morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Dave's Place; Damascus, VA

To: Feathercamp Branch, US58
Miles today: 5.6

Atge a good breakfast at Dairy King where there was a funny drawing(a colored in xerox) of a little unicorn by Wingfoot. hahaMade fruit ziplocs with watermelon, strawberries, grapes, and blueberries for the trail later in the day. OI, it was like 3 pounds of worth of fruit. I hit the library before leaving town for internet access, then subway for a late lunch. Finally hit the trail about 4:30pm. The call of the creeper trail was strong but we stayed with the AT even though we knew that the creeper trail was flat, the AT was hilly, and they both intersected again in a few miles. doh! We stopped at the Feathercamp campsite and dipped our feet in to the COLD stream. Really cold, really relaxing.
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Feathercamp Branch, US58

To: Lost Mountain
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: broken clouds

Hiked to Lost Mtn after Rainbow Brite and I camped and I decided to sleep in. (She tried hard to wake me up with little success). Got to the shelter to find that a small army of boy scouts (14 + 3 leaders) and other hikers were planning of staying there. Met up with Reason & Rhyme, Alki & Mr Doobie, Seed & Murphy, and Mr. Socks today along the trail and at the shelter.Stopped at the Saunders shelter for lunch and to check the register. Who ever selected the location for the shelter did a really good job; very picturesque.We encountered two snakes today as well: A copperhead?, and a rattlesnake? which Reason and Rhyme were trying to encourage to leave the trail by means of a 10 ft branch which the snake promptly struck at several times before finally slithering off.
Date: 2006-06-08
From: Lost Mountain

To: The Place; Damascus, VA
Miles today: 1.1
Weather: light rain

Woke up with a bad cold today and spent most of the day playing cards with Reason & Rhyme at the Lost Mountain shelter. About 4:30 we left to hitch back to town(Damascus) to recouperate. Sadly, the hitch took over 3 hrs. Luckily the ridgerunner Kevin (Spiderman GA->ME 2003) gave us a ride to town after doing he duties up at the shelter.On the brightside, we ran into Muddyshoes when we got into Damascus.
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Old Mill Hotel; Damascus, VA

To: Thomas Knob
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: broken clouds

Got a ride back to the trail from the MRO in Damascus. Hiking today was pretty tough but we got to Thomas Knob somehow. Hiking with a cold is bad mmmm-kay. The shelter is very cool and the views in the Mt. Rogers area are really good. The Whitetop Mtn area was especially nice. We stopped there for lunch by the best spring I've encountered on the trail so far. That spring nearly pulled the bottle out of my hand it was so powerful. The shelter had 3 others (didn't get/remember names) fairly full with section hikers/weekenders. A really nice thunderstorm rolled through in the middle of the night; glad to have the nice shelter for protection.[+1.2 extra miles due to Va 601-> us58 to make it 12.3 for the day]
Date: 2006-06-11
From: Thomas Knob

To: Wise
Miles today: 5.1
Weather: light rain

Woo! Tons of ponies to play with today. Rainbow Brite fed one some salt and it followed us almost a quarter of a mile. Another funny encounter was when two of them decided to start chewing on my hiking poles. Apparently salt from my sweat dripped onto the pole; tasty huh!?! Plenty of great vistas and balds all day today. The rhododendrons were also in bloom adding to the experience.Met up w/ Cat and Matt and their dog Woody; they're a nice couple from Oregon. They pushed through to a campsite past Wise shelter. We did have more company at the shelter though; I don't remember their names, but they were SOBO section hikers, very funny and big fans of Monty Python.Rainbow Brite had a baby mouse drop on her from the rafters while we were playing rummy 500. She instinctively slapped it away into the wall without knowing what it was. Shortly after that, when she saw what it was, she turned all mushy. I got some good pictures and a short movie of the little guy, who was apparently unharmed by the fall and wall flinging. I put it back on the rafter so the momma mouse could get it. She timidly poked her nose out further and further trying to reach her baby without leaving the protection of the nesting hole. Finally she made a run for it and left the hole, picked up the baby and squeezed it sideways back into the hole completing the rescue.
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Wise

To: Methodist Hostel; Troutdale, VA
Miles today: 16.1

There was a ton of rain last night, which made for some interesting stream crossings in the morning. the way up to the "Scales" area was misty bald walking which didn't offer much in the way of vistas, but it did keep the heat away. We had 2nd breakfast at the Old Orchard shelter where we meet some pretty rude weekenders. It was rainy and they didn't even bother to clear their clutter from the shelter boards to try and make room for us. The new Hurricane shelter was really nice but we decided to follow the call of town food and ammenties offered by Troutdale. The hitch into town was fairly easy, a kind local left us hope into his pickup truck and he dropped us off at the general store. I hot-tailed it over to the PO and got there 1 minute too late, but the lady was still there and reopened to give us Rainbow Brite's maildrop. Thank you!
Date: 2006-06-14
From: Methodist Hostel; Troutdale, VA

To: Partnership
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: broken clouds

Had to hike back to the trail from Troutdale after attempting an early morning hitch from the general store which added another 2.7 miles to the daily miles (making the total ~17.1)Stopped at the Trimpi shelter for lunch and register. The privvy was very funny here too; picture a comode sitting on a platform in the middle of the woods with "privacy wall" (a 4x8 board standing vertically about 20ft away from the platform). Interesting note about the shelter as well, it was dedicated to an 18yr and the tombstone is built into the hearth of the shelter's fireplace.Unfortunately we arrive at the partnership shelter just after the park HQ closed for the day, and the propane tank for the shelter's shower was empty, so no hot water shower for us. DOH! The good news was that there was a free public phone outside the HQ, and the local pizza place delivers to the shelter! yehaw!Met Stitch, a wilderness EMS, at the shelter. He is recovering from a severe ankle sprain.
Date: 2006-06-15
From: Partnership

To: Relax Inn; Atkins, VA
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

Rainbow Brite and I decided to help out the AT's maintenance club this morning. They were installing a small plank foot bridge over one of the stream about 1 mile south of the shelter. We helped them by carrying three 12 foot boards and a pickaxe handle. It felt good to give a little back to the trail after using it for all these miles.Fairly decent hike today; Stayed at the Relax Inn and enjoyed the fruits of town again. I'm getting spoiled by all the towns in the area, they're all very hard to resist.
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Relax Inn; Atkins, VA

To: Steath Campsite north of VA42
Miles today: 11.8

We got a late start today mainly because the drier at the motel didn't dry the cloth the first go-around. That and breakfast/brunch/lunch, whatever you want to call the meal up at the Barn Restaurant.Today was definitely a change in scenery though. Many, many pastures filled with cows and a few bulls here and there. Apparently, the trail has "easements" through the fields and that's it. So they post easement signs and tell the hikers to basically walk through this area without stopping or deviating from the trail. There were also a good number of damn styles over fences in this section as well; oh well, all part of the trail The easement areas finally stop at VA42 and we finally got to make camp(in the dark). Night hiking is ok, but I rather hike with good lighting myself.
Date: 2006-06-17
From: Steath Campsite north of VA42

To: Chestnut Knob
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Stopped in at the Knot Maul shelter for lunch and were joined by a bunch of kids and their father and uncle? They played, rather exuberantly, a card game called "Mole". Descending from the shelter to Lynn creek was interesting in that a huge tree fell across the path. You basically, had to tree-scramble to get over it.Supposedly we had a killer climb up to the ridgeline today from Lynn Camp Creek, but it never materialized. Sadly, the shelter tonight didn't have a water source listed according to Wingfoot or the TH Companion; so we had to fill up at the spring fed pond about 2 miles south and at a lower elevation of course. mmm carrying 4L extra uphill is fun. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. The uphill was graded very well and it was a bald so the vistas took your mind off carrying the weight.The Chestnut Knob shelter was an old Fire Warden cabin. So, it was fully enclosed with a door and windows. It still had mice, spiders, and other fun stuff, but it's nice to be fully enclosed. The sunset was really nice from up there as well.
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Chestnut Knob

To: Jenkins
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: broken clouds

Youch! Today was supposed to be a "big" mileage day after looking at the happy elevation profile. The profile clearly shows a nice "flat" ridgeline walk for a large portion of the trail between Chestnut Knob and Jenkins. What is doesn't so clearly show, it the minor ups and downs in the form of rocks(small, medium, and large) the comprise the "flat" area. Hoping from rock to rock for 10 miles hurts. When we got to the Jenkins shelter our legs, knees, and ankles(well mine probably more-so) hurt and we decided to stay there and rest.We were joined by Blue Feather & his wife(Section hiking), and Arius (thru-hiking) at the shelter.
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Jenkins

To: Big Walker Motel; Bland, VA
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: light rain

Took the high water trail this morning since the maintenance club posted signs to do so. Received some trail magic from the Green Farm Methodist church today as well. We almost missed out though. We had stopped for a quick lunch and the cooler was empty. There were a bunch of juvies at the picnic spot when we arrived, then we noticed they lingered around in the cooler area while we lunched. So when we finally discovered the cooler, and its empty state, we thought the kids cleared it out. Doh. But we saw the dates left on the cooler and changed out minds that it had probably been empty for a few days now. As we continued lunch I said, "wouldn't it be cool if they came by and restocked it before we left". Rainbow Brite basically said, "yaa....but we should get going so don't get your hopes up". Just as we were about to depart I saw a truck pass by and stop at the road....so I lingered a few moments...and was rewarded by a man approaching the cooler....woo hoo!!After loitering(actually we bought food, so I guess we technically weren't loitering) at the local grocery store for a bit we headed over to the pizza place for dinner then to the motel. Poor Rainbow Brite is going insane from the poison ivy she picked up. doh!
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Big Walker Motel; Bland, VA

To: Pearisburg Church Hostel; Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Mom & Dad picked us up at the DQ after we sat there and played rummy 500, 2 player bridge, and snacked for 8+ hrs. They had a motel in Pearisburg already so we stayed at the church hostel.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Pearisburg Church Hostel; Pearisburg, VA

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Took Rainbow Brite to the airport early this morning so she could see her parents etc...Found out for sure that I was to be Best Man at Rob & Stephanie's wedding. Thanks for the last minute noticed! hehe it's all good and I was glad and honored to do so. Just lots of last minute planning and rushing around while I was back in town.
Date: 2006-06-23
From: Home

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Rob & Stephanie's wedding reception.Huzzah for the happy couple, friends, family, food, and vandalism(damn those neighborhood kids! How do they know when someone just got married? More surprisingly, how do they know which one is the groom's car!).[thanks for all the help with gift wrapping and car modifications Kelly]
Date: 2006-06-28
From: Home

To: Calf Mountain
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Drove down to VA and parked the car at the Afton Inn. (Thanks for offering the service!) Started back on the trail at Rockfish Gap around 4:30pm. It was good to be back on the trail. We hiked a short ways up the first shelter and tented out. Jam man(as in musical jamming, not the food) was at the shelter as well. He's doing a big section hike from damascus, va to where ever he stops at the end of august.
Date: 2006-06-29
From: Calf Mountain

To: Black Rock Hut
Miles today: 13.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Met the ridgerunner for the park today. His trail name is "Webbreaker". He's a pretty cool guy and gave us the low-down on good shealth camping sites for the next two nights. He also showed us the correct method of using the wierd bear poles the park offers. (They're really awkward to use.) We also met Cloud and Mountain Laruel. Mountain Laurel is the head of the ATC HQ office in Harper's Ferry. There was also a father & daughter heading southbound and Jam Man. The father was .... patronizing in respects to instructions given to his daughter. Think of "Now Beth, you lick the envelope to seal it." type of stuff. She was like 15+ years old and I think she knew most of the stuff he was telling her.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Black Rock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

Had a late, LATE start this morning...err...afternoon. It was around 12:15. We ate breakfast then decide to go back to sleep for a few hours.A little down the trail we had some great yogi'ing from a nice foursome of picnickers. We almost missed out. We stopped at the branch in the trail which lead to the picnic ground and after deliberating decided to go up to it for water. Luckily for us we went. We sat down at the end of a double-table and the started chatting with them. After a bit, one of them asked if we'd like chicken salad sandwich, then soda, then applesauce, then chips, then pudding. yummy! Further goodies were to be found up the trail at the campground store.
Date: 2006-07-01
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Fire Road Camping
Miles today: 15.0

We stopped at the shelter for a midday avoid the heat-type of rest and for lunch. We had the HOTTEST DAMN Asian noodles on the planet for I think. It hurt to eat them. Rainbow Brite stopped after a few spoonfuls.   Met up with Prana and Iroc today. Iroc walked in and was like...Rainbow Brite?...Mt Dew? It is you! We chatted for a bit and let him continue what he came down to the shelter for...the privy. We left while he was ah...using the privy. A little ways up the trail we met Prana, who was waiting at the nearby spring for Iroc.We all pushed to another picnic ground(in hopes of some hearty yogi'ing). Sadly, the picnic area didn't allow camping so we all pressed on to the fire road a bit up the trail and setup there. In the middle of the night we heard Prana scream out "WHY!?!?!" Rainbow Brite clued me in to a similar nightmare incident she experienced with Prana in Fontana Dam. heh.
Date: 2006-07-02
From: Fire Road Camping

To: Big Meadows Campground
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: few clouds

It was a really nice day of hiking today. We got to Big Meadows area about 4pm and sat down for dinnch in the wayside grill. Iroc was pretty funny when he straight-out asked the waiter, "What's your biggest portion entr©e?". We had a really good time swapping stories with Iroc and Prana. Remember to watch out for "Ankle biters" Prana. We all decided to camp at the big meadows campgrounds for the night. Re-supplied at the wayside after dinnch, then did shower/laundry, setup camp, then hit the tap room up at the lodge. There was live entertainment and they involved the audience in a few of the songs: i.e., "Ring of Fire" and "She'll be coming around the mountain".
Date: 2006-07-03
From: Big Meadows Campground

To: Campsite just past Skyland
Miles today: 8.5

Another late start today; motif perhaps? Well, we did eat breakfast at the lodge @ Big Meadows with Prana & Iroc. (Interesting note: we were here on the 70th anniversary of the opening performed by Roosevelt.) We also ate lunch at the lodge...(hence the reason for the late start hiking). Met the Flintstones at the first shelter out of Big Meadows; they're a SOBO couple planning to flip to ME(PA->GA-flip-ME->PA), they're doing it because they love the heat(doesn't sound appealing at all to me).We saw our first BEAR today! It was running away from us(surprise, surprise) just before the Skyland lodge and just after the Skyland stable. We hit the bar for a snack then headed on up the trail to camp.
Date: 2006-07-04
From: Campsite just past Skyland

To: Camping before Elk Wallow
Miles today: 16.1

Had some really good views out into the Shennandoah valley today. Didn't make it to Hogback Gap for a good view of the 4th of July fireworks(supposedly you can see the firework of two different towns from there). On the brigght side there were tons of yummy blueberries and blackberries along the way to nibble on. Ok, just to clue in the non-hikers that don't quite know just how hungry you can get here... we stopped at the Panorama(closed for the season; really it's been closed for a few years) and looked through our food bags for something to eat and saw we had some very unappealing squishy cheddar cheese thanks to the heat.... we made tuna cheese fondue for lunch..........and it was GOOD.Saw an interest tree formation at the Pass Mountain Shelter; the "Kissing Trees". The bark of the two close trees looked like ... well two people kissing.
Date: 2006-07-05
From: Camping before Elk Wallow

To: Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 16.8

First of all... THANKS to the people at the Elk Wallow wayside for making us the blackberry milkshakes when the machine wasn't ready, and for the free refill on soda!!!Ok, back to journal business. Hiked today. Ok, I'll add a few more details I guess. Today was the last day in the nice national park. (sniff) I really enjoyed the park. Some of the other hikers didn't enjoy it as much due to the plethoria of tourist, road crossings, and other hints of civilization though. Didn't like that some of them took it out on the PATC in the shelter register. *** PATC: you guys rock!!! keep up the awesome work that you do. *** Meet up with Pipe Dreams and Concord(a section hiker going from GA->WV) at the Gravel Springs Hut, where the rain amost sucked us in to a overnight stay. Meet up with several other hikers at the hostel, including Jam Man who was doing a work for stay, and several other I didn't get the name of or forgot.
Date: 2006-07-06
From: Terrapin Station Hostel

To: Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Another 0 day filled with fun fabulous activities. The hostel owner really loves trivial pursuit. We played it twice today. He won both times of course. Locomotive Joe arrived early in the afternoon and everyone decided to do a evening run into town. Mike took us all to an AYCE place and we did it justice. The cashier said something along the lines of "Are you all thru-hikers?" when we went to pay. We all nodded yes and she smiled and replied, "The Ziploc wallets give away." Ha! At least it wasn't the smell this time.
Date: 2006-07-07
From: Terrapin Station Hostel

To: Manassas Gap Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: broken clouds

Wow! the Jim and Molly Denton shelter is really nice. It has a front deck w/ Adirondack chairs, a solar shower, separate covered picnic table and a covered firewood shelter. We met a local there who playing a mandolin and enjoying the nice weather. Manassas Gap wasn't too bad either.
Date: 2006-07-08
From: Manassas Gap Shelter

To: Rod Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.8
Weather: broken clouds

Not a bad day today. Dick's Dome shelter was neat but in sore need of re-shingling. The companion really hyped it up so seeing it was a bit of a let down. For those wondering, it's dome is shaped like half of a dodecahedron(20 sided die). Sadly the Barn II was closed today, but the owner(I presume) was nice enough to post a sign at the road crossing so would-be hikers didn't walk the distance to see a closed sign. Jonah strolled in this evening as we were cooking dinner. He's now called F-Bomb which suites him, and perhaps encourages him to drop said F-bomb in register entries and in causal conversation.
Date: 2006-07-09
From: Rod Hollow Shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: broken clouds

OI! The roller coaster hurts. We had planned to hit the Blackburn trail center today but the amusement ride got the best of us. FYI: the roller coaster is a series of 13 hills that the AT, due to easement issues, rolls UP, down, UP, down, UP...you get the idea. Sadly, unlike amusement parks the roller coaster is powered by foot; no chain to the top for a nice gravity powered ride through the rest of the bumps.Needless to say, the hostel was a welcomed sight after a grueling day. The hostel itself is a beautiful stone cottage building on the top of the mountain. I'd love to come back to stay here again as a regular customer; it really was beautiful. For those interested here is the Link
Date: 2006-07-10
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Parents House in DC
Miles today: 14.1

Got to slack pack today from the hostel since my parents were scheduled to pick us up later today. The hostel owners were really nice and supportive as well. Thanks for the great breakfast with fresh fruit. Thanks for the tip off on the tasty looking berries we keep passing. They turned out to be wine berries and they are 1) edible and 2) delicious. Finishing out the roller coaster was much better without full pack weight! The Blackburn trail center was really nice as well. The caretaker left us hikers some trail magic in the form of lemonade and brownies!! Huzzah! While sitting there and enjoying the screened in porch, Hightech rolled in. The last time we saw him was when he was climbing up Roan Mountain in VA where Rainbow Brite gave him a cold Coke. He was talking about trying the 4-state challenge. Ouch, not for me! Mom and Dad met us about a mile from Keyes Gap and we all walked back to the car and headed to Harper's Ferry for dinner.Should also note that we hit the 1000.0 marker today which was pretty neat.
Date: 2006-07-11
From: Parents House in DC

To: Parents House in DC
Miles today: 6.5

My parents and I drove back to Harper's Ferry this morning and we slack packed from Keyes Gap into Harper's Ferry to finish up the last segment. Man it was hot. Thoroughly enjoyed hitting the nearby Taco Bell afterwards. Next on the hit parade was registering at the ATC HQ just up the street from the historic downtown. I got #606 for the NOBO through hikers. (The current figures at the time were ~1200 nobo's starting down in GA; so about a 50% arrival rate in Harper's Ferry this year.) We met up with Jam Man and Hightech at the ATC HQ as will and ended up giving Jam Man a ride over to the 7-11 and then to the Sandy Point(?) hostel in MD.
Date: 2006-07-13
From: Parents House in DC

To: Rocky Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.1
Weather: haze

My parents dropped us off at the Pen Mar state/county? park in MD. The park was really cool, they have music every weekend all summer long, picnic pavilion, museum, toilets!, and sunset pavilion. Today we officially entered the north when we crossed the Mason-Dixon Line just after the park. The trail wasn't too bad. Everyone said that PA trail was nothing but rock but so far so good. Trail Magic is outstanding so far in PA as well. After the early climb Rosesniffer left a cooler with Pepsi and Coke in it and a number to call for a place to stay I you were interested! Passed through the first few shelters and stayed at Rocky Mt shelter. PA is neat so far in that the shelters are general 2 shelters; one for snorers and one for non-snorers.