morvasaaty/AppalachianTrail-LD-Hikers-Blogs-and-Weather-20-years huggingface dataset:
Date: 2006-05-13
From: Rusty's Hard Time Hollow

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: broken clouds

530 AM came with a bang this morning. I have yet to wake up in such a way on the trail. Crazier than the cow field morning.5:30 AM on the dot the roosters sounded. I don't know how many roosters, but it was quite the symphony. the roosteres in turn alerted the goat. the goat had a giant cow bell hangin from it. So now, we had a goat's bell and the roosters, which led to the dogs barking. Add in the noisy swishing about of hikers in sleeping bags and the marching of mice..and it was morning at Rusty's Hard Time Hollow.   We hadn't started making it yet, but I could almost smell the coffee and pancakes. We somehow managed to sleep until 7 AM then one by one we plodded down stairs and into the little porch where the fun was had.Coffee, thanks to Moat and pancakes thanks to Rusty. They were big and crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. Sounds strange for pancakes, I know. But they were the best pancakes I've ever had. Rusty was awesome! Which is the main reason we didn't actually get back on the trail until 10:00AM. But we thought it was still early enough to make our 22 miles into town before dark. But after a couple of miles we ran into trail magic!! And a huge spread it was thanks to Green One. Roast beef and turkey sandwiches, plus cokes and chips. So we all lounged with Green One for over an hour, making that 20 miles even less appealing. But we were still optimistic.We set off once again, hopped up on caffiene, pancakes and sodas. The terrain was awesome. We slowly went up then slowly went down. We even got very close to a pair of turkey vultures on a cliff on their nest? We think? There was alot of rocks, making my feet groan and moan constantly despite how easy the terrain was, but it was a beautiful day.The only problem was by 4 o'clock we still had eleven miles left. At first we kept up hopes and really hauled down the mountain, then we came to our senses, and figured it would really be hard to hitchhike after dark. So we stopped at the lst shelter before town. This leaves us with only 5 miles into town in the morning, and a nice relaxing day tomorrow.The shelter is full, thru-hikers and weekenders. Saspirilla is reading out loud to Crumbs, Low Key and 4 Today, and it is quite funny to listen to. We are shoulder to shoulder tonight. But my feet are happy that we stopped and didn't push the last 5 miles. Breakfast in town tomorrow!!
Date: 2006-05-14
From: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter

To: Waynesboro, VA
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Nice short day today in the rain into Waynesboro. We were going to tent at the YMCA but who wants to tent in the rain? Swansons and I broke down and got a hotel room at the Quality Inn. Nice and dry and warm. Although our room does seem like it's under construction. Even more so now that 6 hikers have been living out of it all day. The smell along will kill ya.We have been all over the place today from Pizza Hut to the food store to the Outfitters back to the room for cards then back out for chinese food. I think we walked more miles in town today than we did out on the trail this morning.Tomorrow is on to the Shenandoah National Park and finally out of Central VA. Crumbs, Saspirilla, Low Key and 4 Today are aqua blazing the Shenandoahs, meaning they are canoeing the 100 or so miles for the week instead of walking it. So they are leaving in the morning to hit the water. But Swansons and I are being purists and are hiking the national park. Which I am happy about. Rumor has it it is one of the most beautiful. And Saturday we come to the end and will be greeted by our parents which we are very excited about.So, on for more hiking tomorrow. Most likely a short day to the first shelter which is only 7 miles out. Forecast calls for rain every day this week so it should be interesting.
Date: 2006-05-15
From: Waynesboro, VA

To: Calf Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Finally out of Central VA and into Shenandoah National Park. Things are actually moving along now. We are thru hiking again! Not just hiking Virginia.Today was pretty much a town day. We packed our stuff then headed out to Weasles for a huge and awesome breakfast. On our way out of the hotel we ran into Sparrow Hawk who lives in Waynesboro and is taking a few days off there. Luckily for us he offered us a ride back to the trailhead after we finished up all our chores. He is an incredible guy.So we had breakfast the thru-hiker way. Pancakes, eggs, sausage and homefries with onions. Plus of course, lots of coffee. Then we hit up the post office and library for internet.The biggest treat of all was when Sparrowhawk took us to the ABC store for brandy then to Wendy's for lunch before dropping us off at the trailhead. I love hiking off into the woods with a leftover Wendy's cheeseburger shoved in my pack pocket.   I hiked 7 miles today and smalled fast food the entire time. Glorious!So now we are hangin at our first shelter in Shenandoah National Park and already Sourdough saw a bear about 400 yards away from us. And now there are deer right in front of us as we lay here in our sleeping bags. It isn't dark out yet but I'm doped up on Benedryl thanks to standing in a group of stinging nettles and breaking out in hives, so I am passing out hard tonight.
Date: 2006-05-16
From: Calf Mountain Shelter

To: Loft Mountain Camp Ground
Miles today: 20.4
Weather: overcast clouds

I am not sure if we are where we are supposed to be but Loft Mountain Camp Ground was/is closed and that was our destination for the day. We could walk another 6 miles to the shelter but who wants to do that when you've already walked twenty. So, after discovering that the camp store and campground was closed we got back on the AT only to find a side trail leading to the campground. It took us directly to a prime campsite within the closed Loft Mountain Camp Ground. So we are stealth camping here. It's a prime spot with a picnic table and everything.So far, hiking the Shenandoah's has been a dream.   Everything is very gradual and there is alot of wildlife, However! It was been said before and I'll say it again! The last 3 miles of a hike sucks no matter how many miles you've hiked that day. I was feeling great today until I found out we only had 3 miles left and then I felt everything shut down and my legs suddenly didn't feel like hiking anymore. I could have hiked 7 miles today and it would have been the same ordeal. The last 3 miles suck!Now it is only 7 o'clock and the sun is shining but I am dead tired and ready for 12 hours of sleep....literally.
Date: 2006-05-17
From: Loft Mountain Camp Ground

To: Bear Fence Mountain Hut
Miles today: 26.4
Weather: scattered clouds

Well, we just completed our longest day yet, and it was going great until stupid me got too excited and began leaping down the steps to the shelter. I landed on my right ankle this time and crunching sounds probably aren't a good thing. It swelled within seconds to the side of a baseball. Yeah, I'm an idiot. But, at least I waited until the end of the longest day to ruin it. Weak ankles are really starting to get on my nerves.The rest of the day was pretty damned good despite that little incident! When we started off in the morning we were slowed down by a load of deer. They were everywhere this morning and apparently not very afraid of us. They seem to enjoy getting their picture taken on top of that. Not once but twice we ran into fresh (I mean still steaming) bear poop on the trail. If we had not spent so much time photographing the deer we may have walked up on the bear taking care of business right on the trail. That would have made the day. But, alas, we did not see the bears.There were many miles to be hiked today and at times I wasn't sure if I was up to doing 26 miles. But, out legs kept movin and we just followed. We took a long break at the last shelter before our destination. There we hung out with Sourdough who was waiting for his ride to trail days. I'm glad Swansons and I have decided not to go this year, but I sure am going to miss those Baja Cafe grilled steak burritos. Those will be my only regret. But, ther e is always next year. And, we are more excited to see our parents this weekend anyway. It is Swansons birthday on the 21st so we are happy to be spending that with family.Anyway, once we finally mustered the energy to do the last 12, they seemed to fly right by. I sang and danced to the radio to keep myself motivated. And the best part of all was the campground we hit a mile before the shelter. This awesome couple from Connecticut offered us some dinner and a beer! It was incredible to just sit and talk after such a long day. And have hot food right there plus beer! Amazing! We couldn't thank them enough for such wonderful hospitality. Thans again guys. We will have to take you up on those marguaritas sometime!We should have pitched our tents at their campsite then I wouldn't be sitting here swollen and throbbing. But I learned a lesson of course. No running after backpacking 26 miles. Your feet will get very angry with you and give out!Tomorrow we have another big day but there is a restaurant about 8 miles from here with cheeseburgers so lunch is covered tomorrow. Hopefully I will not be hobbling tomorrow. If it isn't a root canal, it's a stomach virus and if it isn't a stomach virus its a damned sprained ankle. We can't keep things straight out here. Can we go one week without issues? Oh well, it all part of the grand adventure. And I can say that even at the worst moments, like tonight, this is still the best thing I have ever done...I just hope we make it to Maine in one piece..with all bones and teeth and whatever else intact.
Date: 2006-05-18
From: Bear Fence Mountain Hut

To: Skyland Road, VA
Miles today: 16.1

This was one long and crazy day. It began at about 3 AM when I opened my eyes in my tent to see the sillouette of a mouse run across the side of my tent. The little buggers were trying to break in. I wouldn't have it. For a good twenty minutes I sat banging on the tent each time they began knawing. But the mouse problem soon solved itself when the family of fox rolled in. I had just closed my eyes again when high pitched barking and howling began literally right next to our tents. I had to laugh. After the fox came the deer. I could here their hooves on the rocks around the stream. They hung around for the rest of the night! We pitched our tents in a high traffic zone. But as long as it wasn't bear nosing about I was cool with the zoo.The next adventure of the day was tackling my brand new ankle sprain, which was proving to be a bit of a pain. The swelling had traveled all the way up my calf. But, I'm stupidly stubborn. The first few miles were slow and a bit painful, but once I got going, things got easier. It was slow going when the rocks were everywhere, but we made good time. We actually got to have lunch at a lodge right off the trail. Oh, cheesburgers.After lunch we had high hopes for our 22 mile day. And why not? We already did 8 and had cheeseburgers and onion peels. Onward and upward. But as the miles went on, I got slower and a bit more achy. So we pulled over at the next lodge, 8 miles up to hang for a bit and have some dinner and maybe get some ice. Well, we got alot more than we ever thought.As we sat outside trying to decide the rest of the days hike a woman came up to us and started chatting. Next thing we knew, we were inside at a wine tasting that this woman and her friends were having, and that is where everything gets blurry. It all happened so fast. Suddenly, we weren't hiking back out but we were going to stay and drink wine with them. Then one of the couples who were actually from New Jersey invited, then insisted we stay with them for the night. They had an extra bed. We felt badly at first, but then we just had too much fun with them and couldn't help but hang out.So, suddenly, we had wine, a free place to stay with a view! It is so strange how we run into situations like that. People hear you are a thru-hiker and they know you are good people. They treat you with such hospitality. People are amazing. We owe so many people so much right now. I just hope we can return the favor someday, somehow. It was perfect timing to have such awesome people take us under their wing and feed us wine and cheese and crackers. I got to ice my ankle and not worry about hiking on in the dark. We just have to find a way to make up the miles in the morning. But for now, we are not worried about the miles or the ugly sprained ankle. We are just living this awesome wierd adventure we have found ourselves in.
Date: 2006-05-22
From: Front Royal

To: Front Royal
Miles today: 5.0
Weather: few clouds

This Journal will be very confusing now, because I explain all that happened the last few days in my journal of the 23rd. We slack packed today with Matt's Mom, brothers and Tofurkey and Granite. Mom and Dad did trail magic and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Don arrived to greet us at the end of the 5 miles. Then, off to my cousin's in Front Royal to visit their beautiful house and received some very nice attention from family! By the way, Mom and Dad's 25th wedding anniversary!
Date: 2006-05-24
From: Gravel Spring Hut

To: Tom Floyd Wayside Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: broken clouds

We saw our FIRST BEAR TODAY!!!! We were coming around a corner and he was standing in the middle of the trail! He got one look at Swansons coming and turned and ran for the hills. I saw his big butt as he sped away. That totally made our day! We had been dying to see one.But that was probably the only thing cool that happened to us today. We did however, meet a very nice old lady who is a trail maintainer and she sung us a song. She taught us about a new bird and then sung his song for us. It goes something like "Look at me..up in the tree..where I am...look at me". I can hear the look at me part but the rest I get lost on.Other than those two things,the day went pretty standard. My ankle was complaining alot so we decided to cut the day short and not push it too hard. So now, we are well rested having spent the afternoon at this awesome shelter with a deck!As for wildlife, we have seen everything, except a rattlesnake. But I am patient that will happen too.
Date: 2006-05-25
From: Tom Floyd Wayside Shelter

To: Dick's Dome Shelter
Miles today: 18.0
Weather: light rain

Wonderful day today! We woke up early because everyone in the shelter began packing up at 6:00AM. That was a rough thing to face but once we got going we were glad to start hiking so early. It makes the day go much faster.It was already warm at 8:00AM and I thought we were going to be in for a muggy day. But the rain saved us on and off for a few hours. And the terrain wassweet. A few ups but a lot of nice flowing straight areas, and the beer!! Beer trail magic on the side of the railroad tracks. What an awesome pre-lunch snack. It got us right up the mountain and we got to the shelter absolutely starving. And only 4 miles left to the last shelter of the day!Speaking of shelters, this Dicks Dome Shelter is kind of strange. It is dome shaped, but very small. The plus side to it though is that the creek that is right in front of is SUPER, SUPER cold and worked as a good ice bag for my ankle.The fire pit is nice also. I built and started my first campfire all on my own! Very good thing. Now I don't have to worry about not being able to teach my kids how to build an awesome fire... I'll be able to sleep again at night... And they will be well informed abou the art of fire making.Now, it is time for early bed. Swansons and I are getting up at 4:00 AM to do a little night hiking and to get to Bear Den Hostel early and relax. Lets hope for another good day. Maybe more beer.
Date: 2006-05-26
From: Dick's Dome Shelter

To: Bear's Den Hostel
Miles today: 18.3
Weather: scattered clouds

We woke up at 4:50 AM this morning to get an early start and maybe hike a little in the dark withour headlamps. Well, it seemed that as soon as we headed out around 5:30AM the sun came up all at once and we had no dark to have fun hiking through. It seems that every other morning it comes up at 7ish. It justed wanted to ruin our fun. But it was still pretty hiking in the early morning light. Though it was humid!We kicked out 8 something miiles by 9 and were already drowning in sweat, despite the clouds and lack of sun. We enter the infamous rollercoaster today. Which is about 10 miles of nothing but ups and downs consistantly like a rollercoaster. But, not as fun and certainly not as fast. And tons and tons of rocks, which beat my poor ankle up ruthlessly. We were just glad that the sun wasn't out. It would have made those ups brutal.When we were about 3 miles from the hostel, Swansons stumbled upon our first rattlesnake. A baby! He didn't even have his rattle yet! He was only about 8 inches long and very small. But he didn't seem to want to get off the trail and we were afraid he would get stepped on, so we tried prompting him a bit with our poles. Well he didn't like that. He mustered all his little baby rattler courage and went to town on Swansons trek pole. Then he chased him! But, it did the trick. We got him out of harms way! But, I give him credit. He was fast and tough! We were a bit nervous of him! So that was the highlight of our day.Well, no, I lied. The highlight was when we finally reached the hostel and had Dr. Peppers and showers. Then we all got a ride to the local bar and restaurant! Oh, beer and burgers! And we finally reunited with Tofurkey, Granite and Bushwacker!Bonesaw and Tricycle also joined us at dinner. I had fried zucchini which was rediculously amazing! It was so good to be among our awesome friends again. We are at the Bear's Den Hostel which is super nice with many nice bunks and a cozy little kitchen and den. These hostels have been so comfortable and wonderful to be in. We have been so lucky. We are so full and happy right now. Some are playing cards, on the computer and some of us are chillin' in bed already.Tomorrow is a big day! We hit 1000 miles tomorrow at David Lesser Memorial Shelter. And we are packing our with us the proper means for a celebration of such proportions. Then, maybe in to Harpers Ferry? We have to spend a few days there to wait for the darn post office to reopen because we have some wonderful goodies from some wonderful people. As my hat says, LIFE IS GOOD.
Date: 2006-05-27
From: Bear's Den Hostel

To: Blackburn AT Center
Miles today: 7.9
Weather: broken clouds

We totally blew it on the hiking end of things today. Not like we had a huge day planned anyway..but when a low mileage day gets cut even shorter that is when you hold your head in shame! We are having too much fun!We were all set to celebrate our hitting the 1000 mile mark today. Tofurkey, Granite, Tricycle, Bonesaw, Trump, Bushwacker, Swansons and I had purchased 3 bottles of wine yesterday for the celebration. But, we fell short of our destination. We were hypnotized by strangers with candy on the trail.To start off, the hike was beautiful this morning and hot. We finally crossed out of Virginia and into West Virginia. Thank God for that! One state for that long is just mind boggling, and we were cruising along today. Plus, my ankle was feeling great.Then it all came to a crashing halt. 4 hikers going south were holding out ziploc bags full of brownies to us. That was enough to bring our entire group to a standstill. Then, they began the reeling in. Talk of how they were the caretakers of the Blackburn AT Center and they were going to have a BBQ tonight. They said we should come down..free food and sodas! We all eyed each other for a minute contemplating the situation. Should we really let ourselves be this spoiled and have this much fun with only 7 miles today and a town within reach? And it was unanimous. Why, yes, yes we should..So we found ourselves lounging on the porch of the trail center for hours. Then a wonderful crew of trail maintainers took Swansons and Tricycle for beer for all of us. Then, not only did we have beer but an awesome spaghetti dinner.After dinner, came the fire. After the fire came storytime from the head of the organization and after all that....we ate their leftover dinner. Cheeseburgers!   Might have been the fullest I've been yet out here.The folks at the Blackburn AT Center were amazing to us. We couldn't have asked for a better time. Got a little bit of trail history as well.Granite even taught us a new game around our campfire which we all played obsessively. There were no winners, but we all got to let our sick, twisted child out to play. And I think we entertained the rest of the folks here.Tomorrow we will actuallly do some real hiking but right into town. Harpers Ferry is our last stop before we have to become real thru-hkers again. We have to stop staying at every little place offered to us... Or not...   It is just too good to pass up sometimes.
Date: 2006-05-31
From: Harpers Ferry, VA

To: Garvey Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: scattered clouds

I'm going to start this journal from the day we hiked into Harpers Ferry. I have been slacking on the writing thing since then. So I have alot of catching up to do.I have to start by saying we started off the morning hiking out with a belly full of bluberry pancakes and sausage. Thanks to the wonderful people at Blackburn Trail Center who just made us feel amazing.We hiked most of the day with Hairball, a guy who had thru-hiked last year and we spent the 12 miles talking with him about our best and worst days on the trail. He led us to the Appalachian Trail Center but not without us seeing about 4 snakes before we got down there.Swansons and I were numbers 156 and 157 coming into the ATC in Harpers Ferry and we got our pictures taken, checked our e-mails then ventured out into the tourist trap that is Harpers Ferry. It was awesome!The outfitters let Swansons and Tofurkey and I sleep on their balcony for free, and we went down to the local pub and had a good long night, drinking and meeting new thru-hikers and locals alike.The next day we took a zero day and played tourists. We marinated in the history of Harpers Ferry plus ate the cheeseburgers with Canadian bacon on it and lots of green tea!Swansons and I reserved rooms at the Hill Top Hotel. This hotel at first seemed like a dive and they didn't seem like they welcomed thru-hikers all that much. But after staying there a couple of days, the history of the Hilltop Hotel really came out and we loved it!The history and the beer last night were amazing. We sat outside of the hotel in the new summer heat that has really hit us and enjoyed life. We didn't have to worry about putting socks on or long sleeves. We were hot just in our tank tops and shorts and it was perfect. We even went swimming in the Shenandoah River a couple of times. A perfect two zero days, really just learning how to be patient and enjoy the life we have out here.I also bought new shoes in Harpers. Little pair of New Balance Trail Runners. I figured my Merrels have taken me a 1009.0 miles and they deserve retirement. And, my shoes and I are very happy.After hanging out and having lunch in Harpers we finally, FINALLY, hiked out today but only went to the first 6 miles where we are hanging with Sleeper. My ankle is still on the fritz so it was nice to have a good short day.On a side note, we sawy about 1000 turtles today and one big long black racer uper near the ridge. This guy was the most nonagressive snake I had ever met. He just looked at us like "hey, leave me along guys! C'mon, be cool" So we took a few pictures and moved on. All and all a great day!Sleeper is a cool guy and we plan to try to catch Tricycle and Bonesaw together.Tomorrow we have a 20 mile day with a restaurant stop in between. My ankle sucks, but I feel ready to be out in the woods again almost at our half way point! Wow!