morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-18
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Before Brushy mountain
Miles today: 18.0

I was on my way by 7am. I saw Iron Horse still packing to my suprise. I thought he be off before me as he is planning a 25 mile day.The is so good at teh moment, moving so fast. Even the climb up Iron mountain was gradual. I met a flipflop SOBO up there, Sherpa. We talked about the terrain before moving on. I checked out the New Hurricane shelter. It even smelt new. The privy was like on a stage and it had a screen between it and the shelter. It felt so free on the privy. I later came upon a waterfall which I had to take some time at, waterfalls are great places to write my journal. Tomato head found a Nalgene nearby and he discovered it was left by a group. He didnt want it and i said i would hike with it and if i dont find them keep it. I didnt really want one so i planned to send it home. I never managed to find the owners. I took a big lunch at Dickey Gap in the heat. Met a guy called Chop chop. He is from West Virginia. I got another breat at Trimpi shelter, it was a little stone one with a fireplace. I talked with Darwin and chop chop about injury. The was triggered by my near deadly spectactular fall. Darwin witnessed my performance. I got a foot caught by a root as i went downhill, i flew for a while and did a spin before catching a tree to stop my fall.Chop Chop had a stress fracture when he was walking down the road in Fontana. He was looking around for a payphone and walked off the road and rolled his ankle. He hiked the entire smokies on it. Darwin was off the trail for 4 weeks due to swelling on his ankle. All this injury talk gives me the creeps but its a serious and constant threat for hiker s out here. The last few miles were a cruise and i stumbled upon a lady called Sleeveless, she also has a trailjournal. I cooked there and talked about mine and dads trip to New Zealand for next march. I found a sopt a little further on and camped with Darwin. Darwin showed me his pocketmail. its a cool concept. Its a offline email device. You write your emails and when you get to a phone you place it up against the reciever and download your email and send it. Its apparently an Australian product originally.Dandylion
Date: 2005-05-19
From: Before Brushy mountain

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 6.7
Weather: broken clouds

lovely morning. Hiked the 6.7 miles in 2 hours. Partnership shelter is not a shelter,its a hotel. Superior to The fontana hitlton shelter in every way. It had a hot shower attached, and the visitor center down the road had a payphone. I met Sundance kid here. He hiked 31 miles yesterday, I told him i would kick his ass if I catch him hiking that distance again, especially with his bad knee. He said he would like to see that. Phoenix turned up and she's been a real saint. She drove us to do laudry, then to eat and resupply.I bought some beer and marshmallows to take back to the shelter and phoenix donated some sodas. It was cool handing out cold beer to incoming hikers. Rang home, parents sound very relaxed about me being out here now. Between everyone in the shelter we ordered over $300 of pizza to be delivered to the shelter. It was mad, So much pizza. That pizza must make such a killing in the 2 months of big hiker crowds ordering pizza.I heard Obi's left for Virgina Beach from Swinger. Thats a real shame, Obi was by far the coolest repeat hiker out here. I fear Tal may be off the trail aswell, he seemed down at trail days after being ill for nearly a week.Met alot of new faces today. The next push is to pearisburg now, my food bag is heavy.dandylion
Date: 2005-05-20
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Crawfish Valley
Miles today: 17.8

I slept badly again last night. Turbo joe was snoring like a piston, and sleeping next to Vapors was like sleeping with lions. The curse of shelters. I then realised my sleeping since i picked up mels sleep in Damascus has been bad.I remember she use to complain about not getting any sleep aswell. Its the stick! I hiked with Fester early on, We talked about our commitment tothe trail and how we felt at trail days. I was pleased to hear i was not the only one feeling eager to leave town despite having some good times there. We caught up to Fancypants and goosebump. We hit the topic of relationships and Fester explained the 2 key secrets to the success of his relationship:1: he does everything Holly tells him2: She has a no sense of smellThe bush whacker topic surfaced again, i wonder how long it will take for that story to die. We had a bite at chatfield. I noticed in my data book there were 6 Brushy mountains, i wonder what the story is behind that. The hike down to US11 was really easy, green meadows interrupted with the odd buzzing powerline. At the truckstop i met Curly. he is out to hike Virginia and lives outside Washington.He's done 80 miles in his first 6 days out, very good going. He said if we hike together some more he take me on the tour of Washington DC. I tried some of his tuna, taste better than it smells, i may get some to mix into a lipton. The climb up little Brushy was tough but we found a spot to camp. My feet felt grand today, i love making good miles. dandylion
Date: 2005-05-21
From: Crawfish Valley

To: Chestnut knob shelter
Miles today: 16.7
Weather: clear sky

Finally got a good nights sleep and my feet felt good still. I felt tired on the first climb but my attention was drawn to these attention seeking orange flowers.I believe they are called Azalea. Curly caught me at the road making a peanut butter,nutella, cheddar and montery jack cheese sandwich. I think i didnt get enoguh protein into this resupply. The miles up to Knot Maul shelter were slow, i felt so sluggish today.We met some PATH maintainer. They had just cleared out the privy tank, so i christened it, a proud moment. My choc pudding was sickly, i had a whole packet and with oreo's crumbled in. It was far to sweet and i felt like my head was trying to float away. Once again i was food drunk. I didnt leave for about another 3 hours but when i did i was in a better frame of mind. Curly stopped just beyond lick creek. I however wanted to make the next shelter. Im glad he didnt decided to push himself, its too early for him to push the mileage. I came across Dave cooking and i decided to follow suit. Dave is section hiking the trail and is over a 1/4 of the way now. We had a big climb to the shelter so the meal helped fuel me. The top was bald and the notion of traversing the ridge felt romantic. As i walked along the ridge my shadow was cast across the grassy bald by the falling sun. There was a gentle refreshing breeze blowing acorss my face and I could see the moon patiently waiting its turn for dominance of the sky. It really was a perfect moment. The chestnut shelter was really cool and i crashed in there.I met Thumper, O'connor,sonwman and seeker here. Seeker had been to New Zealaad and reccommended the volcanic hike in the north island. i believe dad is planning for us to do that one. I took a top bunk in the shelter and listened to all the conversations taking place below me.dandylion
Date: 2005-05-22
From: Chestnut knob shelter

To: Laurel Creek (VA615)
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: clear sky

Good sleep and away by 8am. I heard someone talking about a 36 mile day. He only just got back on the trail from a injury i believe.I had to stop for water early on, the water is not as plentiful as in other states so far.O'connor caught me up on the ridge walk which was rocky and up and down alot. She told me about her family roots and we both shared the fact we were the youngest with a older half brother and sister.Alot of people over here seem to know their family trees. She also spent time in Edinburgh. She soon left me for dust and i toddled to Jenkins shelter. I saw a sign saying breakfast pickup tomorrow morning in 5 miles. The only problem would be i would not get on the trail till noon if i went there, but churches always do a good spread. I debated this for so long in my head. We had to cross little wolf creek a zillion times in 2 miles of trail. I dont know why they didnt just run it along the bank. I hit the VA615 road and was greeted by a big cooler of candy and orange juice. Then appeared this old guy who was a vietnam veteran called Chainsaw. Grump later came along and he was in nam aswell. so we all sat and listened to the war stories. Crazy legs gang was here also and it was a busy campsite. Chainsaw said he was going to make us breakfast in the morning, and thus my mind was made up. eat here and then leave. Chainsaw was really funny, he kept saying 'yeah,baby, yeah' all the time. I wonder sometimes how I will return back into normal society after living in the woods with all these ecentrics for 6 months?dandylion
Date: 2005-05-23
From: Laurel Creek (VA615)

To: Jenny knob shelter
Miles today: 18.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke to the smell of bacon. Had an omlett and then i made two bacon sarnies.Good to get some protein. Hit some trail magic just before US21. there were cartons of water, the magic was in memory of a man who died 3 days before starting his thru hike in Florida. I found an empty box of trail magic and decided to carry it down to the road and bin it. I found myself at the road confused about where to go. I crossed several roads and managed to find my way. I guess im so use to the woods that the wide open roads and junctions cause my mind to freak. I carried the box for ages and realised there were no bins, so i had to place it down again. My good intentions just resulted in a transfer of litter. 10 minutes later i came upon a trash can,,raaaaaaaaa!I was trying to make some trail poetry and got a few good verses going but failed to write it down. I should stop and write it down in future. I dont have to concentrate on the hiking as much now, so my mind is left to wonder and entertain itself. I went down to Helveys mill shelter for a break and met Crazy legs and prof there. Papparazzi came along and we went down for water. it was like 6 switch backs down. I hurt my toe on the way back up, its hard walking in sandals. The next ridge section to jenny knob shelter was great, gentle elevation changes, no rocks. I was flying and stopped to cook dinner halfway along when i ran into pogo. We talked about motives flies would have for committing suicide, real important discussions take place out in the woods. I met hopeful hiker today, he had been helped out by phoenix aswell. Met a guy who spoke like a lecturer. He was very informed on his history. Papparazzi borught marshmallows,crackers and hersheys. We made these chocolate smores. Its was so good, i was grateful we let me in on his goodies.dandylion
Date: 2005-05-24
From: Jenny knob shelter

To: Woodshole hostel
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: light rain

(currently in pearisburg updating journal, thankyou for your patience, its been hard getting enough internet time)Crazy legs was a little annoyed at the snorers this morning, i on the other hand slept solid. Set to be a wet day. Met Pooh bear (SOBO) on the way down to kimberling Creek, she said she had cleared all the water from the long grass ahead, liar! Legs got wet. Had break by suspension bridge and there was a local fishing for trout. I watched him impatiently waiting for a bite. Saw a big bush with blooming pink flowers from across the river, the local said it was Honeysuckle. The flowers are slowly blooming. The next stretch to Wapiti shelter was flat but i was not enjoying the hiking that much. I missed the blue blaze to Dismal falls. Firstly because i didnt see the turning but secondly it was raining. I was happy to reach the shelter and hide from the rain. I was dreading moving on but i had a good feeling about woodshole hostel. Sleevless and hopeful also planned to make it there tonight. there was a climb intially but the terrain was fine down into sugar run gap, a little rocky. The woodshole hostel was really charming, built in the 1880's from chestnut woods which does not grow in the area anymore since 1900. Tilly invited me in and i sat in front of the fire getting warm and talking to her. She told me Mr pearis after the revolutionary war gave some of his land away to start the town, thus its named Pearisburg. I went to the Bunk house and fixed up dinner. Hopeful was showing me his luxury lite pack. It looks odd but i cant find fault with it. Its been so cold the last couple of nights that im double thinking changing to a summer bag. we shall see.dandylion
Date: 2005-05-26
From: Pearisburg

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

I went down to the office this morning to update my journal more. The older lady was on her shift, i know all the receptionists now. This guy came in and informed her he still didnt have any hot water for a shower and she replied 'thats just the way it is'. I thought it was great, I know if i said that at work to a customer they would of filled out a complaint from right away. I'll have to try it sometime. Hotcrotch was the man today, he drove me everywhere, laudry, post office and pizza hut! The hut was choas, an elementary class was there along with loads of thru hikers, just crazy. They couldnt keep up with us, at one point the pizza buffet was empty. I was just standing there trying not to freak out, i wanted more pizza. Fester and hsi crew showed up today, great to see the guy. He will fall behind thou because he is taking some time off here to see his girlfriend. It is so crazy how much ive typed in the last 2 days. People keep seeing me on here and are like, you are crazy. I really enjoy having this journal to share my experiences with people, especially friends and family. I bought a new journal today actually. Its really cool and has conversion tables in it. I can now convert metric to imperial accurately for tal, if he catches up. off tomorrow! dandylion
Date: 2005-05-27
From: Pearisburg

To: Beyond Rice field shelter
Miles today: 8.7
Weather: overcast clouds

(currently at dalesville, im good and moving on tomorrow 6/2/05)I finished updating my journal and mailed off some winter gear to rob bird, hope its there safe and thanks for letting me to that rob. I had a beef curry with hotcrotch at the chinese, i couldnt decide if that was a good idea when i planned to hike out afterward but i kind of just ended up there. I really have loss my fussy side out here when it comes to eating. I eat peppers and whatever other wierd stuff the chinese put in this stuff. It was good and i decided i would buy a green pepper at my next resupply. Hotcrotch is going to Richmond tomorrow for a party but i will probably see him at troutville in a weeks time. The time came to hit the trail. My pack was so heavy, i really cant shop. I always come out of town with a full food bag. even if i was out for 3 days. but i got about 5 in here this time. The starwars film was on my mind all day, i really need to chat with someone about it, where are all the starwars thru hikers? The big debate is whether to watch the saga 1-6 or 4-6 and then 1-3?I crossed a stream which had a sign stating 'do not drink, theres is a high level of naturally occuring bacteria'. If you then looked to your left you would see a huge sulphurous spilling, river polluting factory. I really doubt that this river was yellow due to bacteria but due to pollution. That gave me a chuckle for a while and then i met Fancy pants,goosebump and tag-a-long. They were debating whether or not to move past Rice field shelter. I was like ' i will do whatever you guys do'. It meant i didnt need to make a decision, bliss. Also saw noddles and new heart. Not seen them guys for ages. We moved on another 1.4 miles and camped with cheek and peas, a young married couple from Minnesota. I cracked out the hotdogs and marshmallows i had dragged up from town but they didnt all go because alot of people are veggies out here. I think my legs have been compressed with all the weight i carried out today, was like 40lbs. dandylion
Date: 2005-05-28
From: Beyond Rice field shelter

To: Bailey Gap shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: light rain

I have been told to expect trail magic around VA635 and hence i was eager to get there. I was slow out of camp, partly due to a call of nature, courtesy of the beef curry yesterday. The trail magic was across the river and i saw fancypants and co overthere. I looked down and saw the vertical drop to the river. I was thinking 'you must be joking'. I fell down, it was the only way to do it, believe me. Then waded the river, it only got knee deep luckily. The captain owns a house here and sets up a BBQ every year for the hikers. I drank 2 sodas, 2 gatorades and ate my fill as usual. I was suprised to see pilgrim here, how the hell does he always get ahead of me. where evers there's a party, he will be there. the question is, does he hike there? Despite his tendancy to attack vegetation along the trail he is really cool. He talked to me about real estate and travelling. Goosebump and tag a long left before me and as they crossed the river a snake came floating down. I had alot of fun cheering the snake on. Me and Seeker left together and went back across safely. We then had to cross over again but did so too early. We did find the trail again after a few minutes. all is good. I climbed up to Bailey gap shelter with no intention of staying but fancypants said the next few miles were rocky and i was like 'sod it, im staying'. I've noticed that because there is so little to stress about out here, we all make our own drama. I got everyone to give me advice on what time i should brush my teeth, i wanted to get in my sleeping bag but that would mean i would have to get out to brush my teeth. As you can imagine, a real dilema. Fancy pants came up with the perfect solution, "brush them before you get into your bag!". A truely revolutionary idea. Planning big day tomorrow despite i seem to be very tired of late. i need to make a big day for my confidence i think. dandylion
Date: 2005-05-29
From: Bailey Gap shelter

To: Sarver Hollow shelter
Miles today: 21.0
Weather: clear sky

I arised with tag-a-long this morning and passed GRUMP after a few miles. He carries 3 pairs of levi jeans. Watching him put on his pack is painful. He sits down and slides into the straps and then rolls over so he can then thrust the bag up and then starts hiking. Tough old man is the only thing that comes to mind. A few mental battles raging on today. Got a few pains im nursing. Everyone seems to have some form of pain management, if its knees,ankles or feet. I feel i need a boost to my spirits, i know that i just need to hike some miles, thats the answer to everything out here. Dont know how it helps but it does. I decided when i got to laurel creek shelter i would make the next one. I hit trail magic at the road, drank down a 0.5 litre of pepsi and carried on.met a cool couple thinking of hiking the english coast to coast next year. I got up onto a ridge and strolled to the next shelter. The shelter was 0.3 down a hill which sucked but there was space for me and i think Hopeful hiker and his son were asleep in there. I got the 'feel good feeling' about doing my 20 miler, i get such a kick out of it. retired to bed at dark.dandylion
Date: 2005-05-30
From: Sarver Hollow shelter

To: Trout Creek
Miles today: 14.9

Hopeful hiker was pleased to see me and i was introduced to his son George. He is out for a week with his Dad. Early on in the day we were treated to some panoramic views of Virginia, beautiful state. The ridge had large exposed slanted rocks which meant great views but was kind of hard to walk on. Keeping track of the trail was a constant occupation, it was ducking and diving all over the shot. Noodle and New heart were moving steadily along as usual and they passed me as i pulled in for a break at Niday shelter. George came by and told me how he was off to France this summer to improve his French. Best way to do it. He showed me his blisters, he is already falling apart out here. Uncle Bob who is a section hiker told me Tal was at the shelter before last. He arrived 20 mins after i left Laurel creek shelter. I was excited about him catching up and i left in a merry mood. I met LAdy di today aswell, she signed my guestbook a while back. Great to have fans out here! It was a long tough climb up to the Audie Murphy memorial. He was one of the most decorated soldiers in american history. One medal he got was for jumping onto a burning tank and mounting the gun on top, he killed about 50 advancing germans. This allowed his unit to retreat safely and to top it off he got off in time to live. I came down into Trout Creek and met some people having a break and playing some Shel Crow tunes. I decided i would stop here. Tal came along but no time for hugs and kisses, we had much to catch up on. THE RETURN OF THE JEW, i shouted to him. He started talking about all the effort he had exerted to catch me. I was flattered, he had cover about 270 miles in 15 days. As expected he had some funny religious stories. One women started giving him a pray in latin on the side of the road. In the middle of the whole thing, randomly Barrel slug pulls up in a car and shouts 'wanna go see starwars'. I miss old barrel slug, that guy was so dam funny. Tal also veiled his masterplan. The basics were that we would hike 100 miles a week and resupply every 3-4 days. I usually resupply 5-7 days so i think his plan is good but its not as exciting as he made it out to be. The camp was littered with 'do not camp signs' but they were not official and not even laminated. Tal was concerned thou as he said ' a ranger will fine you, a mad local will kill you'. Seeker came along and camped aswell but she was made uneasy by the signs.dandylion
Date: 2005-05-31
From: Trout Creek

To: Catawba Mtn shelter
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: scattered clouds

From what Tal told me about the past few weeks, he is not the lazy Israeli i once knew and was up at 6am. I decided 6am should be my new wake up time aswell. We went up to Dragons tooth today, it was really cool, a tall sharp rock shaped like a tooth! Uncle Bob jumped up it but i knew i would hurt myself so i just circled the thing. The climb down was the real challenge. Very rocky. They put some bars in the rock so you could climb down but they were at an angle which meant it was had to get a good grip on them. These scrambles become much harder when you have a pack on. There was some cool name places along the way today such as Lost spectacles Gap. Between VA624 and VA311 it didnt look to bad a walk looking at my Wingfoot guide but then this ridge just appeared from no where.up and down like a yo-yo. As i went over a stile i jumped down to find i was about to step on a snake. I completely flipped, throwing my sticks and dancing around like a pansy. Tal was wondering what on earth was wrong.Once i gathered myself i examined my long friend and decided to touch his tail. He moved off the trail so quickly it scared me again. He was just an black snake,not dangerous. We and tal went into Catawba as Tal had Israeli candy mailed there from home. It was good but i still had to get a sub from the gas station to satisfy me. I also drank two milkshakes which made me feel sick for a while. I got mad at myself, i always make myself ill when i get into town. We got a ride out and met Swinger at the junction. Tal was taking a pee on the side of the road and just talking to Swinger casually. Swinger was censoring his view with his hand and said 'your not shy'. Tal just does'nt care who's watching or where he is. One must pee, i guess. Fancypants,goosebump and tag-a-long caught us up. dandylion