morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast (& Hostel)

To: Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast (& Hostel)
Miles today: 0.0

'Kay, so the breakfast at this Bed and Breakfast was supposed to be awesome. For $5, I wasn't expecting a lot, but I'd heard really good things about it. I can't even tell you how much I was blown out of the waters by it. It was simply amazing!!!! In presentation, quality and quantity, it far surpassed every breakfast I've ever had. Bar none.Due to the amazing quality of the breakfast and the hostel, we decided to zero there. Spent a nice day.
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Mountain Harbour Bed & Breakfast (& Hostel)

To: Stealth Camping past the new shelter
Miles today: 12.2

Pipe Dreams and Jonah joined us for breakfast this morning, and we hung out with them for a little bit before heading out. We also met Warren Doyle on the trail today, and he seemed like a really cool guy. Had dinner at the new shelter (it was finished only a day or two before we got there), then pressed on to a campsite three miles past it. Looking forward to going to the legendary Kincora tomorrow!
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Stealth Camping past the new shelter

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 11.6

My hiking partner - Mt. Dew - put our morning experience down so well, that I will simply copy and paste what he wrote.Awoke to the sound of (I suspect) two mating owls. I really can't begin to describe the sound they were making, but I'll give it a shot: Owl #1: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #2: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #1/#2: [shift positions, ie rotate around the camp]Owl #1: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #2: hoo-hoooo-HoooooooooooooOwl #1/#2: [shift positions meeting each other]Owl #1/#2 indistinguishable: HoHOOhoo HOOOHOhoooHOOOOOO hoooohoohoooHOOOOOhoHOOOO [repeat the above 5-6 times]Yup, that was our morning! Had another severe thunderstorm today, so we arrived at Kincora soaking wet, but alive! Got a shuttle into town that evening to get tasty food, resupply and other such goodies. Ate the Long John Silver's and bought some more food to eat at the hostel. I got to read Yogi's Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Guidebook in its entirety. I'm really excited about it now, and I'm really hoping to hike the PCT eventually!
Date: 2006-06-01
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Kincora Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Yup, it's official, I took another zero day. Mt. Dew and I are beginning to be the King's of zero days. We need to work on that.We did pack shake-downs today, trying to eliminate unnecessary weight. Putzed around the hostel, went into town and ate at the AYCE (all you can eat) chinese buffet. Yup, that about covers it!
Date: 2006-06-02
From: Kincora Hostel

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: moderate rain

Today was a really diverse day, that's the best way I can describe it. I got up before 7am to get ready (I was staying in the "executive suite"). Had Pillsbury Croissants and a mushroom, ham and cheese omelet for breakfast (which Mt. Dew was nice enough to cook for me). Played with Locky (the white kitty who is the biggest sweethear in the world) for awhile. She will jump up off the ground and take her front paws and place them on your hands. Then she'll start head butting you in order to pet herself. She also let me hold her FOREVER while she was being purry and cute. =)After we left, the walk to Laurel Fork Falls was really nice, and the falls themselves were gorgeous! I hadn't expected to see that big of a waterfall on the trail! PLayed there for awhile, then continued on - walking along the river which was also very pretty. The climb up the last mountain in awhile was easier then I thought it would be, and we heard the weirdest thing every about halfway up. We (I should mention that we means Mt. Dew and I as we are now hiking partners) could totally hear church organ music - it sounded like a big church ice cream truck. I don't understand where it came from and why we could hear it up there, but it was pretty cool.As we got to the top, a thunderstorm started to roll in, so we didn't get to eat lunch until about halfway down the mountain. Towards the bottom I flushed a grouse (I think), and as soon as I did so I heard a gun shot, shortly followed by another one with a dog barking. Mt. Dew and I started talking loudly, and we hoped that the hunter would see us. As we got about five minutes down the trail, we totally saw a BIG sign that said "No Hunting." Go figure.Nearby at the lake, Mt. Dew and I got to go swimming, as there was a beach at the recreation area. It was cold, but very relaxing and enjoyable, and it really wasn't so bad once you got in. Finally, we headed out to the shelter and got there just before it started pouring. We cooked quesadillas and alfredo shells with crab and veggies for dinner. Both were good.Part of the interesting part about today was the number and variety of animals that I saw. They included a huge gardner snake, a black snake, a black and white lizard, several toads, the grouse and four adult canadian geese with maybe ten babies.
Date: 2006-06-03
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: clear sky

Great day today! The weather was really memorable - nice and sunny but not too hot! The trail was nice - on the ridgeline for most of the day. While up there it went through tall grass most of the time. We saw two snakes and I flushed a grouse (which scared the crap out of me). Had two instances of trail magic today. Mountain Squid had tasty treats and teeny drinks for thru-hikers. I had a grape drink with donut sticks. He even packed out the trash for us! My second instance of trail magic was about nine miles into the day. I came across a bag of fruit at a campsite that someone had left. I split an orange with Mt. Dew. Finally, when I got to the shelter for the evening, John and Matt (two weekend hikers) had started a fire, which was fabulous to have. Oh, and at lunch I had a snail attach itself to my boot. I love the snails!
Date: 2006-06-04
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: The Place (In Damascus)
Miles today: 25.9
Weather: light rain

Oh my goodness was today hard!!!!!! It was my biggest day ever by more than 8 miles. Granted the terrain was mostly rolling ridgeline, but it was still a really big accomplishment! It started out with a 6am wakeup (although it was really 5:57am). Mt. Dew and I tried to pack up quickly and quietly, as there were two weekenders staying in the shelter with us. Slight slip-up with the bear bag, it somehow (beign the rope) got wrapped around the branch. Unfortunately, Mt. Dew had to cut his rope a little.The morning hike to Double Spring shelter was nice - we even got there about 40 minutes early, so we were able to have an early lunch and leave about the time we were supposed to get there.The second section of the day was a little rougher. We got down tot he road, when we realized it was going to storm. Very soon we got caught in it. It moved pretty quickly, but it really packed a punch! We even got hailed on! A little later, as we were walking COMPLETELY drenched, we cam across the section of the mountain where there were literally piles of hail! I've never seen so much built up hail in my life! We kept hiking and another storm got us! VERY WET!!!!!! One cool thing we saw in this section was a really old, sketchy shelter. It supposedly slept 4 people, but really they'd have to be children under 6 if you were going to sleep 4 people. However, I was still excited to see it because it meant we were only one mile from the real shelter.Leaving the next shelter was really hard, as we were both tired, wet and hurting. It definitely rained on us twice more before we got to Damascus, making it four times for the day.Finally, we got to the TE/VA state line! That was a really exciting moment, but we were so tired it didn't last long. Stumbled down the hill the next four miles to Damascus, and just about cried when the pizza place was still open! Ordered a family sized cheesebreadsticks and an order of chicken strips. We were also really excited to see Big & Bedbug, and No Whammies & Firemonger come in! It was awesome to see them and know that we were almost caught up! (They were leaving hte next day and we were taking a zero). Found The Place (our hostel for the night), where we met back up with Pipe Dreams & Wanderer. Promptly went to bed after an exhausting day.
Date: 2006-06-05
From: The Place (In Damascus)

To: Dave's Place Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up at 7am this morning - what the heck? I was supposed to be able to sleep in. Grrrrrrrr. Woke up Mt. Dew, and we decided to go get No Whammies and Firemonger for breakfast. We all went to Damascus Eats, where I had the amazing cinnamon bun with orange cream cheese frosting! It was awesome! AFterwards, Mt. Dew and I moved our stuff over to Dave's Place hostel. Then we went to the post office to get our packages. I was very excited, as I was expecting my purple hair dye! A trip to Dollar General completed my resupply, and then I promptly went to the outfitter to try on boots (hoping to get a new pair). After trying on several pairs, I decided to try putting Superfeet inserts in my current boots. They help to realign the feet and legs, and they are theoretically going to help my knees. We'll see.Had fun doing more shopping/trying on clothes at the outfitter, then Mt. Dew and I went to dinner at Sicily's. We had a chicken strip appetizer, then I got baked ziti with garlic bread and a salad. Yum! After dinner I tried to dye my hair blond (so the purple would be more noticeable). It only came out light brown, but I still think the purple will look good. Made a few phone calls after that then called it a night.
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Dave's Place Hostel

To: Feathercamp Brand Campsite
Miles today: 5.6

Got up early with every intention of doing nine miles today; however, events dictated otherwise. Got up, then went to the outfitters to collect my old inserts. Had breakfast at Dairy King, followed by phone calls and packing. Then I went to the library to use the internet (as my trail journal was super far behind!). Unfortunately, so was catching up on my emails, so Mt. Dew and I weren't ready to go until 3pm. Then we went to get dinner at Subway, which meant we didn't leave until 4:15pm for the trail. I managed to have a giggling fit on the way out of town, so that took even longer. When we got to the river about 6:30pm that night, we just decided to stay there. We soaked our feet in some VERY cold water and set up camp. Got an early night's rest so as to get up early the next morning.
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Feathercamp Brand Campsite

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: broken clouds

Get up early today? Ha!Mt. Dew and I didn't manage to leave our campsite until 11am!!!!!!! It was ridiculous! After leaving the campsite, we played leapfrog all day on the trail with a bunch of people. Dr. Alki & Dubbee, Seed and Murphy (his dog), Stoker, Rhyme and Reason. Saw two BIG snakes, one of which I almost stepped on! That was interesting because it was in a clifflike section of the trail, so it was hard to get around it.Made Lost Mountain Shelter in decent time and decided to stay there the night. Yay for sections of the trail where the trail maintainers believe in privies!!!!! 23 people stayed at the shelter, but Mt. Dew and I were the only ones who actually slept in the shelter. We met a troop of 14 Boy Scouts (in early high school) who were nice. Early to bed!
Date: 2006-06-08
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: The Place (In Damascus)
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: light rain

Well, my mileage keeps getting shorter and shorter! Mt. Dew woke up with a full-blown cold this morning, so we decided to take it easy. Made some yummy mint hot chocolate for breakfast, then proceeded to just hang out. Played Rummy 500 with Rhyme, Reason and Mt. Dew for hours! Also ate about 3/4 of my snacks in the process. About 3pm, Mt. Dew and I officially decided to head into Damascus for the night. We walked the 1.1 miles ot the road and proceeded to hitchhike. An hour and a half after starting to hitch, we still had no ride. Ridgerunner Kevin, who drove up as we were hitching, said that he would take us to town when he got back from the shelter (if we were still there). Two hours later when he got back, we were still there! Got into Damascus, where we went to Baja Cafe for dinner. My chicken burrito was frickin' awesome, as was the shrimp quesadilla. Got to bed early. Showers are wonderful things!
Date: 2006-06-09
From: The Place (In Damascus)

To: Old Mill Inn
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up early this morning - Grrrrrr! Mt. Dew and I met up with Muddyshoes again (finally!) last night, and we were supposed to meet him for breakfast at Damascus Eats at 9:30am. We had enough time to go do our laundry (and ALL the dirty towels from The Place as well) before we met him. Met another thru-hiker, and we discovered together that the jukebox in the laundromat only plays one song. Very annoying!Had tasty biscuits and a chocolat milkshake from Dairy King, then met up with Muddyshoes for breakfast. There he told us that he was going home to have his feet checked out and that he might or might not be back on the trail. =(After breakfast we went to the library to do more journaling and find a place with real beds to stay for the night. FOund one, the Old Mill Inn, an we moved in. Spent the afternoon doing a little resupply and watching tv! Had dinner at the Old Mill Restaurant with Muddyshoes, Paul and 10 Bulls. We had a great conversation, and the food was spectacular! I had crabcakes, then salad, the FABULOUS rolls with butter and my bourbon salmon dinner, which also included vegetables and a sweet potato. Got to bed after watching a bunch of tv - not too early.
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Old Mill Inn

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: broken clouds

Had a lazy morning today, as we knew our shuttle wasn't leaving until 11am. Got the Outfitter shuttle to a road about 1 trail mile past where we got off. Ditched our packs behind a big tree, and we proceeded to hike the mile south on the AT. Hiked back, had lunch, then proceeded to start up our mountain for the day. It wasn't too bad of a climb, but Mt. Dew was still sick and I was coming down with it, which made it a harder hike. We were rewarded at the top though, with a nice bald. We hiked in and out of the trees/balds for the rest of our hike, including walking through a field of cows. I was really happy to see Thomas Knob Shelter at the end of the day, and I was even happier to discover that it had space for us in it! We were worried about that because it was a Saturday night at a very popular shelter. Had a VERY late dinner and went to sleep in the enclosed loft.
Date: 2006-06-11
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: light rain

What a fabulous day today! I woke up feeling pretty sick, but managed to get up and going. Right out of the shelter we found wild ponies! Yay for ponies! They were really cute and were VERY friendly. Definitely not "wild". I fed them some salt and they wouldn't leave me alone after that! Finally got away from them, only to run into another group, complete with really cute foals! We watched them for a few minutes, then finally left. Had really nice hiking today, as the Mt. Rogers/Grayson Highlands area is simply gorgeous! Ponies and flowers and balds, oh my!Got to the shelter around 2pm, and because I was feeling so yucky, we decided to stay. Played cards and hung out with a bunch of really cool people. And yay for hiking clubs that believe in privies! Look in tomororw's entry to see a picture of a really cool one.
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Wise Shelter

To: Troutdale Church Hostel
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: broken clouds

This is a picture of the privy at the shelter we stayed at. It was pretty nifty.Streams and puddles galore today!! It rained a bunch yesterday, so the trail was literally a stream. Passed quickly through 2 shelters (Old Orchard and Hurricane Mountain) on our way to Troutdale, and I was having a very good hiking day overall! Got a hitch into town after about 1/2 an hour (in the back of a truck) and made it to the post office with about one minutes to spare for getting my mail drop. Took showers at the church hostel, then had a fabulous dinner at the local small restaurant. Resupplyed, then played cards with Matt and Kat until late.
Date: 2006-06-13
From: Troutdale Church Hostel

To: Troutdale Church Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

We had every intention of leaving today, but we didn't. Had a great breakfast at the local restaurant, then did town chores. Played cards with Mt. Dew, Kat and Matt for a LARGE portion of the day. Ate at the local restaurant AGAIN (still really tasty!) Caught up on some journaling and went to bed early that night.
Date: 2006-06-14
From: Troutdale Church Hostel

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Great day today! Started out with breakfast at the local restaurant (are we seeing a trend here?) We couldn't get a hitch out of town, so we walked the 2.6 miles back to the trail. Uneventful hike to Trimpi Shelter for lunch, then continued to the shelter for the night. The shelter was really cool because it has a hot shower (although it was out of propane when I was there), and the nearby visitor's center has a phone where you can call to get pizza delivered. Stitch, Mt. Dew and I ordered 3 large pizzas, 3 2-liters of soda and an order of cinnamon sticks. It was tasty and awesome, and we even had some left over for breakfast. The other cool thing about the shelter is that the privy actually had toilet paper in it. Who woulda thought?
Date: 2006-06-15
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Relax Inn
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: clear sky

Laundry today! After the laundry was unexpectedly broken in Troutdale, I'm really looking forward to doing laundry! Had tasty pizza for breakfast and kinda lounged around. As we were about to get ready, some trail volunteers came by. They were going to install a bridge about 1 1/2 miles south on the trail. They didn't have quite enough people to carry everything down in one trip, so Mt. Dew and I offered to carry the three boards down for them. They got really heavy after awhile, but we managed.Afterwards we investigated the visitor's center then headed out. We made it to Chatfield Shelter, then hung around for awhile to let the heat of the day pass. Left the shelter after dinner and went the final few miles to the Relax Inn. Yay for tv, air conditioning and showers! Got some tasty treats at the gas station and settled in for a "relaxing" evening!
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Relax Inn

To: Campsite by VA 42
Miles today: 11.8

Got to do laundry this morning! Watched Star Wars: Episode III while we waited for the laundry to be done. Then we had lunch at a restaurant and left to hike in the frickin' HOT sun. Three miles later we were so hot when we got to the shelter that we lay there until the heat of the afternoon had passed.We left the shelter, and right about 8pm we started looking for a place to camp. This would've worked fine had we not begun entering trail easments through private property and cow pastures. We saw several deer and MANY cows, including several in our path which meant we had to pasture whack around them. We crossed so many stiles in this section that I never wanted to see another one as long as I lived. About 10pm - 2 miles from the shelter - we came across a "legal" campsite. We took it gratefully!
Date: 2006-06-17
From: Campsite by VA 42

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Got up late today - we didn't leave the campsite 'til 10:30 or so. Hung out for an extended lunch at the shelter and a whole bunch (like 15) of kids showed up. They were cute, and eventually their parents showed up too. Left around 3pm for Chestnut Knob Shelter. Nice hike - although 4 straight miles of it was uphill. Had to get water at a spring-fed pond 1 1/2 miles before the shelter, which was kinda yucky. We had to carry the water uphill to the shelter. The shelter itself was pretty cool. It was a cabin - old firewarden - with wooden bunks to sleep on. We got a nice sunset and we cooked in the dark when it was over.
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Planned a really big day for today - 24 miles! You can see from my "miles today" section how well that went. Got a decent start on the morning, although my legs really itched. I think I mya have gotten poison ivy. Began our first 10 miles for the day thinking they'd be really easy - ridgeline hiking. Boy were we wrong. They were pure rock, and they just about killed Mt. Dew and I. We got to Jenkins Shelter exhausted and decided after lots of collaboration to stay the night. Had a relaxing afternoon and met two section hikers and a thru-hiker. Went to bed early!
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Big Walker Motel
Miles today: 11.5

Headed into Bland today - our last day on the trail for awhile - although it wasn't fully planned that way. Got a good early start and ate lunch at a picnic area. Tried out taco seasoning with a whole bunch of things (like peanuts and saltines) just because we could. There was a cooler for trail magic there too, but it was empty so we were sad. Just as we were about to leave, a guy pulled up in a truck and proceeded to fill it with juice. I had grape juice, and it was really tasty!We got to Bland around 3pm - just as it started to rain. We still managed to get an okay hitch into town and got dropped off at the local grocery store. Had snacks and I called my parents to see if I could come home for a few days while Mt. Dew went to his best friend's wedding. They said yes (as good parents) and said they'd book me something. Mt. Dew and I then went to get pizza, then checked into the hotel. We then had ice cream at Dairy Queen and watched several episodes of CSI back at the hotel. I definitely have poison ivy, so I'm really looking forward to getting calamine lotion tomorrow!
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Big Walker Motel

To: Pearisburg Church Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Spent the morning doing businessy type things. Then we spent about 8 hours in a Dairy Queen in Bland, VA waiting for Mt. Dew's parents to pick us up. We played cards for almost all of the time - Rummy 500 and a two-player modified bridge were our games of choice. We slowly ordered things from the Dairy Queen all day so we could continue to sit at their table and not feel guilty. Got picked up around 7pm and went into Pearisburg where we all ate dinner. We got dropped off at the hostel about 9:30pm and we immediately went to sleep on the pavillion.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Pearisburg Church Hostel

To: Mt. Dew's House
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up early with the sun and visited with the other hikers there. Found out that Tailgate and Firemonger's house had burned down a couple of days ago and that they were still in town until later that morning. We went to see them and let them know how sorry we were. What a sucky thing. They ended up getting off the trail, and I wish them the best of luck!!!!!!! Hopefully we'll see them when we get to New Jersey.Spent the day in the car getting back to Washington D.C., then I got to go to the mall! That was fun! Went to bed fairly late, which is sad, since I had to get up at 4:30am the next morning.
Date: 2006-06-25
From: My House

To: My House
Miles today: 0.0

I don't really know what happened to this picture, but I thought I'd share the best I could. My parents and I did a six mile hike on Imp Trail in the Whites today. It was fun, although buggy, and we got some really great views. Looking forward to getting back on the trail, although it's been fabulous to be home!