morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-12-23
From: Rt 601 trailhead, Va.

To: Stayed near Harper's Ferry, W.V.
Miles today: 5.3

5.3 miles todayStayed near Harper's Ferry, W.V. All three of us slept in the back of the truck last night. It wasn't too bad, but we couldn't have gotten another person in. At least Grassy Ridge and Hippie didn't have gas last night!! I woke up and when I started moving around, Hippie and Grassy Ridge both woke up. It started raining earlier this morning and was still raining. We were going to do an eight mile section here and then go back down to Shenandoah and try to finish up the 5.3 miles we had left there from the other day. We decided not to do this eight mile section because it was raining harder, so we drove down to Shenandoah to see if they opened up the road yet. We got there a little before 8am and I pulled up to the entrance and shut the truck off and waited. No one showed up at 8, so we decided we would wait until 9am and then make different plans if no one showed up. At 8:15 the ranger showed up and let us in. They just opened the road after allthe snow and ice from the other day had melted. Hippie dropped Grassy Ridge and me off at the Pinnacle. It was still raining and very windy, but the temperature was pretty mild...in the low 50s. We walked up and over Mary's Rocks and then on down the mountain to Thornton Gap where Hippie was waiting on us. The winds got up to about 50 mph in gusts, so I was constantly trying to look up into the rain to watch for falling trees and limbs. It looked like about 15 small trees had been blown over and lots of branches, but they all missed us. I stayed behind Grassy Ridge all the way. It was good to get back to the truck and get out of the rain. Grassy Ridge lives in Louisville, Ky and they had been hammered with ice and snow over that way. She decided to leave today and try to make it home for Christmas Eve. Hippie and I stopped on the way back to Grassy Ridge's car and picked up her new shoes from the po in Front Royal. Then we drove back to the trailhead and dropped Grassy Ridge off at her car and gave her a hug goodbye. It's been alot of fun hiking with Grassy Ridge again and it was great to have an extra person along for almost a week. She did fantastic coming out and walking the miles she did. I don't think I could take a couple years off and come out and start up with 13 mile days. I'm sure I would have whined alot, but Grassy Ridge kept wanting to do more.Hippie and I went up to Harper's Ferry to get our bounce box and Hippie's Leki poles. The hiking poles weren't there, so we just got the rest of our stuff. We decided to stay in this area and dry all our stuff out. We made plans for where we were going to hike tomorrow, then went to the store and bought food for dinner. Late in the day, the rain stopped and the temperature started to drop. It feelsgood again. The upper 50s were too warm for this time of year.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-24
From: Stayed near Harper's Ferry, W.V.

To: Off-trail, Hippie's parent's home, Piscataway, N.J
Miles today: 10.2

10.2 miles todayHippie's parent's home, Piscataway, N.J. I had planned on walking on Christmas Day, but Hippie has been saying for a week how she would like to go home for Christmas, so finally I ask her; "Would you like to go home for Christmas??" She got real happy and called her mother and told her; "I'm going to be homefor Christmas!!" Hippie and I were in no hurry this morning because we were only walking a shortdistance. We both made some phone calls, organized our stuff that was spread all over theroom and repacked our stuff. We headed out and got something to eat before we headed back up to PA where we were hiking when Grassy Ridge picked us up last week. Hippie dropped me off at Old Forge Road and I started hiking north. She drove around to Rt 30 and started walking south. I had a 1000 foot climb to start off with. That warmed me up nicely. I got up to Chimney Rocks and took a short break. There was a box in the trail with a register in it, so I signed it. I left a note for Ice Bound, the nobo I met the other day down in Va. He'll probably wonder what the heck I was doing up here in PA on Christmas Eve when I met him in Va the other day walking south. I did tell him I was doing a flip-flop hike this year. It was strange being back in Pa with alot more rocks. Shenandoah is a very smooth, well graded trail. It was also nice to be walking on frozen ground again after walking in all the rain yesterday. All the mud was frozen and it was much easier to walk through. I walked by one road crossing that I didn't like. There were deer carcasses spread all over, some even in the stream and someone threw their garbage in the stream and the bag broke apart and garbage was flowing down the stream. Some people are slime. I hiked on and pretty soon saw Hippie coming down the trail. She already walkedthis area earlier this year, so she turned around and walked back with me. Since she was walking a few miles less than me today, I decided to pick up my pace and give her a good workout. We ended up flying over the rocks and got back to the truck in just 2 hours and50 minutes...not bad for walking a little over 10 miles. We headed towards Hippie's home a few hours away. We stopped and ate at Taco Bell on the way so we didn't waste too much time. The traffic wasn't too bad tonight. We got to her house a couple hours after dark.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-25
From: Grassy Ridge's version of events

To: Piscataway, NJ
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayHippie's homePiscataway, NJMERRY CHRISTMASS!!!!!!!!!!!I spent the day at Hippie's parent's home. It was nice to be inside for Christmas.Hippie had been saying about once every day for the last 1 1/2 weeks that she would sure like to spend Christmas at home. I would just kind of let it go in one ear and out the other, then I'd say how nice it would be to spend Christmas in the woods.About two or three days before Christmas I looked at Hippie and said; "Would you like to go home for Christmas??"She got excited and called her mom to let her know she was coming home.Hippie's mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, niece, nephew and dog were all there. Her dad made a delicious beef brisket with all the trimmings. He's a very good cook and seems to love doing it.When they all opened their presents, her mom had even put together a stocking for me to have a few things to open...that was very nice of her. She even knew what hikers need...food, snacks, a tooth brush and a phone card.Later in the day, Hippie and I went to visit her aunt that's in the hospital. We ended up spending quite a while there. Her aunt is 88 years old. She is very funny because she does her own thing. She eats what she wants and she hides things from the nurses. She even told me that I could wear her wig if I wanted when she saw me take my hat off.We had several hours of driving to get back to the trail, so we headed out about 7pm.We drove to the Rt 183 trailhead in Pa and parked for the night.Thanks Grandma Bo and Papa Tom for letting me come over and spending Christmas with you. (Hippie told me to call you that!! Those are your knew trail names.)Another great day near the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-26
From: Piscataway, NJ

To: Va.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero miles todayHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!Hippie and I decided to take another zero day and celebrate my birthday.She got me a ten color ink pen and some very nice smiley face stickers for my register entries.My smiley face stickers are way better than hers now. Ha!!We ate alot today and drank quite a few Yuenglings...great way to spend my birthday.I even got fried chicken for my birthday!!!I called my mom and dad so they could sing to me. They were more than happy to sing Happy Birthday to their fine baby boy!!I called my daughter, but she didn't want to sing, so we talked for a while and caught up on what's been happening.Another great day near the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-27
From: Va.

To: Shenandoah National Park, Va.
Miles today: 8.0

8 miles todaySleeping in my truck near Rt 33Shenandoah National park, Va.Hippie and I had lots of small things to do this morning.We finished getting Goosebump and Rainbow Slick's Christmas present ready and went to UPS and sent it. I'll talk more about their present later, after they open it. I don't want to spoil their surprise.We went grocery shopping and got enough food to last for the next three days. I got the oil changed in my truck. I filled up on gas for the lowest price I've seen in a long time...$1.55 a gallon. We checked our email on a computer and I payed a couple of bills. I added a few clicks to my journal too!!We decided to try and finish up Shenandoah for now, so we headed for the trail there. It was getting late in the day, so I walked an 8 mile section from Jarmin Gap to Rockfish Gap.Hippie was still trying to locate her Leki hiking poles that never showed up at the po, so she didn't walk any. She took care of calling Leki and then picked me up at the trailhead just before dark.The trail had lots of ice on it. The kind of ice that shoots straight up out of the ground. It was harder walking on it today because that ice was 4 to 5 inches high and my shoe would break through with every step. Thank goodness that the whole trail wasn't like that...only about 1/4 of it. I've never seen it raise up that high before.There was also lots of icecycles where water would come off the rocks on the side of the trail.We drove up to near Rt 33 and found a really nice spot to park the truck and went to sleep.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-28
From: Shenandoah National Park, Va.

To: Shenandoah National Park, Va.
Miles today: 28.6

28.6 miles todayStealth trucking near Rt 33Shenandoah National Park, Va.Another cold morning...17 degrees, but it was nice in the back of the truck having my coffee. I also had some cerial before we headed towards the entrance to Shenandoah.We got there right when they opened the gates and Hippie slacked me all day. She would meet me at road crossings and have snacks ready for me. She made me some wraps with honey roasted turkey, fresh spinach, bacon, shredded cheese and ranch dressing. You can't eat any better than that anywhere.It was not too windy today and there was lots of sun, but the temperature only got up to about 30 degrees.Hippie planned out a higher mileage day for me today and then when she saw that I was moving along pretty good and making good time, she added another 5 or 6 miles to my day so we would end up near a shelter. I think she was trying to kill me!!!When I did finally get to the road crossing just before the shelter, Hippie was there and had our packs ready for the night.We walked the .2 miles to the shelter and was surprised when there was someone there. We have gotten so use to no one being around that it's a real shock when we come across someone.He was a Marine that was on leave for the holidays and was walking all of Shenandoah to add to last year when he walked through all of the Smokys.I went up to get water while Hippie stayed and talked to him. When I came back, there were two more hikers. They looked familiar to me, but I didn't know them well. Their names were Gourmet Dave and Shirt. I remembered that I met Gourmet Dave at the IAT booth at Trail Days and I know I met Shirt somewhere, But I canKt remember when. They said one more guy by the name of Happy Hiker and his dog were still coming in.That was almost overwhelming having that many hikers around after being in the woods so long by ourselves.We all talked a while when Hippie asked Gourmet Dave the same thing I was thinking about...anyone snore???We gracefully gave up our spots in the shelter and headed back to the nice, quiet place we stayed at last night.We stopped and bought a six pack of Yuengling on the way there and when we parked, Hippie started dinner. She has really been feeding me some good food and tonight was no different. I'm eating better than I have in years!!We sat in the back of the truck and ate dinner and drank our Yuenglings...a great way to end a really good day!!Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-29
From: Shenandoah National Park, Va.

To: Southern Va.
Miles today: 25.2

25.2 miles todaySouthern Va.It was very mild out this morning with the temperature at 30 degrees.Hippie boiled water for our coffee and tea and then she fried me some eggs and made me a breakfast wrap with bacon, eggs and cheese...very good!!We stayed in the same place we did two nights ago. It is really nice because it's down an old dirt road and after about 7pm, no one else drove by the whole night.We headed back up to Shenandoah to wait on the rangers to open the gates.We only had to wait for a few minutes until they let us in.We drove back to the parking area near the shelter and walked back down and got to talk to Gourmet Dave, Shirt and Happy Hiker before they left.I hiked out first and got a good pace going because Hippie had another long day planned for me. The walking was easy and the weather was mild. It was another beautiful day and the views were awesome through the leafless trees.I was walking along and saw a deer about 40 yards away. I focused in on him and was blown away by the antlers. They were the largest antlers I've ever seen on a deer in the wild. I stood and watched while it watched me.I came to a road crossing and Hippie had lunch ready for me. I took it and ate it while I walked just so we could get done early today.Hippie and I saw two bobcats cross the road earlier this morning on our way into the park. She said she saw another one later this morning.I kept walking at a good pace and only stopped once for a few minutes when I got to a road crossing and Hippie was there. I drank a coke and ate some oatmeal cookies to keep my energy up.Hippie was happy with the miles I was making, so we could get done here in Shenandoah today. I was starting to get tired, but as long as I kept moving, I was ok. When I stopped for a couple minutes, it took me a few minutes to warm up and start walking at a good pace again. It's been a while since I pushed the miles like this. It feels good to get miles done quicker sometimes though.Now I only have a short section left north of Shenandoah and a short section left south of Shenandoah to finish this flip-flop thru hike.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2004-12-30
From: Southern Va.

To: Springer Mountain, GA!
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Zero miles todayWoody Gap, Ga. We woke up this morning and made coffee and tea. On a whim, we decided to drive south to be on top of Springer for New Years Eve, an AT tradition. It didn't look too far on the map, but Hippie and I get easily distracted and it ended up taking us all day to get to Georgia. We weren't sure where we were going to park. Hippie wanted to park at Neels Gap and walk in to Springer the next day. I wanted to park at Woody Gap and hike in from there. It was 20 miles from Woody Gap and 30 miles from Neels Gap. Later in the day, Hippie saw we weren't going to make it until almost dark, so she flipped a coin to see where we were going...Woody Gap. We stopped and bought some Bailey's and some Jack Daniels for New Years Eve. It was almost dark when we got to Woody Gap, so we decided we would eat there before we night hiked into Gooch Gap Shelter for the night. We made a mistake of opening the Jack Daniels and had a drink with dinner. The second mistake was having a drink after dinner. You can probably figure out our 3rd, 4th and 5th mistakes. I was still good to go and hike until that 5th one, then all I wanted to do was crawl in the back of the truck and go to sleep. It was 10pm when we finally decided that the 5 miles to Gooch Gap Shelter were just more than we could do tonight.Another great day on the A.T.
Date: 2005-01-01
From: Springer Mountain, GA

To: FLORIDA!!! He's in FLORIDA??!!
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayMy home in Florida. I woke up at 6am and needed some coffee. I woke Hippie up and told her she looked like she needed some tea. She started the water to boiling while I got the stuff ready for tea and coffee. We were drinking our morning drinks and the sun was just coming up here in the parking area on Springer Mountain when Ol'Man, Navigator and Torch came down from the mountain. Torch was catching a plane home to Connecticut and Ol'Man and Navigator were giving him a ride to the Atlanta airport. We said goodbye to them and we finished our drinks and headed to Florida. Small change of plans: We have decided to walk the Florida trail before I finish the last 175 miles of my thru hike. Hippie and I have a competition going to see who can take the longest time to complete a thru hike. When I met her in December of '01, she was just about to finish a 6 month and 10 day thru hike. I told her then that I could beat that, so in '02, I took 6 months and 15 days. I wanted to beat her again, so in '03, I took 7 months and 15 days. She started her thru hike this year with me, but she started at Fontana Dam and walked to Springer with me to finish my hike, then she continued on her hike. She took 10 months and 1 day this year!! Well, I'm at 8 months on mine right now and if we do the Florida Trail, I just might be able to stretch this hike out long enough to beat her again. I know Florida had lots of rain this year and I've heard that parts of the trail are gone, but we are going to try and see how far we can get. I was raised in Florida, so as far as being in the woods here will be like being at home. Hippie is a little worried about the alligators, but I've told her that they won't bother us. (If they do, I can run faster then she can anyway!!) We drove all day and got to my house about 5pm. Tomorrow we will start making our plans and I will get to see some of my family. Tonight we're going to bed early and try and catch up on all the sleep we've missed through New Years.Happy trails!!!
Date: 2005-01-02
From: FLORIDA!!! He's in FLORIDA??!!

To: Florida
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayMy home in Florida Today was catching up with the grandkids day. Hippie and I headed over to my daughter-in-law's and visited with her and two of my grandchildren, Nikki and Cody. I noticed right away how fast they grow when you don't see them for a while. Nikki will be 11 this month and Cody is 9 years old. We spent a couple hours there, then headed over to my daughter's home. It was about an hour away and I got lost on the way there. Actually, I went the right way the first time, but turned around and headed the wrong way. I finally found it and Elise was at the door of the truck giving me a hug before I even got out the door. She is 11 years old and just like my daughter. I went in and got a big hug from my favorite daughter. She's my only daughter, but she still likes to hear that she's my favorite. I had to get Christy up to give me a hug. She's my oldest grandaughter at 12 years old. She is always shy in person, but if any of you have read her entries when she signs my guestbook, you know that she is a real clown on the internet. They took me around and showed me their new bedrooms. They had complete bedroom make-overs for their Christmas presents this year. Hippie and I were there for a few hours and then headed over to my father-in-laws house. It's been way too long since I've seen him. We got there and spent a couple hours before heading back to my house. Today was a day I've been looking forward to for a long time. The hardest thing about walking in the woods all the time is missing the grandchildren. Tomorrow is the day we are going to start cleaning up the truck we've been living out of for a few months and reorganizing our hiking gear. We won't be needing our heavy winter gear for now. It got up to the lower 80s today. That's hot when you've been hiking in the winter mountains, but I guess I'll just have to get used to it!!Happy trails!!
Date: 2005-01-03
From: Florida

To: Florida
Miles today: 0.0

Zero miles todayMy home in Florida Hippie and I woke up when we heard Kathy and Red in the barn feeding the horses. I made coffee and took some out to Kathy. Hippie loved all the horses and the new babies. She spent about an hour taking pictures. Today is a cleanup day. I started unloading the truck. I have no idea why I have so much hiking gear. It took about an hour just to get the truck completely unloaded. I took alot of the stuff in the house and Hippie started going through all that stuff. I kept busy with the truck. I vacumned it, put leather cleaner on the seats, washed the windows and floor mats, cleaned out the back and then washed the truck. That took most of the day. One of my running buddies came over for a while. It was great seeing him again and hearing about his race times. Makes me want to run some foot races again, but I can only do so much in a day. I've got way too many things that I want to do before I get old!! I talked to Liteshoe on the phone for about half an hour. She is my transcriber and the reason for my journals being late getting posted over the holidays. She was traveling for about a week and couldn't post my entries. If anyone wants to complain to her about not keeping my journal updated, you can do it in her guestbook at; www.trailjournals.com/liteshoe(See Jan, I gave you another plug!!!) Hippie and I decided to take a nap because niether one of us have done this much work in a while. I only slept for about an hour, but as I write this, she is still sleeping almost 3 hours later. I hope I never get that old!! I called the Florida Trail Association and found out where to get maps at. Hopefully we'll be walking before long. Hippie woke up after about 3 hours and we went to the store for food. I got to talk to Hammock Hanger when she called tonight. She gave me LWOP's phone number (Ha!!!) and I tried getting in touch with him. He knows alot about the Florida Trail...heck, according to him, he knows alot about everything!! We ate dinner about 10pm and didn't get to bed until 1am.Happy trails!!!
Date: 2005-04-06
From: Bears Den Hostel, Va.

To: Bears Den Hostel, Va.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Zero miles todayBears Den Hostel, Va. OK, OK, I know I've only been back on the trail for one day and already took a zero, but I've got an excuse!! It's a transition day. ;-)) I'm waiting on my ride up to southern Pennsylvania {a mini flip-flop in this flip-flop hike} so I can walk back to Bears Den Hostel here in Virginia from there. That will only leave a 77 mile section left from Waynesboro, Va south to Glasgow, Va to finish this hike. How many people do you know that's finished a thru hike in Glasgow, Va??? I'm working on ideas for my summit photo on one of those dinosaurs in town. Anyway, my ride is supposed to be here at 9am on Thursday and we'll take our time heading to Pennsylvania. There are restaurants along the way and it's supposed to start raining...not a hard choice. Queen Diva was going to take me back to Ashby Gap to pick up my pick-up, but she got busy, so early afternoon, David drove me there. He was heading into town for some groceries and said he'd drop me off there. I was hungry by then, so I drove to the pub at Snickers Gap and had a hamburger, fries and a....coke. ;-)) I got back to Bears Den and pretty much just hung out until Queen Diva invited me up to her place for a spagetti dinner along with 8 other people. She's making it hard to leave this place, but I am on a mission to finish my hike this month. I will be back here next week anyway when I walk in from Pennsylvania. Hummm, I wonder which night Queen Diva does Filet Mignon?? I helped with the dishes after dinner and then came down to my bunk and read some of a book that I had borrowed from Moosie. No other hikers are staying here tonight.Another great day on the A.T.