morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-05
From: TN91

To: Damascus
Miles today: 21.9
Weather: clear sky

It's so funny that last night we stayed in a hostel and tonight we are staying a different one. It's also qwuite funny that I carried a watermelon for 11 miles today. Bob Peoples dropped us off at TN91 and we hiked to the first shelter about 4 miles down the trail. We stopped for a snack, we where all excited for obscene lunch. The next 7 miles went pretty quickly and everone was waiting for me at the sheleter we where having lunch at. Here is what the obscene lunch consisted of. I brought a watermelon, Kaptain carrot cake, Team Steve beer, Pinky avacados, LockJaw dr. pepper, and slip-n-slide pudding. It was fantastic, best trail meal yet. After lunch pinky and I raced to the state line. We are now in VA, wohooo! We waited for everyone and took some pictures. Then it was off to Damascus. First we went to the outfitters and got rooms at Dave's place. I looked at new boots cause mine are falling apart, but I didn't see any I liked. We ate dinner at the dairy king and then went out to party. We read in the Journal at lunch that a hiker named Cruse would be picking people up at Mt. Rodger Outfitters at 6PM. We went over to talk to the hkers gatehered at the outfitters around six. We weren't ready to leave yet so they said they would come back around 8. A hiker named applesause picked us up around 8 and brought us to the party. On they way we picked up applesauses's sister lara and headed to the party. The party was a lot of fun. It was on a farm and there where a lot of hikers there. They had a nice big fire going and lots of beer. It was only Lockjaw, Team Steve, Pinky, and I from our group who went to the party. I only puked once, which is nice. Around midnight laura drove us back to Dave's place. Wayfarer had left over pizza sitting in the hostel when we got back. It was delicious.
Date: 2006-04-06
From: Damascus

To: Saunders Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Took a nero today to get a bunch of stuff taken care of. Fixed my boots with Kaptains help. Also resupplied and had some lunch at the pizza place. I stayed in town the longest typing up journal entries at the library. By the time I left town it was a quqarter to four. I met applesause and Cruse at a road crossing, they where headed to the same shelter as I. When I got to the shelter it was about 7pm. There was still plenty of light so I took my time setting up my tent, the shelter was full. The tent site was really nice because of all the soft pine neeles. I slept great.
Date: 2006-04-07
From: Saunders Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: clear sky

Nothing that interesting to report today. I woke up lazily in my tenet. I didn't want to get out of my sleeping bag because it was so comfortable tenting on the soft pine needles. We stopped for lunch at Lost MTN. Shelter. It was a really nice day and we rested for about an hour at lunch. The next place we all met up was buzzard rocks, an open bald with some rock out croppings. It was very enjoyable to lounge out in the sun for a while. Pinky entertained us by doing some headstands. One picture Kaptain got makes it look as if she is falling from the sky and landing on the mountain. At the road past buzzard rocks we met a man who told us we would have some boy scouts staying with us at the shelter. There where only four, two scouts, and tow leaders. Lockjaw and I decided to stay at the gap and have some tea before the climb up to the shelter. The shelter slept sixteen, so there was plenty of room for all. I lsept on the loft with my head just inches under the roof. Around 10:30 a big thunderstorm rolled in. At first it was hard to sleep with the pounding of rain on the roof and sudden flashes of lighting. Eventually though I wandered back to sleep and had some odd dreams involving Pinky, my backyard, and alligators.
Date: 2006-04-08
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Hurricane Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

What a storm last night! I was pretty lazy getting up this morning because it stayed so dark in the loft of the shelter. The weather was very overcast and rainy, but it didn't spoil the hiking one bit. We entered the Grayson Highlands State Park soon after leaving the shelter. Grayson Highlands are known for their "wild polies." The ponies are really quite tame, some in fact are very plump and will come beg for food. The scouts, who where finished today, gave Pinky some carrots to feed the ponies. I don't think I've ever seen a smile so big on anyone. After the pony party it was on to fat man's squeeze, a rather dissapointing natural rock tunnel. I, being the fatest man in our group, didn't have to do much squeezing at all. Another highlight for the day was crossing the 500 mile mark. There was a bridge exactly at the 500 mile point which we stopped at to take some pictures. Past the bridge was a road crossing where someone left some fruit for trail magic. I had a very delicious apple. When we got to hurricane shelter it was very cold and foggy. Everyone was in their sleeping bags pretty quick. At around 7:30PM I look up from my book to see that everyone is asleep. I guess it's an early night.
Date: 2006-04-09
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Marion
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: clear sky

Nice clear morning, but cold! I woke up in the middle of the night last night to get into my sleeping bag liner. I sure am looking forward to the warmer nights. Our pace today was absolutely ridiculous. We made it to Trimpi shelter around 11AM for lunch. Again we took a nice long lunch, it seems to be becoming a tradition. By 3:30 we where at partnership shelter. Partnership shelter is the nicest shelter I have ever seen. It even has showers, unfortunetly they where not turned on. Just a hundred yards or so is the Mt. Rodgers visitors center which has a phone you can order pizza from. We where undecided as to wether we where going into town or not. We decided to order some pizzas and just hang around for a bit. The pizzas where great. While eating we also met Tom for the first time. I actually called him a weirdo within ear shot. That was before I actually knew he was a hiker and not just random guy walking around the parking lot. I don't think he heard me though. At 6:00 we decided to hitch into town. We ended up getting a ride from a very friendly family in the back of a very small pickup truck. It was a very tight squeeze. We got dropped off at the Econo lodge, got all cleaned up, and then took Kaptain to the Anti-Christ of retail establishments, Walmart. At Walmart I bought a protable radio so I can have some music while hiking. I'm very anxious to try it out. After Wall world we headed back to the motel to drink a few beers and watch some TV. Just another excellent day on the AT.
Date: 2006-04-10
From: Marion

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 14.2

Boy was it warm sleeping in that motel room. We woke up and got some grub at the motel next door which ahd a dining room for both motels. After breakfast we went and did some laundry. A man in the laundromat picked us out as thru-hikers and was nice enough to give some of us a ride to the post office and library. Only team steve and I went to the library. When we where done we walked back to the laundromat to meet up with the others. We walked to the edge of town to get a hitch out next. We got a ride real quick. Back at the Mt. Rodgers visitors center I bought Earl Shaffer's "Walking with Spring" for dramatic group readings at night. I stayed at the visitors center for a while making some phone calls and left about an hour behind everyone else. Today though I was hiking with a radio. Awesome! It's so nice to have some music while hiking. The day's hike was mostly flat and the day was real nice. I ended up catching the others at a road crossing three miles before the shelter. Big Bonus, at the road crossing was a gas station with a convience store. We all took full advantage of it. Also at the gas station I bought an obnoxiously green John Deere hat. I love it. At the shelter we lounged around for a while, it was such a nice day. After everyone was done journaling Pinky read from "Walking with Spring." It was a nice way to end a great day.
Date: 2006-04-11
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: Chesnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: clear sky

What a HOT day. I know it's only going to get warmer, but I wouldn't mind a little pre-heating of the oven before these scorcher days. Today was a good day because we are now a quarter through the trail. When we reached the land mark that let us know, a bridge over a creek, we decided to stop early for lunch. After lunch we stopped at the first shelter only a few miles away to get out of the sun. The shelter we where staying the night at was up on a ridgle line. It was a pretty good climb in the blazing sun and it wasn't pleasant. About 1.9 miles before the shelter was the water source. It kinda sucks having to cary all your water for so long before a shelter. Chestnut knob shelter is different from others in that it is totally enclosed. It even has a door. Our only company for the evening was Tank. We got, or I should say, Slip-n-Slide got a fire going. I didn't even cook dinner I was so tired. Kaptain read tonight from "Walking with Spring." Earl Shaffer is my hero.
Date: 2006-04-12
From: Chesnut Knob Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 23.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Bigest day with a full pack. Other than that it was a pretty eneventful day. When I get to Pearisburg I'll have to hitch into Blacksburg to get to an outfitters. My pack is really starting to hurt my shoulders. Had to blue-blaze today. Some bridge on Laurel creek was out so we had to take a high water trail. Right as we got back on the white blazed A.T. there was some trail magic. A bic ice chest filled with ice and fruit juice was right on the trail, very refreshing. There was also some other trail magic, but there was none left when I got there. Snooze and you lose. Lug and Zuma, who I met at Cruses party, where also at the shelter with us, although they stayed in a tent. The water trail at the shelter had six switchbacks! Crazy! Another night with a dramatic reading from Earl's book. Long day. Very tired.
Date: 2006-04-13
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

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

We got a quick start this morning. There is a tore/deli that we can eat at and resupply at located about 16 miles north on the trail. We only need to resupply for tomorrows hike into Pearisburg, so basically we are going for the lunch food for today. Right before the road to the store there is a big creek with a suspension bridge over it. It's really neat. We decided to have a swim there after food. It was a real hot day. The store's food ended up being pretty terrible. For food to be bad while thru-hiking it has to be real bad. The only rewarding quality was the cold drinks. They where great. Back at the suspension bridge we took a swim and cooled down. It was very nice. Kaptain and I where the first ones to head for the shelter, the otheres where taking there time. At the shelter we fournd Scout and Silverstreak, both of whom we met at Miss Janets. Soon it got dark and we figured the others had camped somewhere untill we heard Slip-n-Slide calling out in the dark. We led him in by voice. It turned out the others had stopped at a waterfall and where night hiking it in. It was a confusing part of trail, especially in the dark, so Kaptain and I headed out to find everyone. We found thema nd got them all back to the shelter. It was late, so there was no dramatic reading. AWWW.
Date: 2006-04-14
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 16.6
Weather: moderate rain

Town day today. Also Lockjaw's parents and sister are visiting him so we get to meet them as well! I was the first to leave the shelter this morning, very unusual. About a half a mile out I realize I left the John Deere had behind, blashemy! I put my pack down and headed back to the shelter. I passed all the others except Team Steve who was still at the shelter when I got there. When I got back to my pack I realized the others had probably put something in it. I figured it was probably Nephertities, the plastic pig Pinky carries around. I found out later though it was only a rock. With no food I was hiking pretty quick and I soon caught up to and passed the others. It started to thunder storm pretty good for aobut an hour or so. It was pretty crazy cause by that point I was up ona ridge. The thunder was so loud! I stopped at Doe's Knob Shelter to wait for the others. Lockjaw really wasn't feeling good. He hasn't been well for days now. Before the downhill into the thown there was a nice rock overlook of Pearisburg. Kaptain and I stopped and waited for Lockjaw and Pinky so Lockjaw oculd call his parents and see what was going on. Lockjaw had already talked to his parents when they showed up at the vista. They where staying at the Plaza motel. We all started won the hill together but I ended up flying down. I was so thirsty. When we finally got to Pearisburg LockJaw's paretns where waiting for us at the road. There car was loaded with goodies including cold drinks, excellent! We hung around for a while and then went to the P.O. My new shoes where in which is nice cause my old ones are very messed up. We went back to the motel and got cleaned up and then went out to dinner. LockJaw stayed in bed, he's real sick. After dinner we just kinda lounged around the motel. Every relaxing. Tomorrow is a zero day. We need it.
Date: 2006-04-15
From: Pearisburg

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We pushed pretty hard to get here so today was our day to relax. According to Kaptain, who shared the bed with Pinky, Pinky does some pretty funny stuff in her sleep. Such as hiking, Kaptain told us when we woke up that in the middle of the night Pinky was bouncing her feet up and down as if she was 'hiking' in her sleep. Pretty strange. First thing we did in the morning was to go and get some breakfast at Hardee's. Next Pinky and I where driven by lockjaw's dad to Blacksburg to go to the outfitter. Everyone needed a little something such as a bite valve, but the main reason for the trip was that I needed a new pack. My current one just couldn't hold all the weight comfortably. It was really hurting a lot. I ended up with another Gregory, a Pingora. Holds about the same volume as my old pack but has a much better suspension. Very nice. After the outfitters lockjaw's family spilt pretty quickly. It was sad to see them go, they where awesome people. After some laundry we got lunch at the Dairy Queen and then went to the store to resupply. In addition to our normal food we bought candy and easter eggs to have an 'AT thru-hiker Easter egg hunt.' After all that, back at the motel room, we where sitting around trying to think of something to do. I asked the women who operated the motel what there was to do around here. She replied "not a damn thing. There is a bar but it don't open till 5 o'clock." So much for that. Kaptain and I went back to the magic mart for toilet paper and something to do. While browsing the toy department looking for board games I came across a 'super-soaker' and Kaptain found a toy bow and arrow set. RAID!!! We also bought the game of 'Life' for later. I filled the water gun at the store and we painted our face with some face paint markers. We busted through the motel door firing away. It was hysterical. Later on I kept shooting Pinky with blasts of mist from the water gun. She screamed and hid further under the covers with every blast, Kaptain was laughing so hard he almost stopped breathing. After our game of life Team Steve left, he was staying at the hostel. there was a lord of the rings movie on so we decided to watch that. Before the movie we went to the store to get stuff for dinner. cheese sandwiches, delicious. After the movie was over I couldn't sleep for certain reasons. At midnight I walked to the gas station and go a 40-oz of malt liquor. I sat on the stoop of the motel drinking alone. Happy Easter.
Date: 2006-04-16
From: Pearisburg

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Left Pearisburg this morning after another greasy breakfast at Hardee's. After finding the trail we stopped at the trail head to put up a note about the easter egg hunt. I fell behind the others cause I wanted to mess around with the adjustments on my pack. It felt great. In the beginning I wasn't hiking with my poles because of the bag full of easter eggs I was hiking with. Early on I took a good spill and cut my leg. After the fall I hid the rest of my eggs pretty quickly and started hiking with my poles again. The weather for the day was nice and sunny and the terrain for the day wasn't bad either, only one real climb. The first shelter we stopped for lunch at had a nice clear overlook to the valley below. It was a real nice lunch spot. At lunch we talked to a couple section hikers, and just as we where heading on we met feather. At pine swamp branch shelter we stopped for the day. LockJaw was not feeling well at all. Also staying at the shelter was a section hiking couple, Pothandle and Wabash. There was a real nice stream to dip your feet into at the shelter. It was very nice and the end of a day. We'll see how LockJaw feels tomorrow.
Date: 2006-04-17
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: moderate rain

We left LockJaw behind today. He wasn't feeling good so he decided to sleep in and do a shorter day. It was a really rainy day. At one point it started to downpour tremendously.   Pinky and I booked it to War Spur Shelter. We where cold and wet and pretty miserable. We changed clothes, hung up stuff to dry, and boiled water for tea. It was only 1:30 but Pinky and I where all set to stay the night. When Kaptain showed up he called us lazy slack-asses and bribed Pinky with a foot message. I wonder what Betsy would think. So we packed up and headed out and thats when all the fun began. First thing, the rain that had slowed down picked right back up again. Next, Pinky slipped on a log bridge over a stream. When she first started to slip I almost rushed into the stream to try and catch her, but she ended up doing this awkward slip/fall into a sitting position straddling the log. It made a funny picture. What happened next made me feel really bad. I was walking a few yards behind her, she rolled her ankle and stopped ben over.   I caught up to her and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. She was the one who rolled her ankle but I think I might of felt worse. I hate seeing girls cry. "Give me your pack" I said to her. She argued with me for a minute or two but eventually I took her pack and wore it in the front. I walked behind her, she was walking funny but said it was better with out the pack. Every few minutes she would tell me to give her back the pack, but i wasn't giving it back till she walking better. After about a quarter of a mile she turned around and I could tell she wasn't going to let me carry it anymore. She was walking a little better and we where about to climb a hill so I gave it to her. We walked slowly and finally got to the shelter. It was only Pinky, Kaptain, and I. We got dry again and cooked dinner. Kaptain and I also told Pinky that tomorrow we would be carrying most of her weight. Her ankle needs a break.
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: clear sky

Woke up this morning to better weather than yesterday. Kaptain and I took a lot of weight from Pinky's pack. I personally took her tent and food bag. I'm not quite sure what Kaptain carried. Early in the day we hit some trail magic, some sodas left in a stream. We where less than a mile from Keffer Oak, a really large tree right on the AT, so we decided to take the sodas to the tree. I hung back by the stream to fill up the super soaker, I have been carrying it since Pearisburg. I tried to sneak up on Pinky and Kaptain but it didn't work. The way the tree and the trail is oriented they saw me coming from far off. The Keffer oak is huge! We took a picture of the three of us trying to fit our arms around it. It was comical The first shelter was .3 miles off the trail so we didn't actually stop there. Right by the sign for the shelter was a nice tree to sit on and have a snack. Superman and Pouge where also there. They where going to be going slow though because they didn't want to be in troutville till Friday. Not too far from where we stopped to snack was a nice rocky overlook where we stopped for lunch. I hiked with Pinky pretty much the whole day because I was worried about her ankle. She said it felt better with the light pack. Pinky and I stopped at Niday Shelter for a bit, Kaptain pushed on. We met up again with Kaptain after the big climb for the day. We hiked together down to the road just before Pickle Branch Shelter where we would be staying. There where some trash cans there and a stream where I got some water. Kaptain and Pinky left from the road before me but I caught them just at the shelter where we met Bluebird and Abandon. It was a pretty uneventful night.
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 17.6
Weather: broken clouds

Wow what a day. Pinky took all of her stuff back today even though I said I would still carry it. First point of interest for the day was Dragon's tooth. Dragon's tooth is a huge rock outcropping with an awesome view. You have to scramble up to the edge of it and if you fall it is a long way down. Pinky called her mom from the top which was kinda funny because she said her mom would cringe to see her on top of it. We got a lot of good pictures and Pinky and Kaptain did some squeezing through some rock crevices. It was great fun. Down the steep hill from Dragon's tooth was a road from where we could walk to a store for lunch. Even better right before the road was some trail magic! I took a gatorade cause I was real thirsty. At the store we got pizzas and other snacks, we gorged ourselves pretty good. We also resupplied for the one day hike into town and bought food to eat for dinner on top of McAffee knob. Between the store and McAffee knob I got real dehydrated. I actually felt really bad for a while. To make it worse the first water source we came to was far from the trail and really nasty. I didn't even drink anything from it. Finally about 2 miles from the knob we came across a nice piped spring. I felt better immediately. From the water source it was a nice cruse right to McAffee Knob. It was absolutely spectacular on the knob. We got great pictures, ate good food, and I even packed up a beer. We hung around a while to wait for the sunset. While we where waiting we called our good old friend Boomer. It was good to talk to him. e also called Pinky's parents which was a very funny conversation. As we watched the sunset Pinky and I had some tea. It was very nice. After the sunset it was a pleasant hike down to the shelter. When we got there Bluebird and Abandon where already sleeping so we were quiet. What a bummer cause we all wanted to talk about our awesome day.