morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-10
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: just past Groundhog Trail
Miles today: 13.1

It was hard to get up this morning. We had 2 massage students come up after their got done at 10:30. We each got about a 10 min. massage. I didn't get to bed until about midnight...that's pretty late on the trail. I had agreed to help the ALMA study so 2 students would hike with me for awhile today and monitor my heart rate, blood pressure and have me use one of their pedometers. We got a ride back to the trail and started hiking They took my blood pressure before I started and asked for a heart rate check every 10 min. After we got the 1700' climb out of the way, we took a break and they took my blood pressure again. We were treated to some nice views before reaching the Rice Field Shelter. I stopped in to check and sign the register. I wanted to get water at a place 1.4 miles further up the trail which seemed like a good place for Lily and Brent to turn around (8 miles total). They checked my pedometer and I had walked 2000 more steps than Lily and 3000 more steps than Brent. I drank a bunch of water. Last night they gave us the results of our urine tests. Most of us (including me) showed some sign of dehydration - nothing much but they told us we needed to drink more water. They also checked protein levels. Mine were good, but some of the hikers were burning protein (muscle). It was interesting to see the results. Slowmo showed up and got some water and then moved on. It was still too early to stop so I kept going. Just before reaching the Groundhog Trail junction, I ran into No Problem going South to head back to trail days. I had heard others talking about doing this too (get a ride North and then hike back to Damascus). I hiked a ways past the trail junction and found a dry campsite. I didn't need much water since I had a sandwich for dinner and I had enough to get me to the shelter in the morning where I could get more. Just as I finished dinner and was about to hang my food, I started feeling some rain drops. The weather forecast had said possible T-storms for Friday. I hope it isn't raining when I get up in the morning. I still have about 4 more days of hiking before a place to get food and about 6 days before a town stay so I hope I don't have to hike wet tomorrow.
Date: 2007-05-11
From: just past Groundhog Trail

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 18.6
Weather: broken clouds

It only rained a few minutes last night and was dry this morning. I headed out around 8. I had a couple of bumps to go over and the trail was kind of rocky. I stopped in at the Pine Swamp Branch Shelter for a snack. A tree has fallen on the roof of the shelter (some time ago). It is still usable at least on one side - I would be a little leery on the other side. I went on and came to a sign at Stony Creek Valley warning that a bridge was out 2 miles ahead on the trail. You could walk on the road or ford the stream. I had no idea how bad it would be to ford, but it was a hot day so I decided to take a chance. Part way there, "The Captain" had some soda staying cold in the stream for hikers. I stopped and had one...mmmm! Thanks Captain! The stream crossing wasn't too bad. I put my crocs on and waded across with my boots around my neck. It was probably 25' across, and the water went just above my knees. It was moving pretty good and the rocks were slippery, but I took my time and it was fine. The water felt good. Then, of course, a stop on the other side to put the boots back on. Now for the biggest climb of the day up to Wind Rock. This part of the trail was very rocky and had lots of blow down. It made for slow going. I stopped at Bailey Gap Shelter and saw the first other person all day - Hoosier. I took my boots off and had a break. Wind Rock had a great view! I took a video..not 360, but at least 180. Very pretty spot. Now you continue on the ridge awhile then turn right to work your way to the valley. Then tomorrow I will go up on another ridge the next range over and keep doing this for 4 ranges over the next several miles. They had a 3D relief map of this at the hostel in Pearisburg. It felt good to get to War Spur Shelter. It looked like it might rain so I decided to stay in the shelter with Hoosier. A southbound couple was there staying in their tent. They had started at Boiling Springs, PA. There is a nice stream here. I love having the water close and hearing the stream through the night. The only down side is that when I wake up in the night I usually have to go to the bathroom!
Date: 2007-05-12
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Rt 42
Miles today: 8.2

It felt a little cooler this morning, but it felt a little damp. It seemed like it might rain so I started out with my pack cover on - maybe it would ward off the rain. I got to Laurel Creek Shelter and stopped in for a snack. I was only going to stay for a few minutes to pump water and eat, but it started to rain. I decided to hang out for awhile so I took off my boots. It only rained off and on for about an hour so I packed up and headed out. I came down into the valley where there were fields with several stiles to cross. Stiles are what you go over or through when there is a fence. Some of them are ramps, some a zig zag, and many are ladders up and down. The ladders are more tedious. They are never made for short people. I came to one and there were donkeys leaning up against it. They ran off, but the young one was curious and stood watching me. The mother came up and grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him away. Just as I was going over a stile to come out onto Rt 42, a car went by, turned around, then pulled up by me. There were 3 guys in it and one of them said, "Want some magic? I'm Shadow." I had seen his name in registers and I recognized Nads. I threw my pack in the back and got in and asked where we were going. We were running errands - store, bank, pick up a canoe. Then we headed back to this couple's house. They (Bob and Lee) took us (Shadow, Numbtoe, Nads) into their house, let us take showers, do laundry, use their hot tub, and sleep in their home. Unbelievable! They are wonderful people! They were planning to do a paddle for Mother's day and wanted all of us to go with them. At first I said no. One thing everyone seemed to say who had thru hiked was to make sure to take time to enjoy things along the way. Others were paying to go rafting and here I get a chance to paddle for free! I just couldn't pass it up.
Date: 2007-05-13
From: Rt 42

To: Rt 42
Miles today: 0.0

The bed was so comfortable! It was so much better than a hotel bed. I woke up thinking I didn't want to get up but then remembered I would be sleeping here again tonight. Shadow made us breakfast and Virginia made us sandwiches to take with us. By the time we got ready, spotted cars, went to the store, etc., we got started around noon or so. There were 9 of us total. The creek wasn't very deep. It had many small rapids which was a first for me. Nads and I got the big boat that we ended up naming "Thunder Barge". Thunder was because we would hit so many rocks since it was such a big canoe and it was loud. It was a perfect day. We would paddle awhile and then float awhile. It was very relaxing. What a nice way to spend Mother's Day. I got a few pictures, but my camera was away most of the time, at least for the fast water. There were some pretty cool cliffs. We did about 10 miles or so total going out into the New River. We took out around 5:30 or 6:00 I think. We decided to go out to dinner in Pearisburg. It seemed kind of strange to be back in Pearisburg again. We bought dinner for our wonderful hosts. Tomorrow I will get back on the trail.
Date: 2007-05-14
From: Rt 42

To: Trout Creek
Miles today: 18.9

Numbtoe and Shadow were getting back on the trail at Trout Creek so they offered to take my tent and some of my stuff and set it up there for me. That would lighten my load by a few pounds so it sounded good to me. It meant I needed to do about 19 miles but that sounded good too. I started out about 8:30 along with Don, a section hiker who was dropped off about the same time. I soon got to the Keffer Oak, the 2nd largest tree on the AT (the 1st largest is the Dover in NY). I continued on the climb up to Sinking Creek Mountain. There were some nice views on some open rocks so I hung out enjoying the view for awhile. The next stop was Niday Shelter. I hung out there longer than I had planned (almost 2 hours) but it felt good. I knew I had another good climb though. It looked like this climb would be worse, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. There was a monument for a WWII veteran up there so I went over to it and got a picture. It was a perfect day for hiking. It didn't get too hot and there was a breeze most of the day. When I got to Trout Creek, there was my tent. GaMeOn was there having some dinner when I got there. Someone had left some cans of Coke in the stream so we each had one. Judo showed up soon after and set up camp too. I was glad to have the stream to listen to for the night. There was a small road there which had more traffic than I would have expected. It was a little strange camping so close to a road.
Date: 2007-05-15
From: Trout Creek

To: John's Spring Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: few clouds

The first major thing for today was Dragon's Tooth. It looked like a 1500' climb. However, there were several 100' drops (at least 5) and several other ups and downs so it was a bigger climb than I thought. It seemed like it took forever to get up there. What I didn't realize is that there was a blue blaze (unmarked) to the actual "Dragon's Tooth" so I missed it. I started down the trail and it was extremely steep. I kept looking for white blazes and didn't see them but saw lots of hiking pole marks and footprints. I went down almost 300' and the trail more or less ended. Ugh. I fell at one point since it was so steep and difficult. So, I turned around and went back up. I found the turn I had missed. I wasted some time on that one. The actual trail was also pretty steep and difficult because of rocks and rock ledges. The whole thing took a lot of time. I found out later that at least 4 other hikers made the same mistake just today so I at least felt a little better about making the mistake. I got down to Lost Spectacles Gap and decided I needed a break. The twins from GA stopped there too. I stayed for almost an hour and relaxed. When I got to Rt. 624, GaMeOn and SNIPER! were just coming back from a store about 0.5 miles away. It was good to see Sniper again so we hiked together the rest of the day. We got to Rt 311 and she suggested we go to the store in Catawba and have some pizza and then head to the next shelter about a mile away. She convinced me and GaMeOn so we hitched a ride in. The pizza was great. We bought some soda and beer to take back to the shelter with us. In looking over the data for the trail, we saw we had roughly 20 miles to Daleville where I needed to be by Thursday night so we decided to break it up into 2 nice easy days. Camping was limited in this section so we didn't have a lot of choices on where we could stay. I really wanted to take my time on the next special section of trail so this worked out well.
Date: 2007-05-16
From: John's Spring Shelter

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Today was a special day. The reason it was special was because I was on McAfee Knob today. For those of you who don't know, this is the spot you often see on the covers of books about the AT and in any set of pictures about the AT. It is where you see someone sitting out on the edge of a rock. I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to spend there. Sniper and I agreed to go there together to make sure we got pictures. GaMeOn joined us too. It's a very pretty spot. We relaxed and had a snack and hung out enjoying the view. Of course we got pictures too. Today was also Tinker Cliffs which is a beautiful spot. The trail goes along the cliffs for awhile. When we got there it was starting to look like a storm was brewing. We stayed long enough for a snack. The wind was picking up and we felt a couple of raindrops. Fortunately, it only sprinkled and the shelter was not far. The 3 of us were thinking of camping at Lambert's Meadow so we stopped at the shelter to see what the weather was going to be like. We were there around 2:30 so we had lots of time and the camping spot was only 0.3 miles away. We were at the shelter about an hour or so when it really started to rain. That made the decision for us - we stayed at the shelter. Someone had left the menu in the shelter for the Mexican restaurant in Daleville (where we would be tomorrow). We decided to make it there in time for lunch! The twins and Castinets were in the shelter too. The noseeums were out and biting so no headlamp for tonight.
Date: 2007-05-17
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: few clouds

Peter S. you are awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I have been meaning to mention that...sorry it took so long. Must be that menu got me going or maybe it was the fact that the twins and Castinets got up so early. I was on the trail by 7:30. It was a very easy day. I was at the road by 11. When I got there, AAA was sitting there and waiting. He had left his tent at the John's Spring Shelter. GaMeOn had been carrying it for 2 days. Sniper showed up and told AAA that GaMeOn would be joining us for lunch at the restaurant so we went on to wait for him there. AAA was extremely grateful to get his tent back as you can imagine! He made sure GaMeOn had a drink waiting for him when we saw him approaching. Then for a nice relaxing afternoon and evening. We walked to the outfitter and ran into Numbtoe, Shadow, Fredo, Mr. Easy, Castinets and Don (the section hiker I had met at Rt 42). While we were walking someone stopped to see if any of us needed a ride to trail days...how nice! Tomorrow Sniper and I will head to Damascus. Boy, it will be strange to go 3 days without hiking!
Date: 2007-05-18
From: Daleville

To: Daleville (trail days)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

It's hard to write about each day for trail days so I will just write about it in general and may spill over into the next 2 days if I need the space.Leif, it was nice meeting you too. Thank you for updating my direct link!Walter, thank you so much for everything! Walter (manager of the EMS store in Poughkeepsie) decided to go to trail days this year He thru hiked in 2003 so it would give him a chance to see some people he hadn't seen since then. It also worked out great for me! He picked us (Sniper and me) up at Daleville and brought us to trail days. He also brought a bunch of stuff I needed..some new, some of my stuff, and stuff from friends...thanks for the Imperial IPA! It seemed strange to be back in Damascus again. This time the town was pretty busy with lots of traffic and people. There were lots of vendors and lots of activities (slideshows, talks, talent contests, useless gear awards, etc.). There were also vendors there just to fix our gear for us! I was able to get my pack sewn since Osprey was there and Leki serviced my poles (even though they are Black Diamond). I think the best part about trail days was getting to see people I hadn't seen in awhile - Swampfoot, Breadless, Yorkie, Beatbox, Bowleg and Bono, Sublime, Cheeze, Brue, Dozer, Earthquake and many more. The two people I saw that really made it worthwhile were Seuss (Jake) and PK Nice (Peter). I hadn't seen them since Neels Gap. Seuss (previously called Montana or Griz) is the one who gave me my trail name. We had a great reunion and I hope to see them again on the trail, but they have some catching up to do. The hiker parade was interesting. Everyone on the side (okay not everyone, but lots of people) would do anything to try to get the hikers wet - water balloons, several types of squirt guns, buckets, frisbees, etc. Luckily, it was a nice day and no problem getting wet. Each evening there were people playing instruments and the crowd around them would grow. There were a group of drummers both nights playing around a huge fire. Hangman did a fire blowing show as the drummers played and then people danced around the fire. Saturday night they did the same thing, but I spent most of my time listening to some others playing guitar and mandolin around another fire. Seuss was one of the guitar players and plays very well. The gear for sale was all very tempting. I got a couple of small items pretty cheap. I also got a hiking shirt out of the hikersupply.com hiker box. It's a great, crazy, zebra shirt...I love it. It was all a lot of fun, but I was ready to get back on the trail.
Date: 2007-05-21
From: Daleville (trail days)

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

One third of the trail done! Woohoo!! Walter brought us back to Daleville. I was really looking forward to being back on the trail. Thanks again for everything Walter...it was fun getting to drive the car after not driving for 2 months! I hope you got some nice views on the way home. By the time Sniper and I got on the trail it was almost 1:00. Not Yet, Mr Easy, Nads, and No Problem were all there ready to head out too. As we walked out of town, we had to wait for a train to cross. It seemed strange. Although I had crossed many railroad tracks before, I had never had to wait for a train before while hiking. We stopped in at the first shelter and got to see Chilly Willy and Just Ray. There was no water at the shelter and we had planned to fill up there. We would have to wait for Curry Creek. The section was fairly easy, but I could tell I had been off the trail for a few days. I was also breaking in a new pair of lightweight hiking shoes I got in Damascus. Based on both of those things, I didn't want to try too much today. My plan was for 11 miles and so was Sniper's. We ran into Nitro and Ziploc at Curry Creek. It felt good to get to the shelter. We had a little rain so we stopped to put pack covers on, but it didn't really amount to much. The bugs were buzzing our faces, especially the eyes, so we both set up our tents for the night. Also at the shelter for the night were Chocolate Bandito, Mr. Easy, No Problem, Nads and Gunslinger. No Problem built a nice fire. I had a roast beef sandwich I had brought from town...mmmm. The breeze came up and helped get rid of the bugs. It doesn't feel like it is going to be a very cold night. Happy Birthday Mom!!!
Date: 2007-05-22
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Jennings Creek
Miles today: 16.9

I didn't sleep well and felt so tired all day. Thankfully, it was pretty easy terrain. Today was the first day for the trail to hit the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP). When I got to the Montvale Overlook, I got a couple of bottles of water from someone who stopped. This section of trail is pretty dry. Mr. Easy and No Problem showed up so I gave them one of the bottles. I stayed for about an hour feeling like I could sleep. Gunslinger showed up too. I finally moved on. I decided to pass by the Bobblets Gap Shelter and stop at the next BRP overlook (Sharp Top) instead. I yogied a soda and then some people stopped who were interested in talking to a thru hiker and they gave me some water. It worked out well and gave me enough to go on to Jennings Creek. It felt like a really long day. Jennings Creek was a nice spot but near a road. Mr Easy and No Problem headed to town and I set up camp and went to bed early.
Date: 2007-05-23
From: Jennings Creek

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: scattered clouds

I slept in this morning. I felt like I needed so much sleep. I'm not sure why, but I have to listen to my body. I finally got packed up and headed out at almost 11. Gunslinger came along just as I was about to get on the trail. Mr Easy and No Problem had started only about 15-20 min prior. We had a climb of about 1100' to start. I actually felt good doing the climb. I stopped in at the Bryant Ridge Shelter - wow, how elaborate! There's a big deck, windows and 3 levels. Only problem is there were a lot of noseeums. I met 3 new hikers - Hangman (a different one), Castaway (with his Wilson tennis ball character), and Part Time (a long section hiker). They are doing some big days so I probably won't see them again. Next was a 2200' climb up Floyd Mountain. Most of it was a fairly nice grade with a few steep spots. It felt good. I got to Cornelius Creek Shelter and took my boots off and decided that would be it for today. Hopefully that will take care of the tiredness and I'll be back to bigger miles tomorrow. It started to feel like it was going to rain. Gunslinger (a local section hiker) showed up after awhile. He is a lot of fun and can certainly get you laughing. We got a fire started and had a nice evening.
Date: 2007-05-24
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Matts Creek Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

I saw my first bear today, although not much of it. I was climbing Apple Orchard Mountain and heard the branches snapping and noises of a large animal. I looked just in time to see the black fur pass through the trees and over the rocks. Needless to say, I didn't get a picture. Today was a great day. I felt great all day and there were lots of great views. The last 5 miles coming into the shelter was very pretty. You get some great views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the James River. All day I will see things and think I'll have to write about it and then I'll forget when it comes time to write in my journal that night. I often see squirrels, chipmunks, snakes, spiders, lizards, salamanders, frogs, rabbits, many birds, centipedes, butterflies chasing other, and deer bounding away and then standing there staring at me as I walk by. I also see lots of flowers blooming. The Mountain Laurel and Rhododendrons are still really pretty. I feel so lucky to be out here with all of this! Matts Creek Shelter is nice. It's one that has a stream close by so it's great for getting water and to hear it running all night long. It's only Mr. Easy and me here for the night.
Date: 2007-05-25
From: Matts Creek Shelter

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: broken clouds

The plan is to meet Ed (Guinness) at Rt. 60 on Saturday so I would split the difference between the 2 days and go to Punchbowl Shelter today. It's a fairly short day so I took my time getting going. Since it was only Mr. Easy and me in the shelter, we had no snorers and nobody waking us up. We both had a really good sleep. He started out about 10 and I started out about 11. Sheephead and Dealer Dan had stopped in for a break and said they would also be headed for Punchbowl. There were a couple of good climbs to do today. I remember hearing that Virginia was easy, but I don't agree. You keep going down in valleys and then have to get back up on the ridges. It's very pretty though. Many of the water sources are not so great right now since it has been so dry. Little Rocky Row actually had more view points than Big Rocky Row even though it was higher. Bluff Mountain and Punchbowl Mountain didn't have much for views though. It was a nice walk today, but it was hot and humid. Punchbowl has a pond so I am listening to frogs and crickets tonight and several birds. The pond is pretty muddy and not very inviting for a swim. The water source clogged all of our filters. I'm really looking forward to a shower and laundry tomorrow. I haven't had a shower since Monday morning. Ed will be waiting for me - he may be sorry to have me in his car though!