morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2022-04-30
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: broken clouds

Five miles downhill to Daleville. I met Self [Que] & No-Steps [Ger]. I¢d had good experiences with the Howard Johnsons here previously, but was reading bad reviews this time; so I had some hesitation. Texting Honey-Toe, she figured she could put up with it for one night. The Super 8 across the way is a bit nicer [except the breakfast], but costs more. And I was way too early for the check-in time at either one. I had 3 boxes to pick up at HJ & needed to do sorting & repacking before the Post Office closed at Noon. SO I paid $10.00 extra to get in early to a $50 room at HJ. I got out on the road at 11:45, running part of the way; but it was raining & there wasn¢t really enough time to do the mile to the Post Office. At the first traffic light, I was able to hitch a ride [in the back of a pick-up truck] & get there just in time. Then back to the room for a quick shower before Honey-Toe arrived, hungry. So we went across to the Mexican restaurant for a good meal. Actually the hotel room wasn¢t bad either [for the price]. I don¢t know what the complaints were about. She then spent much of the afternoon doing laundry.I went up to the shopping center & bought a few groceries plus some fuel at the outfitter.I plan to go to church tomorrow; so for a change she will be starting earlier than I. We agreed we¢ll meet at Lamberts Meadow shelter
Date: 2022-05-04
From: Va 624.ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ 4 Pines Hostel

To: Va 621
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: light rain

One of the features of this hostel I haven¢t mentioned is the chickens running around the place. Honey-Toe had already found out that the owner dropped off a load of eggs each day for the hikers. So this morning she prepared scrambled eggs for everybody.  I enjoyed them along with some of my remaining pizza. Then we set off to hike South, carrying as little as possible.  In the first 2 miles, we passed Rawie¢s Rest viewpoint & Lost Spectacles Gap, then sharply uphill on the rock climb to Dragon¢s Tooth. Many of the hikers found the rocks challenging, but Honey-Toe had no problem with them. I¢ve always said that there are places in Virginia that should give NOBO hikers a premonition of what they face in NH & Maine.We only spent a little time enjoying the sight: some pointed rock teeth sticking up on the ridge, kind of like some fearsome monster¢s jaw. Then we had 5 miles of down-hill, meeting several hikers on the way, including Frodo, Gumby, & Alex. A nice sunny day with some good views. I felt I was going pretty fast, walking with Honey-Toe most of the time. As we got close to Trout Creek, she decided to stop for a while for rest in the sun & phone calls.Continuing across the road & up Brushy Mtn, I felt good & felt fast going up, but it was only a couple of miles before Honey-Toe caught up with me. I was still eating my pizza as we hiked together the rest of the day. She was much more interested than I expected in the Audie Murphy monument [WW II hero who died in a plane crash nearby]; so we spent a bit of time there. Then a few miles down-hill, meeting Bimble [Eng], ShaMan, Strong-Arm, Guam, & Capital on the way.At Craig Creek trailhead on Rt. 621, we had only a few minutes to wait for our ride back to 4 Pines. Earlier in the day, I had arranged with a shuttle driver from the Pearisburg area to come up & take us there tomorrow. He was cheaper & could take us earlier than Sprocket could. On the drive back, Sprocket was talking about how busy he was tomorrow with a large bunch of shuttle requests. I told him we¢d relieve some of his pressure by cancelling our trip, which would have taken him out of the area for a couple of hours. He seemed to take that quite well. Honey-Toe had been concerned that he might blow up, since he often talks in a menacing manner.  Safely back at the hostel, we still had another trip to the store & then had to figure out how much to leave in the donation box, since the hostel & shuttles operate of donations. I¢m not crazy about having to make that kind of decision, but I think we treated them fairly.We're jumping ahead a few days, to enjoy some nice hostels & to get to Damascus in time for "Trail Days".
Date: 2022-05-05
From: Pearisburg Cemetery Road ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Cross Avenue

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 10.7
Weather: scattered clouds

Up early, so that Honey-Toe could again make breakfast for everybody who was interested, & we could still be out at the road by 7:00 am for our ride. The shuttle driver preferred to pick us up off the property, even tho he said he wasn¢t afraid of Sprocket & was armed himself. The guy sure has a reputation! Mostly mouth, I think ¢ he treated us all right. We had a pleasant drive for more than an hour, with a bit of a travelogue, & then started up the Mtn from Pearisburg.  I¢ll come back to visit the town later. Going up to Eagles Nest was more rocky than I remembered. It's hard to imagine how, 9 years ago, I came down it in the dark, in a thunderstorm, & without a headlamp. Very carefully, I guess, especially in detecting switchbacks. This steep couple of miles was a lot more peasant this time, even with a very full pack. Not quite as many switch-backs as I remembered, tho perhaps more rocks. Stopped for a snack at Angel¢s Rest, with its view of the whole area.  We walked for a while together, across the ridge for the rest of the day. At various times, she would stop for a while & then catch up with me again. The Trail is mostly on an old road, which did have a number of blow-downs for me to cut ¢ nothing very big because it¢s mostly small trees up there, what¢s called a ¢Rhododendron tunnel¢. As I passed Doc¢s Knob shelter [saw a couple of hikers there, but they didn¢t seem interested in talking] & got to Rock Cliff Overlook, I found the view a bit hazy, but it was still a good place to stop to eat again.  I propped up my wooden pole that I had used almost 6 weeks, but then managed to bump it so that it slid down between the the rocks where I couldn¢t get it. The rest of the Trail was pretty easy, tho there are a number of random rocks in the path. I only need the pole for balance, but Honey-Toe, who caught up about then, insisted on finding me another one right away. Not as good, but it will last till I find something better.  Soon we reached Sugar Run Gap & walked the easy 34 mile down to Woods Hole hostel, one of my favorites over the years. We hadn¢t met many hikers on the Trail today, but the place was pretty full. We ended up in a canvas covered "room" up the hill. Honey-Toe preferred to sleep on the floor, so I ended up with the queen-size bed. But first, a nice hot shower, clothes-washing, & a wonderful, home-made supper. I eat so slowly that I got to be the last done, while listening to others¢ interesting conversations. Also talked with Neville for a while. After continuing the hostel her grandmother started many years ago, she¢s wondering how much longer she wants to keep doing it. She & Michael had split up since I was here last, & he had put lot of ideas & effort into the place. She wonders if she also shouldn¢t be moving on to something else. Too bad, because she does this so well! It is the height of the season; so she¢s under more stress right now. She¢s a very interesting person to talk with.
Date: 2022-05-07
From: Weary Feet Hostel

To: Just past Helveys Mill Shelter
Miles today: 16.3
Weather: light rain

I had to be up early, before the place got too crowded. Breakfast was pretty good & easier for me to eat [Nothing like lots of syrup to wash pancakes down]. I found out that Honey-Toe had saved a place for me in the bunkhouse last night & had wondered what happened to me. She wasn¢t leaving as soon as I wanted to, so I waited thru the line to settle up our accounts, & then left.  In broad daylight, it was much easier to see the way back to the Trail [partly by following other hikers, even if they were going the other way]. The hostel turned out to be right at the intersection with Rt. 42, where I had tried to hitch-hike back from hunting for my wallet 6 years ago. From there it was a short distance to the nice foot-bridge over Kimberling Creek & then the Trail up Brushy Mtn for the rest of the day. Actually, we¢ve been following Brushy Mtn for a couple of days. It¢s fairly easy walking, with pretty minor ups & downs & decreasing views this time of year.  I had originally hoped to stop at another hostel tonight, but I found out it had closed, so I settled on Helvey¢s Mill shelter, just before Bland. I got there slightly before dark, in light rain. The shelter was full, & there were loads of tents around it. I didn¢t see a good spot; so I went back to the Trail & walked a short distance till I saw a faint side-trail where I could camp a little bit off the AT. I managed to get the tent up & get in it without getting too wet. Honey-Toe had told me earlier that she would try to go on several more miles to find a place to camp beyond Bland.
Date: 2022-05-08
From: Just past Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Va. 623 ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Burke's Garden Hostel
Miles today: 17.9
Weather: clear sky

A misty morning, but not raining, altho I was carrying a wet tent & poncho. After a steep down-hill, I crossed Kimberling Creek again, then a short road-walk across I-77 & US 52 between Bland & Bastian. Then into the woods again, along the edge of the Mtn. I found Honey-Toe camped about 4 miles beyond where I started. She wasn¢t packed up yet; so, after discussing how to get picked up for the hostel this evening, I moved on, knowing that she would pass me soon. A few miles later, the Trail goes down a bit, then up for the last few miles of Brushy Mtn before passing Jenkins shelter & starting up the higher Garden Mtn. I hadn¢t see many hikers earlier in the day but did start to meet some on this last ascent. It got a bit rockier as I went up, tired at the end of a long day. I still thought I was making good time by the last mile before Va 623. It¢s a gravel road that crosses the Mtn to get into Burke¢s Garden, an area of farmland, with many Amish people, isolated by Mtns that nearly surround it.  There has apparently been more than one hostel in Burke¢s Garden, but this is the only one currently. Bags, from the hostel picked me up at the top. It¢s a bit of a ride to another corner of the valley to this new hostel with lots of amenities. Honey-Toe was the only hiker there, showered & ready for supper. They have a sizable food list, with prices for each item. You choose what you want & they bring it to you to fix in the well-equipped kitchen. The beds are upstairs in an open dormitory ¢ lots of choice of where to sleep.
Date: 2022-05-09
From: Va. 623 ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Burke's Garden Hostel

To: Va. 623 ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Burke's Garden Hostel
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: few clouds

This is the day Susan is scheduled to arrive to pick up Honey-Toe. I had originally intended to keep on hiking today, but soon decided to take a zero day & get picked up in early afternoon too. I was able to get my stuff dried out in the sun, & we had no trouble getting permission to stay past check-out time, since no one else was here. It was nice to be able to just sit around & loaf. I figured I could get a ride back to the Trail & hike 3 more days before being picked up for Trail Days. It¢s a long winding road in & out of Burke¢s Garden. Susan arrived in mid-afternoon & took us to an Air BnB she had rented for her & Honey-Toe. There was room for me too. She had brought several boxes of stuff for me; so I spent the evening sorting [& not having to mail anything back out].
Date: 2022-05-13
To: Damascus for Trail Days
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Friday the 13th, but not a bad day.Thursday was another zero day, trying to sort things, filling my stomach as much as possible, & then moving to a place closer to Damascus to enjoy the festivities at Trail Days. It turns out that the rental place is really farther from town than I thought, altho it is close to the AT as it comes down from Grayson Highlands. I had expected to have walked that far by now ¢ I¢m a bit too slow! Honeytoe¢s boyfriend arrived Thursday, so she¢s no longer staying with us, tho we do see them around town.I got a haircut at One Way Ministries & got to circulate amongst the vendors & try to make it to some of presentations. That¢s kind of hard in any case, because so many things happen at the same time. I enjoy sharing it with Susan this time, but also that makes it more complicated. I didn¢t win anything in the raffles, but Honeytoe did. That was exciting for her. Last time, I won a $250 backpack [Just what every thru-hiker needs: an extra backpack!].We thought we¢d have a nice restaurant meal at the Old Mill with Honey-Toe & Andy, but it took up a huge amount of the evening because they were so understaffed & the meal was very hard for me to eat. When we finally got back to the ¢cabin¢ [actually a renovated old mobile home], we smelled gas. We spent the rest of the evening trying to get someone to take responsibility for getting it fixed. No luck. We opened windows & stayed the night, but the odor was still there in the morning. So we moved out, went back to Damascus for the day¢s festivities, & moved to a motel up on I-81.
Date: 2022-05-16
From: Pa. Rt. 16, near Waynesboro

To: Snowy Mtn Road
Miles today: 9.6
Weather: overcast clouds

Yesterday, we went to church in Konnarock, a church I had visited on my hike 6 years ago.  They have a partially retired pastor who serves multiple small churches.  Susan found out before the service that the pianist wasn't going to be able, so she volunteered to play for the service.  That worked well because we got to choose the hymns too!  Then we drove up thru most of Virginia to get to Pennsylvania, where I could head North. Susan wants to stay with me for a week or more, feeding me as much as possible, while I do some easier Trail in shorter pieces, to see if I can recover some weight & strength.  It's a difficult position to be in.  I can see that I let myself deteriorate more than I should have. I should have been more cognizant of how much nutrition I was getting, with my slow eating.  But Is it possible to regain while hiking?The place we're staying is not as close to this part of the Trail as I would have liked ¢ the route to get to Rt. 16 was very complicated, with all the winding roads ... thru Gettysburg, even!Susan walked in with me for a mile or so from Rt. 16, then met me for lunch at the Old Forge picnic area. I was overtaken by a thru-hiker who was concerned about rain & said he was going to stop at the Deer Lick shelter just in case.  I didn't. He passed me again in the afternoon, reporting that he had taken a nap at the shelter & over-slept.  Still planning a much longer day than I was.  Advantages of being able to hike faster!I don't think this is very difficult Trail, yet there were enough rocks to slow me down some, even with a fairly light pack. In mid-afternoon, there was a bit of rain. Not enough to slow me down, but it gave me chance to try out my new pack-cover semi-poncho. Seemed a little better than my full poncho for this kind of rain, & lighter besides.I found Susan waiting for me at Snowy Mtn. Road, after some phone conversation about which road, since the map program is hard to figure on these primitive, poorly labelled roads.  I wasn't very tired, but this seemed like a good place to stop for now.  With slack-packing, I'm learning that you have to figure out not only where to get picked up, but how that will affect the likely end-point of the next segment.
Date: 2022-05-17
From: Pine Grove Furnace State Park

To: "Old Town Road"
Miles today: 11.5
Weather: mist

The place we are staying is on Whiskey Spring Road [must be a story behind that name] actually just a mile or so from the Trail.  I hadn't immediately recognized it as a road the Trail crosses.  After figuring that out, I decided to jump to this nearby segment next.  Getting to Pine Grove Furnace was still a bit convoluted.  After a night of rain, it was nice to follow the AT thru the park on asphalt roadways & to see the historic ruins, including a large [cold!] swimming pool that used to be there.  Susan accompanied me all the way up to Pole Steeple lookout. I found no explanation of the name ¢ just seemed like a typical rock out-cropping with something of a view.  I bet the views were much better a few weeks ago, before the leaves came out. The Trail up was a rutted old road with lots of water running down & across it today. Near the lookout, we met a young woman who had thru-hiked last year, lives in the area, & likes to return to near-by sites. She & Susan had some discussion about nutrition on the Trail. Then I went on alone.than The Trail got better the rest of the way up the hill & even better coming down the other side.  I stopped for lunch part-way down but without going off to the James Fry [Tag Run] shelter [Don't know why it needs 2 names!]. Certainly a more pleasant day than the cool, rainy one I had 1 December 2016 on this same segment. After crossing a couple of busy roads & the railroad [at least I didn't have to wait for a train this time!], I came to Sheet Iron Roof Road ¢ another name that deserves explanation. Getting to the next road went quite fast ¢made me wish I'd planned to go farther ¢ tho it was thru a low, wet area.  Again, the name "Old Town Road" didn't match up with the map program, but Susan was able to find it & connect easily with Whiskey Spring Road [explanation??].
Date: 2022-05-19
From: Snowy Mtn Road

To: Middle Ridge Road
Miles today: 11.3
Weather: broken clouds

Since we couldn't stay any longer at the place we've been staying, we move today to a place nearer to where I began, & I started up again from Snowy Mtn. Road. That's the highest elevation I'll be at till late afternoon.  When I passed the blue-blaze to Rocky Mtn. Shelters, I couldn't help wondering where the name came from.  I think I figured it out:  the next 3 miles have at least 5 hilltops that are scarcely Mtns., but the each has a rocky out-cropping on its top, which does make the hiking more interesting.  At a couple of them, I also had opportunity to do some trail-work, removing easy blow-downs.Then it was downhill to cross U.S. 30 & begin some level walking in Caledonia State Park.  After stopping for a snack & bathroom break in the picnic area, I started the long, gradual uphill to Quarry Gap Shelters  Those are the ones with hanging flower pots & other touches that the maintainers have kept up for many years. Quite a contrast with some shelters along the Trail [Deer Lick Shelters, a bit South of here also have such dedicated maintainers]! Only problem is, one of the shelters had a tree fall thru the roof, & no one has been able to fix it yet. A couple of women section hikers staying there were deep in conversation but did express their appreciation for the beauty of the place.I continued on a gradual uphill & then a bunch of little ups & downs to meet Susan at Middle Ridge Road.  The hiker guides & map programs aren't very helpful in this area.  There are a number of good gravel forest roads intersecting or paralleling the Trail in this area, but no information on where they go or how they connect with the outside world. FarOut has only the inane comment,"Walk along a State Forest Road for about 0.2 mile."  What help is that, without any idea how to get there?Well, Susan managed to find an AT crossing & picked me up on Middle Ridge Road.  Hadn't seen any bugs all day, but she was complaining about bugs at that location.  Later, I remembered some years back when she & I had been hiking South thru this area, had come up the hill to this place, looking for a place to rest for a few minutes, only to be inundated with bugs.  They must just love this road crossing!
Date: 2022-05-20
From: Middle Ridge Road

To: Pine Grove Furnace State Park
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: clear sky

Well, it was pretty quick & easy to find Middle Ridge Road from where we are staying now.  In the first mile, I met NOBO Freckles.  We arrived at Milesburn Cabin together & found 2 men setting up for trail magic.  I don't suppose they'll have much business ¢ I haven't seen very many long-distance hikers in this area at this time.  I took what they were offering ¢ fried egg sandwich [more variety later, they said] ¢ & walked on. Even tho I'd just had a big breakfast, I was trying to eat as much as possible to build up my strength.  Freckles caught up with me when I stopped for a break at Birch Run Shelter.  She took off into the rain, leaving her sun-visor behind. I carried it along hoping to catch up, but after 5 miles, that only happened because she stopped briefly at Tom's Run shelter.  I like seeing & visiting with other hikers on the Trail, but so often on this trip, that only emphasizes how slow I am. She's from this area & was being picked up at the next road.  Besides a family camping at Tom's Run, the only other hiker I saw was Bucky [Aussie], in the last 2 miles before Pine Grove Furnace.  The rain had stopped, but the Trail had a lot of wet spots in those last few miles. There's been a re-route that isn't very pleasant, even tho it leads to a pretty creek valley.About a half mile from the end, I met Susan walking toward me. We've done that part at least twice together.  At the camp store, I saw Bucky again.  The store was closed, so He couldn't get his half-gallon of ice cream.  And he couldn't get anything from the soft drink machine either, because it didn't take credit cards or larger than one-dollar bills.At least the distance to where we were staying was quite short this time.
Date: 2022-05-21
From: Appalachian Drive

To: Pa Rt 850
Miles today: 10.0
Weather: few clouds

Having now completed all the sections down to Rt. 16, I'm ready to head North from the middle of the Cumberland Valley.  When she picked me up here a few days ago, Susan had trouble finding a place to park, ending up a half mile South of the Trail. This time, we discovered that the Trail jogs North a little, passing a parking area along the way. We hiked for about a mile along the hedgerows, as the mosquitos kept getting worse, till Susan decided it was time to turn back.  I took pictures of a couple of blow-downs, to send to the trail maintainers, and hurried on.  I don't think it was more than a half mile before I got out on a road to cross I-81 ¢ between the sun & the wind, the mosquitos disappeared. I started getting warm as I crossed some wet fields, then cooler [without bugs] as the Trail followed Conodoguinet Creek to Scott Farm.  I stopped there at a picnic table to eat lunch.  There was lots of activity there. It's a place where people put in & take out canoes & Kayaks, & there were plenty of each.  A number of backpackers [Recyclers + at least 6 others] crossed the bridge & continued West along the stream. They didn't stop at Scott Farm ¢ maybe they'd heard the water supply wasn't working. I figured out that some of the cars in the parking area belonged to Trail maintainers; so when they returned, I spoke briefly with them & gave them my blow-down pictures.  After I was done there, I set off again to the West, on wet Trail ¢ water seeping all over, but not in springs.. Soon I was crossing Rt. 944.  It's a busy road which used to be difficult to cross, but now there's a tunnel under it for hikers.  Nice!  That marks the end of the valley walk.From there, the Trail goes thru bigger woods & up some more major hills to Darlington Shelter.  I didn't stop there, because I still had to figure out where I was meeting Susan.   Hwy 850 looked like the best option, but the maps & guides are terribly vague about other possible roads & how they connect up with the outside world.  After texting back & forth with Susan about how to get there, I suddenly came out of the woods, then across some farm fields & a couple of roads. The best-looking one was 850, & just down the road was a small parking area for hikers. My ride arrived just as I did. I didn't really want to stop so early, but the next road crossing was 8 more miles, & I didn't want to go that far today.  That leaves a very awkward piece from a slack-packing viewpoint ¢ I'll figure it out sometime.