morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-09-24
From: Have You Seen an Emu?

To: Tasting the Wines of the Area
Miles today: 0.0

We passed an enjoyable day getting to meet Fly's family and friends. We passed the time tasting some of the wines made in the area and cruising on a pontoon in the afternoon. At night, we were let in on another secret about to unfold, a surprise party for Fly & Smoothie congrats on the engagement and the completion of the hike. They were sweet enough to include 'Guana and I in the congrats for the hike. A party was thrown at the family's restaurant down the street and we got to meet a lot of their freinds and families. A great time was had by all. Thanks to Mr. & Mrs. Sable for their wonderful hospitality and welcoming us into their homes.
Date: 2003-09-25
From: Have You Seen an Emu?

To: From Keuka to Philadelphia
Miles today: 0.0

'Guana and I were once again fortunate as we were informed that Smoothie's Mom & Dad had arranged a rental car for them to drive to Baltimore, MD. Fly & Smoothie graciously gave us a lift to Philadelphia. Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Saunders for providing transportation for us too!!! Four thru hikers in a rental car.... a scarey concept. We were almost giddy with freedom .... freedom from walking. We did our best to keep Fly awake at the wheel but it was hard to fight off the fatigue that we were all feeling. Six hours later, they stopped at the Culbertson home to drop us there. They got to meet 'Guana's family again who were there for the get together the next day.It was strange saying goodbye to our friends Fly & Smoothie who we had been hiking with for nearly 6 months. It didn't seem possible that we wouldn't be going where they were going, but in fact we didn't say "goodbye" just see you later. They sped off anxious to see Smoothie's new niece and to spread the news of their engagement.Thanks Fly & Smoothie for taking us right to the front doorstep!!!
Date: 2003-09-26
From: Have You Seen an Emu?

To: From Havertown, PA to Big Meadow Shenanadoah
Miles today: 0.0

After a night at the Culbertson household, we were back in the car again. This time with Mrs. Culbertson, Margie and 'Guana and I. The rest of the Culbertson women were arriving in various vehicles, all headed to Big Meadows Campsite in the Shenandoahs. This drive only took four hours and went fairly well on the knees. When we arrived, we found out that Hurricane Isabel had closed all the campsites, but Big Meadows had just been re-opened and was the first to be cleared of all the fallen trees. This was a great piece of luck for us.By nightfall we had managed to put up three tents and make dinner for 9 women and two kids (Jake and Christina).
Date: 2003-09-27
From: Have You Seen an Emu?

To: Hike to Louis Falls
Miles today: 0.0

The morning was sunny and we enjoyed hiking to Louis Falls which also intersected with the AT. I left a pile of rocks for 'Guana and I to find when we hiked this section of the trail. In the afternoon, others went on a car tour while Michele, 'Guana and Mrs. Culbertson learned to play Yuker. The day was enjoyable and went quickly. Before we knew it was dinner time and smores were had by all. As night began to fall a storm began blowing in so we took to the tents. It was time for indoor activities, so half the group played Phase 10 while the rest of us played Yuker. The rain poured down but the tents faired pretty well and before too long it was time for sleep.
Date: 2003-09-28
To: Back on the trail for the last 300 miles
Miles today: 0.2

'Guana and I drove back to the Catawba, VA area where we had left off before jumping up to Harper's Ferry, W. VA. Michele and Jake gave us a ride back and we dawdled on the way, stopping to fill up on our last fast food before hitting the woods. It was dark before we were dropped at the AT. So 'Guana and I said our goodbyes, strapped on our headlights and headed into the woods. Thanks for driving us, Michele. I am sure we looked a little looney heading into the woods that time of night, but we weren't going to go far. In fact, just .2 miles into the woods I found a flat enough place to stop. So we did and pitched the tent in the dark, hung the food and went to sleep.
Date: 2003-09-29
To: Taking a Break
Miles today: 4.0

Today we are not motivated to go far. We are in a bit of shock from the travel from Maine to Virginia and all the people and food in between. We had a lot of fun but all the change has been overwhelming. We hike four miles to Campbell shelter and decide to call it a day. We pass the day making a fire to keep warm, writing in our journal and playing Scrabble. Tomorrow we'll start the big push North again. Today is for rest.
Date: 2003-09-30
From: Life is busy making other plans

To: Back in Virginia - Changes in the trail
Miles today: 15.4

Today we hiked over Tinker Cliffs and into Cloverdale. For sure we were in Virginia. The up and down of the hills told us that. The fact that we saw about 5 deer told us that. But it still didn't stop us from looking for Moose Tracks and Moose Scat. We still hadn't adjusted from being in Maine and the jump back to Virginia. When we were here last there were cicadas out in force and now their song could no longer be heard. We miss the company of our friends Fly & Smoothie. The weather was beautiful today but cold. We found ice in our water bottles this morning as we departed from Campbell Shelter. Into Troutville today, we ventured towards the Fly & Smoothie famed Chinese buffet, but to our dismay they were closed today. I guess we'll have to come back on our way back to North Carolina. In Cloverdale, we had the number of a family to call who puts hikers up from time to time. Sure enough they came through for us and we were fortunate to share the warmth of their home. Thanks to the Witcher family. Tomorrow we hike out of Troutville and don't go into another town until Glasgow, VA. Happy Trails, all!
Date: 2003-10-01
To: Happy October - Fall in Virginia
Miles today: 18.5

Fall is definitely here in Virginia, the trees just turning red and orange and the predicted cold weather for the next few days will undoubtedly hasten their changing. We can't believe it is October already. Okay, we can't really believe that we have been in the woods for 6 months, hiking. We put in a lot of miles today and have reverted to sleeping in shelters these days. Why? We have grown tired of setting up our tent by now, but why not? We are the only ones in the shelters these days. Yep it is lonely here on the trail. Though from time to time we see hikers they are usually only out for the day or they are Southbound thru hikers. Not many souls heading our direction and no one keeping our pace. So we have reverted to some shelter sleeping for now.
Date: 2003-10-02
To: The Guillotine
Miles today: 23.4

The AT crosses the Blue Ridge Parkway repeatedly and it is very obvious that at some points they have just put a trail next to the road to get hikers off the road. Unfortunately the AT does not offer great views and the terrain marches you up and down while the Parkway remains smooth. So, not being a purist, it didn't take us long to rebel against following the white blaze and spent a good amount of today hiking on the Blue Ridge. We enjoyed great views making a stop at the Peaks of Otter Visitor's Center. We did hop back on the trail to see the Guillotine which is a rock formation of two large rocks with one rock wedged between them that looks as if it could fall on you at any time. Of course, the trail goes right under the Guillotine making the hiker quicken his or her pace to get through it..hoping that you are not the one that the boulder chooses to fall on ... like a Guillotine. We then hiked to Thunder Hill Shelter and met up with some Southbounders along with one Northbounder section hiker. We chose to tent since they were calling for a hard freeze that night and the tent adds about 10 degrees of warmth. We were the only ones tenting that night as five more southbound (known as SOBOs) came to the shelter that night.
Date: 2003-10-03
To: No luck hitchin' today
Miles today: 15.0

We hiked on the AT for a bit today and then went to the Blue Ridge Parkway again. We were ahead of schedule, so we figured if we could get down to Glasgow, VA to pick up our mail before the post office closed that we could head out early the next morning. But as luck would have it we tried to hitch for about an hour and no one was picking up at that time. So we ended up tenting near the road and hoping for a hitch the next morning.
Date: 2003-10-04
From: Have You Seen an Emu?

To: The Land of the Lost
Miles today: 2.0

We hit the road around 9:00 AM on a Saturday morning to get our hitch to Glasgow. Not many souls were awake by then it became clear. So we started to walk. It would've been a 5 mile walk but we figured we could make it if we had to by 11 AM which is when we figured that the post office might close. So off we walked sticking a thumb out to the few passing cars. We walked for 1/2 hour and were picked up by a pick up and two gentlemen headed to West Virginia. We sat in back with their golf clubs happy for a ride to town especially since the terrain was soon turning into an uphill walk. The truck let us out 1 mile before Glasgow as the road turned left and they were turning right. So we hiked in the last mile.We were greeted by the land of the lost. Dinosaurs were perched on every corner store at the gas station and in grassy areas. This is Glasgow's claim to fame - random dinosaurs. After breakfast at the Wright Place Restaurant, we set to doing our chores - picking up mail, getting fuel, shopping for food, making calls, etc. We called Fly & Smoothie who were back at home now but told us that their backpacks were still packed and ready to meet us on the trail in the Shenandoahs. Before we knew it our chores were done and a man at the gas station began talking to us and said he'd be happy to give us a ride back to the trail. So we made a last minute purchase of some fried chicken for the road and hopped in his truck. John dropped us off at the trailhead and we took time to enjoy the fried chicken on the banks of the James River before hiking on. It was late afternoon, so we decided just to hike to the first shelter with our full packs and put a long day in tomorrow.
Date: 2003-10-05
To: Chance meetings
Miles today: 17.6

It's funny how you can meet someone or something and events come full circle. Two such things happened today. The first was a book that we had picked up while hiking in Maine, we ended up bringing back to Virginia. Then we find out that the Southbounding hiker who had first read the book, since all the hikers who read it signed it, was only a day ahead of us on the trail. Although we did not meet the hiker "Squirrel Meat," we left his book - "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" at one of the shelters for him to find. This book had made its way north all the way to Katahdin Stream Camp and back to Virginia.The second event was meeting of a hiker who we hiked with in Virginia in April. Crusty was his name and he was pulling off in Damascus for awhile and we hadn't seen him since. On top of Bluff Mountain, we met again, he a Southbounder and us going North. Funny how life comes full circle, eh?We were sheltered in Brown Mountain Creek Shelter - just us for the night.
Date: 2003-10-06
To: Flying Squirrels
Miles today: 15.8

I had to push and pull myself over some of the uphills today, but we managed to put a full day of hiking in. We got a little rained on today. The day was pretty uneventful until I saw a flying squirrel at the Seeley Woodworth Shelter. We had heard about them, but it was something else to see such a furry critter airborne. Again, we slept just the two of us in the shelter.
Date: 2003-10-07
To: Pears from a Trail Angel
Miles today: 11.7

We didn't do many miles today but the terrain proved challenging. Although our hike up The Priest Mountain was not hard, the hike down proved hard on the knees. Thirty seven switchbacks broght us down to the Tye River where we intended to camp. I had read in our data book that there was a convenience store just 1.2 miles down the road. I had a hankering for a soda, so I set off on foot once we had the tent set up and 'Guana hung out by the river. I got about a mile down the road and still could not see a store. I finally found someone outside their home, so I approached him and asked about the store. He said the store there had been closed for years but there was one in the opposite direction I came. He offered that his wife was going to the store later if I needed a ride, but I told him my hiking partner would be waiting on me and it wasn't for any urgent supplies. I told him where we were camping and made small talk. I thanked him for his information and hiked back to the river.'Guana and I ate dinner and it began to get dark so we headed to sleep. It was dark outside when we heard a man's voice say "hello! are you the lady that was looking for the store?" I was all in my pj's at this point so had to scramble to get a hat on my head and shoes on my feet. I sprung out of the tent and there was the man that I had spoken to on the road. He had brought by some fresh pears from his tree. I thanked him implicitly and told him that was better than anything storebought. And they were, the pears were succulent and some of the first fresh fruit that we had eaten in a long time. I am still ever amazed by the generosity and kindness of folks along the trail. If the newspapers printed how many kindnesses we have encountered, there would be little room for all the bad news.
Date: 2003-10-08
To: Three Ridges, Chimney Rock and Bee Mountain
Miles today: 15.3

Today they had the mountains lined up for us to climb one right after the other. It tooks us forever to climb Chimney rock, then the Three Ridges ascending a total of over 3000 feet. Bee mountain was a baby at the end but after all the climbing it still took the wind out of me. We hopped back on the Blue Ridge for the last 6 miles and tented in the woods near the AT.
Date: 2003-10-09
From: Have You Seen An EMU?

To: Of 2000 miles and Emus
Miles today: 14.6

Traveled light today since we were pretty much out of food, just enough to get us into town. We stopped by the Humpback Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge to celebrate our 2000 mile mark on the trail. We talked to the rangers there at length and one of them asked us if we had seen an EMU? He said some got loose during hurricane Isabel and they have not been found yet. Isabel also toppled many a tree here and in the Shenandoahs. A lot of Southbound hikers we met said it was the toughest and worst 100 miles they had on the trail. If you know the Shenandoahs, they have a reputation on the trail for being the flatest and easiest part of the trail. But with all the downed trees, it became a poision ivy laced jungle gym! We hear that it is a bit cleared, but are hesitant to venture into the trail there. If we are in a bind we might blue blaze on the Sky Line Drive which only yesterday re-opened fully since the passing of the storm two weeks ago. For today, despite the morning drizzle, we hiked in fast to Rockfish Gap (yes, Walton lovers, thee Rockfish Gap). Once there the Information center provided us with a list of trail angels who could give us a ride to Waynesboro, VA. This is where we are held up in a library awaiting a ride from 'Guana's sister Marybeth who attends JMU. We'll bunk at her place tonight. Marybeth has been warned that we haven't bathed in nearly 10 days nor laundered anything either. Still she is willing to come get us, what a sport! Mixed emotions are creeping in as we near the end of our journey. We think we shall finish by October 22nd at the latest at Harper's Ferry. We will be checking the mail there should you want to send us a note. We are already working on resumes, even as I write to you. Such a strange feeling. We've been out in the woods so long, that we think maybe it would not end. It's become a way of life to us. Oh, well, we hope we don't burn up on re-entry!!! With help from family and friends, I am sure we will land on our feet. Until we write again.
Date: 2003-10-10
To: Rest and Resupply at JMU
Miles today: 0.0

Thanks to Marybeth and her friend Denae, we got a ride to James Madison University for a break for a couple of days. Time for laundry, baths and good food. Thanks ya'll. We'll hit the trail again on Sunday, October 12th and I think by Monday we will be hiking like mad dogs to the finish!
Date: 2003-10-12
To: The final leg of the journey
Miles today: 3.0

Thanks to Laura and Derreck, we were driven back to the trailhead this afternoon and managed to go a whole 3 miles before pitching our tent in the woods. We decided to leave the big miles until Monday...when our work week starts...ha, ha. We feel revitalized and are ready to hike again...and smell somewhat better than before due to showers and things like deodorant..ha, ha.
Date: 2003-10-13
To: A realtor, a lawyer, a judge and the FBI
Miles today: 17.0

Back to the big miles today, though we can't seem to get out of bed much before 7 AM these days or 8 AM even. That means we have been hitting the trail at about 9 AM or later every morning. We believe this is for three reasons: 1) The sun is getting up later with winter coming on and 2) We can still get in some big mile days before sunset due to the terrain not being so hard...or is it that we are in better shape? and 3) We miss our friends Fly & Smoothie so much that we are beginning to simulate their behavior of sleeping in Today we hiked to a shelter where we met 4 interesting characters: Ron, former FBI agent (and current lawyer), Gary, former Judge, George a practicing lawyer and Marc, a realtor. I list them with their career choices not because I believe that you are your job, but because it makes for an interesting title. The four of them were out section hiking the trail. A couple of them had been doing it for 11 years, starting at Springer and hiking for a week or so every year. We enjoyed their company at the shelter and swapping stories. 'Guana and I pitched a tent that night as the shelter was quite full. There were great campsites behind the outhouse, of which I was leary due to smell, but which turned out to be great sites. The bear pole technology in this area was quite amusing and frustrating. A long pole with hooks on the end stands in the middle of the woods. With a long heavy and I mean heavy metal pole on a chain, you are supposed to lift your food bags and manage to lasso your food bag string or loop over these hooks to hang it. It made for many an amusing moment and for tired arms as the long heavy pole coupled with full food bags weighing about 20 pounds total, made for a balancing act. Nonetheless, we were able to face this new challenge with a grin.   The night passed uneventfully with the exception of a creature I encountered near the outhouse in the dark of the night. I am not sure, but I think it was a bobcat.
Date: 2003-10-14
To: Friends in the Fog
Miles today: 13.0

We set out today knowing that our friend Michelle Zechman and daughter Katie will be driving on Sky Line drive looking for us between mile markers 75 and 80 during the hours of 3 PM to 5 PM. Such is how one fixes a rendezvous on the trail of these parts. So we decided to stick close to the Sky Line today and, since we were ahead of schedule, we tarried at the Wayside restaurant while the fog and rains moved through. They weren't quite finished when we had to be at our rendezvous point, so we donned our rain gear and off we hiked into the fog. Just as we rounded a bend in the road and the wind was howling, Michele and Katie pulled up. They slack packed us to the nearest shelter. A parking lot had a blue blazed trail which led to the shelter and we walked with them to there. Once at the shelter, the rain began falling a little harder but we happily chatted and played inside the shelter. Little Katie, a whopping 19 months old, enjoyed running around the inside of the shelter and tossing around a little beanie bear which we had bought her. The time flew and our friends had to leave all too soon. The rain was coming down now and though our friends were grateful to return to a heated dry car, we too were thankful to be in the shelter out of the rain. Two hikers were already in the shelter, when the four section hikers I mentioned earlier showed up. We all packed in the shelter and I got some assistance this time in hanging our food bags from the bears. Thanks, guys.
Date: 2003-10-15
To: Positioning for a big day
Miles today: 8.0

'Guana and I discussed that while we are in the Shenandoahs, that we would like to hike as far as we can one day. So we looked over the terrain and identified the easiest possible stretch of over 26 miles. Then we figured out that if we hiked a short day today and tomorrow that we could position ourselves just right for the long day and be two days lighter in food. So that's exactly what we did. Just 8 miles today and we enjoyed the short day by having a yahtzee and scrabble tournament and by building a fire to welcome the four gentlemen who we had been hiking with for 2 days. Ah, this is the life!
Date: 2003-10-16
To: On your mark, Get set.....
Miles today: 11.0

Another short hiking day to Wilson Campground where we enjoyed pitching a tent (but didn't enjoy paying for it). Still it put us exactly where we wanted to be that day before our big hiking day tomorrow. The weather is turning very cold today, so getting up early tomorrow shall undoubtedly be a challenge. We celebrate the day with junk food, hot dogs and beans, a few beers, showers and laundry at the campgrounds before hydrating for the next day's journey.
Date: 2003-10-18
To: There was no passing Pass Mountain
Miles today: 1.2

We enjoyed what would be our last hotel stay. Then we set off for a hiker's breakfast and to try and find a way back to the trailhead. The library was closed so we couldn't get to internet and we made our way to the Chamber of Commerce. Once there, Bob Jenkins took us for a memorable ride in his 1950 Buick back to the trail. Again, as out of most towns, we decided to pull a whole 1.2 miles to the Pass Mountain shelter and do a longer day tomorrow. We met several hikers there, thru hikers and section hikers and enjoyed a cold but pleasant afternoon and evening.
Date: 2003-10-19
To: Reunited....and it feels so good
Miles today: 0.0

We woke up excited because we knew there was a possibility of hooking up with Fly & Smoothie today. Fly had mentioned that they might come find us today and so we started off early today hoping to find them. We started on the trail out of Pass mountain, but as soon as we hit the first road crossing of Sky Line Drive, something told us to walk on it. We had not been walking for long on Sky Line Drive when a white car pulled beside us and who was it but our good friends Fly & Smoothie. We ended up at a Wayside area where they shared their trail magic with us which included donuts, egg biscuits, potato chips, apples, sodas and honey buns. We caught up at the wayside and then decided that we would try to find Right On and Brown Dog who we thought would be in the area. We were sure that they would be in Front Royal according to our calculations and we checked into the Super 8 there which allowed dogs to find them. When the owner said they weren't there we ventured to the trailhead. Not finding them there we decided to hike into the Tom Floyd shelter. They weren't there either, so we decided to stay put and catch up some more as Fly & Smoothie had to leave by 4 PM to attend a birthday party later that day in Baltimore. It was good to catch up with them and we were sad to see them go. Still, we knew they would be picking us up at our journey's completion in Harper's Ferry in just one week if all goes well.
Date: 2003-10-20
To: Last call for resupply
Miles today: 0.0

Not really needing much, we decided not to venture a hitch to the town of Front Royal, as was originally planned. We hiked the 1 mile to Linden, VA and got our resupply there. The last resupply of our journey...we were just 3 days away. That's crazy, we thought and tossed it off as a joke. I mean we have been hiking for over 7 months...the journey couldn't possibly be ending, could it? We hiked out of Linden and stayed in the Manassas Gap shelter.