morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-02
From: VA 311

To: US 220 Daleville, VA
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Oh Yeah!!! 5 Alive got started at 6:30 am this morning. It was so beautiful...we hiked 2 miles and then stopped for breakfast...then hiked another 1.4 miles to McAfee Knob, where we were able to sit out on the rocks and just see forever!!! Another 6 miles from that was Tinker Cliffs-which was my favorite part of the day. I just sat on one of cliffs and stared at the horizen and the clouds and asked God - "How Huge are You?" He is sooo HUGE and it still blows my mind that He cares about me and all my thoughts, prayers, concerns and everything! Awesome.We were going to camp two miles outside of Daleville, but the weather is pretty bad here so we decided to go ahead and get a hotel with Mr. Cranky Pants and Cire. So we are clean again- LOVE IT! And I got the best surprise from the Fish Class at LEP. Thank you to all of you for your pictures and for the snacks. I will answer your questions and send it to you tomorrow. Mr. Cranky Pants loves that you like his name best. We are going to send you a picture of the two of us so you know what he looks like. I miss all of you and the rest of LEP and Noahs Ark. song: Shout Alleluia song- Shane and Shane
Date: 2003-05-03
From: US 220 Daleville, VA

To: US 220 Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light intensity shower rain

5 Alive SlackPacking MisADVENTURE 3:Of course since we pushed hard to get here last night...we didnt really know if we should take a zero day. So 5 Alive plus Mr. Cranky Pants and Cire decided that when my family brought Slickrock back this afternoon, we would ask them to drive us 7.8 miles North and drop us off so we could hike back to the hotel. This would help us continue with our mileage AND ease Slickrock back into hiking. So we tried. Turns out where we thought the trail met with the road was actually 4 miles away and as we were hiking these 4 miles...we get caught in another thunderstorm with lightning. So we decide to turn around since we wont get to the hotel till after 9 pm and we were soaking wet...there was a house at the bottom of the 4 miles...and the plus one of their neighbors brought us back to the hotel. Guess they get a lot of lost hikers. So we did hike over 4 miles but not on the AT. My parents went to the trail head near the hotel and actually did hike 4 miles on the AT and were wo!ndering where we were as it got close to the time for us to hike through...but we all connected and are safe. Whew!!! Welcome Back Slickrock...hahahaha...It has been so good spending time with mom and dad though. They are such an amazing support for both Slickrock and I. Thank you to both of you for your generosity and love!!!Thanks for the hugs too. :-)song: "Ice, Ice Baby" Vanilla Ice
Date: 2003-05-04
From: US 220 Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I started my day with the first bubble bath since we started hiking. Yippee!!! It was so relaxing. Then had a great conversation with one of my best friends...thank you for being present in my life!!!Breakfast at the Cracker Barrel with mom and dad(who rock by the way) and then back on the trail to start our trek to Buena Vista to meet up with some friends.Easy hiking today with pretty good weather-it was raining this morning but stopped since we have been out here. We didnt get as far as I had hoped so we are going to have to do some bigger miles for the next four days. Hopefully we can do it. 5 Alive plus Cire are the only ones at Wilson Creek Shelter. Yeah!!! OH YEAH, when we crossed Little Wilson Creek, we had done 723.3 miles which means we have completed 1/3 of the AT.song: cant remember, something from the 80's.
Date: 2003-05-05
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Bryant Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

Well, what can I say about today. Hmmmm...5 Alive had a big discussion around mile 3 this morning, about how we have been too concerned with mileage versus just being out here. And because of that we have been too discouraged recently...so we hike another mile and who is waiting for us? Cire's mom!!! She came to the first Blue Ridge Parkway crossing with Cafe Mocha's and cinnamon rolls. It was raining on us pretty hard and the wind blowing hard too...so she didnt even want to get out of her car. While we were standing there 5 Alive and Cire talked about "yellow blazing" about 10 miles to get closer to Buena Vista(to meet Misty and Stormy on Thursday!!!)...especially since we didnt get our 7.8 miles finished on Saturday in our Slackpacking misadventure. "Yellow Blazing" is when you skip part of the trail by driving or riding ahead. So 5 Alive has officially "yellow blazed" and we are happy. We have let go of mileage and are just going to keep on hiking to Maine!!! Mr. Cranky Pants - we miss you and we appreciate the personalized Trail Magic that you left at Black Horse Gap.Huge thank you to Pat for our ride forward and for the Mocha's. song:"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin
Date: 2003-05-06
From: Bryant Shelter

To: Marble Spring Gap
Miles today: 17.2

Started off the day with rain-all of us were wondering if we would ever see the sun again...but the rain stopped early on and then it stayed pretty cloudy all day...we dont mind that though. The best part is we did get to see a little sun this afternoon-right before the sun went down some clouds disappated so we could watch the sun set!!!It has been a pretty simple day...we split the miles up into three parts so it all seemed to go by pretty quickly. I am worried about Diesel and Oopu though, they were both so discouraged this morning...not really sure why...they just dont seem to want to be out here. Diesel more than Oopu...please pray for them, I am praying for them to be encouraged and rejuvinated. It is hard to be out here doing the same thing everday and we hurt, smell bad and try hard to get along with each other. Some people really get burned out. We did see another deer-he is eating right outside of our campsit right now! Seems content to just hang out. Oopu and Ketchup got a picture of him. We also saw two salamander in the stream and these are bigger than the ones we saw in the Smokies.Also, the flowers are finally starting to bloom. AND we have been hiking through Rhodedendron(sp?) bushes since Georgia, we had to hike through them when they were covered with snow. Well they finally have buds on them and I cant wait for them to bloom!!song: am- "Welcome Home" Shaun Grovespm- DC Talks song about the Proverbs 31 Lady...dont know what the title is. I figured out most of the words though!!! Its been a while since i listened to them. :-)
Date: 2003-05-07
From: Marble Spring Gap

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: scattered clouds

All I have to say is "BUGGY"!!!!!!!There have been these gnats of some sort that fly around you for about 2 weeks now, but today they were at their worst. I had 9, yes, 9 fly up my right nostril and one up my left nostril, 3 in my mouth and about 5 attack my ears...never mind how many I killed trying to fly into my eyes. They bite too!!! So if they are on any other part of you, you have to swat at them so they dont bite. We must look funny trying to hike these days. Slickrock has a mosquito net for her face and I think all of us are going to try to get one over our next zero day. Except hers is just for the face, I want an entire body net. :)We crossed the James(James Westmark-it made me think of you! Hope you are doing well.) River on the longest pedestrian bridge on the AT this morning. Pretty cool! We only have 10.6 miles to the road crossing where we are meeting Misty and Stormy!!! Cant wait to see them. By the way, keep praying for Diesel. He is in a funk...and he doesnt want any of our help to get him out. song: "Beauty for Ashes" - Shane and Shane
Date: 2003-05-08
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: US 60
Miles today: 11.0

Hi all...I am once again sitting at a laundrymat with 5 Alive and Cire. But the fun part is Misty and Stormy (two of the greatest friends of all five of us!!!) are here. They picked us up around 1:00 today with lunch and water and cokes...AND they rented a house and a Durango so they could drive us around...the house is amazing. An old farmhouse that has been refurbishd...and it has laundry, and two tvs. Stormy and Misty thank you and you ROCK!!!I am amazed by the amount of family and friends that continue to bless us out here. WE NEED YOU- thank you soooooooo much! We are going to explore Lexington and Roanoke and eat a lot tomorrow. Yeah!!!song: one that I wrote about 3 weeks ago...trying to finish the end of it.
Date: 2003-05-09
From: US 60

To: Buena Vist
Miles today: 0.0

Man, there is NO way to describe how incredible this day has been. We got our chores finished(mail drops and shopping and eating) and then have spent the entire afternoon at our farmhouse. What an amazing blessing that Stormy and Misty have been. I am so thankful to You Heavenly Father, for my friendship with the two of them over the past 6 years. Lord, pour out Your blessings into their lives and ministries. And continue to allow them a time of rejuvenation. I love you two!!!We shared life and God stories, and they both massaged all of us(oh dang) and we just relaxed in the best way. This little house has been like being home. I love it!!!I also got a chance to pray with Misty, Stormy and Leah about hiking, 5 Alive, mine and Leah's future, and my feet. And I cant wait to head out into the mountains tomorrow on feet that love to be hiking!!! Stormy and Misty- start working on your dance!song: "Spoken for" - Mercy Me
Date: 2003-05-10
From: US 60

To: Seeley-Woodward Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Yeah, ummmm...got to hike in the rain again today. But the cool part is my boots did not get soaked!!! Yeah!!! So my feet stayed happy.5 Alive had breakfast with Misty and Stormy at the Whistlestop Cafe-complete with fried green tomatoes and then they dropped us back off on the trail by Buena Vista.Thank you again for all that you two did for us!It is always hard to hike after a zero day because our bodies think that we should give them another day of rest but we started out and it was even harder because we had a 2000 foot climb right at the beginning. And there was so much humidity that all of us were soaking wet in the first 15 minutes. We climbed up Bald Knob and then got to climb over a bald on Cold mountain that was beautiful-you could see all the surrounding mountains poking through the fog and clouds! There was even a swing in one of the gaps that we crossed today-so 5 Alive did a little playing before the rain. Note: Ketchup and I bought a mosquito head net at Walmart yesterday-so all the girls of 5 Alive are styling while hiking. And we have no black flies up the nostrils. Havent solved how to keep them off the arms and legs...may have to find a mosquito suit! Thank you to Chris Gates for our surprise postcard...and the encouragement to get through VA. Hope to do the same for you next year!!!song:"Sing Alleluia"
Date: 2003-05-11
From: Seeley-Woodward Shelter

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: light rain

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!! Mom, you are the best. I pray that you have just the most blessed mothers day ever. both Slickrock and I wish we were with you today.5 Alive decided to join Cire for a free lunch at the Dutch Haus today. Earl will pick hikers up off the trail on Fish Hatchery road and bring them back after lunch. And it is free!!!! With no strings attached. Earl and Lois run a bed and breakfast and it looks like it is amazing and they offer free lunch everyday to hikrs. Take advantage of it!!!We missed the rain during lunch and when we returned...blue skies and the sun were on their way out. We climbed the Priest Mtn. Which wasnt too bad up but had 3000 foot drop over 4 miles. Yikes. It was all beautiful though. All in all, I enjoyed today very much.I was a bit emotional this morning...I wanted to be with my mom, and I have a friend who gave a sermon and sang this morning...and it is hard to miss these experiences even though I am having my own experiences out here. Life doesnt stop while I am out here, and I do struggle with what I am missing. I have two friends getting married (2 different weddings) in the next month and I cant imagine not being at either one of them. But I am not going to be there. Its hard. So I was reflecting on what I am missing but also loving what I am doing out here...and it all made me emotional. Anyways...have a great week!song:"New York, New York"(hey it had a good hiking beat and"All I can say" by David Crowder
Date: 2003-05-12
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: trail to Humpback Rocks
Miles today: 14.1

ATTENTION K-MART SHOPPERS: One of 5 Alive got to see a bear today. That's right a bear. Who was it? Oopu. He is the winner...all the rest of us are jealous...guess we are just going to have to pay better attention. Anyways, had a beautiful 60 degree sunny day and I enjoyed most of it. 5 Alive met Jeff and Sam from Ohio on Saturday night and we hiked most of the day with them today. They are section hiking north and were finished today till next time. Had fun with you guys - good luck on future hikes!!! I think my vote is for Buckeye and Brutus...but I am still thinking.Some of the views today were incredible...you can see forever in VA because everywhere around us flat. Pretty amazing! We hit a lot of rocks...sometimes they dont bother me but most of the time-rocks, roots and downhill-Ouch.By the way, Diesel is doing much better, he is still burned out and not sure what that means but he benefited from our last zero day as much as I did...so he is trucking along. Thank you for the prayers!!!Get to see Sandi and Jason tomorrow in Waynesboro!!! I can't wait!!! song: Come away with me-Norah Jones
Date: 2003-05-13
From: trail to Humpback Rocks

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Beautiful day...lots of crazy wind though. We got to climb more rocks-up and down- as a matter of fact we climbed down a rock formation called the "Stairway to Heaven". The fun part is that Slickrock was bold enough to ask the question "If we are climbing DOWN the stairway to heaven, where are WE climbing to?" We got to Rockfish Gap on the Blue Ridge Parkway at about 3:00pm and then they have a list of volunteers from Waynesboro that will drive out and shuttle hikers back to Waynesboro. Yeah!! Thank you Ann Bryant for the shuttle.Then Sandi and Jason got here at 6:00pm and we ate mexican-yummmmmm...then we just hung out(oh yeah, we did laundry too). So good to see them!!! I am so clean and Sandi brought me some cotton clothes, and cherry coke and sushi and lotions...ahhhh...going to go relax.song: "We all live in a yellow submarine"
Date: 2003-05-14
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Hi all...can I tell you how blessed I am that my best friend Sandi is here. She has sent me more letters and packages and just completely encourages me in this hike.   Sandi, you will never know how much everything you do for me means. Also, all of you out there reading and encouraging me are such a HUGE part of my completing my hike to Katahdin, ME. One of the hardest things for me out here is the monotony of everyday. And I am afraid that I might not appreciate each sun rise and sunset or the difference in flowers or views. But I do try!!!Sandi's husband likes to read as much as I do and he is letting me read a couple of chapters from one of the books he brought: "The Live You've Always Wanted" by John Ortberg...about the spiritual disciplines. Well, there is a quote by G.K. Chesterton from it that just spoke to me that I want to remember and share with all of you."Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again'; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."Now that is good stuff!!!!song: stuff from Caedmon's Call
Date: 2003-05-15
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We are in the Shenandoah National Park!!!!!! I wasnt sure we would actually get here...but we are! When we get finished with it then we only have a few more days in Virginia. And within 5 minutes of our hike I saw a deer that was only 6 feet away from me...hope to see a bear while we arehere!!!At the moment we are sitting in a shelter...with rain and cold. Oopu and I had come up with a plan to get through the Shenandoah's by next thursday morning...but now our plans are changed. Such is life as a hiker.There are 12 hikers in this shelter and one in a tent in the rain...it is amazing to me how many people come out here to hike from GA to ME on the AT. We have met so many amazing people...Yellow Subs-we miss you guys!!! Hope you 3 have gotten your hiking speeds to match again. Denmark and Early Riser- have fun at Trail days...email me what you are doing next! Mr. Crankypants-we will be looking for you as soon as we get to Maine...if you could just drive and meet us at EVERY trailhead...that would be great...hahahahaha. You know you want to...A lot of hikers are hitchhiking back to Damascus for Trail days. It starts tomorow and goes to Sunday-it is a chance to meet, see old friends...ther are drum circles, talent shows, gear for cheap...and much more. But 5 Alive decided not to go. If we are going to not be hiking then we want to really rest, which is why we decided to take a four day vacation at the end of the month. I am praying for no more rain tomorrow so that we can dry off and maybe enjoy some of the views that are out here. Have a blessed evening!song: Some spanish cat song-thank you to Douglas for sharing this great song with me. Meow, meow, meow...
Date: 2003-05-16
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: light rain

We did all 13 miles by about 3:00 pm this afternoon...so we all discussed going even further but because of rain we decided to stay at the shelter. So hopefully the next day or so will have better weather so that we can make up the 6 miles we didnt do yesterday. Todays weather kept tricking us..it started out all foggy and cloudy but then the sun started to shine and we thought that maybe everything would dry out...but then 30 minutes later it would be cloudy again...it did this all day. I enjoyed the sun when it did shine though!!!song. "We love you Lord" David Crowder
Date: 2003-05-17
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

hahahahahaha...it is soooooooo cold and wet and once again we are in a shelter. There are 13 hikers in the shelter and 5 others right around the shelter. It is nuts to be here on a Saturday night...there are soooo many people. This weather is horrible. 5 Alive, Cire and our new friend Don went to a restaurant on the Skyline drive(there are about 5 restaurants in the Shenandoahs that are close to the AT) for our lunch and I did not want to leave that building. I told them they would have to make me leave....haha. But we left and got to this shelter and decided to stay and not try to make it to the next one because there is space here and may not be at the next. Hope that made sense. We did have our picture taken at lunch time by two different gentlemen. It was pretty fun...thank you Don and Congratulations!!! Thank you for helping make our day a little better and being part of our adventure!song: "Kiss today goodbye" from Chorus Line
Date: 2003-05-18
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Bearfence Shelter
Miles today: 21.0

Okay, its no longer funny...its actually getting pretty gross...we have been wet for 4 days. Good ol dampness. We had hoped to get to Lewis Mtn Campground to get a cabin but they were all filled when we got there...the store closed at 5:30 too and we got there right at 5:30. But we made it to the shelter and there is room...I wish I could tell you about all the views but there havent been any because of the rain. Sigh...endurance and patience...song:"Revive me" Shane Barnard
Date: 2003-05-19
From: Bearfence Shelter

To: Big Meadows Lodge
Miles today: 7.7

At the moment, I am sitting with Oopu and Slickrock at the Big Meadows Tap Room listening to Michael sing some Paul Simon. WOW...we needed this day!!!We woke up to 40 degrees and SUNSHINE!!! And it stayed with us the entire time we hiked. You just dont know how good it is to see, feel, and smell sunshine. We could see views...and they were beautiful!!! We also got to see 15 deer today...the first one walked right up to us as the shelter while we were getting ready to go. We got to Big Meadowns by 12:30 and we were ready for some food, laundry and showers. Aaaahhhh...yeah. Then, we were going to hike another 4-6 more miles but we heard the lodge serves a great steak so we came here for dinner...and then we checked out room prices and the next thing you know...5 Alive and Cire are staying the night. We just had the best conversation with 2 people who work here. They are from South Africa and they are both Christians. Williams works the area where the camping laundry and showers are and he and I started talking this afternoon about what I am doing out here and why he is working at a National Park Lodge. Then he found out we were staying so we invited him to come to our room...to check out Diesel's guitar. Amazing...thank you to Williams and Letitia for sharing your stories with us!!! You will be in our prayers.Now good music...actually he is talking a lot right now (like Bebo Norman)...hahaha...OH-and pray for my left hip/rearend ...I am having some problems with it. It started about 3 weeks ago and it hurt mainly when I was hiking, but now I cant walk right even when we are taking a break. Its very frusterating for me because in mind it shouldnt be bothering me...so it should stop. Hahaha, sigh.song: "I can"t live if living is without you"