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

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: broken clouds

ESD: 4Temp: Sunny and HotCalories: 2600EARLY:Turns out I was at Lick Creek last night. Some hikers came through this morning and told me. I still can't believe such a huge landmark would be overlooked in the comp(?) and in the data book.I'm walking without my superfeet today. I've decided my foot problems stem from the new shoes-- the new size in particular. Removing the insoles makes more room in the shoe; but now I have no arch support. ARCH!I just finished 2 miles, so far so good. I'm on a mandatory break. One every hour today-- and wishing the hiker hebind me were faster. He/she hasn't passed me yet. Must be on a break too. I want him/her to pass so I can pee without tromping way off the trail into the poison ivy. It's good to be last if water rushes through you like it does through me. My 10 minutes are up and still no hiker. My bladder will burst soon! So, off I go into myterious green to pee. Ugh.AT CAMP:I ran out of water today because I'm an idiot, and hiked 6 miles with nothing to drink. The temp may have reached 80. When I finally came to a water source, it lay beneath rocks and boulders. I could hear it but not see it-- or tast it. I looked under a big boulder and found a tiny pool from which I filtered 1.5 liters. It wasn't the greatest of water sources. I prbably have mosquito larvae in my belly. O but was it refreshing!I will try not to be a moron again.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 13.8
Weather: few clouds

Estimated Stench Distance: 5Temp: Sunny and HOTCalories: ?I smell bad enough to keep animals away, and some of them have eaten garbage.It was a miserable day of walking today. Not because it wasn't beautiful. It was. And not because the terrain was difficult. It wasn't. It was miserable because my feet are killing me. My damn shoes are too small. And while I want to blame the guy at the outfitter, and I have to to some extent, I nevertheless feel like a dolt. I'm the one who walked out of there with different size shoes on each foot. And I'm the one who ultimately settled on the wrong size. Though not the smaller of the two I had on when I left Damascus.Despite all the misery, I had a decent day. I re-supplied in Bland, VA (Can you believe it? Bland?) where I ran into Hey Bob, Quiet Guy, Syracuse, and Choo Choo. I had a good lunch at the Citgo (Ya! at the Citgo) and am now at the shelter with a nice crew of folks. All men, though. I seem to have lost the women. Although I like the men just as well as the women out here, I miss the company of women. Even if its just a couple days. I wonder if the men feel the same way?
Date: 2004-05-08
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

To: Trent's Grocery
Miles today: 16.3

ESD: 5Temp: Sunny and HotCalories: 3060LUNCH:One of the hikers is really sick. He's barfing by one of the trees 10 yards away. I'm eating lunch at the Jenny Knob Shelter to simultaneous sounds of wretching and chewing.Poor guy.My only problem, which no longer seems significant, is that my feet hurt like hell. While it sucks, it doesn't suck quite as much as I previously thought. My period started today, and it's not snowing!AT CAMP:I arrived at VA 606 with tears of pain and relief. Were it not a Saturday night, I would have camped at the beautiful Kimberling Creek, right next to the road. Instead I walked up the road to Trent's Grocery where I am now camped in a camper/trailer graveyard with a section hiker, Dirty Deeds.It's not so great. And I sort of wish I'd stayed by the trail. But I proably a safer here in this tiny land of stored and/or abandoned RV trailers. Plus, I'm getting some flavor of the area: pickup trucks abound. most folks are farmers, and one fella has come to the store twice in two different vehicles to flirt with the cashier.
Date: 2004-05-09
From: Trent's Grocery

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: clear sky

Estimated Stench Distance: 0Temp: Sunny and very warmCalories: 2310LUNCH: I woke this morning at 4:30 to thick fog the moon high and small in the sky. Everything was damp, so I resolved to stay put until the sun burned off the fog and dried everything. I woke again at 9 am, to just that.Now I sit at the beautiful Dismal Creek Falls, soaking my ailing feet, and glancing occasionally at an obese man with a swastika on his right shoulder, his girlfriend has one too. Swastika's and Old Glory are all over these rural towns. I'm not sure what those sybols mean to the folks that have and wear them, but it makes me glad to be white. I can't begin to describe how this makes me fell. Guilt? Gratitude? Fear? Disappointment? Anger?Several hikers arrived at Trent's Grocery before I left at a quarter til noon- Hey Bob, Syracuse, Quiet Guy, Pipesmoke, Monkey Man (who is feeling much better), Neil, and . . . o . . . I forgot a name. While we loitered outside, a boy from town asked us "what are you doing in this shithole?" Turns out the town IS Trent's Grocery. Without a taste for hiking or the taste and money for horseback riding, I guess this town could indeed be a shit hole.AT CAMP:I'm sharing the shelter with the Rat Pack, Neil, his dog, Tennessee Jack, and Zipcode. It's a nice crew.My feet are KILLING me still. I can hardly wait to get to Pearisburg tomorrow to rest my feet and await my shoes. Ted is sending my old Lowa's to me. It's 16 miles from here. I hope the rest today will make it possible.
Date: 2004-05-10
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg, VA 
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Estimated Stench Distance: 1Temp: Sunny and hot with thunder showersCalories: ? (town day)Earplugs or no earplugs -- I can't stand snoring. i didn't realize until now how immensely grateful I am that my boyfriend doesn't snore. he's a blissfully quiet sleeper-- unlike the foghorn-ish bloke I shared the shelter with last night.Snoring aside, the walk from Wapiti Shelter to Pearisburg was beautiful, especially the ridge line of Pearis Mountain. I was caught in a thundershower along the way. The lightening made the hair on my arms stand on end.The descent into twon was rough though. My feet were hurtin "somthin' powerful" I can't wait to ditch them and bring my old shoes out of retirement.
Date: 2004-05-11
From: Pearisburg, VA 

To: Pearisburg VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Estimated Stench Distance: 0Temp: Sunny and hotCalories: ?sigh. This is what it's all about. I'm sitting on the porch swing of the Holy Family Church Hostel, reading, tapping my foot to hokey country tunes, overlooking a green valley, and breathing the delicious air of fresh cut grass. Sigh.I stayed at the Holiday Motor Motel (?) last night with three wonderful guys. Tennessee Jack, the Sorcerer, and the Apprentice (the Sorcerer's dog). All are from TN. And all are bright and kind. Tennessee Jack flat out loves his wife and kids (Sandra, Jake, and Josh). Jake and Josh sound like a very cool pair of kids. The Sorcerer and the Apprentice are chick magnets. Honestly, who wouldn't want to hang out with a sweet engineer and a cute dog with floppy ears?(Editor's note: Hey! How about a sweet resource policy guy with big floppy ears? -Ted)
Date: 2004-05-12
From: Pearisburg VA

To: Campsite
Miles today: 4.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Calories: 2000ESD: 0Weather: Sunny and Hot4 miles wasn't much, but leaving town was quite an accomplishment. I'm camped 4 miles up the trail, but can hear the interstate and a train loud and clear. I might be paralleling the road, which may account for the noise, but frankly busy roads are L.O.U.D. Tains are loud too, but I find the sound of a train soothing.I'm alone at camp, which I find creepy. I hope I sleep.A few updates:1) My old shoes arrived in Pearisburg as well as my Chaco sandals and two bags of butterfinger bee bees. Yum! I'm now walking in shoes that hopefully won't kill my feet. And I have an alternative - my Chacos. 2) I accidentally shipped my toothbrush and toothpaste home. I will be "brushing" my teeth with a bandana for at least a week. This isn't the first time.3) My arm is sore from hanging my food bag. I threw the rock tied to cord over and over trying to get it over a high branch. The nocturnal critters were probably laughing and smaking their lips. I finaly hung my food bag on a lower branch. I hope it's there in the morning.
Date: 2004-05-13
From: Campsite

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: broken clouds

Calories: 1800ESD: 1Weather: Sunny and warm with scattered rain showersLUNCHThe bugs are out. BZZZ BZZZ BZZZ everywhere. The biters aren't out yet, though. Thankfully. I am nevertheless wearing my OR headnet to make writing and eating more tolerable. Eating is a bit difficultn with the headnet.BEAR!I saw a bear! I've probably passed several already because I walk the trail with my head down, mindful of each step. I trip a lot otherwise. I have, however, trained myself to look up and look around periodically.I looked up and notice a rather dark log. The other fallen wood in the area is grey, like ash. My vision isn't the greatest, so I clapped my Leki poles together. The "log's" brown snouted black head popped up above the underbrush, and the bear seemed to look right at me. If I remember correctly bears son't have great vision either. While it seemed to be thinking, "Huh? What? Where?" I thought, "Holy #@%$&&^!!!", back up slowly and clapped my poles together again. The the bear turned and trotted off. I had hoped to appear more terrifying to a bear. That any bear would speed away from the frightening vision/smelll of me. Instead, this bear just jogged away.I think I'm supposed to be excited. I admit my adrenaline was pumping. But instead I found the encounter perplexing. I was afraid - really - but also interested and somewhat confused by the bear's slow response.I hope to see more bears, but I'd rather have company next time. I'm walking alone today, as I do most days.OTHER SIGHTINGS2 toads1 groundhog1 chipmunkLoads of bugs and worms and suchSeveral bright orange salamanders as big as my pinky finger, plus a tail.
Date: 2004-05-14
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 12.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Calories: 2300 (?)ESD: 3Weather: Rain ShowersMORNINGI've sent my previous journal entries home, so I'm not sure I've conveyed how miserable I have been and am. Of course, my feet have been killing me. It's difficult to enjoy marching through the woods in pain - stabbing pain.But I've also made the mistake of thinking about the end - Katahdin. Before I went home for Ted's graduation, I though in terms of the next town, the next day, the next step. After returning from home, my goal seems to have shifted from "walking as long as I enjoy it" to "walking to Katahdin". It's been a terrible mental shift for me. The task ahead is daunting. And I seem to be grieving all that I will miss in a summer at home.I'm terribly blue and want to go home.And so, friends, I will still it out through VA - maybe less if this funk begins to affect my physical health - and then ....? keep walking if I"m enjoying it. Or stop, if I'm not.You know, no one out here is a thru-hiker until they walk the whol trail, end to end, in one shot (whatever that means). Anyway, I never thought I'd be one. And I surely don't feel like one today.NIGHTOnly 12.7 miles today. Blue most of the time, though meeting Turtle, Bear Behind, Wild Horse, and a couple of weekend warriors lifted my spirits.It rained today, and rather than get my shorts wet, I took them off and hike in my skivvies thinking I wouldn't see anyone. I didn't see anyone yesterday. Well, I was wrong. An old south bounder came through who seemed delighted at my situation. The old coot wanted to talk, and I swear he waited to watch me walk away. Grr. My shelter buddies told me I probably made is day. He made me VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. I wasn't tryin' to make anyone's day. I wa trying to prevent chafing by keepin' my shorts dry!
Date: 2004-05-15
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Calories: 2550ESD: 4 (peeuw-eee)Weather: Sunny and hotMORNINGI just stopped at trail magic left by Super Dave (GA>ME '02 - '03) of Blacksburg. Two coolers w/ soda , beer, fruit, hot dogs, sandy bars, and brownies. I've been thinking about the chocolate cake at Ted's graduation celebration, Adn what I"ve been thinking is that I wish I'd eaten three pieces instead of just two. The brownie makes up for it. Plus Super Dave has provided a mini grill for the hotdogs of course. Really nice. Three cheers for Super Dave.Heck! Three cheers for all the folsk supporting me, reading my journal, and signing my guest book. Hurray for you!I'm still blue and time seems to move incredibly slowly when I'm walking, but like the wind when I stop. Am I tired? Am I bored? Have I gotten all of the meditation and relaxation out of this that I can? Am I'm still recovering from the trauma of bad shoes and suffering the aftermath of a wonderful trip home?Thank goodness for the climbs. They may be slow and difficult - panting all the way- but it appears to clear my mind. Plus, my feet don't hurt when I climb. Could I climb all day? Is there a way to feel that way without the effort? Ugh o ramma.NIGHTTurns out my journal spent most of the day with Dave's trail magic! I did not. I stopped for lunch at the Keffer Oak, the largest oak on the trail in the South. It is immense. The girth was last measured to be 18 ft 3 in. But more amazing than the girth of the trunk is the girth of the branches. Huge limbs, bigger than most trees, stretch parallel to the forest floor. It seems impossible that these beheamoth branch remain suspended above the ground.And this is what I wanted to write when I discovered my journal was not in my bag. I racked my brain and realized I'd left it 6.5 miles back (3 hours of walking) at the trail magic.I walked a mile back to Rt 42, thinking I'd have to walk all the way to Rocky Gap (Rt 601) where the trail magic was. But b/c the magic was near a road (as it often is) I decided to try and hitch.A wonderful local couple in a gigantic new pickup truck picked me up and took me all the way back to my journal - long drive on a dirt road. Then they drove me bakc 1./2 way to where they'd picked me up. Then I got picked up by an enthusiastic woman who drove me back to the trail crossing at Rt 42. All three folks went well out of their way to help me recover my journal. YEAH!I "lost" three hours, so didn't make it to Niday Shelter as planned. However, Sarver Hollow Shelter is beautiful witha porch and a view. Well worth the steep 1/4 mile descent to get here.My spirits have lifted substantially. I can't say exactly why, but the extraordinary kindness of the three foks who took me back to my journal surely helped ... a lot.My right foot hurts a bit, but overall I think my body and mind are healing from the evil shoes. I may just make it through the week!
Date: 2004-05-16
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light rain

Calories: 3000ESD: 5Weather: Partly cloudy and warmI started the day with the difficult 1/4 mile climb from the shelter to the trail and found the slackers (now called CNN) and Gadget resting on a log at the junction. CNN are a couple who slack packed a few hundred miles and are now backpacking. Gadget looked familiar. Turns out I met him 2 years ago while section hiking in Maine!I soon passed Cimarron, who despite feeling ill at the shelter headed north. Dinner Short and Figit passed me and Cimarron just then. We all continued on at our various rates, Dinner Short and Figit pulling ahead quickly and Cimarron fallng behind us all just as quickly.I stopped for a break and began to worry about Cimarron. You see. He's 82. Did you catch that. Cimarron is 82 (EIGHTY-TWO). I figured I'd wait for him and walk to the road with him where he could hitch somewhere and get medical care. Ranger Jim came up, dropped his pack, and shared his concern for Cimarron. Ranger Jim left his pack and went back to Cimarron. It seemed to take forever for them to catch up. When they did, Ranger Jim was carrying Cimarron's pack.The three of us continued on to the road, Ranger Jim carrying his own pack PLUS Cimarron's pack.Cimarron walked as best he could and I provided moral support and "backup".Ranger Jim's pack alone probably weighed 50 lbs. With Cimarron's pack, Ranger Jim was probably carrying 80 lbs. Three cheers for Ranger Jim.We reached the road, sent Cimarron off with the first pickup to come along. Hurray.Ranger Jim and I continued on to Pickle Branch Shelter.
Date: 2004-05-17
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 6.0
Weather: light rain

Calories: don't know, town dayESD: 0Weather: Sunny and hot w/ rain showerHiked over Dragon's Tooth today - a beautiful outcropping. The hike up was rocky. The hike down was rocky. And after 6 miles of walking, aching feet, a store, and a hostel less than 1 mile away, I decided to stop. The hard rain sealed the deal.I'm sharing the four Pines Hostel with Slimfast (slim! and fast?), Gadget, CNN (formerly the slackers), and Ranger Jim. The hostel is a 6 car garage with a bathroom hot plate, toaster, microwave, sleeping pads, chairs, and cots. It's not all that cozy, but the shower is hot!
Date: 2004-05-18
From: Four Pines Hostel

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

Calories: 2250ESD:1Weather: Sunny, warm, and breezyI'm in agony from the knees down. I've been blue for days (weeks?). so for my snaity, I must remind myself that I am here to reclaim my health and fitness. That is my objective. I cannot allow any secondary objective, like thru-hiking, interfere. Seriously. I am here to hike for as long as I like. I am here to cultivate physical, mental and spiritual health. I am not here to traverse a physical pathway!McAffee's Knob and Tinker Cliffs were beautiful. Moutain laurel bloomed in the crevices of the huge boulders at Tinker Cliffs.
Date: 2004-05-19
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Calories: ?, town dayESD:0Weather: Muggy and overcastWell, folks, I have been crying - crying on the trail, crying on the phone - since Pearisburg. I'm in terrible pain and may take the bus home.I went to the outfitter in Daleville today to replace my shoes, and with Matt's help, settle on something that may work. My feet, however, may be too far gone to keep going. I will rest tonight and assess tomorrow.
Date: 2004-05-20
To: Montebello, VA
Miles today: 0.0

I've decided to go home and allow my feet to heal thoroughly. My thought is that if I tried to heal on the trail, I would push too hard too soon, never heal, and hate hiking. Hate hiking? That would be a tragedy. Because I love hiking. I love the trail. And I love the health and fitness it has returned to my life. For the first time in 4 years, my semi-colon is acting very much like a colon!This injury (or perhaps the small shoe pervert who put me in the shoes that caused this injury) has eliminated the possibility of a thru-hike. School starts on September 2. There simply isn't enough time. But I will be back on the trail this season. Have no doubt. I will be back, with happy feet, loving it. I am at the Dutch Haus in Montebello , VA thanks to Queen Diva and AT Ministries. Yeah! I am waiting for Ted to drive here from Ann Arbor, Michigan to take me home. The Dutch Haus is a great B&B! A wonderful place to recuperate! And Flora, Fauna, Patrick the Sole Brothah, and Camel are here! How I missed them. It makes me wish, I could hop on the trail with them tomorrow. Sigh. Mixed feelings. O woe.
Date: 2004-06-14
To: Ann Arbor Shelter
Miles today: 0.0

Thanks to all who have encouraged me during my recuperation (via my guest book and otherwise). My feet are healed! And I am ready to hike again!In fact, I had hoped to get back on the trail on June 5. Just before Memorial Day, however, I learned that my sister - single mother of three - was preparing to move from Ohio to Florida and simultaneously suffering very serious health problems. Rather than rush back to the trail, I rushed to her home in Cincinnati. My sister is truly extraordinary. She adopted all of her children - two were special needs adoptions. One is grown with children of her own, and the other two are strong-willed mischievious boys, 5 and 8. She works so hard. And she gives so much to her children. I am amazed that she gets up every morning - that she can get up every morning!After two and a half weeks in Cincinnati, my sister's health has improved (thankfully) and she's somewhat farther along in her moving preparations. My thoughts are disjointed today. I'm back at home in Ann Arbor. Healthy. Good gut. Good feet. And I'm trying to decide when to return to the trail. At the very least, I want to walk the rest of the way through Virginia. I love the Blue Ridge. It's so beautiful. So lush. A lot of folks told me ... as I struggled with my injury physically and mentally ... that hiking the trail is all mental. Thru-hiking the trail is NOT "all mental". Time, luck, health, fitness, finances, family, responsibility, compassion and so on and so on conspire to make it possible or impossible.   One visitor to my guest book, told me I couldn't conquer the trail. And I believe that if you embark on a battle when you embark on a hike, you will fail. You may finish, but you will fail. You have to enjoy it. You have to take it as it comes. And to walk 2000 miles in a single season, you and those you love must have good fortune and time. Without that, you may finish, but you are unlikely to succeed.Hmm? When to return?
Date: 2004-06-17
To: Date Set for Getting Back on the Trail
Miles today: 0.0

ESD: 2It's hot and sticky in Ann Arbor, and since leaving the trail (5/18 ish), I haven't been able to remember to use deodorant. It's a mystery. I also have a little trouble in the shower ... forgetting why I'm there and that sort of thing.I've finally decided when to get back on the trail. The 2003 and 2004 journals of Dimple Rock and Wrong Way Brown were great inspirations. They began a thru-hike in 2003 and got off the trail in Daleville. They got back on this May. Dimple Rock wrote about the smell of the rain through an open window pulling her back onto the trail. I feel it too. The tug of the deep frangrance of wet earth as well as the fervent push of the exhaust, the noise, and the artificial urgency of our city streets.My sister Jeane, mother of two beautiful young women and horse woman extraordinaire, will join me through the Shenandoah. Yahoo! To meet her in Waynesboro at the right time, I will begin again in Daleville in the final days of June. So, friends, I'm dying to meet you all again!
Date: 2004-06-29
To: Oh My Aching Back
Miles today: 0.0

ESD: 0Calories: Gazillions (I need to get back onto to the trail before my weight rivals that of a baby rhino).Would you believe that I threw my back out? Ya. Irritating. However, after a week of lying around, getting fat(ter), my back is nearly healed. Wahoo! I no longer walk hunched over. Whoop whoop! And I've stopped shuddering with sharp pain when I wiggle too much to the left or too much to the right. I will be back on the trail as planned.My feelings are contradictory/complimentary whenever I leave home for the trail. I'm homesick on the trail, trailsick at home. O woe woe woe. But to have two places in life that feel like home is incredibly lucky, now isn't it? I will be sad to leave home, but happy to shake of the saddness of getting off the trail.
Date: 2004-07-02
From: Daleville, VA

To: Curry Creek
Miles today: 8.6

Calories: ?ESD: 1Weather: Low 80's and humidAfter a sleepless 15 hour bus ride with 3 babies and 2 grouchy drivers, I arrived in Roanoke, Virginia from where the trail angel Del Schechterly delivered me to the trailhead in Daleville.I walked 5 miles to Fullhardt Knob Shelter and slept away the day. The rainwater cistern was dry, so at 5 pm I rose and walked 3.6 miles to Curry Creek. At Curry Creetk, I dined on the worst meal I've had in several months and managed a bear bag hang that might as well be an invitation.Just as I expected, but hoped not to be true, most of the hikers have passed through here. It will be a lonely walk until I reach the Shenandoah.