morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-05
From: U.S. 19E

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 17.5
Weather: light rain

Happy Cinco De Mayo!!Another day, more miles.I thought it was going to be an easy day but it was tiring. I was pretty skeptic about the first 5 miles because I¢ve heard some bad things about the area. People don¢t like hikers that much around here and I have heard they have done things like hang fishing line with hooks across the trail at head height. There has also been a lot of vandalism in the area. I walked a good part of the way swinging my poles in front of me to make sure I was not caught in a trap.I also came across an awesome waterfall today and got some good pics. One of these days, you¢ll be able to see.It was supposed to rain today but we didn¢t get much more than a little drizzle. The weather is supposed to clear up tomorrow and lots of sun and warm temps again for the first time in a couple weeks.I have also hiked out of my previous group and am now in a new group. They seem cool, but they really like to burn all their garbage including aluminum and other stuff that doesn¢t burn¢¦....whateverTake Care!JudeP.S. I hit the 400 mile mark today!!
Date: 2005-05-06
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Stealth Camped Watauga Lake 
Miles today: 17.7

Today was another awesome day! I did not do as many miles today because I had to hop off the trail for a couple hours to get some extra food to get me to Damascus. On the positive side, I got to hit up an All-You-Can-Eat $4.99 pizza and salad bar buffet. They lost money on me!Back to the hike. The weather was gorgeous. They were calling for some storms in the morning and then clearing but we never got¢em.The weather warmed up today for the first time in a few weeks. I was able to wear just a t-shirt and shorts. The scenery was great today. I came to another waterfall called Laurel Falls.I never knew there were so many big water falls here in the East. After the falls, I followed a river that was really neat. I have not really hiked along any rivers up until this point and this one was nice.After the river, I had a tough climb over a mountain and it then brought me down to Watauga Lake. The lake had a little beach but I did not get in the water even despite not showering in days...just to cold. I did lie in the grass for a while and enjoyed the warm air and nice lake view.The trail continued around the backside of the lake to where I set up my tent and stealth camped. (stealth camping is camping in a non-marked shelter or campsite.)I had a really good day and now just relaxing by myself, all alone, which is only the second time I have camped by myself on this whole trip. I have an awesome campsite about 10 yards from the water, a nice fire going, and the sunrise over the lake. Tomorrow is going to be great. Oh Yeah! I also saw two turkeys today! I have been hearing them a lot lately but finally saw some.Life couldn¢t be better!
Date: 2005-05-07
From: Stealth Camped Watauga Lake 

To: McQueen's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 27.6

Marathon!!!I knocked out some big miles today...27.6 of them to be exact. I wanted to do a big day today to set me up with a small day tomorrow since I would be going into Damascus. I had my earliest start yet as I was hiking before 7:30 AM and got done just after 7:30 PM.I had already done 13 miles by lunch but I fell asleep after eating. It was already after 2:00 PM when I woke up so I didn¢t think I would be able to get another 13+ miles in however the terrain wasn¢t too bad. There were not really any good sites today so it worked out well that I put so many miles in.I came to the Low Gap U.S. 421 road crossing at about the 24-mile mark and found some Trail Magic in the spring on the side of the road. I got two Pepsis and a Kit Kat and it really helped me push on to Get-R-Done.My right ankle and both feet were pretty sore for the last few miles but I expect them to be fine tomorrow. I took a couple ibuprofens tonight to help the pain and swelling.Tonight is my last night in Tennessee as I am only 7 miles away from Virginia. I am looking forward to knocking out another state.So Long!
Date: 2005-05-08
From: McQueen's Knob Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: clear sky

Another state down!I said goodbye to Tennessee today and entered Virginia. It is kinda hard to believe that I am already in my 4th state and have done over 450 miles!It was a pretty easy 11.4 miles as I did it in just over 3 hours.I met a bunch of new people today at the hostel I am staying at (Dave¢s Place). They seem pretty cool and we went out for beer and then over to someone¢s house for a BBQ. I ended up drinking more than enough but didn¢t get any dinner. Not a good combination. It was a good night despite not having any dinner.Oh yeah after getting my chores done (laundry, shower, lunch, email, etc) I took a nice nap out in the sun. It was just a perfect day in Damascus.
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Damascus

To: Campsite
Miles today: 11.7
Weather: clear sky

I got off to a pretty late start today. I did not leave town until 3:00 PM. I was hurting this morning from the night before. It was the third night in a row that I only got 7 hours of sleep. I have been needing 9 hours while hiking so hopefully I will do better tonight.I had to wait until today to get my mail since it was Sunday, yesterday. Thanks everyone who sent mail. (Mom, Hane, Amy & Jamie, Maria and Sherm, Kelly & Danny) I really appreciate it. I am quite lucky to have family and friends like you because I don¢t think I have seen anyone else get as much mail as myself. That doesn¢t mean that you should stop sending stuff though!!!I had a good burrito today at Baja Caf©. It is a new restaurant in Damascus owned by a 2001 Thru-hiker. It was really good and reminded me of Taqueria back in Tampa.I put a razor to my face for the first time today. I only shaved my chin. I look pretty cool now, or so I think. I have a good pair of natural chops that almost connect to my mustache. I also left that little bit of hair that grows right below your lower lip. I kinda look like that guy who works at Squaresville on South Howard. I¢M A ROCK STAR!!!!I hope all is going well with everyone.WHAT¢S ABOOT IT !
Date: 2005-05-10
From: Campsite

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

Today was a tiring hike. I got off to a really late start this morning. I slept until 9:00 AM and was not hiking until 10:00 AM. It was a nice hike early on with the highlight being hiking on the Virginia Creeper Trail. the A.T. and Creeper join for about a mile and it is along a nice river. The river had signs saying it was stocked with trout and I wanted to fish so badly. It reminded me of when my Mom and I would go fish for trout in PA. I need to go trout fishing in a stream sometime soon!Shortly after, the weather turned bad with thunder rolling throughout the sky. It was actually quite soothing hearing distant thunder from every direction crashing in the sky. I wasn¢t too nervous because there was hardly any lightning strikes.About 12 hour later, the lightning, and rain started so I huddled up with two other hikers under some rhododendron bushes to wait for the storm to pass by. It took about 12 hour and the bushes did a great job of keeping most of the rain away. It was good that I stopped at the bushes to wait for the storm to pass through because about .3 miles up the trail was a bald and it would not have been good to be up there with the lightning. When I did get to the bald, I found a bunch of cattle grazing about 50 feet off the trail. Most just ignored me but I was a little nervous because two of them looked like they were going to charge me. I passed even more cattle later in the day but they did not seem to mind me.The weather was threatening all day and I had several balds to cross but got pretty lucky and wasn¢t stuck on any during a storm. I was just talking to some of the people here at the shelter and they told me they had lightning strike about 100 feet from the shelter and it split a tree. Pretty Scary. They also had a hailstorm. I am in the Thomas Knob Shelter, which sits on a bald on Mt. Rogers. Mt Rogers is the tallest mountain in Virginia. I feel safe though because I am in the shelter. We are getting thunder and lightning as I write. *An interesting side note...Mt Rogers is named after the man who founded Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Well, I am going to try to get to sleep a little earlier tonight so I am refreshed tomorrow!Bring 'er back Bob.......whoa shut 'er down!!
Date: 2005-05-11
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Shelter
Miles today: 16.2

Today was an interesting start. I was the second one out, about 15 minutes behind the first person. About 10 minutes in, I found him walking toward me. I figured he forgot something but after I told him about, 3 times, he realized he was going the wrong way. So, after I got him going the right way I passed by him but stopped at a lookout. He continued past me but when I left the lookout, I followed the way he went. I then past him again and continued for almost a mile until I realized I should not have follow him because he went the wrong way. I turned around and told him we were going the wrong way! I was so mad at him. The guy is retarded. Later that afternoon I realized he is still an idiot, but it was my fault for following him.Once I got back on track, I quickly came to Grayson Highlands where there are wild ponies. I saw them from a distance but did not realize until later in the day that the ponies walked up to others and they got to pet them and all that good stuff, Oh well!I also had a good lunch on Pine Mt. The mountain has a nice bald on top and I laid out for a while and got a tan. While I was up there I saw a military jet come flying over the mountain. It did a circle around the mountain and took off. The jet was going soooo fast...it was crazy.After coming down the mountain, I heard from a South bounder that there was Trail Magic at the road crossing. I hustled down to find some good food. Even though I had lunch just a couple hours earlier I had two burgers, baked beans, chips and three sodas.It was great. It was courtesy of a 2000 Thru-hiker named Solomon.Well that¢s all for now.Hope everyone back home is fine.
Date: 2005-05-12
From: Hurricane Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.5

Today was a good day. I had an early lunch at 11:00 AM at the bottom of a field. The weather was beautiful, just over 80° and I sat under an Oak tree in the shade with a nice breeze. I took off my boots and shirt and just relaxed listening to the birds and other wildlife around. Before I left I noticed there were some cows and goats hanging out in an old shed about 100 yards away. I got to within 20 yards before a mean looking cow came from around the corner and I decided to back off. I ended up getting to the Partnership Shelter today at about 3:30 PM. That is almost 20 miles in less than 8 hours.Partnership Shelter is a cool shelter because they have a shower (with hot water) and you can order pizza. I actually ordered Penne ala Vodka with Grilled Chicken and then later in the night I split a Hawaiian pizza from Pizza Hut. It was a nice treat having real food and a shower out here in the woods.Overall, today was another real good day. The middle part of my hike kept reminding me of being in the woods as a kid. All my senses reminded me of spending a summer day out in the woods as a kid. It looked the same, smelled the same, felt the same with the hot sun, and was just an overall great experience. I also even saw a big deer towards the end of the day. By the way, I also saw a deer yesterday while eating breakfast before starting the day.Oh and one other very big thing I forgot to write about yesterday. I walked 500 miles already!   In another day or two I will be officially at the 14 way mark!!!¢And I would walk 500 miles and I¢ll walk 500 more.............Do da do da....do da do da¢
Date: 2005-05-14
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: Davis Farm Campsite
Miles today: 27.2

I am so tired and exhausted. I just want to go to bed. I was planning on only doing 20 miles but then pushed on because there was no water. I figured I would come by a spring or stream but did not. I went the last 10 miles without water.The worst part was after the 20-mile mark I pretty much had to walk a ridge during a storm. I could hear and even feel the thunder off in the distance and I was just going as fast as I could to get off the ridge. It went for over 6 miles and I was nervous because of the thunder off in the distance. It was a pretty difficult and scary situation because   1.      I needed to get of the ridge 2.        I needed water bad3.        It was getting dark4.        I was getting rained on.I do not think I have ever been on a ridge for that long and it was the worst possible situation. I did pass a couple section hikers that put their tents up on the ridge and the one guy gave me about 15 ounces of water. It was soooo nice of him but I needed a lot more. I ended up having to go 12 mile off the trail to get water and that is why I am camping here.I have a lot more I could write about but I have to go to bed.
Date: 2005-05-15
From: Davis Farm Campsite

To: Stealth Camped
Miles today: 17.5

I got off to a really late start today. I expected to sleep a little extra because the day before I hiked until 9:00 PM and did not get to bed until about 11:00 PM. I got up around 8:00 AM and was a little sluggish. The weather did not look to great and it was misty. I got my food bag down out of the tree and began to eat breakfast before it started to rain. I got back in my tent in hope that it was just a shower passing over. It was still raining after my breakfast so I took my sleeping bag back out of my bag and got back in it. Before I knew it I had fallen back asleep and didn¢t wake up until a little after 10:00 AM. This is by far the latest I have slept since being on the trail. The difficulties I had the day before really drained me physically and emotionally.Once I finally woke up and got going it was after 11:00 AM. I was still in a bad mood from the night before and I was not enjoying myself. It did not help that I could not seem to get away from water. After going without all that time the day before I must have had to cross a creek at least a dozen times in the first few hours of my hike.I really needed to get out of the funk I was in.I noticed in my data book that I was 11.5 miles from a road where I could hitch a ride and get something to eat. This was a good goal for two reasons:        1.        getting a cooked meal would be good for moral        2.        it would push me to get some miles in since I got off to such a late start.I pushed hard and got to the road crossing at a decent hour and this is where my day really turned around. I was not sure if I was at the right road when I came out of the woods so I asked a couple of day hikers (Mark & Mark). After assuring me of where I was, I told them I was going into town to get dinner. They then told me they were also going to get a seafood dinner and that I could join them. We ended up driving about 15 minutes to a place well off the trail. I had an excellent meal; salad, oysters, shrimp and trout, baked potato and hush puppies. It was the best meal I have had on my hike. It definitely beat the Dairy Queen or Subway option if I did not meet Mark & Mark. On top of it, they paid for my dinner. I felt bad but at least I paid for the tip. Thanks again guys! You really turned around my day!!! Oh yeah, I went over the 14 way mark yesterday........YEAH!!!!!!I am seeing more wildlife lately. I saw three turkeys today and two deer yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, I got to listen to 5 innings of a Wake Forest vs. Clemson baseball game. It was a great game that went 11 innings before Clemson pulled out the, come from behind victory. It was a good distraction while climbing a tough mountain.Before I go, I just wanted to say there is some kind of animal crawling around my tent. When I clap my hands and growl, it runs away but it has already come back once. I hope it is not a bear wanting to eat me since I am camping by myself and have no one to come to my side.Goodnight!!
Date: 2005-05-16
From: Stealth Camped

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 23.3

It was an uneventful day. I knocked out some good miles today on relatively flat ground. My feet are sore though, as if it was a tough day.The highlight of the day was Dismal Falls. I wish the water and air temperature were a bit warmer because I could have gone cliff jumping. Instead, I just soaked my aching feet in the water. I also saw some kind of water snake and it freaked me out!I hit the 600-mile mark today. My ankles feel every mile first thing in the morning. For about the first five minutes of each day my ankles feel like they are going to fall off. I guess they are just stiff because they are fine after that. I am looking forward to getting into Pearisburg tomorrow. I have not stayed in a town for 9 days now and I need a shower among many other things. I might even take a zero day.Skate or Die!
Date: 2005-05-17
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Blacksburg (cowboy camped)
Miles today: 16.2

Today¢s hike was fairly uneventful!I just wanted to get to town ASAP since it had been 9 days since the last time. I did have a cool deer sighting today. I was on top of a ridge listening to my radio thru my earphones when I noticed a deer just 20 yards in front of me. It saw me a second or two after I saw it and the deer did not know what to do. It stared at me for about 30 seconds and then like an excited dog, ran in a 20 ft circle and kept looking at me. We then both heard something and both the deer and I looked to see what it was and then we turned our attention back to ourselves again. It was quite funny. The deer then decided to walk parallel to the trail and I continued to walk and watch the deer. This whole interaction lasted for about 3-4 minutes. It was really neat!Once I got to town, (Pearisburg) I decided to hitch 20 miles into Blacksburg where Virginia Tech is located. It took about 45 minutes to get a ride but when I did, the guy was really nice and took me right to the Outfitter.I met a couple cool people at the Outfitter and they gave me a lot of good information. They suggested going to the local gym and asking if I could use the shower. The girl at the front desk was awesome; she let me use the shower free, and even gave me a locker. I did my laundry and then got a good spinach and portabella stuffed ravioli dinner at ¢The Cellar¢. After dinner, I met up with Heidi from the Outfitter and a couple of her friends for beers at ¢Gillies¢. There was a cool 10 piece or so band playing some crazy Appalachian music and it was a good way to end the night. Heidi offered me a place to stay but I decided to take her original suggestion to camp on campus. I am cowboy camping (which means not using my tent, but only my bag) right under a big pine tree behind the Virginia Tech sign at the campus entrance. I am right on the edge of campus and where the bars are and I could hear people walking out to the bars. There is also some broken glass and beer cans back here. I just hope no one throws any bottles over and hit me when I am sleeping. That¢s about it for now. I look forward to checking out the campus tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Blacksburg/Pearisburg

To: Stealth Camped
Miles today: 10.7

I ran out of paper so I had to write my journal the following day. This is probably a good thing because yesterday was not a good day. I for the first time questioned why I was out here.It was a tough climb out with way too much food in my bag and a scorching hot day. But what really got me was finding out I had a $300 phone Bill. I was dialing 1-800-collect to my parents and was led to believe it was 10¢ a minute but I was obviously wrong. Any way, I was really razzled and not happy and got off to a late start and had to stop short because of a thunderstorm. The storm was crazy I was sitting in my tent hoping not to get struck by lightning as it was landing all around me. On a positive side, it was good getting mail. Thanks Mom, Treb, Uncle Paul and Bob.   I also had two deer sightings and one turkey sighting. I¢m out like Bob Trout!
Date: 2005-05-20
From: Stealth Camped

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a fairly easy day. Only 2 climbs over the 20+ miles I hiked today. More importantly I was in good spirits after yesterday. I think I was most upset about my phone bill more than anything. In a joking matter, I still don¢t know why I am out here doing this, but I am still enjoying it.The other big news of the day was all the high streams creeks and rivers. We really had a doozy of a storm last night and you could tell this morning. The disappointing part however was that I had to take a detour around Stony Creek because of a washed out bridge from a hurricane last year. It was optional to forge thru the water but it looked very dangerous so I took the alternate route. On a normal day I would have done it but the water was so high and current too strong. Not much else going on and I need to get to bed early in hopes of doing a 30-mile day tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-21
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Stealth Camped
Miles today: 25.3

I am tired. My feet hurt, my ankles are sore and my legs aren¢t much better.I usually set a goal for how many miles I want to do and today was the first time I came up short. I was shooting for 30 miles because I am trying to get close enough to Catabaw to eat at the "Homeplace". They are only open Thursday ¢ Sunday and I have heard over and over again it is a stop that I cannot miss while out here. I am 15 miles away so I should be all right even though they close at 6:00 PM Sunday.I am really exhausted today because the trail was really rocky and technical. My legs, ankles and feet really took a pounding and I was not able to open my stride and walk fast.On a good note I came across Trail Magic three times today! Sodas and candy at the first two and a cold beer at the third. Some days the last thing I want to do is drink a beer but it was great today.I also came across an Audie Murphy monument. I never heard of him before but he was the most decorated American soldier of WW II. He seemed to be one tough dude. He was like The Terminator in the movies but this was real life. Anyway he went on to be an actor and then died in a plane crash nearby. That¢s it for now.
Date: 2005-05-22
From: Stealth Camped

To: Johns Spring Shelter
Miles today: 15.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, I did some big miles the past two days so I could get to the Homeplace for dinner. I made it a couple hours before closing and I ate and drank my share. It was family style all-u-can-eat, fried chicken, ham, roast beef, green beans, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, baked beans, biscuits and iced tea and lemonade.I ate and drank so much that I seriously thought I was going to throw up. They brought peach cobbler for dessert and I couldn¢t eat it. I couldn¢t even move. I was not doing well! I sat around on the front porch for about 1-12 hours before I could get moving again.On my hike to Catawba today, I passed Dragons Tooth. It is a really cool spot on a mountaintop were huge rocks shoot out in the shape of big teeth. Treb told me about this place and he didn¢t disappoint!I am a little disappointed because the weather is supposed to be bad tomorrow when I go thru McAfee Knob and Tinker Cliff, the two other places Treb told me about.By the way, my feet have been killing me and I realized my boots are beginning to fall apart. I guess that¢s the problem.