morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-01
From: The Falls of Dismal

To: Holy Family Church Hostel
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: clear sky

The plan today was to get within 3 miles of Pearisburg and then hike in in the morning. We hiked and got to the first shelter and took our lunch break there. When we left the heat was getting bad and it was noon. We were climbing up on the ridge again. Well, as it turned out it was a record breaking day with temperautures reaching 90 degrees! Hard to believe that a few weeks ago, hikers were getting frostbitten. Wow. Cowboy was having a rough time with the heat and told me to go on ahead. So I did. I ran into a southbounder and told him to pass the message on to Cowboy that I was going to continue on. At that point I decided to go all the way. If I moved quickly I could get into town before dark. It was hot and dry. I drank over 6 liters of water. I made it into Docs Knob shelter (the last shelter before town) and got some more water and left Cowboy a note that I was heading into town, and would hope to see him then. It was 3 pm. I had 9 miles to go and I would get in by 7:30 plus hike the 2.5 to the hostel...it would be close.   I came down the hill and got into town by 6:45. I still needed to get to the hostel, but I was not going to hitch by myself. I had asked several people for directions and a ride, but they were going the other way. When I got there, I had arrived by 8 pm. There was a Walmart that was open 24 hours, so I headed over to get some groceries. I have a mail drop, so I only bought what I would eat today and a few other items. I will have to go back after getting my package so I can better determine what else I need and how many days until I resupply again.   I did some hand washing, as I only had a few items, took a shower and ate. I finally ran into Fidel and Blowout, thet write really funny entries in the shelter logs. So tomorrow, I will get my package and do my chores and possibly hit the trail if there is time.
Date: 2007-05-02
From: Holy Family Church Hostel

To: Holy Family Church Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Ok, so I have spent about 4 hours updating this site and downloading some of the photos (a lengthy process). When I get home for Rachel's graduation, I will put all the photos I have on the site, but for now, I am just posting key pics and sending the rest home on a disc. I will not be heading out today as this took longer than I anticipated. The next big town I get to is Waynesboro. I spoke to Bob and he didn't mail my shoes, so I am getting them in Daleville. I guess I will take the time to figure my mileage/days and what I can send home to lighten my pack. Waynesboro is 220 miles away so that will be another 10 to 15 days depending on the weather and terrain and how far I make it each day. They are calling for thunderstorms today and tomorrow. I may end up taking a zero tomorrow as well and just resting up. My knees are a little sore from coming down into Pearisburg. It was quite a descent and it was interesting to see that there was no foliage up on top of the mountain, but as I came down in elevation, the leaves began filling out. By the time I was at the bottom, I was in complete shade. No wonder I was so hot up there!I want to take a moment to thank everyone who signed my guest book. Your words of encouragement and support mean alot to me. I am praying alot as I walk this path, and it is amazing to me to be surrounded by such beauty. Every day out here is truly a gift. I think about many of you often, and you are in my thoughts and prayers.Some of the cool things I have noticed out here: The wind has a song all its own. You can hear it and actually follow it through the sounds of the trees. It is interesting how much it sounds like an ocean at times. I am grateful for the moments that I can actually stop and take in the beauty of growing flowers, crawling insects, puffy clouds, wind in my face, and a cool drink of water from a fresh mountain spring. I take alot for granted and being out here truly has humbled me in a way I cannot describe. I am really grateful for this hike.I hope that if any of you can get the opportunity to take a moment from your busy life, go outside, and just find a place to sit and be in the moment. Take it all in. Smell the fresh air, feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair. Listen to the sounds of nature. Breathe it in. Renew your spirit. It is truly worth it.
Date: 2007-05-03
From: Holy Family Church Hostel

To: Holy Family Church Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Today its raining and I will take a zero and head out in the morning. I will probably head to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter, depending on the weather and terrain. There is a 3 mile uphill climb, but that is always expected when you leave a town. I have caught up on my chores and will spend some time checking and sending e-mails, as well as making a few phone calls. At least I can get to a library and use the internet. It's nice because they're aren't alot of hikers hovering over you asking if you finished when you just jumped online. So I can get caught up on my journal.   I sent home my sleeping bag, and I was going to purchase a summer bag, but instead I purchased a piece of fleece and will use my silk liner. I also sent home my fleece hat, gloves and a couple pairs of heavy socks.   Will catch up on this next time I am on the net. Thats all for now.POST NOTE: Sending home my sleeping bag was premature. And I ditched the fleece and ended up purchasing a nice Lafuma down summer sleeping bag.
Date: 2007-05-04
From: Holy Family Church Hostel

To: Pine Swamp Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

I left out today and it was still raining. The weather has taken a change for the worse and I have sent home some of my winter gear. I ran into Walking Cowboy, Flyaway and Young n' Dum and Trevor (Young n' Dum's brother). Walking Cowboy is staying in a shelter tonight. Trevor has a car and is going back into Pearisburg tonight, they offered me a ride into town, which I will gladly take as I don't have a sleeping bag. Trevor will shuttle us back out to where we left off in the morning. So, I hope I can get a bag to hold me over.         As it turns out Elsa was at the hotel and had her winter and summer sleeping bag, so she will let me use her winter bag and I will send it to her home when I pick up a summer bag for myself.         It seems everyone is staying at the motels rather than the hostel in Pearisburg...I guess they don't want to walk the 2.5 miles to the hostel...kind of ironic. I ran into Diamond, Stretch, Bucket, Granite, Tatoo, Terripin Flyer, Mystery Chicken, and Dorthy and Toto. Lots of people I haven't seen in a couple of days. It's fun to catch up with them.   Some of us ended up going to an all you can eat Chinese buffet. It was pretty good and I ate alot. I also am carrying too much food, but I had to go by second hand information as I didn't have my data book when I resupplied. It's ok though...the food will NOT go to waste!          I missed the boat on planning this next leg, for some reason. I think I can get back on track, but it sure makes a difference if you dont plan for the weather or your mileage...you end up carrying (or not) your mistakes. The weather should break on Monday and I hope I have good views and sun for McAfee Knob. I have been looking forward to seeing this place for a long time.
Date: 2007-05-05
From: Pine Swamp Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: light rain

Very rainy and cloudy today. I hiked uphill alot today. I made it to Bailey Gap and had lunch. It was very foggy until then. I was hiking with Flyaway and it began to rain around 1 pm. I put on the poncho I picked up in Pearisburg and kept hiking. I actually stayed dry! I was amazed. Finally I can hike in the rain and not get soaked. It actually became enjoyable. So, buying the cheap $4 poncho has worked out quite nicely.   I was planning on stopping at War Spur Shelter as my shin was bothering me, but Sublime, Cheese, and Flyaway convinced me to move to the next shelter, I am glad I did.      Sublime ended up running into No Problem, so they went back to War Spur shelter for the night. Everything is damp and wet...but that is life out on the trail- you learn to take the good with the not so good! Walking Cowboy came in and we ate rather quickly and turned in for the night as it was looking like more rain.
Date: 2007-05-06
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 22.3
Weather: clear sky

It started out as another rainy, cloudy day, but then cleared out. We crossed through some beautiful farmland. I like Virginia, so far, it has a lot of beautiful trail sights. We saw a lot of cows today as we pass through the farms. The trail has some easements from the property owners. Its a nice change from the rocks and trees we have been seeing. At one point we came to a field that had donkeys and they came over to greet us. Later, we passed by the Keffer Oak tree. Its the largest oak tree on the AT in the South. Last measured, its girth was 18'3" and it was estimated to be 300 years old. The sun came out about this time of day - Yipee! After hiking 4 days in the rain, it kind of gets to ya!   I climbed up Sinking Creek Mountain, the northernmost spot on the trail where the route crosses a significant "continental divide". Waters on the west flow to the Gulf of Mexico, the waters on the east side of the mountain flow to the Atlantic Ocean.   Later I was hiking and almost stepped on a black snake - scared the crap out of me initially because I wasn't expecting a stick to move! He slithered away after I caught a photo of him.
Date: 2007-05-07
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Cambell Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Today was great! My shins still hurt a little, but it will be shorter day. I hiked with Flyaway again and we climbed Dragon's Tooth. There were really steep rocks that the trail went over and they had installed steel rails to grab as a ladder to go up or down. It was fun and I'm glad we had a sunny day to climb over the rocks. They said there was a couple who were climbing in the rain and slid down the side of a rock. They were trying to get back on the trail but became disoriented and they got lost. They ended up being rescued. I can't imagine climbing on this in the rain.   Later, Flyaway and I made it down to 624 and hitched in and we grabbed a cheeseburger and ended up getting a ride back to the trailhead with the same guy. We hiked in about 1/4 mile and sat down and had a great lunch.    Also, as we went hiking during the day we climbed up McAfee Knob and had some great views. Took alot of pictures. I love this place. You could see so far, we could even see Dragon's Tooth where we had climbed earlier in the day.Beautiful.      As we pulled into the shelter, Goat, Smokey and Silverfoot was there. Silverfoot helped me out in Pearisburg, driving me to Walmart and back to the hostel. They are section hiking, so they have their cars. Silverfoot wanted to get up early to see the sunrise from the knob, so she was getting everything ready for that. It was nice to see them again, they are fun to be around and you can tell they enjoy their hiking.      It was such a great day to hike. I really enjoyed all the sights we were able to take in today.
Date: 2007-05-08
From: Cambell Shelter

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Woke up to a beautiful sunrise. Silverfoot(a southbound section hiker) decided to watch the sunrise from the shelter instead of hiking a mile back to McAfee Knob as it was a bit cold last night. Flyaway and I got our stuff together, ate our breakfast and headed out early and soon we were at Tinkers Cliffs. We could see McAfee's Knob from there and we could see how far we had walked. It was really amazing to see how far we had come and how far we would go today. At the end of the day we would look back again and see where we had walked. Five miles looks closer than you would think.      We saw a lot of deer today and we had lunch on top of Tinkers Ridge. We made it into Daleville and I picked up my maildrop at the outfitters. We were trying to decide how we were going to carry all our stuff back up the hill (groceries, mail drop, etc) when we ran into Silverfoot who gave us a ride back. Such trail magic...she keeps showing up at the same place we are right when we need a ride! Thanks again Silverfoot!   After we got cleaned up and sorted through our food we ended up going to eat Mexican (which was fabulous). When we came up to the door of the restaraunt, we saw a familiar backpack resting outside the door. It was Walking Cowboy's. He was inside, just finishing up and we told him we'd be in town if he wanted to split a room. We ate, shared our trail stories and went back to do our laundry. We were all pretty tired and hit the hay early. It was a great day.
Date: 2007-05-09
From: Daleville, VA

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I got up today and shipped my boots home before heading out on the trail. I am using the Garmot Nasty's. They are a trail running shoe and I am looking forward to hiking in a lightweight shoe. My feet are pretty calloused right now, so I should be ok as far as not getting blisters. Plus, Rachel has been wearing them at home and breaking them in for me. I can't wait to use them.   Flyaway and I waited for Walking Cowboy, but he had to go to the outfitters and they won't opeen until 10 am. So we left him a note that we would head out on trail and meet him at a shelter. We left at 9:30 and made it to the first shelter for lunch. It started to look like rain. When we got to the second shelter, it was 3:30. We decided it was to early to quit so we moved on to the next shelter seven miles away.   FlyAway almost stepped on a black snake today, by the time I hiked up to him it moved off the trail on a log. It wanted to bask in the sun. It did end up being a very sunny day and we were hiking along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was nice, and the trail crossed the roadway several times. But everytime it did, there was a great lookout or a view of a town.      Today I have been out on the trail for two months. I have my hiking legs and feel very strong. I have lost about 5 pounds and most of it is around my waist as my pack and my pants have been getting cinched down more and more. We have come one third of the whole trail. I cannot believe I have made it this far. I think about all I have seen and the people I have met...I am really blessed. I am grateful to be hiking.
Date: 2007-05-10
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

I got up and headed out today and Flyaway and I saw a yellow toad as we headed out of the shelter.   Today the weather was sunny and hot. We decided to stop at Mill Creek Campground to get lunch and resupply so we don't have to stop in Glasglow. The prices were really high....69 cents for a Ramen noodle soup. Kinda outragous, but the hike was one mile up hill to the place and they know they have the campers who are there. We did get a ride up to the campground and back down to the trailhead, so it wasn't so bad.   Once we were back on the trail we had nine miles to the next shelter... two miles up hill, then two miles down, then five miles back up. It can be hard to do that with a full pack at the end of a long day. We finally made it to the shelter and Iceman was there. He used to be Caveman and I was on Tray Mountain in Georgia with him Kater-piller and Bisquits, but I haven't seen him since. He changed his name to Iceman because there already was a Caveman. Thats why I lost track of him. It was fun catching up with him again.      I went to the creek and rinsed the "trail dirt and salt" off of me. It felt very refreshing. I made dinner and I went to bed when the sun went down. For the most part, we get up when the sun rises and go to bed when the sunsets. Pretty simple and it works well. Then all you need to do is get up, eat walk and go to sleep. No worries, other than you just need to know where you are heading for the day. Simple. I LOVE it!
Date: 2007-05-11
From: Cornelius Creek

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: scattered clouds

I left the shelter this morning and headed over Apple Orchard Mountain at 4225 feet. Once it was an Air Force radar base, and the meadows were covered with barracks and support-service buildings for 250 people.   Then on the other side of the mountain, the A.T. lead you under the Guillotine - an impressive large boulder stuck over the trail between two rock formations. Of course we took alot of pictures. Kind of cool.   Later we went over the James River Foot Bridge - the longest foot-use-only bridge on the A.T. It was dedicated to Bill Foot "Happy Feet" whose efforts to secure grants, secure the existing piers, and gained numerous agencies' cooperation, helped make the bridge a reality.       We came into the shelter and there was a deer in the campsite about 30 feet from us. We washed up, did laundry and I washed my hair and made dinner. Then the no-see-ums came out in full force and it turns out I did NOT go to sleep at all. It was horrible. I still have a zero degree bag so because it was a warm evening, if I went under the sleeping bag I was burning up! I would uncover myself, and even though my skin was covered, I was getting bit right through my clothing. I was swatting and scratching all night. I tried to cover every exposed area with something, but to no avail. To top it off a whiporwill began singing at midnight and then again at five in the morning. That bird sounded like it was 20 feet from the shelter! It was not a good night. When he started up in the morning, I packed up my stuff and hiked out. FlyAway wanted to know where I was going...UP the mountain for breakfast!
Date: 2007-05-12
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: light rain

Once the whiporwill started, I had pretty much had it! FlyAway didn't sleep much either,(only he had a mosquito head net, the cheater!haha). We had left camp by 6:15! In hindsight, I should have gotten up and set up my tent, even though it was thundering and acting like it was going to pour.      Once we got up the trail a couple of miles we sat down to a great view and decided to have breakfast. I had so many bites on me,I could connect the dots! it was horrible. I was so exhausted...it was going to be a long day.      At one point I was walking down the trail and I felt like I was sleepwalking. It was difficult. I actually was beginning to halucinate. I started to see things move on the trail, and when I looked again, there was nothing there.      But there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Two miles before we arrived at the shelter, we had trail magic. Flash and Hot Flash who hiked in 1989 fed us tuna croissants, chocolate cake and soda. It was fabulous! They were so fun to talk to and you could see how much they enjoyed hiking and being a part of the hiker community and how much they just wanted to help us out. It was sooo refreshing. Especially after the kind of day I was having. It was fabulous. I was truly grateful.      We departed and arrived in camp. I had washed up, ate dinner (yes, again), and went right to sleep. And no, there were no bugs at this shelter! Thankfully.
Date: 2007-05-13
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: Dutch Haus B & B
Miles today: 18.1

Today it was overcast. FlyAway and I packed up our gear and we immediately had a five mile uphill climb. When we arrived at the top we were in a cloud, so unfortunately, there were no views. It was cooler up on Cold Mountain (maybe thats why they named it that), but the sun was trying to burn off the clouds. Lately it has been raining at night and then becoming sunny during the day. It gets rather humid, but I don't mind. There is water in the streams, so we can treat it and make sure there is plenty to drink. The spring water has really been cold and good.      I saw a scarlet tanninger today. It is a beautiful red bird with blackwings, but I couldn't get a picture of it. The birds were doing that to me all day today. They would land in front of me, and when I would pull out my camera...off they would fly. So, I would put it away, and back they would come. Little boogers!      We will head into Montebello, VA to the Dutch Haus where we will shower, do laundry, resupply. This place has a great reputation for helping hikers. Flash and Hot Flash said the owners, Earl and Lois have helped hikers for years and they come highly recommended.   When we arrived, 357Magnum was there, and later we would see Iceman again as well.
Date: 2007-05-14
From: Dutch Haus B & B

To: Reeds Gap
Miles today: 19.9

Today there was a lot of hills. FlyAway and I hiked up five miles. We first stopped at Spy rock and took a few photos. 357Magnum was ther so we took photos for each other. We then continued onto climb the Priest up to a 4063 foot elevation. It was an intense climb. Then down to the Tye River at 970 feet. It was a cool view. Once we went through the Priest Mountains, we entered Three Ridges with the highest elevation at 3870 feet. This was a six mile up, at the end of a long day, this was very tough. We climbed up, and then up,.....and then up. It was brutal. We got it done. It was a long one. Central Virginia¢s treadway is well-graded and includes several2,000- to 3,000-foot climbs. You will traverse some of the northenmost balds on the Trail. Unusual rock formations offer up views to the valley below from the peaks of Humpback Rocks, Three Ridges, The Priest, McAfee Knob, and Dragons Tooth. This section is more rugged and remote than the Shenandoah to the north and parallels the Blue Ridge Parkway for 90 miles. I am glad this day is over...I am tired. Tomorrow, we hike into Waynesboro and then the Shenandoahs.