morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-02
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: No Business Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: clear sky

Today was a nice change.... dry-ish trail and dry shoes! We had been planning on going farther last night to possibly have a hot dinner at the diner down the road but i'm glad we waited as the diner closed at 4:30 ( a time we would never have made it by) and the hot breakfast was even better! We hiked the 2.5 miles to the road and got a hitch in an RX-7, for those of you not familar with the car it's a tiny two seater with a small hatchback ( this one filled with speaker boxes). Somehow (probably the love of food not dehydrated) 3 Sock and i fit in the front seat together and left our packs hanging out the open hatch in the back, we figured it was only 3 miles. So we had a great breakfast with Afterburner, Swift Sandle & Beef Stick at this great little mom & pop diner that was NOT even listed in our "guide" books. They, the owners, were so nice that they even drove up to the road crossing to pick up more hikers & drove us back to the trail at no charge. So today we thought for sure we were going to lose the rest of our "gang" ( Fiver went on past us all yesterday) and today we are only planning on over 10 not the 20 to the next shelter. I don't know if it was the trail magic soda (that i carried) up to the amazing bald we clinbed today or the idea that we weren't planning on going all the way to the next shelter. But the last 4.8 miles flew by and we found ourselves at the shelter with Fixy ( who we were afraid we'd never see again) & Rock Hound. Slowly Afterburner, Beef Stick & Tree filled in to a happy full shelter with only 6 miles until Erwin, TN!
Date: 2003-04-03
From: No Business Shelter

To: Erwin TN (Miss Janet's Hostel)
Miles today: 6.3

I jumped out of bed early, super early due to 1 reason- Erwin Day! (or just the fact that we are headed to Erwin). Relatively easy 6 miles, trail dropped down just outside of Erwin, had great views of the Nolichuchy River & train running beside & across the river. Walked/ Hitched 4 miles into town until we recieved a ride from Uncle Johnny's neighbor- the beginning of our knowledge of the Big "Hostle Battle" in Erwin between Miss Janet & Uncle Johny. So after a quick stop at the post office, Sonic & Pizza Hut we decided to stay at Miss Janet for the evening. Erwin is a friendly town but very spread out. We were thinking of getting a hotel (a little privacy & what not). But none are centrally located & Miss Janet's had everything we needed... including all our our friends. Got a ride to the outfiters where Thin Mint got new low boots/shoes. (She's hoping that the lower weight on her feet will lessen the strain on her knees). Then off to Erwin Burrito for dinner- Great diner, great huge burritos! Thin Mint & Afterburner finished their burritos however Rock Hound & I opted not to finish the last few bites of our burritos (AKA the "soggy pants"). Hopped once again over to the Sonic for ice cream (Thin Mint) & then home to watch the hiker classic Deliverance.
Date: 2003-04-04
From: Erwin TN (Miss Janet's Hostel)

To: Deep Gap (tenting)
Miles today: 12.1

Woke up this morning to the smell of coffee!! (i will admit i so miss good Ink coffee in the mornings...) But i survive with just great sunrises & amazing views all day. But this morning it was coffee that woke me. We had a great family style (or at least hiker family style) breakfast at Miss Janet's cute little home. After that we were off to an AM start- ok it wasn't the earliest AM possible, but we all had our chores after breakfast to get Miss Janet's house back to looking like a home rather than a place bombarded by 15 hikers everyday. It's amazing to see 8 men (boys) all in hiker garb vacuuming, scrubing & making beds- happily! So off to the trail.... i think we all hit an all time high of how much food we can shove into a pack. The main problem we all have is that we now have to carry these packs. We were talking this morning about how needing 6000 calories (about what we burn a day) & being able to carry that are two very different things. Although, with help from the Rock Hound mail drop fund (we love Rock Hound's huge mail drops as none of us could cary the amount of food he gets in his drops- so we "help" him out as best we could) & the wonderful Brazilian chocolate covered bananas (thanks Gretchen & Kalimar!!) we're much higher on the caloric scale. I'd also like to mention that we weighed ourselves upon entering town & again when we were leaving- we all gained between 7&9 lbs each! Anyway with all that food straped to our backs we didn't make the most miles today. But we're currently camped in a little tent/ tarp community (Fixy, Rock Hound, Afterburner, Beef Stick & us). We're all closed up in our respective tents as it just stoped raining but at least it didn't scare the turkeys that are moving near us calling to one another. *I also want to say Happy Birthday to my brother, Aaron & good luck to Sharon & Dan... we're thinking of you everyday & we know veggie baby will come soon.
Date: 2003-04-05
From: Deep Gap (tenting)

To: Clyde Smith Shelter
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: moderate rain

Are we (our current "hiking group") annoying, I believe this is answered by the fact that i am currently imitating Metallica & the 2 hikers that arrived late to the shelter opted to spend the night in their tent outside the shelter. Rock Hound is now singing the ending to Don't Cry. Anyway, only accomplished 6 hours & 13 miles today so that left a lot of free time- which can be trouble for this group. Just felt dead after 13 miles & chose not to hike up Roan Mt. today. 6 miles more to the summit where we will be greeted by a parking lot & bathrooms. So we came up with our plan into Damascus which includes a stop at Kincora Hostel (we have heard that the owners are some of the best people on the trail), this plan includes a breakfast stop 1 mile off the trail, the head into Damascus, VA friday evening (hopefully). Rain storm last night & early morning - so Thin Mint got a few extra hours of sleep. Hope they hold off tonight, at least we aren't at the top of Roan Mt.
Date: 2003-04-06
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Apple House Shelter 
Miles today: 20.6

What a crazy day- one to be remembered...Started out with a strenous 6.5 mile steep climb over 3000' in total elevation up Roan Mtn. No great views but at least the road up to the top was closed so no tourists either. Contined hiking to Carver's Gap to enjoy a big lunch (yogi-ed off Rock Hound), from a parking lot looking up at the balds we were about to ascend. A great climb up the bald which continued on open ridge line but started becoming a bit windy. Stopped briefly at Stan Murray Shelter to speak with Beef Stick. Soon pasted a renovated barn now used as a shelter in which a movie was once filmed, something with Kurt Russel.... From here things got interesting- when we started up Little Hump Mt. it began getting windy (to the point of making it hard to walk straight), even more windy as we increased elevation, yet skies were not yet threatening. Increasingly, strong winds up to the summit, then we hurried down to Bradley Gap before summiting Big Hump Mt.   Hail started to hit us, wind picked up & we decided to put on packcovers. Slowly we crept up Big Hump Mt. into a horrid head/ cross winds, as Thin Mint stated "this is ridiculous!". We became worried about the weather & anxious to get across the open bald to descend to safer ground. High winds riped Rock Hound's packcover off & almost took Thin Mint's but held on to it causing it to act like a sail. Winds were a constant 40-50 mph on the open trail of the mountain with gusts blowing us 4-5 feet off of the trail. Rock Hound commented how my body was tilted at a 45 degree angle into the wind, if conditions weren't so bad he would have loved to have a picture. After totally exhausted muscles we made it to the summit & back down into the safety of the forest just as rain & lightning began. We quickly hiked 4.5 miles, or an extra 2 from our originally planned, to stay at a shelter - semi protection from the rain. Geting warm & cozy and cannot wait for a big breakfast tomorrow!
Date: 2003-04-07
From: Apple House Shelter 

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: overcast clouds

So today was one of the toughest days, mentally, for me. I don't know why it was so hard other than at some point getting up every morning & hiking all day gets to you. We were on a new trail relocation so there was an extra 3 miles not counted in our guidebook which made problems. It was definately a long day... mentally at least. I need to find more positive way to keep moving. It's tough to do the same thing day after day - spirits are a little down.
Date: 2003-04-08
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 6.3

We all decided to see what this Kincora hyp was about... okay so that is more than a bit exagrated. But we have heard some really great things about the Peoples who own and run the hostel. And as we have seen the talk is completely true. After a short hike to the hostel, which a few people had multiple falls during, we formed a town game plan. We hit a Chinese buffet and then the grocery store to buy a huge burrito dinner. Later at the shelter we (rock hound and i) made a huge dinner for everyone and root beer floats for dessert!
Date: 2003-04-09
From: VA 608

To: Vandeventer Shelter 
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: light rain

It was tough it leave Kincora this morning... cold & rainy outside - warm & dry inside. But we did it all of us in a line, Afterburner, Round Hound, Beefstick, John, 3 sock & 1. It was worth it, leaving the hostel, as we hiked along the river until we reached the falls. Even without the sunshine they were beautiful & we did the required possed photos. Oh, i almost forgot we ran into Bando K'que just after we started! It was great to see her again. She lives near here and is slack packing some miles before she gets back on thr trail again.I'm afraid that i've picked up the bug that seems to be going around the thru hiker community, as i haven't been feeling perfect. Luckily, it hasn't affected my hiking to much as i was ready to go another 4 miles tonight but i don't think either of us is ready to break away from the 'herd'. We're planning on tomorrow being a pretty long day... but not as long as Afterburner who wants to do a 33 mile day to make it to VA on the one month anniversary of starting his hike!At the shelter tonight is Afterburner, Rock Hound, Beefstick & John.
Date: 2003-04-10
From: Old Orchard Shelter (tenting)

To: Low Gap
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: light rain

Intial plan was to hike to the 3rd shelter we'd pass today - 24 miles. In actuality we ended up in Abington VA in a great warm motel, complete with 3 separate heat sorces, big rooms, hot water & a great pizza place next door- what more could a hypothermic hiker want. Geting this comfy was tough, though. The day started with the sound of rain, cold rain to be exact ( and yes i can tell by the sound). Thin Mint climbed out of her sleeping bag first to "find a tree" & when she got back reported her weather report "Damn, it's crappy out!". When we all finally got up, we hiked as quickly as possible to stay warm. We only stopped at the first shelter after 7 miles of relatively flat trail because we had to not because anyone wanted too. After a quick snack we moved on (I should point out that we were all pretty cold & soaked at this point. Thin Mint had to unsnap my pack because my fingers weren't working.) Soon the weather began to change, it could best be explained as "falling slush"- a great term of Beef Stick's. A mixture of super wet snow & rain fell as the temperature continued to drop. With no huge climbs it took 1-2 miles of hiking to get semi-warm. Finally, we made it 8 more miles to the next shelter to find a shivering Afterburner (future Med. student wearing shorts!)& Rock Hound. We were in bad shape, cold wet, temp. not looking better - we needed heat. Some sort of road was 3.5 miles up the trail so we hiked on & hoped for a ride. 10-15 minutes later a young guy, going the wrong way, picked ! us 4 up and drove us 30 min.s to the outfitters in Damascus, VA. Rock Hound & i rode in the back of the pick-up while Afterburner & Thin Mint squeazed in up front. At the outfitters a dethawed Thin Mint tryed to find lodging in Damascus while Rock Hound and i shivered in place. This is where we met Lone Wolf, former thru-hiker and great trail angel. He told us how the hostel in town doesn't have heat & the B&B's in town were filled so he drove us 12 miles to Abington VA where we found a great motel. After the hottest shower ever & spreading all our equiptment across the way to warm room we were back to ourselves. Went for pizza, cookies & half a gallon of ice cream to share between the 4 of us we are loving life & glad to be sleeping indoors not in our wet sleeping bags. Thanks to Wolf who is picking us up again in the morning to bring us back to Damascus.
Date: 2003-04-11
From: Old Orchard Shelter (tenting)

To: Damascus VA 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After gaining back our senses we decided to take a zero day today. Intake some good food & spend this rainy day in town. Tomorrow we head back out to hike the remaining 14.5 miles offically into Damascus. Accomplished the town chores, ate at the Mill & went back for happy hour. The owner, Stuart, gave us a great deal so we decided to spend the next two nights here. We're the only people here tonight and they've only been open for 3 weeks. It's such a nice place - completely enjoyed our zero day.
Date: 2003-04-12
From: VA 608

To: Damascus, VA 
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: clear sky

Finally, truely into the sweet land of Virginia! Damascus, VA is supposedly the friendliest town on the trail & roughly the one- quarter mark of the AT.Lone Wolf picked us up at "the placeL at 9:15 ( a little late due to heavy partying the night before for Wolf). He drove us back to Low Gap, where we left off on Thursday. We proceeded to hike the 14.5 miles into town in about 4+ hours. Whereas Afterburner managed to do it in 3 but, he didn't stop we stopped for breaks and a lunch.We did our tour of Damascus eating establishments including the Dairy King and the Barn ( very nice owners & cheap prices!) a little off of the beaten path but after racking up almost 500 miles a few extra tenths was doable.Another night in the great "Old Mill Inn". Don't want to leave here tomorrow.
Date: 2003-04-13
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.5
Weather: clear sky

I think we've mentioned before how hard it is to leave town. But this was the worst so far. I'm not sure if 3 Sock mentioned how nice the room we got was and how soft the bed was and how nice it was to shower with big fluffy towels... we actually kept the heat up higher than was really comfortable for us because we could.(i'm going to rant a little about the place we stayed b/c i want other people to take advantage of their generousity to hikers.) We stayed at The Old Mill Inn and they have only been open (the rooms) for 3 weeks. The exterior & dining area are pretty fancy but they don't want to scare hikers away so they have a great happy hour & give wonderful breaks for rooms. And the owner & staff bend over backwards for you. Anyway we left there first thing this morning so that we can sleep in this wonderful three sided shelter. But seriously, today was a great day, wonderful weather and we weren't in any hurry so we stopped along the river a lot. Once Rock Hound swam across the river... i don't think i'm going to be warm enough to try that for awhile. Well, the sun is headed down; i should make something to eat. Staying at the shelter tonight is Chaos, Red, Afterburner & Rock Hound (tonight is the first time since i've started that the male female ratio has been equal!)
Date: 2003-04-14
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Old Orchard Shelter (tenting)
Miles today: 23.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Wow, i just read what mile marker we're at. I can't beleive that we're almost to 500 miles, i feel like i've been hiking for only a week or two...As you probably guessed today was a good day. We hiked Mt. Rogers (the highest point in VA), the trails have been nice & easy, we petted wild ponies & climbed on rocks - all this and hiked our longest mile day. The weather has been really nice too, i think we're all getting a tan, at least we would if we were clean. Finally, i want to thank Aaron & Robbin for the great easter themed food drop and Linda for the wonderful box o' goodies ( you win most creative mail drop, you thought of foods that we hadn't !!).
Date: 2003-04-15
From: Old Orchard Shelter (tenting)

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

Today was a beautiful day... again. I think we're all a bit sunburnt but anything is better than rain or snow! Most everyone from our shelter last night moved on to Partnership Shelter, which is another ten miles from here. They are all planning a pizza party there as there is a phone at the shelter that you can order pizza from! But we're behind because we stopped with Rock Hound to get his mail drop ( and grab lunch in town of course!). We actually planned on moving past this shelter but it's in such a beautiful spot & we got alittle to comfortable.I should say that we were able to speak with Sharon (3 Socks sister) who just brought our new nephew home from the hospital! Hayden Alex, 9lb.s 2 oz.s!!! Staying at the shelter tonight is The Yellow Submarine (3 guys) & 2 weeker's called Ace & Stryder, oh and of course Rock Hound.
Date: 2003-04-16
From: VA 608

To: Rural Retreat VA
Miles today: 21.8

Today was one of those days we couldn't have planned. We woke up late, big surprise there but got going at around 8am. We made it to the next shelter, 10 miles, before noon and decided to have lunch at the forest office that was right there by the shelter because it had a soda machine & restrooms. As luck would have it some of Rock Hounds lunch food had gone bad sooo... we had to order a pizza, which they deliver to the forest office. We then hiked another 12 miles to our mail drop where we could also get dinner! The hike was great but it's definately getting hot mid-day and we're ridge walking so no shade. We're all waiting for the leaves to come out on the trees.   So we had our dinner and decided that it's late and we're tired and while we had our dinner we watched 5 people hike out to the shelter we're planning on heading to. I don't know if i mentioned it earlier or not but shelter typically they hold 6 or 8 people which means our odds of shelter space aren't good. And it's supposed to start storming at midnight - we chickened out and are at a hotel with Rock Hound.
Date: 2003-04-17
From: VA 608

To: Knot Mole Shelter
Miles today: 14.3

The storms we were worried about last night came in today, just about the time we reached this shelter so of course we stayed. Now the rain has stopped and the sun is breaking through so i feel a little cheap about stopping but frankly who cares. The other interesting part of stopping here is that we filled the rest of the shelter so a certain duo who have screwed us before have to camp. I know this sounds horrible to all of you reading. But there is much more to this story than just a horrible nights sleep. This couple, who shall remain nameless, are not the world's fastest hikers and the first time we passed them on the trail we thought nothing of it. But when we got to the next town they were already there. We really didn't think to much of that until it kept happening - we'd pass them some morning then a few days later we'd get to town and they'd be there already! So i think everyone understands what was happening but they would always lie about having hiked it all.!   Which if you are attempting to hike it all, it's demeaning. There are other stories but for now we'll just refer to them as the people with rocket packs (to speed them down the trail at night). Enough said.... On a happier note thank you Emma for the Thin Mints they were wonderful! And i think we might even have a real Easter dinner at Virginia Tech with my old college roommate, Karen and her family.Staying at the shelter tonight is Maw-ee & Paw-ee and the Polar Bears (2). Also today we met 2x4 (a guy & his dog).   * if anyone wants to send us a dessert Backpackers Pantry makes Tirasmisu (sp?) that is so good.
Date: 2003-04-18
From: VA 608

To: Jenkins Shelter 
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: moderate rain

We fell asleep to warm temps and dry air last night; as morning came, so did a cold wet day. I remember explaining to people about the AT and the fact that only 50% of hikers get past the Smokies and 25% only hike into Virginia. They were surprised about such a quick drop out rate and couldn't understand the reasoning. So I just wanted to think about how miserable I can become: currently I am laying around in my cold damp clothes - rain gear does NOT keep one dry! In order not to have the pleasure of putting on these same cold wet clothes tomorrow (nothing will be drying tonight), thru-hikers will wear their wet clothes overnight and use their bodies and sleeping bags as a "dryer". I am sitting here with a slim chance of ever feeling "toasty" tonight.Terrain was a long, long climb up to a totaly enclosed shelter on Chestnut Knob - a perfect shelter for such a cold, rainy, windy day. Ate a quick lunch then headed another 8 miles along a ridge before dropping down 1500 feet. Views would have been great if not for the fog - we were looking forward to "God's Thumbprint" but saw nothing.Six of us in the shelter tonight. Looking forward to big Easter plans on Sunday!
Date: 2003-04-19
From: VA 608

To: (camping)5 miles beyond Bland, VA
Miles today: 17.3
Weather: overcast clouds

After 2 breakfasts & me dancing around the shelter, we finally left camp around 9:00. The 5 miles to the next road crossing became very interesting. We dropped down to little Wolf Creek which was greatly swollen from the rains the past few days. High wagter trail was on top of the ridge we just descended so we decided to continue with the white blazes. The AT continued in the flood plain of Wolf Creek & crossed it at least 12 times. The first crossing went well but once i saw the second i knew there'd be many more to come and it was time to get the boots & socks wet! Straight through the raging 20' wide creek (sounds like quite a creek doesn't it!) Thin Mint & i went with the fully submerged boots crossing technique, while others tried to figure out ways across. Crossing became trickier as the river widened & became deeper, my knee also began to ache for the first time on the trip. A few times when the river got above my knees i just stopped to chill the knee ligament! s - no ice so river water will have to do. Finally, finished all river crossings & came to a road via an incredibly narrow bridge (our packs were to wide to fit through) over the river one last time. Tinker opted to ford the river just because, and why not we'd done it enough times at that point why stop there. At the road we attempted to dry our boots/socks & were treated to great trail magic.The trail ran the ridge the rest of the afternoon where were once again treated to col sodas - dual trail magic! Hitched into Bland for resupplies, calls to confirm tomorow's plans & side trip to the Dairy Queen. Finally, made it out of town. Than hiked 5 miles & decided to camp along the ridge with Rock Hound. Enjoyed a nice Yuengling with supper as well as a "Blacksburg Day" story by Thin Mint.Good night.