morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountaineers Falls Campsite
Miles today: 17.1

Wow, 17 miles, my longest day ever.The day started clear and a little below freezing. I got going about 8:15, heading uphill to climb Little Hump and Hump mountains. It was a nice crisp day, perfect for scaling balds. The downside was that the frost-covered mud was slippery. I fell down going downhill, covering one thigh of my pants in mud and more seriously, bending one of my poles. Now I will have to be careful with that pole until I reach Damascus and can get a new section. It was my sixth fall since leaving Springer Mountain.At the top of Hump Mountain, The Other Five, as the smokys bunch like to call themselves, caught up with me. They passed me after their break, then I caught up with them at Apple House shelter at lunchtime.After that came the section after Highway 19E. This is an odd section. First, the land the Trail is on was taken not too long ago from its prior owners by eminent domain. So there is still said to be local resentment against the Trail and hikers. Then much of this section was rerouted recently. So my map was not accurate and the landmarks given in my trail guide were not very helpful.So from the time I crossed the highway I had no idea where I was. I could say I was on the Appalachian Trail but little else. I had two choices: go about 17 miles and go to Dennis Cove Road tomorrow, or go about several miles less and spend tomorrow night in the woods as I had originally planned.By 5:00 in the evening my feet were killing me and I decided I had better stop short. But I had little idea of where I was and when the time I expected to reach the nearer campsite passed there was no sign of it. All I could do was keep going. Finally I saw the umbrella belonging to one of The Other Five leaning against a tree at a side trail. I guessed it was a sign for their slowest member, Pokey, who was behind me, that they were camping here. Sure enough, there they were. I had gone the whole 17 miles without realizing it!
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Mountaineers Falls Campsite

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 15.2

The morning dawned nice and temperate, a pleasant change from the frigid sort of morning that makes you not want to leave your sleeping bag at 6:30 a.m.It is strange how forgiving the body can be. Last night my feet were so raw that it was hard to find a position to sleep in that did not hurt them. Yet when I looked this morning to see what parts needed moleskin, my feet just looked up cheerfully and said "Raw? We aren't raw! Let's go hiking!" Strange. The trail was also strange. After a couple easy miles it twisted, turned, rose and fell with no rhyme or reason. Add that it was not on the map and there were no landmarks and the landscape was just as random, and it seemed like something from purgatory. All I knew was that if I kept following the white blazes I would reach Moreland Gap Shelter in about nine miles. Or I thought I knew at least. To add to the fun, no water sources were noted until the shelter so I carried extra water only to find a stream every ten minutes. The trail would dive into a ravine, cross a stream, climb a ridge, then repeat the process infinitely. Half a dozen streams are pretty; dozens start to get maddening.Finally I got onto the ridge the shelter was on. For the first time in 24 hours I actually knew about where I was. Just when I got there the Other Five caught up with me and we stopped for lunch.The afternoon was a high ridgewalk, strenuous but at least I could see where I was going. Then a long foot-bruising descent to Dennis Cove Road. A half mile one dirrection was a campground with everything and Kincora Hostel was only .2 miles the other. I let my feet decide and went to Kincora.It was full so I had to tent out back and I only barely got a shower in time to ride to Elizabethtown to eat and buy groceries. Most of us ate at the chinese buffet.I made gorp again, unlike the last two legs. I also got powdered milk, instant pudding and granola, as well as my usual indulgence of chocolate milk. When I lose some weight I might switch to Ben and Jerry's but the scale at Miss Janet's house said I had not lost an ounce in over a month of hiking.Socially Kincora was a good choice. The Other Five were here and I met Little Tree and The Walking Stomach for the first time since Hot Springs, as well as Mojo Hitch and Dexter, Crash-Bang and others I remembered. I also caught up with Heidi Hobbit and Holly Hobbit, a pair of twins whose journal entries I have been reading since Springer.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: light rain

This morning I hiked through Laurel Gorge. The rock steps were hard, especially right after resupplying. But the gorge and river were beautiful and well worth it, especially Laurel Falls.The next event was climbing 2,000 feet over a mountain between the gorge and Watauga Lake. I did most of it with my friends Little Tree and The Walking Stomach. There were two rain showers along the way, but things dried out before the top. Then down to the lake and along the shore to the shelter. The trail coming down the mountain was very well graded with a nice smooth surface. That made my knees and feet much happier than coming down to Dennis Cove. Another shower started just after I reached the shelter so I was glad to get a space. Dave, Crash-Bang, Little Tree and The Walking Stomach, and Scholar also arrived, making a full house. Many of those who had been at Kincora were slackpacking so they could attend a gaelic celebration there this evening.Lying on the floor of the shelter looking out is a treat. The trees are covered with leaves and everything is green. It is a refreshing change from the higher altitude shelters where spring is only just beginning. Everything here is brimming with life.
Date: 2004-05-01
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light rain

Another nice day. One rain shower just before noon, just enough to keep the day cool. I tried a lightweight poncho but it was wet, clammy and rattled like I was wrapped in Saran wrap. One more good idea that did not work so well. Maybe I will try Frogtogs.During one of the sun's brief appearances it made climbing a slope hard. I had stopped to catch my breath when The Walking Stomach came surging past. When I expressed my envy she said it was from not using poles. She thinks they waste energy by all the upper body motion. So since the trail surface was good today, I tried not using my poles. I am not convinced they waste that much energy, I think Stomach is just one strong hiker. But I suspect using poles all the time may make some leg muscles less strong than they might be. So I will try to remember not to use them when the ground is good.Yesterday we had five women and only two men at the shelter. So far tonight it is five women and one man. Not only that but three of the women are twins! Heidi Hobbit and Holly Hobbit just arrived and I am a fraternal twin. Navigator jokingly entered into the shelter register "Six women and one man. I'm TENTING. HELP!"This shelter is not as green as the last one. I guess up here on Iron Mountain it is a bit colder than down by the lake. The views up here are nice though. First on the right there was the lake, wide at first then diminishing into meandering channels that faded into a long beautiful valley of green fields and farm buildings. Then there was the entertainment! Even before dark we began to see large well-fed mice scampering along the top of the shelter wall. It was the first time I have actually seen a mouse on the Trail. It was either mouse races or a mouse chorus line, I'm not sure which. I had been so sure the shelter's nice concrete block and plywood construction would not be as attractive to mice as the log shelters that I had used the top ledge as a convenient shelf for my pot and utensils awaiting breakfast. Now my cupboard had become a mouse freeway. I spent part of the night listening to them and wondering if they were chewing into my kitchen stuff sack before finally falling asleep. Fortunately all the mice did was poke around.
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Abingdon Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

A wet but fast day. The footpath was good and no really high mountains to go over, so I only took 3.5 hours to go 8 miles in the morning and went nearly as fast in the afternoon. The rain started with showers. But just before 3:00 we got an honest to goodness downpour complete with tree-swaying wind gusts. It was like a thunderstorm without lightning. I later heard nearby Virginia had tornadoes.I hastily stopped to put on my rain suit, then hurried along, worried about not getting a space at the shelter. First Little Tree and the Walking Stomach passed me, then three more hikers and I knew the Hobbits and Navigator were not far behind. But the three hikers kept on for Damascus ten miles away. So we ended up with the same group as last night, at least so far.Even under my Goretex suit I was wet, though not as utterly drenched as I would have been without it. This was the first time I arrived at a shelter so wet I had to change completely into dry clothing. I hung all the wet things up, hopefully to dry by morning. This evening for entertainment we had a reading of the chapter from "The Hobbit" in which Bilbo and the dwarves get caught in a mountain storm and take refuge in the goblin cave, courtesy of Navigator and the Hobbits. It left more than one of us listening to the rain hammering on the shelter roof and wondering like Bilbo why we had ever left our warm dry hobbit holes.Heidi and Holly Hobbit are very entertaining. They remind me of the twin daughters of a friend of mine. Like those twins the Hobbits are silly and giggle a lot. Being only a fraternal twin I only giggle half as much and am even sillier but like having them around.
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Abingdon Gap Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: overcast clouds

The morning dawned damp, foggy and cold, about 40 degrees. Funny how on mornings like that I want to just hide in my sleeping bag. Still, I roused myself and managed to get going, after Little Tree and Stomach but before the Hobbits.It warmed just a bit so as I hiked through the fog I stopped to remove first my Goretex coat and then my balaclava and Capilene bottoms. The high point was reaching the Virginia State line. At last, a new state after weeks of going back and forth between North Carolina and Tennessee! I will be in Virginia for a long time, it is the longest state on the Trail at over 450 miles.Four miles later I was in Damascus, "The friendliest town on the Trail". At the outfitters I got a room at their hostel across the street. They also replaced my bent pole section at no charge, which was nice of them. While I was at it I bought a new bandana and a set of Superfeet insoles for my boots. People either swear by them or at them. The only way to tell is to try them out so I decided to get a pair.I also got my bounce box from the Post Office, had lunch at the Sidetrack Cafe, another famous hiker hangout, took a shower and toted my clothes to the laundry. I am writing this while waiting for my clothes to dry. Crash-Bang was at the laundry having arrived earlier and Andrew came in having arrived a few hours after me.It is cold here, too cold for the shorts and t-shirt from my bounce box. So I wore my dirty long pants and fleece top over them to the laundry, then took them off and put them in the washer. It is warm in here but in a moment I will go out into the chill to send these entries over the phone.The hostel has no heat, so I feel little inclination to take a zero day to rest. I will be warmer out on the Trail hiking.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Damascus, VA

To: Bear Tree Gap Campsite
Miles today: 11.7

Last night I went to the Sidetrack Cafe's nightly AYCE supper for hikers. Guest cooks are welcome and the meal was prepared by a hiker with the trailname of William Wallace. It turns out he was Scottish and he chose that name because it seemed the only Scot that Americans know, courtesy of Mel Gibson's "Braveheart". Talking with him, I noted there is also Rob Roy, then asked where in Scotland he came from. It turns out he was from Perthshire and so is my housemate's family, so I have been there! He knew of her home village and we talked about its landmarks. So I was happy to let William Wallace know at least one thru-hiker knew of his corner of Scotland.For some reason I had trouble falling asleep even though I had a nice quiet hostel room all to myself. I ended up reading old National Geographics until 3:00 a.m.Next morning I went with Little Tree, The Walking Stomach, Scholar and Crash-Bang to the Sidetrack Cafe for an AYCE breakfast. Then I started getting organized to leave; packing, preparing my bounce box and mailing it to Pearisburg, getting last minute supply items and so on. I weighed my pack and found it was 35 pounds, the heaviest it has been, partly from a week's food and also needing a spare stove cannister since I have been using the same one since Fontana Dam. Finally I said goodbye to the Hobbits, who had arrived at the hostel, and got back on the Trail.It was a wonderful day for hiking, cool and sunny. Much of the route went along a beautiful fast-flowing river and green hills. The Superfeet did seem to help my feet handle the extra load but the hard heel cups made my heels raw. I was glad to arrive at Saunders Shelter where I found Crash-Bang having supper before he headed for the next shelter six miles away. I took off my shoes and socks and had supper too as others began arriving, mostly section hikers. I decided to go to a campsite two miles further. That way, a 16 mile day tomorrow would put me at the Thomas Knob Shelter near Mount Rogers. From Saunders I would either have to go 18 miles or spend an extra night on the Trail.I got to the site about 7:00 p.m., a pretty clearing in a pine grove next to an old ruined dam. Just before it at Bear Tree Gap trail junction, were some flowering trees that smelled heavenly! I do not know what they were, perhaps honeysuckle?I am beginning to grasp that keeping a pace that will get me to Mount Katahdin before it closes for the winter pretty much means raw sore feet every night. That seems to be what everyone is experiencing right now. As long as they seem to recover by morning I can live with the discomfort.
Date: 2004-05-05
From: Bear Tree Gap Campsite

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: scattered clouds

I got going today a little after 7:00, winding my way past the tents on the far side of the pond with their sleeping occupants. This section has registers at road junctions as well as at shelters and in them I learned The Other Five were a few hours ahead of me.I caught up with Sanguine and Pooja at Buzzards Rock. Again it was one of those cold windy days with clouds racing by, the perfect weather to ascend the high grassy balds. On the other side of Whiterock Mountain we found the strongest gushing spring we had seen yet, overlooking a valley far below that looked just like Tolkien's painting of The Shire. Of course we had to take pictures of ourselves with the "Shire" for a background.As I said, the mountains are full of surprises. After crossing the gap at Elk Garden I had climbed partway up Balsam Mountain when I heard a loud roar behind me. I turned and saw a steeply banked C-130 shoot low through the pass. Then more like a fighter jet than a big transport it straightened its wings and dove down into the valley beyond Mount Rogers heedless of the strong crosswind and unforgiving hillsides. It must have been thrilling and I think would have cost a civil pilot his license but for the C-130 crew it was probably just practice at tactical flying in mountainous terrain.A little later came a different sort of surprise. I was overtaken by a couple. The woman had a blanket drapped down her front and when they got closer I realized she was carrying a baby, high up the side of Mount Rogers. Unimpressed by the terrain, it was sleeping soundly.I seemed to wind around Mount Rogers forever when I finally caught sight of the shelter. Even more exciting, I saw shaggy wild ponies dotting the hillside behind the shelter. I did not expect to see ponies until tomorrow at the Grayson Highlands.In the shelter I found three of The Other Five inside. Jon and Indy had detoured onto easier trails for a bit. They told me the water source was inside the pasture and that the ponies would walk right up to me. It was just like My Litle Pony, with the ponies nuzzling me and their long shaggy manes and tails blowing in the wind. There were even three little baby ponies. Sanguine and I took turns taking each other's picture with a mother and her foal. They are very cute. Imagine, a petting zoo 5,400 feet up a mountainous wilderness miles from anywhere and you have to backpack to get there! My old stove cannister finally ran out after lasting nearly a month from when I bought it at Fontana.
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Oops, trouble. There has been a lot of rock hopping going at Mount Rogers and again today. It is hard to find level footing and both feet and legs get a lot of jarring. By 3 miles or so the outside of my lower left leg was hurting. I slowed way down the last 1.5 miles to Wise Shelter and have stopped to give it a rest.If I am lucky it is just a shin splint or sore muscle. If I am not lucky, it might be the start of a stress fracture, although it does not have that broken bone sort of pain. I am going to rest here until 1:00 p.m. and see if it gets better. If not I might stay the night here instead of going the 6 miles to Old Orchard Shelter as I had planned. I had been wondering whether to hike longer than 12 mile days, camping on the trail instead of sheltering to save a day getting to my next resupply. But my leg seems to have made that decision for me. No extra miles for now.I fed myself two Ibuprofin, used my water bladder like an ice pack to cool the sore part and am giving it a good rest. The weather has been beautiful, with a brisk wind. It was above the ceiling in the morning, walking through racing clouds until I got far enough from Mount Rogers to get away from the mountain-generated clouds. Then it turned to scattered cumulus clouds, a fine day.Early in the morning I ran into more Mount Rogers ponies grazing or laying in the grass. Two even came right up to nuzzle me. That was just as well, since Grayson Highland Park's +100 ponies seem to be hiding away from the trail. Still, I got a proper dose of pony gazing, so I am content.Well, it is evening and I made it. At Wise Shelter Pooja consoled me with a handful of candy conversation hearts. In gratitude I gave her the water I had gotten in case I stayed but at first she could not find her Aqua Mira to treat it. So I filtered water into my spare water bottle to give her in case she had lost it. Fortunately she found it, leaving me with a nice bottle of water to make gatorade with.I started off slowly and carefully and my leg seemed better. At the campground at the Scales a woman dayhiker who thought I looked tired talked me into accepting three hostess cupcakes and a pack of minimuffins. Yum!I did all right until the descent from Pine Mountain into the shelter. It was quite rocky, as bad as the section that I got hurt on in the first place. I was extremely glad to see the shelter come into view. I shared two Hostess Cupcakes with Pooja for being so supportive at noon. She will hitch into Troutdale tomorrow for supplies so I might not see her for a while.Now I am on 12 mile days until my resupply at Groseclose.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

Mouse has her groove back!I got going this morning and found the footpath much better but within 3 miles my leg and ankle were starting to go again. On sudden inspiration I stopped and replaced the Superfeet insoles with my old Spenco insoles, which I still had in the bottom of my pack. End of problem! I found myself striding with my old bounce, even with the traces of soreness. There were roadside trash cans and I got rid of my trash, including the empty stove cannister. The Superfeet went in as well, in a ceremonious bit of pack-lightening. The soreness faded as the day went on and I got to Raccoon Branch Shelter 12 miles away in barely five and a half hours, including three stops to dig through my pack. That restored my optimism a bit! There was no promising camping past the next shelter only 3 miles away so rather than hike in the heat of midday I rested there for an hour and a half reading the last part of a novel someone had left. Then I hiked to Trimpi in just over an hour. If my feet hold out like this, I can start getting in more mileage. It is frustrating how nearly everyone I know has either forged ahead or fallen back.There is an older man traveling with a younger woman named Hobbit whom I have not seen before. I was just about to start supper when a young man came to the shelter and asked "Remember me?" It was Danny Ashman, whom I last saw over a month ago when I turned back in the snow at Winding Stair Gap! He, Silke and I had hiked for days together before we were seperated. I thought he was far ahead of me.The Trail has its surprises and today it was a familiar face. It seems he went back to do 30 miles he skipped after the Smokys and then took several zero days so now here he was.
Date: 2004-05-08
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

This morning I saw a deer on the path from the shelter back to the Trail. Later the Trail went over a stile and through a wide grassy meadow full of cows who gazed at me as I passed.Much to my surprise I arrived at my original goal for the day, Partnership Shelter, over ten miles away in less than five hours.Stopping there and then going only 12 miles to Groseclose the next day seemed lazy; the Trail beckened me onward. Partnership is the famous shelter with hot water and a nearby phone you can order pizza from. So I took a nice shower, did my laundry in the sink behind the shelter with Dr. Bronners soap, and set it out to dry. I changed into shorts; I would pack away my trusty long nylon pants that I had worn from Springer to here. Next I went to the adjacent park headquarters and ordered a small hawaiian pizza and a greek salad with a two liter bottle of Dr. Pepper. I ate the pizza and drank most of the soda then waddled satiatedly back to the shelter to check on my laundry. By 2:30 I was all packed up with the remaining soda filling my spare water bottle and the salad container nestled on top of my pack under the buckle-on top pocket. I headed for Chatfield Shelter 7 miles away.Within an hour there was the rumble of thunder close behind me. I was off the bare high ridges but still I really did not want to get caught in a thunderstorm. Fueled by pizza, two liters of Dr. Pepper and by adrenaline I stampeded up the Trail like a mad elephant. I made the 7 miles in record time with narely a twinge from feet or legs. Maybe I ought to o.d. on pizza and soda more often?At the shelter I ran into two fellow members of the Womenhikers mailing list named Leapfrog and The Old Grey Goose. After a nice salad for supper they played trail angel and treated me to hot chai with whole milk and a fortune biscotti. Mine read "The world belongs to those who DARE and DO!"