morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2012-05-02
From: VA 670 at South Fork Holston River

To: I-81 at exit 54
Miles today: 19.4

Woke up in Marion, VA. Started on the drive to the start spot and decided to stop at Mt. Rogers Visitor Center to fill Rog's water bag. The car parked beside us had a hiker and his wife, Roger and Sandy St. Germaine from New Hampshire. We started talking to them and discovered that he was a Roger also. Rog and Rog decided to hike together so off they went when we got to the remote spot with a parking space barely big enough for our two cars. Sandy followed me back to the visitor center and we made plans to spend the day together. We drove back to Marion so I could take our car in for an oil change and then we went in her car downtown. We had lunch at a nice bistro and then went to the library for an hour or so. Later we went to the Settler's Museum/Farm but got there too close to closing time so went back to Sandy's hotel for awhile..then back to pick up the guys and all went to a hiker restaurant called the BARN for dinner. It is a "bare bones" kind of place but welcomes hikers straight off the trail. We then parted company for the evening and came back to our room to catch up the journal and get some rest for tomorrow. I added lots of pictures in the photos section (click on the pictures to see a larger version and more comments under the picture) and added some text to some of the recent journals with my thoughts. Keep signing the guest book...thanks to the faithful who sign often!! We love hearing from you all.
Date: 2012-05-06
From: Woods Hole

To: Licking Creek at Hwy 608
Miles today: 19.2

SOS got up early and was on his way with Michael driving him the 12 mile to his start point near Woods Hole. NO driving for me this morning. I ate breakfast with lots of the hikers¢¦we had French toast, scrambled eggs with greens, homemade bread, and bananas with yogurt plus juice and coffee. Way too much food so couldn¢t finish it all. Neville and I went to the Thessalia UM church which is her home church. There were 25 people there including me. The pastor, Amy Beth Bartee, has a FIVE point charge which I had never heard of before. We sang two familiar hymns, had a children¢s sermon for the 4 kids, and a good sermon about doing what God asked you to do and not making excuses about why you can¢t¢¦sounded like what SOS and I decided when we started this adventure! The pastor is very enthusiastic and there were lots of future activities on the calendar including a mission trip to Oklahoma in August to work with the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference..so it appears to be a small but mighty little country church. After church, I ate some dehydrated fruit for lunch and went out on the porch to knit in the swing. I had just started when one of the resident cats jumped right into my lap and made herself at home. She just stretched out full length on my leg and sat there for 30 minutes or so. I guess she didn¢t get the memo that I am not really a cat lover¢¦or maybe she did and decided to test me!! See more pictures in photos. I talked with Steps awhile¢¦she is a hiker who has hurt her knees and feet so is staying here for a week to try and heal. I finished my David Baldacci book and it was time to drive the 30 miles¢¦again¢¦to pick up SOS. When I got there I only waited for about 20 minutes when here he came! When I jumped out of the car to greet him, I looked down at the ground and almost screamed when I saw a deer¢s leg and foot on the ground near the car! I jumped back in the car. On we went to Hwy 606 to pick up Weaver and Sarge who needed a ride back to Woods Hole. They were just getting something to eat. SOS wanted to take me to Dismal Falls¢¦ only a mile away¢¦so we went there and hiked down to the Falls¢¦a most lovely spot in the world. See picture in photos. There were lots of hikers on the other side of the Falls that we knew. Many of them will camp there tonight. We picked up our hikers and I drove us all back to Woods Hole. We arrived in time for dinner which tonight was Michael making his famous wood fired pizza, salad straight from the garden a few minutes before, and Neville¢s famous homemade wheat bread¢¦with strawberry ice cream for dessert. After dinner, we talked with some of our new friends. Weaver helped me with drop spindle spinning and told me about places to stay on our way through Virginia¢¦thanks, Weaver, for both things! Then it was time to plan tomorrow and get some rest.
Date: 2012-05-08
From: Clenndening Road - Pearisburg, VA

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

SOS took a zero today after 10 straight days of long hiking days. It was a good decision because it rained hard during the day. Neville, at Woods Hole, wanted to give him a massage so that is what he did first before we headed out for Blacksburg. We went to a coffee shop called the Mill Mountain Coffee Cafe which was recommended by Michael and Neville. It was very popular, lots of tables, and we got the last two seats. We worked on our journal to catch up from two days with no access. Then it was off to a yarn shop that SOS found for me. The lady there was very nice and answered all my questions. She printed off a free pattern for me. We ate lunch at a vegetarian restaurant where I had the best hummus on a bed of lettuce that I have ever had¢¦and I eat it lots of places! Back at Woods Hole, several hikers had arrived that we knew so we caught up on hiker news. Dinner was soup and Mexican lasagna¢¦both very good. A hiker named Opie (because he looks just like the character of the same name on the Andy Griffith show) played his guitar and sang. Several other hikers joined in with musical instruments and singing. It was a good time in the living room.SOS and I have 17 nieces and nephews. At last count, I think we have had two of them sign the guest book - one on SOS¢s side and one on Trail Mama¢s. So if the other 15 are reading the journal, how about a message to Uncle Rog and Aunt Judy??? We would love to hear from you and catch up on news of you and your families.Some people asked about Michael and Neville¢s animals. As far as I could tell, there are 4 pigs, more chickens than that and no cow that ever got mentioned or seen. They still buy most of their meat, milk, ice cream (Neville now makes and sells ONE QUART size milk/fruit shakes) etc. from the local Amish people.
Date: 2012-05-14
From: I-81 at Hwy 779

To: VA 43
Miles today: 20.4

Up early and took SOS to his start spot. Daughter Megan arrived at 10:00. We checked out of the hotel and headed to the laundromat to do a load of clothes. After they were done, we headed for the Peaks of Otter which was our next stopping spot. It rained and rained all day so driving on mountain roads was not as fun as usual and the views were nonexistent with all the fog. we found the lodge and checked in. Our room was a little less or a lot less than wonderful for the price we paid. It was disappointing after several people told us we should not miss this lodge. The restaurant/gift shop/lounge area was in a separate building so off in the rain we went to check it out. We both read in the lounge for awhile then went to pick up a VERY wet SOS. When he took off his hiking boots, he poured water out of them. Back at the room, we had wet stuff everywhere! We decided to eat at the lodge because we were so far from anything else. There was one poor waitress for the entire huge room so we didn't even get water for 1/2 hour and no food for almost an hour....and then it was nothing to write home about.. so the whole experience here was not what we had expected. Back at the room, we rearranged the wet things to try and get them dry overnight and went to bed. The antique store in the picture looked so interesting with all the animals hanging on the sides but it was never open when I went by so didn't get to go in. I can't remember what the road name of the day is so will enter it at a later date if it comes back to me. I am catching up this journal on Wednesday because we have had no internet access for 2 days.
Date: 2012-05-15
From: VA 43

To: 78.4 Blue Ridge Parkway
Miles today: 17.9

Trail Mama here:First of all...a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR GRANDDAUGHTER FAITH ANN!! With two cars available, I was able to hike some today with my daughter, Megan. SOS drove one car to our stop point and we drove the other to his stop point. Then we hiked the 6.6 miles towards each other. Meg and I had stopped at a beautiful overlook spot with some huge rocks when SOS showed up. We traded keys¢¦thanks for remembering, Meg! It was at the 3.6 mile mark and my knee and leg were starting to protest. Since our accident in 1999, my left knee and hip do not like to be overly taxed! So I hiked the last 3 miles in pain with both knees and hip now screaming with each step. We ran into Einstein, Teflon, and Nitrous Oxide who asked how I was. When I told them, Teflon immediately offered me a knee brace. I declined because after my first hike and the same problem after about 3 miles of hiking, NR insisted that I wear one of his but it really didn¢t help the problem. It was VERY thoughtful of you both and I appreciate the concern! They are actually the first hikers that told me ¢it is only a little ways yet¢ and it actually WAS! After sharing oranges, apples, juice and cookies with them, they were off hiking again and Meg and I were on our way to Wildwood Campground. We decided to go to Buchanan first and go to the Buchanan Grill which has a soda fountain. We ate and then I limped across the street to the car¢¦by this point I literally could barely walk. On we went looking for the campground which wasn¢t even close to where SOS thought it was. We got to the Big Island Elementary school where we saw some people. We stopped and asked a man how to get to the campground. He gave us very complete directions and we drove right there¢¦but it was another 15 minutes PAST where SOS thought it was. (His guidebook said it was .6 miles past Big Island but it is no where near that) We arrived and checked into a cabin for 4. Runner was in the area so he and SOS got back together. Meg and I settled in to wait for the guys. The cell phone reception is very bad so we were shocked when my phone rang. It was a friend from Oregon and we actually got to talk for a long time without ¢call lost¢. It was a God thing that my phone was working because when SOS called later to say he was lost we were able to give him exact directions to find us. They arrived about 10:45 and we all quickly settled in for the night¢¦SOS and I in a double bed and Runner and Meg in bunks.The road name of the day: Meg saw this one and started laughing so it is the winner. PURGATORY MOUNTAIN ROAD¢¦ So the question is¢¦do people who live on this road ever just say¢¦I am going to Purgatory or I live in Purgatory??
Date: 2012-05-16
From: 78.4 Blue Ridge Parkway

To: James River Foot Bridge
Miles today: 17.3

Trail Mama here:All 4 of us up in the cabin at Wildwood Campground. Megan went off with Runner and SOS to hike 4.4 miles and then she drove the car back to the cabin. Meanwhile I did laundry, showered and organized¢¦a constant with all of our things for 6 months in the back of our car. Meg and I decided to drive into Lynchburg to check it out. We went first to McDonald¢s so that I could get internet and catch up the journal. They have great high speed connections and are my favorite place to work because of the speed of picture downloading. We also did a resupply of Trail Mama¢s travelling backseat store. We are shifting gears a bit in what we buy¢¦hikers love fruit juice and real fruit so am buying apples and oranges (bananas squish too easily in the pack) and juice along with the ever popular candy bars, cookies and hard candy. Every hiker is so appreciative that it makes it all worth it to see their grateful smiles. On the way back to the campground, we stopped at a little roadside store that said PIE SHOP (see picture in photos). We ended up buying a chocolate pecan pie since pecan is SOS¢s favorite pie (he loves my Mom¢s version of pecan pie). Meg needed to be back to the James River Foot Bridge to hike the 2.2 miles to the shelter where she was going to meet SOS and Runner. So off we went and she crossed the beautiful bridge and into the woods. I sat in the car and read and then decided to cross that long bridge myself¢¦not my favorite thing to do but I worked up my courage and went across by staying in the middle and not looking around! I made it to the other side and since it was level and my knees were not complaining I went on and on and on and once again!! never did meet up with the guys or Megan so I turned around and came back to the bridge. By now there were 6 young people in swimsuits jumping off the bridge into murky water. It looked dangerous to me but then I am a Mom. I took some pictures of them (see photos)and a short video. Meg showed up after waiting at the shelter for 40 minutes for the guys. We went back to the car to wait and finally about 5:30 Runner and SOS showed up. Relief is seeing my guy safe and sound! Back to the campground for the guys to shower and then back to Lynchburg for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Two stops on the way to the cabin for more resupply and then we all went to bed¢¦after pecan pie and milk! Road name of the day: LOVELY LANE not much choice today so we just picked this for the sound of it...it would be nice to say...I live on Lovely Lane...better than I live on Purgatory Mt. road!!
Date: 2012-05-17
From: James River Foot Bridge

To: US 60
Miles today: 21.8

SOS Here:Hiked with Runner the first of the day. He stayed at the first shelter and I hiked on to US 60. I will miss hiking with Runner but I want to make Harpers Ferry WV by June 2 and Pine Grove Furnace State Park by June 6. Very few hikers hike the whole trail together for various reasons. Some of the reasons are their paces are different, they need breaks at different times. etc.Saw Breezy a young hiker from Sarasota, FL 4 times today at the James River Foot Bridge, Relaxing and drinking an ice tea and coffee concoction, next at the spring where we filled up with water and at the last shelter before I got off the trail today. You know you are getting old when the young people like Breezy keep telling you how impressed with how good you are hiking the trail. Oh well.Received trail magic at the end of the day. I had Mini Mama take some so she could see and experience what AT trail magic is. Trail Mama: Meg drove Runner and SOS to their start spot while I packed up the cabin and prepared to move on. When she got back, we both drove our cars 39 miles to the town (which isn't) of Montebello. I stopped at the post office and asked where the town is...the postman laughed and said this is all there is...post office, store, and fire station. We decided to try to Dutch Haus which has been recommended by many others. We are glad we did because it is a wonderful spot run by wonderful people named Earl and Lois. We ate a great lunch and relaxed until time to go pick up SOS. Since there is no cell service here, Earl advised us to go to the route 60 pickup spot and sit on the picnic table closest to the road and we could have service. He was right! We called Jeff and Josh who were on their way from Ft. Wayne to tell them where to find us. SOS arrived and we drove to Buena Vista to an Italian restaurant which had great food! Back on I-81 to our home for the night. Earl, Lois, Chuck and I stayed up for a little while. We got to talking about the names of famous people's horses. Do you know the name of General Lee's horse? (knew this one and impressed the others!), Roy Rogers horse? (everyone past a certain age knows that one), Dale Evans' horse? The Cisco Kids horse?, Tonto's horse? Tom Mix's horse? Scroll to the bottom to see the answers.Jeff and Josh arrived at 2am...not that I knew that until morning. I tried to stay awake but just couldn't.The road name of the day is: SWAPPING CAMP ROAD Meg and I just liked the sound of it. Gen. Lee - Traveler, Roy Rogers- Trigger, Dale Evans - Buttermilk, Cisco Kid - Diablo, Tonto - Scout, Tom Mix - Tony (not a very good horse name in my mind!)
Date: 2012-05-18
From: Crabtree Falls Road

To: Salt Gap
Miles today: 11.2

Sons, Josh and Jeff, got up reluctantly for 7am breakfast since they had little sleep. Megan wanted to hike with her Dad and brothers but just didn't feel well enough so SOS, the boys, and I drove to Crabtree Falls to their start point after several false starts trying to find this spot. It involved driving on a very bad stretch of road with one spot where the road was washed out. And I had to drive back down all by myself. Of course, I made it and got back to the Dutch Haus where Meg was still sleeping which was the best thing for her. Later she and I drove off to get the guys since they were supposed to be hiking a short day. We found the spot after getting on the wrong short cut and driving 5 miles instead of 500 yards!! This was another ridiculous road...a -1 on my ratings! We sat and waited almost 3 hours the for guys. At one point we walked back on the trail for a ways but no guys.Later on I walked on the trail for a ways again and still no guys. They finally arrived! On the drive down, we discovered a beautiful waterfall that Meg and I missed on the way up. We all got out to share the beautiful view. We found the shorter short cut that we missed before and got back to the Dutch Haus in time for showers for the guys and dinner...delicious as usual.Earl told me that I was the only person he knew that had driven on both sections of roads in 24 hours that he doesn't drive on. I said I don't think that is a designation that I wanted to have. We all went to our rooms early. Meg and I decided that our road for the day is: PAINTER MOUNTAIN ROAD. This was not for the uniqueness of the name but because this was the 5 mile "short cut" that we took by mistake!
Date: 2012-05-19
From: Salt Gap

To: US 60
Miles today: 8.5

Trail Mama: Meg got up for the 7am breakfast with her dad and brothers and then was off for the long 12 hour drive back to Michigan. Her husband, Jon, has been taking care of their 5 kids while she has been here so I am sure they were all glad to see her back home. SOS, Jeff and Josh drove both cars to their start and stop points so I did not have to drive them today. In fact, I wasn't feeling well so I slept until noon. I had an enjoyable afternoon listening to Tamir, a hiker, play Earl and Lois' Steinway piano. He plays classical music and is quite good! The piano is a great story. Earl got it in Philadelphia from a defunct hotel. The people selling things there didn't have it on their list so Earl paid them $200 and now, after restoring it, has a Steinway which is one of only 8 made like it. According to Tamir, it plays beautifully! I knitted while listening..the same hat that has given me fits but now I am just making up a pattern as I go and not following the one I started on...there is more than one way around that problem! Lots of hikers that we knew were coming in..Runner, Teflon, Einstein, Nitro, and Middlebury were here to name a few. There has been a bear lurking around the last two nights which caused some excitement. He raided the trash so it was moved. The men arrived back at Dutch Haus finally and we ate dinner in the second shift with a mom and daughter section hiking pair who met up with dad/husband here. We enjoyed our time with them and Middlebury. After relaxing some and doing some planning for tomorrow, we all went to bed. No road sign name today because I wasn't on any roads.
Date: 2012-05-20
From: Crabtree Farm Road

To: VA56
Miles today: 5.7

SOS, Jeff and Josh were up for breakfast at 7am. Trail Mama skipped breakfast today. Earl shuttled the men to their trailhead. They were doing a short hike because SOS has a sore shin and didn't want to go far. That was fine with the other two. When I went to pick them up, there were many people across the street in the parking lot. Jeff was over there so I went over to see him. SOS and Josh were not off the trail yet. Nitrous Oxide's wife, parents, and other family members were there with an amazing amount of food for trail magic. They were grilling hamburgers, hotdogs, and had everything you could think of to go with it including fresh fruit salad. It was nice to meet his family. Back at the Dutch Haus, Connect 4 was there and challenged Jeff to a game. She won two in a row and Jeff's comment was..."at least I was beat by a pro" Josh in the meantime had written some Haiku about grasshoppers and the trail... A Haiku from Josh:Grasshoppers hoppingThousands flying through the airLike rain on dried leavesSOS here:As you can see, I hiked less today than I did yesterday and less yesterday than the day before yesterday. I think, I am getting better, but I believe I am suffering from a shin splint on my right leg.I thought, after hiking over 800 miles I was exempt from suffering any physical ailments. I was wrong. Every step on the right foot causes some discomfort. I will be taking the rest of the day off and will do a zero tomorrow.I can not begin to tell you, how great it has been to hike with three of my five children this week. They make me feel loved. Thanks Jeff, Megan and Josh for the memories.Meanwhile, that evening Trail Mama and I ate our last dinner at the Dutch Haus. We started with another delicious salad, followed by chicken, corn cob and green beans. The eight sitting around the big table clicked. We spent the meal laughing, enjoying each others company and sharing this part of the journey. We ended the meal with peanut butter pie - I could have eaten another piece and probably another. Connect Four loved it so much; she licked her plate clean.I spent the rest of the evening icing the sore leg, as I had done all afternoon.
Date: 2012-05-21
From: Dutch Haus - Montebello, VA

To: Staunton, VA
Miles today: 0.0

SOS took a zero today because of his sore shin. We packed up and reluctantly left the Dutch Haus. Our time spent there was wonderful - Earl and Lois were the very definition of great hosts, Hannah was delightful, the food was wonderful, and we got to see many of our hiker friends who came and went from there also. We headed for Staunton with many stops on the way. Our first stop was at Gertie's Country Store. It was a typical little local store that serves breakfast and lunch besides selling lots of stuff. On to McCormick's Farm which turned out to be home of inventor Cyrus McCormick. At age 22 in July 1831, he invented the McCormick Reaper which changed the way farming was done forever. Next we visited Wade's Mill which is closed on Mondays but the owner came out of his house and let us visit. It is still a working mill and they make "fancy family flour" according to their advertising. When we got to Staunton, we went to lunch at a local restaurant where we had a brie and fruit plate with gazpacho soup. This in SOS's favorite soup and he vowed to work on perfecting his recipe when we get home in Sept/Oct. We went to the visitor's center where the very helpful lady told us about the 2 things we did next. First we went to a demonstration at the Sunspots Studio and watched a glass blower make a beautiful glass piece. Next we took a tour of the Blackfriars Playhouse. This was a fascinating look at this theater which is a re-creation of Shakespeare's indoor theater in England. Grandma Moses lived nearby for 18 years so the art and history center had a display of her work in the gallery. We enjoyed reading about and seeing her paintings. It was time to find a new home so we used another great coupon and checked into the Day's Inn which turns out to be one of the nicest places we have stayed so far. We settled in and watched a little TV for the first time in a long time before going to sleep.