morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-05-11
From: Catawba Shetler

To: catawba shelter
Miles today: 0.0

yup, thast right, i zeroed in the shetler today. today i was sopposed to his McAfees Knob which is one of the most photographed places on the AT and is sopposed to have the best view in VA. well last time i was there 4 yrs ago it was all cloudy and you couldnt see a thing, so id be damned it that were to happen again to me. so when i woke up to clouds and rain i just didnt wanan get outa my bag. i ended up sleeping 'til 4pm!!! all day!! 18 hrs! it was sooo great! a few poeple came to the shelter during the day for lunch and ij ust slept right through it. then all of a sudden i heard cranks voice! crank and western came in a 5pm, it was aewsome to see them! i didnt expect to at all. so zeroing turned into a great thing. so it was really nice to be with them.and the weather was sopposed to be nice the next day, so we planned on getting to mcafees knob for sunraise... good thing i got a lot of rest...
Date: 2009-05-12
From: catawba shelter

To: Daleville
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: scattered clouds

waking up this morning, suuuuucked. i was sooo tired, it was 530am, but crank and i got up and hiked the 1.7 miles to mcafees knob really really fast so we could see the sun raise. and man am i glad i zeroed the day before and got up early to do this today. it was aewsome!!!!! the view was amazing and witht he sun coming up, it was sooo great. freezing, but great. so we took tons of pictures there and hung out until we couldtn stand the cold anymore.western, crank and i hiked together the rest of the day and hit tinker cliffs today too. the views were just so nice. and another warm beautiful day was amazing to have. just makes me so happy.so we took out time hiking the 18 miles which was nice that we could sinc we started so early. with about 6 miles to town, we were hiking up a mountain and it was pretty rocky and my pole got stuck in the rocks and i tripped over it and fell. and i fell hard! crank heard me fall and turned around and i was just laying there on the ground, laughing, but in pain! my knee was bleeding and i had landed right on it on a rock. it swelled soo much it was horrible. i couldnt move it at first but finially slowly could and had to hike on it another 6 miles. it took me forever to hike down the mountain. we should have gotten to town at 3pm but instead we got there at 5pm! crank and western walked slow with me and were really great about it all. they didnt mind taking their time making sure i was alright. i made crank keep in conversation with me the whole time to keep my mind off the pian. it hurt sooooooooooo much it washorrible! the longest 6 miles of my life!when we hit town we walked right to the mexican resturant, got a pitcher or beer and some ice for my knee and ate for the next hr. that was my only modivation to keep walking in all that pian. then crank asked a couple at the gas station if they could drive us to the comfort in since i was injured and the woman ended up being a paramedic in the car. she said i probebly bruised it really really bad and i should ice it for the next few days and stay off of it. i wasn't planning on hiking on it any ways, i mean, i really coudlnt, and plus trail days is this in a few days so i was ganna take some zeros in damascus for that.so the 3 of us got a room together and just hung out for the night. crank was so great with me. he took care of me and told me to stop being so 'independant' cause i hate taking help from people. so i let him do a few things, but not too much.
Date: 2009-05-13
From: Daleville

To: Daleville
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

so i zeroed in town today, im looking for a ride into damascus for tail days (about 200 tail miles back) so hopfully ill find someting. all my freinds are going, truckin, joe kickass, so i really wanna chill with them all. crank headed out today to meet his freind, so i really hope i run into him again (hi cranks mom!). so a few things ive noticed while being out here that i talked to sir richard about while hiking:hikers live in the moment. i mean, the clime your doing that day, or the weather conditions, your just focusing on what your doing at that mmoment and not thinking ahead of behind. its really amazing. its kinda like how animals live, thast how we live more out here. all that nonsense doesnt matter cause its not what you need to make it through your day. you dont need a matching designer outfit to make it up the mountain, or the right hair cut. fannt tooting, burping, crapping, its all just part of being alive and you do what you gotta do. just like other animals. its cool. no ones judges you cause everyone does it. and what your wearing or what you look like isnt a thought. shaving your legs, it doesnt matter. you dont see yourself in a mirror for days, so you really have no idea what you look like for days and days, but its alright, cause waht you look like isnt what will help you out here. and everyone understands that.its like for the first time im living amung people the way ive always wanted to live with people. like other animals do. all the man made crap doesnt matter b/c it doesnt help you out here. and what we're doing out here is just living. surviving. its really amazing. i wish life was always like this and people were always this way. its one of the best parts of the trail id have to say. its so great to get rid of all that judjment and worry about nonsense things. it makes me so happy to know that people, of all ages, can live this way. i just wish it wasnt only on the trail... it really is amazing... amazing...
Date: 2009-05-16
From: Daleville

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

So trail days was amazing. its a festival that they have every summer for the AT thru-hikers. i got a ride back on an ATC van with some really nice people who work for the ATC, so it worked out perfectly.there were tons of people there when i arrived thursday afternoon. none of my friends were there yet, so i just walked around for a while. there was a hiker eating contest which was hilarious to watch. if i would have been there intime to sign up i definitly would have participated. i ran into joe kickass and the man during the day which was really nice. then later that night the rest of the 'franklin crew' showed up so we were all together again. it was so great. that night it rained and my tent wasn't set up good enough cause i lost some stakes and everything i owned got soaking wet. it was horrible.the next few days it was sopposed to rain but it never did, so i had some sun and luckily dried everything out pretty fast. there was a free dinner at one of the churchs which was great and we went to the small local bar for a while. it was really nice cuase they had tents set up for each equipment company so if you had anything torn or broken they would fix it for free. also, they had an entire medical center set up for free. so i got my blood taken, cholosteral checked, body fat, blood pressure, a foot wash and a doctor to look at my knee. it actually worked out really well. between taking the two days off in daleville and then the 3 days for trail days, it was a total of 5 days off my knee, which is exactly what i need. so at night they had a HUGE bon fire and a drum circle going on, and a ton of people just danced around the fire all nght. it was amazing!!! i mean, like some of the best fun i have ever had! (my knee was totally swollen the next day though, hehe oops). they said it was the best friday night they've ever had at trial days in the 22 years they've been throwing it. pretty damn cool.i met tons of people that i hadn't known that are around me, it was just really fun. i had a blast.
Date: 2009-05-18
From: Damascus

To: Thunder Hill Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: clear sky

first day back to hiking after taking 5 days off, and it... was... awesome! i felt like a new woman out there, fresh legs and strong. the hard climes felt great on my muscels i was just loving life. plus, it was sooo nice out we saw a beutiful view off Black Rock and passed under what they call the Guillatine, which is this large bolder suspended in the air stuck between two other large rocks, it was pretty cool. and then Apple Orchard Mountain was a nice clime which is a the highest mountain on the AT in Verginia, so it was a nice day back. i had a blast. it was a huge trail magic day! first we came accross a cooler filled of beer and soda, so i chugged a coke (which young fun and gnarwhal said was in record timing) and packed out a beer for later that i enjoyed over lunch at a mid shelter. then, we came accross a bag hanging out of a tree with a note attatched to it saying 'please take some trail magic' so i got a lipton meal and some snickers. and lastly, this was amazing, i role up to the shelter were staying at before all my other freinds got there and there were two other hikers already there and a guy with jeans on, so i knew right off the bat that he wasnt a thru-hiker. then he says to me, "would you like some trail magic" and i go, "is this a trick question" and he open his little grill and says he'll make me eggs, pan cakes and to poor myself some orange juice! it was amazing! this shelter was really close to the road so this guy parked his car and braught this food to the shelter and cooks for hikers. he does it 2 times a week. i guess his son thru-hiked 3 years ago and is returning the favor for all the trail magic he got. isnt that the nicest thing ever?!?! it was amazing, and for some reason the pan cakes were the best damn pan cakes ive ever tasted.so after i had a full belly, i jumped in my bag cause it was freezing outside for some reason and pretty much fell right to sleep. i woke up a bunch though cause my knee was throbbing and it was sooo cold out, so my nights sleep wasnt the best.
Date: 2009-05-19
From: Thunder Hill Shelter

To: Johns Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

today is my 2 month anniversary out on the trail! whoo hoo!!holy crap was i cold when i woke up this morning, it was sooo cold there was frost everywhere! i dont understand why its getting so cold at this time of year! so i didnt get out of my bag for hours.... and hours... and hours... i didnt end up getting up until 1:30pm!!!! i was soo tired and i think trail days had finially caught up to me. the poopy part was is that i had 17 miles to wake before it got to dark out (i know mom, i wasnt sopposed to)so after i started hiking my ankle on my left foot really hurt when it hitmy boot. so much that i had to change into my crocks and hike in those. it actually worked out really nicely i didnt have really any problems. thank god.after about 5 miles i was crossing a road and there was a man in his car and popped his head out and asked "would you like a drink?" the guy read my mind, he have me two sodas, one for now and one to pack out for later and chips. it was soo good. he was so nice, i sat down with him for a half hr and then realized i had to get going if i was ganna make it before dark. so i hiked the next 5 hours without a break, but i felt really good and didnt mind it at all. the terrain was pretty east though, so thats probly why. i rolled in the shelter at about 730pm and there were a ton of people there. everyone couldnt believe how late i slept and said i may have set a record. teeheewe crossed over the James River on a really nice foot bridgh today. it was pretty cool and while hiking i passed a ton of rododendrums (spelling?) and a ton of other plants whos flowers have finally bloomed and my god, they are beutiful!!!! it smells sooo good too while your hiking. you just hit patches of great smells all day, i love it.i met some sobos (southbound thru-hikers) which is always nice. we decided to cowboy it (sleep outside under the stars). it was awesome! we were much lower in elivation (they say for every 1000 feet clime you lose 3 degrees) and it was a warmer night to begin with so we didnt have any trouble keeping warm. but my stupid knee throbbed again until i took some pills, which ill take now every night when i go to sleep. and for some damn reason, my platypus leaked allllll over my stuff. my sleeping bag, therma-rest, back pack, everything was soaked. it sucked when i woke up to wet cold feet. ugh. but it was really sunny the next day so my stuff dried out really easy, so it was cool.
Date: 2009-05-20
From: Johns Hollow Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: clear sky

we are luckin out with some great weather latly. it was awesome today! we had a nice clime in the morning (which i like to do at that time) which helps wake me up pretty well. actually i remember this exact clime from 4 years ago and i remember how much it killed me and i hated every second of it. i had to stop like every 2 switch backs. but this time i did it without stopping once. i mean, i was tired, but my body could handle it. its so crazy how different it is. once we got to the top the views were uuuuunbelievable! one of the best we've had. and we could see james river below through the mountains, it was so great. the hawks were flying by and there was hardly any visable human life from where we were, so i loved it. i stopped only after 3 miles of hiking and layed in the sun and hung overything out to dry. i stayed there for about an hr, i just couldnt pass this spot up. it was sooo nice. i loved it. but when i got up i realized that i hadn't fixed my platypus correctly and all my water leaked out and soaked in the ground. so i was completly out of water and would have it for another 6 miles. it was horrible. when i finally reached a middle shelter i chugged water for what seemed like days. i never wanna be that thirsty again. i decided to take a nap at the shelter since i didnt get much sleep the night before cause of my throbbing knee. there was a night pond here with a ton of chirping frogs, so that was nice to nap too. when i got up i headed out with only 9 more miles to go. we passed over tons of streams and it was just so nice out. i think it was 80 degrees! (i made sure to drink lots of water). we cowboyed it again and it was warm and all the stars were out. i slept like a baby. we were right by the stream and little bit away from the shelter, it was abosolutly perfect. i loved that camping spot.
Date: 2009-05-21
From: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter

To: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: clear sky

a nice short day was really great for a change. it was in the 80's again today! so i always made sure when i got water i filled up completely! i hate having to be careful not to drink too much water when your thirsty to make sure you have enough. its a horrible feeling. any ways, the morning climes were awesome! really straight up and i felt awesome! it was totally hard but a good challenge that is dooable feels so great.truckin, young fun and i were at a shelter for lunch and a huge group of hikers came in that were part of this hiking club from up north. they had a ton of food for lunch so they said we could have what ever was left over. so the 3 of us (not purposly, but we realized after) pretty much just stood there and watched them all go through the line and eat their food, staring and waiting like vaultures, it was pretty rediculous actully lol. but we had some killer food when they were done, it was awesome we climed Cold Mountain today which was tough but not too bad. it was a bald on top and the view was almost a 360 veiw. i loved it! it was really hot up there though cause we were completely in the sun with no trees. so i kept moving. we also passed this huge rock that had a full size tree growing right on top of it. the roots reached to the ground it was sitting on the very top of this rock, dude, it was the coolest thing ever. we got to the shelter and decided just to stay there we were the only ones. we cowboyed it again outside though but it was nice to keep out things in the shelter. we had a nice fire and all just hung out for the night, it was really great.
Date: 2009-05-22
From: Seeley-Woodworth Shelter

To: Maupin Feild Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: broken clouds

it was really warm this morning, i had no problem getting out of my bag at all. it was pretty nice actually. so we hiked 3 miles to this parking area where this B&B would pick us up and feed us a free lunch!!! it was amazing! so they pick us up and we all pile in the back of the truck and get there and they have cheese smothered chips with lemonade for us to start with. then the we had veggie burgers, with corn, potatoe caserole, and watermelon. and then, she set an entire cake down in the middle of the table and said "i want to see this cake gone" so the 6 of us did our best and alost finished it. the lady was disapointed actually that we couldnt do it, it was great. I WAS SO FULL IT WAS STUPID!so we had to clime preist mountain up to preist shelter and i was soo tired from all the food it was horrible. i just kept talking myself into doing it. on the way up we passed Spy Rock which was this HUUUUUGE rock that we climed up and ontop it was like you were sitting on top of the world. it was sooo great. one of the coolest parts of the day. later we came to Tye River which i wanted to go swimming but by the time we got there which was 5pm i wasnt warm enough anymore. plus, we still had another 8 miles to go and i lost my headlamp at trail days so i needed to get there before dark! the descend down to the river was horrible though, it was a 4 mile down hill that was just too much. my knees started hurting and i was just getting mad that it wouldnt end. id rather go up for 4 miles than down. i was getting flash backs of the down hill into the NOC, ugh.so i set off to hike the next really really hard 8 miles we've had in a while. i was happy to be going up hill though. i was sweating horribly! like dripping down my face constantly (i kinda wished i had gone in the water at this piont).young fun caught up to me while i was resting on top of the mountain checking out some views. we hiked the rest together and were both exhausted. Chimmney Rocks, Three Ridges and Hanging Rock Vista were awesome though. the climes were straight up and at this piont of the day it was tough. my entire body was aching but it was nice to push myself. there was a rock ledge we checked out and the warm breeze was blowing and the sun was starting to go down and we just felt like we were on top of the world!! it was amazing! i love that time of the day, around 7pm when the sun in golden and shines through the trees and teh breeze comes in all warm. it was so great. we got to the shelter just as it was getting dark, it was perfect timing. there were a ton of weekend campers there cause of memorial weekend. so cowboyed it again and found a killer spot with no trees and just watched the stars all night. oh man it was nice. i slept like a baby cause i was so tired. it was a really great day today. everything was just so wonderful, i was really happy.
Date: 2009-05-23
From: Maupin Feild Shelter

To: Reeds Gap
Miles today: 1.7

we nearoed (almost zeroed) it to skips aunt and uncles house today and got a hot shower, sandwiches, beers, soda, veggie lasania and a hot tub. it was amazing!!!!! they were so wonderful and their house was so nice i felt like i was on vacation!but the past few days have been so nice that i found myself missing the woods already. i couldnt wait to get back out there tomorrow. ive just been so happy with the great weather and sleeping outside and everything being so green, its been so great.when im hiking at dusk (probebly one of my favorite times to hike) i always find myself thinking about home. i get this nestalgic feeling of sitting on the screen in porch eating dinner with the family. or sittin around the round glass table at the cabin eating cheese after a hot day at the creek. these two things always pop in my head while im hiking at this time. its really nice. whats REALLY nice about it is that the sanctuary isnt popping in my head. ive been really happy ive noticed while hiking latly. i dont know if its all the life around, the plants, flowers, animals, the sunny days, but its been really great. i cant believe i am living like this for 5 months! its amazing. just getting up in the morning, hiking as far as youd like to hike, and sweating while climing mountains and then sitting ontop eating lunch watching the hawks fly by. its so amazing. and everyone is just so nice out here. the odds of running into someone who will ruin your day is slim to none. usually youll meet people who will make your day. its just really great. im so thankful and happy to be here and experience all of this.
Date: 2009-05-25
From: Reeds Gap

To: Black Rock Hut
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: moderate rain

So today we started the shannindoas national park. it was a rainy day pretty much all day. the first half of my hike went by real fast, but the second half seemed to drag on and i had to swicth into my crocks again and hike in those for a while cause my feet started to hurt. i saw tons of deer and rabbits that just hung out,they never ran away, it was amazing!so for some reason in this park they call the shelters 'huts' so when i was coming up to the shelter i was looking for the word 'shelter' and that was it, so i saw the sign and read 'hut' and didnt even think of it and passed it and went an extra .7 miles up a mountain! when i got to the top i read the sign there and it said the hut was .7 south! i was so pretty annoyed, but happy i only went an extra .7 rather then more. first time i missed a shelter so far...the shannindoas seem to have a roller coaster terrin, but not a steep one. its pretty nice and easy so we'll be able to push some miles out the next few days. also, its sopposed to rain for the next 6 straight days, ugh, so thast ganna be pretty poopy. oh and a big thing happened today... i started peeing standing up. yup thats right. i got a skirt on with no underwear, so when i have to pee, i just spread my legs and go and its amazing!!! imean, i dont have to take my pack off to pee, it takes seconds and i can pee anywhere cause no one can see anything cause of my skirt. its probly one of the best thigns out here! all the guys are saying "i cant believe you took that away from us!" haha, its awesome
Date: 2009-05-27
From: Black Rock Hut

To: Rock Spring Hut
Miles today: 24.5
Weather: overcast clouds

so i felt suuuuper modivated today and was the frist to leave the shelter, which never happends! and it was at 6:50 am!!! craziness! it was another rainy day today, but it was so be expected. i didnt see anyone during my hike all day, but i did see tons of wildlife. i saw a mother and baby deer and the baby was the smallest thing i have ever seen! it was only about 5 feet away from me too, i couldnt believe it. ive never seen deer so close to me before let alone and week old baby! they deer are sooo calm they just dont get scared of humans and if you walk in on them they dont move! i saw my first bear!!!! it was awesome! i was walking and only had about 3 more miles and all of a sudden i saw this black animal about 30 feet infront of me crossing the trail. it stopped and looked at me and then i realized that is was a bear cub! soo cool! and then i crossed the trail and was like "oh god, wheres mom?" and i started walking down the trail again and i saw the other cub and mama bear and they just didnt care about me at all. mom looked at me and then just kept walking with her two cubs, it was amazign!i felt so connected to nature today, from all the birds singing, wakling alone all day, seeing the deer and bear so close and having them not care at all about my presence, it was like they treated me just like another animal living in the woods with them. it was really amazing. just not to have wildlife scared of me and 5 feet away from me, it was really an amazing thing. the woods were so peaceful today and full of life and energy, i loved it.