morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-06-03
From: BriarPatch Hostel

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: heavy intensity rain

It was raining hard when I got up in the morning. Scott made us a fine breakfast of eggs, bacon and biscuits while his wife Mandy tried her best to convince us to stay and take a Zero day at their house. Big Brother gave in and decided to stay another day due to the weather forecast. I really couldn't stay due to needing to meet my parents in Daleville Monday afternoon and still having 25 miles walk in 2 days.I got on the trail about noon during a brief lull in the rain which is coming off the Atlantic from a tropical depression moving up the coast. The walk to and across VA 685 was across hay fields and farm lands that was a welcome and scenic change of pace from the Long Green Tunnel. It rained hard the whole time I was crossing the open country and I was quickly soaked. While going up the hill towards VA 311 I caught up with the two twin sisters we had camped with under the big oak at Symms Gap Campsite on May 30. I ended up hiking with them for the rest of the day in a mostly continuous and often hard rain. It was not cold but required us to keep moving to stay warm.We passed VA 311, Johns Spring Shelter and Catawba Mtn Shelter, which were both empty, and arrived at the famous rock overlook on McAfee Knob in a hard wind and rain driving sideways, obviously with no views at all. We quickly moved on to Campbell Shelter and arrived at 6.00 to find it empty too. this will be only my 2nd night actually spent sleeping inside a shelter on the trip. Part of the reason I decided to stay was the hope that the weather will clear over night and I'll get good views from Tinker Cliffs tomorrow morning. I also wanted to give my feet a rest since they have been wet for several days now. This will require a 15 mile walk to Daleville tomorrow and expected early afternoon arrival, so I can't dally to long at the cliffs.
Date: 2007-06-04
From: Campbell Shelter

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

I left the shelter about 7.30 with pretty much everything I own damp if not actually wet. I had the shelter to myself last night and had hung most of my clothes up inside, but nothing really dried much over night.It was a nice walk along the rim of Tinker Cliffs with nice views down into the valley below. The cliffs really weren't much to write home about, but had lots of mountain laurel growing along the rim and much of it was in full bloom.I made good time to Angel's Gap then the trail became increasingly steep and rocky and my pace slowed considerably. It was also the middle of the day and hot and humid with no water sources along the way. In spite of these challenges, this section of trail was quite interesting with lots of views from rocky ledges off both sides of the ridge. A very pretty reservoir sits at the base of the ridge on the east side and I had some fine views of it in several places.I made it in to Daleville about 3.30 and checked in to the Howard Johnson's Express to wait for Mom and Dad to arrive, which they did about an hour later. It is always good to see family and this will be our second second visit during my trip, twice more than I'd hoped might happen here in the southern half of the trail.
Date: 2007-06-05
From: Daleville, VA

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

I took a zero day today and spent the AM in my hotel room repacking the food I bought last night and putting together a bounce box for Glasgow, VA. I tried hard to stay off my feet and rest my knees all morning and actually did a pretty decent job of it. While I packed, Dad put several coats of waterproofing on my boots and Mom put several coats on my camera case and hat. In the PM Dad drove me to the Library in Roanoke, VA and I spent 3 hours on a computer uploading digital photos to my website. The Library had good fast machines and they were not nearly as stingy with user time as other Librarys have been. Back at the hotel I spent another hour or so uploading journal entries to my website.It rained off and on all PM and I was very glad to have dry gear and be staying in a dry hotel instead of camping out in a wet tarp.
Date: 2007-06-06
From: Daleville, VA

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

Today I passed the 725 mile mark, one third of the trail is now behind me!I left the hotel about 9.00 this AM and headed north once again. I had had another very enjoyable visit with Mom and Dad. They took my bounce box with them and are goimg to drop it off at the Buena Vista Hotel for me to pick up in about 6 days.The trail and grass were wet goimg out of town from last night's rain but my feet stayed dry thanks to Dad's good waterproofing job.I made good time to an empty Fullhardt Knob Shelter, arriving at 10.45 after a 5-mile walk. I took nearly an hour break then pushed on again. It was nicely graded trail and relatively easy terrain to Wilson Creek Shelter and I covered the 6.2 miles by 2.45. The Twins came in not long after I arrived and Big Grother also arrived shortly after. We had all stayed at the same place last night and were all headed in the same direction.The Twins told me they had seen Sylvan in town and she had taken a week off to recover from some kind of stomach flu and was planning on taking another week before getting back on the trail again. She plans to then jump north to Front Royal to rejoin the group she had been hiking with. Sylvan and I started from Springer Mt the same day and had stayed overnight at the same Hostel the night before we started. She has been traveling much faster than me and has been as much as a week ahead of me the whole trip. I haven't seen her since the night before I started in Dahlonega.Continuing on, I crossed te Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time. I'll be crossing it many times over the next 200 miles of trail. My first meeting of the BRP was not a good one and I promptly lost the trail! I thought the blazes were directing me up the road when it actually turned into the woods. I didn't realize my mistake for some distance so I just continued on up the road and caught the AT 1.1 miles later at the next overlook. I was walking the road but was never more than 200 yards from the trail which closely paralleled the road the whole way.The AT closely paralleled the BRP the rest of the way to Bobblets Gap Shelter and I could often see cars whizzing past thru the trees. I got to the shelter about 6.30 to find two other section hikes with a very friendly 3-year old male chocolate lab named Marley who quickly took a liking to me. So, I got a Lab fix for the rest of the evening!
Date: 2007-06-07
From: Bobblets Gap Shelter

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

If Big Brother's calculations are correct we passed the half way point of VA today at Bearwallow Gap. VA is by far the longest state on the AT with about 540 miles of trail, nearly 1/4 of the entire trail. So today felt like a bit of a landmark!From the shelter the AT closely paralleled the Blue Ridge Parkway for 3.1 miles and I was surprised by how much traffic there was for being only 7.30 AM. At Mills Gap Overlook there was a fine view to the north over looking the James River valley. A layer of fog lay low in the valley, well below me, and made an interesting view. Unlike some hikers, I have enjoyed the AT coming back to the BRP overlooks because they provide nice viewpoints that we would not otherwise have from the trail under the Long Green Tunnel. The AT left the BRP at Bearwallow Gap and took a more northerly ridge for the next 10 miles or so.From Cove Mountain the trail dropped 1,800 feet down to Jennings Creek at VA 614 and when I arrived at the creek I immediately took off my boots and soaked my tired dogs in the cool water while eating lunch. After an hour it was time to move on again and tackle the next hill.There was an 1,100 foot climb up to Fork Mountain, then a 700 foot drop down to Bryant Ridge Shelter. This was perhaps the nicest shelter on the trail, after Partnership Shelter. It had an interesting 3-level design, post and beam construction and a large covered porch with lots of sitting space.Bt the time I arrived (2 PM) it was very hot (88 degrees) and I was in no mood to tackle the next big climb in the heat of the hottest day we have had in a while. So, I waited until 4 PM before leaving for the hump up Floyd Mountain. The trail was steep in only a few places, but it kept going at a steady and continuous rate and gained 2,200 feet in 4.5 miles. This was the biggest and most continuous climb on the trail in weeks and it took me right at 2 hours to complete.When I arrived at Cornelius Creek Shelter there were 10 hikers camping around the shelter, all thru-hikers, and unusually, there were more women than men. I passed around a package of thin mint Girl Scout cookies I had gotten recently in a mail drop and they were a big hit with the marshmallows other hikers had toasted over the fire. Very Tasty!
Date: 2007-06-08
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 14.9
Weather: scattered clouds

It was an eventful day, unfortunately not in a good way. In short, I popped my right ankle out of joint again then walked the Parkway most of the day to be sure that I could still walk; I skipped about 7 miles of trail that included a big uphill followed by a bigger downhill; and swealtered in the sun on the hottest day of the trip so far.I left the shelter abut 7.30 AM and walked about 2 miles when suddenly my right ankle just turned over. It was a level and clean piece of trail and I hadn't tripped or stumbled over anything. It just rolled over with a loud pop. I then had to snap it back into joint, with an equally loud pop. No Fun! I immediately did the same thing I did when it happened in GA, I took 2 Aleve, wrapped it tight in an ace bandage, laced my boots up tight and quickly started walking again to keep it from stiffening up. Bag Lady and Big Brother came along pretty quickly and walked with me for the next mile to the Apple Orchard Falls trail intersection.At this point I decided not to continue on the trail, which began a 1,000 foot climb, and to head out to the Blue Ridge Parkway and walk the road. I hoped to keep my ankle moving but to not wear it out. I ended up walking the BRP all the way to Petites Gap, about 7.4 miles, under a hot sun. The AT closely paralleled the BRP the whole way and was 7.3 miles of trail over that distance. The biggest problem I faced was having missed all the springs along the trail so I ran out of water in the middle of the day. I managed to bum about 1 liter off a tourist at an overlook but it just wasn't enough in the heat.I decided not to walk the AT from Petites Gap down to the James River footbridge. I was afraid that the big downhill run would beat up my ankle badly and might force me to take time off to rehab. So, I hitched a ride on the BRP around to the footbridge. I then walked the remaining 1.9 miles of trail up to the Johns Hollow Shelter. It turned out that I was the only hiker there.All in all, I had feared that this ankle turn would be worse than in GA, but it turned out to be less painful for much less time. By the end of the day I was getting down the trail in decent fashion and had walked about 12 miles.
Date: 2007-06-09
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mtn Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: broken clouds

There were lots of lightning bugs around the shelter area last night! I hadn't seen them in years and it was fun to see so many in one place. There were also lots of deer walking around my tent last night too.The day started with a steep 1,500' climb up to Rocky Row, which had a nice view back down over the James River valley. This was immediately followed by another 800' climb up Bluff Mountain. Most of this elevation gained would be lost by mid afternoon when I crossed the Pedlar River. I was moving well up the hills and my ankle gave me few problems. I stopped briefly at the top of Bluff Mt to read the monument for Ottie Powell, the little 4-year old boy who was lost in a storm and died here in 1890. The monument was ringed with toys and other trinkets people had left on the monument.I ate a quick lunch and resupplied with water at Punchbowl Shelter, and was the first hiker of the day to sign the register. My ankle felt fine (surprisingly) so I decided to continue to the next shelter. It was a relatively smooth trail and much less hot than yesterday.I stopped for a break at the Pedlar River suspension bridge and watched some big trout feeding in the run below the bridge.After a 5-mile walk around Lynchburg Reservoir, I was walking up Brown Mtn Creek and was back to a near normal trail pace with no ankle pain at all. Suddenly I turned my ankle again but did not pop it out of joint. It seems that my ankle is very weak laterally and I am sure this problem will continue if I don't brace it somehow.There was only 1 hiker in the shelter, a weekender from a nearby town. He said that it was a busy day for thru-hikers yesterday but that I was the only one today. I must be between hiker groups right now
Date: 2007-06-10
From: Brown Mtn Creek Shelter

To: Buena Vista, VA
Miles today: 1.8

Today is my 18th anniversary! I was on the trail by 7.30 AM and was moving well up the trail with little ankle pain when I rolled it again, though not too badly. I clearly have to find some way to provide lateral support that I can wear routinely until my ankle develops strength again.I quickly got to the Parkway and hitched a ride into Buena Vista where I retrieved the box Dad and Mom had dropped for me at the Visitor's Center. I called Brenda, then cancelled my reservation at the B. V. Hotel and walked to the Budget Inn in the center of town. They didn't have a room available for me until 2 PM but allowed me to leave my pack and gear in their office while I walked the 2 miles to the supermarket for resupply. When I got back I did laundry and took a shower and repacked my food for the next 6-day stretch to Waynesboro.Today wasn't a zero, but was a 'nero'. I'll hit the trail again tomorrow AM.
Date: 2007-06-11
From: Buena Vista, VA

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: broken clouds

I got up at 6.00 and had a busy morning finishing up packing my pack and bounce box, carrying the box the mile to the Post Office and finishing writing a few postcards to mail off. All this had to be done by 9.00 because I had set up a 9.30 shuttle back to the trailhead.It was 10.30 before I actually began hiking again at US 60. The trail started off with a pretty steep 2,000 foot climb up Bald Knob. The lower part of the climb was fairly steep but the rest wasn't that bad and I made decent time to the top. Bald Knob turned out to be a N.C. Bald; in other words it wasn't really bald at all but was completely forested on top!From the top of the not so bald knob I dropped 1,000 feet down to a trail junction then immeiately climbed another 1,000 feet back up to Cold Mt. This mt was also poorly named because it was actually bald on top and hot in the midday sun. But there were great views from the summit, as well as along Tar Jacket Ridge! The remainder of the day was on relatively gentle terrain with few difficult climbs or descents. There were some long stretches of hay-scented ferns that were very pretty as well as sweet smelling. A lot of red columbine was in bloom along the trail and I saw several large trophy toads too!When I got to Seeley-Woodworth Shelter I heard there'd been a big hiker feed last night and this morning at a road crossing I passed yesterday AM. There had also been another hiker feed yesterday at a road I passed today. It seems I had just missed both!I saw lots of young American Chestnut trees along the trail today, many more than the past few weeks. I don't know why they have suddenly reappeared again. I also seem to have gotten ahead of the last group of hikers I was with (Nice Enough, Torpedo, Luna, Bag Lady) and have now caught up with a completely new group whom I have generally not met before. Some of them started after I did so really they are catching up to me. 2 days ago I was between groups and it seemed like I was the only thru-hiker left on the trail. Now I'm with all new hikers. How things do quickly change and groups quickly come and go.
Date: 2007-06-12
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Harpers Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: clear sky

I left the shelter about 7.30 and quickly past Porter's Field where someone was still in their tent, then crossed the Fish Hatchery Road, and climbed the short stretch to Spy Rock. There was someone camped at Spy Rock and they were still in their tent at 8.30 when I got there. I dropped my pack at the campsite and climbed up onto the rock. It was quite a scramble up over open rock ledges to the large open rocky dome but the 360 degree view made it all worthwhile. The sky was clear and what I'm beginning to call Virginia haze was minimal so I could see wave upon wave of ridge after ridge marching away into the distance in all directions. A few last Mt Laurel and Rhododendron were still in bloom around the rock, adding to the scenery. The toughest part was getting down from Spy Rock over the steep open ledges.As I came up to Spy Rock I saw a hen turkey with young 6-8 poults in tow. When she saw me she quickly stashed the poults in some tall hay-scented ferns then noisily ran wide circles around me clucking and trying to lure me away. Finally, she gave up and flew into the top of a tree, then flew out over the foreat canopy and off down the mountain side.The remainder of the 6-mile walk to The Priest Shelter was gentle and uneventful. After a lunch break I headed up the infamous Priest. It was anti-climactic because it wasn't steep (only 200') or long (only half a mile) and the top was fully timbered with no lookouts. What did meet my expectations was the 3,000 foot descent down to the Tye River from The Priest. It was well graded and had lots of switchbacks but was 4.5 mules long and was tough on my knees and right ankle.A thunderstorm gathered quickly and moved in as I was part way down from The Priest so I was wet by the time I got to the Tye River. Once at the river I waited about 45 minutes under a covered information board to see what the weather would do before moving on. When it looked to be clearing I headed up the 2.5 miles and 1,000 foot climb up to the next shelter. It began raining about half way up the hill so once at the shelter I decided to stay in the shelter to keep eveything semi-dry. Wet gear is kind of a pain but we really need the rain.
Date: 2007-06-13
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Paul C Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: light rain

This was one of the tougher days I have had in quite a while. Lots of elevation gained and lost (over 7,000 vertical feet), lots of rocky stretches that went on and on (4.5 miles), little water along the way, and few camping options in the long distance between shelters (16 miles).The day started off climbing almost immediately.0i gained 2,000 feet in the first 3.3 miles, up onto the 3 Ridges. The climb was steep and continuous and there were really no views along the way. Once on top of the ridge there was a brief period of level terrain across the top, then it was down 1,100 feet to Maupin Field Shelter.I decided not to go to Rusty's Hard Time Hollow, one of the Trail's most famous hostels that is near this shelter. I decided that I'd rather spend any extra days I might have visiting my nephews and niece when I got into northern VA. The next shelter was 16.1 miles away and it was already noon.It was a fairly easy walk to Reeds Gap on the BRP and I made good time. After that however my pace slowed to a crawl as the trail became very rocky contouring along a hillside below the BRP for the next 4.5 miles. While in this tough section I twisted my right ankle again, though not badly but it hurt. A bit later I caught up with Tony Tiger and he gave me 3 ibuprofin and that helped a lot. It was still very slow going until Dripping Rocks Parking Area. I had a superb view from Cedar Cliffs along the way in spite of the thick haze and threatening storm clouds. There was Trail Magic at the Dripping Rocks Parking Area. Christina had a cooler full of soft drinks, watermellon, bananas, apples and gluten-free cookies from a local health food store. Plus, she had real town chairs for us to sit in while we enjoyed her hospitality!I followed Tony tiger and Water Dog up and over Humpback Mountain. The trail yp was rough and rocky andin one spot went up the spine of a rocky razorback. There were fine views from the top looking off at a small ski area (Wintergreen) across the valley.By now the ibuprofin had kicked in and I got along OK in spite of the rocky trail. From Humpback Mountain we dropped another 2,000 feet down to the Paul Wolfe Shelter. By now the elevation change exceeded 7,000 feet; no wonder my feet an ankles were tired! But, we made it to the shelter by 6.30.What a nice new shelter! A split level design with a large covered porch and picnic table area. Because of all the room and few people I decided to stay in the shelter rather than tent nearby.
Date: 2007-06-14
From: Paul C Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up about 3.00 AM to a steady rain on the shelter roof. Thank goodness I had decided to stay inside rahter than tent it last night! The large covered porch made it easy to cook and pack in morning and stay dry. I was on the trail to Rockfish Gap by 8.00 in a steady persistent rain. The 5 miles to the BRP was basically all gradual uphill, switchbacks, or sidehill so I quickly got hot although it was only 53 degrees and I was wearing only a t-shirt, shorts and rain jacket. I had a tough time keeping my glasses clear in the rain nd humidity. Water was running down the trail and there were several creek crossings that required attention not to get a dunking.Along the way I passed several areas of yellow and white Honesuckles in bloom. The sweet smell was so strong I could smell them before I saw them. Very nice!I got to the Blue Ridge Parkway about 9.45 in a thick fog and steady rain. My glasses were bothersome so I just kept going across I-64, expecting the visitors center to appear at any moment. After a half mile or so I stipped to clean my glasses for the umpteenth time and pulled out a map, only to discover the visitors center was off the trail back near where I'd come out of the woods at the BRP. So, I turned around and walked the half mile back the way I'd just come and proceeded to stumble around in the fog for another 15 minutes before finding it a short distance away.At the visitors center I called a long list of shuttle drivers and finally reached one. A fellow named Dave picked me up and drove me to Waynesboro. He was a very nice guy who runs a blacksmith shop and wants the thru-hike the AT some day, but not yet, and enjoys 'living vicariously' off hiker's stories. He agreed to shuttle me back to the trail again tomorrow morning.The remainder of the day was spent doing laundry, shopping, going to the post office, repacking food, creating a bounce box and mailing a box back home. I saw a bunch of hilers I knew in town at the post office and the laundromat, a few I hadn't seen in several weeks. I got back from dinner about 9.30 and finished packing and updating my journal. A long day, but at least I was dry again!