morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-05-30
From: Mile 635

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 24.8
Weather: few clouds

Up and gone by 7:18 that morning. With enough water for breakfast I left lighter that day then the day before (no water and no beer). Leaving with no water is about as light as you can get. As the food you carry is consumed it gets lighter of course but no water weight makes such a noticeable difference. I hadn't gone a half an hour (8:12 to be exact)and I came upon four more Black Bears. Three cubs and one adult. I heard them long before I had seen them. I heard the cubs (two of them) climb up a tree. I stopped and could see them looking at me. Their little faces up against the bark, they reminded me of little throw pillows. I said to my self there has to be a Momma Bear some where. I leaned back a little and could see her scanning the horizon, back and forth, looking for me. I was able to take some photos but, they did not come out to good (disposables are O. K. but not for distance shots). Eventually I spotted the fourth, the last cub, and it was walking strait at me. I figured it was time for me to let my whereabouts be known to Momma. I waved my arms and spoke aloud, "here I am and I am leaving, see you". I walked quickly and distanced myself from the bears, they were no trouble at all.    The trail was still easy to walk on and I noticed for the first time just how green things were. I mean everything was green, even the ground. The ferns were about two, maybe three feet tall and growing everywhere along the trail. I just had to take a picture. We were up and over the 4000 foot mark (when we passed over Wind Rock 4100 feet) and it didn't seem to long ago there were no leaves at all at this elevation. Before long I pulled in to the Laurel Creek Shelter for the night. I covered 24.8 miles that day, my longest day yet. There were plenty of familiar faces there as well. Roamer, Smoke, Camel, Indy Andy (Bear), Tomato Head, and a few new faces. One in particular I remember, Hookie, was a young lady who took a break from her teaching job to give the trail a go. Unfortunately she was having some serious foot issues and from what I read it did stop her thru-hike. I tried to help her along the trail but, she wanted no part of it. I guess she must have heard her fill on everyone's opinions.
Date: 2005-05-31
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Mile 678
Miles today: 19.0

Up and gone by 9 AM. I left late because I was hanging out with the group. It was nice to take a long breakfast and just "hang out". I walked for a while with Indy Andy (Bear). I keep referring to him as Bear because he changed his name during the hike. Andy is his first name and he was from Indiana hence Indy Andy. I new him from way back in the beginning of the trail. We stopped in and checked out the Keffer Oak (mile 663.5), what a magnificent tree. 300 years old with a massive trunk and branches as big as the other trees in the area (there are pictures posted). I witnessed a number of large trees along the trail but this one was by far the most impressive.       A sort time later as I was hiking I observed two other hikers stopped along the trail ahead of me. I yelled up to them either you are listening to the same song (one had on a head set) or you found a snake. A snake it was, right along the trail, a beautiful Rattlesnake. It was curled, ready to strike and making a lot of noise. I never seen one in the wild. I would have left it alone except it was right on the side of the trail. Hookie was somewhere behind (by a minute or more) and I wanted to get it away from the trail. I flipped it over like an pancake with my trekking poles, then flipped it again into the weeds. Funny thing how when it was first flipped it stayed coiled even upside down. The picture I took did not come out to good, you can definitely see its color pattern if the photo was blown up (the snake is in the center of the shot).   Another point of interest was when we passed by the Audi Murphy memorial. Audi Murphy was the most decorated soldier of WWII. He died in a plane crash near the memorial a number of years ago. The younger guys did not know who he was and they acted as if it were a bother to go pay respects. It kind of bugged me how they were acting so I told them this. "You have more in common with that man then you realize, one day your name will be forgotten too". Everything went quiet.   I settled in for the evening just past the memorial. A hiker by the name of Sleeveless joined me shortly there after. Everyone else went on up the trail. Sleveless got her trail name because of the shirts she wore (no sleeves). We shared the water I had with me and then shared the fire I built. Afterward she hung her food on my bear rope and then, she too settled in for the night in her tent. I did not mind at all, we were both extremely tired. An interesting thing happened to her many miles North. She was attacked and bitten by a Racoon. She then had to come off the trail to receive a series of rabie shots. Get this, she did finish the trail (way to go Sleveless). There were mice everywhere on that ridge. Once the sun went down you could hear them rustling their way through the leaves. They weren't as vicious as a pissed off Racoon but, I bet they had huge teeth (I bet they even may be related to those "lurking" porcupines).
Date: 2005-06-04
From: Cove Mountain (2720 feet)

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Up and gone early this morning. My goal was to make it to the "It's a Wonderful Life Campground" early today. I still need to do my laundry and this place advertised the facility to do just that. The Camp was further up the road then expected, no rides so I had to walk. It was easy going and I was there before I knew it. As my laundry was getting washed and dried I took a hot shower. Afterward I ordered and ate a hot meal (typical Campground style food but I enjoyed it). I purchases a few of the little things I needed from the store and was soon on my way. The owners give thru-hikers a free ride back to the trail so, no worries there. At the last minute I decided to purchase a six pack of beer and a large bag of chips. My plan was to go swimming back at the trail head.   The trail crossed Jennings Creek at the VA-614 bridge. Down stream from there was a large pool of water that was cool, deep and clear. A number of other hikers soon showed up and we all had a nice break. Those there that I remember, Livestrong, Professor Nutbag, Dandylion, Socks, Turbo Joe and Butterfly Moon. It wasn't long after this day that Butterfly Moon left the trail. Evidently either shin splints or a different type of leg injury stopped her hike.    Other hikers soon joined as well. I cannot recall all their names however I remember this. This group of three was slack packing and they enjoyed playing Hacky Sack. One of the two young ladies was from New Jersey was called Litmus and the third person was a young man (Tag along perhaps?). This was also a popular place for the locals. Some were fishing and others were enjoying the sun like we were. After an hour or so of skipping rocks and drinking beer (shared with the others of course) I set out and headed back up the trail. For those of us going north, there was a long slow uphill ahead of us that day.    The goal this evening was to get up and over Floyd Mountain. The elevation was an elevation changed from 950 feet (at the creek) to 3560 feet (on the Summit of Floyd Mountain). I ended up setting up my tent near the "Cornelius Creek Shelter" (3145 feet). It was a short hike of only 13.6 miles. All in all another great day. Two notable things, we passed the one third mark today (at about 725 miles into it) and as of this day I was on the trail for exactly two months.
Date: 2005-06-07
From: Little Irish Creek

To: Seely-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Up and gone by 6:45 (after being told we cannot stay where we were staying). We all left one at a time keeping some distance in between each other. My goal was to move about a total of 6.5 miles to Buena Vista (US-60) and make a decision to hitch to town or not. It did not take long to decide because the hitch was almost instant. I did not need to go to town so I figured that if I didn't get a ride within a few minutes, I would just move on up the trail.   A Tex Mex local by the name of Albert stopped and after throwing my gear in the bed of his truck, gave me a ride the center of town (he dropped me off at a Burger King). Albert said he was from Texas and was of Mexican heritage. He installed satalite dishes and said he always tried to pick up hikers when he could (a nice man). We talked about Mexican food and man did that ever make me hungry. He hit it right on the head when he said, "If you want real good Mexican food, you have to try to find the little Mom and Pop type restaurants". He suggested that I should ask the locals in whatever town I wound up in to find the best places (I did just that in Waynesboro a few miles up the trail). After an early lunch, a few beers for the back pack (for the mid day break), I was back on the road headed towards the trail again.    A pair of former thru-hikers (class of 87) with the trail names of Flash and Hot Flash picked me up before I even put my thumb out. I was given a ride all the way back to the trail and they told me some interesting trail talk. They suggested that when I make it to the Bears Den Hostel, to be sure to stop in (the hostel was just south of Harpers Ferry) I made it a point to do so. For that and the ride I was so thankful for. They were a nice couple and a pleasure to talk to. I enjoyed meeting and talking to people anywhere I could. As I said before, there are so many nice people along the trail.   Even though I took an early break I still made great time and miles that day. By 1 PM I was on top of the first of two 4000 (+) foot mountains. Bald Knob stood at 4059 feet. I moved on and took a break on Cold Mountain, the second peak at 4022 feet and let my sweaty clothes dry out like the day before. It rained for a short period of time earlier in the day so I dried my back pack and cover as well. The humid haze was gone as a result of the rain, and the view was outstanding (as seen in the picture). I soon passed Salt Log Gap which meant I crossed the 800 mile marker.   Today I ended up at Seely-Woodworth Shelter. Even with all the time off I moved 20.5 miles total that day. Water was a bit scarce towards the end of the hike but was more then abundant at the shelter. Indeed another great day.
Date: 2005-06-08
From: Seely-Woodworth Shelter

To: Rusty's
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: few clouds

Up and gone this morning by 6:45. Dandylion and I were walking together again. Though we went by some interesting points of interest we did not take any side trails this day. First we both thought about going to Montebello but, one look at the trail (a jeep road), the decline off of the AT and we both said, "No way". It was getting hot and we were bound and determined to continue on. Eventually we bypassed "Spy Rock" which, after talking later to a fellow hiker (Gozar), I was sorry that I did not stop in to see it. I was told it was an outstanding land feature and it will be something I plan on day hiking to in the future.    We passed by three different shelters and at each one we read about a hostel up the trail called "Rusty's Hard Time Hollow" (wrote in the shelter logs). We finally ended up at the Maupin Field Shelter just before dark. There were a large group of Boy Scouts staying nearby in the fields near the shelter and they were quite loud. The mosquitos were numerous and flying in "V" formation (just kidding). The shelter, according to the log book, was also infested with mice. All that combined with what I read about Rusty's earlier on urged me on. Dandylion said he was going to stay at the shelter so again I went on alone. New Heart and Noodle were there at the shelter so he was among friends. While pondering I wrote in the log, "to cheeseburger or not to cheeseburger, that is the question". I decided to go to Rusty's.   I got there just after dark. No rides unfortunately so after a long hot day, the few miles to Rusty's was not a pleasant hike at all. The entrance was poorly marked and it was getting dark so I almost missed the gate. I was there late and though quite welcomed, I immediately wished I would have stayed with Dandylion. I did enjoy the place and the hikers there were nice and all, it was just too much for me. Everything had a price on it, signs telling you that you can't do this or you shouldn't do that. Too much for all the hype. Rusty was not there when I arrived so I set my tent up in the fields near the fire pit. When Rusty did arrive he took our pictures and provided some ice cream, that was extremely appreciated. "I bet in its day this place was the best", I said to my self. Perhaps if I was with a group of friends and not alone I would have had a better time. I do not know, it just did not work for me at the time.   I did get to see Pirate again, he was gold blazing (taking roads and vehicles to skip parts of the trail) and spending the night there at Rusty's. There were about a half of a dozen other hikers there just talking and mingling around. Everyone went there separate ways after the traditional "call to ice cream" by the calling via the "Bull Horn". Once again timing was everything and I was off beat by a number of hours, I still hadn't figured out the pulse of the trail as of yet. Rusty's by the way was for sale (at a hefty price) and Rusty himself was a true gentleman, I wished him luck.
Date: 2005-06-10
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Waynesboro, VA (a zero day)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

A Zero day in Waynesboro. Gozar and I shared the room for a second night. What a nice comfortable town this was. A second trip to the Grocery store, a china buffet for lunch and the Mexican food for supper. It was nice that I did all my chores the day before. Now all I did was rest, eat, swim and drink a few beers. Extremely relaxing.    I followed Albert's advice (the Tex-Mex gentleman I met back down the trail), and asked the locals for a good Mom and Pop style Mexican restaurant. Bobby Napier informed us of such a place. About 12 hikers all went at the same time to this awesome place. I wish I would have wrote the name of the place in my log. I remember it was near the Kroger Supper Market area. The place looked like a converted gas station, yellow in color with some of the best people working there. The food was so good. I thought I could eat a lot till I saw Crazy Legs consume enough food to last me two days. A hiker appetite is a huge one indeed.   Gozar and I decided to hike together the next day so we planned on leaving together. Tal (Cowboy) gave up his through hike here. This was the last time I saw him. He was missed on the trail. His name kept on popping up all along the way. The last time I talked about him was in the 100 mile wilderness in Maine. A young couple from Israel were going southbound and knew about Tal. Other hikers talked about him with this couple and they asked if I knew him. Tal and I are still in contact with each other by e-mail. Last I heard he was hiking in South America.
Date: 2005-06-13
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Bearfence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Up and gone by 6:45 this morning. The only trouble sleeping once again was because of the ants. The hood net was to hot to wear. I hated it when they would crawl across my face. I could not wait to get my screen back.   The four of us left at the same time. At a road intersection Blue Angel and Cloth Monkey left the trail and headed to the town where she once lived. We said our good byes and Gozar and I headed north.       A section hiking south bounder by the name of Kelly offered up some trail magic. She was hiking south a little further on, then promised to meet us at an intersection along the Skyline drive. We stopped, found some shade and waited. Within a few minutes she was there with soft drinks, beer and fresh bread. Nice of her to do such a thing. She and her boyfriend hiked a lot and she said she received plenty of trail magic in the past. This was her way of just returning the favor.    At 3 PM we saw another Black Bear. This was the 9th bear for me. I was able to get some pictures as the critter stood there. Not the best of shots but, I figured I was close enough. I believed it to be a male because it was alone (no cubs). It's coat also looked shaggy with patchy areas of missing hair. It showed no concern with us being so close.    Today there were plenty of Indigo Bunting sightings (the Blue Birds) as well as one notable trail mile stone. We both passed the 900 mile mark. We ended up at the Bearface Mountain Hut. Sundance Kid and his father arrived and set up their tents at a site next to ours. Before long we were all talking and the subject turned to war and our president. They new I was retired military so again I was asked what I thought about it all. I gave them my standard answer with no insults intended. I said, "I do not like war nor do I like politicians. If you think you can do a better job then roll up your sleeves and have at it. If I see your name on the ballot box next presidential election then perhaps I may vote for you".
Date: 2005-06-14
From: Bearfence Mountain Hut

To: Skyland Lodge and Restaurant
Miles today: 16.1

Up and gone by 7:15. Gozar and I are hiking together again. He wanted to stop in at the Big Meadows Wayside. Apparently he went there with his family when he was younger. We passed the first turn off to the wayside and wound up walking through the park an extra mile to get to the restaurant. No biggee though, because of the extra miles we wound up seeing two more Black Bears. A mother and a cub, numbers 10 and 11 for me. Earlier that day we saw two fawns and a doe. They were moving up hill and we kept running in to them as the trail switched back and forth we went the same way they were. I got some pictures of them as well. They were so close once again that we could have reached out and connected the dots (spots that is).    The Big Meadow reminded me of looking at pictures of the Serengeti in Tanzania. There were deer in the fields like herds of Antelope. I am not sure but I do believe they were frolicking. I am no expert, that is just my opinion. White tail bucks were resting right along the side of the wayside's restaurant. We stopped in and had a decent meal. Tourists by the ton (and I do mean ton) were there coming and going. I remember way back when O.B. (class of 2000 I believe) told me in the Smokies that you could plan your hike through this area by going from one wayside to another. I know now exactly what he meant by that. Sleep near the wayside, eat breakfast and with a light meal (lunch) in your back pack move on to the next one. Once there eat your supper and camp nearby. Do the same thing the next day and continue on till you made it out of the park. A nice way not to have to carry food weight. Water was abundant enough to not have to carry much as well.    We spent about an hour there resting in the shade. I set out my gear in the sun to dry. Gozar made some phone calls as he planned his time "off the trail". We moved on and made it to the Skyland Lodge and Restaurant. We pulled in to see who was there. We ran in to a section hiker, Doc who was walking with his brother "T Rex" for a while. T Rex was doing big mile days and Doc could not keep up. T Rex wore himself out though, he did not make his thru-hike attempt. The last I saw of him was in Port Clinton, PA He told me he would try to return however, to the best of my knowledge he did not. Doc, a chiropractor from Colorado asked if we would like to share the cost of a room. We decided to do just that. We either flipped a coin or Gozar volunteered to take the "roll a bed", Doc and I got the regular ones. What a great place with an outstanding sunset viewed from our back porch that evening.      I went and checked the night life out at the bar at the restaurant. A young lady was singing her heart out as the evenings entertainment. Hardly any one was there. Earlier that day there was a gathering of "Folk Dancers". Some form of clog type dancing including traditional dress. I listened to the music for a while then it was off to bed. Doc watched a little T. V. and the next thing I knew it was morning. Finally a good night sleep with no bugs. I slept like a rock.
Date: 2005-06-15
From: Skyland Lodge and Restaurant

To: Hogback (second peak)
Miles today: 21.2

Up and gone by 8:15. What a great nights sleep. Costly but, the food, and the company was worth it.   I went to breakfast with Doc and we both had a huge stack of pancakes. I read where the breakfast there was well worth getting, I concur. Shortly after Gozar and I headed out together while Doc stayed behind. Doc only planned on being on the trail a little while longer and I hoped to see him again, he was a nice person. The way people were leaving the trail lately, I had my doubts.      The Northern part of the trail was outstanding to walk on. Little stony man cliffs was awesome to see. It was great all the way until we hit Mary's Rock. There Gozar went to the top as I went down one heck of a down. The down seemed to go on forever. It had to be one of the worse section of the trail in the entire park. Erosion again was taking its toll both with water and human impact. A 1200 foot drop in just under 2 miles.    I moved a total of 21.2 miles that day. I went until I could not go anymore. I ended up on the second peak of Hogback just past the radio tower. I stopped in my tracks when I found an outstanding spot (on a flat rock overlooking a beautiful vista). I could see the Shenandoah River in the distance. I knew I would have a great sunset there that evening. I set up my tent in case it rained but chose to sleep on the flat rock (it was warm from baking in the sun and kept me nice and toasty for hours).    Gozar evidently passed me by without seeing me. My tent is green and I guessed he just simply did not notice me. Doc also was in the area that evening. We ran in to each other the next day and he told me that when he awoke in the morning, he found a black bear standing on it's hind legs just a few feet in front of him. It was eating berries and was startled when Doc awoke and sat up.    Once again I was moved by this spot and do believe I truly had a moment of "Hikers Clarity" (you know the "what the heck am I doing here"? thing). I had some beer with me and was jamming to some ZZ Top. I was warm and in my "Happy Place". This is what I wrote in my log, "I am sitting on a rock overlooking the Shenandoah valley. Who else but me, from my world, would be doing this? Thank you Lord. You make my dreams come true. Without you and my wife Brenda, this would have never happened", and I meant it!