morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

If it rains, I don't care, don't make no difference to me--Doobie Brothers. Beautiful day today. Woke up later after a sound, restful sleep. Walked a few miles to the Lost Mountain Shelter and had a 2nd breakfast or early lunch. Lost Mountain was a beautiful site. Nice shelter, picnic table, good spring, and a privy. Inside the privy, someone had written most of Dr. Seuss's 'The Lorax." I got my black marker out and wrote "Welcome to the Wray Loo" right above the throne, ha! As I was leaving around noon, it started to rain a bit. The clouds broke as I climbed up Buzzard Rock. Wow, what a beautiful view. And then, thunder. I looked to the west and could see the storm clouds and sheet of rain headed my way. As I was on a bald, I quickly climbed down from my perch on the rock formation and made a beeline for the trees about a half mile away. As soon as I reached the forest, the storm caught up with me. My guidebook said that several streams cross the AT in that section. Well, the AT was a stream at that point. Attempts to keeping feet dry were futile, so at some point, I just decided to stomp through the puddles like a schoolboy. Once again, the rain stopped as I neared VA600 (road). I was soaked to the bone at this point.When I came out to the road, there were a couple of couples out sightseeing. They asked, jokingly, if I was wet. Only for the last three hours, I said. We chatted for a while, typical thru hiker Q and A. Across the street was a cow pasture. Two adults and three calves approached my curiously as I came up to the fence. The calves were very cute and frisky. Too bad they taste so good! I decided to retreat for a few minutes. My strategy worked, and the cows turned around and headed away. I took my chance, slipped through the fence, and sped up the trail away from them.The sun was out and shining brightly at this point, quickly drying me out. I climbed up to Briar Ridge and was rewarded with spectacular views of the meadows below. On to the shelter. Well, I could see Thomas Knob Shelter and it started to rain again, agh. Didn't last long this time. When I arrived, I found 46'er and Storyteller, Porkchop, Jackson, John Peterson, and a new face, Stitch. Sun came back out and we all ate dinner. It's a bit breezy tonight. This shelter is at 5400 feet. It's probably mid 50s right now. Going to be a bit chillier than last night for sure. I'm all bundled up in my sleeping bag, it's close to hiker midnight. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-05
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

We'll start with a morning entry, Brrr...it was cold last night. We all bundled in our bags and liners, wore long johns top and bottom, socks, gloves, and hats. The temp dipped to low 40s overnight with a 25-30mph wind. Woke up at 6:00, but decided it was too comfortable where I was to move. We all finally got up around 8:00, sentiments were the same all around. Hot coffee and oatmeal helped warm me a bit. Going to break the 500 mile mark today. I'll check back in and let you know how it goes. Oh, almost there, but I forgot to mention the ridiculously funny privy back at Thomas Knob. Believe it or not, there's a wheelchair ramp and handicap bars inside. I've a feeling it has something to do with being built on federal land, it's a brand new privy. But, come on, there's no way to get here except by steep, narrow, rocky path. Even the trail to the privy is too narrow for a wheelchair. You'd have to be helicoptered directly to it. Well, that's your government in action. So I'm having dinner, just a few miles short of 500, and at tonight's shelter. I don't think I've mentioned this, so here it is. The Smokies were an emotional experience for me, but the Ronn Highlands we passed through back in Tennessee were spectacularly beautiful. Now I must add the Grayson Highlands in Virginia to that spectacularly beautiful list. I don't possess enough adjustives and superlatives to do them justice. Check for pics on the Internet if you wish. The balds have been some of my favorite areas. And here in Grayson, to add to the physical beauty, were the wild ponies running in the park. They were docile enough (you could walk right up to them). I was able to snap a picture of a mare feeding her foal from about 10 yards away. Oh, did it...502.4 miles....yeah!!!Hurrican is a beautiful new shelter, nice and clean. Here with 46'er and Storyteller, Porkchop, and Jackson. Have I mentioned that Jackson is a 2 year old Golden Retriever? He's a wonderful dog. I met them about a week ago, but hadn't hiked with a trail dog. Jackson's got so much energy, bounding up and down the trail, into the brush, scrambling over rocks with ease. My next dog, (sorry Winston), will be a trail dog. My next relationship, in good time, will be with a hiker chick (no disrespect to the hiking gals out there). In Winston's defense, and I do so love him with all my heart, he would make a KICK ASS hostel dog. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Hey, my first 20 mile day!! The trail today was kind to me. I've been walking without my knee brace since Kincore, a little over 100 miles. My ankle is still a bit swollen, most likely from all the walking. Overall, not too bad physically. All day long I was thinking about it being 6/6/6. There's been no flash of the Apocalypse yet. I'm pretty sure that mankind if going to apathetically wither away, rather than go out with a big bang. I planned to write a socio-political rant today, but I'm feeling pretty happy and mellow at the moment.Here at the shelter with Porkchop and Jackson, 46'er, Storyteller, Mr. John Peterson, the 49'ers (couple of college friends hiking for 49 days), and Johnny Storm, former PCT hiker. Earlier today, I caught sight of a fawn right on the trail. I crested a rise in the trail, and there she was, 20 yards away. I slowly reached for my camera, but the movement spooked her into the woods. Made it to the Partnership Shelter, renowned for its solar shower and pizza delivery. We ordered up pizzas and soda pop. Yummy. Nice to eat without a spoon for a change. We built a small fire and swapped trail stories after dinner. I called my sister, Cari, and caught up with what's going on with her. It's hard to believe that tomorrow or the next day I'll be a quarter done with the AT. Time has a weird way of moving slow and fast out here. I'm planning an easy day tomorrow. I tore my feed up pretty good today, pressing on so hard and fast. I'll have to do some more 20s as I go north. to make sure I get to Katahdin before they close Baxter Park on October 15th. No worries, I know I'll be fine. The sun's down, the embers on the fire are drying out, and the forest is alive with its night sounds. Hiker midnight, everyone's turning in, I will too. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: broken clouds

We now return you to Pacer's AT journey. No rants for awhile, thanks for listening, or if you didn't like it, changing the channel. Today I embraced my inner mile nazi. That's our term for those who proudly do big mile days. It was a gorgeous day, mostly. I received a bit of trail magic. I ran across a cooler with iced down bottles of apple juice, my favorite. Thank you. Also found two separate cases of bottled water. I took a liter from each, thank you. One of the water stashes was courtesy of some Boy Scouts, out working on their hiking merit badges. Way to go guys. As I was walking over Interstate 77, I waved to the passing vehicles. A trucker going by blew his horn, made me smile like it did when I was a kid. The trail was pretty good today, no vicious ups 'n' downs or too many nasty sharp rocks. I had one bit of rain near the interstate, which promptly cleared up as soon as I put my pack cover on. The second dousing occurred just as I was putting up my tent. I was trying to get the fly over, when it poured, soaking the inside of my tent. Of course, it stopped as soon as got the fly into place. Oh well. No rain, no pain, no Maine, we say. Long day, took some Vitamin I, and it's time for nite nite. I love you Winston. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-11
From: tent spot

To: tent spot
Miles today: 20.0

I was too tired to write today, so this was done tomorrow, for yesterday. Rained last night. I woke up and waited for it to stop. Hung around the shelter for a bit, visiting with Snail and Beekeeper. I couldn't find water last night, so Snail spotted me enough to take my ibuprofen. There was supposed to be some water 0.7 from the shelter, the creek was dry. There was supposed to be a campsite with a stream 0.4 past that stream, was stagnant. We pressed on and a mile after that, found a drainage ditch by the side of the road. Of course, that was full of piss=filled pop bottles, empty beer cans, and condoms. As Beekeeper aptly put it, "Treated junk water is still junk water." We all pressed on without any water. The next source was 5 miles up at Trent's Grocery. My food was running low, so I'd planned a stop at Trent's. It's a gas station, convenience store, food stop, and camp ground. Let's see, for lunch I had two bacon swiss burgers, chocolate milk, A&W root beer, RC cola, doritos, cashews, and topped it off with a powerade. Can you say BURP??? Walked the next 11 miles to Wapiti Shelter and took a break. Was going to be a short one, water and privy, but had a good conversation with Harpo and Vagabond Papa Bear which lasted a couple hours. I left at 6:00, figuring I could make the 8 miles to Doc's Knob Shelter. Well, there was a huge hour-long climb up out of Wapiti over loose shale, my favorite, NOT. I amended my plan to make it to the Woodshale Hostel, which I'd heard so many good things about. It was getting dark and I could hear thunder in the distance, so I began looking for a tent spot. Just as dusk was falling, I found a perfect spot. Flat ground, surrounded by pine trees, complete with pine needle bed. I pitched my tent, hung my food bag, bathed, and got into my tent around 9:15, just as the sprinkles started. Around 12:30, there was a heck of a lightning storm, and boy, did it rain hard!
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Rendezvous Motel

To: Rendezvous Motel
Miles today: 13.0

Pearisburg, mile 622. This is a personal best for me, most miles, most days without a town stop or zero. The rain let up around 10:30, but I'd packed up and been walking for a couple hours by then. I stopped by Docs Knob for water and a break. Chatted with two young sectioners for a bit, signed the register, wished well my buddies coming behind. On my way out of Doc's, I ran into a few guys from the ATC. They were a trail crew that just opened a new trail relocation a few miles up. I talked with one of them for a few minutes, to learn about opportunities to work for the ATC. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open as a I travel the trail. I really like being in the woods, and I hope to make it a big part of the next half of my life. So I was one of the first to walk some new AT. Pretty cool to see brand new trail. It's back breaking work, all done with hand tools, hand carried up the mountain. At the top of the hill, I ran into J-Man, John McEnroe (no, not the tennis guy), and Zippo. I hadn't seen them since the party at Beauty Spot back near Erwin. If you recall, that was probably one of the best days so far even though it's hard to keep track of them. Every day is special in its own way. We walked down the steep descent to Pearisburg and found the Rendezvous Motel, right on the AT. Sweet. I got a ride to the post office before I even checked in. When I came back, I visited with Acceptance, whom I hadn't seen since Trail Days. She has to get off the trail to rest her knee. I completely understand how that feels. It sucks! when I opened my box from Cari, yeah, my new MP3 player. And it's loaded perfectly. Sister, you know what I like. I've missed my music. Oh, I ran into Don and Prana at the post office. I hadn't seem them for weeks. I know I wasn't far behind them from the shelter register. Nice thing about my new MP3 player is that I was able to share Bob Schneider's "Long way to Get" with Acceptance, Dan, and Prana. They all want to adopt it as their hiking song now too! See   www.bobschneidermusic.com   song six. It's only 2:47 of your time. I'm zeroing here tomorrow as my heels look like someone took a meat tenderizing hammer to them. Back to music for a second or two. I'm listening to Fountains of Wayne, "All Kinds of Time" and the sun has come out fully for the first time today. It's hitting me directly in the face as I hear this. .... "The young quarterback waits for the snap, when suddenly it all starts to make sense. He's got all kinds of time, he's got all kinds of time, all kinds of time. He takes a step back, he under attack, but he knows that no one can touch him now, he's seems so at east, a strange inner peace, is all that he's feeling somehow. He's got all kinds of time, all kinds of time"......tears are streaming......PEACE.
Date: 2006-06-13
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Ahh, zero days! Daily miles is kinda misleading as I probably walked four or five miles around town today. Did my post office, internet, groceries, all that good town stuff. My buddies from Damascus, or at least most of them, showed up in town today. I saw John Peterson, 46er, Storyteller, Porkchop, and Jackson. Hung around and had a few beers with Stram, Cud, Elvis, Mesh, Locomotive, Stretch, and Miss D. The Rendezvous has free long distance, so I talked with sister Cari, Colleen, and Grandma. It's always nice to hear your voices. I've been rocking out with my new MP3 player, Eels, Dream Syndicate, Cross, Dada, Primal Scream, and more. I won't listen to it when I'm hiking, I enjoy the sounds of the forest too much for that. It will be nice to chill out at the end of the day with some fun tunes though. Cari saw the Eels the other night. Cleaimed it was the loudest show she's seen since Ministry some years back. I'm sorry I'm missing out on the Eels tour, but hey, I'm not missing much else. It's three hours past hiker midnight, and I've just finished packing up for hiking tomorrow. I did some math today. I need to average 15-16 miles per day and can still zero every 7-8 days and should make it to Katahdin by October 15. If the terrain and my legs permit, I'll try to better that average for a while to ensure my arrival at Baxter in time. So, the pressure of the calendar comes and goes. There's still a lot of hikers around and behind me. We'll motivate each other on up the trail. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-14
From: Tent spot

To: Tent spot
Miles today: 8.0

Again, daily miles is a bit misleading, since I walked back to the library today (3 miles round trip). I took advantage of the free long distance again and called my Aunt Nancy and Cousin Matt. It was very nice to check in with them. Nancy asked how the trail was going. Very well indeed. Matt is going to load my pics up to the internet. I'll provide a ling when he's got them ready. Thanks Matt!Alrighty, I've been out here long enough to know that sometimes/most times you get what you ask for. Like if you say, boy this trail is great, 1/4 mile later it's all slippery rock. Or, hey, doesn't look like rain, a half hour later you get soaked. Today when I was talking to Nancy, I recounted the wildlife I've seen. Deer, grouse, rat snakes, no bears, no rattlesnakes. See where this is going? Three hours after I've said goodbye, I'm cruising up the trail and guess who appears? Mr. Rattlesnake. Oh shit, it scared the crap out of me. I was about 15 feet away when I sensed, heard him coil, hiss, and rattle away. You'll never see a hiker move as fast as I did with 40 pounds of food and gear on his back. I beat a hasty retreat, and decided it was a fine time to take a break.I observed him from a fairly safe distance, 50 feet or so. After about 10 minutes, he slithered across the trail and into the woods on the downhill side. I waited another 10 minutes, then carefully but quickly, strode past our meet 'n' greet spot. Yep, no MP3 player on the trail for me. My senses were on full alert. I was even startled by a frog a little while later. Calm down Pacer! Shortly after that, I flushed a wild turkey, which set my heart pounding again. I made it safely to the Rice Field shelter and took another break. Met Devon, a southbounder, nice kid. I shared my data book with him. He was headed into Pearisburg, so he scoped the town map and I gave him the lowdown on the town. As he was leaving, a couple of other guys showed up. They're out for a few days. They've done lots of sections. We chatted for a bit, then it wasa time to move on. The shelter had a .8 mile round trip for water, or the campspot 1.1 miles up. Had a spring right nearby. That's a no brainer. Got to the campsite, fille up water, and was deciding whether to stay or go on four more miles. During the decision process, 46er and Storyteller showed up. No brainer, I stay. We pitched our tents and had dinner. During dinner, we shared some of our life stories. Very nice time indeed. Loving life out here, regardless of the damn snakes. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-15
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: clear sky

Brrrr......slow start today so far. I used my summer sleeping sack last night. I bought it in Damascus and sent it to Pearisburg. Everyone told me, hold your winter gear until Pearisburg. So I did. But it got cold last night. Very restless sleep, every couple hours I'd add another layer. This morning I had on long johns top and bottom, 2 pairs of socks, insulated vest, hat, and gloves. Left camp at 9:30 today. Caught up with Mash at the water source. A bit up the trail, I found Jonah laid out along the trail, "feeling lazy" as he put it. I walked the four miles up to the next campsite (the one I contemplated getting to the night before). It was a beautiful spot, overlooking a meadow, would have been a wonderful sunset, but I'm sure glad I stayed behind with 46er and Storyteller. Kept walking along up to the Pine Branch Shelter. I stopped a bit short of the shelter, and cooked dinner alongside the stream. It was a very relaxing spot, listening to the creek babble by. Hop, skip, and jump to Pine Branch, and hung out for a while with Mash, Jonah, then Montanas showed up. Chilled for a while and exchanged hiking stories. We all had a "Baggins" story, remember her from Neels Gap way back when? She's still hiking and smiling. After a couple hour break, I pressed on to Baily Gap. It was a beast of a climb, pretty much straight up, 1000' climb. When I arrived, my pals 46er, Storyteller, Porkchop, and Jackson were here. Storyteller said they were starting to worry. I thanked them and explained I'd just been lazy. Found a journal extry from Adam and Jason, the two guys I met yesterday. They were pressing on for big miles today, left us a note where they'd be, but unfortunately, it wasn't in the cards for Pacer today.I'm shooting for the Homeplace Restaurant in Catawha on Sunday. It's an all you can eat family style restaurant. And...they like hikers! How can you beat that AYCE and hiker friendly. Yum. Jonah did the math, it's 21 tomorrow, 17 Saturday, and 12 into the restaurant Sunday. Weatherman said no rain through the weekend, so that'll help if it holds out. During conversation, I mentioned Schaumburg, turns out Wyoming contracted at the Motorola plant. He's been to my old stomping grounds. Emphasis on "old" stomping grounds. As Grandma said in her last email, it's moving forward and upward for Pacer/Steve. You are absolutely correct, thanks for the encouragement. It's late, long day tomorrow. Gonna chill out with some Theivery Corporation on the music machine and drift off to slumberland. Peace.
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Sarner Hollow Shelter

To: Sarner Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

Hey, made it to mile 666! Huge climbs today, two to be exact. Started a bit earlier than normal, knowing I'd be walking a long time. Met Doc Gnarly at breakfast, he'd been sleeping when I arrived last night. He went to get my water this morning. Thanks Doc! Moving on through the woods, I found a flat table-sized rock ont he left of the trai. Someone had taken pieces of shale and mocked up a mini Stonehenge. I laughed my ass off. It's stuff like that that completes my day. Just past that, I ran into a couple of southbounders. The first guy passed, then I recognized J-Man. I turned to look, as if it was McEnroe that walked right by me! He'd shaved his John Mac hair (and beard). I didn't even realize it was him. They'd framed the roof at Holy Familly, and the caretaker took them out for a southbound slackpack. They were going to finish the roof the next day. A very nice thing for them to do.Onward and upwards. Got to War Spur Shelter, hereby named War Pigs in honor of Black Sabbath. We were planning to hit Sarner Hollow at mile 666, so we started with the theme early. Locomotive Joe showed up. I met him in Pearisburg a couple days previous. I was impressed with his calm and cool demeaner, and hoped to see him again. Tada. We hiked on out of War Pigs together. Turns out he was a guitarist in a heavy metal band. Perfect for the day's theme. After a bit of hiking, we came across a bridge. We were admiring a nice looking swim hole when Locomotive shouted, "Oh shit"...seems there was a bee colony nearby and he got stung a few places. No allergic reaction, thank goodness.We kept on walking. Soon passed the Ketter Oak. It's 18+ feet around and more than 300 years old. It would be awesome to walk through a forest full of them. Never happen for me. Man had cleared and recleared forests the world over. We got to Sarner Hollow just as the sun was setting. Jonah, Porkchop, Locomotive, and I were settin gup and eating as quietly as possible. Apparently not quietly enough, cause at 10:00 Montana got up, and without a word, began packing his stuff up to move out. I guess it was easier for him to make a big bold move, then ask his fellow hikers to hold it down a bit. Oh well, some folks can't lose their Type A'ness out here. There are many reasons for hiking as hikers. Me, I'm trying to learn about people and myself, the the only way to do that is interact, not move on in a huff. Weird thing is, this same guy the night before, snored loudly all night, and broke camp at 6:00am. He zipped and unzipped his pack so many times, you'd think he'd never loaded if before. I guess I shoulda thrown a hissy fit, eh? No! Peace.