morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a hell of a hike. We did a 2400 foot climb right at the end of the day. We did 12. something miles today. The last 10 miles were all uphill. We did make a stop at Bryant Ridge shelter for lunch. It was a blissful shelter. Big open timbers, a second floor with a loft. We saw Jennings Creek with lovely waterfalls - like at Tagnamenon Falls Upper Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In fact the first 7 miles of the hike seemed like an old forest from Michigan.Mother and I are now sitting at Cornelius Creek Shelter talking with a Vermont high school teacher - with a very German accent. He is older and very charismatic. Originally from Germany. I love the many different characters that I meet along this trail.On the downside, I was absolutely miserable all morning. Thoughts of life at home, tough climbs, and stupid songs on the MP3 all made the morning very difficult. My poor mother had to just ignore me most of the a.m. I held it together & finished strong in the afternoon. Bob Marley¢s ¢Everything¢s Gonna Be Alright¢ was my saving grace today!
Date: 2004-04-23
From: Cornelius Creek

To: Sulfur Springs
Miles today: 14.1

Another day with bigger climbs & bigger mileage. Climbed quickly to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain. It has lovely views 360 degrees, and a big golf ball thing. It reminded me of Mount Baldy in Saugatuck, Michigan. We took short breaks today, because we were going to try and push to 20 miles for Glasgow.Well - 2 big climbs & 2 big downpours later, here mother and I sit in my tent. Pretty much everything soaked. As soon as we got our tents up in the driving rain, the sun came out. Wow! The sky is blue and beautiful. Typical! If anyone had seen us trying to do this, I am sure there would have been a great laugh at our expense.After pushing the miles, my feet don¢t look the greatest. Four new blisters sprouted today. The oddest part is that only two of the six gruesome blisters hurt.The mosquitos are now out with a vengeance and that is the reason we are in out tent. I am loving the trail! My thoughts wander throughout the day, but mainly I think about what I¢ll make of my life after the trail. A brewery? More real estate? Some sort of sales position or what else? No real answers come to mind, but it passes the day. I am proud to live my life with goals . . . attaining them and then setting new ones for the future. It seems like a lot of people my age (25) really don¢t seem to have great passions in their lives. This has always amazed me. I live to attain my goals. Without them, what would be important? I don¢t think I¢ll ever be able to just sit still. Always something new and different - well, at least I hope.The quotable quotes that I brought with me are great. The two that really hit home for me today are:¢When it is time to die, let us not discover that we never lived.¢--Henry David Thoreau¢If one advances confidently in the direction of their dreams, and endeavors to lead a life which they have imagined, they will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.¢--Henry David ThoreauMy fear is definitely discovering at some point down the road in my life that I spent years wasted on a routine that didn¢t involve new passions or new endeavors. Well, sorry for babbling on tonight. I was feeling chatty! Love to all who read these entries.P.S. Starting to miss my friends a bit. Hope that doesn¢t become an issue out here as time progresses.
Date: 2004-04-26
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Today was a tough day. Climbed out of Glasgow for most of the day. The wind was cold, the rain was never ending and my tendonitis aching. So . . a great day on the trail.We pushed all 11 miles with barely any stops. We hiked down to the shelter only to find five section (Weekenders really) hikers overtaking the shelter. It has been amusing to see those four men try to dig out their gear on a clothes line while it is still raining. They built a big smoking fire and are now trying to dry their soaked apparel and sleeping bag by swinging the stuff back and forth over the fire. Gotta love novice backpackers. No rain gear, and totally hogging the entire shelter! Friendly enough though.Only a few more days until we get to Waynesboro. I am so excited to hike in Shenandoah National Park. So I was hiking today and thinking about the different comforts of being in the ¢real world.¢ I set an entire scene in my head: A friend and I walk into the Olive Garden. We each order a glass of Pinot Noir. The waitress brings us the bread and dipping sauce (oil) that is divine at Olive Garden. Each of us orders a Caesar salad and seafood Portofino. Engaging in the usual conversation and laughter. Soon the salad is brought out with extra lemons on the side. We order another glass of wine as well. Maybe a Shiraz. Then shortly thereafter the Portofino is served. A lovely pasta dish with crabs, mussels, and shrimp with a white wine sauce on fettuccini. Scrumptious.By the end of this delightful thought of home, I was almost to the top of the big climb today. So what did I do? Made matters worse . . . After dinner I returned to my house with a rented video, probably some shallow chick flick. I slip in the DVD and jump into my king size bed. Lay right in the middle of it and cozy into the down comforter that is, oh, so warm and cozy.Okay . . . so rental bliss is almost as good as being chilled to the bone with rain pouring down. Not quite. But it is in the challenge! Oh yeah!Side note: There is some wise ass at the shelter that seems to know everything about anything. You gotta love people who don¢t know when to shut up.So, I probably should write some letters now. Love to all back home.Katie Lou X O X O
Date: 2004-04-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The sun finally came out at like 7 a.m. today. I had been awake almost the entire night. So pretty much threw everything into our bags and started hiking, because we were so cold our feet felt like big blocks of ice. We stopped after a mile or so for some food.Then --Cold Mountain -- breathtaking views. A meadow over rolling hills. The morning frost and night¢s chills now forgotten. Thoreau and Frost would have had poems racing with this sight. Gorgeous. There are points on this trail that make the challenges and hardships fall by the wayside. I snapped a panoramic, and will definitely enlarge, frame, and mat this view!Plus an interesting matter to address: There was a large part of this view that was a grassy bald area. And it was MOWED! MOWED!? I laughed -- I could almost see my friend, Chad, from back home plowing/moving this mountainside with a six pack in hand like he does at home.We continued our lovely hike onto another grassy bald mountainside and to the lift? A tree with a swing near a fire pit. I could have run and sat on that swing for the rest of my days. The view was sublime, the sun shining with a breeze, swinging back and forth under a big tree on a mountainside. The rest of today was nice. Mother and I both very tired -- so the bickering was a little annoying, but as usual we just move on. We had to hike into Montebello to get some food today. Little did we know the 1.6 to the main road is private and straight downhill. It was grueling at the end of the day, so we decided to stay at a campground here in town. Well -- if you can call it that. All there is is the Montebello Country Stove and the Campground, which is owned by the store. Not exactly a thriving metropolis.I am very sunburned and tired and I must sleep. Love to all, and definitely good night.One last thing. Mother is going to start staying in her tent again, so I can sleep again! Yahoo! She snores.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Doyle Hotel

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well I haven¢t journaled in a couple of days. Mom and I have been putting in big miles and have been trying to get in letters to friends at night before we fall asleep. We stayed at Maupin Field Shelter last night. We hiked 16.1 miles to the Paul C. Wolfe Shelter just outside Waynesboro. We were going to hike into town tonight, but decided we¢d had enough hiking for the day and are staying here.It is a beautiful two story shelter. The privy even has a view of the stream. The stream is great! It cascades over big rocks and gives off a lovely sound. So sleeping should be wonderful.The hiking has been tough this week. Two to three thousand foot climbs with big descents. The views have been spectacular! The terrain today and yesterday was very rocky, ranging from boulders to smaller rocks that have assisted me twice (at least) to near falls and sprained ankles. Luckily, as usual, the views make up for the harder climbs.Yesterday we met a woman thru-hiker named ¢LuLu.¢ She was a Dutch woman from Birch Run, MI. She had a beautiful Dutch accent and two lovely long blonde braids that made her look very very Dutch. She mentioned that she had been to our hometown, Holland, MI, when she had first moved to Michigan. She took a tour through the DeZwain Windmill. She laughed because she was from the Netherlands, and it was the first windmill she¢d ever been in.Today I had many different thoughts about my life buzzing through my head. The miles seemed to go by quickly, because I was so engrossed in what I¢ll do with my life after the Trail. I could always continue my little career in the Real Estate Business, but I just don¢t feel it suits me. The biggest problem is that I don¢t know what suits me . . . I have many passions for sales or a career in some sort of restaurant industry . . . I love being with people. Working with them and making them happy -- i.e. putting a smile on people¢s faces. Something where I give back to the community or something. Who knows. More ¢Deep Thoughts with Jack Candy¢ (SNL sketch) later.I am anxious to get to Waynesboro, because my first mail drop from friends back home is hopefully waiting for me there. It¢s getting late and I want to make sure I get up early enough to hike five miles to town and get to the post office. So farewell.
Date: 2004-05-01
From: Paul F. Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro!
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Hey there to everyone. I made it to waynesboro! Yes i am quite excited and i only have one hour on this computer before i may not use it again until tomorrow, but unfortunately i think that i will be hiking into the woods again. soooo... this is it until the journal gets updated by my lovely transcriber Ann - who I thank very much for her assistance because i just mailed her a bunch of pages. i tend to get a bit wordy :-)Still having a great time, the views are awesome, the hiking is hard, the weather - ever changing and challenging, but i love every last minute of it. i am happier here and now than i have been in years... gotta go and email... love to all my friends that i miss soo much. Kate
Date: 2004-05-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well -- funny -- I think I start almost all of my letters and journal entries with ¢well.¢ Moving on -- mom and I are sitting here at the hotel. We hiked into town yesterday and are planning on hiking into the Shenandoahs today. Getting stuff in the mail yesterday was awesome. Dad and sister, Mandy, sent a few goodies and two letters. Well, we had a bit of a problem getting through the letters. First, mom started reading and then she started crying. So I took over and read a few lines and got choked up. This happened almost three or four times. Quite silly how hearing from family and friends back home can bring tears almost immediately. James stepped it up and wrote two letters. Yup -- I cried. Got some Advantage bars and was surprised not to receive some sort of protein powder. Ha-ha! Anyway, I¢m getting tired and must go to sleep.
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Black Rock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Hiked 20.0 miles today. Yahoo! We started hiking at Rockfish Gap at 8:30 and made it to Black Rock Hut at 7:00. Not too bad considering first day of the third week! Yahoo! I have 0 (zero) blisters right now. Mom and I were both admittedly beat when we got to the shelter. A very nice girl/woman (whatever) was at the shelter tonight. It was great. She was from Calgary, Canada and her name is ¢Tell It Like It Is.¢ Love the name. It was just the three of us here at the shelter tonight, so we had girl time. It was great. We gossiped about trail politics, different hostels, and maybe even about a couple odd thru-hikers we¢d met. Lots of laughs!Shortly after getting to the shelter, we saw two mice running around inside of the shelter. Oh no -- I shall not sleep in the shelter then. So I had to quick set up my tent before it got dark. I am not afraid of the mice -- really I¢m not. It¢s just disgusting to think of them running all over and around me while I am trying to sleep. So to sound like a total girl -- it¢s icky! So now here I lie in my tent.Last week mom and I had some white cheddar popcorn in my tent. The bag has never been taken out and my tent now smells like a giant bag of popcorn. Not such a big deal usually, but now in the Shenandoahs where bears are a very common thing, I am a little nervous about offering myself up to a bear as a big tent full of yummy white cheddar popcorn. Yeah -- I¢m sure I¢ll sleep just great tonight.The Shenandoahs are great hiking. Moderate to simple terrain. It¢s nice not to have to do giant climbs like we did for the past week. The weather was cooler today -- I could just see my breath. It seemed to be lower 40s with patches of sun and a few drops of rain. It was perfect. Seemed a lot like Michigan weather. It is windy and cold now, though. Glad to still have the winter sleeping bag, but can¢t wait to send it home and replace it with my one-pound Marmot 55 degree summer bag ( ? ) heaven.It is now 10:00 p.m. I hiked 20 miles today and I definitely need my beauty sleep. So I am signing out. Good night.
Date: 2004-05-05
To: Lewis Mtn. Campgroud
Miles today: 20.0

Well sorry folks -- I am sitting in a lovely cabin at Lewis Mtn. Campground. Mom (now Little Debbie) & I (now Semi-Joy) hiked 20 miles today -- again like troopers, but we are beat. The scariest thing is that my mom¢s knee is hurting. She¢d previously had surgery after a skiing accident, but that¢s not important now. Anyway, it isn¢t good. I feel semi-guilty because I pushed for longer miles. So I gave her a mother¢s day present and paid for the night at this cabin. I already took a beautiful 3-hour nap, and am still tired. Mom is just now gearing up for her nightly snoring session, so it¢s off to sleep for me.Love to all back home!!
Date: 2004-05-05
From: Lewis Mtn. Campgroud

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

So -- Today was FABULOUS! ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS! We started out of the cabin at 10:10 a.m. and hiked to the top of Hazeltop. A nice little climb at the beginning of the day then -- Ahhh! like out of nowhere -- FLAT GROUND! Not just a mile, but three! Then BIG MEADOWS! Another bacon cheeseburger, a yummy blackberry shake and French fries for lunch. Then next -- A visitors Center -- I love visitor centers . . . the history . . . the stones . . . the pictures and the forest rangers were great fun to quiz about the forest. The forest here is not what I remember. There are a lot of burned trees, dead trees, trees with strange growths and fallen trees. Come to find out the forest in the Shenandoah has suffered through a lot in the past fifty years. There has been a disease that has killed many of the Chestnut trees, two fires that burned a lot of the bases, and a hurricane. I guess these are good enough reasons why the forest looks a little rough . . . moving on from my interests in history and tree-hugging.So here we sit now at Rock Spring Hut. It is a lovely log cabin shelter. Better yet -- a real historical log cabin is here --Unfortunately --well kind of -- the National Park Service is restoring it, so I can¢t totally check it out, but it is so sweet. The front porch overlooks the Shenandoah Valley (similar to the sunset picture from this same day -- see photos). It has a front porch with a fireplace and a small inside. I hope that the park does a good job at restoring it. I should return and check it out. I have a great love of log cabins -- some of my favorite memories of my childhood are from my parent¢s house (giant log home) and horse farmI must retire. I am sleepy.Love and hugs,
Date: 2004-05-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The sleep arrangement last night was mildly horrific. Mom and I slept in my tent. We are in Shenandoah and there are deer everywhere one looks. They are not shy and would probably eat out of my hand if I tried at all. So there we lay in the tent and we start hearing noises around the tent. Then we next hear breathing right next to the tent. Then, over by my mom¢s side of the tent, and something else further away in the shrubs. We are totally paralyzed with fear. Next I hear a munching noise. Aah -- it¢s merely deer. They were right next to the tent. Only three feet away probably. It was difficult falling asleep, but we knew we were just being silly.So now today we are hiking to Skyland Lodge and Restaurant for breakfast. I am sure the eating will be intense. The sunrise this morning was nice to see. We will be hiking by 6:30. Very early. We¢ll see how it goes. More later -- maybe. 2nd entry:The Shenandoah National Park and I have a very love/hate relationship. We are staying at something Hut after Skyland. The hiking was too much after the huge breakfast we ate. It wasn¢t the distance or the climbs -- honestly -- I just felt like lying on the grass and being lazy, but had to hike. We hiked over Mary¢s Rock today. It was lovely. Mom¢s knee was hurting, so she didn¢t go to see the view, but it was spectacular. Tons of views all day today.We had to hurry to the shelter a bit, because we had heard there was a big storm coming. We made it just in time. The storm was big with lots of lightening and thunder for extra excitement.Luckily I sit here now with a great group of people to pass the time with. My mom, ¢Tell It Like It is,¢ an FBI agent (a weekender and novice), Tom Sawyer, and Huck Finn.Tom and Huck are heading south to find backwoods music. They are carrying a guitar and harmonica. Currently they are entertaining the group with a medley of bluegrass tunes. These kids are great! I can almost feel myself floating down the river on a raft -- just like in the Adventures of Tom and Huck. Thanks for the music boys. Almost three weeks and I MISS MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY ALREADY -- NOT GOOD AT ALL!I shall survive!Good night my friends. Later . . .
Date: 2004-05-08
To: Gravel Springs Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Today was the best hiking and weather that I have experienced since I got on the trail. Sun shining, brightly with a great breeze running across my face. I all but sprinted down the trail today. Tra La La La La . . . yeah . . . . happy days in the Shenandoah. ¢Tell It Like It Is,¢ mom and I have been having a great time together. Sad to see her go ahead of us on to Washington D.C. for seven days. But I am sure she¢ll catch back up to us.Today when we got to the shelter here at Gravel Springs Hut, there were 7 guys here from Delaware. As soon as we got there, they basically packed up and left. It was mainly due to the fact that they were weekenders and were all toting 12-packs of beer. We, I guess, didn¢t seem to be the partying type. Fine with us. Luckily a thru-hiker came into the shelter an hour later. He was a total jerk. He had hiked 28.3 miles and wanted us to tell him why it is so great that he was staying at this shelter with us? ¢Tell It Like It Is¢ took control of this very irritating situation by mocking his ¢great¢ high mileage with a barrage of put downs. He also snored loudly all night and then got up at 5 a.m., and packed up in the shelter for an hour and a half. We ladies all pretended to sleep until he left, then we cheered.
Date: 2004-05-09
To: Terrapin Hostel
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Today mom and I hoofed 10 miles (approximately) to Terrapin Shelter -- I mean Hostel. We got there at noon -- a complete success for us. Mike, the owner is a true ¢Hippy,¢ ¢Deadhead¢ or whatever annoying stereotype I can cast him as -- sorry Mike. Anyway it is a great hostel with a phone, satellite TV with a gazillion channels, shower, free laundry and SODA abounding. Also the normal bunks each are hard with a big air mattress. Ten to twelve people are staying here tonight and we are having a great time. I talked to Karla and James back home -- it was great. I bathed, which was almost as good as the phone calls home. I ate like 3 lbs. of salad from the salad bar at the grocery store. It was the first salad I¢ve eaten since I left Holland. Sooo good . . . Luckily I nicely washed that down with a big healthy Whopper from Burger King. The salad was way better. We just watched the season finale of Survivor. It was amusing to have a bunch of ¢thru-hikers¢ watch a show like this. Each day thru-hikers go through way more challenges than any reality TV show -- so we all gave at least our 2 cents worth. Lots of laughs with a bunch of people crowded around a TV. Gotta love the Trail. So much fun.I have now gotten my journal all caught up, I have written postcards and a letter. The hand is cramping. So I sign out. Later . . .
Date: 2004-05-10
From: Terrapin Hostel

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Wow -- What a beautiful day. Mom and I got a late start, but sweated a couple climbs and are now resting and eating at the Jim & Molly Denton Shelter for a couple hours before we push on to Manassas Gap Shelter. This is a great shelter with even a giant Adirondack chair and a shower. Mom is now lying on the picnic table napping as I write. I am feeling pretty good today with a brand new stock of Aleve. A slight new pain occurred this morning that is quite worrisome -- I have a sharp pain on the lower front part of my leg -- near or on the bone. It hurts with each step and it isn¢t a shin splint. I hope so much that it goes away. We are just coming up on being out here a month. I am loving each day. I am not tired of the food or the walking or anything. Even though I miss people back home a lot, I am still looking north with excitement. It feels great to be in the woods and I just hope that my body will continue to work along with my heart. Good-bye for now. Probably more later.Well -- ended up finding a (Mord?) mushroom this afternoon. What a find: it is drying out in my mom¢s pack. We got to the shelter at Manassas Gap. It is said to have two Copperheads that are residents of the shelter. So mom and I have decided to tent it. I am sleepy and will write later.