morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2009-04-23
From: Partnership Shelter

To: Relax Inn (Atkins, VA)
Miles today: 11.6
Weather: clear sky

Up at 7:15am, on the trail at 8:45. Overnight lows were in the mid 40s, highs for the day were in the mid 60s. It was sunny and breezy all day.All in all a perfect day for hiking. Only doing 11+ miles, temps were ideal, had leftover pizza for breakfast and lunch. It just doesn't get much better than that. Arrived at the Relax Inn at 2:30pm. It's a bit of a dump but it was okay for a shower and laundry. Did a little resupply at the adjacent truck stop and had a chicken sandwich with fries at a restaurant just up the road...along with a pitcher of iced tea.
Date: 2009-04-24
From: Relax Inn (Atkins, VA)

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 14.0
Weather: clear sky

Up at 7:15am, on the trail at 8:45. Overnight lows around 50, highs in the afternoon in the mid 70s. Partly cloudy all day.A very warm and dry day. My feet, legs and especially my right knee held up very well for the day. The reduced milage yesterday and the longer rest appear to have helped. Crossed a lot of rolling Virginia farmland today. Did not see anyone else on the trail all day. And I was the only one at the shelter. I believe that is the first time that has happened.
Date: 2009-04-25
From: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

To: Davis Farm campsite
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: few clouds

Up at 5:30am, on the trail at 7:15. Overnight lows in the low 50s, highs for the day were near 80.Got up a little earlier to try and beat the expected heat. Made the 9 mile trek to the Chester Knob shelter at 11:30am after a hot and long climb. Rather than fight the heat I took a nap and relaxed until about 3:30pm. Made it as far as the Davis Farm campsite before calling it a day. While there I met a couple of VISTA (Volunteers In Service To America) workers who were taking some time off for a little camping. There were supposed to be five of them but only these two make it. Unfortunately (for them) they had food for five people. Fortunately (for me) I was there. They asked if I was hungry (stupid question really) and would I like to join them. I graciously accepted their invitation in the interests of lightening their load. It was tacos. I stopped at five. I didn't want to seem like a pig.
Date: 2009-04-26
From: Davis Farm campsite

To: Helvey's Mill Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: clear sky

Up at 6:30am, on the trail at 8:15. Overnight lows in the lower 60s, afternoon highs in the mid 80s. Sunny, hot and dry all day.Was on the trail for only about an hour when I got to Justin's shelter. Took some time to rinse out my shirt in a nearby stream since it didn't so much resemble a shirt anymore as it did a salt lick. Just after lunch I approached the very wide Brushy Mountain. It is over 6 miles wide...and there is no water. As I was getting ready to attack it a group of very young Boy Scouts were coming down off of the mountain after a short hike. One of the adult leaders came over and asked me my trail name. When I told him he told me that he had been following this journal and was hoping to meet me. He also gave me one of the most refreshing Cokes I have ever had. This troop had also left several gallon jugs of water at the far end of the mountain for hikers to "camel up". Just too nice.Arrived at the shelter at 6:30pm. Didn't plan to go this far today but a lack of water made it necessary. I will probably pay for it tomorrow.
Date: 2009-04-27
From: Helvey's Mill Shelter

To: Jenny Knob Shelter
Miles today: 9.8
Weather: clear sky

Up at 6:30am, on the trail at 8:15. Overnight lows in the lo 60s, afternoon highs in the mid 80s. Clear, hot and dry again today.Only did a half day today. Four straight days of dry 80 degree temps have worn me out. Arrived at the shelter at 1pm. Had lunch, took a nap and generally just vegged out. Will make up for it tomorrow.
Date: 2009-04-28
From: Jenny Knob Shelter

To: Woods Hole Hostel at Sugar Run Gap
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: clear sky

Up at 6:15am, on the trail at 7:45. Overnight lows in the mid 50s, afternoon highs in the mid 80s....again. Mostly clear all day.After breakfast I made a beeline for Trent's Grocery. It is listed as a place for resupply but I was very disappointed with what was offered. On the plus side they did short order cooking. A burger, a double order of fries and two sodas went down real smooth. This fuel was needed for what was to come.After I left I had to attack Sugar Run Mountain which goes up about 1200 feet in under 2 miles. Even in my current state of fitness after 600 miles it was still a challenge in the dry heat with very little shade. I was exhausted when I rolled into the Woods Hole Hostel at 7:45pm. I was too late for dinner but I did make dessert...a bowl of ice cream. I then scored a private room and took a hot shower (whether I needed it or not).
Date: 2009-04-29
From: Woods Hole Hostel at Sugar Run Gap

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 10.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 7am, after a great breakfast (blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage...and grits) on the trail at 9:30. Morning lows were around 60, afternoon highs around 80. Cloudy all day...with a little extra.After a wonderful breakfast I planned to do a leisurely hike into Pearisburg and take a zero day. I was about halfway there up on the Pearis Mountain ridge when I heard the first rumblings. As I approached Pearisburg the rumblings were getting louder and more distinct. There was a thunderstorm heading in and I did not want to be on that ridge when it hit. The last 2.5 miles was a 2000 foot descent into town that I did in record time. Shortly after I checked into the Rendevous Motel the rains came. I dodged another bullet. Spent the evening watching TV, planning my next section of the AT and making a list of all the stuff I need to pickup tomorrow during my Z-day.
Date: 2009-04-30
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Spent the night at the Rendevous Motel, then moved to the Plaza Motel for the internet access. Could not find a barber to trim my hair and beard....will have to try again in Daleville. Was a very misty, damp morning. Cleared up a bit in the afternoon. Got my resupply for the next section. My boots have self-destructed and are causing some painful blisters. I decided to pick up some cheap hiking shoes from Walmart to get me to Daleville. Mary will send my next set of boots for me to pick up there.
Date: 2009-05-01
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Symm's Gap Shelter
Miles today: 11.9

Up at 7am, on the trail at 9:30. Weather today partly to mostly cloudy with occassional sprinkles. Overnight lows in the upper 50s, highs today in the mid 70s.Got on the trail a little late after breakfast at Hardee's. Starting to see more flowers. Also the trees are showing more leaves. And lots of wildlife. Shot pics on a deer that didn't seem too concerned about my passing by.Stopped at Symm's Gap Meadow at around 3:30pm as the next reliable water was almost 8 miles ahead.
Date: 2009-05-02
From: Symm's Gap Shelter

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: light rain

Up at 5:45am, on the trail at 7:15. Overnight lows around 60, highs today in the low 70s. It was cloudy almost all day with occassional sprinkles and showers and even some brief sunshine.I expected rain last night, but it didn't. It rained/spinkled a few times but each time the sun came out briefly and dried me off. The trail was very rocky with lots of scree. Only met one other hiker all day (southbound).Slept alone in the shelter with light rain falling and soothing white noise from a nearby stream.
Date: 2009-05-03
From: War Spur Shelter

To: Sarver Hollow Shelter
Miles today: 12.2
Weather: light rain

Up at 7am, on the trail at 8:30. Overnight lows in the lo 60s with afternoon highs in the mid 70s. It rained off and on all day.The rain started seriously at 4am. It was still raining at 7am, but had stopped when I left the shelter. Got to the next shelter for an early lunch just before another cloudburst, which I waited out. I wasn't quite so fortunate on the next one. Right in the middle of a steep, sweaty climb the heavens opened up and I got drenched before I could get my raingear on. What with all the delays and the late start I decided to stop at Sarver Hollow. This shelter is located about a half-a-mile (all downhill) off the trail, but is one of the nicest shelters I have stayed in. There is a large covered deck in front of the sleeping area with a large picnic table. While eating dinner another deer strolled through about 30 feet in front of the shelter.
Date: 2009-05-04
From: Sarver Hollow Shelter

To: Pickle Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Up at 6:45am, on the trail at 8:15. Lows overnight in the lo 50s, highs in the afternoon around 70. Lots of morning rain, fog and mist...partly cloudy in the afternoon.Lots of large, slippery rocks in the rain. I fell on my face twice. The trail in this section of Virginia spends a lot of time on the top of ridges, hence the very rocky trail. There are huge expanses of exposed rock which is usually slanted in such a way as to make crossing them a bit treacherous in the rain.Around lunch time the rain moved out and the sun came out. Stopped at the Audie Murphey Memorial. Murphey was the most decorated soldier of WWII. He died in a plane crash not far from the memorial site.Pickle Branch shelter was a bit crowded as I shared it with Cajun Dave, Indiana Toad, Chocolate Chipmunk, Texas Chili, Triple C and Racheopod.
Date: 2009-05-05
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: moderate rain

Up at 6:30pm, on trail at 8. Lows overnight in the mid 50s, highs in the afternoon in the lo 70s. There was fog all day with rain in the afternoon.Again the trail was very rocky with climbing involved at Dragon's Tooth. Hurt my right leg a bit coming down when I had to jump a couple of times. Once again I arrived at a spot where you can normally get some great views only to find it socked in with fog. The same thing happened later in the day at McAfee's Knob.I haven't spent a lot of time on this journal talking about injuries as the ones I have had are expected (i.e. blisters, sore muscles, etc.). However, I think I have experienced my first serious injury. My right shin is very sore and I suspect it is shin splints. Each step is painful. Hopefully I can get into Daleville tomorrow without doing too much damage.
Date: 2009-05-06
From: Campbell Shelter

To: Daleville, VA (Howard Johnson's Express)
Miles today: 15.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Up at 6:30am, on the trail at 8. Overnight lows in the lo 50s, afternoon highs near 70. It was foggy all day with rain in the afternoon.A little rain overnight, but it had stopped before I left Campbell shelter. Everything I had was damp from the fog and rain of the past several days. And on top of that my right shin was very sore. There was the beginnings of a large, red bruise forming. And the trail was very rocky again. It took me 9.5 hours to hike to Daleville. I soggily (is that a word?) limped into the motel at about 5:30pm and ordered a pizza for dinner.This shin thing has me very worried. This is just the sort of thing that can force one off the trail. I will be taking a zero day tomorrow....at least.
Date: 2009-05-10
From: Daleville, VA (Howard Johnson's Express)

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

It is Sunday afternoon. I have been here since Weds. evening. During that time I have been icing and resting my right leg. On Friday morning when I normally would have been leaving the leg was still very sore. So I decided to just stay for the weekend and plan to hit the trail tomorrow (Monday) morning. Rather than sit in a motel room all this time I called Enterprise Car Rental and got me a PT Cruiser for the weekend. Then I ran all my errands including getting my haircut and beard trimmed. I feel human again. I also sent my cold weather gear home and have switched to lighter, summer gear. There have been a lot of hikers I know from the past several months passing through and I have met some new ones. I have been shuttling them around to places like the grocery store, the outfitters and the post office. The leg, while still a bit tender, feels much better. There are shelters approx. 5 and 12 miles down the trail from here. Tomorrow I will see how far I can get and how the leg feels. If it holds up I will continue. If not I will have to give serious consideration to coming home.Stay tuned.
Date: 2009-05-11
From: Daleville, VA (Howard Johnson's Express)

To: Fullhardt Knob Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: moderate rain

My thru hike may be over.Up at 5:30am, on the trail at 9:30. After a shower and breakfast I returned the rental car to Roanoke and got a ride back to the motel. Hiked in the rain the five miles to the first shelter. By the time I got there my leg had swollen up again and was very sore. It was very obvious that I could not continue. While at the shelter I met Sam. He was just finishing up a 10-day section hike (SOBO). He had his dad pick us up and then drop me off back at the hotel. And so here I sit. I have decided to take a hiatus. I will go home and convalesce (sp?) for a few weeks. At that point I may come back out here, probably to Harper's Ferry and continue north. As for the skipped section between Daleville and Harper's Ferry that will have to wait for another year...unless I can heal up and get back out and finish early enough to come back and do it.There is one consolation to all this. I am now free to go to Trail Days in Damascus this coming weekend. For my friends who have no idea what Trail Days are I'm not going to spend a lot of time here explaining....just Google it.I hope to be home sometime around the 20th.
Date: 2009-05-12
From: Daleville, VA (Howard Johnson's Express)

To: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Yesterday while bemoaning my the condition of my right shin I met 1Pint in the lobby at the Howard Johnson's - Express. Hers was a trail name that I recognized from the past several years while hanging out on Whiteblaze.net. She had originally planned on hiking for a few more days, then catching a ride to Trail Days. Now she was thinking of just going early to Damascus. Also met Rolling Stone with his dog, Coal. And I ran into Bookworm who I had met briefly some weeks earlier. It turned out that they, too were thinking of going to Trail Days. So after some discussion we all decided to pool our resources, rent a car in Roanoke and make the two-and-a-half hour drive down I-81 to Damascus.Once in Damascus 1Pint, Bookworm and I found some space in a hostel called "The Place". Since they didn't allow dogs there Rolling Stone took Coal and found some folks who let him put his tent up in their backyard, a not uncommon occurrence during Trail Days week.
Date: 2009-05-13
From: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)

To: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Slept in until 8am. After breakfast I took a hike out to the Trail Days campsite to scope out where I would hang my hammock. Found several sites. Didn't accomplish a whole lot today, just basically vegged out and rested my leg. I did take advantage of the "free grillin'" at the Baptist Church. Tomorrow we move out to the Campground south of town.
Date: 2009-05-14
From: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)

To: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

After breakfast the four of us (me, 1Pint, Rolling Stone w/Coal and Bookworm) took the rental out to the Trail Days Campground. Because it was Thurs. morning we were one of the first ones out there. Later in the day I went back into town and watched the hot dog eating contest and the cake eating contest. Later I partook of yet another free dinner at the Baptist Church.
Date: 2009-05-15
From: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)

To: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up about 7am. Ate breakfast from my food bag and them wandered over to the Manufacturer's booths. There I met Mr. Fixit. All of the the manufacturers in the campground area were there for one reason....to fix your broken gear....for free. My backpack had developed a small split near one of the seams. I just dropped it off and picked it up repaired that afternoon. Folks from the Leki hiking pole company were there fixing and servicing all brands of hiking poles. I also stopped in and talked with the Superfeet guy and discussed whether my Superfeet were still good or worn out. Turns out they were fine. The folks at Backpacker Magazine were holding a giveaway of hundreds of dollars of gear. All you had to do was enter and be present to win Sat. evening.I suppose that I should take some time to explain the picture. If you haven't experienced it in the past you're probably wondering, "Just what is Billville?" Some say it is a place, some say it is a "state of mind". Some also say it is both and others say it is neither. Any attempts on my part to describe it would do it a great injustice so I can only suggest that you attend an AT gathering of some sort where it may or may not appear and after experiencing it in person immediately put it out of your mind. You may need professional help to do so.The number of Trail Days events one can attend is impressive. Here's a link to the weekend's offerings:   http://www.traildays.us/schedule.htmlThis afternoon I got a empty box from one of the folks in one of the Manufacturer's tents, boxed up all the stuff I didn't need for the rest of the weekend and sent it home via the Post Office. Later I attended a presentation by Mike (Lion King) Daniel. LK is very well known among the AT crowd and it was SRO at the Youth Center. There he previewed the DVD of his completion of The American Discovery Trail, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific. There are portions of the DVD on YouTube if you're interested. So far Lion King is the only person who has done the entire thing.
Date: 2009-05-16
From: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)

To: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

This is the day that everyone has been waiting for. Today is the Trail Days Hiker Parade. I have seen pictures and read descriptions of previous parades, but it really is something that should be experienced in person. The basic premise is this: You start with a color guard, some vehicles from the law enforcement community and a few small local entries i.e. young beauty pageant contestants in a convertible doing the "parade wave". It is at this point that it becomes something unique, and dare I say, a bit dark.Residents of Damascus and neighboring towns line both sides of the street, many armed with water balloons, squirt guns and other ways of delivering copious amounts of water at their intended targets. The hundreds and hundreds of parade participants are hardly defenseless. They, too, are similarly armed, some in very creative ways. The picture above shows a guy with a cutout of a guitar. Hidden behind it is a pressure powered sprayer. Many a little towney with a small squirt gun fell victim to his "strumming". I saw another hiker doing a lot of hit-and-run riding a skateboard with a Supersoaker. And then there was a group of hikers who had taken the time to "liberate" a shopping cart from the local grocery store and fill it with water balloons. It was a wise decision.Near the end of the parade we passed a series of two stories buildings. From the roof locals were lobbing water balloons into the hikers. The parade actually came to a halt as hikers stood their ground and responded with an impressive barrage of their own. During all this carnage I considered myself a non-combatant since I had no squirt gun. Nevertheless after it was done I was considering changing my name from RadioFreq to Collateral Damage. This was because some of the hikers displayed their lack of loyalty to the other hikers by flinging water balloons from the back of the parade into the hikers at the front. The end of the parade was marked by several ambulances with their lights flashing. No doubt they were there to treat those who drown.After several hours drying off and recovering from the physical and psychological damage suffered in the parade I had dinner and then wandered over to the Billville Useless Gear Contest which was MCed by Jester2000. I would love to tell you about it in great detail. Unfortunately I know that there are a number of young lads from my Boy Scout troop who read this journal. 'Nuff said.
Date: 2009-05-17
From: Damascus, VA (Trail Days week)

To: Roanoke, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Woke up at 7am, had some breakfast and began packing for the long trip home. Spent some time reflecting on the Trail Days experience. I would highly recommend it to one and all. Previous hikers I ran into during the weekend included Knuckles, Mule, Yukon Rasputin, 3 of the Pack O' Divas (Rocket, Storm and Grommet), Racheopod, Triple C, Mango, Cici, Fire Pit and Laura Jumper who now has the trailname of Lulu. At 10am Rolling Stone w/ Coal, Bookworm and I rolled out of town with a couple of other hikers....Lucius and Workstay. 1Pint decided to stay behind and participate in "Hardcore". Lest anyone jumps to conclusions I should tell you that Hardcore is a day of trail maintainence that follows Trail Days. I dropped all of them off at the grocery store in Daleville and then drove the rental car back to Roanoke. Then I walked four miles to the Greyhound depot and bought a ticket to Atlanta. The main problem now was I had to kill 8 hours in downtown Roanoke on a Sunday evening before my bus left.   Fortunately I found a restaurant/bar with a big screen TV where I could watch the two NBA playoff games that afternoon/evening. Unfortunately it was also Kareoke night. Some people have no shame.
Date: 2009-05-18
From: Roanoke, VA

To: St. Paul, MN
Miles today: 0.0

Caught the bus just before 1am and arrived in Atlanta before noon. Caught a cab to the airport, caught my plane to St. Paul and got home around 7pm. And now I rest. I am not committed at this point to going back to the trail. I will go see my doc and just rest up for a week or so and see how the leg feels. If it gets better I will make arrangements to head back.
Date: 2009-05-28
From: St. Paul, MN

To: St. Paul, MN
Miles today: 0.0

I have booked my return flight. I leave MSP early Monday morning and I will be in Harpers Ferry that afternoon. I am sending my gear out tomorrow morning and will pick it up at the ATC HQ Tuesday morning.Doing it this way means skipping the section of the AT from Daleville to Harpers Ferry. My hope is to complete the hike to Katahdin and then return to do the skipped portion. We'll see how it all works out.
Date: 2009-06-01
From: St. Paul, MN

To: Harpers Ferry, WV
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Flew today from St. Paul to Washington, DC via Philadelphia. Took the METRO from the airport to Union Station. Killed a couple of hours wandering around the east end of The Mall in front of the Capital Building. When I went back to Union Station to catch my train I ran into Intents. He had been visiting his mom in DC for a couple of days. We both arrived in Harper's Ferry via AMTRAK at about 5:30pm. He had his pack and was going straight to the trail. I, on the other hand, had to find a place to stay the night before picking up my gear tomorrow at the ATC HQ. I was wandering through the historic old town section of HF when I heard, "Hey, RadioFreq." I looked up and there was Hot Sauce on the balcony of the Old Town Inn. This place turned out to be an upscale hostel. I went to find my bed and ran into to Red Bear. It was beginning to feel like old home week. Later that night I spent some time sitting on the balcony drinking beer and trading trail stories with Red Bear and some new aquaintences: Mr. Right and Plunger (a couple) and The Ruin, short for The Ancient Ruin. NOTE: When saying his name you must say it with a thick Scottish accent ("Da Roo-in"). The Ruin left Scotland at the age of 25 to vacation in Australia...that was 30 years ago. He never went back. Which makes talking with him very entertaining as his accent randomly switches back and forth between Scottish and Aussie. Tomorrow....back at it.