morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-06-02
To: View Entry
Miles today: 25.9

6/2 Day ?...I don't know. Who Cares?!This morning was a lot like yesterday-weather wise. Cold, rainy, & windy. It reminded Paul & I of our old movie favorite, 'Forest Gump'! We've been through every kind of rain there is! Itty bitty stingy rain...big ol fat rain..rain that blew in sideways...even rain that seemed to come straight from underneath! Shoot, it even rained at night!" But the morning was good. We had 25 miles between us & Damascus VA (4th state! Yahoo!), but thankfully for us, that 25 miles is known to thru-hikers as the Tennessee Turnpike! It's probably the mildest part of the trail! That was good news for Paul & I, who were in need of a bit of a rest! We made it trough, & reached Damascus by 3:30 (though we weren't struck blind, nor did we encounter the physical Lord Jesus!) Must be a different Damascus....Anyways, along the way I pondered a pretty neat thought. I was thinking about my grandparents & how when they were rather young, the AT wasn't even a reality yet! Now I don't mean to sound proud so PLEASE don't take this the wrong way---but I'm sure that they never would have even considered the possibility that in 60 years, one of their grandchildren would actually try to complete a hike through the Appalachian region! My grandparents, thankfully have other grandchildren who do amazing things too, but it got me daydreaming about what my own children & their children will be like! What will their dreams be? What will they want to do? What will they think of ME? Ah...fun to think about. At the moment I'm actually sitting in a laundrymat in Damascus. Our clothes were quite overdue for a good washing! Paul & I got our chores done in town (phone calls, laundry, shopping...), so I think we'll just kick back for the rest of the night. Ooooh...but before I go further, may I suggest a new form of spelling for the words, "gluttonous & sinfully indulgent"?! How about P-U-P-S & W-A-G-S'! Wow. We did most of our food shopping at the dollar store & made off like bandits! Almost every sugary, starchy, heavily processed, fattening food was practically being given away....and we were weak! Even after polishing off a family sized, deep-pan, meat lover's pizza, we were weak! We caved in, & bought several items our bodies probably could have done without (including our absolutely fabulous & original dessert! (Vanilla Ice Cream, peanut butter & honey!) Mmmmm...well, I reckon we'll be feeling it in a day or two when our body is living off the junk we've been feeding it! Hey, looks like the clothes are ready to come out of the dryer, so I'd better get movin'! Got a hot shower waiting for me when I come back then, hop in bed! Thanks again for reading! Good night everyone!
Date: 2005-06-03
To: View Entry
Miles today: 21.3

6/3 Day....20 I think. Wow, 20 days. In some ways, it feels like it's been longer. Ah, it's good to be back snuggled under the Greenhouse! (that's our name for the tarp!) Our bed of plywood last night wasn't all that accomodating nor was the wooden porch the night before! Let's see, today was....good! Good day- another good day! Maybe it's cause we were still riding the high from our sugar buzz last night! Nevertheless, it was good. I like Virginia so far. Definitely, not like when we entered North Carolina & were were like....WHOA! I think we ended up walking more up than we did across! Anyways, we got a rather late start (each of us started the day by eating a full bag of cereal a piece!), but I think we got some pretty good miles in. I'm not sure if we reached 25, but we were close. A big highlight today was the food! 5 chicken tacos for dinner! Mmmmm...they sure were tasty, and not as messy as last time! We just keep learning new tricks every day! Another item that gave me a bit of a boost today was talking to my mom on the phone just before we started the trail. She's so funny! She makes me laugh, and has been tremendously supportive for me in this crazy adventure! It was good to talk with her, but it also made me sad, because I stopped & realized all that I'd been missing. Please don't misunderstand, I love being out here, but, sometimes I just wish I could be in two places at once. It occured to me that I pretty much 'removed' myself from my normal life. In the time spent preparing for, & actually hiking on the trail, I've missed out on; watching my Bible study boys, Tom & Dave Bruggema publically profess their faith in Jesus (way cool!), Matt & Stephanie Laidlaw's wedding, helping my grandpa out with my truck, crashing Jon Steven's honeymoon (hehe!), learning how Jen's doing with her new niece, catching Episode III opening night with Rob, and hearing about Corrie's Russia Trip! I suppose if I were asked if the trip was worth it so far...I'd probably say yes, but it's come at a price; not the kind of price you can buy! Anyways, that not too fun to dwell on, but I am excited about being home in a few weeks & seeing everyone again! Wishing you all the very best from 25 miles north of Damascus VA! Good night, and may God bless you.PS---Anyone wanna wrestle with some tough Scriptures, check out Deuteronomy 28:63 (in light of II Peter 3:9) & Deuteronomy 30: 11-14 (in light of the traditional Christian perspective on the Torah) Enjoy!
Date: 2005-06-04
To: View Entry
Miles today: 30.0

6/4Hey everybody! Puppy Power here. Hope things are good with y'all. (picked up the southern tongue already!) Well, I must say it's been quite a day. A little bumpy, but a good one nevertheless. I'm pretty sure I got under the skin of my partner today. Completely unintentional of course, but it actually started this morning. We both overslept a bit & he wasn't too pleased. Earlier in our trip, he had mentioned to me that he wanted me to help make sure we didn't sleep in. Well, I tried a couple times this morning (though not very hard), and it didn't work! It was like trying to wake up my sister! Anyways, I'd give ten bucks to be able to read what he's writing in his journal at this moment! (though I DON'T have ten dollars! I'll explain later...)This morning went well, but slow. All the accumulated rainfall we've had recently has turned the trail into a regular stream! We were side-steppin, cross-steppin, jab-steppin....anything to get through. Another item that made it a tougher morning was (believe it or not), the people! Wow, the trail was packed today! Lots of day & section hikers moving through. Which, was kind of nice I guess...but the remoteness & isolation is probably what I love most about the trail. It was just unexpected, that's all. But we were able to meet up with a few more thru-hikers! Among them are 'Pig Pen', 'Tin Cup, and 'Peace Pipe'. Fun guys. Anyways, things were going well until mid-afternoon, which is when I realized that I didn't have my drivers license, phone card, or debit card! Yikes...That was bad news. I was crushed at that point; & still am to a certain degree. I've since thought it through and have a plan to get us through, but we still have to work out the details. I don't know if it fell out of my bag or if someone...it doesn't matter. It's gone. Paul hasn't said much. Earlier in the trip when something went wrong, he'd just say 'we roll with the punches.' I admire that about him, I just didn't want to let him down. I mean, the AT is challenging enough! Why make it harder with all these setbacks! Well, I still trust everything will work out. Something that happened yesterday that I forgot to mention was that I was able to give a little trail magic back! I've been on the receiving end for so long, it felt good to return the favor to another hiker. It was nothing huge....just water actually. He was in dire need, & I was able to help him out! He actually called me a savior! Now that is just an expression, but the first thing I thought of was what happened to King Herod in Acts 12 when he didn't give glory to God! And since I didn't want to end up like that guy, I gently backed down and gave God glory! Well, we did do 30 today (back on track from yesterday), so I'm pretty bushed. Think I'll get some shuteye. Goodnight everyone.....from somewhere in Virginia! Thanks for reading.
Date: 2005-06-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 25.7

6/6Good evening everybody. Today's the 6th & it was a big, long, challenging day! But, you guessed it, a good one nonetheless! I know I've been saying that most all the days so far have been good, but they truly have been! Hey, any time the sun goes down with my health, equipment, and friendship with Wag Daddy intact, it's a good day! Got an early start this morning after a great night's sleep. That bag of raisin bran I finished off before bed really put me out! Last night Wag Daddy & I decided to sleep in the backyard of Rhonda's Restaurant without the Greenhouse! We were under the stars, which was great. Woke up this morning covered in dew though! Ah, it wasn't too bad. It actually reminded me of manna & the fleece story with Gideon! Anyways, Paul & I caught a great breakfast at Rhonda's Restaurant, then the plan was to grocery shop & pick up our package. Well, one out of two went bad! Sadly, our package hadn't arrived yet. Rather than wait all day, Wag Daddy ran back to the store, bought a few more things & we were on our way. A nice man gave us a lift back to the trail in his truck. His speech was a bit too profane for my taste, but he was nice anyways. He actually had a little mutt with him. Name of the dog was Gretchen! That took me back a few years to the Holtrop's first beloved dog! I remember her well! So we hit the trail rather late, but we still did all right. I spent most of the morning trying to whistle like my dad does. He has a great sounding whistle. It's how he used to call me home when I was a little boy! Nowadays, he just yells out 'Big Joe!' Both are equally effective, but I'd love to get that whistle down! Definitely need more practice! Anyways, around mid day, Paul apologized to me for his poor attitude he's had the last few days. I was actually taken aback! Considering all the hurdles we've had to step through, I thought he was holding up pretty good! But despite all his talents, he's still a man of humility. That's one of the things I love most about him. Well we just set up camp after finishing up a pretty tough climb! Ah well, that's just one less that we'll have to face tomorrow! We're still 50+ miles away from Pearisburg, but we're hoping to make it in two days! There's a Pizza Hut lunch buffet that's calling our name! Well that mountain did me in, so I'm gonna get some shuteye! Good night everyone. Thanks for reading.
Date: 2005-06-07
To: View Entry
Miles today: 34.5

6/7Whew! Big day today! Everything about it was big! It was like the 'buffet' of hiking days so far! Early on, Wag Daddy & I decided to go as long & far as we could today. We're still going for Pearisburg tomorrow, so we chalked up as many miles as we could to get us there. We did all right! We hiked until dark & another 35 off the trail. Now I know that sounds like crazy miles but truly, I feel great! My body has become so trail hardened that it wouldn't know an ache or a pain if it saw one! And I must say I look pretty good, too. From the neckdown at least! From the neck up, I'm a mess! Matted hair, scraggly beard, dirty glasses. I don't think I've ever looked worse. Maybe when I wore those hideous glasses in 2nd grade! Anyways, morning was good! Among the highlights was perhaps the largest possum I've even seen! I tried to sneak a picture, but she proved quite nimble despite her obesity! Even more impressive was the fact that she had 5-6 little offspring clinging on her body! Was quite a sight. I thought my pack was heavy! It was a Kodak moment, but it wasn't meant to be! Another highlight, round dinner time was a group of thru-hikers we met up with. Man, those guys were funny! Our favorite was a guy named 'Santa.' From the neck up, he could have been! I've never seen a whiter, longer beard on anybody! But from the neck down, he was pretty trim. Turns out he was a runner! One of the greatest runners ever to compete for U of M! Turns out he held the college record for the 5000M back in 1968! I forget his real name, but he was well-acquainted with such running studs as Jim Ryan & Steve Prefontaine! As you can imagine, he and Wag Daddy hit if off! I think he gave Wag Daddy what 'Mike the Hike' gave me; motivation! It was great. Well, good night everyone! Rest well and I'll be back tomorrow!
Date: 2005-06-08
To: View Entry
Miles today: 16.8

6/8Hmm...today was....different. Physically, today was rather mild. Mentally speaking...I don't think I've had a tougher day. Strange isn't it? We had a tough go of it right from the beginning for a few reasons. A) a cushion of rocks, roots and sticks don't make for a very restful night rest B)Wag Daddy was fighting a stomach bug....and losing! We got off to a late start, and.....I don't know exactly what it was, but it felt like we just lost our focus. (the fact that both Paul & I had the squirts & had to stop every 10 minutes didn't help!) Yeah, not fun! Our hopes of making it to Pearisburg didn't work out, so we compromised on a midway point, Woods Hole hostel. That's where we are now. It's still about 10 miles from Pearisburg, but it's given us a much needed break (and mattresses!) for free. A woman nemed Tilly runs the place. She's a delightful woman, though a bit overbearing! She's made us feel right at home here in her cabin that was originally built in the 1880's! Her husband may have even served on the Carter administration! Not sure about that one, though. Boy, we only knocked off about 17 miles today. They weren't demanding at all, but mentally it was gruelling. I don't know what it was, but never before on the trail had I experienced so much despair, frustration, and defeat. I wanted to be ANYWHERE but on the trail today. In fact, today we passed some roads and I imagined that had my pickup been there, I could have easily hopped in, drove away, and never looked back. Thankfully, I wasn't given that opportunity and I'm still here. I think part of the reason I felt that way was because I tried to carry Paul along. He's been tremendous on this trip so far and I felt like today was the first time he needed me. I tried to accomodate and encourage him; not sure if it worked! Another idea is that I realized I don't really have a reason for being here. 'Why am I even here?' I ask myself that all the time! I'll tell ya what, if you don't have an answer for that question, it's like cracking the foundation on a house! It ALL starts to go. I've since been mulling it over, and I don't know if there is an answer to that question. Do I need one? Well, whatever the case, my only motivation now is getting into Pearisburg to catch that Pizza Hut lunch buffet! I'll take it from there. Hopefully tonight's rest (did I mention mattress?) will bring both of us back to full health. I must say I was encouraged my three phone calls to beloved family members. I just....just love them so much! Don't know what I'd do without them! Well goodnight everyone! Looking forward to seeing everyone again soon! Two weeks from today - Yahoo!!!
Date: 2005-06-09
To: View Entry
Miles today: 17.3

6/9Whew! All right, pop question! What's another way of saying, 'Joey's hardest, most difficult & trying day EVER?! Well, if you answered 'Day 26', you'd be a big winner! BOY, today was grueling, in every aspect. Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually....I was dry. didn't start off that way though. After a good night's rest at Tilly's, we took 10 miles off to get into Perisburg without much of a problem. Paul had revived from his sickness well, and things were looking good. We restocked at the Post Office in abundance. We actually had to give quite a bit away! Our next stop (and for me, greatest mistake ever...) was the 'All-you-can-eat buffet at Pizza Hut! Now Wags & I had been looking forward to this thing for quite some time, and we took full advantage! Can you believe, only $4.99 for an all-you-can-eat buffet? Well, we packed in in. (cinnamon breadsticks were a nice surprise, too!), and another treat, came just as we were finishing up. In walks Tilly & her friend, & they offered to take us back to the trail. Trail Angels! Both of them! Well, so far everything sounds good right? Well, it's at this point that things started to go south. After we got back on the trail, a bad feeling came over me. Upset stomach, nausea, & ready to go relieve myself every five minutes in the woods. Pretty much the same symptoms Wag Daddy had yesterday. It got worse & soon I could barely even walk. I felt like a wreck, I can't remember the last time I'd felt so ill. It was miserable. Did I mention it was raining? I carried on as best I could & after 3 miles (and 3 hours), we came to a shelter & was able to rest. Though I felt better, my symptoms remained. Some people suggested that we might have giardia. That's a pretty good bet. All I could think of was getting home. I cried out to God several times. I didn't care. i just wanted off this trail. Wag Dadddy sympathized, because he could relate. We lost a lot of miles today, but he stuck with me. Anyways, around six o'clock, some other hikers started to cook some dinner. As soon as that smell hit my nose, I couldn't hold it in! I sat up, got out of the shelter & vomited up about half my lunch. Ooohhh...what an awful, & wonderful feeling all at the same time. That's what I'd been needing. I instantly felt better. Since then, I've been resting, and it's been good. I'm not sure if I'm completely over the sickness, but I have a feeling that a good night's rest (on a GREAT spot) will help. A beautiful sunset helped end the day, & I'm back & ready to go! I've learned that today was all about perservering. Perservering alone is one thing, but perservering as a team (reflection of marriage?) is quite another. Today is another day I hope I never forget, because the next time I'm down, I can look back to this day with confidence and trust that no matter what happens, God will get me through! (1 Corinthians 10:12-13)
Date: 2005-06-10
To: View Entry
Miles today: 10.0

6/10Today, what I hoped would never happen on our adventure happened. I'm off the trail. Not for good mind you, but for a couple of days at least. Here's how it happened. Morning I was feeling decent enough, physically that is. I kept good pace with Wag Daddy for about 7-8 miles. I was a bit frustrated with him though. Around mile 5, I vented my frustrations with him. Good friends can do that with each other. I told him how I didn't like being 'threatened' with the prospect of him going on solo. I talked about our commitment, our partnership, and how one shouldn't jump ship when things get rough. He didn't say much, but I think (and hope) he appreciated my honesty. After that, I felt as though ten pounds had been taken off my pack! But sadly, that's also the point when things started going downhill for me physically. I became very weak & fatiqued. I suffered diarrhea & didn't think I could go on. At this point interestingly, Paul noticed more bears! We stopped to take a picture, but I didn't even see them. I just used the extra time to rest on the trail! Not long after that, we came to a road where a small family offered us their home to rest awhile. They were rather suspicious of us (as most all non-hikers have been towards us!) but generous enough. Paul came up with the idea of having our old friend Drew Patteson, a resident of the area come to pick me up to get me some medical attention. That's just what we did. I was a bit surprised though, because it appeared that Paul had the same symptoms (probably a good dose of all 3) he pressed on and made plans to meet up about 60 miles north in Troutville. A nice hug at the end told me we were still on good terms. A few hours later, after resting on the people's chair swing (still don't remember their names), I got my appetite back & the mother offered me some spaghetti! I then watch about 10 minutes of the trashiest TV I'd ever seen with her son, poor kid. Not the warmest family, but certainly generous! I eventually got ahold of Drew & he picked me up around 9:30 PM. Ah,it was great to see him again! The newest Trail Angel! We hopped in his old truck (a bit more suped up since I last saw it), & caught up. He told me of life in Virginia- good & bad- & I told him about the trail. Drew's just amazing. Great listener, always ready with an encouraging word! He took me back to his hometown of Salem, VA, where he introduced me to his roommate Aaron, his girlfriend, his sister, & his couch, which is where I'll be spending the night! We have everything set for tomorrow, so I'm gonna get some sleep. Quite a day, though. Quite a day.....
Date: 2005-06-11
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

6/11Well, not much to write about today, aside from the 10+ hours I spent at a local hospital! Oy, what a day! Drew, in true sacrifice, gave himself for me today-anything I needed. After some breakfast at his place, the 1st item on the agenda was getting myself checked out- rather tricky without insurance info or ID! Our first two tries were strike-outs, which really got me down. Made me miss home more than ever. We eventually made it to a hospital which featured a good-natured, but (in my opinion) somewhat incompetent staff! But I stuck it out, 3 hours in the waiting room, & an additional 7 on a bed. Most of today is a blur. I fought a bad attitude all day. I just wanted out. Nurses & doctors popped in occasionally (including a rather interesting one name Denee), and my only bit of comfort was a kind woman patient (mother of 2) who was next to me. Her & her dad, Al, talked about their family (turns out her parents divorced & later remarried each other 10 years later - wow!) and the lost art of Christian meditation. That weirded me out a bit, so I went back to my reading! As soon as they diagnosed me (about 9 pm) Drew was there waiting, and he handed me a bike helmet! Whoa! Drew Patteson is the proud owner of a brand new motorcycle! (he justifies it with good gas mileage!) And he was my ride home! Now I'm timid by nature, and I've rarely ridden a bike like that, let alone on the expressway! But it beat walking so I climbed on! He even let me wear his 'oh so sweet' leather jacket! I held on tight at first, but soon found myself digging the ride! By the time we hit the highway, I was loving it! Oh man! That was the highlight of the day for me! Just what I needed after my time in that hospital. So um....I want one too! Well, it's late and I should rest. I hope all is well with Wag Daddy! And hey, I just found out Detroit is in the Finals! Wow! They dropped Game 1, but that's all right! Go Pistons!