy, who could resist a brand new shelter and a fire, got me, they continued on to go stumble in the dark.Only me and Alan here tonight, well I need to rest up, he and I might hike 20 or 30 miles tomorrow, we can hike a lot when there is a reward at the end, like food.So yeah, today was complete awesomeness.
Date: 2005-04-07
From: Partnership Shelter Va, (3220')

To: Relax Inn, Atkins Va
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Alan and I woke up at the partnership shelter finished off our pizza and mountain dew for breakfast and headed out. We hiked 10 miles into Atkins for lunch and are staying the night at the Relax Inn. Kado & Wells are here too. We went to this Barn looking place Rhondas Restaurant for lunch, but we couldn¢t eat there, they didn¢t take credit and I was out of cash. So I went over to the ATM at the gas station and there was a Dairy Queen right there, and we were too lazy to walk back to the barn.The Relax Inn is kinda trashy but the people who run it are nice. When we got our room one of the beds wasn¢t even made. I layed around most of the day, relaxing and watching TV. I took a nice hot shower, cleaned my clothes and did a small food resupply at the gas station. I called the post office in Bland, Va and had them forward my mail drop to Pearisburg Va. Bland is only 2 days away and I don¢t feel like hiking back into town in 2 days from now so I bumped it forward. So I layed around, watched some Seinfeld and some ESPN. I also talked to Dustin who said he would come and get me off the trail when I got near Virginia Tech and I asked him to do a little research on MP3 players for me so I could buy one while on the trail. So Wels, Alan and I headed u to Rhondas for dinner, there big sign said open till 9:00 pm, but they had little new hours sign on the door that they were only open till 8:00 so we were too late, so I ate at Dairy Queen again, disappointing.
Date: 2005-04-08
From: Relax Inn, Atkins Va

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter, (2880') VA
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a small let down even though I hiked through some beautiful farm country, Alan and I finally got to eat at Rhondas for breakfast, the food was great and cheap, French toast, sausage and egg biscuit, hash browns. SO Alan and I let the motel around 10 or 10:30 it made for a long afternoon hiking. After reading the registers and running into a pair of hikers Alan and I were sure we were going to run into the infamous Mountain Man and his daughter Mountain Dew (you¢ll have to ask me about what we¢ve heard about them). But they were not to be found. (check the photo of the last register entry we saw from them.) It was a big let down at the end of the day and we were both very tired, a little while later Kado and Wels showed up.Did I mention how great it was to sleep in a real bed with sheets last night?
Date: 2005-04-09
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter, (2880') VA

To: Jenkins Shelter (2470') VA
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

Backpacking is lame, napping and laying around is where it is at. UH-OH I¢m behind in keeping up with writing in my journal and forgetting what has happened already. Yesterday I wished dad a happy birthday while I was still at the Relax In and then I forgot to send my journal home in the mail so its going to be a long time before it gets updated online, whoops, sorry all you online readers out there. Check out Alan¢s website he updates his a lot more than mine.www.justlovett.comAlright continuing on; backpacking is lame. I hiked a lot in the morning and went across a couple cool balds, and then got to the highest one at Chestnut Knob shelter, where I found Alan, Kado, and Wels all laying in the sun, on top of the bald. Kado told me to come join the beach party. I laid down in the sun, had my peanut butter and crackers for lunch and took a nap; we even played a little Frisbee, good times.So eventually I was the last one to start hiking off the bald and when I started up the next hill I saw a nice rock that begged me to take a nap on it, then when I started again the nap had made me hungry so I had to take another break to eat. So eventually I rolled into the shelter a little before dark, I had successfully hiked 19 miles and had laid around napping for 3 12 to 4 hours. I know this all sounds fine and dandy but the hiking is a lot harder when you know you could be napping ¢ Sleep is healthy.
Date: 2005-04-10
From: Jenkins SHelter (2470') VA

To: Jenny Knob Shelter (2800) MP 591.3, VA
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: clear sky

I stink, everything stinks, it all smells foul, and sticky, not to mention its practically summer weather and I¢m still using my 15 degree down sleeping bag, I need to fix that.This morning we crossed the same stream 12 times in 2 miles and I didn¢t fall once, good stuff. Then we crossed a road and there was a Styrofoam cooler full of orange and apple juice, I love Trail Magic.The day was just blah, the hiking wasn¢t too bad, but there wasn¢t much to look at, and there wasn¢t much water, I had to take a 30 minute detour just to get a quart of water, it was ridiculous, yes I know I crossed lots of streams in the morning but there was nothing in the afternoon. I also came upon a road and there were no blazes to show where the trail went, eventually I decided to follow the road and luckily I saw some white blazes to show me the way. I hate, absolutely hate when the trail follows the road. Sure the walking is easy; but I know that the trail is always going to turn off the road soon and I¢m always worried that I am going to miss the turn. SO today was just OK, except I got to hike with Wels for awhile and we talked about SKIING which is always a good thing. I arrived at the shelter, the last one for the 3rd of 4th day in a row; I got there a little before dark, made dinner, then went to bed.
Date: 2005-04-11
From: Ross

To: Wapiti SHelter (2640') Va
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

Today is what makes this trip worth it. Alan and I hiked 15 miles today, we slept in a little bit, then hiked about 6 miles, which brought us to a road that we walked down to a Deli in a convenience store 0.4 miles off the trail, we got some great food for lunch and took some chips and dip with us for dinner that night. Alan ate way too much and was almost sick a lot of the afternoon. It was pretty hot outside and we took a side trail down to some falls, Alan jumped in and eventually I followed, it was so cold, the water was freezing and I had to run out, but it felt so good. Then I laid on a rock and dried out in the sun, paradise is the word. I was cleansed of the sweat and dirt that had been baked onto my body, just had to be there.Eventually we got to the shelter and I ate all the rest of the food in my food bag, which makes a full stomach and a light pack, and we also had the potato chips and French onion dip, Alan and I even played a little Texas Hold¢em for who was going to carry out the trash.Sweetness
Date: 2005-04-12
To: Ross
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

Hey guys Im at Virginia Tech right now, hanging out with Dustin for a day or 2, I've hiked over 600 miles, is that crazy or what. So Im gonna be kinda slow this week, Im only going to get back on the trail for one day before my parents come down to visit me, so there will be lots of good food and relaxing this week, which will hopefully help catapult myself through Virginia, i have to make sure to avoid the "Virginia Blues".`I have some awesome days lately and i couldnt imagine anything better than hiking the trail some days, but there are plenty of other days which are exactly the opposite
Date: 2005-04-12
From: Wapiti SHelter (2640') Va

To: Virginia Tech
Miles today: 16.6

Rain today, today was all about counting down the miles t get to Pearisburg, VA, it was 17.7 miles. So Alan and I hiked and climbed and descended and we probabley had the first good Vistas in a couple of days but there was nothing to see but fog and rain. We finally got into town and Alan and I split, hopefully we will hike together again soon. So I picked up my package at the P.O. and gave Dustin a call. He rounded up a car and drove from Virginia Tech to pick me up. He took me back to Tech and hooked me up with a hot shower, good food, clothes and anything else I wanted, its good to see old friends from home.
Date: 2005-04-13
From: Virginia Tech

To: Dustins Dorm Room, VA Tech
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day at TechA great day for a zero, its cloudy, cool and rainy, I am very happy not to be hiking. I slept in and then got some food and hooked up with Chad while Dustin was at class. Chad showed me around a little bit and helped me look for an MP3 player. One could not be found that was suitable for my backpacking needs (small, alkaline batteries, lots of music) but he said he could take me into town tonight and look moreSo I wandered around for a while checking out Virginia Tech, then got online and talked to some friends back home. After Chad was done with class we went into town and looked all over the place for suitable music device, none could be found, until we hit the radio shack where I found something that could work and quickly spent lots of $ on something I knew very little about.   It was a total impulse buy; but I was hungry and had to buy an MP3 player before I ate.We went to Outback Steakhouse needless to say, I ate a lot. So we went back and I hung out with Dustin and stayed up way past my bedtime which is usually when the sun goes down.
Date: 2005-04-14
From: Virginia Tech

To: Groundhog trail (3400') MP 634.9
Miles today: 13.2

A look back on V.T.VT was great, Dustin is an awesome guy and he got me everything I needed, Chad drove me all around the place, helping me out a lot. I was able to be around large amounts of people and not freak out because I¢ve been in the woods too long by myself. I got to talk to a lot of people who know nothing about the A.T. By talking to them I was able to voice feelings and thoughts and answer questions that I normally don¢t confront myself with.Are you confused yet? Come out and hike with me for a week or 2 you might start to understand what I am trying to say.
Date: 2005-04-20
To: Daleville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Just got a call from Shorts, he is in Daleville, spending the night at a hotel. He is doing great, his biggest news is he reported a forest brush fire yesterday. He was hiking the trail near Catawba and came across a fire about 50 feet across and about a foot high in flames. He took some pictures then realized he better report it, he called 911 on his cell phone. As he continued hiking he heard the fire engines responding and later came across the crews and directed them up to the fire. If anyone knows of any news reports on this fire please let us know, he'd like a copy.He also got to see a baby black bear on Sunday!He is at MP 714.5The rest of his journal entries will be added slowly.
Date: 2005-04-21
From: Daleville VA (MP 714.5)

To: Wilson Creek Shelter (1830') MP 725.7)
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

I did not sleep well in the hotel last night, no idea why. I awoke in the morning and went to get my ¢Deluxe¢ breakfast. It was just a nice continental breakfast, it was fine, just not the ¢deluxe¢ my stomach had anticipated. I packed my things and made one last call home before heading out.I got out of town probably by 9:30 or 10:00 am. As usual I hiked slow out of town and was not a very happy hiker, except for the fruit. I was carrying. (4 apples & 3 oranges) so I had a rough time convincing myself to hike and eventually I had ¢the stream¢ moment. (read that in separate entry) So all in all I only managed to do 10 or so miles, an underachievement at this stage in the game.A recommendation to all thruhikers: try all meals before taking them on the trail. I had a bright idea of stuffing and chicken for dinner, still a great idea but it doesn¢t all quite fit in the pot. Whoops.Spending the night with a section hiker named Plodder. It was a good thing I decided not to try and push to the next shelter today, it started raining 20 minutes after I got here, - Slightly frustrated