morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-28
From: Kincora Hostel - Zero Day

To: Dennis Cove Road to Watauga Lake US Highway 321
Miles today: 8.9

"It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time." Winston Churchill The last thing I wanted to think about was going off trail. I needed to assure myself I was healthy enough to continue. I was going over in my head the conversation I had with the Special Forces doctor from the walk-in clinic. After examining my foot he said, "I've must have seen thousands of feet like yours, just tissue damage, and it will be painful. And, I am going to tell you the same thing I told those soldiers. GO UP THAT MOUNTAIN AND FINISH YOUR HIKE!" I almost stood at attention and saluted as he walked out of the examination room. The words kept echoing in my head and so today was the day I decided to test my ankle and hike that mountain.There was a section of trail that went north of Dennis Cove, down into Laurel Gorge, passed Laurel Falls, over Pond Flats and back down to Watauga Lake - a distance of 8.9 miles. At first I was going to carry a full pack but changed my mind after talking with Bob. He asked me what was wrong with slack packing. Bob's comment was that it was a term from the 1980's to denote someone not carrying a backpack or to reduce the pack's weight by removing non-essential items. Today, ultra light hikers might be considered slack packers (don't call them that, unless you want a fight). More important, Bob said, "Hike your own hike. There is no wrong way to thru hike. It is your hike no one else¢s, what do you want to do?" I found no argument with Bob's statement, I wanted to test my ankle on some good ups and downs, slack pack it is. Another gentleman, trail name Crusty, wanted to do the same hike so I had a hiking partner.By 8:00, Crusty and I are off on a sunny cool morning, temperature in the high 30's. The trail follows Laurel Creek into the gorge and then the waterfalls. Laurel Falls are big with a nice pool at the bottom. I've heard stories of swimming in the pool, today it was too cold to even consider taking my clothes off. At one point, the trail is a narrow rock ledge just above the swift moving water. We leave the creek and start going up. During our hike Crusty and I talk about our lives. Crusty is ex-military, Special Forces. It turns out he served with a guy I went to high school with. It is always good to hear how a name from the past has made a successful career for himself. During the descent from Pond Flats I was pleasantly surprised by a brilliant orange flower called flaming azalea. I stayed several minutes to watch the butterflies bounce from one flower to another. The hike continued through the early afternoon and we reached our final destination, Watauga Lake.It was a great day with a great hiking companion. My body passed the test. I'm determined, step by step, day by day, to find that last white northern blaze on Katahdin.
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Dennis Cove Road to Watauga Lake US Highway 321

To: Double Springs Shelter
Miles today: 23.4
Weather: clear sky

"Good things, when short, are twice as good." Baltasar Gracian Spent the night a Kincora with the high priestess, Sox and Grizzly Dave. It was good to see them both and I am sure we will bounce back and forth throughout the hike. Bear Tracks stayed behind to do trail maintenance again with Bob near Laurel Falls. Boo Boo was on his way to Boone to see a high school friend. Both Bear Tracks and Boo Boo would catch up with us in Damascus. Bob made a most inviting invitation for me to stay until Saturday. There goes that swirling vortex again when you meet great people. I needed to make a quick exit before being sucked in.Left Kincora (knowing I will be back) at 7:30 and started north around Lake Watauga. Came to the shelter near the lake and ran into Beatbox, Fire Marshal and Pegasus who were getting ready to leave. Throughout the morning Pegasus, Beatbox and I would pick out flowers to identify and photograph. I saw Crested Dwarf Iris, Bluets, Violets, Flowering Dogwood, and May Apples just to name a few.Pegasus, Beatbox and I stopped at Vandeventer Shelter for lunch. Behind the shelter were boulders that overlooked the valley and lake below. A day hiker came along and offered to share his red wine with us. In return he forgot his cheese so I shared mine. For a short period of time we had good things: we basked in the sun, sipping wine, eating cheese, good company and breath taking views. Trail magic at its best.Compared to the trail I had been walking this section was pretty easy. I talked with Fire Marshal, Pegasus and Beatbox and we decided if the trail up ahead was similar and we were not exhausted, we would continue to the next shelter. My ankle was feeling great and the day was turning into legendary one. In the late afternoon we crossed the new section we helped blazed and felt good about walking over it as part of our hike. We stopped on the second half of the new section that was a grass hill surrounded by mountains. Behind the mountains loomed Mt. Rogers, our next big climb in a couple of days. At twilight we ended the day at Double Springs Shelter tired but refreshed from all the good things we experienced.
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus, Va.
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

During the night Boo Boo came in from his adventure in Boone. Everyone, Fire Marshal,Boo Boo, Pegasus, Beatbox and I were up early to hike the final miles in Damascus called the "turnpike" by thru-hikers. This section is probably one of the easiest on the AT, hence the name. With packs light from eating all our food so we didn't have to carry that extra weight, and feet hitting the ground at 3 mph, the miles were going into the record books quickly. I did notice the color green was becoming more pronounced as the ridgeline slowly lost elevation. No longer were we living in browns and greys. Birds were singing, Beatbox beatboxing, Boo Boo whistling - cheer was in the air! It was Spring in Damascus. At 2:15 we crossed into the state of Virginia. Three states, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee are now just memories of mountain views, cold/ice/snow and snow melt with the understanding that my nomadic hiking family and I had accomplished feats of amazement and wonder that we all acknowledge as WOWS!! Walking into Damascus is a milestone for most of us, as was Hot Springs, the first trail town. Harpers Ferry will be the next. Walking through downtown Damascus, everyone is here: Blue Belles, Eagle Eye, Yoda and Lucy, Litle Bit and Moonstone, Vagrant, Mad Scientist, Beast, PA Mule, Riva Queen, the Offensive 6 (from Kincora) minus Vocal who left for home. Early evening we all met at the Side Track Cafe to swap trail stories and compare injuries while drinking that refreshing, bubbly nectar usually not found on the trail - beer.
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Damascus, Va. - Zero Day

To: Damascus, Va. - Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Day 49I woke up this morning with good intentions of leaving Damascus and heading north on the AT. As usual, things change on the trail¢¦ It all started when I had breakfast at the Side Track Cafe. I was the first one there, had a cup of coffee and got the Sunday paper to catch up on the news and sports. What caught my eye was the top left column of the newspaper with the heading Weather Report. I read the article again just to make sure it was correct. The short version: 80% chance of rain with thunderstorms, followed by a cold front with temperatures in the 30's. This, remind you, is MAY. Now I started thinking about that warm, dry bunk I'd been sleeping in and started to consider taking another zero day. I remembered looking out the window of the cafe and watched totally drenched hikers walking passed. Do I really need to be like them today? Then I started writing the positive and negative points of staying another day. Positives won. One last thought before my final decision - can I still make Atkins, Va. to meet my wife, Jacquie, on Friday. The Thru Hiker Handbook came out and figures were re-calculated for the next 5 days. I like it when a plan comes together, especially a simple one. The Zero day was a go! Pegasus walked in and I told her I was thinking of taking another zero and why. Pegasus was unsure. Fire Marshal liked the idea, so did Beatbox. In walks Bear Tracks from his hike from Kincora and we all surprised him by telling him we were staying. Boo Boo wanted to try his tarp out in the rain so he was going to leave later in the day. During the early afternoon the first wave of rain hit, then another. It rained all afternoon and into the night. Boo Boo left during a cold drizzle as we sat in the cafe sipping coffee or beer, wrote in our journals, or used the internet. Pegasus decided to stay and we all gave ourselves high fives for making the decision. We knew eventually we would be in bad weather, but not today. The discussion came up at one of the tables about chaffing and how to stop it. Some used Gold Bond powder, others used Vaseline. I told them that my chaffing occurs where my butt cheeks meet and that I use my medicated lip balm to relieve the discomfort. Someone asked if the lip balm worked. I replied it worked great, but the next time I had used the balm on my lips it tasted funny. Everyone started laughing, then one by one the inquisitive looks appeared on faces, a winkled nose upturned, followed by a disgusted look, and the questioning looks read: Did he really put the lip balm on his butt, and then on his lips? No one asked if I was kidding or not, so I didn't tell. Since that discussion, I have offered the use of my lip balm on occasion. Can you believe it, no takers. Just for the record, the medicated ointment was applied with a Q-tip, and it does work. Let this be our little secret.
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Damascus, Va. - Zero Day

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 50 "Remember that happiness is a way of travel-not a destination." Roy M. Goodman It was time to leave the comforts of a home and return back into the mountains. The weather was cold, high 30's in town and cloudy. We all met at the outfitter store to see who was going or staying. Grizzly Dave was there buying more equipment to help him improve his hiking abilities. Bear Tracks had some running around to do in town and said he will catch up later. Beatbox was nowhere to be found. Fire Marshal said he was in his room sorting out food and gear. In the end it was Fire Marshal, Pegasus and myself who left, walked through town, down the highway along side the creek and turned up into the mountains. The climb was up and the temperature dropped. Pushing up the mountain was another hiker all bundled up. I couldn't recognize the hiker until we confronted each other on a switchback. It was the High Priestess, Sox. As the four of us neared Saunders Shelter frozen rain began to fall. The rain did not last long so we continued for the next shelter. As the afternoon progressed the clouds disappeared, and the sun was trying to come out. The AT intersected or followed the Virginia Creeper Trail at several locations.The trail ran near streams for most of the afternoon giving us the symphonic pleasure of listening to water music as we hiked. Fire Marshal and I crossed a man-made pond and observed large tadpoles swimming up from the bottom of the pond, break the water surface and gulp air, them submerged back to the bottom. Looking over the pond we could see this dance being performed throughout the depths of the water. The trail came out to the Va. Creeper Trail again and we walked along the old railroad bed. This was the only part of the AT so far where park benches were along side the trail. You bet my tired feet I took advantage of this comfort. A beautiful stream, called the Whitetop Laurel Creek, ran alongside the trail. This trail is highly recommended for a pleasant bicycle ride in the mountains with great scenery. We arrived at Lost Mountain Shelter to find it full. Everyone inside rearranged things so the three of us could fit in. The comment was the more bodies within the shelter, the more heat (it was going below freezing tonight).   Many hikers had sent there winter clothes home to lighten their pack weight against advice from past thru-hikers and personnel at the outfitter store. I am positive there will be several uncomfortable nights ahead in the high country of Mt. Rogers for those hikers. I'm glad I listened.Today's hike felt great for several reasons. The ankle is back to normal thanks to the energies and prayers from loved ones. Thank you everyone. The hike was enjoyable and fairly easy. And, most importantly, there are only 4 days left until I see my wife Jacquie, aka the Trail Widow. It has been almost two months since we last saw each other and the anticipation of holding her in my arms, spooning at night and to just look into her eyes is a powerful incentive to enjoy my hike as I near our rendezvous.
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Dickey Gap - Troutdale Baptist Church Hiker Hostel

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I am happy today. One more day to go before I see and hold my love.Troutdale is probably the least known and used town by hikers that I have been to so far. Hitchhiking was easy. The folks at the Troutdale Trading Post were hiker friendly and I had a great cheeseburger and fries. The Troutdale Baptist Church's hostel was great and I would recommend to any hiker to stay at their hostel.Had breakfast at the trading post with Fire Marshal, Pegasus, Beatbox, and a kid from Atlanta named Cotton. After eating, one by one we hitched out of town. Pegasus, Beatbox and I were the last to leave. While waiting for a ride, Beatbox and I played baseball with an apple core and our hiking sticks. When Beatbox hit a home run the apple core disintegrated ending the game. Still no ride. Then, we started doing the Limbo using our hiking sticks. Pegasus won. Still no ride. After the Limbo, we started dancing to Beatbox, beatboxing. Still no ride. Hmmm wonder why? The lady from the trading post came out with her daughter and asked if we needed a ride. I don't know if she felt sorry for us, or wanted the crazy hikers away from the premises. In any case we got a ride and met Fire Marshal at Dickey Gap. The walk from Dickey Gap to Partnership Shelter was uneventful. I think everyone had pizza on their mind. Partnership Shelter is located close to the National Forest headquarters which has an outside pay phone. One of the things the hikers can do is order pizza and the pizza shop will deliver to the shelter. Arrived at Partnership Shelter around 5:45 to see some hikers huddled around the picnic table going over a menu for tonight's feast. We waited for the last hiker to come in and then ordered. I think almost every kind of pizza was ordered. 13 boxes of pizza arrived and the always hungry, and in this case, salivating hikers, quickly turned the picnic table into an eating frenzy. After dinner several hikers went to find a clearing in the trees to try to catch a glimpse of the comet. Don't know if we saw it or not, but the sky was bright with twinkling diamonds and we had a great time naming the different constellations. Tucked in our sleeping bags with over-filled stomachs we shared one liner jokes the remainder of the night. Sometimes life is tough on the trail and you just have to make the best of it with what you got. Burp! Hmmm, pepperoni.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Atkins, VA - Relax Inn
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

Woke up to a beautiful, sunny morning. One of those days made for hiking. Left the shelter at 7:30. I think there was a spring to my step, knowing that today I would see Jacquie, my wife, for the first time since March 15th. At Va615 and the AT there is a Settlers Museum. I was totally consumed with the story of the people who settled in this area during the mid 1700's. On the grounds is an 1890¢s farm that has been restored reminiscent of a farm from 100 years ago. Also on the property is the Lindamood school house built in 1894. The self-sufficient community in this valley created the school to educate its children. The one room school house contained 1 thru 7th grade with an average of 30 students. This museum is a nonprofit, donor support institution, located in a National Forest. For reasons I do not understand this museum does not receive federal government funding. I recommend this stop to anyone in the area of Atkins, to learn how life was in the 1700 and 1800's. The hike into Atkins was full of the color - green and wild flowers. This was probably the first day I felt I was actually hiking in full Spring.We arrived early afternoon in Atkins, ahead of schedule. As you come off the trail the first business you see is a Dairy Queen. Guess where I headed? One thing a carnivorous hiker does not pass up - cheeseburger with fries. I'm not the only hiker. Beatbox and Fire Marshal are in line ahead of me ordering huge quantities of food we wouldn¢t consider eating in the real world. After our meal it was off to the Relax Inn down the street. This time I got a room with only one bed, a queen, for a queen. There is a standing joke in the shelters that you can always fit one more. When I told hikers that Jacquie was coming and that I was getting a queen or king size bed, the same applied. Oh good! We can get 7 to 9 hikers on that size bed, room to fit one more - Not a chance!Spent the afternoon cleaning up and doing the typical hiker chores. I even took the time to watch a movie on TV. I had not seen television in a while. Then it took me awhile to realize I did not walk 500 plus miles to watch TV so off it went. Riva Queen was staying at the motel with her husband who drove in from Pa. Also in town are Scholar, Jester, Boo Boo, Blaze, Beatbox, Fire Marshal, Rael, Pegasus, Cotton, Arms and Sanguine.Jacquie arrived around 7:20 which was a total surprise. I was expecting her around 9 or 10. Jax drove up from Florida with AWOL, a thru hiker from last year. He will be hiking for the next five days into Damascus and Trail Days. I cannot express in words the emotions swelling inside me when Jacquie drove up. After all the hugs and kisses I started introducing her to the other hikers. I enjoyed watching the expressions on Jacquie's face as a trail name from my journals became a face and personality to match the name. It was great to sleep and spoon once again with my wife.
Date: 2004-05-08
From: Atkins, VA - Relax Inn

To: Atkins, VA - Relax Inn - Zero Day
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Zero Day in AtkinsWhen I knew for sure Jacquie was coming up around the 7th or the 8th of May, Beatbox had helped me come up with a schedule to continue adding miles and still spend quality time with Jax. This all occurred when he and I were at Kincora the last days of April. The plan was to reach Damascus, and then be in Atkins by May 7th. So far, so good. The plan from Atkins was to slack pack until Pearisburg and then head back to Damascus for Trail Days. I needed to continue hiking during those extra 5 days to keep my legs and feet in hiking condition, to put some miles into the history books and to try to keep up with some of the folks I've been hiking with. I was talking with Riva Queen who was recuperating from an injury to her knee and foot and explained the slack pack scheduling. Riva Queen was in, now I had a hiking partner.It felt so good to stay in a bed with a mattress, without getting up to hit the trail and, it felt especially good to stay in bed with Jax.Jax wanted to become a trail angel and quickly got into the mode. It was quite a hitch to the food stores for the hikers, so for the rest of the day Jax was having a ball shuttling hikers back and forth into town. During one of the runs, Fire Marshal and I got hair cuts. Bear Tracks came in and it was good to see him again. After the last shuttle run all the hikers got together at a Mexican restaurant called La Puerta for dinner and story swapping. By the end of the night, 5 more hikers were joining Riva Queen and I for the hike to Pearisburg and some, for the ride to Trail Days back to Damascus.Our second night together and Jax (now dubbed Lady Kritter) was completely exhausted from the trip and her role as trail angel.
Date: 2004-05-11
From: SOBO on VA Hwy 623 to VA Hwy 42

To: NOBO on VA Hwy 623 to Kimberling Creek - VA 612
Miles today: 16.1

Day 58The Magnificient 7 plus one beautiful trail angel were up early and heading toward Bland, Va. Another chilly morning meant another stop at the Shell gas station. As before, I wanted to check our new pickup point on Va.612 at Kimberling Creek so everyone knew the location. Another long and twisted ride on Va. 623 to the AT. We arrived at the trail head at 11:00. During our preparation, several northbound hikers appeared, thirsty and hungry. Hikers have been passing the word up and down the trail on the limited sources of water on this section of trail. Yet, hikers still do not bring enough water, or thought it was a joke.Trail Angel Lady Kritter gave the hikers her water and fruit. Refreshed, the hikers thanked Lady Kritter and continued their journey. Off we went heading in the northerly direction. It felt good to be going north again. Several hours into the hike, Jester twisted his already injured ankle and went down with a scream of pain. After several minutes of cursing and withering on the trail, Jester got up and limped on down the trail. By mid afternoon the rain clouds developed and soon we were hiking in a light rain along Little Wolf Creek. The trail crosses this creek 12 different times in a 2 mile stretch. Almost all of the crossings were made by leap frogging on the slippery, wet rocks in the water. On the second to last crossing I slipped on a large boulder and landed hard on my hip. Half in the water and half out, I pulled myself out of the water but stayed on my hands and knees. The next thing I remember was the clinking of metal hiking poles hitting the rocks and Jester yelling "Man down, man down!"   Bear Tracks and Jester came running over asking if I was ok. I couldn't move or, I think I was afraid to move. After some time of evaluating the aches and pains I realized I might be black and blue with no other physical damage. After my fall, Jester decided he wanted to knock Bear Tracks in the legs with a stick so he could join the ranks of the injured. Throughout the afternoon Jester would recite lines from movies, mimic an actor (Woody Allen was too funny), or narrate scripts that he is writing using a variety of voices and dialects, all to keep him preoccupied as a distraction from his ankle. Jester, in my opinion is an excellent writer who is off the wall funny and has a very unusual view of how he looks at the world. He would fit right in with the characters in the television show MASH and would steal the show from Hawkeye or Pierce. Lady Kritter says he reminds her of the old Max Headroom character.   To give you an idea of Jester's macabre humor, he¢s built what he calls an art automobile. This vehicle is completely covered in all kinds of items or artifacts that are glued to the exterior and interior. To see and read about Jester go to his website at Jigglebox.com.By 6:45 everyone completed the hike. To celebrate our Trail Angel took us to town for Pizza. We arrived back in camp to spend another wet evening at our group site at Hungry Mother State Park and hot showers.