morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-09
From: Hurricane Shelter

To: I-81/Relax Inn
Miles today: 31.5
Weather: clear sky

Had the shelter to myself last night which is cool. Cooked dinnerand watched a killer storm move up the valley. Lighting show wasspectacular. Lots of these shelters have journals or notebooks that the hikerssign as they come and go. Seems like I wasn't the only one whogot the S***s. KB and SB both have slowed down ahead with someof the stuff and Robin and others also had a case of the heaves.Maybe Damascus?? Anyway, this was the day to make up some miles. Sunshine and levelhiking most of the way. I usually don't hike like this; my dailyplans consist of walking till mid afternoon and then deciding onwhere to stay. But not this day; walked hard all day and loved itall. Starting to get dry and warm down here; kind of early it seems. Stopped @ Partnership Shelter for lunch; this is the Holiday Innof shelters. Has a shower , and sink and you can get Pizza in thisone. Want to catch KB & SB or I would have bunkered here for thenight. (Thanks for offering a weekend of steaks and beer Scarecrowbut had to move on man). Reached I-81 late; did some Dairy Queen; few sandwiches; 5 bottlesof grape juice and the usual dosage of ice cream, milk and honeybuns. To Wells and Kado - yea, got my britches cleaned up and moving along.                  see you guys soon!"Trust your wisdom only when itcomes from the heart, your goodnesswhen it comes form the mind".            Arthur Schnitzler
Date: 2005-04-10
From: I-81/Relax Inn

To: Chesnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: clear sky

Caught up with the B's!! Yea, man, finally ran into them. Theyhad been leaving messages in those shelter journals, inspiring meto push on and great smiles all around. Had a feeling they would be sleeping in and a day hiker namedTim the day before said the B's told him to relay to me thatthey would be camping out about 5 miles from I-81. Checked mytrail companion and there was a camping spot with a spring about5 miles out. ( Knew you would be there KB; that Eagle Scout trainingwe both had told me you would be next to some water). Make a longstory short, came upon them in a valley just about ready to go. Waskind of hoping I could scare them a bit while they were in theretents but didn't happen. What can I say about Tripod and Hippie; both from Jersey as theysay and I have ran into Hippie before. Tripod is a friend and isout helping hikers; leaving water; bringing beer and doing thingsthat only true angels do. Thanks dude again for the beer @ lunch@ the picnic area. Told us he was bringing beer to Chestnut KnobShelter via a shortcut. We had a long hike; goofed off a lot and got to the shelter afterdark. Tough climb up to the shelter but once on top the sunset wasspetacular to say the least. A sliver of a moon above oranges, reds,blues, and greys with the mountain back drop. Amazing stuff!!(I blame stubbing my toe on the great scenery up here). Water is getting a bit scarce up here in Virginia; life is goodand living the dream!! (We did get some beer; nothing beats a big pot of Mac and cheese andtwo cold ones; Tripod lugged up ice and everything)
Date: 2005-04-11
From: Chesnut Knob Shelter

To: Motel 6
Miles today: 22.0

Hot, hot, hot!! I know that 84 ain't much but after 30's, 40'sand 50's and then a jump to 80, priorities change quickly. Gettingto a shelter and getting warm takes a back seat to finding water. Tripod was around again today; @ road crossings and such. Can'tsay thanks enough my friend for all that. Time flew by today; spent the morning hiking on a ridge nextto God's Thumbprint. Two theories abide as how this happened.It is a huge flat imprint surrounded by ridges in the middle ofnowhere. One theory is a meteorite and the other is an underearthexplosion. The problem is that nobody can dig in the area to find out because the land is held from generation to generationand nobody is selling! So until somebody sells a slice toa geology group, nobody will know. Anyway, more trail magic @ VA 615; big cooler of OJ and AppleJuice. Thanks again to whoever, perfect time to get us in gear. I was drained; Hippie, Tripod, KB & SB and myself parked @a Motel 6; ate some Shonies and Bob Evans. Pearisburg should be a couple of days away. Sweat dreams...... ( I was so drained that even a cold beer couldn't get meout of my deep sleep. I know KB was stunned @ that one!)
Date: 2005-04-12
From: Motel 6/Wythville

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

The rain is back. Cold front moved in; perfect hiking weather.We all seemed to get our fuel level back up as they say and lookingforward to the day. Said bye to Tripod and he wants us to hook up in Jersey whenwe get there. Will try to get in touch when we reach you dudeand thanks again. The Bob Evans pancakes and eggs sat good but the shorts and shortsleeves didn't. Dropped down to the 40's and time for the rain stuff. We (KB, SB and myself) dove into the first shelter to get a breakand some hiker was coming the other direction. How's it going? I askedand alls we got was something su**s and got to get some food. Evenon the worst days out here people are up but dude must have hada bad night. Maybe the parasite found him also; hope not. Mother Nature controlled this day like she always does. Rain cameharder and the air got colder. We all wanted to hike all day butSB's shin was hurting bad. She thinks maybe shin splints buthopefully not. Got to Jenny Knob; rain became showers and hiking became a longgame of cards; hearts. Hippie caught us there and it was greatto get warm, play some cards and share some laughs. To top the day I put on some music and watched the rain dropsfall. In a daze, smile on my face...........can faintly hearJeff Buckley tearing out my heart with...."there may be a God above but all I have ever learned from love, is how to shoot somebody who out drew ya, it's not a cry you hear at night it's not somebody who has seen the light, it's a cold and broken Hallelujah". Peace.
Date: 2005-04-13
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Doc's Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: light rain

A crazy day on the AT! We knew there was a country storeabout 7 or so miles from the shelter; heard rumors of pizza,burgers, and everything else you can imagine. So @ dawn I was up (KB thinks I have some connection withthe morning light, I tell him the birds get me up; alwayscalling in the morning). The hiking is "butter"; or in otherwords becoming more level as we go here in Virginia. Got to the road crossing and there was a sign for Trents GroceryStore, .5 miles up the road. Not really a tough decision; two pizzasand one grilled cheese and fries and corn chips and ice cream later,Hippie and KB and SB show up. Goofed off there while the rain cameand filled up on calories and laughs. (Why is there always a blackcat trying to get in these stores here in Virginia? Could be the sameone hiking behing us maybe?) Anyway, have to keep moving. Could have stayed there ( they offer2$ camping in back). But the rain was coming and tenting didntseem too exciting. Wapati shelter was the next get together and we all decided to getto the next one. It was late, did some fun night hiking over sometought rocks with a little mix of sleet to top off the night. Beat, cold, a little sore but knowing that the sun is suppposed to come out tomorrow, and only an 8 mile hike to Pearisburg, wentto sleep with a big smile. Hiked a lot of that last section withHippie and what a cool chick she is; fun stories and great to hikewith. Got to go, take care!!Big Hello to Tom and Jackie and Maura and Ryan; will get a hold ofyou in "Paris"burg.
Date: 2005-04-14
From: Doc's Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: clear sky

Sunshine!! Keep this short and sweet; great hike into Pearisburg. Stopped @ the Angels Rest; a rock outcrop before you drop 1500ft. into town. Sat there for an hour or so; listening to musicand watching the birds do circles under the sun. What a life;beautiful view. Going to take a zero on the 15th; shopping for a digital camera;and just going to chill. Not much else to say; life is good. Anybody who talks to Wells or Kado do me a favor and let themknow what is up and I will catch them down the road. ( And Wells; we will have that discussion about the Indians andsuch in do time) As Robert Smith from the Cure says "lets get happy"
Date: 2005-04-16
From: Pearisburg

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

Out of Pearisburg, back in the saddle again. Pearisburg was cool;got a digital camera so will be getting those pictures up soon. After 6 donuts and a gallon of milk, KB, SB and myself skirtedout of town past an old cemetery. A Revelutionary War hero namedPearis (thus the town name we presumed) was buried there in 1810.Lots of history there; cool stuff. Great day of hiking; starting to realize that the warm weathermakes me lazy up here. I can sit in a grass field for hours justgazing @ the sky. While getting water @ a spring we came acros a snapping turtlelaying in the water. I couldn't resist so I tapped on the shellto make sure he was awake. He hissed and got back in his home. Wasn'tthe first time in my life something hissed @ me. He did comeback out and KB got some good pictures. Anyway, we packed up some cheese sauce; hot dogs and buns, andtwo loafs of killer bread and made a fire @ the shelter and atesome good grub. Laying here stuffed; waiting for the mice to comeout and play. Take care!
Date: 2005-04-17
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

There was another gentleman in the shelter last night; veryinteresting dude who served in the last two Gulf Wars. Got up early and we had a great discussion about many things from warto sports to whatever. Think his name was Laceles; from PA and headingsouth to Georgia. Had my first true stream crossing this morning! Love wading acrossstreams; no better way to wake up in the morning then having 35degree water skirt up your pants. Came to a sign about a milefrom the shelter that said a bridge was down from the 04hurricanes in the area. You could walk the road or walk the trailand ford the stream. Have to ford the stream; took off my socksand had a blast! Another lazy day; I got to the next shelter and dried my bootsand layed on a picnic table listening to tunes for an hour orso. (Smashing Pumpkins) Waited for the B's; they didn't showso moved on to Wind Rock which is such a cool spot. Ate somegrub and fell asleep again    After I got up I took a wrong trail which parellels the AT;after an hour I didn't see any white blazes (I was zoning out).Got my map out and saw there was a connecting trail so tookthat and lo and behold; 200 yds. later I came to the ATand B's!! Life is good!   Two great things finished another wonderful day on the AT; KB,SB,Shorts, and myself saw a little BABY BEAR! How cool was that.Once it caught wind of us it scurried down a hill into some bushes.Where is momma? I was hoping to see momma; of course from a distance.   Also thanks for the trail magic @ VA 601 from Dave! Thank youfor the cooler of sodas and cookies man!Living the Dream!!
Date: 2005-04-18
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Salem
Miles today: 22.0

   Came to the shelter last night and Hippie was tenting behind the]shelter. She had left a day out of Pearisburg before us so coolto get with her again.   The B's wanted to get going early; their family is coming intoday. So we got up at the crack of dawn; got a chance to seea beautiful sunrise.   The hiking early was stunning; rolling fields and horses everywhere.I love walking the grasslands; something about the wide openspaces I guess.   Anyway, came across the 300 yr. old oak early in the morning.Got a lot of pictures; one cool looking tree. Amazing to mehow this tree has survived wars, disease, logging, weather andother things to be standing here.   Twice today we had trail magic; more soda in streams. Thanksto whoever again.   We were going to meet KB's parents @ VA 311; after 22 or so milewe decided to get off @ VA 620. Going to Quality Inn and doing theusual; eating, eating and more eating.   Have say thanks again to KB's parents! More trail angels.   My parents are driving here from St. Louis; supposed to meet withthem Thursday or so. Looking forward to seeing you guys.   Here with Hippie, KB & SB and life is good on the AT! P.S. - Forgot to tell you; saw my first real snake today. Hippiecame across it. A 4-5 foot Rat Snake ! Can't wait for the Rattlers   "Fear brings anger,   anger brings hate,   and hate brings suffering"   Peace
Date: 2005-04-19
From: VA 620/Trout Creek

To: VA 311
Miles today: 13.0

   Well, another great day on the trail man. Stayed @ the QualityInn last night. Up this morning, grubbing down the breakfast bar andlook who is here. "Mississippi Allen" ;haven't seen him since I wassick. He is also meeting his parents in the area and hiking.    The B's, Hippie, the KB's parents and myself went back to wherewe were picked up last night @ VA 620. Had a wonderful hike upto Dragon's Tooth; a rock outcrop on a ridge that is awsome. Goofed around up there for a while and after coming down thesteep backside, we were met with more trail magic @ VA 624.The thing about Virginia is there are road crossings everywhere& trail magic seems to be everywhere. A BIG THANK YOU to KB'Sfamily for the Subways, etc.   Went on with Hippie to 311; came across a fire up on a ridgenear VA 311. Kind of weird; I kept seeing a helicopter with waterbuckets flying around. Thought it might be training or something.Came to a section that was torched and still on fire. 12 or sofirefighters were fighting the blaze. Hippie and I walked thruit and came upon the firefighters. They looked a little stunnedbut what is a little fire to a thruhiker?   Anyway, meeting my parents in Daleville in a couple of days andlooking forward to that for sure.    Virginia is a beautiful place; take care everybody!   Laura, thanks for the postcard in Pearisburg!!   "Foot upon the stair   shoulder to the wheel   you can tell yourself   not to care   you can tell yourself    how to feel   That is how it is"                     RUSH
Date: 2005-04-20
From: VA 311

To: VA 220
Miles today: 19.5

Saw my first Rattlesnake of the trip today! How cool is that?Just past Campbell Shelter down a short hill he was stretched acrossthe trail. No doubt I jumped a bit; daydreaming as usual and cruisingalong I saw the snake and @ the same time heard the rattle. He gave meone warning and thats all I really needed. After hanging around and trying to pursuade him to move, I tooka couple of pictures. He was coiled up a bit but was a good sizeone. I lost the discussion; he was not going to move so I went aroundMr. Rattler, and I used the term Mr. for a reason wasn't leavinghis mouse spot. Anyway, this section was very cool. McAffee Knob, Tinker Cliffsand the rest of the hike was awsome. My parents were in town waiting @ US 220 and it was great to popout of the woods and see them with some magic. We shared somestories and laughs and ate @ an AYCE buffet. Going to take a zeroThurs. Waiting for the B's to come on thru. Seems everybody'sfamily is in the area which is great. Life is great on the trail; talk @ ya'll later!
Date: 2005-04-21
From: VA 220

To: VA 220
Miles today: 0.0

Taking a zero with Mom and Dad here in Daleville. Waiting for the B"sto arrive, sometime today. Going to take off on Friday; weather has cooled a bit which is great.Ya'll know the program by now; eat a lot of food, drink some beerand rest the body a bit Hippie is also hangin in town and Jersey Tripod came on down to givesome support the next few days. Quick thanks to all who have helped us in this area; been a blast. Take care! NO RAIN, NO PAIN, NO MAINE. "Men who hold high places   must be the ones who start,   to mold a new reality,   closer to the heart,   the blacksmith, and the artist   reflecting in their art,   forge their creativity,   closer to the heart"               RUSH
Date: 2005-04-22
From: VA 220

To: Black Horse Gap
Miles today: 13.6

Hello again! Everybody is in the area; Tripod is back helping outand everybody's relatives seem to be around. Not such a bad thing, eh? KB, SB & myself left VA 220 and hiked a real nice and very quiethike to Black Horse Gap. Tripod met us there and brought us back toDaleville for another night of fun and games. All hikers on the AT have heard of the Home Place Restaurant. Weall hopped in a couple of trucks and headed to this place; an all youcan eat old time country food place. Here are the list of peoplein the guilty party; Hippie, Tripod, Grunt, North Face, Ted, KB, SB,and myself. I was in heaven man, AYCE chicken, roast beef, green beans,slaw, mashed potatoes, and the list was endless. We topped the evening off with a beer bash back @ the hotel; greattimes with great friends. Can't even count the # of beers we consumed;great time man. Anyway, heading north from Black Horse in the A.M.; supposed toclear up and ready to move on. Take care!!
Date: 2005-04-23
From: Black Horse Gap

To: Cove Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 11.4
Weather: scattered clouds

   Goodbye to Motels; been having a difficult time sleeping intown. The silence and the peace you get in the woods is hard toshake once you hit town. Got this funny feeling that after thisthing ends there will be many things I will have to get used toall over again. Maybe I will set up my tent behind my condo!!   Also, so long for a while to Grunt, North Face , Hippie and Tripod. Sure we will se ya'll again.   KB and myself talked a lot today about how the "real world"and the trail are clashing. One thing out here that is totallydifferent is the concept of time. There daytime and nightime formyself; when the birds sing early in the morning I get up and Igo to bed when the sun goes down. I eat when I am hungry; haven'tcarried a watch or such yet and don't plan to. The problem weget is getting into town; eveything seems to structured which is a tough thing. We smile about it; the freedom of the trailfrom time is an amazing and fresh thing!!   Nice day, great hike and we packed in some hot dogs and breadfor dinner. Great full moon tonight; life is good on the AT!!
Date: 2005-04-24
From: Cove Mtn. Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

   Up early; hiked 3 or so miles down to the road crossing (Iforget all of these road #'s). Lo and behold who do I find packingup camp but Hippied, Tripod, Grunt and North Face. Good to seethem; got some Mtn. Dew from Tripod, ( Thanks once again dude foreverything and I agree, Moving Pictures was one of their best).   Another great day of hiking; but as the day went on got muchcooler and soon enough it was COLD again! By the time I got to theGuilotine, it felt like old times again The memories of 0degree temps and laying in shelters in Carolina with the gangbrought smiles to my face.    Got to Thunder Hill; made a fire and the B's were close behind.Laughing we remembered the process, eat fast and get the hell inyour bags! Two other "kids" came in; Scrubs and PJ who are partof a group that is moving fast.    Brrr................................   "I cannot get insurance anymore,   they only take gold,   is that a dagger or a crucifix   held so tightly in your hand,   and the distance grows between you and me,   I cannot understand".               Peter Gabriel
Date: 2005-04-25
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: John's Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: overcast clouds

   Old man winter is back?   Woke up to a dusting of snow and sleet;outside the shelter and on my sleeping bag. Man, ice and snow wasblowing on my face last night; did keep the mice at bay though whichis a bonus.    Speaking of mice, they haven't been out as much the past few weekseven though you can hear one every once in a while. I miss my friends,now that snake season is getting into swing I probably won't havethe pleasure of wacking anymore with my trekking pole.   Slow , easy day today, great views all day. Funny thing, we gotdown to the James River area and it was 65 - 70 and warm. 6 hours agoI was freezing and now we are deciding if we want to take a swim in a creek!! The AT is a beautiful thing man.   The 1 - 2 mile walk next to the James River was full of snakes.Saw a couple of Black Snakes and heard many others slithering offin the woods.    Shelter was packed; tented near the shelter. Played some cardswith the Killer B's; I get my a** kicked in rummy by SB and KBeverytime. Great, great night for tenting and time to sleep.So long!
Date: 2005-04-26
From: John's Hollow Shelter

To: Bueno Vista
Miles today: 19.7

   What a bright moon last night!! Should have done some night hiking.KB said he woke up a few times in the shelter thinking it was daytime;one of my better sleeping nights.   Another nice day, sunshine and great views again as usual. Stoppedfor lunch @ a shelter that is supposed to be haunted or something.Somebody swore they woke up and saw a kid folding his laundry fromhis backpack into nice piles. There is a story of a kid who gotlost and was found dead on top of a nearby Mtn. in the 1800'sOttie was the name I think; told KB and SB that if somebody isgoing to fold my clothes into nice piles in my sleep that maybeI should hang here for a bit Think I did see a ghost once;that was after a long night of drinking though.   The highlight of this day though was the hitch into Bueno Vista.The B's, Orphan, ( a kid from near Boston) and myself got to VA 60I believe and the hitching into town looked bleak. Around the cornercomes a semi carrying 80,000 or so pounds of logs. He was going about5 mph and to our suprise he picked us up. Awesome stuff; never haveridden in a logging truck; dude showed us all of the controls, howto use the 10 gears or so he had and took us down the mtn. Thanksman for the ride; one we will never forget.   Good night and sweat dreams!!
Date: 2005-04-27
From: Bueno Vista

To: Seeley Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: few clouds

Found out last night that Mom and Dad are 6 miles west andback in the area. They went to D.C. and did the tourist thingand are back to help for a few days. I don't have to say thiscause they know.....you guys are the angels of angels and you are\my heart, soul and mind on this adventure. Thanks for everything! Late start, lazy lazy and more lazy. The B's and myself ate a lot of food last night. We all packed a Subway sandwhich for thehike out and it was just one of those lazy spring day's. The hike today was awesome; Virginia is so varied that everyturn has a suprise. Fell asleep next to the trail today; did my usual nap and wokeup dazed and confused. I knew this was the AT and that is about it!The last 5 miles I was in a fog; more of a fog then usual that is Not much else to say; going to try and do a couple of 20's toget to Waynesboro by Friday. Tom, youngest brother is flying intoRichmond and is going to spend a week in Shenandoah area. Lookingforward to seeing him; a little hiking maybe?? Life is good!!
Date: 2005-04-28
From: Seeley Woodworth Shelter

To: Maupin Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: broken clouds

Great sunrise!! Almost missed it except for that one bird; you know who you are; who was singing a loud song early. Mom and Dad were @ US 56 with some Gatorade, Water, fruit, etc.I was there early; the B's showed and we had a nice lunch break.Weather is springlike which has been rare. The climb late up to Chimney Rock and the 3 peaks was a heavybreather. Maybe it was the beer I had @ lunch, just maybe Highlight of the day was the big rat snake I stepped on. SBgot a kick out of the whole thing; I don't think she has everseen to guys with 30 - 40 lbs. on their back jump so high before.I stepped on it; it went past KB who had to be 6 ft. off theground and darted into the woods. Gotta watch those snakesin the dry leaves!! Anyway, rain is coming from what we hear. Sweet dreams............... "I can learn to resist,   anything but frustration,   I can learn to resist,   anything but pain,   I can learn to resist,   anything but my desires   I can learn to live with   all the things I can't explain".                        RUSH