morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-13
From: PICTURES

To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.3

Friday the 13th and we're at mile 666... FREAKY!!! Overcast all day, no complaints though. I didn't overheat! :-) Got breakfast from Renegade... Bacon, eggs and sausage with hot coffee and cold OJ. It was spectacular! Got to a road crossing and came upon a cooler filled with RC Cola & candy (much thanks to Super Dave for keeping it stocked!) Now we're at the Sarver Hollow Shelter after a wicked .3 mile descent from the A.T. very nice shelter though! At the water source there was an old small barn type building with a larger log cabin type building that had collapsed. 3 firepalces in that little thing, it was weird. Also noticed tons of cairn type rock piles along the AT between the powerlines and this shelter. I was imagining it being some sort of spy tower or block towers for some war, but I have no idea. It would be really cool to get a history of this stuff! Well, ate the 700 mile celbration pudding early. We'll get more in Catawba. :-) Well, getting late. I'm cashed!
Date: 2005-05-14
From: PICTURES

To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.9

Happy Anniversary to Radio's Parents! :-) I'd like to dedicate this day of hiking in memory of Brittany Knoch, I saw so many butterflies today and it made me smile all day. Beautiful day today. Great strategic placing of a bench that was wonderful to a tired hiker! Hiked with Hardcore for a majority of the past few days. Now we're stopped at Pickle Branch with Peeps (who also works at REI!) :-) Hmmm.... OH.... Also saw a black snake today, well really I almost stepped on it! :-0 It had to have been about 3 feet long. I freaked out! I yelled and Radio thought that I had got bit or something. So, he yelled too. It was hilarious! I was shaking for quite a while after that. Well, off to bed. Gotta get some rest for the weary body! :-)
Date: 2005-05-15
From: PICTURES

To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.0

Beautiful day today! Crossed over Dragon's Tooth and MacAfee Knob. Went into Catawba to grab a meal & some granola bars. Ate 2 cheeseburgers, some chips and ice cream... YUMMY! At mile marker 699.1 now. WAHOO!!! We were planning on stopping before McAfee Knob but the weather was nice and the hambugers fueled us up the mountain. Beautiful views from the top here at Campbell Shelter with the wandering bull. I guess Hardcore and Peeps moved on. Well, I'm not exhausted, but I can't think of anything else to write. G'nite! :-) (almost forgot, 2 months on the trail!) ALso saw rhododendrons blooming and saw a cool orange colored amphibian. :-)
Date: 2005-05-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.4

In town today. Pulled a quick 15 to get here in time to go to the PO before it closed. Saw tons of deer today and crossed over Tinker Cliffs. Absolutely Beautiful! Decided to crash in town to see if Radio's drop box comes in tomorrow. So much to do in town, so little time to do it. Ate tons of McDonald's today, thanks to Radio's Grandma! It was awesome! Well, I've changed the "signature line" at the bottom of all the journals to the link where my pictures can be found. Well, enough for tonight. Time to enjoy the pillow!!!! :-)
Date: 2005-05-17
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.2

My food bag must weigh 20+ pounds! (No Joke!!) Radio got his box in today after we'd already gotten food to get us to Buena Vista, so now we've decided to try and make it to Waynesboro without a resupply. Had to find a super stout branch to hang our bags, hopefully it does't pull the tree down (HAHA!!) Lazy start out of Daleville this morning. Washed laundry at the truck stop, interesting people there. Made it 5 miles out and we're thinking about stopping. My body was craving more uphill... right... We pushed on to the Wilson Creek Shelter. Finally got to meet Buttah after reading the registers for so long. Well, it's late and my eyelids are drooping... G'nite!PS thanks to all of Radios friends and family that said hey! I haope that you don't get a bias view of what's going on out here(HAHA!!!)
Date: 2005-05-18
To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.6

Let me start this off with what happened last night... About 3AM there was a large animal thrashing through the woods. It made some weird medium pitch exhaling type noise like it was trying to sneeze. Then it just took off running away from the shelter. Me, Radio, Buttah, Pat, Vision Quest & Wandering Bull all agreed that we thought it was a bear. So that's my story. Today was rough. Got a late start at 9:00 or so. We crossed the Blue Ridge Pkwy. at least 3 or 4 times, thought it would be prime for trail magic but hit none. Tons of Rhododendrons blooming along with azaleas. It's so beautiful! Passed Buttah & Pat at Jenning's Creek where we decided to tough out the last 3.7 ,miles to make it to this shelter. Huge shelter, has a covered porch are and 3 levels. Vision Quest made it here also. Shiloh, Rodeo & Windy are here too. Well, once again it's past 9, way past our bedtime! Ate 2 full dinners & pudding tonight.. YUMMY!!!! G'nite.
Date: 2005-05-19
To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.5

Hard day today. Started out with a hard ascent up Apple Orchard Mtn. at 4,225 ft. (highest we will get until New Hampshire). Leap frogged with Rodeo and Vision Quest today. Made it to a small observation point near a parking lot and ran into Pete Wells with Juno who were just looking at the view. He invited us over to have some "Uncle Pete's Apple Pudding." It was excellent! Can't give out the receipe, it's a secret! :-) Pushed on to Marble Spring where we are camped. Rodeo is here as well as a SOBO section hiker "Old Timer." 50% chance of rain tonight and possibly clear tomorrow (Hoorah!!!). Oh yeah... Also passed the Guillotine and got pics, those should be entertaining! Well, off to bed! G'nite!!
Date: 2005-05-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 18.2

Tough day! Went to the Wildwood Campground for lunch... It was awesome! Had 2 cheeseburgers each, half bag of Bugles, Animal Carckers, a Dr. Pepper and half pint of Ben & Jerry's "Fossil Fuel" ice cream. I love food! Walked across a cool footbridge to get to the road and got a sweet hitch to the campground. Radio, No Worries, Rabbit and I were sitting in the back of a small pick-up flying down the road! :-) The owner of the campground gave Radio and I a ride back to the trail we pushed on another 10.5 miles to get here (Punchbowl Shelter). Had to set the tent up as soon as we got here in hopes it would dry from the hellacious downpour from last night. There is a little pond here and there are soooo many frogs! Got here at 7:10 and there were a few others here, but they were all already asleep. Maybe we'll get to meet them in the morning. Oh, also one more thing... made it to the 8.8 miles in 3 hours and 10 minutes. Proud of that so I wanted to mention it! G'nite Ya'll!!!
Date: 2005-05-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.9

Started today with intentions of big miles but... Found out Rusty's is closed and had to make a stop in Buena Vista to get granola bars to get us to Waynesboro. Saw in the handbook that there were cheap campsites that included a shower & a pool. Walked several miles to the campsite only to discover that the pool was closed and the shower stalls were questionable. We walked most of the way back to "downtown" and got a hitch to the Budget Inn (which doesn't have a pool) and yet the shower is still questionable. A bit more expensive than the campsite but at least it's climate controlled with no bugs. Well, one fly that's buzzing around! Hoping to get a good night's sleep and hit the trail again tomorrow. Waynesboro by Tuesday or Wednesday. AYCE pancakes at Weasie's, 19 is the record for girls... For the next few days anyways! :-) In other news, saw a guy hiking down the trail naked. uckily he stopped and put on a kilt before the details became clear.
Date: 2005-05-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 3.8

WOW, long journals lately! As can be seen from our milage, we had a short day. Had the "continental Breakfast" at the hotel and watched tv until checkout at 11. Hit up Hardee's right before they switched to lunch so we had a second breakfast! YUMMMMM!!!! :-) Got a hitch from town and got to the trail at about 12:45. Radio was feeling pretty rough and we had 2,000 feet to gain so our inteded 14 mile day became 4. Radio is feeling a lot better now, so we'll do bigger miles tomorrow. Got passed by a few people today(Buttah, Proteus & Leviathan) so the shelter registers will be funny again! :-) Found more poison ivy spots today. Glad we're almost to Waynesboro! (My Mom put some Ivy Dry in there... Thanks Mom!) Well, going to try my luck at a few cribbage games...
Date: 2005-05-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.1

Today was awesome! Kept looking like it would rain, but then it would clear up and be sunny for a while. Finally met Proteus today so now I've met all the GA REI folks!! :-) Checked out Spy Rock about 4 miles shy of the shelter. Super windy but beautiful! Started raining for a few minutes after we got the tent set up. We've been tenting a lot lately because of the bugs. Makes it miserable when the bugs are out and you're in a shelter with no protection from them. Shooting for Waynesboro by Thursday. Possibly Wednesday night. Weasie's is calling... I'm preparing myself mentally for the 20 pancake challenge... Can I do it? We'll see!
Date: 2005-05-24
To: View Entry
Miles today: 19.7

Wow, what a day! Off the bat, we lost about 3,000 feet in elevation only to gain it all back just so we could lose it again. Don't want to say it too much but Virginia is NOT flat!!! Got to the second shelter to realize Rusty's is open but decided not to go because we had already resupplied in Buena Vista... Wish that sign hadn't been on the tree saying it was closed. But oh well... So, now we're camped on the Cedar Cliffs because we are exhausted and this is the first flat spot to jump out at us. Rained on and off all day. Started to rain just as we got done eating. Radio hung the food bag while I scrambled for the tent. Short day tomorrow into Waynesboro. Just found out our average just hit 12! Wahooo! One thing did go right! :-) G'nite!
Date: 2005-05-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.0

What a great push into town! Figured out that we camped less than 100 yrads from 1/4 way to Maine (the hiker, not the mile marker! :-)) Got pumped for the pancake challenge at Weasie's (current record is 19 for girls and 24 for guys) and walked away greatly dissappointed having only eaten 6 pancakes! :-( Sounds easy to beat it??? You try! Those pancakes were awesome though! Radio had 9. We both could have eaten maybe 1 more each but being so far from the record, why make yourself sick? We were planning on camping at the YMCA but the Grace lutheran Church in town allows hikers to stay for free. So we decided on that instead. Washing luandry right now, getting excited because we're sending winter gear home tomorrow! :-) (Don't worry Mom, we're washing it before we mail it. But that's not guaranteeing that it won't still smell really bad!) Get my Waynesboro box today and I want to send a big thanks to everyone at REI in Buford, GA (Best REI EVER!) and everyone at home that wrote inspiring words to me. It truly helps out tremendously! Well, tons to do while in town!!!....Thanks to Mr. Anderson for the ride into Waynesobro and Grace Lutheran Church for a place to stay!
Date: 2005-05-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Third zero, first that wasn't caused by weather. Beautiful day today! Took a zero to rest my leg, the shin splint is still hanging on. I had one at the NOC back in NC, but it didn't hurt anywhere as bad and it went away. I hope that the "flat" walking in Shenandoah will heal it. (Yes Mello, I tried ice. It didn't seem to hlep much. But thanks for the tip! :-) ) Walked around downtown Waynesboro today. It was awesome! Stopped at the Chatterhouse which is a bus that has been converted into a coffee shop and a second bus that had couches in it. We must have stayed in there for close to 2 hours just reading magazines and playing some game called "Mad Gab", it was helarious. Ate AYCE chinese tonight, filling. Here with Tunes, Possum, Kung Fu, Step and Mateo. (Hey Angie, I've herard the truth about your hiking in the GSMNP!) Attended an AT Hiker church service here tonight that was cool. Well, it's lights out, g'nite (If I forgot anything I'll try to mention it tomorrow.)
Date: 2005-05-27
To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.0

Did a longer day because we got to the trail early. Saw 4 snakes today! :-( One of them was decent sized rattlesnake, the other were all really small. I saw the rattlesnake just as I had found a nice place to pee... Needless to say, I found a different nice place! Crossed Skyline Drive a lot today. Also crossed at Beagle Gap, which is significant to me because I've got a picture of me there from 2003 when I was on my way to Maine (driving) to work at Baxter. 2 years ago I couldn't have imagined actually making it this far, but here I am!!!! Here with Mateo, Beta, Mr. Beer (who saw 4 bears today), Mandolin Man, Lucky Dog, Jersey Jones and Step. Interesting bear bag poles here, almost as amusing as throwing a bear line. Still have the shin splint today, isn't as bad and the absence of steep down has really helped! Well, off to bed. It's getting late.
Date: 2005-05-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.2

Planned on doing 21 miles today but we decided 13 was more attainable! :-) Stupid black fly flew into my ear and also filled up before leaving. So, now the inside of my ear hurts. (Killed the sucker though.. It made me feel better!) Stopped at the campstore at Loft Mtn. (AKA the Black Vortex that sucks your wallet dry!) and ate some awesome junk food that consisted of (but not limited to...)a large bag of M&M's, some cheese Bugels (I love those things!) and a very delicious pint of strawberry cheesecake ice cream... YUMMMMM!! :-b Radio ate 1,600 calories worth of Fritos. I love hiking! We knew at that point that we were cutting the day short so we packed out a six pack fo Bud to the first shelter out... I love beer! Camped with Ridgerunner, Jersey Jones and some section hikers. Mandolin Man & Lucky Dog are in the shelter. Hoping to make it 20 miles to Lewis Campground and score the cabin for $20. Not really counting on it, but it would be nice. Well, getting late...
Date: 2005-05-29
To: View Entry
Miles today: 20.6

Crazy day today! Another day without using the water filter! WAHOOO!!! Down side is that I have learned my "Yogi" skills suck! Stopped at a picnic area FULL of people grilling out and didn't get a single morsel! (Radio and I have decided that you just have to ask, we haven't been that desparate yet.) Made it to the Lewis campstore just before it closed. So, we got some snacks. 2nd day in a row that I've eaten a pint of ice cream... I'm going to miss the Shenandoah's! Planning a short day tomorrow because the spacing of the shelters through here is messed up. Lunch at Big Meadows tomorrow... Beer for dinner! (Have I mentioned how much I love the Shenandoah's?) Shin splint feeling better today. But I'm not sure if it is healing or because I increased my doses of vitamin I... Oh well, either way it feels better! Getting late! PS Hiking with Jersey Jones lately, making plans to go into Front Royal and possibly all go bowling... WAHOOO!!!
Date: 2005-05-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 11.5

SHort day... Just couldn't bring myself to do 2 - 20 miles back to back! We hit the Big Meadows Wayside today for lunch. (I keep asking myself "How is my food bag going to get smaller when I don't eat out of it?" But trying to reason with a hamburger and ice cream is pointless!) Hiked with Jersey Jones and Waist Deep today. I was able to set a new personal best with 3 pints of ice cream consumed in 3 days! WAHOOO!!!! The half gallon challenge will be a walk in the park!!! Maybe morning, but that would mean getting started before 8AM and the probability of that greatly decreased with the more beers I consumed tonight. Still somewhat probable though... Didn't see any bears today, as usual, saw tons of deer. The deer will just about come up to you! Well, getting late again! More laughs han I've had in a while! :-)
Date: 2005-05-31
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.3

Started out this morning getting our permit checked for the second time by the same ranger... That was odd. Left the shelter at about 8:20 or so (caught Jersey going the wrong way. :-b) and were able to get to the breakfast at Skyland Diner. Had eggs, sausage, potatoes and a biscuit... Soooooo good! Since we knew we were only doing 15 miles today, we did a few side trails. Went to the top of Stoney Man, the highest point on the AT in the Shenandoah's. (Well, it was .2 off the trail) Then later on we went to the top of Mary's Rock where I took a few pictures in a hopeless effort to use an entire roll of film before Harper's Ferry. Got some trail magic just shy of the shelter at a road crossing. Sweet Pea from 2003 left some chips & fruit, so we had some chips & an apple. It was great! Well, it's about 8:00 and there are some section hikers here & Waist Deep. We're wondering if Jersey is going to make it here. I guess we'll see in the morning...
Date: 2005-06-01
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.1

Crazy day today! Jersey didn't make it last night, hoping he is able to meet us in Front Royal tomorrow. Didn't see any bear today. :-( We did run into Tulip and Cheerio again today and they gave us some candy! WAHOOO!!! Went to the Wayside & got some grilled cheese and a blackberry milkshake... and of course some beer (Have to take advantage of it when you can!) Now we're at the Gravel Spring Hut. Waist Deep moved on because there weren't any good campsites left. Hopefully we'll all meet up tomorrow. Oh yeah, had a tick on me last night and another one today. Also found on crawling around in the tent with us this morning.... EEEWWWWWW!!!!!!! Well, it's June now, I guess it should be getting a lot warmer soon...
Date: 2005-06-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.4

Got locked in the privy last night... That sucked! Had to tear the TP holder off the wall to get out (sorry PATC!) At least I didn't have to spend the night in the privy though! :-) Made it into Front Royal today... Aren't any decent hotels unless you are willing to pay a lot of money. (Which is out of our budget. So, needless to say, we're in a crappy hotel.) Got a great ride into town! Thanks! (You know who you are!) Can't wait til we get to Harper's Ferry! (Really, I can't wait until the "half gallon challenge" But that is a little past Harper's Ferry) Well, the Piston's are losing so Radio isn't happy. Enough for tonight. Hello to everyone back home that is following. Sign my guestbook! (I get tired of reading the same ones over and over... hahahaha)
Date: 2005-06-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

4th zero, this one is because of weather. Supposed to rain on & off for the next week. So, we weren't trying to dodge the weather, we were just being lazy. Got to check out the pictures from the last roll of film, that was cool. We've been glued to the tube all day watching pointless shows and movies... Life is great! :-) We'll be heading out tomorrow morning. It's getting late and I've got to get some rest for tomorrow.
Date: 2005-06-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.7

Beautiful smells today on the trail. (none of them from Radio though!!!) Smelled like tons fo roses in bloom!! :-) Trail follwed the border of some zoo today... Before we got to it, I envisioned it as being bears in a concret hole with fencing, but in reality it was a muddy overgrown fence walk. Guess I'll have to hit the Atlanta Zoo when I get home. Hit trail magic twice today! :-) Got a coke and an oatmeal cream pie & got a coke, a banana and some ice cream at the second one. It was great! Decided to stop early today, figured we'd get an early start tomorrow. Camped out with Jersey tonight, we seem to be goung the same pace. Well, off to bed!
Date: 2005-06-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.6

Hit the beginning of the "Roller Coaster" today. It's 10 mountains with about 500 foot gain/loss for each one (about 10,000 feet change in elevation for the 13 or so miles.) Only hit 2 of the mountains today! Hit some trial magic at 50. Homemade brownies, cokes and almonds... YUM! Passed Tulip & Cheerio again. Can't wait to hear the answer to the joke they asked us yesterday. (What did the lamb say when it swallowed a firecracker?) Camped at a stream with Jersey (He just can't get rid of us!) Found 3 ticks on me today :-( I'm hoping that I get them all off before they transmit the lyme disease. On a happier note, we might be at the 1,000 mile mark tomorrow. That would be pretty sweet! It might rain tomorrow, I'm kinda hoping it does because it's a free shower! :-) It's been so humid the past 2 days that I am soaked in in 10 minutes anyways. Well, the sound of the stream & the birds is making me drowsy. G'nite!
Date: 2005-06-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.8

Tented inside the shelter (which marks the 1,000 mile mark!) :-) Started to thunder about 3.2 miles shy of the shelter. We made it here in about an hour. :-) Had an interesting encounter with a raccoon early this morning, I didn't know that raccoons made a yelping sound! (It was too close to the tent, so I hit the side of the tent & it ran away yelping!) We stopped at Bear's Den and ate a pint of Ben & jerry's each and a soda. It was a great break from the coaster! Pushed to this shelter, so it's a short 9 into H.F. tomorrow morning where burgers and fries are waiting! For now, I must sleep! Oh yeah! Crossed into WV! Finally out of Virgina! :-)
Date: 2005-06-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 8.8

As usual, had grander visions of bigger miles. But got tempted to stay in Harper's Ferry, so we did. Met Yardsale, who is attempting the four-state challenge tomorrow. (Good luck to him!!!) Got my new shoes today so I mailed the old stinky ones back to GA as some form of trophy. :-) Hopefully we won't get lost tomorrow, I've heard that the blazing is scarce through town. Officially signed in at the ATC HQ the morning! NOBO #'s 202 & 203! Off to Maryland in the morning!
Date: 2005-06-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.1

Started the day off by entering a new state! Now we're in Maryland! Harper's Ferry is rich in history! I found out (which I possably already learned years ago)that maryland was a union state. So, I guess I'm oficially out of the south. :-( We'll be crossing the Mason-Dixon line on Friday. Pack was super heavy today so I did what anyone else would do. I took a break at the shelter and ate lots of food! YUM! Passed through Gathland State Park which is a Civil War memorial type park. Now we're camped at Rocky Run shelter. Feet are really tired and unfortunately got a blister today because my feet aren't used to the shoes yet. I thought I broke them in at home, but I guess not. Hopefully my feet will adjust quickly. Well, it's bed time for now! Forgot to mention... we took our shoes off and walked around in the Potomac River. Skipped stomes there too! Also saw a 4 foot black snake climb up a huge tree. If I didn't see it, I wouldn't ahve believed it!
Date: 2005-06-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 15.7

Got a late start this morning at 9:15... Wait! That's not late, I meant to say usual! Got to see Waist Deep at the shelter this morning. Tons more historical memorials today. We stopped that the George Washington Memorial and ate lunch. Hit some nasty sections of rock today that made my feet scream. I hope PA won't be that bad. Lucky Dog and Mandolin Man are here, they are heading home tomorrow. I'm going to miss the mandolin playing at the shelter! Oh crossed over I-70 on an AT footbridge, got a honk from a semi! :-) Also got some delicious strawberries just before the bridge! YUM! Well, signing out for th night. A thunderstorm is moving in.