morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-22
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Docs Knob Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

SNOW!!!!I woke up to find it snowing out, this makes packing the tent up a treat. It was a dry snow, small crystals rather than heavy wet flakes so it was better than walking through rain. Still it was cold and I was glad I still had my wiinter hat and gloves. Today was spent going across a series of peaks so the ups and downs were frequent but not too streneous. We chose to only do 8 miles because 16 to town was too much. This meant we could sleep in and we didn't get on teh trail until 8:45!!! Thats late for a hiker. Walked off and on through the day with Ranger so now I am walking with two women. Had lunch in a great cave like outcropping that blocked us from the wind and made it to the shelter by 3 pm. Had dinner and was in my sleeping bag by 4 but this time I was in the shelter and not in a tent. The shelter was located in a rhododendrom grove and tent sites weren't available. Shelters are nice because you have less to pack in the morning. Around 5 pm the younger hikers started showing up. First in was Granddaddy Longstockings, the KIWI partner of Stunned Mullet. The two girls came over from New Zealand to hike the AT but after 600 miles one loves it and one hates it so it is doubtful they will continue together much longer. That is the trail- different for everyone. Next in was Carolina, a 20+ something female who is in the South Carolina National Guard and who has been deployed to Afghanistan a couple of times. We had a lot to talk about since she was able to eat at facilities in Afghanistan that I had opened (Dairy Queen, Green Beans coffee, hamburger place, Pizza Hut)She was doing big days and now has shin splints ...SPEED KILLS - especially on the trail. Two guys came in and ate dinner then left. they were on a mission to eat at Hardees the next morning ( but they nite hiked 4 miles past town), and finally came in Honeydew or honey-DO!!! .O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Docs Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg VA
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: clear sky

Will fill in soon ..I am getting kicked off the computer at the library as my time is upOK I came back to the library --only a 2 mile walk from the hotel but hey whats a little walk!!Today we started out early knowing town was within reach. Started at 6:50 and stopped for breakfast at 8am ...hot oatmeal and gatorade ,A bit warmer than yesterday so I didn't need gloves , but still cool. Walked up a bit, down a bit and then along a ridge to an overlook called"Angels Rest" which had a great view of the valley, town and mountains and river. I stood on one of those outcroppings to get my picture taken ...the kind that looks like if you fell you would die. Probably so, it was a pretty good drop.After 6 miles the trail started downhill. 2 miles to town with a 1300 foot drop. That two miles just seems to go forever. The longest miles on the trail are the ones before town. You are thinking about hot food and you get impatient.Made it to town about 11:30 and was having a burger by noon!!In a hotel tonight, doing laundry, resupplying and writing this for all you readers.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Dalesville,va I-81

To: Symms Gap Meadow
Miles today: 11.9

Left Pearisburg without breakfast because nothing was close to the hotel (unless you want to walk a mile uphill to Hardees). Leaving town always means a climb back to the hills.Today it was from 1600 feet to 3400 ...Once at the top of the mountains the trail crossed through Rice Field where we had lunch with an awesome view of the valleys below. Sunny weather has finally come and the day was perfect( except now it is a bit too warm - hitting the eighties). I can't complain about the heat since two days ago I woke up to snow. I think that may have been the last hurrah for Old Man Winter. The sun is strong and the trees are still bare so there is little shade, but with these temps the trees should leaf out in the next week. Once we arrived at the next peak (Symms Gap Meadow) we set up camp. Redhat set up her hammock, I set up my tent and then we both rested in the afternoon sun. Honeydew passed by and told us to be on the lookout for the girl from New Zealand. He was moving on looking for water. After a while Stunned Mullet (from New Zealand) showed up and we talked her into staying there with us, then Carolina showed up. Finally Honeydew came back to spend the night and get water at a pond that looked foul from the trail but actually had some moving water. I suspect he came back because the girls stayed here but he said it was for the water.I filter with a pump so the water can be a mud puddle and I can drink. The others chemically treat their water so they don't like it if the water isn't running.I had brought some diced peppers and onions from the town and gave them to Honeydew who was making a lentil and rice soup. He was in heaven with the fresh ingredients. He carries olive oil and liquid margarine to try to keep the calorie count up so his meal turned out to be quite gourmnet. he was very appreciatiove for the peppers.A lot of the males are looking malnourished when they hit this point in their hike. If they don't eat more and eat nutritionally better they will end up sick. They are obsessed with doing big miles but I can see that now they buy more food and carry heavier packs.We built a fire and had a great time talking around the fire until 9:30. The stars were awesome and sStunned Mullet and I discussed Orions Belt which disapears here for the summer but is visible on the horizon all year in NewZealkand. They must be closer to the equater than we are. I showed SM the big dipper and we sat and enjoyed the stars. Stunned mullet doesn't have a tent , just a tarp but it was a pleasant night to sleep out in the open.Since she split from her partner they each have half of the gear they were sharing but it seems to be working for them so far. Another greta day.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Symms Gap Meadow

To: Bailey Gap shelter
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a HOT day , I know ,I know it was cold a few days ago but HOT is HOT and it made the afternoon hiking a chore. Same old same old today, ups and downsacross the tops of the mountains with one dip down to a road. At the baileys gap shelter I met Kevin an older SOBO (south bounder) who had passed Stuinned Mullet on the trail. Just after she passed him the biggest lightning strike hit close to him. At the next shelter I read the journal and she had mentioned "ALMOST BEING KILLED BY LIGHTNING" so I guess it scared her. Brian and Celena a yound couple stopped by camp but like most of the younger hikers it was too early for them to stop and they moved on. The night was cool and the camp quiet. Doesn't get much better than this.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-27
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Audie Murphy Monument
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

Left the shelter and proiceeded across several farms and hills and the most beautiful scenery you can imagine. Virginia is just beautiful. In the fields we had to cross several stiles where you climb up a wooden ladder and down the other side to get over the fences. We did this several times. At one stile is the largest tree in the southern part of the trail. An Oak tree that is 18 feet in circumference. The SACO Middle school students should see how many students holding hands does it take to make a circle 18 feet around. It is estimated that this tree is over 300 years old.At the Niday shelter Redhat stayed and I moved on since she was skipping the next section. About 2 miles from the shelter where the road crosses the trail was a cooler left by the local TRAIL ANGELS. It had cold Dr peppers, candy bars and oranges and honey buns. I was all set, the Dr Pepper and the candy made me run up the next mile of inclines while the honey bun and orange were the breakfast I would have tommorrow.I want to be a trail angel when I grow up.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-28
From: Audie Murphy Monument

To: John's Spring Shelter
Miles today: 17.1
Weather: clear sky

SPRING HAS SPRUNG With the warm / hot weather all the trees all the way up the mountains have leafed out. A few days ago they hardly looked as if they had budded yet but now they are all green. This makes a difference in the views, which are now blocked. It also makes a difference when you look across the landscape or are on a hill and you look down. Green everywhere and 3 dimensions with layers of growth at different heights. Flowers are all ourt and many I have not seen until today. I have seen 3 Lady's slippers so far. this is a flower that was endangered when I was a teen ager so I am glad to see it has made a comeback, although they are few and far between on the trail.I started at the top of a narrow peak after the Audie Murphy monument and made my way across the peaks to the Dragons Tooth. The hiking was like going up a dragons spiny back, up over rock outcrops and down, then up and over again and again. The Dragons tooth is an outcropping of rock that you don't actually climb but the trail goes next to it and drops along some cliff faces where you have to use iron hand holds to get down or else lean against the wall and walk across crevices in the rock. It is not toio long of a section of this but itt definately is a differemnt kind of climb. I suspect that the person(s) who layed out the trail here had a sense of humor. This trail is used by a lot of locals so it has a lot of wooden bridges across rock faces where other places we would just have to crawl across. Being close to civilisation pays sometimes.I stopped at a convenience store/ gas station and grabbed a quick burger, hot dog, 2 cokes, 1 cold starbucks coffee and a sweet pastry. I also resupplied for the next two days. I was completely out iof food this morning so this grocery store was well placed 4/10th of a mile off the trail.The next 6 miles were across fields and over fences and along a river and just beautiful scenery. Of course it is still hot as this warm spell lingers with us, but I AM NOT COMPLAINING.I met Redhat at the grocery as she had skipped the last 18 miles having done them already.We had plenty of water but as the day went on we drank and drank and by the time we hit the next road we were out of water with a mile to go to the shelter. Being a hiker brings out the YOGI in you and Redhat just went up to a car in the parkiong lot and asked the driver if he had abny water. He was fro,m Arizona and always carried extra so we were all set for the next mile. We stayed the night at an empty shelter and I was beat after 36 miles in 2 days.O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-29
From: John's Spring Shelter

To: Lan Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

Left John's Spring shelter and climbed 3 miles to McAffee's Knob. This is one of those places where the rock outcropping sticks way out from the edge and gives you a place to stand or sit on the edge with a big drop below. A KODAK moment kind of place for anyone old enough to remember when Kodak ment picture taking. I mailed the picture of me on the edge of the world to Patty because these kind of situations make hger nervous. It was a nice walk to the shelter and the day was cooler than the last few as it was overcast all day. Perfect hikuing temperatures. This section of the Appalachians is (according to the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club)was created when Virginia lay at th equator. The African continent crashed into Virginia and caused ripples in the mud flats made up of centuries of sand and silt compacted down on the sea floor. As the seas receeded and the land was uplifted this area was at the front edge of a huge block of rock called the Pulaski fault. It was pushed up over its neighbors and the dragging effect and shearing foerces caused the odd shaped Tinker mountain we see today. Tinkers Cliff, McAfees Knob and Dragon's tooth are all four million year old Silurian sandstone of the Paleozoic era. Why do I mention this? Because as I walked I saw lots and lots of beach sand on the trail. How did this beach sand coome into being I thought and then once I read the pamphlet from the Roanoke TrailClub I understood. This was once at the bottom of the ocean.At the shelter we were joined by Thistle a 65 year old Texan heading South and Tex and Sarah a couple of college grads, Tex of course was from UT in Austin. They stayed a while and we discussed TEXAS stuff but they had to move onb as most youngsters do unless it is dark. Later we were joined by Spokes, a retiree from Charlotte and General, a younger hiker. they had done a 20 mile day going over Dragions tooth, McAffee Knob and Tinkers Knob . All hard climbs but the views were great and they were pumped about the day they had had. Before they arrived they had passed a copuple opf hikers that had stayed in this shelter the nightbefore and said they had seen 3 bears. this was enough to make me vigilasnt all night but the truth be known, Bears weren't coming cl;ose to this shelter with the noise coming from the 5 of us snoring. O.M. River
Date: 2009-04-30
From: shelter

To: Dalesville,va I-81
Miles today: 9.6

Woke up early and the 5 of us in the shelter were on the road by 7 am .. 4 of usheading North to town and real food ....Thistle went southbound calculating his work through a convuluted formula of distance times elevation. I explained to him that there were more ups and downs than was shown on the map and that trail terrain was just as important as elevation when deciding how hard you worked. Most of the trail for the last few days has been across the tops of the 3000 foot mountains in this area. they are up and down constantly as is most of the trail but what makes this part of the trail difficult is the fact that the tops of all these crests are rock outcroppings which require you to climb up and down. Rock climbing really slows down any progres you may be making and I have been hard pressed to maintain much over 1 and a half miles an hour in this section.As we started out at 6:30 I saw another deer . He stopped to look at me and as soon as he saw me he was gone. It is so great to see them in the wild.Once in town (by noon) the order of business is , check in to a hotel, take a shower, wash clothes, get a real hot meal, go to outfitters for fuel for the stove and then to Krogers for food for the next 5 days. It is difficult not to over buy on the food but I am getting better at iot. The last two days I spent with a minimum of food. I doubt I even had more than 2000 calories each day. yesterday breakfast was a honey bun and water, lunch was chicken pasta, snacks in the day were 1 snickers bar, 5 fig newtons and some trail mix. For supper I had a cup of soup and a couple of tortillas (stale) and I finished the trail mix for a late night snack. Redhat did give me some of here fritos and bean dip and a brownie. That may be over 2000 calories but it sure didn't feel like it. All I know is my pack hurts mny shoulders now that my shoulder blades are sticking out. I bought a new Gregory pack today at the local outfitters. I sent my GOLITE bag back to the company for repairs but I needed a better bag that has more support. My mistake was buying a lite weight bag (under 3 lbs) and then putting 30-40 lbs in it. The straps and support system are not designed for the weight and it turned out to be uncomfortable as well as it had wear issues. My new pack is 5 kllbs but it feels like heaven compared to the lighter under padded pack. I also had to buy new pants as my northface shorts were falling down, I am now a medium down from an extra large last November!!!!.O.M. River
Date: 2009-05-01
From: Dalesville,va I-81

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: moderate rain

After a lunch and a dinner at the local Mexican restaurant in Daleville (very good!) I am back on the trail which leads us through some fields and woods until we pass under I-81. Then the climbs begin but today was actually pleasant hiking. Spring has sprung and the wildflowers are out everywhere. I have seen small flowers for a couple of weeks but all of a sudden many new varieties are up competing for the bugs attention. I was taking pictures of the flowers but I had to stop as there are too many different kinds.Along with the flowers today I saw 3 box turtles on the trail and a red frog. I think the frogs change color in the winter to blend with the leaves on the ground. The turtles must take generations to do a thru hike ..."YEP my great great great great grandfather started at the bottom of this mountain in 1998"As we climbed the usual ups and downs a group of 20 senior citizens passed us going up hill. They all had tags on their jackets which reminded me of a kindergarten class on a day trip. Most of the seniors were women but a few men lead the charge (more like a ramble) mup the hill. One of the women asked "How far to the top?" and Redhat answered "There is no top on these mountains, just ups. They disappeared into the forest a mostly unhappy group.Once at the shelter , I set my tent up and then proceeded to fight with some bumble bees who had a nest in the shelter beams. A bird had also made a nest on one of the outside cross beams and you could see the babies looking for their mother but every time the bird flew to the nest the bees would protect their turf. I got in the middle of this domestic squabble and soon the bees were chasing me instead of the birds. Eventually a truce of all 3 of us was called. The next shelter I came to also had bumble bees and many people had written in the journals that they had been bitten.Leadfoot and Fasttrack stopped for the evening and were off at dawn. Hiker quiet time starts as soon as the sun goes down and most people are getting up before sunrise.O.M. River
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Middle Creek Campground Rt 43
Miles today: 16.9

A cloudy cool day which made hiking great. We are trying to get to Thunder Hill shelter by tommorrow night which is 31 miles away so today was a long day but not too bad for elevation. Crossed the Blue ridge parkway 4 times and the overlooks had great views. It was cloudy so traffic on the parkway was very light. This is a great road to bike on, smooth surfacr, great views and little traffic but you do have to climb alot.After crossing a river we hitched a ride to the campground which was 1.2 miles away. A guy in a small pickup truck stopped and REDHAT basically begged until he turned his truck around and gave us a ride up the hill. We sat on the tailgate and he proceeded up this winding mountain road about 40 miles a n hour as we held on for dear life. I remember thinking , please let the campground be right around the corner.At the campground we had burgers, showers, and a relaxing night as they were celebrating CINCO-de mayo. They had a potluck (where I enjoyed multiple pieces of cake)and two guys playing accoustic guitars. Very good entertainment and an insight to campground life I had not enecountered before. Many of the campers had RV's here permanently and then drove golf carts up to the pavilion to listen to the music. I thought I was at a drive in theater the way the golf carts came in and parked facing the singers while the driver and passengers sat in the cart to listen to the music. It started raining in the evening but it was a good day. Also a lonely day as only one day hiker was seen on the trail all day.O.M. River
Date: 2009-05-03
From: Middle Creek Campground Rt 43

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: moderate rain

A hard day of climbing and a wet day as rain was intermittent all day. We passed the Bryant shelter which has to vie for one of the best on the trail. It sleeps 14 and has an upstairs, windows and a covered porch and picnic table. All luxuries on the trail. Also the privy at this site is 5 stars.Moved on to the bnext shelter for lunch and met Grizzly a South bounder and saw General and his friend Kevin. They were sitting in the shelter making tea and listening to Grizzly play a small guitar he was carrying on his hike. They were really enjoying the lazy day and were not in a hurry to get into the weather. This cost them later. We made it to thunder hill shelter and were beat and tired. A man looked at us and said"would you like some trail magic?" This was John Hasty and he was cooking pancakes, eggs and sausage for anyone who showed up. An older SOBO named TICK was already there and had been fed but John fired his coleman stove up and gave REDHAT and me a cooked to order dinner. We told John that two more hikers were coming but he left at 5:30 and they showeed up at 6 pm. So their relectance to leave the last shelter cost them today. John Hasty went to the shelter they had just left and fed 5 more hikers there. (Both shelters were close to parking areas on the blue ridge parkway).John told us his son had hiked the AT two years ago and he was paying back for all the kindness that his son encountered on the trail. A good dayO.M. River
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

Cold and rainy most of the day ...Once in a while in the afternoon we would get a break and see the mountains and clouds but most of the time we were hiking through fog and mist. The woods do look different now as the forest floor is green. In one spot the vegetation was so lush it was like walking in the Wizard of Oz movie, when Dorothy walked through the poppy field. Passed 5 young guys going to the shelter I just left and they looked to be high schoolers out for a short hike. They did not look prepared either in clothing or equipment and complained that they had spent a very cold and wet night. All of them had blue parkas ( the $1 kind). Then a very obese gentleman came buy asking us how many miles to the shelter. He was dismayed when we told him 8miles since he had already been told 4 and 6. He was so big his shirt did not cover his belly and hiking had to be tough for him, To add to his troubles he was carrying a tripod and a huge camera and bag. We checked with hikers later in the day and it sounds like he made it very slowly to the shelter. Of course the shelter only holds 6 and the 5 guys we saw earlier were also there so if he found room we can only guess. That is why you carry a tent, shelters may be full.At Matts creek shelter I set up my tent next to the river and listened to rushing water all night. I soaked my feet in teh river. A truly beautiful spot to tent.O.M. River