morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-05
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

They got there around 11:30am and we headed up the trail. It was beautiful. Many open balds and highlands. After a couple of hrs. of hiking I saw 3 wild ponies grazing in the field right next to me! It startled me at first since I almost walked right into them. They were amazing. They didn¢t seem to be too impressed by me yet I was enamoured. I waiting around for Messenger and Joe aka ¢Wise Panther¢ and took a lot of pictures and tried to play with the ponies. I don¢t think they liked us. We had some lunch and hiked together for awhile Panther is a funny man. I decided to go ahead and meet them at Old Orchard Shelter. A few hrs. later I arrived and my feet were throbbing. I camped with Mrs. Gorp, Bluebird and Abandon. I talked to Mrs. Gorp about my feet and she told me what she thought was wrong with them. I rested up and decided to worry about it later.
Date: 2006-04-07
From: Va. 603

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Well we got 2 hitches to Marion and made it there by about 8:30am. We found the Doctor and I actually got in around 9am! I described my pain and the Doc said it was probably plater facitious (sp). This is where the muscle in the bottoms of my feet become inflamed from over use which makes it very tender to walk on. The cure is to get off your feet. But there is no long term damage if you keep walking on them. She gave me new insoles, told me some stretches to do, told me to ice (feet in the river) and gave me a new fancy brace to wear at night to keep my foot flexed, and a prescription. So she said go on and see how it goes from there. So I was happy with the results. We went and got food and my meds and headed back for the trail. Which was 18 miles away. We stuck out our thumbs and then heard a girl yelling ¢hey where you going?¢ We met Alec who ended up giving us a ride all the way back to the trail! So we started hiking to try to catch Panther. It was starting to get dark and a storm was brewing. When I saw a sign for the shelter at 1.6 miles away I saw my first lighting bolt. The air was cold and the wind blew. I knew I was soon to be in trouble. I started to pick up the path and was hiking/limping about 4 miles an hour. The storm continued to intensify and thunder seemed to be laughing at my feeble attempts to make it to shelter. I finally couldn¢t take it anymore and I started to run. Have you ever seen a grown man run while limping with 30+ pounds on his back? Well it was a funny sight. The storm was closing in and I felt like I was in a movie. ¢The treacherous storm on his heels, all the while our wounded hero ¢Braveheart¢ running for his life¢ This was an intense event. I loved it. At one point I thought the rain was actually chasing me. I finally made it to the shelter sign and half of the sign was torn off. The saga continued I looked around and there were 3 separate paths to take. I took one. Adrenaline ran its course and I was full out soccer sprinting down this path. After awhile I turned around and made it back to the crossroads and took another route. There down the mountain I saw ¢rest¢. I made it. Bronco Billy, Avalanche, Messenger, Dave and Lynn were there but no Panther. The storm continued off and on all night. I sort of scoffed at the storm now from the safety of my little wooden home. I made it. I out-limped the storm. Sweet Victory.
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Best Western in Marion
Miles today: 10.7

We caught up to Panther mid-day and he was hurting pretty bad after pulling some big miles yesterday. A section hiker (Ameaba) we met along the way offered us a ride back into Marion for the night. Panther got us a hotel room and a huge meal it was awesome! The shower¢¦wow the shower¢¦well let me just say it was a great experience.
Date: 2006-04-09
From: Best Western in Marion

To: Chatfield Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

We picked a random church nearby and went to service in the morning. I went to Sunday school. It was me and about 8 men 60+ years of age and it was awesome. We talked about the scripture and questioned the meaning of certain text. These guys were sharp and I liked how they thought. Telling them I was a Bible and Religion major in college probably was a mistake as they looked as if I may have some answers or insight. Afterwards we headed up to service where I met Panther and Messenger. The pastor only spoke for 20 minutes or so but he got me. Usually I sit and critique pastors or try to find holes in their sermons so I can talk to them afterwards but this guy was awesome! He was saying things I had never heard and spoke about envy with beautiful clarity and depth. I was on the edge of my pew trying not to miss what he said next. My pen was moving and my heart leaped for joy, this was so unexpected. I know I should not go into church with such a critical spirit. I shouldn¢t even go for myself. My motives are not pure. I should go for the sole purpose of giving God glory and fellowshipping with believers but I normally go in there with somewhat of a mafia approach. I want to flex some intellectual muscles or at least rile things up a bit. I guess that is not all bad. Most churches have the ambiance of a funeral home than a place of life anyway. I have found in my church travels that we all (including myself) like to be spoon-fed a simply 4 step gospel of prosperity than the authentic disrupting one. But I am now transforming mind and spirit¢¦ I now want more questions than simple answers¢¦ I now want to be made uncomfortable and not just have my ears tickled by a motivational speaker/pastor. I believe this is a good step in stumbling forward in my faith.
Date: 2006-04-10
From: Chatfield Shelter

To: Crawfish Valley
Miles today: 10.8

I saw some great views today. The farmlands here are remarkable. Neon green grass farmlands as far as the eye can see with mountains pinning them in on all sides. It¢s just amazing. We all three made it to a nice tent site. We had a big fire. We told some jokes. Played my harmonica and made up some funny songs. We then moved to talk about life and lessons learned along the way. It turned out to be a very meaningful night.
Date: 2006-04-11
From: Crawfish Valley

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: clear sky

¢Huc venite, pueri, ut viri sitis,¢ or, to translate it literally ¢Come to this place, little boys, in order to become men.¢ ¢ Buechner (The Magnificent Defeat)I believe this Latin phrase that I cannot even pretend to pronounce fits me during this season of my life. I feel this place, this wilderness that I have come to love so dearly has helped me on a life time of searching for maleness. Not because or not entirely because, I live in woods and smell bad and can burp and fart and no cares, not that sort of maleness but a much deeper sense of the word. A sort of maleness, as in you know who you are. You know your place, your purpose. I entered this journey with a frightened little boy still inside of me, still unhealed from childhood scares. I came out here to heal that wounded, tender part that still resides somewhere within and that child is becoming smaller, more quite, less frightened with each passing triumph. There have been many times in my life where I had adult responsibilities to handle and my inner boy screamed with fear that I could not handle what was expected. I was a man on the outside, but inside I felt so small, so inadequate. I want you to know that that boy is growing up, maturing. Not in a grown-up, so now I am boring sort of way, and not in a way of completely killing the child inside of me, so I am no longer playful or spontaneous or trusting. But in a sense that I now know I can handle anything. There is no task that is too great or much. I am not defined by my performance any longer (good or bad), I am already named, already defined by who loved and dreamed me before the world even began. This truth frees us...
Date: 2006-04-12
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Panther had blisters the size of some third world countries. We decided for Messenger and I to go on shoot for Pearisburg which was 73 miles away and Panther shoot for Bland which was 30 some miles away and meet us in Pearisburg Saturday night. So we took some funny pictures and went our separate ways. I finally made it to the shelter near dinner time and was startled as I took the path to the shelter. There were 6 deer just standing there. A couple ran off but most just stayed and seemed unafraid. They stayed around all night. There were 4 standing there while I used the privy, they were there to scare us as we slept and they were there in the morning as well. I think it was some sort of a deer sanctuary. Strange yet incredible.
Date: 2006-04-13
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helveys Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: light rain

We hitched into Bastian got our mail drop and then got a ride into Bland and got sub-way and resuppled food for the next few days. I have been thinking about a lot lately about silence and its role in our lives. I remember some of the greatest epiphanies of my life have been either before I go to bed lying there wondering why eyes won¢t stay shut or right when I wake up before I set my feet on the floor. Here I dream without really dreaming. Dreaming with my eyes open. It is here in this moment when I have no noise. I have come up with great sermons, powerful lessons or illustrations to teach, funny jokes, or just remembered some people I must apologize too. They have always been powerful times for me. Times I cherish. But now I have silence 8hrs. a day. This silence can do strange things to people. Sometimes I talk to myself to make sure I am still real and sound still exist. WARNING: I am much weirder now than before I left. So besides how strange this silence is making me in the worlds eyes I believe it is also making me a genius. I hear things I have never heard before. Silence actually has a sound all its own. I think I hear God with much more clarity. At times Silence still makes me nervous. In the past I have been scared of it because of its power to reveal. But I think if you have nothing to hide you begin to like it. It¢s so scarce few ever can get and soak in its fullness. ¢Be still, and know that I am God¢ Psalms 46:10
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Helveys Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: light rain

I have been wanting to thank you for all that you have done for me. Thank you so much for the love and the constant encouragement. The messages on my phone, the letters in the mail, the goodies that have been sent, the messages on this guestbook. Your loving me has truly carried me when my legs no longer wanted too. I have not studied the origin or root of the word encouragement, but I feel it has something to do with the word inbetween the word¢¦courage¢¦I feel real encouragement is actually breathing some of your own courage into someone you fully believe in and I want you to know that I feel your courage being poured into my heart. Even though you may not physically be with me I feel your presence and your prayers deep in my spirit and they have made me fierce with strength. Where would I be without those who believe in me? Well I have felt that unbelief in the past and I didn¢t believe in myself. I finally met a man I respected and looked up to who believed in me and told me so. He looked me in the eyes even through my eyes and saw through my many layers of facades. He slowly helped peel my multicolored masks off and told me who I was.(Dr.C) Many others had only believed in me by what I could give in return, what I could offer, how well I could perform. I normally did well. But it was conditional love and belief. The moment I didn¢t make the grade all was lost. But unconditional love means everlasting, means no matter what, it means nothing yet it still means everything. So once again I ask where would I be without your belief? I would like to say that I would rise against the opposition and fight like a noble warrior, but I probably wouldn¢t. I think I would coware and hide, curl up somewhere suck my thumb and try to disappear. We are wired for something outside of us to tell us who we are. And people/peers are sometimes, maybe the majority of the time are suppose to be the very voice of God into our lives. So empty words of people could mean empty words from God. Without God naming us we shivel, we rot, we vanish. So I think I would be nothing. Thank you for being Jesus to me. Thank you for your belief.
Date: 2006-04-15
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg, Va
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: clear sky

We made it. Panther was here waiting for us. He had a motel for us and took us out for another meal. It has been awesome having him around, he took me in as a son. I took a shower and loved every minute of it. Tomorrow we will go to another church and hit the trail again. I love you guys...
Date: 2006-04-16
From: Pearisburg, Va

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up in a warm bed. We headed to Johnson City to help Panther get his car and drive the rental car back to P-burg. We went to Grace Fellowship church in the Tri-cities area, it was incredibly. Reminded me alot of my church back home. We got back and got a few things done and heading back to the trail, it headed up being about 4 hrs later than we thought, it was about 8:30 pm. It was strange hearing all the sounds of the city as we left. The cars, the factories, we heard a random phone ringing. I was ready for quite again. We almost got lost about 10 times and finally found the shelter around 12:30am. Team steve was there fire fly, scout, feather, and silver streak.
Date: 2006-04-17
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

Woke to a dark gray sky. Def. looked and smelled like rain. And after about 45minutes of walking it came. But it didnt just come, I mean it came, and with vengance. The lighting was striking all around me as I walked this ridge line! It was pouring down rain. I found out that my boots were no longer water proof and my rain pants didnt keep me very dry. For the first 10-15 minutes of the storm I was completely emanoured by the entire scene. Few times I have, okay never before have I walked on top of a ridge line during a fierce thunderstorm in the pouring rain. But after the new experience wore off I began to feel the cold, I began to feel wet. I began to feel miserable, and too think I was so happy and content just yesterday in my warm bath tub at the hotel. I finally made it to the shelter and it had a fire place in it. I was freezing and wet and decided to stay there and try to dry my stuff near the fire. Messenger and the others went on to the next shelter and we made a plan to meet up tomorrow.
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 24.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I am starting to look quite different now. I think I could even be evicted from a hippie commune. Most of the time I smell like a port-a-jon from a construction site, but I think I like it. And here is why... Most of my life I have tried to fit into certain social molds. I have to look and smell this way or try to impress this person, try to be smooth, to be accepted. (Most churches are just like the world in this aspect) And if you didnt look like me or act like me "you were different" and "you were the one that was weird". But that is not the case at all. Now I am the one who is "different". When I go into a town or church people stare, I am no longer clean, neat, I no longer look like I should be there. I now get marginalized for how I look. This new change has taught me alot. I think I am finally learning to love people more like Jesus did. Since the tables have turned maybe I will not judge people as much as I do, I may try to see people's hearts and who they truly are. Jesus didn't love with his eyes though his eyes were full with love. He didn't see the person for what they did or what they looked or smelled like, He just loved, because that is who he was, and that is who he is today. I want to be like him so bad! I want to just love, radically, despite what culture or people tell me to do.
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: overcast clouds

The one thing that I have probably missed the most since I have been out here in the woods is people. Even though people have so much power to hurt, they also have so much power to give life. I had such an incredible strong, tight, deep community at school and I have come to realize how desperately I am wired for that. But this week Messenger and I have finally met some hiking buddies. Fire Fly, Scout, and Silver Streak and Feather. Since our hiking schedule has been so random we have not really hiked with the same people. These last few days have been great community...Hiking and talking with them or just meeting up with them at the end of the day, some great laughs, great stories told and heard.
Date: 2006-04-20
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Lamberts Meadows Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: few clouds

We decided to leave our new buddies and do a bigger day today so we could get into town earlier the next day. It is only 9.4 miles into Daleville. We are planning on splitting a hotel room 6-ways so we can get a shower and save some money in the process. I think town days are my favorite days. Is that bad?
Date: 2006-04-21
From: Lamberts Meadows Shelter

To: Daleville, Va
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: light rain

The sound of cars were like the sound of an orchestra today. I don't know what it was but I was running to get to Daleville. I knew I had mail coming, and there were vicous rumors of an all you can eat pizza buffet. We made it just as the rain began to come down. We got to the hotel after our stomachs were overfilled and began the cleansing process. We got our errands done, food, laundry, espn and the news and hit up Taco Bell with Fire Fly before bed. I got to sleep in a bed tonight. It was glorious...sometimes I feel guilty because I am suppose to be "roughin" it but that only last about a second as I think about my reentry into the woods tomorrow.
Date: 2006-04-22
From: Daleville, Va

To: The Hart's Place
Miles today: 13.0

We got an email from a guy named Dale that had been following Messenger and I's journals. He offered to take us to church on Sunday. So we called him up and we made arrangements to pick us up 13 miles up the trail as we cross the Blue Ridge Parkway.So we got our 13 miles in and we were looking forward to another random act of God through his people. Dale and his family were amazing. His wife had made us spaghetti and there was fruit and they had the basement all set up for us!
Date: 2006-04-23
From: The Hart's Place

To: Cove Mountain
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: clear sky

We went to Cove Spring in Roanoke and had a great time. We attended a college age Sunday school class, which was cool. Great questions were asked and we had some good discuss about what the Gospel actually was. We then went back to Dale¢s house for lunch and got some quality time with his family. They made us feel like we were part of their family. It felt so good to be with kids again. I had forgotten how much I loved them. They made me laugh so much and truly renewed me. We got back on the trail pretty late and only made it 10 miles and tented on top of Cove Mountain.
Date: 2006-04-24
From: Cove Mountain

To: Thunder Ridge Overlook
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: overcast clouds

One thing I am beginning to love more and more out here is the ¢simplicity of life¢. I am away from all the ¢drama¢ of the world which is so freeing. Such a burden lifted. Not to worry about gas prices or if so and so likes me or not. I have nothing except the 30+ pounds I carry on my back and life in that regard is easy. I walk/limp eat, and sleep. Though I desperately love the simple life, I wonder why I still crave the complex? I want to know the drama; I want to know if she likes me or not, I still want to be a part of the things that are going on in the world. I think I just want it all. I want to be the maverick who journeys into the wild, but yet I still want sleep in my bed at night. I want the world and all it has to offer, but without the drawbacks. I want the woods and its silence and serenity, but I want still yearn for people and love. I¢m confused. Well I got to the shelter where Messenger and I were supposed to meet and he wasn¢t there. So I figured he went on a little more since he was ahead of me all day. I walked a couple more miles and never found him.
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Thunder Ridge Overlook

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 22.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up early around 6:30am packed up my gear and started walking. I got 12 miles by 11am and still hadn¢t found him yet. I thought I may have passed him at some point. So I just kept writing in the ledgers in the shelters and pressed on. I hitched into Glasgow and got a warm lunch which was great and got back on the trail about 12:45. I made it to the shelter around dinner time and still thought Messenger was ahead. I fell asleep and he rolled in around 8pm. Another thunderstorm had just hit too. I was glad to see him and we figured that I passed him as he got off the trail to soak his feet.
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Hog Camp Gap
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Normally from afar I watch the season¢s change and I¢m amazed. But now I get to live the change. I have walked through the brown cold winter and have seen the deadness. But just the past couple of weeks I have begun to see newness, a freshness of life. Animals running all over the place, Everything is now so green and full. The smells are lush, the flowers blooming, the maples, the oak, the hemlock; they all have their own unique scent, their own distinct beauty. Though I may sound a bit elementary here its true all the same, I feel like these seasons. I feel like I am walking with my change. My brown deadness is becoming more green and alive. I feel more full and my hope is that I too can produce more life from the fullness that I am now experiencing. "Do not find out what the world needs...Find out what makes you come alive...Go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Hog Camp Gap

To: Harper's Creek Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

¢Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes no on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary but what is unseen is eternal.¢ 2 Cor. 4:16-18 (Thanks Rambo)Though I have read this verse many times, today it hit me. Am what I am doing something of eternal significance? I think it is. I must not give up. I must not give into my pain. I can¢t lose heart. (heck my name is Braveheart). Though my feet hurt and most the time my heart is heavy, I have to fix my eyes on the mysterious and the eternal. It's so hard to do.
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Harper's Creek Shelter

To: Mill Creek, Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: scattered clouds

The Celtic Christians used to call the Holy Spirit a Wild Goose."It wasn¢t a pejorative term as we have today ("a wild goose chase"). It was a term of honor and affection, for they knew that God cannot be tamed, and that if you follow his Spirit you will be led into adventure upon adventure. Look at Paul's life."(Eldredge)This is the best description I have ever heard for the Holy Spirit. A Wild Goose. I am trying my best to follow him. It has led me out here. I think I will only fully know the reasons why till after. But for now I am here, seeking, dreaming and hoping to even a glimpse of our untamed Lord.