morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Campsite 1 mile south of Partnership Shelter

To: Campsite approx. 1 mile South of VA 615
Miles today: 10.3

Got down to Partnership Shelter and both had showers in their free shouer - Linc's was quite hot, mine (being second) was lukewarm, but it felt good to be clean (even if it was quite cold out). The day began cloudy and quite cool, but eventually cleared up to mostly sunny, but breezy. We got a ride into Marioun to the grocery store, did our shopping, and did our usualy pig out on mostly junk food (a 10 pack of fried chicken), and an apple and banana each. We had to walk about a mile back to near I-81, where we stopped to hitch, and got a ride within about five minutes back up to the trail by someone who turned around and came back and got us. At our resupply, we decided to skip our Bland resupply and instead carry eight days of food to get to Pearisburg, plus give us one rest day in between), so our packs were heavy out of Marion. We didn't have to cook a meal today, but once we got to camp, we baked our bread and hard boiled the dozen eggs we had bought. Now off to sleep.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Campsite approx. 1 mile South of VA 615

To: Campsite at Crawfish Valley (Bear Creek)
Miles today: 9.6

Boy were we slow today - but it's not our fault!!! It's the old, abandoned farm fields' faults - there are so many plants to stop and try to identify and see if they have edible qualities, and so many dandelions, cleavers and chickweed to pick to add to our dinner. New plants we identified were Dames Violet/Rocket, Yellow Hawkweed (Mouse Ears), and saw more blooming Rhododendron. We actually got to see a Scarlet Tanager with the binoculars while we were sitting having a snack on Gullion (Little Brushy) Mountain - he was beautiful, flying from branch to branch. About a 1/4 mile before the road crossing at Atkins, VA, there was a note for us (we missed it even though we were told there was a note for us there somewhere when we went through, and Linc had to go back for it when Jellybean told us whereabouts it was). It was from our friends that we met while volunteering in Bay St. Louis, MS (Brian and Loretta). It was great to hear from them, even though after getting the note Jeanne started craving a fresh fruit salad (the note explained that they carried on our tradition of fresh fruit salad for breakfast every morning for the volunteers). The weather today was mostly cloudy and cool, but no rain!!
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Campsite at Crawfish Valley (Bear Creek)

To: Campsite at Crawfish Valley (Bear Creek)
Miles today: 0.0

Another zero day -our fourth one since we started our northbound trek. It felt good to relax today and be lazy slugs. We ate and ate - cooked oatmeal for breakfast, with nut mix, apple and honey. Then after we baked tomorrow's bread, we used the hot rock and twiggy fire to "toast" today's bread, and put butter and honey on that (yum - melted butter on bread). Dinner was rice, with all the usual fixin's. Willow stopped by the cook up a hot lunch on her way through - we enjoyed chatting with her again, not having seen her since Damascus. The weather was a mix of sun and clouds, and a little rain later in the day. We also spent part of the day identifying trees with our new tree identifying book (using the leaves), and found Cherry Birch, a pear, pitch pine, and although we already knew so, a hemlock (just testing the new book). A nice rest day.
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Campsite at Crawfish Valley (Bear Creek)

To: Spring fed Pond on Chestnut Ridge
Miles today: 14.8

Awoke to that familiar pattering sound on the tent, and it's raining again now as we write in our journals at the end of the day. The weather during the day was breezy and quite warm, especially toward the end of the day. Just as we were getting to our chosen campsite, it turned very windy, the sky got very dark, and thunder rumbled, getting closer and closer. We managed to set up our tent, get the food hanging rope hung, inside of tent arranged, packs covered leaned against a tree, and dive into the tent, just as the skies opened up with hail and rain. We ended up eating our snack in the tent, feeding the sourdough, and getting ready to hang the bags. It stopped raining, and we were able to do our outdoor chores, before retiring for the night. Just before the storm started, bullfrogs were "singing" in the pond. We walked through several cowfiels today, some of which had very muddy trails that were quite slippery, causing us to slip and slide, and one of us (won't mention any names), took a tumble onto his back. We found wood nettle and cleavers to add to today's meal, and munched on chickweed as we hike along. It was interesting to see the different vegetation along the way today - some areas being quite lush and others almost barren looking.
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Spring fed Pond on Chestnut Ridge

To: Campsite at Laurel Creek on VA 615
Miles today: 16.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Awoke to very windy, cold temperatures today, and the familiar sound of raindrops pattering on the tent (this was actually from the rain laden leaves as it was no longer raining and was quite foggy. When the fog burned off, it was mostly sunny and warmer as we descended off the ridge. We packed as quickly as we could in our cold campsite, and ate a very small breakfast, so we could get moving and get warmed up. We ate more breakfast at the Chestnut Knob Shelter 2 miles away. We heard pileated woodpeckers, wood thrushes, Scarlet Tanagers, Phoebe, Rose Breasted Grosbeaks, to name just a few. Many of these birds are daily callers as we hike along. We again had wood nettled to add to our supper, which was pasta with all the fixings. We felt like we were hiking at a fairly good pace, but in fact, we were somewhat slow due to the rocky terrain. The ridge had a lot of bumps to it. Camping near us are the two Judy's from Maine, who are section hiking Virginia.
Date: 2006-05-20
From: Campsite at Laurel Creek on VA 615

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: broken clouds

Awoke again this morning to the all too familiar sound of raindrops on the tent. WE actually awoke to an alarm this morning, as we were hoping to get an early start to get in as many miles as we could. We are on the trail just before 8:00 a.m., and got to the shelter about 4:00 ish. Cooked a delicious supper of pasta again, and baked our bread. At the shelter are Blazer and Melatonin. Lots of ridge walking again today. We had difficult finding where the trail went when we got to Highway 52, as the blazing was non-existent for a good distance - the map helped out. The weather started out mostly cloudy, foggy, and turned mostly sunny and quite warm, with a nice cooling breeze - yay. It's still quite warm as we settle in for the night, which looks as though it will be a clear one. Saw Flaming Azaleas today, dandelions, buttercups and more. Hear Wood Thrushes, Eastern Wood Peewee, pileated woodpecker, scarlet tanager, and many more throughout the day. It is still so wonderful to listen to the birds greeting the morning, singing on and off throughout the day, and finishing off the day with a song or two. Jeanne saw a gray squirrel up on one of the ridges today, and Linc saw a snake on the same ridge.
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Campsite at USFS 103, Big Horse Gap
Miles today: 18.8

BEAUTIFUL DAY - lots of sunshine, warmth and cooking breezes. Every time I awoke during the night, I kept expecting to hear that familiar pattering sound on the tent, but it never happened - it stayed clear all night and all day, with a few clouds moving in later in the day. Saw Pink Flaming Azaleas today (instead of the familiar orange we've been seeing). Peewees, ovenbirds, jays, scarlet tanagers, red-eyed vireo today. The pond near Wapiti Shelter was beautiful today, and tempting to camp near, but we decided to push on after cooking our supper for lunch and baking our bread. We both felt good after refueling, and it was good to get the big climb done tonite, and will make tomorrow's hike into Pearisburg shorter and easier. We hiked along Dismal Creek for a good part of the day - and it was not at all Dismal - very nice hiking and pretty creek. We also crossed Kipperling Creek today, after walking along the trail which was ridden with poison ivy along its sides. We washed off in the creek, hoping to wash off any of the poison ivy oil that we got on our legs. Linc actually jumped in the creek, Jeanne was too wimpy. Had a great view from the ridge after Wapiti Shelter, worth the climb up.
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Campsite at USFS 103, Big Horse Gap

To: Holy Family Hostel, Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: broken clouds

Another BEAUTIFUL day - sunny, cool start, but warming up as the day progressed. Again, we had a few good views from the ridge above the valley and above Pearisburg. We were both quite hungry today, but were able to satisfy that hunger when we got to town. We started with a bag of tortilla chips (helped Linc's salt craving and Jeanne's hunger pangs) as we walked to the hostel (an additional 3 miles of walking to the 11.6 trail miles). After grocery shopping, we returned to the hostel and shared a banana. Then we chopped veggies, and cooked our favorite meal - roast veggies (winter squash, turnip, parsnips, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, garlic, onion), and baked catfish with butter, garlic, black pepper and paprika; we topped this off with the sharing of a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey ice cream. Ahhh, satisfaction!!!! We heard lots of birds singing throughout the day. A deer snorted at us throughout the night, and bounded off from near our tent when Jeanne got out of the tent in the middle of the night. Saw a couple of deer on the ridge, and heard lots of chipmunks. Looking forward to more good eating tomorrow - fruit salad, veggie omelots and leftover roast veggies for breakfast; veggie pita pockets for lunch; sourdough pancakes with fruit salad for supper!!!! Also looking forward to internetting, laundry, other errands, and resting. More in a couple of weeks when we hit Waynesboro, VA.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Holy Family Hostel, Pearisburg, VA

To: Holy Family Hostel, Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

The Holy Family Hostel in Pearisburg is a great place to spend a rest day. I (Linc) stayed here 20 years ago when I hiked the trail with two friends, and had good memories from being there. The hostel is built of rough lumber from a salvaged barn, has a great feel to it, and has a wonderful view to the north of the ridges we'll be walking soon. It's fully equipped with a kitchen, dining area, library with wood stove, main room, bathroom and shower room, a loft for sleeping, porch with picnic tables, and gazebo.As usual, we spent the day running about town a bit, buying more food, doing internet stuff, laundry, interspersed with lots of cooking and eating. We cooked up veggie-cheese omelets with reheated roasted veggies and fruit salad for breakfast, pita pockets stuffed with stir-fried veggies, cheese and wild greens for lunch, and whole wheat banana sourdough pancakes with real maple syrup for dinner. The hostel has a scale, and after every meal we would step on and discover we'd gained a couple more pounds. Food sure becomes a priority when you spend every day hiking.
Date: 2006-05-24
From: Holy Family Hostel, Pearisburg, VA

To: Syms Gap on Peters Mountain
Miles today: 12.0

A nice day with sunny weather, temps in the 70's. We started out with a huge breakfast of leftover town food, walked the 3.5 miles back to the trail, then climbed up and up onto Peter's Mountain, feeling every ounce of the weight we'd each gained (8 lbs for Jeanne, 10 lbs for me) from eating all that food, and our reloaded packs (50lbs for me, 43 lbs for Jeanne).We stopped to bake bread and dinner late in the day. I built a small twig fire, and found a nice, dry, flat rock to cook our sourdough bread on over the fire. But, the rock was made of shale, and guess what shale does when you heat it up? Boom! Rock exploded, bread went flying. Note to self, don't use shale for a bread stone from now on.Great views today from the ridge, looking north at farm valleys and other long, straight, Allegheny ridges.Lots of wonderful plants, trees and birds to see, smell and hear today. Black Cohosh, Mayapple, Sweet Cicely (tastes like licorice), Garlic Mustard (an invasive edible), Wild Geranium, Greenbriar, Witch Hazel, Striped Maple, hickories, Sugar Maples, white oaks, Pileated Woodpeckers calling and hammering on trees, towhees, Song Sparrows, Carolina Chickadees, soaring Turkey Buzzards, Field Sparrows, grosbeaks.We camped at a high point, in an old grown-up field, under the branches of two large oak trees, with a huge, open view to the west-northwest. With birds singing sweet songs and a setting sun, it felt very good to be on the trail again.
Date: 2006-05-25
From: Syms Gap on Peters Mountain

To: 3 miles past Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: overcast clouds

I'm running low on time here at the library, will try to condense my entries.High of 75, sunny, light wind, felt HOT today.Rocky walking, hard on the feet. These ridges are long and straight, but ROCKY, and the trail keeps dropping down off of one high ridge, through a low valley, then back up a few thousand feet onto another high ridge. My $24 Target sandals are disintegrating, but I found some shoe Goo in a shelter and am trying to make them last until Waynesboro, where I had new Chaco sandals mailed to.Lots of wild edibles today. We browsed as we walked, chewing on Greenbriar tips, Wintergreen leaves, Sassafras leaves, Sweet Cicely flowers, Chickweed leaves, and cooked up a big mess of Wood Nettles in our midday meal. New flowers today included Shooting Star and Wild Comfrey.
Date: 2006-05-26
From: 3 miles past Bailey Gap Shelter

To: 1 Mile South of VA-42
Miles today: 13.4

Still hot, but scattered thunderstorms early and late cooling things off a bit. We seem to have developed a knack for being in our tent or a shelter during each downpour, and hiking in between showers.More ridges and valleys today, the ridges with views and rocks, the valleys with lush cow pastures, streams to soak our overheated bodies in, and wild edibles to gather.Lots of flowers today! Purple violets, white Wood Anemone, yellow Winter Cress, pink Mountain Laurel, pink Azaleas, the Azaleas fragrant from a distance as you approach. Chipmunks and squirrels scatter in the leaves with a rustle and a Chip! as we approach, making us jump, nervous about snakes. Saw our first toad today. Seeing 2 to 4 deer a day now, and bear scat! All the trees are now leafed out, magnolias are losing their blossoms.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: campsite 1 mile south of Sinking Creek Valley

To: Campsite 1/2 mile South of Audie Murphy Monument
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

We managed to climb two ridges today on our continued roller coaster ridge walking here in Virginia. WE started the day with mostly cloudy skies, which turned to mostly sunny, and we had warm temperatures.Along the way, we identified the following new plants: Pink Corydalis, Fringe Tree (shrub), Lily of the Valley, Winter Cress, Beetleweed, Small Flouwered Phacelia. We also saw some previously identified plants, including but not limited to, dandelions, Fire Pink, Wild Geranium, and cleavers, which Linc picked some of to add to our dinner.Along the way, in the fields and during the woods walking, we heard many birds, some of which included Phoebe, chickadees, Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo, Tufted Titmous, Red Cardinal.We had a beautiful sunset up here tonite on this ridge which they call Brush Mountain. Had some rocky sections during our hiking today, but for the most part, it was good hiking today.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: 1 Mile South of VA-42

To: 1/2 mile past VA 624, near Cawtawba, VA
Miles today: 11.4

Slept off the trail up on a ridge (Brush Mtn) last night. Warm night, with insects everywhere. Our tentsite was on a steep slope, not good for sleeping. I tried sleeping with my head uphill, then downhill, then uphill again. Woke to find our sandals (outside tent) full of big red centipedes. They were also all over our packs, guess they like sweat?Nice, summer-feeling morning, with the smell of tree leaves (chlorophyll) strong in the air. It feels good to start out on a new day, expectant, not knowing what you'll see, smell, hear, experience throughout each day.Stopped to cool off in a valley creek, and two snakes dropped in from the other side of the pool and swam off downstream as we bathed.As I hiked along a hot, dry, rocky ridge leading to a rock formation called The Dragon's Tooth, I found myself scanning the trail nervously for poisonous snakes. I thought to myself, "The way life works, if I keep thinking about snakes, nature is going to send me one, whether I want it or not!" Ten steps later, I looked ahead and there was a 3 ft long Timber Rattler lying in the middle of the trail looking at me. We both got a good look at him, took a step forward to hear him rattle his tail, then stepped widely around him as he coiled defensively. We were glad to have seen him, and glad that I had seen him before I got too close.I had a mild case of heat stroke passing over the Dragon's Tooth, it was SO HOT today. But, better than when I passed over it 20 years ago in a cold downpour when my friend and I ended up mildly hypothermic.
Date: 2006-05-28
From: 1/2 mile past VA 624, near Cawtawba, VA

To: Curry Creek, after Daleville, VA
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: clear sky

HOT!!! It's like backpacking in a sauna! Not much water on the trail these days, it hasn't rained enough lately. Today we got our earliest start (around 6:50am) to try to beat some of the heat, but latest end (around sunset, 8:30pm or so).We hiked down off of the ridges into Daleville, where we entered "HIKER FANTASY LAND" (the local Kroger Supermarket). We drooled our way through the isles, trying to resupply without buying things that we would regret having to carry later. We also bought precooked roasted chicken, fruit and Ben and Jerry's ice cream to eat outside the store while we packed up. Delicious! Back out into the heat, stopping at every little stream to dip water in and pour over our heads. Then, up, up, up to Fullhardt Knob, but no water there, so we pushed on a few more miles down to Curry Creek to camp as the light faded. Other hikers had similar fates, and passed by in the dark, stopping to say hello before heading on to find a tentsite. Tomorrow, zero mile day.
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Campsite 1/2 mile north of VA 624

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: few clouds

We set our alarm last night, so we could get an early start, and get as much of our expected climb done before the weather got too hot, since the forecast was for high 80's or low 90's. WE were able to stay well hydrated so the heat didn't bother us to much.We had great views from McAfee Knob and from the Tinker Cliffs - it's great to get up to these views and be able to see where we've been, and guess which ridge we are going to climb next.AS I write this journal entry, there is a beautiful sounding wood thrush singing his last song of the day. We are getting to sleep early, and hope to get an early start in the morning to get in for our resupply, and back out to a campsite.We identified new plants of Wild Stonecrop and Bowman's Root. We saw and heard lots of squirrels and deer, and we saw a large (about 5" long) Black Snake along the trail - Linc actually walked right by it, and I was about to when I saw it and backed up quickly in case it was a rattler. It wasn't, and it eventially slithered across the trail and into the grasses on the other side. We wandered off, leaving him to his slithereing and sunning.
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Curry Creek

To: Curry Creek
Miles today: 0.0

Ah, a zero day, and, since it's out in the woods and not in town, a truly relaxing one. No errands to do!We lounged, sat in the creek to cool off, baked a couple loaves of bread on a stone over a twig fire, cooked and ate several meals, bathed by pouring water over eachother using our cook pot with water from the creek, wrote a couple of letters, and sat and listened to the creek gurgle. What a neat little mountain stream, full of minnows, crayfish, salamanders and frogs, with Cardinals, Wood Thrushes, Acadian Flycatchers, Ovenbirds, and Titmice singing, Pileated and Downy Woodpeckers calling and hammering, and sunlight dancing through murmuring tree leaves all day long. Today was the meaning of the word, "relax".
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Campsite at Curry Creek

To: Campsite at Jennings Creek
Miles today: 19.5

The weather continues hot and humid - we soaked ourselves in the creek before beginning the climb of the day, and at any water we saw along the way and this helps a lot. The leaves on the trees are also a big help, keeping us in the shade most of the time. The climbs seemed better graded, smoother terrain, and the bumps we went over were smaller.We found some new plants today - Venus' Looking Glass, Spiderwort, SMall Flowered Cranesbill. Other plants we already knew were Sarsaparilla starging to bud, a rose, and fire pink.Linc almost jumped out of his shorts at one point today when a Mama turkey flushed from the bushes about a foot away from him. He could hear the baby chicks moving in the opposite direction.We were fairly fast hiking this morning, but slowed some as the day went on, and we are both quite tired tonite, looking forward to a good night's rest.
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Curry Creek

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

5100 feet of elevationg gain today, our second biggest climbing day on the trail so far.Very humid today, with afternoon thunderstorms, highs in the 80's. My legs and feet are TIRED at the end of the day. Who said the AT in Virginia is flat? Not here it isn't! We took a couple of creek baths to stay cool today, they helped us up the climbs.Harvested Wood Nettle to add to our midday meal (lots of iron in nettle).We hear a lot of baby birds in nests and tree holes, chirping in squeaky voices, begging for more food from the harried parents.Yellow Poplar blossoms falling, and occasionally the trail is decorated with the brilliant purple blossoms of Rhododendrons.
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Campsite beside creek 1/2 mile north of US 501
Miles today: 15.2

We got an early start this morning, in foggy, cool weather, which eventually turned sunny and warm, but with a nice breeze. We saw four snakes along our hike today - one black snake, one garter snake, one unidentified one slithering off the trail, and one unidentified one in the water at a swimming hole at Matt's Creek (we took a quick dip in the hole anyway - it was a tiny snake and swam the other way and we didn't see any others in the hole).While Linc was hiking along ahead of me, a little fawn jumped up about a couple feet from him, bleated and ran up the hill. I was closed enough to see it running up the hill and to hear its funny sounding bleating.We got to US 501 at James Creek about 3:30, and once we figured out which town to go to for resupply, it took 45 minutes to gat a ride. We bought our food at a grocery store that had a very limited selection, requiring us to buy stuff like white flour and white pasta for the next section of hiking. We also called our moms and Charlie (a friend to arrange a visit), and headed back out to hitch back to the trail. This took about an hour and a half, getting a ride as Linc was up on the hillside above the road looking for a campsite for the nite. WE hiked a short distance to this campsite, and will begin our next climb again in the morning.We will not take a rest day on this section, as the food we have is not very good and we want to get to Waynesboro for better food.