morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 27.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Another great day today. Usually day 2 out of a town is pretty painful but that wasn't the case today. I think that I am starting to get stronger because this was our 5th longest day yet and it felt pretty good all the way until the end. Things got off to a rocky start this morning, literally. The first 3 miles or so were all rock. It was all one big rock field. That definitely slowed us down a bit. The strange thing is that during this time I got a blister on the tip of my big toe. After all these miles and now I get one there? What's up with that? We got hit with some trail magic today which was completely unexpected. Before lunch we were trucking up a climb that hit the 1000' per mile mark and half way up we get to a couple of coolers full of soda! Thanks Super Dave. In the afternoon we started to have a bit of fun. First I tried to pull a pine cone off a tree to through it at Sam, but instead it cut my fingers. Next we went through a farm with cows on one side and donkeys on the other. Next we passed the great Keefer Oak, which is around 300 years old and 18' around. Then we had another 1000' per mile climb to get us up to Sinking Creek Mtn where we took a break with Squish and Rockhound. Then it was a hard 6 mile rocky walk to the shelter. I'm glad we pushed the last bit because the slanted rock would have been really bad after the rain that we are suppose to get tonight. Oh yeah, we had the joy of going over 9 'A frame' ladders today. By the way we figured out that those are called stiles and they are just little 4 or 5 step ladders to get us up and over something. The bad thing is that they don't always go over anything. They are basically a lot of work to go about 3 feet on the trail. Oh what fun!
Date: 2004-05-01
From: Niday Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 26.0
Weather: haze

Trail magic is alive and kicking! Yesterday was the first we had seen of it since Easter now we get it two days in a row. First about 7.5 miles in we get to a road crossing with a couple of garbage cans. On top of one can were a bunch of plastic bag filled with hiking food, like coffee, rice crispy treats, cookies, and crackers. It looked like a hiker had either had too much food or decided to stop and just left their stuff there. Upon further review I found some more food IN the second can. I found a bag of donuts and another one with Kool-aid and crystal mix. What a find even if it involved digging through a garbage can. Then at night in the shelter some weekend hikers gave us some potatoes. I had no idea how to cook a potato so I tried to fry them but burned them pretty bad instead. Well the thought was nice any how. I think that so far I am liking VA. It has some easy stuff but also has some challenging stuff, a great mix if you ask me. However we did get a little wet this afternoon. It started raining with about 5 miles to go. It actually felt pretty refreshing since it had been humid and stick most of the day. But I am sure that it won't be as refreshing tomorrow morning when I pull on my wet shorts and shirt.
Date: 2004-05-02
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Daleville, VA
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

Well the plan today was to get up at 5:30 so that we could be hiking by 6:00, that way we would be able to get in to Daleville in time for the Pizza Hut AYCE lunch buffet. The one flaw in the plan was that we didn't get up until 6:30 so we weren't hiking until 7:00. That's ok, we would just have to hike faster, so that is what we did. I didn't feel too bad about it because we were in the clouds most of the morning so there weren't many views. That was too bad because we went over what seemed like some pretty cool cliffs that I'm sure would have provided some great view but all that we saw were clouds. But all was not lost however because the skies started to clear up around 11:30 in time for us to see the ridge that we were walking on and also to see Daleville about 3-4 trail miles away. It is always good to see the goal well in advance. We got to Pizza Hut all nasty and dirty at around 12:40, plenty of time to spare for the buffet. However, there was no lunch buffet at this Pizza Hut! We still did some damage on the salad bar and a large pizza but it just wasn't the same. After lunch we did some shopping around for the best hotel and we ended up finding a Comfort Inn that had a special hiker rate and as a bonus it is across the street from a Taco Bell which I hit up for diner. It was the same as going with Tricia, Seth, Skylar, and Noah but it was a nice treat. Now I am sitting in a truck stop doing the laundry. It's like a little city in here, quite different then what I'm use to. It's funny how truckers and hikers live a very similar life style but both groups say that they wouldn't want to do what the other is doing.
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Daleville, VA

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

Man VA keeps pumping out nice days. I guess it won't be to bad to live in this state after all. The day started off with a great shower, probably one of the best showers that I have had since I started. I was able to get it at just the right temperature and the pressure was perfect. What a way to start the day. Next came a continental breakfast that far exceeded the rate we paid for the hotel. After that an '03 thru hiker picked us up on the side of the road and took us to the post office where I a package from Tricia (jelly beans, gummy bears, and Easter candy) and one form Mom and Dad (2 diners, pudding, tea, candy, sour patch kids, and cookies). Extra weigh is well worth it when you can eat it. Then it was off to the store to get the rest of the food before we hit the trail at about 12:00. Then we hit a very nice and smooth path which made it easy to get 18.5 miles in with out even trying to push it. We got a little bit of rain but not much, just enough to put on the pack covers and rain jackets just before it stopped. Speaking of rain, I think that the recent rain has helped the vegetation because I noticed that the trail seems to be getting narrower as the plants grow in around it. Right now I am preparing for a chilly night. The weather in Daleville called for temps in the 30's tonight. Hopefully it doesn't get much colder because I already have just about all of my cloth on. But we are in a tent tonight since the shelter is full so that should be a bit warmer. Good thing a have a delicious freeze dried diner, a bag of jelly beans, and some cookies in my stomach to help keep me warm.
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 23.6
Weather: few clouds

Day 2 of crisscrossing the Blue Ridge Parkway was pretty cool. Actually it started off pretty chilly. I would say that the temps were in the 30's or 40's this morning and the stiff breeze didn't help much either. I even had to start off with my jacket and gloves on. Aside from that I had a lot of camp memories this morning for some reason. First it was the early morning sun splashing through the trees which warmed things up a little but not enough to warm up the camp. Then the path was like a walk down to the beach with the grass and the trees closing in around a pine needle cover path full of roots. In the late morning and early afternoon the weather was perfect for sitting in the boat. The sun was out to warm things up but there was a little breeze to cool you down a little. It was a very camp filled morning. I think that the spring weather is starting to bring out the wildlife. Today we saw a bunch of lizards warming on the rock, a wild chicken, and then we watched 3 dear feeding about 10 yards off the trail. Hopefully more will be on the way shortly. Today was also the first time that we have dropped bellow 1000'. In the morning we got down to Jennings Creek at 950'. But man we seem to hit the shelters wrong. We stopped at the Bryant Ridge Shelter for lunch today. This was one of the most elaborate shelters that I have seen yet. It had 3 layers and a huge porch that even had a covered picnic table. That would have been a nice shelter to stay at.
Date: 2004-05-05
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Punchbowl Shelter
Miles today: 25.1
Weather: few clouds

The question is how low can you go? Yesterday we got down to 950' but today we were able to top that by getting down to 710' at James River. I would still like to know who said that VA was flat? It sure isn't flat in my book if you can start the day at 3900' get down to 710' and then get back up to 3400' by the end of the day. So far we have gone 330 miles in VA and we still haven't gotten to the flat part. Aside from that it was another good day overall. The morning was still a bit chilly and windy but I am getting the hang of how to use my layers most efficiently. But boy did it get hot in the afternoon. It didn't help that we were at our lowest elevation at the hottest part of the day. It is like a completely different place out here now because just about everything is green and flowers are popping up all over the place. I even stopped to smell some kind of flower bush today. Unfortunately along with the flowers the rains have also brought the bugs. They are starting to get a bit annoying. I even found a tic on the back of my leg this afternoon. That prompted me to give my legs a real good wash down and inspection at the end of the day. Tonight we are staying at the Punchbowl shelter. Well there isn't any punch but there is a nice little pond next to the shelter. It should be interesting trying to fall asleep with the symphony that the insects around the pond are playing for us tonight.
Date: 2004-05-06
From: Punchbowl Shelter

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 24.9
Weather: clear sky

For me, that is what hiking is all about. Or I guess I should say that that is what mountain climbing is all about. A butt kicking climb that is doable but that takes a lot of energy and determination and then offers some kind of reward at the end. I'm referring to the 4 mile 3000' climb up Bald Knob where the last 2000' or same came in about 2.5 miles. I really had fun with that climb. It was just like being back in the Adirondacks. It did help that just before the last 2.5 miles we were treated to a soda and some candy bars from Boxtop who is getting van support on this section from his daughter (the same person who drove us to the PO in Daleville). The view wasn't that good from the top of Bald Knob, but we got the views a little later from Cold Mtn. The summit was bald for a ways. The green grass field on top of the mountain was awesome to see. The trips on the two sides of these mountians were completely different. The 9 miles in the morning were fairly flat and temps were just right so they flew by. On the other side it was just long and hot. We also lost spring on the other side of Cold Mtn. I have no idea where it went but everything turned from green to brown and dead looking. It was very strange. Hopefully we find spring again tomorrow. Just incase we do I am going to Sam lead in the morning so that he can get the face full of spider webs in the morning. We also passed the 800 mile marker today so the miles are just flying by.
Date: 2004-05-07
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: broken clouds

Man, somebody better check the thermostat out here because I think that it is a tad bit broken. Boy it was just plain hot out here today. I think that we might be hiking in the middle of a heat wave because the temps pushed 90 today on top of the hot day yesterday and I hear that it is suppose to be hot for the at least the next 2 days. At least we had some refreshment today. We just couldn't resist taking a dip in the Tye River at around 12:00. The water was chilly but boy did it feel good. Just to be able to sit and float in a stream and to scrub up a bit was just what the doctor ordered. Unfortunately the day didn't stay that refreshing because after that came a hot hot hot afternoon going up a butt kicking climb up Three Ridges Mtn. This climb was straight up rock for 3.5 miles. I was just as wet at the top of the mountain as I was at the bottom sitting in the river. I don't know how we manage to hit these climbs at the hottest part of the day all of the time, maybe we are just lucky. Since Three Ridges took so much out of me we opted to stop at the shelter instead of pushing it a little further like we had planned. It's all good because we are planning on getting up at 4:00 to try to bet the heat in to Waynesboro tomorrow.
Date: 2004-05-08
From: Maupin Field Shelter

To: Rockfish Gap
Miles today: 21.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was probably one of the most unexpected and interesting days of the trip this far! For starters we decided to try something new and we got up at 4:00 am so that we could beat the heat. It would have been easier to get up early if we didn't have 30-30 up yelling and swatting at mice in the shelter all night but I managed to get all the same. The plan worked great because we finished climbing up Humpback Rocks (which was our last climb of the day) at about 9:15 so it was only a semi downhill to flat 10 miles to get to Waynesboro. It was kind of fun hiking in the dark this morning. I think that that is something that we will have to do again some time. A great sunrise would have been nice but it was kind of foggy and I think that we were on the wrong side of the mountain to see the sun. The really unexpected part started when we hit town. Today we hiked with a girl name Skate who happened to have an apartment 1 mile off the trail at Rockfish Gap. First off, what a great place to live, it sure made me jealous. So we walked to her place and she let us clean up and crash there for the night. After a shower she drove us to town where we hit up the Krogers for some snacks to tide us over. Then we watched some soapbox car racing until the AYCE Chinese Buffet opened for diner. After a good stuffing we stopped at the outfitters where I picked up a Snow Peak Trek 1400 Titanium pot. It is 1 qt 15 oz with a lid that holds 17 oz and it all weighs 7.4 oz. It's more then twice the volume of my old pot plus half the weight. Hopefully this will allow me to cook more food without burning things as often as I did before. Skate is even going to mail my old pot home for me since the PO isn't open now. After the $40 disappeared from my bank we relaxed at Skates place for a bit before we went to her friends Sharky and Tammies house. The live in this unbelievable house right at the foot of the mountains. We sat and talked for a bit before they treated us to 2 huge bowls of ice cream and some cokes. Then we moved our conversation outside for a nice relaxing soak in their hot tub under the stars before heading home at around 12:00. Man what a day. Skate, Sharky, and Tammie are definitely 3 awesome trail angles if you ask me. Trail magic just doesn't get any better then this!
Date: 2004-05-09
From: Rockfish Gap

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: few clouds

I think that we made one our first real good decisions today. We opted to only do 7 miles to day out of town which allowed us to leave at 5:00 pm. I don't know what we would have done if we had a big day planned because it was a hot one again today. I was sweating my butt off just standing on the side of the road trying to hitch in and out of town! Not the best of conditions for hiking. After a night of luxury it was back to reality this morning. First was breakfast at the local grease joint, followed by laundry, and food shopping. I spent big part of the day talking to my parents on the phone planning their visit for next weekend. I'm really looking forward to seeing them seeing that this will be our first real family contact since we started back on March 23. Like I said we started to hike around 5:00 and we got a little taste of what the Shenandoah National Park will bring when we get there tomorrow, lots of different terrain. It just kept changing on us today. It went from forest to fields to rocks back to fields etc. And that¢s all in a 7 mile stretch that took us 2.5 hours to hike. Who know what the park will bring tomorrow.
Date: 2004-05-10
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 26.2
Weather: scattered clouds

The Shenandoah National Park officially started today at Jarman Gap. After really talking the park up to Sam since I have hiked a bunch here before, it didn't disappoint. Not only was it a nice smooth easy path with only small ups and downs but the wildlife also came out like I said it would. By our mid afternoon snack we had already seen 5 dear. A couple of which were right on the trail and wouldn't get off of it until we were close enough to touch them. One even kept walking up the trail in front of us. Man I hate getting stuck behind these slow hikers! But the real treat came around 2:00 on the way up Loft Mtn. Yes we saw our first bear of the trip. At first it ran off the trail when we came up but then it stopped and just stared at me as I walked by only 10-25 yards off the trail. It didn't turn and run until Sam stopped to take a picture of it. What a treat for our first day in the park. Unfortunately with the good wildlife came the bad wildlife and by that I mean the bugs. They are just nasty all of the sudden. I had to wear a hat and bandana to keep the swarms off of my head. And now I am wearing socks and pants to keep my ankles from being feasted on. Good thing I through out my bug spray in Pearisburg because it was leaking and we hadn't needed it yet. Oh well I guess that we will have to learn to live with our friendly bug neighbors.
Date: 2004-05-11
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: light rain

I always forget to mention this so I will start with it today. We finished our 9th century today. Only 12 more to go! Other than that we are 2 for 2 as far as bear sightings go. We saw another one this morning. So we will at least have a 50% hit rate for the park. This sighting was a little more typical I think because all we saw was its hind end was it ran away from us. I probably would have never seen it if it didn't start running. Silly animal, good thing it doesn't know that it could tear us apart if it wanted to. There were actually some challenges on the trail today as opposed to the 'walk in the woods' that we had yesterday. There were actually a couple of 1000' climbs this morning up Hightop and Saddleback Mtns, and we actually hit some rocks big enough for me to trip on. It was also another hot day today so I spend most of the day hopping from one 'free' water source to the next. First it was a rangers station, then came a picnic area, and last there was the Lewis Mtn Campground. Since we got to the campground around 3:00 and it was less then a mile from the hut we opted to hit up the campstore for some snacks. Boy did the Oreo, OJ, and Butterfinger ice cream bar go down easy. The sky was rumbling a bit and it was raining on and off so we spend an hour or more talking to an older guy who did a southbound thru hike in 1997. It was interesting hearing about a trip that was at a different time and in a different direction then our hike. Getting to Bearfence Hut was significant for me because this marks the south boundary of where I have been in the park before. From there to the north end should be familiar territory for me. It will really be different actually know what to expect around the next corner. It will be like hiking back home.
Date: 2004-05-12
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Pass Mountain Hut
Miles today: 26.8
Weather: few clouds

What a great day, still a bit on the warm side but a great day none the less. For the most part it was really nice to be on familiar ground seeing that I have done all of what we did today on early hikes. It was nice to be able to know what was ahead for a change. To bad that that advantage will be gone again tomorrow. On top of that in the morning we a real lunch to push us. It was only a short 16 miles from the hut to the Skyland restaurant. But I'm getting ahead just a bit. The first 16 miles weren't that bad. It was split up nicely with Big Meadows right in the middle which made a nice place for a snack. We ran into a park range during our snack that actually came over to check our permit. I'd never had that happen to me in the park. Good thing that we filled one out. Then the push for food was on. I had a cheeseburger, cheese quesadillas, pink lemonade, and an ice cream sundae. Not bad for lunch only .1 miles off the trail. After that it was a short 10 miles to the hut where I survived my first encounter with a rattle snake this trip. The worse part is that I almost stepped on it before I saw it. I was walking along looking at a couple of different things when out of the corner of my eye I saw a snake that looked a little different then the other snake that we had seen. So I gave out a startled yelp and jumped out of the way. To think I came with in a foot or two of stepping on a rattle snake. We took a quick picture and then moved on. After that the only interesting that we saw was Marys Rock. We actually took a side trail to see it. It was pretty impressive and provided some pretty nice views.
Date: 2004-05-13
From: Pass Mountain Hut

To: Denton Shelter
Miles today: 31.7
Weather: few clouds

Well we've been saying for a while now how it was funny that we did a 30 mile day early in our trip but that we haven't tried one since then. Well that is no longer the case. What better time for your longest day then the day before a break with your parents? And boy am I glad we pushed it, we'll get to that later. We started from the hut this morning a little after 6:00. I guess that I should have figured it would be a hot one when I was sweating by 6:30 going up Pass Mtn. That turned out to be the case. We have had a long stretch of hot days in a row but this had to be one of the hottest one yet. In the morning we stopped at Elkwallow weigh side when they opened at 9:00 so that Sam could buy some more food which was good because it gave me a chance to replace the water that I drank in the morning. The late morning and early afternoon was just long and hot (we were doing 8 mile stretches between breaks today). We even had to filter from a spring just after lunch. The sad part was that we exited the park today at around 3:00. I really enjoyed the park and am going to miss it. Not 10' after the park boundary the trail got all rocky and hard, what's up with that? It was like, 'now leaving the park and welcome to Pennsylvania'. For our afternoon snack we actually had a second lunch instead to give use the energy to go the last 8 miles which worked out well. In the last stretch we ran into some crazy muddy sections and an uphill that lasted well longer then I expected it to. What made it worse was the waist to shoulder height plants and flowers growing all along the trail. It made it very hard to swing your polls forward to get any power out of our arms. Then after 31.7 miles and almost 13 hours we made it to the shelter and man what a shelter it was. It had a lot of room with two bunked areas, a large porch with a 3 person Adirondack style chair and a bench, a covered area with a picnic table and a fire pit, and a shower and spigot. Man what a treat and we had it all to ourselves. It was totally unexpected since the book said nothing about it. Oh well, what can you do but enjoy it. Time to go to bed so that tomorrow can come and we can start our 15 mile trip to see Mom and Dad.