morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2014-05-20
To: Tye River Gap
Miles today: 15.5

We had a bit of a late start this morning. I was tired and got up around 7:00 and I woke Steven up around 7:40. Then we drove back to my car, switched some stuff and then drove to our next spot, Tye River Gap (maybe) on Rt. 56. We started hiking at 9:45 AM. Three Ridges Mountain basically did me in for the rest of the day. That was only 5 miles in, so we had another 10.5 to go after that. The hiking really wasn't bad, but I'm terribly out of shape. Alas. It was another beautiful day. Maybe a bit warmer than yesterday with a few more clouds. We saw lotz (what?) lots of azalea and some rhododendron in bloom. There was also a clump of six lady slippers all together! I took several pictures of that. We saw lots of millipedes and a couple of hawks. We saw the hawks when we were up on Three Ridges and Heavyweight said, "It is weird to look down and see hawks." I thought that was funny. Maybe I was just delirious from the climb. We also heard an owl when we were at Maupin Field shelter getting water. We drove into Waynesboro after our hike at about 7:10 pm. Dinner for me was a McDonalds double cheeseburger and small fries. Steven had 2 McDoubles and a McChicken. Then we went to WalMart to get a tarp and a few other things (including ice cream). We decided to stay at The Quality Inn. The front desk manager gave us a hard time with the hiker rate, but we got it. It still cost about $70.00. Better than setting up a tent in the dark.We're still not positive how far we are hiking tomorrow. The weather doesn't look too promising, especially for the afternoon. We'll be tenting by the Tye River suspension bridge.
Date: 2014-05-21
From: Tye River Gap

To: View Entry
Miles today: 9.1

We got another late start today. Heavyweight wanted to take advantage of the continental breakfast at the hotel. Why not? While I was putting some stuff in the car, a random guy was hitting on me saying something like I was "all that". When I saw him again, he asked if I was married. When I said "yes" he responded with, "That sucks!" No one does that in Northampton. The men are so scared to say anything nice to strange women because of all the feminists. Honestly, I felt pretty awesome after I was objectified and complimented. hahaha I guess I'm not a feminist.We got slightly lost looking for the trailhead. We parked the car at one place, but it didn't seem right, so then we drove on this gravel road, but soon in went next to someone's house and between the house and a barn. We figured that it was their private property. Whoops! We kept on going, though and eventually turned around. Luckily there was a guy at home doing something in a field across the street from his home. We told him we were looking for the trail, and he told us how to get there. We were really close, but not exactly right. He told us to drive down HIS driveway and where to go from there. He was very nice about it. Annoyingly, the trailhead was 1.1 miles away from the parking area... and we had to hike uphill the whole way. Ugh! I had to adjust my attitude by reminding myself that this is vacation and to enjoy it. The AT started also with an uphill. We got to Spy Rock and climbed on top of that to look around. It was a beautiful view.We had lunch at The Priest shelter where we met Valkyrie (a section hiker) and a guy from North Andover, MA who didn't have an accent. WTH? He told me his trail name, but I can't remember it. He had hiked up Three Ridges today as well as The Priest, or rather, he is hiking up Three Ridges right now. There is a 50% chance of thunderstorms, so I hope he is okay if there is one.It was a warm, beautiful day. I'm glad I wore my tank top and skort. I forgot to mention that we gave Journeyman a ride to the Crabtree Falls Campground before we set out this morning and after we descended the over 3,000 feet of The Priest I drove Valkyrie there as well. Our knees sure took a beating on that descent. Also two of my right toes and one of my left toes is blistered. Boo! Not terrible blisters, though.Since there was a chance of thunderstorms, we put a tarp over our tent. That took a ridiculously long time to do. Plus there is poison ivy all over the campsite and that made it difficult. I washed off in the river. I hope that is good enough!In the Spy Rock, well, at the top of it there was a very small pool filled with tadpoles! That was awesome! What was not awesome was waiting for 10+ minutes this morning on the Blue Ridge Parkway for construction. Crazy!I was kind of cranky after our hike and walking in poison ivy. Poor Heavyweight. I wonder what adventure tomorrow will bring.
Date: 2014-05-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.3

I did not sleep well at all last night. For some reason I was having half-sleep nightmares. Also, every time I was just asleep something woke me up. Other hikers, a dog, something falling on the tarp or the ground nearby, etc. I also left our dinner bowls and spoons out and I thought something might drag them away. I think the real issue was that the river was too loud and covered up sounds. Oh well.We got up and out fairly quickly and we began hiking by 8:40. Not too shabby. The uphill out of Buena Vista was tough. Luckily my right leg was not cramping anymore (it did the first few days). My back was sore when I woke up, though, and I could feel that aching a little. Then we got to Cold Mountain. It was SO BEAUTIFUL!! It was a bald mountain that someone mows. I broke out into The Sound of Music. Seriously. I simultaneously spun in place. Then we had lunch at a gorgeous field called Hog Camp Gap. There were several places to pitch a tent, and we decided that if we could figure out how to drive there, we'd camp.Then we realized something. The trees were offering no shade from the sun. After being up on the bald, we needed shade. No luck. We are both sunburned now on our arms and the backs of our necks and my shoulders. Doh! Despite the beating sun, there was a mercifully cool wind for most of the day. Another practically perfect day for hiking. It was pretty hot out and I didn't feel so great. [I'm not sure how that fits in with "perfect day for hiking", but that is what I wrote at the time] When we got to the Piney River I took off my shoes and went in and put cold water over my face and back of my neck. It was refreshing.We did figure out hot to get to Hog Camp Gap and that is where we are. We met a ginger man named Seabiscuit and had dinner with him. There was also a gorgeous orange sunset through the trees. The wind is still blowing, but we have the tent staked down.
Date: 2014-05-23
To: View Entry
Miles today: 21.8

Last night, again, was not the best sleeping night. Still, it was far better than the night before. The wind and my sunburnt shoulders kept me awake. After a while the wind died down and I slept much better.We got up early because we had a big day planned. We said goodbye to Seabiscuit who was packing up to leave. We left the tent pitched because we planned to camp a second night at Hog Camp Gap. I left this journal and my Kindle in the tent and I was a little nervous about that. I will save suspense and let you know, dear reader, that they were still there.We started hiking around 7:40. We had a lovely walk along the river with blooming rhododendron and mountain laurel. It was gorgeous! Heavyweight set off at a brisk pace and I struggled to keep up with him. I had to go to the bathroom, so we stopped at John's Hollow Shelter. We met Pack Rat who I took an immediate disliking to because he said that SOBO was the wrong way to hike the trail. I pointed out that the slogan is "Maine to Georgia" so, you tell me who is doing it wrong... He didn't say much after that. We also met Left Turn. She was very happy because she was slack packing. After our first big uphill I took her picture with her iPhone. We didn't see her after that. Oh well. I liked her.My sunburn was hurting quite a bit and my right hip felt like a nerve was pinching. It was not a good start to the day. We stopped for a snack at Big Rocky Row's viewpoint where we met two section hikers from South Carolina. One showed Steven an AT app called "gut" something. I can't remember, but Steven was impressed by it. On our way to Bluff Mountain, we saw a black rat snake. It had about 6 inches of its tail on the trail. Coming down Bluff, I saw a small green snake. There was a family walking by that is through hiking the trail. I can't remember the name, but it started with a K. Later in the day I saw an orange lizard of some sort! I think it was a skink.We ate at the Punchbowl Shelter - very buggy! Probably from the pond that was there. Heavyweight was going to use the privy, but I think he changed his mind when he saw (in the register) that someone saw a rattlesnake near it. He used the next one - 9.5 miles away!!! I couldn't have done that.Today taught me that no matter how much I want to be able to hike 20 miles on a regular basis, I can't. I can do 15. My feet are sore as well as my calves and butt. I drank almost 4 liters of water today. It was warm and I was sweating a lot.What I ate: banana, Pop Tart, peanut M&Ms, gummy Life Savers, cheese & sausage sandwich with mustard, snickers bar, granola bar. Dinner was 2.5 servings of Mountain House turkey tetrazini. Oh, I also had 2 mint Oreos. Hopefully I'll sleep better tonight. Heavyweight is already snoring. Goodnight!!*   *   *   *   *   *Around 2 AM a car drove by on the gravel road and woke me up. I was so glad because very nearby, a pack of coyotes was barking and then they started howling. It was AWESOME!! I woke up Steven so he could hear too. It was a cold night. I wore my hat!
Date: 2014-05-24
To: Thunder Ridge Overlook
Miles today: 13.2

This morning when we woke up, a beautiful dog wanted to play. I let her come inside the tent with me after the fly was off. I wasn¢t sure if her people made her sleep outside all night, but if they did, that was cruel. It was cold and she was very short haired. At one point, she saw other hikers walking by and she tried to exit the tent to say hello, but couldn¢t figure out that the screen wasn¢t a way to exit. Haha. I showed her the door and she bounded out, but soon came back to hang out with us. She played and stayed with us until we left.We started hiking at Thunder Ridge Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Very unfortunately, my left calf started feeling strained after about one mile! At mile 3, Steven offered to get the car and pick me up, but I refused. I wanted to hike on and not be a sissy. There was a lot of downhill which seemed to make my calf worse. Doh! I was so frustrated. I know I don¢t have a particularly athletic body, but I want to be able to hike. I decided that for the sake of saving myself from real injury that we would take a zero the next day.At lunch, we met another dog, Ollie. He was with a mother/daughter pair out for a day hike. I chatted with them for a while and made lunch while Steven got water. I accidentally dropped a piece of cheese, so I let the dog eat it (with permission).There was a beautiful section of trail that was pretty rocky and sunny. There we saw many lizards! There were also neat fir trees with round pine cones. I¢d never have thought that lizards and pine trees lived together. At least I¢m still learning new things in my advanced age of 36.We stopped at Matt¢s Creek Shelter so I could use the privy. There was a giant spider in there with me. GIANT! There was also an ant or termite colony on the ceiling. I was glad to get out of there. Steven took a dip in the creek and felt refreshed.The last bit of hiking for the day was along the James River. It was quiet. Then we crossed the longest foot traffic only bridge on the AT. By that point I was walking pretty slow and was quite uncomfortable. ?We drove back to Thunder Ridge Overlook to get Steven¢s car and to make a plan for the night. There, we met our 3rd dog of the day, Jackson. Oh, dogs. They make me happy.We ultimately decided to go to Roanoke to the Sleep Inn at Tanglewood. It was listed as a cheaper place with a AAA discount.On the way there, I called my mom and sister. It was nice to talk with them, though my sister was putting the kids to bed, so it was a bad time for her. We checked in and the front desk manager had trhu-hiked the AT before. He gave me a list of hikes we should do if we got a chance. He was nice.We had dinner at Burger in the Square. It was excellent. I had tried to change into a pair of pants I brought, but I could barely button them. WTH? I must be gaining muscle but not losing fat yet. Annoying! Working this hard and getting ¢fatter¢ doesn¢t seem fair ¢ even with all the bad food. Sigh. I¢ll get over it.Steven took a shower while I uploaded photos to facebook. Then I took a shower and am going to sleep.
Date: 2014-05-25
From: Thunder Ridge Overlook

To: North Creek Campground
Miles today: 0.0

I woke up at 6:18 because of the sun. I was tired because I went to bed after 10, but that is my fault. We had the continental breakfast, packed up our stuff and headed to downtown Roanoke by 9:30. Unfortunately NOTHING was open except for the welcome and information center. There we learned that nothing we wanted to see opened until 1 PM. We were a little bummed ¢ we don¢t have to think about things like having stores/museums closed on Sunday mornings in the northeast. We did see a cool exhibit about this industrial designer guy whose name we can¢t remember. He designed trains, cars, busses, and several logos Shell and Exxon. Raymond Lowey (I looked it up) We walked back to the car and saw that a candy store was open! We got pop rocks!! Steven had never had any before. I¢m saving him from a life not fully lived. He is now one step further to completeness. We used our movie tickets that Maili gave to us for our anniversary to see the new X-Men movie, Days of Future Past... or something like that. I was entertained. The move was set to start at noon, but they didn¢t start the previews until 12:10. The movie started at 12:30. By the end, I was very hungry for lunch. We ended up going to a Chinese restaurant. I was not impressed. Neither was my body. Ahem. We picked up a few things from the grocery store and headed out to our next campsite. It was going to be Middle Creek Campground, but we went to North Creek instead. It was cheaper. We set up the tent and waterproofed it (again). It has been about an hour and the fly still looks wet. That is bad because it is 8 pm. We hope it will be more dry by 9. There is very little breeze and we are right next to the creek, so I¢m sure the air is damp.We should think about supper, but I¢m just not hungry. I am a little worried. My right knee hurt me when I crouched down to set up the tent. I haven¢t told Steven. I don¢t think I will. I also have what I assume is a spider bite on the back of my calf. It looks ugly, but it doesn¢t hurt unless I put pressure on it. The middle is hard. Weird. We ended up removing the fly to hang in the night and used the tarp over the tent. It smelled bad and we didn¢t want to die from suffocation in the night.
Date: 2014-05-26
From: North Creek Campground

To: Jennings Creek 
Miles today: 15.4

Happy Memorial Day! In honor of memorial day, we decided to hike south (like we used to). It was a great decision because instead of walking uphill all day long, we walked downhill. My calf muscle is still feeling a little odd, but after consulting the internet we have determined that it is definitely a pulled muscle and not anything from the bug bite on my leg. I was fine until about the third mile in, and then it started hurting a bit more. We took a break, I took some vitamin I and we hiked on.We took several breaks today. Since we were hiking south, we saw many NOBOs. We talked to Snickers and True Story at lunch. Later we talked with two brothers from Minnesota. They are planning on finishing at Katahdin by August! If they keep up their current pace, they'll make it. It was a fabulous day weather wise. Keep it coming! The only issue with that is I was so sweaty that my sunburn became all bubbly on my arms. It was kind of gross, but interesting at the same time.We are camping with the Coyote Crew, a couple from Michigan. They said there was a baby rattlesnake right where they pitched their tent. Too bad we missed it. She showed us a picture. We went for a swim in the creek and it was awesome!
Date: 2014-05-27
From: Jennings Creek 

To: View Entry
Miles today: 13.9

Last night I had a nightmare about snakes. Then I had a dream that I married a high school friend, but my engagement ring was toy jewelry that was falling apart. He was concerned about one of my current friends and how she would judge our marriage. He had to use a cane to walk because he had a really bad limp. Weird.Today started off kinda cool, but it became very warm. I sweated so much today and the hiking wasn't all that difficult. I feel more and more like a wuss each day. My issue today is a blister on my left heel. I taped it before we left, but it still hurt. I thought I would use the technique that Guile from Brazil taught us two years ago - thread the blister so the liquid can come out through the thread, but the wound isn't open. Unfortunately, I think the thread was too old and falling apart and that made my blister so much worse, making it sting really bad. Every step I felt a burn, so I removed the string and re-taped it. The damage had already been done. For the rest of the day I walked with the twinge of pain every time my left foot touched down. It is so small a thing. I can't even imagine what Fancy's blisters felt like. She must be the queen of pain tolerance and I am the meekest mouse. My pulled calf muscle didn't start to bother me until mile 10, so I was happy about that. Towards the end of our hike, there was thunder in the distance. It came relatively close to us and we got a small amount of rain. It was cold! It was like tiny needles pricking my arms, but with the breeze it was so refreshing. My glasses fogged up a bit after that because it was so muggy. After we finished, we drove to the Peaks of Otter visitor center. I got a Blue Ridge Parkway postcard and a nature reference guide. It has animals and plants of the BRP listed, but not all of them. I was a little bummed that the skinks we have been seeing aren't in there with a photo, though they are mentioned. We also bought an atlas of Virginia that has back roads on it. I think that will be very helpful for finding parking places along the trail. We also went to the gift shop where I purchased two postcards - one for my work and the other for Heavyweight's. I can't find them now. Go me. We are spending our second night at Jennings Creek. We are in a different spot from last night that is farther from the road. There is no one else here with us. Last night there were at least five other hikers, so it is strange being alone. I've been hearing some animal that sounds like a soft whistle. I have no clue what it is. We saw our first deer on the trail today, right by Jennings Creek. I love hearing all of the birds. I wish I knew what they were... I know a bluejay call! haha
Date: 2014-05-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 14.3

This morning we crossed under I-81 and then through a field of cow pies, but no cows. We then had quite a climb, but it was nicely graded and I hiked most of the way up without having to stop. My black pen just ran out of ink! I've been using it since Katahdin.Anyway, we saw many NOBOs today and had lunch with Vagabond Jack. Today's hike wasn't hard, but it was really hot - in the high 80s. We are at the Troutville town park. It is free camping for AT hikers. There are four other people here - Simba, Stealth, Achilles and the woman from Florida who is so nice and I can't remember her name now. It might be Soleil, but I'm not positive. Thunderheads are on their way. Maybe that will cool things off. Steven wants to do a 20 tomorrow. Bring it!
Date: 2014-05-29
From: Troutville

To: View Entry
Miles today: 19.8

Well, sleeping in Troutville was a different experience than most of the other camping along the trail. The park flood lights stay on all night, so it wasn't very dark and three freight trains came through (11:20, 12:00, and 6:00) honking the entire way through Troutville. The tracks are right next to where we were allowed to sleep. It wasn't the best night of sleep I've ever had. Also, it might have rained on me OR I was sweating a lot. I woke up in the night and I was wet. If it rained, that was totally my fault for leaving the fly door open (to prevent condensation).We were hiking by 7:40 I think, and we began our ascent to McAfee Knob from Catawba. It was extremely humid and I sweat so much by the time we reached the knob that my shirt and pack were soaked. I also had to take off my glasses because they kept fogging up and I couldn't see through them. We met Mad Dog at the knob. I feel like we have met him before. He hiked from Georgia to Unionville, NY every year except not this year. I took his picture for him. The clouds were hanging low, obstructing any view. Bummer.We hiked on to Tinker Cliffs. We ate lunch there, but still no view. I had taken my glasses off and when I put them back on after eating, they were covered in water! The clouds must have done it.We hiked on and saw a deer at Lambert's Meadow Campsite. I didn't get a decent picture, though. After we had dropped elevation we did get some pretty views topped with clouds.After 19.8 miles, we made it to Daleville. We had planned to camp again at the Troutville park, but then it started to rain. It didn't let up so we drove one hiker back to his hotel and thought we might get a room ourselves. We went to Wendy's first to check the AT Guide and we each had a steakhouse jr. cheeseburger deluxe and small flurries... the "shakes" that are actually soft serve ice cream.We decided to spend the night at The Travel Inn. I'm glad, because it is 10:30 right now and I can hear the crazy Troutville train in the distance. I washed my underwear and shirt in the sink, took a shower, and watched Big Bang theory. Plus, we hiked almost 20 miles today. Life is good. Good night.
Date: 2014-05-30
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

This morning, Heavyweight had an engorged tick on his leg. I got out the tweezers and when I went to remove it, it exploded! Gross!! We started hiking around 10:40 and we started with about an hour of up. It was slow going for me and I felt quite tired. I decided that I had kicked my own ass from yesterday. HA!Our lunch was phenomenal. Avocado, cheddar cheese, lettuce, and mustard on oatmeal bread. I felt a little less draggy after that. While we ate, we saw a scarlet tanager. It was beautiful! We continued our hike up to Dragon's Tooth. There we met Rita and Bob from Massachusetts. We hiked with them for a while.The day was fairly humid again, but it seemed to burn off as the day went on. We did a 13.9, but it felt like more to my out-of-shape body. Tomorrow will be better.Things I've forgotten to write: The other day a squirrel jumped into a tree over me and it broke some small branches which landed on my head. Heavyweight and I laughed over what the scenario could have been had the squirrel fallen onto me. I'm sure we wouldn't be laughing if it had really happened, but it was funny to us anyway. Yesterday we scared some animal that we think may have been a deer. It went over a cliff of sorts, we think. I felt bad that we potentially scared a deer off a cliff.We have less than 700 miles left of the AT! We probably won't finish Virginia this trip, but we'll have made a huge dent. I am not dissatisfied. Another thing of note: some parts of the trail are so sandy it is like walking at the beach or near the ocean.