morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-05-14
From: Pig Farm Campsite

To: Howard Johnson Inn in Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I've had a long absence from this journal with trail days and all so I will try to fill in the past days the best I can.Today I hiked out to Daleville and got a room with CreekDiver, Thinker and Sampson.We ate a gallon of ice cream, one of those huge generic tubs you see at the store - that has been one of my dreams along the trail.A woman named Stiches who hiked in 1999 pulled up and asked if anyone wanted a ride to trail days and I thought "What the hell...why not?" I had been telling everyone that I definitely wouldn't be there, but I just decided to go. We are planning to leave tomorrow morning.
Date: 2008-05-15
From: Howard Johnson Inn in Daleville, VA

To: Old Mill Inn in Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Got a ride back to Damascus with Stitches. CreekDiver and I were the only ones who took Stitches up on the offer of a ride - Thinker and Sampson moved on.It's really weird to be back in the place I walked out of 2 weeks ago. I didn't think I'd be seeing Damascus again so soon.Trail Days starts tomorrow, there aren't many people here yet.
Date: 2008-05-16
From: Old Mill Inn in Damascus, VA

To: Tent City in Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

First day of trail days, I'm seeing a lot of people who I haven't seen since I started - it's a very cool feeling. I saw Lexi and Joel (now Slayer and Ularoo), who I first met on the approach trail in Georgia. I also saw Burass, Babu Simba, Bulldog, Hokewa (now K-Bomb), Harvest, Scout, Gypsy, Oof-dah, Earthbound, Hot Tang, Mzungu, Trainwreck and Pearl, Nest, and too many others to name. I also saw Margret, who I sent back to Damascus because of her gear situation - so happy that she's still on the trail and that I didn't kill her dreams. Love her new trail name - "85" because of her 85 Powerbars she was carrying.We also saw Grizly Park, a hilariously campy movie that was shot in Damascus. I'm not sure whether it is serious or not, it is so bad, the whole place cracked up at every scene.
Date: 2008-05-17
From: Tent City in Damascus, VA

To: Tent City in Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Trail days is in full swing...me, Oof-dah, and Earthbound have formed a band called The Andrew Johnson Mountain Trio and we planed in the talent show. It was a lot of fun - we even made t-shirts with sharpie markers that had our band name on them. Although some said we were the best act, we did not win, alas...most said they couldn't hear us. There were about 500 people in the audience.Then Oof-dah, Earthbound, Hot Tang and Mzungu (Swahili for White Boy) won the "Useless Gear Contest" for a bear bag rope they had made out of a chain of 450 meticulously folded Starburst candy wrappers.At night, tent city got CRAZY, everyone drunk, there were massive bonfires, people dancing and drinking all night, a good climax to this event.Tent city is this interesting network of tent camps that just springs up in the woods in Damascus...it's really almost like living in an actual city...and your house is your tent. You just have to see it to get an idea of what it's like.
Date: 2008-05-18
From: Tent City in Damascus, VA

To: The Place Hostel in Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today Oof-dah and I played a lot of music - it's sad because he's going off the trail to take a job in Africa and I won't see him again.Waking up was kinda depressing - I got up at about noon and many people had already gone...the drumming probably stopped at around 5:00am. Trail days was over.I felt it was right to take today off even though many people are getting back on the trail today. And I was right - it's pouring rain outside now.Now that everyone has cleared out I can move back into The Place, the famous donation-based hostel in Damascus hosted by the local church.
Date: 2008-05-19
From: The Place Hostel in Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 5.0

Got a ride back to Daleville with Stitches, who was also staying at The Place. Actually, she just dove me to Blacksburg and then let me drive her car the rest of the way to Daleville by myself. Obviously, this was extremely generous of her.Did some pretty pointless road walking (like 4 miles) looking for the trail which was right across the street, don't know how I missed it. Walking back I saw Sight and Freebird coming out of the Pizza Hut - nice to see them again but they are zeroing tomorrow and I have to move on. I still don't feel in the rhythm of being back out on the trail. I didn't actually start walking until 4:00 and just did 5 miles to the first shelter. Feel sluggish. Also - hate to say it but my new pack is bothering me. My old pack was really good but had two problems - one, it wasn't the right torso size, and two, it was too big and I was sometimes only filling about half of it. So I figured I'd get a different      pack by the same company that is designd differently and has a smaller capacity, in the right torso size. Problem is, it doesn't carry the same at all - it bunches up in the back and the shoulder straps pull back on my shoulders all day. I'm gonna call Brian, who makes it, next chance I get.At the shelter I met Grin, Big Jim, Gator and Marley.
Date: 2008-05-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 14.0

Woke up really late, like 8:30, I was tired this morning. Still trying to get back in the groove after Trail Days.Pack still bothering me constantly, can't get used to it pulling on me all day. It's just not sitting right. Kinda just want my old pack back but I still want to try and make this one work.Only did 14 miles today, trying to get back into it but got tired early...just decided to stay at the shelter with Grin, Gator and Marley even though it was only like 3:00pm. Went to sleep real early, like 6:00, not I'm up, but I'll try to sleep at least until 5:00am or so.
Date: 2008-05-21
To: View Entry
Miles today: 18.3

Still not totally back in the groove - feet and legs still sore, surprisingly. I did do 18.3 fairly easy miles though.Still hiking with Gator and Marley who thru-hiked in 2006. We pulled into the shelter early, like 3:30pm. A guy named Pearnut Butter who was dayhiking gave me from free food, and Marley gave me some extra Ramen he had, so this solves my problem of not having enough dinner to get to Glasgow...not that I would have starved though.I'm enjoying just enjoying the hike right now. Taking a page out of Gator and Marley's book (and just about every other past thru-hiker) and just going at whatever pace I feel like. I'm sure I will still do big days, but I'll do them when I want and right now I just want to relax. Gator says if she hiked again she'd take 7 months to do it, and Marley says he'd take 364 days! Right now I'm just about finding cool people to hike with and staying with them for a while. I was just telling Marley that when I started the trail was 99% nature and 1% everything else...now it's 50% nature and 50% people and places. The people on the trail and the places around the trail are just as much a part of the trail as the rocks and the trees and the mountains, and anyone who hikes the A.T. without appreciating them is doing themselves a disservice.
Date: 2008-05-22
From: Cornelious Creek Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

Got up early with Marley and Gator and walked 17.7 miles to Matts Creek Shelter.I met a famous guy today - "The Runner" who used to hold the record for running the A.T. - 52 days (supported, of course, meaning he didn't have to carry a pack). He also did the Smokies in 22 hours (unbelievable). He is leaving in a couple weeks to set the record for the CDT (one of the other two long distance trails in the United States). Read the book "Walking the Appalachian Trail" which contains his story, among others. I got my picture taken with him.Met Localman at the shelter, we stayed up for a long time joking and talking about music and life. SOme weekend hikers just pulled in super late. Me and Localman started singing "Welcome to the Shelter" to the tune of "Welcome to the Jungle" in high-pitched rock n' roll voices. Not sure if they knew what to make of that. Haha, it's fun messing with non-thru-hikers.I've been taking it so easy lately...and now I've decided to just zero tomorrow with Marley and Gator. Still enjoying this slower pace and feeling not quite fully back after Trail Days...gotta call Brian at ULA tomorrow about the pack situation, it's driving me crazy...
Date: 2008-05-23
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 2.2

Stayed at the Budget Inn with Marley and Gator. We got mexican food for dinner and Gator and I had two huge margaritas. This has planed an idea in my head where I want to pack out pre-mixed margaritas to a shelter with disposable cups and one of those salt things you can get at the store. A sombrero would be preferred if I could fine one. I would be a hero.We also hit up the library for computer access, and I made some calls from the room.I did eat half a gallon of ice cream - there was a grocery store next to the drug store - me and Gator had to go there for different reasons - she has pretty bad blisters and I am starting to get a pretty bad ingrown toenail.At night we got beers and cigars and sat outside our room talking about the AT experience. It's nice hiking with former thru-hikers.A bit about Marley and Gator - Marley is a middle aged guy from Maine with a pretty thick accent. His name has nothing to do with Bob Marley, as most people assume - he's crazy about his two daughters Marissa and Bailey, and took three letters from each to make Marley. I've come to realize he's pretty creative and has made a variety of AT-related things you can buy. During his thru-hike he wrote a children's book about a guy named Marley and a talking dog named Blaze (love how he innocently ignored the drug implications of this) who helps him hike the A.T. also also teaches the reader valuable lessons about the outdoors. He also sells a "Privies of the AT" calendar - during his hike he took a picture of every privy on the AT (a privy is like an outhouse). He also made a shirt, the back of which reads "How's my hiking? Dial 1-800-Eat-Dirt" He's a real friendly guy, often waving a saying hi to sometimes surprised strangers from a considerable distance.Gator is a 30 year old from Georgia with a thick southern accent. She is always smiling and always happy - I can't decide who is friendlier, her or Marley. I'm actually quiet around strangers compared to them. She got about 1000 miles into her thru-hike and had to get off because of a major injury, I think it was a stress fracture or a broken ankle or something. She then finished the hike another year, so she did it in two parts. She is doing a 200 mile section this year and is planning on moving to Alaska with her boyfriend.I can't believe how modest they are about their thru-hikes. When we meet new people, especially non-hikers, they say "This guy's going all the way to Maine!" (talking about me) - I always have to step in a say "Wait - these guys already did it!"
Date: 2008-05-24
From: Buena Vista, VA

To: Punchbowl Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was hard - I'm loaded up with maybe more than I have ever carried for the next stretch to Waynesboro, plus I tried to pack out the beers we didn't drink to surprise the people at the shelter. We only had 11 miles to go, but with all that weight in a pack that didn't carry well, plus my rapidly deteriorating ingrown toenail, it took a long time and it was painful. Plus we had a lot of climbing to do. I stuck my hands in the shelter straps and leaned on them, trying to stop the thing from pulling on me, then my hands kinda numb. I'm far from being in optimal hiking mode right now. I need to take care of some things.No Eyed Deer is a nurse and is only a few miles ahead of us - we're gonna wake up early and try to catch her, see if she can cut my toenial out or something right here. If she says I hav eto go to the doctor so be it, but this has already gotten bad.The other problem is my pack but Mt. Rogers has graciously decided to send me the pack I need and I will just return this one to them. I'll pick it up in Waynesboro - I'm psyched. I'd like to have my toe and pack worked out for the Shenandoahs so I can do big miles there on the famously forgiving trail that runs through it.[I'd also like to say that Brian from ULA got back to me and offerred to exchange the pack I have but I had already worked it out with Mt. Rogers Outfitters...however I'd like anyone reading this to know that Brian offers great packs and great customer service...help him out by not buying from the big companies and getting a hand-sewn pack from him]
Date: 2008-05-26
From: YMCA Campground in Waynesboro, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Yikes - gotta catch up on entries. Not much happened today, really...still living out of my tent at the YMCA campground. I could move into the hostel but I actually think I like it better here.Went out to a diner with everyone, that was good. The diner is famous on the trail for it's all you can eat (thru-hikers call this AYCE "ace") pancakes for $5. My guidebook says that the record for men is 24, and that the record for women is 19. They are huge. I can't imagine eating more than maybe 5.Then I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant with everyone. Then Lady Cluck, a physician's assistant, changed my toe bandage for me. That's about it...
Date: 2008-05-27
To: YMCA Campground
Miles today: 0.0

An even more uneventful day than yesterday - noone left on the campground except me and Pack Animal. I didn't want to spend much money today, so I just bought $10 worth of food at the grocery store and just kinda hung around my tent. The ukelele is good for these days. I can entertain myself for quite a while with it.
Date: 2008-05-29
From: Bald Knob

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 18.1
Weather: few clouds

Damn...actually had some really painful skin chafing on my right heel...never had that before - why did something new have to pop up? So I didn't make big miles - maybe my shoes were too tight? Not sure...hope for better feet tomorrow. I'll never catch up if I don't start doing 20s and 30s. Feel like a fish outo f water back here where I don't know most people. It's funny, people that were way behind me are now ahead, interesting reading the registers now.
Date: 2008-05-30
From: The Priest Shelter

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 29.4
Weather: few clouds

Unexpectedly big day, but I'm finally doing the mileage I wanted to do. At 4:15pm, I had only gone about 14 miles, but suddenly got a second wind and thought - whoa, what if I go ALL THE WAY TO WAYNESBORO TONIGHT?Alight, so I didn't quite get to Waynesboro, but I did get to the shelter 5 miles south of it...and doing 15 miles at 4:15pm is pretty ambitious. I once thought the Seattle brothers were crazy when they wanted to do 10 more at around that time. Anyway, getting to the shelter involved solo night hiking for about an hour, which was actually pretty cool and not scary or uncomfortable at all. It's kindof like hiking a different trail at night, but you just have to be careful you stay on the trail - it'd be really hard to find yourself back if you were to step off it. A couple of times I backtracked a bit to get back on the white blazes.Tired now...long day, must sleep.Oh, also...the register at "The Priest" shelter is full of confessions, and you are supposed to write one as your entry (get it? Priest Mountain? Priest? ahh...right). Most are humorous and I think mine went something like this:"Often, when doing combining laundry into one load with a group of people, I will knowingly contribute a pair of poopy shorts and then sit in the hotel room, alone and scared that one of my laundry-mates will suddenly burst through the door, pissed off and holding the offending item as evidence."P.S. The Three Ridges climb was not fun - this was not a flat or easy 30 mile day.P.P.S. Some people have pointed out that I never explained the name change from Bones to Maestro. Basically, Bones was a name I already had off-trail, in fact some people will simply refuse to call me Andrew so I figured I'd use that. But trail names should be given, that's tradition. So when RestStop, a guy who's planning a yo-yo hike (turning around at Katahdin and going back) called me Maestro at the Sarver Hollow Shelter, I figured I'd switch and take on a trail-given identity. Maestro, obviously, stems from the fact that I carry and play a ukelele, visibly strapped to the top of my pack. So that's that.
Date: 2008-05-31
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: clear sky

Hobbled the 5 miles out of the shelter to Waynesboro. I didn't really sleep - it was too hot to even just sleep in my liner, yet you had to cover all your skin because the blackflies (I think?) were biting all night. My heels were really torn up, thankfully I didn't have to do more than 5 miles in the morning. Got on the trail by 5:30am cause I couldn't sleep, got into town by about 5:30 (after hitching and everything) and went straight to Wasie's restaurant and ordered a ton of food. Then I did errands - resupplied, took a shower at the Y, got stuff for my heels, went to the outfitter for some much-needed stuff like AquaMira and new socks (my old ones were mouse-chewed). Got a ride around town from Sublime, Genkin and No Eyed Deer's son, then got a ride from Hell on Bad Wheels to the trail. This was my first days in Shenandoah National Park ("The Shennies"). I got to the first shelter at about 4:30pm and saw Grin and Pack Animal. At around 5:30pm I decided to actually push 13 more miles to the next shelter. I was already night hiking last night, and this decision would definitely require more of it. It seems to get pretty dark here by 8:45pm, and really pitch dark at about 9:05pm. I ended up hiking until about 10:30pm. It was actually a little freakier than last night to do that much night hiking alone. I don't really like rolling into the shelter that late - everyone is asleep, you can't really cook, you don't get to talk to people, and you don't know who is in there so you feel as though you don't know anyone. It wasn't until the morning that I saw it was Genkin, No Eyed Deer, Circumstance, Mudbug, and Chewbacca. Thankfully, it was a cooler, more bug-free night than last night.I got these patches for my heels which have lessened the pain quite a bit. I'm not sure why they're wearing away all of a sudden.It's cool that I was able to push out 25 miles even with staying in town for 7 hours.
Date: 2008-06-01
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Couldn't hike more than a few miles in my shoes because of the pain of the skin on my heels. Made it to the camp store (right along the trail here in the Shenandoahs) and decided 1) to switch to flip flops for a while and 2) to only hike 13 miles to give my feet a rest and also to enjoy the day, eating ice cream from the campstore, taking a nap on the grass in the sun, and just going at a slow pace. Glad to be hanging out with a group again - Genken, No Eyed Deer, Circumstance and Mudbug. It's also nice to slow down and just enjoy what the Shennies have to offer. The trail here is really easy. This place is like the opposite of the Smokies - easy trail and not much solitude - lots of hikers and things like commercial campstores dotting the trail every 30 miles or so. The Shennies are also famous for their blackberry milkshakes, which you can get at diners less than a mile from the trail. Had a great night with the group - we got to the shelter early, having packed out wine, beer, and cigars from the camp store. I actually carried two bottles of wine in my water bladder, one for a section hiker named Sky, earning me the third trail name of Wine Sherpa. We told stories, laughed a lot, played music - a very good night.
Date: 2008-06-02
From: Pinefield Hut

To: South River Fire Road
Miles today: 15.2

Another lazy day - put shoes on in the morning and heels felt surprisingly better. They got worse with time but at least I can walk on them a bit.Circumstance and I found a horribl book at Hightop Mtn shelter that describes itself as "Women's Contemporary Fiction." It's called Backpack by Emiles Barr. We were joking about reading it so much that we finally decided to take it. We even started a fictitious book club called The Hightop Mountain Book Club - "a male perspective on women's comtemporary literature." Tonight was my night with the book. The first chapter is awful and I'd imagine it's just gonna go downhill. I'm 13 pages into a 350 page book. I'm not sure there are any good books in the genre of women's contemporary fiction. We're gonna be writing chapter by chapter reviews in the registers.There was a slight problem at night when the picnic area we wanted to camp at didn't allow camping. After a talk with an ornery ranger we moved up the trail and luckily found a spot by the side of a fire road.
Date: 2008-06-03
From: South River Fire Road

To: Big Meadows
Miles today: 13.4
Weather: overcast clouds

BEAR SIGHTING - I was beginning to feel like the only one here who hadn't seen a bear - but today I saw a group of three, I think a mother and two cubs. Actually there's not much to tell, really...they don't really like humans hanging around so when they see you they just turn around and amble the other way.Still hanging with N.E.D., Genken, Mudbug and Circumstance. We got a room at a place called Big Meadows right off the trail in the park, so we're splitting that tonight between 6 people (a guy named Troutbum joined as well). There's a place about a mile road walk away where you can get meals including the famous blackberry shakes (these are very good), and the lodge has a pretty expensive restaurant and bar in it as well.We actually accidentally shortcut 0.6 miles to get to the lodge, so after a few drinks, around midnight, Mudbug and I charged into the room, grabbed Circumstance by both arms, dragged him out of bed and we all went back and hiked the half mile we'd missed.
Date: 2008-06-04
From: Big Meadows

To: Skyline Drive
Miles today: 11.2

N.E.D and Genken got up at a respectable time and got on the trail, but Mudbug, Circumstance and I hung around all day, went to the restaurant, etc. Plus we heard there was an epic storm rolling in. We waited for the first one to pass at the lodge (it was pretty intense), then headed out. After 3 miles we got to the first shelter. It was already 5:00 and we still had 15 more miles to do. After only an hour or two the sky suddenly becomes really dark, and it starts raining and blowing as the second wave of storm hits us. We're on top of a mountain, and suddenly there's a blinding light and a crash directly in front of us as lightning hits. Mudbug and I instinctively crouch down, cowed by the force of nature. He shouts "What do we do?" above the wind. I'm really no survival expert, but I said we should go down, but we have to decide north or south on the trail. I figured there was no sense in backtracking, so we just start SPRINTING (with full packs) onward. Suddenly Mudbug shouts "Shelter!" which was impossible since we were still so far away from one, but we had stumbbled upon, miraculously, a horse stable, and they had a SODA MACHINE outside. It was the most bizarre, trail magical thing ever, suddenly watching the storm under cover and drinking sodas. After it passed we hiked on and got to a vista, where we saw a third storm rolling towards us. We didn't want to hike in it so we camped on Skyline Drive. You're not allowed to do that but we figured noone would enforce the rules on a night like this. We learned later that tornadoes had destroyed part of the lodge we had stayed in and even killed one person in their car (not a hiker). They were powerful storms. It was funny, on the TV before we left, the Weather Channel was like "Stay Inside! Seek Shelter!" while we tightened the shoulder straps of our packs and made ready to head out amidst the visibly horrified lodge patrons. Some even took pictures, saying they wanted a picture of "real live thru-hikers."