morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-05-25
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Day 64 - Zero day in PearisburgGot a ride with Bill, the caretaker, from the hostel to the post office and mailed most of the food I picked up yesterday to Waynesboro. Did laundry at the laundromat and ate lunch at Darlene's Kitchen, a delicious meal of hamburger steak with onions, peppers and gravy, salad, muffins, and greens. I walked about 2 miles to the library and read trailjournals for an hour. Then back to the hostel and over the grassy hills on a trail to the back lot of WalMart, where I bought food for my next section. I had dinner twice at Wendy's; both times it rained and I had to wait it out before walking back. Pearisburg was really a hassle to get anything done, even make a phone call, due to the distances. If you don't have a car in this society, you are out of the mainstream. Try shopping at WalMart and walking a mile down the highway with a load of groceries. You feel very left out and powerless. We thruhikers call ourselves "hiker trash" to describe how we are treated by some people in towns. There are some who recognize us and know what we are doing and help us out, but there are more who avoid us. We are glad to get into town for the food, laundromat and post office and glad to get back into the woods to escape the unfriendly evironment.
Date: 2004-05-26
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Rice FIeld Shelter
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Trail Day 65 - Deer at play.Caught a ride to the post office and mailed my fleece jacket home. I bought a fleece fabric at WalMart (Pooh bear design) to replace the Pokemon sleeping bag. Am trying to lighten my load at every town. Now I just have a silk bag liner and the fleece blanket to keep me warm at night. That was fine in the hostel but not adequate the first night back on the trail. The temperature plummets at night when it rains. My wife is sending a summer bag to the next hostel. Gear must be frequently adjusted to balance weight and function. The ideal is to achieve light weight with comfort and safety - not an easy task. I got out of Pearisburg at 10 am. It was raining as I walked up the highway next to a chemical plant. It spewed white billowing clouds that smelled like my boyhood chemistry set. Spurred me on to get out of town and back up into the mountains. The climb to Rice Field shelter was about 1800 ft. in 7 miles. It rained on & off all the way. The view from the bald was spectacular but it was soon obscured by clouds. Restless, Bones, Caterpiller, Enigma, Mama's Boy and Gator were in the shelter. I learned that Gator is the son of a Rehabilitation Consultant in Melrose who I have known for years, Dave Pigue. Small world. Gator used a cell phone to call his parents and Dave's comment to me was, "You're too old to be out there thruhiking." I told Gator to tell him to get a life.A furious windstorm rolled in during the evening blowing fog and rain into the shelter. We took cover as best we could. After it cleared, deer bounded back and forth across the grassy bald in front of us. The shelter is behind the trees so they could not see us. It was as if the deer were playing a private game that we were not supposed to witness. It was good to be back on a mountaintop.
Date: 2004-05-27
From: Rice FIeld Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: light rain

Trail Day 66 - Bear sighting!Got out at 8 am. The day was cloudy but it cleared after an hour and stayed clear all day. There were some good views at first but the trail soon became a green tunnel. I passed Restless tending his feet at a viewpoint. I also met Four Bears hiking south. He told me that his name came from seeing a mama and 3 cub bears in April 2000 one mile north of Neels Gap in Georgia. He was now hiking to Pearisburg to complete the Virginia section of the AT. He informed me that a northbound hiker ahead of me saw a bear on the trail this morning. Gator told me later that he was tying his shoe on a ridge when he heard crashing above him. He looked up and saw a bear running toward him. He took a defensive stance and the bear crossed the trail 20 ft. in front of him. He got a photo of the bear's rump.   After 12 miles the trail descended 1000 ft. to Pine Swamp Branch shelter, a dark buggy place near a stream. Restless arrived and set up his tent to dry it out. After lunching, I hiked on to Bailey Gap shelter, another 4 miles. This was a steep climb, but I was glad to get to a higher elevation in a brighter, more open area. Here I met Shepherd and Myst. Shepherd is from Minnesota where he attends a Lutheran pastoral college. Myst is a BMW mechanic from Ft. Myers, FL. Enigma also came in. Enigma works as a cook in a convalescent center in Connecticut. Finally we had a dry day, but it rained all through the night.
Date: 2004-05-28
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Trail Day 67 - More rain!The rain last night did not stop with morning. I waited until 9 am for it to let up, but it continued. I climbed 600 ft. to the ridge in a steady downpour. Rocks on the trail made the going more difficult. Around noon the rain stopped as I took a break for lunch at War Spur shelter. Another steep climb was up next. As I reached the top, a man with a car at the gravel road asked Shepherd's whereabouts. He wanted to let him know about a family emergency. I gave him an estimate based on what I knew about Shepherd's speed and departure time from the shelter. The man drove off to leave a note at the next road crossing. I drank an orange drink from a cooler left there by a trail angel and took a photo of myself with a camera from a box as requested by a note. Next there was an even steeper climb up an old dirt road to the ridge that tired me. I met a couple of day hikers returning to their car from Kelly Knob where there is a view. Their dog ran behind me as if attacking, but I ignored it and it stopped. Several other hikers told me the dog attacked them too in the same fashion. I passed Esoteric Ninja. He is unmistakeable because he has dyed neon red hair. He said he was going slow because he pulled a shoulder muscle in the rain. At the shelter everyone was in bed by 9:00. I spent another chilly night with only my fleece blanket for warmth.
Date: 2004-05-29
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Campsite at mile 675.5
Miles today: 15.4

Trail Day 68 - Gorgeous Day! The trail crossed Laurel Creek out of the shelter, passed through a rhododendron thicket, and wound over hills in pasture. There were peach trees and blackberry vines alongside. Cattle grazed on the next hill. After crossing a highway and a country road, the trail switchbacked 1100 ft. up a mountain. I felt strong on this sunny day and pushed fast to the top. Sometimes my competitive streak grabs me and I treat the trail as a physical challenge. There was a young couple behind me going for a high mileage day and I was pleased that I could pull ahead of them climbing the mountain to the next shelter. I may be almost 60 but I am still physically fit and the trail has made me stronger. I miss the trail running I did for years at San Felasco Preserve in Florida; I can close my eyes and visualize the entire 5 mile path that I ran hundreds of times. Familiarity breeds affection. I often saw deer, armadillos, pigs and other wildlife at dusk. I look forward to doing that again when this hike is over.I passed many large piles of smooth grey rock on the ridge and wondered who did all this heavy rock work. ATK was arranging rocks on one pile and I asked him about it. He said the oldtimers did it to make pasture for their cattle. They hauled the rock in wooden boats with metal prows and emptied them in cairn-like piles. He said one of these piles is worth a thousand dollars in Maine, where the native stones don't have this flat shape and size for ease in building. When I reached Niday shelter, it was only 4 pm. Enigma was hiking on to find a campsite on the next mountaintop. I was not really up for a 1500 ft. climb but I did not want to stay here: a couple of section hikers came in who looked like real snorers and I wanted to get a headstart on a long day tomorrow to the hostel. It promised to be a good night for tenting so I headed out to do another 2 miles, expecting to set up by the highway. There was a site there by a creek but I had second thoughts about camping near a road on Saturday night of Memorial Day weekend. I climbed the next mountain carrying 3 quarts of water for dinner, breakfast and tomorrow's hike. Near the top was an ideal site on a narrow spine with views east and west. There was even a fire ring. For the first time in my life I would camp alone on a mountain. I have always camped with others. I set up my tent, boiled water for dinner, and did what man has done for ages for comfort in the wilderness - built a fire! It was a peaceful night. Nobody passed on the trail. It did not even bother me when I broke a tooth on a hard grain of orzo. That can be fixed. I slept well.
Date: 2004-05-30
From: Campsite

To: Four Pines Hostel
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Trail Day 69 - Audie Murphy Memorial & Dragon's ToothNo rain last night but the day was cloudy. Boots tromped south by my tent before I got out of my bag. Several people training for a thruhike next year came north as I packed up. They had done 20+ mile days from Pearisburg. Warren Doyle guided them with a structured plan to prepare them. It did not make sense to me to start out with so many miles. Maybe he was culling out the unmotivated. They will slackpack the entire AT with a support van in 2005 - not my idea of a thruhike. Being free to set up your tent wherever you like is to me a core value of thruhiking. Carrying your home on your back is the manly way to do it.I stepped off the trail on the ridge to see the Audie Murphy memorial, a stone cut plaque that is impressive and appropriate to visit on Memorial Day Weekend. Someone had just placed a Spearhead patch in a plastic bag secured by a rock at the base of the momument. Audie Murphy died here in a plane crash at 45 years old. He was the most decorated veteran of WWII. I thought about all the men who lost their lives in this war as I walked away. I wondered how my father felt as he took off in dangerous bombing missions as a young man, knowing that he might not return, with a wife and son at home. Much there is to be proud of for his generation.The walk was easy today and I felt light on my feet. I thought about all of the good moments of this hike and realized that God smiles on a hopeful heart. There were 4 deposits of bear scat full of berry seeds on the trail, fresh but older as I proceeded north. Perhaps a bear walked the trail south last night. It is good that we can coexist with these animals, although admittedly an uneasy peace. At the gap, Coops told me there was trail magic on the way and it would be worthwhile to await its arrival. It was raining, but I did wait and was rewarded with a feast of a ham and cheese sandwich, 2 grilled hotdogs, potato salad, leaf salad, scalloped potato casserole, 3 creme-filled donuts, strawberries, brownies, and 2 sodas. This was put on by Jeff Williams from Catawba and a crew of hikers. They have done this every year on Memorial Day weekend for 5 years. Thank you! One of the Doyle hikers said my trail name should be Piggy Boy when I told her what I ate. She has not experienced hiker hunger yet.I hiked on another 7 miles up to Dragon's Tooth, a rocky prominence with a great view on a good day. Unfortunately it was raining today and the mountains were shrouded in mist. The descent was very steep and required iron rebar ladder steps in the rock in two places. I enjoyed the rain and the challenge though and came down safely.
Date: 2004-05-31
From: Four Pines Hostel

To: Johns Spring Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Day 70 - Uluru! Didn't sleep well last night. Too much snoring. There were 15 people on mattresses on the floor of a 3-car garage. It rained all night into the morning. I got a ride to the convenience store about a mile away, bought food for breakfast from the deli and talked with the clerk. She told me how her daughter was stalked by a mountain lion in their backyard. It seems the daughter was in a tree stand at dusk with a bow and arrows waiting for deer. She saw a mountain lion walk by into the trees. After a bit, she climbed down but the lion was still there and it followed her in a crouched position. She ran screaming into the house; the clerk said she got a gun and went outside but the lion was gone, probably scared off by the screaming. She likes living in the mountains but her husband complains about how far they are from hospitals, etc.I talked with Miss Daisy, a hiker, about my broken tooth. She is a dental assistant and she told me some ways a dentist can do a temporary fix. I will call a dentist when I get to Daleville.I walked back to the hostel, packed up and got back on the trail at 1:30. Kat was the only person left there and she was just waiting for a friend to pick her up and take her to the airport. She was quitting her thruhike this year because it isn't fun anymore. She lives in Atlanta and wants to move to the mountains.I hiked over a series of hills with the trail going steeply up and down: what hikers call PUD's (pointless ups and downs) or MUD's (mindless ups and downs). The day was cool and breezy so it wasn't too hard. I stopped at John's Creek shelter at about 5:30. Friar and Uluru were staying there. Friar carries two 6 ft. poles as he hikes, thus the name. He is from Alabama and just completed college in Virginia at an all male school, majoring in Economics and Chemistry. He will go on to medical or law school. He started the AT about the same time I did but took a week off to visit a sister in Austin, TX. He has been hampered by knee pain which has slowed him down. Uluru is a hospital administrator from Concord, NH. He takes a week off every year to do a section of the AT. He was going south. He does a lot of day hiking in the White Mountains and was filling me in on what to expect when I get there. You have to pay $65 a night to stay in the AMC huts or work for stay. There are 11 huts, but not many tent campsites available. Uluru is the aboriginal name for Ayres Rock in Australia, which he has climbed. There is only one route allowed to the top in order to minimize impact as it has religious significance to the aborigines.
Date: 2004-06-01
From: Johns Spring Shelter

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 9.2
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Day 71 - McAfee Knob and Tinker CliffsSlept well last night in the shelter. Friar and Uluru went south in the morning while I hiked north. Friar had to go back to Catawba to pick up a food box at the post office as it was closed on Memorial Day. He was also sending his tent home to lighten his pack. He hopes there will always be shelter space to sleep in. I still have my tent and would not want to be dependent on shelters. Food mail drops are usually convenient to save time and money with shopping, but can slow down a hiker who arrives in town when the post office is closed. Some hikers prefer to resupply entirely from stores along the way. I like getting mail and don't mind the planning involved.Today would be a scenic hike over McAfee Knob, the most photographed spot on the AT, and Tinker Cliffs. The trail was well-constructed and not rocky. It was windy and cool on top and skies were clear. McAfee Knob juts out into space and photos usually show a person sitting on the edge with legs dangling over the pointed end of the rock. There was nobody around to take my photo. I lunched and hiked on to Tinker Cliffs, which I thought had better views. By now the winds were gusting strongly, pushing me around. You could see Roanoke to the east from McAfee Knob, but from Tinker Cliffs the view was a rural valley with ridge after ridge of mountains layered to the north and west. The Shenandoahs were in sight, where I would meet my wife and son in a few weeks. I noticed two out-of-season ripe blueberries on a low bush and found them sweet and tasty.The shelter was down by a creek and was very buggy with gnats and blackflies. When Friar arrived we gathered wood and lit a fire to chase away the bugs. Just before dark, Don't Mind and Don't Matter came in for the night, a man and his wife who are very pleasant, as you can tell from their names. He sold his smart card technology company to hike the trail. She is a cardiac technician. I fell asleep as the fire burned down.
Date: 2004-06-02
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Econolodge, Daleville, VA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: broken clouds

Trail Day 72 - Into the tumult!Got up early and hiked with the Friar to Daleville. He hikes at about my pace but doesn't take breaks. I did not mind because I wanted to get to town and find a motel. The trail follows the top of a ridge that points east toward Roanoke. Daleville and I-81 are north of the ridge and a long reservoir surrounded by wilderness is to the south. There is only one small dock on the reservoir and there is only one road in the entire valley. This leads to the dock. There are no houses. The whole reservoir and wilderness area is obscured from I-81 and Roanoke by the ridge. It was quite a contrast looking north and south. There were good views of the wilderness from rocks on the ridge. After many ups and downs, we descended to Tinker Creek and suddenly emerged on a busy 4-lane highway with gas stations and motels. I checked into the Econolodge after comparing rates. Friar looked for a phone to call friends in Roanoke. Later I saw him at the Troutville post office. He had not been able to reach his friends. The post office was a 3-mile round trip from the motel. On the way back I stopped at a barber shop, my first opportunity to be shorn since the day I started on the trail. I called the ten dentists in the area but they all said they could not fit me in for an emergency appointment. My wife, Donna, said she would call some tomorrow. I endangered my life by walking under the I-81 overpass to get to a restaurant on the other side. This was not a pedestrian friendly area. There are no sidewalks and you have to dodge trucks coming on and off the freeway. After days in the woods, the transition to the noise, concrete, dust and traffic of an interstate highway exit was alarming. I felt like a mouse running through the elephant arena in a circus.My chores done and appetite satisfied, I settled in to watch the news shows on television. Lots of talk about the CIA chief resigning, D-Day history, and Bill Clinton speaking.
Date: 2004-06-03
From: Econolodge, Daleville, VA

To: Econolodge, Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

Trail Day 73 - Zero day in Daleville.I started the day calling dentists but got nowhere, so I called my wife, Donna. She was able to get me in with a dentist in Roanoke, but not without some difficulty. Donna relates her experience as follows:"I spoke with 13 separate offices yesterday & today. Most of the time I couldn't get past the fact that (1) you weren't their patient and (2) the appointment schedule is full. Out of these 13, only 3 offices treated me like a person an not just an anonymous "caller." I tried to explain the situation to all of them & used my nicest manner but met stone walls in all but those 3 offices. Several even got hostile. The last one was, I think, about to hang up on me, saying that she wasn't going to argue. This because she had advised me to use the phone book which I told her I was doing, and I had asked if she were in my situation, how would she go about getting a dentist. She said she'd "find one," and I said how? That's when she got testy until I explained I wasn't arguing but looking for help and didn't know how to get it. I was close to tears of frustration; the receptionists had all treated me like I was bothering them or being impertinent because my husband dared have a dental emergancy away from home. I think she finally realized that there was a human being on the other end of the phone; she talked with her dentist who said he'd help. So Connie ended up being very helpful, she's actually quite nice. It was quite an experience, and doesn't speak well for the state of dental care provision. But tenacity finally paid off, because I wasn't giving up."Thank you, Donna, for being such an effective advocate and supporter. I called a taxi and got to the dentist office with a $20 fare. My tooth fixed, I felt pretty good and decided to hitch back to Daleville. Big mistake, but I learned something. I walked for three hours along a 4-lane highway with my thumb out. Thousands of cars passed me but nobody even slowed down. The cowboy hat that I bought at a flea market on the way might have had something to do with my lack of success, but next time I have to hitch off the trail, I will take my empty backpack with an inflated pad inside it. I spent the rest of the day shopping at a grocery store and an outfitter to resupply and then walked back to the post office to mail home some items: the top compartment of my pack and my silk bag liner. I bought a silnylon stuff sack to replace the top compartment to lighten up my pack. I now have a summer bag that is very comfortable, so I don't need the liner anymore. I kept the fleece blanket to use as stuffing for my pillowcase, but will probably send it back also as I can stuff it with clothing or the rainsuit.
Date: 2004-06-04
From: Econolodge, Daleville, VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: moderate rain

Trail Day 74 - Rain, rain, rain!There was a loud clap of thunder at 4:30 am signaling the start of a rainy day, surprising because it had been clear. I checked out of my room at about 11 am and set out on the trail in a downpour. Scarecrow and I-need-a-hug were on the trail and had just checked out of the same motel. Scarecrow is 6 ft. 4 inches and weighs about 170 lbs. He has a long black beard and is in his 20's. I-need is a quiet, diminutive young woman but she can hike with her pack as fast as anyone. The couple have sparked a trail romance apparently. I last saw Scarecrow at Rainbow Springs Campground in North Carolina when he was slowed by knee pain and was hiking with his brother. He hiked 4 or 5 miles a day until it got better and had caught me at last. He has a cheerful manner that I like. I climbed 1300 ft. to the next shelter about 5 miles away. It was full with hikers waiting out the rain: ATK, Ms. Daisy, Publix, County, Marzipan, Scarecrow and I-need. I showed off my new tooth to Ms. Daisy, a dental assistant. ATK cracked some jokes: "Gap means up, road also means up." "Sign seen on trail: This section of the trail is maintained by the Roanoke ATC (and we put all of our money into this sign.)" Actually the ATC club volunteers do a great job of trail maintenance, so I hope nobody is offended but on a day like today we have to laugh at something. The rain did not stop and everyone but Publix, a teen from Florida, hiked on. Publix had a trying night: washed out in the thunderstorm on the trail, everything in his tent wet, he made it to Daleville where he found shelter at a gas station because he could not afford a motel. He was rousted by police for loitering and hit the trail in the rain again to find this shelter at night. He would rest here all day.I got to Wilson Creek shelter and it was full. I waited outside the shelter for a lull in the rain and pitched my tent. I was probably better off there because there were 4 older men who looked like real snorers. Unfortunately, it rained all night and I would have to pack a wet, muddy tent in the morning.