morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-04-26
From: Double Springs Shelter

To: Damascus
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Everyone said this would be an easy day and pretty much downhill to Damascus. It's never all downhill and there were still 18 miles to do, but relatively speaking it would be easy. I was on the trail around 8 and stopped at the Abingdon shelter around 11 for a snack and to put some duct tape on my foot. No big deal, just being careful of a hot spot. I ended up there longer than I intended (about 45 min). I knew it was suppose to rain but the break felt good. Okay, now the 10 mile push to town. It started getting dark and looking like rain. Sure enough, about 1 PM it started. I put the pack cover and gaitors on and got the rain jacket handy. The rain felt kind of nice though since it has been so hot and humid the last couple of days. The rain is always easier to take when you know you're going into town too. I got to a well defined spot where there was a sign for the Mt Rogers Forest so I figured it was basically the TN/VA state line since it was the right distance. I took off my pack and got out my camera and took a timed picture in the rain. I had to capture entering VA. The sign said 3.8 miles to the Damascus PO...woohoo..I was almost there. It was a pleasant walk out with occasional views in spite of the rain. It was great to get that first glimpse of the town. Kiwi and I ended up getting there at the same time. We got pictures walking under the archway and entered the town together. His wife will be in town for the weekend so he was really happy to be here. I have a room at Montgomery's B&B thanks to my great friends back at POK IBM. Thank you everyone!! It's a really nice place and Susie and Karen were very nice and helpful. Thank you for the chocolate Chris!! I spoke with Nancy Haggerty of the Poughkeepsie Journal so she could do an update for the paper on Sunday. Now it is late and I plan to hike out tomorrow after breakfast.
Date: 2007-04-27
From: Damascus

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: light rain

I got up to a wonderful breakfast thanks to Susie and Karen. It always seems to take a little longer to get ready when I'm in town. I made one last trip to the outfitter (MRO) to make sure we were clear on arrangements. Terri and David were to arrive later today and MRO was to shuttle them up to meet me on the trail. I finally set out but saw other hikers as I walked out of town and chatted here and there. It's funny...here I am in a small town far from home and I walk down the street knowing several people. My last stop on the way out of town was to get a sandwich at Subway for my dinner later. I finally left there at 11 AM...I had 14.6 miles to go to meet Terri and David at 5 PM...I had better move. It was a fairly easy day though even with the climbs. I took a break just past the first shelter to eat some lunch. MRO had told me when I get to the big long bridge I would have about a 20 min. walk to where I meet them. So when I got to the bridge I was able to take about an hour break and hang out by the water. There was a black snake sunning himself on the bridge...I got a good picture of him. He wasn't very big (as black snakes go). I got to the road right at 5 and got my boots off. They were to leave Damascus at 5 so I knew I had a little time. I didn't have to wait long so it was perfect. Terri, David and I headed in the short (1.2 m) hike to the shelter. We set up our tents at a site just past the shelter to not bother the others as we spent the evening catching up. We weren't too concerned about an early start the next day. They had gotten very little sleep getting down here. Terri's goal was to get 2 state high points. She got Kentucky's on the way down and we were to get Virginia's (Mt Rogers) tomorrow.
Date: 2007-04-28
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

We took our time getting moving this morning since we had all day to do 13 miles (including the extra to do Mt Rogers). This would make number 25 for Terri...half way there! I had a bit of an emergency today. Terri told me the pre-sale for the Dylan show I wanted to see was to start today. Yikes! I needed a cell phone signal! I kept trying all morning in the mist and wind on the climb with no luck. Finally, in a sheltered area (go figure) I got a signal. I called several people who were all out and unable to help. How dare they not sit at home waiting to help me :-)! I finally reached someone who happened to be at home. Thank you Dawn M for helping me out!!!! Success! Okay, back to hiking. It was a little cool starting out and kind of cloudy. It got colder and windier as we made the 2000' climb. We didn't get much of a view. The rain didn't amount to much though so that was good. We had a fairly leisurely day. I got to the viewless summit ahead of Terri so I could take a video of her coming up. FMax, I'll have to make sure you get to see it. We found a nice tent site near the Thomas Knob Shelter and then went to the shelter to make dinner. I hear this voice behind me asking about water and it was Bowleg! He had caught up! Bono kept going through my legs and seemed happy to see me. The clouds were moving in fast and the wind was strong...looked like we were in for some "weather". We could see some of the ponies in the fields nearby and expect to see more tomorrow. Hello to everyone at TAP NY...sorry I couldn't be there this year! Don't forget me for next year!!
Date: 2007-04-29
From: Thomas Knob Shelter

To: VA 603, Fox Creek
Miles today: 12.7

It was windy through the night, and it rained a little. The clouds were still out, but they were above us and moving fast. There were a lot of weekend warriors out, especially a lot of Boy Scouts. I was looking forward to the first 5 miles today through the Grayson Highlands. The day turned out to be a real treat. Terri and David were lucky to get to be on one of the most beautiful sections of trail and have such nice weather for it. It was sunny but not too hot with a nice breeze most of the day. We had great views and saw several ponies. The "fatman squeeze tunnel" was really cool You'll just have to see the pictures. It was a relatively easy day with only about 1000'-1200' elevation gain all day. We stopped at the Wise Shelter for lunch. Bowleg and Bono were there and decided to go into town with us and then get a ride back to the trail with me in the morning. We had a nice walk out with a snack break at the Old Orchard Shelter. We got out a little early, but the shuttle driver was early too. We stayed at the Hikers Inn owned by Suzanne (very nice lady) whom I had met when I stayed in town a few days ago. Terri had brought a couple of lighter weight items for me to swap out and some food. Terri and David wanted to hit the road early since they had such a long drive. My signal in town is not good so the online journal will just have to wait. I hit the 500 mile mark today! The article that Nancy Haggerty wrote for the Poughkeepsie Journal should be in the paper today. It should be online for awhile. I hope someone saves me a copy!
Date: 2007-04-30
From: VA 603, Fox Creek

To: Trimpi Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: clear sky

Terri and David dropped Bowleg, Bono and I off at about 7:30 or so. It was a nice early start for what I knew would be a short day. Bowleg and I had agreed to meet at Trimpi Shelter to do a couple of short days to rest his feet. I set out and stopped at the top of Iron Mtn (the 3rd Iron Mtn so far) I met G Smurf and then McQueen came along. He wasn't feeling well so I gave him my package of theraflu to take tonight. I went on to the new Hurricane Shelter and hung out my myself for about an hour. It was nice to just relax. Then I came to a nice waterfall (Comer's I think). I hung out on the bridge having lunch. A jet buzzed over very low and startled me. I finally headed out for Trimpi and got there about 2:30. Bowleg wasn't there. I was kind of surprised since I figured he probably passed me while I was at the Hurricane Shelter. A father and son SOBO team were taking a break there as well as 1/3 (soon to be renamed Nads). I set up my tent and had the place to myself. I took a little nap and still no Bowleg. So, I had my dinner and figured he must have "walked on by" and I would probably see him at Partnership tomorrow. Nobody else is here so I have the place to myself. There is a really nice camping spot here.
Date: 2007-05-01
From: Trimpi Shelter

To: Chatfield Memorial Shelter
Miles today: 17.7

I woke up a couple of times in the night with the sound of a large animal walking around the stream behind my tent. I made some noise just to let it know I was there. I didn't get started until about 8:30. I was to get to the Mt. Rogers Visitor Center (10.7 m) by at least 1 to have a pizza lunch. They have a phone and menus so you can order pizza and have it delivered. I ended up getting there at noon and Bowleg was holding out a beer for me as I walked up. Sniper was there too. He thought I was ahead of him yesterday so when I wasn't at Trimpi he figured I had gone on. Oh Well. The 3 of us agreed to hang out during the heat of the day and then head to the Chatfield Shelter later. So, I ordered pizza, wings, garlic bread and salad and we all had some. We relaxed as a few others came through (Early Bird, Wet Socks, and a SOBO). For those of you who may not know NOBO means a North Bounder and SOBO means a South Bounder. We headed out a little after 4 for the remaining 7 miles. There were 3 little mountains to climb. I was a little tired so they seemed harder than they probably were. The shelter is really nice with a stream flowing right in front of it. I had left over pizza and a soda for dinner....mmmmmm! I'm tired and hope to do another 18 m. tomorrow so that's it for the journal tonight.
Date: 2007-05-02
From: Chatfield Memorial Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 18.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I got up and out early today (left about 7:15). Bowleg and Bono had left around 5 AM. He is trying to hike early to help Bono avoid the heat. I got to the truck stop in Atkins and got some food. I had a good signal there so I hung out a couple of hours (hence the update for 4/23) and took care of a few calls. I knew I wanted to try for another 14 miles today so I didn't want to spend too much time there. Warren Doyle stopped in since he was meeting someone. I finally headed out a little after 11 and went across I81. I stopped at the David Path (am I in NH??) Shelter for a few minutes. Some of you may find this humorous. I took my pack off and set it on the picnic table. I went off to pee and just as I began, my packs rolls of the table and starts rolling down a steep hill in front of the shelter. Yikes!! I start running after it. A tree stopped it after about 30'-40' thank goodness. After lugging it back up to the shelter, I decided to take a little longer break. I went on to Reed Creek (10.7 from where I started today) and decided to take a nice long break since it was such a nice spot. I pumped some water and soaked my feet in the nice cold stream. Blueskies cam by heading south. She is over here from Denmark just to hike the trail. She is doing a flip flop - she started in Harpers Ferry and is heading to Springer Mtn, GA and then will go back to Harpers Ferry to head North to Katahdin. We had a nice chat. I spent about an hour or so there. As I was about 2/3 up the next climb, I started hearing thunder. When I reached the summit I could really see the dark clouds in the direction I was heading. Is this where you run Nancy? I still had 6 miles to go. I decided to get to a lower elevation before stopping to put on the pack cover since it hadn't started raining yet. Once down the wind picked up so I stopped. I was moving pretty quickly to try to avoid being out in the storm any longer than possible. I kept coming to styles (ladders you have to use to go over fences) which tend to slow you down. There were so many I was never sure if I was entering or exiting a field. The thunder had mostly subsided so I relaxed my pace. There finally was some rain, but no more thunder. It felt kind of nice since it had been so hot. It came and went but not too bad. When I was within a couple of miles I had a steep 700' climb that seemed tiring. It felt great to get to the shelter. Bowleg, Bono, Nads, Wet Socks, and a section hiker are here. I had a sandwich I had brought from the truck stop. I thought I had lost it when my pack fell, but I found it down in my pack...a little squished, but oh so good.
Date: 2007-05-03
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: moderate rain

I got going about 7:30 knowing I wanted to do a big day. It sprinkled on and off all morning. Chestnut Ridge was totally socked in so there were no views. The cabin at the top after the 2000' climb looked cozy, warm and inviting. There were a couple of section hikers there planning to stay the night. I was wet and it was starting to rain again. It was very tempting to stay, but it was so early. The sprinkling turned to a good solid rain about 2:00. I was on a ridge at about 4000' with lots of little ups and downs and rocks for a long time. I was trying to move quickly to get off the ridge since it was cold, but then I took a spill. It must really look funny to watch a thru hiker try to get up after a fall with their full pack on. I twisted and turned and finally got up with the pack on. I was soaked. My knee was a little sore, but it was not a big deal and I had no problem moving on. On the plus side...just before that I was having trouble getting water from my bladder and it started working again after the fall. I slowed down and was more careful after that. I just wanted to get off the ridge to get a little warmer. I could hear the cows mooing below me at times, but couldn't see them. It looked like the ridge would have some nice views on a clear day. I was very happy to get to the shelter. I got changed into my dry clothes (interesting feat with all guys in the shelter) I felt so good to be dry. There aren't a lot of hooks in this shelter to hang stuff. The rain stopped after about an hour so I went to pump some water and move around a bit. Others here tonight are Father Christmas, Wet Socks, Bowleg and Bono, White Crow, Mr. Easy, and Not Yet. Not Yet had some music playing which made it a nice evening. I think I will stay in Bland tomorrow night rather than just go in to get food so I can get my stuff dry.
Date: 2007-05-04
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Bland, VA (US 21/52)
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: moderate rain

For those of you in the POK area, you can visit EMS where they are tracking my progress and have my pictures running in a screen show mode. Right now they have up to Hot Springs, but should have through Damascus any day now.Last night when I mentioned that I was a Dylan fan, Not Yet played a bunch of Dylan music and that's how I fell asleep last night. It was great! When I got up it was still misty out. I had already made up my mind to stay in Bland so I headed out knowing it would be a pretty easy day and then a motel room. I could tell I was feeling tired and needed a break. I got to the road and Nads was there talking on the phone. He had already gone into town and planned to head back out on the trail. It started raining so I put my rain coat on and tried to hitch a ride. Many vehicles went by without picking me up so I decided to start walking. Fortunately, I only got about a 1/2 mile down the road when someone finally stopped to pick me up and took me right to the motel. There are no laundry facilities in town and you can't do laundry at the motel. So the first thing I did was to wash out everything that was wet anyway and hang it to dry. Not Yet, Mr. Easy and White Crow came along so White Crow shared a room with me which was great to help cut down on costs. I walked to the store for a few resupply items and stopped at Subway to get a sub for the trail tomorrow. Then I got some dinner at Dairy Queen...mmmm, it was good. I hung out with the guys and then relaxed in bed watching TV (that felt strange). I couldn't seem to sleep. Of course, maybe that had to do with the Oreos and milk we had just before bed. It was well after 2 AM before I fell asleep. By the way, for those of you sending me email, I have a request. Since I usually use my phone to check, it has limitations. I only see about the first 15 characters of the subject line and don't see any other information (I don't see who it is from or the date or anything else). So, the first 15 characters need to be meaningful. If you put something like "from Jen" or "from Fred", I will know to look at it. Of course, when the subject says "loser" I know immediately it is from Adrian.
Date: 2007-05-05
From: Bland, VA (US 21/52)

To: Bland, VA (US 21/52)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

I woke up still feeling a bit tired and it was calling for rain today. I decided my body needed a zero and today was a good day to do it. Not Yet, Mr. Easy, and White Crow are all doing the same. The couple I met at Chestnut Ridge Shelter showed up this morning and are staying the night too. I called and found out the library was open so I could do my journal entries on a PC! Since I had so many to do, I decided it was a good day to get that done. There isn't much else to do here anyway. I am planning to go to trail days. It will mean about 3 days off the trail, but almost everyone I have met on the trail plans to go, so I decided to go too. That will be in a couple of weeks so I will be back in Damascus and then get back on the trail where I got off after.
Date: 2007-05-06
From: Bland, VA (US 21/52)

To: 1 mile past Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 13.1
Weather: clear sky

I woke up to see some sun through the curtains. I was feeling good and ready to get back to the trail. It always takes awhile to get out of town though. I got back on the trail about 11. It had turned cloudy before leaving town, but it burned off after awhile and turned into a beautiful day. We had talked about a camping spot as a good destination for the day. It turned out to be a nice spot with a stream so lots of water available. The 4 of us (Not Yet, Mr Easy and White Crow) got there about the same time. We gathered a bunch of firewood and got a nice fire going. Driftwood joined us after awhile. We had a really nice evening. I'm sitting at the fire as I'm writing this. It's getting cool which will be nice for sleeping, and it's nice and clear with lots of stars out.
Date: 2007-05-07
From: 1 mile past Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Honey Spring picnic area
Miles today: 17.7

It was a cold morning (in the 30s) so it was a slow start. It was nice to have a cool night for sleeping though. First decision was at VA 606 where there was a store and deli half mile away. I opted not to go there. The next decision was whether to go to Dismal Falls which was 0.3 m. off the trail. I had heard it was a nice spot so it was a pretty easy decision. It was a beautiful spot to stop for lunch. The water was nice and cold. I filled my water and dipped my feet. Mr Easy and Not Yet were there too. It was hard to leave. After the Wapiti Shelter was a good climb. There was a couple of nice viewpoints so I hung out for a little while there. It was getting late though and I still had a couple more miles to do. According to the others data there was a spot 0.1 off the trail that was said to be a picnic area. Sure enough there was a picnic table, an old cabin, the remains of a privy and a stream. I'm not sure I would call it a picnic area, but it was a good spot to camp. Rockman was already there and happy to have company saying the cabin was a little creepy. It was a late dinner...after dark. We had a campfire for a little while.
Date: 2007-05-08
From: Honey Spring picnic area

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: clear sky

Rockman was up and on his way by 7:30. I was on my way about 8. There was no movement from Not Yet and Mr Easy, but they hike faster than I do. Only 12 miles into town with a few nice spots to be seen along the way. It was a beautiful day. I hung out near some power lines for awhile because the views were so nice. Soon after I saw a deer bounding away from me. There are lots of birds singing today. Every so often I smell Lilies of the Valley and have to stop. I love their aroma. Angel's Rest was my next stop. There were some huge rocks but their views were a little obstructed. I followed a blue blaze to a smaller rock with a great view overlooking Pearisburg and hung out for awhile. The trail was rather rocky. Then came the descent into town. Once you get to the road, it's about a mile (up hill) to town. Driftwood was already there and so were 2 packages. Peanut butter cookies...mmm! And thanks for the other odds and ends Barb! Terri, thanks for the other box with my food, maps, etc. We couldn't do our laundry until about 6 so I hung out in my rain clothes for a long time. Not Yet and Mr Easy showed up a little later. My stay was paid for by those of my hiking friends who contributed for my send off. You also paid for my stay at the Hikers Inn Hostel so thank you all! Barb, you paid for my stay at Neels Gap so thank you for that! Later on we all went over to the grocery store to resupply and we all got a pint of Ben & Jerry's. It took me over an hour, but I managed to finish the whole thing. We have a big section coming up - over 70 miles before the next resupply so it's good to eat well in town. We are all thinking of doing a zero tomorrow since there is a free BBQ for hikers and we can tent there.
Date: 2007-05-09
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

I got everything packed up this morning but decided it would be fun to hang out with all the hikers in town at the BBQ. So, I went to the hostel. There is a hammock so I am laying in the hammock on a sunny afternoon with a nice breeze as I write this. Life is good! The BBQ us being put on by a group from ALMA University who are doing a study on those hiking the AT. Terri, it's the same as the one that was at the hostel in GA when I started. There's lots of soft grass that looks inviting so I'll set up my tent.