morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Howard Johnson Motor Lodge, Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: 0

Cell good.I regret to say that DieHard has left the trail and has gone home. He left because he is feeling weak and doesn't feel a few days in town resting would be sufficient to gain his strength back and continue. I've enjoyed hiking with him and I will miss him.I have the utmost respect for DieHard and what we have accomplished together. In the two months he was on the trail he hiked 715 miles. That is an extrenmely significant accomplishment and one to be proud of. I hope that once he regains his strength and is able to hike again, he'll get out and enjoy himself.Today's hiking was again under a warm sunny sky that was not too hot either.I left Daleville and crossed route I-81 once again, so I'm now on the east side of it again. The climbing was moderate for coming out of a town, and I enjoyed the walk.When I reached the first shelter, Fullhardt Knob Shelter, I stopped for lunch. I ate two Olive Loaf sandwiches and washed them down with Pepsi - that's a special lunch and not a typical trail lunch.I then continued on for another 6.2 miles to reach this shelter. I arrived here around 5:00 pm and was soon joined by a Boy Scout group from coastal Virginia who are training for a Philmont trip this summer. I enjoyed talking to the leaders and comparing notes about Philmont.Not much more to say tonight. Oh yes today's song, I think it's from "The Sound of Music." "I love to go a wandering, a knapsack on my back. And when I do I love to sing Val da ree, Val da ra...my knapsack on my back."Goodnight.Old Goat Sue's Note: We didn't realize this until after he wrote this entry, but Old Goat has now completed 1/3rd of the entire AT (725 miles)!! Another milestone!!I asked him about the snake he saw the other day. It was 2-2 1/2 inches in diameter with a small rattle (one or two) and a big head. They stayed about 10 feet away from the snake at all times - going about 10 ft off the trail to get around it.
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: VA43 Bearwallow Gap
Miles today: 10.4

Cell none.I awoke at 6:15 and already started to miss DieHard. He usually would call my name and ensure I was awake and moving. I packed up, had breakfast and was on my way by 7:15. I immediately hiked uphill until I reached the Blue Ridge Parkway. The remainder of the hike was parallel the Parkway. The trail was as smooth as the road. I had a lot of ups and downs to follow the terrain adjacent the roadway. All in all, the hiking went well.About an hour before I reached the gap, the rain and lightning came. By the time I arrived, I was wet and cold. I went under one of the Parkway overpasses to get out of the rain.I'm visiting with friends, Susan and Peter, who moved down here a few years back. Our children grew up together, and we have remained good friends. It is wonderful to see them and to spend some time with them. They fed me a wonderful dinner, and we talked about old times and brought each other up to date about our families. Thank you Susan and Peter!I hit the trail again tomorrow and resume the journey. Today is the last day of my second month; tomorrow I start my third month. I expected this to take six months before I started, now I'd like to be done in 5 1/2 months.Old Goat
Date: 2006-05-15
From: VA43 Bearwallow Gap

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: 0

Cell not working.When we last heard from our hero (me) he was at the home of some friends where he cleaned up, dried out, and was fed a wonderful meal. Now our story resumes with him being dropped of at the trail head where he was picked up yesterday.The hiking today was a lot similar to the last few days. The air is cold and the sky unpredictable. The sun shone through a number of times, but would soon be blocked by clouds. I checked the weather on the computer last night and the forcast looks like we can expect more partly cloudy, patchy rain for the next few days. The good part of that is the temperature is supposed to get warmer as the week progresses.I enjoyed hiking today mostly because it wasn't raining. I whistled a lot of tunes as I hiked, and the time slipped away. Also, I had a wonderful lunch made for me by Susan M. It contained a sandwich, Pringles, chocolate chip cookies, and an apple. It was the best lunch I've had while on the trail! Thank you Susan, I really appreciated it. Also thank you, Peter, for picking me up and taking me back to the trail.Now that I've stopped hiking, the sun is shining and, hopefully, it will warm up the air a litle.Old GoatSue's Note: Old Goat didn't have any cell phone power when he wrote this entry. Two days later (on 5/17), he stopped in a town, sent his entries by pay phone, and charged his phone for an hour. My phone takes about 3 hours to fully charge, so an hour charge won't last very long.He doesn't know what happened to the phone - it should have had plenty of power after charging it all night at our friend's house. When he tried to call this evening, the phone was dead. So until he can fully charge his phone again, we'll have very few and very short conversations.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: 0

Cell unknown.It was very cold when we woke up this morning, so it was difficult to get going. I started hiking with my rain jacket to keep warm - it worked while I was moving, but as soon as I stopped I got cold.I hiked alone all day, but I was hopscotching with Tortoise all afternoon. Some of the interesting things I saw was a radar dome on Apple Orchard Mountain. I also walked under The Guillotine, which is a boulder suspended over the AT. I took a few pictures, so hopefully they'll do justice to it.I also was lucky to come across some trail magic. Lounge Lizzard had soda and goodies for us. He started the trail to research AT thru-hikers for his doctoral thesis in Recreational Studies. I sat and talked with him for a while, he had some questions relating to his research.It has been cold since I left Pearisburg a week and a half ago. Most of us have changed gear to summer weight equipment and clothes, which has been a big mistake. The item I regret is the sleeping bag. I had a 15 degree bag, and the one I have now isn't anywhere close to that. I've come up with a method to make it comfortable. I use my silk liner bag - it's supposed add 10 degrees warmth. I also wear my longjohns, and the final thing I do is I put my wind blocker fleece over my chest. I hope I won't be needing this system too much longer.I seem to be a a loss for words tonight and I'm rambling. I'll sign off now. Goodnight. Old Goat
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Cow Camp Gap Shelter

To: VA56, Tye River Suspension Bridge
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: 0

Cell unknown.Today I entered another dimension of sight and sound. Today I was in the Twilight Zone! Last night when I went to bed, it was warm and springlike. Some time during the night the wind started, and it brought in the cold temperature. I looked at the thermometer on my pack, and it was below 40 degrees!Today's hike started well except for the fact that the shelter was 1/2 mile from the trail. The morning hike was brisk and I had to keep moving to keep warm. One of the things that made today a Twilight Zone day is that there aren't any thru-hikers to be seen. Most have gone back to Damascus for trail days, and one couple went home for a family event. I'm sure there are other thru-hikers still hiking, just none in my path today. Another thing was that I went right past The Priest shelter and missed it. I saw the blue blaze, but thought it was a side trail to Little Priest Mountain. I hadn't made up my mind to come here or stay there. By the time I realized my mistake, I decided to keep going. I'm glad I did - I have a nice site next to the river, and I'm right where I'll meet my son Chris tomorrow morning.I also climbed a rock called "Spy Rock." It's called that because during the Civil War the confederate troops went up there to see where the Union Army were. The view from on top was very good, and the visability was 360 degrees. Climbing it was like the rock climbing at Philmont - the only difference was there was no belay for safety or a repel rope to come down.I mentioned the day started out cold. When I stopped for lunch, I had to eat fast and get going, as I was very cold sitting and eating. Later, as I started my first big climb, the sun came out and it started to warm up. I looked up at the sky and said to God, "What is the some kind of joke?" The reason I thought that was because the only time I get really hot is when I'm climbing the mountains. Fortunately it stayed sunny most of the time after that. I can sleep in tomorrow, as Chris won't be getting here till 10:30 or later. One reason I wanted to get here is because it's warmer when I get off the mountains. I've heard someone say it's 2 1/2 degrees warmer for every 1000 feet of elevation. Some of the mountains are 3,500 to 4,000 feet high.Tomorrow we have a very steep climb ahead of us. I'm sorry for Chris, but this is where I'm at, and this is the time he has available to hike with me. We'll take it slow and easy - there is no hurry. Also, with no crowds at the shelter we may be the only ones there.Goodnight.   Old Goat Sue's Note: Old Goat told me DieHard left him a voice message. Old Goat was so pleased to hear from DieHard. Unfortunately, he can't call him back for a while because he hasn't been able to re-charge his phone's battery yet, so we're still nursing the battery power with quick calls.
Date: 2006-05-19
To: Chris' Notes - On The Trail (1) With Old Goat
Miles today: 0.0

I (Chris) joined my dad for 5 days. I've written my experiences in 6 journal entries. As you'll see I had time to include more of the details and less of the technical things my father included, enjoy!!___________________________________________________________________In prepping to meet my dad I checked over my gear and bought a few new things. I got a pair of hiking pants with zip off legs (turns them into shorts without taking off the boots) and a new pair of boots. My old ones were 16 years old and were starting to hurt me. Although I've not backpacked much since college (10 yrs), I still have the gear and experience, so it was easy planning. Fortunately my mom mailed some freeze dried dinners to me, so that made my meal planning easy as well. One thing I found while hiking was that everyone had 3 things I had not seen before while camping (because it was 10 years ago): hiking poles, camelback water bladders, and the tear off pants I mentioned. Those 3 inventions are perfect for camping.I asked Old Goat what kind of treat he might like, he told me bagels (from NY), NY Pizza, and subs for lunch the first day. I managed to find the bagels before I left and subs at a gas station the day we met up. The only problem then was the weight of those non-camping foods. Fortunately they did not last long, so the weight was only a temporary problem. In order for me to get 6 days off to meet him, I had to work almost continuously for the preceding 3 weeks. In the end I was exhausted, but it was worth it. One cool thing was that one of my trips brought me to Geneva, Switzerland. I've been before, and scouted out a cool mountain at the base of the Alps which is right across the French border; So while on that trip I took my camelback and boots and did a "prep hike" in the Alps. It was awesome. In the end it was about 10 miles with 4000 vertical feet of elevation change. It was a nice hike. I'm glad I did it, because for 3 days afterwards my muscles hurt, but because of that hike they did not hurt me at all while on the AT.--ChrisMy Prep hike, in the Saleve Mtn.s France, just outside Geneva at the base of the Alps - Click picture to see full sizeFlowered Field in France - Click picture to see full sizeFrench Town - Click picture to see full sizeHouse on side of Saleiev Mtns - Click picture to see full sizeGeneva, Switzerland - Click picture to see full size - Click picture to see full size - Click picture to see full sizeFrench Alps Panorama - Click picture to see full sizeGeneva, Switzerland Panorama - Click picture to see full sizeParagliders setting up - Click picture to see full sizeParaglider - Click picture to see full sizeView on Trail - Click picture to see full sizeTrail Descneding - Click picture to see full sizeTrail - Click picture to see full sizeMe at Work - Click picture to see full sizeMe at Work - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2006-05-20
From: VA56, Tye River Suspension Bridge

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: 0

Cell none.Last night I awoke to some people looking for a site to set up tents. I heard an adult voice say "Keep it quiet there are people sleeping." I awoke to find a Boy Scout troop in the next site. They were really quiet when they set up. I discovered they were all younger scouts out to day-hike a trail.I got up late ths morning 8:10 am. It was a little cold and I figured my sleeping bag was the warmest place I could be. Oh, I forgot to mention that my son Chris was meeting me here at 10:30 am, so I could sleep in because I got here last evening.The day warmed up after the sun came out. With time to kill, I strung out a line and hung my gear to dry. Chris got there on time and I still hadn't finished packing by then. Once the packing was done, we posed for a picture and headed out. Thank you Peter for shuttling Chris to where I was on the trail.We had an all uphill climb today. We hiked up Three Ridges, which are quite steep. Chris took these with little trouble; I had a harder time. There were a lot of step-like rocks. My legs got tired easily, and I had to slow down some. I think this was the effect of my 20 mile day yesterday. We'll see how tomorrow goes.We arrived at this shelter around 5:00 pm. There are plenty of nice camp sites here, so we picked one and pitched our tents. We then did the camp chores...get water, cook dinner, and clean up. After dinner two weekend hikers started a real nice fire, and we sat around watching "Cowboy TV" (aka the fire). It was warm, and we had a nice conversation - thanks for the fire.It's 9:39 pm, and that is like the middle of the night to this thru-hiker.Goodnight.Old GoatOld Goat & Chris - Click picture to see full size
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: 0

Cell none.Today Chris and I did some distance hiking, 16.1 miles. We hiked very well together. When we arrived at this shelter he was amazed how tired he was and that I wasn't. So far he has had one day of tough uphill climbing, and one long distance day. Tomorrow we only hike 12 miles, and the terrain isn't that bad.We met some interesting people today - a group of three ladies who hike together each year because their spouses don't hike. When I said I was from Syracuse, and that I had worked for the New York Air National Guard, one of the ladies told me her husband also worked for them too. He is the Wing Commander at the C-5 base at Stewart.We also met a gentleman who was waiting for his wife return from hiking the section we were going into. He gave us some bottled water, and we had a conversation while we drank it. I've been passing a white haired lady the last few days. She has been hiking southbound as I go north. The gentleman was her husband. Today she passed us when we stopped for lunch. She said she had just spoken to him on the phone and he asked her if she had seen us yet.The hiking was pretty strenuous. We cross the Blue Ridge Parkway a number of times, but we hike the hills on either side of it. At one point we went over some huge rock stairway - my Handbook calls it "The Stairway to Heaven." It was tough for a short time, but also fun.We also saw a rattlesnake this afternoon. Chris was in the lead, and when he heard it he jumped back towards me. We gave the snake his distance, took a few pictures, and went way out around it. So you can say we had a little excitement today.Tommorrow we enter the Shenandoah National Park. That should be different, as I'll be passing snack bars and stores from time to time. The Shenandoah Challenge is to eat every meal in a snack bar while crossing the park. I don't intend to do that, but I'm sure I'll have a few meals there.Tonight we're sleeping near a creek. I can hear the water flowing - it should make for good background noise while sleeping.Goodnight. Old Goat Old Goat & Chris - Click picture to see full sizeChris up Stairway to Heaven - Click picture to see full size- Click picture to see full sizeFlowers - Click picture to see full sizeBear Den Mtn. - Click picture to see full size- Click picture to see full size Sue's Note: When Old Goat called this afternoon, he said Chris seemed to be doing better than he was. In the background, Chris said that was because he has 30 years less wear and tear on his body! They haven't seen any thru-hikers since the Damascus Trail Days started. The only people they saw yesterday and today are day-hikers or section hikers. Chris described seeing the snake to me. He said he was in the lead and they were hiking at a pretty quick pace downhill. The sound of the rattle caught Chris' attention and it sounds like he almost ran over Old Goat to get back and away from the snake. I'm glad rattle snakes have rattles - they sure do work to warn you to stay away!
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Calf Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: 0

Cell unknown.We started our day by hiking out of a low gap where the shelter was. Once we gained a little elevation, it was pretty much a ridge walk. After 5 miles of hiking we reached civilization, Rockfish Gap. At the gap is a visitors center, motel, and gas station/conveniance store. We went into the visitor center and I was able to charge my cell phone for about an hour. We were offered three rides to Waynesboro while we were waiting - the people were very friendly and helpful. We also bought some cookies and soda to have during the wait.We are now hiking along Skyline Drive, and will soon be entering into the Shenandoah National Park. We will officially enter the park tomorrow. Incidently, the shelters are called Huts in the park.At one point today we crested a hill and came upon numerous antennas. The strangest thing we saw was an area where some old style tractor seats were placed. They must be used for star gazing or some type of nature education.Chris is still holding up well. It is a real pleasure having him here with me. I'm enjoying the conversations we're having, too. He also made an excellent fire this evening - it provided the entertainment {Cowboy TV}.Not much more to say tonight, Goodnight. Old GoatFunny Sign - Click picture to see full size Sue's Note: Old Goat called when they were at Rockfish Gap charging his phone (10:00am). Chris was amazed to realize they had hiked 5 miles already that morning!Old Goat said that overall he feels lucky, so far, as far as the weather goes. (He said Chris brought good weather with him.) Although in the beginning the temperatures were somewhat colder than he thought, he was prepared and feels good about that.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Calf Mtn Shelter

To: Brown's Gap
Miles today: 16.1

Cell good.I spent last night trying not to roll out of my tent. I didn't think the hill I pitched my tent on was that steep when I set my tent up. I slept okay, as the sleeping bag was able to work well at the night's temperature. I felt the temperature go down as I laid in bed, and by 6:30am it was colder than it had been the last few days. It was cold making breakfast, but we ate and packed up.We started hiking with jackets on, but took them off a little while later. Today wasn't as warm as the last few days, but we kept warm by walking. By lunch time we were able to stop for a while and feel comfortable. As we ate, we discussed pushing a little further so that Chris could get a shower and I could hit the trail early. When we arrived at the campground with the shower, the shower and laundry were out of order. I decided it would be better to drive into Waynesboro and stay at a motel. We have both showered, ate a pizza, and I washed my clothes.Old GoatChris on Blackrock Summit - Click picture to see full sizeBlackrock Summit - Click picture to see full size- Click picture to see full size Sue's Note: When Old Goat called this evening, they were at a Laundromat washing his clothes, and he was wearing a pair of our son's jeans! (31¢ waist! - Old Goat was wearing 38¢s when he started the trail!) He said Chris¢ jeans are a little tight, but not overly tight. Wow!The thru-hikers are appearing again, now that the Trail Days in Damascus are over. One guy who went to the Trail Days said he didn¢t get any sleep for 2 days there because he stayed in ¢tent city¢ and there was a beer party going on all the time. I read somewhere that Damascus expected about 20,000 people coming to Trail Days! That would be amazing to see (knowing how small the town is!!), but not a place I¢d like to stay at for long. Posie Picker said "hi" when we were on the phone - Hi Posie! :-)
Date: 2006-05-23
To: Chris' Notes - On The Trail (5) With Old Goat
Miles today: 0.0

CHRIS' ENTRY____________________________________________________________The plan for the day started as hiking 13 miles over relatively smooth not as hilly terrain. By lunchtime I was realizing we would be to the shelter by about 2pm. Feeling good and seeing some benefits to continuing on to the car I offered going 3 more miles for a total of 16.1 and driving to some showers and a snack bar for dinner. The plan sounded good and we did reach the shelter early so we pressed on. Before reaching the car we walked around a mountaintop covered in rocks. I wanted to see the view so we dropped our packs and rock scrambled (climbed) up there. It was fun and had a great view. We met a neat family from Florida who were vacationing up the east coast to run a marathon in Burlington, VT. It was by far the best view I saw while hiking with dad, and a fun end to our hiking together.The miles went very quickly and easily today, we were done hiking by 3:30, hopped in the car and made our way to the diner in SNP. We got the famous Blackberry Milkshake and burgers. I have to say the shake lived up to its reputation it was great. After dinner we drove to a campsite with showers and laundry facilities. The plan was to clean up so I could leave refreshed in the morning and dad could wash up. Unfortunately they were both closed for repairs, totally taking the wind out of my sails. Dad had a great idea of driving back to Waynesboro, getting a hotel room, and doing errands there. It was nice, I felt good knowing that he got to clean up and charge his batteries (cell/camera). We got a NY Pizza, fulfilling his last request coincidentally, did laundry and took much-needed showers. To my surprise he fit into my jeans with a 31-inch waist. He looked good. It's amazing how fit he is now.--Chris - Click picture to see full size