morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-05
From: Sarver Hollow

To: Catawba
Miles today: 28.5
Weather: broken clouds

Long day. We actually woke up at 4:30. We didn¢t get much sleep last night cause the old folks sharing the shelter were snoring so bad I thought they were dying. We had breakfast up on the ridge and started hiking by 6. It felt great to be hiking so early in the morning and we even to to see our 2nd sunrise of the trip. It was really beautiful hiking and the cool air woke me up really nicely. We put in the first 6 miles by 8 before taking a quick break at the next shelter. After that we had a great hike up a mountain which I barely even noticed because I had all my fantasies to occupy my mind. Once we got to the top I headed out in front and put the last 4 miles down in about an hour. We had already done 15 miles by 12, the time we normally would have been leaving. We were trying to make it into the restaurant in Catawba by 6. Swiss and Happy Feet didn¢t think they were going to make it so I think they put in a few more miles and called it a day. It was 1:30 when Stinky and I headed back out. I wasn¢t feeling too great but I didn¢t want to stop. It started raining and lightning as we made our way up to the next ridge but I didn¢t care. I was out of food and sick of all our half assed attempts to complete a decent day. The weather let up just as we got to the top. It was a really rough and rocky walk, very slow going but we finally made it down by 5:30 with 6 miles to go. I decided to push as hard as I could into town before everything closed so I could get some food. Stinky didn¢t feel like doing that so he took it slow and said he would find a place right outside of the road into Catawba since we can¢t afford to stay in towns anymore. I put in the last six miles in 1 12 hours over a mountain that had me screaming obscenities before making it to the road where I had over a mile to walk in. I got into the general store with enough time to load up on snacks before finding out we could stay for free in these people¢s yard who ran a restaurant out of their house. With this information I walked back up the highway and picked up Stinky. We then made the walk back down to the Homeplace, which was where we were staying only to see Swiss and H.F. there. They had hitched in to get dinner. After that we crashed in one of the gazebos and S. and H.F. were really kind and gave us their leftovers. All of it meat. We then crashed hard. We decided we would never do something like that again. Although it¢s easy for some hikers out here, I feel like I ¢ve been hit by a train. But we¢re glad we did it. We made it into town to get our mail and we are proud of ourselves. But that¢s enough about that, this journal entry is already way too long.
Date: 2006-05-06
From: Catawba

To: Catawba
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Happy Cinco de Seis! We celebrated by doing nothing. We actually weren¢t planning on a zero today. We¢re not that lazy. But the only place to resupply in town was closed for the day because the owner was getting married today or something. Since we didn¢t have any food, we relaxed around the Homeplace until it opened at 3 and were some of the first ones in. It was $12 all you can eat which was pricey but we think we got our money¢s worth. We were both so full at the end we nearly threw up. Our waitress thought we would be living off that meal for a week. When we finally finished and got out, the place had become ridiculously crowded. It was a 1 12 hour waiting period to get in which nobody seemed to mind at all. We hung out on the porch all afternoon and did some people watching. Then got a chance to talk to some hikers who had come in that day. Right before they closed we decided we were ready for a second meal. We went in once again and this time they were ready for us. The portions that they brought out were twice the size of the ones before. I guess our new waitress had been tipped off and wanted to save herself some time. Stinky didn¢t have much but I managed to stuff my face pretty well the second time around. After another good meal it was time for bed. We headed back out to the gazebo, rolled out our sleeping bags and turned in for a great night¢s sleep.
Date: 2006-05-07
From: Catawba

To: Cambell Shelter
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: broken clouds

What an interested day. We got up around 9:45 and got out of the Homeplace pretty early. We headed down to the General Store for breakfast and supplies where we met Fast Layne. It¢s funny how you can tell who is a hiker just by looking at them even when they don¢t have a pack. After a delicious breakfast of Choco Tacos, we made our way back up to the trail and headed out on our four mile day. We came to a shelter in the first mile and took a little break just as it started to rain. After a little while we did another mile to another shelter and chilled but the rain persisted. Finally we headed up to McAlee Knob, the most photographed and supposed best view on the AT, only to find a foggy mess and absolutely no view. We resolved to hike back up in the morning from the shelter and made our way out of the cold (45 degrees) wet weather. When we arrived at the shelter 12 mile away, we were dismayed to see 10 of the exact same tents all pitched up around the shelter. It has to be Boy Scouts, I said, but as we walked around and got into the shelter I was surprised to see that I was very wrong. The shelter was full of teenage girls all huddled together in sleeping bags. They made room for us to squeeze in and we found out that most of them were 16 and 17, out together with an outdoor organization for young girls. What an interesting situation. They asked us a lot of questions and wondered why we would possibly be out here for fun as most of them were freaking out about their hair and not being able to take showers. I¢m not sure what to say about the girls except that there was a lot of giggling and a lot of noise. We mostly just sat and nodded, afraid to make any sudden movements. The night seems mostly just a daze of screams and high pitched laughter and complaining. When it was all said and done, 9 of us (including the male group leader who slept between us and the girls) had squeezed into the shelter because half the girls got their tents all wet. I really don¢t even know what to say except what a strange, random day.
Date: 2006-05-08
From: Cambell Shelter

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I swear to God I¢m sick, I can¢t go to school. We were gonna do 15 miles today, we really were, but we got no sleep last night. It wasn¢t the girls that kept us up, it was their insane girl counselor. Every time someone started snoring last night she would yell at them to stop because they were keeping her up and invariably woke everyone else up in the shelter when she did so. So after maybe a couple hours sleep the girls got up to head out. Stinky and I knew we wouldn¢t be able to sleep through the whole ordeal so we just sat up, ate our breakfast and watched the show. None of them seemed to know what they were doing. It was funny to see a lot of them wearing trash bags with holes for their heads and mishappened packs. They were just as loud in the early morning as they were at night. Finally they said goodbye and that they would be back on June 21st so we should see them. As soon as they left, we went to bed finally.We must have slept until at least 2 because after getting out about 2 hours later, hiking 6 miles past another foggy view and arriving at the next shelter it was already close to 7. We managed to get a fire going with some damp wood and cooked up some delicious hot dogs. We were gonna put in another four miles cause we knew we weren¢t going to make the original 15 due to lack of sleep, but even that fell through as the sky darkened and the shelter looked so welcoming. We could not say no. 40 miles in 5 days is a little ridiculous, but we really are going to step it up. We¢re still making decent time though, mile 700 today. Anyways, we¢ll see what tomorrow has in store for us. Until then, it is time for rest.
Date: 2006-05-09
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

What a great day. We got up bright and early, possibly 7:30 and were out by at least 8:30. It felt great to be doing something productive so early in the morning. I can¢t even describe the hike this morning, it just made me feel so good. We got through a solid 9 miles and were in town before noon. We considered our options on where to eat and decided we had to go with Waffle House, a place I hadn¢t eaten at since my first day on the trail. Tuns out their food is just as delicious in Va. as it is in Ga. Triple hashbrowns are the way to go. After that we made our way down to the outfitters where Stinky finally picked up a pair of trekking poles. Maybe now he will be able to keep up with me, but probably not. While we were there we met a guy named Mountain Goat who was a really great guy with a nice little beard. He kind of reminded me of our old buddy Pukre. He started March 3rd which is awesome. He totally understood what we were talking about when we told him of our hiking pace and the such. I don¢t know what it was, just something about him let us know that he was on our level in terms of this whole AT thing. I hope we get a chance to hike with him. After picking up some groceries, we went to Wendy¢s, hit up the dollar menu, and packed it up in our bags for dinner. We did a nice 5 up to a great shelter are are the only ones here for the night. After eating our Wendy¢s, the sun finally came out for the first time in 3 or 4 days, and we rejoiced. Stinky got a nice little fire going and I am sitting here next to it now watching the coals slowly die out. I don¢t know it was about today, maybe the early rise, maybe the good food, maybe meeting Mountain Goat, maybe seeing the sun come out, maybe all of the above, plus the fruit roll-ups I having waiting for me, but it has been such a great, fantastic, wonderful, magnificent day. I want to shout. I feel like I am in a great place right now. I hope I remember this day for a long time. The best part about it is, almost nothing significant, and nothing out of the ordinary happened today, it just was. And it was good. Now for a clear sky, a moon as bright as the sun, and deep sleep.
Date: 2006-05-10
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: BobbletÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: few clouds

It wasn¢t too hard getting up early this morning. It took a little coaxing from Stinky but I finally managed to roll out of my sleeping bag. We did breakfast and packed up pretty quickly but weren¢t thrilled about putting shirts on that were still sweaty from the day before. We had a nice six miles to the first shelter where we decided to switch from a 20 to a 14 mile day. This was because there is no water at the shelter we¢d be staying at and we had full pack from coming of out town. So we had lunch where Afterburner and Sandman caught up to us, two nice older guys who were coming of town. After that we did a good 7.5 to our house and I had a great walk filled with lots of singing and blooming rhododendron. We got in and the shelter filled up pretty quickly with old folks coming in from town so we pitched up in the only flat spot we could find. After some good food and good conversation it¢s time to turn in as most of these people are early risers. We worked out a good schedule to make it to a place to get picked up for Trail Days. Now all we have to do is get there and hope someone actually picks us up.
Date: 2006-05-11
From: BobbletÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

I forgot to say that yesterday we made it to the 1/3 mark, but that has already passed so I won¢t even mention it. Today we got up and got going, our biggest day hopefully until Trail Days. It rained. We hiked. We stopped and ate. It rained. We went up some mountains, saw an elephant, fought a cyclops, played monopoly, dug for treasure, shot al the buffalo, learned Italian, rode a unicorn, churned some butter, and blew bubbles. Then it rained. Then we got to the shelter where we were out of the rain. It stopped raining.BEEF: Sorry we haven¢t called. We got your number out of that register but copied it down wrong. If you read this, my number is in the preparation entry How to Contact Us, so holla at us when you get a chance. Hope to hear from you soon. Peace.
Date: 2006-05-12
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 5.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, it was a beautiful morning. Then sun was out and the sky was blue. It was so nice we just couldn¢t resist sleeping in. We laid around and let some of our damp clothes dry out while the sweet sunshine kissed the bottom of our sleeping bags from above the shelter and kept our feet warm in the brisk mountain air. We did some arts and crafts to keep us busy and I made new friend out of Stinky¢s old honey bear. When we finally rolled out of the shelter it was getting late and the sky was no long as clear as it had been. We made our way down some easy terrain before climbing a pretty good size mountain to get to the next shelter where ran into Bear. He¢s been taking the Blue Ridge Parkway instead of the AT, so he had plenty of stories of good food and Long Island Iced Teas from the days before. We couldn¢t stand to listen to this kind of talk anymore so he headed back out to the road while we relaxed and ate lunch. Several other hikers showed up during this time and we found out just how late we¢d gotten out. We were also a little worried about how dark the sky looked. We decided to wait out the clouds. It was during this time that I found the last half of the short story collection ¢Monday or Tuesday¢ by Virginia Wolfe. I started to read out of boredom but became very interested in the book. I¢d never heard anything about her so I didn¢t know what to expect, but this is some really great writing. We decided to stay the night though I came completely out of food but I am happy for the chance to have gotten to sit and read the stories and not have to hike in the cold and rain though it is 9 now and it has still not rained. We will try and get up early and into town tomorrow for some laundry hopefully.
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: broken clouds

Got up early this morning, ready to into town. Only 15 miles to get there. Crap. Well, I head out at about 9:30, about a half hour after Stinky and pushed some hard miles after only eating mashed potatoes and oatmeal for breakfast as I was completely out of food. Before I knew it 5 miles were done and in less than another I had caught up with Stinky. At about halfway we took a quick break and pressed on. We finally got to the bridge right before the road we would be hitching on and sung our praises Alleluiah to the Lord. When we got to the other side we met 3 older men just finishing up a day of fishing. We got to talking and one of the guys offered us a Corona Light each. After 15 miles and an empty stomach, how could we refuse? It hit the spot like nothing else could. I think I can honestly say that that was the best (the only) beer I have ever had. We said goodbye and wandered over to the other side of the road and waited for a ride. We finally got picked up by two nice young women who said they were just out ¢looking for ice cream¢. We got into Glasgow, got some foods, and I did some laundry. After a nice rest we headed back to the road and got a hitch from a nice guy who actually had great grandkids. We got back to the trail and did a ridiculously nice and easy 1 12 to the shelter. It was packed with new faces, each of which having a name to go with it but none of them can I recall. Everybody just needs to slow down, all these hikers are confusing us. Anyways, great fire tonight. You couldn¢t believe how interesting it is to watch a fire. Tonight was the episode about the ants in the burning log. It was a good one, I was on the edge of my seat. Off to bed now in the tent where there are no mice to attack us like last night when they were running around my head.
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: moderate rain

We packed up early and quick this morning and relaxed in an empty shelter just before the rain came. It died in a few minutes and had a sunny 9 miles uphill. I ran into a snake about 5 feet long, and got a picture of it next o my trekking pole to show the length. After lunch at the first shelter we pressed on and rain into Texan and Coach K trying to get some trail magic down at the road. 3 miles outside of the shelter we ran into Bear and told him where we were headed. When we arrived the shelter was packed so we tented up at this great spot next to the creek. Bear pulled up and decided to tent with us. After a very rainy afternoon, Stinky actually managed to get a fire going with a bunch of wet wood. We stayed up for awhile and enjoyed a good ending to a wet day.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: scattered clouds

You could say we got a late start this morning. We slept in after a late night and enjoyed the sounds of the creek no more than 10 feet from our tent. We relaxed around a cold campsite and let the sun warm us up as several hikers passed us, some of them already having down 10 miles. We found out it was 1 and figured we should get going. We heard thought that Mountain Goat would be pulling up soon so we hung out and waited for him to show up. It was good to see him again. I was the last one out of camp but manaed to catch up with Bear and Mountain Goat and hiked with them for a little while. We all took lunch at the first shelter where Patches caught up to us and hung out for a little while before moving on. For the last 9 miles of the day I lost Stinky and we were wandering around on the trail all day looking for each other. We got mixed up and he thought I was ahead of him with no water to he was booking it to catch up with me. I was behind him and moving really slow, knowing I wasn¢t going to be able to catch him. He actually got into the shelter just 10 minutes before me but we never saw each other. I don¢t know what it was but something about today really wore me out. I skipped cooking dinner and just ate some cold stuff right as it got dark. Now it¢s time to sleep before free lunch and a maildrop tomorrow.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Dutch Haus
Miles today: 2.3

Well we got up early this morning to make it into Montebello for our maildrop and a free lunch at the Dutch Haus which they provide everyday for hikers. Our plan was to get in and out of town to put in some good miles. When we got there we had burgers for lunch which were deeelicious. I think as soon as we walked into the beautiful home Mountain Goat, Bear, Stinky and I knew we were all probably staying. We decided to turning for the day at about 11am and headed over to the bunkhouse for some R & R. We played a pretty hardcore game of monopoly and it came down to me and Bear handing money back and forth til Bear managed to go to jail 4 times in a row. We had dinner and relaxed. We stayed up til 1:30am watching movies, the last of which being Wayne¢s World and finally turned in. It was a great day.
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Dutch Haus

To: Mauphin Field Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

Got up, had a great breakfast and got back to the trail about 9. Took our time today. First stop was on top of the first mountain where we were excited to find out we had a ride to Trail Days. We did a bunch of miles down to a nice river where we took lunch and I soaked my feet in ice cold water. Stinky took one of his trekking poles and walked out to the middle to try his hand at spear fishing. Someone actually went and got a games warden who told Stinky he was fishing without a license. He told him he¢d let him off with just a warning but to not do it again. Bear said that if Stinky could actually spear a fish with a hiking pole, he would happily pay the ticket. We pressed on for a nice little 3000 foot uphill and finally got up and over and arrived at the shelter. There were a couple people out for the weekend who were pretty cool. We hung out with them for awhile and got a fire going while they gave us all their extra food. When they headed up to their tent, me, Stinky, Bear and Mtn Goat hung out around the fire and enjoyed the night. They¢ve been a good hiking group, the first one that we¢ve really had, as so many hikers seem to travel in packs. But tomorrow we are splitting up and heading to trail daze! which is gonna be awesome. Anyway, night.
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Trail

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Mom¢s Journal Entry: Johnny called to say that he and Pat were in Front Royal, Virginia. I was surprised by that since I expected them to be there about 5 days earlier based on our last conversation. Johnny said that they were going at a slower pace than planned, and then Pat got sick for about three days. There is a flu going around the trail, and Johnny said that he and one other guy were the only people they knew on the trail who had not gotten sick. Pat is better now, but it sounded pretty miserable. Johnny said that he and Pat plan to stop soon at a library and update their online journals and their mail drop info. For anyone mailing to a mail drop, the actual arrival dates for the next few drops will be about 8-10 days later. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.
Date: 2006-06-21
To: hike naked day
Miles today: 17.0

today was great for a lot of reasons. it was the first day of summer, we passed the half way point, and we got to do the half gallon challenge. but i think most importantly, it was hike naked day. i didnt sleep very late today, as i was anxious to get started. after breakin down camp in a nice little spot that stinky had found we headed out. stinky went ahead of me by about 20 minutes. once i had had some breakfast and strummed around on my brand new 30$ kids guitar i got from wal-mart yesterday, i took of me pants and headed oot. it was a great feeling as the cool morning air kept me feeling good as i walked along the trail. i ran into my first day hiker about a couple miles in. i had switched out my trekking poles for the day and carried my guitar instead. i placed the guitar strategically and explained the situation. he was friendly but avioded eye-contact. at the first shelter we ran into butterfly skies and ghost. ghost was quick to join in the festivities of the day and so we no longer had to be the only ones wandering around without any clothes on. it was great hiking and extremely comfortable. i felt very peaceful exploring the the forrest as my ape ancestors had done. butterfly skies got caught once or twice between ghost and i and she wasnt quite sure what to do about being trapped between two naked guys. after a few more run ins with hoods in the woods, boy scouts and the such we made it into pine grove furnace where it was time for the half gallon challenge. this is where you have to eat a half gallon of icecream in under 1 hour. of the 3 remaining flavors i picked chocolate and devoured it easily in 14 minutes. stinky took over half an hour. pitiful. after a little rest we wandered down to the lake to finish off a great day with some swimming. we layed in the sand for a while before we finally wandered off to find a good spot for stealth camping. we found one and that is where i find myself writing my first journal entry in a month. today just seemed like the perfect day to write about and i couldnt be happier.