morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-06-10
From: 4 Pines Hostel

To: Lamberts Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

A great day for views today. We hauled our tired bodies over McAfee Knob and along Tinkers Cliffs. From Tinkers Cliffs we could see the entire ridge we had been walking on all day. I met the Bender family along the way. Being Gabby I walked with them much of the day. They were two adults and three kids. The older girl, Sandy, has been interested in the AT since she was 14 yrs. She is now 18 and planning on starting college in the fall. Sandy learned of the AT from Bill Bryson¢s book and has since done a lot of reading of AT literature. She convinced her family to do a week long back pack in this area because she had seen a picture of McAfee Knob in one of her books. She hopes to attempt a through hike if she can out grow exercise induced asthma.Shelly will be going into 9th grade in the fall. She seems to be having the least difficulty with he trip. She is in great physical condition because she is on her school track team and runs constantly. The brother, I'm sorry I missed his name, will be a junior in HS this fall. He hiked with little effort. They have an older brother who is home taking summer courses at college.The first 10 miles of this hike were stimulating and fun. So many great views. The views continued for most of the rest of the day. But we were very tired. Tired from the terrain tired from hiking for so many day in a row, tired mostly because the temperature was in the 80's and the air was very humid. To top it off just as we started our stoves a thunders storm came through camp.On another note I finished 700 miles of train as of today. Twenty five more miles will put me at the 1/3 rd completed point of my hike. It doesn't seem possible.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-11
From: Lamberts Meadow Shelter

To: US220, Daleville, VA
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: scattered clouds

It seemed to take forever to hike the 9.5 miles into town this morning. I was exhausted from hiking in the heat the past few days. I am a bit dehydrated. I have lost a lot of body fat so find it hard to get enough calories from my food. And one of the most annoying things is I perspire so much that shorts are ringing wet after only an hour or two of hiking. It looks as if I had been swimming in them.The air is humid so this morning my shorts were still ringing wet when I went to put them on. There was a puddle under my shorts where I hung them on the line last night.It was very depressing hike for me today despite the great views and high ridge walk. The duration of the hike is getting to me just as it has for many others on the trail. I think I succumbed to case of Virginia Blues. I know a rest and some food will get me functioning again. We caught up to Burnie at the grocery store. She has a room with Skywalker and Chugs. That has made me feel good already. There is suppose to be a special trail magic at a shelter 17 miles north of town tomorrow. I don't know that I can hike that far or fast to take advantage. Burnie and her room mates hiked an extra 1.5 miles today to make it a little shorter hike for them tomorrow.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-12
From: Daleville VA

To: Wilson Creek Shelter
Miles today: 11.2
Weather: overcast clouds

6/12/04Start: Daleville VAEnd: Wilson Creek ShelterDistance: 11.2 milesCloudy morning today with 30 percent chance of rain. We contemplated doing 18 miles today because there is a hiker feed planned for the Bobblets Gap Shelter. But we are carrying full packs with 6 days of food. I got up early to get another shower and hit the continental breakfast. Cold cereal with milk and several glasses of orange juice, a bun and some coffee hit the spot. Rainbow and La-La joined me. Rainbow with her pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream which I helped her consume. Mmmmmm, what a breakfast.After repacking my pack I headed through the parking lot behind Rainbow and La-La. A few steps had me intercept Sandy, Shelly and their brother on their way to breakfast. Apparently they did a torturous 16 miles down Tinker Ridge. Sandy had several asthma attacks in the high humidity the last one resulted in her brother carrying her pack as well as hers. She had not been able to eat since her last attack and was hoping to have some breakfast. Katie, a hiker we met at 4 Pines Hostel, did 18 miles yesterday to reach Daleville. She plans to only hike 5 miles today to the first shelter. We made it to that first shelter before 11:30 AM and stopped for lunch. The trail was pretty easy with no views and cool temps but foggy and drizzly. Four PM found us at the second shelter feeling very comfortable. We decided to not spoil the great feeling by hiking the 7 miles to the next shelter. And besides Wilson Creek Shelter is at mile 725.8. One third of my AT hike has been completed. We plan to get up early tomorrow and hike 20 miles. We'll see if we can do it.My feet seem to be doing well. I guess they are finally getting used to the idea of hiking every day or else they are numb. But, my right shin is very painful. Every time I take a step it hurts and it is a bit swollen. I think I have shin splints. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-13
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

We did it! We hiked a 20 mile day intentionally. My feet are sore and my right shin was very swollen and red when I arrived at camp. Some Advil and time off of my feet reduced the swelling. I hope it is better tomorrow.We got up at 5:30 AM in dense fog and strong winds. We were not happy campers but we had miles to hike. After a good breakfast we started hiking north hoping to reach Bobblet Shelter for the rest of the trail magic, breakfast. It took us about 3 hours to hike the 7.4 miles but the trail angels had already cleaned up and gone home. We stopped and prepared an early lunch (10:15 AM), filtered or treated water then headed for the next shelter. The fog and cold wind continued into early afternoon when we arrived at Cove Mt. Shelter.(2:30PM) We decided to cook dinner right then and there. I was taking Arnica for my painful shin. Getting off my boots helped dramatically.We now had only 6.3 miles to complete our planned hike today. We decided to break that into two parts. We took a medium break at a creek near a road. I put my swollen shin in the cold water for about twenty minutes. It seemed to work better than the Arnica. For the next hour of hiking I did not feel any pain. The last hour was very difficult because my feet were very sore and my shin was painful. At Bryant Ridge Shelter I took 3 Advil and sat down. The swelling went down quickly. Think I will start the day tomorrow with Advil.The Bryant Ridge Shelter is unique. It is a three story post and beam structure designed by architectural students from a college nearby. It will hold up to twenty hikers. There is ample space for cooking, eating and just hanging out all under the roof. The loft is very spacious with great light. The ladder is very steep and tall.Visibility was terrible today. I did see 3 deer, a snake and crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway 6 times. Pokey saw a large black bear just .2 miles from the shelter.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-14
From: Bryant Ridge Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Our plan was to hike 17 miles today but it didn't happen for a number of reasons.We slept a bit late this morning so did not start hiking until 9:00 AM. It was foggy again today with few views as we hiked over Floyd Mountain and on to Apple Orchard Mountain where there is a radar dome installation. Along the way we stopped at Cornelius Creek Shelter for lunch and a break. Julie and Ebon, a young couple completing the AT in Virginia were there having their last meal on the trail. They had hiked from the northern border of VA south bound until trail days. They hitched to Damascus for Trail Days then headed north. They hike slowly doing between 11 and 13 miles per day. They are carrying 25 lb. packs including food and water. They built their own packs by taking apart some Kelty external frame packs. They sleep in cheap hammocks they bought at Walmart. They set one hammock above the other and put a single tarp above that. Ebon's dad was picking them up on the Blue Ridge Parkway just where the AT crosses on Apple Orchard Mountain. As we got close to the parkway Ebon came running back toward us in a stew. Some park rangers were at the road looking for an injured hiker. He thought it might be me. Obviously it wasn't but I hope it was not Burnie. She has been about 5 miles ahead of us for several days now.We stopped at Thunder Hill Shelter around 4:30 PM expecting to stop just for dinner. But La-La said she could not go on because her knee hurts her too much. My shin was starting to hurt again and was swollen. And just as we began to cook our meals a thunderstorm approached. That did it. We checked the maps to change our plans for the next two days and stayed at Thunder Hill. Short day but what can you do.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-15
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

\Blue Berries and Trail Magic today. Food always pleases long distance hikers.We got up early today, 5:30 AM, and out of camp shortly after 6:30 AM. By 9 AM we had finished 5 miles. It was foggy for awhile and a bit overcast but we got some nice views on wide sections of trail between Petites Gap and Matt's Creek Shelter. There were views of a wilderness valley and incredible views of the James River, first named river in America. We ate our first fist fulls of ripe blueberries on the ridge trail and bathed in Matt's Creek to get rid of some of the sweat accumulated from 4 days of high humidity. We saw a freight train as we walked along the James River toward the foot bridge that would carry us across. At the parking lot on the opposite bank we were greeted by a trail angel with sodas, candy, and cherries. La-La asked him if he could drive her away from the trail. Her knee was hurting her enough to consider taking a few days off or maybe even going home. I think she has enjoyed hiking with us but we walk at a faster pace for longer miles and she is not quite up to our rate yet.We reached the shelter just before a thunderstorm brought 2 hours of rain. Dinner was slow and easy. Now it's time for some sleep. zzzzzzzzzzz Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-16
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: light rain

There used to be a community of former slaves along this creek. It existed around 1900. The path to the shelter is beautiful with many relics of a past time, but we were so tired from so many days without a zero that all we could think about was getting to the shelter.We left camp early at 7:00 AM heading up for more than half of the day. We stopped for lunch at Punchbowl Shelter and to check the register for signs of Burnie. The Captain and Grasshopper were doing a zero. They said Burnie was there yesterday for a break but continued on. The rest of the walk was not as tough but there were plenty of ups and downs. We stopped at a creek before the Pedlar dam for a little bath then had to cross through two gates with strict warnings not to tresspass without a permit. The walk along the lake was beautiful. Very few people have accessed through the area so it is unspoiled. We must do an 18 + mile day tomorrow so we've been talking about doing a slackpack from Montebello. We will see how this can work out tomorrow. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-17
From: Brown Mountain Creek

To: Dutch House B&B
Miles today: 18.1

The Dutch House B&B is the most incredible place I've stayed so far on the trail. It is really a high end hostel or low end bed and breakfast. I would love to come back to visit after my hike. The family works together to finish the chores for hordes of hungry stinky hikes. Tonight there were 9 of us that wanted dinner. Two nights ago they had 22 guests. I'm glad we are behind the thundering hurd. I'm in no hurry to catch up to them.Preparing and serving dinner is a family affair. The son waits on tables while mom and dad prepare the meals. There is not enough room at the table to serve everyone so meals are served in shifts. The son does laundry as hikers arrive. Arrival starts around noon because they offer a free lunch to any thru hiker who stops by whether they stay or not. Breakfast and shuttles are free as well. They provide terry cloth robes to wear while the laundry is being washed. They pick up hikers at the trailhead and return them to the trailhead in the morning. It is more expensive than other hostels ($25 per person per night) but the services offered are far superior to any other place.Today was a pleasant surprise. The sky was blue with no threat of rain. And we got to walk along several miles of balds. It was humid when we left camp and my shorts where still soaked from the last few days, like wearing a wet bathing suit. Once up high I decided to just wear my undershorts to avoid the wet soggy shorts and maybe avoid another rash. It didn't work. I got a rash. At one point we passed a group of 15 girls from a camp out doing a backpack. I was hiking in underwear and got some giggles once they noticed my shorts hanging out to dry on the back of my pack. Bet they have some fun writing their journals tonight.All in all it was a very pleasant day with a very long walk. We have made plans for a short 10 mile slack pack tomorrow. Then we need to cover 30 miles the next 2 days to get into Waynesborrough by june 20th where Pokey's Mom is waiting to spend some time with him. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-18
From: Fish Harchery Rd. Montebello

To: Tye River
Miles today: 9.4
Weather: few clouds

I know, I know, another low milelage day and to top it off we slackpacked. Even better (or worse) we will do it again tomorrow. We were put on the trail where we left off yesterday. Hiked up to Spy Rock where we took 3/4 of an hour to take in the views then headed over the Priest Mountain and a long down to rt 56 where the trail crosses the Tye River. The weather was cooperative. The views where few. Rainbow chose to zero today to recover from the pace of the last few days, seems like weeks. Earl and Lois picked us up in their pickup truck and brought us back to Dutch House B&B where we were greated by Burnie, back from her road trip to Richmond to visit her boy friend.We had another great dinner and were convinced by Lois to do another Slackpack.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-18
To: News from Gabby
Miles today: 0.0

Can you believe I've finished over 800 miles as of today? The Dutchhouse B&B is incredible but a bit expensive at $25 pp plus $10 for dinner. But they do laundry, shuttling, offer robes for wearing during laundry, clothesline to dry tents, free lunch, TV, VCRs with movies, and more. I want to stay here for ever but must move on. They will slack pack us tomorrow so I get another night here. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-19
From: Tye River

To: Dripping Rocks Gap
Miles today: 15.4

I can't believe I did it again. Steve drove Rainbow and me to Dripping Rock Gap to slack pack back to the Tye River. Pokey decided to northbound and camp so he could do 20 miles and get to Waynesborough early on Sunday to see his mother who rode up from Miami to visit him.Somehow we headed in the wrong direction and didn't figure it out for about 45 minutes. That means we were about 1.5 hours behind schedule. The hike went well. We ran into many hikers we haven't seen for awhile including Chef Vegan, Impulse, Ranger Time, Safrin, Skywalker, Chuggs, Ben, and Still Frank. Then we met Top Knot and his mom and brother and dog followed by Pokey's Mom now called Mama Pokey. What a surprise. She is wonderful. We could only talk a few moments because of our mixup in directions. Since Pokey was heading in the same direction as his mom he will not likely see her until tomorrow.It was a long steep walk down. I managed to contact Lois from Dutch House B&B to let her know we would be late for our pickup. Fortunately she was having a slow day and was able to wait for us. She prepared us a wonderful roast beef dinner with corn fritters.   We will have to put on our full packs tomorrow.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-20
From: Dripping Rocks Gap

To: Waynesborough
Miles today: 14.5

Today was the best day weather wise of the entire hike. Clear blue skies with little or no humidity made the views from rocky outcroppings incredible. We were able to see a ski area complete with condominiums off to the south. To the north could be seen the Shenandoah Valley and the long ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.Rainbow and I were shuttled by Steve back to Dripping Rocks while Burnie got a ride to the Tye River from Lois after Lois finished feeding an entire boy scout troop, washed the breakfast dishes, cleaned the bathrooms and prepared for the free lunch crew expected by eleven then started a laundry. We probably won't see Burnie again until tomorrow.We made several rest stops to give our weary feet a break. There was only one significant up all day today. That was the only time I worked up any kind of a sweat. Most of the terrain was easy with a few rocky places to challenge our resolve.About 1 mile from our planned stopping place we met Nathan Forrest, a former thru hiker and conscientious objector who run off to Canada to avoid military service after being drafted in 1971. He spent 26 years in Canada before the US Army finally recognized his political and personal commitment against war. Today, his mother went to church with him for the first time in her life. She announced to the mennonite congregation her conviction that Nathan was what he claimed. It was a special day for Nathan because his family were military from way back. We listened to his story because he offered to drive us into town. But, I feel privileged to have met him and spend part of this special day with him.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-22
From: Waynesborough

To: Calf Mt. Shelter
Miles today: 7.0

We had a late start this morning. Sherry picked us up at 11:00 AM in front of the Quality Inn. We stopped at the YMCA tent site to pick up Burnie. She wasn't there. We headed toward the Post Office since I knew she had to bounce a package. We found her walking back toward the camping area, picked her up and returned to the campsite to help her get her gear. We made a stop at the Outfitters to pick up some gear then continued on to the Visitors Center for Shenandoah National Park. We paid Sherry then went into the gas station to get some popsicles.We started into the park and found the registration kiosk where we filled out the thru hiker permits. Then we headed north for 7 miles to the shelter. We stopped to visit an overview on Skyline drive. We stopped for lunch. We stopped for a little break about 1.5 miles before the shelter. Burnie has been having a rough time. She has not really had a zero day in weeks. Her foot has been hurting for a few days and I'm sure she has not been in town long enough to eat good food. She complained that she wasn't having any fun. I asked her if she felt she should go home and she got upset. I've got to be more tactful. I just don't like it when she is hurting. She seemed to pull herself out of the slump and continue on.We met Banana on the trail with her mother and sister. Banana was wearing a sports bra and her back and belly were covered with pimples from hikers rash. I gave her my half used tube of anti fungal cream. I have a new tube I bought in town.Burnie was elated because we finished dinner before sunset. Rainbow was able to read outside without a light before going to bed. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-23
From: Calf Mt. Shelter

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: moderate rain

Rain most of the day today persuaded us to do a short day. We crossed Skyline Drive many times but could see nothing from the overlooks because of the fog and rain. Rainbow and I decided to stop around noon for lunch. So we set up my tarp to shed the rain and invited a young couple to join us. Burnie joined us after 1/2 hour. She is feeling great today because her foot stopped hurting. I'm glad we are doing short miles today because Burnie needs some short mileage days to recuperate from her fast run to Richmond. Vegan is staying with us tonight. That is two nights in a row. He told us that other groups have named us "The Happy Brigade."Wild life sightings have picked up considerably in the past week. Today I saw a yearling bear to the side of the trail. At one point I was walking in front of Burnie and turned to hear what she was saying to discover a deer not more than 10 feet from us. Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-24
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Simmons Gap Ranger Station
Miles today: 15.3

Well, well, well. What an interesting day. We got up early to the cry of a whippoorwill directly outside our shelter. 5:00 AM seems a little ridiculous for a bird to be making such a loud song but we were eager to get to Loft mountain campground for our first taste of their famous blackberry milkshake. Rainbow and I made good time along the trail getting to an overview before 10 AM where stopped for an hour to talk with tourists and wait for Poky and Burnie. We finally left without them and arrived at Loft Mountain around 11:30 AM. where took showers and did a laundry. While I hung my tarp out in the sun to dry, Mama Poky arrived with a rental car and offered to slack pack us through the park. Oh my! Poky and Burnie arrived shortly then they took showers and did laundry while we came up with some shuttling ideas. We went to the Wayside to have a nice lunch and those delicious blackberry shakes.Mama Poky decided she would like to meet us every time the AT crossed Skyline Drive so we took off and did about 4 miles. There she was with iced tea and snacks waiting when we came out of the woods. Four miles later she was waiting for us again. Another three miles and we called it a day. We returned to Loft Mountain where we set up camp in the campground for the night. We will return here two more nights then camp at Big Meadows for a night. On the road to our campsite we saw a black bear which was cool because Burnie had been complaining that she had not seen a bear yet. While we set up our tents and hammocks, deer wondered through our campsite. What a great place!Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman
Date: 2004-06-25
From: Simmons Gap Ranger Station

To: Lewis Mountain
Miles today: 17.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Slack packing is awesome. We had planned to do 25 miles today, but Rainbow ran out of steam and it started to rain. Close to 18 miles is very respectable. Mama Poky met us at Swiftrun Gap with sodas on ice, lemonade, the fixing for salads, salsa and tortilla chips, tomatoes, and strawberries. She is the best trail support person around. It was foggy today with a threat of rain but it held off until after 6 PM. Just before we crossed onto Swift Run Gap, Burnie came face to face with a full grown black bear. A bit later Poky spotted a small black bear building a nest in a tree. He gets a bit nervous around carnivorous animals. I have lost track of the number of deer we've seen today. They are everywhere and not at all afraid of hikers or automobiles. Burnie saw a very large snake, probably a rattler. We had dinner at Big Meadow Wayside to avoid cooking in the rain but that meant missing out on the showers and laundry since the building closes at 8:00 PM. We will need a better plan tomorrow. When we got back to Loft Mt. Campground I discovered BigTree had put his gear under my tarp and was planning to settle in for the night. I told him it was fine.Life Is Good!! "Gabby" aka Art Cloutman