morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-20
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: No Business Knob Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: few clouds

May 20th was another fine hiking day. Three of my new friends got out before me. That¢s OK. That means we will see each other again sometime today. In the writing of this journal I have been referring to my photos to help jar my memory. Thanks to a glitch at a certain WalMart that won¢t happen until June 1 and will go unnoticed until September, the 63 pictures taken over the next 3 days landed in the proverbial bit bucket. That¢s right. They are lost forever. Bummer. Therefore the journal will be a bit thin here but not nonexistent. The trail crossed over 5,516 foot high Big Bald. Up there I met an older man and a younger woman. They were both hiking solo. We just all happened to be there at the same time. They were both letting their feet breath with socks hung on a fence. We ate and chatted for a bit. She claimed to be moving pretty slowly. The trail called for me to get moving but they stayed and just hung out a while longer.A mile later I stopped into Bald Mountain Shelter to check the log and have some lunch. It was a short stop.After 20.6 miles, No Business Knob Shelter greeted me. This was the first of the concrete block shelters the Forest Service built through out the Tennessee section in the early 1960s. They aren¢t very nice in my opinion. They tend to feel a bit dank. The roof eve tends to be a low head knocker. The floor is only 6 feet deep forcing tall folks to hang their feet over the edge. The floors are often pitched a good deal too. They will probably last forever built as they are. Oh well. There was a pair of older guys there and a younger couple. Road head fever had struck and that¢s about all the memory has of that night.
Date: 2004-05-22
From: Curley Maple Gap Shelter

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Today¢s hike would take me from Curley Maple Gap through Indian Grave Gap, Beauty Spot and over the summit of 5,180 foot Unaka Mountain. The climb out of Deep Gap (haven¢t we been here before) to Unaka was about a thousand feet in 1.5 miles. That¢s not steep but it¢s a climb. There was an unpublished spring fairly high up and that was good. It probably doesn¢t run in drier seasons but this has been a wet one. There was a nice descent of 1,300 feet down the other side to Low Gap (that sounds familiar too). I was flying down the trail but had to stop at this beautiful spring coming out of a 4 inch PVC pipe right in the middle of the trail. That last spring had been a trickle on the side of the trail which delivered a fair amount of detritus into my bottle. A fair distance had passed when I reached into the camera pouch to see how much farther the next shelter would be. Lunch was on my mind. Much to my dismay, the Handbook page was not in the pouch. Where could it be? Wait a minute. I looked at it at the spring. It was sitting on my pack. I never put it away. The day was 12 miles old and there were 9 more to go. Turning back just wasn¢t in the cards. This was depressing. My new book and a page was missing already. These pages are a part of my record of the trip. I record where each night is spent and the number of miles hiked and occasionally other stuff too. Boo, hiss.Cherry Gap Shelter shortly came into view. It was right on the trail. There were 3 guys there in their twenties. They were fairly local and just out for a week or so. They were resting for a bit and looking for water. They were south bound. I explained my lost page, gave them my address and asked if they would mail it to me if they found it. This plea was also recorded in the Shelter Register. Of course the photo of the register didn¢t survive either so you¢ll have to take my word for it. This explains why all the writing in this sections is a little thin. Both the Handbook page and the photos are missing. Grrr.Cherry Gap Shelter was actually on the top of page 19 in the Handbook so that page was reluctantly torn out and stuffed into the camera pouch. I'll have to pay more attention to it. The trail continued on bouncing between 3,900 and 4,500 feet. In Greasy Creek Gap there was a little card or something rigged to a tree indicating Greasy Creek Friendly, a hostel that was not far below. There was some temptation but the boots kept on going.Clyde Smith Shelter made for a 20.9 mile day. This was a really nice newly renovated shelter. The bench and counter arrangement worked really well. It started to rain while dinner was cooking. It came down pretty good for quite a while. It was pretty exciting, especially from inside this fine shelter. I slept on an upper right bunk. The rain came and went throughout the night along with thunder and lightening. It was another solo night.
Date: 2004-06-06
From: Rendezvous Motel

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 23.5
Weather: overcast clouds

The morning of June 6th started with a strange hike out of town. The white blazes lead over the New River on a highway bridge, then down concrete stairs and ramps, through industrial and railroad areas of town and finally up a slope and into the woods. That was a relief. It was good to be getting away form civilization. Up along the ridge we encountered something new. There were now pipeline right-of-ways to be crossed. They were just grassy swaths that came up from one side and went back down the other side. They were kind of like power lines with out the towers and wires.Before too long their was a sign in the middle of a meadow on a knoll. It indicated a shelter on the edge of the woods to the right. It was Rice Field Shelter and Buick was having a snack there. It was 1:45pm already and this was to be a long day at an expected 23.5 miles. This was definitely time for lunch part 1. It is always hard to get an early start after a night in town. We hiked together a good deal today. We even saw some deer.The next stop was at Pine Swamp Branch Shelter at around 6:30pm. From there, it was just another four miles to Baily Gap Shelter. There we met up with Hiking Bear and Impulse. These were two more solo thru-hikers. Impulse got his name at work when one day he just said I'm going to hike the AT. Needless to say his work friends just didn't get it. He was a pretty fun and funny guy. We both would have enjoyed hiking with him some but it was clear that we wouldn't. He was trying to slow down so he wouldn't miss the all-you-can-eat dinner at The Homeplace in Catawba. Seems that it is only offered Thursday through Sunday. If he wasn't careful he would be there too soon. It being only Sunday now, we would be passing Catawba on Tuesday. We all got a pretty good laugh out of this. Hike your own hike.
Date: 2004-06-07
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: broken clouds

It was a nice early start for me at Bailey's Gap Shelter on the morning of June 7th. Waking at 6:10am allowed me to get on the trail by 7:30am. That's a record for me. Alex was still asleep when I left but Impulse was up and about.By 10:45am I was 8.8 miles up the trail at Warspur Shelter and feeling great. This was lunch part 1. There was little doubt in my mind that Alex would be catching up. There was a dilapidated old house just off the trail to the left in a little gap. There was another hiker coming up from a brief inspection tour. We talked a bit. We had a few encounters that day. Something didn't click so I just moved on. The trail broke out into some pastures. Then it crossed a stile beside a huge tree. In fact this was the Keffer Oak. There were still 9 miles to go at 4:10pm.The Keffer Oak:The Keffer Oak is perhaps the largest tree on the trail. This white oak is over 18 feet around and over 300 years old. It begged for a picture so I obliged with my pack dwarfed at its foot for scale. The trail headed out across a field and then entered the forest. It got pretty steep for about a mile. It was a good haul and a good sweat. There was a guy paused at a bend in the trail. He was a bit on the hefty side. His name was Chef. We talked for a bit.The night was spent at Niday Shelter after 27 miles. This was my third 27 mile day. Perhaps that is why there are no pictures of this shelter and so few pictures all day. Maybe Buick has some.
Date: 2004-06-12
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Brown Mtn Creek Shelter
Miles today: 21.8
Weather: overcast clouds

It was the morning of another gray day here at Matt's Creek Shelter. The creek here was a little flume with steep cliffs on either side right where the bridge crossed in front of the shelter. It was really quite inviting even last evening when we first arrived after that huge downpour. It won me over though. It was just deep enough to flop my body in and scrub off. Buick may have been more sane and just waded in to his knees and scrubbed off with a towel. Either way we both got a good deal cleaner.The walking was kind of flat for the next two miles out to the big bridge over the James River at an elevation of only 710 feet. There were some guys just breaking camp right at the near end of the bridge. They were just starting a section hike. They had come in late last night and it was so dark and foggy they dared not leave sight of the bridge. This was a crazy long foot bridge built on old railroad pylons. The new railroad bridge was just next door. The trail did some fancy jigs on the other side of the bridge to get around and under the railroad. Finally it crossed a road where some other hikers stood hitching into town to the post office.Johns Hollow Shelter was only 3.9 miles into the day but it was a good enough excuse for lunch part one for me. The next shelter was 8.8 miles and the one after that was 9.1 miles. The trail payed another visit on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The whole day was gray, cool and humid but it didn't rain at all. That was a real boon. It was still not real conducive to photo taking.By the end of the day Buick and I both wound up at Brown Mountain Creek Shelter. Another guy was there named Sunshine. He had pitched his tent in the shelter and was in it when we arrived. This was his defense against the bugs. They didn't seem all that bad to me. Another guy came by and pitched his tent down by the creek. Gray Squirrel showed up and, in usual fashion, hung his hammock up the trail a bit. Then he came back and apologized for the favor he was about to ask. It seemed he had a tick where he couldn't get at it. It was high on the back of his thigh. The other guys, being twentyish, just sort of looked away. There really wasn't any choice someone had to do this so I volunteered. It wasn't like it was on his butt or anything. My contact lenses were still in my eyes. This tick was so small I couldn't even see it. I was going to take my contacts out but Gray Squirrel handed me a little magnifying glass and a pair of plastic tweezers from his swiss army knife. This was not fun but finally the little critter was gone. This had to be a deer tick. One of the buggers that spread Lyme Disease. Man, Gray Squirrel didn't need that again. Lyme Disease had knocked him off the trail last year. He thanked me and went off to sleep in his hammock. At 21.8 miles it had been another good day.
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Dutch Haus B & B

To: past Dripping Rock Prkng
Miles today: 24.8

Breakfast at Dutch Haus Bed & Breakfast was another fine feast. We ate the second seating because the early group needed a longer shuttle or something. Of course those folks weren't likely to hike as far as we were, neither were they likely to be carrying as much, but we had to trust our hosts. It all worked out just fine and shortly we were dropped at the Old Fish Hatchery Road to resume our trek to the north.Buick and I hiked together today. It was hazy and gray again. We stopped at spy rock and checked out the view. We walked through beautiful forests carpeted in ferns. Buick told me how much his mom loved ferns in the forest like this. He had to take a picture for her. We went over The Priest and the suspension footbridge across Cripple Creek. Is this the Cripple Creek that The Band sings about?Someone had told us about waterfalls and pools on the Mau-Har Trail. This trail looped down to the falls and then back up to the AT. The temptation to play in the water was too great so down we went. The falls were fun and the pools they cascaded into were chilly but not bad compared to home in New Hampshire. We each took a good dunk while the other took pictures. This was not the hottest day nor was it sunny. That was too bad.It was a rough and rocky climb back out of the ravine up to Maupin Field Shelter but it was well worth it. This little side excursion meant that we missed Chimney Rocks, Three Ridges and Hanging Rock. The distance and vertical feet were probably the same but honestly we had no idea. We just wanted to go for a swim.Now the trail returned to the Blue Ridge Parkway and paralleled it off in the woods for a while. The day was getting old and more than a bit damp. There was no good terrain for camping along this stretch. This was not promising. We met a couple of southbound section hikers a bit frantic in their pursuit of someplace to camp.The trail crossed the Blue Ridge again at a spring called Dripping Rock. A short ways into the woods, there was a clearing. We explored further off the trail and landed in someones back yard. We settled for the clearing just off the trail. It was already dark and the rain was spitting. Buick tied a stick to his bear string and threw it over a branch but it didn't stop. It wound itself around the branch several times. We tried for a while to free it but gave up and had our dinners. After dinner we used the rest of the string to rig our bags by throwing it over another branch. It was dark by now and time to sleep at the end of this 24.8 mile day.
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Pine Knob Shelter

To: Deer Lick Shelter
Miles today: 22.3

This was a nice morning. Speak Up was the first to hit the trail followed much later by the girls, then me and later Buick. It wasn't long before I caught up to the girls and said fare well. The trail was pleasant and moderate. It was about 10am and time for lunch part 1 at Ensign Cowall Shelter.Ensign Cowall Shelter was a nice place to stop for lunch part 1. This was a mighty fine shelter. The trail crossed some fields today but not to many. It can get hot in fields. The forest is preferable most of the time. There were some nice views too.The trail continued pleasantly and a little after 2pm delivered me to Pen-Mar Park. Yes, the Pennsylvania state line was near. Woo hoo. Just the same it was time for lunch part 2 sitting in the pavilion at the park. It was hot in the sun so the shade of a roof was nice but hiking in the forest was perfectly comfortable too.Another 2 tenths of a mile and the trail took me across the Mason-Dixon Line into Pennsylvania just after crossing a railroad. This was pretty exciting. I love signs at state boarders and here was the Mason-Dixon Line. Incredible.The trail crossed a small paved road and then passed some bushes, blackberry bushes. There were tons of them and they were big and juicy. These little black monsters stymied me for at least a half an hour. I just couldn't get enough of them. Finally the fear of getting sick on them exceeded their lure. It's a good thing too, lest I might still be there.The trail crossed 7 roads in 5 miles here but it was still nice. Deer Lick shelter would be home for the night. Curiously there were actually 2 small shelter beside each other. They might sleep 4 or 5 each. There was a scout troop camped near by. Two of the older scouts were going to stay in the shelter but rejoined their friends when I arrived. Buick showed up before too long. Apparently he had been held up by some yogi encounters. Poor boy.No one else showed up that night. We talked with the scouts some and had a good night discussing plans for the next couple of days when we would hit the halfway mark. It had been a 22.3 mile day. That was nice.
Date: 2004-07-02
From: Windsor Furnace Shelter

To: Bake Oven Knob Shelter
Miles today: 26.5
Weather: few clouds

It rained just a bit last night but the thunder and lightning went on for quite a while. It was another early start, meaning before 9am. We had a nice view from Pulpit Rock if a bit hazy. By noon we were at Eckville Shelter. This is another legend on the trail. Actually it is 0.2 miles down a road. The cool thing is that it's actually a shed in this guys back yard. There's a fridge on his porch full of food with a price list. It's the honor system of course. It's a really nice place with bunks and mattresses. We just stopped for some snacks, soda, ice cream sandwichs and cookies, and then we were off again. It was way to early to even think about stopping for the day.Shortly after 2pm we hit Dan's Pulpit. Another nice view here but this time with a register in a mailbox. Pennsylvania Rocks:Now the trail is getting rocky at times. Pennsylvania is notorious for its rocks but so far they haven't been a problem for us. We've talked about it. Here the trail has lots of small rock in it. That, in and of itself, isn't really the problem. The problem is that many of them are loose and pointy. When stepped on they tend to roll which in turn tends to roll hiker's ankles. It's kind of like walking in the dark when you can't see your footing. It takes some extra energy to be prepared for any random turn of foot on every step. This becomes a bit tedious but it only seems to last for maybe a few miles at a time. Besides, this is our tenth day in Pennsylvania and the first with rock issues. There are only 2 more days to go. How bad can it get? It's all hype. Just keep walking.And that's just what we did, we kept on hiking. It was about 4:40pm when we got to Allentown Hiking Club Shelter for lunch part 2. A few hours later we came upon The Cliffs and later we got to Bear Rocks. Here sections of the trail were just boulders like so many of the trails back home in NH.We came across some fresh weekend hikers who were stunned by our speed and light packs but they were having fun and that's all that matters. The sky was doing some cool stuff with clouds and haze masking the sun's rays. These were some nice photo ops. The sky was actually a bit ominous and the hour was getting late. All was fine when we got to Bake Oven Knob Shelter. There was only one other hiker. A 26.5 mile day to celebrate our 2-month-on-the-trail anniversary. That was pretty cool. That night we had to have our traditional celebratory pudding too.
Date: 2004-07-05
From: Delaware Water Gap

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: light rain

We slept later than I had hoped at Rick's but we needed it. After a wonderful breakfast and some more good camaraderie, Rick drove us back to the trail. There was one small problem. We needed Coleman fuel for our stoves. We were in search of a sporting goods store. We got referrals from place to place and finally found a place that was both open and had the stuff. We had to buy a gallon of course and fill our bottles with a mere fraction of that. The rest we left with Rick. We missed trail towns.Rick dropped us where he had picked us up at about 11:15 that morning. It was later than hoped but not than expected.He had offered to drop us on the other side of the Delaware to save us some road walking but this crossing from PA to NJ seemed way to significant. We followed the trail as it meandered through the little town and then across the long bridge. I got a fun picture of mile marker ¢0¢ and of each of us crossing the Delaware. Welcome to New Jersey. Only 6 states to go. Soon we were back in the woods where we belonged.It was a fine hiking day. The trail followed ridges with lots of vistas. There were even some glacial lakes reminiscent of home. We ran into a couple of local kids at Catfish Fire Tower on a dayhike. With such a late start, the day got pretty long but the weather was fine and the hiking easy. I would highly recommend this stretch of trail to all my friends in the NJ area.There was something wrong with some of these pictures. Oh, that's right. The sun is setting! That's alright. It's just so wonderful to be hiking on a ridge at that hour in that beautiful light with those warm views.By the time we reached Brink Road Shelter it was well after 9pm and we had traveled 24.8 miles on a late start town day. Cool. New Jersey was nice.
Date: 2004-07-06
From: Brink Road Shelter

To: High Point Observaqtion Platform
Miles today: 18.9

Today, there was more pleasant hiking. We were on the trail before 8am. The sky was a mix of blue clouds and sun which make for great views and pictures. It was just a gorgeous morning.We ran into another guy going our way this morning. He was Cotton. In fact we came across him several times for the next few hours. It was uncommon to see someone more than once these days especially with so many fewer thru-hikers around. We hiked together some of the time. Around 10am we reached Culver Fire Tower and got some more great views.Later we came to a stone pavilion on Sunrise Mountain. There were some tourists there. Perhaps they didn't know what to make of us. We met our new friend Cotton here again.The trail was just beautify along this stretch in NJ. It truly amazed me. Once again we had an appointment to keep. This time it was with a friend of Buick's who was living in New York City. I don't remember his name but surely Buick will correct that. He was to meet us a High Point State Park and from there we would go to dinner somewhere. We were there in plenty of time because he had to deal with the traffic getting out of the city.The park was fun. There was a lake, a beach, a snack bar and there were tons of people having fun. We got some "bad" food at the snack bar and paid too much for it. That didn't matter. We went for a swim. My towel joined me for a little scrub down. After all, we were going out for dinner. After a while we got our stuff together and walked the mile back to the visitors center where the trail crossed the road. The lake was closing anyway. It was a beautiful clear evening.We waited for Buick's friend. He showed up and we went in search of a restaurant. It wasn't that far and it had a quaint old atmosphere. Once again there was plenty of talk of the trail and other stuff too. He drove us back up to High Point and dropped us in the black of the night. It was late, maybe 11pm. The stars were brilliant. It was cool and clear. He was very reluctant to leave us there but we were cool. We just had to find where the trail entered the woods across the street from the visitors center. We finally convinced him it was fine. Hesitantly, he drove off. Ahh, city dwellers.It took a little wandering among the evergreens on the lawn but we eventually found the trail. Our plan had been to go 2 miles to the shelter but we were some tired. Instead, we were seduced by the clear sky and the view from the observation platform just a mile in. You see there is this giant monument at High Point, the highest point in NJ, 1803'. It looks like a mini Washington Monument. This platform was built to get a good look at it above the trees on the ridge. I confess, we rolled out our pads and bags on the platform in the wind at about midnight. The Milky Way was visible along with shooting stars and satellites and this was in New Jersey. Soon sleep won out and the stars vanished behind our eyelids.