morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-05-14
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

14 May 2010, Damascus   Today was Friday, the day when things really start happening at Trail Days. Bismarck and I had talked about doing another slack pack to get us a little further north but I decided not to because I did not want to miss some of the events.   I checked in to Ruby's Rest today. I made reservations earlier in the hike for this place. It is a really nice place; I wished I had known about this place in my past visits to Damascus.   I went to the park to check out all the vendors and got my Packa rain coat/pack cover replaced by Cedar Tree. There was nothing wrong with the one I had but it was very old and I had worn it out through the years. I had a new one at home that had never been used but I needed it now. He gave me a new one and told me to mail the one I had at home to him. I have known Cedar Tree for a while now and also helped him do some work on his web site, he is a fantastic guy. I went and got a medical check at the Baptist church because it was free. My body fat is at 17 percent right now. I believe I was at 22 or higher before I started the hike. They also took blood for blood work and will email the results to me. After that I went to the internet cafe that the church offered and checked my email and facebook account.   At 4:30 I went to the film screening of "Trail Angels". This was done by the producers that had filmed my hiker feed in Monson many years ago. I did not make it into the film because the centered the film on about three individuals, Miss Janet, Mala, Trail Angel Mary, and Baltimore Jack.   We went to the Cracker Barrel in Abingdon for dinner. While we were eating it started pouring and lightning. It got really bad but was over by the time we finished eating.
Date: 2010-05-16
From: Atkins

To: Atkins
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

16 May 2010, Atkins   Hopper was very sick this morning and she is my hiking partner and more right now. She has a growth within her that she needs some medications for it. It will take a few days for the meds to arrive. Her current location on the trail is in Atkins, which was only 54 miles from where I am now on the trail. We decided to jump ahead to Atkins and pick up the trail from there so we could continue hiking together. I will come back later to make that up. I will do it after I summit Katahdin if I have to or some other time during my hike. I am not happy to be skipping this section but the way I look at it is that hiking partners should be looking out for each other. I would hope that Hopper would do the same thing for me. If something similar happens to me.   We are catching the shuttle that the Baptist church offers to Atkins and going to get a room with two beds at the motel in Atkins and see how she feels in the morning. If she does not feel good we'll take one more zero day and go from there.   We arrived at the motel in Atkins to meet Trooper at the motel. That was totally awesome to meet up with him again and to be at the same place. Trooper was one of the originals that started on Springer the same day as I did.   Here tonight are Trooper, Funky Monkey, Gonzo, Hopper, and Seven D's.
Date: 2010-05-17
From: Atkins

To: Atkins
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

17 May 2010, Atkins   I took a zero day today.   We went to breakfast at The Barn Restaurant. I ate something called the 2x4, which is two eggs, two pancakes, two pieces of bacon, two pieces of sausage, and two biscuits with gravy on them. That was a lot to eat and it did fill me up.   As we were walking back from breakfast Seven D's and another hiker were heading out from the motel. Funky Monkey, Gonzo and a few others were heading out for a northbound slack pack for about 12 miles and were going to be picked up by HD Mama.   After I got back to the room I ended up taking an hour nap and sitting around watching TV.   I went to get and afternoon snack at the Exxon station and ended up just getting an order of fries and an ice cream sundae. The Exxon station is a good resupply for hikers and should be considered a long term resupply but it is very pricy. Most of the hikers that I saw walked in and looked at the prices and walked right back out. The Exxon also has a grill. I was told that the order of fries was very hiker friendly and adequate but I found it equivalent to a small order of fries at McDonalds. While I was at the Exxon I ran into Tour Guide, Babalu, Red Stick, Timber, and Coon Cat. Coon Cat is from Maine in the Sebago Lake area.   Hopper wants to leave in the morning even though she does not feel good. I was really hoping she would take another zero day so I could arrange a shuttle 23 miles south and slack pack into Atkins to make up the miles I am skipping.
Date: 2010-05-18
From: Atkins

To: Atkins
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

18 May 2010, Gullion Mountain   I went to breakfast this morning and got on trail at 8 am. Things went great for the first mile and a half. Shortly after that Hopper started falling behind. When I got halfway up the first climb hill I noticed she was nowhere behind me. I waited at the top for about 20 minutes until I saw her pack coming up through the woods. When she reached me she said she could not go on. She started getting the dry heaves. She insisted that I continue northbound without her and she would go back. I told her that we were partner and a team and I would not go on without her. We agreed to hike together and I would not leave a hiking partner male or female behind. We turned around and went back to the last road crossing and walked the road back to the motel. We made it back to the motel and checked into our rooms at about 11 am.   I realized today that I will not ditch Hopper or go on without her. I have become attached to her.   At 3 pm I asked Hopper if she was up for food. She was sleeping and said she did not feel like eating. I went to The Barn Restaurant by myself and brought a book I picked out of the hiker box. I ordered a one pound burger and fries and sat there reading to pass time. The book I picked up was ¢Walking with Spring¢ by Earl Shaffer.   When I got back to the motel I checked with Hopper and she still was not feeling good. We had to come up with a game plan because between the two of us we were spending money every night we stayed in the motel. I could not keep spending money on a room waiting for her to get better. We came up with the idea of her getting a shuttle ahead to the next trail town of Bland tomorrow. I will start off here again in the morning and hike to Bland in hopes she will be better by the time I get there. That should be two 20 mile days of hiking if I can do it. If I get to Bland and she is still not feeling better then we will discussed the option of her shuttling to Pearisburg and me hiking to there. She should be better by then. If not then we will have to cross that bridge when we get there. We may have to part our ways if this happens.   Here tonight at the motel are Avatar, The Wolf Pack (German couple), Kudzo, Uncas, Cope, and Hopper.
Date: 2010-05-19
From: Atkins

To: USFS 222
Miles today: 19.3

19 May 2010, USFS 222   I ate breakfast and got on the trail at about 8:30 this morning. I had to do part of the same section over I did yesterday, I was able to walk back on the road to where we walked out yesterday but I really don't think that saved me any mileage.   I ran into to section hikers today and when I told them I was from Maine they said there was a woman thru hiking from Maine also not too far in front of me. That had me wondering and I picked up my pace trying to meet another Mainer.   When I arrived at VA 610 today I recognized it right away. I rode to Trail Days a couple years ago with Bump and Sassafras from Maine. They stopped at this place to pick a thru hiker named Bango Man to bring to Trail Days. When I go to the crossing there was a hiker sitting there. His name was Rocky and when I asked him about the women from Maine he said she was not to far ahead. She was his hiking partner, her name was Playboy.   I received my first cooler of trail magic today. It was a blue cooler north of VA 742. I had a PB and J sandwich and a Dr Thunder soda. It was perfect timing as I arrived at noon and did not have to make my lunch. When I got to the cooler the girl name Playboy was sitting there with her dog Zeb. Zeb was a Maine Coon Hound. We exchanged the normal where are you from in Maine conversation while we were relaxing. Rocky came up and we talked about where we were going for the night. I told them that I don¢t really like to camp alone and I was shooting to camp at USFS 222. They said that sounded good and they would do the same thing.   We did quite a bit of walking through cow pastures today. At one point the cows were right alongside of us. At another point there was a cow standing in the middle of the trail and I had to walk around it.   Playboys dog Zeb started acting real strange to me this evening. At one point he would not let me get to my pack, he started growling at me. Then later on he had a stare down with me and was just getting ready to jump at me when Playboy got in between us. I don't know what his problem was; I was playing with him earlier in the day and had no problem with him. I am very uneasy around him now.   We stopped here tonight because we did not want to do the big climb that is just ahead of us. I would rather do it first thing in the morning and get it over with.   After we got set up some of other thru hikers topped and talked for a while and moved on. Skid Mark, Doppler, Sk,rabbit, and one other who¢s name I forgot.   Sk¢rabbit who is also from Maine, the Saco area. Sk¢rabbit was walking with a baby kitten she found as a stray from one of the trail towns.   Here tonight is Playboy, Rocky.
Date: 2010-05-20
From: USFS 222

To: Laurel Creek/VA 615
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

20 May, Laurel Creek/VA 615   My sister¢s birthday is today. Happy birthday Karen, I love you.   I really dreaded the start today because the first thing I had to do was a climb. I was dragging butt and I think that was because I went to bed without a good dinner last night. I also fell asleep with my iPod on last night and used up all the battery life I had in it. That means I had no music to motivate me today.   The two miles before Chestnut Knob Shelter was some really nice walking. I think it looked to be old cow pastures that have been unused and overgrown. It was some beautiful walking with views to the east.   I stopped at Chestnut Knob shelter to cook some roman and ate an apple pie to get some food in me to try to get my energy back and it did help. The rest of the walk to Jenkins shelter was a real pain in the butt though. It was nice but the walking was a real pain in the ass. It was all rocky and you had to be careful with your foot placement. It slowed me down a lot and took up most of my day.   I checked my phone on top of Brushy Mountain and I had an email from Alligator. Alligator is my assistant administrator for my web site. He invited me and Hopper to his house for dinner. I called Hopper at her motel room to see if she was up for it and she said she was feeling a little better and would go. It was 5:30 when I got the email and I replied back to Alligator and told him I would be at VA 615 between 6:30 and 7:00. I had four miles to cover so I had to pick up the pace and I sure did. I made it to VA 615 at 6:25. That was walking just over four mile per hour.   I was able to shower and clean up at Alligators house before he made dinner. For dinner we had fettechanie alfredo with broccoli, cauliflower, and bread. It was absolutely fabulous. We really enjoyed the company of Alligator and his wife. Thank you both.
Date: 2010-05-22
From: Laurel Creek/VA 615

To: Bland
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

22 May 2010, Bland   I was going to slack pack the 6.9 miles today from VA 615 to US 21/52 but the person that I was going to get to slack pack me did not show up until late this afternoon. When he did show up it was raining. I decide to do it the day after tomorrow. Tomorrow we are going to slack pack south 18.6 miles from VA 606 back to Bland.   I got a good laugh today watching an AT&T commercial on TV. They said that they covered 97% of the United States. Here is a warning to all you AT&T users that are thinking about thru hiking the AT. Do not bother keeping your cell phone with you if you are going to us AT&T. Everyone that has AT&T out here has done nothing but bitch about it. Everyone that uses Verizon out here has had very little problem at all. I have a company called US Cellular out of Maine and have not had any problems with it at all. The only time I had some issues was a couple of days in the Smokies. I am pretty sure that US Cellular piggy backs off Verizon¢s towers.   One of the two hikers in the room next to me by the name of Restless Legs came over today when he found out I was Troll. He said he has been seeing my entries in the registries and was glad to meet me. He wanted to know who was running WhiteBlaze while I was gone and I told him.   Today we made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches on the charcoal grill outside our room. Then watch a NCIS marathon on TV.
Date: 2010-05-23
From: Bland

To: Bland
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: scattered clouds

23 May 2010, Bland   We got shuttled to slack pack south from VA 606 and started hiking around 8 am. Our first stretch was over Kimberling Creek which was a narrow one person suspension bridge. When I got to the first shelter at 11 am, Jenny Knob shelter, it was 6.4 miles into the day. I ate a sandwich and filtered water. We met a hiker with a large camo backpack. I asked him what his trail name was and he replied that trail names were kid stuff and he was Dwayne. While there Zendog came in and was eating lunch. Zendog called me Mr. WhiteBlaze and I laughed at him. I was surprised he knew who I was because I have not been broadcasting out here that I am the owner of WhiteBlaze. I mentioned that to Zendog and told him I am trying to be incognito and that I am not trying to draw attention to myself. His comment was that I should proud be and if he was me he would be. I met Zendog back a Watauga Dam.   I was walking in the lead today and caught some movement to the right of the trail. It was a very large black rat snake. It was about four feet long. I took some pictures.   I ran into others we knew today heading who were heading north, Cope, Rocky, Playboy, Patches, Tiger Woods.   When I got to VA 612, I ran into Bayou who is a member of WhiteBlaze and knew who I was. He was slack packing two hikers all the way to Maine, East Wind and Loon.   When I got to US 21/52 we just missed trail magic where someone was giving out pizzas and sodas. Logos and Earthling were there. They called with their cell phone and ordered a pizza at the trail head. We called our shuttle provider and got a ride back to the motel. I ordered some cheese bacon fries and a pizza once I was back at the motel. While I was waiting for the delivery I got in the shower. As soon and my order was delivered and I started eating it started thundering and the rain came. What perfect timing that was for us to get back because the weather came in. We were lucky not to get any rain on the hike today.
Date: 2010-05-24
From: Bland

To: Bland
Miles today: 6.9
Weather: light rain

24 May 2010, Bland   I was originally going to hike from Sugar Run Gap/VA 663 to VA 606 but when the church group pulled into the motel parking lot and offered to take all the hikers to breakfast at the church, we could not turn it down. They served up a good meal. When got back from breakfast it was 10:30 and it was too late to do the hike we wanted to do. We picked up Professor at Laurel Creek/VA. 615 on the way to breakfast this morning and he came back to the motel to get a room. He was planning on going back out to hike into Bland. It was the section I skipped when Alligator came to get me for dinner a couple of nights ago so I had to get this section done too. We left the motel at 11:30 and got back at about 3 pm. We made real good time for hiking 6.9 miles, about 2 1/2 hours. It was some very easy hiking. I came upon two deer about two miles in. When I looked up in front of me I thought it was hikers until I realized it was deer. I took of my day pack to get my camera out and put my day pack back on and they were still there. I got a couple of good pictures.   There was a whole group of us sitting around cooking on the grill tonight. It was a small grill but we cooked steaks, chicken, burgers, turnip greens and corn on the cob.   We heard that Natures Own got off the trail today. Shaken came and dropped off River here tonight. River has to gotten off the trail now for family issues. Shaken told us about Natures Own, he was with him when he had decided to get off. He said he was just sitting around watching cars on the highway and decided he was getting off the trail.   Buzz also got off the trail here today. He had been here at the motel for two days. His knee had been giving him a problem for quite some time. He said he could not take the knee pain anymore.   I also got a message from Babalu on my trail journals site. He got off the trail on the 22nd at Dismal Falls. He said he was sleeping in his hammock there at night with his pack under his hammock and when he got up in the morning everything was gone. Now he is home trying to get gear together to get back on the trail.   We all had a bbq out in front of the motel tonight on he bbq grill I used the other night.   Here at the motel tonight are City Slicker, River, Hopper, Cbass, Motor Boat, Puma, Professor, Chef, Sandbagger, Sherriff and his visiting girlfriend.
Date: 2010-05-25
From: Bland

To: Bland
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: overcast clouds

25 may 2010, Sugar Run/VA 663   Started around 9:30 at the road crossing for Woods Hole Hostel today and headed south to VA 606 doing a slack pack.   We stopped for lunch at a rock outcrop on Sugar Run Mountain.   Ben took off after a deer today. He bolted through the woods. I yelled at him and he did not even pause. He disappeared out of site. We could hear him running through the woods way off in the distance until we could not hear him any longer. I was totally upset by this but I kept my cool and did not say anything, I will not elaborate anymore about this right now. Maybe I will write my thoughts on this more later.   When we got to Wapiti Shelter I ran into Rocky and Cope. I told Cope that I ran into Superman and Grizzly last night in Bland and that they were trying to catch up to him. He said he had heard the same thing. Popcorn was also at the shelter. There was another hiker at the shelter named Bear Blaze. She had a bear get a hold of her pack at night at Watauga Lake Shelter and ripe her top of the pack. Now it was pieced together with a different color top. As I left the shelter I ran into Earthling, Logos, Playboy. About 15 minutes south of the shelter I ran into Superman and Grizzly and informed them that Cope was 15 minutes ahead at the shelter.   We took the side trail to Dismal Falls for a break and to check them out. It was worth the side trip. There were two other thru hikers down there thinking about spending the night. I informed them about what happened to Babalu there when his pack showed up missing. I just wanted to give them a heads up. While I was walking around in the waters at the top of the falls the rocks under the water were slippery. Needless to say, I slipped and fell on my ass.   I called for our ride back to the motel about one mile from the road. Our ride said it would be about 30 minutes before he could leave. I told him we would start walking to Trent¢s Store. When we arrived at Trent¢s we were very surprised to see Bismarck, Pepper, Chili, and Lift and Step. I was hoping to run into my trail brother Bismarck again. I knew Bismarck, Pepper and Chili were not too far behind but I did not realize they were this close.   I got back to the room and ordered a pizza and fries with cheese and bacon.Noted:
Date: 2010-05-26
From: Bland

To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

26 May 2010, Pearisburg   I went to the post office this morning to mail home a few things. I had breakfast along the way. After I got things mailed, I went to the library to use the internet. I wanted to check out REI for a day pack. I would really like a pack for slack packing that folds up into its own pocket and weighs almost nothing. After I found one I called REI and placed the order and had it sent to the post office in Daleville.   I decided to have Bubba shuttle use to Pearisburg and I would arrange some slack packing while Hopper was there trying to void the virus. I am going to slack pack the sections from Sugar Run/VA 663 into Pearisburg while Hopper sat in a motel room trying to get better.   We got back to the motel and ran into Bubba the shuttle provider and told him we would be ready for our shuttle to Pearisburg within the hour. I went and got our gear ready. On the ride to Pearisburg, Hopper road in the back of Bubba's truck along with Ben. I road in the truck with Bubba. Bubba and I talked a lot about many things along the way. Bubba is a great guy and in my opinion does not charge enough for his shuttle services.   We got to the motel in Pearisburg and checked into our rooms. I was pretty beat and fell asleep watching TV.   When I woke up I checked with the front desk of the motel about a slack pack from Woods Hole Hostel back to Pearisburg in the morning. They could do that for me in the morning. I will be doing it by myself as Hopper is going to stay here because she is still not feeling well.   I made a quick trip to Food Lion this evening to get some food for my slack pack tomorrow. Hopper stayed in the motel because she was still not feeling well. I say it was a quick trip but in reality it was not that quick. It was 0.8 to get there and 0.8 to get back. I stopped at Hardies on the way back to the room for a meal. I don't think I will eat at Hardies again unless there are no other options. I had a chicken filet and the chicken was really very dry.