morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Rocky Raw Run Campsite

To: Brown Mt. Creek Campground
Miles today: 18.9

I got an earlier start today due to the fact that I knew we were going to have some climbs. The humidity is starting to become preetty intense, but the weather today was scattered. One moment it was cool and rainy, the next it was sunny and hot. We climbed to 2000 feet in elevation which brought some amazing vistas. I walked by myself for most of the day which I really enjoy. It's a time I can gather my thoughts and about people I miss. I get homesick every now and then, but the trail seems to be my life this season, so I'm taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's amazing how fast the miles stack up when I space out for a couple of hours. I crossed another suspension bridge which I find extremely interesting. One would think you would cross a rushing river, but this bridge crossed a smaller stream. There must be a bunch of McGvers who take care of this part of the trail. I found a campsite that's next to a lake and stream a couple miles North of the bridge. It's full of butterflies which brings a smile to my dirty face. In either case, they're helping to kill the million mosquitoes around us. Rain is coming in again, so I'm going to bed. Tomorrow is Mantebello, where I'll be meeting my good friend Bill.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Brown Mt. Creek Campground

To: Spy Rock
Miles today: 19.5

For those people who claim that Virginia is flat and an easy walk, they couldn't be more wrong. I sent out today to get to Montebello to meet my friend Bill, but there was a bald mountain in my way. This mountain just wouldn't quit as I ascended to 4000 feet. Once I reached the top however, the terrain wasn't too bad. I stopped for lunch next to a tree in a field where there was a cooler full of water, cokes, and beer. I love Trail Magic. I checked my phone messages and was told that Bill's flight was cancelled, but luckily he got on a later flight and wouldn't arrive until later tonight. So, I decided to relax a little bit as soon as Tec and Coolhand caught up.When they arrived a former thru hiker was setting his camp up and mentioned burger and salad Trail Magic he was doing for the weekend. We talked for a while and two hours later I was back on the trail. The rest of the day was pretty smooth. We arrived at Fish Hatchery Road and realized we had to walk another mile down the old jeep road to get to the store. I called Earl, a B+B owner in town who's been in contact with Bill to give us a ride from the end of the road. He drove us to the campstore which was closing in ten minutes, so we ran in and bought whatever we thought we needed. We waited for Bill to arrive and talked to a couple of locals. Bill arrived in his Pontiac G6 rental full of food and beers. He drove us back to where Earl picked us up and left his car in a little parking lot and we hiked the beer, food and our packs 1.5 miles to the campground in the dark. Once we arrived we quickly set up camp and relaxed by the fire.
Date: 2006-05-28
From: Montebello

To: Tye River
Miles today: 8.9
Weather: overcast clouds

***This entry is written by "Grind's" buddy Bill, in for a 3 day visit to Grinds and the AT.Let me begin by saying I will write this entry from a "Civilian" point of view (Non Thru Hiker). Many of you "civilians" may think that the AT is like a stroll down Bourbon St., or a walk along the beach. Not so. Not a big party. The trail is long & arduous. We had a so called "easy day" and I busted & sweated by butt off. My body hurts. The Thru hikers are extremely dedicated people and hard working, not just goof off hippies.We woke up and I was starving from last nights mere 1.5 mile up to the campground. We ate & headed up to Spy Rock. My first 360 view was incredible. That feeling seems to make the hiking worthwhile. Then we headed for the Priest. I gave it everything I had to get up there. Thanks to Grinds, he gave me his poles nd them probably saved my from falling about 5 times. We stopped for lunch at Priest Shelter to refuel. There were several more overlooks around the summit. I stopped to gawk at them with Grinds. Then we descended approx. 3000 feet to the Tye River. This was tough for me, but thanks again to Grinds for his poles. They helped the pain in my knees. We finally made it down to the Tye River. I hobbled down to the creek like river and put my dogs in the cold water. I washed off my dirty legs. We all cooled off and drank some semi cold beer. I can't wait to go to bed tonight & listen to the river.
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Tye River

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 8.8
Weather: broken clouds

****This entry written by "Grinds" buddy Bill (Sweet Pete Silly Pants).We left the sweet sounding Tye River. When I woke up @ 8:30. I was sad to see Tec, Coolhand , and Brave Friend already gone. Before we started hiking, I asked a friendly neighbor for a nail clipper to trim my hurting toe nails from yesterdays downhill stretch. Grinds & I started the rise from 1000' to 4000'. This was brutal. I made many stops along the way. We stopped and had lunch at an overlook which was sweet. Unfortunately we ran out of tortillas, I would have like to have eaten more. This was a nice scenic lunch including birds, and an interesting bee. We kept climbing upwards and I was turtle-ing along. Grinds told me, "You have to attack the summit!" Finally I made it. Felt good. All downhill now. The downhill wasn't bad. It seemed a lot easier than heading down into the Tye River. We set up camp and had an exquisite meal of shells & cheese, and mash potatoes w/ Gravy too. I was tired and it felt food to sit. We philosophized about various aspects of life. Then "Sleepy" arrived. He just hiked more today than I did in the past two days. I don't understand how the hikers do it! Damn! We went to get more water from the spring and had one last cold beer that I surprised Grinds with. I hiked it today secretly. It was really cold after chilling in the creek, and was worthy of the phrase "Rocky Mountain HIIIIIIGH." Unfortunately tomorrow I am leaving to go back home. But, I need to go back and I can't keep slowing Grinds down with too many "easy days." It wasn't easy for me by any means. Just like it won't be easy for the person next to me on the airplane to breathe and inhale my stinky B.O.
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: broken clouds

I woke up and noticed my first tick of the trail walking on my arm. I guess, it's the season now and need to make frequent checks. Bill, aka, Sweet Pete Sill Pants and I hiked 2.3 miles to his shuttle pickup at an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trail crosses this road many times. Because of Memorial weekend there are a lot of bikers hauling from DC South on the road. It's a big motorcycle weekend. Anyway, Sweet Pete Silly Pants parted from me around 11:30ish. All in all, it was a great weekend. He got to climb down a big mountain (Priest Mountain), climb up a big mountain (Three Ridges), hang out and camp of the Tye River and see some amazing views (Spy Rock). Thanks for coming out and understanding the trail.I continued my trek towards Waynesboro on a hot day. I moved pretty quickly covering 14 miles in four hours. I arrived at Waynesboro and got a ride into town from the Otter and Cohiba. I stayed at the Quality Inn and ran into Coolhand, Tec and Brave Friend, Jody Foster, Dub and Scoot were also in town. It was nice to talk to some friends with a room by myself knowing I wouldn't have to sleep on the floor. After I got off the phone we all watched the storm in the mountains. Tonight was my first shower in a week. Hallejuah. I was beginning to hate myself.
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Rockfish Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

So, I woke up today with the intentions of getting to the grocery store and the outfitter have some lunch and then hit the trail. Well, Coolhand, Tec, and myself went to lunch for Mexican food and margaritas and saw Squarl walking down the street. He came and joined us and after stuffing our stomachs with burritos, chimichangas and nachos, we struggled moving out the door. We walked to Kroger, picked up too much food and headed towards the outfitter which is a mile out of town toward the trailhead. I bought some denatured alcohol for my stove and more Aqua Mira for my water. The four of us sat outside the outfitter. Tec was too tired to hike, Coolhand wanted to eat and drink more, I wanted to hike and Squarl didn't care what we did. So, we all relaxed on the porch of this outfitter when a random guy comes up and throws $20 at me and says to go buy some beers in town. Thinking it was some kind of omen, we drew straws to decide what we would do that day. Coolhand drew the shortest straw so back we went to a bar and then the Mexican restaurant for more food and margaritas. We stayed up and watched the Pistons and Heat series. It was a pretty pathetic day, but knowing we would be putting some bigger mile days through the Shenadoahs, it was a rest probably well needed.
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke up this morning excited about hitting the Shenadoah National Park. Although we got a late start, I knew it was going to be a long day. It's finally June and the humidity and heat has kicked in. It was above 90 degrees and with carrying only one liter of water at a time we search for streams and springs. I had lunch by one of them and tried to cool off a little bit, but when I heard thunder in the background, I decided to push on. I ran into two day hikers and soon after they said hello, the girl jumped behind her boyfriend and me as she noticed a pretty big rattlesnake on the trail. I immediately put my pack down, took out the camera and shot a picture and it started rattling. This caused the day hikers to step back like 10 feet. Coolhand and Tec caught up with Squarl and we all were amazed by the size of this thing. The snake finally got the point and slithered slowly out of the way as we proceeded. Along with the snake, we saw some deer and Tec saw a giant turkey. My feet began to hurt as I noticed I only had a half a mile to go. I was out of water though, not feeling well, and it started raining. I just kept telling myself, just two laps around the track. I finally here and decided to sleep in it so I didn't have to get my tent wet. Were with a couple of section hikers which means early nights and early mornings.
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop Hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: moderate rain

Section hikers are early, early risers. This morning section hiker Joel decided to wake up and make the most noise possible. He must of dropped his Nalgene water bottle ten times before he finally got a grip and put it on the picnic table. I got up soon after he left and got packed up. I left around 7:30 and took the day pretty slow. It was nice to walk before the humidity kicked in. I reached Loft Mountain campground had a snack and re-supplied water. The trail has been forgiving in this part of Virginia. I don't think there is an easy section on the AT, but the Shenadoahs have given us no serious mountains to climb. I reached the summit of Loft Mountain and watched a butterfly dry it's wings. Now that is hiker television at it's best. Down Loft Mountain was Ivy Creek. Just another little water source I enjoyed I continued down the trail where I noticed a button buck eating on the AT. I stopped took pictures and videos as it walked right up to me. He ended up being an arms length away. Simply amazing. He walked around me and continued on the trail like he was done showing off for the cameras. I looked forward to reaching Powell's Gap. I got there as the clouds began to gather and I ran into a runner with the exact fluorescent yellow shirt as me. And here I thought I was the only one. The rain began to fall heavily on and off and I reached the shelter in time to dry off an make some dinner. There are more section hikers, but they're camping. I'll be sleeping good tonight.
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Hightop Hut

To: Big Meadows
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

Due to the temperature dropping and the cloudy rain looking skies, I slept in this morning. I was excited, however, to get back on the because the next couple of days is the section that I walked last year with Bumps. I got to Swift Run Gap which is where I ended last year. The terrain seemed like a constant gradual uphill. My goal was to get to Big Meadows and hit the tap room which is the local bar in the lounge I met up with a bunch of other hikers and we listened to live music and sipped on Killians. Oh and I ate three meals. There was five of us that stayed in one of the rooms. We needed to keep the cost down.
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Big Meadows

To: Pass Mt. Hut
Miles today: 18.8

Another late start, but the hotel bed was nice. I hit the trail and soon on the trail Tecumseh, Brave Friend and I saw a huge bear on our left. We stopped and watched it walk towards us and then stopped. Right away I started taking pictures and shooting video. I walked about 10 ft. further down the trail to take a few more shots and the bear began to aggressively make snorting sounds. As soon as it turned around, we left quickly and quietly. After talking about how scared we were, we assumed that the bear was mad because when I continued to take pictures, it seemed as if we were trying to surround it. Note to self: Don't surround 500 lb black bears.We arrived at Skyland Resort soon after we ate lunch and continued to share pictures of the bear to the locals. I think they thought we were crazy. I hiked pretty quickly because there was a flat rock that Bumps and I stayed at all day last year. When I arrived the sky to the left was sunny, but there was a nasty storm to the right. It was windy and cold on the rock, but I really enjoyed being there. That rock is a special place to me. I made a long phone call and got off soon before the sunset. I decided to make a run for the shelter 3.5 miles away. I was literally running down the hill to Mary's Rock when I tripped and slid on the dirt and rocks. My pack smashed my head further in the ground and I just though that this is a really bad night. I did make the shelter in record time where ten other hikers were at. I quickly set me tent up and went to sleep due to a bad mood.
Date: 2006-06-05
From: Pass Mt. Hut

To: Compton Gap Trail
Miles today: 22.7

I didn't sleep much last night so I hit the trail at 6:30 in the morning. I walked slowly and saw more deer than I've ever seen. The weather was still chilly and the rain scattered but I hit Elk Wallow wayside at 9 and bought the special! Buy One Get One Free Steak and Cheese Sandwich. I spoke to a biker who's traveled around the world on his motorcycle. Great guy. I took the day slow with lots on my mind and a sore body from last nights fall. There were a couple of over looks where I took longer breaks and I thought of those I miss. I excited the Shenadoah Park and went to Mike Evan's Hostel. The owner thru hiked the AT in 1995. Great guy with a great atmosphere for thru hikers. Tonight I'm with Pumpkin, Jodie Foster, Brave Friend, Dub, Scoot, Navigator and were waiting for a lost Squarl. It's dark and he hasn't arrived yet. Hopefully, he's alright. I'm sure he's fine.
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Compton Gap Trail

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Although I slept on an air mattress at Mike Evan's Hostel, I woke up with extreme pain in both legs. After I walked around a little bit, the pain went away, but I figured the longer miles finally caught up to me. Today was the most difficult day mentally since I started. As I walked, I did some soul searching wondering what the hell I'm doing out here. I've sat down in the most disgusting privies and have gotten bitten by every bug east of the Mississippi. Why do I keep doing this to myself? A couple of days ago I lost some of the wind in my sails so my mind has been questioning my purpose. These are the tough days on the AT. So, I did what I could only do; walk. I noticed walking through spider web strands with millions of ticks and I got a nat stuck in my eyeball. But what hurts me the most is that I noticed a dead butterfly. I stopped and thought of the irony behind it. Without butterflies, there are more bites from mosquitoes that I have to go though. Why do all these things happen? Yes, my bites will heal over time, but what's my calling in being out here. Nobody like days like today, but we all go through them. I can only hope tomorrow will be a stronger day. But I look at all this full of optimism. As hikers, we can grow up from all the downs. So, although mentally I may be struggling, it will help me become a better person. Some I guess can only learn from their mistakes. Maybe, I can see that butterfly again.
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Sam More Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: scattered clouds

After yesterdays mental breakdown, I woke up slowly this morning, but once I got a strawberry milkshake poptart in my belly. I felt better. I hit the trail early so I could take my time today. I did a lot of thinking and soul searching setting short term and long term goals for this trip. I think I'm a bit surprised how far I've come along an now that I'm so close to my original goal of Harpers Ferry, it's time to think about North Atlantic States. But today we arrived at what they call the roller coaster. For those who know me, you know that I don't enjoy roller coasters. They're just "pud" (pointless up and down) hills that bring no views because of the over growth of plants. This part of the trail isn't well maintained so it's like walking through a jungle. I rested by a side of the road and checked for ticks. Andy Dufrane caught up and we watched this butterfly fly around. It kept landing on me so we spent an hour taking pictures. That's hiker entertainment. Among other things happening today, I almost stepped on a snake and there was a huge hairy spider above a picnic table at the shelter. We've also be warned tat there's a large black rat snake in the shelter area. This will make it an interesting night for sure.
Date: 2006-06-08
From: Sam More Shelter

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 10.9
Weather: overcast clouds

Nothing really exciting happened today. I didn't get much sleep last night for whatever reason. I finished walking through the roller coaster. You know what something exciting did happened today. I actually walked to a Virginia to West Virginia borderline. It's one of many as the trail trickles along the border to Harpers Ferry I did a light day due to body and mental fatigue. The Blackburn AT Center is run by the PATC (Potomac Appalachian Trail Conference). We are making free spaghetti dinner tonight and playing cards. The rain just hit so were resting and eating for only a donation price. This hostel has a shower that's heated by a solar panel. The original building was built in 1910, but the porch and roof has been built in recent years. The caretaker, Redwing, thru hiker in 1999 & 2005. He basically sits here waiting for thru hikers to stop by. Good service with good people. What more can you ask for. Tomorrow, Harpers Ferry and 1000 miles mark!
Date: 2006-06-09
From: Blackburn AT Center

To: Harper's Ferry
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light rain

Sorry about the delay in getting the journals and pictures up on the site everyone.---ChadThis journal entry is brought to you by Chad, Derek & Kelly (K-Factor). (If Derek sends me anything I'll post it.)Chad:For the past month and a half, Derek, Joe and I have been planning a surprise visit to see Grinds. Unfortunately, Joe couldn't make it due to twin boys, but he came with in spirit. The plan was risky, but I had the inside track since I'm part of his support line. We flew into Pittsburgh on a Thurs. to pick up Kelly and then drove to W. Virginia. Timing was everything since I wasn't sure exactly where Grinds slept the night before. Leaving Pittsburgh at 4 a.m., we arrived at Key's Gap at 8:30 a.m. I'd been scoping Key's Gap for a month and couldn't believe that this might work exactly as planned. I was a little nervous because sometimes Grinds likes to get an early start. Our success of confirmed when Andy Dufrane was the first hiker to our Trail Magic. Grinds was about 45 mins. behind him. Perfect timing. We fired the grill up so that it was perpared for Grinds. Grinds's face was priceless. Why would Chad, Derek & Kelly be in W. Virginia? Stunned, shocked and happy to see us. More hikers (Brave Friend, Scoot, Nifty, Compost) showed up and we had our own little party from about 9-1. It was a great time. We only went thru about half of the food, but we left liquids stayed in a cooler for the rest of the hikers that we missed. No one could believe that we pulled a surprise visit. It was great. We ditched the car at Key's Gap and hiked 6 miles into Harper's Ferry with everyone. We were told that we didn't do to bad for rookies, but the question was how were we going to feel the next day. It was a great trip and I'm glad that I could do little part with him. Maybe I'll meet him on top of Mt. Katahdin?????Kelly:It is 8:30 on Friday morning and I am standing in the middle of three states waiting to see if a hiker might pass by. Wait, I hear one walking through the woods. He stops, looks at a little sign on a tree and walks over for a cold beer. He knows Grinds and says he isn't far behind. It is all falling into place! Before I know it, a bearded man in a neon yellow shirt is being video taped with an _expression that will forever be remembered. I have to give the Grinds brothers credit for a well planned intrusion. We spent the day (and the rest of the weekend) hanging out with some great people, drinking, eating, hiking (we did a small piece of the trail with the through hikers which was very cool) and just having a great time. I had a blast on the outskirts of the AT and am grateful that I was able to be a part of it!