morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-11-21
From: Cornelius Creek, VA

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: few clouds

It was 18 miles today to Bobblets Gap and 1375m of climbing (1651m down). It was a very warm day (12-27C) and I carried 2 litres of water for the first time in a while, and was glad I did. I didn't want to have the same problem I had yesterday when we found the water source at Thunderhill Shelter dry. Dave seems to be ok with very little water during the day. He wasn't too put out by the lack of water for lunch but I need to drink or I start to run down. Our usual strategy is to drink a lot both before we leave in the morning and after we arrive at night and carry a litre for lunch, but if the day is really hot I need more than that and just have to carry it. The problem is that the more you carry, the harder you have to work and the more you need to drink. If I'm carrying water I try to drink it as soon as I can. This seems to be the best compromise between two poor options. Bryant Ridge Shelter on the way was the nicest shelter we¢ve seen so far and it was sad not to stay there. Also, the nearby stream had plenty of water. However it was too early in the day and we pressed on. Nothing more to say. It was a ¢ditto¢ day. At Bryant Ridge shelterOn arriving at Bobblets, the water source was dry. This did not, however, matter as our routine was about to be interrupted. While in Glasgow we had received an email from Dale extending an invitation to us to join his family for Thanksgiving. We do not know Dale but he had been reading our journal and thought he would like to meet us. He had emailed us a couple of times as we were on the way down the trail but it was impossible to say with any certainty where we would be at what time. Then, when we got to Glasgow, there was another email and it looked as if it would be possible for him to pick us up the day before Thanskgiving. We managed to call him earlier in the day to say we¢d be at Bobblets, and the arrangement was that he would come and pick us up on the parkway near the shelter and take us to his place. So, no water was not a problem, but we felt very worried about future water supplies along the trail. That was the first time we¢d have needed to stay at a waterless shelter and I am not sure what we could have done other than hitchhike out of there. There was an entry from Canvas Pack in the shelter register to say that he had arrived and found no water the night before, so he had gone up to the highway looking for help. He struck it lucky as a ranger had stopped and had gone for water for him. We wondered if there might have been water if one went far enough down the dry stream bed, but as it was we went to Dale¢s for the night, then to his in-laws the next day.Rocks on a ridge just south of Daleville
Date: 2007-11-22
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Troutville, VA (Howard Johnson)
Miles today: 0.0

Thanksgiving at Dale¢s in-laws was complete with turkey, ham, dressing, gravy, cranberry sauce and all the trimmings. It was as if we¢d always known these warm generous people who simply accepted us and made us feel at home. So we got to experience a traditional American Thanksgiving celebration, something that came about as a result of Dale reading this journal and deciding that he would like to meet us.I have to admit that we have now done our first ¢yellow blaze¢! Dale¢s invitation found us at Glasgow. If we had not taken a zero day there we¢d have missed receiving his invitation. But we also have a mail drop in Catawba and must retrieve that on Saturday or twiddle our thumbs until Monday when the post office opens again. So we decided the only practical answer to this problem was to skip the 20 miles of the trail that we¢d planned do on Thanksgiving Day. Dale dropped us off on Thursday evening at the Howard Johnson on the I81 interchange near Troutville where we stayed the night.Near Trouville, great example of different foliage - photo taken by Flash Hand/Allen BernierMorning sun over Troutville - photo by Red Wing and Hopeful/Scott & Marie Wheaton
Date: 2007-11-23
From: Troutville, VA

To: Catawba Mountain Shelter, VA (near MacAfee Knob)
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: broken clouds

This is our 4 month anniversary of leaving New Zealand. We have 2 months to go. Today we hiked along a long, rocky ridge and are now in Catawba Mountain Shelter. It was a cold day, but sunny and warm when out of the wind, and we climbed 1597m today (1331m down) so it was a fairly big day. We passed the iconic MacAfee Knob today, and now have the obligatory picture of me standing on the large overhanging rock that is the main attraction, not too close to the edge! I could not get one of Dave since he would have been even further from the edge than I was. There were quite a few other people around, as it is a favorite place for hikers. The water source at Catawba Mountain Shelter is running. We had decided that if there was no water we¢d keep going into Catawba 2 miles away. As I write this it is 2o C and my pen keeps freezing up.We are resigned to the fact that no water at shelters will force us off the trail. When you arrive at the place where you plan to stay the night, you must eat and drink ¢ at least we must. Lots of people seem to have less need than we do but water is pretty basic and it is impossible for us to continue if there is no water. A young man who was here when we arrived told us Tennessee¢s water sources are all dry. We hope to get at least as far as Damascus on the border of Virginia and Tennessee but will just have to wait and see. It would be a big disappointment to have to give it away when we are strong and fit and on target to complete the hike by our deadline, but it is out of our control.The following was written by Dale on the Forum page (thank you Dale!):Water!!!Hello. I recently had the pleasure to meet Weka and Kea. They are fom New Zealand and are SOBOers who just passed Daleville. They have a short time to finish and are really concerned about being able to finish due to water shortages. They don't have the ability to just come back next year like many of us could if something didn't work out. My plea is if you do any trail magic, could you please put out water at shelters or road crossings? Not just for these two but for all! I would hate to see them pack up and not complete. They were leaving Catawba on Saturday the 24th and average close to 20 miles a day so you could possibly keep an idea of where they are. Sorry this is long but hopefully a water "chain" could form and hikers could be ok. I'm sure lots of people do this already but after becoming close to these two hikers, I just felt the need to post this. Thanks, Dale, aka RocketCatawba Mtn shelter Tinker cliffsTinker cliffsA clear view over farmland
Date: 2007-11-25
From: Pickle Branch Shelter, VA

To: Laurel Creek Shelter, VA
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: overcast clouds

I wasn¢t sure we¢d make it all the way to Laurel Creek Shelter as it is 22 miles, however we arrived just as it was getting dark. We just had time to get water before needing our torches. It was a hard, long day with 1908 metres of climbing (1596m down) and some rocky slow travel. I am pretty tired. We met a couple of section hikers today who were very impressed with our blaze orange pack covers. They had been to MacAfee¢s Knob last weekend and said no one was taking precautions against trigger-happy hunters. She was obviously not keen on hunting. She said every wild animal was fair game for the hunters and there is even a squirrel and groundhog season. I can¢t figure out how a hunter would shoot a groundhog. A bunker-busting bomb would seem more appropriate than a rifle! As for shooting squirrels, what is the point? Nothing to eat there! One thing about having a season is that the law says these animals cannot be shot at any other time of the year ¢ for what that is worth to them. Foot Bridge near Pickle Branch Shelter photo by BOO-BOOWe also met another thru-hiker going north. Turned out we¢d missed him by 2 days on the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia in September last year. We¢d read his entries in the shelter registers all the way along the Bibbulmun. He tries to hike for 6 months every year, name of Foxtrot. We decided to keep in touch as he plans to hike Te Araroa in New Zealand, if it is ever ready.We have met a lot of people who are all ready to come to New Zealand to hike Te Araroa. As far as we are aware, however, there is a long way to go. A party of Tararua Tramping Club members, including ourselves, went on a recce earlier this year to find a route from the Mangaone Walkway through to Waikanae. I expect our club to be involved in maintaining a track once it has been created. It would be a great asset for New Zealand. Waikanae Beach photo by William R. SukalaThere has just been a very brief sprinkle of rain, if I¢m not mistaken. The forecast from a few days ago said it would rain tonight and maybe for the next couple of days. I have mixed feelings about rain, both wish it would for the water supply and wish it wouldn¢t for the personal comfort. A nice compromise would be if it rained during the night.I have finished my latest book and have to survive tomorrow night without one till we get to Pearisburg on Tuesday. I haven¢t seen any books in the shelters for a long time.
Date: 2007-11-26
From: Laurel Creek Shelter, VA

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, VA
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

It was another hard day today made more difficult by rain and wet rocks. Anyone who thinks there are no rocks in Virginia has either forgotten them or hasn¢t been here. The first part of the day from Laurel Creek Shelter was a 600 metre climb followed by good travel to Wind Rock Gap. We thought the rest of the ridge would be as good but were we mistaken! From Wind Rock Gap south is just a long field of rocks made worse by slippery leaves. One benefit of the rain is to flatten out the leaves so we were not wading in them today. The rain came and went and came again. Three hikers we met told us it had bypassed the southern states where the drought is so bad. We are going to have to re-assess when we get further south. The destination today was Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, 18 miles from Laurel Creek, and 1457 metres of climbing (1472m down). Temperatures were warm today, up to about 21oC. Dave recorded 25oC but we think he must have been sitting on it! It is 17oC now. We are in, if you can call what we are in ¢in¢, Pine Branch Shelter. We arrived to find it was minus its roof! Trust us to end up at a roofless ¢shelter¢ on the only rainy day we¢ve had for ages! Luckily the rain was not pelting down so we rigged up the tarp to create some shelter at one end of the ruin. It took a while and we hope there is no more rain tonight, also that there is not too much wind. The result of our efforts is not bad but I¢ve certainly been more comfortable. We have not been able to take the usual sponge bath due to colder conditions and both of us are really looking forward to arriving in Pearisburg tomorrow night. If you can wash each night it keeps your clothes etc, clean and I for one do not get so desperate to get into town to clean up. I am looking forward to re-evaluating our gear in light of what is in our main ¢bounce box¢ at Pearisburg P.O. I need another polypro top. Dave had a bit of a disaster in Waynesboro when some of our clothes melted in a too-hot clothes dryer. I lost my polypro and am keen to pick up another out of the box.Photo taken in May of the Pine Swamp Branch Shelter (by Jennifer Donahue) showing the tree that caused the roof to cave in.Wet leaves photo by Handyman/James Wood
Date: 2007-11-27
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA (mile 1552)
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: broken clouds

Well, we got a lot of rain in the night! A heavy shower woke us up at about 9:00 p.m. Dave¢s tarp arrangement met the challenge pretty well except at our head end where it was not wide enough to cover that end of the ruin. So we had to slither around so our feet hung over space. We¢d packed all our stuff back into our waterproof bags last night in case of rain so no worry there, and I slept like a baby through the rest of the night. In the morning we found the tarp had collected a huge pond of water just above our heads, and we were really lucky it did not tip the water out sometime during the night. Out tarp is a homemade one (made by Dave) and silnylon is truly waterproof. Otherwise we'd have had water dripping on us all night from the pond above. It would have been good to have known in advance that this shelter was derelict. We'd have camped at the stream before getting here which would have been much better. But there are lots of reasons why you can't stay in a shelter (eg that it is full!) so you just have to be prepared. For people who aren't too keen on the shelters we seem to have been using them a lot lately. Daylight is shorter and putting up tent or tarp is just another camp chore after what have been pretty long days for us.Into Pearisburg today! It was approximately 18 miles of fairly easy going with 1085 metres of climbing (1354m down). We stopped at Rice Field Shelter for lunch but it was pretty cold so we weren¢t there long. Someone had written very enthusiastically in the register about the stupendous view from there. Maybe we are getting too much in the way of views because neither of us had noticed a view. I think I was preoccupied with keeping warm in the cold wind as I was, as usual, wet from hiking. We got picked up by the first vehicle that passed us and are here at the Holiday Motor Lodge. It has a great shower and a bath tub! Zero tomorrow. Rice Field Shelter late November 2006 photo by Marta/Five-Leaf - b r r r r r . . .
Date: 2007-11-28
To: Zero in Pearisburg, VA (622 miles from Springer)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

We ate three times at the Chinese restaurant near the Food Lion across the road from the Holiday Motor Lodge. There were no other eating places except Dairy Queen and a pizza place. The buffet was smaller than others we¢ve seen. We both got burned out on Chinese food, but at least they had vegetables.We have noticed that you cannot find food in supermarkets that has a fat content. Walk along the shelves and all the products proclaim a very low level of fat or no fat at all. Fat is a dirty word. However, go to a restaurant and all the food is just dripping with fat. There are no labels on restaurant food. I wonder if this is one reason why the supermarkets, though full of food, seem empty of customers most of the time, and restaurants on the other hand are full of customers. Problem is of course, that food without fat doesn¢t taste very good. We saw some very fat teenagers in the Chinese restaurant, tucking into the fried food. Our big mailbox was at the P.O. and we did a complete overhaul of our gear. We now have the full winter pack, at least I have. Dave still has some bits and pieces that he sent on to Damascus. We don¢t know what our packs weigh now but they don¢t seem too bad.Funny how you can¢t find any scales ¢ kitchen scales, I mean. I would like to weigh things like my new hot pink fleece pajama bottoms ($9 from Wal-Mart), but you can¢t find kitchen scales. None of the outfitters we¢ve been to have them behind the counter. So how do you know how heavy that new top or pair of socks is that you are planning to carry? That is a vital piece of information. We left our scales at home thinking we¢d see them here. But no! Consequently, we¢ve lost track to some extent of what our gear weighs. BOO-BOO Photo of Rice Field Near Pearisburg in Oct - Photo by Mr.Fred/Fred Davis
Date: 2007-11-29
From: Pearisburg, VA (mile 1552)

To: Wapiti Shelter, VA
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: scattered clouds

We got away at 6:30 and got onto the trail with no problems since Dave had done a recce yesterday and found the route out of Pearisburg. It was an easy 600 metre climb up onto the ridge. Angel¢s Rest was a lovely spot. The trees along the ridge are now totally devoid of leaves and the leaves on the ground are breaking down. We can now see the rocks before we trip over them. The forest is attractive in a stark sort of way but you want a blue sky or it all looks a bit bleak. We have sun and cloud today and a bit of a breeze. It was a really pleasant day¢s hiking especially due to the spectacular stands of rhododendrons, more than we¢ve seen anywhere else. Rhododendron tunnelAngels Rest Rhododendrons blooming in Spring - Photo by Righty, Lefty & Buoy - Andre & KelleyPhoto by U-Turn - Bryan McHugh Climbing was 1402 metres (1150m down) and the going was mostly easy. The mileage seemed incorrect since we took 7 12 hours (apparently) to cover 16 miles ¢ this just seems wrong. It is unlikely we slowed down so much just for today, so there must have been some trail relocations which the signs do not take account of. Tonight is the first time we have put up the tent inside a shelter. This is not acceptable when there are other users but we haven¢t shared a shelter in a long time. Tents are much warmer than shelters!Obscure waterholeWapiti Shelter
Date: 2007-11-30
From: Wapiti Shelter, VA

To: Jenny Knob Shelter, VA
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

We had a short day today since we wanted to detour en route and could only make Jenny Knob Shelter as a result. But it was worth it to go to Trent¢s Grocery Store and re-stock some basic snack food (which is all they have) and eat a great meal of beans and cornbread. We are truly in the south now and the accents of the people we meet are pure southern drawl ¢ quite hard to understand at times. Today was chilly and we got away an hour late due to not hearing the alarm. Luckily it did not matter and we got to Jenny Knob at about 3:30 p.m. after an easy day and 731 metres of climbing (728m down). It is about 7o C now at 7:45 p.m. and a clear night so the temperature may drop quite a lot by morning. Speaking of other people on the trail, we have now met Torque who we have been following for a long time. He took a few days off for Thanksgiving so we have caught up to him. We never got to meet Canvas Pack despite being only 12 day behind at one point because he finished his section hike in Roanoke. Smiles has disappeared somewhere back in our dust, but being a young guy he may turn up again shortly. Coffee is somewhere out ahead and we may never meet him. There are more ahead. This is Coffee! - His Trail Journal is under Nate R. Isn't this a great view from Katahdin? It was minus 4o C when we got going this morning and some of our water was frozen in our waterbags. This means, of course, you can't pour out any excess water and have to carry it until it melts! Lots of rhododendrons today and lots of sunshine. We had cold chocolate for lunch instead of the usual hot chocolate since we were pretty warm after climbing back onto the ridge from Trent¢s. Water at Jenny Knob is pretty scant, just a shallow slowly refilling puddle. We spent 12 hour getting enough water for tonight and in the morning.
Date: 2007-12-01
From: Jenny Knob Shelter, VA

To: Jenkins Shelter, VA 567 miles from Springer
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: overcast clouds

This is the first day of December and the shortest day looms ahead. I think we will lose about 12 hour more of daylight ¢ at a guess. We celebrated by doing our longest day yet at 23 12 miles with 1494 metres of climbing thrown in (1523m down). It was fast, easy travel punctuated with a series of PUDs (Pointless Ups and Downs), especially after leaving Jenny Knob Shelter. The trail was a rollercoaster for a while. It occurred to me yesterday when we were walking along the road to Trent's that I haven¢t seen a Harley on any of the roads for a long time, certainly no packs of Harley riders complete with patched black leather and wispy graying ponytails. Maybe this is not Harley country. Around here, everyone has a pickup truck. I counted eight outside Trent¢s and no cars. Instead of black leather they wear camouflage suits and a rifle is never far away. Maybe you wouldn¢t see a camouflage suit if it weren¢t deer season. They wear camouflage so as not to be seen, and blaze orange so they can be seen. Maybe there is something about what deer can and can¢t see that means this odd combination makes sense. As I sit here, something is walking about out there. We are pretty sure it is a deer. I briefly saw its eye reflected in the light of my torch. It is now behind the shelter. We can hear it in the leaves. Dave has the camera ready but I think it is just drifting away. Why isn¢t it afraid? Brett (Social) and Bronwyn (Dandelion) Photo The temperature today varied between 2o C and 15o C ¢ beautiful hiking weather. It is not hot enough to get up a sweat, so you arrive dry, quite a treat. We are 5 miles further on than we planned to be, so have to review tomorrow¢s destination.Lunch on the trail
Date: 2007-12-02
From: Jenkins Shelter, VA 567 miles from Springer

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter, VA
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

We are at Knot Maul Branch Shelter (where does a name like that come from?) We¢d seen information in the shelter register last night that Lynn Camp Creek was dry so we believed that and picked up 2 12 litres each from Lick Creek. We then carried it over the hill only to find Lynn Camp Creek was running beautifully. Oh well, that is the price you pay for poor information. You get a lot of it on the trail because people forget. Also, they have different priorities and when they go by something, they don¢t notice it, I do it myself. We¢ve only met one person who took meticulous details of water sources and was able to relay them to us. We leave information in the shelter registers for people going the other way.It was a more rocky day than yesterday, also more climbing ¢ 1746 metres (1565m down) and 19 miles, so it was a big day. Approaching Chestnut KnobWe were in Chestnut Knob Shelter when a few drops of rain fell, but it never got any worse than this for the rest of the day. I just heard a very light shower falling here at Knot Maul, but it has stopped already.There was a stiff cold wind blowing across Chestnut Ridge and we met a trail maintainer cutting branches off a windfall. He didn¢t seem cold despite not having much in the way of warm clothing. Chestnut Knob Shelter, he told us, was the best on the trail. When we arrived the shelter proved to have 4 walls and a door. There was nothing else to recommend it over other shelters so maybe he was referring to the fact it is 4 sided. After leaving it, we came across a huge meadow. We¢ve seen smaller ones but they never fail to amaze us, located as they are on the tops of these hills. Each one shows signs of being mown on a regular basis. I wonder why these areas are not forested like the rest.