morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-05-28
From: Campsite

To: Hurricane Campground
Miles today: 13.7

I'm lying here in my tent...CLEAN! Yay! Okay, so Blip and I didn't quite do the long day that we had planned, but we did a good 13.7 miles. Our original plan was to do 17.4, which would have given us a 13 mile day tomorrow to Partnership shelter. This shelter features warm water showers and pizza delivery...it's a must for every thru-hiker. We came to the conclusion, however, that we could do the longer day tomorrow, stay here, at the Hurricane Campground tonight, and have showers for three days in a row! Y'see, we'll be in Atkins the night after tomorrow, and there's a motel right on the AT...Yup, life is rough out here on the Trail! :) Actually, it's amazing how the smallest things are very exciting to a thru-hiker. Why, today, we came across not one, but TWO places where there were privies/port-a-potties (WITH T.P.), and I was ecstatic! I had run out of toilet paper this morning, you see, so this was some mighty powerful trail magic! Then, when we were stopped !at the second place, a thru-hiker from last year stopped to talk with us and gave us sodas. Not to mention that the hiking was great today, as was the weather, which threatened rain again all day, but stayed nice...just the right temperature for hiking. Sure, there was that point this morning where we thought the wind would send us airborne, right off the first balds, but we made it over them. The only other incident of note...Shelton, Jason, Thomas and Vincent arrived at Old Orchard Shelter as we were finishing our lunch. Thorn, the dobie, was tied up away from the shelter. As we went to leave, I was commenting on how pretty she was...which was when she went into her Hellhound impression. Remind me not to tell any doberman that I think they're attractive. They are all sharing a site with us here at the campground (it only cost us $2 each to stay here!), and Thorn continues to remind me that she doesn't like me...growling in addition to Hellhound impersonations...I'l!l be hiding in my tent all night! They're going home tomorrow, as areThomas and Sage, so I can live my Trail life without fear again. That's it for today! Good night!P.S. Becky, good luck with your surgery tomorrow...I'll be thinking about you and sending energy your way!
Date: 2003-05-31
To: stephanie
Miles today: 0.0

Hello All,Elizabeth called and ask I write a note that her pocket mail has died.More information to follow as we figure out what to do. I'll need to give them a call to find out what she does about having it fixed/replaced. I don't have all that much information on it since I was just given a message, so if anyone has heard from her and has additional information for me, I'd appreciate hearing from you.Thanks,Stephanie
Date: 2003-06-01
From: Crawfish Valley

To: Lick Creek
Miles today: 10.7

Happy June!! :) I've officially been on the Trail for two months now...sometimes I still can't believe it. I slept this morning until 9:00...didn't think that was possible anymore, however it may have had to do with my late night at the motel. I don't stay up that late anymore, so it definitely effects me. It was sooooo cold this morning...felt like a late fall day rather than the first day of June. I had gotten really cold in the middle of the night, so I had put on all my clothes, wrapped the bottom half of me (plus my sleeping bag) in an extra trash bag and covered my top half with my rain jacket. So much for switching to my "summer weight" sleeping bag! When we saw No Pepsi today, though, he suggested having a snack in the middle of the night...that the reason we get cold (Blip has had the same thing happen) is because our bodies run out of fuel. So, I'm taking Little Debbie's Nutty Bars to bed with me tonight! We got packed up and out onto the Trail at 10:30 an!d did almost four miles to our first road crossing. We sat on the road, soaking up the sun (which had taken its sweet time coming out, but was FABU now), and eating a snack. It was so nice there, and the snacks were so good, that we stayed there for almost an hour. We figured someone, some hiker, would have to pass us by, but no one did. A family pulled up in their truck and started hiking through the way we should be going. They talked with us for a bit. At that point, we saw No Pepsi coming across the field. We told him we were waiting for him and he joined us for a snack. We finally set off on the Trail and caught up with the family, when No Pepsi demonstrated "yogi-ing" for us. He asked them if we went into Ceres (at the next road crossing), whether or not there was a soda machine. The gentleman responded that the closest place for soda would be his Dad's place, two houses up. Then he told us to wait for them at the road crossing and they'd go get us some sod!as. It turned out they had KFC, soda and Moon Pies, and they shared all of it with us...talk about Trail Magic!! It was so good! :) So, at this point, Blip and I had hiked about six miles and taken two huge breaks! Probably we should fit some hiking in with our eating! We went on to the next shelter, checked the register, talked with the people who were stopping there...Cookie and Weezer (the girls from TX), Leaf, The Dude and BackDraft...and then continued on. We had set a goal for 14 miles today, but changed it to 11ish, so that we wouldn't be camped near a road, and so that No Pepsi would join us (even though he hiked more than we did today). So, here we are, on the banks of Lick Creek. Ted was already here, so the four of us are camped. Blip built a lovely fire, which we sat by to cook. I had rice with Italian seasoning and cheese melted in and lime Jell-o. I love having Jell-o as my drink! Yum! Now I just need to get my body to sleep so I can get up at a decent time tomorrow. We have 15 miles to do!! :)
Date: 2003-06-03
From: Davis Farm Campsite

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: light rain

Okay, so we were originally not going to stop in Bland, but bypass it to go to the next shelter, which was only 2.5 miles further. We promised ourselves, however, after our cow ordeal, that we would treat ourselves to dinner and a motel stay in Bland. So...at 7:00 this morning, I awoke to snuffling outside my tent and KNEW that our dealings with the cows were not finished. I called to Blip and she said that not only were the cow back, but there were more AND they brought a bull with them (her tent window faced the cows, mine faced the opposite direction). Oh, yeah, also, it had started to rain at some point in the early morning. We decided to just pack up our stuff and get out as quickly as possible. We figured we could have breakfast at the next shelter which was 3 miles away. We were still in our tents when I noticed that one cow had gone to the tree where we hung our food and was ingesting the bear bag cord. I got out of my tentand went after her with my poles. !She spewed it out...I didn't want to touch it, so cut it off above where she had chewed on it, and got our food bags onto the tent platform. We did our best to get things together as quickly as possible in the rain. Cows kept encroaching on our space. I made the bull mad by trying to yell at him and scare him with my trekking poles...I backed off. There were, literally, cows on every side of us. One came up and ate the rest of the bear bag cord...at least I didn't have to pack that slimy mess out. Finally, we had everything packed. There were two cows and the bull blocking our trail out. We went up over the embankment to get around them and got the hell out of there! Now, the rest of the day pales by comparison...nothing really exciting happened, and the terrain, though it made for pretty easy hiking, was uneventful. We did find some Trail Magic...orange juice from the New Hope Baptist church, water left in Soleman's memory and soda just before we got into Bland. !The rain only lasted til 11ish, so e had a pretty good day's hike. Blip developed a shin splint in her right leg, so she was hurting for a bit at the end of the day. We got a quick hitch into Bland, right to the motel door and we checked in. We saw No Pepsi as we were putting our tents out to dry. We then went to Dairy Queen to get dinner. Gerri and Randy were there, as well as Martin, a gentleman from Britain. Neil "The Scot" came over and we spoke to him for a bit. We each had the buffalo chicken basket with a chocolate shake...I was stuffed! We bought a six pack of beer to split and went back to the motel. I took a shower while Blip got sucked into a Lifetime movie. I went up to visit No Pepsi, who was watching American Werewolf in London. I watched it with him for awhile, till I needed to bring my tent in. Watched the rest of the movie in my room and called Stephanie :) Then hit the hay in a nice soft bed...(I say...Moo!)
Date: 2003-06-05
From: Trent's Groceries, VA 606

To: Woods Hole, Sugar Gap
Miles today: 13.9

Woke up this morning to the sound of The Dude packing up his tent. I had been sound asleep and quite warm. 7:42...not too late, not too early. After my late night (I was writing my journal till about 11), I'm not surprised that I slept late. I was feeling as though I had absolutely no energy, but I got my stuff packed up and we went to the store for breakfast. We hit the Trail at our usual hour of 10. We had an easy day ahead of us...14 miles and only two of them really up...mostly flat and downhill. We had split the day into segments...2 miles, 4,2,4,2...with breaks and sights along the way. We got to Dismal Falls about 11...don't know why the name. Very pretty, although nowhere nearly as impressive as Laurel Creek Falls. We did another 4 miles and stopped for lunch at a clearing. Now this tends to be a problem for us...if we could take a lunch break then move right along, I guess we'd get places faster. However, we get comfy and lounge, therefore taking leisure!ly extended breaks...fabulous at the time...not great for mileage. Oh, well...Gray Matter, then Martin came along. Gray Matter chatted for a bit then moved on, Martin got sucked into the lounging atmosphere of the clearing and joined us. He had a couple of snacks but spent more time smoking cigarettes. That's still something I can't understand...how people can smoke and hike. I can barely breathe on some uphills and I quit smoking 17 years ago. Martin is a really fast hiker, though, and smokes at least a pack a day...go figure. Randy and Gerri hiked through, then Ken and Marcia. Ken and Marcia are also on trailjournals.com. They have already hiked the PCT and the CDT, and average 17 miles per day...definitely inspirational! We finally got a little bit of ambition (actually we were getting a bit hot in the sun), so we packed up and moved on. We stopped for a short time at the next shelter (the usual...privy and register), then started up the incline for the day. !It was really steep, and we were definitely feeling wimpy, I must say.We were heading to a hostel for the night, so we got over ourselves and kept on going. Miss Tillie's hostel at Wood's Hole is a fabulous piece of old Americana, and Miss Tillie is a wonderful hostess. Blip and I arrived to find Martin, Randy, Gerri, Ken and Marcia all there. There was a fridge with sodas and candy bars, space for us to cook our dinners, mattresses upstairs on the floor and a privy out back. Additionally, the first eight people who signed up, could have breakfast the next morning in Miss Tillie's house. We had a great time talking, telling stories while we made dinner. Marcia told us a hilarious bear spray anecdote from their PCT trip, and Blip and I talked about our Davis Farm cow experience. It was a really fun night, with good people. And a lovely ending...going to sleep on thick matresses (I had two piled on top of each other...heaven!). Good night!
Date: 2003-06-07
To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

Okay, so this is the scoop...zeroing today in Pearisburg...it's rainy...yuck! What a good day to be in a town! I sent out my Pocketmail for repair today...hopefully I will get it back by the fourth of July. Till then, I will try and update when I get to a town with computer access, but it will be behind and slow...sorry! I will stay in phone contact with family and friends when possible!!! We've done over 600 miles, and will be over 800 in a couple of weeks!!! So far things are still going really well!
Date: 2003-06-08
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Campsite
Miles today: 8.2
Weather: light rain

A short day today...started late due to getting up late due to staying up late last night. Spent a few hours (last night) at the Sports Cafe having a beer and playing trivia with Muk Tuk, Superfly and Blip. Then went back to the motel room to go through my pictures and get them ready to send to Stephanie...yikes! No sleep!Backpack is way too heavy. Must...eat...lots...of food...soon! How does it get so heavy every time I leave town??? The first 4 miles of hiking today were brutal...lots of unrelenting uphills. Once we got to the ridgeline, though, it was great. There was a fabu view from in front of the first shelter, but we couldn't stay there because there were lots of...you guessed it...cows! Harmless cows, though, uncurious cows, and cute calves! We read the register there and met Deacon Blues. He is a symphony percussionist from Tampa, who started the Trail last year, but had to leave unexpectedly. He's picking up where he left off, and his job affords him the time to do so...he gets four months off during the summer. We moved on to get to our campsite and dump our incredibly heavy packs (did I mention that my pack was heavy?). I'm camping here with Blip, No Pepsi, Randy, Gerri and Bearable. Dinner is thai sesame noodles with veggies and chicken (sounds almost gourmet, doesn't!it?), with berry flavored jello to drink. Yum! I must sleep tonight! We have a 14ish day ahead tomorrow. We may slack pack for a couple of days with No Pepsi and his friend, but we'll see. Tired...
Date: 2003-06-26
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Okay, folks! I just got into Waynesboro this morning, and waiting for me at the post office was...my NEW POCKETMAIL COMPOSER!!! Yay! So...I know that I am several weeks behind in my entries, but I will be able to get them updated over the next week or so. Please stay tuned! Right now, I am doing very well, with 850+ under my belt. The weather has been FABU for the past five days, the hiking has been good (although all those stories about Virginia being flat...total crap!), and I am feeling great. I have now lost a total of 45 pounds (the weight of my backpack when I have a full 6 days of food!), and hope to reach my goal of 60 pounds by the end of next month. Blip's parents met us at the trail head, which was so AWESOME! They took us out to breakfast and brought us to the post office and outfitters. True Trail Angels are they!! Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff!! I am running behind my original schedule, but I knew that I would be...am I not late for everything??? Fashionably late, of course, but late nontheless. However, by the 6th of July, I will be at Harper's Ferry, the "unofficial" half-way point, and will have logged over 1000 miles. I am looking forward to getting there, and getting out of Virginia!I will not be hiking with Blip for awhile, as she is meeting up with some friends, and her boyfriend over the next couple of weeks, so I will be on my own through Shenendoah National Park. We have been hiking the past week with Deacon Blues, who started his thru-hike last year, and just started again in Pearisburg a few weeks ago. He is probably going to be hiking at about the same pace as me, so I won't be totally alone. Also, Gerri and Randy, a mother and son from Atlanta (who I may have mentioned before...don't remember) are near us as well. I am very sad that I will be missing the family get-togethers over the next week...I am usually always there. Know that I am there in spirit, and I will try and call at some point, when I am near a phone. Well, must get off the computer (I'm at the library)...expect updates soon!!!
Date: 2003-07-01
From: Hightop Hut

To: Bearfence Hut
Miles today: 0.0

Happy Anniversary to me! Three months on the Trail today...and I hit 900 miles! Today was a much better day, both physically and emotionally. I was glad that I took a short day yesterday (see, Mom, I really do listen to my body!), as I felt as if I was walking with new feet today. The blister and fissure are still there, but much less painful. And the ache in my left foot had disappeared by the time I started walking. My spirits were also renewed by the time I woke up this morning. I had a difficult time getting to sleep last night, I think because I had taken a nap in the afternoon. Then, lightning started flashing across the sky, followed by thunder that seemed to boom endlessly down the mountain. If I hadn't been attempting to sleep, I would have thought that it was a totally FABU thunderstorm! :) It rained for awhile, but ended sometime in the early morning...early enough for my tent to be dry by the time I was taking down my campsite. Now THAT'S the type of !rain we like to see out here! I ate poptarts for breakfast, and packed up. Gerri and I left together, with Randy and The Blue Stool picking up the rear. Everyone else had already left. We took a break at 3.4 miles and then a lunch break at 6.4...a picnic area with flush toilets and running water! Our final stop before the shelter was the camp store at Lewis Mountain Campground. I had a soda, a chicken and cheese burrito and an ice cream, and called in my journal entries on the pay phone. We saw Sherpa and Chainsaw heading out to Big Meadows, but we knew we didn't have the energy to make it there today. We'll stop there for lunch tomorrow, and hopefully we'll be able to get a shower and some laundry done there. We still have a few days before we get to Front Royal, and I feel gross! We also saw Kung Fu and Chafe Master J at the store. CMJ is taking some time off to heal his legs which have been giving him problems. After getting our fill of the store (another rest!room...heaven twice in one day!), we continued on to the shelter. I set up camp and went to socialize...there were three southbounders as well as The Blue Stool, Halfway, Doughboy (TBS's Dad) and Rocketman. I know that we spend a lot of time talking about food, the Trail and people on the Trail...but it's been really enjoyable the past few nights. When Doughboy and Rocketman go home, we probably won't see TBS and Halfway again...I'll miss hanging out with them. As for the hiking today...quite truthfully, SNP is pretty boring. Yes, the forests that we're going through are nice, but today there were no views, and the terrain was fairly monotonous. When the high points of your day on the Trail are flush toilets and a camp store...hmmmm...well, maybe that's not so bad. Saw many deer again today...I believe that my tent may be visited tonight...they're very bold. But I'm at 4 days in the park, and zero bear sightings! We'll see if my luck continues... That's all for tonight!
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Sooooo...contrary to what I let all my family members believe, I didn't hike yesterday. I was dressed for hiking and certainly intended to do so. However, as we ate breakfast, we looked outside at the pouring rain. Then we would look at each other and say something to the effect of "I don't know, what do you wanna do?" Then we would look out at the pouring rain... We finally decided to just give in and stay for another night. There were no fabu alternatives, and we just didn't want to start the day out soaking wet. We went upstairs to our room and listened to TV for a bit (the rooms at the lodge have no TVs and no phones...very rustic), then we all took a 2-3 hour nap. Randy and I walked to the camp store to get some groceries, then we listened to more TV till it was time for dinner. After dinner, we went down to the taproom to hear the live entertainment, which, sadly, was not as good as the night before. Our waitress and bartender extraordinaire sang both! nights, and has her own CD for sale. We cheered mightily for her. After the show, Gerri went to bed, and Randy and I sat in the great room in front of the fire for awhile, drinking a couple of beers and talking. The bat from last night even came to visit for a bit. It was a nice, lazy day...We have got some major hiking to do tomorrow! p.s. Dear readers, friends and family...I need help in making a major decision. In Harpers Ferry, I will be receiving a new pair of boots, replacing the ones that will have taken me through the first 1000 miles of the Trail. I need help in figuring out what to do with the odiferous, squeaky things. Should I just toss them in the trash as soon as I don my new ones, or should I send them home to be treasured as a memento of my trek? Please let me know what you think by e-mailing me at: woodsdragon@pocketmail.comPlease respond ASAP...I'll be in Harpers Ferry soon! Thanks! :)
Date: 2003-07-04
From: Big Meadows

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 18.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Happy 4th of July! I celebrated my independence today by breaking free of the vortex that is Big Meadows! Yay!! When we got up, we could tell it was going to be a beautiful day. I took a shower and packed up my things, then headed downstairs for breakfast. The doors next to our table were open, and there was the most fabu breeze coming in. We left at my usual hiking time...10:00...and in no time were back into the swing of things. It was just an awesome day for hiking!! Although it did get a little humid towards the middle of the day, the breeze remained with us to provide a cooling factor. The terrain was not difficult, although our last descent of the day featured LOTS of rocks. If you've never hiked over rocks before...you have no idea how abusive it is on every part of your feet and legs. Also, one misstep, and you can turn your ankle over, or at least give it a good twist. We took breaks today at the first shelter, then at a picnic area, where several famili!es were having barbecues. One woman offered us some burgers or grilled chicken, but we had eaten lunch at Skyland, the lodge we were originally going to stay at two nights ago, and were still stuffed. On today's hike we actually had many scenic views! Yay! There was one section that was full of wonderful little waterfalls, that I especially enjoyed. We also passed under three scenic overlooks on Skyline Drive where I felt as if we were on display...you could just feel the people watching you. "Oh, look, dear...thru-hikers...aren't they... interesting!" Gerri and I met a thru-hiker from 2000, Pipeline, who was traveling southbound today. He told us that he was out there to talk to this year's thru-hikers who were bringing up the rear, to tell them that he didn't get to Harper's Ferry till July 9, and he finished the Trail on October 5. He wanted to let us know that we were doing fine, we still have time to make it. What a wonderful piece of Trail Magic! It definit!ely made our day! Well, it happened today...my pact is broken...null and void. I'm sure it's due to the fact that I've been in the park longer than I intended to be, but...I saw a bear today. It was actually pretty cool, because it was walking away from the Trail...I could see the whole thing for a few seconds before it disappeared into the woods. Most people just see the butt end as it crashes away. Unfortunately, Gerri and Randy were too far behind me, and missed it. I guess now that I've broken my pact, I'll probably see more tomorrow...who knows? We arrived at the shelter just before dark. Tim, a section hiker and Chris and Meredith were the only ones here. We set up camp, I ate a quick dinner (and yelled at Randy, as he and Gerri were not having anything to eat), and went to bag. No fireworks for us, but lots of fireflies everywhere! Good night!