morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2003-06-14
From: Campsite on the trail

To: Campsite on Peters Mtn.
Miles today: 8.0

start campsite on ATdestination Campsite Peters Mtn.It felt really strange when I woke up this morning. I had slept through the whole night. The night had been the warmest night on the trail for me. I got into my silk bag liner and slept on top of the sleeping bag. I listened to the morning sounds of the birds as they sang. After a little bit of stirring Mudbut asked me if I had been up earlier. I said that I had. Here we both were waiting for the other to get up!! There was s short climb before I got to the top of the ridge. The trees are too dense to see the views, but at least the trail is pretty level for the next 15 miles or so. I stopped at Rice Field Shelter for lunch. You had to climb a stile to get to the shelter. Big fat cows with gentle eyes watched as I ate lunch. As I left the shelter and got back on the trail, there were three men standing where the view of the town below was just grand. Mudbutt asked them if they were out for a day hike. They didn't have much equipment with them. It was then that I noticed the cardboard box on the ground and the bag one of them was holding. They told us they were sprinking their mother's ashes here. That was her request. We apologized for interrupting them and cotinued on the trail. That brought back memories of myself sprinkling my mother's ashes. The rain came later in the afternoon. It was a warm gentle rain. Unlike the cold ones I had been used to. And there was no hail in this rainstorm. Mudbut at one point turned and asked me about my record of not putting my tent up in the rain, and looked skyward. Today was not the day to break my record. The sun came back out a while later and we hiked on. We made camp on top of Peter's Mountain. The view was superb,and I was hoping for a clear night to see the full moon. We had just finished supper when the thunder started, then came the rain and some gusts of wind. So much for a clear sky on top of a mountain, in a clearing. We ran for our tents. It would be a long night. Not too many people go to bed when it is still daylight. At least I have a book to read. A cast off of Mudbutt's, but something to read. The wind right now reminds me of Buzzard Knob. I wonder if me and my tent will blow away down the hill. I can only see about 10 feet in front of my tent. It is raining so hard. I hope this storm passes through very quickly.total miles 8
Date: 2003-06-15
From: Symms Gap meadow

To: Stoney Creek Valley
Miles today: 8.5

start Symms Gap Meadow destination Stony Creek ValleyThe sun never did show it's face to wake me up this morning. In fact, it never showed it's face the whole day. I woke up before 7:00. Mudbutt asked if I was up. I told her to go back to sleep until 8:00. She told me that she loved me!!We had breakfast and set off on the trail. Down in the valley where yesterday we could see town, this morning it was all under white fluffy clouds. It looked like snow. There was no way you could see anything under the clouds. It started raining right after we started hiking. A warm, gentle rain, that lasted through out the day. The trail was a running water source all day long. I smiled every time I thought about what the databook said about Peter's Mountain being a dry hike. I know they meant dry as far as water sources go, but it was by no means dry today. I did not even stop for lunch, it was just raining too hard. The descent off of the mountain was a very nice gradual one with wide switchbacks. The mountain laurel was just past their prime, but still pretty. The rain finally stopped by late afternoon. Mudbut and I were both soaked by the time we met Kinikinic at the road to retreive our food bags. It did not take Kinikinic very long to convince us to go back to Pearisburg with her for the night. The thought of dry clothes and a dry bed did us in. After supper, a trip to Dairy Queen, and a trip to WalMart, we were more than ready to turn in for the night. Of course not before Mudbutt took a blue magic marker and painted a blue blaze down the back of my head! I had threatened to do this back in Damascus, but fear of my husband restrained me!Yeah,right!! I only hope that in tomorrow's rain, the blue ink doesn't end up running down my back. I would hate to have to change my trail name to Bluebutt.total miles 8.5
Date: 2003-06-18
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sinking Creek Mtn.
Miles today: 9.4

start War Spur Shelterdestination Sinking Creek Mtn.I could not beleive my eyes when I woke up this morning. It was not raining. Not even the trees were spitting at me from above. The climb for the next two hours was beautiful. I say that because it was not raining! The sun even managed to play peek a boo most of the day. I stopped at a road crossing where the trees were sparse enough to let some sunshine in. At one time there must have been some trail magic here. Two empty coolers and lots of empty drink cans. I dreamed of a cold soda and a candy bar while I let my feet dry out in the sun. Hiking with wet socks and boots for several days has left me with several hot spots that will turn into blisters if I am not careful. I threw all caution to the wind and put on a pair of dry socks. I felt like dancing then. Well, almost. I had lunch at Laurel Creek Shelter, I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden I was starved. I had a long uphill climb, but I was grateful for the lack of rain. Finally, I came out of the woods into open meadows. Cows were grazing off in the distance, and farm houses with red roofs dotted the hills. It felt great tobe out in the open fields. Of course with the open fields came ankle deep water. Left standing in the fields from all the rain. Mix that with cows and you have, well, you can imagine what you have to walk through. At least the level had gone down some over the last day or so. I had passed a south bounder who said it was thigh high when he came through. After finding mouse manure on my sleeping bag this morning, I am ready for a change! Mudbutt and I decided to stealth camp just after we went back into the woods, and before we came back out into open fields. It stated raining just as we put our tents up. I for one am really glad to be back in my tent. There are NO mice in here with me that I know of! I fixed both of us a hot meal, since the vestibule on my tent is big enough to cook under in the rain. Hot mashed potatoes and broccoli soup with crackers just hit the spot on a damp and rainy night. We did not make our goal for tonight, but we put in a hard day of hiking, so I won't let Mudbutb beat herself up too badly. She has seen more fawns and grown deer than anyone I know of. I haven't seen a one. Not one since I left the Smoky Mtns. Tomorrow, I am going to stick closer to her! total miles 9.4 miles
Date: 2003-06-21
From: Rt. 621 Craig Creek Valley

To: Rt. 620, Trout Creek, Va.
Miles today: 8.0

start Rt.621 Craig Creek Valleydestination Rt.620 Trout Creek,Va.Breakfast this morning at Down Home B & B was scrumptious.We has Dutch Babies, which is like a popover cooked in a dish. You heaped on fresh peaches and poured warm syrup over that .Hmmmmmm. Fresh muffins, sausage patties and cold juice, topped it off. My cup of hot peppermint tea was all I needed to send my tastebuds over the edge. In fact I kept sticking my nose in the little package the tea bag came out of to smell that wonderful peppermint smell. My own peppermint teabags have long lost their aroma. I packed up and said goodbye to our most gracious hosts. Our shuttle would be here shortly to take us to the trail. It is the same guy who took me to Roanoak a few weeks back to rent a car and go home. Delwood is a real jewel of a trail angel. I had a chance to slack pack 8 miles today. We were waiting for Mudbuts brother to come in from Atlanta. He is going to hike with us for the next week. I could not beleive the beautiful blue skies. A few white whispy clouds drifted around like giant puffs of cotton. There was a nice breeze blowing that kept me cool the entire hike. I had just finished lunch when some guys out for a day hike with their dogs come by. We had a nice chat. They were celebrating the summer soltice. Today was also the official day for hikers to hike naked. Thankfully I did not see anyone doing that. We hikers are a sight to behold with our clothes on! I was strolling along when about 25 feet in front of me, out pops this brown snout. I first thought it was the great dane I had just seen. But no!! It was a bear!! I don't know why I expected him to cross the trail infront of me, but I did. I was shocked when he turned towards me and took about six steps. The breeze was blowing the wrong way for him to get a whiff of me. I could see his eyes and his nose, way too close for me!! He looked up, waited just afew seconds, then turned and high tailed it back the way he came. I high tailed it down the trail a ways myself! Of course the rest of the trail was dull and boring! Well, not really! I just didn't see anything else so exciting. I got to the end of my hike about an hour earlier than planned. I had a chance to visit with "Machine's" mom who was waiting for him to hike in from Pearisburg. That made the hour go by faster until Mudbut and Delwood showed up to pick me up. As soon as Mudbut's dad and brother got in, we all went back to the Homeplace for another fantastic meal. We are staying at 4Pines Hostel tonight. It is a 3 car garage that the owner has turned into a hostel. There are about a dozen mattresses on the floor and a couple of army cots. Table, chairs, frig, shower and cooking counter are all we hikers need to be content . Content I am.total miles 8
Date: 2003-06-24
From: Catawba Mtn. Shelter

To: Sawmill Run Campsite
Miles today: 8.5

start Catawba Mtn.Shelterdestination Sawmill Run CampsiteI don't know what happened but since the moment I got out of bed this morning I have been dragging. It feels like my get up and go, forgot to get up. Or else it got up and went with someone else. I don't know why but today was tough. I got to McAfee Knob and waited for Mudbut and her brother. It is considered by many to be the best view in Virginia. Her and I did the dance of the real woman. Of course, we all took all kinds of pictures of the views and of each other. We ended up eating an early lunch there. Mudbut gave me a present for passing the 700 mile mark. A package of Vienna Finger Cookies. They sang Happy 700 to me. I celebrated by using a package of honey that I have been saving on top of my peanut butter and bagel. Then I passed around Robin Egg malted milk balls to everyone. I have a small baggie of them in every one of my mail drops. Usually you can only buy them around Easter. They are one of my favorite candies. The hike over to Tinker Cliffs was a tough one. The day seemed to drag on and on. Once I got to the cliffs, I could look back over to McAfee Knob. No wonder I am tired!! That is a long way! Tinker Cliffs is so named because Revolutionary War deserters supposedly hid there and made pots and pans. It is a rock walk for half a mile. Mudbutt was not a happy hiker. She hates the rocks with good reason. I saw two deer on the hike today. A small one who stayed in the path in front of me. Her tail twitching round and round as she watched me. Momma was laying down off to one side eyeing her baby. Finally, she got up and headed off to the woods, with baby following slowly behind her. I stopped at Lambert's Meadow Shelter to fix dinner. There is a resident cat that lives there. He probably keeps the mice population down, but we had decided to hike a little further and join Pirate at the campsite. That was an excellent move on our part. The campsites are along a babbling stream. It is somewhat cooler here and the bugs are not quite as bad. Of course the sound of running water all night will probably send my bladder into sudden death overtime! It felt absolutely wonderful to lay down tonight. I wish I had of taken out my sleeping bag first though. It may be morning before I am able to move again. total miles 8.5
Date: 2003-06-26
From: Troutville, Va.

To: Troutville, Va.
Miles today: 0.0

start Econo Lodge Troutville,Vadestination Holiday Inn Express Troutville,Va.Today ended up being the funniest day on the trail in awhile. The three of us were packed up and checking out when a call came into our room from that super trail angel Dellwood. It seems he was checking on us. The heat today was already unbearable. It was 85 at 10:00am. The three of us looked at each other. I don't remember who said "Do we really want to do this?" Then Mudbut and Charlie both looked at me and said it was my call. Well, I did what I usually do when faced with a tough decision. I pulled out a penny and tossed it to Charlie. "Heads we hike!" I said. He tossed the coin and we all watched it flip several times in the air before it hit the ground. We all had a good laugh as it settled on the backside of the coin. About that time, up drives Dellwood. We all pile into the truck and off we go. After a stop at the post office for one of the other hikers, we were dropped off at the Holiday Inn Express. And what a treat, it was right next door to Cracker Barrel!! We had a great lunch. I must tell you that for the second time in less than a week Mudbut ordered meat. She has(had been) a vegetarian for over ten years. When she fell off of the wagon, she fell hard!! After lunch, they took a nap while I took advantage of the pool and the hot tub. It felt so good to just relax. There were no errands to run, or laundry to do. It was truly a zero day. It took Mudbut's hitting me on the head with a newspaper to get me to quit feeling guilty about taking a zero day. Delwood came back to pick us up later in the evening and take us to see Finding Nemo, then to O'Charlie's for dinner. It was a fine way to end a zero day.   5 Million Steps for Polio
Date: 2003-06-28
From: Wilson Creek Shelter

To: Peaks of Otter Lodge
Miles today: 4.0

start Wilson Creek Shelterdestination Peaks of Otter LodgeRain splattering on my tent woke me up this morning just before 7:00am. I groaned and rolled over for a mminute before making a mad dash to the privy. I had no cause for alarm, the rain stopped within minutes. The trail for the next few days runs along side of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Sometimes it crosses over it and then across it again. We decided to walk along the road this morning. The views are much prettier than those from the trail and Mudbut's dad is coming to pick Charlie up today. He is going to be looking at all the AT crossings for us. The sky is overcast still so the walk is not a hot one. Just about the time we start up a steep hill, here comes Buddy to pick us up!! It was pretty good timing. Just down the road, we saw Pirate on the side of the road, so we stopped and picked him up also. We had just finished lunch, but were quickly persuaded to eat again at the restaurent at Peaks of Otter Lodge. Then it was goodbyes to Charlie and Buddy. We comforted ourselves with rootbeer floats and sundaes from the little ice cream shop. We sat on the front porch until our room was ready. The room has a great view of the lawn as it slopes down to the lake. There was a wedding getting ready to take place and we had a perfect spot from our room. In fact the bride and her attendents were getting ready just below our room. You should have heard the giggles and excitement. After the somewhat long ceremony, the bride and groom walked back towards the lodge. They stopped and she put her head against his chest. He put his arms round her as she wept. Then she looked up at him and brushed his tears away. It was a very special moment for them. This evening, our trail angel Delwood showed up to take us into town for another great dinner. Pirate decided at the last minute to go also. We went to Logan's Steakhouse this time. None of us were disappointed with our meals. Our waitress found out we were hikers and brought us a dozen yeast rolls to take with us. We left her a nice tip! Back at the lodge, we bid farewell to our trail angel and hit the bed.total miles 4
Date: 2003-07-02
From: Black Horse Gap

To: Mills Overlook
Miles today: 6.3

start Black Horse Gapdestination Mills OverlookIt was raining and damp when we got up this morning. We got breakfast at The Wright Place. Before we were through eating, we were joined by several other hikers. Already Eveready has met a hiker from Japan, and one from Australia. We decided to do a little bit of sightseeing before our hike. We went to the Natural Bridge, which is a really neat nature made creation. It is sad that man has turned it into a tourist trap. But we played the tourist, shopped in the gift shop full of items made in Japan, bought candy made right here in the good old USA. We bought tickets to the Haunted House Museum, and I must confess, it was the first time in a long long time I had been in a Haunted House. I love old houses and this one was turned into a money making deal without putting very much money into it. Of course no one wanted to be first in line, and big bad brave Eveready seemed to have left his bravado out in the truck. We laughed and screamed and pulled at each others clothes, until the very end. I must admit, it was fun to be scared and act silly again. We are going to slack pack a section we missed when Mudbut's dad picked us up last week. This will also be Eveready's maiden hike. I tried to talk him into not carrying his pack, but 12 year olds know it all they think. Papermaker and I dropped Mudbut and Eveready off and they disappeared into the rainy forest. We drove to the other end of trail where they would get out and set off hking towards them. We will give Mudbut our key when we meet them and she will come pick us up. It was good to be back in the woods again. The rain was a light one, and the fog rolled in and out. It was a bad day for a first time hiker. We made pretty decent time and met our fellow hikers after a while. Eveready was still looking good at that point. We finished our hike and Papermaker and I lagged coins until our ride. Note: Papermaker is king of the coin laggers. Eveready had run out of steam, and was dragging when we got in the truck. But he was a happy hiker, tired feet and sore shoulders included. We drove into the town of Lexington for supper. We ended up going into three places before we found a eating establishment that was open and affordable. We all chose steak for supper and it was a long drive back to the motel on too full stomachs. total miles 6.3
Date: 2003-07-03
From: Glasgow, Va.

To: Lexington, Va.
Miles today: 0.0

start Wright Place Motel,Glasgow,Va.destination Best Western Motel,Lexington,Va.We all slept in this morning. I had taken a couple Tylenol PM's last night, determined not to wake up at my usual 6:00am time. It worked! We all had breakfast together and decided to give poor Eveready's feet a break and take a zero day. He was much appreciative. His poor feet hurt he said, but there were no blisters. I am sure he is just sore from the unusual exertion. We drove back to Lexington and found a motel with rooms. I had forgotten it was a holiday weekend. We spent the day in Lexington, hitting the WalMart, checking out an Italian Restaurant for lunch, doing laundry and making sure the pool worked okay. Papermaker really enjoyed being able to just sit and rest after his 12 hour drive to see us. I still am having a problem with doing these fun things when I am supposed to be doing miles. I remind myself it is about the smiles and not the miles. The farther we get north the fewer times family will be able to drive up to see us. Mudbut's foot is doing great. Any time we can slack pack it is a big help to her. So we will continue to work our way north and plan on jumping ahead on the trail when we reach Harpers's Ferry. I remind myself that this is not only the hike of a lifetime, but a lifetime of a hike. When it is over, it will be over. I will not be able to go back and redo any part of it. The experinces along the way, the side rails we take all will be part of this journey. The Bible says "Life is but a vapor". We do not get a second chance to live our life once it is over. Yesterday is gone, forever. We would do well to live each day as if it were our last. To say all the things we mean to say to loved ones. To do all those things we want to do but never take time to do. And savor each and every breath, truly a miracle in itself. total miles zero total smiles innumerable
Date: 2003-07-05
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Wildwood Campground
Miles today: 0.0

start Thunder Hill Shelterdestination WIldwood Camp GroundIt was nice to wake up and not have to pack up in a rush and hike. Papermaker had a signal on his cell phone, so I started calling the outfitters early to find out their hours. I was afraid with it being a holiday weekend, they might be closed. At 10:00 am I got them on the phone and they said they would look at my boots. If they were defective, I could get another pair. So, after breakfast, we packed up and took the blue blaze trail up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Papermaker put his running shoes on, left his pack with us, and ran the 4 or 5 miles up to the truck and came back and got us. Off we go to the big city(again). Of course we had to stop and eat lunch onthe way. After I spent two hours trying on shoes and made my final selection, we headed to the theater in hopes of seeing Finding Nemo, with Eveready. Mudbut was drooling with anticipation of seeing Charlie's Angels, but we were 15 minutes to late. Bless her heart she sat through Finding Nemo a second time in as many weeks. We sat behind a set of grandparents with their grandsons. The little tykes were probably 3 and 5 years old. They had a huge container of popcorn,so as we sat down we remarked that we could get popcorn from them. About that time the popcorn turned over and popcorn went everywhere. Me being the dignified granny that I am, and a true thru hiker, I jumped up and grabbed a handful of popcorn off of the seat, just as the grandmother said "No,don't eat it off of the floor or seat, it is nasty." Papermaker tried to crawl under the seat in embarrasment as Mudbut rolled in the aisle with laughter. I could not convince any of them, that I was only joking about eating the popcorn! Or was I?T he movie was just as good the second time. As we left the theater, we started talking about supper. Papermaker seems to think all we do is eat! Of course, we had to try yet another steak house. I don't want Mudbut to get back on the wagon now that she has taken the plunge to eating meat again!! Our meal at Texas Steak House was superb. The only negative thing I can say is that as our waiter handed me a plate for our appetizer, he noticed it was dirty and as he gave me another one, he rubbed his finger on a spot on it. Before he could hand it to me, I looked at him and said "Now give me a plate you haven't rubbed your finger all over" He looked stunned as he realize what he had done. We all had a laugh as he turned red. We headed back to the campground where we had made reservations earlier in the day. Mudbut and Eveready set up their tents, while Papermaker and I went to the cabin he had rented for us. Even though today was an unplanned zero day, I am glad I had a way to go get new boots. These things happen for a reason. Timing is everything. Miles (road) 175