morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-16
From: Fish Hatchery Road

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: broken clouds

I slept in until 8 and I probably could have slept later but we were heading back to the trail around noon and I had a lot to do before then.We made a great breakfast...cheesy omelets with toast and cantelope. I haven't had eggs in ages (well, not since Pearisburg...the eggs at the HoJo in Daleville didn't really count) so I definitely got my egg fix this morning. I got all my stuff together and we left around noon just as planned. Originally, when Patty and I first made this plan, I was going to stay for a few nights and slackpack. But I am currently 3 days behind my original schedule and Patty leaves tomorrow for a hiking trip Spain, so we could only do one night. But I'm glad it worked out and I had amazing stay! Thank you, Patty!Patty dropped me off at Fish Hatchery Road and I walked the 1 mile up to the trailhead. There are tons of day hikers out today! I climbed up to Spy Rock (a seemingly popular destination for day hikers) and ran into Steam, The Darkness, and Old Spice. We were all headed to the same shelter tonight, about 12 miles north of Spy Rock.The first 5 miles of the day seemed to drag on and I was tempted to stay the night at the first shelter. I continued on though and the next 7 miles were much better (music helps!). I stopped for a late lunch (leftovers from last night's dinner...yum) around 5pm at a scenic overlook because I knew I wouldn't get into camp before 7pm.I got to the shelter right around 7 to find the shelter completely full of boy scouts. Steam and Old Spice found a couple decent tent spots but the only one I could find was on a serious decline. Oh well. I set up my tent and made dinner as thunder started to rumble in the distance. My dinner was deelish...vegetarian chili that I dehydrated at home (tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, corn, tvp) with added avocado, fresh scallions, and melted pepper jack. Just as I was about to eat it the rain started to fall...and it POURED! I grabbed everything and put it under my tent vestibule, then I enjoyed my dinner and desserts from inside my tent. It was exciting to eat dinner from my tent as the thunder roared directly above and lightening flashed every couple minutes.I threw a bear bag rope to hang my food tonight but it's still raining hard and doesn't seem to be letting up. I will probably just sleep with my food in my tent...hopefully the bears won't get me!OH and I was having the same splash issue with my tent as a couple nights ago. Everything in my tent was getting wet (and a little muddy) from the water hitting the ground and splashing the mesh. I thought the hubba was basically supposed to be bomb proof! Again, it's only an issue when it's pouring buckets, but there have been a lot of bad storms lately so it's been happening a lot. I'm going to call MSR from Waynesborough to see if they can help me figure out what the problem is.Sweet dreams!   Loon and Patty
Date: 2009-05-17
From: Harper's Creek Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: overcast clouds

The storms were pretty bad last night and the rain surprisingly didn't stop until 6 or 7am. The wind was whipping through the trees starting at about 4am and tree branches were breaking and falling not too far from my tent. I held my breath every time a gust of wind whipped through...it was pretty scary. Needless to say I didn't sleep too well. I woke up at 6:30 and ate some poptarts, a banana, and a brownie, then went back to sleep until 8:30. Since I didn't get into camp yesterday until 7pm, I decided to just lounge around in my tent for the morning...eating, reading, napping. I decided I'd only hike 6 miles to the next shelter so there was no real rush to head out.Old Spice and I finally left camp around 11...it must be a record for me! It was raining lightly off and on and it was probably 20 degrees cooler than yesterday. The 3 mile climb up to Three Ridges wasn't too bad and there were some scenic overlooks but the summit is wooded.I got to the shelter where I was stopping for the day around 2, and Old Spice decided to keep going to the next shelter. I made lunch, chatted with Lisa and Brian (who also continued on), and dried out my muddy tent. I've been hiking on and off for the past few days with 4 section hikers and they are all staying here tonight, as well as Dutch who I just met for the first time. Dutch and I had a great time reminiscing about Full House episodes and our favorite Nickelodeon sitcoms (Clarissa, Pete and Pete, Hey Dude, Salute Your Shorts, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, etc) and game shows (GUTS, Legnd of the Hidden Temple, Double Dare, etc) and trying to remember the theme songs to all of them. It was a riot!The section hikers started a great fire and we hung around it and told funny trail stories as we made dinner. I'm going to bed early tonight so I can start hiking by 7am tomorrow in order to hike 21 miles by 5pm, which is when I'm meeting Certain (GA to VA 07, VA to ME 08)! At least I think that is the plan - I haven't had cell service in a couple days!
Date: 2009-05-18
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: broken clouds

It got down into the 30s last night and was still chilly when I woke up at 6:15. It was hard to get out of my sleeping bag and packed up and I was wearing close to every layer in my pack. Just 2 days ago it was in the 90s!I made some breakfast and chatted with the section hikers (who were freezing!) before heading out around 7:15. The air was crisp and there wasn't a cloud in the sky...it felt like fall rather than mid-May. The terrain was mostly flat today so it was easy to just cruise down the trail. There were some nice overlooks along the way (and one of the Wintergreen ski area) where I had stopped for snacks and a late lunch. At one point in the day I went to wipe my nose on my purple bandana and it was GONE! Noooo! I backtracked a little bit and didn't see it so I moved along. It had fallen off my pack and it could be anywhere! I ended up getting to Paul C. Wolfe Shelter around 3 and leaving a note in the register about it, explaining that I was sad about the loss of purple bandana and in the off chance that someone had picked it up, to leave it at Rockfish Gap.I got to Rockfish Gap at 4:45 (earlier than I had expected because the terrain was so flat) and Certain wasn't coming until 5:30, so I just hung around, went to the visitor center (free donuts!), and made some phone calls. Crank hiked into the gap (who I hadn't met before) and he had picked up my bandana and saw my register entry. I was psyched to be reunited with purple bandana and was so glad he had picked it up off the trail. Certain pulled up to the gap and it was great to meet her! We went back to her place in Charlottesville where I got cleaned up and threw clothes in the laundry. She lives with Karen (another Karen - sweet!) and 4 cats in a cute house. I decided to take the day off tomorrow - Certain is going to let me take her car for the day (SO nice of her!) to go to the outfitter, resupply (at Whole Foods - yay!!), and run any other errands that I may need to do. They had a friend over for dinner an we had amazing taco salad (which I had 3 helpings of, haha) and just hung out until midnight. It was great! My achilles on my right foot was so tight tonight that I had to hobble around all evening. I hope that recovers overnight or tomorrow on my day off or it may take a year to hobble my way up to Maine!
Date: 2009-05-19
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I slept great last night! I tried to sleep in but for some reason I can't sleep past 7:30. Certain left for work and I made an amazing breakfast and then took her car (so generous!) out to run some errands. I picked up some fuel at the outfitter in Waynesboro and then made my way towards Whole Foods to resupply. However, I realized I hadn't yet figured out how much food I needed to buy, so I made an impulse decision to get a pedicure (ha!) while I figured out the food situation.It wasn't hard to find a nail salon...generally there is one in almost every shopping center. I pulled into the first shopping center I saw and of course there was a nail salon. It took me like 15 minutes to decide on a nail polish color which is funny because it doesn't really matter since my feet are covered 95% of the time! The woman doing my pedicure really scrubbed my feet clean and got all the dirt out from under my nails - my feet hadn't felt so clean in months! She really wanted to get rid of the callouses on my feet but I had given her strict instructions not to do that or my feet would blister all over again. It was a splurge but I felt great and my feet looked even better I figured out that I would need 6 days of food to get me from Rockfish Gap to the Front Royal Hostel (a total of about 100 miles) so I first headed to Whole Foods and then to Giant to get items that were too pricey or healthy looking to get at Whole Foods (like poptarts and tortillas). I did end up getting some great food and I'm really looking forward to my meals for the next 6 days (even though I'm going to be carrying 12 pounds of food!).Karen, Certain, and I went out for an amazing dinner at one of their favorite restaurants. I ordered the Veggie Tower which consisted of sliced breaded eggplant with ratatoullie (sp?) over smashed potatoes. It was so good that I really had to restrain myself from actually licking my plate clean. I topped the meal off with key lime pie which was incredible.I dealt with my food when we got home and Certain helped me make an alteration to my tent. I'm hoping this will help the splatter issue...a guy at the outfitter is pretty confident it will. I had a strange headache off and on all day today and advil didn't seem to do the trick. I really hope I'm not coming down with anything...I'm planning on hiking out of Rockfish Gap around 8am tomorrow but may need to change that plan if I feel awful in the morning.This day has been great - Certain and Karen know how to take care of hikers and have been extremely generous. It will be hard leaving tomorrow!      Loon and Certain (and Hank or Henry?)!
Date: 2009-05-20
From: Rockfish Gap

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

I awoke feeling much better than yesterday...although I would love to hang around another day, I need to get hiking since the weather is perfect and I feel healthy and rested.Certain made me a delicious breakfast while I packed up my stuff - scrambled eggs, soy crumbles, melted cheese, and tomatoes on a bagel. YUM - what a way to start the day! She even cut some fruit up for me and gave me a glass of EmergenC, it was so sweet.I finished packing, said goodbye to Karen, and Certain drove me to Rockfish Gap around 8:30. I'm so glad we were able to meet up - Certain and Karen were amazing hosts and I really hope they come to visit me in Maine so I can return the favor!Today was my first day in the Shenandoahs (people often refer to them as the "Shennies") and it was great. The weather was perfect...70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The terrain was enjoyable and I was able to do 20 miles in 9 hours which included lots of snack breaks. Yoni Bear (who I hadn't seen since last Thursday) caught up with me only a few miles into the day, so it was good to chat with him for a while. He slackpacked 55 miles in 24 hours on Sun/Mon and took a day off in Waynesboro yesterday...crazy! Ran into a bunch of section/overnight hikers today. I have a feeling this week (and especially this weekend) will be crazy with the upcoming holiday. I also saw a 10 foot long black snake ON the trail today! I had a slight heart attack when I saw it because I was so close to stepping on it and it was one of the longest snakes I've ever seen. I thought I'd have to walk off the trail to get around it but it eventually slithered enough off the trail to let me by. It vibrated (not rattled) it's tail at me as I walked by which was the first time I've ever seen that before. I was kind of on edge after that and thought every stick was a snake...I didn't realize I had such a snake phobia until today when I realized how awful it would be to get bit by a snake.I'm tented behind the shelter tonight in a nice cozy nook. The deer seem to like the area where I'm tenting and don't seem to be at all fazed that I'm here. Yoni Bear, Spitfire and No Toys, and John Nascar are here tonight as well as a few section hikers. I'm looking forward to a short-ish (13 miles) day tomorrow! Yoni Bear w/ Tractor Seats
Date: 2009-05-21
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Since I had only planned to hike 13 miles today, I took my time eating breakfast and packing up. Yoni Bear, Spitfire, No Toys, and John Nascar had planned on hiking a little bit farther today so they left before me. I am planning on a longer day tomorrow so I'll probably see them all again tomorrow night.The day started off with a climb up Blackrock which was very gradual and offered some nice views from the rocky summit. I wonder if Blackrock was a sneakpeak of what we'll be encountering in Pennsylvania...lots and lots of rocks. I made it to the Loft Mountain Campground store (after a little bit of confusion about directions) around lunchtime. Two of the section hikers from last night (Pole Cat and Just Tim) also got there around the same time as me. I was hoping to buy an ice cream but ironically the freezers were completely empty! The guy working there said the delivery truck was arriving soon so I decided to wait around a bit. I made lunch, wrote some postcards, talked with the section hikers, and just enjoyed the nice weather, and finally the truck delivering the ice cream showed up around 2pm. I ate my ice cream and got back on the trail around 2:30.The trail crossed Skyline Drive 4 times today and 5 times yesterday, and when the trail doesn't actually cross the road, it parallels it. The shelter last night was about 0.6-mile from Skyline Drive and tonight we are probably less than 0.25-mile from it. I guess I should get used to being so close to the road all the time because apparently the AT crosses Skyline Drive at least 20 times. I think it is common for hikers to actually walk along the nice, flat road instead of the trail. It is still a bit early, but so far I'm the only thru-hiker here tonight and there are 6 section hikers. I have a feeling more folks will show up a little later. I am tented uphill from the shelter and am calling it an early night since I'm waking up early to begin a big mileage day.Creepin' in on the 900 mile mark...sweet dreams!Blackrock Mountain Skyline Drive
Date: 2009-05-22
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

I slept great last night and had a really hard time waking up this morning even though I got close to 9 hours of sleep! I kept resetting my alarm for 15 minutes later, and I finally started packing up around 6:45. I made breakfast and hit the trail just after 8. I must have been surrounded by early risers or fast packers because everyone else left the shelter before 8.I ran into a trail maintainer that is getting the trails ready for Memorial Day weekend. The maintainers have been out in full force mowing, clearing, and painting blazes on the trees (and in some cases, covering up the blazes, which I don't really understand). I was on a section of trail yesterday where some of the blazes had been covered up in brown paint and I totally thought I was on the wrong trail until finally I saw a white one. To me, the more blazes the better!      Day 3 in the Shennies has been the hardest so far...lots of ups and downs which didn't seem to bother me at first but became more and more tiresome by the end of the day. For some reason my body wasn't holding up well today which made for a long, hard day that seemed like it would never end. My feet were hurting (what else is new?!) but I started feeling a pain in my back towards the end of the day which is new, and I was also noticing some pain in my lower shin on my left leg. Hopefully those pains are just temporary and are just the result of a long day.I crossed the 900 mile mark today, wooohoooo! Just another 100 miles and I'll be in Harpers Ferry...I can't believe it! I decided to take a couple days off once I get to Harpers Ferry and take a side trip into D.C. to visit some friends. I'm looking forward to that!About half a mile south of the shelter I had my 2nd bear sighting! It ran across the trail in front of me and started eating some leaves off a tree no more than 15 feet away from me. Pole Cat came up behind me and we watched the bear for a few minutes before slowly making our way past it. As we got within a few feet of the bear, it took off into the woods. How cool!Yoni Bear, Yetta, Pole Cat, and 3 section hikers are here at the shelter tonight. Similar to the past couple nights, the deer are pretty much circling my tent...it's crazy how close they get. Since I'm only hiking 11.5 miles tomorrow (as are Yetta, Yoni Bear, and Pole Cat), I'm going to sleep in and take my time hiking to give my feet a rest after today. I have no idea why today kicked my butt so badly, but for now I'll just blame it on the fact that I may be battling the onset of a little cold. Yay to 900 miles!
Date: 2009-05-23
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: scattered clouds

I still find it amazing how quickly my body can recover after a good night of sleep. I woke up well rested and all my aches and pains were gone. I had a short day planned so I took my time heading out. My big goal for the day was to get some french fries and ice cream at the Big Meadows Wayside just 0.3-mile off the trail. The wayside was only 7 miles away which would put me there right around lunchtime...perfect. I left the shelter before Yoni Bear, who was eating buttery pancakes that I was basically drooling over. Yetta and Pole Cat had left before I even woke up!About 6 miles into the day I saw a bear family - a mama and two juveniles - no more than 20 feet off the trail. The juveniles were busy munching on leaves but the mama had a good eye on me. I watched them for a few minutes, unsure if I should try to move ahead or wait until they decided to move along. French fries were calling my name, so I eventually clanged my poles together once which made one cub hightail it further into the woods and the other cub scurry up a tree, and of course the mama didn't take her eye off me. I moved along the trail slowly until they were all out of sight. It was pretty neat (and I guess rare for AT hikers to see so many bears at once)!I got to the wayside (which is on Skyline Drive) around noon to find hundreds of tourists having lunch. I threw my pack down outside and made my way inside to order fries. I didn't realize just how bad I smelled until I was surrounded by clean, freshly showered people within a confined space. Ugh, I reeked!! I placed my order and stood in the little food pickup area amongst everyone else. My shirt was drenched from walking 7 miles in 80 degree heat and people were brushing up against me because it was so crowded and some even had to reach around me to grab napkins from the dispenser I was standing in front of, and I was sure they all got a good whiff of me. I was so embarassed! I knew Yoni wasn't too far behind me and I was hoping he'd walk in any second so I wouldn't be the only awful smelling person in there. No such luck. Anways, my order was ready and I bolted outside where I ate at a shaded picnic table. Yoni eventually showed up and we spent 3 whole hours at the wayside, going in and out for more food and people watching. It was hard to leave, but I eventually got back on the trail around 3 and got to the shelter before 5. 11.5 miles was the perfect mileage for today...my feet are definitely thanking me for that!The trail was hoppin with day and overnight hikers. I probably saw at least 30 day hikers today! Yetta, Yoni, and Cy are here tonight, as well as 6 weekenders and a ridgerunner. There is a cabin just below the shelter that the PATC rents out, and some great folks have rented it out for the long weekend. I walked down to the cabin to watch the sunset and ended up hanging out with them for close to an hour. A gorgeous sunset, glass of wine, and nice company - the perfect way to end the day!      My campsite at Bearfence HutTypical trail through the Shennies
Date: 2009-05-24
From: Rock Spring Hut

To: Byrds Nest #3 Shelter
Miles today: 10.9

I felt violated in my tent last night! I consider my tent to be a safe haven free of creepy crawlies. I was starting to doze off and realized I forgot to check something in my book. I turned on my headlamp really quick and saw a big, brown spider crawling around on the INSIDE of my tent!! I couldn't believe it! I guess it could have been on my backpack when I brought it into my tent and I eventually got it outside, but I kept thinking there were more spiders crawling around me all night.However, I slept great and was out of camp around 8:30am. The hiking was graded nicely and the weather was perfect, and before I knew it I was already at Little Stony Man Cliffs, an amazing rocky overlook which is a popular day hike destination. I spent over an hour on the cliffs just snacking and chatting with all the day hikers. Some of them were complaining about the mile-long walk from the parking lot to the cliffs and were relieved to find that the views were "worth the long walk".I moved along and came to the Pinnacles Picnic Area around 1pm which was hoppin' with people. Picnic areas are great because there are usually bathrooms, water fountains, and trash cans, and this place had all of the above. I made lunch and about half an hour later Hot Sauce showed up! I knew she was less than a day behind and was hoping she'd catch up to me sooner or later. I hadn't seen her since before Trail Days so we had a lot of catching up to do! We ended up staying at the picnic area for a couple more hours and finally walked the 2 miles to the shelter around 4pm. I was originally planning on going to the shelter after this one, but we decided to stay here and catch the sunrise on Marys Rock tomorow morning, which is less than 1.5 miles away. Pole Cat and 2 weekenders are also here tonight. The 2 guys were cooking up trail pizza in the fireplace and kept offering it to us. It was awesome! Trying to make it an early night since Hot Sauce and I are waking up at 4:30am (!!) to see the sunrise.      Little Stony Man CliffsTrail pizza!