morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2007-05-10
From: Clyde Smith Shelter

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: broken clouds

May 10, My Legs Are TiredToday was hard.I woke up even before my alarm at 6:26 a.m. It was 51.6 degrees in my tent. I got after the morning right away and I was ready to go by 7:45. I stopped at the shelter to say goodbye and Dirty informed me he'd seen two bears last night. Whoa. I picked up Certain on the trail back to the AT and then we were on our merry way.We started climbing immediately. Up Little Rock Knob, then down to Hughes Gap. From there, it was a 2.5 mile haul to the top of Roan Mountain. The trail was unforgiving. It was steep, full of tree roots, and just plain tough. Roan was definitely the hardest mountain on the trail so far - so says my Mountain Difficulty Rating Scale. I thought it would never end but I used my trusty altimeter to help gauge the time. We finally made it to the top and I just laid down in the grass. My legs were tired! It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining so we sat there to enjoy it for a while.We headed down the mountain, only stopping to get water at Roan High Knob Shelter. We met Oregon there and he would later donate duct tape to me as he has about two full rolls on his trekking poles. The descent was beautiful. Lots of pine trees and pine needles carpeting the ground. It felt very alpine. Then we went over Round Bald and Jane Bald and down to Stan Murray shelter where my knees started killing me. We stopped there for a rest before our final push to Overmountain Shelter. The last push was a nice hike. We got here at about 6:30 p.m. This shelter is cool - it's a big red barn that's been converted to a shelter with two floors. Apparently this area was the backdrop of a movie many years back. It's THAT picturesque.Today was hard. Roan was the last 6,000 foot mountain we will have until New Hampshire. I am thankful for that. They don't know how to control the pain when the mountain is that high!My left shoe is rubbing against my heel taking skin away with it - not good. I had to stop several times today to fix my duct tape/band aid dressings. I hope this goes away, it's scary.I am exhausted. It's 9:22 p.m., 59 degrees and perfect to sleep. Night.- Sound of my rain fly in the wind, some guy talking.Post Trail Thoughts:I had a nice night there at Overmountain Shelter. We were there with Josh and Sara, Dirty and others. It was a good group.
Date: 2007-05-15
From: Watagua Lake Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 13.6
Weather: scattered clouds

May 15, SleepyHappy anniversary, Mom and Dad! Happy birthday JonL and Zev!I woke up about 23 times last night to pull myself up the hill I was sleeping on...but I didn't really get up until 6:12 a.m. It was 55 degrees in my tent. I got ready pretty quickly with just one glitch - C-Shot was cowboy camping directly under Fuzzy and my food bags. Hmm. Finally Fuzzy and I decided we were hungry enough to intervene. I stood over the guy and Fuzzy lowered the rope. I managed to catch the bags before they fell. It was crowded! I ate two blueberry muffin bars and Fuzzy Monkey shared some green tea with me. Mmm.We didn't get out of camp until about 8:45 a.m. The trail took us around Watagua Lake, up over the dam, and down a maintenance road back into the woods. It was a pretty sight in the morning - except for the roadwalking. We had a fairly large uphill after that which stole a lot of my energy for the day. I'd been hearing it was supposed to be an easy day and that definitely did not turn out to be the case. Well, it had the potential to be easy - if you have all of your energy - but for some reason I didn't today. There were lots of small climbs and I had to take a surprising amount of breaks. I took a break with Josh and Sara (as they transition to He-man and She-ra). Certain was zapped of energy even more than me and so was QuickToez so we leapfrogged with him all afternoon. We even stopped to cook an early dinner about three miles before the shelter hoping it'd give us some energy. While we were there, ParkBench stopped to visit as did Tyvek. Tyvek is so named because he mad! e all of his gear out of Tyvek. He is walking barefoot for a cause - that all military personnel be briefed before deployment. He asked that we write letters to our senators and congressman. He has a website called thelongwalkhome.org. Anyway, after that, I zoomed the last three miles to the shelter. Luckily it's not as packed here tonight as last night - Young Eagle, QuickToez, JB, Sweetwater, C-Shot and his parents and us. Nice.It was a pretty uneventful day. Lots of climbing and catching of the breath. I don't think I mentioned it yesterday but the rhododendron are blooming! I am so geeked. I hope I get to walk through a tunnel of blooming rhododendron soon!We are two days from Damascus and three days from Trail Days. Trail Days is the largest festival in celebration of the AT with vendor booths, speakers, free food, etc. I look forward to checking it out and, hopefully, running into some familiar faces.I'm tired again tonight. Time to catch some Zs.- Sund of a bug buzzing around between my tent and fly. Other than that, silence.
Date: 2007-05-19
From: Damascus, Virginia

To: Damascus, Virginia
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

May 19, Trail Days - Part III woke up still dreading walking out of here alone tomorrow. It's like moving to a new high school when you're a sophomore. Will I make new friends? Will the friends I've made still be around? Will I have people to hang out with in town? Will I fall in the middle of the woods and be stranded turning into food for large mammals? I guess that last one doesn't sound like high school. I got up at 7 a.m. and started packing. We left for Damascus at 9:30 with Scribe, her parents, and Gadget. I headed to the post office to send some things home and I was lucky to get there when I did - four minutes later the line formed out the door! Those poor USPS workers - we hikers are pretty demanding. I hung out at the PO for a while talking with Talker Man and his brother for a while.After that, back to Trail Days. We visited Tent City and did another lap through the vendors. The hiker parade would be starting soon so we decided to go to the Dollar Store to buy some water guns - in keeping with tradition. I also scored some pom pons to wave. Then we made a mad dash to meet the rest of the hikers lining up. We watched as the sheriffs walked by all dignified, the bands walked by in unison, the horses even looked refined. Then we saw them... a sea of hiker trash. It was almost surprising how pathetic hikers look in a group. Tired, skinny, frail, scruffy...We made it down to the Class of 2007 and started walking. The water ballons exploded around my feet and the water guns were used aggresively by both spectators and hikers. I made a point to stop by the Alma College research RV to hose John with some water. Got 'em! The parade was a riot - I'm not sure why but men wore dresses and everything was fair game. I got soaked. Good times.Spent some time after that at the hiker talent show where I listened to some pretty disturbing songs and even a remix of the "Cheers" theme song...."you wanna go where everybody has trail names"...Certain, Fuzzy Monkey, and I hitched a ride back to Abingdon with a couple of girls, Amy and Kayla - our first sucessful hitch! I got back, resupplied at Food City, ate dinner with Certain and Fuzzy Monkey at the local Chinese buffet and then came back to feast on an ice cream sandwich.It's official, Certain and I are splitting up. Tomorrow I will leave and she will head to Charlottesville, VA to get her foot fixed up. She's not sure where she'll get back on the trail yet so this could be temporary or last for months. My hike will definitely be different now.- Sound of water running through the pipes, TV.
Date: 2007-05-25
From: Atkins, VA

To: Knot Maul Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: light rain

May 25, Hiking in StilesHappy birthday, Stef!I slept like a rock last night, waking up around 6:30 a.m. to hear the birds through the duct taped windows of the Relax Inn.Melk and I had shared a room and we got right up to get ready for breakfast. We headed back to the Barn Restaurant hoping the woman from the motel last night would not be in the kitchen. I had a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, a biscuit with gravy, and home fries topped off with a glass of milk. Mmm.Melk, JB, and I hit the trail around 9 a.m., walking past I-81 and through some fields. The day was full of hills and was pretty tiring in the increasing temperatures and humidity. Pretty views along the way though.We stopped at Davis Path Shelter for some rest and had a good chat about JB's career as an EMT. He also talked about the John Muir Trail and the PCT, sounded nice. JB's retired now and is living it up. His advice to Melk and I was to keep doing this stuff - he wishes he would have done it sooner.The hiking today was punctuated by countless stiles - wooden devices (almost like ladders) which bring you up and over something like a fence. I grew to dread them as they require lots of energy to haul yourself up and over. But they were everywhere, keeping us where we needed to be considering all of the private property and cows around.Most of the day was also spent walking through fields. Pretty sights. We even passed lots of cows about two miles from camp. Fun and exciting.The highlight of the day came when we reached the Holston River - the line that we had chosen to denote the completion of 1/4 of our hike. It was exciting and a little daunting to think about repeating what I just did three more times. But now that's all I need to do - and maybe a bit faster as well.Tomorrow I'm planning a 19 mile day. It will be my biggest so far and no matter what I say in tomorrow night's journal, I'd like to note that I am actually excited about the challenge that is forthcoming. I hope my tiny toe blisters act right.I am exhausted tonight but I made dinner and got my tent all set up and then played Hearts with Bigby, Ronin, and Melk. I'd never played so Bigby taught me and, with true beginner's luck, I won. Fun game.I must rest now - tomorrow I should be far away.- Sound of my stomach rumbling, silence otherwise.Post Trail Thoughts:Melk and I passed time during one of our breaks on this day by taking a video of Bigby hiking and making the commentary sound like a wildlife show. "Watch Bigby as he approached the stile. What will he do next. How does he feel approaching the 1/4-way mark?".Later, we made a video about the cows we passed and how we had narrowly escaped death trying to pass them. Oh Melk.When we got to the 1/4-way mark, I organized everyones' poles into a 1/4 sign and we all took photos next to it. Happy.
Date: 2007-05-26
From: Knot Maul Shelter

To: Jenkins Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

May 26, New RecordToday was a good day. I woke up to about 61 degrees in my tent and was still a little sleepy but I forced myself up - had to leave as early as possible today to be able to fit the miles in.JB shared a blueberry bagel with cream cheese with me - delicious - and I think it gave me all of the oomph I needed for the day. I started walking at 7:26 a.m. but had to stop shortly thereafter to fill up on water. The first four miles weren't too bad - pretty nice at first, then a big climb. I took a break with some folks at the first road crossing and then proceeded on. The next four miles would be uphill so I paced myself as such. It was a very humid day and I was pretty drenched as I walked uphill. We were all sort of travling in a pack today - everyone has bunched up on the trail. We all got to the pond and spring where water was recommended at 11 a.m. I filled up and about 45 minutes later, I was at the next shelter having lunch. That shelter, Chestnut Knob Shelter, was likened to a Mexican prison. It looked like it was made of adobe.The next ten miles after that weren't bad. There were a few unexpected uphills and the trail was pretty rocky but it was not ridiculous. We stopped to talk with a couple in Walker Gap that shared grapefruit juice and maccaroons. Melk and I also stopped later to talk with a couple that gave us ice water.The last four miles to the shelter were tough but only because I was ready for dinner. I was lucky today because the blisters on my pinky toes did not bother me nor did my feet. It was pretty amazing actually.We got to the shelter at 6:30 p.m. and I set up my tent, changed, collected water, and then made dinner. I'd been craving a ballpark hot dog for the last two hours but Ramen noodles would have to do.Bigby, Ronin, Melk and I just finished a game of Hearts at the picnic table - Melk won this time. Poor Ronin keeps losing.Well, my biggest miles so far and I felt pretty great. It might have been the preventative Vitamin I I took this morning or it might have been the bagel with cream cheese but, nonetheless, if I wasn't so hungry for dinner and it wasn't getting late, I think I could have pushed on. To be honest, I'm a little bummed the shelter wasn't a mile further - would have been my first 20! - Sound of critters around my tent (I think they are all plotting together tonight and building a trap for when I get out of my tent in the morning).Post Trail Thoughts:I loved the way I felt after a big day. It felt so good to around other folks making a lot of progress too. We had a good time.Just before Melk and I stopped for some ice water, we had been taking a rest on a rock on the left side of the trail. I was laying down on the rock and I think Melk shared a piece of dark chocolate with me. What a hiking friend! Ronin passed us and was extremely thirsty as he hadn't gotten water at the last sourse. Melk shared her water with him and the rest was history!
Date: 2007-05-29
From: Dismal Creek Falls

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 22.4
Weather: scattered clouds

May 29, No Sleep 'Til PearisburgHoly frijoles, it was a long day. I got up at the falls this morning and that feels like three days ago now.Melk, Young Eagle, Ronin and I hit the trail at 7:30 a.m. We stopped shortly thereafter to celebrate the 600 mile mark - that's right, 600 miles! I think it might have been too early for everyone to be as excited as I was but we all stopped for photos anyway.I'll be honest, most of the day is a blur right now. I hiked over 22 miles, the most I've ever hiked and I am pretty exhausted right now. What I do remember is a lot of rhododendron. In the morning, there was a beautiful jaunt through pine needle-carpeted woods in Jefferson National Forest. I stopped at two shelters for breaks today - Wapiti and Docs Knob. After Wapiti, the trail climbed high and then became pretty rocky. I stopped to cook a hot lunch today on a rock since I was still carrying most of my dinners. Two Ramen packages later, I was full of energy. The glitch? I was now soo sleepy. I was walking over rocks thinking that at any minute I could just fall right over and take a nap. It was odd. I felt completely out of touch with what was going on around me. A bear could have been pacing behind me for miles and I wouldn't have noticed.Somewhere along the way, YE, Melk, Ronin and I all decided it would be a better idea to walk all the way to town today rather than stopping three miles short. So, when we got to the second shelter, we still had eight more miles and it was 4:30 p.m.I walked the first of the last 8 miles quickly and stopped to wait for YE and Melk at a campsite where others were cooking dinner. Great views. Ronin had gone ahead of us to town to reserve a room. After the campsite was the ridiculous descent into Pearisburg. Every inch of the trail hurt me a little more. The downhill was steep and my trekking poles might've been the only things keeping me up. My feet, knees, back and legs were aching.We finally made it to town at 8:30 p.m. and then walked half a mile to the Holiday Motor Lodge - a retro 70s style hotel with shag carpeting and suspicious gentleman lurking on the patios. Ronin hooked it! He was waiting for us in our climate-controlled room with beer. We grabbed dinner at the nearby Mexican restaurant and now I am ready to pass out.It was a long day but it was also very exciting. My first twenty AND six hundred miles! I'm exhausted.- Sound of Young Eagle tossing around on the floor, the air conditioning, Ronin breathing.Post Trail Thoughts:Young Eagle Pun: Wapiti Shelter turned into "What a pity" though I can't remember what he said about it.The smell of jasmine was really stong after the descent to Pearisburg.
Date: 2007-05-30
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: scattered clouds

May 30, PearisburgI just lost at Hearts.A relaxing day today though the morning feels quite far away now. It's way past hiker's midnight, real life midnight too.The day consisted of laundry, post office business, resupply, a visit to Goodwill for new shorts, and relaxing 70s-style on the balcony overlooking the hotel pool. This place is a real diamond in the rough. I don't know if I can quite explain it but I actually feel like I'm in the 70s here. It feels like the kind of place you'd stay until your money runs out. You'd probably have to buy or sell narcotics to fit in.We opted for Round 2 at the Mexican restaurant - delicious food yet not so easy on the stomach.I finally got the Blue Moon I'd been craving when Barking Spider shared his supply. Mmm. There are lots of hikers here today and we lazed around outside a bunch. We're joined by Fuzzy Monkey, JB, Mellow, Walker, Plodder, Smokestack, Red, Red'sMan, Rain Dog and others. I even ran into Worm, formerly known as Wes, the guy that stayed at the Hiker Hostel in Dahlonega with us the night before we started the trail. Good to see him.We all limped for the better part of the morning but I was feeling warmed up by mid-afternoon and my gait resembled normal humanity.Ronin, Melk, Young Eagle and I just played a spirited game of Hearts. Halfway through, I got really tired and had trouble thinking things through. Who knew you had to have a strategy when playing cards?It was a good zero. I even got a ride to the Food Lion from Plodder's wife, Connie. I resupplied in less than 20 minutes - a new record - and I even remembered the bagels and cream cheese I've been coveting all week.We're planning a short day tomorrow so I plan to sleep in a bit.By the way, thanks to those who've signed my guest book - the notes are so great to read and often make me smile.I talked to my dad today and he informed me that he's making a chain for when I come home in August - it'll be 25 feet long and not allow me back on the trail. Hmm.Well, I am exhausted. I wish I was more awake to say more though. - Sound of the AC cranking, Melk breathing and pulling the covers up on the bed.Post Trail Thoughts:It was a great and very relaxing day and was a treat to just hang around outside with trail friends. I was very lucky to be around such a good group at the time.
Date: 2007-05-31
From: Pearisburg, VA

To: Pearisburg, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: overcast clouds

May 31, Unexpected ZeroHmm. All intentions were to bum around for a good portion of the day but get on the trail around 5 p.m. and hike a short day. We were waiting until later to leave to avoid the heat since it was over 80 degrees. I got up and made a run to Rite Aid after I enjoyed a blueberry bagel with cream cheese. Delicious. I didn't do much else before checkout. At 1 o'clock, we (Melk, Young Eagle, Ronin, and I) checked out but just moved into the hotel office to hang out in the AC for a bit.After a while we took the party downtown to the Courthouse Cafe, ordered some smoothies, and played Hearts. I lost. Again. Grr. As we sat there, we watched a giant storm roll in. The sky turned dark, the trees started blowing, and the lightening added to the intensity. The decision was made. Young Eagle called to book another night at the Holiday Motor Lodge. For a moment I felt like a failure for not escaping town but after thinking about how short of a day we were doing and how fast we could make it up, I didn't mind. I wasn't expecting to take a zero in Pearisburg - let alone two. It all happens the way it should though.So, the nice young man at the cafe drove us and our gear back to the hotel so we didn't have to walk in the rain. So we are here now contemplating dinner. I hope the skies let loose tonight but I am very thankful to be in town since there's been lots of lightening.On another note, I'm having trouble coming into contact with the media. Television overwhelms me, magazines and newspaper perturb me, and the songs on the radio seem so foreign. Melk was reading a magazine aloud earlier and I was thumbing through a Newsweek - too much for me. Another misplaced thought... Virginia, so far, has had less switchbacks than what I've seen in the previous states. And I mean this in a good way. I feel I've made more progress when the trail is meandering along each side of the mountain rather than zigzagging back and forth on one side until the top. Where the climbs are steeper, there are switchbacks but otherwise it's really very nice....So we went to The Bank for dinner. I'm almost hesitant to write about it because it spills the beans about how much we're roughing it. I had pasta with scallops, shrimp, mussels and clams. I had red wine. I had chocolate molten cake. We dined in style as we were serenaded by Louis Armstrong. It was really very relaxing. But I promise to get dirty tomorrow and eat Ramen noodles again.Back at the Holiday Motor Lodge and ready for bed. Think we have to do 19 miles tomorrow to make up our time to Catawba.By the way, Melk's mom said my journal is wordy. We've been joking about it all day and Melk is giving me a hard time about writing right now. She taunts me by telling me I should think about all of the things I'm missing out on while writing.- Sound of "Whose Line is it Anyway" on TV and laughter. Post Trail Thoughts:Not Guilty joined us for a while at The Bank. What a treat!
Date: 2007-06-02
From: VA 635, Stony Creek

To: War Spur Shelter
Miles today: 10.3
Weather: light rain

June 2, For those seeking fellowship with nature...We finally made it out of Pearisburg - a feat all by itself. Melk's internal alarm clock was supposed to wake us up at 7 a.m. but it didn't go off until 7:30. We got up and went to breakfast at Marsha's Restaurant. After that, we headed back to the room to pack up. I was pretty much already packed so I watched everyone and eventually fell asleep. We didn't find a ride until about 11:30 a.m. and we started walking around noon, I think.The start of the hike did not go well. My pack was WAY too heavy and we were headed straight uphill. I felt like someone was pushing me down as I tried to walk uphill. We made it to the first shelter about an hour into the hike and I dug deep in my food bag to discard the excess. I ended up leaving about two pounds of food at the shelter. The rest of the hike was pretty uneventful. No views or wildlife sightings to speak of. We had a big descent at the end of the day and it killed my knees. It's official, I hate long downhills. The A-Team is here tonight and we have the shelter to ourselves. I am sleeping in the shelter tonight to avoid the rain that's been threatening us all day. We might play Mad Gab, which Melk purchased at Rite Aid this morning or I might just fall asleep. I'm whipped.- Sound of the stream near the shelter, discussion of playing Mad Gab. Post Trail Thoughts:I remember calling up to Melk on that first climb. I felt like I was going to puke. My pack was so heavy! But I ended up leaving some good treats for those behind me.