morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-27
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: light rain

At 10 I made myself get out of my sleeping bag. While I was up early enough to watch the sunrise over the frozen trees, I felt it was too cold to physically get up. I was the last one to leave the shelter at 11. I pushed on a whole 5 miles to Wise Shelter. What an exciting 5 miles. Grayson Highlands was in the clouds. Once again I'm glad I've seen these views before. Just to show I was not going to let the cold get me down, I stopped to make a little snowman. It then started to sleet. At some point it changed to driving snow. Of course when I got to the shelter the sun came out. It was glorious. I sat basking in its glow. It feels like a long, cold time since I've seen it. The good weather made me want to stay. The bad weather that started soon after made me want to stay. I stayed for around two hours and chatted to various hikers. Then, to my surprise, Rawhide shows up. Finally, someone I knew! Today I heard rumors that CP and FD went back to Damascus. Rawhide and I pushed on 5 more miles. Most everyone is ahead or behind tonight. Just four of us in the shelter. Oh, and it did hail on us after we left Wise Shelter. Not painfully big, but definitely hail. I really wish I were making that part up. It seems the curse has been passed on. Part of me is really liking traveling alone. I can go where I want when I want and never feel like I'm behind. I'm always right where I am supposed to be.
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Troutdale
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Last night it was only me and three other people. This may be the smallest group yet at a shelter. It was very cool to meet Proteus and Buttah (said like butter) after reading their register entries for a long time. Maybe because there were only four of us is why we had a night time visitor. I woke up to something chewing on a plastic bag next to me. Great, a mouse I thought. Then it pushed under my elbow and LIFTED up my arm. Way too big for a mouse! I bolted upright and saw something big with a furry tail run along the bottom of the shelter, right where our feet were. A few minutes later it tried to sneak back, but Rawhide scared it off with his headlamp. Buttah suggested that it was a swamp rat, but the register held tales of a skunk who lurks around. This is why you should read the register at night before you sleep.I had to come into Troutdale to get more food and Rawhide came with me so I would not have to hitch alone. The forest service man picked us up so it wasn't like we really hitched. The Trading Post has okay resupply and pretty good food. We were lured into staying at the church hostel by showers and laundry. I discovered a hole in my T-shirt. But I'm not sure how it got there. Or even when since I haven't seen that layer since I left Damascus. It should be warm enough to start wearing my tank top soon anyway. It is almost May, enough with the cold weather. The past few weeks have flown by (a month and a half!!) but at the same time Springer and Georgia seem so long ago. The days and miles all blend together, as do the shelters. It is the people who stand out.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Troutdale

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: overcast clouds

It's 10:30 a.m. and I am still at the church's bunkroom. Woke up to rain and it's cold outside. The bunkroom has heat and I don't want to leave. I think that this would be the first day I would have to leave in the rain. I know how lucky we have been with the weather compared to some years, but still the rain is no fun to hike in right now. Plus, if I only do the 14 miles to Partnership Shelter, I don't have to leave until noon. Supposedly you can order pizza from a phone only .1 mile from the shelter. Or it could continue to pour and I will stay here and be a wuss while everyone else leaves. Not having a schedule is the best way to do this trip.I waited until the rain stopped but then I caught the rain the last hour. By then the rain didn't matter because we were going to one of the best shelters on the trail. The site that greeted me was Mouth, Proteus, Buttah, Haiku, and Tunes playing 4-square in the drizzle. Proteus has been carrying a 4-square ball since the Highlands. There is lots of talk of a regulation ball and official game at Trail Days. This shelter has two floors, a sink, and shower! (no hot water). There is even TP in the very real bathroom-like privy. I missed the first pizza order (Pizza Hut will deliver to the phone .1 mile away) but made sure I was on the second with the Bostonites. A local hiker had taped his phone number to the register, and said to call if we needed anything. As we were all adults over 21, beer with our pizza was a must. When he got our call he told his wife it was an emergency (they had just sat down to dinner) and became our beer god. Tonight had an amazing feel of fun and companionship. I am positive a great time was had by all in this wonderful place.
Date: 2005-04-30
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, Relax Inn
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

As we headed out today all I could think about was the DQ in Atkins or the restaurant or both at the same time. This stretch truly spoils you. First pizza at Partnership then the trail going by the DQ! As we walked to Atkins I waffled about staying at the motel but was lured by the hot shower. Mouth, Tunes, Rawhide, and I stayed while the Catholics (Swan, Buck, & Haiku) ate, went to church then hiked a few miles out of town. Rainbow and Spartacus (who are very quickly becoming two of my favorite people out here) had a room as did Jersey Jones. His own room because he snores, loudly. But we all love him dearly and have a blast with him. Late lunch at Rhonda's and the dinner was a Blizzard. Laundry and check my email (since my Pocketmail is still not fixed! They claim they didn't know where to send it -- such lies. I put my address with the device when I sent it back to them a MONTH ago!) Funny, none of us really have an interest in TV anymore, though Mouth does like to hear the news. He bought a radio at Wal-mart to listen to at night. I think I might try to start picking up stations on my MP3 player. New music would be a welcome change. We all think the story about the bride who pretended to be kidnapped is very ridiculous. Since I, of course, came into town with food, I could re-up at the gas station and not have to pay for the shuttle into town. As we hike in we hit a muddy spot and Rawhide decided to see how long of a slide he could go for. (Editor's note: sounds like a Slip n'Slide to me.) No surprise, he lost control on a curve and went feet over head. No one was hurt so it made for a riotous laugh.
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Atkins

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Mouth decided to try out his radio this morning so I woke up to him and Tunes singing "Let's get It on" by Marvin Gaye, the extended version. We all went back to Rhonda's for breakfast. The pancakes were good but Spartacus' double order of French toast looked better. We packed up and headed out of town. (I use the term "town" very loosely.) In doing so we had to walk past the DQ, and noticed that it opened in 15 minutes. It was an easy, unanimous decision for the four of us. Tunes found a Britney Spears sticker machine not far from the crane game which he is a monster at. (I am now carrying a stuffed sheep he won the night before.) Mouth and Tunes wanted the "Britney in the school girl picture" so they had to buy them all. They had spent $6 when two things happened. First, the man at the counter cut them off from quarters and second, they realized the picture they wanted wasn't even in this series. Now our water bottles are bedecked with Britney.Hiked through stinky cow pastures and got lost. The trail turned right with a blaze painted flat on the ground; we instead followed a well-traveled cow path straight on. When it disappeared in the middle of a hill we knew something funny was going on. Found Jersey on our way back so we know we were not the only ones who got lost. The Catholics' register entry also spoke of lost trails. Tunes pulled ahead and we found him dancing at the top of a hill enjoying the two beers he had packed out of town. Now of course we all had to stop and enjoy the view. And, of course, moon Spartacus and Rainbow as they approached. My plan was for 23 miles but DQ and fun breaks made it much shorter. Rawhide sucked us into his low mile day.
Date: 2005-05-04
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Brushy Mountain
Miles today: 8.1

Once again I woke up at 8:30. I love sleeping in! My heels were hurting so I knew that I could not do the big miles that Mouth was planning today. I am very afraid that I will do something that will permanently hurt me. It frustrates me that my body won't do what I ask of it without hurting. My mind wants to go on but part of me screams to stop. Actually today was generally pain free. Maybe my heels will get better on their own. I love the trail in VA so far. Privies have made a triumphant return and there is lots of ridge walking with gentle mountains. The option for shelters however were too few or too many. So I hoped for a super dope campsite. Rainbow and Spartacus took the first flat spot we found but Rawhide and I pushed on. Sure enough, we were rewarded with an unlisted flat spot and fire ring up here on the ridge. We even have a little bit of a view of the valley below. Stopping at 6 p.m. was great. I had time to write, actually sit on the rocks and watch the sunset, and have a fire. This has been a great day with no need to "bust out miles" and Rawhide has been a great traveling companion. I am still the slowest person but I'm trying to not let it bother me so much. We have a killer campsite and I still have a beer to enjoy. Town gets closer every day.
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Home

To: ?
Miles today: 0.0

I have been keeping my journal, just having to hand write it. So when I hit Pearisburg on Friday, I ripped out the pages and made sure to send them out Saturday before noon. Then I went home. I may have pulled a muscle and hiking was not letting it heal. So I was going to have to take a few days off, and then Trail Days was this weekend. So I found a way home and picked up my car. I spent less time at home than I should have and headed back out. Maybe to do a little trail magic and run around the trail till Damascus. I'm just playing hooky for a few days then its back to hiking. Very excited to see people at trail days!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Date: 2005-05-17
From: Pearisburg

To: Campsite
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today I did a crazy big day: 8 miles. The week off has been great for my body but I don't want to push it and hurt myself again. Plus, my medicine makes me kind of sleepy. I'd forgotten how peaceful it is out here. I wouldn't trade my time at Trail Days for anything but I was starting to feel a little drained. My campsite tonight is once again close to perfect. I'm in a large meadow on top of a ridge. I can't wait to see the sunset and the stars tonight. Stopping early is hard but it gives me a chance to write and Rawhide time to get wood for a fire. We still have fun traveling together and for right now he doesn't mind going slow for a few days. People that were behind are now ahead and I fear others I may not see again. On the way back from Trail Days we stopped and picked up a wild flower guide and George Orwell's 1984. So far only a few of the flowers have been in my guide...the good book was just soooo heavy. Already I miss my friends that I got to see in Damascus. Some I know are close on the trail and sadly some have returned to their lives far away. On a good note the weather is warm, everything is turning green, and I am meeting all new people.
Date: 2005-05-18
From: Campsite

To: Bailey's Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 2 with no watch. More than one person recently has pointed out that I can be obsessed with time. So coming out of Pearisburg I gave the watch to Rawhide. The first thing I do in the morning is check the time. Or should I say used to do. When I do find out the time it is always much later than I thought. Breaks always fly by and seem like 15 minutes but take an hour. I'm getting better at this but can't judge time by the sun for anything. Met Dragin today and am at the shelter with the Ramblers. The four of them are a riot. They make doctored up pudding for dessert. One has a guitar and is playing around the fire. It reminds me of the last night at Trail Days and makes me miss those people. I was hurting a little today. Sometimes it is hard to do so few miles each day and sometimes I am thankful when we hit camp that we are stopping for the day. I had my first real river ford today! Nothing too exiting, at the deepest it only came to my knees. My strap-less crocs worked well, nice to know for Maine. My shins were however starting to go numb before I hit the other side. Picking up 1984 seems to be fate, one of the Rambers (I couldn't match the 3 boys to their names) just listened to it on tape and was missing a few places -- my book saved the day!
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Bailey's Gap Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

DEET -- Hiker's PefumeThe fifty bugs that seemed to have hatched in my tent last night ate my legs while I was sleeping. Luckily it looks much worse than it feels -- I gave up counting at 25 bites. Had bug stuff at home -- couldn't find it. Bought more on the way to Trail Days -- didn't remember to grab it. Thankfully my hiking partner is much more prepared than I when it comes to bugs. I'm still doing low miles to give my body a chance to heal, but I feel like such a slacker. It's raining tonight for the first time since Trail Days. It's very nice to have a tarp to hang out under. At least I will not have to worry where to get water tomorrow!!
Date: 2005-05-20
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Keefer Oak
Miles today: 9.5

1:00 p.m. Kelly Knob -- It was well worth it to toss the schedule and stop here for lunch. The view is awe-inspiring. Last night the sky opened up and the pouring rain and thunder gave me little sleep. My tent is soaked inside and out so it weighs an extra three pounds. A mouse got in my pack, ignored the forgotten candy wrapper, ate through my pack liner to an extra pair of insoles and very unclean socks. The uphills are still hard and my sleeping bag will dry just in time for it to pour tonight. Oh, and my bite valve leaks because that mouse had to chew on it too. Sitting here looking at the valley I don't ever want this trip to end. And I would not change a thing to be able to have this moment.
Date: 2005-05-21
From: Keefer Oak

To: 1/2 mile past Trout Creek
Miles today: 18.0

This morning I was up at 6:30 a.m. and out by 8 a.m. We did 10 miles by 12:30 p.m. Why such a change? There were boy scouts with hot dogs involved. Many miles today compared to before and of course the rule that all good camping spots disappear at 6:30 p.m. held true. All I kept thinking was every mile tonight was one less tomorrow to the AYCE in Catawba.
Date: 2005-05-22
From: 1/2 mile past Trout Creek

To: Campsite
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: clear sky

Dragon's Tooth was hard, fun but hard. The climb up was like any other climb up a rolling ridge. But the climb down was very technical. It would be awesome to come back and climb up it with only a day pack. Luckily we bailed out to Catawba early for the AYCE. Smart choice because we were almost out of water. The Homeplace was a wonderful place to eat. Of course everyone was in their Sunday best and I was washing my shorts in the bathroom sink. One week with no shower. I think my smell has gone to the next level. I say "think" because I can't smell anyone anymore. After eating we only made it a mile before crashing. Hanging out with Pixe and Pine Dragon tonight.
Date: 2005-05-23
From: Campsite

To: Laberts Meadow Campsite
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was one of the best sections of trail so far. We had great but windy weather for McAfee Knob. We were all able to get that famous picture. I wanted to take a panoramic picture of the view but knew that it would never match what I was really seeing and just feel cheap somehow. The views from Tinker Cliffs was a great surprise. Even the campsite is great. It has a picnic table, stream, and was big enough to hold 6 of us (Poet, Wiggy, PD, Pixie, R). Poet's age is hard to tell. She has a young face but gray hair. Going gray is a scary thing for most women but her hair looks great the way it is. Sadly she will now be behind because she is getting off for a wedding. We had a great conversation about current pop music. (I tend to listen to the radio for several hours each day.) Why did Gwen Stefani make that awful high school song? She's older than I. And why in God's name do people request it all day long? Come on, she spells out bananas in the middle of it.
Date: 2005-05-24
From: Laberts Meadow Campsite

To: Daleville
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Since it was day 9 with no shower it was pretty easy for me to get up and out by 8 am. Town was calling. Or so I thought. As we were coming down the ridgeline to town I could see this beautiful ribbon of water to my right and the buildings of town to my left. And I started wishing that the trail would drop off to the right. A little hostel on the water and small general store would have been more than enough for me. My feet actually started slowing down the closer we got to the road. I wanted just one more day before I had to face town. Don't get me wrong, I ached for the shower and diet coke, but I felt like I would be losing something special the moment I stepped out to the busy road. Daleville came quickly no matter what fanciful thoughts I had. The roads here are crazy to cross and the cars go incredibly fast even though the speed limit says 35.I'm splitting a hotel room with Pixie, Pine Dragon, and Rawhide. It is going to be chilly tonight, so it's a good night to be inside in a bed. We immediately went to lunch and demolished some Mexican food and margaritas. Food came before showers. Then we found out we could get a ride from trail angel Del to the movies. The only problem was he was coming in 30 minutes. Pine Dragon and Pixie showered while R and I ran to the Post Office. Wingfoot's maps really are NOT to scale. What we thought would be a quick walk without packs was almost 40 minutes round trip. Foiled by that stupid book again. (But we all still use it because it's better than the data book.) Seems the shower would have to wait again. It seemed so decadant to sit in the dark with soda, popcorn, AND candy and watch Star Wars 3. After the movie I had time to run to Target and buy a new summer hiking shirt. The latest one never dries and had ridiculous salt lines on my back. Afterwards we took Del to dinner so the shower had to wait again. Then I think he took the longest way back to the hotel while talking about the nor'easter coming in from Bangor, ME. Shower, laundry, then finally sleep at midnight.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Daleville

To: Campsite
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: overcast clouds

So I was very good and did not zero but I did get sucked into the town vortex. Didn't want to come but now I can't escape. The four of us hurried to get out of the room by checkout and then moved homebase to the outfitters. The guys working there were awesome. They took a bite valve out of a packed set to sell to me. The mice will NOT chew this one if I have anything to say about it. A third bottle of DEET. And I got talked into a new Thermarest. I tried Pixie's Z-rest one night recently and slept, but not comfortably. A Ridgerest would have been just as bad. But I'm desperate to drop weight somewhere. So a Prolite 3 short it is. They sent my old Prolite 4 home for free as part of the deal. I'm really hoping to get my hands on a Granite Gear Vapor Kit but it will take some work. Pixie got one at Trail Days and I'm drooling over it each day. A stop at Kroger made my food bag WAY too heavy and the Post Office sent my bounce box on its way. We finally left about 5 pm and made it a whole mile and a half. Then we hit the next road. And there was a Cracker Barrel. It would have been like Capt'n Patagonia not stopping at the Waffle House, blasphemous. Now I'm sitting on the porch waiting to get hungry again. It looked much closer on Wingfoot's map but will be worth the 20 min road walk.The Strawberry Pecan salad was worth it. I love Cracker Barrel. At 9:30 we rolled out to the porch and I yogied my first ride. R and I hit the trail at 10. Turns out this is not the town to night hike out of. We had to walk through a pasture with large cows sleeping on the trail. The trail takes a sharp turn in the middle and it is hard to know what is a cow path when you can't see very far. After wandering among the cow patties (also hard to see in the dark) I spotted a blaze and we were off again. I was having fun but my pack was heavy and my tummy full, so the first campsite it was. Hearing some loud animal noises but still going to be lazy and just sleep with my food. I really will start bearbagging again when I hit the Shenendoahs. Going to sleep sad that I missed catching a certain person on the phone. I've had enough with calling cards that get eaten at pay phones. I'm getting my cell phone back, whether I carry it or bounce it remains to be seen.
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Campsite

To: Campsite
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

My first zero in the woods. Unfortunately we picked a campsite with a crazy amount of big spiders and I can still hear the interstate. But it was great to have a day to do nothing but chill. Nothing to buy or ship and no one to call. It wasn't an intentional zero, I was just feeling too lazy to leave. This does however mean that I have to wake up early for the next few days and do 20 mi days.
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Campsite

To: Campsite
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Or almost 20 mile days. Today started off good, then sucked, but was redeemed at the end. The bad part was when the AT started crossing and runnning right along the Parkway. This part has some okay views but seeing and hearing the cars all of the time ruins the trail. For dinner we went .2 downhill to a shelter, mostly for water. It became a very crowed shelter, with Memorial Weekenders and thrus we have just met. We were not the only ones to push on to a campsite. All within earshot of the Parkway of course. The redeeming moment was when R and I stopped to watch the most beautiful sunset yet. We also partook of the trail magic left by Mouth in town. Day saved. Although the part where I walked through all of the blooming rhododendrons made me feel like I was in Hawaii. But what fascinates me most is the Mountain Laurel in bloom. They have the coolest flowers.
Date: 2005-05-28
From: Campsite

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: light rain

Big uphill, of course R was twice as fast as me. I finally got to hang out with the Garland 5. They are a family of 5 who hiked last year and are trying to finish the trail this year. We ran into them at Pearisburg but then, like everyone else they pulled ahead. No one is sleeping in the shelter because there are rumors of biting mice. We are starting to run into the same people again. Ah, but I still miss my old group. Mouth, where are you?