morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-15
From: Whistling Gap

To: Erwin
Miles today: 13.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Thursday, May 15ErwinIt's contour day.  We walk around and around and around a mountain.I start to wonder how many times we've circled it.   It's good long-distanceterrain.I'm listening to my radio.  BUUURRRTT!  There's a weather alert!But I only got the second half!  Somewhere, there may be golfballsized hail!  Wish I knew where.More weather warnings arrive.  The sky begins to look ominous.A ray of sunshine follows me around so I'm all right.Oh, wait, it went away.  Now it's raining.  But I'm hot.  Ah, whoneeds raingear anyway?  10-kid and Leapfrog do.  Or sothey think.  They're getting cranky.  Somebody said tosomebody else "Do it your stinkin' self!" but I'm not saying who.They get hot later and take their gear off.  I say "My planof just getting wet doesn't look so stupid now, does it?"I barely escape a thrashing.We summit the last hill before town.  Now we only haveone descent, and we'll be in Erwin.  Yay!  We eatcelebratory snack food.Down we go.  Hey, an overlook.  Nice view.Down we go.  Hey, an overlook.  Nice view.Lather, rinse, repeat.  How'd they make all the overlooksidentical?I zone out.  I go down.  I pass women.  They pass me.Suddenly, I'm low!  A mountain went by me.  There is UncleJohnnie's, with blessedly cold soda.  Leapfrog goes offto get our vehicle.    10-kid and I pass the time on the porch.Soon we are all three ensconced in a vehicle.  We driveto the Holiday Inn Express, now my favorite HolidayInn in the world.  They have special hiker rates.  Theyhave laundry.  They have a hot tub.  They have free internet.They have free breakfast.  They have a hiker box.  Theygive FREE BEN AND JERRY'S EVERY NIGHT!  They havea lunar eclipse, but I don't think they can really takeall the credit for that.It pours down rain.  We go into town for what turns outto be way more pizza than we can eat.   Tipperary turnsup at the pizza place and we make him take theextra to give to thru-hikers.Leapfrog poops out early but 10-kid and I stay up waytoo late giggling in the other motel room bed.-Quack Quack
Date: 2003-05-16
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Friday, May 16 to Sunday, May 18DamascusWe camp out on the grounds of the Lazy Fox.  We stroll throughtown, eat, sleep, chat, visit Billville, have our feet examined,and eat fair food.  I give away all my tuna, as I can no longerstand tuna.  I arrange a shuttle to Fox Creek for Monday.Sunday night we move into the Inn.Sunday afternoon I got all my gear together on the lawnto get it sorted out.  The son of the innkeeper thoughtI was having a yard sale.  Pack explosion extraordinaire,evidently.-Quack Quack
Date: 2003-05-19
From: Fox Creek

To: Raccoon Branch Shelter
Miles today: 10.0

Monday, May 19Raccoon Branch ShelterAfter Ginny's fantastic breakfast, I say goodbye to 10-kid and Leapfrogwho are heading home.   I wander over to the outfitter's to wait for myshuttle.  I have too much change.  I offer to buy soda for anyone walkingbuy.The fifth person says "Why don't you exchange your coins for dollars?"I am such an idiot.  I exchange my remaining coins for dollars and savea small percentage of dog with a donation to a humane society.Restless drives a bunch of us out to Fox Creek.  It's a pretty nice hiketo Raccoon Branch.  Lots of streams, moss, trees.. that kind of thing.There are interesting people at the shelter.  A German woman namedSimone, and Scottish fellow named Neil, Cornpatch and Jane, um..I don't know.  There was Balvenie.  It's not my fault.Also I split the seat of my pants.  Yes, the ones I slid down hillbutt first in.-Quack Quack(Note: I don't think Raccoon Branch Shelter still exists. Pulled mileage for today out of the air.)
Date: 2003-05-20
From: Raccoon Branch Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: broken clouds

Tuesday, May 20Partnership ShelterWhat is it with 13 mile days?  It seems like I can do 6 or 13.  Neverthe nice even ten my body is so happy with.Anyway, I go to Partnership.  Everybody, and I mean everybody,is ordering out.  I just had really good pizza in Damascus at theSidetrack, so I order a calzone.The delivery lady only has half the orders and is going back forthe other half.  She offers a ride into town, which I accept.  Iget milk and hohos at the gas station.  When she comes topick me up, she says the other driver, her son, took up theother half of the order.  Including my calzone.  And she hasanother delivery to do now.It's on a no trespassing kind of road, and the residents allcome out to stare at us.  Delivery accomplished, she takesme back to Mount Rogers.  Her son sees us coming up andturns around to bring me my calzone.  He'd sent all the hikersaround looking for Amy.  Nobody knows Amy.  Guess I shouldhave ordered as Quack Quack.All is well, and I have hot food.  And cold beer.  And goodcompany.  Even the fact that I have to sleep in the sheltercannot disturb my equanimity.   I hope the gas causedby greasy food does not disturb anyone else's.-Quack Quack
Date: 2003-05-21
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Davis Path Shelter
Miles today: 11.6

Wednesday, May 21Davis Path ShelterIt rains.  I get wet.  I stop early at a shelter to dry out and end upstaying the night.  Sore knees, sore back, sore hips, sore shoulders.I so hate sleeping in shelters, and now I've done it two nights in a row.The company is good, though.  Taskmaster, Cici, Gazelle, Bilgie.We chat and then snooze.  I shift constantly but Cici doesn'tseem to mind.  We take turns poking knees in each others ribs.That's so very intimate.-Quack Quack(Note: mileage is clearly incorrect. I probably forgot a night in Atkins.)
Date: 2003-05-22
From: Davis Path Shelter

To: Atkins
Miles today: 3.4
Weather: light rain

Thursday, May 22AtkinsAt Davis Path I contemplated getting off the trail.  In the morning Ifelt much more positive.  That was before I actually started walking.It was so dark under the rhododendron that I used my headlamp,not that it helped.  The clay was slick and there were hidden marshypuddles everywhere.  Escher helped design the path into Atkins.You think you're getting closer but you actually aren't.Eventually I got there despite Escher's best efforts and the strangedog/dinosaur on the bridge.  It's still early so I go to the Barn andhave more breakfast.  I have the Big 2x4.  I'm not sure why it's calledthat, as there are more than 4 things that there are two of.  Continuingthe theme, I have both coffee and pepsi.I thought about resupplying and moving on.  Then I thought abouthow wet I was.I went over to the Relax Inn.  "I'm cold and wet" I said.  "I want a room.""I can see that" said the manager.The current occupants hadn't quite left yet.  I hung out and chatted.Soon I had a room all to myself.  No, I didn't want to share.  I wanteda hot shower and a bed to myself and the freedom to walk aroundnekkid.I got a bed to myself, but the shower was hot only intermittently.  Closeenough.  I was clean.  Then I climbed into bed and was warm.  ThenI thought, "TV!"  I watched cartoons.Bilgie had the room next to mine.  We went to the Barn and ate steakand talked about cats.  We both missed cats we didn't live with anymore.(And not just because we were hiking.) (The living, not the missing.)-Quack Quack(Note: this is out of order. I don't know what to tell you, it was 15 years ago.)
Date: 2003-05-23
From: Atkins

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Friday, May 23Knot Maul Branch ShelterI felt dry and rejuvenated, which usually don't go together wellbut worked in this instance.  I packed up and headed out.First I got another breakfast at the Barn.  First mistake.On my list of things to remember not to do is eating a biggreasy breakfast before hiking.  My innards didn't like it.They protested all the way out of town.  I couldn't do anythingabout it, either.  I was hiking through open land.  FinallyI hit the woodline and dropped pack and trou within feet.After a brief walk I stopped at the first shelter, where I realizedthat the last shelter was really Chatfield.  Becausethis was Davis Path.Anyway, Scooter and Bob pulled in and we chatted.  ThenI left.  We played leapfrog all day.  They walk 2.5 mph.  Iwalk 1.5 mph.  Funny kept seeing them though.  Midwaythrough the day Bob suddenly announced he wantedhis trailname to be Katz.I felt weak and tired and there were too damn many stiles.I dragged on.  Late in the day I realized I had forgottento eat lunch.  Argh!  I was on private lands.  No placeto stop.At the O'Lystery Pavilion I got out of the rain and hadsome food.  A trail angel there was waiting for ten slackpackers.It was getting late.  I worried about them.Once again I was doing the magic 13.  Sore feet.  Tiredhiker.  I dragged myself up the hill to the shelter.  Oncethere, I set up my hammock poorly.  I was too tiredto eat or drink.  I went to bed.It thunderstormed.  I realized I had set up my hammock poorly.I got up and adjusted it in the rain.  The slackpackers showed upand bobbed their headlamps around in the dark, lookingfor places to set up in the tent city.  (It was a very, very fullplace.)  They looked like aliens.  I feared the probes.Soon it stopped storming and we all slept.-Quack Quack
Date: 2003-05-24
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Bland
Miles today: 4.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Saturday, May 24BlandIn the morning, I decided that I'd been very low energy and wasn't havingfun, plus the weather was supposed to continue to suck.  I was goingto bail.The thru-hikers were mildly distraught until I explained that I wasn't a thru-hiker.A section hiker going home is no big deal.  Two Speeds said he'd missme because I was the only one slower than him.We hiked over a mountain which looked dinky on the map but which wasreally very fierce, in a wiener dog going down the badger hole kind ofway.I spent some time talking to these thru-hikers who I quite liked.  They'rea fun bunch.  They barely knew me but nonetheless helped me try toget a ride at the road.The locals *really* didn't want to give me a ride.  I got one truck to giveme a lift a little way after the second time I saw them on the road.  Theywere grudging.  I was grateful, though.I walked for hours toward Ceres, which showed on the map as havinggroceries and a post office.  The road got steep.  It was like the AT butsmoother.  Good views, too.In two hours I saw about 3 cars.  None stopped.  Finally I heard a carcoming and put my thumb out again.  I didn't even look this time.  Thecar stopped!  It was Scooter and Katz!  They had decided to bailas well, but they had a cellphone.  They'd called the Rendezvous Innin Pearisburg for a ride.They squeezed me and in drove me to Bland.  Ceres appeared to havenothing but churches and houses.  Fat lot of good that would have doneme.In Bland I got a room and called Sweth for a ride home.  Cornpatch and Janewere there.  I shared a last trip meal with hikers, then watched TV *well*past hiker midnight.There endeth the trip.-Quack Quack
Date: 2003-03-19
From: Springer Mountain!

To: Hawk Mountain
Miles today: 7.6
Weather: light rain

Ok.....don't panic...but I am in the middle of a firefight! Seriously! There are bombs and machine guns going off all around me! I am the Hawk Mountain shelter and I had forgotten that the Army Rangersuse this areafor training!In fact, five of them walked up to the shelter to talk about....I don't know...bombs or something! :) Anyway, they were al very tall and very good looking! Christine so wishes she were here!! :)   I have to tel you first off that I have the greatest parents in the whole world! They got up at o'dark-thirty to drive me to Amicalola to sign in and weigh my pack. I wasn't doing the aproach trail,but I really wanted to do things right. THEN,they drove me up FS42 to the Springerparking lot. But wait!! That is not all! Then they hiked up Springer with me in the rain!! Have I mentioned that my parents aren't hikers!? Well, they are now! They were awesome!   When we got to the top, up walked a guy with a bottle of champagne to share with all of the thru hikers starting today! Trail magic! And I haven't even stepped off of the mountain yet! His name is Ken Connelyand he was celebrating the anniverary of his own thru hike. Isn't that neat? I tell you what...these thru hikers are pretty special people!   Well, it is my first day out and I have cried all day! First I cried on Springer Mountain with my mom and dad cause i just couldn't believe that I was finally here. I truly thought this day would never come. Then, after a long day of cold rain and being soaked to the bone, I cried when I got to the shelter. It was almost dark and when I finally got here, I was so happy that I had reachedmy goal for the day. THEN, after I put my tent up and went down to the Spring to get water, I cried because it hit me that..I can do this.    Well, there is a lot more to tell but I am freezing to death! I have been rained on for about nine hours, my feet have HUGE blisters, my whole body aches, all I had for dinner was half a candy bar cause I was too tired to cook and there are bombs going off all around me. And I am having the time of my life! :) Love, Anna aka Mud Butt
Date: 2003-03-20
From: Hawk Mountain Shelter

To: Justus Creek
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Mud, mud and more mud!What a day! I don't even know where to start. I got a late start this morning...mostly cause I slept too late. I am learning that the hardest part of thru hiking is not climbing mountains...it is getting out of your sleeping bag in the morning! And to make things worse, when I woke up this morning, everything in my tent was soaked! Of course, the clothes I wore yesterday were soaked, and it took me a good 15 minutesto get up the courage to put them back on again. I am only carrying 2 sets of clothing,one for hiking and one for sleeping, so on they went!   I did spend some time talking to a nice couple that had passed me several times yesterday. Their names are Marty and Kara and they are very cool. Unfortuntely, everyone is moving so much faster than me, I don't expect I will see them again :(Oh well, maybe at Trail Days!   Well, the day was long and hard and wet and muddy. Did I mention that this is hard!? At one point, I ran out of water about three miles from my next water source. And don't think that the irony of the situaion escaped me! Rain and mud everywhere but nothhing to drink! Well, as I came down into Coopers Gap I was miserable. EXTREMELY miserable! Up ahead through the fog,(didI mention that it was pea soup all day?) I caught a glimpse of something red and green. As I got closer, I realized that it was a pile of soda cans. My heart literally started racing....please, please let one of them be full! You see, trail angels will do that sometimes...leave a bunch of sodas in a creek or something...but what if they were all empty?!?! When I walked up and saw that they were full, I literally burst into tears. I was so cold, so tired, in sooo much pain,and soooo thirsty. And someone I will never meet did one little thing that completely changed my day. Whoever you are, thank you,! thank you, thank you......you will never know what you did!   Well, after that, I flew over the next two miles...well,ok, I trudged...:), but I finally made it to Justus Creek. I had beautiful little camp site next to a stream with a little waterfall. A couple across the stream from me came over later and introduced themselves and invitedd me to come share their pot fo stew. Being exhausted, I regretfully declined, but it really warmed my heart. Life is looking up. Everythng I have is still soaked, but I am surviving! :)Love, Anna aka Mud Butt
Date: 2003-03-21
From:  Justus Creek

To: Woody Gap
Miles today: 6.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Let the Sun Shine!!Well, I am a little late in reporting it due to moisture in my email, but day three has come and gone and the best thing that happened was that the SUN CAME OUT!! WHOO-HO! I peeked my head out of the tent to see another foggy day, which...don't get me wrong...would be just fine if Aragorn himself was going to sweep down out of the woods and hike with me! But seeing as how it hadn't happened yet, I wasn't counting on it!   After putting on those freezing, wet hiking clothes again, (I really do hate that part!), I pulled down my bear bag and heated up what was left of my dinner from the night before. Let me tell you, you haven't lived til youv'e had cold garlic noodles with tuna for breakfast! :)    I finally got packed up and before I had gone ten minutes, the sun came out! I stopped to pull off my rain jacket and my body was literaly steaming! It was kind of cool!   Well, I was in a lot of pain, but it did not matter, cause I was soooo happy! I hiked all day and met several people that were...of course, :)...passing me. My hope was to camp at Woody Gap, but I was a little concerned cause it was on a road. That is kind of the cardinal rule of camping on the trail.....stay away from roads. They tend to be easy access points for locals that want to party in the woods. However, I thougt maybe Woody Gap would be different cause I had seen so many thru hikers camp there.   Well, two of the women that passed me said that there were going to be a lot of people there, so I decided to go for it. When I got there, the women that had passed me called me up behind a ridge and it turns out that there are a bunch of camping sites up there out of sight of the road. Yay!! About a dozen of us ended up there and it was great fun! It was the first socializing that I got to do on the hike, so I was pretty happy!   After a while, a local retired gentleman came to check on us all. It seems that he is somewhat of a fulltime trail angel. I wish that I had gotten his name becaue he was just as nice as he could be! He seemed genuinely concerned about the thru hikers. After checking on us, he first proposed to Turtle, and then to me due to our "beautiful eyes. :)He asked me if I could cook but when I said "only vegetarian", he said that his wife wouldn't let him bring home another woman unless she could cook a steak. :) He made my day! :)   After cooking up a bowl of ramen, and finding 2 helpful young men to finish eating it, (I still have NO appetite!), I went to bed to nurse my foot. Well, at this point my one blister, (can you believe it!! Only one blister!), is huge, multi-colored, and oozing all sorts of interesting stuff! Oh well, such is the life of a thru-hiker! :) I am freezing, so its off to bed I go, but in case I forgot to mention it...I am having a great time!!Love, Anna aka Mud Butt
Date: 2003-03-22
From: Woody Gap

To:  Atlanta
Miles today: 0.0

Homeward Bound Well, I got up this morning and I couldn't walk! Seriously! I could not put any pressure on my blister at all! I just wanted to cry. After lots of internal arguing back and forth....."go home a day early, you will be back Wednesday......but I can't do that! I need to tough it out......thru hikers have to be tough...but if you gut it out 10 more miles and shred your foot you may not be able to hike on Wednesdya.....get up and walk you big baby......what will the other hikers think of me?!"...wel, I think you get the picture! I finally decided to get of a day early. No sooner had I made my decision then a couple drove up, loaned me a cell phone and My ride was on it way.   So now all that was left was to sit there self consciously while all the other hikers took off. After a while the 2 guys that had finished my dinner the night before came traipsing down the hill. They hung out with me for a while and were generally wonderfull. They encouraged me to take care of my foot and said that I would see everyone at Trail Days.   After they took off, a truck pulled up and let a man out. He came up and talked to me while he adjusted his pack. He asked me how long it had taken me to get there from Springer and I said "3 days" reluctantly. He said, "Wel, it took me 8, so I would say that you are doing just fine". It was then that I realized that it was all relative, and that he was right......I was doing just fine. People say that the trail provides just what you need in terms of learning and guidance. They are absolutley right.   Well, there is my ride....I'll be back in 4 days!Love, Anna aka Mud Butt
Date: 2003-03-27
From:  Woods Hole Shelter

To: Neels Gap
Miles today: 4.1
Weather: clear sky

I'm In The Book!   Well, today was really wonderful, but the best thing that happened was that my face joined the over 500 pictures in this years thru hiker book at Neels Gap!!   We woke up to laughter and the sounds of backpacking stoves at the shelter. The weather is beautiful and the joke of the day is that Bumpkin has a special hotline to God because for 2 days we were supposed to have severe thunderstorms and for 2 days she prayed for it to miss us and it has!! Yay Bumpkin!:)   The only thing on tap for today is Blood Mountain. It is the highest point on the AT in Georgia and I was anticipating a long exhausting climb. Well, everyone told us that going up wasn't too bad, and you know what...they were right! Don't get me wrong...we went uphill for an hour and a half...but it wasn't to steep til the very top. And boy, the view is sooo worth it! Coming down is another matter altogether, though. It is steep, rocky, and a true knee-shreder. However, I will say that the 3 new blisters on my palms (in addition to the 8 from last week!) are testement to the fact that I used my treking poles a LOT and I am happy to say that my knees are fine.   The biggest surprise of the day came when Bumpkin sat down to take a break, looked up and saw Jerry, her husband coming up the trail! He was supposed to be at home in Florida at work, but he got 5 minutes down the road yesterday and turned around and came back to do some trail angeling. He had a cabin at Blood Mountain, and fresh fruits, vegetables and steak for dinner! What a great guy!    Well, we finally hiked down off Blood and Bluto and I walked the last 100 yards together, crossing the street to Neels Gap in victory! I told her that I was so proud of her! She had never worn a backpack before and here she was dirty, smelly strong and beautiful! She was great! :)   Speaking of dirty and smelly....I was both but I did not care!! I marched in to the store, walked up to the counter and said, "take my picture and put it in that book!!" You see, every year at the beginning of thru hike season, they start a photo album of thru hikers that come through. They take a Polaroid of you and label it with your name. For 10 years I have dreamed about being in that book, and I finally am!! It took all I had not to cry right there in the middle of the store. I told the guy behind the counter, "I know you see a lot of happy thru hikers, but I am the happiest". And I meant it!   Well,after a short hiking day, we headed to Turners Corner for burgers and fries and cobbler. It was great! I am sitting in a warm cabin after a hot shower, and I am very, very at peace. Tomorrow looks to be pretty tough, so I am off to bed, but for now,you have to admit that the thru hiking thing is the life! :) Love, Anna aka Mud ButtPS-I am still a vegetarian, mom! :)