morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-25
From: Just past Davis Path Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: light rain

Sarah, Uncle Ben, and I crawled out of Uncle Ben's tent. I was surprised at how well his tent fit all 3 of us. Then I realized that, with Sarah being one of those people, it really only fit two and a half.    Over the course of the day I hiked with Flora & Fauna and Derek (Fauna's boyfriend who drove from Kansas to hike a few days with his beloved), Sarah, Uncle Ben, and eventually Tinder, Beavis, and Patrick.   As we were halfway up yet another hill, we heard the low rumble of thunder. To the left we saw a few distant flashes. Wonderful! Not only are we increasing elevation on a hill with no trees, but we're all holding metal trekking poles! Hiking is fun!   We never got an electrical storm. Just on & off rain. When the rain DID turn into a downpour, we had just arrived at a road crossing and were relieved to see a pavillion about 100 yards away. Upon arriving at the pavillion, we saw a very welcoming sign:   HIKERS: This pavillion is Private Property.   Had the downpour continued, we may have set up camp regardless. But we moved on, saying goodbye to Flora, Fauna, and Derek as they headed into town with Derek's aunt & uncle.   I felt creative at the shelter and decided to demonstrate my creativity in the shelter register.    Leki Pop Quiz #1 was born:   Question 1: What foundation would be BEST to build a city on?      Question 2: Damascus, Va. was probably built on what?   And Question 3: Who built this city on Rock N' Roll?    Answers: Rock N' Roll. Rock N' Roll. And We.   We built this city on Rock N' Roll.   Congratulations on northbound thru-hikers who have made it this far, by the way. We are now 25% done with the trail.
Date: 2004-04-26
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: moderate rain

It rained all morning. You can't imagine just how difficult it is to get yourself out of a dry shelter when it's raining that much. Then we realized that nobody was forcing us to leave. I mean, we didn't actually HAVE to hike if we didn't want to.    Tinder left though. I thought that would be enough to motivate me. And when I told him, "Alright, I'll be right behind you, " I meant it. I guess I just changed my mind. The rain actually stopped at 12:30 PM, but it still looked and felt like it would start raining again any moment so we didn't actually leave until 6:30 PM. Patrick, Sarah, Beavis, Uncle Ben and I all left, hiking with the last hours of daylight and into the night.   Climbing Chestnut Knob in the dark was an extra challenge. The trail wouldn't have been obvious even during the day, and with practically no moonlight, the blazes were hard to find.   Eventually, we made it to the shelter atop a summit clear of trees. With the shelter full of sleeping hikers, we were forced to sleep outside.    But setting up a tent can take SO much effort. And throwing my sleeping bag on the ground worked so well a few days ago in Damascus, why not do the same tonight?   Sarah, Uncle Ben and I all threw our sleeping bags down under the clear night sky. With no city lights around for miles, it seemed we could see every star in the heavens above. Once again, we saw a shooting star.    "Did you make a wish?"   Nope. At that moment everything seemed right. There was nothing I could wish for because I felt that all things were already going to work out for the best. I felt like I had nothing to worry about for the rest of my life.    I saw 3 more shooting stars before falling asleep, and I could only smile at each one.
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Bland, VA

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Had a cotton candy blizzard at Dairy Queen with my breakfast this morning. Want some advice? Don't ever do that.   Heather and Arwen left before I was even ready to get out of bed. They wanted to do something crazy like hike 19 miles or something. Yuck. I think I'll take advantage of the 11:00 check-out time, thank you very much.   So Patrick and I eventually left the motel, resupplied and reluctantly got back on the trail. It's just so hard sometimes to get back on when you just had a shower and a comfortable bed the night before. You know there's nothing comfortable waiting for you in the woods. I'm not saying there's nothing positive out there. I'm not saying there's nothing to like or even love. The trail can be beautiful. And it's truly amazing to watch the gradual progression of spring take place right before our eyes. And the company is fantastic. But there's nothing COMFORTABLE out there; that's really my only point. The trail makes you appreciate comfort a whole lot more than you ever thought possible.   We hitched a ride up the mountain to where we got off the trail the day before. The trail, at this point, follows the road for about half a mile or so. The lady who gave us a ride said, "Oh, then I'll just bring you down the road to where the trail goes back into the woods."    NO FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!! I mean, umm...no thank you. We'll just get dropped off here and take the roadwalk. Umm...thanks.    Getting a ride would be cheating. Every white blaze.    Patrick and I caught up with Sarah and Uncle Ben pretty quickly. At which point they threw me a Pepsi that they had packed in.    P-E-P-S-I. That comes pretty damn close to spelling "comfort."    And then Sarah proceeded to tell me what a horrible person I was.    No, of course not really. But I felt horrible. You see, with my sleep on top of Chestnut Knob two nights ago being as bad as it was, I wasn't in a good mood yesterday. I wrote my story in one of the shelter registers and explained how miserable my entire night was and how I barely got any sleep and when I looked over to tell my friends about the sunrise, and they weren't there. They had gone into the tent. And I then wrote, "Those Bastards."    I wasn't serious. I mean, I wasn't actually mad at THEM. I was just in a really bad mood and needed to vent. Long story short, it really ended up really upsetting a friend of mine who thought that she had made my day miserable. That's not the case, and I assure you that we are cool, ok?    Well, now that that's cleared up, I got to the shelter and stayed there with Patrick, Sarah, Flora & Fauna, Uncle Ben, and Apple Pie. First night that the guy/girl ratio was actually even. Pretty exciting actually.    Other than that, Billy got dysentery; food rations were meager; the river we attempted to ford proved to be too deep and drowned 3 oxen; I shot 2,478 pounds of meat, but could only carry 100 lbs back to the wagon; and a thief came in the middle of the night and stole a wheel axle, 4 sets of clothing, and 117 bullets.    At this rate, we'll never make it to Oregon.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: 4 miles past Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

So I wake up, race out of the tent to my backpack, grab my toilet paper, stuff it into my fleece pocket, and head into the woods to find a good spot. After sitting on a log and doing my business, I reach into my pocket.    Wait a minute. Where's the toilet paper?   I check every pocket. Twice. Look all around.   Nothing.   On the bright side, I learned that slightly damp dead leaves do serve an important purpose in desperate times.   And of course, as soon as I stood, I found the missing toilet paper right under the log. The log I was sitting on. Not the ... oh never mind.   Took another nasty fall today. 'Small pebbles' plus 'steep downhill' equals 'really scraped up arm'. But it made me look even more hardcore. So, with blood dripping down my elbow and forearm, I pressed on.   We continued our hike heading into Pearisburg where I'll be forced to make a decision.   Do I, or do I not, go to a Kentucky Derby party that Patrick has invited us to?    It's in the D.C. area. His friend Sam is throwing it. His brother Michael is driving the four hours to Pearisburg to pick him, Sarah, and Uncle Ben up. But it would mean a day or two off the trail.   A day or two with beer.   With showers and laundry.   With food, folks & fun.   Ah, what the hell?   Waiting for Michael outside the Redezvous Motel, a man in the passenger side of a pick up truck starts asking some questions. Pretty standard ones about where and when I started. Things like that. But then he says, "This section you're on now is one of the harder sections of the trail".   Now I know I've only seen a quarter of the trail, but from what I've done and from what I know is ahead, I'm POSITIVE that what I just did is not even close to being one of the "harder sections of the trail". Perhaps I should've just nodded my head, but I felt obligated to inform him that this section had been easy compared to the monsters we faced further North.    His head shot back and his eyebrows raised. Pointing ahead to the mountain I had just descended, he said "Now that mountain there ain't small!"   I guess locals really take pride in their mountains. And I didn't think 'it's not the size that matters' was going to be a safe way out of this. So I just agreed, letting him know how tough it was to come down that trail an hour ago, and explained that I only meant that the mountains further North are slightly higher in elevation. He seemed to relax, satisfied with my response.   Another lesson learned. In order to keep the natives from getting restless, no matter where you are you're on the hardest part of the trail.   We spent the night at Michael's house in Richmond, VA where we met his lovely wife Tommie. We had beer, wine, homemade pizza, pleasant dinner music, and wonderful conversation.   Michael & Tommie, thank you for having us.
Date: 2004-05-01
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Falls Church, Va
Miles today: 0.0

Breakfast was delicious.   Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade made it difficult to get ready. I love that movie.   But eventually we left, heading to the D.C. area two hours away.    As we took our exit off the interstate, I saw a sign for Falls Church. Wait. Falls Church? My friend Vanessa lives there. Are we going to be near Falls Church?    "No, we're going to be IN Falls Church," Patrick told me. "That's where Sam lives."    I had already told Vanessa that I would call her when I got somewhere along the trail that was closest to where she lived. Well, I wasn't getting much closer than this.   After getting ahold of her and telling her where I was, I found out she lived about 3 minutes up the street from there. And although she was in a show that night, she would definitely swing by later.   So, I drank some beer. Ate some food. Enjoyed the Kentucky Derby pie brought by Sam's friends Nick & Christine. Lost a few bucks thanks to Smarty-Pants Jones. And watched Ice Age.   Vanessa came by later on that night and we spent a couple hours on the porch catching up. I told her she'd be hearing from me again when I was further up the trail, in a little over 300 miles. Hopefully we could get together then also.    I'm glad I decided to take a day or two off the trail. That hiking stuff is overrated.
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Falls Church, Va

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

Today was the most challenging day yet.    I had to face three obstacles in particular before I reached my destination. And as I walked down the dark, cobweb littered hallway of the first obstacle, I wished I could be elsewhere. But my father had just been shot by that damn Nazi, and I was his only hope.   The Breath of God. Only the penitent man shall pass.   Only the penitent man. Penitent man.   The penintent man is humble before his God.   The penintent man KNEELS before God...   KNEEL!   I kneeled just in time to avoid a giant circular saw blade from severing my head. Luckily, I remembered that the penitent man doesn't just kneel before God; he does a somersault too. The instant after kneeling to avoid that first blade, I did a somersault and narrowly avoided a second blade from splitting my abdomen.    "I'm through!" I shouted down the hallway.   Through. Through. Wait a minute. Something's ringing a bell here.   Through... THRU... Thru-hiker! That's what I am! I'm a thru-hiker. Not an adventure-seeking archeologist. I only WISH I had a job that easy.    I'm sorry. Today was not the most challenging day yet; it was the most uneventful day yet. The first half of this entry shows that sometimes I just live in a dream. Next thing you know I'll be picking up rice where a wedding has been.    Two hours from Falls Church to Richmond, then four hours to Pearisburg. Stayed at the Rendevous Hotel with Patrick, Sarah and Uncle Ben where I called home and my friend JT. That's all there is to tell. Aren't you glad I spiced up this entry a little?    P.S.   If you're confused by that sentence about picking up rice at a church, it's from a song. Work with me people. If you got it right away, pat yourself on the back.
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

It's time for Sarah to leave the trail. She had already planned on leaving to go back to Colorado for the summer, so it was no surprise. But she wants to head to Damascus for the week prior to Trail Days to work at the Sidetrack Cafe. Which means that Uncle Ben will be heading to Damascus as well. He says he'll see us at the shelter tonight, but we're not stupid. If he wasn't so attached to her butt, I might be heading to Damascus for a week instead. It's better this way. Keeps me focused on what's really important.   The Trail. And hiking the Trail.   Patrick and I took our own sweet time getting out of town. We were originally going to do 19 miles in hopes of getting a little closer to the friends we left when we went to the Kentucky Derby party, but with as late as it was getting we knew it would be a shorter day than that.   One thing I really like about the Trail experience is how excited friends get when they unexpectedly see each other. Even if it's only been 2 days. You don't get that same excitement with seeing friends back home. You know you're going to see those friends because you make PLANS to see them. Even if you see them by surprise, it's not AS big of a deal as out here because you COULD HAVE made plans if you wanted to. Out here you don't have that. You can use the shelter registers to guess where those ahead of you are and leave notes for those behind you, but you never really KNOW when or if you'll see them again.   Eventually, Patrick and I left town. As the day got later, it got colder. And colder. And as we gained elevation, it got COLDER. And toward the end of the day, we were on an exposed ridge and were REALLY cold.    From the shelter register, we discovered that our friends had taken 2 zero days in Pearisburg. They were only 12 miles ahead of us. Had we started earlier, we would be with them right now.   Sitting in the shelter, I decided it was too damn cold to bother cooking tonight. Not a decision I usually make; but it was much colder than it should EVER be in May. And the wind, as always, made the cold worse.   I really hope my summer bag will suffice.   I did get the courage to leave the shelter and watch the sunset from the stile by the fence. Patrick and I sat there and I tried sharing a "bright side" with him.   I'm kinda glad it's cold out. If it were nicer, I'd be bummed I didn't have a girl here to share this moment with instead of you. No offense, but you understand.   "I already wish I had a girl here instead of you," he said.   That's true. If it's cold, you have a good excuse to keep each other warm.   "Look, you just stay on your side and keep your coat on, alright?   We laughed and got silent for a minute. Then something dawned on Patrick.    "Man, what are we doing our here when we COULD be with girls?"   He was right. And I had no idea how to answer.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: clear sky

"Well, that thoroughly sucked," said Patrick first thing in the morning.   Last night was possibly the coldest night of "sleep" I've had out here. I use the word "sleep" very loosely. And now that I'm using a 45 degree summer bag instead of my 15 degree winter bag, I'm hoping it warms up again real soon.   A gentleman we hadn't met before came by the shelter before we were ready to leave. Introduced himself as Happy. We told him how miserable our night was and he says, "Toasty in the hostel last night. Had the fire going. Almost too hot."   I'm sure in the future, I'll find that real funny.   At the end of the day, Patrick and I considered doing 5 more miles after dinner, just to get a bit closer to those ahead. Once we ate however, last nights lack of sleep caught up and it was time to crash.    The night started getting colder and colder, and I REFUSED to have a repeat of last night.    Operation Sleep Warm.   I put practically every article of clothing I owned on my body, including my rain gear and two bandanas. One around my head, and the other just for my ears. In addition, I boiled some water and poured it in my Nalgene bottle and stuck that at the foot of my sleeping bag.   Alright Nature. Bring it. I'm getting some sleep tonight, dammit.
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Patrick and I planned on doing a big day today, determined to catch our friends. Let's leave by 9:00.   When 9 inevitably became 9:30, we just called that our first break. So we left on time... sort of.   I had good motivation for the big miles. I was REALLY low on toilet paper. I never knew how much use you could get from just one sheet until today.   I left before Patrick and was surrounded all day by sounds of woodland creatures crashing through the branches and rustling the leaves on the ground. I looked each time, hoping to see a deer or bear. As long as it wasn't a baby bear cub in a tree 15 feet away, of course.   I finally did see a deer. Everytime it noticed me, it would run further up the trail. This happened two or three times before it learned that maybe a cleared trail wasn't the best place to avoid me. It took off into the woods.   Took a long break at Niday Shelter. My feet were killing me. Country & Ramblin' Man caught up to us there. They were done for the day and we were still hiking 10 more miles. They couldn't believe it. Neither could I.   And of course, everytime I plan to do over 20 miles in a day, the trail throws extra challenges at me. Today this extra challenge was a ridgewalk where the trail was slanted sideways at a 90 degree angle. These sorta things don't make for quick hiking.   Passed the Audie Murphy Monument today. In case you don't know, he's a World War II hero. Check up his story; it's truly amazing.   We hiked into the night and were worried we had passed the shelter. Eventually, however, we found it.   I like checking the registers at each shelter for clues on where our friends are and where they were probably headed to.    It looks like Flora & Fauna aren't too far ahead.    Sleuthing is fun, I told Patrick.   "No, it's called stalking," he replied.   Well, whatever helps that sicko sleep at night.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Catawba Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 13.9

Today we had a great plan.    Hike about 6 miles to a road where a hostel with a shower awaits just .4 miles to the right, and a store with a deli awaits .4 miles to the left.   Hike about 6 more miles down the trail to another road that leads to the Homeplace Restaraunt, which has a reputation of being possibly the best dinner on the trail.    Then just 2 miles to the shelter.   Today we had a great plan. We just didn't plan on Dragon's tooth.    Dragon's Tooth was a jagged piece of rock sticking out of the earth. Though it was as big as a mountain, it was like no mountain I'd climbed before. It really felt like you were climbing the tooth of a dragon.   And the climb down was even WORSE. Without a doubt, the most challenging descent yet with narrow ledges and sharp boulders and spots where your poles got in the way more than they helped you.   And the HEAT today. By the end of the day, I went through more than 6 liters of fluids.   I wasn't even sure if I was going to stop at the hostel to use the shower. Until Dragon's Tooth.   Walked to Four Pines Hostel and was greeted by a soda machine. This may be a longer stop than I had planned.   The bathroom had a huge sink, so I did some laundry too. True, there was no way to dry my clothes, but in that heat wet clothing would feel great.   Dawn dishwashing soap was the only soap around, so I used it for my laundry, in the shower, and as a shampoo. Out here you do what you can with what you got.   The deli for lunch served me the best hot ham & cheese sandwich I'd ever had. And there was a beautiful girl working there. When she stepped outside, I just had to ask. I know this sounds strange, but can I get a picture with you?    I just couldn't walk away knowing I'd never see her again. Sigh. At least we'll have that one moment posed for a picture outside Catawba Grocery Store.   Six more miles of farms, fields, and forest with cows, crops, and crap. Then I got a hitchhike from a very nice lady to the Homeplace. I saw three thru-hikers there: Bean, Stretch, & Freeze. Stretch's parents were visiting and they invited me & Patrick to sit with them. They were wonderful company and the food... oh, the food. Words won't do it justice.   Two more miles of hiking until the shelter meant hiking past dark. I hate hiking past dark. Especially since I almost stepped on a brightly colored snake of some sort in the middle of the trail. My first snake sighting. Cool.Snapped a photo and waited as it slowly slithered into the woods.   Getting to the shelter, we finally caught up with Flora & Fauna. I'm not sure what it is, but hiking with girls just SEEMS more fun. Might have to make a habit of it.
Date: 2004-05-09
From: Appalachian Trail

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

"I was going to say 'excuse me' because I farted, but then I realized we were walking through cow sh*t, so I figured it didn't matter."   Well Tinder...it's hard to argue with that.   There have been plenty of times that we've walked through cow fields, keeping out eyes on the ground to avoid the large brown landmines decorating the landscape. This was nothing new to us.   We milked our time at the hotel this morning, planning on waiting until we were actually asked to leave our room before doing so. When the housekeepers came to the door, they were very kind and gave us another hour to take care of what we needed to take care of. So, we sat down and watched more television. That takes care of that.   Since it was lunch time, we stopped at a BBQ place down the street before heading back on the trail. This place was incredible. Sweet potato fries with peach ketchup. Wow.    It took us a long time to leave. Sometimes the idea of hiking is not an appealing one. Especially when you're at a restaurant eating great food and the sky looks like it could rain and your pack is ridiculously heavy because you didn't want to throw anything away that was in your maildrop yesterday, but the post office is closed so you couldn't send any of it home. On the bright side, we would at least have a game of travel Connect 4 to enjoy at the shelters for the next couple of nights. Thanks Cara.   With only 4 days of hiking left until Trail Days, we had to put in some miles. So, we finally left the interchange, enjoyed a light rain that cooled everything off, and I hiked through fields of cow crap with Tinder and Camel.   "Wow, these branches really hold a lot of water," observed Tinder as we brushed by, becoming more wet from the trees than we did from the rain.   "That's their job," said Camel. "That, and get peed on every once in a while."   "I bet every tree as been peed on at least once."   This is your brain after 70 days and upon completing a third of the trail. Any questions? I hope not. Unless it deals with cow crap or peeing on trees, I'm not so sure we'd have any answers.