morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-13
From: VA 603, Fox Creek (Damascus)

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: few clouds

We eventually decided on a plan - this morning we arranged a ride with MRO to take us 40 miles up the road to Fox Creek. We're now hiking back to Damascus over the next three days to arrive in time for the main events of Trail Days.We all had last minute chores but we gathered outside the outfitters by 11am. I weighed my pack again - I was almost scared to but it's all good - I'm now at 38 lb so I'm happy. Dimple Rock, Wrong Way Brown, Two Speeds, Chafe Master J, Foxie, Dad and I all piled into the van and a former AT hiker named Restless drove us up the twisty turney road - it seems our hiker bodies are rather fragile when it comes to vehicular transportation, so I wasn't the only one who clambered out feeling queasy!After 2 zeros it was tough starting out again and twice I had to stop to stretch my calves. I think my muscles all seized up while I was lazing about town. I apparently wasn't the only one having problems with my legs - Two Speeds had no less than three spectacular falls today. One was at the shelter trying to catch a mini football, one was early on in the day when he stepped backwards to take a photo and promptly flopped backward over a rock onto the ground, but the best one was mid-walking - he stumbled over a couple of rocks, a couple of roots, bounced off a tree and crumpled in a heap! He fortunately wasn't hurt much though, so I didn't feel so bad about dissolving into hysterics.It was generally an easy day for everyone else though, since we took lots of breaks and in the end only hiked 7 miles. It was sunny, but there was a real chill in the wind. And there was a great deal of wind - for a mile or so we emerged out of the trees into the open on the Grayson Highlands, and suddenly we were forced to walk at an angle just to stay on the trail! Oddly enough, this stretch was reminiscent of the Scottish hills I've walked before - treeless hills with lots of tufts of grass, cows around every turn giving me the evil eye, and obviously therefore the aroma of cow dung filtering through the nostrils. The one thing that didn't quite fit was the privy building plonked down right slap bang in the middle of a cow field. Hmmm.We reached the shelter shortly after 5pm. Although we'd seen plenty tents there was actually room in the shelter, so Two Speeds, Chafe and I grabbed middle spots. The others all prefer to tent, so they wandered off to get set up. It's been strange hiking south all day, since we've met many people we know headed int he opposite direction - Nothing Decent, Walkabout & Pula, Scuba, and Switchback and Charity are both in for the night too. I spent the evening playing a few hands of Rummy with Chafe, Bearbait and Hepcat, then Two Speeds and I tried to teach them Falling.For the first time for quite a while we've got a potentially clear night, so some stargazing may be on the cards. It's still pretty chilly though, so I'll have to see if I can drag myself from my cozy sleeping bag...
Date: 2003-05-15
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

For the most part I had a good night in the shelter. The only problem was the mice munched half my food - just as well we hit town today!The weather was quite unpredictable today. There was a quick shower in the wee hours of the morning, but the sun was out by the time I got up. The others in the shelter all seem to be early risers - I was the only one still in bed at 7am! I left camp with the three girls (Dimple Rock, Wrong Way and Foxie) about 8.30, got slightly ahead and reached the side trail to Saunders Shelter about 11.15. Since the shelter was a quarter mile off the trail the girls were planning to skip it, but I wanted to leave a note for Dad in the register so I dropped my pack and headed down the trail. I wasn't planning to be long, but I got chatting to Rock, a section hiker who got sick yesterday and was waiting it out in the shelter. He's spent quite a bit of time in Britain so we were chewing the fat for close to 45 minutes!On my way back up to the trail I bumped into Two Speeds and Chafe, and we had lunch next to where I left my pack. After another 45 minutes, lunch was rained out, and tempting as it was to stay at Saunders we pressed on. Rain seems to give me an added incentive to cover ground quickly (especially into town), so Two Speeds and I were going at speed and managed the 9 miles in 2 hours and 20 minutes! We were thoroughly soaked through and miserable (with about a pound of water in each boot) when we reached town, and when we passed the Ole Barn restaurant we figured we'd earned a good lunch. The staff thankfully weren't bothered by two dripping wet hikers squelching through the door, so we ordered plenty of food and drink in between zipping to the restroom to change into dry shirts. That burger was one of the best of my life, especiallysince it was accompanied by 5 Mountain Dews and a brownie!Irritatingly enough, the sun was out when we left, so we dried out a bit en route to The Place to see if there was floor space left. I'm in here for the night, but Two Speeds ended up buying a new tent, an MSR zoid 1.5, and I joined him and the girls to walk up to the campground. When we both returned to the Place, Chafe was in town and camping out on the floor of the room next to mine, along with Wounded Knee.As Two Speeds, Chafe and I were headed out to dinner, I finally met the Flying Scotsman! I'd heard a lot about him, and even had messages from him before, so we spent a good 20 minutes or so chatting. He's actually up in Massachussettes at the moment, but in town for Trail Days.The women of the First Baptist Church were providing a free meal for hikers over the road, so we all wound up munching a truly excellent meal of various pastas, vegetables and breads with a huge selection of desserts. We really couldn't thank them enough - it was wonderful! After a long walk in the rain, things couldn't have taken a greater upward turn!
Date: 2003-05-19
From: Fox Creek, VA 603 (Damascus)

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, one downside of this whole hiking thing seems to be that I'm so used to travelling at walking pace that as soon as I get in any kind of vehicle I feel ill. Chafe, Foxie, Dad and I finally freed ourselves from the Damascus vortex and got a ride back to the trail at 9:30 (Dimple Rock, Wrong Way and Two Speeds still had things to do and got the 11:00 shuttle), but by the time we got dropped at the trailhead, took enough time recovering so I could actually stand without being ill, and got hiking again it was near 10:30.We started out on an uphill climb, but it wasn't too steep and the sun was out, so it was a pleasant walk (once the nausea subsided at least). Chafe had a burst of energy today and got ahead of the group, but it left me slightly confused when I stopped for a break and turned to see him wandering up the trail behind me! Seems he took a wrong turning on a switchback, which unfortunately led to him being teased useless for the rest of the day.We reached VA 16 after 8 miles (and in surprisingly little time). We found a cooler left at the side of the road by Turtle, containing cans of soda - nice cold trail magic! Needless to say we had a long stop there, and not long into our rest Two Speeds arrived - he's definitely outgrown 'slow and stop' and become the fastest of the group.We had only 4 more miles to Trimpi Shelter, at which we arrived early enough to claim sleeping spots. Already in the shelter were Blink Blink, Mellow Yellow and Mountain Butterfly. I spent most of the evening curled up on my sleeping bag, still suffering the after-effects of this morning's automobile journey. After food and rest I felt better and enjoyed the fire some of the lads had got going in the shelter. This is one of the few stone shelters on the trail, with a fire place inside and quite unusual in its bunk layout - I'm sure some people are going to get stood on through the night!
Date: 2003-05-20
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: broken clouds

This afternoon we reached the most famous shelter on the trail. Most hikers have heard about the southbounder who spent 19 zero days in Partnership Shelter, waiting out snow. At first it seems impossible that someone could last so long in a shelter with limited food supplies, but once you realise there's a ranger station only a couple hundred yards away, complete with fully functional restrooms, a phone for ordering pizza delivery (and the shelter itself has a piping hot shower), it doesn't sound so bad!We set off from Trimpi this morning, walked down the hill and out into a meadow, and saw an abandoned school bus sticking out of the trees. Two Speeds ventured inside to find a bed, mattress and stove (plus a swarm of mosquitos). We continued on down to the south fork of the Holston River, where we took a very long 2nd breakfast break sitting on the wooden bridge in the sun. The thought of pizza for dinner was all that gave us motivation to climb the next hill, up to where Dimple Rock and Wrong Way Brown were standing over a huge Black Snake. Even though they're harmless snakes, no one felt the need to catch it and keep it as a pet, so we kept going.There were a huge number of hikers already at the shelter, including Chafe (who took off early this morning), Mountain Butterfly, Skittles, Hopeful, a Scot named Neil, and we were surprised to see Ben and Tyler (Riff Raff) there - the proximity to beer and pizza made them zero today. Ben had carved a Zoogle stick during the day, so we got a game going (Zoogle was invented by a hiker named Sasquatch, and can lead to hours of fun and bruised limbs).I spent the evening hanging around the ranger station, ordering and munching pizza, playing Zoogle and frisbee, and drinking Mountain Dew. Did I mention this is a good shelter?
Date: 2003-05-21
From: Partnership Shelter

To: US11/VA683 (Atkins, VA)
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: light rain

Today it rained. And rained. And then it rained. Grr.It was quite miserable walking (in the rain) to Chatfield Shelter with Skittles, Two Speeds and Chafe, where we hid to dry off for an hour before working up the courage to continue. It stopped raining (!) just before we started the last descent into Atkins, but we still had plenty of mud to squelch through before emerging at the road and making a beeline for the Dairy Queen. Within an hour or so we were all at the DQ, minus Dimple Rock, Wrong Way and Foxie, who we think took a zero at Partnership.We checked out the Relax Inn and got 2 rooms - Dad and I in one, Two Speeds, Chafe and Skittles in another. We got together with Mountain Butterfly and Iron Chef Connecticut for dinner at the Barn Restaurant, then crashed in front of Law & Order for the evening. We're warm, dry and well-fed :)
Date: 2003-05-22
From: US11/VA683 (Atkins, VA)

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 2.7

Today we succeeded in achieving our lowest ever mileage! Nobody was feeling highly motivated to get out of town, and once the Dairy Queen lured us in again (well, it was on the way to the trail!), the plans for our 14 mile day kinda went to hell.We spent the morning arranging a shuttle up to a restaurant for breakfast, then after a grocery store stop we were kicked out the motel at 11am. A bunch of us made our way to DQ for a last ice cream (Brownie Earthquake, mmmmmmm!)An hour up the trail we reached the shelter, where it didn't take long to decide we weren't moving on. Chafe, Two Speeds, Skittles, Dad and I claimed the shelter for ourselves and spent the afternoon playing cards before the mob arrived. Being so close to town, it was tempting to send someone back to the DQ to pick up dinner, but decided even we aren't that lazy!
Date: 2003-05-23
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Very uneventful and dreich day. Two Speeds, Brian (the man of 100 trail names, currently Hot Rod), Skittles and i spent the morning hiking together, up the mountain and down to VA610 for lunch. We met Chafe there and since the sun had burned off the mist we stopped to rest, and I promptly sat in some poison ivy. Seems I don't react to it though, and I've been told that I'd have had a reaction by now if I was allergic.We all set off up the next hill, through a grassy field this time instead of woodland, stepping over the cow dung (all conveniently dropped right on the AT), and being stalked by the occasional cow. The sun was out in full force when we reached the north fork of the Holston River, triggering another rest stop. We had just 3 miles left, and we almost made it before the next rain came pounding down. I managed to sqeeze into the shelter, while everyone else put their tents up in record time.It got dark quickly since the sky was so dull, so all campers retired early. At 10 o'clock I was just about ready to put away my journal and sleep, when a group of no less than 12 soggy hikers plodded up the path - among them Dimple Rock, Wrong Way, Foxie, Moo and 42 - who scrabbled around in the dark finding tent spots. Torrential rain has definitely forced us all to learn the art of setting up camp quickly. In some ways maybe the rain is a good thing. I doubt it though.
Date: 2003-05-24
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: light rain

Hmm. Not quite as bad as a 2.7 mile day, but still 7 miles shorter than we were planning.As soon as I set off this morning, any energy I might have had just vanished from my body. I was moving very slowly, and actually found it a struggle just to keep moving. Two Speeds and Skittles stopped to wait for most of the morning, but when we hit the big climb up to Chestnut Knob I just died. There are some days I find myself flying along, covering 10 miles without even thinking about it, but there are days every now and again where, for no real reason, walking is difficult and all I feel like doing is sleeping till the next day. Today is definitely the latter.I needed several breaks on my way uphill, and Two Speeds eventually got worried and retraced his steps to find me. When we finally got to Chestnut Knob Shelter I was done for the day. It was still fairly early so we managed to get bunk spaces. It's an odd little shelter this one - it's a 4-walled stone building with a heavy wooden door, and a peculiar layout of wooden bunks. A lot of people were tenting outside on nice thick grass and with a view over each side of the hill.Moo and 42 took off down the hill, but the rest of our group stayed. In the process of setting up my stuff I bashed my head off the stone mantelpiece next to my bunk, and the others spent the rest of the day watching me like a hawk for symptoms of a concussion. I wasn't having a good day!The one redeeming moment of the day was the last one. After dark, Two Speeds, Skittles, Hot Rod and I lay out our sleeping mats and watched the stars. Away from the lights of civilisation, the sky was beautifully clear. We weren't very good at picking out constellations (even with the help of a glow-in-the-dark starchart), but just lying and looking up was a relaxing and peaceful end to the day.
Date: 2003-05-25
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: VA615, Laurel Creek
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Lack of food forced us to actually complete a whole day's walking today. According to our original plan, we should have reached the town of Bland last night, but we've taken two extra days so far.Amazingly, we weren't rained on today (not until we reached camp at least), and we found an intriguing note pinned to the wall of Jenkins Shelter (with its must-see privy with leprechaun mural) when we passed through - the local church offers a free breakfast for hikers on monday mornings (i.e. tomorrow!), and runs shuttles from VA615 at 9:30am. We altered our plans yet again to accommodate (we figured the odds of it being monday when we were there meant we owed it to ourselves to go). When we reached the road and the bridge over Laurel Creek we scouted around and found some real decent campsites. Due to that lovely note in the shelter there were a good number of us camping here - Dimple Rock, Wrong Way Brown, Foxie, Chafe, Two Speeds, Hot Rod, Skittles, Pipes, Moxy and her brother Crazy Talk, Dad and I all set up camp. It's not often we have the opportunity for a decent breakfast, so we all climbed into our respective sleeping bags with images of pancakes floating about our dreams.
Date: 2003-05-26
From: VA 615

To: US 21/52 (Bland)
Miles today: 6.9

This is the kind of day every hiker can't help but like! As promised in a note at Jenkins Shelter, a convoy of cars arrived at 9.30 at the road where we'd camped to take us to a free (and much appreciated) breakfast provided by the New Hope United Church's "Appalachian Trail Outreach Ministry". Once we were stuffed like Christmas turkeys, the church very kindly gave us a ride into Bland, our next town stop and intended destination for tonight. Chafe, Two Speeds, Dad and I got a double room at the Big Walker motel, dumped our packs, then were driven back to 615 to slack the 6.9 miles to reach the main road into Bland.It was a lovely section of trail - no steep inclines, no rocks and no roots, so I managed the distance in just over 2 hours. The walk turned out to be almost 3 miles longer than expected though, when we didn't manage to get a lift into town, so we felt our treats at Dairy Queen were well deserved. We treated ourselves to a life of luxury all evening, taking a nice hot shower before crashing in front of TNT's "Law & Order" marathon and ordering in pizza.Tomorrow is Foxie's 29th birthday (and the 27th birthday of Moxie, a girl travelling with her brother Crazy Talk, who we first met at Davis Path Shelter), so there was a mini party with ice cream cake going on in the girls' room to which we were all invited. There's quite a large number of hikers here at the motel - apart from the 4 in our room ther's Dimple Rock, Wrong Way, Foxie (Mellow Yellow), Moxie, Crazy Talk, Brian, Skittles, Turtle, and many more. It'll be a busy trail tomorrow!
Date: 2003-05-27
From: US 21/52 (Bland)

To: Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 2.3
Weather: moderate rain

Hmm, seems we're getting worse at our "leaving town" days (especially when there's a Dairy Queen involved!). After 2.7 on our day out of Atkins I didn't think worse was possible, but today was a pathetic 2.3 miles!After a morning spent munching at the Dairy Queen, enjoying my close proximity to a shower, munching at Dairy Queen again, grocery shopping and, well, munching again, we got a bit of a late start at 3.15pm. Up until the moment we left town, hitching in Bland was proving very difficult - we walked the 3 miles from trail to motel last night with barely a wave from passing drivers, then this morning the guy who said he'd drive us from motel to grocery store dropped off Two Speeds and Chafe but forgot to come back for Dad and me (we walked that, too). The town, however, redeemed itself when a lovely guy named Jack, who regularly drives hikers around town, offered to take us back to the trail.Surprisingly enough, after only an hour of walking, we weren't the first 4 to arrive at the shelter for the night, but we still all got spaces before it was swamped by the continuation of the Damascus Surge. At the rate we're going though (plus the break Dad and I have next week), these people will all be past us soon. We're really going to have to pick up the pace after our time off though - first of all just to get some respectable mileage done before we have to go home, but also to catch up with our friends.
Date: 2003-05-28
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: VA 606 (Trent's Grocery)
Miles today: 16.3

We had a nice easy hike out of the shelter this morning - it was sunny, though slightly chilly, and we covered the even ground fairly quickly to stop for lunch at Jenny Knob Shelter. This one had an interesting privy - although this is the 2nd or 3rd one we've come across with a mailbox inside (mouse-proof tp holder), it's the first of the whole trail with a hiker-made "in use/not in use" sign!With 6 miles to go, the 4 of us set out as a group until the next hill spread us out. Just before VA 606 we crossed a fairly impressive wooden suspension bridge, triggering camera-snapping, jumping up and down, and a rest while everyone caught up. From here it was 0.8 miles down the road to Trent's Grocery, where ther's a grill, washhouse and a camping field (all a hiker could ask for!).I made quick use of the shower facilities (what is this strange clean feeling?), before we all munched an entire pizza each for dinner. A bunch of new hiking faces arrived to camp with us - Taro, Snooze, Moose Munch and Blaze - and they had a fire going when we got back to camp which we were all invited to share, so I had a nice cosy evening, chatting by the flames.
Date: 2003-05-29
From: VA 606 (Trent's Grocery)

To: Sugar Run Road (Wood's Hole Hostel)
Miles today: 13.9

It was pouring down with rain when we woke up this morning. When it's battering down on the tent I'm always much less motivated to get up, but for some reason Dad dragged me out of bed and down for a grill breakfast at 7.30, while the 2 guys were still enjoying their sleep (grr). There were a couple of breaks in the rain so we packed up without getting drenched, and while Dad took off about 10.30 I got sucked back into the grocery and accidentally ate more pizza. The three of us were on the road at 11.50 for a slow 7 miles to Wapiti Shelter. For some reason I felt weaker than usual, and even after the rain stopped I couldn't keep pace with the guys.We were all at Wapiti Shelter by 3.30pm. An entry in the register describes how at this shelter, in 1980, a young couple were murdered by a Pearisburg local. The entry was written by a friend of the woman in her memory, a lovely gesture but it gave the whole place an uncomfortable atmosphere.Just out of the shelter was a nasty hill, and we unfortunately timed the start of our climb with a massive downpour. We dried out over the last couple of rocky miles to Sugar Run Road, half a mile from which is Wood's Hole Hostel, run by Tillie Wood. Arriving late in the day, we found it packed already, but Dad, Chafe and Two Speeds found space on Tillie's front porch while I crashed on a mattress under a table in the hostel loft. I was glad to be inside (the weather was miserable) although it was odd being surrounded by so many hikers - shelters don't hold this many!