morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-05
From: Abingdon

To: OBX (the Outer Banks)
Miles today: 0.0

The-Hiker-Formerly-Known-As-Disco (Guess it makes sense that a fella could dislike the name of "Disco"... We'd been calling him that for a good long time before learning he didn't really like the name. Oops!) was nice enough to come by in the morning and take us and Brad & Samurai to our respective destinations. Me and Mox were heading to enterprise car rentals.There a behemoth Ford F150 4x4 was waiting for us - our carriage to-be in the upcoming days. This is a massive beast of a vehicle, folks. It's taller than your already-amply-sized SUVS, and longer than just about anything you find in your common parkinglot. This attribute showed its immediate drawbacks when we tried to leave the restuarant where we got breakfast. People in the parking lot had to shout out directions to us ("It's okay, hon. You got another two inches you can pull back!") so we could leave without crushing one of the puny cars surrounding us like waiting Lilliputians.I'd say that we laughed in evil gas-guzzling delight as we tore out of Abingdon, leaving clouds of burnt rubber in our wake - but to do so would be a lie. And lying is only something you should do if you're thirteen or so and you and your friends all want to hang out and get up to early teen-sized mischief, so you - of course - say to your parents that you're going to stay at Mike's place and Chris says to his folks he's gonna be staying at my place, and so on and so on. No, in truth, we left Abingdon cautiously (navigating the beastly mountain of metal took some getting used to), but with an almost-guilty sense of freedom flowing through us. Knowing we were going to have a short respite from the trail was kinda exhilirating after it really sunk in.Four days of freedom... Okay, less, really considering how much of those two days was going to be filled with going to and from the coast.It was so strange to be moving so quickly after having gone at hiking pace for so very long. In no time at all we'd left the green and rolling Appalachians behind, and were traveling through flat lands and fields and rural communities.By the end of the day, we'd almost come as far as we'd hiked on foot during our entire Appalachian adventure.Also, by the end of the day, we were at the coast.The Outer Banks is a narrow sand spit that extends almost a hundred miles along the coast of North Carolina.It was on top of one of its dunes just over a hundred years ago that the Wright Bros. did their defining and world-changing famous experiments with flight.We went to sleep that night tired frm the long drive, but glad to be by the ocean.
Date: 2004-06-06
From: Nags Head, N.C.

To: Hatteras Island Lighthouse Campground
Miles today: 0.0

I had my heart set on camping and we were set to check out the Outer Banks, so we loaded up the land barge and went adventuring. The islands are long, with stretches of houses on stilts, looking more or less hurricane-ready. So many of them, in fact, that Whoa and I had to drive out of Nag's Head to get a clear view of them. We stopped at the Pea Island wildlife refuge area and sat down to watch the pelicans (which we lovingly re-designated pterodactyls) fly to and fro, and take in the atlantic views. We continued down to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse around and one of the four on the outer banks. We climbed to the top, and were treated to a view of the whole island. Lighthouses just have something about them- the ones here have lots of history, dating back to the Civil War, when Confederate Soldiers blew them up and/or stole their lights to disable them. This one is very well kept, and looked like a giant black & white candy cane (without the c! rook, of course). Quite a virgin lighthouse experience for me. We camped just a stone's throw away, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the beach. Watching a sand crane eat little crabs from the sand, I wondered what it felt like... Not that I was about to eat one, but every time that bird got one down, it seemed like he had to let it quit moving around before he sought another. He had such a ponderous look, like, "Hmm. Boy, this one's really got it out for my liver!"Camping that night was hot and humid, alternately windy and rainy. We kept dry, and the lighthouse beamed its light in dependably. Lightning bugs made their light show in response. We were surprised to find as we walked through the campground, the ground was covered with frogs. We tread slowly as they hopped out from under our feet.Morning came, and we decided to head north once more. We saw another movie, (The day after tomorrow) and suspended disbelief for a while. We went down to the beach for a swim, a swimming beach this time, and we fell in love with the art of floating around in the water again. I was thinking to myself, as I think Whoa was also, I could do this every day and never get tired of it. Pterodactyls flew gently above our heads, little fishes bumped into us, and we were in heaven.Our last day at the OBX was spent, you guessed it, floating in the ocean with the pterodactyls. I finally got cold, and watched Whoa lolling around in the sea. He chanced upon a sea turtle, swam up and it stayed with him through a couple of wave crashes. We finally drove off later in the afternoon, and it took some willpower to do so. The drive back is always longer than the drive out, so we made it as far as we could and crashed out for a while. We're back here in Damasus, ready to hike out now. Tomorrow is as auspicious as days get... The trail is calling, and I think it may pick up a bullhorn if we don't get out there quick!
Date: 2004-06-11
From: Hatteras Island Lighthouse Campground

To: Hidden Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8

Coming up to the shelter, the thunder was low and ominous; the forests around us creepy, mossy and dark. The thunder sounded like God's subwoofer was right above us, and that the amplifier was trying to convey too much power on the lowest notes, resulting in a crackling distorted rumble. And just as we were making the last tenth of a mile, the sky opened up - like God had just pulled out the plug on his collosal bathtub. Maybe he was going to check on his stereo system to see what was up with the sub-woofer.And we made it in through the curtains of rain to find Baloo & Wipeout from San Diego laying on the shelter floor, facing forward watching the rain with rapt expressions - like they were infront of a particularly dazzling widescreen HDTV show.It was pretty impressive, alright. The shelter's front yard (trees, firepit, and a privvy in the distance [hooray! no forest dumps for tomorrow! I'm having a hard time adapting gracefully to that particular facet of trail life, and since I'm bordering on TMI here, I'm going to get out of this parentheticl aside]) was reduced to a muddy splashing sea.It was good to have shelter from the storm.In a shelter.There is just some weather you don't wanna experience in your tent.----------The hiking day was good.Yes, our bodies had got a bit soft during our days of seaside liesure, but we ignored the multiple complaints coming from our tired muscles, and pushed on.The Creeper Trail was fun to be on. Hundreds of folks on bicycles went zooming happily past, and a couple of couples on horses. The lead horses in both cases were young and skittish - seeming like they were ready to revolt and bolt at any second. And we were privy to a scene of some skitish, awkward teen wiping out on a bridge. The gangly youth reminded me of myself at that age, and my heart went out to him a bit. Moxie gave him some antiseptic wipes and some bandaids.----------A light rain came up at one point in the day... Afterwards the forests were cloaked in a heavy mist.----------And coming up on a river-crossing truss of the old railroad path of the Virginia Creeper, we saw a doe on the far banks, eating some leaves of the bushes by the river. We stopped still. It stared at us, and its ears did that satelite dish thing as it checked as out. When we made no further movements (other than Moxie surreptitiously pulling out the disposable cam), it kept up with its riverside meal.When we decided to push on, she slowly made her way back into the woods.----------And now it's dark. The rain has stopped, except for the light flow of water drops off of wet leaves.And this big white moth is becoming attracted to my headlamp, so I'm gonna call it a night here.Sweet dreams, all.At mile 475 - Whoa.
Date: 2004-06-12
From: Hidden Mountain Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: light rain

I woke up somewhat sprightly and Whoa woke up groggily, but I whipped up some coffee on our new stove, and was able to entice him from slumber. We started in light rain, and after an hour it changed over to the threat of serious thunder. We took a little break by a meadow, watching the cows do their thing. We looked to the south, and watched and listened to a wall of rain coming our way. A booming crack of thunder resounded scarily close - at most 100 yards off - so we rushed over to an abandoned farmhouse and waited out the cloudburst and lightning on the porch. Looking like a usual red brick house from a distance, from the porch the house seemed more and more creepy. The house was empty, and for a while, or was it? From the porch we could see the cows were inclined to do the same thing as we were; they were huddled together under a tree. One of the many ways cows and humans can be alike.Luckily the thunder was short lived. The rain turned on and off to varying degrees all day. My shoes finally gave way to soggieness. We had a heck of a climb up to Whitetop, but it was beautiful. Blaze Azelias were all over, contrasting the green with their red-orange. We decended, and found a man playing amplified guitar in his van at the bottom. We enjoyed the entertainment for a moment or two, then it was on to Mount Rogers, the highest mountain in Virginia. We met many families as we climbed in higher or lower spirits, the soggier ones in Keds sneakers seemed to be lower than others. In fact, all of the dads were delighted, the moms, not so much.We were, however, delighted to make it to Thomas Knob shelter. It's new, two-level, and has its own pet deer! We met K-Bear and Sparepocket today, and Tag-a-long, the world's cutest puppy. Tag a long followed K-Bear out of Damascus, and has hiked with her for 30 miles. She's a bit too young to be a trail dog, only 2 months, so her roommate is coming to get her. Whoa and I may lead her away in the night with pepperoni, because we love her and cannot hike without her. Sigh, puppy love.The view is amazing behind the shelter here, the clouds are in the valleys between the hills. The deer here are so tame, they follow the hikers around. We watched her for a while, then Whoa got a few flecks of fiddle faddle to feed to the fawn. He got her to approach just a few feet away. Others found she was fond of following them to the privy. A funny deer.Ok, I've got to go work on my pooch-stealing plans!moxie
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Hurricane Shelter

To: random point in woods
Miles today: 15.4

remember that puppy moxie mentioned a couple entries back? well, karen, k bear and gary were at the shelter when we showed up.pups was there too.and after everyone was crashed out, she came over by me, and kinda shared my pillow (fleece over my clothing bag) with me. and I felt the intense gravity of cuteness to the situation. til she started snoring, but even after a while I started to think *that* was cute.I was dead tired but unable to dive into sleep as the puppy tossed and turned.and then, just on the door to dreamland, my hand shifted a bit on my sleeping bag to discover a warm, wet patch.puppers had taken a big sopping leak in my sleeping bag...I knew it was beyond my power to do anything about it at that point (around midnight), plus I thought it unikely that she'd go again, so I just put the soppiest part over the puppy, thinking her body heat would help dry it out a bit. plus maybe it'd teach her a lesson. I doubted it, but whatever.then moxie got up for some reason, and then some actual hours were allowed to pass and some sleep was slept.the sun wasn't yet up when one of the other guys in the shelter got up, being super loud and annoying.apparently the dog had just doused his bag. and he woke up cranky.which made everyone else wake up cranky.anyway. a cranky day followed.saw k bear and gary later to learn the dog had "voted itself off the island" with its evening theatrics. karen had taken her offtrail to try to find her a home. which is good cuz the woods is no place for a puppy.the day passed.we saw deer later in the early evening.and later, after the tent was set up, the fireflies came out.they were so bright that it looked through the tent walls like people were moving around outside with flashlights.then the rains came down heavily. I thought of a Tom Waits line: and the rain sounds like a round of applause.and it did.then, finally, sleep came. - whoa
Date: 2004-06-15
From: random point in woods

To: Marion, VA
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: light rain

Finally, some sleep! The two nights of sleeping in shelters with folks who thought banging pots around at 5am and puppies peeing on us, we had decided to camp. What a marvelous decision. We had a nice cup of coffee, and a nice stroll out of the woods, knowing we would be in Marion before lunchtime. The hike was fast and easy, and just before the road into Marion we came upon the Partnership Shelter. Most shelters are just three walls, a floor, varying in size and mice content. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but this place is something really special. Not only is it right next to the Mt. Rogers NRA headquarters (national recreation area, not national rifle association, I made the same mistake) where there is a phone that you can order actual pizza delivery TO the shelter, it has a sink and a hot shower. Unbelivable! We stuck around for an hour or so just to absorb the glory of the place. We took showers, and read the register. Silky, who we had done a ! fair amount of hiking with, had decided to quit the trail owing to all the days of rain. I am sorry she's decided to stop, and I hope her time out here has been one to remember. We'll miss her!We hitched a ride into Marion with a nice but somewhat crazy old fellow, in a green sedan with green seats and green carpet. He told us of his travels all over the world, and how mean people who would give him bad directions. As I struggled to understand him, I wondered if they weren't being mean, but simply couldn't decipher what he said. He told us to consider the fate of our souls as we exited the car. We did consider what we wanted to eat for lunch.We found a great little cafe, then marched on to the hotel. Whoa, bless his heart, marched our laundry down to the laundromat miles away and washed, while I lounged like a lizard. We watched a good bit of TV (6 Feet Under season premiere - what a good show - what a punch in the stomach!). It was a perfect way to mend a tired body.Moxie
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Marion, VA

To: US 11/VA 683
Miles today: 11.5

We slept in a bit, and headed out in search of breakfast. This town is just too darn spread out! We walked back to the cafe we lunched at yesterday, and found it not to be opened for breakfast. But, the employees were already inside, and let us in. We asked where we could get breakfast, and they said Hardee's was the only place, and we sighed, becuse we were hopin' for something better than fast food. They said, 'Wait a minute. We have eggs and potatoes, we can probably whip up some breakfast for you.' And they did! They created quite a breakfast for us, complete with fruit and lattes. It was awesome. With that, we went off to Wal-Mart to resupply. While getting pictures developed, we answered a million questions from other customers about the hike. We were a dead giveaway with the huge packs on our backs. Resupply done, pictures sent off, bellies filled and sated, we were finally ready to hike. But the running around in town had delayed us greatly. We set out at 3pm, so we had not enough daylight to go too far. But, it so happened, there is a cheap motel right on the trail on the other side of the 11 mile trek! We were actually able to stay in a hotel again. I know, we're spoiled.The hike was pretty good, the climbs were fast and the territory wasn't to brutal. We both did some tumbling though, Whoa did a good ankle-twister and I actually face-planted in tall grass when I got my pole caught up in it. No real injuries, though. Whoa spied a fawn in the grasses, bobbing up and down like a dolphin in the waist-high grasses. We pulled into our destination just before 8pm, plenty of time for a good meal at the barn and a relaxing evening. Not bad for a day we actually did a good bit of hiking.moxie
Date: 2004-06-17
From: US 11/VA 683

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: broken clouds

Not much to report today. The hike was up and down, moderately tough. We met a nice couple of guys who are thru-hiking, Trip and Whitetail. They were doing a 26 mile day to end up where we did. Whew! We got a late start, but the weather was pretty kind and we made it to camp in time for a game of cards. Whoa is on a major Gin Rummy winning streak, and I am going to have to set him straight soon.moxie
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a great day and an awful day at the same time. To adequately describe the terrain, you need a piece of paper and a pen. First, imagine a snake is crawling up the page. If you draw the path, and imagine that is the trail up the mountain, that is a great set of switchbacks. Now pretend the snake is going from left to right. This is more like today was. Like switchbacks turned on their side. More up and down than you could shake a hiking pole at. We were sweating like pigs, and then the rain started. Lately we don't even bother with the raingear, since it is warm enough when you're walking. So we just headed uphill in the rain, just slogged. The trail became a river unto itself. Our shoes were so wet, they were like mini washing machines. We went an hour like that, walking up and up, then finally the rain slowed to a sprinkle. We made it to Chesnut knob shelter, took a long lunch and tried to dry the shoes a little, but knowing full well we wouldn't see ! dry shoes for days. After all that rain, we were at the shelter with no water up on the very top of the mountain. We were planning to get water at the next source, but I missed it and we ended up marching past. We thought, surely there will be some soon, look how it's been raining! But alas. We passed some trail maintenance crews and they gave us the sad news, no water for miles. They gave us what water they had, and asked why we didn't fill up at their water cooler by their cars (three miles back). Well, we hiked that up and down hike I mentioned earlier and had no water for nine miles. Good grief, I was getting really bummed. We were trying to materialize trail angels providing cokes. No luck. Finally, about a mile before the shelter, we found a stream. We sat there and drank and drank, electrolyte packets, the works. Life was much better after that. Once we got to the shelter, we noticed quite a few of the entries were about running out of water and hating the hills and rough and rocky terrain. And more than one that told the complainers to stop being such candy-asses. So today was awful, but also great. Some big miles over tough territory, and overcoming difficulties and stuff. If we can do it under these circumstances, maybe we really are turning it up a notch? I think so.moxie--------quick whoa note:when the skies opened up huge and hard, and we were making our big ascent of the day, it felt a little bit like we were salmon.yup, the trail had become a flowing river, and we sloshed determinedly upwards. like salmon!our boots had never got so wet in all our time out here so far. what an on-going cloudburst that was.(and here's a secret: it was kinda thrilling. virginia's been so hot, humid and heavy, that to have all that cold water dumping on us actually made the climb a bit nicer.tho the trail has since been reduced to a muddy trough more often than not.)...later we were in the clouds again, strange misty meadows on the mountaintops.we had a long lunch in a great stony shelterand a butterfly fell in love with Moxie.nite everyonewhoa
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, Va
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: broken clouds

With feet complaining a bit, we marched out of the woods today. Little Wolf Creek was the fun part of today- the trail crosses it 12 times in two miles, and there are no foot bridges. We teetered over rocks as best we could, but my feet slipped and got soaked anyway. Darn, last pair of dry-ish socks. Oh well, since we were coming into town today anyway, no biggie. We lucked out on a ride with a gentleman who was dropping off other hikers, and got front-door service to the hotel. Bland lives up to its name, so far. The only restaurant is Dairy Queen, so we ate there for lunch and dinner. Catching up on journals and TV has been the order for the afternoon. Shoes are almost dry, and socks too! And that's all I have to say about Bland for now...Happy Father's day to our dads!!!moxie
Date: 2004-06-20
From: Bland, Va

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

First off, I want to send out a heartfelt thanks to everyone who's been taking the time to sign our guestbook. We really appreciate hearing from you all. Those notes you write are quite spiriting. Thank you!It's a little tough to respond to what you write there because we so rarely get online (all these are written on a pocketmail thingamajig which are uploaded to trailjournals due to the gracious efforts of my mom), and we don't have your email addresses with us. I'll work on this though when I'm able, so we can write back.Now for the journal entry...---------It was a tough wake up, and a little hard to summon that get-up-and-go feeling. Cozy beds and showers can do that to your otherwise tough and crusty, weathered and wiry hiker.But up we got, and we made our way through the sleepy and Bland town of Bland. We got supplies at a wee lil IGA, and then had a picnic (cold cuts on bagels with chips and cold cokes) in front of the court house. It was a tasty meal - far superior to the town's only other option: Dairy Queen.Then we made our way through the hot day back towards the trail, which was a sun-soaked 2.5 miles uphill away..5 miles from our target, a nice couple picked us up to take us to the trail head.Some routine hiking then took place in the woods of Virginia.Gullies were circumnavigated.Streams were crossed.Appalachian mountains were climbed.And we pushed on til the sun was just about making its mind up to set on the rolling green tableau.Gary and K Bear were there to greet us. Apparently Spare Pocket had got off trail a bit to try to recover from a fall. Hopefully she's doing better now.One of these young speed demons whirled into camp when me 'n Moxie were doing the evening cookings and camp settings up. These young speeders tend to be around 20, and push themselves for 30 miles a day, and have next-to-nothing on their backs. Many are trying to make it to the end in time to start college in September.We'll be reading his registry entries in the shelters ahead for months to come. And his distance from us in time and space will grow increasingly sarcastic with the passage of time.Ah, youth.I can't help but wonder if their fiery pace will prevent them from soaking in the beauty of the trail, and from enjoying its many pleasures. Fast, herculean paces can do damage too. But, speaking generally, that's not stuff you think about when you're young.Sidenote: I sure do hear an awful lot of Skynyrd on the radio down here.And Virginia has an awful lot of deer in it.Okay.That's enough out of me for the day.-Jonathon