morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2013-05-27
From: campsite north of O'lystery Pavilion

To: Chestnut Ridge
Miles today: 9.5

Today was a hot, sweaty, long steep climb. We were soaking wet most of the day.The rhododendron are starting to bloom many places adding splashes of color to the forest. The mountain laurel blooms are just starting to peek out. Seeing more lady slippers.The heat was too much so we stopped hiking at 9.5 miles nearly to the top of the climb we intended to do. Camped by a pond with the sound of bullfrogs and peepers to sleep to. Other hikers came along after us and also looked pretty wilted. The black flies were terrible making it hard to eat ramen with a headnet on. Had to retreat to the tent. End of a long day.
Date: 2013-05-28
From: Chestnut Ridge

To: Laurel Creek (shuttled to Big Walker Motel)
Miles today: 16.6

Water was scarce today. With all the rain we've been getting, this is the first time water was a concern.One can only wonder after such a tough day yesterday why we ended up hiking 16.6 miles today. Would it be stupid to say that the guide can be very deceiving? We'll just leave it at that. Our plan today was to hike to a spot where we could be picked up and shuttled to a place where we could shower and fatten up and resupply. Turns out there's no laundry in town so clothes have to be washed out in the sink and dried on the line. Back to the dark ages.We both have not been getting the proper nutrition and our bodies can't perform. These little towns don't have much of a selection for food. Tomorrow we'll walk over to Dollar General and a gas station convenience store. Need to focus on getting some protein in different ways than we have been.Okay, Shelley and Tim, you needn't worry about poor Side who didn't get DQ trail magic. Yes, you guessed it - we just came from the DQ where you guys took Magic Spice. Told you he was envious. We could barely lift our legs up the mountain but made it in time to get to DQ.Our hike today took us the rest of the way up Chestnut Knob (600 ft). Then we dropped down nearly 1000 ft and hiked 5 miles across a ridge. It's no longer common to get to see views. Disappointing. Dropped down another 1500 feet. Climbed back up 600 ft. Then dropped back down 600 ft. And that's only the elevation that actually shows on the map. Not the one that your feet have to trudge. Rocks, rocks, rocks. Goodness gracious. Leaning toward taking an unscheduled zero day tomorrow to try to recover.
Date: 2013-05-29
From: Laurel Creek (shuttled to Big Walker Motel)

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Started the day by walking down to the Citgo which has a small restaurant in the back. Ate with Condo and GerMaine who had come into town to go to the clinic to have many stitches removed from her knee. The clinic was closed today. Resupplied at Dollar General and the convenience store by DQ.Did some hand washing and then hung it to dry on the clothesline attached around a trailer from a tractor trailer. Gotta love it. It worked though. Cleaned up gear. Ate lunch at the DQ. Ran into Pushup and 22 there. Chatted with other hikers staying at the motel. Chatted with Joe C. (congrats on your retirement); he has graciously offered to help us with shuttles or slackpacks. We agreed to meet for dinner when we get closer to where he lives. Got pizza and cheesecake delivered for dinner and mountain Dew from the vending machine. Life is good.
Date: 2013-05-30
From: Bland, VA

To: tent campsite at VA 611
Miles today: 15.9

What a difference a zero day makes. We hiked so, so much better today. And, in addition, we ate more calories and more protein today. And drank way more water. And the terrain wasn't as bad as usual. Hiked a total of 15.9 miles.Got an early start - Bubba picked us up at 7:00 to go back to the trail. We'd recommend using Bubba's Shuttle. He's a nice, soft-spoken man with a reasonable price.Got a little lost at the I-77 crossover road. Could have been a few more blazes to guide you. Saw another big black snake today. Water was scarce again today. Had to hike over a mile to get water at the shelter we passed. Most of today's hike was across a ridge but with no views. The climbs weren't too bad. Quiet on the trail today.There were very few campsites and we were thrilled when we got to a road crossing and found a campsite on the other side. Camping tonight with Blockade Runner and High Tide, a really sweet couple we've known for a while.
Date: 2013-05-31
From: tent campsite at VA 611

To: Dismal Creek campsite
Miles today: 15.1

Hurray for 600 miles !Forgot to mention yesterday that as we crossed a ridge for about 5 miles we were accompanied by black butterflies with iridescent blue on the ends of the wings. It was very cool.Broke camp and on the trail at 7:15. Trying to shift to earlier hours to beat the heat. Today's trail was easy comparatively. Many places the trail was relatively smooth but there were a few miles of nasty rocks. Thought PA had all the bad rocky trail but guess some other states have their share also. Filtered water at a stream.Our quest today along with Blockade Runner and High Tide was to get to Trent's Grocery for real food. That was 9.5 miles into our hike. The store is 0.5 miles off the AT so it was hard to imagine walking an extra mile when Miles feet hurt so. High Tide called to see if they'd shuttle us and in just a few minutes we were all loading into the back of a pickup for the ride to a small grocery store. The other couple searched for resupply food, we immediately gulped down beverages and we all ordered burgers, fries and milkshakes. Side won the award for the most beverages while we were there. One bottle of iced tea, 3 bottles of mountain dew and a chocolate milkshake.As we sat at our table, High Tide asked an older gentleman (who sat down at our table to talk to folks at a small table near us) if he knew a man who lived down the road and was the father of a friend of hers. Turned out he was related to the father. He ended up running down the road and came back with High Tide's friend who happened to be on vacation there. It's a small world. We loaded in the friend's pickup for a ride to the home place where we met his wife and father. Then he shuttled us back to the trail. Oh what fun we have out here on the trail. You just never know what will happen. Thanks go out to the gang at Trent's Grocery and to High Tide's friend.Stopped at Dismal Falls to cool off a bit. A lot of folks were camping there and it looked like a fun place but we were on a mission to make miles to get to Woods Hole Hostel where we'll stay the next two nights. Everyone has only great things to say about this place. People can stay in the hostel, camp in the yard or stay in a couple of private rooms in the house. . We have reserved a room in the house.Hiked a total of 15.1 miles and set up our tent along with our friends at a campsite along a stream near Dismal Falls Road. Still fat from our lunch so ate a cold dinner. Although we saw lots of people camped at different spots today, we saw very few people hiking.
Date: 2013-06-02
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Zero Day at Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Started the day off with a group breakfast of fresh eggs scrambled, homemade bread, fresh fruit and delicious peach cobbler topped with yogurt along with coffee and juice. Licked the plate clean.Lazy day all day. Went through our packs to remove any unnecessary weight. Went through the next few pages of the guidebook to figure out a general plan for the next hundred miles. Went through our bounce box to see if we needed to replace things in our pack that we had used up.It's been raining on and off most of the afternoon. Great day to be rocking on the front porch. Oh yeah, we are. Lunch of fattening smoothies and cookies we received from Bek and Zac.Had a lovely, relaxing massage. Hope that helps when it comes time to put the pack back on. Lazed some more until suppertime. Had a big salad, fancy potato soup and rice dish along with bread and the normal ice cream cone for dessert. Gathered around to watch a video about the AT. Seemed a little familiar. Imagine that.
Date: 2013-06-03
From: Zero Day at Woods Hole Hostel

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 10.0

Didn't really want to climb out of the big, comfy bed this morning. Only a light breakfast of coffee and pumpkin bread was available today. Then headed out for a 10 mile slackpack to Pearisburg. It was an easy hike with just a few 500 foot climbs. We got cell service for the first time in days. We had texts from Shelley and Tim that they were leaving SC and expected to be passing thru later. We were able to make contact with them and turned out they would be arriving in Pearisburg about the same time as us and wanted to treat us to trail magic lunch. So we got our hiking boots moving. Halfway thru the hike it started to rain lightly. Then it rained good for quite a while. We hadn't brought our rain jackets so we were sopping wet. The trail got slippy (as they say in PA) so made it difficult to safely maneuver. Made it down and hiked the half mile into the Dairy Queen. Since we didn't have much time, Miles did a resupply at the gas station convenience store while Side waited for our family to arrive. It was a real treat to get to spend some time with Shelley and Tim. Thank you guys for the lovely trail magic. We appreciated you going out of your way to come see us. They had a long drive ahead of them so we headed back to the hostel with Nevelle, one of the owners of the hostel.Had a nice surprise when we got back. Our hiking friend Doggie Daddy had arrived at the hostel. Spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with him and chatting with other hikers who had arrived. Had a nice dinner of fresh salad, homemade bread, rice noodles with a coconut curry sauce, lentils and spicy carrots. Thought of Bob T. with that meal. The spicy carrots were too much for these hikers but surprisingly Side liked the noodles (with just a teeny bit of sauce).
Date: 2013-06-04
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: campsite before Dickenson Gap
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: broken clouds

Woke on our last day at Woods Hole Hostel. Started packing and went down at the breakfast bell. Had a great breakfast of coffee, OJ, scrambled eggs, cheesy grits, fresh fruit, and homemade cinnamon rolls. Sad to be leaving such a relaxing place. Nevelle and Michael have a zest for a calm life.Nevelle drove us and Doggie Daddy and a couple from South Africa to the trailhead in Pearisburg. We headed north and they headed south back to the hostel. Doggie Daddy's wife was coming to meet him to stay the night. Fair to say we all loved the hostel.Hiked across a long bridge and past railroad tracks. The train came through; Side waved to the conductor. Took time out to call Bekki since last time we spoke with her we had to drop off due to rain. Passed a number of power lines and one cell tower. Had quite a bit of rocky trail today - some huge rocks. The mountain laurel is really starting to bloom now. Saw quite a few butterflies. Went across Rice Field which had nice views. Had to climb a stile before it and after it. Wish giants weren't the ones building the stiles. Would be nice if a normal size human could make the first step up with relative ease. We knew we couldn't make it the whole way to the second shelter so we were watching for a particular campsite in our guide. Thought we might have passed it but we found a spot with a couple tent sites and set up camp. Shortly after Shabby also set up his tent. We had met him at the hostel. Chatted with him over dinner. Dessert was a raspberry crumble courtesy of Denny and Pam. A yummy thank you.Have to sneak this in the journal without Side knowing. While cooking dinner he kicked over the pot of water which poured on his foot and into his Croc soaking his socks. Oh what fun we have.
Date: 2013-06-05
From: campsite before Dickenson Gap

To: Bridge over Stony Creek
Miles today: 8.0

We are 'sidetracked' and 'miles from the trail'.Forgot to mention that last night as we were setting up camp, four military jets roared overhead. Help us out here Doug and Marlana - is it Langely Air Force Base that we're near (we're just north of Pearisburg, VA)? It was very calm when we set up camp but as the evening wore on it got windy. Chilly this morning when we broke camp. On the trail at 8:00. Rocks, rocks and more rocks. We must be in PA. Hiked switchbacks down a mountain with many huge, beautiful blooming mountain laurel. Been waiting for them to bloom. Looked like we were at a wedding (aw, makes us think of Bekki and Zac and Kiley and Steve).Stopped at a shelter for lunch. Several other hikers were there eating also. Now one was eating uncommon hiker lunch material - an avocado and a huge carrot, and he had half a big onion in his bag. Trying to eat healthier but that is way too heavy to carry for the calories provided.Made it a couple miles further and then it became apparent to Side that this sciatica had reached the breaking point. The pain had been getting worse and worse and now instead of the pain being at the end of the day, it was during hiking too. He wanted to call a shuttle to a rental car so he could get home and get the help he needed. He didn't want to wreck Miles hike but her feet desperately needed attention so it was two for the road. Now anyone with a cell phone knows that you don't have any signal when you really need one. So here we are at the edge of a road (at least we weren't on top of a mountain). Miles walked to the nearest house to see if she could make a call for a shuttle. Well doesn't she just run into the next bit of trail magic. Jennifer, our newest trail angel, offers to drive us to the nearest town where they have rental cars since she has grocery shopping to do there anyway (honestly, she would have driven us there anyway because she's just so kind). Many thanks to you, Jennifer. We all load into her truck and off we go to Pearisburg where we just hiked out of yesterday. Well that Enterprise had no cars to rent but they drive us off to the neighboring one. Had to wait a couple of hours until a car became available so Enterprise drove us to Applebee's and then came back for us. Got on the road finally and then stopped for the night in MD. Will continue the drive home tomorrow. Sorry to be off the trail but excited about getting fixed and seeing some family. Will keep you all updated.
Date: 2013-06-07
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Side finally heard back from the doctor's office and the soonest they can schedule his back injection is the 20th. Disappointing to him. Visited with Side's sister Muriel this afternoon.Bekki, Zac and Izzy coming for the weekend. How lucky we are.Will post again when we have any news to share.
Date: 2013-06-10
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0

Had a wonderful family weekend. Celebrated Mother's Day and Father's Day multiple times. Being with our family is a real treasure to us. We missed everyone so much while we were away.Miles went to the foot doctor this morning to have her problems scraped off the bottom of her feet. Simple painless procedure which should provide a world of relief. Will have to test by going for a five mile walk in her hiking boots.Headed out to REI to look at new hiking boots / shoes. Nothing seemed any better than what we're already wearing. Miles did get a pair of shorts that will fit and Side got another pair of zipoff pants in a size that fits. Side picked up a new pair of Superfeet and some replacement Sawyer Squeeze filter bags.We've been very tired since we've been home. Working through the list of tasks we generated on the car ride home from VA. Inflated the air mattresses scrubbing them with a soft bristle brush. They should have a fresher smell now. Airing out the cold weather sleeping bags and then will decide whether they need to be washed. Clothes were washed as soon as we got home. Got the replacement igniter from Jetboil but have to figure out how to replace it. Waiting on the replacement hip belt from Granite Gear. Side's waist got too small for the size he had originally so they gave him a smaller one at Trail Days but it wouldn't stay tight. They are sending him a new one. Have the hammocks but haven't gotten around to trying them out yet.
Date: 2013-06-14
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0

Uploaded quite a few photos to Trail Journals. Select 'Photos' on the left and you can either1) page through the photos using 'First', 'Previous', 'Next', 'Last'or2) pick the blue arrow at the top to get a list of the photo titles to select any that sound of interest.Set up Miles' hammock and its rainfly today. She took a little nap out there this afternoon. Realized that we didn't get our free snakeskins (the skinny covering that you slide over the hammock when you pack it back up to keep it dry and make it pack easily) so called and the company will be sending those out to us. Miles will be sleeping in the hammock tonight.
Date: 2013-06-16
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0

Miles didn't get to sleep in the hammock yet. She ended up with a second migraine the day she was planning to give it a try, so had to postpone. Then Side took the hammock down thinking the grass was going to be cut. So maybe tonight.Miles spent most of Saturday with Colette hitting yard sales and going to a gigantic library book sale. Missed Kiley and Steve's baby shower but got some pictures and heard that it was a beautiful day and they got a lot of nice gifts. Congrats to those two !!Side had a nice Father's Day hanging out at Kim's house Sunday at a family picnic. Missed the Simmons who were not able to attend. Did get to see family that we haven't gotten to see since we've been home. A nice relaxing day for us.
Date: 2013-06-18
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Miles got out for a stroll with Colette and the screaming cicadas. On the way back got caught in a rainstorm that came up pretty fast. Good for a laugh since we had watched the storm across the river and it seemed further away. Nope, it wasn't. Side did some pruning and Miles did branch pickup caused by the wind associated with the rainstorm. Miles made another attempt with the hammock. The weather cooperated but she had a problem with sciatica in one hip and down one leg (must be catchy). Guess that came from picking up branches after the wind storm. So she really wasn't comfortable all night and finally headed for the house at 5:00. The hammock was set up not too far from the neighbor's pond so all night there was a loud chorus from the frogs. How can you sleep with all that racket? The bottom of the hammock can be cold even with a sleeping bag and an insulating liner. Your body smashes the down so you lose any insulating properties. In the hot weather that cool air will be great. Note that it is quite the challenge to go from using your sleeping bag as a quilt covering you to getting in it whilst in the hammock and trying to keep the pad underneath you in place. This must be an acquired talent. Need to work on this new sleep system a little more.
Date: 2013-06-20
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0

Side went for his back injection today. The doctor was doing it this time without knocking him out so we are hopeful that it wouldn't be as painful as the last time they did that. Turned out to not be too bad. Now we're hopeful that he will be able to head back to the trail soon. Will take a few days to let the injection reduce the inflammation and hopefully remove the pain.
Date: 2013-06-25
From: Waiting for doctor appointment at home

To: Waiting for doctor appointment at home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Spent 5 days with Bekki and Zac. First few days were just to let Side's injection take effect and the last few we did a road trip with them. So fun to be with family after missing them so much on the trail. The bad news is that the back injection did not have the desired results and actually had very little effect. So depressing to wait all that time and still be no better off. Side will be calling the doctor again.
Date: 2013-06-27
From: NY 22, Wingdale, NY

To: NY/CT border, Hoyt Rd
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today's miles for Miles: 6.9Total miles for Miles: 674.2------------------------------Today's miles for Side: 6.9Total miles for Side: 674.2------------------------------Side will be going in for another injection on July 11th. Sigh. Another two weeks to wait. Hoping this next one will do the trick.We decided that after 3 weeks of little activity and eating like crazy, we needed to get out and hike. So we did a 6.9 mile hike on the AT in NY. Since we only have one car at the moment, Side dropped Miles off at one end and then drove to the other end. Hiked towards and past each other. Side made it through the hike with little discomfort but at the end, waiting for Miles to pick him up, the pain went down his leg. Next time will let him be the one who hikes to the car.Using a new format at the top of the journal entry to capture miles hiked and total since we had to skip a number of states. Hope it's not too confusing.
Date: 2013-06-28
From: CT 341, Schaghticoke Rd, Kent, CT

To: CT 4, Guinea Brook, Cornwall Bridge, CT
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today's miles for Miles: 11.1Total miles for Miles: 685.3------------------------------Today's miles for Side: 11.1Total miles for Side: 685.3------------------------------Decided to do a little longer hike today so headed to the AT in Connecticut. Did a 9.4 mile hike. The mosquitoes were even worse than yesterday - voracious. And it was humid again. By the end of the hike we already smelled like thru-hikers who haven't showered in days. Thought it was funny that the thru-hikers didn't smell bad to us. You get used to that funky smell.Side's hike started with a tough 4 miles that took a lot out of him. For the last couple miles, Side was in great discomfort and the pain lasted through the evening. No more hiking for him. Miles had the hard 4 miles at the end of her hike. Thought the last mile and a half would never end and she came out of the shoulder high weeds with wet boots and low morale. Lost our trail legs in no time. And her feet were very painful. Wore her 650-mile hiking boots today. Yesterday tried out the same hiking boot in half a size larger and in a wide size but had some discomfort with them. Sigh. May be back to boot shopping again even though last time didn't produce any with a good fit.It didn't help that the mosquitoes were so bad that you could hardly take time to stop for a drink. Stopping for a break was pretty much out of the question. The Skin So Soft with Picadin did little to repel the mosquitoes. So much for that test. Miles is sporting many, many bites from yesterday (when we forgot to even take repellent) and today.Seeing lots of thru-hikers on the trail. The early birds and fast young hikers are already here. You go, guys! Will have to be doing some trail magic. Miles gave a leftover bottle of Gatorade and a Clif bar to Wild Blue who we met yesterday. Today we carried a few snack size candy bars that we handed out.