morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Wapiti shelter

To: Pearisburg-Holy Family Catholic Hostel
Miles today: 16.2

I felt so good hiking today. The weather was sunny, clear and beautiful. Pearis mountain was great, beautiful views! I almost decided to hike on Friday anyway, since I was having such a good day, but after alot more close calls with falling I check out my boots again. With all the mud off of them I could see that there was almost no tread. I decided not to chance a 20 miler tomorrow with sore feet and boots with no tread with the chance of falling and breaking an ankle. If I was thru-hiking, I would've taken a few zero days, bought new boots and continued. As a section hiker who has to go home to do work on the weekend, I had to take the driving time, which was many hours, and the person who is doing all the traveling for me (Mary). The best decision is to stop and come back after Sunday. I saw 4 deer today, 7 for this week's trip. They are everywhere. Once I arrived in Pearisburg, I was going to check into the rendeavous motel, but they had no vacancy's (slimer got the last one). I decided to walk downtown...Pearisburg is pretty spread out, and I didn't relish the roadwalk, but I had no choice. This street person, an older man, waas trying to talk with me while I was on the phone with Mary. She decided she would drive the long way to come get me....she is so good to me. I told her I would be at the Holy Family Catholic hostel. Then I had to figure out how to get the 2.9 miles there. The old man said...I may have you a ride. They guy flails his arms at this guy driving...I'm thinking...is he crazy? The guy pulls over, and it's the caretaker of the hostel. Here I am worried about this old man walking the streets and he's worried about me and trying to take care of me. I feel pretty humbled and a little ashamed. I thank him so much and he just smiles at me. I wasn't rude to him before, but I'm ashamed that I let appearences drive my inner thoughts. I should know better, especially after my experiences with people on the trail. A learning experience.The hostel caretaker let me use his cell phone to order pizza, and took me around town. At the hostel, I met the two women I saw at kimberling creek, and a host of others. I sat there, eating my pizza, drinking my soda. I am amazed at the kindness of strangers, that is probably one of the great learning experiences I have taken from the trail so far. God provides.Mary drives in late that night, excited to see me. I drive part of the way home, but I'm not in really good conditions for driving, and she has to carry the brunt of the work. I had tried to convince her to wait until Friday afternoon to come get me...I didn't mind, but the idea of me in a place where she could get to me was too much. I wouldn't have been able to hike this summer's hike with returning to home so much without her help. She is a trail angel too!
Date: 2004-06-27
From: Home

To: Rice Field Shelter
Miles today: 7.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a good day overall. I hiked across the New river, and sat at the bottom of some steps across the bridge, adjusting my boot. I was trying to avoid getting blisters on my feet from new boots. I was successful, except for the heel of my right foot. As I sat there, two young guys came bounding down, they were nice, but young and full of energy. They said hi, and kept going. I get up and continue on. As I leave the highway, I see where the AT hangs a left, and go into the woods. The two guys had gone straight. I called out to them. They looked a little embarassed, but came back to the AT and blew me away with their speed. I told them everyone loses their way everyonce in a while. Myself included. I continue my hike crossing over creeks and hiking up the mountain. I suprised a mother deer and her fawn, or better yet, they suprised me. The fawn jumped higher than I've ever seen an animal jump. I've seen so many deer in Virginia. I finally reach the ridgecrest of Peter's Mt. I can see the sun slowly falling below the mountains, over an open field. Cows are everywhere, and so is there...ah...well....I guess you could call it B.S. ANYWAY, I hike over to the shelter and the two guys are there, along with a couple and a few other people. Most of these people are in the tail end of the thru-hiker group. I don't remember the names of everyone, but the two guys are "Barking Spider" and "squatter". You can use your imagination to figure out their trail names. They are both just out of college, and I end up hiking on and off with these guys for a few weeks. My feet had two small blisters, but overall, they did pretty well. I set up my hammock and then ate dinner at the shelter. We had a nice fire, and everyone talked. A good night back on the trail.
Date: 2004-06-28
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: light rain

Today has been a good day. Mondays are usually difficult, because I've spent the weekend with Mary, and now I see all sorts of things I'd like to share with her, but can't. Today was better. There wasn't any rain, and the hike, while difficult wasn't beyond doing. The sun kept peaking in and out all day. Simms meadow was pretty cool. You can see the mountains in the distance that you will be traveling to. I also heard helecopters flying over. This region seems more populated than NC/Tenn.I arrived here at the shelter a little after 6:00 PM and I started hiking around 8:00 AM. I know I'm slower than alot of the hikers, but I make decent time, and it's good to take breaks during the day. Barking spider has tried to convince me to go for a 21 mile day tomorrow. I've never hiked over 20 miles in one day. It seems kinda ambitious, but I will hike as far as I can tomorrow. My left foot is doing really well, but my right foot has a blister on the heel. I may try to duct tape it tomorrow. That works for Barking Spider. The wind is blowing, I can feel it some, but mostly I hear it in the trees. It is very peaceful. We've had a nice fire, and the two guys have had a gourmet meal. My meals are pretty simple, but that's ok. I'm going to look over maps for tomorrow, and read for a little while. A good day.
Date: 2004-06-29
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today has been a long, but good day. By hiking the my first "20 miler", I should be able to make Daleville, which is where I had planned to make it to before stopping at Pearisburg early. This also will make it easier for Mary to pick me up. Instead of driving a lot of backroads, she can go totally interstate to pick me up. I got an early start today...6:55 AM. I was determined to give myself plenty of time to hike the miles, if that was what was meant to be. The guys finally caught up with me at Warspur shelter. It took them 9 miles to catch me today. Amazing for me...of course they lounged around this morning, while I got up and hiked. I'm so slow compared to a lot of people out here. I have to remind myself that it isn't a race. The guys were nice enough to come up with a trail name for me "t-byrd". I used it for the rest of the hike, but it just didn't quite feel right. I'm going to stick with Shades of Blue. I think it fits my personality better, even if it is a self given name. The hike through sinking creek valley is great. It is several huge meadows/fields that you have to cross through. You can see the Virginia farmlands all around you. I saw horses and donkeys. I will say that it is very, very open and exposed. The heat was pretty opressive. I still like it though. The photo on this page is sitting on my desk at school. It reminds me of a great trip, with lots of pain, joy and lots of beauty. The AT in a nutshell.Night was only an hour away when I arrived at the shelter. The guys had been there for a while (of course) and another person was there too. The shelter has (at the time) a resident cat. No mice at this shelter. The shelter is fairly new, and well off the AT. There are switchbacks going down to the shelter. I set up my hammock, eat dinner, and do the usual camp things. I am worn out, but I feel like I accomplished a lot today.
Date: 2004-06-30
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today had quite a few rock scrambles today. The climb up to the Audie Murphy memorial was pretty significant and the heat was oppressive. It was strange, as the trail was on one side of the mountain, it would be pleasently cool, and breezy. On the other side, there was no wind, and it was very hot. On the way up, I stopped to filter water. I was just doing my thing when the guys walked up. Squatter said...you see that snake...I turn around and this huge snake is about 2 feet away from me, climbing up a limb...above the ground. I was pretty freaked. Barking Spider was even more freaked (he really doesn't like snakes).The ridgeline is fairly flat, and I was able to make good time. The memorial was nice, this is where Audie Murphy's plane had gone down. He was the most decorated soldier of WWII. All along I planned to camp at the turn off for Pickle Branch (since it is .3miles off the AT). I got to Trout creek, filtered a lot of water for the night, and hiked mile to the turn off. A huge storm was building and the area was very exposed. I could see blackened trunks of trees from lightening strikes. Hmmmm...maybe being near a shelter isn't such a bad idea. I hike on into the shelter, and set out the rain. Once it lets up, I set up my hammock and have a restful night.
Date: 2004-07-01
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

Even though the mileage says 16.1, I actually hiked 17.2 miles today. I had to hike back to the AT from the shelter, and then to resupply. My original idea was not to resupply, but because I've hiked more miles, I can go further. Unfortunately, I don't have the supplies, so I decided to resupply today. I also had to call Mary and change the pick-up point. I wanted to catch her while she was still at work and not at school (she's studying to be a nurse). The profile says that the trail to Dragons tooth is fairly flat. I expected a quick hike to Dragons tooth, and then down to VA 624, where I would do a short term resupply. I'd call Mary, and get all that done before 12:00. Well......once again the profile was decieving. There were constant puds. Once I reached the dragons tooth (the view is pretty awesome, by the way!), time had just slipped away. The journey nobo from dragons tooth was amazing. It was steps put into the rock(kinda like handles) and tons of rock scrambles. Now, this would've been pretty cool, had I not been wanting to make the store early enough to catch Mary. It was slow, and time consuming. I reached VA 624 finally and called Mary. Fortunately, she hadn't left yet. I had just caught her. It took me five hours to hike six miles. I crossed over VA 311 which is a major highway. This area is beautiful, but had tons of day hikers. The hike to McAfee knob wasn't too difficult, and had lots of views. The summit reminds me a lot of Hawksbill Mt. in North Carolina. Very pretty! You can look over the valley's of Virginia, and you can even hang your feet over the edge. I took a nice little nap, and just hung around. It was really, really hard to leave. No camping is allowed at the summit, so I hiked on to Campbell shelter. I did my usual camp chores, and spent quite a bit of time reading the shelter register. It's pretty cool how the thru-hikers communicate with one another using this register. No one is here tonight, and it's strange being all alone again. Most of my hike, I have desired solitude, and I still enjoy it...but there is something to say about having friends on the trail.
Date: 2004-07-05
From: home

To: Fullhardt knob s helter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Today began my month long hike on the AT. It was a little different leaving Mary this time. Instead of seeing her every weekend, it will be a few weeks until we meet in the Shenendoah National Park. It is also different because I don't have that home base I'm hiking to every weekend. The hike itself wasn't too difficult, once I arrived at the trailhead. The drive up here was many hours from home. The shelter is pretty interesting. There is a cistern that collects rain water for the water source. I was able to get water, and the few other people who came were also able to get some water. This is a surprise, because the past few weeks have had only small showers (at least where I've been). At first I was all by myself at the shelter, so I set up my hammock and did my camp chores. As I was finishing with my tarp, this woman just suddenly appeared at the shelter. This was surprising, because the blue blaze trail passed by my campsite, and she didn't walk by me. I looked later, and there was another side trail, close to the shelter. She seemed a little strange, and it spooked me how she just showed up. Soon, Barking Spider and Squatter showed up. I was unsure if I would see them tonight, they had taken a few days off, and weren't expecting to get back on the trail until the next day. We all stayed up for a while, and the lady starting talking about the FBI and people looking for her. She talked about bears attacking near her and all sorts of strange things. The next morning, she just disappears. One moment she's there, the next she's gone. I found out later that she is a homeless woman that travels along the AT and stays at different shelters. It is said she has mental problems, but is harmless. She is sometimes called "The Queen of England". Strange beginning to this section.
Date: 2004-07-06
From: Fullhardt knob s helter

To: Cove Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 19.9
Weather: broken clouds

Today I began my dance with the Blue Ridge Parkway. The BRP is where the orignal AT used to be. They had to reroute the AT, and now it follows mostly above or below the parkway. The AT will follow the BRP until Rock Fish Gap, and then it will be Skyline Parkway through the Shenendoahs. The day was a pleasant hike, even though a long one. I had thought about stopping at Bobblet's Shelter (where I got water), but decided to hike on to Cove Mt. Shelter. On the climb out of Bearwallow Gap, there were blueberries everywhere. I just kept stopping and stuffing my face with the fruit. It is so cool to be able to eat food that you don't have to carry!!!I had to carry water from Bearwallow Gap, because there is no water at the shelter. I did my usual camp chores, and settled into another night on the trail.
Date: 2004-07-07
From: Cove Mt. Shelter

To: Thunderhill Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Today had some major climbs. I would guess that I climbed 3500 to 4000 feet, maybe more and I am SO tired. The shelter is packed with all sorts of people. Zinc, Barking Spikder, squatter, white tail and five other hikers are here. I was the last one into the shelter tonight, which with my speed is understandable. Also, I am the only one that hiked the white blazes, the rest of the crew (except for maybe the 5 other hikers I don't know) hiked the parkway. This cut off several miles, and a few climbs. Now, don't get me wrong. I am a white blazer, but I have nothing against people who go a different way. Hike your own hike. I even helped the others find there way back to the parkway from Cornelius Creek shelter. I used my maps and guide book to locate a side trail that led to the parkway. Everyone there took it. Unfortunately, I had made a deal with myself that I wanted to hike from Ga to ME using the white blazes. Now here is why I'm talking about this....I pull into the shelter about a half hour before dark. The shelter is crowded with people, and most of the camping spots around the shelter are packed. I go hunting for a good spot to set up the hammock. White Tail said I could set up here if I wanted, but I would've been right on top of everyone, so I said thanks, but I don't want to crowd anyone. I kept on looking and searching. He looked at me and said..."If you weren't so slow, you'd have better choices with finding a spot". Now he had taken advantage of hiking the parkway. He had cut several miles from his journey, and missed the climb of Apple Orchard Mt. The reason he was there earlier than me was mainly because of this fact. It really pissed me off. I didn't judge him for hiking the parkway, but he judged me for hiking the white blazes. (Youngblood later told me that this guy had to be yanking my chain. Maybe he was...if so, he did an excellent job). The truth is, I am slower than most of the people out here, but I'm not THAT slow. I just hike at my own pace. That is my plan for the rest of this trip also.
Date: 2004-07-08
From: Thunderhill Shelter

To: Glasgow, VA
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Today's hike was hot and exposed. The trail looked dry and dusty and there were very few clouds in the sky. Alot of the hike was on the side of mountains, where you could look out into the valleys. There were more blueberries to eat, but I didn't want to stuff myself, it was too hot, and water was scarce for a lot of the hike.I met two children on the trail...10, and maybe 14. The first one was all by himself and was looking for their father. His sister walked up about 10 minutes later. They had no water, and I was concerned. I had just taken my lunch break, and was prepared to carry on. We looked at maps, and I tried to figure out where they were hiking, and where their father might be. We figured out what probably happened, and we started to hiking NOBO on the trail. Fortunatley, they walked up to us before we left. The guy had like 11 children with him, and they were out on a day hike. Knowing everything was ok, I showed the father where he was at on my map, and how to get to where they needed to be. I stopped for another break at Matt's Creek Shelter. This is a really cool shelter, The reason for the coolness in my opinion is location. It isn't too far from Glasgow and there is a beautiful stream/creek running right beside it. There is a cool little bridge that crosses over the stream to the shelter. I rest my hot feet for a while, then head to the road. I get a hitch very quickly and go into Glasgow.Glasgow is known at "The Town that time forgot". They aren't kidding. There are models of Dinosaurs everywhere. There is a good place to resupply food wise. The motel doesn't have good airconditioning and no phones in the rooms. Still, it was great to resupply and eat town food. I did some church work via the internet (wrote a newsletter article) and called Mary. The bugs were brutal while I was talking with Mary (outside, under a light at the convinience store on a pay phone). A word of advice....be careful of how much caffine you drink in town. I had a pizza, chicken, potatos...ummmmm and a two liter coke. I was still awake at 3 AM with a big day ahead of me the next day. No matter what I did, I couldn't sleep. It was strange being in a stuffy motel room when the air in the mountains were so cool. The caffine just had me charged up. I eventually slept a few hours.
Date: 2004-07-09
From: Glasgow, VA

To: Brown Mt. Creek Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a hard day, I mean a REALLY hard day. I didn't get so sleep last night until sometime after 3 AM. I woke up at 6:30 AM. I tried to lie back down and sleep until 7:30, but I was too worked up about the hike today. My shuttle couldn't take me to the trail head until 9:00 AM and then it ended up being 9:30 before he finally got me to the trail. I pulled into the shelter at 8:20 PM. The climbs up rocky row were significant, especially with a fully loaded pack and 3.5 liters of water. The view from Rocky Row was pretty cool. You can look back over the James River. I bypassed Punchbowl shelter...it is a little ways off the AT, and I still had enough water. The hike up rice mt. had lots of little ups and downs. This area had lots of red clay, which seems unusual to me, and it was pretty hot. The hike down to Irish creek was pretty cool, and I took a long time resting at the creek, soaking my feet and just relaxing. This would be a great place to camp, but I had more miles on my mind. I hiked by Pedlar dam and around the lake. This was really pretty. It hit me here that Mary usually picked my up on Friday, but not tonight. It made a day without a lot of sleep, and big miles even more difficult. There seemed to be a relocation through this area (past the lake). The trail looked fresh, and muddy. It seemed to take forever to get to the FS road listed in the data book. Maybe it was because I was getting tired, but I started to wonder if I would ever reach the shelter. I finally crossed over the FS road and then came to a beautiful creek. The cascades and falls were wonderful, and the cool air coming off the water was welcome. Once again, I thought about camping, but I had a goal in mind, and wanted to make it. Sometimes I regret having mileage goals and time limits on my hikes. This is a beautiful area to camp in. I finally reached the shelter, and the whole crew from two nights ago were here. There also was a new person, a young lady thru-hiker. I fixed my mac and cheese, but I think the stress of no sleep and high miles made me sick. I couldn't finish it. Barking Spider offered to clean it up for me (and in true thru-hiking fashion he and Squatter finished off my food). I set up my hammock and talked with everyone for a little while. Then, I went to my hammock and had a blissful night's sleep in the mountains. It really beats a stuffy motel without ventilation or airconditioning any day.
Date: 2004-07-11
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was my first Sunday hiking. It was a little strange not working today, but the AT is a great place to commune with God....between the beauty, joy, excitement, pain, fear (thunderstorms), God hears from me quite a bit on my hikes. Today I hiked over Spy rock, where soldiers would look for the enemy during the Civil War. I made good time going up The Priest, took a long lunch break with the crew that had been at the shelters for the last few days. Going up the Priest wasn't all that bad NOBO, but descending the Priest was steep and I had to really slow down. I crossed over the bridge at Tye river and then ascended the next mountain. I eventually reached Harpers Creek, which has beautiful cascades, crossed the creek and started looking for the shelter.The directions to the shelters are usually quite clear, but this shelter was difficult to find. There were campsites in different directions, and the directions were in pictographs, which you'd think would be clear, but wasn't. I found out later that I wasn't the only one to have difficulty. At the end of a long day, and a rougher day before, I wasn't in the mood to be hunting for the shelter, but eventually I found it. Everyone here is talking about tomorrow. The three brothers are talking aboutgoing for the shelter, but may camp at 18 miles instead of the 22 to the shelter. Barking spider and sqauatter are talking about going for Waynesboro (27 miles) and using the parkway to make it easier, more well graded. Me, I'm trying for the shelter at 22 miles. That will leave me a short hike into Waynesboro. I'm going to get up early and get over the Three Ridges in the beginning of the day, and if I make the shelter, fine, if not, then I'll have a longer day the next day. Barking spider and another guy offered to let me use their poles for going over the Three Ridges into Waynesboro, it was pretty cool of them, considering how down I've been about losing my pole. I thanked them, but declined. It was possible they would beat my to Waynesboro, and I'd feel guilty if we missed each other, and I had their necessary gear. I've hiked to hear without the pole, I can make it a little further. It did make me feel really good though. These guys are so great! I'm going to read for awhile then, go to sleep early. Tomorrow will be a very long day.