morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-17
From: Knoxville, Tennessee

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

After a fantastic night's sleep, Michelle, her husband, Mike and his son, Zach, drove me the 130 miles to Damascus! Mike is also a backpacker and adventurer who wants to hike the AT some day. They usually ride their bikes in Damascus on the Virginia Creeper Trail. Mike had always wanted to see what Trail Days, the large thruhiker gathering, was like. We arrived in Damascus just in time for the start of the thruhiker parade. There must have been over 1000 thruhikers in the parade, most current hikers, but some from past years. Several were decked out in regalia. quickly constructed, to celebrate the occasion. A few had water cannons and many had squirt guns to douse the other hikers and observers. I heard that the police were not too pleased. I ran into my friend Lizzie (P-Noid) who is hiking the Trail again this year (AT '99 and PCT '01). I had been chasing her since Springer. She had worked Rocky Top Crew with me in 2000. Other people I ran into were Iron Chef, Pipes, Radar, Hepcat, Big Paw, Kiwi, Coyote, Sassy, Kodiak, Two Dog Night, Flatlander, Brian, Booble, Foxy and many others. Some I hadn't seen since the first week when they left me behind with their speed. I was very lucky to find a patch of ground for my tent at The Place, a hostel run by the Methodist Church in town. The alternative was Tent City, where the thruhiker community had been relocated about a mile out of town. I preferred being in town as the hikers were having to hitch rides back and forth. It was also much quieter. Tent City was definitely the party hangout and I wanted my sleep. I attended two different slide presentations at the Old Rock School. One was by the Witchers, a family of four who hike the AT last year with two young children, about 8 and 10 years old. They are back in public school this year but the kids say they would prefer being back on the Trail as they really enjoyed it. The other presentation was Warren Doyle, who has hiked the AT at least 10 times, 28,000 miles worth. Since the early 70's, he has taken groups on "expeditions" as he calls them. They slackpack the whole way. I don't think I'd enjoy doing it with an organized group, running on a schedule. The slides were interesting, especially the ones from the 70's. You wonder how we ever backpacked in the 70's with all that heavy gear, flannel sleeping bags, ponchos, heavy tents and packs. Later, I split a pizza with "Hemingway" who thruhiked in '95. He had hiked with "Indiana Jean" in Maine, when she returned to complete her thruhike in '95 after breaking her leg the year before. Jean had written a very inspiring book about her adventure that I loved reading.
Date: 2003-05-18
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained most of the night. Everyone stayed up late and talked. I finally fell asleep around midnight. This morning I laid in the tent and listened as everyone started waking up. I made a mental list of all the sounds I heard. Many people left today to return to the Trail where they left off. Others are staying for the talent show this afternoon. And many are headed back to Kincora Hostel to do trail maintenance for a day or two. I missed Firefeet as she left town this morning. I also missed Strawbale who returned to the Trail about the same time I left in April. Most people I have hiked with have had to take some time off the Trail for injuries or family matters, so they will not be far ahead of me when I start out of Damascus tomorrow. Amazingly, Booble and Tucson (formerly known as Cookie) are 150 miles ahead. Booble has lost a lot of weight, getting too thin. He says he's lost the feeling in his feet. That may be a good thing as I'm sure they'd probably be hurting. Radar and Lizzie are both getting off the Trail here in Damascus as they had planned. Lizzie is heading to Philmont Scout Ranch in NM again for the summer. She's talking about the CDT next year. Radar is returning to CT to work on his house. I worked very hard at finishing the novel I had brought for the plane ride as I didn't want to carry it with me on the Trail tomorrow. It was a typical romance novel that read really quick. I don't know why I felt compelled to finish it as I knew what the ending would be.Tonight I moved into one of the upstair bunkrooms as The Place cleared out, along with Jay, Lost in Woods, and Wanderer. Wanderer is a SOBO (southbounder) who started in Maine on March 1st. He's really moving quickly. I had dinner with Two Dog Night, Flatlander, Captain Ben and Auntie Em at Sicily's Pizza again tonight. It was great to visit with them as it's been a while since I last saw them. They're not too far ahead of me co I may be able to catch up with them eventually. We sat in the restaurant and talked until the place closed. Once more, I had planned to go to bed early but was up til midnight again. I'll have to make up my sleep deprivation when I return to the Trail. Pretty easy to do as you're usually in your sleeping bag before the sun goes down. A great sunset tonight! A rare evening without rain or fog!
Date: 2003-05-19
From: Damascus, VA

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I didn't hike far today, only 9 miles. I wanted to be sure my ankle held up. I did stop at lunchtime and soak it in a cold stream for a time. I only had occasional twinges of pain when I placed weight on it. The rhododendrum and mountain laurel are all blooming. I was afraid I'd miss their blooming season. They are beautiful! I only saw two flame azaleas. I hope I haven't totally missed these.I picked up my mail at the Damascus post office before I left this morning. I had several letters and packages. Everyone is so encouraging. It will take a few days to get back into shape after sitting with my foot in a bucket of ice for 3 weeks. I had to stop several times today to catch my breath and slow my heartrate down. There's probably 25 people at the shelter tonight - including a college class of ten. They said they are taking a religious studies course called "The Appalachian Trail as a Pilgrimage." Their grade consists of two weeks of hiking, keeping a journal, and a six page paper on the experience. What an easy class! They are all enjoying it.
Date: 2003-05-20
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Campsite on side of trail
Miles today: 9.2

Last night, three of the college girls pitched their tent about 3 feet from mine. It's not like we ran of a room or anything. I had camped farther out from the shelter hoping to get a good night sleep but the tent city seemed to grow up around me. All three of the girls chose to sleep with their heads on the end of the tent next to mine. They then proceeded to talk forever! I might as well have joined into the conversation as close as I was. I kept making noises hoping they'd realize how close my tent was to theirs. They must not have heard. I think I scared them when I finally asked them to please put their heads at the other end of the tent if they were going to talk. They were very quiet after that. I'm such a party pooper! It wouldn't have been so bad but I had a major headache.I caught up with Seneca Lou and Tom for Short yesterday. Seneca Lou tripped and fell yesterday, hitting her head on a rock. She's got a black eye and a large abrasion on her forehead today. No concussion though. I also caught up with Blaze and Rumbler. I hadn't seen any of them since Fontana. I saw a group of Lady Slippers today. Unfortunately, my camera was malfunctioning by that time. I'll probably not see another one. I did get a photo earlier of myself on the Virginia Creeper Trail's Railroad Bridge. My ankle's feeling good. I walked nine miles today and then set up camp on the side of the Trail as they are predicting 90% chance of thunderstorms/rain tonight. Unfortunately, the shelter was full when I passed it. I'm camping with Jersey, Blaze, Rumbler, Balloo and Skidmark (who are on their honeymoon), and their poodle, Frodo. We had a big campfire going for hours waiting for the rain to start. The rain finally started before midnight and put the fire out for us. It had been an enjoyable evening of conversation.
Date: 2003-05-21
From: Campsite on side of trail

To: Thomas Knob Shelter, Mt. Rogers
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

It's pouring down rain this morning. I was the first one up. No one else had left their tents by the time I left. I hiked up to Mount Rogers. The fog cleared for a while when I hit the highlands. The wild ponies were everywhere! Several of them had new foals. They'd come right up to you. There were also several whitetail deer hanging around. The shelter at Thomas Knob was crammed. It could hold 25 people as it was two stories. It was a major mudhole in front of it. The only space left was int the loft and that just wouldn't do with my frequent night trips. I camped up the trail in a meadow between all the horse dung. You could hear the horses wandering around the tent in the fog all night.
Date: 2003-05-22
From: Thomas Knob Shelter, Mt. Rogers

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: light rain

I woke up late this morning. 8AM. It was very foggy and drizzly all day. No pictures today. I couldn't see anything which sucks as there should have been some great views today. This is the second morning with wet gear. Even a damp sleeping bag again. I lost the white blazes when I came over the fence stile into Grayson Highlands State Park. The fog certainly limited the view but there just weren't any more white blazes! I wandered around a while looking for them. I finally gave up and waited until someone else came along. We then followed an orange blazed road for a while and then came across a sign pointing off to the left for the AT. I stopped at Wise Shelter to grab a spot before it filled up. The creeks are really rolling from the rain. TABA lost his filter in Little Wilson Creek while he was trying to clean it. It got stuck in boiling area where the water dropped over the rocks. He had to wade into it up to his waist and dive to retreive it. He spent all evening trying to get a fire going with wet wood. "TABA" stands for There and Back Again. he plans on going from GA>ME>GA. And he could do it. He's already done a 40 mile day with a full pack. Other people at the shelter tonight include Packrat, Moonshadow, Elwood, Jay, Ribbet, and Wrongway. The rain started in full force again at 8PM and lasted again all night.
Date: 2003-05-23
From: Wise Shelter

To: Troutdale Baptist Church Hostel
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: overcast clouds

I hiked 16 miles today, a personal best. It started out very foggy but cleared out at lunch into a beautiful sunny afternoon. The thunder started around 4pm but you couldn't see any dark clouds. At 5pm, the bottom fell out. The lightening was fierce. There were four of us hiking close together. Andrea yelled to drop our poles when one bolt struck close by. We dropped them real quick and crouched for 45 minutes in the cold rain and hail. That pretty well clinched it. GI Bypsy and I baided out at Dickey Gap and hitched a ride into Troutdale. We were drenched. We weren't getting any rides with our raingear and hoods up. So, the minute we dropped our hoods, you could see we were female and very forlorn looking. We got a ride immediately. We spent the night at the Troutdale Baptist Church hostel. Slept on the floor of the old church building. Hot showeres and laundry. Fantastic! We had the AYCE Seafood buffet fro $5.99 at the Trading Post. Seafood really meant popcorn shrimp and catfish but it was worth it. It was interesting to see the changes in flora as the elevation changed. The rhodo and laurel were not yet blooming on Mt. Rogers. It's just starting to bloom at the lower elevations. I finally took a picture of some of the flaming azaleas.   I also took a picture of Ribbet at Old Orchard Shelter at lunch as we were drying out our wet laundry.
Date: 2003-05-24
From: Troutdale Baptist Church Hostel

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

We had a big breakfast at the Trading Post this morning. Again, GI Gypsy and I immediately caught a ride back to the Trail. We found out that Jersey and Pockets ended up walking the entire 2 1/2 miles back to the Trail. Jersey joked that he was looking everywhere for a woman to hike with so he could get a ride. Today was a 14 mile day. My ankle is still sore. We had to make it to Partnership Shelter tonight as you can call from the adjacent Mt. Rogers Headquater Office and order pizza delivered. The shelter also has a solar hot shower. When we arrived, Trail Angels were here grilling hot dogs, also had beer.   So nix to the pizza.
Date: 2003-05-25
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, VA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

Eric tells me that my journal entries for this next week never made it to him by mail. Hopefully, he'll find them. Meanwhile, I'll just jot down notes of what happened over the next week with the intent to fill it in later, in case he can't find them. Trail Angel Pancake Breakfast. Southwest VA Historic Farm TourRelax Inn - ran into Little Mac in the Office! He had been to a wedding in Atlanta and was on his way back to Indiana. He knew I had a maildrop in Atkins so he took a chance and stopped. He had planned to ask any hikers at the motel if they knew whether I was ahead or behind them. It turned out I was checking in at the motel office when he walked in! Surprise! Scent of wild roses while walking thru the neck high grassy fields.
Date: 2003-05-26
From: Atkins, VA

To: USFS Road 222
Miles today: 18.3

Little Mac helped Gypsy, PuffDaddy and I to slackpack today. Walked from USFS Road 222 south to Atkins. Met up with EVERYONE on the way! Must have stopped 20 times to visit. Including Firefeet! A big hug! With all the stops, it took longer than planned to finish the 18 miles. Ended up hiking in the dark for the last 2 miles thru the fields and forest. Used my poles as a cane to feel my way along the trail. Ate at Dairy Queen at 10pm. We had intended to drive back to 222 and camp but Little Mac surprised us with another night in a bed at Big Walker Motel.
Date: 2003-05-27
From: USFS Road 222

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: moderate rain

Didn't get on the Trail today until 11 pm. Little Mac was slackpacking us again today. Yes!   I had a feeling that I couldn't make the 19.2 miles planned today before dark. But everyone else felt I could pull it off. Chestnut Knob - beautiful meadows, FootSlogger entertaining us with a Sgt. Peppers Medley at the top of his lungs.Very Rocky Trail on ridgeline for 6 miles, really slowed me down.At dark, only to Jenkins shelter, 5 miles to go. Trail proceeds down the middle of   Little Wolf Creek for two miles. Forget it, I stopped at Jenkins for the night with no gear. I had enough food for supper. Bluebird, Yakker, and Lone Wolf were there. Yakker gave me his long underwear, rainsuit, and tent fly to wear and wrap up in. Shivered most of night, Had to get up and walk around to stay warm.
Date: 2003-05-28
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Last night, Gypsy, Puffdaddy and Mac wondered where I was. It was after dark when gypsy made it in and she hadn't seen me since 2 pm. They knew something was wrong when I didn't make it in as we were all so looking forward to the beer that Mac brought back from town. Little Mac walked back up the trail from their camp at Laurel Creek looking for me last night until his headlamp gave out. Then Puffdaddy went up the trail with his super headlamp. He apparently made it into Jenkins Shelter around 2 AM. When he saw that I was asleep in the shelter, he crashed in his sleeping bag. I was surprised to see him asleep there in the morning when I awoke. He apologized for not remembering to bring my sleeping bag with him. By the time we started out for Laurel Creek, Little Mac came walking in. I'd really caused a lot of worry. Trail Angels had left juice and at Laurel Creek. Wonderful! I crashed most of the day at Big Walker motel while Little Mac slackpacked Gypsy, Puffdaddy and Bluebird up to US 21. Little Mac gave rides to hikers back and forth from the trailhead to Bland most of the day. He also drove someone to Pearisburg who has hurt.
Date: 2003-05-29
From: Bland, VA

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 2.3
Weather: light rain

Said goodbye to Little Mac.I crashed in the shelter after 2.3 miles. Was still exhausted. Slept most of day. No more slackpacking for me!! Lumberjack, who's an attorney from Houston. Serenaded by Lonnie, a HS Band teacher from Pensacola, and T-Bird who had brought her guitar. Both of them were fantastic players.
Date: 2003-05-30
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.7
Weather: broken clouds

Ankle really hurting. Limping. Stopped early. Gathered enough wood for a week. Had a great campfire most of the day. Jersey, Rumbler, Footslogger, Bad Ass Turtle caught up. GI Gypsy, Puffdaddy and Bluebird left me behind yesterday. Here comes the rain again!
Date: 2003-05-31
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Slid down the muddy trail on my butt!! Changed my shorts before Jersey and I left the trail at VA606 for Trents Grocery. Walked a mile to the store for a great cheeseburger lunch. Surprise! Rumbler, Slogger, Bad Ass were already there. Earlier, no one had wanted to stop there for lunch and now, everyone was there. After finishing, I started walking back to the trail. Five minutes later, here comes a truck pulling a ski boat on a trailer with seven hikers in it. Slogger, Rumbler, Jersey and Bad Ass all yelled and waved as they drove by. It would have been a great picture! Dismal Falls were beautiful! Like a little Niagara. Made the mistake of walking the side trail down to the falls without my pack. Otherwise, I would have camped for the night. The skies opened up while I was at the falls without my raingear. Then, my left contact lens disappeared! I still can't figure out how it disappeared. It's the lens for my distance vision. I could now only see 3 feet in front of me. Miserable!! My ankle started hurting pretty badly! I could barely see the white and blue blazes on the trees. Staggered into Wapiti Shelter around 8 pm. Thank goodness, the guys made room for me!I traded my Thermarest for the night with Lumberjack so he could try it out. He was complaining about how poorly his Ridgerest slept. I'd never tried a Ridgerest, definitely not as cushy as my Thermarest. Not worth the 3 oz. of weight you save.
Date: 2003-06-01
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Wow! We had a wild windstorm last night! I heard on the news later that the winds were at 40 mph. We could hear the branches and entire trees falling! Jersey, Rumbler, Bad Ass and Slogger had all slept in their tents. I'm surprised that they hadn't evacuated them during the night.I couldn't walk this morning. My ankle would not bear any weight. Jersey and Rumbler offered to take some of my pack weight from me. I didn't think it made a difference whether I was carrying 25 lbs. or 10 lbs. so I declined and thanked them anyway. IB Walkin', from Kilgore, TX, entertained me for the next 7 miles. He wouldn't go on ahead and leave me behind. Averaged less than a mile per hour, we made it to Woodshole Shelter. Miss Tillie, the 80 something y.o. owner, arrived soon from church with her groceries. We helped her take them into the house. This homestead is too cool! It's a chestnut log home from the 1880s that she and her husband, Roy Woods, bought in the 1940s, when he has studying the elk in the area. He ended up serving as Asst. Secretary of the Interior and they both retired back to Woodshole. Roy built a bunkhouse for the thruhikers before he passed away in the eighties. Miss Tillie continues to host the thruhikers and serves them breakfast every morning.IB Walkin' and I were settling in when Jamie and his father, Mark, drove up. They were looking for Slogger and Bad Ass. Slogger had been Jamie's Scoutmaster. Jamie just graduated from high school and started his thruhike from GA in mid May. He said there was no one still on the Trail back in GA and he quickly became discouraged. Slogger invited him to yellow blaze ahead to Pearisburg, where the crowds were, and start with him from there. I said goodbye to IB Walkin' and took the opportunity to catch a ride into Pearisburg with Jamie and Mark.
Date: 2003-06-02
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I can hardly walk this morning. My foot is in a bucket of ice. Gypsy, Jersey, Rumbler, Slogger, Bad Ass, Bluebird and Puffdaddy have all held over in town for another night of rest. Sparrow and Raven announced their engagement. They met on the Trail two weeks ago and have been inseparable since. Trail Romance!! My own encounters - zero! I called my ophthalmologist's office and had them fax a prescription for my contact lenses to the Walmart in town. They said they actually have them in stock so Gypsy and I will head out later this afternoon to pick them up.Well, it turned out that the Walmart Vision Center that I'd been talking to was in Princeton, West Virginia. - 25 miles away. Too expensive for a shuttle. My ankle hurts too much to try to hitch. So I decided to remain blind a while longer. They wouldn't even mail them to me! Somthing about HIPPA......But I did get the optician's office in Texas to ship some to me. I guess they're not up on the HIPPA law yet. I'll receive them when I get to Dalesville. Another week of only being able to see three feet in front of me!! Swell!! We found a great place to eat at the All Sports Cafe/Bar. It's attached to the motel. Incredible food for such a small town. The running joke is that they're out of everything you ask for. No butter, lemon, lime. No whipped cream for the waffles. Only strawberry margaritas and domestic beer, and then it's only Bud or Bud Lite. Not a single bottle of imported beer left. You ask for it, they're out of it! What a way to run a restaurant. We can't figure out why they don't just run across the street to Food Lion and buy it. But we keep coming back for all our meals. Hey, it's convenient and cheap. My foot is frozen from the ice water. And I can't seem to take enough ibuprofen to dull the pain. My stomach isn't going to handle 2400 mg. per day much longer. Some of the guys hitched to Blacksburg to buy lighter packs. Slogger and Rumbler now have their total pack weight down to 28 lbs. They weighed them at the post office. I'm sure the post office guys are really excited about weighing the packs. I don't think it's in their job description. Lumberjack bought his Thermarest. Goodbye, Ridgerest!!It's supposed to rain another inch or so tomorrow. One more reason to take another zero day tomorrow. I'm not the only one who feels that way. The entire motel is full as everyone has come in off the Trail.
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I spent an enjoyable rainy day hanging out. Icing my foot, visiting with everyone. It was a major party at the All Sports Cafe tonight. The plan is to head out in the morning. Jersey can't seem to come up with any more excuses to stay in town. I think Eric has misplaced a roll of film with photos from this past week. Curses!! I'm going to find a new transcriber.
Date: 2003-06-04
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Etlan, VA - Aunt Shirley's house
Miles today: 1.0

Well, I was up early this morning. Anxious to get back out on the Trail I was still limping but I was heading out anyway. I made it a mile before I called to Gypsy that I was turning around. My ankle was killing me. I was walking only 1/2 mile an hour. I walked back to town and called my aunt and uncle who live north of Charlottesville, VA. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Alton volunteered to come pick me up. I really appreciated that as the closest bus station was 25 miles away. I spent the afternoon in the All Sports Cafe (where else?) with Psycho Pat and Old Bill for company until my aunt and uncle arrived.