morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2004-04-29
From: Dennis Cove (Kincora Hiker Hostel)

To: Watauga Lake Shelter
Miles today: 10.6
Weather: overcast clouds

This morning was a slow start since I was planning only a ten mile day. The day broke out sunny and chilly. Bob had posted the newest weather forecast, today was going to be warm and sunny (70 degrees). The following five days are suppose to be about ten degrees cooler and scattered showers. We'll see.Bob got a number of the hikers that stayed last night to do trail maintenance work. I refused. My figure is that I can use it as an excuse in the future to come out again. Sanguine showed up this morning. She said she was only coming in for a shower and laundry. Scholar thought maybe she would come out today but it doesn't look like she made it out.Today's walk was mostly good. There was a stroll through Laurel Falls Gorge. The falls were amazingly beautiful. I sat there and had my first snack. Farther on was the group Bob had working on the trail maintenance. Apparently the flood of 1999 made for some damage that is still being worked out. I stopped and told Bob thank you and maybe I'll come out next year and work for a week. He was happy to hear that.I got involved in the scenery and missed the turnoff going up the hill, the only hill on this stretch. Pond Flats mountain, 3700 feet from 1900. I walked about 100 feet when I realized the blaze in front of me was blue. Back tracked and found where I needed to turn right.The ascent was a honker. The elevation profile showed the last half mile going straight up. I had another snack and tackled the hill.Never did see a pond up there. In fact, there wasn't even a vista up at the top, just flat forest. The descent was the bonus on this hill. Gentle, big long switch back down to US321.The Watauga Lake is a nice little lake. The last two miles skirts around. Right across the road is a picnic area. I was fantasizing a cold soda but there were only garbage cans and picnic tables and a beach area. Oh well.On the way to the shelter, I ran into a naked man. Apparently skinny dipping is a popular activity on this side of the lake. Reading the register sounds like a few hikers has partaken in that activity.Got to the shelter, nicely hidden away from the lake, cozzied in the woods. The water source a nice little stream on the way to the shelter. The group here tonight: Jill and Matt from Indiana, Elle and Chris, GrizzlyDave and a southbounder named Seeker and another guy with a mandolin on his way to a music festival. A nice mix of folks. It looks like the two couples and I are planning the same schedule into Damascus. The musician has a bottle of wine, music, nice weather. Good day to be out. One realization I made on the leg from Erwin was that I need more food for snack/lunch. I supplemented on the grocery run from Kincora. I had noticed I was getting, whiny and tired. Today, I ate well. I plan to quit these 18 milers, for now 10 to 15. See how I feel. But if today is a sign, I think this will work for me. Namaste'
Date: 2004-04-30
From: Watauga Lake Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.7
Weather: light rain

Got up to nice weather, cool and sunny. I shared blueberries with everyone at breakfast. Yummy in my muesli. The morning walk was stricken with sprinkles off and on. I walked across the Watauga Dam and saw a beautiful purple blooming tree. I hope the picture comes out. The clouds were moving in so the lighting might not really show how pretty it was.After the dam was the only big hill, up to the ridge we'll be walking on to Damascus. It's an easy one, almost 2000 feet over four miles. No big deal.The trail in the morning basically skirted the lake. Every once in awhile, you could see through the trees. Pretty little coves and islands and of course the marinas. Along the path, violets by the zillions. Fields of MayApples. More new and different white flowers. And now the strange long stalks are greening up and they look like they may be a berry cane of some sorts.At my lunch break, which I took at Vandeventer Shelter, I got to know Franco and Benny. Two young men who don't shelter but I keep bumping into at various places. We chatted for awhile and it was time to move on. I had another 6.8 miles to go.The next leg, I ran into trail maintainers. I chatted with them and thanked them for the work they are doing.Then it started to rain. Not hard but enough to be a nuisance. Pack cover and rain jacket. Then a drop in temperature. I took a break at a campsite, once again with Franco and Benny. I looked at the handbook and I had only three miles to the shelter. What a pleasant surprise! So onward I go. After awhile I spotted Franco and Benny again. They gave up for the day. They let me know the water source for the shelter was ahead of me. I knew the shelter was about a quarter mile past the water source. I was surprised at my timing. I thought I would start looking out for the shelter at five and I got here at four.Jill and Matt were here and so was BearTrack. In time Chris, Elle and GrizzlyDave has showed up. Tonight we're international. High mileage guys are here. Sauerkraut, from Germany, Willy Wallace, from Scotland and Mr. Cotton from Atlanta. Sauerkraut has a really nifty tarp. I went to look at it. It's German made. BearTrack has made a fire. Cowboy TV. It's cooler tonight then last night. A good thing we don't have wind tonight. So, another day closes. Time to crawl into the sleeping bag. GrizzlyDave wants me to get him up in the morning to do the 16 miles for the final push to Damascus. Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-03
From: Damascus, VA (Dave's Place)

To: Lost Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.8
Weather: overcast clouds

Got a late start. Had to run to the post office and mail stuff and pickup some stuff. Then pack and turn in my key. Got into the woods by ten. Can't say got on the trail by ten since the trail runs right down in town. The hostel I stayed at was closer to the trail then some shelters I've stayed. I thought I would stop at Saunders Shelter but circumstances led me to push on. Krispy caught up with me and told me that BeatBox was behind him. I let my ego get ahead of me and decided to go to Lost Mtn just to claim that one day on the trail, I was ahead of BeatBox.I got to the shelter and it was full. I found a nice place in the woods to set up my tarp. I was tired. A long day. Breathless and Speed were in the shelter. I asked Breathless about her shin splints. Apparently she thought she could walk but the walk to the shelter was too much. She and Speed will be getting off and going home to see her own doctor. The promise to be back on when her leg is better. The weather on this day was schizophrenic. The day started grey and cool. At the Saunder Shelter turn off, it started to sleet. The drizzle. As night set in, cold. I got so wired into doing the mileage, I didn't pay much attention to the plants. All in all, I didn't enjoy the walk too much. Bad move, letting ego get me into a race mode. Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-04
From: Lost Mountain Shelter

To: Thomas Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: clear sky

Not a good day. The mind is a dangerous place to be. The temperature last night got cold enough that I used the fleece side of my bag liner. I think I didn't sleep well. And my period started. And the full moon is coming up. I walked in a surly mood most of the day. The wind blowing. The temperature a bit chilly. The sun shined. But the wind negated the sunny.I ran into a past thru-hiker caller SouthWalker. He was out for a week jaunt. He shared about how as a south bound walker, he would spend days without seeing anyone and how he started being very aware of his self talk. It was one of those days when I even entertained the idea of getting to the next town and calling Paul and tell him to come pick me up. He another committee member would step in and say, "Wait another day and see how you feel." So I walked visualizing Skirt's feet in front of me. Walking slow and steady. Then I repeated mantras, did breath counting, anything to not listen to the negative talk. Got to the shelter to find Krispy and Pegasus still there. Its located half mile from the summit of Mt. Roger, the highest point in Virginia. The view from the back of the shelter was awesome. The vista just kept rolling out into the purple mountain majesty. Krispy pointed out that the next shelter is over 1000 feet lower and therefore warmer. I was tempted but I was in a bad mood. I just wanted to be left alone. As if one could be alone at a shelter. What was important was that there were people there. I sat and talked to Rooster, a section hiker going north. Talked to Fizz, a section hiker going south. Just listen and talk, complain about the cold, compare how many deer each of us saw. Anything from going into the black hole.We were all settling in when GrizzlyDave showed up. We all moved over and squeezed him in. We knew it would be cold and the more bodies we had in the shelter, the warmer we all would be. The reality is, the day was beautiful. Back in the land of Spring Beauties and Rout lilies. The deer in this park are fearless and come right up expecting to be fed. At the top of the mountain was windy and cold but the company was interesting. I'll get over this. Life just has days where I have a black cloud over my head. Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-12
From: Helveys Mill Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up at 530 as always. But I knew I had a short day planned so a crawled under the bag and caught another hour and half of sleep. It was nice.   NTN got out before I did. I stayed and talked to Frenchy for awhile. Basically talked about trail etiquettes. If you come into a shelter late, be considerate of others already in bed, etc. We blew up the bladder out of water bag and found the hole. It looks like something chewed on it. I'll keep the bag. Patch it. But I now have an intact one from Frenchy. Thank you. This stretch today has no water, so I drank a liter and filled up. And off to Jenny Knots. Went over Brushy Mountain. It's the fourth Brushy Mountain in five days. There should be a rule about how many times a name can be used in a specific area. This one was relatively easy. Green. Lush. The weather, as far I was concerned, was very nice. The sun filtering through the trees. The handbook says winter vistas. The trees are filling out and the vistas are peeks down through the trees. The terrain was rolling. Not a lot of flowers but I've noticed the mountain laurels are budding out. That's going to be exciting.   A few pink azaleas have started blooming. I actually dug up one Indian cucumber root. NTN said when he grew up; they waited until the flowers are berries to dig up the root. Took a bite, he might be right. Cinquefoils and violets were frequent. I think I saw ginseng but I'm not too sure yet. I'll find someone who can tell me for sure. And another Pink Lady's Slipper. All in all, there were enough flowers to keep me interested in the walk. Today I figure I would give myself permission to start looking for the shelter at around 2:30. I had just looked at my watch, 1:55, and walked about four feet when I noticed a trail coming off the right. The handbook said this shelter is on the trail, so I was surprised when the sign said "shelter trail." I trucked on down and sure enough it was the shelter I was headed for. AD was already here. He'd had enough today. Yoda, MadScientist and Sundance were here having lunch. They left and NTN, then ToeBreak showed up. Then came Krispy. Today's slackpackers were only RivaQueen, Sanguine and Krispy. The boys decided they were headed to Damascus early. I promised Krispy to give them grief when I saw them again. A late comer, HeatMiser has showed up. I thought he was farther ahead but apparently I'm mistaken. A bunch of tired folks tonight. NTN is playing with his HAM radio, Morse code style. Everyone else is already sacked out. The sun is down but dusk is bright. I think I will lie in bed and read. The shin splint seems to be doing okay. The Achilles heel, questionable. But the next shelter is 14 miles and the profile is as flat as today. That's the plan for tomorrow. Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-13
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Wapiti Shelter
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: clear sky

Highlights of the day: Another Brushy MountainMeeting a woman from Austin Texas called Turtle.A suspension bridge crossingVA606 to Trent's Grocery for a buffalo burger and a YooHoo. I love this part of the country. YooHoo in EVERY c-store.Dismal Creek Falls for a swim and a nap in the sun on the rocks with Toe Breakgetting to the shelter ahead of the rain.Too tired to write more.   Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-17
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Bailey Gap Shelter
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: light rain

I'm feeling a little down. Probably from talking to my honey and to my sister while at the motel. The advice when one is hit with the "I want to go home" is to hike. Then on the second day, hike again. Then on the third day, hike again. If by the third day, you're still thinking about going home, go home. So, today I hiked to the first shelter. I started a little late due to the mileage. The day was grey and threatened rain. But as the morning progressed, the sun would peek out now and then. Ran into Yoda and MadScientist and Lucy. We walked together for a bit. Lucy found a turtle. Got here to Rice Field. It's a wonderful vista into West Virginia. Probably the first vista I've been at and I had a vista to see. Yoda took a picture for me. The shelter already had some folks inside. RivaQueen, Sanguine and Adam.It was still early. Sanguine and I took a nap. We had a lot of folks walk through, returning from Damascus. Tonight we are crammed nine into the shelter and two hammocks and a tent or two. A lot of yakking going on. Some folks liked Trail Days and some folks weren't too happy. The sun is setting. The earlier fog and drizzle has passed. The high cirrus clouds a tint of pink. Bonus today, Zippy gave us early birds at the shelter some edible plant lessons. Add Indian cukes and greenbriar sprouts to the pantry. He showed me how identify the best cucumber roots to eat raw. The greenbriar sprouts were a surprise for me. They taste like green beans. The sunset is done. I think I'll crawl under the bag and read. Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-18
From: Bailey Gap Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 14.6
Weather: light rain

Woke up a tad out of sorts. I think the crowd at the shelter was more then I cared for. A couple American Princesses came in and insisted on getting shelter space. We already had seven in a six but they squeezed in, which made for some restless night movements. I got up before everyone and moved out. The plan for today was for 16 miles. Adam headed out before I did but I caught up with him. We walked and talked. He was upset about last night also. It was nice to realize I wasn't being a cranky old lady.Most of the walk in the morning was along the ridge. Some very nice walk in the woods. Adam and I had our morning break joined by PeterPan. PeterPan is a section hiker. Today was his second day out. We shared our plans for the next four days and he decided he could do the mileage we planned. Always nice to have company. He also had a problem with the American Princesses. He thought they were too yakky. We had a climb before lunch which was not too bad. It was the afternoon hill that had everyone worked up. An unusual one for Virginia, 1500 feet in half a mile. I had lunch at the top of the morning hill. I was joined by PeterPan and RivaQueen. Riva is breaking in new shoes on the trail. Not an easy thing to do. She's already lost two toe nails. I'm so grateful I haven't had that kind of problem. As we headed down the hill after lunch, thunder started to roll. PeterPan and I walked faster in hopes of getting to the designated shelter for the afternoon break. We got there and had made such good time that the afternoon break was longer then usual. We had hoped if it was going to rain, it would do it while we were at this shelter. No such luck. We headed out. 3.9 miles to final destination. With a honker climb to close the day. We looked at the profile and it looked good. A valley, a tiny hill, a valley, and then our big climb. Another lie. PeterPan left and then I headed out. By that time, RivaQueen had joined us as well as Yoda, MadScientist, Adam and Pokie. Everyone was wondering about the weather. As weather goes, it started to sprinkle and then the rain got harder. I hid under a rhododendron thicket to put on a pack cover. I have discovered that these spring rains, covering the pack is enough. Walking produces enough heat to keep me mostly dry. This last stretch was a surprise. Never did find those valleys. It was up and down and down and around. The trail followed along the creek which also ran along a road. I had a hard time figuring out if I was listening to rain getting harder, the creek bubbling over some rocks or a car driving on wet road. But what came falling down was even more confusing, was it falling from the sky or from the trees? Either way, it was wet. The big climb finally hit. It started gradually, then got steeper and steeper. But I have doubts it was 1500 feet. Got to the shelter to find an Uno game going on. Some high mileage folks were waiting out the rain to make more miles. The rain stopped, the sun came out.   Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-19
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Short day with a nice walk. The trail crossed a few "active" pastures. The first pasture opened out onto a rolling hill with a red barn out across the way. I almost started crying. Sometimes the days of walking in the woods are claustrophobic. Coming out onto a pasture just made me miss the open areas. I thought it was funny how the trail through "active" pasture seemed fuzzy. I realized it's hard to set a trail when meadow muffins get planted randomly. I had to chuckle at myself for not realizing that earlier. We climbed Sinking Creek Mountain and walked its ridge. Part way on the ridge, the trail is over slanting rocks. At the first slanting rocks, the ridge opens and there is a view over Craig Creek Valley and the mountain ridges beyond. I had good luck, the thunder rolled and sprinkles fell. I put on a pack cover and kept walking. It never rained hard on me and when the slanting rocks showed up, the rain had stopped. So I sat on the rocks and had lunch. I got joined by a section hiker and two other thruhikers, Tank and Diesel. Down in the valley, we watched it rain and then the sun came out. Buzzards thermoclmbing. When I got ready to leave the clouds covered the valley. Perfect timing. The climb down started nice and switch backed then got steep and descended rapidly. Got to the shelter earlier then I had figured. I had gotten a pack of Apple Cobbler from Indy. She didn't want it because it was complicated. I fixed it using Zippy's stove since he has a Simmerlight. It was fun to use a stove I am not familiar with. The cobbler came out good and I invited everyone who was present to dig in. We made all gone in a jiffy. Tomorrow¢s plan is 16 miles with some big hills to the hostel for a shower. Zippy gave us another lesson on edible things in the woods. This part has been fun. I will miss him when the town shift change happens.   Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-20
From: Niday Shelter

To: VA 624 (Four Pines Hostel)
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: scattered clouds

Highlights: 16 miles that seems to have mislabeled...we think it really is 18 miles two very different hills, one that I think of as a Virginia hill; green and rolling, the second rocky, dry and rocky. Did I say it was rocky? Audie Murphy Monument and a bench to sit on Trail magic of cold soda or tea, sweet rolls and yogurt A place to dump trash Cove Mountain, rough and rocky Dragon's Tooth, and coming down in the pouring rain Coming down Dragon's Tooth in the pouring rain...did I say it was pouring rain? VA624, A 0.3 mile walk to FourPinesHostel, a garage with mats on the floor, but a hot shower. Homeplace Restaurant, all you can eat. I had fried chicken (3 pieces), BBQ shredded pork, pinto beans, green beans, mashed potatoes, stewed apples, cold slaw, biscuits, blueberry cobbler, two glasses of lemonade and a cup of brewed coffee FourPines Hostel for a benedryl and cold beer Sleep on the floor of a garage. Benedryl, cold beer, stuffed, go to sleep. Pooped.   Namaste'
Date: 2004-05-21
From: VA 624 (Four Pines Hostel)

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: few clouds

Slow start this morning. Probably the all you can eat, benedryl, beer and sleeping on a garage floor. Sanguine is getting off the trail in Troutville. Riva reserved two rooms at the EconoLodge in Daleville for tomorrow night. 26 miles in two days. I had a mail drop in Catawba so I did 10 today (plus 2 miles of road to and from Catawba) while everyone else in the group did 16. The first part of the morning was through pasture lands. Very rolly. And lots of stile climbing. Then Sawtooth Ridge. I was thinking about how today is my mother's birth day. And somewhere along the way on Sawtooth, I got disoriented. I decided to stop and wait. Pokie, Sanguine and Adam were somewhere behind me, so I figure if one of them shows up, I would follow them off the ridge. Pokie was my savior today. She said she's had days like that. She made a 5 mile mistake a few days earlier. We got to VA311, where Pokie went on and I turned left to go into town.It was a hoof. No trees and it was near noon. The sun was getting warm. Got to the post office right before closing for lunch. I piled my stuff in the yard with my packages, ran across the street to the store for a cold soda and cigarettes. Then a sit down with my packages. When the post office reopened, I had my mail home box and my jump box ready. And the trudge back to the trailhead. By now, the sun is blazing. It's uphill. Sweat is pouring from my pits and dripping off my elbows. When I get to the trailhead, I step into the cool shade of the woods and pause. It feels good to be in the woods. I run into Pipesmoke from NewHampshire. We walk and talk to the first shelter. Along the way, we run into ChooChoo, from Chatanoga. We spread out. At the second shelter, I stop to eat something because there is a hill up ahead, McAfee Knob. ChooChoo shows up and I talk him into doing the Knob. And off we go. He's slower, so I get ahead. I hear voices. I pause to them pass. Dayhikers on their way to the Knob.Day packs only and young, flying up the trail. When I get to the Knob, I am grateful for the day hikers, one of them took my picture. We sat and talked for almost an hour. They asked questions about thruhiking (duh) ran into a local who pointed out all the sights. I was amazed when he pointed out Tinker Cliffs. It is four miles for me tomorrow. It looks like it's really far. I had a good time but I wanted to be at the shelter before dark. Pipesmoke and ChooChoo were at the shelter when I got there. ChooChoo was worried since he knew he was slower then I. I had a little surprise in one of my packages today. Along with Miss Kitty and Tigger, I now have Ralphy. My girlfriend in California sent him. He's this electronic responsive toy. I could tell the three of us have been out to long. We spent the remainder of the night making Ralphy do things. Boy, are we in trouble. After awhile we had to quiet Ralphy so we could go to bed. Namaste'