morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Campsite near Knot Mound Shelter

To: VA 623-motel in Bland, VA
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

After such beautiful weather yesterday, it rained overnight (I should have stayed at the shelter) but anyway, it stopped raining when I got up but the sky couldn't seem to make up its mind. It would be bright and sunny then cloud over again. The trail wound down the mountain following a stream down to a magnificent Fir tree forest. The trees seem to reach straight up to the sky like cathedrals with the sun streaming down between them. As I started a 4 1/2 mile climb up to Chestnut Knob Shelter, half of the sky is bright blue and sunny while the other half is covered in ominous looking slate grey clouds. The thunder is rumbling in the distance. The rain let loose for a few minutes only but repeated this from time to time. The trail climbed to a bald that was marked with white stone cairns. It passed through a grove of old gnarly trees that are just starting to leaf out and have 2" long spiky thorns. Earlier I passed some pink Lady Slipper flowers. They were growing right at the edge of the trail by some stone steps. They looked as if they had been planted there. So perfect! Chestnut Knob Shelter was at the top of the mountain. It is a stone shelter, totally enclosed. I wish I had gotten there later in the day so I could have stayed the night. The storm blew in again and this time let loose with a barrage of hail which made an awful racket on the metal roof. After my lunch break I had 10 more miles planned so I hiked on-the weather continued to get worse. I met a section/day hiker from Maine, Liz, and we hiked on together. Down in the valley were great views, beautiful farm land. I managed to slip and fall twice on some slippery rocks! I landed on my left shoulder both times. Now I can barely lift my arm. I hope it feels better soon. The weather continued to worsen so when Liz and I got to where her car was parked, I got a ride to town (Bland) with her. So, I am back in a motel and will slack pack tomorrow and try to stay out of the rain as much as possible.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: VA 623-motel in Bland, VA

To: Bland, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Had a bad night last night trying to sleep. My shoulder was very painful and everytime I would turn I would wake up from the pain. I could hardly move my arm when I woke up but it seems to be getting better. I'm keeping heat on it-I filled my platypus with hot water. The whole crew I have been hiking with is here at the motel-Giggles, Ed, Fish, FDR, Cheese Whiz and Roja-who happens to be an orthopedic surgeon. He looked at my shoulder and said nothing major is wrong. So, I will do a slack pack tomorrow and go from there.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Balnd, VA

To: US 21/52-Bland, VA
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: overcast clouds

My shoulder is alot better, but it is difficult to maneuver my left arm into the strap of my pack. But I did a 15 mile slackpack and it does feel some better so tomorrow I am out of here and back onto the trail. The 15 miles today were pretty boring. No real views, no ridge tops. There were 2- 1/2 mile ridge walks. The first was due to a "blue-blaze high water trail". There is a bridge out so the trail seems to be (permanently) rerouted. So, after getting to the road you have to walk 1/2 mile to get back to the trail. There was a little trail magic after the road-a cooler with apple juice and later 1/2 gallon jugs of water (I didn't need any). I did the 15 miles in about 6 1/2 hours-its easy without a heavy pack, and the blue blaze trail was on an old road bed-very fast. Everyone is heading back to Damascus for Trail Days so the trail may be very lonely for the next few days.
Date: 2006-05-17
From: US 21/52-Bland, VA

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.1
Weather: light rain

Short day-only 12 miles but they seemed to stretch endlessly-even though I got here at noon! I left Bland at 07:00, I suppose I could have slept later but......today is just a no energy day. I should do another 6 miles to a campsite but I'm calling it quits at noon. It's actually nice being at a shelter early, for some peace and quiet. I haven't seen anyone on the trail these last 2 days-most people have gone to Damascus. The weather today is the same as it has been-confused, can't make up its mind. I have had a black cloud hanging over my head all day-metaphorically as well as physically! And the few glimpses I got of the valley down below always seemed to have the sun shining on it! Oh well, not much to say about the trail today-even Wingnut didn't have any notes except for the road crossing. Two other hikers stopped for water and they said I would probably have the shelter to myself tonight. They don't think there is anyone else behind them. Again, due to Trail Days. I don't think I mentioned yesterday, I saw a white tail deer. Today, I saw a chipmunk and a Scarlet Tanager. It was gorgeous. I sure wish I had binoculars-there are alot of birds at this shelter.
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

When I woke up this morning-after having my sleep disturbed by a whiporwill that decided to sit out in front of the shelter last night and call to us for half the night-I was walking to the privy and heard something rustle underfoot. I thought it was a snake, but when I looked it was a tiny, little, fledgling bird! All eyes and wide open beak like it expected me to feed it! It was about 1 1/2 inches long. There are 5 of us at the shelter-2 other girls, Guinness and Nifty, both are nurses and Guinness is also a Nurse Practitioner! She's the first NP I've met out here. Anyway, the trail today was LONG and dismal! The weather was dismal, the creek was dismal (literally that is the name of the creek), my mood was dismal. These Virginia Blues are getting the better of me! I was going to stop at Wapiti Shelter but I got there at 1:30 pm and I figured the more I did today the less I have for tomorrow into Pearisburg. There was one overlook with areally nice view of the valley here and Pearisburg off in the distance. I also crossed a really neat suspension bridge that swayed when you walked over it. I'm at the Woods Hole Hostel which was well worth the 1/2 mile trek off the trail. I was talking with the owner of the place. She and her husband bought the place-100 acres-in 1940 for $300.00. There is a log cabin that dates back to the 1820's and the bunkhouse is a log cabin that they moved from the valley about 1890. There are 5 of us here tonight-Fish and Minnow (father and son) and Guinness and Nifty. I had a foot massage which was heavenly and we get breakfast in the morning. Then 10 miles into Pearisburg. I'm told there is a nice restaurant there where I can get a glass of wine with dinner!
Date: 2006-05-19
From: Woods Hole Hostel

To: Pearisburg, VA-Rendezvous Motel
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

It got pretty cold last night and started raining which sounded great on the tin roof. Breakfast was great and I headed out in SUNNY weather at 09:00. Only problem is it turned-yup, you guessed it-dismal again! Clouds rapidly covered the sky and it was pretty chilly-48 degrees-when I started out and the weather looks like it will be the same for the next week! There was one really fabulous overlook. The trail went right up to this rocky outcrop where this very broad valley is below. It was awesome. Even the sun decided to shine for awhile. I sat there for almost 30 minutes just soaking in the view-farms, houses, roads, livestock. I was about 2000 feet above the valley. I spoke to my friend Jerry, he can't get here until Tuesday so, I'll meet him in Catawba. I should be there on Wednesday and he'll hike with me to Glasgow. I'll do a 19 mile slackpack tomorrow.
Date: 2006-05-20
From: Pearisburg, VA-Rendezvous Motel

To: VA 635
Miles today: 21.4

OK, I¢m committing a cardinal sin, I didn¢t write this journal entry on 5/20, its now 5/21, how can I remember it all? I only made a few sound bites.I did a SOBO slack pack back into Pearisburg. I started at 7:30 am with a 1 12 mile road walk because there is a bridge out over Stoney Creek. The bridge was washed out in 2004 during a hurricane. I saw some yellow Ladies Slippers; they are supposed to be quite rare but were growing like weeds along the roadside. I think they are prettier than the pink ones.After the road walk, I had a long slow climb up to the ridge, there are very gentle switchbacks, and the ridge walk was similar to the last few days ¢ quite boring. Only today there is finally some sunshine! I was in shorts and a T-shirt within 10 minutes of starting out. There were a few spots that did have a spectacular view of West Virginia from Syms Meadow. There were trees flowering, vines flowering, it smelled wonderful.I passed RoJa and sat down to have lunch with him, it was nice seeing him again. He¢s heading to the area where I started from today so I will catch up and hike with him tomorrow. Going SOBO is nice because when you are going contra flow to the crowd you get to pass everyone and I got to see and visit with people I hadn¢t seen in a while (Brain & Brawn).The Rice Field shelter is in a lovely setting, a big grassy bald/meadow. You have to climb a style to get to the shelter. I then hiked under some power lines which were quite interesting, it was such an incongruous setting ¢ these big powerful, angular, man made steel structures set in such a lush green natural setting. There were several large birds soaring on the thermals near the towers.I got back into Pearisburg about 5:30, I had a little trouble finding the trail as I got back towards town, and the trail takes you near a factory where they make filters for cigarettes ¢ it smelled like pesticides! Really awful. Then it was across the Senator Shumate Bridge ¢ this is along the highway, there is a screened in sidewalk for the trail on the bridge so you can cross the New River (which happens to be the second oldest river in the world ¢ only the Nile River is older, so why do they call it the New River??)After a shower, Brenda the manager of the Rendezvous Motel gave me and Maple Leaf a ride into town for dinner and some shopping.
Date: 2006-05-21
From: VA 635

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

I met up with RoJa at the road crossing, I had told him yesterday about the bridge being out over Stoney Creek and advised him to take the road walk, he sort of laughed at me when he saw how ¢high¢ the water was, told me I have a surprise waiting for me when I get to Maine if I thought that was high water! (RoJa is from Maine).We had 2 ridge lines to climb to today for a total of about 4000 ft in elevation gain! My feet feel like mush (so what else is new?). There were some very nice views from Wind Rock, but it¢s disappointing for me to have to hike all the way up there just to see roads where people can drive up there ¢ they should have to hike up here too! This is an area called Mountain Lake which is where the movie Dirty Dancing was filmed. And, there is supposed to be a section of Virgin woods somewhere nearby, but I¢m not about to go explore extra miles!We stopped in at War Spur Shelter for a break, what a nice shelter and pretty location, I wish it had been later in the day so I could spend the night there.I have my summer sleeping bag now (my DH sent it to me at Pearisburg) so tonight will be the first night with it, it¢s a 40* down bag. Hopefully I¢ve timed this right and it will stay warmer now.At the shelter tonight is just 4 of us, Low Gear, a section hiker from PA ¢ Papy and me & RoJa.
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

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

I did not sleep well last night, the new sleeping bag is fine, but its my left shoulder that gives me a lot of pain when I sleep, it doesn¢t matter which side I lay on, it hurts no matter what,   Today¢s hike was down to the valley and then through several pastures. It was quite lovely, buttercups and daisies blooming all through the fields. Low Gear met us at one of the fields to warn us about an ornery bull that chased him through the field , and almost caught him! He had to jump over a fence and skinned up his leg pretty good! The bull didn¢t seem interested in me, I guess it was the other cows coming down from a nearby field that caught his attention. After the bull, we came across some trail magic at VA 42. Cokes, oranges, Little Debbie cakes & water. I took a coke and an orange, I¢m already hauling 2 lt of water I didn¢t need extra. After that we came to the Keffer Oak which is supposed to be over 300 yrs old. It is massive and beautiful. The three of us sat down to take a break under its spreading branches. There is a stile that you have to climb to get passed the oak, it¢s sort of attached to the oak tree but was very rickety!After the oak there were more pastures until we started to climb to the next ridge. This was very similar to the past few days, - boring ¢ its just a big flat broad ridge, you can¢t even tell your really up on a ridge line it¢s so wide and flat, there are no views and the forest just seems to be more of the same. I was able to get a cell on my phone and called my DH to tell him how boring and flat the ridge is. Well, right after I got off the phone things changed rapidly. I was walking on the Eastern Continental Divide! And let me tell you, one false move and it would be a disaster. The ridge was narrow, pointy and had a sheer rock face going down and down, lots of difficult rocks to climb ¢ it would be a lot of fun without my pack on, but with the weight of the pack and having it put you off balance, it¢s a bit scary. And this went on and on for a long way. There were spectacular views, and some interesting flowering shrubs as well as an area that had these white flowers about 1 foot high blooming in just this great explosion of blossoms, they were very small but very profuse. This is not my favorite kind of trek! Low Gear did this section about 30 minutes after me and Roja and said there was a huge rattle snake sunning itself on one of the rocks and he had a real difficult time getting around it.After we finally got passed this difficult section we came to a sign for the Eastern Continental Divide with the distance to the Atlantic Oceana and the Gulf of Mexico with a blue blaze on it! I thought that was rather a cute touch, just 1900 miles for me to walk back to Texas! (A blue blaze is generally a sign for a trail to water)At the shelter tonight are 2 section hikers Demas and Andrew. Guinnes and Alley and Nifty are here too.
Date: 2006-05-23
From: Niday Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 9.9
Weather: clear sky

I took a short day today, I was going to do about 15 miles so I would have a short day into Catawba tomorrow, but just couldn¢t do it. There is some tough hiking just north of here (I think). The ¢Dragons Tooth¢, ¢Knife Edge Ridge¢, ¢Lost Spectacles Gap¢, And the ¢Devils Seat¢ , I think I¢d rather tackle that stuff in the morning. I¢m just not getting enough sleep because of my shoulder! So by early afternoon I¢m wasted. I stopped at the Pickle Branch Shelter, said my good byes to RoJa and he continued on. It was a f airly easy hike to get here though I passed an old river/creek bed that was all dried up, it looked like it had been a fairly large creek and there were several branches from it, but they were all dry, its rather distressing thinking about what sort of man made disaster could have done this.Part of today¢s hike reminded me of Texas, a very dry arid sort of environment, lots of small lizards rustling around in the dead leaves. The Mountain Laurel is blooming all over the mountain side.People are back on the trail from Trail Days, Banjo Man in here at the shelter and he has a guitar with him this time, so there will be music tonight! Indiana is here as well as the 2 section hikers from last night Demas and Andrew (who are making popcorn!)
Date: 2006-06-05
From: VA 311

To: Catawba Mtn. Shelter
Miles today: 2.0
Weather: light rain

LoneStar and I boarded a flight out of Houston at 10:30 a.m. and we arrived in Roanoke, VA at 5:45 pm. We were on the Trail by 6:30 pm! We hiked 2 miles to go to the Second Shelter and oh did it feel good to be back out here! I think the first thing I noticed-besides the cooler temps-was the smell! The heavy sweet smell of flowers, the musty forest smells. There were roses blooming and the mountain laurel is still in full bloom.The Trail took us over many granite slabs at a 45 degree angle. When I say this, I mean that they are angled to the side, not that I'm walking up an incline. Anyway, there were wooden bridges spanning these slabs to make it easier to climb over. Thank you to whomever did that!At the shelter were 2 guys-Black Snake, who is Irish but lives in Deer Park, TX (not too far from me), and Roni from Israel. He's getting off the Trail in the morning to go hike the Colorado Trail.Well, tomorrow morning is McAffees Knob-the most photographed spot on the Trail-so I've been told.
Date: 2006-06-06
From: Catawba Mtn. Shelter

To: Lambert's Meadow Shelter
Miles today: 8.5
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, for my first full day back this has been a great one. Lonestar and I were going to go to Daleville but we got here to this shelter at 2:30 pm (we left at 07:30 am) and since both of us have sore feet and don't want to do another 10 miles to town we will stay put. There isn't any water between here and there and it's also raining. First thing this morning was about a 1 1/4 mile hike to McAffee Knob. The trail is very wide, smooth and looks somewhat like new. This must be for all the day hikers. The sun is up and shining but it isn't penetrating the dense canopy. I came upon an overlook area where the mountains in the distance seem to just float in the mist. A lot of farms and homes down in the valley with one lone plume of smoke rising straight up in the distance. We got to McAffee Knob at 08:30 and played around a bit boulder hopping and took a bunch of pictures. Lonestar is afraid of heights, so it was scary for her. It is a really lovely spot with lots of huge granite rocky outcrops that are very safe and not scary. Gorgeous views! Then I got to a spot where I wasn't sure where the trail went so, I dropped my pack to explore. I finally found it, we had to climb over to the east side of the ridge and there we were greeted by views of a valley with a large river running through it. From there we went to Tinker Cliffs-more of the stuff like at McAffee Knob and then we headed down to this shelter. I have a new toy. I got a watch with an altimeter. So, I had set the elevation at the shelter last night with the altitude listed in Wingnuts book, but the sign at the shelter had a different elevation. Then when we got to McAffee Knob my new altimeter was nowhere close to what it should be! So again I reset the reading according to the sign there. Well, when I got to the shelter and the readings were not even close I thought that like all digital compasses around me-they don't work! I don't know why but I have gone through 3 or 4 of them and they just plain don't work. Well, this time its because I had the readings set in meters instead of feet! I'll try again tomorrow and see if it works.
Date: 2006-06-07
From: Lambert's Meadow Shelter

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 14.4
Weather: scattered clouds

I woke this morning at 05:30 to a cacophony of bird song. Each individual bird singing it's own sweet symphony. Some were so loud with a high-pitched melodic tune-I wish it lasted all day long! The trail first went through Lambert's Meadow-the forest was thin with a lot of open areas. The trail looks like it had some recent maintenance. There is sand filling in gaps on the trail, it can't be natural but I can't imagine having to haul it all in here! There were several vistas with views of the valley down below. It is so spectacular. The mist in the distance, the farms, the mountains. Then later the trail crossed under more power lines, some of which were buzzing and humming-I hate those. So, I started under them as fast as I could and well, I missed a turn for the trail. I only went about 50 ft. before I realized I missed the trail but that involved me having to go under those buzzing power lines again! Lonestar and I got into Dalesville in time for lunch so we went to a little cafe where I had a veggie burger. That was after the trip to the outfitter next door for-yup, you guessed it! I bet I win an award for the most different boots tried. Oh well. I also bought a small pillow, I'll see how that works. Well, the worst news of the day is I ran out of water 3 miles short of the shelter and there is no water here! Between Lonestar and I we have less than 1 liter of water. It's been a HOT humid day-mid 80's- so we have to ration our little water until tomorrow. The next water source is 4 miles away! After Lonestar and I were tucked into our sleeping bags, she was asleep and I was reading. It was 7:30 and I had made no supper since I didn't have any water, and a young guy "Buckeye" (who is changing his name to Mercury) came into camp and I asked if he had any water. He didn't have much more than us but said 2 other were coming in as well. So, a bit later a father/son duo showed up and they had about 3 1/2 liters between them so they filled up our 1 liter bottle. Shortly after that 2 more guys showed up and I asked them if they had water to spare. Well, let me tell you. These 2 guys 2-Ply and Drip Dry were just out for a night hike. They are locals and were parked only about 1-2 miles away. Not only did they give us all their water (they had 2-3 liters for the 3 of us) but they pulled out of their packs a bottle of wine, cheese and crackers, plastic wine glasses, plates and plastic forks and we had a feast! They didn't leave until almost 10 pm-full of great stories. They are local Scout leaders and the young kid in the shelter-Mercury- is also an Eagle Scout. He started in Georgia 1 month ago-he is flying, but has to be back in school by August 15th where he is V.P. of Student Council. So, true Trail Magic when you need it most (water) it appears!
Date: 2006-06-08
From: Fullhardt Knob Shelter

To: Bobblets Gap Shelter
Miles today: 13.5
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke this morning to a gray sky and light drizzle but nothing much. I made the 4 mile hike to get water and then on to Wilson Creek Shelter which is the officail 1/3 mile mark-725.5 miles. In the shelter there someone had written that there was no water until past Bobblets Gap. So, I hauled an extra 2 liters for 7.3 miles! Lonestar finally took 1 liter off me and as it turns out there is water here at this shelter. After Wilson Creek Shelter the trail came up along the Blue Ridge Parkway. About every mile we would pop out of the woods onto the road at one of the overlooks.Atthe second overlook just as I walked back into the woods I saw a large doe cross the trail. So, I quietly walked up to where I saw her cross and she just stood there looking at me and actually walked a little closer to me. I got several great pictures! Walking along the Blue Ridge Parkway we were always just 10-50 feet off the road hidden in the woods. There was one area where we passed a huge stone wall shoring up the side of the parkway. At the shelter tonight are the father/son duo of yesterday and 2 other section hikers. This is their last night out so they gave me their fuel cannister, which is almost full, for my Jet Boil.