morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-26
From: No Business Knob Shelter

To: Erwin
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: moderate rain

Wednesday, April 26 ErwinI was on the trial by 7:30 and did 6 miles by 10;30. I arrived in Erwin and got a room at Johnnie¢s Campers Hostel on the Nolichuchy River. I have a private room with bath and running water across the hall. This is a Nero day as I decide to stay for the night. We go into town for a great lunch and the good news is that I am back on my diet. NO French Fries. I start out with 2 helpings of salad since salad is healthy and good for you. I then have 12 slices of pizza, 4 huge glasses of lemonade, three glasses of sweetened tea, and two bowls of chocolate pudding. We finish lunch at 2:00 but no problem since dinner is only 31/2 hours away. When I get back to my room I see a note from Kutsa. She caught up to me even taking a day off in Hot Springs. She like Bama who is also here at Johnnie's seem to fly along the trail. Here's to the women. May they always be the pace setters! I will hike a bit with Kutsa again tomorrow. Shades of the fellowship.
Date: 2006-04-27
From: Erwin

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Thursday 4/27 Left Uncle Johnny's and began climbing up out of Erwin. It had been raining very hard and the streams were flooded. Came to one stream water was calf deep and had to ford stream with boots on getting completely soaked. Spent most of day going up hill climbing Unaka Mt and hiked total of 15 miles with very wet feet. Camped that night near Cherry Gap Shelter. Snickers and Kutsa followed my lead at one very deep stream crossing and both ended up soaked. We later found out that most people including Bama crossed by using a log and pretended they were high wire artists of the circus. Too bad we weren't there to see their performance!!!
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Roan High Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: few clouds

Friday 4/28 H¢ray, this is my one month anniversary. It seems like forever ago that we stepped onto the trail. To celebrate this significant anniversary and milestone, Kutsa gives me an orange as a congratulations offering.The day is sunny and nice for a change. It presented a significant challenge as we climbed the last of the 6,000 foot peaks until New Hampshire. I felt very good and succeeded in passing everyone who had started from Cherry Gap before me and was the first person in our larger group to climb the 6,285 foot Roan Mt home of the largest Rhododendron garden in the world. Too bad they are not blooming yet. I arrived at the Roan High Knob shelter at 5:00 in the evening and had the whole place to myself. The shelter is a large log cabin and is the highest on the AT and is reportedly also one of the coldest. It will sleep more than 20 people. I decided to tent a short distance away. Over the next hour and a half, many people arrived including Bama and Kutsa who had spent much of their day chatting on the trail. Leave it to the women to master multi tasking--talking and walking, however, walking and talking is not my kind of hike!!! While preparing dinner in my tent far from the maddening (and growing) crowd, an exceptionally noisy group of would be circus performance arrived with blaring music, not enough beer for everyone, and enough pot that I could smell it from my tent. I kept repeating an AT mantra ¢HYOH¢ (hike your own hike) and wished that others would hike their own hike farther away and not intrude on mine. I prefer the sounds of silence to their choice of music.
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Roan High Knob Shelter

To: Yellow Mountain Gap
Miles today: 7.0

Saturday 4/29 The next morning I awoke cold and annoyed from the previous evenings activities. Have you ever seen an angry eagle? I resolved to never again camp near a shelter near a road where beer and other amenities are too easily available. Boy am I getting grumpy. The mountains favored me with a beautiful day, an easy down hill 7 mile walk to Yellow Mountain Gap. Yellow Mountain Gap is easily one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen and was reportedly used as a movie backdrop for a film named The Winter People. Even in my dampened spirit I couldn¢t help but be amazed by the fickleness of the mountain gods to curse me the night before and bless me with such beauty the next day. The eagle soared again.Yellow Mountain Gap is also the home of Overmountain Shelter about 12 mile off the trail and is actually and old large converted barn overlooking the aforementioned valley. I camp in a soft green grassy meadow a reasonable distance from the shelter. Finishing my day early to enjoy the splendor of the moment and listen to the concert of silence¢a beautiful symphony celebrating the harmony that is nature. Two former thru hikers Bob and Maryanne, aka Homeless and Unemployed, deliver trail magic in the form of a delicious turkey sandwich with cheese and pickle on a very flat croissant. Later that afternoon I am joined by a group of weekend campers who envy my through hike and covet my choice. They camp quietly near by.
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Yellow Mountain Gap

To: US 19E
Miles today: 9.0

Sunday 4/30I am awakened to high gusts of wind and threatening ominous gray clouds. Steech, a thru hiker from CT who joined me late last night and I quickly pack in the too dark dawn. Steech leaves ahead of me and on my way out of camp I encounter three tobacco chewing turkey hunting Tennesseans. I listen carefully for banjo music. Fortunately there is none. They tell me it is too windy to be hunting anyway. I go my way. They go theirs. For the next four miles, Steech is about 1/4 mile ahead of me as we summit the balds of Little Hump and Hump Mountains; each about 5500 feet tall. The winds are fierce and with gusts of more than 35 miles an hour. Walking is difficult. Sleet and hail are flying horizontally hitting any exposed skin painfully. On one point on Hunt Mt while carelessly adjusting my poles for the wind, I lose my balance and take the second fall of this AT hike. Like last time I fall hard enough that I decide to take inventory of every muscle and bone of my body before trying to stand again. I am thankful that I am not more seriously hurt because above the tree line ¢there is nothing to worry about but a cold wind that will kill you for keeping your hands in your pockets¢ as William Holden teaches in the movie The Earthling. The threat of bears pales in comparison with the real threat of hypothermia. As I catch up with Steech at Doll Flats, he and I agree that our trip over the two Hump Mountains was one of the most intense experiences of our AT hike thus far. Steech and I are nearly out of food and need to resupply. I am still carrying 2 energy bars that taste nearly as good as cardboard but are much more difficult to eat. I give them both to Steech. He devours them hungrily. I head for US 19 and begin to hitchhike back to Erwin to pick up a planned resupply at Uncle Johnnies.
Date: 2006-05-01
From: US 19E

To: Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0

Monday 5/1I celebrate May Day by taking a zero day back in Erwin to catch up on email and laundry. Tomorrow I begin the last 75 miles to Damascus and the promised flat land of Virginia. But still ¢miles to go before I sleep¢. Finally got to a computer and was able to add a picture of a happy memory. There I am with Nolines, Old Sherpa and Kutsa.
Date: 2006-05-02
From: US 19E

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

HI all. Take a moment to view some photos of some of the folks I mentioned in previous journal entries. Sherpa, Wingman and Kutsa to name a few. You can find these pictures in my album. Tonight is my last night in Tenn. I covered multiple miles climbing and descending the final hills of Tenn/N. Car. Tomorrow, hopefully I will be in Damascus and will be able to give you an update of the last several days of rugged climbs and beautiful vistas.
Date: 2006-05-03
From: US 19E

To: Damascus
Miles today: 64.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Friday, May 5 Damascus Arrived here in record time from my departure three days ago on 19E Roan Mt. and Hampton.When I arrived there was no cell phone service--only two pay phones that everyone fought over. While waiting my turn, I actually decided to check my weight as I heard some of you are worried about my diet. I am now thinking of adding French fries back to the fare. I am now 25 lbs lighter than when I began. The picture posted is a before, soon you will see the current new me when I can download my pictures.Damascus is the friendliest town along the trail. Each year it hosts an annual Trail Days festival. This will be held May 19-21 this year. It was originated in 1987 by Dan ¢Wingfoot ¢ Bruce. Hikers by the carloads get themselves back or ahead to this spot to participate in the festivities. Not this hiker , though. I have one purpose and that is to hike my hike and forge ahead.
Date: 2006-05-04
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Saturday, May 6, Left Damascus a little late today after picking up my resupply and tackling the weekly wash. I hope to reach Lost Mountain Shelter tonight but it might night happen. It is cold but beautiful in them thar hills. Following the spring brings an aesthetic serenity that only Mother Nature can supply. I am feeling great and making good progress. Ran into Bama and Kutsa who are hiking their hike. I hope to keep bumping into the greater group as we follow the spring way into summer. Here¢s to all of us.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Pearl River

To: Sinking Creek Valley
Miles today: 0.0

The verdict is in.But the Jury is still out!I just came from my appointment with a GREAT podiatrist, David Levesque, DPM, Westwood, NJ. He spent more than an hour and a half with me and I left his office with my orthotic in boot and my foot feeling better. Much better.Dr. David says that I have,Plantar Fasciitis, which is an inflammation caused by excessive stretching of the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia is a broad band of fibrous tissue which runs along the bottom surface of the foot, attaching at the bottom of the heel bone and extending to the forefoot. When the plantar fascia is excessively stretched, this can cause plantar fasciitis. I probably aggravated this ligament when I stretched my twisted ankle and since then I have been aggravating the injury. Treatment is relatively simple. Stop walking. I am now wearing my boots with new arch supports that make me feel like I am walking like a cowboy, I have been given new anti inflammatory drugs, exercises to stretch the ligaments, and the hope of a clean bill of health.. That is the good news.The potential bad news is that he is unsure how long I will have to wait to resume my trip. The primary issue is that Plantar Fasciitis often takes months to resolve. Dr. David is unable to predict how long it will be but gave me hope that next week I might be able to head back to the trail. I have a follow up appointment next Tuesday. Then I will get a new adjusted orthotic and hopefully a clean bill of health. My plan is to be a perfect little patient, do my exercises, and be en route to the trail on or about June 1, 2006.Meanwhile, I am looking forward to visiting with friends and family and celebrating Memorial Day next week with my grandchildren and getting back on the trail ASAP!Standby for an update as soon as I get it.
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Sinking Creek Valley

To: Sinking Creek Valley, VA
Miles today: 0.0

The Eagle Flies on Friday!Just got the verdict from the Doctor. Although not cured I have been a very good patient. I have my physician's blessing to return to the trail ASAP. (I had to promise to start slow, be careful and to do all my stretching exercises 3 X every day at least.)I still have some sore feet and the ligaments are still stretched but, I now have a new custom orthotic sole in my boots and a new awareness of the need for doing the trail BEFORE you turn 28. (Since I will be 29 next summer and obviously even 29 is a bit old for flat feet!)The plan now is simple. On Thursday morning Steven (my youngest brother) will drive me to Sinking Creek Valley (near Blacksburg, VA) where I got off the trail. It is nearly 700 miles from the start of the trail and about 450 miles from Cooperstown. Friday morning we will start hiking. Then we will see.The doctor says that my injury should be self limiting. I can "walk to tolerance". Which means when it hurts I should stop. Good plan.Now speaking of the plan, an adjustment is necessary. My original finish date at Katahdin was going to be the end of August. Since I was almost a week behind in the schedule AND I just spent two weeks goofing off we need a schedule adjustment.Here is the new plan... (Compliments to Barron Von Molke! - you remember the author of "No plan survives contact with the enemy.")...I have nearly 700 miles completed and 1,500 miles to go. 16 weeks or 116 days until the last week of September (the new target date) so, 15 miles every day, 16 days off (1 per week) and alakazam - I should arrive at Katahdin right on time to go back to work the first week of October.In any case, remembering my lessons in humility and knowing that this plan too, is subject to change at the whim of the mountain gods! I will hike my hike, one hill, one mountain, one mile and one day at a time doing what ever is required next!I hope to update from the trail in the next ten days or so!Until then, stay dry, hope for cool weather (no more hail or sleet please and, HYOH! - Hike your own hike!
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Sinking Creek Valley, VA

To: Sarver Cabin, VA
Miles today: 4.0

Steve and I leave Cooperstown at 0800 and head south, driving through the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania, and the rolling hills of Virginia. (Maryland and West Virginia are just passing flashes of landscape as we drive thru on I-81). We arrive at Sinking Creek, VA at 1830 (that is 6:30pm for you non military types) and head directly into the woods. By dark we are at the Sarver Cabin home site. It happens to be mile 666 from Springer Mountain, GA. We hike 4 miles mostly up hill. My ankle is sore but holding up. There is a little swelling but not very painful.
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Sarver Cabin, VA

To: Trout Creek, VA
Miles today: 15.0

We hike on. Steve was hoping to hike in the Shenandoah National Park with me and have the view of the Valley below. I think he is a little disappointed as we are hiking through woods without vistas. We hike as far as Trout Creek. Perhaps 15 miles was too much for today. I am very uncomfortable tonight. Tomorrow we will have to take it easy.
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Becker Gap

To: Saw Mill Run
Miles today: 14.0

What a day. McAfee Knob. The picture says it all. We ridge walk to Tinker Cliffs and then on to Saw Mill Run and camp in a very nice shaded meadow where the deer come to feed at night. 14 miles and the foot is complaining but is walk-able.
Date: 2006-06-05
From: Saw Mill Run

To: Troutville
Miles today: 10.0

Like horses heading to the barn we do 10 miles by mid afternoon and find ourselves in the bustling trail community of Troutville / Daleville, VA. Steve isn¢t into the thru hiker mode yet and desires a shower. Wimp! I agree mostly because I am hungry. We check into the Howard Johnson¢s and after drinking a quart of chocolate milk, eating two chili dogs, and eating half a large pizza hut stuffed crust with everything, we head out in search of food. On our way to find the food we came across the card of a trail angel ¢Del¢ who after exchanged cell phone calls offers to drive us to shuttle our car closer to make Steve¢s trip home easier. Del is a nurse who is out on disability and spends his spare time helping AT hikers. After driving 45 minutes to our starting point at Sinking Creek and drive Steve¢s car back to Troutville. When we get back we go to dinner at Waffle house. I decide I am not hungry and only get a BLT, fries, order of Chili. Steve is hungry and eats a little more than I do but I can¢t keep up with what he is eating, and after all this is my journal not his.
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Black Horse Gap + a little

To: Bryant Ridge Gap
Miles today: 17.0

Crisscrossing the Blue Ridge Parkway several times we head back into the woods towards Jennings creek where Steve takes a swim to try and sooth his sore and twisted ankles. We meet Merlin who is now slackpacking assisted by a full time driver. He hopes to do 20 mile days if he has no pack and is picked up at the end of each day. Later armed with orders from two other thru hikers we hitch a ride into a campground store with almost 0 selection. We settle on Mountain Dews, ice cream and hot dogs. We return to Jennings creek where we share and leisurely visit with two other thru hikers and Merlin¢s transporter. Steve gets and earful of thru hiker wisdom. We all agree that we all have sore feet and that none of us are sure that we are going to make it to Katahdin. After out Mountain Dew break we head back into the woods and Steve and I hike to Bryant Ridge Gap, camping in the woods .25 mile before the shelter. We have hiked 17 miles today. OUCH!During the evening we hear what we think may be a bear stalking around the camp and late that night at about 0300 Steve and I are both awakened by a loud screeching in the woods. We agree that both of us have never heard anything like it before. I conclude it was probably a velociraptor.
Date: 2006-06-08
From: Bryant Ridge Gap

To: Thunder Ridge & Steve's Journal Entry
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today is Steve¢s last day in the woods. It is all up hill. We walk up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and at 1100 we have done 5 miles and are near the road. Steve heads out bushwacking out to the parkway. He has done 89 miles on the AT. By 1400 he has hitched back to his car and is headed north on I-81. Steve emailed me this journal entry.You can paste into your log if you want.Hiking with Hank aka Catskill Eagle with a 35 pound pack @15 miles/day on top of sharp rocks. I experienced blistered toes, twisted ankle, screaming thighs, two wasp stings, some of the worst food and bad tasting water imaginable.I had a blast! Hope to do it again soon!Thanks, Steve aka Little BrotherI continue on in the woods and do another few miles to Thunder Ridge. 12 miles and a thunderstorm when Joan picks me up and we head into Troutville for a shower and All You Can Eat food.
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Thunder Ridge & Steve's Journal Entry

To: Points North....
Miles today: 0.0

Headed North again.Saturday morning and I am headed back to the trail and points north. Without Steve for company I will get to test my foot and see how well I can do 15 miles per day. Fingers and toes crossed. I will sign in when I can. Thanks for your interest and support!hank
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Points North....

To: Johns Hollow
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Joan dropped me off on Thunder Ridge on Sky Line Drive and I hiked 16 miles to Johns Hollow Shelter and a bit more covering 16 miles. Enroute I crossed the James River Foot bridge which is the longest foot bridge on the AT and an engineering marvel. A picture will be posted in my picture collection soon. Crossing the Bridge I discovered trail magic in the persons of Scuba Mom and Scuba Dad who insisted on serving me a snack. I ate three cupcakes, a cheese burger and had three orange Fanta sodas. (I didn¢t want to spoil my appetite.) While having my snack I met a young group of thru hikers eight in total who are hiking together known as the EWOKS. They are a mixture of boys and girls and they kind of look like EWOKS. They don¢t seem much older than my grand daughter Victoria. I am feeling a bit old today.
Date: 2006-06-11
From: Johns Hollow

To: Brown Mountain Creek
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: overcast clouds

It is a bit drizzly today. I am hiking alone. Ahead of the other hikers on the trail and as I climb Punchbowl mountain I startle a doe and her fawn. The fawn is so young it can¢t yet walk. I try to leave without further disturbing them. The fawn must have been only minutes old. Tonight I sleep alone on the side of Brown Mountain Creek, once the home of freed slaves who lived on the spot by share cropping. If the share cropper owned their own team of horses they paid 25% of the crop to the land owner. If they did not own their own horses then the rent was 50% of the crops. The soil is rocky and the land is hilly. It would have been a tough life.
Date: 2006-06-13
From: Porters Gap

To: Harpers Creek
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

My foot is bothering me a bit more today and I decide to end my day a little early. At 6 pm I am alone at Harpers Creek Shelter. I have made it a rule to not stay in Shelters because they are so crowded and noisy, but this shelter is empty. I unpack and go to a nearby stream to soak my feet and to rinse out my clothing. I am looking forward to spending the night in a shelter alone. It will be an early night for me. At about 7pm a south bound hiker shows up. OK, I can tolerate another person in my shelter. At 7:30pm another hiker shows up. An EWOK. Silently I pack my gear and pick up my still drying laundry. The EWOK leader asks me to stay but I assure him that he and I will both sleep better if I sleep in a tent. Slowly, I limp across the stream and up a small hill. I like the EWOKS, but, true to my prediction, moments later all 8 of them are there and although EWOKS are mostly tree dwellers and have hammocks to sleep in the noise and the commotion at the shelter reminds me of the chaos and activity of a Star Wars Movie. I sleep well in my tent.
Date: 2006-06-14
From: Harpers Creek

To: Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 15.0

Since I slept so well and am awake at 0630 listening to the sounds of the woods. The EWOKS are still sleeping. As I slowly wake up I hear it. Darn. I wish I had gotten up and packed my tent. Seconds later everything in the woods is being wetted in a rain storm that is the northern most reach of a Florida tropical storm. I spend two hours waiting in my tent for the rain to pass. It doesn¢t. I hike in the rain.
Date: 2006-06-22
From: Front Royal

To: Linden
Miles today: 8.0

June 22, Thursday I take a Nero day as I sadly left the park. I get off the trail to pick up mail, recharge batteries, download pictures for posting and do some resupply shopping. Since Hike Naked Day is over (see picture above)and I can afford to gain some weight, I decide to indulge in a hearty meal and hitch hike back to Front Royal to eat at Idiots Delight or something like that. While the name intrigued me I was seduced by the eat all you can dinners blatantly advertised. If your choose to order the eat all you can beef, when you finish your first 1 lb NY strip steak you just keep ordering until you are full. The record is three steaks and I decide to try to beat the record . So I have Maryland crab, stuffed flounder, 1lb strip steak, and London Broil before I roll off the chair. Can you believe, I did not break the record because I did steak and turf not just steak!!! What a bummer. Back to the trail I headed to walk off dinner and camp on the trail to get an early start in the morning. My goal is Harpers Ferry by Sunday.
Date: 2006-06-23
From: Linden

To: Between here and there on the way to HF
Miles today: 20.0

Friday , June 23 I get an early start and do 20 miles. I have a strategy which seem to help my foot. I rest for an hour at lunch and another hour for cocktails (in my dreams of course) and then continue to dark. Tonight, I camp near the ruins of an old cabin with a stream near by. I wonder who lived in that cabin; when was it built. The stories that could be revealed if the cabin ghosts could whisper in my ear.
Date: 2006-06-24
From: In a cabin in a wood

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Another great day hiking. I reached the Blackburn AT Center and am camping on the porch as the weather is insisting on being uncooperative.This center provides the perfect hideaway and I highly recommend it for its great hospitality. Out hosts served spaghetti dinner with sausage and fine Italian wine. It was greatly appreciated and helped to offset the heavy rains falling .