morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-30
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: light rain

It rained most of last night, and was raining when we got up this morning again. This morning we started talking with Michigan and Kitty-Litter about how we had not had any trail magic recently. They said they had not experienced any recently either.When we got to VA 615/Laurel Creek, we found TRAIL MAGIC! There was a big white styrofoam cooler full of apple juice, orange juice, and V8 juice. How refreshing. Thank you to whoever left it for us to find. It was great timing. Also near the cooler was a trash can, so we were able to throw out our trash we had been carrying for a few days. That is always nice!We moved on and ran into TRAIL MAGIC again just before we hit I-77/US 52. There were jugs of spring water placed on the trail for hikers to refill their water bottles. The water was placed there as a gesture of remembrance for a hiker who had passed away in 2003. Whoever left it realized that this was a prime location for water, since there was no water until the next shelter, which was .5m off the trail. Thank you trail magic!We then saw a group of people on the bridge over I-77. They all had hard hats on and binoculars. They were over-seeing a project to install the horizontal upper bridge support to a large electrical transmission tower. They told us that in less than 5 minutes a Chinook helicopter was going to be coming over the mountain top carrying the 21,000 pound bridge section. This was the culmination of 15 years of work to get to this point. The bridge was set down successfully and was impressive to see. We always say that it is all about the "timing". We always seem to be where we are suppose to be at the right time!We hiked on and within 10 minutes we came across our 3rd TRAIL MAGIC of the day, Budweiser beer. At Va. 612/Kimberling Creek, there was a 12 pack of Bud. We chose not to partake, but it was nice to know someone was thinking of us hikers. Michigan and Kitty-Litter both enjoyed it.We have been seeing a lot of white-tailed deer lately. They are always neat to see, especially when they are so close to the trail.At Jenny Knob Shelter we met up with Way-Point, and a buddy of his, Chris. Chris is a section-hiker who will be hiking with Way-Point for about a week.We are hoping that the weather forecast holds, and it will change for the better - warmer and no rain. It rained while we cooked dinner tonight and continued off and on through the evening.
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Sugar Run Gap / Woods Hole Bunkhouse
Miles today: 20.4

Happy May Day!We got up at 7AM to pack up for another chilly morning. It was a brisk 40 degrees when we got up. It rained off and on last night, but the skies looked promising this morning. We hit the trail at 7:50AM.We thought maybe we would head for Wapiti Shelter, with a possible stop on Va. 606 for some pizza. As it turned out, Va. 606 is the FIRST and ONLY road we crossed this morning, not the SECOND one as the profile map indicated. Needless to say, no decision needed to be made about the pizza because we were already passed it when we figured this out. We continued on to Wapiti Shelter and arrived at 1:20pm -- too early to quit hiking for the day. Michigan showed up within minutes and thought the same thing. He headed for Doc's Knob Shelter and we followed after a quick lunch break.We were a little low on water, but we didn't feel like carrying it up the steep climb to Horse Gap. We thought we would fill our water up at Horse Gap/Ribble Trail. When we got there, the water seemed to be off trail and DOWN, so we continued on. By now it was getting to be a long day.We got to Sugar Run Gap around 4:45pm and saw a note on a tree for Woods Hole Bunkhouse. Boston voted for the Bunkhouse instead of going on to Doc's Knob Shelter (another 2.2m uphill). After a few minutes of discussion, Cubby agreed and we headed down to the Bunkhouse.This decision turned out to be fortuitous. This was the first official day the Bunkhouse was open. We were greeted by "High-Pocket" who showed us around and showed us the fridge full of cold soda and candy bars. High-Pocket is a thru-hiker, who hiked in 1989. He told us that he hiked with Wingfoot for a few days during his hike and through Wingfoot he was put in contact with Tillie Woods, the owner. He helps Tillie run the Bunkhouse during hiker season. Tillie then came out and greeted us. What a nice woman. She is 80+ years old with a big smile and a lot of energy. Tillie told us that in the morning she would fix us some biscuits, juice and coffee if we wanted it. Of course we wanted it!We were the only thru-hikers there. We each had a few sodas and candy bars and within 20 minutes, a couple of section-hikers arrived. They offerred to make us dinner, and in keeping with our philosophy of "never turn down free food" and in the spirit of "yogi-ing" we happily accepted. They cooked Thai spicey sweet potato soup, and a fresh lettuce salad. This was all served at a table with chairs, and they also had plates and bowls for us to eat off of. We felt like civilized people eating at a fancy restaurant. We sat as they served the food and cleaned up the dishes. This was topped with hot chocolate for dessert. Again, it is all about the timing, and we were in the right place once again.We talked after dinner and over hot chocolate for a few hours with the section-hikers and then it was lights out.
Date: 2005-05-02
From: Sugar Run Gap / Woods Hole Bunkhouse

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

The morning started when High-Pocket rang the breakfast bell at 7:30am. He told us last night that he would ring the bell 1/2 hour before breakfast. We got up, packed up and got all ready to go. At 8am Tillie came out of the house and invited us to breakfast. We sat around her table and enjoyed hot biscuits, butter, apple jelly, fresh fruit, orange juice, and coffee. We talked with Tillie about the history of the cabin, it was built in 1880 and she is only the third owner. After pleasant conversation, High-Pocket gave us a ride back up the trail-head. It was a 1/2m UPHILL climb, so this was much appreciated.We started on the trail at 9am and made it to Doc's Knob Shelter within 50 minutes. We would have to say that for the cost of 50 minutes, Woods Hole Bunkhouse was well worth it.The hike today had a few climbs, but overall it was downhill. It seems that coming into a town the trail always heads downhill, so that means when we leave town it is UPHILL! It was chilly last night sleeping and this morning. The day never really warmed up. It threatened to rain, we put our rain gear on after some sprinkles. It continued to sprinkle on us the whole way into town.In Pearisburg we got a hotel room and took hot showers. After 5 days and numerous hours of hiking in rain gear, we STANK. We were rather odiferous to say the least. We got our bounce box and care package from Supply-Guy at the Pearisburg Post Office. At the P.O. we saw that Tofu & Figaro had signed the PO trail register today. How did that happen? They were already a day behind us in Atkins and never passed us on the trail. Those SLACKERS! We hope to see them in town today.We met up with Michigan on the main street in town. We told him about Woods Hole last night and he told us about the large rat (and that is RAT, not MOUSE)at Doc's Knob Shelter. He said that Ranger heard something rustling around his pack so he turned his light on to shoe it away. Ranger saw what it was and started swinging at it. Later on, Michigan said it was trying to get into his pack, so the night went on. Anyway, we were VERY glad that we stayed at Woods Hole rather than pushing on to Doc's Knob Shelter. Boston thinks that Cubby may have had to have "rat-therapy" following an evening at Doc's Knob Shelter.We made it the Dairy Queen in Pearisburg. We HAD to go. Actually, to be more accurate, BOSTON had to go to Dairy Queen. Boston had ice-cream and a cheese burger, Cubby just had the Kid's Meal and no ice-cream. Cubby didn't keep the prize though, too heavy to carry.
Date: 2005-05-03
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day!We woke up late, we slept in until 8am. We got our food organized for the next 5 days on the trail, called a B&B in Catawba to make reservations for Saturday night, we got the last room they had available. We called Crampy to tell him we would be in Troutville, VA on Sunday night. We will ZERO with him on Monday and hike with him on Tuesday.We went to the AYCE (all you can eat) Chinese food buffet, good food and good prices. We then went to Magic Mart, Food Lion and the Hardware store for denatured alcohol for our stove.We then packed our food up and got our bounce box ready to mail.Tofu & Figaro stopped by our hotel room to say they were slacking south today and had bought new shoes earlier.We got our bounce box mailed off to Troutville and went to the DAIRY QUEEN. Boston had to get her ice-cream fix for the day. Pack our backpacks up and got them all ready for the morning departure.Tofu & Figaro came back and knocked on our door. They had hiked 3 miles south and had to turn around due to Tofu's foot being too painful. She couldn't walk on it anymore. They are going to get off the trail for a week or so and see a doctor.Talking about medical problems, Cubby has a teeter-totter toenail. If you push down on the front of the toenail, the back comes up. That's the back that is suppose to be firmly attached to/inside your toe. Duct tape is now an integral part of the toenail/toe system. Simply put - Cubby's toenail is being held on by duct tape.The four of us went to dinner and had a great time. We went to the Italian place this time, but not cheese steaks this time. Not like last night when Cubby had one and then had Boston run back and get her a second one. Making it a total of 18" of cheese steak for Cubby!Overall we did well in Pearisburg. We hitched a ride to the library, the Wal-mart, and them back to the hotel from the Wal-mart. People are quite hiker-friendly in this town.Boston called Backwoods Outfitters in Omaha, NE to see about resolving some of her footwear issues. Thanks to Tom Dolphin for coming to the rescue. We really like your store and will be back at the end of the summer. RedWing is shipping out a new pair of Vasque shoes for Boston today. They should be at our next mail-drop.We got to bed late - 11pm and again had to listen to the drunkard snore and his TV all night long in the next room.
Date: 2005-05-04
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy Birthday to Supply Guy and his Brother!We got up at 6:20am at the Hotel, took hot showers to get us through the next 4 days. We went to DAIRY QUEEN for breakfast. It was the first DQ we ever went to that served eggs any way you wanted them. No, Boston did not have ice-cream for breakfast. It might be the first time Boston left a DQ without ice-cream.We past a few hikers today. Waypoint was headed north. We then saw Kitty-Litter, 1/4 of the way, and Train all slacking southbound. It was a nice day weather wise, never got above 60 degrees, partly cloudy, and NO RAIN. Yippie!We are tenting tonight. Seems like it has been forever since we have slept in a tent. We have been in shelters mostly, due to lots of rain, and also due to friendly hikers in shelters with us.Bugs are starting to come out. It seems you always wish for warm and sunny weather, but with that come the bugs.1/4 of the Way was toting bananas and giving them to hikers. We each had one - good and fresh. We also got a snickers and a Crunch bar off of him. Thanks.Starting off with 5 days of food is always heavy - makes you want to sound like an Italian mother, "Eat! Eat!", in order to lighten our load.We used our new water filter for the first time today. Supply Guy had sent it to us. The springs are fewer, with more streams, so we wanted to start to filter so we would not have to be so picky about our water sources.In bed early, 7pm. Goodnight.
Date: 2005-05-05
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

A hiker showed up at Pine Swamp late last night. NY Bob, a nice guy. He is cruisin', doing big miles.We got up and going really early today with the hope of doing a 20+ mile day. The weather was cool all day long, the sun had it's moments, but it never warmed up above 55 degrees.The hike today had some big climbs and steep downhills. We got to Laurel Creek Shelter at 5:30pm. We decided not to push on, because it is another 6.4 miles to the next shelter, and that shelter is .4 miles off the trail down a steep side trail. So here we are.Rusty is here spending the night with us. Rusty started a campfire, we think that is the first campfire we have enjoyed since Georgia. It seems between the rainy weather and making miles, most thru-hikers have not been wanting to start campfires.Fire is going, and dinner is done, and Cubby is still hungry! Cubby did something she had never done before...She robbed her Sunday food and had 2 snacks from it. That is the first time she has eaten a future day's food.
Date: 2005-05-06
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was a good sunny day. It started off a little cool, 41 degrees at 6am. We saw lots of lizards today.The terrain in Virginia is NOT flat, no matter what people say. We had some big climbs today. We started off by seeing the Keffer(sp?) Oak Tree. It is one of the largest oak trees on the A.T., and it is the largest tree with Blaze on it.We stopped and had lunch at Niday Shelter, and filled our water.We climbed up to Audie Murphy Monument and took some pictures. We hiked on toward Pickle Branch and got in around 5:15pm. The water at the Shelter was DOWN 231 Cubby-steps, and then 231 Cubby-steps back UP!We are excited about the B&B tomorrow.
Date: 2005-05-07
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Va 311 / Catawba, VA
Miles today: 12.6

We started on the trail at 6:30am. It was good to hike up Dragon's Tooth while it was still cool out. Dragon's Tooth had many false summits, we finally did make it to the top and had a snack break. Great views from up there!The climb DOWN Dragon's Tooth was by far the most dangerous and riskiest section of the AT so far! One stub of the toe and you could take a header 100's of feet down. The risk did not seem worth the view to us. We can't believe people actually do this for fun on a day hike. Even more unbelievable, is that they take their small children with them. Just too dangerous, can't imagine doing it in wet weather. We look forward to never having to hike it again! Dragon's Tooth is proof positive that Virginia being "flat" is nothing but a conspiracy theory.We got to the bottom of Dragon's Tooth and there was AWESOME Trail Magic left by "Southpaw", a previous thru-hiker. There were freshly made PB&J sandwiches, home-made peanut butter bars, gatorade, snickers, and bananas all in a cooler filled with ice. The cooler was just before the road crossing at Va 624. Thanks to Southpaw!!We then climbed up another mountain to a different ridgeline and hiked into Catawba, VA. We hitched to the Down Home B&B in Catawba. The owners are great and really friendly. We met two other hikers who had just arrived, "Miles McDuff" and "Ranger". We took some hot showers and got our laundry done.The four of us went to the Trail-Famous AYCE "Home Place" Restaurant. It lived up to it's reputation. All the food is served family style, as much as you can eat. We ate and ate and ate. It was finished up with hot cherry cobbler with ice-cream. Yummy! We then walked back to the B&B.Tofu & Figaro met us at the B&B after dinner. They drove us to Daleville/Troutville to drop off some of our gear so we could slack into Daleville/Troutville tomorrow.Kitty Litter showed up at the B&B, but there was no room at the Inn.Tofu & Figaro are still taking some time off to further rest Tofu's foot.
Date: 2005-05-08
From: Va 311 / Catawba, VA

To: US 220 / Daleville, VA
Miles today: 19.8
Weather: clear sky

We had a great breakfast with Dave and Lucy at the Down Home B&B. Dave then drove us to the trailhead.We hiked to McAffee Knob and took a million pictures. We took pictures with our feet hanging over the edge. (Two more pics are at botton of this entry) It is really beautiful up there. We then hiked to Tinker Cliffs. These cliffs are worth the hike. The weather was gorgeous, and we slack-packed today, so it was a very relaxing day for us.We almost felt like regular people out for a nature walk rather than thru-hikers trying for all the miles they are worth.We got to Daleville at 5:30pm and immediately met up with Crampy. He had just arrived from the airport. His bag however had not arrived! We walked to dinner at the "3 Little Pigs" BBQ. We did laundry and relaxed the rest of the evening.Crampy actually walked about 10 feet on the trail today, just so he could say he is "back on" the trail. He is excited to begin his trek. Crampy says that there is an Over/Under Bet on him at home. It is based on the mileage Crampy will complete while he is on the trail this time. The Over/Under is 14 miles. We think he will make the 14 miles, due to better weather (no snow) for him this time.
Date: 2005-05-09
From: US 220 / Daleville, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Zero Day!Yesterday we ran into Raz, and he now has a dog named Foxy. It was a dog that had followed him on the trail from Pearisburg. He told us he bought it a collar, leash and a pack.We got up early and had breakfast at the hotel and got our plan ready for the next 4-5 days with Crampy. We got our food organized and resupplied. We then walked down to the Outfitter and bought our summer sleeping bags, Marmot Pounders.We ate lunch at Bojangles. Not the most nutritous food, but good to get a little grease in your diet every now and again. We ended up at Pizza Hut for dinner. Spent the afternoon and evening relaxing.We did not have any access to internet, so we could not update our journal. This makes for a bigger job the next time we have a chance to update.Crampy was on the trail again today, another 10 feet, same as yesterday.Good zero today!
Date: 2005-05-10
From: US 220 / Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: broken clouds

The day was beautiful and sunny. Temps got up to 79 degrees. Crampy did very well up to about lunch time. We took a break and had lunch, and then headed up to Wilson Creek Shelter. Crampy was very tired by the time we got to the shelter. He rested up and had 2 more liters of Crystal Light water. He was feeling better after resting and getting rehydrated, but he wants to get off the trail already.We called Tofu & Figaro and they will pick Crampy up at Taylor Mtn Overlook, our first road crossing. He will have gone 14.4 miles and will have beaten the Over/Under bet on him by .4 miles.Tofu & Figaro will bring Crampy to Jennings Creek/Va 614 to "A Wonderful Life Campground" where we have a cabin reserved. Boston and Cubby will meet him there later in the day and spend the night with him there.Crampy got to hang the "Bear Bag", which is to say, he got the rope ready by throwing it over a tree branch so we could hang our food for the night. This will be his first night spent in a Trail Shelter. Crampy felt better by the time we went to bed and is looking forward to tomorrow's short hike.We met Gravity and Danger Pea at the Wilson Creek Shelter. We talked to them for a few hours while they cooked and ate their dinner. They headed on to camp further up the trail for the night.Crampy feels it was a successful trip for him and hopes to do 16 miles next time.Here is a list of a few "Firsts" for Crampy:He climbed over three fence stilesHe walked in the same pasture with "domesticated" wildlife (Cattle)Slept in a shelterHung the "bear bag" ropeVisited a trail PrivyJust for the record, Crampy agrees that Virginia is NOT FLAT!
Date: 2005-05-11
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Jennings Creek/Va 614
Miles today: 17.5

Crampy made it through the night in the shelter. He says that he didn't sleep too well, but his snoring proved otherwise. We were on the trail by 7:30am and got to Taylor Mtn Overlook by 9:20am.Tofu & Figaro picked Crampy up and took some of our gear. They will drop him off at the Campground. Crampy said his legs felt good the first hour, but he could start to feel them giving up by the end of today's hike. We said goodbye to Crampy and continued on the trail to Jennings Creek.The terrain was pretty good today, but the heat was more of a factor. It got up to 85 degrees. It was a good day and we made a lot of miles in a short amount of time. We caught up to Gravity and Danger Pea and also Alabama Bob. Alabama Bob is slacking today and his wife is picking him up at Jennings Creek/Va 614. We Yogi'd a ride from him to the Wonderful Life Campground where Crampy already was.Just before we got to Jennings Creek we heard thunder and it started to rain. We ran the last 100 yards across the bridge to Alabama Bob's wife's pickup truck. We got there before Bob did and his wife got us into the truck before the sky opened up. We never really got wet, just a few sprinkles. Bob on the other hand, was 5 minutes behind us and got all the rain that we missed. Thank you to Alabama Bob and his wife for the ride and the "beverages".A Wonderful Life Campground is not so Wonderful! They overcharge for their so-called "cabins". The cabins are nothing but big chip-board sheds. $65 is way too much money to spend the night in a chip-board shed with no running water, no bathroom, and no linens on the beds. Crampy had to pay $4 extra just to get some sheets so that he could make our beds before we got there. Let's just say he wasn't so happy to be there. All in all, not worth the money, even when it is raining.Tofu & Figaro met us at the shed to rescue us and take us to dinner. They took us to "The Pink Cadillac Diner". It was a great place, we would eat there again. Great place, great food, great service and great company! We topped off our dinnner with ice-cream, of course.We resupplied at the Shell Gas Station on our way back to the shed. They dropped Boston and Cubby off at the "wonderful" shed, Crampy went willingly with Tofu & Figaro back to their place. This made it easier for them to shuttle him to the airport in the morning. The "WONDERFUL" shed even had it's own inventory list posted on the wall. Just in case you thought about taking anything with you when you left. The inventory list was unbelievable. It included such items as: 4 ice trays, 1 red flower, and bed sheets. We think their list needs some updating, since Crampy had to pay $4 for sheets and had to get them from the office. Also, just to let you know, the 1 red flower was actually a small pot on the counter that had several plastic red flowers in it. How quaint, the ambience in the chip-board shed would not have been complete without it.It was great to spend time with Crampy.