morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-06-09
From: Greasy Creek Hostel

To: Greasy Creek Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Taking a zero day here for several reasons, one of which is my foot/leg. I'm still favoring it and hoping it'll come around. Two other hikers are here, Chris and Rick. They're cutting the grass for the owner in exchange for their stay. Not an easy job considering what they need to do this job is a bushhog. The grass is nearly as tall as I am. The owner is expecting two women tonight that she is shuttling to Carver's Gap tomorrow morning. I'm going to share the ride with them and that way I'll catch up to Hanna. I'll be skipping Roan Mountain, but that gives me a good excuse to go visit Miss Janet again next spring break......Spent most of the day by the creek here. We're going to build a bonfire tonight so I've been gathering firewood.
Date: 2006-06-10
From: Carvers Gap

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: scattered clouds

What a fantastically gorgeous day!! This hike so far has been the absolute opposite of my section hike last year. Haven't encountered any rain. Just beautiful sunny days with cool mountain breezes. Too sweet! I spent the afternoon sitting on Round Bald and Jane Bald and totally enjoying the 360 degree views. The beauty of this place is hardly described by my words or pictures. Lunch today is on the top of a mountain and dinner tonight will be in a valley. Tomorrow, who knows? Overmountain Shelter is located above a valley where it is said that the Overmountain Boys went through on their raids against the British Army. Tonight it is packed with boy scouts and many, many hikers. The two ladies I caught the shuttle with are here and have set up their tents inside the shelter. This is the epitome of rudeness on the trail, especially when the shelter is as full as it is tonight. They had to be asked to move them closer together so more people could sleep there. Still, there were about a half dozen tents set up, including mine. This is the first night I've spent in my tent and I don't even care if it rains. Feels good to be in my tent again. I want to stay in it more often, rather than the shelters. The full moon is hanging over the valley with lightning in the background. A storm is definately coming. I got burnt to a crisp on the Balds today. I'm gonna be paying for this later. Didn't feel it at all with the breezes that kept me cool.
Date: 2006-06-11
From: Overmountain Shelter

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 8.7

Max Patch has been replaced. It is no longer my favorite place on the trail. The Humps have taken it's place. Amazing Balds. The wind was blowing so strong they nearly knocked me over at one point. I hiked all day with 360 degree views again. I could see Hanna walking about a quarter mile ahead of me. I also saw a herd of cows headed her way, which she couldn't see. She rounded a huge rock and was out of view for a minute. Suddenly, she reappears, hiking towards me with a longhorn and his herd right on her tail. I was laughing so hard I was crying. They finally quit following her and were hidden from view by the time I caught up to her. Sure enough though, they showed up again, but off the trail so we passed most of the herd without a problem. The longhorn, on the other hand, decided to be a problem. He parked himself right in front of the stile we had to go through. A stile is sorta like a gate in the fence. Anyhow, there he stood, blocking our way. We were about 30 feet in front of him wondering, 'what do we do now?' We finally decided I'd try to circle around him and jump over the fence. As soon as I started to move, so did he. Hanna managed to get around him and through the stile without incident. So there I was, with my back up against the fence, and this longhorn staring me down. Do I jump the fence with a 30 lb. pack on my back or try to make it to the stile. I wasn't real keen on turning my back on him, so I inched my way over to the stile and made it through. I can just imagine the fun those cows have every day messing with the hikers. I could have sworn I heard him chuckling as we walked away.
Date: 2006-06-12
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

Hanna hasn't taken a zero day yet so we decided this would be a good place to take one. What a great hostel this is. They've set up four bunks and a private room with a kingsize bed for hikers about the barn. It has everything one would need here, including the best shower I have had to date on the AT.The main house is a bed and breakfast where they rent out rooms at a higher rate. Mary and Terry Hill run this place and are the most gracious of hosts. Mary puts on a breakfast spread that rivals any place I've ate at yet. Her food is a work of edible art. It'll be very hard to leave this place tomorrow.Spent most of the day reading Blind Courage, a book by Bill Irwin. Bill Irwin is blind and thru-hiked the trail. Just him and his seeing eye dog, Orient. Amazing story of his hike and his faith in God to lead him along the trail. His entire hike was to show the glory of God. A very good read.
Date: 2006-06-13
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Mountain Harbor Hostel
Miles today: 13.0

Yup, it was too hard to leave this place. We did a 13 mile slack pack today and it was a blast. I was flying over those hills. Slackpacking is when you leave your heavy backpack behind and just hike with a day pack. It's amazing how much faster I can go without all that weight on my back. The terrain was really easy too. Hiked past the new shelter and stopped there for lunch. Very nice set-up. Also hiked past Jones Falls, a beautiful cascading waterfall. Check out my pictures. We lost steam on the climb out of Jones Falls and didn't get back to the hostel till after dark. Mary was getting worried and was about to send someone to look for us when we showed up. We were exhausted but felt great. I didn't have to favor my foot at all today. It seems to be on the mend. YAY!!
Date: 2006-06-14
From: Mountain Harbor Hostel

To: Moreland Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.7
Weather: few clouds

Short hike today after a late start. Got to the shelter fairly early, but decided to stay and take it easy. A Christian group came in shortly after we made the decision to stay and set up tents around the shelter. Had a bit of an accident tonight. Hanna was getting ready to heat some water and after she got her stove going, she accidently grabbed her alcohol bottle instead of her water. Not a good thing to pour alcohol over an open flame. The fire ball that resulted was pretty intense. She immediately threw everything to the ground, fortunately missing me as I was sitting right next to her. In the process, she got alcohol on her leg and it went up in flames. She was jumping around screaming and trying to put her leg out. I've never seen anyone on fire before and it literally froze me in my tracks. Thankfully, she got the fire out without burning her leg, just singed the hair off. She did lose a stuff sack and a nalgene bottle in the process though.The Christian group shared their devotional with me and some sopopias (sp?) It consists of a flour tortilla with honey, brown sugar and cinammon inside and browned on both sides in a fry pan. Very Good!!
Date: 2006-06-15
From: Moreland Gap Shelter

To: Kincora
Miles today: 6.1
Weather: clear sky

Hiked into Kincora today. Kincora is a hostel run by Bob and Pat Peoples. True lovers of the trail. They moved here from Boston and bought the log house. After cutting trees off thier property, they built the hostel on the back of thier house. It sleeps 18 inside, and he's almost done building a tree house for the overflow. There were nearly 40 people here tonight. Kincora is Celtic and means, "Kinship of the heart." Bob is very ScotsIrish. Skinny B, Blister Bill and Whimsy are here. We met them at Miss Janet's house. Whimsy kept everyone in rapt attention as he entertained us with his EE-YAW whimsy diddle stick. Please don't ask me to explain what this is, leave it to say it's an old fashioned toy. I got my shower, laundry in, and Bob shuttled us into town to get supplies. We brought back pizza for dinner. I got my maildrop here and another mystery package. Someone sent me 4 candybars and a note wishing me a good hike, but they didn't sign it. It was sent from Johnson City. If you sent the candy and are reading this, thank-you!! and who are you???
Date: 2006-06-16
From: Kincora

To: Slackpack
Miles today: 9.7

Bob agreed to slackpack us and Skinny today. He drove us up to Watauga Lake and we hiked nearly 10 miles back to the hostel. Almost didn't leave the lake to start, stayed there at least an hour enjoying the morning, the lake, the geese and mother nature. We had apples and peanut butter for breakfast and then headed out. The climb started out pretty steady, mostly nicely switchbacked. When we reached Pond Flats at the top, we stopped to rest and met a couple of hikers coming from the other way. The downhill side was pretty steep and rocky and made for slow going. The trail got pretty interesting after that, as it became a rock hop next to a river. Then we came to Laurel Falls and killed some more time just watching the waterfall. With a mile to go and sunlight running out, we headed back to Kincora. It's a bit quieter tonight, most of the people have left.
Date: 2006-06-18
From: Watauga Lake

To: Vandeventer Shelter
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

Today's hike was one of the most exhausting I have had on this trip. It was a good climb out of the lake and over the Watauga Dam. The day was very hot, no breezes, and a roadwalk from....... At least a quarter mile uphill on blacktop. I could see the heat rising. I drank way too much water way to fast and was running quite low. I had less than a half liter left and four miles to go in this heat to the next water source. I did not like my situation at all, but the trail has a way of working things out. As I came down to another road, there was Hanna and a bunch of boy scouts. They had just filled her water up and did the same for me. Thank-you boy scouts. That's what I call trail magic. Got to the shelter after dark and proceeded to wake everyong up as I unpacked my bedroll and crawled into the space they made for me. I think I hit Third-Degree in the head. So sorry. I was too exhausted to do anything but go right to sleep.
Date: 2006-06-19
From: Vandeventer Shelter

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light rain

What a difference a day makes. The hike to Damascus is mostly a ridge walk and today's was a very nice hike. Lots of rolling hills and nice weather. Got to the shelter fairly early and had plenty of time to eat and chat. Met Nolan here. He was heading South. Nolan is a teacher in a private school and teaches outdoorsmanship. What a sweet job! I need to find me a job like that, teaching kids how to survive outdoors.
Date: 2006-06-20
From: Iron Mountain Shelter

To: Campsite
Miles today: 11.1
Weather: scattered clouds

Shortly after leaving Iron Mountain Shelter, I came upon the Nick Grindstaff Memorial. This memorial was erected by one of his nieces and really hit me hard. The story goes that Nick was on his way out west in the late 1800's to seek his fame and fortune when he was robbed of everything he had. He retired to the mountain and lived as a hermit for the rest of his life. The memorial read, "He lived alone, suffered alone, and died alone." I find that exceedingly sad. And yet, he is thought of by thousands of hikers each year as they pass this chimney like memorial. I thought about Nick for quite a bit of my hike today and wondered what would posess a person to isolate themselves so completely. Hanna, Skinny and I had lunch at Double Springs Shelter and decided to hike on to a campsite. The shelter was quite full with another youth group. We found a fairly decent campsite and set up our tents for the night. Hanna tried out her tarp and it worked out pretty well.
Date: 2006-06-21
From: Campsite

To: Damascus
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I hiked the most miles I have ever hiked!! Fifteen miles, a record for me! Of course, it was mostly all downhill, and I made excellent time. Rolled into Damascus about 7pm, worn out, but feeling great to have made it here. I was filthy and simply wanted a shower. Ran into everone at a hostel called Dave's Place, but it was full. I spent the evening at The Place, a hostel run by the Methodist Church in town. Went to the Baja Cafe and had the biggest and best burrito I have ever had. It's great to be back in Damascus. Damascus is the most hiker friendly town on the trail. Whimsy is here, as are the Kentucky Boys. We hung out at Dave's place for awhile and then I headed off to bed.
Date: 2006-06-26
From: Damascus

To: Damascus
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Ok, yes, it is now five days later and I am STILL in Damascus. Hanna left out yesterday morning, as I should have too, but here I am. My first day in town was spent getting chores done. Laundry, maildrops, shopping. Mt. Rogers Outfitters are absolutely fantastic!! Jeff was a tremondous help to me, replacing lost rope and modifying my pack for no charge. I'm grateful Jeff, thanks. The second day was spent relaxing by the hostel. I got into Dave's Place with everyone else and we sorted out our maildrops, and just hung out some. Dave's supplies bikes for the hikers staying here, and we made use of them by heading to the grocery store and buying stuff for a cookout. We ended up fixing steak and salmon for dinner tonight. Met The Only Wanderer that night and invited him to stay for dinner. Doc Graham and Whimsy joined us too. Along with the steak we had baked potato, grilled pineapple, and strawberries dipped in chocolate for dessert. It was a good evening. Saturday was spent roaming the town and checking places out. I had wanted to stay for service on Sunday and decided to do so. There is the cutest little Church of Christ here in town. After service I was determined to leave, but it didn't turn out that way. Hanna took off, but by the time I got out of service, finished packing, weighed my pack at the Outfitters,(36lbs, YIKES!) and restocked fuel, it was already two. Decided to go to the most famous Dot's restaurant, where we ran into Lone Wolf. Thanks for the beer Wolf. He convinced us we couldn't leave Damascus without first riding bikes along the Virginia Creeper Trail, so that is why I am still here on the night of the 26th. Skinny and I rented bikes and rode them 17 miles down the Creeper Trail back to Damascus. It was a BLAST!! We had so much fun and didn't even mind getting caught in some rain. And of all things, we ran into Hanna. She was resting at a junction where the AT meets the Creeper Trail. She was a bit surprised to see me still in town and I felt kinda bad. I'll just have to work hard at catching up to her. Tomorrow I WILL LEAVE DAMASCUS!!
Date: 2006-06-27
From: Damascus

To: Creek Junction
Miles today: 10.6

Finally, I got out of Damascus. I had a great time and met some wonderful people. The folks at Mt. Rogers Outfitters and The Baja Cafe are the best. It was great to meet Lone Wolf and The Only Wanderer. It rained nearly every night I was in Damascus, hopefully the rain has past.I'm writing in my tent in a great campsite near a river. Mick had sent me a clip for my tent and it has worked out great. Now I don't have to dangle a water bottle off the beak to get it taut. He also sent me my compass/clock. Now I can estimate my mileage much better.Lone Wolf recommended that I take the Virginia Creeper trail all the way to the A.T.(about 10 miles) and I did. The slope is next to nothing all the way and made for an easy uphill climb. Hanna had spent last night very close to where I am tonight, so I'm hoping I can catch up to her.Skinny took the Creeper Trail in the opposite direction to Abingdon. He's gotten off the trail. I'll miss him. Hope you had a safe trip Skinny.Well, it's 9 p.m. and the temperature reads 67 degrees. No sign of rain yet.Got woken up by a large group of kids at midnight heading up to the bridge. They were chanting and singing songs. Sounded real pretty, but eerie at the same time. Not even going to guess what that may have been about.
Date: 2006-06-28
From: Creek Junction

To: White Top Mtn. Rd
Miles today: 7.4

Went to sleep last night to the sounds of a mountain stream and awoke to the sounds of birds singing. This is so much better than alarm clocks, T.V.s, cars, etc....Had a killer climb up Buzzard Rock. I bet at least 6 of the miles I did today went straight uphill. I had such grandeous plans to do big miles today and catch up to Hanna. HAH!!When I got to the top of Buzzard Rock, I was so exhausted I hardly considered the 360 degree views. I've pitched my tent close to a road tonight, which is a no no, but I'm exhausted and the view here is spectacular! I can't be seen from the road so I think I'll be fine.There's a great water source here, a piped spring that is shooting water out of it a good two feet.I've got my tent facing east and am hoping for a good sunrise in the morning. I'm looking out over a valley with the mountains in the background. My left foot has been killing me since I got to Damascus. Vitamin I (Ibuprofen) is fast becoming my best friend. It's 7:30 and 71 degrees. Time to make dinner and head to bed.
Date: 2006-06-29
From: White Top Mtn. Rd

To: Wise Shelter
Miles today: 11.8
Weather: clear sky

What a difference a day makes. Today's hike was fantastic! My foot hasn't complained all day. I hiked up and over Mt. Rogers and the Grayson Highlands today. Very, very rocky. At some points a veritable rock climb. Stopped at Thomas Knob shelter for lunch and to dry out my tent. It got soaked with condensation last night. It may as well have rained on it. Didn't take long to dry out though, it was a gorgeous day! Since it was only 5 miles to the next shelter, I headed out for it. My profile map showed it to be all downhill so I figured it would be a breeze. I couldn't have been more wrong. What the map didn't show was all the rocks, boulders really, on the trail. It made for very slow going as I had to be aware of where I placed my foot each time. I still managed to roll my ankle a few times, but luckily, no damage done. On the way, I got to meet some of the famous ferral ponies of the Grayson Highlands. They are wild, but friendly, and some even allowed me to pet them. I also hiked through 'Fat Man's Squeeze', a crevice between to house sized boulders. Yes, I made it through....NO WISE CRACKS!!I got to Wise Shelter with just enough daylight to fix dinner and head to bed. The privy at this shelter is the oddest I've ever seen. It is totally open air, no privacy. There is one 6 foot wall built to hide the view from people walking past on the A.T., but if someone is walking up from the shelter, there you are for all to see, sitting on a platform like a king on his throne. Very strange.
Date: 2006-06-30
From: Wise Shelter

To: Va 603
Miles today: 6.3

I HATE ROCKS!!! If I ever hurt myself on the trail, it will be because of rocks. Viscious little things with sharp teeth that sit waiting for innocent hikers to stumble by. They eat up ankles and heels with no mercy. I'm convinced that the makers of the trail went about finding all the rocks they could and strewn them along the trail just to mess with hikers. They did a good job.I had heard from some southbound hikers that Hanna would be in Troutdale today, so I decided to head there myself via hwy 603. Two women gave me a ride into Troutdale and dropped me off at The Trading Post, a restaurant/convenience store. As we pulled in, there was Hanna. I wish I had my camera out, because the look of surprise on her face was priceless. She thought I was two days behind her, when all the time I was only ten miles behind her. After eating a fantastic cheeseburger, we headed a quarter mile up the hill to the church hostel. It wasn't much of a hostel, just two empty rooms, but we were grateful the showers. An outhouse served as the only toilet and they had no laundry facilities. After showering, we headed back to The Trading Post. Hanna stopped and asked a local couple about a laundromat,and that was when we discovered there was no laundromat. Actually, there is nothing in Troutdale but the Trading Post, not even a gas station. They did however, offer us the use of a washboard and tub to clean our clothes. I guess just one look (or smell) at us and they knew we needed help. We gratefully accepted their offer and I got my clothes washed by about 8:30. I hung them out to dry, knowing they'd stay dripping wet till at least mid morning since the sun was going down. I had earlier bought a long dress at the Post for a quarter. I bet it had been hanging on the rack outside the store for weeks, in all kinds of weather, but at least it gave me something to wear while all my other clothes were washed. After getting that chore done, I headed back to the Post to make some phone calls. That was when things got real interesting.When I called Mick, he informed me that the people who bought our house wanted to close on it today. He had been trying to call me for a few days, but my phone is kept off while on the trail because there is rarely any signal. He told me I needed to get a power of attorney notarized and faxed back to our realtor by Monday. That meant I would have to go into Marion, a 20 mile hitch, and try and get this done tomorrow. Should be interesting trying to find a fax machine and a notary on a Saturday morning of a holiday weekend. And all of it done by noon.
Date: 2006-02-10
To: Gainesville FL
Miles today: 0.0

Thirty-nine days til the midlife crisis hike! Attempting a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail has been lurking in the back of my mind for about a decade. At 40, it's time to do something about this fantasy since my knees aren't getting any stronger. From basset sitting services to a 'Wilderness Shower' in my honor, I am so fortunate to have supportive family, friends, and colleagues who are helping to make this happen. And whodathunk I'd have a hiking buddy? I am thrilled (and my family is relieved) to have John as my partner in crime in this adventure. We'll take turns taping up each other's knees. Most of the important gear is purchased at this point...tent, pack, sleeping bag, stove, water filter, poles, boots. During the past couple weeks I have been focusing on exercise (weight training, stadium steps @ 'Gator Mountain', and yoga) and determining our itinerary. In the weeks ahead, I need to fine tune the contents of my pack and figure out my food options. I am committed to keeping pack weight under 25 pounds WITH full water. That's the only way these knees are making it to Katahdin.
Date: 2006-02-11
To: What's in a name?
Miles today: 0.0

My trail name--Little Wing--chose me during a practice hike near Springer Mountain with Scott and John this past January. We spent a couple days of that hike in 30 degrees, rain, and fog. It was quite literally like walking around in a cloud. As such, Jimi Hendrix's tune came into my mind and wouldn't leave (although I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it was the later Sting version of it that did)...Well she¢s walking through the cloudsWith a circus mind that¢s running roundButterflies and zebrasAnd moonbeams and fairy talesThat¢s all she ever thinks aboutRiding with the wind.When I¢m sad, she comes to meWith a thousand smiles, she gives to me freeIt¢s alright she says it¢s alrightTake anything you want from me, anythingAnything.Fly on little wing,Yeah yeah, yeah, little wingFor two days, this song wouldn't leave me. I started to wonder if it was trying to tell me something. In addition to the walking in the clouds reference, I sorta liked the lightness of the sound of 'Little Wing.' Like: My pack will feel light and my feet will fly over the trail. Hope springs eternal.