morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Black Rock Stream

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 20.5
Weather: overcast clouds

We began the day as normal - waiting for Tinkerbell to finish packing. It was cold this morning, and we left our jackets on till the last minute. As we walked, the temperature slowly rose to a comfortable level, but we were able to leave our R.5 sweaters on until after lunch. During the morning, we crossed Apple Orchard Mountain - which someone told me is the highest point until we reach the White Mountains in New Hampshire. During the descent, we walked through wooded land that was carpeted with pink Trillium. To go along with it, the Rhododendron are in full bloom as are the Mountain Laurel. A couple of the overlooks were spectacular. Virginia is a beautiful state.We arrived around 5:30 at the shelter and immediately Coyotebec made potatoes while I set up the tarp. We've really gotten fond of staying in the tarp instead of the shelter because the ground is softer, there's no snoring and we just seem to get a better nights sleep. After appetizers, we had a main meal of red beans and rice. Very good! I was still hungry, but we are thin on food, so I decided to brew one of the coffee packs that Dave sent us. Tink helped me drink it. He is getting serious about getting enough calories now that he's seen people getting off the trail because they are getting malnourished. The coffee didn't help much - but it made him feel a little better anyway.This is about the time that we got the biggest surprise of the day. Hindsfeet and Snapper came walking in with a former thru hiker that is a friend of 02bee (trail name: Just Do It). The friend was carrying major trail magic. A bag of apples, a container of mixed fruit, Oreo Cookies, Oatmeal cookies, Busch Beer, Mountain dew, Potato salad and much more were stored in their packs. I am not ashamed to say that we binged out on this food. After almost 60 miles in 3 days on minimal trail food had us ready to eat anything in sight. It was so much fun! The surprise of it was amazing. We felt like we had found a hidden stash of gold after mining for a while.Afterwards, Just Do It told me a lot of info about the trail we'll walk over the next month or two. He was a big help and it was fun to sit with him outside the shelter and hear his stories from his hike.Heading to bed, very full and satisfied...More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Moutain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: scattered clouds

We started the day in relaxed fashion, not getting rolling until around 8am. O2bee left early so that he could walk a little slower - expecting us to catch up to him. We said goodbye to Just Do It and headed up the hill.We walked steadily over Big Rocky Row, Saddle Gap and Bluff mountain. Around noon, we crossed the Blue Ridge parkway and decided to stop for lunch since there was a pullout that made for a nice spot. We were hoping someone might stop, allowing us to possibly Yogi some extra food. No such luck - but we did have some interesting visitors.A couple stopped that was touring on a tandem bike. They had toured all over the world and were currently doing a New Orleans to Washington DC trip. Their bike had a Roloff internal hub shifting system that was very cool.Since we stopped early for lunch, we knew we would pay the price in afternoon hunger. This was right. Our hunger has really increased. We have a plan to increase our diet on after the next town. That's not doing us any good right now however, and we just stayed hungry the rest of the day. Our trail mix and bars were gone long ago.We pushed on through the afternoon. By the time we reached the shelter, we were starved. When we walked in, who was there but Just Do It. Of course, we knew this meant trail magic. He had brought fried chicken with all the fixings, beer and cokes. This was as much a surprise as yesterday - and just as welcome. We ate like and queens.After that, is was time for some downtime, so we headed to the tarp, and now I am falling asleep writing the journal.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Brown Moutain Creek Shelter

To: Fish Hatchery Road
Miles today: 18.3

We began the day hiking north on the AT 2 miles with Just Do It, o2bee, Tink, Hindsfeet and Snapper. Snapper and Hinds were hitching back to Trail Days from that road (buena vista) and Just Do It made his final trail magic by offering to bring them down. We said goodbyes to the girls and to Just Do It at the road and pushed on.The weather threatened off and on all day - and we even had to pop open the umbrellas for a few minutes around lunch. The scenery was really beautiful with rolling forested ridges, an open bald area with nice views for a mile or so and more wildflowers (we saw our first Pitcher plants today).Coyotebec reached Fish Hatchery road around 4 and waited about an hour for O2bee and Tink before walking down. It was a long jeep road straight down. UGG- I am not looking forward to walking back up this when we get back. When we reached the paved road, we caught a ride in a pickup to the hostel. The Dutch Haus is a beautiful Log Cabin style house. Lois and Earl(the owners) washed our clothes and fed us dinner. We didn't stay up long. Our first bed in a week (and 100 miles) was calling us hard.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-20
From: Damascus VA

To: Damascus VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Everyone wants to know - how was trail days? Well - it was just OK. Let me describe what Trail Days is all about.If you are into the party crowd, definitely head over to tent city. The partying is hard and goes All night long - and I mean till 5am. Don't plan on getting much sleep because it's loud and out of control. The other aspect of trail days is the booths at the park. There's a lot of booths to browse through. Maybe half are for outdoor oriented companies and the rest are just like tee shirts and junk. This part of the festival is much older and calmer.At around 2 the annual hiker parade takes current and former thru hikers through town. A tradition has grown to have a water fight between the hikers and the onlookers. Water guns, water balloons and even hoses are fair game.After the parade, we took some time to just rest. I went through Tinks pack to help him try to lighten it up. We were able to root out a few pounds. It felt kind of cool that trail days was in full swing, and we were working on gear to make our hike better.We spent both nights camped out in the yard of Bunny Medieros. She was nice enough to allow us to stay there - keeping us out of the fray of tent city.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-21
From: Fish Hatchery Rd/Damascus Trail Days

To: Priest Shelter
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: clear sky

We started our day with a visit to the Dairy King. I decided to get the all you can eat pancakes. I started with four pancakes and they kept cooking them. They started calling me "the pancake feller". I ate 11. Not a record - but a lot for me. We spent the rest of the morning packing up and finally rolled out of Damascus with Pi. He drove us all the way back to Montebello. After an impromptu juggling lesson from Pi, we were off up the trail.We climbed Spy rock for some beautiful views on the way to camp. When we arrived, the shelter was full of section hikers and Neffa! We have not seen her since Erwin. We headed up to set our tarp on the hill. The wind was blowing very hard. We set the end of the tarp up low and rigged our umbrellas to keep most of the wind out.We may have some malaise from Trail days to deal with. We just don't seem to have the urgency we had. Oh well... It should come back.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Priest Shelter

To: Cedar Cliffs
Miles today: 19.6

Today was a long, long day. We started right on time at 7am. Our pace just wasn't there. We took our 10 oclock break at 9:30. By the time 10 had rolled around, we had only covered 6 miles. Not a good sign for a long day.We pushed on up a mountainous area called the Three Ridges. Each is higher, cresting at 4000 feet. Since we were below 1000 at our break, this was quite a climb!We took a lunch break at the top and talked to some kids that are in an outdoor program for troubled teens. They loved Tinkerbells trail name. I had to make a call to Kevin about some business stuff - and it took nearly an hour. By the time I got back to the lunch spot, tink and Coyotebec were napping. Since I was keyed up, I told them I would take off and meet them down the hill.Thirty minutes later, they came ambling down the trail. We buckled down the rest of the day and reached the stream we were hoping to camp at around 7pm. Unfortunately, the ground was way too steep to camp on. The day was getting epic. We cooked potatoes and pushed on. When we reached the cliffs, there was a "no camping" sign that we decided to ignore. We were treated to beautiful sites with an amazing view of the sunset.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Cedar Cliffs

To: Rockfish Gap - Waynesboro
Miles today: 15.6
Weather: clear sky

Days hiking into town are always quick, hard and intense. We had nearly a full day of hiking and we wanted to arrive at Rockfish Gap by mid afternoon. We set out with a vengeance. All of our previous 2 days of malaise was gone. We had 7.5 done by tensies. Since all decisions on a town day are influenced by food, we decided to eat our lunch right there at tensies, then push it all the way in and eat something in Waynesboro.The plan worked well, except that the trail was really rocky for a lot of the way. Tinks feet were giving him problems. His footbeds are pretty worn out. Around 2, we reached the sign at Rockfish Gap.We spotted a gas station and made tracks for a cold drink. While in there, Coyotebec was able to find a nice guy that was willing to give us a ride. We went to the outfitter store, and Tink bought a new pack. His old pack weighed 7.5 lbs and his new one weighs 2.5 lbs. Hopefully he will enjoy. He's really done a lot to reduce weight in the last month.coyotebec and I walked down to a little mexican place and got a quick snack while tink was wrapping up at the outfitter. O2bee and his friend came and picked us and tink up and delivered us to our b&b. We are staying at the Tree Steets Inn. This place is awesome! Very welcoming and beautiful.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-24
From: Rockfish Gap - Waynesboro

To: Blackrock Hut
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

Walking into Shenendoah National Park is something that you think about as a thru hiker like a major milestone. You are close to the halfway point and people say how the trail gets easier. So we were excited to get rolling into the park this morning.A few miles in, we came across a group of hikers ages 80-91. They called themselves the Virginia Creepers. These folks hike once a week and all looked like they were having fun.We had not seen o2bee since dinner last night, but we were hoping to catch up to him. At lunch, he came walking up from behind - surprising all of us. We figured out that we passed him while he was sitting at the shelter that we didn't stop at.Since we didn't start till nearly 11, we knew we would be walking till dark. Twenty miles usually takes us 10-11 hours. By 5pm, we only had 5 or 6 miles left. We pulled into the shelter easily before 7. We made great time today!We were greeted by a bunch of section hikers that were a lot of fun. A couple told us about a lot of good places to stop up north. It's getting exciting!!!More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-25
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Hightop hut
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: light rain

Hiking in a national park has its perks. We knew that there was a campground store 7.5 miles from camp this morning. We knocked out the miles and arrived in the Loft mtn campground area around 10. O2bee was behind us, so we left a signal for him {Tinks Bandana) on the mileage post. Well - we never saw O2bee again until camp. Somehow he had taken some kind of shortcut and gotten down ahead of us. We got juice and frappacino at the store and headed on to the wayside (term for camp grill). There we had hamburgers, fries and a chocolate shake. Very Good!After lunch we ground out the rest of the miles (ugg...) and got to the shelter to see 02bee there- fresh as a daisy! Either he found a short cut or we're losing strength! Oh well - we were all glad to see him.For dinner we had Caribbean Chicken (Zatarains), Mashed potatoes and chocolate pudding. Hindsfeet and her brother caught up to us (they didn't make the shelter last night) - so that was a fun little reunion. We decided to head to bed to catch up on journaling and to get off our feet. I think my shoes are wearing out - I am feeling every rock through them. A new pair is coming to Harpers ferry, so I am looking forward to that.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Hightop hut

To: Tanners Ridge Road
Miles today: 19.2

We started the day with our umbrellas affixed to our packs. The skies were threatening, but so far, we were dry. We hiked out with Tink, Hindsfeet, Eric (hindsfeets brother), and O2bee. We had a fun first 3 hours debating Creationism, Carbon dating, Evolution, The age of the earth and other interesting subjects. It wasn't all serious though. There was some talk about "manscaping". This has something to do with a razor. If you don't know what this is, email me and I will fill you in.After tensies, we were on fire to reach the camp store at Lewis Mtn Campground for lunch. We arrived at 12:30. Here's what we ate: A whole pack of salami, 3/4 block of cheese, a box of Triscuits and a Cheerwine. Cheerwine is a semi-local southeastern soft drink. Let me say that this stuff is awesome.We stayed an hour and a half. Finally it was time to move on. The rain that we were expecting finally opened up. There was some thunder, lightning and rain for a couple of hours. Finally it let off just before camp, allowing us to set up without being rained on. Right now, Hindsfeet is using a hammock, so she stayed with us in the tarp because of the rain.We are all now in our tents and tarps. Tink keeps going on about "ETEE.Com". This is his idea to start a website to sell equipment to kickers like tees, slopey shoulder pads, helmets with a single bar and those dumpy pants with tiny knee pads. He's looking for partners. Any takers? Well - anything to pass the time walking down the trail.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Tanners Ridge Road

To: Pass Mtn Rd
Miles today: 20.3

Today was tough. Physically, it was similar to lots of other days. Emotionally it was a wringer.The day started well. We walked 2 miles in to the Big Meadows Lodge, where we planned to have breakfast with Tink, Hinds, Eric and O2bee. Before the waitress could bring out our breakfast, O2bee shocked everyone by saying that he was having too much trouble with his feet to continue. He said that he felt he was wearing out and that right now he wasn't sure he could continue. I took a look at his boots to see if we could get him some relief. What had started as a fun event had turned into a stressful situation. We've been with 02bee since the Smokies. He's been inspiring and fun to be around.We decided to lace his boots differently, and get to the next shelter before trying to make some kind of decision. At the shelter, Tink and O2bee had a talk, and he decided that he really needed to slow down his pace or risk wearing out on the trail.It was a sad farewell. We all hugged O2bee. Walking away with him at that shelter was gut wrenching. He wanted to stay with us so badly, but it was just not the right schedule for him. With heavy hearts, we headed north again, this time without a friend we've traveled 700 miles with.Six miles later, we reached the Skyland lodge and ate a good lunch. We are really enjoying the eating aspect of the Shenandoah¢s. While sitting in the restaurant, a ridge runner came over and talked for a while. He was heading south, so we told him to look for O2bee and try and cheer him up. He said he would, and Tink sent a treat of some candy with him for O2bee.After lunch we still had 11 miles left and it was 2:30. It was looking like another long day. We got to the shelter around 8 and it was packed. We put our tarp up in the dark and lay down to journal. This was a tough day out here on the AT. We are sad, but carrying on.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-28
From: Pass Mtn Rd

To: Terrapin Station Hostel
Miles today: 23.5

This was a crux day for this section of the trail. The miles were big - forcing us to leave early. Around 10am, we stopped at a wayside restaurant and had hamburgers. Filled up, we headed down the trail and cranked all day long.Around 4pm, we split with Tink and Hinds since we were heading to the hostel and they were staying at the shelter. We pushed hard and arrived at the hostel around 7.The Terrapin Station is built into the basement of the house of former thru hiker Grateful Greenpeace Guy. It has 12 bunks and a nice hang out room. Everyone was in town (we were in too late for the shuttle). So we ordered a pizza, took showers and relaxed. Later, when everyone returned, we all hung out and had fun. Mike (hostel owner), Posey Picker, several section hikers and Texas were there.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-29
From: Terrapin Station Hostel

To: Dicks Dome shelter
Miles today: 19.5
Weather: scattered clouds

We were up at 6, packing quietly while others in the hostel slept. One of the luxuries of this hostel stay was that we had bought breakfast for ourselves: A whole box of cereal and a half-gallon of milk. We ate every bit. After that, we headed out and reached the shelter Tink and Hinds were at by 7:30. They were not in high gear, and we didn't leave until 8:45. This turned out to be a lesson we'll be learning this summer. Let me sum it up in one word: HEAT. Our day was very, very hot. We arrived at our lunch shelter and were sitting there thinking about our peanut butter and bagels. Right about then, 3-day hikers pulled in and invited us over. They had vegetables, hummus, olives and much more. We ate and ate and ate. Then, when the day hikers took off, we decided to lie down for a few minutes. This break turned into over 3 hours as we tried to wait out the heat. We left around 3:45 with over 10 miles to cover.Needless to say - it got a little epic. We stumbled in to the shelter in the dark around 9pm. Only a British hiker named M&M was there (asleep). We cooked supper and went to our much-needed beds. We are planning to leave early tomorrow to avoid some heat (6am). This may be our record for the shortest number of hours at an overnight shelter. To add to the fun, Coyotebec thought she was picking up a hair band off her pad - and it turned out to be a millipede. That was kinda funny. The no-see-ums chewed on us all night. We love summer.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-30
From: Dicks Dome shelter

To: Bears Den Hostel
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Heat was today's nemesis. This was one of those days when you just have to put your head down and gut it out. We got up at 5am hoping to do some extra walking before the heat set in. We were on the trail by 6:15, after working on a matching set of blisters that Tink got yesterday. The early morning walking was a treat. We hiked through beautiful mature forests and some pasture land. We walked by a rock wall surveyed by George Washington when he was 18. The heat started to kick in around 10. We took every chance to drink water and to pour it over our heads. Around 11 we hit a section called the Roller Coaster. This is a particularly evil section of trail that crests 10 ridges in 12 miles. Because the land easement is narrow, there are almost no switchbacks. For those of you familiar with the Eagle Rock Loop, these hills are about double the height of Brush Heap Mtn. Then you go straight downhill and straight up the next one. Sweat was pouring off our faces, and everyone was soaked as we labored up each high point on the Roller Coaster. So much fun.Finally, after the 7th or 8th hill, we arrived at the Bears Den. We met Queen Diva (owner), Moss, Lady Green, Dogbreath and reunited with Sputnik and Posey Picker. The hostel has a great deal. For $25, you get a bunk, a pizza, a pint of Ben & Jerrys a cold drink and a full breakfast in the morning.Rough day. Great night.More tomorrow...
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Bears Den Hostel

To: Blackburn Center Hostel
Miles today: 8.0

We woke up anticipating a day of milestones: Crossing 1,000 miles, Reaching Harpers Ferry - the psychological halfway point and getting our pictures taken and put in the Appalachian Trail Conference Center book. Sometimes things don't turn out like you've planned.We began with one of the best breakfasts we've had on the AT. Queen Diva cooked quiche, bacon and biscuits for 8 of us. Those at the table were Queen Diva, Tink, Coyotebec, Posey Picker, Lady Green, and Wounded Knee.After breakfast Coyotebec told me she had a bout of diahhrea. I wasn't too worried as we have had this with the ever changing diet we live with between trail food and town food. She took Immodium, and we hit the trail. It wasn't long before I could see we had a little problem on our hands. Basically, Coyotebec was having to hit the woods every 20 minutes. Plus she was cramping up and sweating a lot. The heat was coming up and the humidity was high due to a thunderstorm that rolled through this morning. I always knew Coyotebec was tough, but today she really proved it. We had decided to just try to reach the Blackburn Center hostel (8 miles) and see if we could get Coyotebec feeling better. At 3pm, we were still on the trail. This is where the magic of the AT started to kick in.As we walked up the trail, we hear a mewing sound (like a kitten) to the left. When we looked over a baby fawn was stumbling towards us. We stopped and Coyotebec sat on a rock and called it. The fawn walked right up to her and she held it in her arms. I thought we were still 2 miles out from the hostel, so we were going to leave the fawn there. I told Coyotebec to keep going, and I would catch up. She walked 200 yards and saw the sign for the hostel trail. So I decided to bring the fawn there. We looked up the number for animal rescue and told them about the deer. They told us to put the deer back and the mom would find it.Later, we were taking a nap on the porch when the caretaker pulled up. Out of the van with him came a British hiker named Squeaky. People in thru hiking circles know of Squeaky from his amazing record setting hikes. In 2005, he hiked the AT, PCT and CDT in a calendar year. We ate supper with Squeaky and the Blackburn caretaker Red Wing. Afterwards, we sat on the porch enjoying the cool breeze and hearing stories from one of the greatest hikers of our time. Squeaky is getting ready to attempt a sub 40 day hike of the AT in a few weeks. A couple of amazing things that Squeaky said: "My longest days are around 60 miles. I leave by 4am, and have 20 done by 9am. Then getting the other 40 before bed is not that hard." What?! Our longest day done by breakfast! The guy is incredible. But he's as humble and real as any other thru hiker. Of course, tink had him laughing and having a good time all night.I think he enjoyed the evening as much as we did.We are hoping and praying Coyotebec's stomach is a lot better in the morning.More tomorrow...