morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-01
From: Thomas Knob Shellter

To: Old Orchard Shelter
Miles today: 11.0
Weather: clear sky

DAY 51                Today is the first day of May, but it is hard to believe spring has been with us for over a month. This day dawned dreary, foggy, cold, and wet. I was up fairly early and I had my breakfast. I was ready to resume hiking. The other four sharing the loft with me remained in their sleeping bags. They seemed to be in no hurry considering the miserable weather. I did not want to leave the shelter alone. I have enjoyed the company of the past few days. Then suddenly, as if someone raised the curtain on a stage, the weather cleared at about 9 am. The fog blew away and the sun came out. Rocky was immediately energized and we soon left the shelter together. We entered the Grayson Highlands, a beautiful and largely open area. There is a herd of feral ponies living in the Grayson Highlands. We started to see them immediately after we left the shelter. They are beautiful and so docile. We walked among them as they peacefully grazed. What a thrill to pass through the herd. Rocky and I both loved it. The wind was ferocious in the morning. We walked through open country much of the day and the wind darn near blew us off our feet. We saw Tomcat later in the morning. He is a nice young man from Colorado and will be 21 in four days. Sowega and The Blondes caught up with us after about five miles into today¢s hike. We all stopped at Wise Shelter for lunch. Rocky is from New Hampshire and has hiked often in the White Mountains. So, I taught her the ¢Goofer Song¢ I remember from my hiking days in the Whites, back in the 50¢s and 60¢s. It was a song the AMC Hut Croos used to sing. She loved it. At lunch she goaded me into singing it for the young people. It goes like this:         ¢Are you a Goofer, a silk stocking Goofer?        Say do you wear high heels?        ¢Do you scatter your boxes all over the rock-ses,        And leave disgusting peels?        ¢Do you powder your faces in wide open spaces        And look unbecomingly pale?        ¢Well, if you are a Goofer, a silk stocking goofer,        Stay off of these high mountain trails.                ¢Flush the Goofers down the Flume,        Down the Flume, Down the Flume.        Flume, Flume, Flume, Flume.¢It was kind of embarrassing, but who cares. I¢m 25 years old again.In the afternoon the young people went on ahead. Rocky and I got to Old Orchard Shelter in late afternoon. The weather has become quite pleasant as the wind died down. Sowega was at the shelter, but The Blondes have apparently gone further today. There are also two women camped near the shelter, but they haven¢t associated with us much at all.The days on the Trail keep getting better. This has been a memorable one in the beautiful Grayson Highlands. I walked all day just behind Rocky. We talked constantly, when I wasn¢t singing idiot songs. We are getting to know a little bit about each other.
Date: 2005-05-02
From: Old Orchard Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 14.1
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 52I hiked with Rocky again today: six feet behind her all day. Occasionally I sang to her, generally a dumb song from my youth. At one point during this morning¢s walk, she told me an off-color joke. It was probably the only such joke she knows. That opened the flood gates. I hit her non-stop with bad jokes for about an hour straight.   She probably regretted that joke she told me. It is very enjoyable hiking with Rocky. She is always cheerful and outgoing, unlike introverted me. She points out things on the Trail she finds interesting, especially wild flowers. I have noticed, since I¢m always six feet behind, that she walks with a peculiar gait. Her left foot is always pointed outward at about a 45 degree angle, while her right foot points straight ahead. I am generally reluctant to ask people about personal things. However, I finally got up the nerve to ask her about her peculiar gait. She explained to me that she was hit by a motorcycle when she was a teenager. It almost killed her. After she recovered one leg was shorter. It was as though the doctors lost the instructions when they put her back together again. Actually I¢m sure the doctors did the best they could.I really have to admire her positive attitude considering the physical defects she has overcome. She has already handled several difficult situations earlier on the Trail. She got caught in the same Smokies blizzard as I was. However, in her case she was no where near a road or shelter. She had to set up her tent in the middle of the Trail and wait out the snow storm. I am privileged to walk with such an amazing person. There was nothing particular special about today¢s hike. After walking for about four miles we stopped by the recently constructed Hurricane Mountain Shelter. It is a beautiful shelter, but it will do us no good today. We have miles to go, today. It has been an on-and-off day as far as the weather. We have had clouds and some drizzle. However, the skies cleared as we reached Trimpi Shelter.Freedom, who I last saw at Mountain Harbour Hostel, is at Trimpi Shelter tonight. He is a funny guy and he told us a story of the time a nurse cathered him with a hose from a Camelback hydration system. The story had us alternately laughing and squirming in discomfort picturing this. Also at the shelter tonight is August and a strong female hiker from New Hampshire. Naturally, her trail name is ¢New Hampshire¢. She is hiking with a little black dog, named Eddie. At one point Eddie rubbed up against me and I pushed him away. I know New Hampshire was offended and kept herself and her dog away from me. I didn¢t mean any offense as it was a reflex on my part. I just don¢t like dogs touching me.It has been an otherwise pleasant evening in the shelter, which is pretty crowded tonight.
Date: 2005-05-03
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 53There was a beautiful sunrise this morning, visible as we lay in our sleeping bags. The day¢s hike was fairly easy (I never expected to say that about a day on the Appalachian Trail). There was very little in the way of climbs. The miles just rolled by and we were at Partnership Shelter at about 12:30 pm.Sowega was at the shelter when we arrived. As Partnership Shelter is only a tenth of a mile from the road (VA Route 16), the three of us decided to hitch hike into Marion, Virginia, for lunch at a Pizza Hut. The hitch hiking was not easy, despite all the traffic on the road. We got a ride only part way and had to walk a good part of the six miles into Marion. It was worth the effort as pizza is just about my favorite food and I gorged myself. I am so appreciative of the company I have had in the last few days that I insisted on paying the bill. Rocky and Sowega have both been great Trail partners. We had some pizza left when we were ready to leave the Pizza Hut. I was not about to leave it, so I somehow strapped the pizza box to the top of my pack. (see photo) This was going to be my dinner tonight. Now we were faced with getting a ride back to Partnership Shelter. Rocky handled that for us. Rather than hitch hike she went up to an older man in the parking lot and asked him if he could take us back to the Trail. She didn¢t ask if he was going in our direction. Rocky can be hard to refuse, as I can attest. The man readily agreed and we had our ride back to the Trail and Partnership Shelter. Partnership is a large shelter with a second level and a solar shower. Because it is so close to the road to Marion, Virginia, many hikers order pizza to be delivered to the shelter. There was left over pizza galore and I was in heaven as I finished off many a pizza tonight. There are many hikers at the shelter tonight, including Chickety and Neighbor Dave, Smiling Joe, ¢Chuckles¢ and his wife ¢Gotta Go¢, and ¢Crazy Katie¢ and her partner ¢Radio¢. I had not met the last four before tonight. We are spending the night in the upper level of the shelter. We are having a good time laughing and talking. People in the lower lever are banging on their ceiling (our floor) to shut us up. We will and I apologize for the lack of consideration of our hiking companions.
Date: 2005-05-04
From: Partnership Shelter

To: US Route 11/VA Route 683 (Relax Inn)
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: scattered clouds

DAY 54Another clear, dry and warm day on the Trail. Today¢s hike was more difficult than yesterday¢s. There were a lot more climbs and the Trail surface has been rougher. About three miles before we got to the Relax Inn at US Route 11, we came to the Settlers Museum. This is a circa 1800¢s one room school house. We stopped to go through the little building and marveled at the simplicity of an earlier time. Then we continued on to US Route 11. There Rocky and I checked into the Relax Inn. We arrived at the Relax Inn at about 3 pm. We had time to air out our sleeping bags and do some laundry. We also loaded up on some junk food at a nearby Dairy Queen and a gas station convenience store. At dinner time we walked up the hill to Ronda¢s Restaurant. We enjoyed the company of Tomcat, Sowega, and Smiling Joe.Back at the Relax Inn I found it initially awkward to be sharing a motel room with a woman I was not married to. However, when you get right down to it, men and women share shelters all the time on the Trail. We each have our own large bed and are quite comfortable. Tomcat and Sowega are sharing another room here at the Relax Inn. This place is an ideal hiker stop: it is inexpensive, simple and clean. The owner appears to be quite hiker friendly. This is likely to be my last time in a bed until I reach Pearisburg, Virginia. I¢ll enjoy it while I can.
Date: 2005-05-05
From: US Route 11/VA Route 683 (Relax Inn)

To: Knots Maul Shelter
Miles today: 13.9

DAY 55We had a nice pancake breakfast at Rhonda¢s Restaurant this morning. Then we went back to the Relax Inn to get packed. We were on the Trail around 8 am. As we crossed over the bridge over Interstate 81, we saw Chickety and Neighbor Dave disappearing in the distance ahead. We are not likely to see them again. They are strong and fast hikers.Today¢s hike was hard, with many climbs. We crossed over stiles today for the first time in our hike. There were many of them between farm fields, pastures, and woods. By late in the day it had gotten very tiring climbing over them. We saw Captain Patagonia, Quinn, and Freeze Dried today for the first time in many days. They had done some fishing in some of the local streams and had minor successes.Finally, after a long day we reached Knots Maul Shelter. Rocky was exhausted. Shortly after we got to the shelter, Tomcat and Sowega arrived with a heavy load. They had packed almost a full case of beer, two bottles of wine, and hot dogs. The occasion was Tomcat¢s 21st birthday. Now he could legally drink alcoholic beverages. However, I doubt if that ever stopped him before.Rocky got a hold of the bottle of wine and must have finished most of it herself. She sat there enjoying the fire in sort of a stupor. Between the long, tiring day and the wine, she hardly moved. I helped her get her stuff spread out for the night. We cooked our hot dogs over an open fire. It was a nice time. Chuckles and Gotta Go also arrived at the shelter and joined in the festivities to celebrate Tomcat¢s birthday. I really appreciate the effort those two young men expended to haul all that stuff over 14 miles so we could have a party. It has been great to share in the festivities for a 21st birthday. In real life a 65 year old and a 21 year old would never have shared this experience. It has been a great night.My AT thru hike is becoming a walking party. The hiking is becoming secondary.
Date: 2005-05-06
From: Knots Maul Shelter

To: Chestnut Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.0
Weather: clear sky

DAY 56 This has been a relatively short day, but there was a hard climb of 2100 over the last four miles. The Chestnut Knob Shelter is at the top of the climb. Part way up the last climb to the shelter, there is a pond where we had to get water. Although the pond is 1.8 miles from the shelter, it is the last water source before the shelter. The last part of the climb is a gradual climb through grassy fields. Chestnut Knob Shelter sits on the highest point, with a sharp drop to the north. There is a beautiful view to the north towards an area called ¢God¢s Thumbprint¢. The shelter itself is a beautiful enclosed stone structure with a door, which is unusual for the Appalachian Trail. Bit by bit, our hiking ¢family¢ began to arrive at the shelter. First Sowega came into the shelter. Then we saw The Blondes coming up the hill. We have not seen The Blondes for several days. They periodically get off the Trail to visit with their boy friends. However, they hike so fast that they always catch up with the plodding, but steady, pace that Rocky and I set. Last, but not least, the Birthday Boy, Tomcat, came into the shelter. The six of us are sharing the shelter tonight. There are raised bunks in this shelter. There is adequate room in this shelter for more than the six of us.Other hikers have started to arrive as well. Hareball, came into the shelter site, but elected to tent, even though we told her there are available bunks in the shelter. We have not seen Hareball since the day we left Damascus. Mr. Clean is also here, but he is tenting also. There are a number of other hikers who we don¢t know also tented here.We started a campfire to cook over. I went into the woods to collect ramps for Rocky¢s dinner. She loves these onion-like wild plants. She has been collecting them when ever she could over the last 200 miles of the Trail. Jukebox made a chocolate raspberry pudding. The six of us shared her pudding by dipping our spoons into the same pot. There are some things you wouldn¢t do in the outside world that are perfectly normal on the Trail. It is such a wonderful feeling to be with my entire Trail ¢family¢ tonight.
Date: 2005-05-07
From: Chestnut Knob Shelter

To: Laurel Creek at VA Route 615
Miles today: 14.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Day 57The starlit sky was beautiful when I got up during the night to answer nature¢s call. It was a very pleasant night with the ¢family¢ in the stone shelter. Rocky and I left fairly early this morning at about 7:30 am. Rocky is getting better at getting up early as the days grow longer. The younger members of our Trail ¢family¢ left later. As seems to be normal for young people, they all like to sleep in the mornings. We descended sharply from the shelter as we reentered the woods. We hiked over Garden Mountain. I continue to walk six feet behind Rocky. By this time in our Trail partnership I have run out of jokes and dumb songs to sing. So we get to know a lot more about each other. She works as an ICU nurse when not on the Trail. She told me about her four daughters: Angie, Holly, Christen, and Emily, of whom she is very proud. I told her about my past life as an engineer in New Jersey and about my family, especially my almost three year old grandson, Ryan. I miss Ryan more than anyone else in my family. Rocky is surprised that I am an Italian-American. It seems she has a bit of a prejudice against both Italians and New Jersey people. Oh, well.We came to Jenkins Shelter around lunch time after walking ten miles. We were soon joined there by the remainder of our ¢family¢ of Sowega, Tomcat, and The Blondes. It may be one of the few times we will be all together. They are all becoming very special people to me. During the course of the afternoon the four young people went way ahead of us. In the afternoon we had a rough climb of Brushy Mountain and then we descended to Little Wolf Creek. The profile accompanying my Trail map showed an almost dead level trail for several miles ahead. This should be easy walking for a change and we were trying to make the miles today. Rocky is anxious to reach Pearisburg by May 11th, to get a ride back to Trail Days. The Trail profile was flat, all right, but that was because the Trail criss-crossed the Creek many, many times. This slowed our pace enormously and was very tiring. The guide book says the Trail crosses the stream 12 times, but I am certain we had many more crossings. At first we tried to keep our feet dry at each stream crossing. Rocky¢s feet got wet as she is hiking in sneakers. Eventually she changed into crocs and stopped worrying about wet feet. I faired better, as I am still hiking in boots, and I stayed dry. Finally, and mercifully, we crossed Laurel Creek on a foot bridge and came to VA Route 615. Just across the road there is a campsite that is already occupied by a number of hikers. Tomcat is tented here. Apparently Sowega and The Blondes have gotten much further ahead today. Shortly after we set up our tents, we had a brief rain storm, the first rain in five days. There has also been Trail Magic at this campsite as someone has left apple juice and snacks here. These have been quite welcome to supplement our boring and bland hiker meals. Speaking of bland, we may go into Bland, Virginia, tomorrow for some resupply and perhaps a restaurant meal.
Date: 2005-05-09
From: Campsite just past VA Route 611

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 17.2
Weather: clear sky

DAY 59We heard owls hooting from our lonely and peaceful campsite during the night. It was another clear and starry night. We were up at 6:30 am this morning on what was to be another big mileage day for us. We began the day with a fairly easy 9.5 mile walk to VA Route 606.We stopped at the road crossing to debate our next move. Rocky wanted to walk the half mile west to Trent¢s Grocery Store. She was desperate for restaurant food. I had no interest in walking the half mile for restaurant food, so I told her to go ahead. I would wait with the packs and have lunch out of my food supply. However, she was insistent that we both go. She is so persistent, and eventually I reluctantly agreed to go with her to Trent¢s. Her persuasiveness and the fact that I had been about to sit in poison ivy won the day for her. At Trent¢s she gorged herself on a double cheeseburger, french fries, chocolate milk, a candy bar, and a few scoops from my half gallon of strawberry ice cream. Besides the ice cream, I also packed away a goodly amount of food. Rocky called her husband from Trent¢s to make final arrangements for his trip down to Pearisburg for Trail Days. She is getting anxious, or we wouldn¢t be doing these long days. Fortunately some one from the store gave us a ride back to the Trail, so that we didn¢t have additional walking on a very long and warm day. It was almost an additional eight miles to Wapiti Shelter. The Trail seemed endless today. The Trail was fairly level but a lot of the Trail is loose sand and not easy walking. The terrain reminded me of the New Jersey Pine Barrens near my home. I misunderstood the Trail map and I thought we were within a mile of Wapiti Shelter by late afternoon. Instead we ended up walking an additional four miles or so. It was almost dark when we reached this shelter. Tomcat is here along with Chuckles and Gotta Go, and two others we haven¢t met previously. We should sleep soundly tonight.Rocky is looking forward to going to Trail Days. I am undecided. I may continue on the Trail past Pearisburg, or I may hang around waiting for Rocky to return, or I may find something else to do.
Date: 2005-05-10
From: Wapiti Shelter

To: Campsite just past powerline on Pearis Mountain
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: overcast clouds

DAY 60There had supposedly been a bear around the Wapiti Shelter on a recent night, according to the shelter register. However, nothing bothered us during the night. This morning, however, Rocky freaked out when she saw this huge striped spider on a shelter beam above her head. She took a picture of it anyway (see photo). She is apparently paranoid about spiders.We were both ready for a shorter day after the last two long days. It was an overcast morning and cooler than the past two days. However, initially we were faced with an 1100 foot climb. The climb was not that difficult and we paused at a rocky overlook for a rest. Tomcat joined us after awhile, and then he went on. Rocky and I gabbed for close to two hours before we overcame inertia and went on. While we were talking she managed to drop one of her shoes off the ledge. I had to scramble quite a distance down the slope to recover the dropped shoe for her. I¢m always glad to help, but don¢t do that too often. About four miles later we came to the side trail to Woodshole Hostel, which is run by Miss Tillie Woods. Miss Tillie is a Trail legend as she has run the hostel herself since her husband died in 1987. We would have loved to have spent the night here and enjoy her southern style breakfast tomorrow morning. However, it was too early to stop and Rocky was anxious to get closer to Pearisburg before we stop for the night. Around 1 pm we stopped for lunch by the side of the Trail. Then we continued until the rain started. Fortunately for us, there was a rock overhang that we were able to get under to stay out of the worst of the rain and lightning. After about a half an hour the rain stopped and we continued. Soon we got to Doc¢s Knob Shelter. Tomcat, Chuckles and Gotta Go were already there for the night. We learned that Sowega was in Pearisburg already. Since we had a picnic table and water nearby at the shelter, we decided to cook dinner here before moving on to a campsite closer to Pearisburg. While we were busy with dinner, a very pretty and strong female hiker, ¢Peeps¢, came by. We had not met her before. With dinner out of the way, we continued for another three miles past the shelter. At the power line which crosses over Pearis Mountain, the Trail climbs uphill and continues along the ridge into the woods. Rocky wanted to get past the power line before we called it a day. We have set up our tents a few hundred yards past the power line near the top of the ridge. With dinner behind us, we are chatting from our tents before falling asleep. I have really enjoyed her company over the past 12 days. It seems like I have known her much longer. I feel as if she has become my best friend ever. In our conversations on the Trail, we have shared things about our lives and emotions that I have never shared with anyone. Tomorrow we will be in Pearisburg. Rocky will be meeting her husband. I don¢t know what the future holds for our Trail partnership.
Date: 2005-05-15
From: Roanoke, VA

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 0.0

DAYS 63,64, 65The shuttle into Roanoke on the morning of May 13th cost me $60. The going rate for shuttles seems to be a dollar a mile. It seemed expensive at the time, but I didn't have a whole lot of options. I have spent the last three day visiting in-laws in the Roanoke area. Frankly it has not been a whole lot of fun. I'm a little out of touch with the outside world after nine weeks on the Trail. I have been a little too boisterous when speaking of the Trail. I don't think my hosts can appreciate the enthusiasm I have for the Trail and my recent Trail "family". I am back at my hotel in Roanoke tonight. I have packed and repacked several times. I have resupplied at local supermarkets for the next week on the Trail. I have a new element for my filter.I am anxious to get back on the Trail tomorrow. I wonder if I will be able to reconnect with Rocky.