morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-09
From: Tent, Dripping Rock Blue Ridge Parkway

To: Hotel, Waynesboro VA
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: light rain

Today we road walked and it was good. We met trail angels, Gordon & Sue, yesterday. This morning we met them again at Dripping Rock. We got to talking and then we walked with them. They have hiked on the AT, the PCT, and the CDT and on the North Country trail.    Sue lost her leg to diabetes 5 years ago, so their hiking has been curtailed to assisting hikers. We must have been quite a sight to drivers passing us. My 2 boys were in kilts. Troll pushed Sue. Gordon walked Sadie the dog. Oblivious gathered wild strawberries for Sue and walked on the guardrail. I walked with my poles in my hand. I don't care what we looked like, it was fun.    I think that my family has been lucky. You don't often get to spend significant time with these marvelous people called trail angels. I feel so fortunate that we were able to do part of the Smokies with Lynne Ladyhawk from Franklin. It made the experience richer. That happened today. Being able to spend time walking and talking with Sue and Gordon made today richer.    We asked Sue which trail was her favorite. She said that was hard, they all have something that you like while doing them. Gordon told us that no matter what you do on your hike, a year from now you will remember it. And anyone who is upset with the way that you are hiking won't remember it. A good explanation of ¢hike your own hike".       Well take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-10
From: Hotel, Waynesboro VA

To: Tent, Loft Mt. Campground
Miles today: 17.1

   I did NOT see a bear today. Troll and Oblivious SAW A BEAR!!! We had just been on the trail about 15 minutes from Rockfish Gap. We hadn't even reached the backcountry permit information board. The boys were about 50 feet in front of me. I hear my name yelled out, followed by "We saw a bear. Quiet now and you may see it". But alas, it had already run away.    Oblivious has some system by which he determines if animals seen, count towards your AT total. This system is easier to comprehend if you realize it follows 10 yr old rules. Bears and bobcats/cougars always count, no matter what. Turtles don't count if seen from inside a car. Dead snakes count on the trail if they are intact. The dead & flat copperhead seen on the road today did not count. When you are unsure if a critter counts, Oblivious will make a ruling. Since bears always count, the boys were really happy. Everyone we met today got to hear that they saw a bear and that I didn't.         Today we did more road walking and it was good. Gordon and Sue took us back to the same spot where we left off yesterday. We spent more time walking with and wheeling Sue. There were some spots of patchy fog, so I led off our parade. Kind of the human traffic cone principle. Sue and Troll were next. When Gordon would park the van and walk down to meet us with Sadie the dog, they would be the next in line. Oblivious brought up the rear.   Tonight, we all (Gordon and Sue, Pilgrim, and the Troll family) are staying at the Loft Mt. campground. They have been slacking Pilgrim on & off for a while. They will slack us tomorrow and maybe the next day. I think it has been really cool to hike with them.    We are camping right across from a group of about 15 Amish women on some sort of retreat? It is really different to see that many young women of the same approximate age in dresses, pinafores, head coverings, & black slippers around a huge camper. Just another slice of America as seen from the AT.   Today we had our picture taken by Hot Crotch (What a trail name). He has a Polaroid camera and a photo album. He takes your picture, has you write your name and puts it in the photo album. It is really a cool record of hikers and trail names.      Take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-11
From: Tent, Loft Mt. Campground

To: Tent, Loft Mt. Campground
Miles today: 18.2

   Today was a reptilian day. We saw many snakes. There was the big sleeping black rat snake. It moved when Oblivious touched it. There was the tiny little Ring Neck with the yellow ring and the orange belly. Oblivious picked it up and played with it. There was the pretty little injured green snake. It had been run over and was roasting to death on the road. We couldn't do much for it. We moved it off of the road and into the cooler dampish grass. There were other snakes but they weren't that memorable. Several orange newts were helped off of the road and back into the cool grass.    The best reptile of the day was the box turtle. It didn't pull up into its shell. It stayed out and tried to run away. It peed on Oblivious while trying to escape. Although Oblivious thought that was gross, he also thought it was really cool. We were all glad that there was no turtle poop. This turtle's shell looked like it had gotten mauled earlier in life. We left the turtle pointed in the direction of the forest not the road.   Troll pushed Sue about 8 miles today. She is not a snake enthusiast. I think she could have done with a day with many fewer snakes. She did like the turtle. Sue & I agreed that the turtle was the highlight of the day's critters.   We (Pilgrim & the Troll family) got to meet some old & dear friends of Gordon & Sue. Nick & Joann were both hiking the CDT (continental divide trail) in the early 90's. Gordon and Sue were providing support for both of them and kind of arranged for them to be on the same section of trail at the same time. Nick & Joann have been married for several years now. They consider Gordon and Sue to be their matchmakers. It was neat to talk gear & trails with them.    Well take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-12
From: Tent, Loft Mt. Campground

To: Hotel, Shenandoah VA
Miles today: 18.6

   Today Pilgrim joined our road walking parade. The parade today was me in front as the human traffic cone. Troll and Sue were next. Oblivious (4'8") and Pilgrim (6'2") would be walking on the rock wall along the road. Gordon and Sadie, the dog, sometimes also joined us. Cars going either direction slowed down to look. It was a hoot.   We didn't really see any critters today. Well, there was the black snake that crossed the road.   Today seemed to be a skeletal day. When we walked on the trail we stopped at the Pinefield Shelter to read & sign the register. The Pinefield Shelter had the top jaw and skull of a deer. Antlers still attached. We also saw a complete snake skeleton that had been picked clean.   Tomorrow will be the start of another new adventure. We will try aqua blazing. That means we will be spending 5 days on a canoe on the Shenandoah River. Oblivious & I have never canoed. It will be an adventure.   We said goodbye to Gordon & Sue today. They will be supporting a southbound section hiker for the next month. They are really neat people. Gordon can spot a hiker. He offers them all Gatorade and whatever else that he is able to do. Today he took Dorothy without Toto & Red Hat's packs for about 5 miles. They seemed to power walk (jog, cruise, etc) those miles without their packs.   Take care & we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: Hotel, Shenandoah VA

To: Tent, Shenandoah River Campground
Miles today: 13.0

Today is the start of another chapter in our AT adventure. We are aqua blazing. This means that we are doing a section on a river in a canoe. Oblivious and I have never canoed before.   Paddling a canoe is definitely an upper body workout. So far on this trip we have had plenty of lower body workout. There is a huge group doing this trip. 28 people. Some of those are in a group of people that I have never met. People I know doing this are: The Troll family, Pilgrim, Domino, Bassline, TDS, Hot Crotch, Silent Bob, Padre, Apple Pie, Stilts, Poet, Scholar, Serenity, Feelin Free.   Well we finally got on the water at 1300. Most boats engaged in water warfare with lots of splashing.    We then paddled to our 1st near death experience. Troll and Oblivious, Pilgrim and I, Stilts and Apple Pie saw that Silent Bob and Padre looked like they were on shore dumping water out. Apple Pie and Stilts went down river 1st & were sucked into the current river right and went towards some trees. Pilgrim and I were also sucked river right heading for the same trees. We went under the leafy branches and boom! There was an over turned Stilts and Apple Pie and a huge v-shaped tree trunk that my head was aiming for. I leaned back in the canoe, Pilgrim leaned back and we shot under the v unscathed. Troll decided to step out of his canoe and drag it around this water hazard. Pilgrim and I then performed item retrieval. We picked up nalgenne bottles, camp shoes, etc. Padre and Silent Bob only lost Padre's glasses and his hat and Bob's dollar store sunglasses. Apple Pie and Stilts only lost 1 trekking pole and a platapuys water bladder. Later, we found out that Domino and Bassline also wiped out and TDS and Hot Crotch had no problems.   We camped at a riverside campground with several features. The campground apparently serves a primary function as a cow pasture. Cow pastures have lots of cow shit landmines. Happily our campground also had lots of landmines. The other features were nicer, fire rings, fireflies, picnic tables, potable water, toilets and showers. Possibly the best feature was the lack of any person or building to pay a fee to.   It was cool to be back with Silent Bob and Padre. We missed hiking with them. Oblivious was really happy to be back with them.   Well take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Tent, John's Land Shenandoah River

To: Tent, Downriver Canoe Co Campground
Miles today: 13.0

After the long day yesterday everyone was tired. The schedule for this canoe game called for this to be a 24-mile day. With some class 2 rapids. Since the previous 2 days had kicked our collective asses, we were somewhat skeptical about the 24 miles. But luck intervened. John the canoe guy gave a resupply ride to the store. He suggested an alternate plan. We would only go 13 miles to the down river canoe campground and then he would give us an evening ride to a store for resupply. Sounded really good.   This was a faster day on the river. Lots of little rapids. Lots of lollygagging. At one point all 6 of the canoes were all being held together with only Oblivious paddling. He was able to make all the canoes go. In the wrong direction. We went through at least one rapids all held together.   A long lunch break was taken. Oblivious chased crawfish. Beach ball polo was played.   We saw the best rope swing ever today. We spent an hour there. There was a huge tree with rungs on it for climbing. The rope would launch you about 20 ft directly out into the river. Stilts, Bassline, Domino, Troll, Apple Pie, Pilgrim, and Oblivious all jumped. It was so cool. TDS judged the jumps as if he was an eastern European Olympic judge. Troll set the standard when he jumped in, skirt flying up, and kept his blaze orange boogie hat on his head. He raised the bar when he did a belly flop on his back. The bar topped out when he and Bassline did a double person swing. Obviously there were no responsible adults present. I got video of that potential disaster. Watching spouse and firstborn only children try to kill themselves by jumping off of a huge tree onto a huge river was kind of scary.   Today we went through our biggest rapids of this trip. It was a class 2 rapid at the end of the day. We thought since everyone but Troll and Oblivious had already managed to wipe out in rapids less than class 2, these compton rapids could be troublesome. There was discussion about how to navigate the rapids. They really were not that terrible. No one wiped out.   Oblivious chased fireflies and gathered them into a green beer bottle. Their blinking glows kind of looked like a disco light. The day ended with a bra burning and drinking games. This can only lead to Bad Things.    Take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-16
From: Tent, Downriver Canoe Co Campground

To: Tent, Low Bridge Campground
Miles today: 11.0

Another awesome day of canoeing. I can't really think of anything that stood out. But it was good. The temperature was in the high 70's or low 80's. The previous temps had been in the high 80's / low 90's with humidity. Once again all 6 canoes were hooked up together, with only Oblivious paddling the entire flotilla. We took a long lunch on a rocky beach. Everyone laid out for naps on their lifejackets.Today was a fishing day. Pilgrim had rented a pole and Domino bought a pole. bassline was in Domino's canoe and also fished. He got a few bites. Pilgrim got a few bites, including a cottonmouth. Domino caught and released a few bass. Everyone discovered TDS's fish phobia. That combination was entertaining.I saw a mother duck protect her babies. She was floating near the riverbank with her babies. She saw us coming near and quacked out a couple of commands to the kids. She then flew across the river squawking and flapping. The babies continued along the riverbank. Mom kept trying to draw attention to herself until we were safely away from the babies. It was just like the nature channel.UPS, a hiker from the other group has been with us for a couple of days. She has a malamute dog, Kearny, who is afraid of water. She quit the canoe trip after multiple dumps in the water due to Kearny's fear. The canoe company has been shuttling her from campsite to campsite. This morning Kearny was limping. No one could find anything wrong with her pads or leg. UPS took Kearny to the vet. Come to find out, Kearny had been bitten on her leg by a snake. You could see puncture wounds and all. Poor puppy.Today's campground was pretty good - hot shower's, flush toilets AND no cow landmines. Well take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-17
From: Tent, Low Bridge Campground

To: Hotel, Front Royal VA
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: scattered clouds

   Well we finished up our big 67 miles today. Originally the game plan was scheduled to last 5 days and cover 111 miles. After half killing myself in a spectacular wreck and paddling hard all day long for 2 days, that schedule seemed overly ambitious. We also learned that the river was about one foot low and running pretty slow.    Today the low river made itself very known. It seemed like we were out of the boat pushing ourselves off of ledges and gravel bars all day long. Whenever we got to deeper water we hooked together and napped and floated. Eventually we had to buckle down and actually paddle.    I saw a baby fawn. It was down along the riverbank getting a drink of water. I didn't see a parent. I did however see a Canadian goose herding attempt. Imagine 3 canoes and 40 geese. Strangely enough Canadian geese don't seem to respond well to herding. There were squawking geese flying in every direction. There were also hikers in canoes doubled over with laughter.   We got picked up by the canoe company and transported back to our backpacks at their canoe center. I cannot tell you how heavy and cumbersome my pack seemed. We got shuttled to Front Royal where we will start hiking from tomorrow. Front Royal is about 63 miles up from where we got off. Thankfully the weather looks good for the next few days.    We are back with Silent Bob and Padre. We missed them. Hopefully we can hike quickly enough to keep up with them.   Take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-18
From: Hotel, Front Royal VA

To: Shelter, Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 10.4

We really hiked 15.4 miles today. The 1st 4.7 miles were already accounted for from the canoe trip.    Hiking with a full pack after what seems like weeks of slack packing and canoeing was rough. I discovered exactly what the bruises from my crash felt like. When you bruise the sides of both knees from falling out of a canoe, it seems to slightly shift your kneecap to an entirely new position. My knees are accustomed to my kneecaps being in the same position they have been in for hundreds of miles. My knees did NOT like the new kneecap position. They registered fierce objections to the change. My ankles tried to compensate and were also unhappy. It certainly didn't help that my depth perception was WAY out of whack due to having lost my glasses.   I got lost for about .5 or .7 miles today. I missed a turn. Having no glasses means that I have to closely watch the ground so I don't stumble. This means I miss blazes. I turned down a road and went for a while before I realized there were no blazes. When I got to the shelter tonight, I found out that Troll had left an arrow and his red bandana to mark the turn. I didn't see the arrow. Padre picked up the red bandana when he came back from the parking lot at the end of the road. He lost his glasses and got lost in the same place.   Yesterday I forgot to mention that Troll & Oblivious were the only people from our group of trail friends who did not tip over into the water. Troll was a pretty excellent stern man. It probably didn't hurt that their canoe was so light because of Oblivious.   We stopped at Manassas Gap shelter today. It appears to be snake central. The shelter register spoke of milk snakes and copperheads in the rafters. When we read that to Oblivious, he started looking at the back rafter. There was a big milk snake. It didn't care for us looking at it and took off into the shelter walls. Needless to say, we didn't stop for the night at that shelter. That would be all I need, wake up in the morning with a snake curled under my tent or sleeping pad.   Speaking of critters. Oblivious and I saw a little fawn in a big field. There was no mom around. When it saw us looking at it, it ran away.    Having no glasses on my face was no fun. I had to close my eyes when I passed by branches. I had no seeum bugs dive-bombing my eyes. I lost count after wiping at least 10 bugs out of my eyes. I never knew that my eyes had such bug appeal.   This morning started off very early. At 0630 the phone rang. I thought it was a wakeup call and hung up on it. Troll asked who was that calling and said there was no wakeup. Luckily Silent Bob's brother called right back.   Front Royal seemed kind of shady. We saw some meth heads, a hooker, and people hanging out in the alley. I was glad to get out of there. Tonight we are in a geodesic dome shaped shelter. It's actually pretty cool, but small.   Take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-19
From: Shelter, Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Shelter, Sam Moore Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: broken clouds

Happy father's day!!! Troll started his father's day off with a bang. He got up around 3 am to go to the bathroom. That's what happens when you drink a lot of water during the day. That was also about the time that he and I discovered that we were the All You Can Eat buffet for the flying teeth bugs. They were biting our face. They were biting our arms. They were flying down inside the sleeping bag and silk liner to feast on other body parts. I got out the bug spray around 4. As you can imagine it was not the best night's sleep that Troll or I have ever had. I made Troll some hot chocolate and coffee for breakfast. It didn't make up for the bug bites. The day started out nicely and we stopped for a nap at rod hollow shelter. It was good to take a long rest. We all passed a gentleman dragging 2-wheeled suitcases. He also had a small daypack and a backpacker tent in a box. He had to make multiple trips to cover any distance. The 1st part of the day was really great hiking. The 2nd part of the day was part of the "roller coaster". The roller coaster is 10 hills in 13 miles. We completed 5 of them. Silent Bob got dehydrated. Troll drank 6 liters of fluid. I drank 3.5 liters of fluid. I got over heated. Oblivious drank 1.5 liters of fluid. This was with the weather Gods smiling on us. There was humidity. But we have had worse. The temp was low to mid 70's. If the weather Gods had been displeased with us, 3 of the 5 hills would have been skipped for another day. I feel so happy and lucky that I get to do more of the roller coaster tomorrow. Yea! I am exhausted. Take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-25
From: Hotel, Harpers Ferry WV

To: Shelter, Ed Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

   Well we are back on the trail. We ran all sorts of chores this morning. Finally we got out of Harper's Ferry around 1415. We walked along the C&O canal for a while. I was a little leary about the rocks today. It was my 1st day of hiking after the big face plant.    We took a nice long break in the shade, about an hour. We were joined in our lounging by Africa and Mayfly. It was hot and humid, but really hot & humid. I guess heat & humidity is what happens when summer comes to the eastern seaboard.    Tomorrow we are trying to get up early and hike before the heat is killer. I'll see how that works out. I've got to go to sleep and prepare for that.    Well take care and we will see you on the trail.
Date: 2005-06-27
From: Tent, Annapolis Rocks

To: Tent, Falls Creek 
Miles today: 17.0

Yes, we are in another state. Oblivious was the first Troll family member to cross the Mason-Dixon line and to enter Pennsylvania. Maryland is finished, 6 states done. Woo-Hoo!!!   More news on the rabid raccoon. As per the ridge runner and the shelter register. Sleeveless came to the shelter around dark, took her pack off and the raccoon pounced. She went to the emergency room where she spent the night (or most of it). She has to get rabies shots on Wednesdays. I'm not sure how she is going to arrange this. She does have a trail journal. I'm sure if someone wanted to help her out, they could get in touch via trail journals. So the spectacular injuries continue to grow. Red Hat's and my faceplants. And Sleeveless' raccoon attack      We tried the 0530 and mid afternoon nap thing again today. Not bad.   Poor Oblivious looks like a lop-sided chipmunk. The hornet bite on his cheek is still really swollen. I can only imagine the looks Troll is going to get at the next town. Wife with a black eye and child with a swollen cheek. Quick, call someone for an intervention.   Today was an odd hiking day. Quite a mixed bag. We would have a huge rock field for about 1/4 or 1/2 of a mile. We would have flat trail. We would have some straight up and straight down. All randomly mixed with extreme humidity. I certainly got a workout today.   Some insane people try to do this moronically stupid 4 state challenge. The 4 state challenges is to walk in 4 states (VA, WV, MD, PA 42 miles) in a 24-hour period. Anyone considering this should play a game created by Silent Bob. The game is called "Good Idea - Bad Idea". It goes something like this. Walk 40 miles in one day until exhausted and body beat down - bad idea. Walk 40 miles in 2 days and still be able to hike the following days - good idea.    I am in my tent with a full and happy tummy. When we got to the Pen-Mar County Park, Mayfly and I got a ride to a convience store. We bought fried chicken dinners. The Troll family feasted. It was good.   Well take care and we will see you on the trail.