morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2005-04-18
From: Hot Springs, NC

To: Hot Springs, NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Jay is taking a 0 mile day in Hot Springs today. He went to the post office and picked up 4 packages! (he sends his thanks Gramp and Brian!) He went to the public library, but couldn't put up new pictures because the computer wouldn't let him upload stuff onto the desktop.It's about 80 degrees outside, and it's HOT sun!His plan is to be in Erwin by Sat. afternoon or night, possibly by Sunday. Hot Springs to Erwin is about 68 iles, and he hears that it is a tough hike out of town.He has a sunburn on his nose, and poison ivy on both his ankles for the last 3 days. Other than that he is doing really well. He stayed up until 1 am last night hanging out aroudn the fire drinking beer.there are some hikers who started after he did, but are now pushing past him, doing about 20 mile days. Jay is trying to HYOH (Hike Your Own Hike) as he walks.The scale at the outfitters in town said that he lost 7 lbs., but he thinks (and hopes) that he has gained a lot of muscle.He had a cheesburger and moz. sticks for dinner, and had to roll around on the ground after he ate to "spread out all the food."He's not using a tent tonight, but is "Cowboy Camping" (out in the open!) He hasn't slept too well becaue the campground where they are staying is located right next to a railroad!
Date: 2005-04-23
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, TN
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Heard from Silent Bob. He made it to Erwin today. He got off the trail a couple of days early due to upcoming weather concerns. Will be taking a 0 day tomorrow. He has continued to hike with Troll, Anchor, and Oblivious. Louisville (one of the hikers he had been hiking with before) has left the trail.He is healthy and physically doing fine. Tried 2 15 mile days in a row... will wait before trying that again soon.Sends his thoughts to all.
Date: 2005-04-24
From: Erwin, TN

To: Erwin, Tenn.
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Well, I am here in Erwin, Tenn. I came in via a hitch from Sams Gap 2 days ago and along with many, many other hikers have been waiting out some violent thunderstorms and late winter weather. Yes, that's right, it's late April, and it's actually snowing in Tennessee. I'm coming through what I consider to be a very rough and tough section of trail that started almost as far back as the end of the Smokies. It is rumored that it will become a bit easier after Hampton sometime so that gives me about another week or so until that section. Although, there is always the possibility that it will remain tough throughout. As long as I know though I can mentally prepare for it and tell myself that it will be hard. All in all things are going well. I am moving along each day. I should be in VA in couple weeks or so for the long 500 mile stretch through that state. Later.
Date: 2005-04-25
From: Erwin, Tenn.

To: tent, somewhere after Big Bald Mtn.
Miles today: 13.7

Jay left Erwin, got a ride (back down the trail) to the spot where they came off the trail to avoid the bad weather. They started their hike at 11:30am, walking in the snow! He went up over Big Bald, a grassy top mountain. It was too cold to really stop and enjoy the views, so he hiked further a bit into a more protected area to get some pictures. It was freezing and windy, but he had a GREAT hiking day.He found one spot on the trail where he just stopped and stood still to think for about 20 mins. After hiking over Big Bald, he took a side path up to Big Rocks (nice names of these places, huh?) and enjoyed the warmth of the sun-soaked rocks. He lay down on the rocks for a bit and just watched the sun set. He camped at around 6:30 with Padre.Info about this stretch of trail:http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hike/trail/tenn.html#sub1
Date: 2005-04-26
From: tent along the trail

To: Erwin (again!)
Miles today: 11.5

When Jay called today he was sitting out on the porch of the Hostel drinking beer from a Gatorade container. He sounded relaxed, healthy, and happy! He got his package from his brother Keith and loved the cookies that he shared with his fellow hikers. He is still hiking with the Troll family and Padre.Today (for one of the first times) the hiking had a good deal of flat sections. He got up in the morning, and hiked 11.5 miles in only 3 hours! He arrived at a small hostel right off of the trail, so they didn't have to go back into the town of Erwin. They are staying the night and heading out again in the am.During his hike today there was a fellow hiker (Marcello?) hiking about 45 mins. behind him. When he caught up with Jay later in the day he asked Jay if he had seen the bear right along the trail they were walking. Jay thinks that he may have missed it because he was "rocking out to the headphones."His spirits are much more positive then they were only 4 days ago. When he first arrived in Erwin he told me that he was "tired of walking up and down." (which isn't a good statement to make when walking along a MOUNTAIN TRAIL!) He also mentioned that it was starting to feel like a job. The reality that it was no longer just a few weeks vacation had set in. He has been walking for about 340 miles so far, and has been doing a lot of PUDS (pointless ups and downs.) He officially declared that he had hit his first 'wall' of a mental battle to get himself back out there. When he called today, the first thing he said was that the last couple of days had been really great. He is really excited to get to VA (and he will be there in only 10 days!)
Date: 2005-04-27
To: Trail Progress
Miles today: 10.8

Jay will be in Hampton, TN in about 6 days. He is enjoying the hike more, and plans to do about 12 miles per day up until Hampton. He said that he enjoys spreading the walk out throughout the day rather than rushing it because the early evening is such a nice time to walk. As the sun sets, it gets a bit cooler, but all the colors are really beautiful.The map shows a dot about where he is. Check out the pictures... look at all his hair!!
Date: 2005-04-28
To: Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Hello to all. I am at the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel tonight and out of the rain, sleet, and snow for a few hours anyway. This hostel is basically in the woods. It's .6 miles from where the trail comes down into a gap, or notch as they are called in normal places, like NH. I followed an old woods road/jeep path to get here and it was a very welcome sight tonight. It's run by CC and her husband PakRat. Basically the hostel is their house. They let you in and you can shower, use the kitchen, re-supply from their small camp store, and all that good stuff. Theres a bunkhouse outback that you pay $7 to stay in. Sounds like a deal to me in this weather. It's kind of a cool place because I didn't have to go into town for this one. I can get right back on the trail in the morning and be on my merry way, up the 2500' climb to Roan High Knob(Joe you remember that one right?). Anyhow, I just wanted to drop you all a quick line to let you know how I am. I will be happy to get out North Carolina/Tennessee. The terrain here has been VERY difficult. I am hopeful that all of the rumors I've heard about Virginia easing up a bit are true. But I have learned not to believe anything until I've hiked it. I will be in touch soon, and I thank everyone for their support and inspiration.
Date: 2005-04-29
From: Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Well, I awoke this morning in the bunkhouse at the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel, and the rain was pouring down on the roof, as it had done all night long. I'm surprised that it remained as rain all night long due to the fact that the temperatures are only in the low 40'sthis morning. So, the new plan is to hang here for the day and then get a shuttle tommorow 20 trail miles up to US 19 and continue on form there. Being here in the shadow of Roan High Knob with the weather the way it is I am certain that up there, 2500' from here, there is plenty of snow and ice and I just can't justify dragging myself up through it at this time. I'll probably try to get back in a few weeks or so try and complete the section. I just can't wait out the weather any longer and take more zero days due to weather. So tommorow I will move on and be about five days out of Damascus.
Date: 2005-05-05
From: Damascus, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   Yes, it is true. I have finally made it to Virginia. North Carolina and Tennessee seemed to drag on forever, mostly due in part to the terrain. It seemed as though each and every trail was routed, re-routed, and then re-routed again to hit each and every high point possible. Up one side, over the top, and then down the other side. That was the basic recipe for those two states. Take that and repeat it hundreds of times and you have the AT through N.C. and TN. The two states, with their continuous crossing of each other's borders quickly became known on the trail as "North Tennecackalackee".    So it's back to the trail for me tommorow. I am currently dealing with some semi-serious foot issues, in that the skin on my heels for some reason just likes to dry and crack wide open at any given time. It's makes for great fun I tell you and terribly pleasant walking.    Being in Virginia is reassuring though in that I have family throughout the state that I will get to see and visit with as I make my way North through this marathon stretch. It's the first time since Georgia and leaving my brother at the summit of Springer that I don't feel as though I'm in no-man's-land. So I think I'll just keep this knowledge tucked away in the back of my mind and let it be my motivation and driving force between here and Harpers Ferry.
Date: 2005-05-06
To: View Entry
Miles today: 12.5

Another amusing entry from the Troll Journals;"Silent Bob has had about 15 people come up to him in the past 2 days and comment on his teeth. This was all Troll instigated. Of course there is a story behind this. When we were hiking in the Smokies, an older section hiker lady told Silent Bob that he had pretty teeth. Silent was a little surprised to receive this somewhat Deliverance like compliment. Before Damascus, Silent and the good Padre were ahead of us for a couple of days. He tried to run, but could not hide from the Troll family. When Silent Bob was ahead of us, he left taunting messages for us in the shelter registers. So Troll left notes asking that people compliment Silent Bob on his teeth. Troll also asked everyone that passed us on the trail to give the same compliment to Silent Bob. It has been amusing to watch."
Date: 2005-05-07
To: Updated Jay Stats
Miles today: 9.8

Date: 5/4/05Age: 25Weight: 235Favorite Recent Read: I can't remember, I've read too many AT books, sad huh?Favorite song: "Seek Up" DMBFavorite Drink: Sweet TeaFavorite Spot: a bedCurrent Quote: "Sure Enough" said like "Sho nuff"Most likely to be on a weekend: Hiking the ATFavorite Foods; town food in general, buffetsPet Peeve: Uber Hikers - mileage junkiesFavorite smell: anything but trail food!"A place I'd like to go someday is...": New ZealandHair Status: Way too long! getting shaved today!Facial Hair Status: beard w/ big a** goateeMost unique thing you've seen: a guy in front of me right now with a bicycle strapped to his packFavorite Trail name you've heard: Squid JerkyThing you miss the most: KitchenFood you miss the most: Tom's potato salad and tips!(To see his original answers check out the journal entry for 3/14)
Date: 2005-05-15
From: Atkins VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   Well, it's Sunday morning and Trail Days is beginning to wind down for another year. I was sort of skeptical of the whole thing a few weeks ago. I wasn't certain if I was going to go back for it or even if I wanted to go back. Let me say now though that I am very glad that I did, and there are a few reasons for that.    It was great to see people who I haven't for some time now. I saw folks that I started the trail with, people who I saw a month ago, and even some people that I saw as recently as a week ago. You are always jumping around out here and very rarely hike for an extended period of time with the same group or even one other person. So to be able to reunite with people this weekend, even if for a quick hello, was great. The whole feeling in Damascus was good also. You could tell that most people who were there were all gathered for the same reason, and all had the same common interest. And oh yeah, the parade and water fight yesterday afternoon were a blast, not to soon be forgotten.   So I suppose that when it comes down to it I'm rally glad that I went back to Damascus for Trail Days.
Date: 2005-05-20
To: Pearisburg
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

   Here I am in Pearisburg, VA. Still slowly, but very surely making my way through this massive state. I know that I have just hit the tip of the Virginia iceburg, but it feels good to have at least some miles behind me here already. I'm not sure if the terrain has eased up a bit since I have entered the state or if it's just that I might finally be used to doing this hiking thing day in and day out. I can say one thing for sure and that is that the weather decided to go from an early spring form directly into early summer action. By that I mean that the temperatures immediately began climbing and the humidity level has climbed even higher in a short amount of time. We've already gotten into the classic "it's so damn humid that it has to storm every afternoon" pattern. This type of rain isn't terrible though because it generally cools things off for a bit, and since it's so warm when it happens it means no rain gear neccesary. This is a great thing that I was looking forward to because essentially rain gear is just an over sized steam oven.    I'm staying at the Rendezvous Motel (yes, it's a very sketchy name) here in Pearisburg. The people taht run it are terribly nice and are willing to help out whenever and whereever they can. Infact, tommorow and Sunday I ma going to do a slackpack out of there. They offer a shuttle to and from the trailhead for a very reasonable price. So there. There's my shameless plug of the Rendezvous Motel in Pearisburg, VA.    Since the physical portion of the hike has come around and sort of become second nature, that gives me much more time to focus on the mental aspect of it. And the mental aspect is very difficult. Sometimes it's tough to make yourself go everyday. I have a great deal of respect for those who have thru hiked in the past since I am now beginning to understand exactly what it's going to take.
Date: 2005-05-25
From: Toutville

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   Yesterday Padre, Louisville and I hiked into Catawba at about 3 in the afternoon to try to get to the post office before it closed at 4:30. This was all after a treacherous walk over the cliffs of Dragon's Tooth in the pouring rain. We made it in plenty of time and that included a pit stop at the local convenience store for a large pepperoni pizza. Mmm mmm goooood! I have nothing but good things to say about Catawba. It's probably one of the smallest towns I have been through on the trail so far (a general store and a post office), but it was also one of the friendliest. Some of the folks that work in the post offices are pretty well sick of dealing with hikers by now and you can tell, but the woman who worked at the Catawba P.O. was aa friendly as you could be. All smiles and willing to help however she could. She actually helped us out with a 20 mile hitch here into Troutville (the three of us are going to slackpack the 20 miles from Catawba to Troutville this Sunday when Padre's dad comes down to visit.) Her husband came into the P.O. and immediately offered to give us a ride over here free of charge. It may not sound like much, but out here it's the simple things that can make your day.    I highly reccomend to anyone that is planning on staying in Troutville to do so at the Comfort Inn. It's by far the nicest place I have stayed in on the trail, hotel wise, and is also the cheapest. A double runs $39.00 per night, and at the same time the room is not a dump. And damn, the continental breakfast. I've never seen anything like it. Pastry, donuts, bagels, cereal, waffles, french toast,milk, o.j., cranberry and apple juice, and the topper....biscuits and sausage gravy. I think I'm going to go back for more after I finish here on the computer.    Now some of you may be laughing right now at how simple and rudimentary the things I just talked about sound, but when you're on the trail they begin to mean a lot more than you ever thought they would. A simple little thing like a smiling face at the P.O. or sausage and biscuits at a free breakfast have the ability to make your day or even your week.
Date: 2005-05-28
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   Well, here I am again back in Troutville. However, we did hike from here to Big Island in the past two days. We're back here this weekend because Padre's parents are coming to town to see him for his birthday. I guess it is sort of a good thing too that we had planned to come back since in the past two days of hiking I have developed a blister on the balls of both of my feet. It's terribly uncomfortable and I'm doing my best over the next day to take care of them, but the reality of the situation may be that it might take a little longer than that.    The other day we crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway for the first time while on the trail. I decided that since it was such a nice day and I had never been on it bofore and the views were supposed to be incredible that I would walk on the road for a bit and pick the trail up where it crossed again. It was amazing. The views were everything that I had heard they would be, and far better than anything that I have seen from the woods yet. I found out the next day however that some people, all of whom will remain nameless, were quite upset that I had done this and "skipped" a section of the trail. They start to throw around terms like blue blazer or cheater. The funny part of the whole thing is that I only get these reports through word of mouth and never directly from the individuals who are most upset about it.    I am out here to hike my own hike. A hike that will take me from Springer Mt. in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. A hike that will take me well over 2000 miles by foot. A hike that will have me away from my friends and family for six months...half a year! If it's still a problem with anyone that I take a blue blazed trail to cut off a PUD, or I walk along the road to see an amazing view and an incredible sunset, then please, hike your own hike, just as I am, and keep it to yourself.                                                 -Silent Bob
Date: 2005-06-03
To: Waynesboro
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

   I am in Waynesboro in a kind of sort of round about way. We are fininshing our last slackpack section here into town today with Padre's uncle and cousin. The last few days of slackpacking have been great. It's so nice to get the full 30 or so pound pack off of my back and walk around in the woods with only about five pounds for a few days. SOmehow or other it really allows you to look at things in a whole different way.    The other day we passed by Punchbowl shelter which is rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a five year old boy that died on nearby Bluff Mt. in 1891. There are certainely some interesting stories or accounts in the register there. One claims that a group of hikers came back to the shelter from the nearby pond after cooking dinner one night to find their cooksets cleaned up and arranged according to size on the picnic table. Another reads that a hiker woke up there on a night in April to see a smile childing standing in the shelter. When he reached for and turned on his headlamp the child dissapeard out into the darkness. And a third, most interesting entry in the register tells about how one hiker woke up in the morning to find all of the clothes removed from his pack and folded neatly on the floor next to him. That includes the sweaty t-shirt from the day's hike that was balled up in the very bottom of his pack. Now I know from personal experience that no one in their right mind is going to touch another hikers sweaty, nasty t-shirt. So, whether you are skeptic or a believer I'm not sure. I will say this for myself though. I stopped there at about 1 pm, read the stories from the register, ate lunch, and then promptly departed.    From Waynesboro it's off into the Shenendoah's and on my way towards Harpers Ferry...the 1000 mile mark and the psychologial half way point of the trail. It's unbelievable to me to look back and see that I have already come 850 miles. It think sometimes out here we look forward too much and are so intently focused on Katahdin. We forget to stop and look back at all the we have already done and allow ourselves to be proud of all the accomplishments up to this point. I'm proud!
Date: 2005-06-12
From: Country View Motel, Elkton, VA

To: Country View Motel, Elkton, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Check out the new pictures!Silent Bob is planning to aqua blaze... this means he will be making his way on the water in a canoe on to the next stop. He will be canoeing thru this week (Mon. - Fri). He will be traveling this week with a group of 15 hikers. They're all canoeing this section of the trail together. This will be a great change of pace for Silent Bob, and it will allow him to rest up. Earlier in the week Silent Bob noticed his foot swelling, so he went into the doctor in town. He bruised a bone on the outside of his right foot. He's been taking it easy, and this section of trail in the canoe will help that!
Date: 2005-06-17
To: Front Royal, Hotel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Silent Bob made it to Front Royal, VA. This is the North end of the Shenandoahs.The weather this week was great. The first 2 days were really hot, but it cooled off to 70-80 for the rest of the week, and was great for the canoe trip."It was a great change of pace to be in the canoe this week. The group started off with about 28 hikers. 12 people stuck together for the majority of the week."Silentbob spent this week floating along the river with the Trolls, Padre, Totally Different Subject, Domino, Bassline, Stilts, Apple Pie, and Pilgrim.They aqua blazed 70 miles this week. The speed was pretty relaxed, with no set miles per day, they relaxed and enjoyed being on the water. They would paddle some, and then raft together and float some. A very enjoyed break!The Shenandoah River was the dirtest river that Silent Bob says he's ever seen. There are a lot of farms along the edges of the river, with many cows. There was also a problem with pollution in the past in the river caused by some plants along the river.They will be just staying in town tonight and then heading back on to hike the trail again in the morning. Silentbob will be in Harper's Ferry on Tuesday.
Date: 2005-06-21
From: Alexandria, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

   Well, here I am taking yet another break for my foot. It's beginning to get very frustrating. No, scratch that. It's already become very frustrating. I'm laying up here in VA at my brothers house for whatever amount of time it may take to heal. However, in that time I am going to see another doctor to seek a second opinion about what may be the problem.    I made it to Harpers Ferry yesterday and went to the ATC this morning to sign the book and have my photo taken. I think that's about it for now.