morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-04-17
From: Indian Grave gap

To: Cherry Gap Shelter
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: light rain

Last night was really windy. When the gusts would blow through, leaves would fly through the tarp. A few times, the wind actually blew our quilt off of us.Piper and Frodo came to eat at our house this morning. We all ate granola and milk. After breakfast, we were out of camp quickly. Pi left about 10 minutes before us. We bushwacked cross-country to the trail. We crossed a place called Beauty Spot, which was a small bald area with great views. Piper and Frodo enjoyed this spot. After lunch, we had 3 or 4 miles left to the shelter. Part way there, the weather shifted. We were hurrying, trying to beat the rain. 5 or 6 people were catching up to us as the thunderstorm was rolling in. This was a little frustrating since we knew we would lose spots in the shelter. The rain came on quick, and I could tell that we had been having a lot of good weather on this trip. I was a little disorganized getting my raingear out and rain cover on. We basically got soaked in about 20 seconds - the rain came on so hard and fast. We got everything in order and headed up the trail. As we walked, the rain kept pumping hard and soon there! was a small creek flowing down the trail. I had put my umbrella on Pipers pack, and it was not working perfectly. During the storm, Coyotebec slipped down in the mud.When we finally reached the shelter, we were greeted by 12 or 13 wet hikers. Nobody moved a muscle when we walked in. We stood under the small awning and tried to figure out what to do next. Luckily most of the people in the shelter were not staying - but just waiting out the storm. Coyotebec found us a small corner and we started getting dried out.It has been a treat being with Piper and Frodo. Catching up on news from home and just joking and laughing our way down the trail. After supper, we enjoyed visiting with Lush and headed for our beds.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-18
From: Cherry Gap Shelter

To: Hughes Gap
Miles today: 11.0

This morning when I got up, the fog was super thick. I was the first one up in the shelter, so I just sat and watched the fog for a while. It was eerie and also beautiful.Around 7, I started making strategic noises like clicking the pot handles and pouring our granola. Soon, Coyotebec, Piper and Frodo were rousing and ready for breakfast.We were out of the shelter around 8, and headed north. We had looked at the map profile and thought that today would be the easiest of the 4 days that Piper and Frodo would be with us. It's almost always a mistake to make a prediction like that. There were no huge climbs, but there were a lot of short steep climbs (vicious!) that can really take it out of you.We made it to the next shelter around 1:30 and took a break to work on Pipers feet (blisters) and to let our damp feet breathe a little. We decided that since we had to climb Roan Mtn tomorrow, that it would be better not to leave a full 8 miles. So we moved on to climb two more peaks and find a camping spot - leaving only Roan for tomorrow. The climb up Rocky Knob turned out to be the toughest of the day. The trail went directly over the top - giving some great views.After Rocky Knob, we were really dragging, but pressed on towards Hughes gap to find a camping spot.Potato time could not have come at a better time. We all shared a pot of Pesto Noodles and started feeling better pretty quickly - except for piper. Her stomach was upset. Probably just worn out a little.After supper, we were all tired and decided to make it an early night and head to bed.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-19
From: Hughes Gap

To: Carvers Gap
Miles today: 4.8

At 5:30am we could hear the thunder rolling in over the mountains. Thunder sounds different in the mountains. It's longer, fuller and stronger than in the flatlands. When it's close, it can shake the ground.We tightened up the tarp, had a quick bathroom break and snuggled back in under our sleeping quilt. By 9:30, it was still raining hard, and the lightning had moved towards the east a few miles.We decided it was time to make a run for Roan Mtn. Because of Pipers blisters, they decided the steep, wet climb would be hard on her. So they decided to wait for us to swing back around and pick them up after we got the car on the other side of Roan Man.We took down one of the tents, packed up and headed out. It was raining hard when we started up the mountain. After about an hour, we climbed into a misty area. At this point, the rain started to slack off.As we climbed, I got this thought or feeling that God was saying "I've got a lot more to show you on this trip". Wow. We climbed above the fog/mist/clouds, and could see white blankets lying in between the ridges. 20 minutes later, we came upon a bird sitting on a branch just off the trail. It's mate was flitting back in the bushes. The bird kept following us up the mountain for 15 minutes.When we reached the top, we got a great view of the clouds washing around the peaks like giant white waves.We zipped down the other side of the mountain where we came across Pi. He said that he was having problems with his foot. I offered him a ride, but he had decided to push on. We arrived at Carvers Gap, found our car, and headed to pick up Piper and Frodo.Once in town, we showered and headed out to eat. My stomach has been queasy since Erwin, and I just didn't feel good. I was able to eat a little food - but this is getting to be a little bit of a problem.We had a fun night out at the restaurant with Piper and Frodo anyway. Kind of like back home again.After supper, it was off to bed (a real bed).More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-21
From: Buck Mtn Rd

To: Moreland Gap shelter
Miles today: 14.8
Weather: moderate rain

We were up before dawn to be dropped off at the trail by Matt, Becca and Pi. The have a long drive ahead and needed an early start.At the trail, we said our good bye's to Matt and Becca. Matt said "see ya in 5 months". I think that hit Coyotebec a little hard. The duration of this trip is definitely one of the tough challenges.We were walking along the road to the trail, and they drove by slowly as we dropped down on the trail. Pi rolled his window down, smiled and said "Hiker Trash". That could not have been more appropriate from someone we've endured a lot of things with - from heat, to snow, to locals in Erwin yelling Hiker Trash at us while we walked down the road. Seeing him roll away in the car, along with family we would not see for a long time was a poignant moment.We walked in silence lost in thought until it started to rain 20 minutes later. After we had rain covers on and umbrellas up, we talked about how we were feeling. Both of us had a feeling of melancholy, but not in a way that made us want to go home. Home for now is here on the trail.We walked pretty much non-stop for the next 7 hours. The terrain was easy and we even had our first trail magic in many miles. Some nice women calling themselves the Singing Sisters gave us a rendition of "Happy Trails" and we got Ginger ale!We reached the shelter and got two spots. Throughout the afternoon, hikers filtered in. We are in a totally new group of hikers now. There's a couple called Walkabout and Caboose. He's a chef and she's a music teacher. A guy named State Line Jay has a bad stomach Virus. Krush is a college student that will graduate in art in either ceramics or glass blowing. Chill Out is an older guy on his 3rd attempt at the AT in 3 years (other 2 ended in injury). Junko is guy that tried to hike the AT 8 years ago, got off, then got back on this year where he left off (I think around hot springs). A few folks we've seen before are here: Iron wolf, Free at last and a couple more.At around 5, Iron Wolf came in with Free at Last. We decided to pitch or tarp and give them the 2 shelter spots since Iron Wolf has some bad knees and has trouble crawling in and out of his tent. We were also excited about having some quiet time to write and relax. A shelter is not the place for peace and quiet.After supper, Caboose got a fire going and everyone worked on drying boots and clothes. It was fun starting to get to know a new group of hikers.Note to people who don't think umbrellas are cool: Get over it! We walked for 7 hours in a steady hard rain in running shorts and quick dry t's with our umbrellas today and arrived totally dry. Then we watched everyone filter in with raingear on - totally soaked. The key is to work with your pack to get a way to attach the umbrella so you can still use your poles.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-23
From: Dennis Cove Rd

To: Iron Mtn Gap
Miles today: 13.1

We headed out around 8am with Mary - going north along Laurel Fork Creek. This is one of the first times on the trip that we've walked alongside a river. The water crashed through the gorge - over boulders and drops. We soon reached Laurel Falls. It was a little obscured by trees, but this is an 80 foot cascade. We skirted over some rough trail along a cliff line that goes right into the river, then climbed back up onto the ridge. The first big challenge was a 1700 foot climb over the top of a tall ridge. We cruised over it and stopped at a spring that comes right out of the top.The bottom is at Watauga Lake. We decided to eat lunch here. Cosmic Punchline and Chill Out were there and we shared a picnic table with them. After lunch, we headed towards the shelter - 1.8 miles away. We had intended to stop at the Watauga lake shelter, but we arrived before 2. It was small and dreary, so we decided to fill all our water containers in preparation for a dry camp and find something by the dam. There was no camping by the dam, so we continued up to Iron Mtn Gap. We are camped near a road - but out of sight, so I am not too worried about it.We arrived around 4, so we cooked some Cous Cous and laid down in the tarp to read and write. Supper is planned for around 7, with bed coming shortly after.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-24
From: Iron Mtn Gap

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: clear sky

This was a wonderful day! We climbed out of the lake area onto what thru hikers call the Tennessee turnpike. It's called this because the terrain is a bit easier than what we've grown accustomed to the last 400 miles. The other thing about the name is that there's a thing called the "Tennessee Turnpike Challenge". The challenge is to walk from the Watauga lake dam to Damascus in 24 hours. Folks - the terrain is easier, but not easy enough to try to hike 40 miles in a day. We saw Cosmic Punchline trying it. He had stopped early yesterday and set up his tent - planning on sleeping till midnight, then starting on the challenge. He got tired around 3am, and set his tent up on the trail. We passed by his tent this morning. He caught us by lunch and was still game for finishing by midnight. This is a fun idea - but not for us old folks.The terrain did allow us to cover more terrain than we had planned however. We moved steadily all day long. At lunch we met Hui (hooey). He is a wildlife biologist that's spent the last 3 years working for the National Park Service in Hawaii. Since Mary lived in Hawaii for 2 years, they hit it off and had fun talking about surfing and volcanoes.After lunch we passed another shelter and took a break at a small stream. We made mashed potatoes to get an energy burst we hoped would carry us through the last 5 miles. We then walked through an area that was an old farm. The fields were green with new grass and lots of wildflowers. Ancient fence posts lined the fields. They were weathered gray and covered with lichen. They had character. The path swayed through the grass and up into the woods.An hour later we arrived at Double Springs shelter. Hui and Chill Out were the only ones there. We cooked mac and cheese with tuna (a double batch) and wiped up the pot with slices of bread. Great meal. This is probably the first supper that I've eaten my whole share in 10 days. I think maybe I will be over this stomach problem soon. Since we might make it to Damascus tomorrow, I am hoping it's truly over so I can enjoy town food.We asked Mary how she liked our "typical day at the office". She said, "It's good. It's long. It's hard". That pretty much sums it up.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-25
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus Va
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: broken clouds

We crossed our 3rd state line today!Today we walked the final 18 miles into Damascus. This is a famous trail town that is on everyone's list to stay in for a couple of days. That's our plan. We will Zero here tomorrow and then move on Thursday morning.Last night was a little rough. I had another stomach episode. I had to bolt out from under the tarp around 11pm when I thought I was going to throw up. Things turned out better than that - but not much. I was able to sleep through the rest of the night, and we headed out in the morning. With a steady pace, and not many stops, we were in Damascus by 3:30. We stopped in at Mt Rogers Outfitters and got a spot in their hostel across the street. Coyotebec, Mylie (Mary's new trail name - a hawaiian flower) and I went to the local Italian place and got a Pizza. Not great - but filling. We were joined by Snapper, Gloworm and Stumpknocker. We were excited to see Chou Chou, Hindsfeet and Bearbell in town on a zero as well. The trail family is back together (except oh2bee). We'll lose them again tomorrow when they leave, but we'll catch them in the next week or two.Sorry for the short entry, but sleep is catching up.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-26
From: Damascus Va

To: damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today was a great day for a zero. The rain set in last night and has kept going all day long. First thing in the morning we headed for a place called the Dairy King for breakfast. Breakfast on a zero day feels like the first day of summer. No hiking to worry about and lots of fun meeting friends you haven't seen in a while.This one was particularly fun. There were probably 15 hikers in there including us and Malie (Mary's new trail name!), Snapper, Gloworm, Hindsfeet, ChouChou, Bearbell, Heald and a lot of others. Hikers were having fun playing music on the jukebox. This one played 45's so all the music was "classic".I had another stomach episode last night at at 4am. This thing just keeps hanging on me. Even so, I was able to eat a full breakfast. I added on a milk shake to try to put a few extra calories back in me. I have been getting kind of skinny the last 10 days with my lack of eating. Plus - it tasted really good.After breakfast, we took care of the usual zero day duties. Clothes washing, grocery shopping, shuttle set up for Mylie, phone calls and more kept us busy all day.Mylie is going to stay with us for about 35 more miles up through parts of the Grayson Highlands.We managed to stay up past 10:30 eating out at the Baja restaurant and visiting with other hikers.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-27
From: damascus

To: Lost Mtn Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: few clouds

This is an awesome morning! This was my first night with no stomach problems. Hopefully I am on my way to being better before I waste away.Bearbell decided to zero yesterday and wait for us to hike with us for a while. This is an honor! We left the hostel by 8:30. Bearbell had decided to convert his rain pants into rain shorts. The seamstress had dropped the shorts off at the outfitter shop, which wasn't open yet. I was in my "efficiency" mode, and ready to hit the trail. After a few minutes, I was able to get it in check, and we decided to go to the Dairy King for a cup of coffee while Bearbell went after his rain shorts.Soon we were underway. The morning was beautiful. The rain had cleaned the air and everything felt fresh. Water was gushing from every nook and cranny of the mountains.We paralleled the Virginia Creeper trail and a creek that was really swollen. On the trail, Bearbell, Coyotebec, Mylie and I had a movie rating discussion. We would name favorite movies and all rate them. Very fun. We met a new hiker today named Cupcake. He is from Connecticut and is a computer programmer. He spent the evening moaning about missing (in no particular order) his IPOD, his kitten and his girlfriend.Finally we reached the shelter around 4:45. After potatoes, we made the WORST meal of the trip. Lipton Asian noodles are horrible. I think my stomach problem is back. Plus it stuck to the bottom of the pot and was a pain to clean.Off to bed to write and relax...More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-28
From: Lost Mtn Shelter

To: Thomas Knob shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: few clouds

Today was an awesome day. Mylie, Coyotebec, Bearbell, and I immediately started climbing almost right out of the shelter.The trail climbed steadily through thick forest until we burst upon an open bald area called Buzzard Rock.We had been looking for a spot to do "tensies" or a ten o'clock break. The area was very open, with beautiful grass punctuated with black craggy rocks. The skies were blue with a few lazy clouds floating over.We moved up over Whitetop mtn, and past Helton Creek and Deep gap before making the final climb up towards Mt. Rogers. Bearbell and I climbed together while Coyotebec and Mylie climbed together. We waited for the girls at the side trail to Mt Rogers. From here, we could see herds of wild ponies.We took the side trail to the summit of Mt Rogers - Highest point in Virginia. The top wasn't what you would call impressive. There was a 30-foot clearing in the trees with a benchmark on a rock. Absolutely no views.We reached the shelter fairly early and made Cous Cous for an appetizer. The pony herds were getting closer as we ate. A hiker named I'm Still Adam went over and soon the ponies were all around him. Of course, Bearbell had to get in on the fun. He had carried up some carrots. The horses loved them. It culminated with Bearbell on the back of a small pony. It was a lot of fun. I guess you have to see the pictures.We met 2 new hikers today. Hobbit is a guy from Roanoke with a big head of red hair. Riverside is a hiker from Vermont that has been covering well over 20 miles per day. Another interesting feature of this shelter is that there is a cat living here. It has really pretty and smooth fur and is really gentle - except to the mice (of which it caught one tonight). Tomorrow, we say goodbye to Mylie. She has done a lot of thru hiker stuff in a week: Hiked, got a blister or two, saw balds, saw wild ponies, slept in tarp and shelters, took a zero day, slept in a hostel and ate a lot of bad food.One interesting feature of this shelter is the cat that lives here. This cat lives off the hikers and whatever mice it can catch. We named him Thomas the Mountain Cat.Tonight Bearbell had us in stitches. Riverside was talking about the Long Trail in Vermont and that it was older than the AT. Bearbell said to Riverside "yeh - we have an old trail in Mississippi. It's called the underground railroad. It's mostly a night hike. And there's hostels. You get to a town and they leave a candle in the window, then bring you down to their cellars. Then sometimes, they'll give you a shuttle to the next hostel in the trunk of their car". That's life in the shelter sometimes at night...More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-04-29
From: Thomas Knob shelter

To: Troutdale VA
Miles today: 21.2

Today was marked by two events. First off, Mylie left us today. Secondly, we hiked our first day over 20 miles.We had decided to start early - having 12 miles to cover before 2pm to the parking area where Mylie was to be picked up. It was really cold when we got up. Thomas Knob is above 5000 feet, so I guess that is why it's so cold up there. Thomas the Mountain Cat crawled back in our sleeping bag around 5am to wait for hikers to begin breakfast. Even though our quilt is only made for 40 degrees, we were toasty warm - and so was Thomas.We were out and hiking by 7:15. The wind was whipping, making it kind of nasty. The high country feel of Grayson Highlands continued for 5 or 6 miles. During that time, the trail was extremely rocky - not good for the feet on a long day. Basically, you are hopping from rock to rock, finding your way down the trail. Finally, this gave way to more normal trail - but not before Tinkerbell (aka bearbell) had some excitement. On a rocky section, he caught his foot on a bush. This through his weight way over his pole which then pushed him backwards over the edge of the trail. I turned just quick enough to see his 6'3" frame sliding down the rocks, riding on top of his pack. After a few feet, he came to a halt, and I went down and helped him get back up to the trail. It was funny - but scary at the same time.After lunch, we had to hustle down to reach the shuttle on time. We got there and the shuttle arrived a couple of minutes later. Hugs for Coyotebec, Tinkerbell and me - and then Mylie was in the van and off down the road. She had a great visit to thru hiker land, and I think will have some great memories of our adventure together. Coyotebec felt bad that she didn't give a bigger goodbye, but I think there's no way to really say an adequate goodbye in these situations.We hiked on with 8 miles left to go. We had read that the Hostel shut its doors at 6. With our normal 2mph pace, there should have been no way for us to make it. Somehow, we arrived at the gap at 10 till 6. On the last few yards before the road, I whispered a quick prayer that we could catch a ride easily into town. We had heard almost no car noise, and when we got to the road, there was no traffic. We starting trying to hitch, and amazingly, the second truck stopped and picked us up!At the hostel, we had a reunion with Hindsfeet and ChouChou - then walked straight to the diner for some supper before they closed. After supper, we got a hot shower and headed to bed. The hostel is simply a portable building at the church here. They operate on donations and consider it to be one of their ministries.All in all, this was a great day. Our feet are tired, but otherwise we feel good. Tomorrow we hike to Partnership shelter. This shelter is rumored to have a hot shower and a phone that you can order pizza that's delivered right to the shelter.More tomorrow....
Date: 2006-04-30
From: Troutdale VA

To: Partnership shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Oh2bee showed me a poem today:Remote for detachmentnarrow for chosen company,winding for leisure,lonely for contemplation,the Appalachian Trail beckons,not merely north and south,but upward to the body, mind and soul of a man.Harold Allen - 1936It's tough to follow beautiful writing like this, but I thought that it would be nice in the journal.Today was a reunion of the whole trail family. Around 8, oh2bee's friend picked all of us up in one car. Tinkerbell, Chouchou, Hindsfeet, Parkay, Coyotebec and I WITH our packs crammed into the car. When we got to the trail, Oh2bee was very surprised to see all of us (he thought Steve was only picking up the girls).We headed up the trail with the whole family plus Steve, his daughter Sally and his friend Gary. The friends walked to the first shelter (4 miles out) and then headed out.We steadily hiked the rest of the 14 miles and arrived around 3:30. Partnership shelter is famous because it is the one shelter on the AT where you can have a pizza delivered. We all jumped in and placed an order. We all gorged on the grass near the Forest Service center. The pizza was so good. Maybe it's the hiker appetite kicking in.That pretty much summed up the day - we lazily headed to the shelter and our bags. The weather has gotten cold again and it's not that fun hanging out at night outside your sleeping bag.More tomorrow...