morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-03-24
From: Little Laurel Shelter, NC

To: Day 21: Hog Back Ridge, NC
Miles today: 21.3

With the above goal in mind, my hike on AT Day 21 began at 4:40 a.m. and I was on the trail by 6:06 a.m. ¢ in the pre-sunrise dawn light. The early (but soon to be typical - if not late) start was also prompted by my expectations of some serious hill climbing according to the topo map. Fate, of course, had one additional challenge, namely the fact that I rather stupidly injured my right calf muscle ¢jogging¢ downhill ¢ with my 50+ pound pack ¢ on the day before. The pain and stiffness were severe enough to prompt me to resort to my first use of mega-doses of the through hiker¢s ¢vitamin I,¢ ibuprofen ¢ two pills every 3 hours or so (I would have taken more, but I feared internal bleeding). As expected, the day began and ended with some very tough climbs, made all the more difficult by my inability to ¢toe-off¢ with my right leg. The first climb was surprisingly warm and dry, but softened and cooled by a lovely remote waterfall. Shortly thereafter I was also treated by the adventure of scaling and traversing the exposed ridges of Blackstack Cliffs. Slow going, but fun. Throughout the day I passed, hiked with and was passed by Haiku, Moonpie and Stiff Arm; Pa Kettle and Red Beard joined us later as we ended our day at Hogback Ridge Shelter. Along the way, I also met two other new to me through hikers, Pilgrim and Lulu, who joined us for lunch at Flint Mountain Shelter and again as we camped at Hogback Ridge. My total mileage for the day was 21.3 ¢ a new record, despite my injury. Oh the powers of vitamin I¢¦
Date: 2004-03-25
From: Hog Back Ridge, NC

To: Day 22: No Business Knob, TN
Miles today: 20.7

Got off to another 6:06 a.m. start on AT Day 22 ¢ watching the sunrise while already hiking along the AT is an ennobling treat. Although my leg was beginning to feel somewhat better, I was still taking lots of vitamin I, so as expected, the speedy Haiku passed me around 10:00 a.m., but taking advantage of his food break, I caught up with him again at the Bald Mountain Shelter. Along the way we both climbed and then crossed the 5,516-foot Big Bald Mountain, great views on this clear crisp day. Hustling down the other side to try and meet my 20 mile per day target, I ran into a ranger who told me that they were doing a controlled burn on Flatrock Mountain and that I would have to take a detour.This unexpected news prompted a mixture of emotions; one I was disappointed that I would have to depart from the white blazed trail and two, I did not want to put in any unplanned extra mileage. As it turned out, the trail length and elevation change were the same on the AT and the detour, the only problem remaining was that the detour consisted of a hot, dry, hard on your feet, gravel road. Furthermore, all the time I was trudging along I was getting more and more worried that I had somehow missed the promised sign to return to the AT. I was flooded with relief when I finally saw the familiar, and now very comforting, white blaze, so much so that I took a break for water and an energy bar. Refueled and secure I hurried along, eventually reaching No Business Knob Shelter just as the sun set for the day.I don¢t mind admitting that I was tired, so when I smelled the campfire that Haiku and another through hiker, Tell It Like It Is, had set at the shelter, I was relieved. Eventually, Pa Kettle and Red Beard also straggled in for the night; Moonpie and Stiff Arm pushed on for a few extra miles since they had to make it to the town of Erwin early the next day. Despite not matching their efforts, I had still completed 20.7 miles, so I thought I was still on schedule for finishing this week¢s hike in two more days ¢ a miscalculation-fueled over optimism error that caused my poor wife to waste her time and energy sitting at trail heads for hours and chasing me all over the mountains, but more on that next¢¦
Date: 2004-03-28
From: Stan Murray, NC

To: Day 25: US 19E at Elk Park, NC
Miles today: 10.4

I got up early as usual on AT Day 25 so that I could hurry in the final 10.4 miles to my pick up site at Elk Park, just 4 miles South of the Roan Mountain State Park. About 45 minutes into the hike I came across signs describing the both the Overmountain Shelter and the Yellow Mountain Gap trail. The former was originally used during the Revolutionary War as a re-supply point for local fighters who scaled these mountains in the late autumn to defeat the British in a near-by skirmish. The Yellow Mountain Gap trail was their route. Fascinated by this information, I hiked the 0.2 miles down the hill to see what it looked like. I found a large red barn that had been converted to a shelter for AT hikers. Sitting outside I was pleased to find my former hiking partner, Stiff Arm and another through hiker, Lobsta Man, enjoying the sunrise. We chatted briefly and then I took off ¢ I literally ran since I had left my pack at the top of the side trail to the shelter.Leaving the side trail, I took up my pack and immediately began a near thousand foot climb, followed by a gap and another major climb, both of the set of peaks being some of the most impressive balds I had seen to date on the AT. Got lots of terrific pictures and met up with Hot Chocolate at 11:00 a.m. As any through hiker knows, food is an increasingly high priority in ¢our¢ lives, so shortly after our greetings and my repeated apologies for my message screw-up, I begged her to take me to a Burger King for lunch and to the food market for vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. Along the way I figured out that even though I didn¢t make my target of 30 miles on the day before, my 20 mile per day average had in fact put me so far ahead of my planned schedule that I would be able to spend the next two and half days resting and recuperating and eating and ¢¦. with my most understanding wife. Life and retirement is good.
Date: 2004-03-31
From: US 19E, Elk Park at US 19E near Roan Mtn St Pk, TN

To: Seg 5: US 421, Low Gap near Shady Valley, TN
Miles today: 0.0

AT Segment 5: March 31 ¢ April 3, 2004Starting point = US 19E, Elk Park, near Roan Mountain State Park, TNEnding point = US 421, Low Gap, near Shady Valley, TNTotal miles for this interval = 41.6 (3 days @ 13.9 miles/day)Total miles to date = 439.5 (28 days @ 15.7 miles/day) The highlights for my injury/weather shortened fifth AT segment included lots of deep snow and wind chill enhanced cold, a knee injury sliding down a snowy/icy hill, an unanswered cell phone call for help to my wife Hot Chocolate, and finally a decision to cut my mileage, stay in shelters, take ¢vitamin I¢ (ibuprofen) and hope for an early pick-up to recover. In short, this short week destroyed my macho mega-mileage enthusiasm of the week before and caused me to re-evaluate and set more realistic goals for the future.
Date: 2004-04-03
From: Watauga Lake Shelter, TN

To: Day: 28: Iron Mountain Shelter, TN
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I began AT Day 28 at 4:30 a.m. and was on the trail by 6:30 am, however, very soon I started to climb Iron Mountain and was once again challenged by the ever-deepening snow and gusty wind, the latter making it really unpleasantly cold. My hands became virtually non-functional, but I kept flexing them to keep the blood going and hopefully prevent frostbite. I don¢t want this too sound too unpleasant since the ¢Winter-in-Spring¢ scenery was actually very pretty, especially for someone used to Florida weather. I simply had never seen wind-blown icicles hanging horizontally on tree and bush branches, but then again there was also the challenge of the drooping snow-laden Rhododendrons that often made through passage nearly impossible, or at the very least they gave you a snow drenching as you barreled your way through ¢ so much for the AT¢s famed ¢long green tunnel.¢When I got to the Vanderventer Shelter at seven miles, I got another surprise the shelter¢s sleeping surfaces were covered with wind blown snow. I sure felt sorry for Lulu, who the registry said spent a lonely and I am sure very cold and wet night there the evening before. I signed the register ¢FireBall is cold¢ and quickly moved on. I soon met two SOBO slackpackers and then I got passed by the fast moving Canadian female AT through hiker Tell It Like It Is. She like me decided to stop in the early afternoon at the Iron Mountain Shelter, which for me was a hike of only 14.0 miles. This decision to stop was based on safety since it was nearly eight miles to the next shelter, over a few fairly challenging hill climbs, and the snow was still coming down. About two hours later, the NOBO AT through hiker Red Beard slogged in, an entrance punctuated by his complaints of the difficult travel through the snow-soaked Rhododendrons that blocked the trail a quarter mile below the shelter. Simply put it was a very cold night. I sure wish I had a zero or sub-zero degree sleeping bag like some of my through hiker buddies, and to make matters worse, when we awoke in the morning the bags and everything else in the shelter was covered with a thin coating of water ¢ I assume this was from snow blowing in and melting. Once again, another lesson learned.
Date: 2004-04-05
From: US 421, Low Gap near Shady Valley, TN

To: Seg 6: VA 16 & 650, Dickey Gap near Troutdale, VA
Miles today: 0.0

AT Segment 6: April 5-8, 2004Starting point = US 421, Low Gap, near Shady Valley, TNEnding point = VA 16 & VA 650, Dickey Gap, near Troutdale, VATotal miles for this segment = 64.0 (4 days @ 16.0 miles/day)Total miles to date = 516.9 (33 days @ 15.7 miles/day)Body weight = 130 lbs The highlights for this injury recovery shortened sixth segment of my AT hike once again included lots and lots of deep snow (and wet slush), a visit to the ¢friendliest town on the AT,¢ day-long hiking with a partner, partial recovery from knee injury, entering my fourth state and a continuing weight loss despite trying to carry and eat more food.
Date: 2004-04-06
To: Day 31: Lost Mountain Shelter, VA
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

On AT Day 31 I finished a hearty breakfast of pancakes, sausage and OJ at ¢Cowboys¢ around 7:00 a.m., took some vitamin I for my still stiff and sore knee and immediately hit the trail. Joining me at breakfast and all of this day¢s hike was the AT through hiker, Shadowman, a 51 yo, ex-Marine and volunteer Forest Service trail worker from Wisconsin who had already finished the AT before by hiking it in three segments. The temperature at the start of the hike was a nippy 25-degrees, but by noon it had warmed to the mid-40¢s and by 3:00 p.m. it was in the low 50¢s ¢ all in all a beautiful sunshine day.The hike this day was also relatively easy, part of it paralleling or running contiguous with the Virginia Creeper Trail, the latter caused yet another one of my missed turns when Shadowman and I somehow missed the AT split off from the much larger VCT and we went at least an extra mile on the smooth rails-to-trail path. After a total day¢s hike of 15.8 miles, Shadowman and I got to the Lost Mountain Shelter and as usual we both set up our tents rather than stay in the shelter. I avoid the shelters whenever possible since I don¢t like mice and I rather like the privacy, solitude, cleanliness and warmth of my new tent. Later on the AT through hiker, Tell It Like It Is and an AT section hiker, Packrat showed up and stayed in the shelter. After this second recovery-hiking day my left knee does appear to be getting better, but it is still stiff and sore especially after any extended inactivity ¢ so I guess I should continue to take it easy on the ¢Paul Bunyon¢ steps and just keep on hiking!
Date: 2004-04-08
From: Wise Shelter, VA

To: Day 33: VA 16 & 650 at Dickey Gap near Troutdale, 
Miles today: 15.6

On AT Day 33, Shadowman and I hit the trail around 7:00 a.m. with the temperature around 40-degrees and partly cloudy skies ¢ the weather forecasting afternoon rain. Unfortunately as is often the case for the through hiker, I was soon forced to remove my Gore-Tex layers because the rain never came and the temperatures slowly rose. I decided to wait to do a full clothing change until the 5.4-mile point at the Old Orchard Shelter where we once again met Briar Rabbit ¢ it seems his moonlit hike was a short one¢¦ The hiking in this region of southern VA was really quite easy, even the hill climbs were easy due to the well-constructed switchbacks, and Shadowman and I made terrific time. Around 2 miles south of VA 16 we came upon and passed Haiku who was taking a break (he said he had been napping) besides the trail and by 1:30 p.m. I reached Dickey Gap where Hot Chocolate was scheduled to pick me up around 3:00 p.m.With at least an hour to kill, I set up my sleeping pads, made a backrest and finished reading my Ludlum novel, listened to my radio and took a nap in the warm afternoon sun. Life is great! Shortly before my wife showed up with our newly repaired truck, Briar Rabbit and Pilgrim showed up at Dickey Gap (Shadowman had already continued his hike to reach one of the upcoming shelters) for a short break, the latter was greatly improved when we were able to offer them soft drinks and beer from the cooler in our truck. It was our first chance to play ¢trail angel,¢ and it felt terrific ¢ for us and for our new friends. My wife and I then drove away to take the remainder of the day and the next off for to rest my still injured knee, refuel my depleted engine (LOTS of FOOD to hopefully stem my continuing weight loss!), watch a video and have some FUN. To reiterate ¢ Life is Great!
Date: 2004-04-10
From: VA 16 & 650, Dickey Gap near Troutdale, VA

To: Seg 7: VA 612 & I-77 near Bastian, VA
Miles today: 0.0

AT Segment 7: April 10-13, 2004Starting point = VA 16 & VA 650, Dickey Gap, near Troutdale, VAEnding point = VA 612 crossing of I-77 near Bastian, VATotal miles for this segment = 71.8 (4 days @ 18.0 miles/day)Total miles to date = 587.3 (37 days @ 15.9 miles/day)Body weight = 130 lbsPack starting weight = 56.6 lbs (7 days of food and morning water load) The highlights for this weather-shortened AT segment were rain, rain, rain and the consequences of rain ¢ slippery trail and swollen rivers. As a result of these inclement conditions, my original mileage goals had to be shortened from reaching Pearisburg, VA to where Hot Chocolate rescued me near Bastian, VA, and of course since I started out being prepared for at least six days I carried far too much heavy food ¢ ah well, the rescue was worth it.
Date: 2004-04-10
From: VA 16 & 650 at Dickey Gap near Troutdale, VA

To: Day 34: Chatfield Shelter, VA
Miles today: 21.6
Weather: broken clouds

Although the drive from the Hungry Mother Campground (great name!) near Marion, VA, to Dickey Gap was relatively short, Hot Chocolate and I didn¢t get to the trailhead on AT Day 34 until 7:45 a.m. With a 21.6-mile goal, I didn't waste any time and immediately began my hike, leaving my wife to wait until it warmed up a bit from the mid 40¢s before she started her day hike. At the start my hike my left knee felt surprisingly good, but after climbing for probably less than an hour, a rock slid away from under my left foot causing my knee to wrench and the pain returned with a vengeance ¢ thereafter I returned to the once every 3-4 hour vitamin I regimen. Luckily although the weather forecast called for rain, none came until dinnertime so the trail wasn¢t too slippery and I was able to hike without my warm Gore-Tex jacket. As expected, the rolling hills (mostly less than 1,000-foot climbs) made the travel relatively easy despite my bum knee.At the lovely Partnership Shelter (it even had a warm shower!) I met a section hiker, Simon, from British Columbia, who was using his AT hiking experience to train for an attempt on the Continental Divide Trail beginning in Canada in early May. Unfortunately, when I left the Partnership Shelter, the museum and other features of the nearly adjacent Mt. Rogers National Recreation headquarters was closed since it was Saturday, so on I went to the Chatfield Shelter. When I got to the shelter it was beginning to drizzle, so I decided to not tent and use the protection of the empty shelter. Just after dinner, another AT through hiker, Red Dog, stopped by and talked for a few minutes and then pushed on going south since he was slackpacking this section. All in all I was pretty pleased since I had met my 21.6-mile goal for Day 34 and was on schedule for an early Thursday pick-up in Pearisburg.
Date: 2004-04-11
From: Chatfield Shelter, VA

To: Day 35: Knot Maul Branch Shelter, VA
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

With no tent to pack, I hit the trail on AT Day 35 by 7:00 a.m. in misty, but not raining weather. Knowing that I had another long hike planned, I elected not to put on my pack cover or my Gore-Tex jacket. The second decision was probably OK, but the first was a rather embarrassing disaster. I also tried something new for the day, rather than communing with my own private thoughts, I chose to hike all day listening to a rock-n-roll oldies radio channel ¢ lots of fun, but definitely distracting. In any event when I finally stopped around noon, the mist had turned to drizzle and when I took off my pack to put on my rain jacket I discovered that my soft shell jacket had been exposed all morning and was now soaked. Needles to say, I felt stupid since it would have been easy for me to put on the pack cover much earlier. As a consequence of this oversight my only warm jacket was useless for the rest of this week ¢ so much for the pleasures of singing along with the oldies.Much of the terrain for the early portions of today's hike was over rather pretty private property pastures ¢ complete with grazing horses. When I got to the Davis Path Shelter, I got a pleasant surprise; an unknown Trail Angel had hung a bag of Easter goodies for us through hikers. I checked out the stash, and despite being chronically hungry I settled on ¢only¢ eating two Hostess chocolate cream-filled cupcakes ¢ oh yes, and I took a Snickers for later ¢ while still leaving a lot of stuff for others. With this sugar boost and the relatively easy rolling hill terrain, I made good time getting to the Knot Maul Branch Shelter around 4:15 p.m. where I ran into Briar Rabbit who was taking a break. I told him that despite the rain I was just going to sign the register and move on to get water a quarter mile down the hill and then find a campsite a mile or so away. However, when I trudged down the hill to get the water the rain picked up making this simple act a real challenge.This decline in the weather combined with the fact that Briar Rabbit passed me at the stream leaving the previous shelter empty, prompted me to re-evaluate my goals for the day so I decided to hike back up the hill and stay in the shelter. Not counting the return hike, my mileage total was a still a respectable 19.0 miles and being in the shelter I thought I would be protected from the rain and my clothes could dry out ¢ both assumptions proved to be incorrect. With so much moisture in the air, when I awoke in the morning, everything in the shelter was wet ¢ not drenched, but definitely wet. I should have taken this as a warning of things to come...
Date: 2004-04-14
From: VA 612 & I-77 near Bastian, VA

To: Seg 8: US 450, Sen Shumate Bridge, Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

AT Segment 8: April 15-16, 2004Starting point = VA 612 crossing of I-77 near Bastian, VAEnding point = US 460 Sen. Shumate Bridge (E end), Pearisburg, VATotal miles for this segment = 41.8 (2 days @ 20.9 miles/day)Total miles to date = 628.5 (39 days @ 16.1 miles/day) The highlights for this originally-unplanned short AT hiking segment (to get back on schedule due to the weather problems of the previous segment) were sun and clear skies and MEGA-mileage. My left knee is better, but I still need to take vitamin I every day and be careful on big steps up and down.
Date: 2004-04-15
From: I-77 at Bastian ,VA

To: Day 38: 2 miles past Lick Skillet Hollow, VA
Miles today: 14.1

When Hot Chocolate and I awoke on AT Day 38 the skies were clear and the weather forecast called for sun and temperatures in the low 70¢s all day. Great news since we now knew that the immediate dangers the New River flooding were over so I felt safe leaving my wife and our recreational trailer to reload my pack and return to the AT trailhead ASAP. Even with the obvious drive to hike in spectacular weather and perhaps even get back on schedule, doing the reloading of my pack and driving the 40 miles or so to the trailhead took a while and I didn¢t start my hike until 1:45 p.m. One additional, and quite pleasant delay was that on the drive from Bastian to the I-77 overpass we picked up Moonpie who was hitchhiking from Bastian to Bland in order to pick up her next stash of food at the post office. It seems that Moonpie thought her supplies were mailed to Bastian instead of Bland so she was very grateful for the help in making up for her error. My wife later told me that not only did she drive Moonpie to Bland, after dropping me off at my trailhead, but also she accompanied her to the post office and market and then drove her back to her trailhead. As Moonpie pointed out, Hot Chocolate clearly got a chance to play a trail angel on this day.In any event, within 15 minutes after starting my hike I ran into Briar Rabbit who was taking a lunch break at Kimberling Creek. I asked him about the SOBO section hiker who I met two days before as he hiked up to Chestnut Knob Shelter and he told me that the hiker made it safely to the shelter, but that neither he nor Tell It Like It Is could talk him into staying. Briar Rabbit did note, however, that we and the weather had made an impression on this cotton-clad, hatless, pack coverless, hiker since it took him nearly two hours to get up the courage to leave the shelter. I sure hope he didn¢t freeze going over the very windy and wet Chestnut Ridge, but then again we did try to warn him¢¦The 1.7-mile hike from Kimberling Creek to the Helvey¢s Mills Shelter includes a climb of over 500 feet, but thereafter the hike to my initial goal, the Jenny Knob Shelter at 11.4 miles was very easy with only one more 500 foot descent and climb ¢ so much so that I got there around 6:15 p.m. for an average speed of over 2.7 mph! This early finish, plus the fact that the shelter was full of section hikers prompted me to elect to simply grab some water for dinner and breakfast, eat an energy bar and then take off again by 6:45 p.m. My goal was to hike for another hour, so I could tent before it got dark, but I almost didn¢t make it since shortly after leaving the shelter the AT descends 500 feet to Lickskillet Hollow (another great name!) and then promptly re-ascends the same elevation to a very rocky ridge which I followed along until nearly 8:00 p.m. before I found a spot flat enough to put up my tent. It turned out that this was a particularly lovely site to view the finish of the sunset and the next day¢s sunrise and I estimated that the total hike was about 14.1 miles.
Date: 2004-04-17
From: US 460 Sen. Shumate Bridge, Pearisburg, VA

To: Seg 9: US 220 & VA 816 near Daleville, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

AT Segment 9: April 18-22, 2004Starting point = US 460 Sen. Shumate Bridge (E end), Pearisburg, VAEnding point = US 220 & VA 816 near Daleville & Cloverdale, VATotal miles for this segment = 91.4 (5 days @ 18.4 miles/day)Total miles to date = 721.8 (44 days @ 16.4 miles/day) The highlights for this mega-mileage AT hiking segment were lots of SUN with NO SHADE and 80-degree heat, little water, rocky ridge walks causing sore feet and a slippery ascent/descent on a very wet Dragons Tooth. My left knee is no better, but still no worse so I continue to take vitamin I every day and try to be careful to not cause a re-injury.