morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-04
From: Erwin, TN

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: broken clouds

start: Beauty Spot Gap (Erwin, TN)finish: Clyde Smith Shelter miles: 14.4day: 28OK, today we were finally able to escape the vortex of Erwin.  Miss Janet has been wonderful to us and we'll miss her.  I'm already looking forward to seeing her at Trail Days.Janet made sausage gravy and biscuits with eggs for breakfast this morning.  Delicious!  After breakfast "Team Hardcore" got the first shuttle out to the trail.  Fabian, Janet's dog, was going for a w-a-l-k, dayhiking with Doc, from our trailhead heading back to Erwin, and was barking excitedly.  (Team Hardcore is the unofficial designation of the six of us who hiked in the blizzard two days ago.)Janet did us a favor and drove up the gravel road to get us as close as possible to the point on the AT where we bailed.  The van's transmission, which had a workout trying to get out of the snow a couple of days ago, started slipping.  Not good.  We all got out and pushed the massive van to help get it turned around on the narrow road.  It was all downhill back to Erwin, and we heard later that she  made it home alright with the van.The trail was mostly snow, slush and mud today.  Easy trail made difficult.  Tomorrow we go over Roan Mountain which will have more snow.  Hopefully that will our last day walking in snow on this trip.Staying in the shelter tonight (ground's spongy and wet, if not snowy - just easier this way).  With us are the other members of Team Hardcore: Alex, Max, Running Moon and Jukebox; and Burger, Tea Break, and Kodak.
Date: 2005-04-05
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: scattered clouds

start: Clyde Smith Shelterfinish: Overmountain Shelter miles: 12.9day: 29The shelter was convenient last night, but the boards are harder than the forest to sleep on.  In a shelter again tonight, but it's special.  An old barn that sleeps about 20 at the head of a lovely valley with layers of mountain ridges as a backdrop.  Very nice, and tomorrow will probably be a forest campsite about 20 miles closer to Kincora.Goldilocks and I have been hiking with Jukebox and Running Moon since leaving Erwin.  We hiked with Max and Alex until Roan Mountain, and then the brothers left to do their 20+ miles while we lollygagged at the shelter because we only had small miles to do today.  We wouldn't have minded hiking more miles, but we wanted to stay at this cool shelter.  Kodak and Tea Break were in the shelter with us last night and we hiked around them all day, and they're here in the barn tonight.We saw Traction today!  He was playing in Erwin.  The last time I saw him was on the blizzard day he was slacking southbound from Iron Mountain Gap.  So today he got back on the trail and did a 27 miler from Iron Mountain Gap to Apple House shelter.  Apparently he's trying to do 8 30s to be Pearisburg next week.  Insane...  I'm glad we saw him, and hope to see him again - he's getting off for a bit at Pearisburg so we may catch him before he shoots ahead again.  He's an absolute hiking machine.  He does 30 miles in 10 hours and never looks tired.Strider and Mountain Dew and Mountain Dew's father Dennis and their dog Toby are at the shelter tonight.  We met Dennis and his wife yesterday at Cherry Gap shelter.  They're helping the boys do lots of slackpacking - all the way to Maine.The climb up Roan wasn't too tough today, except for the snow.  We took a very long, relaxed break at Roan Shelter, because we have such a short day today.  Later we went over some wonderful balds in great weather - breezy and clear.  At the road crossing before the balds we got some trail magic!  Nameless (AT NOBO 2004) and his friend John gave us root beers and candy.  Nameless recognized Goldilocks and I from last summer in Maine when we had given he and his friends some trail magic, and he was happy to be able to give us some back.  We were glad too .We took the 0.4 mile side trail up to Grassy Ridge.  It was nice up there.  We left our packs behind a rock.  I'll probably never do that again.  My pack's light enough, and it has everything I have in it.  I realized I feel very uncomfortable being separated from it, unless it's safe in a motel or hostel.  It goes where I go.Shooting for a snack at rt. 19E tomorrow late morning, and hitting Kincora half way through the next day.A great day on the balds, and now I'm serenaded by the wind, an owl in the distance, spring peepers, ... and snoring.
Date: 2005-04-07
From: stealth camp 0.9 miles south of Laurel Fork

To: Kincora
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: light rain

start: stealth camp 0.9 miles south of Laurel Forkfinish: Kincora miles: 12.3day: 31The wind was blowing pretty good and clouds moving in last night as we set up our tarps.  We were in a somewhat protected area due to all the rhododendrons.  It rained gently during the night, but not even enough to make the ground wet in the morning.  It sounded nice falling on the tarp and the leaves.It was still raining a bit as I packed up.  The tarp works well in this situation, as all can be packed up underneath it and then the tarp dropped and stuffed into an outside pack pocket.  I ate lots of various things for breakfast to lighten the load going into a resupply.  Vienna sausages, candy bars, dried fruit, cream cheese, croissants, monterey jack, etc.  And lots of spring water.My food bag is SO gross.  Some cinnamon buns I bought for this leg of the journey leaked melted sugar and icing.  Everything is so sticky.  Yecch.The hiking was short and easy today.  We stopped at a shelter about half way to Kincora to eat more stuff and get some more water.  Other than that we didn't stop all day, arriving at Kincora before 2:00.On arriving at the hostel, I had a religious experience - I mean a hot shower.  Man, that feels so good.  I also washed my clothes in the shower as I usually do, and wrung them out real good.  Then, after drying off, I put the damp clothes on to help them dry faster.There are lots of hikers here today, many of them who were a day ahead of us and are slackpacking.  The usual crowd, including Johnny Blaze, Alex and Max, Pierrette, Easy and Widge, Not Yet, Billy, Kodak, Tea Break and Corduroy.  Olive and Erica showed up later.DejaVu is here to hike a section over the humps and is helping hikers with some trail magic.  He's an interesting guy who thru-hiked in 1975 and 2003.  He had lots of interesting stories to tell.  It seems we just missed him by a day when Goldilocks and I hiked Maine in 2003.  It was good to hear the final ending to the story of the two thieves we ran into in Andover that year.DejaVu ran us into town to resupply for the short leg to Damascus, and he joined us for dinner.Now it's late, we have a pretty long day ahead tomorrow, and I'm just hoping the talkers on the porch quiet down soon so I can get some sleep.  In that respect I can't wait to get back into the woods.
Date: 2005-04-09
From: Campsite 4.1 miles north of Vandeventer Shelter

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 29.6
Weather: clear sky

start: Campsite 4.1 miles north of Vandeventer Shelterfinish: Damascus, VA miles 29.6day: 33The day started cooler and somewhat overcast.  I really relish those last few minutes before getting up.  I don't take resting and being off my feet for granted anymore.  Ate some granola bars and pop tarts for breakfast, and started hiking at the late hour of 8:30.The overcast burned off quickly.  We were hiking fast - about 3.5 mph - and continued to do so all day.  Pretty amazing for me, even given the fairly easy terrain.  I was feeling like Superman today - just hiking really strong.The four of us were hoping to catch Johnny Blaze at the next shelter and wake him up - just to screw with him a bit, as he complains that we hike too fast and keep catching up to him too easily.  But alas, he had hiked long yesterday and stayed at the next shelter up the line, so we didn't see him until we got into town.  When we saw him at 9:00 pm tonight we tried to convince him we were just stopping by for dinner and were moving on, but he wasn't having any of it.The Colorado boys caught up to us early, but then we went ahead when they hitched into Shady Valley for food.  We saw Max tonight at The Place (our hostel for the night) and he told me they were planning to yellow blaze 75 miles northward and continue from there, to meet a deadline.  Maybe we'll see them again, but it seems doubtful.We also saw Team Dumber and "Team Traction" (just Traction, what is it with all these teams anyway?) slacking to Damascus.  They were hiking very fast and passed right by us.Most of the day was spent following a ridge and we had views off one or both sides, mostly into valleys with farms and pastures far below.  Lots of signs of Spring, not much brown left in the lower elevations.As I said before, we were really cruising today.  At one point, on the final 10 mile stretch into town, we did 5.4 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Wow.  We had Mexican food on the brain, which is what we ate on getting into town.  Twice actually - two dinners, one right after the other.  Then, after stopping by The Place, we went to get a snack.Well, a high mileage day that flew by, good food, finished off by a nice shower.  The stars are out and I'm sleeping inside.  Darn...
Date: 2005-04-10
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

start: Damascus, VAfinish: Damascus, VA miles: 0.0day: 34The Place was pretty nice and VERY cheap, but the wooden platform bunks without mattresses sure were hard.  Even with a Thermarest I slept poorly.  Oh well, plenty of time to rest up today - we're moving into The Lazy Fox B&B for the next two nights - yes, taking a double zero.  We need to play with post office stuff and it's a weekend...I forgot to mention yesterday that we are now in Virginia!  Two more states knocked off.  We actually left North Carolina a few days ago, and were only in Tennessee, but the AT followed the border between those two for so long, I'm not sure when we left North Carolina for good.  (Every road crossing was right at the "Welcome to Tennessee" sign).So, GA, NC, and TN are done, and we spend the next 551 miles.  That's over a quarter of the whole trail in Virginia alone!We've decided that it's time to get rid of the winter gear.  We've still got 30 degree sleeping bags and hats, gloves and light long johns, so we should be OK through Mt. Rogers over the next couple of days.  After that it's smooth sailing.  So my base weight is now down to around 10 pounds.  But I'm having to carry about 3 pounds of food per day to stay filled, so the pack doesn't feel a lot lighter...Damascus is a nice town surrounded by mountains which lives up to it's billing as "the friendliest town on the AT".  Everyone seems so glad we hikers are visiting.  Spring is coming as we speak.  The flowering trees are blooming, people are mowing lawns, and the hills have a light green tinge they didn't have two days ago.  I could stay here a very long time.The Lazy Fox is so relaxing.  There is a porch with rocking chairs and hammocks in the back yard by the river.  The property is dotted with large dogwood trees that are flowering pink and white.  Our hostess Ginny makes us feel right at home.  She cooks what I seriously believe to be the best breakfast on the whole AT.I took a bubble bath this afternoon.  Jukebox said "you're such a lady", but it sure felt darn good splashing around in the huge clawfoot cast iron tub.  I've walked a long way for this.Goldilocks and I kibitzed today while Running Moon and Jukebox talked gear at Mt. Rogers Outfitters.  Jukebox's back has been hurting, possibly from a wrongly sized pack.  Also, he doesn't like how much weight he's carrying.The four of us had a good dinner at Sicily's.  I had eggplant parmesan with spaghetti.Well, it's been a nice day.  Tomorrow the work begins when we go to the post office.
Date: 2005-04-11
From: Damascus, VA

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

start: Damascus, VAfinish: Damascus, VA miles: 0.0day: 35Ginny cooked up a storm this morning, serving us eggs, bacon, sausage, cheesy grits (her specialty), biscuits and gravy, pancakes, a huge fresh fruit platter, hash browns, muffins, cooked apples, milk, juice, and tea.  I think there was even more, but I can't remember now.  And, good thru-hikers that we are, we ate it all.I was able to go a long time before lunch, which consisted of 3 whole deviled eggs, half a honeydew and some ice cream.In between breakfast and lunch we went to the post office and got our bounce boxes and large food drops, sorted through it all, deciding what to send forward to which town.  After that, Russ, an elderly former AT section hiker and kin to Ginny, drove Goldilocks and I to a music store in Abingdon 15 miles away so Goldilocks could buy a guitar for the trail.Also today I went to the library and got on the internet for a while, went grocery shopping, and we ate some dinner at the Mexican place.  I only had one dinner tonight, but followed it with an ice cream cone.Tommorrow we hike out around noon, hoping to do about 10 miles.
Date: 2005-04-13
From: Saunders Shelter

To: stealth camp near VA 600, Elk Garden
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: scattered clouds

start: Saunders Shelterfinish: stealth camp near VA 600, Elk Garden miles: 14.4day: 37Still raining this morning.  Between that and the fact that shelters are a bit dark inside combined to give us our latest start time ever: 9:30!  So out into the rain we went, and even though we felt like we were cruising along, we only covered about 2-1/4 miles per hour to the next shelter, Lost Mountain, where we went in to get out of the rain.  All is soaking wet and cold.  We're here now taking a very long lunch in our sleeping bags.  We made tea, andd Goldilocks is playing Dead songs on his guitar.  The rain has finally stopped, for now at least.Our plan is to pack up in a bit (after a nap) and hike another 8 miles or so this afternoon, and stealth camp somewhere north of Whitetop Mountain.[later...]In camp now.  It spit rain all afternoon, and really started up again as we pitched our tarps.  It's cold and windy, too.  I pitched the back of the tarp low to fight the wind, and it only partially helped, so I put my empty pack at the opening by my feet.Speaking of my pack, I like it!  I can't really tell until I do a few higher mileage days, but I think I'm less tired at the end of the day.  And I'm learning how to pack it so it rides well.  I put two full water bottles in it this afternoon to carry to camp, which is four extra pounds, and I could barely feel the difference.  With my other pack it was OK, but I could definitely feel the additional weight.We went over Buzzard Rock today in low visibility and very high winds, probably over 50 mph.  Just a bit colder, and snowing, and it would have been like our lovely afternoon on Beauty Spot.I wish the wind would stop, as my fingers are too cold to do this journal.  Time to cook something great for dinner.OK, it's after dinner (homemade pea soup, broccoli, and vienna sausages - very good), and it's not raining anymore.  It's bloody snowing.  I think we'll be warm enough tonight, but barely.  Good night.
Date: 2005-04-15
From: stealth camp near VA 603, Fox Creek

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 23.0
Weather: clear sky

start: stealth camp near VA 603, Fox Creekfinish: Partnership Shelter miles: 23.0day: 39It was cold and clear last night, lots of stars were out, like ice chips in the night sky.We got started at a decent time and hiked fast, three MPH all the way.  The last ten miles were over a dry ridge, and I got pretty thirsty, as the sun was hot.  There were nice views off to the right of pastures and farms.  We walked through some fields at one point, and saw an old abandoned school bus along a fence line.The other hikers at this shelter tonight are Billy, Easy, and JR, who we hadn't really seen since day two of the trip.  This shelter is special because there's a phone and pizza can be delivered.  But we didn't need to do that because there's a trail angel named Gonzo who frequents this area and he drove us all in to Marion for AYCE Chinese food.  Woohoo!  A perfect end to a good day.  We were even able to resupply so we don't have to do it tomorrow.This shelter is gorgeous - a two story log cabin.  The top is enclosed, so we're all up there, as it's getting cold again tonight.  Goldilocks is playing some Dead on his guitar and Easy and I are trying to remember all the words.  After the music is done, we can hear the spring peepers singing their song.
Date: 2005-04-16
From: Partnership Shelter

To: stealth camp north of VA 610
Miles today: 21.2

start: Partnership Shelterfinish: stealth campsite north of VA 610 miles: 21.2day: 40Another beautiful clear day.  It was cold this morning, almost enough to frost.  I started the day with a breakfast of 1/2 honeydew and a bottle of pomegranate juice bought in the store last night.  I think I topped it off with a Baby Ruth.The others left 10 minutes or so ahead of us, and we never saw them again.  We're in a herd of pretty fast hikers.  They were headed to Knot Maul shelter, and we wanted to stealth camp and didn't go quite that far.I put a bunch of resupply trash in the dumpster by the ranger station near the shelter, and checked my e-mail one more time using my Pocketmail and the phone an the outside of the ranger station.  I needed to check the arrangements for our pickup in Pearisburg.  Mrs. Moosie is coming down for a few days and we're getting off trail and going to relax together at the beach.  I can't wait to see her.  This is the longest we've ever been apart in 20 years of marriage.  Our good friend Stumpknocker is joining us at the beach, and has agreed to pick us up in Pearisburg on the 21st.  It's always good to hang out with Stumpy.  Now we just have to hike to get there in time.  I figure we'll be able to hobble in one way or another.After doing my little chores, we started hiking.  We were moving well again today, the miles flying by.  The trail through this region is mostly ridge walks, with some ups and downs.  That, combined with good weather and Spring popping out all over, makes Virginia seem so very sweet.We saw trail maintainers throughout the day, as this is the weekend they all get together and work on the trails.  The trails are in very good shape through this area.We flew the 12 miles to the Atkins crossing and had lunch: a chili dog in the gas station, and a cheeseburger and hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy at the restaurant.  Goldilocks had similar stuff.  We ate too much - there was no room for Dairy Queen!  And we call ourselves thru-hikers?We met a couple of northbound section hikers in the restaurant who started in Damascus: River Otter and Wild Turkey.We slowed down just a bit in the afternoon with all that food to digest.  I relaxed into the 2 mile climb up Big Walker and didn't hardly crack a sweat.  We're definitely getting in proper shape out here.Today was, for me, probably the best day on the trail so far.  Perfect weather, beautiful ridges and bright green pastures with sweet smelling flowers on their borders, the occasional cow mooing or the sound of a farmer mowing some grass.  Virginia is absolutely beautiful.  Our campsite tonight is on top of a rise looking out over one of the prettiest valleys yet.  We should get a good sunrise over the far ridge.My sleeping spot ain't none too level, but I've padded the spot as best } can with extra clothes (of which there are very few.)  I think I'll sleep well tonight.  Tomorrow we continue the march towards Bland, our next resupply point.
Date: 2005-04-17
From: stealth camp north of VA 610

To: Davis Farm Campsite
Miles today: 20.2
Weather: overcast clouds

start: stealth campsite north of VA 610finish: Davis Farm Campsite miles: 20.2day: 41Today was fairly uneventful.  More gloriously clear weather, but hotter than it's been - and there are a few black flies, but not enough to worry about.  I didn't know they lived this far south.We only saw one group of section hikers today, heading south.  We also ran into Throw and Fetch heading south.  Fetch is a real cool Australian Cattle dog, like the one that lives at the Duckett House in Hot Springs.  Fetch will play all day long, and is extremely smart.  Throw is thru-hiking north, but doing this section south due to an impending appointment off trail for a few days.We ate lots of food and relaxed for over an hour at Chestnut Ridge.  Great open views from grassy slopes, including Mt. Rogers way south of us now.Goldilocks informed me that we are allowed no more breaks today or tomorrow, as he's eaten all his food and is in a hurry to get to the town of Bland.  We have about 15 miles tomorrow before we hit town for resupply, and then head back out to the trail to camp.We walked another dry ridge today, and in fact had to go 1/2 mile off the AT on a side trail straight down to find a campsite and water.  The rocks on today's ridge were brutal on my legs and feet.  Boy are they sore.  Unfortunately the spring by the campsite is frequented by cows, so we're purifying our drinking water.Our camp has great views out over the valley and now that it's dark we can see the few faraway lights of a few farms.
Date: 2005-04-18
From: Davis Farm Campsite

To: Wytheville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

start: Davis Farm Campsitefinish:Wytheville, VAmiles: 0.0day: 42Beautiful sweeping views of the farmland in the valley ringed by mountains.  Another day of perfect weather, of course. Goldilocks woke up feeling sick this morning.  Some kind of intestinal bug was keeping him busy and he had no energy at all.  Poor guy was feeling like crap.We were concerned that it might be the onset of giardia, even though we've been careful all along with our water source selection, and I had no symptoms.  Goldilocks took a Flagyl pill just in case.  The plan was to take these until getting to a doctor.  We figured we'd just have to keep hiking north for at least seven miles to the first tiny road crossing and hope to be able to get out there.  It would be slow going.  I offered to carry the guitar, as otherwise our packs were very light (no food left), but Goldilocks insisted on carrying it himself for a while at least.We climbed the 1/2 mile back to the trail from rhe campsite and noticed that there were three people camped there.  We had seen them the evening before and waved to them.  They were packing up soon and heading the 0.8 mile back south along the AT to their car and offered to give us a ride down the mountain.  The hikers were Rich, his wife Terri, and Rich's nephew Chris, trailname Crispy, who thru-hiked the AT in 2000 and 2002.  They were very nice to us, squeezing to make room in their car and dropping us off at the hospital in Wytheville, about 30 miles away.Goldilocks got a complete checkup at the emergency room and giardia was pretty much ruled out.  So we just need to take a break for a day or so until he feels better.  The folks at the hospital were very nice.  The director of security gave us a ride across town to a motel.  This was a big help, since Wytheville is very spread out, with several interstate exits and hard for a hiker to get around.We spent the rest of the day watching movies in the room.  I "killed" the buffet the adjacent Shoney's, but unfortunately Goldilocks was only able to eat rice.We won't make Pearisburg in time for our pickup now, and have no idea how to get back up to that remote trailhead.  So the plan is to get to Bland, probably tomorrow afternoon, and hike the short section southbound, and ask Stumpknocker to pick us up there.  We really prefer to hike northward, but this is much more feasible.