morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-03-20
From: Wise Mtn. Shelter

To: Trimpi Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We woke up to heavy rain on the tin shelter roof. It was also very windy and cold. This made our hike across the Grayson Highlands Balds pretty miserable. Because the balds are grassy hill tops there was no protection from the wind or the rain. The rain came in at us sidewise and some of the gusts of wind were so strong they would throw you off balance. However once we got of the balds and back into areas with trees it seemed like neither the rain nor the wind was even a factor. We passed a couple on spring break and gave them a heads up about the hurricanes hovering over the balds. I felt bad for them because I know that¢s not how anyone envisions their spring break. As thru-hikers we have no choice but to deal with and hike in the bad weather. I wouldn¢t dare say that we¢ve had horrible weather or even to the point where we are less susceptible to bad weather, but I know that if I was on a spring break trip with a female counter-part and I knew that my car was only 5 miles away, I probably wouldn¢t have been hiking out there on those balds. At the same time its almost a shame that weather can make such a usually beautiful place seem dismal. We stopped and had lunch at the next shelter. We found a menu for the ¢Troutdale Trading Post¢ that sent fantasies of big juicy burgers into our minds as we sat and ate the usual power bars, granola bars, and tuna fish. We decided without even discussing it that we would hitch in to Troutdale for dinner. It seemed like it took forever to get to Dickie¢s Gap even though we arrived an hour before we had expected on account of the fact that we were all hiking at a pace just below a slow jog. I recognized Dickie¢s Gap as the end point from a scout troop we had done in Grayson Highlands. It didn¢t take long for a pick-up truck to pull over. We rode the 3 miles into Troutdale and were dropped off at ¢Jerry¢s Kitchen¢ (formerly the Troutdale Trading Post). Jerry and his wife had just purchased the business 3 weeks ago. His wife, an energetic women, kept us entertained and laughing while we each had two burgers. She then volunteered her husband to take us back to the trail head. The last 4-5 miles went by quickly despite having heavy full stomachs on an uphill climb. It is a different shelter than usual. The bunks are off to the sides and in the middle is open floor with a fireplace in the back. With such a good dinner and Ant¢s announcement that we had reached mile 500 we had forgotten about the miserable morning we¢d had and were all ready to get up and hike (after a good nights sleep of course)."But I would walk 500 milesAnd I would walk 500 more"-The Proclaimers
Date: 2007-03-21
From: Trimpi Mtn. Shelter

To: US 11/VA 683 - Relax Inn
Miles today: 22.2
Weather: overcast clouds

Started today off poorly. The mice got a little over zealous licking the salt off of my socks. Big hole, 2 inch diameter, in the outside of the ankle. Not going to be fixable. This is my first mouse encounter of the trail of much significance and it is sparking a full fledged war. I may take action like the hiker WMD (Weapons of Mouse Destruction) and buy some mouse traps for vengeance.Today is the first day of spring. Things are definitely starting to look as if the time is near. Over the past couple of days there has been a big increase in bugs, snakes, spiders, etc. Hopefully the enjoyable wildlife will come soon after.Tonight we're staying in the Relax Inn. What a piece...a rude middle-eastern checked us in. The room is tiny and reeks. This is the first time we've gone into a room and bettered its scent. This held true at least until I took off my shoes. It became debatable after that.   It is old and poorly maintained, but will do. I'd personally take a shelter over it. We went to a very southern local diner for dinner. Burger, fried chicken sandwich, and tots for my meal. Mmmm. The only good thing in Rural Retreat.-"Gobble 'til you wobble." - Sign in diner
Date: 2007-03-22
From: Relax Inn

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 22.9
Weather: clear sky

What a wonderful nights sleep we all had in the plush Relax Inn! If ever you happen through Rural Retreat, I highly recommend stopping at the Relax Inn. Our room was very cosy. We had just enough room for two double beds (the European ones that seem more like single beds). Color TV (usually a reddish color tint although it would switch to blue ever now and then), a high pitched, almost to the point of deafening, screeching shower and an odor that made even we dirty thruhikers smell good. Whatever was able to convince the owner¢s son to drive us to nearby Atkins (for a minimal fee) to pick up two packages we had waiting at the post office there. Apparently his shower doesn¢t squeal like ours because we waited for an hour and a half for him to shower and get ready. We finally got on the trail by 11 am. We reached the first shelter a few miles in and compared to the Relax it looked like the Ritz Carlton. We preferred a dirty old shelter to the Relax Inn ¢ (that¢s bad). When we got to the North Holston creek we got in to wash off the filth and grime we felt the Relax and left on us. We had a long steep climb up Chestnut Knob. The thought of the climb loomed over us all day which probably added on to my sluggish pace and sour mood. At around 7:30 we stopped and ate dinner at a creek about half way up to the ridge on Chestnut Knob. We hiked up to the ridge by headlamp but we almost didn¢t need them because the sky was clear and the moon was bright. We were surprised to see an enclosed shelter at the top of Chestnut Knob and also relieved because it was pretty windy. We opened the door to find 5 section hikers spread out across the entire shelter. In desperation after having hiked 22 miles and it being 10 pm I thought ¢Oh crap! There better be room in here because I will not hike on to the next shelter tonight.¢ Well we made room for ourselves. We had to weave and manage our way around all their gear. The four of us crammed onto the two top bunks (probably made for only one person each). Most of the men in the shelter were already snoring and on the top bunks the wind was howling. We lie down knowing we are in for another night of insomnia. ¢The Relax Inn, what a shit hole!¢ -Anonymous 1/4, 25% of the way done!
Date: 2007-03-23
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Wytheville - Dan and Judy's House
Miles today: 21.5

It was a long day of hiking. We woke at 6:45, before the 5 other guys in the shelter, so we actually never got to meet them. Hiked to US21 where Whateva's picked us up, including Groovasaurus, and took us back to his house in Wytheville. He, Dan, and his wife, Judy, fixed us a delicious dinner and we watched March Madness (That's basketball for those of you who live in "other" parts of the country). Carolina somehow pulled out a win after a nerve-racking first half!I personally had a rough end of the day hiking experience. Due to low food consumption, I felt very lightheaded and sluggish, which was kind of scary. I consumed 2 ramens and a powerbar to replenish. It was all I had left. First time that happened. Also, FIRST TRAIL MAGIC! Cooler full of Gatorade. Had four while we sat there and took one for the road. You'll have to check out the before and after picture. We put a little bit of a dent in it. -"Don't let your hiking get in the way of your March Madness experience."
Date: 2007-03-24
From: Wytheville - Dan and Judy's House

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 26.3
Weather: clear sky

We finally (or at least I did) got a good nights sleep. We woke to a great breakfast and filled our stomach to the brink of explosion. After breakfast we packed up and said our farewells to Aunt Judy, (after a few pictures in front of the house and strategically underneath their Ohio State flag). Uncle Dan took us to wally world and those of us who needed it got our snacks for the next few days. Uncle Dan hiked a little ways up the trail from the road with us. As usual we started the day out with our biggest climb. We got on the trail around 11am so we knew we had to make good time or else we¢d be hiking in the dark. Groovasaurus¢ girlfriend, Aurora, was planning on staying at Wapiti shelter with us tonight and then hike into Pearisburg with us the next day. The last 10 miles of the hike was pretty flat following Dismal Creek so it was easy going. By the time we got to the shelter we had hiked the distance of a marathon. Groovasaurus had a dog follow him for about 12 miles to the shelter at which point he decided that he would keep it. It looks like it is some sort of German Shepard and lab mix. He smells aweful and we¢ve concluded that he must have been sprayed by a skunk. Being a weekend there were many campers in the area. At the shelter there were 8 section hikers camping in tents. Also staying in the shelter with us, was Bonaventure, one of the Boyz II Maine, whom we¢ve been following since the NOC. We hit the 600 mile mark.In Dismal Gorge"The lost can stay lost down here,in laurel slicks, false-paved caves.Too much too soon disappears.On creek banks clearings appear,once homesteads. Nothing remains.The lost can stay lost down here..." -Ron Rash
Date: 2007-03-25
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Pearisburg to Blacksburg (Brienne's Townhouse)
Miles today: 16.6

The breakfast just kept coming this morning. I had a larger breakfast than normal on my own, and then some of the ladies from the group/hiking club slowly began to bring us all of their leftovers, then any extra food that had to lighten their packs. Got into Pearisburg around 5:30 and crammed into Aurora's car. In her small station wagon, was the 5 of us, 2 dogs - Ember and Stinky, and our 5 packs. Very tight. Got to Felix's, Groove's bro, in time to watch the Heels go scoreless for the last 6 minutes of regulation and most of overtime. Talk about a meltdown. Biggest choke of the tourney. We then went to El Rodeo with Groovasaurus and his family, who had come into town to see him. Eventually we made our way over to Brienne's where we met some of her friends before crashing. "I think I'll call him Smells." - Groovasaurus"The South will rise again" - First line on wall of shelter"And it will be speaking Spanish" - Second line and in different handwriting.
Date: 2007-03-26
From: Pearisburg to Blacksburg

To: Blacksburg (Brienne's Townhouse)
Miles today: 19.3

Groovasaurus and Aurora picked us up at 7:30 and we went to breakfast in down town Blacksburg. After breakfast we drove north and Aurora dropped us all off by a road where the trail crosses near Pine Swamp Shelter. We hiked without packs (or slack-packed) because we were going back to Blacksburg that night. We each carried our own snacks and water for the day. It was mostly ridge that we hiked along with some neat grassy areas including Rice Field where there is a shelter. We also ran into the Hobbit as we eating lunch. He is a retired PE teacher from Wisconsin. He had taken a few days off in Blacksburg and we weren't quite sure when we'd see him when we finally caught up to him. He already knew of us from trail journals. We only chatted for a short while because we were headed south back towards Pearisburg and he was headed north coming out of Pearisburg. We felt a time crunch when we were about six miles away from Pearisburg. Brienne was coming to pick us up in P-burg but I had told her to come around 4. We picked up the pace to try to make it in by that time. Groovasauras and I (slick Shoes) began to run for five minutes then we would walk for five minutes, a sort of fartlick, or what we called "five on five off". We got to the Wade's supermarket (after only two or three spills- turns out its pretty hard to run down mountains on rocky trails) there on the outside of Pearisburg by 4:30 and Whateva and Ant came in soon after. Brienne picked us up and we headed back to Blacksburg where we enjoyed the Virginia Tech cafeteria food (apparently VT is top 5 in the nation for school food) it was certainly better than UNC food. We relaxed at Briennes and watched movies."I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." -Henry David Thoreau
Date: 2007-03-27
From: Blacksburg

To: Blacksburg (Brienne's Townhouse)
Miles today: 20.6

Slack packed from Stony Creek Valley north to Sinking Creek Valley. Groovasaurus' sister joined us for the hike. We met up with Hobbit again, and he is going to come back to Blacksburg with us. The 5 of us packed into the car, see picture, the 8 miles to a gas station, where Groovasaurus and his sister dropped us off and then went to get the other car. We sat around and got to know The Hobbit over some convenience store treats. After about an hour and some, they returned with the cars and we headed back to Blacksburg and ordered Jimmy John's. Brienne and company went to the AYCE, All You Can Eat, campus dining hall without us because we were too late. Heartbreaking, let me tell you...The whole reason they were going was for us too. Some friends came over and we hung out and of course ordered some more food. Pokey Sticks. The sensation across the college campus nation. Had a good night and got to meet lots of Brienne's friends.¢Man, y¢all are bustin¢ out the Hamilton¢s already.¢
Date: 2007-03-28
From: Blacksburg (Brienne's Townhouse)

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 4.0
Weather: clear sky

We were slow getting up. We managed to clean up and gather some of things that were by now strewn across the whole appartment. We went to lunch at the VT cafeteria and stuffed ourselves. Ryan (Ant's brother), who came up to hike with us for the next 5 days, was already waiting for us at Brienne's when we got back from lunch. We finished packing up and then went to the grocery store and got our food for the next few days. WHile we were in the store it started pouring and was thundering and lightening. We got on the trail at 4:30 and by then the thunder had stopped but there was still a little drizzle. We had a small climb and reached the sign for the first shelter. We spotted a note left on the sign from the Hobbit who said he was staying at this shelter for the night and that it was a nice one. We decided to head down the quarter mile off the trail to the shelter to say hello to Hobbit. We decided to stay there because it was already 6pm and it was a nice new shelter. --Trail Thugs and Harmony: Jokingly new group name with Groovasaurus to the chagrin of the "Boyz II Maine." The heaven-sent group leading the way a couple days ahead of us.
Date: 2007-03-29
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

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

The day started with some rain that eventually dissipated, turning into enjoyable weather. Too big of a day for my "new-to-hiking" brother, but he handled it fine. Uneventful day as far as sights go, we did however stop at Trout Creek for a while to enjoy the sun before we hiked the last two miles into the shelter. Slick Shoes and I (Ant) scouted out an "unimproved dirt road" for James, Slick Shoes' brother, to possibly drive up closer to the shelter on. It didn't work out in the end, but we found an abandoned handcart 15 yds off the road to push our packs on into the shelter. More work then hiking, but also more fun. We cooked a big pasta dinner with pepper jack block cheese and a powdered 4 cheese mix. Really hit the spot. We had to show Ryan a good trail meal. Whateva collected an ungodly amount of firewood and we had a big fire to wait on James. It ended up getting pretty chilly again tonight, and James arrived around 10 with Slick Shoes who hiked back to the road to get him. We all crashed soon there after."This is like a firewood heaven. It is everywhere!" - Whateva"Well that¢s because you're in a forest." - Hobbit
Date: 2007-03-30
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Catawba Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: scattered clouds

Interesting day. Slick Shoes and I got up early to relocate our brother's cars. That took until 1:45, about 5 hours, including lunch. We parked at the McAfee's Knob parking lot and hitched back to the Dragon's Tooth parking lot. Then slack packed up to Dragon's Tooth then pushed on to meet up with our brothers, Whateva, Groove, and Hobbit. We caught all but Ryan and Hobbit who had already hitched in to The Ole' Homeplace. We made multiple trips to get everyone else down there, we had a car! So, The Homeplace, supposedly has the best food on the trail. It is an old plantation house about 100 years old that serves a family style buffet. Roast beef, fried chicken, mac and cheese, pinto beans, green beans, biscuits, mashed potatoes, gravy, among others and topped off with coffee and blueberry cobbler with ice cream. It was amazing and quite a good time. The seven of us were definitely out of place and were appropriately put in the back.   After dinner, we lounged around the outside of the restaurant for about an hour and a half before being able to move enough to get back on the trail. As it got dark, we finally shuttled ourselves back up to the parking lot and did the 2-3 miles to the shelter. We're getting up for the sunrise on McAfee's Knob tomorrow. I can't wait!"Those must be thru-hikers. They sure smell like it!" - Guy sitting about 15 feet from us in the restaurant.
Date: 2007-03-31
From: Catawba Mtn. Shelter

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 8.4
Weather: light rain

Woke up around 5:45 and hiked up to McAfee's Knob for the sunrise. Would highly recommend this to anyone. It was amazing. We sat around for about two hours with the bros, Groove, and Hobbit. We had breakfast and I took about 70 pictures. I've posted some of the best. Around 8:45 we started hiking and the weather quickly turned to rain. Tinker Cliffs were squandered a bit by this, but were still very impressive and enjoyable. Just no sitting around to check out the views. Arrived at the shelter around 12. Our earliest arrival by about 4 hours. We just hung out around the shelter all afternoon doing various things to keep ourselves occupied and napped throughout the two rains we had. Two young ladies showed up around 3 in the rain and we were the ones sprawled out for once. We made room and they came in and got dry. Nine in the shelter was tight, but not too bad.
Date: 2007-04-01
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: US 11 - Trouteville to Lynchburg
Miles today: 10.9

Hiked into Trouteville today, got the car and drove back to Daleville for lunch with the fellas. The two brothers went back to Chapel Hill, Groove hiked on to meet his dad to go home for a night to see relatives, the Hobbit crashed at a hotel, and The GoodFellas headed to Lynchburg to visit a friend before heading home for Easter. We will be off for a week, during which we will be planning out mail drops for the rest of the trip.
Date: 2007-04-08
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 103.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Big day. Easter day that is. 0 hiking mileage. Just doing the 103.7 to catch us up on our cumulative mileage. Slick Shoes and I (Ant) hiked this section this past August to test out whether or not a thru-hike was something we wanted to invest ourselves in. We therefore find it redundant to rehike this section, and since timing fit well with Easter, we'll be getting back on at the end of our summers hike. Whateva will come back and hike this section once we have been to Maine and back. Not to get ahead of ourselves...So, that is where we have been the past week: At home eating and sleeping. Hope you all had a Happy Easter and spent it well."I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"-John 11:25,26
Date: 2007-04-09
From: Home

To: Harper's Creek Shelter
Miles today: 2.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Went through the chaos of leaving home after being there a week, which means my gear was strewn everywhere. Planned on leaving around 9:30 but finally got on the road at 11:30. We stopped at a K&W Cafeteria to get one last good meal. Started hiking around 6 and met Woodstock right as we were starting. He's been "ballin'" as Groovasaurus would say. We were able to talk a good amount with him tonight, but tonight is probably the only night that we'll share a shelter with him. Slick Shoes' mom, Lazarus, has come to hike with us for the next five days, so we'll be at a more relaxed pace as we get back into the swing of things.   Due to this pace, Woodstock will push ahead, but we may reencounter him as this journey continues. Its 9:30 now and Slick Shoes has just returned from locating the car, much to Lazarus' liking. It¢s good to be back!A special thanks to Whateva's sponsors (his grandparents) for helping get us back on the trail and all of the homemade goodies provided!--There are 165,000 blazes along the length of the Trail.
Date: 2007-04-10
From: Harper's Creek Shelter

To: Rusty's Hard Time Hollow
Miles today: 6.2
Weather: broken clouds

Finished off the rest of our climb to the top of the Three Ridges today. Made it into Rusty¢s Hard Time Hollow Hostel early this afternoon and rested the rest of the afternoon with some basketball, Frisbee golf, and hiker fellowship with Rusty himself. This has taken the spot at the top of our list for favorite places along the trail that are off the trail. The Hollow is a very unique place that embodies what the trail is about. It is one of the few, if not the last, remaining ¢original¢ trail hostels. The weather is supposed to be nasty tomorrow, so we are going to play it by ear, but probably end up slacking back to the Hollow so we can get in some good mileage and Lazarus won¢t have to worry about the 30¢s and rain that is supposed to come. "You might be a redneck if you have signs on all your trees."
Date: 2007-04-11
From: Rusty's Hard Time Hollow

To: Rusty's
Miles today: 21.1

Two months on the trail today. Does not seem like we have been on that long yet at the same time it seems like forever. Woke up to a blowing horn and ¢Y¢all ain¢t deaf, are ya?¢ from Rusty in the house. Walked from the bunkhouse in the snow to a great pancake breakfast and a dismal weather report. During breakfast we decided to hike 21.1 to make the rest of the trip more enjoyable for the eager but sore Lazarus. So, to clarify, The three GoodFellas slack packed back to Rusty¢s from Waynesboro in the snow turned rain mix. 30¢s and rain is about as bad as it gets. Luckily, and we¢ve had lots of luck, we¢ll be able to return to our new favorite hostel to get warm. Slick Shoes and I (Ant) got back first and got dinner going with two section hikers and Rusty. Pasta ¢ tortellini, Teriyaki Noodles, and some homegrown potatoes that were mashed. Whateva got in right as dinner was finished being prepared and we all warmed up over dinner. We hung out for quite a while and finally retired to angry rain on the tin roof. -¢Excuse me, I didn¢t mean to speak while you were interrupting.¢
Date: 2007-04-12
From: Rusty's

To: Little Calf Mtn. Sheler
Miles today: 7.0

Slow enjoyable start to the day with more pancakes and the addition of eggs this time. Fresh produce is noticeably better! Around 1 we said our goodbyes and headed back to the trail. I think we¢ll all return at some point to visit Rusty again. At least I hope. We started The Shenandoah¢s today. Nice and flat! Heading to bed early. It is very windy with the looks of some rain. We¢ll be meeting Anna and Wes (Slick Shoes¢ sister and bro-in-law) tomorrow afternoon and they¢ll be hiking with us for a couple of days.   Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2