morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-07-11
From: Home

To: Peaks of Otter Lodge
Miles today: 0.0

Ok, I¢m back in Virginia, not Vermont. I have one more piece of estate business to do next month, so I decided to hike close to home and then after the legal business is all finished, go hike up North.I must confess¢¦ I have the Virginia Blues. In 2004, Virginia was my favorite state on the trail. There was always something to look forward to seeing. Hiking Virginia now is like eater Cracker Jacks with no surprise inside.I enjoyed my 2 weeks at home. I loved the air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and 24 hour television or DVDs and brewed coffee.It is hard coming back to the trail. My husband would ove for me to decide to quit hiking and stay home. I¢m not that fond of being hot and sweaty and bugged by bugs. It¢s lonely on the trail. All the friends I made are way ahead of me. So why am I doing this? Hiking the Appalachian Trail is my job now. My work. My Mission in life. It is what I¢m supposed to be doing at this point in time. I have to do this. While I was home, I went to see a man about my boots. I went to a different outfitter and half expected to be sold another pair of boots. I told him about my painful foot problem I had. He never heard of that one. It mystified him, but that¢s OK because the Superfeet cured that problem.   My only complaint now is that I have blisters on the tips of my pinkie toes and along the sides of my big toes. He suggested that I relace my boots correctly to tighten the toe area to prevent rubbing. He didn¢t¢ try to sell me another pair of boots. And he totally sympathized with me about once having a perfect pair of boots. I had my hiking pants with the gaping hole at the zipper fixed at my dry cleaners. The Korean lady there, who is only a few years younger than me, is so excited about my hike. She used to go hiking in the mountains of Korea when she was in her 20s. She showed me pictures of herself and her girlfriends out in the wilds of Korea.. And she didn¢t charge me to fix my pants. I¢m glad to have my REI pants back. They have 9 pockets (I don¢t use all of them) versus just the 2 on the ExOfficio pants.
Date: 2008-07-12
From: Peaks of Otter Hotel

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 10.1

I was so not excited to get back on the trail today. I was also in no big hurry to get on the rail today either. It was around 10 am when my husband took me to the trailhead. He walked a little ways with me and took my picture. I showed him and ankle-high blueberry plant with green berries on it. And then we went our separate ways.The trail was pretty today except for the section that had been burned. The hiking part was not pretty. As soon as I got on the trail, my nose started dripping, and then the bugs started biting. It was so hot and humid. I think I sweated out more liquid than I drank.After 3 miles I stopped at Cove Mountain shelter for a break and a snack. I was impressed with how clean and tidy the shelter was. Most of the shelters this year have been trashy. While I was sitting on the picnic table eating my snack, I saw a bear 40 feet away to my left, turning his head and sniffing the air. My camera was in the shelter with my pack. I didn¢t want to share my beef stick and cheese with him, so I stood up and said loudly, ¢Hi Bear!¢ Boy, those guys can really run fast, Crash! Crash! Crash! through the woods. Before the bear visit, I was enjoying the peace and quiet. An occasional green nut would fall from a tree and make a noise. It reminded me of Tom Hanks and coconuts in ¢Cast Away¢. But unlike Tom Hanks, I knew that they were nuts. Jennings Creek was low like all the water sources. I wasn¢t even tempted to get in it. Four years ago it was a great swimming spot. After Jennings Creek, the trail went up over 2,000 feet for 1.6 miles. It was hard. I met a thru-hiker and his brother. The brother is only hiking with him to Waynesboro and this was his first day out. I took as many breaks as they did. I usually don¢t stop and rest when I hike. About a mile from Bryant Ridge Shelter, I got lightheaded. I had to quickly take off my pack and sit down for a while. I drank my last 4 ounces of water. I didn¢t get any water when I had the chance because I was getting close to the shelter. New Rule: get water at every opportunity. When I got to the shelter, there was another northbound hiker (Greg) here besides the brothers. Later, another guy joined us, but he wasn¢t communicative. I think he is a newbie. I saw him reading the paper directions for his water filter. Speaking of newbies, the brothers are carrying hardback books. I¢m just so glad that I¢m not here by myself.The stream in front of the shelter isn¢t one I found a deep enough puddle to dip water. After I got my water, I set up my tent in the shelter. This is one of the biggest and nicest shelters on the trail. It has several levels and sleeps 20. Staying in the tent will keep the bugs away.For dinner I had Ramen to replace the salt I sweated out and tuna on tortillas for protein. The brothers want to get up at 3 am to start hiking at 4 am to avoid the heat. I would like to do that if I could get up then¢¦
Date: 2008-07-13
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 10.3

I woke up at 3 am for a pee run. Be careful of what you wish for. I was wide awake until sometime after 4 am. Everybody else was sound asleep. I woke back up around 6 am. Everybody else was still sound asleep. I was up and out by 7:40 am. The thru-hiker brother was the one still asleep. I was pleased with myself for being the first one out on the trail.It was a 4.4 mile hike up Floyd Mountain first thing. Not too bad. Of course, it was humid and sweaty right off. Greg passed me but I caught up with him at Cornelius Creek Shelter where we both took a break. I needed to dig out my Body Glide from the inside of my pack. I ¢m chafing where my pack rubs against my sweaty body (lower back and shoulders). I found trail magic. Someone left two cans of beer in the shelter. I put one in my pack to have with dinner; I thought how nice of someone until I saw the package of Fireballs and pork rinds hanging from the mouse hangers. It is not a good idea to leave food in a shelter. Ever. And there was a package of marshmallows left in the fire ring.Today¢s hike was mostly up. I made sure I drank more water. I was wondering what where the early signs of heat exhaustion. About 2 miles from Thunder Hill Shelter, I was hearing thunder booms and the sky began to get dark. I stopped to put on my pack cover and Snickers ball cap. It got darker and darker. When it rained, it was a gentle rain and it felt good. Since I put away my camera, I didn¢t get to take a picture of the Guillotine, a large rock held in place by two rock slabs. The tril takes you under the Guillotine.The spring at Thunder Hill Shelter was dry. Greg and I went on a water hunting expedition following the directions in the guidebook. I would have never found it but Greg had an eye for where people had left a trail. It was wonderful to find a gushing water source ¢ no silt in the water. Also at the shelter was the uncommunicative guy. I¢ll call him Silent Sam. He was also at Cornelius Creek Shelter while we were there. I¢m trying to convince Greg that all other hikers are not like that. When more hikers came, Silent Sam took his stuff out of the shelter to tent. The new arrivals are thru-hikers, Yogi, Windy, and Andrew and Jen. They all started sometime in May-ish.
Date: 2008-07-14
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Matt's Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: few clouds

It rained all night and we had cooler temperatures. It was a pleasure to hike during the cool morning. The views were nice without the usual humidity haze.The new flower of the day is the wild columbine.Although today¢s hike was mostly downward, I had to climb up and then down High Cock Knob (Folks, I do not make up these names). While I was going up, I met a long distance runner coming the other way. As he was running by, he was telling me about a baby skunk chasing him. After he went by, I could smell the polecat scent and told him that I could tell. As he was still running downhill, he said he thought that he got a little bit on him. Later, while I was going down High Cock Knob, the runner passed me again, going back the way he came. Running on and over rocks is so unbelievable. As I was hiking the side of the mountain, I would get glimpses of the very wide James River through the trees.Before reaching the shelter, I saw something I never saw on the trail before¢¦ a man hiking the other way wearing a head net. I thought people only wore those up in Maine.Matt¢s Creek Shelter is one of my favorite shelters. To my surprise, the bridge across the creek to the shelter was gone. Now you walk across rocks upstream. When I went to go get my water, I soaked my feet for awhile. My feet got a brain freeze and the little fishies tickled as they nibbled on my toes.Only Greg and I were at the shelter. He had a surprise for me, picked blueberries.
Date: 2008-07-16
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 9.5
Weather: scattered clouds

4:09 am. Pee run. I almost stepped on a hiker laying next to me in the shelter. There was no one there when I went to sleep. It is the night hiking brother again. The other brother has a tent.This morning as I was drinking my coffee and looking where sunlight was hitting the tops of the trees, I felt a rush of love of being on the trail. All was right in my world. I said good-bye to Greg because he was going to hike further than me today.The blueberries slowed me down. The bushes were on both sides of the trail. In one place, several ripe berries were dangling over the trail right where my hand was. I passed Matthew taking a break on a large rock. I later stopped for a break on a nice rock in the middle of a creek. I also refilled my Nalgene without having to move. During my hike I spooked a large spotted fawn. I¢m walking along and minding my own business when suddenly, crash, crash, a fawn is running away from me through the woods.I enjoyed walking along Brown Mountain Creek. There were several places that looked inviting for a splash. There was a sign explaining how a community of freed slaves once lived along the creek. There were piles of rock where they had build homes and fences amid the trees that had grown up since. Right before I reached the shelter, I found bushes of the new berry of the day ¢ raspberries. The ones I tasted were tart.Matthew arrived at the shelter an hour after I did. It was a lazy afternoon with the soothing sound of the creek in the background. I had a delicious nap. Later as I was emptying my pockets, I realized that I didn¢t need any ibuprophen today. The night hiking brothers arrived during daylight We all cooked our dinners together and chatted. Tomorrow I will first have a 2,600-foot elevation climb for 4.6 miles. I am also looking forward to seeing a spring boil our of a two-foot terra cotta pipe. I am making a special side trip to see this thing.
Date: 2008-07-17
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: Hog Camp Creek
Miles today: 8.1

I got up after 8 am, but before the guys. That 2,600-foot climb was not so bad, but it took forever. When I reached Bald Knob, I found a rocky knob, but it wasn¢t bald. The next mountain, Cold Mountain, was an open bald. At first I thought the map got the names mixed up, but no, it didn¢t.When I got to Hog Camp Gap, there was a sign for Wiggins Spring, a half a mile to the left. When I hiked a half mile down the road, I didn¢t see a grassy meadow with many campsites as my guide book stated. Maybe I didn¢t hike far enough. A man and a woman drive by in a truck. They directed me back to where I first thought the spring was. It took me a half hour of walking all around to find it. I remembered how Greg looked for a trail where people had walked to find water. I found the trail then found the water.OK, it wasn¢t a boiling spring. Yes, it was a 2-foot wide terra cotta pipe set in the ground. The water sort of dribbled out of the pipe. Water filled the rond opening, and I was able to get cold, pure water with one scoop of my water bag. Coming all this way to see the spring meant I was tenting all by lonesome tonight. After walking all over the area, I decided that it was too buggy by the spring. So I decided to camp up on the ridge. I also decided not to bear bag my food. It was a chance decision. The trees went straight up with no handy branch sticking out to throw a rope over. The previous campers brought about a dozen horses with them. There was lots and lots of horse poop and hay. I decided that bears don¢t like horses and maybe they will stay away because it really smells horsey here. I spooked another fawn with spots today.
Date: 2008-07-18
From: Hog Camp Creek

To: Fish Hatchery Road
Miles today: 10.0

I had no visits from any animals last night. However, when I was taking down my tent, I found two little toads next to it. While walking back to the trail, the man and woman in the truck came by again. I learned their names (Luann and Bob); Luann and I had a discussion about the different flowers I had seen hiking. Today I found my first blackberry on the trail. I also discovered weird plants taller than me which I named Martian Flowers until I learn what they really are. I also enjoyed seeing my most favorite plant in the woods, ferns. It was a pretty hike, but hot. So when I saw a blazing campfire off the trail in the middle of the day, I had to check it out. These three guys wanted a campfire to keep the bugs away while they were camping. Bizarre to see.Just before I got to my turn off to Montebello, I met a family of eight including grandma going out for a 6-day trip. Good for them.Fish Hatchery road was worse than I remembered. Down, Down, Down. Rocks, Rocks, Rocks. I walked all the way to the General Store. There I called the Dutch Haus for someone to come and get me. I didn¢t want to walk anymore.Lois came right away. In the truck she had Greg as a passenger. It was good to see him again. But is was the best to see Lois again. She got out of her truck, screamed my name, and we hugged. It has been 4 years since I¢ve seen her and Earl but id seems not that long ago. We spent a lot of time talking and catching up.
Date: 2008-07-19
From: Fish Hatchery Road

To: Tye River
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

To repeat history, I did another slackpack to be able to stay another night at the Dutch Haus. After a delicious breakfast with Greg and another guest, Gwen, I was supplied with a day pack from their collection. The pack was so smelly with hiker sweat. Fortunately, it was behind me on my back so I didn¢t have to smell it all day. Halfway to the dropping off place I realized that I forgot to pack my camera. Earl joked that it would be today that I¢ll see a bear playing poker. I didn¢t see any bears but I saw several of the black caterpillars with the red running lights. I saw my first Turk¢s Cap Lily and a new white fringy flower, and a single odd-shaped yellow flower. I stopped at the Priest Shelter for a break and found Matthew also taking a break. The person who left the shelter register made the request (or rule) that everybody who signs the register write a confession. It took me a while to get it. Oh yeah, Priest ¢ confession. The confessions were laugh-out-loud funny. It was dangerous to be eating a snack while at the same time reading the confessions. I confessed about not bear-bagging my food. After enjoying my snack and break, I realized that I had 2.5 hours to get back to the parking lot for Earl to pick me up at 5:00 pm. I had to hurry. I made it to Fish Hatchery road at 5:00, but it took me an extra 20 minutes of almost running to get down the road to the parking lot. No Earl. OK, I¢ll walk to the General Store again. But I didn¢t have to¢¦ Lois came by and picked me up. Neither she nor Earl seemed concerned that I wasn¢t at the meeting place on time. She and Earl were getting ready to leave for a birthday party. Lois left me in charge. I got to answer the phone and serve up mine and Gwen¢s dinner only because I got back before she did. I stayed up late chatting with Gwen. It would have been nice t have spent more time with her. Also, I felt the responsibility of staying up until Earl and Lois came home. That is just how I am. It took no arm twisting to make decide to do another slackpack tomorrow.
Date: 2008-07-20
From: Reed's Gap

To: Tye River
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Everybody slept in this morning. I woke before 8:00am and found Lois having her coffee on the porch (a great place for watching hummingbirds). We were the first ones up. Last night we were all too tired to pick a breakfast time.Lois had a wildflower book and we tried to find the white fringy flower with no luck. However, I discovered that the tall fragrant white baby bottle brushes are Black Snakeroot and that single odd-shaped yellow flower I saw yesterday is a Touch Me Not.Originally I planned to hike out today from Tye River and go to Rusty¢s, a well known stop on the AT. I didn¢t go there in 2004. Instead I stayed at the Maupin Field Shelter. The register entries there actually said that anyone who does not go to Rusty¢s is stupid. Rusty¢s was closed to hikers earlier this year, but had recently reopened. Oh well, I¢ll miss Rusty¢s again. The happy thought of the day was ¢ oh boy, I don¢t have to walk down Fish Hatchery Road again.Then I debated whether to blue blaze on the Mau-Har trail or not. It would have knocked off 3 miles from my hike and go by a waterfall. Earl told me that trail would be steeper.Earl took me to Reed¢s Gap for my southbound slackpack. It was only 1.7 miles to Maupin Field Shelter. I stopped there to read the shelter register. Most of the entries advised not to take the Mau-Har trail and that it wasn¢t worth it. That helped decide it for me.While at the shelter, I met Mozzie and Sprite again. It seems that I¢m always going the opposite way from them, or that they are going the opposite way.This section of the trail is managed by the Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club. Fortunately they only have a small section because they use annoying hieroglyphics for their signs. When hiking you have to stop and use a higher level of thinking skills to translate. The part of my hike was a ziggy zaggy down. I saw a doe and a fawn close by the trail and took the fawn¢s picture. I saw chopped up leaves and immediately thought, ¢Oh-no, not gypsy moths again!¢ No, it wasn¢t. A trail maintainer probably came through the day before. It was a beautiful hiking day. I had told Earl that I would meet him at the Tye River parking lot at 6:30. I hurried and got there at 6:00. I didn¢t want to have to make him wait. To my surprise, he arrived just 4 minutes after I did. Great timingAt dinner tonight I was the only guest, so I ate with the family. Earlier during the day, Grandpa, (Earl¢s dad), was the first on the scene of a deadly motorcycle accident. When it is motorcycle versus car, car always wins. It seems that there are many, many motorcycle accidents in the Montebello area. Lois is an EMT with the fire department. They also respond to accidents on a 20 mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway. I listened to every motorcycle story and didn¢t say anything about my brother. I didn¢t want to make them stop talking. My husband plans to buy a motorcycle and I wanted to know every horrible story.
Date: 2008-07-21
From: Reed's Gap

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: clear sky

No more slackpacking. Earl drove me back to Reed¢s Gap again so I can continue my hike north. I loved staying at the Dutch Haus and experiencing the hospitality of Lois and Earl. I¢m looking forward to another visit when I¢m not hiking.Today was a rocky day. It began with uneven rock-stepping sections. I would think that it would be over when I got to smooth trail and then there would be more rocks. I had rock steps up, rock climbing, rock steps down, and more uneven rocks to find my way over. Lots of rocks.I stopped at an overlook and sat on a large rock with a whole lot of nothing below me. I could see for miles and miles. I also stopped at Cedar Cliff for a break and sat on a rock in the shade. I snacked on peanuts and cheese as I looked at the same miles and miles.I crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway at Dripping Rock. The spring there was dry. Luckily, within the next mile there were two more springs that had water. I refilled my Nalgene at the first one. Think shallow water hole with mud on the bottom. I¢m careful to dip my cup close to the surface so I won¢t stir up the mud. I then pour the water through a pre-filter into my Nalgene before I use my SteriPen.Five miles later I came to Bear Spring which is listed in my guide book. It was one of those springs that have a white PVC pipe for the water to flow out. It didn¢t flow. The water was coming out as a slow drip, like a faucet that needs fixing. Good thing I had enough water.Four more miles to the shelter. It was all downhill switchbacks, which I like but my feet were feeling the day¢s rock pounding. I took some ibuprophen, which I rarely need to do now.I reached the shelter around 8:00 pm. I didn¢t feel like eating dinner. The guy here, Anthony, even offered the rest of his beef stroganoff. During the day I saw only one southbound hiker and a father with a young son who passed me.Oh yeah, for some reason my pack felt heavier as the day progressed. Was it because it was soaking up all my sweat? I drank almost 3 liters of water today.I counted 3 piles of bear scat on the trail today. Towards dusk near the end of my hike, I heard a loud crash behind me and to the left. I quickly whirled around to see a squirrel jumping from a tree and running away from me. Stupid squirrel.
Date: 2008-07-22
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Titanic arrived at the shelter before Anthony woke up this morning. Titanic left Rockfish Gap at 6:15 am to get here so early. Both Titanic and Anthony are southbounders. One is going all the way to Springer and the other is ending his hike October 1st. Today one is headed for the next shelter south and the other is headed to Rusty¢s. Titanic gave me the business card of a trail angel in Waynesboro that Tiger bomb gave him. He also told me about and showed me pictures of the bear he encountered on his way to the shelter this morning.My hike went smoothly and quickly to Rockfish Gap. I walked over to the visitor center. One of the workers there was leaving and gave me a ride to the Quality Inn motel.Before doing anything, I had to have a shower. I had gotten use to having a daily shower at the Dutch Haus. After getting cleaned up, I went across the street to the CVS store to get my digital pictures put on a CD. Then I walked all the way to the outfitters. It was hot and sunny. I kept thinking, ¢Well, at least I¢m not wearing my pack.¢ At the outfitters I got a fuel canister, a new shirt, and a new little stuff sack for my toilet stuff. My old was unraveling at the seams. This may be TMI, but I use a stuff sack to keep together my toilet paper, wipes, panty liners, and a Ziploc for trash because I truly leave no trace. Don¢t get me started, but I¢m disgusted by women who mark their spot in the woods with their used toilet paper or worse.I needed a new lightweight wicking hiking shirt. I don¢t wear my Hard Core shirt because it is heavy like a T-shirt. The hiking shirt I brought from home this trip was what I bought during my 2004 hike. It was getting holes worn in the back from my pack.While I was walking back, a van drives by and someone yells out, ¢Hey, Barbero!¢ It was Pirate! The van drives around the block and comes back. The driver turns out to be Rusty of Rusty¢s Hard Time Hollow! I finally got to meet him. I promised him that I will come back to his place and visit sometime. I could tell that he is lonely for hiker company. He had closed his place for six months and had just recently re-opened. It was fun chatting with both of them. What were the chances of me walking down that street at the same time they were driving by?I walked to Kroger for wine and to Ciro¢s for pizza to take back to my motel room. After another shower, I was settled in for a night of TV viewing.