morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-04-30
To: Ash Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I got up at 6:30 this a.m. The shelter was so warm last night I was able to use my bag liner and drape my bag over me. Beautiful sunrise. I was out by 9:00 with 12 miles to go to Ash Gap. The t-storms that had been threatening loomed in the distance with no sign of stopping. Then the thunder started, a lot of it but still in the distance. Then it got closer. From the ridge it was clear that it would hit us. I high-tailed it toward the shelter as it began to drizzle and got to the shelter just as the sky unloaded. I ate lunch and talked with a crew already there. Must be my day because the skies cleared as soon as I finished. My lunch was tortillas with cheese and pepperoni and tortillas with PB&J. I then headed out to either Ash Gap or Roan Knob Shelter. Then the second wave hit. It is always difficult to determine what to do about rain gear. You sweat in it so what's the point? Well, I began to get cold so I put it on. I began a 4 mile climb (after seeing Sprout and Hopeful slack-packing) to the 6,285 summit of Road Mtn. Cold and wet, my Gore-tex was useless. First I'm cold, then hot and sweaty, now in the wind, now out. Root and rocks twisting my ankles and knees in every direction. Rain starts, rain stops and my body is aching. My pack refused to fasten to my hips without it being an excruciating ordeal. There were so many times that I wanted to quit. I would come upon a flat, round a corner then up again - over and over and over. Finally after 2.5 hours of climbing, summit and shelter!We stayed at a really cool cabin-like shelter atop Roan Mtn. I was so happy to see my friends Trucker and Bingo there. It took me forever to figure out how to get water, get out of my wet clothes, find all my stuff and get dinner going. But finally I did. I ate fresh ramps with mac & cheese and pepperoni and mashed potatoes. It was just a thick cheesy soup! I am finishing this entry this a.m. - the first of May. I am dreading putting on wet clothes to get off this mountain and my allergies are going absolutely haywire and it's relly windy and cold out. Yuck!
Date: 2003-05-04
From: Apple House Shelter

To: Pond Flats
Miles today: 0.0

I am absolutely alone on a mountaintop. There is only one place up here for camping and I am on it with no one in sight, save for the lights of Hampton glowing below. Tenting alone does not strike me with the abject terror it once did - I suppose this is due to my comfort with my daily ritual/routine, along with simply getting used to the moans and groans of trees, the calls of owls and other night creatures, and various nocturnal occurrences. I got a last minute ride from the hostel I was staying at and hit the trail at arount 4 p.m. or so. There were only 3 of us and I had a room all to myself. Brick and mortar structure - 2 levels and basement, hardwood floors and a radio that I really enjoyed. I saw Adam, the guy I met in D.C. It was so weird, I swear I was thinking about him just yesterday and knew I would see him soon. I saw a bunch of old hiking partners: Fox, Dirty Brown, Odyssey, Coyote, Trucker and Bingo - all had slack-packed - that means while they are whooping it up in town tonight I not only camp here alone, but they are actually ahead of me! I said goodbye to Tough Cookie today. She left the trail for good to go work on an organic farm in New York.
Date: 2003-05-10
From: Mount Rogers Shelter

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I set off this a.m. and was surrounded by Fraser firs dying from some kind of insect infestation. At the summit I felt that same awareness or awakening again, or as if I was missing something. I sat for a while on the summit which was a rock and clearing in the firs, and felt and thought.
Date: 2003-05-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The next day was a hard hike. No particular reason, just a hard pull, lots of downs and lots of pain. The first part was really cool, I went through the Rhododendron Gap thru the Fat Man Stretch - this little rocky outcropping on top of a hill with wild ponies and cattle. Fat Man Stretch was a little narrow passageway within the rocks. A beautiful section - lots of open green. That night I camped with Strap Pack - we were the only two in the shelter. At about 10 p.m. I finally started getting to sleep when Flatlander rolled in. At 12 a.m. Casey, Axel and Runaway rolled in with hardly a word. Today was an awesome hike. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, left before I did. The tent garden I slept in seemed like a dream by 9:30 when I met Old Smokey Lonesome. He rolled in and brought a brief storm with him - and I rolled out into it. Great hike! I seemed full of energy. I planned to hike to a campsite 5 miles south of Partnership Shelter. I got to Trimpi and there were a bunch of great people there - Granite, Casey, Runaway, Still Bill and wife (?). It was a great scene - really fun. Hard to leave. They tried to talk me into staying but I had this great fantasy about hiking into the woods on this 3/4 moonlit night w/H.O.S. playing on the radio. Getting to within 5 miles of Partnership where there was a phone and pizza delivery for lunch tomorrow. I made myself leave. Beautiful pasture 1 mile North of Trimpi Shelter. One of my favorite scenes from the whole adventure. It began to get dark as I neared the south fork of the Holston River where I stopped for water. My radio picked up nothing at that elevation.I got water and by the time I was ready to cross the 12 foot bridge, the sun had given way to the moon. Headlamp on, I moved ahead into the dark woods beyond the road. I kept seeing and hearing strange things. I saw 2 red eyes looking at me and I know that deer eyes reflected green. They were also weirdly spaced and I finally realized they were reflective markers! On I went. After just .2 miles into the woods all was dark. My headlamp was out and I had lent my spare to Chris and he had never returned it. So back I went. Some furry little animal was spooked and ran and I prayed it wasn't a skunk. I tripped and prodded my way back in the darkness. Finally, miraculously, I made it back to the road. I was so mad at myself for getting so cocky. No spare flashlight, no experience changing the bulb and night hiking alone - all stupid! I went back to a clearing on the south side of the river. As I set my bear bag, 2 green eyes glared at me from the trees. This kind of spooked me but I finally adjusted my light enough to see the deer. Finally I am in my tent at 10:30 p.m. with about 8 miles to go to the shelter.
Date: 2003-05-14
From: Crawfish Valley

To: Pond-south of Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

Fire Angel, Odyssey, and I cowboy camped by the fire last night. Fire Angel and I gathered wood and made piles for each of us to keep the fire alive. I placed a pile between myself and the fire to catch any flaming logs that shifted and broke out of the ring. I noticed that Odyssey was sleeping directly down hill from the fire and was most vulnerable to a vengeful log, so I placed a wooded barrier at her head. Just moments after I placed the barrier, a fiery log rolled right at her and was caught by my snare. That night whenever we got cold, one of us would wake up and tend to the fire. We stayed warm and dry all night while those in their tents complained of being cold.The next morning, when we woke up, I asked Odyssey if she new about the log. She said that all she remembered was me saying, ¢Good, it worked!¢ and assumed that I had hit her in the head with the log to get her to stop snoring. I hiked out and after a while I found Fire Angel sunning in a clearing, so I joined her. She and I read and wrote postcards. That night I wanted to get to Chestnut Shelter on Chestnut knob. Virginia gave us one last 4,000 foot elevation and it was brutal. It just didn¢t want us getting cocky. The sight of Romeo¢s and Coyote¢s tents in a field by a pond 2 miles south of the shelter were just too much to pass up. We had an incredible sunset and spent the night laughing and snacking by a fire.
Date: 2003-05-18
From: Bland

To: Bland
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

That weekend was incredible. There was no discomfort that usually accompanies reunions- at any point. Everything felt so natural as if she had walked the trail with me- I guess in a sense she had. We went into Wytheville and got some drinks at a place called the Wolfhaurt. It was a little German bar attached to a dinner theatre. It was great. They had a whole list of just Heffeweizens ( a great German beer that my friend Lloyd turned me onto long before the trail- Sidetrack in Damascus is the only other place I have seen them out here). No matter where we went, we always seemed to end up back at the Wolfhaurt. We went into Bluefield, West Virginia and just explored the town and checked out the antique shops. It rained periodically throughout the weekend. But I didn¢t care¢¦except for the stray thought that drifted to fellow hikers who may still be up on the ridge. When it rained I was warm, dry, and snuggled up to Natasha¢¦what a feeling. But it did not last long. I managed to talk her into staying until Monday morning but Sunday night was her last night to visit.
Date: 2003-05-19
From: Bland

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: overcast clouds

At a church parking lot at the trailhead just outside of Bland we said our tearful goodbyes. Natasha drove back to pick up Charity and Switchback and give them a lift to Blacksburg (they were hiking partners and Switchback had an in-grown toenail that he needed removed). I hiked out with a heavy heart. I felt like I merely trudged on that day. It was so hard to say good-bye and realized that I probably wouldn¢t see her again until I got into the Shenandoah¢s. I met a section hiker at Helvey¢s Mill Shelter 2.3 miles North of Bland- Big John. The conversation was pleasant and took my mind off Natasha and put it on the trail for a while. Ten miles later I was at Jenny Knob Shelter with Haiku, Rubberband Man and my old friend Fire Angel.
Date: 2003-05-21
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Pearisburg, Va
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: light rain

Yesterday I hiked 14.2 miles to the Wapiti Shelter and was there with Big E, Bear Bait, and Burn. More rain. Today we descended Angel's Rest. A sharp descent into Pearisburg. So steep you can clearly make out this descent from all the others looking west off of I-81. It was a switchbacked ramp of sheer mud. You could make out the trek of every hiker gone before that day. Usually one or two boot prints then a long slide. It was a harrowing journey. Two miles straight down. There was a huge skid mark that had to be a hiker going into the muck¢¦hopefully on their back. It took forever. I finally made it onto terra firma¢¦a road crossing. But it just crossed over to another descent. .5 and I was in the town of Pearisburg. I ran into Casey whose trail name was now Sweet Ass. He had left Axle and Runaway behind. Just couldn¢t slow down for their pace. This happens often. It is hard to make attachments here because it is so rare for people to coordinate zero days or to go the same pace as others. Rumors of other hikers' descents from the Rest were well circulated. The worst was Big E who had a face plant on the way down and was covered head to toe in mud at the bottom. I believe that the folks at the Rendezvous Motel hosed him off. Casey and I got a room and Fire Angel soon followed. The folks at the Rendezvous were great! They had a good assortment of fuel and other hiking supplies for sale in their lobby. They even let us use the phone in one of the rooms that was not being used. Good people. We dined at Hardees and scoped out the Post Office. A local named Melvin took quite a liking to Fire Angel. We didn¢t know it at the time, but Melvin had QUITE the reputation with the lady hikers. His best pick up line was to, while driving ¢performing his duties as the local shuttle service- talk about the loss of his son to a hunter's bullet and that he had a gun for whenever he found the responsible party. He would ask if you wanted to see it and as the hiker insisted that that was not necessary he would produce a small wooden object with a woman bent over and a man behind her. He would then squeeze the trigger and then laugh hysterically as the ¢¦well¢¦you get the idea. For some reason this strategy did not prove too successful for Melvin. I don¢t know if it was his technique or the fact that he wore the same clothes everyday.
Date: 2003-10-13
From: Millinocket, Maine

To: Bangor, Maine
Miles today: 0.0

This is actuall an entry from Last Minute. I am afraid that since my hand writing is completely illegible, I will have to make my entries in a flip-flop section writer manner. Though my hike was thru.I summited Katahdin on a class 2 day at 11:30 AM surrounded by great friends! Tank, Willow, Lion King, Blip, Viking, Chillie Willy, Kilroy, Scabs, Riff-Raff, Monk, Indigo, and Cruiser. I will write in more details later. I am now in a rental car, roaming aimlessly through Maine, trying to get my head on straight. I keep trying to write out "Thank Yous" like closing credits. But there is just no way. There is too much to say too many people. So I will just say thank you to all angels out there who helped me through it all. Slacks, resupplies, hithces, kind words, a smile, a joke, food, right place right time, warm fires, cool swims, shelter, a caring ear; the renewal of faith in goodness is well worth the cost of 2,000 miles (and 2 toenails).More to come...
Date: 2003-01-13
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Hello to you all! My name is Leah Spurlin and I will begin hiking the Appalachian Trail on March 1, 2003. A little information about myself. I am 22 and a senior at Troy State University. I have changed majors several times and am still not 100% sure. As of right now, I am a nursing major. I am taking this semester off so that I can hike the AT. I am originally from Troy, AL, and I still live here, just moved back home to live with my parents until I leave in March for the hike of a lifetime. Some of my friends continue to joke, saying that they are expecting me to call them to come and pick me up at the halfway point. I know that the five to six months on the trail will not be easy. I will be faced with many challenges. I am so blessed that I have four other wonderful people hiking along with me--Julia, Emily, David, and Jason. I heard about the AT at a church homecoming in Brundidge, AL., and I soon became interested in it. My family travels to Helen, Georgia, each year, and my mother and I decided to hike up the mountain at Unicoi Gap. It was that November day, looking out over the mountains of red, yellow and orange, that I absolutely fell in love with them and the idea of hiking the trail. During my summers, I work at a Methodist Camp and it was there that I met Emily Capes--most of you may have been reading up on her journal--and we decided to give it a shot. We thought of hiking it in sections. We did start it Labor Day of 2001 and it was horrible! It rained the entire weekend and our tent leaked. Everything was soaked. I took a road trip in May of 2002. We were driving in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and it was then that I decided to take off of school and hike the trail. The mountains there were beautiful! I didn't have a lot of time during the fall semester to read or study up on the trail. I had a lot of help from Emily though. I have gotten most of my equipment. A friend is allowing me to use her dehydrator so soon I will have my food dehydrated. I went on an overnight hike this past weekend along with Emily and David. We caught the ground on fire because the fuel ran over as we were lighting our stove. It was interesting. Emily thinks that my trail name should be "frigid air" because i FROZE to death. I really don't like the cold. Plus I didn't have a liner for my sleeping bag at that time so maybe it will get better. I still have a lot to do and to prepare. I am getting my long beautiful red hair chopped off completely right before we depart. Now, I am working a part time job--trying to get physically, spiritually, and mentally ready for the big hike. I will be leaving in 7 weeks. This whole trail is a new change for me, a change that I am so blessed to have. Sorry that this is so long. When I get excited I don't know when to stop talking.
Date: 2003-01-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I have just returned from a retreat this past weekend. It was the last big event that stood between me and the trail. When I got home I opened package after package of equipment that I had previously ordered. It made me more excited! What I am realizing is that March 1st is quickly approaching. Each day I get more nervous and excited. Some more ideas for trail names that I have received are booboo, hacoda, and several more. I still haven't made a decision yet. In about 6 weeks my life is going to change forever. What does this trail and God have in store for me? I can't wait to find out!
Date: 2003-02-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

The days are flying by so fast now. I feel more and more anxious everyday. I would love to just leave now but I do have four more weeks of preparing to do. One thing that I am ready to "get away from" is the fast pace of the world. I long for a more simple way of life where I can spend each day in God's nature. I might not enjoy the rain, the cold, and who knows what else but I am ready for the change. I have all my equipment now and am dehydrating away, with the help of my parents. I have ten days of work left, then some traveling around before I depart. Still no trail name, but hopefully that will come later.
Date: 2003-02-05
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I increased my workouts today. I did 10 miles total on bike and the eliptical. I wanted to see where I stood and I felt pretty good. I have been lifting weights, mostly legs for the last month. Thanks to Journey I might have a name to start off with but I am still going to keep it open in case another name comes along. She suggested the name Thoughts. My dehydrator died yesterday so I have to figure out how I am going to dehydrate the rest of my food. I did make a lot of Gorp. I'll probably be eating better on the trail than I actually do now. A group of friends are coming down for the weekend and they are bringing pictures from the weekend hike that I took back in January. I'll have to get them scanned so you all can see. They should be very interesting. I have been reading up on a lot of people's journals and I wish each of you the best of luck. May God be with you all and hopefully our trails will cross so I can meet you. See you on the AT!
Date: 2003-02-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I finally got my journal updated, thank you Emily. Preparations are going great for me. I am working on my mail drops and everything else. I am trying to get out and hike as much as I can. Being from south Alabama, there aren't that many mountains and trails to hike on so I make the most out of it. We have this pond here and some hiking trails at a place called the Arboretum. This too has little to no hills but at least it is in the woods. As I was hiking the other day, I had a minute of quiet reflection as I looked over the pond, seeing all the reflections, and I realized that soon I would be seeing so much of God's nature and it made me even more excited! Due to a worried mother, I am going to get my hair cut off by a professional and give it to Locks of Love. I am meeting up with some of the other guys who are hiking with me and we are going to compare equipment and decide on the things we can share so we can drop some of the weight from our packs. I think that my pack now weighs around 30-35 pounds. I now have three days of work left and only 17 more days until the big hike!!! Thanks to all who have encouraged me and signed my guestbook! I will be sending my sister letters every week or so updating our hike. I'll try and get another entry in before we head off for the trail!
Date: 2003-02-20
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

WOW! Only nine days left until I leave! I can't believe that it is coming this fast. I just have a couple of little things left to purchase and I'm working away on my mail drops. I am getting my hair cut Monday morning. I think that once it is gone, it will really hit me that I'm about to go on a long journey. It's quite exciting! I have been visiting good friends the last week and so many questions about the hike have been asked. It just feels so good to be able to be so spontaneous. The weather down here in Alabama is beautiful! It has been really warm so it will be hard to adjust to the coldness of the winter once I hit the trail. I'm trying to appreciate all that I can while I still have it, like my family, my friends, my dog, my bed and so on....but it excites me that I will be able to sleep under the stars and see every sunrise and sunset for 6 months. How amazing that will be! Well, that is it for today! I'm about to take a walk and enjoy the sunshine and warmth while I can. Take care!
Date: 2003-02-28
To: Walasi-Yi Crossing
Miles today: 0.0

Hey guys! To start off this letter, my trail name is now Frigid Air. Well, this has been quite a week. My hair gone, no more food to dehydrate, no more training...my dream is within a day's reach. We all met in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. It was the first time the 5 of us had met as a group and we met with laughs and smiles. We have been eating like crazy - barbeque, pizza, and steak...and lots of it! The first night we all learned how to play the game Uker (?spelling). I believe we will play this game a lot. Sarah, Stac, and Bohannon- this game is so much like Rook- you guys would love it. With Jason's very small guitar, 3 good voices, along with many personalities, it makes me glow with excitement. I know God has us each here together so we can grow, share, and have the walk of our lives. We went to Amicalola Falls Friday morning. God blessed us with a beautiful day. We weighed our packs-Emily coming in with the lightest at 38 pounds, David, Julia, and my packs weighed 49, and Jason's weighed around 55. We walked up the 425 stairs alongside a beautiful huge waterfall-thank goodness we didn't have our packs on. The views were breathtaking! We went to REI and I talked with Jonah - AKA 10% - who just got done hiking the AT Southbound and he helped me to eliminate about 5 lbs. from my pack. So I suggest to all who are thru hiking that you take your pack someplace and get it stripped down. Friday night a bunch of cool people from Auburn came up. We all cut Emily's hair (very short) and shaved Jason's. Right now I feel overwhelmed. This time tomorrow night I will be living out my dream, sleeping in my ultralight MSR Zoid tent under the stars- that is if it is not raining. We have already met 3 people who are starting with us and I know that there are many more who will be at Springer tomorrow so keep not only the 5 of us, but everyone else as well in your prayers.               God bless you all!               Frigid Air - my trail name