morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2017-05-23
To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day Seventy Three (23 May)Today we zeroed in Pearisburg. We hung out with Grateful 2; Grateful 2he is waiting for his truck to be repaired, and has a rental car. He was nice enough to take us to Walmart last night. As you can see by the photo, Bushy has been out here too long! LolIn the morning we walked over to the Post Office and mailed some stuff to our son, about 5 lbs. worth. It was winter gear plus Bushy's mummy bag. We bought a micro fiber twin sheet set last night from Walmart, for only $5.00, and plan on using it for our sleep system now that it has gotten warmer. The fitted sheet wraps over our two thermarest pads perfectly, and then we can use the flat sheet for covering. I kept my mummy bag because the temperature has dipped back into the 60's; worst case, we can both use it for cover if necessary. Later, I will send my mummy bag to our son also. We plan on picking our winter gear back up from our son when we get up to NY. Bushy also ditched the brain from her backpack. We then walked over to the mini-outfitters they have here. We looked for Permethrin, which they didn't have in Walmart, but the outfitters didn't have it either. After that we all went to lunch. We got some Shoe Goo and I put it all around the soles of Bushy's trail runners; these New Balance Minimus trail runners are not holding up too well. :-(. Oh, and last night Bushy got a replacement watch band at Walmart, and the nice gentleman at the jewelry counter let me use his tools so I could tighten up Bushy's glasses! Tomorrow, rain or shine, we will get back on the trail!
Date: 2017-05-24
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Campsite at 649.2
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: light rain

Day Seventy Four (24 May)Today we got up early and headed back to the trail.  First, we had to hike up the road back to the trailhead (.7 miles), then we hiked from Pearisburg (634.3) to Campsite at 649.2 for a total of 14.9 miles.  It was a wet and misty day, but no rain, with gusting winds and about sixty degrees, the rain held off until right after we got our tent set up and inside it, whew!  :-). The trail started out pretty nice, packed dirt and in some parts the wonderful trail maintainers removed rocks; thank you! There was a section of road walking, with a protective barrier and you go down stairs to pass under the freeway. Then the trail became rocks, the kind that are embedded and make the feet twist and turn. Water was in several locations; some actually running down the trail, so we climbed large rocks to get around it.Luckily, Bushy suggested that we stop earlier at Rice Field Shelter for a hot Mountain House meal for lunch (usually we have the Mountain House for dinner), so we wouldn't have to cook when we got to the campsite; she is one smart cookie!!  Mmmmm, cookies!!!  Oh, back to the journal. Lol As you can see by the photo, the storm was looming. Now, we are tucked warmly in our tent. :-) The down side, the campsite had so many dead trees that we put up the tent where another person previously put one up; after we laid ours out and partially up did we notice the poison ivy....
Date: 2017-05-25
From: Campsite at 649.2

To: Stoney Creek Valley parking lot (655.0)
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Day Seventy Five (25 May)Today we got packed up before it started to rain. There was a good possibility that our tent was set up on top of some poison ivy or oak, so, after packing up the tent we both wiped our hands off with a wet wipe.  Again, it was wet and misty most of the way, with numerous PUDs (Pointless Ups & Downs), but this time with lots of rocks. We crossed paths with Grateful2 again and after we moved on, Bushy and I got to thinking more about the key swap idea that he had, and we called him to tell him that we were interested.  We need to start picking up some miles, and unless we do some slack packing, I don't think that I (Sparks) will make it to Katahdin. So, we only hiked from Campsite at 649.2 to Stoney Creek Valley parking lot off of VA 635 (655.0) for a total of 5.8 miles, because that would put us at the same as Grateful 2, so we can all proceed together from this point; the intent is to start doing twenty mile days. We also ran into Wanderer and she hiked with us down to the parking lot; very nice young lady.  She too was interested in the slack packing idea with Grateful 2.  As you can see in the photo, while walking with Wanderer, we came across a beautiful salamander! When we got to the parking lot we had no signals to our cell phone.  After a bit, Wanderer walked down the street a little ways and didn't find cell service, but did run into Michael Brown who offered to let all of us use his phone; what a fantastic guy, he even offered us sodas while we were there. Grateful 2 was going to come pick us up after he finished his hike, but that wouldn't be until 6:00 PM, so we called a shuttle to take us back to Pearisburg.  The Plaza Motel didn't have any vacancies, so we called the Holiday Motor Lodge; they had a room.  We showered and wash the clothes again, and are just chilling until we can meet up again with Grateful 2 to plan how we will proceed.
Date: 2017-05-26
To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day Seventy Six (26 May)Today we zeroed in Pearisburg so that we could work out the logistics of our new hiking strategy with Grateful 2; he showed me how to plug in the coordinates to each of the upcoming trailheads, into his truck's GPS.  We planned our hikes all the way to Daleville, VA (728.1), hiking between 17-21 miles per day, slack packing. :-) Then, he let me drive his truck to Walmart and back, to get used to it. Since we are going to be slack packing, we picked up a few extra food items to keep in the truck, including a couple of Monster Coffees! :-p. So, we are all ready to hit the trail bright and early tomorrow. The highlight of the day was to meet Trail Mom and Mr. Trail Mom!! (See photo). They were at the Plaza Motel giving out trail magic. They are truly special people!!
Date: 2017-05-27
From: Stoney Creek Valley Parking Lot VA 635

To: VA 630
Miles today: 21.5
Weather: clear sky

Day Seventy Seven (27 May)Today was our first slack packing day and our first 21 miler!! We hiked from Stoney Creek Valley parking lot off of VA 635 (655.0) to VA 630 (676.5) for a total of 21.5 miles. It was excruciating, two mountains and lots of rocks to walk across! Even young people were complaining about the rocks. It was a nice day otherwise. Bushy packed in our half of pizza that we had left from the night before, in the hotel. It made for a great lunch. :-p. It was nice and cool most the day, and cloudy, always threatening rain, but the rain never came, in fact the sun came out later while we were climbing the second mountain; ugh!! When we crossed VA 42, we ran into 10 and Goalie! They followed us to where Grateful 2 had the truck parked and we gave them a ride to the small grocery store up the road, then we picked them back up after we met up with Grateful 2. 10 was kind enough to buy us a ice cream bar! Yum!! 10 at the grocery storeShe also bought Grateful 2 a half gallon of mint ice cream! We looked like hiker trash, packing our packs with all the goodies. Afterwards, we drove back the the trailhead where we were going to start tomorrow and set up camp. Sleep was difficult because the locals kept driving back and forth on the road by where we were camped with ATVs. :-( When we got to the parking lot where the truck was parked we ran into the Konnarock trail crew, who were just wrapping up from doing some trail maintenance; great group of folks!!Konnarock Trail Crew
Date: 2017-05-28
From: VA 630 (676.5)

To: VA 620 Trout Creek 
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Day Seventy Eight (28 May)Today we got up as soon as the birds started chirping, 0530, and packed up our stuff. I used some of Grateful 2's milk and had two packets of Carnation Instant Breakfast. Then we hit the trail. This time we hiked from VA 630 (676.5) to VA 620 Trout Creek (694.5) for a total of 18 miles! Again, excruciating, because we had two mountains again with lots of rocks, and we even had to do some boulder walking. On the way out we got to see the Keffer Oak tree, the largest tree on the AT. Keffer OakWe stopped at Niday Shelter to eat lunch, and then got back on the trail. We crossed paths with Grateful 2 and he told us that if we got back in time maybe He, his wife Carol, his son A.J., and us could make it to the Homeplace Restaurant and have dinner, but the trail was too harsh for us to hike it fast enough.:-(. We did get to meet Grateful 2's family, and we came back to the trailhead, fixed dinner, and discussed tomorrow's plan...only 14 miles. Whew!! Carol and Grateful 2We hiked up to the Audie Murphy Monument, at the top of Brush Mountain. Audie Murphy was one of the greatest war heroes of all time, and my idol when I was a kid. Audie Murphy MonumentAudie Murphy Monument CloseupAlong the trail we came across this lizard ; I thought that I was back in Arizona. LolLizard
Date: 2017-05-29
From: VA 620 Trout Creek (694.5)

To: Scout Trail west of Dragons Tooth parking lot (720.0)
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day Seventy Nine (29 May)Today we got started early and figured that 14 miles would be easy; wrong! Hiking up to Dragons Tooth took 2-3 hours, because of the rocks. And then, coming down was about the same. The trail was slabs of rock with thin ledges we had to walk across and down, at one point it had rungs to climb down. Climbing downRungsBut, we got to Dragons Tooth, and the 700 mile mark!!Dragons Tooth700 Mile MarkWe hiked from VA 620 Trout Creek (694.5) to Scout Trail west of Dragons Tooth parking lot (702.0) for a total of 7.5 miles. Coming down, we met up with Grateful 2 and told him that we couldn't do this anymore, and asked him to drop us off at the closest hostel so we could rest and regroup. He said that Four Pines Hostel was full, so I called to confirm. The guy on the phone was rude, and I told him never mind. At this same time, Carol was hiking down with her two dogs and said that she had a place nearby where we could stay, with its own bathroom, for free! We thanked her profusely and said yes. She said there was room for Grateful 2 and his family too! She offered to take us there now, so we cut today's hike short and walked down to the parking lot with her. She pointed out a couple of upcoming trailheads and then took us to her home, where we met her husband Dean. She showed us the room and then we spent the rest of the day talking with her and Dean; what great people!Carol and her two dogsDaisy, Dean, Dolly, Carol, & BibaWe waited for Grateful 2, got our stuff out of his truck, and then we all drove to Golden Corral for dinner; it was fantastic!! Later, we all took showers and sat on Carol and Dean's front porch and talked some more; a very enjoyable evening!
Date: 2017-05-31
From: Scout Trail west of Dragons Tooth parking lot (702.0)

To: Lambert Meadows Campsite
Miles today: 17.0

Day Eighty One (31 May)Today, Carol was kind enough to get up at 6:00 AM to take us back to the trailhead; she even brought Biba (the mama dig) to walk us up to the AT trail! Thank you again Carol and Dean!! We hiked from Scout Trail west of Dragons Tooth parking lot (702.0) to Lamberts Meadow Camp Site (719) for a total of 17 miles; that included McAfee's Knob and Tinker Cliffs!We took a break at the VA 311 crossing and ate lunch; there was a gentleman there playing his guitar. It was a very enjoyable lunch! Then it was time to hike up to McAfee's Knob; what a long hike! We get up there to a ledge, and I thought that we were there! But Bushy realized that it didn't look right, so we asked a couple of passing hikers and they pointed a little further to the right. When we got to the right spot there were quite a few others there and people were kind enough to take our picture while out there on the Knob; so cool!!Us in our chairs on McAfee's KnobUs sitting on the edge of McAfee's KnobSo many nice people up there having lunch, offering to take photos of the new comers for them. Two Chinese men came up and we showed where they should sit, they went over and STOOD on that tiny ledge with no fear!!! Sparks took their pictures for them.When we planned the day our thought was to just hike to the nearest shelter but it was such a perfect temperature and just beautiful skies we hiked on to McAfee's Knob, then after a restful lunch in our chairs we hiked on to Tinker Cliffs. After so many steep ups and downs we thought we may have pushed too far. :-( Then, weather did a freakish turn and the leaves on the trees were blowing so their under sides were showing, we donned our rain gear, to have it just sprinkle and just as fast we were back to blue skies. Finally reaching Tinker Cliffs we enjoyed the views, only seeing three guys on one. One of them showed Sparks where McAfee's Knob was. McAfee's Knob from Tinker CliffsWe hiked down to the Lambert Meadows shelter but the weeds were waist high making it quite buggy, so after talking with Chip and Cruise, we moved on down to the campsite a little further down the trail. The campsite also has a bearbox due to previous bear activity and a small stream runs right next to it so it was a perfect place to camp. Other tents belonged to a small Boy Scout group run by Yule, a nice gentleman. Later, Blue Stem and Old White Beard (not the 80 year old) joined us. We also saw Lucky and Javier, they kept going on down the trail.After a nice dinner we did our evening chores and packed it in for the night. Had a great night's sleep listening to the rain tapping on the tent.
Date: 2017-06-02
To: Troutville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Day Eighty Three (2 Jun)Today we zeroed in Troutville. We got a shuttle to Walmart and back and this evening we are going to check out Trail Days here in Troutville.We did get some Permethrin at Walmart and treated our clothes in the back parking lot. :-)We caught the free shuttle to the Troutville Town Hall for the Troutville Trail Days kickoff dinner; it was delicious!! The folks hosting the dinner were so hospitable, warm and welcoming!! Troutville Trail Days Dinner 1Troutville Trail Days Dinner 2Troutville Trail Days Dinner Kitchen CrewTroutville Trail Days Dinner Ice Cream Crew
Date: 2017-06-03
From: US 220 (Troutville, VA)

To: Wilson Creek Shelter 
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: clear sky

Day Eighty Four (3 Jun)Today we hopped on the free shuttle (that runs folks back and forth to Trail Days here in Troutville), driven by Jerry (aka Hot & Juicy) and rode it to the trail head at US 220. We hiked from US 220 to Daleville, VA. (728.1) to Wilson Creek Shelter (739.3) for a total of 11.2 miles. We were hoping to go further but we got off to a late start; 08:30, and by the time we got to Wilson Creek Shelter it was almost 4:00 PM, so we opted to stop here and chill.  While hiking today we ran into Crudedog, Disciple, Hot Sauce, Ziplock, Black Bear and Shortcake. We all stopped at Curry Creek to get water and break for lunch. What great weather we had today with blue skies and beautiful sunshine! The trail was awesome with few small rocks but mostly a tiny gravel. We were amazed how quickly the miles sped by. There was water in a couple of locations but we didn't need to stop until noon at Curry Creek. It was a great day and we were hiking at a pretty good pace, even with PUDs (Pointless Ups & Downs).  Now we have our tent all set up and are getting ready to eat! Oh, and we had good signal here so we laid in our tent and watched the Season 2 finale of Sense8. :-)
Date: 2017-06-30
To: RVing
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Off the Trail & Working on New Adventure Hi everyone, as you know our last entry stated that we were off the trail and pursuing a new adventure. We have the house up for sale and are looking to purchase a Leisure Travel Van once the house is sold.  We have joined several RV and LTV groups on Facebook and are gathering information/learning about full time RVing, and plan on doing sections of the AT each year until we complete it.  :-).  Sparks received a Rand McNally Road Atlas for Father's Day and we are starting to plan where we want to travel to in our RV, and the route(s) we want to take.  Plus, we are going to purchase a US National Parks Senior Pass that will provide us lifetime entrance to our National Parks!  And we have downloaded a handful of apps for RVing, Campsite locations, Dump stations, and even Canada Parks! Sparks is still looking for a blog site, similar to Trailjournals, where we can continue to capture our adventures. :-); any suggestions for RV blog sites would be appreciated.
Date: 2017-07-05
To: RVing Blog
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Off the Trail & Working on New Adventure Hi everyone, as you know our last entry stated that we were off the trail and pursuing a new adventure. We have the house up for sale and are looking to purchase a Leisure Travel Van once the house is sold.  We have joined several RV and LTV groups on Facebook and are gathering information/learning about full time RVing, and plan on doing sections of the AT each year until we complete it.  :-).  Mike (Sparks) received a Rand McNally Road Atlas for Father's Day and we are starting to plan where we want to travel to in our RV, and the route(s) we want to take.  Plus, we are going to purchase a US National Parks Senior Pass that will provide us lifetime entrance to our National Parks!  And we have downloaded a handful of apps for RVing, Campsite locations, Dump stations, and even Canada Parks! After An endless search for an RVing blog site, similar to Trailjournals, we settled on this FB page.  Hopefully, this can be a good place where we can continue to capture our adventures, and our family and friends can follow along. https://www.facebook.com/MikeandBushy/
Date: 2017-01-09
To: Holy crap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light snow

I just gave (lots of) notice at my job and registered my start date with the ATC. It just got real.I'm at a bit of a crossroads and it's a good time to hike. I'm seven years older than I was at my last thru, and quite a bit more beat up. I'm not at all certain my bones are up to the task. But I have noticed that you can fail either by trying and failing, or by not trying at all. Not trying at all sounds boring.Plus, as I was thinking "I think I'm going to do this" a gorgeous pale hawk flew by. Hawks are my signs. It was just a little hawk, and it was flying pretty low. Kind of like me.
Date: 2017-01-09
To: About this time
Miles today: 0.0

I attempted a thruhike in 2010. I got waylaid by Lyme disease. It wasn't the first time, either. I can't take doxycycline and go out into the sunlight. I burst into flame. So I had to take a month off from my hike in 2010, and when I got back out there I still felt rough. I didn't get anywhere near finishing. I hiked about 1300 miles and then I had to go back to work. I've since hiked all but about 90 of the remaining miles. Except for trail relocations, this won't be new territory for me. But I think that makes it kind of nice. I have a certain comfort level now.   I know which towns I want to stop at, which shelters or campsites are amazing. This won't be a victory tour (it'll be really hard) but it kind of feels like it to me.I guess the parts I've already done 5+ times might not be that exciting, but all the parts over about 400 miles from home I've done at most twice so I don't know them that well. And no matter how you look at it, it's still 6+ months of living in a tent and eating beef jerky. It sounds so attractive when I put it like that, doesn't it?
Date: 2017-01-09
To: So you want to hike the Appalachian Trail
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm not the right person to tell you how to hike the Appalachian Trail. I'm a middle aged woman of no great athletic prowess. I insist on sleeping comfortably. I'm really slow. I don't smoke up. I have increasingly bizarre health problems. I just don't, generally, fit into categories well.The thing is: if you really want it, you will find a way to do it.
Date: 2017-01-12
To: Ultralight Angst
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

It is a sad prepper who can't find anything lighter than what she already has. The older I get, the worse my back gets, and the more I try to find gear that will lighten my load. I keep checking things and finding that nope, that's already as light as I can find on the market. Actually my back is technically a little better now than it was five years ago, but all my OTHER parts are doing worse. Same diff. I'm stuck home today while a handyman does stuff, so I'm doing some work but I'm also doing some packing. I tried my vacuum sealer last week and it was D E D dead. So I ordered a new one, and it requires a little finagling. I'm vacuum packing my supplements. Last time I made up something like 180 daily packets. I figure this time I'll just send a month's worth of each in a baggy, and 30 packets per month. It'll be my town chore.I need to find yard sale tags, or something, to label the gear I might want sent to me. Sometimes it's hard, over the phone or by email, to be clear about exactly what you want and where it is. Labels might help. You never know.
Date: 2017-01-14
To: What I'm taking, Part One
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm not leaving for over three months. I have way too much time to think about gear.I have options for nearly all categories. I can't carry everything, so I have to decide. Some things are better suited to different weather or terrain. Since my husband is a kind man, he will send me gear to swap out, so I can (for instance) use a sturdier tent in the cold, and a flimsier one in the warm. Or a freestanding tent for areas with tent platforms, and a lighter, not freestanding tent elsewhere.Starting with tents, here are my two most likely options: 1) Tarptent Rainbow. I thruhiked with this in 2010, and pretty much loved it. I didn't love that under seriously intense rain, there would be "misting" as small droplets forced themselves through the theoretically waterproof fabric. Henry Shires now sells a liner you can clip against the ceiling of the tent. It doesn't prevent misting, but it does prevent the misting from getting to the tent's inhabitant. I've been using the liner a couple of years. It works, but at 4 oz it's "heavy" (compared to some things.) It's a fairly huge space for one person, and it felt like home to me. Bonus: It can be set up freestanding by using your hiking poles across the ends.Specs: 40"x88" floor space. 43" height. 36 oz without modification. Plus 4 oz for the liner. Minus 2 oz, IIRC, if you get the carbon fiber arch pole rather than the aluminum one. So about 38 oz.2) Zpacks Altaplex. I purchased this recently. I've been using a Zpacks Hexamid Solo Plus since my thruhike, except in winter (mostly). It's a great tent, very weatherproof, but the Cuben fiber material is fairly see through. On a hike with my bestie, or solo, I don't care. On a multiple month hike where it's my home? I care very much. Sometimes I need privacy. Maybe I need to do something that will uncover a personal area. Maybe I need to not be seen by a creep. Maybe I just freaking want to be alone. So I bought the Altaplex, which is available in camouflage fabric that is definitely not see through. I like that it's tall enough for me to step inside without bending my knees. I like that it's light. I like less that the camouflage pattern means it's darker inside. And I miss the ability to set up freestanding. Also, it's *so* tall that I can't reach the peak inside while sitting. I need to attach some string to the loop at the top so it can be useful for hanging things inside the tent.Specs: 36"x90" floor space. 58" height. Weight ~18 oz. The listed weight does not include stakes , and I think the Tarptent does. But still, a 20 oz difference!? Oh, and I need a pole extender at a bit less than an ounce because I assure you that my poles do not extend to 58" long. So let's say 19 oz. For that I might be willing to fiddle with some tent platform setups.The weight difference is enough to let me carry a 20 oz soda out of town. It may not seem like much to you, but the impact of that soda on my day is huge to me.