morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2008-06-15
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up at about 6:30 again out of habit, but finally fell back asleep again. My laundry bag was still wet from the storm two days ago, and not smelling too nice. The closest laundromat is just over 2 miles away, and I felt like I needed to be walking, so I threw the back over my shoulder and started walking. On the walk back after doing laundry, I would be confronted with my biggest obstacle of the day, a Baskin Robbins and Dunkin Donuts under the same roof. I ultimately went with the donuts, which were glorious. I got back to the hotel and just sat in the AC for a while and updated my flickr page. Decided that I'm going to go see Iron Man tonight, as I've read good reviews of it lately. I thought I would head over to the mall before the movie to get some dinner, but was very unimpressed with the food selection as there was not even a food court. I happened to find a Chinese buffet next to the Barnes and Noble, so I decided to go there. It was probably one of the nicest buffets I have been too. And it was also quite comical as the crazy woman owner paced around the buffet shouting into a microphone that ran to the kitchen about what needed to be replinished on the buffet line. It was also $13! After dinner I went to see Iron Man, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Probably one of my favorite comic book movies that I have seen. I would like to go see it again. I'm almost finished reading A Walk in the Woods, so I stopped back by Barnes and Noble and picked up The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. I finished off A Walk in the Woods when I got home, and I would highly recommend it to anyone else, then went to sleep.
Date: 2008-06-16
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up again about mid-morning. Watched Ocean's 13 on HBO and then walked over to Panera to have some lunch. I ended up staying over there most of the afternoon reading. I went back to the hotel and did a little journal updating and decided to go see The Happening even though I know that it's going to be horrible. Walked over to Barnes and Noble to kill some time and read before the movie. The movie was quite possibly one of the worst films that I have ever seen. However, I hope that it will be destined for Mystery Science Theater 3000, as a more perfect film could not be written for the mockery it will receive. I'm not sure exactly why I went to see it in the first place, I guess I just couldn't help but watch his career go down the drain. It was raining when I got out of the movie, so I waited it out at Barnes and Noble for a while. I went back to the hotel and watched Dana Carvey's new stand up on HBO. It started out pretty slow, but I really enjoyed it as he started doing his presidential impersonations from SNL. After that ended I fell asleep.
Date: 2008-06-17
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up about six again, then slept till mid morning. I caught a cab to the Grandin area of town, which is supposed to be a art district with plenty of places to walk to. Oddly there was no coffeehouse, which I was really expecting. I went to a nice used bookstore and bought Great Expectations and a biography of Charlemagne. There was a independent record store, but nothing really worth buying. So, I went to the pizza place next door, and my order filled the entire table, and I ate it all of course. From searching on my phone, I found a Starbucks to be the closest place for coffee, a little over 2 miles away, so I started walking. I'm really misssing being on the trail right now. I'm enjoying walking around town, but it really can't come close. It seems really noisy, and its very unaccomadating to pedestrians. I made it to the Starbucks and started reading Great Expectations, which I haven't read in probably almost 10 years. My hotel was about 6 miles away, so I decided to just call a cab for my ride back. My cab driver happened to be the same guy that had driven me earlier in the day. He was a really nice guy, and was very curious about my hike. He was also puzzled as to how I got to the Starbucks from where he had dropped me off earlier. I told him I was kinda used to walking up to 20 miles a day, so it was somewhat hard to not walk anywhere at all. He just laughed and said he guessed that makes sense. All of us thru- hikers are crazy anyways right? He knew I was going to the airport the next morning, so he said he would pick me up at my hotel at 6 to take me to the airport. Back at the hotel, I talked with the front desk guy about the movies I had seen lately, then I headed over to the movie theater to see The Incredible Hulk. I liked it a lot, but probably not as much as Iron Man. Went back to the hotel, and packed up for heading back to Mississippi.
Date: 2008-06-18
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Starkville, MS
Miles today: 0.0

Couldn't really sleep well last night. I got up at 5:30 and met Jeff the cab driver at 6 for the ride to the airport. We passed a really cool looking art museum that I wish I would have visited. I was really tired and slept most of the flight to Columbus. Wayne picked me up at the airport, and we headed straight to Cafe Jean in Starkville. We met Bobby and Esrael there; the place opened after I had left for the AT, and it wa really good food. From there we walked over to visit Ben while he was "working". I went home and took a nap then met a bunch of people at Bin 612 for dinner - Wayne, Courtney,Andrew, Lucas, Ben, Mike, and Marissa. I had my first steak since being on the trail, and it was magnificent. After that we headed to Mugshots for quarter wells night. Pretty much everyone else in Starkville that I know was there also. It was really good seeing everyone and I had a really great time for my pre-birthday. I suprised most everyone with the beard, and got to tell everyone about life on the trail. I wish I could've spent another night in town, but hopefully some of them will be able to come hike a few days with me.
Date: 2008-06-19
From: Starkville, MS

To: Oxford, MS
Miles today: 0.0

Well it's my birthday today, 22. Got up and ran some errands around town and then had some lunch at Bulldog Deli. It was really good seeing everyone last night and I wish that I had another night in Starkville. My dad stole my gps while I've been gone, but luckily I was able to remember my shortcut to Oxford without much difficulty. I went straight to the hotel and met mom and dad there. They both seemed pretty shocked at my appearance as did my sister and my cousins. I finally had some time to play on my laptop, and was able to update my pictures and play on the internet-something I really miss. That evening I picked up Gramps and headed to a party for the wedding. It was really great getting to see family and friends from Mississippi and talk to them all about my trip. I think that is something that never gets old for a thru-hiker. I met Jeff, who did a thru-hike in 99 so we talked for quite some time about the trail. After the party we all went out to The Library. It was really weird being in a big bar with all my friends, especially in Oxford. I hung out at the bar with Ann Elize and Erick, and my sister even bought me my favorite shot for my birthday - Soco and Lime. We all left around 12 and I went home, watched some Flight of the Conchords on DVD, and fell asleep.
Date: 2008-06-20
From: Oxford, MS

To: Oxford, MS
Miles today: 0.0

Slept in until about 9 and then went to the coffee shop to play on the internet, put some music on my iPod, and do some work on my pictures. Met mom, Olivia, and Mary at Proud Larry's for lunch and then got dressed for the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at City Grocery and we had some great steaks. I gave a toast on behalf of Muffy and Gramps, which I was very honored and proud to give. After the dinner I met Erick for a drink at the Burgundy Room (still no Kimbrell, its past her bedtime every night). We left there and headed over to Ann Elize's to see her, Brent, Dabs, Lynn, and Mrs. Lynn. Had a few more beers and talked for a while with them and then went home to bed.
Date: 2008-06-21
From: Oxford, MS

To: Oxford, MS
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up about 9:30 again and had to go get my tux fitted. I finally got free and went to the coffee shop for a minute and then went to the Blind Pig for lunch with Erick and Kimbrell. Dad, Mom, and Gramps met us there also. I had a great Italian sandwich and then walked around the square for a while with Erick and Kimbrell. Then I went back to the hotel to put on my penguin suit for the wedding. Garlon, Dad, and I were acolytes, so we got to lead the wedding party in wearing white robes. The reception was really fun, and afterwards we all went to The Library. Saw some friends from home there, at closing we all went back to the hotel to continue the party. Had a great time hanging out with everyone there, and then just went to sleep.
Date: 2008-06-22
From: Oxford, MS

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Got up and ate breakfast at this great sausage place in Oxford with Gramps, Erick, Kimbrell, Cousin Joe and Aunt JoAnn, and the rest of the family. Went to the coffee to download some last minute stuff to my iTunes. I headed back to Starkville and got packed up to get back to Virginia. Mike picked me up and dropped me off at the airport in Columbus. The flight into Roanoke was pretty rough due to some bad weather, and the cat that was carried on the plane by a lady made sure to let us know that it was not enjoying the turbulence. Luckily the flight wasn't too late getting into Roanoke. Caught a cab back to the hotel and went to bed.
Date: 2008-06-23
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up really early to do some gear maintenance and watch some bad television - the only television that comes on before 7. Cornelius called to say that they were at The Homeplace (known throughout the AT as the best restaurant on the trial). The fried chicken had been far too formidable an opponent for them, and they ended up pitching their tents in the front yard of the restaurant, as they could literally go no further after the meal. They wouldn't be getting into Daleville until that night, which meant another zero day for me. I was kinda glad because I wasn't feeling well for some reason, really tired. So, I got Jeff the cab driver to give me a ride over to the Comfort Inn in Daleville. The normal rate for four people was $160, but the thru-hiker rate is only $40. The lady even had to wait until the other customers had left the lobby before she would tell me how much it would cost. I walked over to McDonalds for some lunch and made it back to the hotel in time to watch some Flight of the Conchords. It was the same episode we had seen in Bland, but I was just happy to watch it. After that I slept for about four hours, and then walked to the coffee shop on the other side of the interstate. It had some great coffee, and they roasted all of their beans in the shop. I had some dinner there as well, and waited on the guys to come into town. I met them at the hotel, and then we went to the ABC store in hopes of getting some Bourbon before it closed. No luck with the ABC, but we bought some beer and wine from the Kroger. We went back to the McDonalds for some burgers and watched Beverly Hills Cop 2. We walked back to the hotel to finish watching the movie, and then afterwards Beverly Hills Cop came on. Naturally we had to watch this one as well, and finish off the beer and wine. The room also smelled so bad because of our gear that we had to prop the hallway door open. Hopefully no one walked by. Finally went to sleep about 2.
Date: 2008-06-26
From: Mills Gap

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: clear sky

Got up pretty early and had breakfast and got back on the road. We're all pretty excited because its only about 5 or 6 miles to a restaurant for lunch. It didn't take us too long to get there since we move much faster walking on the road. We stopped at the visitors center and were barraged with questions about our hike. Finally got free and walked another half mile to the restaurant. Well worth the walk for some real food. I had a bacon cheeseburger, and Cornelius suprised us as usual with an order fit for Jake Blues- a fried chicken. We spent probably close to 2 hours sitting at the restaurant eating and drinking sweet tea. The Dr. and Cornelius also displayed their large accumulation of jelly and peanut butter packets swiped from restaurants. We finally were able to leave and kept walking back towards the trail. We reached the shelter and started the usual unpacking. We saw a guy walking up witha daypack and ice chest. We naturally assumed that he was an overnighter bringing in his own fresh dinner. In actuality, he was a member of a local trail club, and he had hiked in to bring us in some Neopolitan Ice Cream with brownies and flavored water. We were really glad to have this and it actually replaced dinner for all of us. After he left, we found a bag of books. After the initial excitement of picking up some new books, we realized that the bag was full of the same book, dropped off by the author trying to promote himself. Lame. After all that ice cream and brownies it was hard to stay awake much longer.
Date: 2008-06-27
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Roadside Campsite
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up and waited for everyone else to get up. Had breakfast and start hiking for the day. Mule and I made it to the James River Visitor Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway at about 12:30. A storm moved in out of nowhere and still no sign of the Dr. or Cornelius. The rangers let us put our gear under the awning and eat lunch under there to stay out of the rain. Cornelius and Dr. Z finally came slogging in from the rain. They had stopped to pick blackberries for almost half an hour, so they got caught in the storm. But we were pretty excited to have the berries. We sat under the awning for a while and played a few games of hearts. We left the visitors center at about 3:30 with only 3 miles to a restaurant for dinner! We made it there in just under an hour. For some reason I had been dreaming of sweet tea all morning, and we litereally drained the restaurant's supply in like 5 minutes. We eventually just start getting up and getting our own refills. We also monopolized almost every outlet in the restaurant to charge our various electronic gadgets. I had a pulled pork sandwich followed with a Tollhouse Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich. Those are what I live for now. We refilled water and got back to walking. We hiked a few miles on the road and then got off on a dirt road to find a campsite. Mule, Dr. Z, and I assumed that we would all be raped and/or killed by rednecks, but Cornelius vowed to protect us. We heard a 4WD golf cart and dog driving towards us, and I looked over to see Dr. Z emerge from her tent, mace in hand. It ended up being a mother and her 2 small children. They were fascinated by all of our gear and took turns putting on Cornelius' pack and sunglasses. They also loved throwing wood into the fire, and showing us all of the toys that they brought with them. They went home and we went to bed.
Date: 2008-06-28
From: Roadside Campsite

To: Another Roadside Campsite
Miles today: 0.0

Packed up and started hiking. The hiking wasn't bad all day. We walked some on the road and some on the trail. We seemed to have many more pretty views on the road. Kept on hiking for the rest of the day. At the end of the day we had a few guys give us a beer at one of the overlooks. It was a nice way to watch a sunset; sitting on a great overlook drinking Busch Light. We hiked about another mile and set up camp in the woods. Got in the hammock and went to sleep.
Date: 2008-06-29
From: Another Roadside Campsite

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Woke up, broke camp and started hiking. We got on the road so that we could stop at a waterfall. We were hoping for a large falls with a nice swimming hole. No such luck. Just as I reached thr falls/picnic area it started raining. Everyone else arrived about 30 minutes later and we set up my tarp and ate some lunch. When the rain let up, we kept hiking and then caught a ride into Waynesboro at the end of the day. Got a hitch from a really nice guy who dropped us at McDonalds. Had a Big Mac combo and then moved over to the A&W for a M&M and Butterfinger sundae. We stopped by the local high school track to get a picture of us hiking on the track with our packs on. We still gotta keep in shape in town. The town is really hiker friendly, and even has a park specifically set aside for thru hikers to camp in. I picked up a six pack of Yuengling and we set up camp. Met Bear Cub, Growler, and Care Bear at the campsite. Sat around for a while and then went to sleep. I debated putting up the tarp, but glad that I ended up putting it up because it poured all night.
Date: 2008-06-30
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up to what I though was bad winds from the storm shaking my tent. It turned out that it was Cornelius swinging my hammock back and forth. This was at 7 am. On the trail, I don't think he's ever seen the sun before 8:30j yet in a town he's up at sunrise to get Hardee's breakfast. After breakfast at Hardee's we stopped back by the YMCA since they let us take free showers there. After my shower, I walked to the laundromat to do some laundry. I caught up with Mule on the way back, and we tried to find Cornelius and the Doctor so that we could go to Weezie's diner. We couldn't wait so we went ahead and went without them. They showed up shortly after. Cornelius and Mule ordered the famous AYCE pancakes and I had a large platter of eggs, sausage, toast, and pancakes. The guys each had 9 pancakes. We went across the street to play at a thrift store after lunch. Then we walked to a used bookstore and looked around for a while. I headed to the library and made it just before a huge thunderstorm let loose. I got on the internet for awhile and tried to update my journal, but it wasn't working. Then sat around and started reading T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom. After everyone else showed up, we headed back to the campsite to find that someone had removed the rainfly from Cornelius and the Doctor's from their tent. Needless to say, all of their stuff was soaking wet and they were not happy. We opted for a hotel room after that bad luck. Bear Cub attempted to tag along. We met Smiles on the walk over to the hotel. We crammed us four into a single hotel room and then Mule and I walked to Burger King. As it was late, the dining room was closed so we walked through the drive thru. Got a Whopper and a delicious chocolate milkshake. Went back to watch the Daily Show, Colbert Report, and Futurama then went to sleep.
Date: 2008-07-01
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up and had some continental breakfast at the hotel. Somehow BearCub managed to find his way to our room without talking to any of us about where it was. He should be a private eye. I walked down the street to a drive thru coffeeshop (naturally I had to get in line behind cars) and got a Latte. Then we sat and literally watched The Weather Channel for like 2 hours until someone finally changed it to the news. Cornelius also cooked some peas in the coffeemaker. I guess the theory is the same - hot water and peas - but thats just Cornelius. My family got into town so we moved all of our gear to their room and headed to the outfitter to pick up some things. Ate lunch at a Chinese Buffet; Smiles happened to be there so he came to eat with us. We all went back to the hotel to go do laundry, and mom and dad went to drop off their rental car at the end point of their hiking trip. We all moved to the library, and I read some more of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. Dinner was held at Kline's Frozen Custard Shop. Oreo and M&M ice cream made a delicious and nutritious meal. Walked back to the hotel and the Dr. and Cornelius crashed on our floor. I read an interview with Obama in Rolling Stone. Don't see how he's not going to win. Watched some Daily Show and went to sleep.
Date: 2008-07-02
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Campsite
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Had some Continental breakfast at the hotel and walked over to get some coffee from the drive thru coffee shop. Packed up and Lyle, the shuttle driver, picked us up and took us to the P.O. to mail the drop box and then to the trail. Cornelius and the Dr. stayed behind to run some extra errands. Mom and Dad seemed to be having a little struggle on the terrain. There were a few good climbs and some rocky sections, so they did pretty well. Found a nice clearing on top of a mountain to stop and have some lunch. There was also a good selection of rasberry bushes to choose from. Probably a couple of weeks left until they will be perfectly ripe. Kept walking for a while, and decided to get on the road so the family would have a little bit easier walking. Mom seemed to enjoy this better and we had some great views. Got back on the trial and got near our 15 mile mark on top of a ridgeline, so we decided to set up camp. Had a bear with 3 cubs walk almost right into our camp and had to scare them off. The last cub climbed a tree and was left by the mom, then climbed down and ran off. We had another bear walk right up on our camp from the other side and we had to scare it off too. Mom did not seem to amused with all of this. It got dark, and we decided to cook even though Cornelius and the Dr. had not shown up yet with the hot dogs. Just as we finished cooking dinner and had a fire going, in walked those two. We cooked some hot dogs and S'mores which was just what I had been craving. After that it was pretty late, so we went to sleep.
Date: 2008-08-23
From: Salisbury, CT

To: North
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Hey everyone,Sorry that I'm so behind in my journal. It seems like the further north I get on the trail, the harder it has been to get internet access. In the south, everywhere had a computer that they were happy to let us use. Up here, only the town libraries have internet, and they usually only let us use it for 30 minutes at a time. I'm going to be starting applications to law school in September, so I've really made the my internet priority for the moment. I am mailing my handwritten journal home, so that my dad can begin to transcribe it and hopefully start to catch up to the present. It's more of working notes than complete journal entries, but it will do for now. I've had a great time the past two months. Pennsylvania was nothing but rocks and rattlesnakes, I ALMOST finished an entire half gallon of ice cream at the trail's halfway point. I went into NYC on two separate weekends and had a great time there. Now I'm almost out of CT with about 689 miles left. I can definitely feel the strains that this journey has had on my body. I possibly have Lyme Disease at the moment, and I'm nursing a hurt right ankle and extreme pain in the metatarsals in my right foot (hopefully no stress fractures). My right leg hasn't really been happy with me the whole trip. Mule is a few days ahead of me on the trail (he had to meet his father and had to push ahead). Cornelius and the DR. are around the PA/NJ area. Cornelius had a waterborne bacterial problem and spend a week in the hospital in PA. So, for the past week or so I've been by myself. The terrain is not too bad, and I can definitely tell that I'm in peak trail shape doing 20+ miles a day with no problems. Well that's it for now, the library is closing. I'm heading on to MA, and hopefully my foot and the Lyme Disease will start getting better. Happy Trails