morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2010-06-04
From: Symms Gap Meadow

To: The Captains Place
Miles today: 8.2

6/4 Happy Birthday Dutch Tape! The Captains. 8.2 miles. After our flyover last night, we watched a lightening show as it approached from the west. Lots of electricity flying around and CB got up at 11 pm to put on the fly for the tent. By 11:30 the rain was coming down and the static was all around. In the morning, DT got her birthday present in the form of more flyovers of F-16 fighters. Three more flew over during the day and they were so close it hurt our ears. We broke camp at 8:30 and took our time heading up Peter Mtn and took lunch at the southern terminus of the Allegheny Trail. As we headed down, the sky opened up and we ducked the lightening as best we could  We got to Pine Swamp Branch Shelter at 2:30 and hung around there with Pee Wee for 45 minutes eating snacks and poking a fire in the fireplace. We all decided to leave when another hiker, Toast, showed up. He is from Germany and is notorious for taking things that aren't his and for skipping out on hostels without paying. We are now down at the Captains Place enjoying a free soda and a covered back porch watching the next round of thunderstorms come through hoping for some trail magic in the form of a ride to town for Ham's Birthday. If nothing else, we are out of the weather and will cook some delicious dehydrated meals for her big celebration! Another nice day on the trail. CB & DT
Date: 2010-06-04
From: Symms meadow gap

To: Captains place
Miles today: 0.0

June 4thEnded up at Captains place. Had to use the zip line from off trail ¢ over the creek to get there though. Was fun. Beat the 3rd storm that day by minutes. PeeWee came in also-so it was a nice night. Captain¢s screened porch even had a sauna. Every year he throws a bash for hikers on Memorial Day weekend. Glad we missed it!! By the looks of the trash cans there was a lot of beer and way too much smoking for my liking. Am eating a bit better but don¢t have the energy I should have to complete longer days. Also have lost about 35 lbs.. We are talking about plan B for this 6 12 month stint together-or slacking more. More later. DT¢¦.PeeWee gave me 4 homemade peanut butter cookies that his wife made him. OMG best I have ever had and she is hopefully sending me the recipe. Also there were 6 F-15 jets over a period of 6 hours that flew over-and most were when we were on top of the mountain. For dessert we had Bavarian Choc. Mousse and we had a sauna to dry our clothes. (You have to get creative out here!)
Date: 2010-06-06
From: Warspur shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 5.8
Weather: overcast clouds

June 6thWarspur shelter to Kelly Knob to Laurel Creek Shelter. We hung around the Warspur Shelter ¢til about 10 am reading and relaxing. Walk was short 5 miles and mostly uphill. Kelly Knob had a geo-cache hidden among the rocks! Geo-caching sounds like a fun pastime/hobby. Looks like it will be a cool night! Yeah! Shimmy ¢ thanks again for goodies. I do need to gain some weight. Hugs to you !!Ruth and Elaine ¢ tried to reach you tonight @ 6:30-7:00.Thanks kids for birthday messages!! Love You ALL. Stay well all and enjoy your summer.Hugs, Dutch Tapep.s. The Sassafras is still going strong here @ 2700¢. Hope ours at home are doing well.p.s.s. many owls are calling at night in this area.
Date: 2010-06-07
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Blacksburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

6/7 Blacksburg, VA  things have changed for us over the last few days. We have both lost a lot of weight but Dutch Tape's loss has been the most dramatic and she has suffered badly since we left Pearisburg and our ability to make it to Catawba quickly waned. We made the decision to get off trail for a few days to try and fatten up our bellies and then try to get a shuttle forward to Troutville to get our mail-drops and regroup. CB would like to try a few days of slack packing and get to the Keffer Oak, Dragons Tooth and MacAfee Knob. If we can't find a solution for DTs food intake, we might have to resort to plan B. Plan B, if you don't already know it, is to shuttle ahead to sections of the trail that we don't really want to miss but not hike all the miles in between. If it doesn't work out, there is always plan C.....We are camping out with the phone turned on for the next few days if anyone feels like checking in.CB and DTJune 7th Left laurel Creek Shelter and walked through Mtn. laurel and open forest for most part. A surprise after a few tenths of a mile was an old 2 story homestead with windows and chimney gone. We continued on through thousands of acres of rolling meadows with tall grasses, daises, clovers, white yarrow, dandelions and of course the south¢s ever present plant ¢poison ivy! Stiles are back once again being a bit more primitive and shaky.Best of all ¢ the sun is shining, wind is blowing and puffy white clouds are sailing by overhead. We are TRYING to hitch a ride to Blacksburg or Troutville, Daleville (in opp. Directions from each other) AND WE DON¢T LOOK LIKE HIKER TRASH even though we are hiking. I bet 30 pickups have passed us by. We don¢t smell that bad!! Besides we always ride in the bed of the trucks. An old dump truck just passed us by- we both looked better than the driver. Something we are doing wrong here and maybe we have to change our techniques. Okay- we¢ve come up with ¢It happened one night¢ technique. Brianna might be better at this than I!! He¢s got the legs. Now if only I can find my skirt(it falls down too) in my pack. If I would try this¢¦ I won¢t have to pull it to my thighs- I¢ll just let it fall to the ground. Boy, the Baptists and Methodists would have a fit!! We¢ve just noticed that red seems to be the color of choice for the pickups in this area. Note: on a national auto/truck survey a few years back- red vehicles are involved in more traffic accidents than any other color.
Date: 2010-06-08
From: Blacksburg, VA

To: Blacksburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0

6/8 Blacksburg. Vacation from our vacation.... There are times when the trail really surprises us both. Today has become one of those special days when we feel totally immursed in the trail community. After our post yesterday we went to the Beef and Bones Brew Pub and ate extremely well and then we moseyed down to the Blue Ridge Outfitters and bought CB some new shorts. We were in there for 1 1/2 hours and helped sell a few items for the clerk. We felt a little like celebrities in there when people started to talk about our hike! We hit the book store for an hour and then decided to take the bus downtown for a movie at the Lyric theater. We ate again at the Cellar and saw City Isand at the theater. Back at the motel we chatted on the phone with Ruth and Elaine and returned a few more calls and hit bed by 11 pm. This morning we checked our email and were compleatly surprised to see that a few Blacksburg area residents had seen our post and had contacted us to ask if we needed any help! We heard from SuperDave who hiked the trail '02 & '03 and the PCT in '09 and have been invited to dinner tonight with he and some of his friends! We have also been contacted by a woman who is trying to arrange a shuttle for us to Troutville tomorrow through her network of trail angels! What an amazing feeling of belonging and connectedness we are experiencing here. We never thought our hike would go as it has and neither of us would change it one bit.Later in the evening.....Many thanks to our hosts, Chris and Sue for their generosity tonight in allowing us to join them and all of their Tuesday night dinner group. You all made us feel so welcome and kept us entertained with your stories and anecdotes. Please take the time to sign our guest book and leave us your email addresses so we can keep in touch with you all as we head up the trail. You all have captured the true meaning of trail angels with your generosity. And special thanks to you, SuperDave, for reaching out to us and taking us along. During the evening, Sharon Iram called from back home. It was really great to hear a familiar voice and to catch up with the happenings of our friends.  One funny thing about tonight is a story about our host, Chris. It turns out we had met Chris several days ago back in Pearisburg when we were at the post office mailing a package home. Chris was asking the hikers in the post office if they needed a ride to the Walmart as he was heading there at the time. Unfortunately, we told him we wouldn't be ready for another ten minutes and he left. Next thing you know, we are having dinner at his house a week later! Serendipity? Ah, life on the trail!
Date: 2010-06-08
From: Blacksburg

To: Blacksburg
Miles today: 0.0

JUNE 8TH(9:30 a.m.) There is a wonderful hiker community out here in Blacksburg, VA area and they have gotten in touch with us. We are having dinner with them tonight. Today we meet in Blacksburg, walk and EAT. More later today.2:30 We bought dry hummus and more olive oil today and its great to mix all of this with beans and rice in a pita! Writing some thank you notes to some of our trail angels(email or snail mail). We shall be getting together we hope, with some ¢Pink Angels¢ in the next few weeks. Will be glad to get hugs from them all. Wonder if they will bring doughnuts and of course their laughter.
Date: 2010-06-10
From: Blacksburg, VA

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

June 10thLooks like many hikers here at the HOJOS today. Some have gotten shaves and even look clean! HOJOS puts out a hot (A.Y.C.E.) breakfast and I am sure HOJOS lose money when they show up. Weather is beautiful and warm everywhere in USA except N.E. Seeing many shin splint injuries about now. There is a nurse hiking and she is showing us how to tape for this injury. We do NOT have any injuries. Great to talk to you Dr. Lisa and Lisa(C.B.¢s sister. PeeWee- where are you?We heard you fell a second time. Some of us want to know where you are. Let someone know! Thanks.I ran into another B.C. survivor yesterday. She is doing well and into her 11th year!Hope all is well everyone. We love you.Cabana Boy and Dutch Tape
Date: 2010-06-12
From: Daleville, VA

To: Catawba, VA
Miles today: 13.8

June 12 We have survived Dragons Tooth. We were taken to the trail head by signage and she gave us delicious cookies to give us strength! Many thanks. An exceptionally good homemade cookie doesn¢t last long. These were definitely in the category of Mom Glass. And Pee Wee¢s wife¢s P.B. cookies. Coming down was a challenge and it¢s good to be with another person as the descent was small ledges on which to place our boots. How dogs do this is beyond my comprehension. Hope our pictures turn out. The Home Place was ALMOST around the corner (2-3 miles?) when we got off trail. Much food but not exceptional. Hikers can sleep in their gazebo sometimes, but we choose the field at the gas station/store down the road¢¦with Miss Pinky Jones joining us. Got in a bit of hitch hiking again. Enjoying the challenge of trying to get a ride! Catawba isn¢t much of a town but beautiful rolling farm lands. Rain Coming!! Been really dry through these parts and rain is needed. CB¢s new pack and old boots arrived. Thanks Tina's! Stay well everyone. DT
Date: 2010-06-13
From: Blacksburg, VA

To: Charlottesville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

6/13 Charlottesville, VAIf you have a map we will give you a rundown of the last few days events. Last we wrote we were in Blacksburg and had talked with Ann Roberts- local trail angel and superstar! She arranged a ride for us on the 9th via her friends daughter, Darcy, but only after insisting on taking us out to breakfast. We arrived at the Howard Johnson Motel in Daleville around lunchtime and chatted with many old hiker friends. We were especially happy to see Biscut and Frisbie and their dog, sisku. We took the next day off and ate some more (I do believe CB put on a pound or two) and then were contacted by Signage ga>me 07 who shuttled us to just south of Dragons tooth at VA 621 and the Pickle Branch Shelter. We climbed over Dragons tooth and took the obligatory photos and then the north side of the climb kicked our butts. We made it to the Homeplace Restaurant in Catawba VA that night for the AYCE buffet and were sick to our stomachs from eating too much and decided to camp out at the store. The next day we were back in Daleville at the HoJos and caught up on the news and crashed in bed after eating at the Three Little Pigs BBQ joint. This morning, Sunday, we hitched a ride (thanks Yahtzee!) to Roanoke and bummed around a few hours (you must check out the O. Winston Link Museum- the best train photos we have ever seen) and caught the Greyhound to Charlottesville to try and get to Waynesboro and the Blue Ridge Parkway. So tonight we are at the Red Roof Inn, Charlottesville, trying to find a shuttle for tomorrow. We have reached a point in our hike where our enthusiasm has begun to wane and have decided that we need to mix things up a bit. We are planning to hike to Luray from Waynesboro and hit the caverns and would like to aqua blaze into Harpers Ferry from there. After that, who knows but we are not going home until Oct. 15th!
Date: 2010-06-13
From: Catawba, VA

To: Charlottsville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

June 13thWe¢re on a tour today. Beautiful farms and estates dot the country side. Many of these are historic properties along with all of the above is the natural beauty and we discovered that many of the farms are preserved so that they cannot be turned into developments. I talked to a realtor and she said the economy has affected sales without a doubt but with zoning land use and conservation easements many farms/estates remain intact. I just cannot put into words the beautiful country side of VA. Blacksburg and Charlottesville, college towns are looking quite prosperous and culturally exciting with much to offer anyone. Did I mention architecture of the south? Andrew and Susan you would love to simplest styles of a 2 room house to an estate/farm!! VA is a special place, but its time to get North to Harpers Ferry. My feet hurt. DTSpecial thanks to Yahtzee and her shuttle service. May her knee give her no more trouble so she can go North. We went to the O. Winston Link Museum while in Roanoke. For you RR and train aficionado buffs this is top drawer!! OMC-as we are about to put our heads on our pillow we get an email from H2 (Belch). She and her hubby are in town and it looks like we just might have breakfast with them and on to Waynesboro. Trail Angels come in all shapes and personalities!! H2 is just sweet and a great person to have as a friend. We can only imagine what a nice hubby she has!!! Hope they have had a great vacation together. I need to get a good nights sleep!! DT & CB
Date: 2010-06-14
From: Charlottesville, VA

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

We love trail journals. It turns out to be a great way to get in touch with all kinds of trail friends and it has helped us out when we really needed it. Last night after our post from Charlottesville, we received a message from Bear Blaze (formally H2) who it turns out was staying in Charlottesville just down the street from us. We connected this AM and and she and her husband, Eric, gave us a ride to Waynesboro including a trip to the outfitters and the PO. We were so happy to catch up with her as we haven't seen her since Erwin TN! The plan is to hike out in the morning to the first shelter out eight abmiles out and onward from there.Hike on!CB & DT
Date: 2010-06-15
From: Nowhere

To: quote from a friend of DT and CB
Miles today: 0.0

QUOTE form a friend of Dutch Tape and Cabana Boy, Shimmy¢It was on that road and at that hour that I first became aware of my own self, experienced an inexpressible state of grace and felt at one with the first breath of air that stirred, the first bird, and the sun so newly born that it still looked not quite round.¢-        Colette
Date: 2010-06-20
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Luray, VA
Miles today: 79.3

So little time and so much to catch up on. We have been at it for a week and have stopped off at Luray to visit the caverns and resupply for the next leg into Front Royal. We have been talking about an aquablaze but now that we have seen the river, might reconsider. It is extremely shallow and not so clean... We have had lots of trail magic since we entered Skyline drive and one of the best surprises was the return of our friend, Peewee! He and his wife, Kim drove up from FLA and are working their way to Harpers Ferry. They saw us sitting on the side of the road eating lunch and so a reunion was born. We have been hand writing our journal and mailing it home got upload so more detailed entries will follow in a few weeks. Sorry we haven't been able to post more often but ATT is iffy at best through this section. Hike on,CB & DT
Date: 2010-06-21
From: Luray, VA

To: Luray, Va
Miles today: 0.0

Luray has been great fun for us so far. After we went trough the caverns and the car museum, we got a call from Peewee and his wife, Kim! They had spent the last few days in Harpers Ferry doing trail magic and having a great time. They called us from the highway to let us know they were heading out to WV to her parents for a few days until CB informed them that Luray Caverns were a must see! They were 1 mile from the exit on the interstate and so they came to join us here! The luray caverns motel had given us a two beroom cabin and we convinced them to stay the night and relax with us. So now we all have been in the caverns, seen the other museums there and had dinner in town and it's back to the trail for us tomorrow morning. So good to see our trail friends again!
Date: 2010-06-24
From: Luray, Va

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 27.7
Weather: scattered clouds

We have dragged our sweaty butts into Front Royal in the hottest weather to date. The humidity and temps have skyrocketed this week and we were more than happy to pay for a well air-conditioned hotel room! We have seen lots of old friends on our way in to town including Sabbeth Keeper, G Hippy and River. On the way in to town we stopped at Mom's diner and filled up on some great breakfast food. Next stop was Flowers Hair salon where Cabana Boy got his first straight razor shave and facial! All this for $12- including the hot towel treatment. Talk about a svelt Cabana Boy! -no more overheating in the hot sun. Were off to the post office for some goodies from home then maybe pool side to relax. Harpers Ferry is next!Happy Birthday Eric!
Date: 2010-06-25
From: Front Royal

To: Martinsburg, WV
Miles today: 0.0

We are so lucky to have family down here in WV in the guise of Dutch Tape's cousin, John. We have just fished ourselves out of their pool after floating around for a few hours soaking out our hiker funk. We landed here because we found out we can't get a canoe for our aquablaze until Sunday. John and Brenda were kind enough to let us hitch up here and hide out poolside until then and we got to use our resupply box that we sent here earlier. The plan is to meet up with Grizzley, Sockeye, G-Hippy and River on Sunday morning down at the waters edge and spend 3 days paddling to Harpers. After that we are back here in WV and relaxing poolside until the weekend when some of our pink angel friends are coming for a visit! We can't wait to see some faces fromhome! Time for dome home cooking and a comfy bed!
Date: 2010-06-30
From: Martinsburg, WV

To: Back in Martinsburg
Miles today: 0.0

We are back in Martinsburg at DT's cousins after a 3 day aqua-blaze down the Shenendoah river. We joined River, Sockeye and Grizzly in Front Royal and rented a couple of canoes and a kayak for the forty something miles into Harpers Ferry. We were off aroung 9 am and drifted lazily along for half the day in the blazing hot sun. The jet skis and motor boats were very abundant above the dam and we quickly tired of the waves and noises they created. Luckily, we portaged around the dam sometime after lunch and reached the quoted section of the river. We did a long day and stealth camped in a hay field a few miles short of our planned stop. We were up and on the river by 7 am Tuesday trying to beat the heat and also in search of water. You would think that hydration wouldn't be a problem on a river but the mighty Shenendoah is one dirty body of water. We passed several herds of cattle lounging (and pooping) in the river! No way we were going to drink that, filtered or not! Luckily we found a spring and stream just down from our camp site and filled every container we had. Our second day was tiring because of the incredibly hot temps and the number of miles we needed to cover. We did over twenty miles for the day and finally found an island to camp on after 7 pm. We set camp and sweated our hienies off and treated our sunburns. No one slept well due to the heat and humidity and we all rose early to make our pickup point at three. We found a country club across from our camp site and hit them up for some fresh potable water. We cruised down the river and were at the pull out at 11:25. We managed to cross dozens of ledges without turning the canoe over and saw a grand total of thirteen bald eagles. A great trip all in all but way too hot and our arms are like rubber( CB's are) from all of the paddling! Been there done that! Now we are back at John and Brenda's resting and waiting for our friends arrival over the weekend. CB
Date: 2010-07-01
From: TRAIL ANGELS

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

ALL ALONG THIS JOURNEY WE HAVE MET HIKERS WHO HAVE BEEN TRAIL ANGELS, CHURCH GROUPS, BUSINESS PEOPLE, PEOPLE LIVING ALONG THE TRAILS, HOSTEL OWNERS, TRAIL JOURNAL READERS, AND JUST THE EVERY DAY PEOPLE WE HAVE MET ON THE SIDE WALKS, IN STORES, BY THE RIVERS AND STREAMS WHO HAVE MADE OUR DAYS WITH ENCOURAGING WORDS, FOOD, GIVEN US HUGS, AND GONE OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HELP US IN UN-IMAGINABLE WAYS.( SORRY FOR THE RUN ON SENTENCE) I AM HERE IN PART BECAUSE OF ALL OF YOU AND HOPE TO CONTINUE ON. MY BIGGEST SUPPORT COMES FROM CB. HE IS A DREAM COMPANION AND THE BEST PART OF THIS TRIP. I AM BLESSED. THANK YOU ALL. DT
Date: 2010-07-02
To: Chillin by the pool
Miles today: 0.0

Hanging out at John's relaxing and letting our sunburns heal. Never again will we aqua blaze! It is too hot and too dry and very tiring. That's not to say that I wouldn't have done it though. It was totally worth the experience and made for a great trip to date. If you get the chance, take the canoe for a few days. It is a great way to mix it up and see something different. Off to relax by the poolsome more.....,